Nano-Technology deals with the materials at size of a nanometer (10^-9 meter) and smaller. NanoTech, which allows the creation of devices a 1000-fold smaller than those possible today, is sure to transform the world within the next few decades:).
Physicists at the University of Pennsylvania have overcome a major hurdle in the race to create nanotube-based Electronics. The researchers (Alan Johnson and colleagues) have used Carbon NanoTubes to create functional electronic circuits.

NanoTube Substrate (Courtesy: PhysOrg)NanoTubes are so small, that the conventional procedure of etching the electronic components onto the substrate does not work anymore. The new method creates circuits by dipping semiconductor chips into liquid suspensions of carbon nanotubes, rather than growing the nanotubes directly on the circuit:):). The chips are pre-treated with a glue, on which the nanotubes stick when the chips are dipped into the suspension. The excess glue is then washed away using some solvent, and only the nanotube circuits remain!
The resulting circuits take advantage of unique electrical properties of nanotubes and can be produced in bulk. Since the researchers can create nanotubes via processes separate from the chips, this process allows for a better control of the quality and diameter.
Bulk creation and quality control are two essential ingredients that should lead to a wider application of this research to manufacturing of large-scale nano-electronic devices in the near future:). Such devices, for example, promise computers on a thumbnail running at 1000s of GHz speeds. The possibilities are infinite!