Nanotechnology attempted to show the potential of this new technology and included the wide range of fields that are connected to the concept of the nanometer scale. These include machining, imaging, metrology or measurement, micromachines, instrumentation and machine tools, scanning probe microscopy, fabrication of components, nanoelectronics, molecular engineering, among others. (Journal Review: Nanotechnology)

Another important step in the development of this technology in both a practical and theoretical sense was the development of " bottoms up" programs and research initiatives. As noted above, the 'bottoms up' approach is considered to be the area where the greatest potential for nanotechnology applications exist. In 1991 Japan's Science and Technology Agency began instituted a "bottom-up" approach, in which "...very small structures are built up from molecular components using, for example, scanning probe microscopes. "(Nanotechnology Race: MITI Adopts 'Bottom-Up' Strategy_)

Since the 1990s there have been an increasing number of developments that have contributed...
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