Commercial importance of a unit cell: nanolithographic patenting trends for microsystems, microfabrication, and nanotechnology

Microsystems and nanosystems hold the promise of new and much more effective approaches to both commercial and national security applications. The patenting rate in nanotechnology is exploding, underscoring its commercial and scientific potential. Yet how much of this effort is focused on nanopatterning or a top-down approach to nanofabrication? Nanopatterning in semiconductor microfabrication has already furthered Moore's law, facilitating the transistor as that medium's unit cell. Yet the search for a unit cell for the other two small technical markets (microsystems and the more broadbased nanotechnology) has proven much more elusive. Do nanopatterning advances hold the key to these technology bases finally obtaining a unit cell? We explore the intellectual property base of nanopatterning and how it pertains to semiconductor microfabrication, microsystems, and nanotechnology.