Nanotechnology Sensors: Key to Winning Intelligent Warfare

The birth of nanotechnology sensors has propelled human society into the era of intelligent sensors.

It integrates numerous excellent properties, providing important diversified means for detecting the microscopic world at the nanoscale, which will trigger a revolutionary impact in the military field.

It is the nanotechnology sensor.

So, what is a nanotechnology sensor? What are its characteristics compared to traditional sensors? What important roles do nanotechnology sensors play in the military field?

Today, we invite Researcher Zhu Qichao from the National University of Defense Technology to provide a professional interpretation.

Sensor technology is one of the rapidly developing high-tech fields in today’s world, forming one of the three pillars of the information industry alongside communication technology and computer technology. As human society enters the era of the Internet of Things, especially with the vigorous development and cross-industry integration of material technology, biotechnology, nanomanufacturing technology, artificial intelligence technology, and related industries, various nanotechnology sensors have emerged, greatly enriching the theory of sensors and broadening their application fields. Nanotechnology sensors represent a cutting-edge technology for humans to control the microscopic world and serve as catalysts, adhesives, and efficiency multipliers that connect physics, chemistry, biology, and materials science. The widespread application of nanotechnology sensors heralds the arrival of an intelligent society and intelligent warfare era, driving profound changes in human social life and the military field, becoming a key factor in winning intelligent warfare.

Direct Detectors and Analysts of the Microscopic World

Nano is a unit of length, where 1 nanometer is one billionth of a meter, equivalent to one eightieth of the diameter of a human hair. Nanotechnology refers to the science and technology that studies the properties and interactions of materials at the scale of 0.1 to 100 nanometers and develops related products using these properties.

　　So, what kind of sensors can be called nanotechnology sensors? Theoretically, a sensor can be classified as a nanotechnology sensor if its size or sensitivity reaches the nanoscale, or if the interaction distance between the sensor and the substance or object to be detected is at the nanoscale.

Since the 1990s, especially since entering the 21st century, high technologies such as microelectronics, laser technology, computer technology, nanomaterials technology, nanomanufacturing technology, and biotechnology have continuously crossed and promoted each other. The preparation processes of nanowires, nanoribbons, nanofibers, nanoparticles, nanofilms, nanoprobe, carbon nanotubes, etc. have been continuously improved, promoting the emergence of many new types of nanophysics sensors, nanochemistry sensors, and nanobiology sensors, leading human society into the era of intelligent sensors.

Nanotechnology sensors can be divided into three main categories based on their working principles: nanophysics sensors, nanochemistry sensors, and nanobiology sensors. Nanophysics sensors mainly detect various changes in mechanics, acoustics, thermodynamics, optics, electricity, and magnetism of substances or objects; nanochemistry sensors are used to measure the concentration or composition of gaseous or liquid chemical substances; nanobiology sensors are used to detect a biological process, such as the interaction between antibodies/antigens, the interaction between DNA, the interaction of enzymes, and the communication process between cells, which is significant for detecting the biological activity of substances, such as pathogenic bacteria of infectious diseases, anthrax, and other toxic biochemical substances.

From the above classifications, it can be seen that the coverage area of nanotechnology sensors is very broad, and their applications are very extensive, providing important diversified means for people to understand and analyze the microscopic world at the nanoscale and to more sensitively detect and perceive the macroscopic world. Therefore, it is known as the direct detectors and analysts of the microscopic world.

Integrating Sensitivity, Intelligence, Low Power Consumption, and Low Cost

With Excellent Performance

Compared to traditional sensors, nanotechnology sensors can operate at the atomic and molecular scales, fully utilizing the unique properties of nanomaterials such as reactivity, Raman spectral effects, catalytic efficiency, conductivity, strength, hardness, toughness, super plasticity, and superparamagnetism. Thus, they have many notable characteristics:

High Sensitivity. Carbon nanotube sensors used for detecting toxic gases can increase the surface area in contact with toxic gas molecules by using nanocrystals or porous nanomaterials, resulting in several times higher sensitivity. If sensors are made from nanoparticles of tin oxide, antimony oxide, or zinc oxide, sensitivity will also be greatly improved. Recently, researchers at the Suzhou Institute of Nano-tech and Nano-bionics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences developed a flexible wearable bionic tactile sensor with high sensitivity and stability using carbon nanotube and nanofilm technology—artificial bionic electronic skin, which can accurately detect different physiological states of the human body and diagnose diseases at an early stage.

Low Power Consumption. With the development of micro-electromechanical technology and micro-nano materials technology, nanotechnology sensors are rapidly evolving towards miniaturization and intelligence. Nanorobotic sensors can now enter the human body through blood injection to monitor physiological parameters in real-time and are expected to accurately target and treat cancer cells and pathogenic genes. Compared to traditional sensors, nanotechnology sensors can also have self-power capabilities, the ability to collect light radiation and electromagnetic radiation energy from the environment, and the ability to convert biological energy into chemical energy by simulating cellular respiration.

　　Low Cost. With the maturation of nanomaterial preparation technology, the reproducibility and mass production of manufacturing processes are no longer significant issues, and the manufacturing cost of nanotechnology sensors can be greatly reduced. Deploying low-cost, miniaturized nanotechnology sensors in large numbers can form a wireless nanotechnology sensor network, significantly expanding the detection capabilities of nanotechnology sensors and revolutionizing fields such as climate monitoring and environmental protection.

Multi-functional Integration. Traditional sensors generally have a single function, while nanotechnology sensors can integrate thousands of different functional nanotechnology sensors into an array processed on a small microchip, giving them multifunctional detection and analysis capabilities. They also possess increasingly powerful data processing, storage, and analysis capabilities. If connected to the internet, they will also have the ability for remote data analysis and processing. Their “user-friendly” characteristics make them very easy to operate.

These characteristics of nanotechnology sensors will give them considerable development prospects and enormous application potential in constructing various Internet of Things. Nanotechnology sensor technology is also expected to become a “disruptive” technology driving a new round of technological revolution, industrial revolution, and military revolution worldwide.

Important Support for Winning Intelligent Warfare

With the rapid development of nanotechnology, nanotechnology sensors are now widely used in aerospace, military engineering, industrial automation, robotics, ocean exploration, environmental monitoring, medical diagnostics, and other fields. Some experts believe that “whoever conquers nanotechnology sensors will almost conquer modern science and technology.” Particularly in the military field, the application of nanotechnology sensors will profoundly change the landscape of future warfare, becoming an important support for winning intelligent warfare.

Powerful Battlefield Perception Capability. The widespread application of nanotechnology sensors in the military can greatly promote information fusion among land, air, surface, underwater, and space combat platforms, generating complete, accurate, and real-time battlefield situation maps, significantly enhancing the ability to perceive the battlefield environment and weapon equipment status more accurately. It can also monitor the physiological status of battlefield personnel in real-time, maximizing the transparency of both macro and micro battlefields.

Precise Command and Control Decision-Making Capability. Modern warfare’s command decision-making relies on accurate information intelligence. Nanotechnology sensors not only possess high sensitivity in detection and perception but also have built-in microprocessors that can timely analyze and process the obtained information. If combined with big data technology and cloud computing technology, it will provide information support for command and control decision-making at different levels and fields, gaining decision-making advantages through information superiority and seizing the initiative in combat operations. Currently, foreign military forces are emphasizing the development of battlefield cloud computing systems to fully utilize the information acquisition capabilities of various new sensors.

　　Agile Precision Strike Capability. In future warfare, unmanned combat platforms such as drones, unmanned vehicles, and unmanned boats will increasingly take the forefront of combat. The extensive application of nanotechnology sensors will make the reconnaissance and strike capabilities of unmanned combat platforms more agile and intelligent. For example, using nanotechnology sensors in precision strike missiles can significantly improve missile hit accuracy, and micro inertial navigation devices developed using micro-nano sensors can provide precise navigation and timing capabilities independent of satellites, effectively enhancing the battlefield penetration, survival, and underwater combat capabilities of existing weaponry.

　　Intelligent Support Capability. With the arrival of the Internet of Things era, military equipment and facilities will increasingly achieve networked intelligent monitoring management. The application of nanotechnology sensors will provide military IoT with powerful perception and monitoring capabilities, significantly improving the overall asset visualization of military equipment and facilities, monitoring the status of weaponry, diagnosing faults, and managing repairs. Additionally, nanobiochemical sensors embedded in military uniforms or digital soldier systems can monitor soldiers’ heart rates, blood pressure, body temperature, and identify bleeding injuries on the body surface, allowing the uniform to expand or contract to act as a tourniquet.

　　Continuously Expanding Human Cognitive Abilities. Combat effectiveness relies on the combination of humans, weapons, and the interaction between humans and weapons. Expanding human cognitive abilities has become an effective way to enhance combat effectiveness. In recent years, foreign military forces have developed biological information chips, nanorobots, and brain-machine interface devices embedded with nanotechnology sensors, effectively improving human memory, reaction ability, and sensitivity of vision and hearing, enhancing combat personnel’s battlefield perception and rapid response capabilities.

Researcher Zhu Qichao is the director of the National Security and Military Strategy Research Center at the Military High-Tech Training Institute of the National University of Defense Technology, and a silver award winner of the Military Academy Talent Cultivation Award. He mainly engages in research on science and technology and national security, information technology and military revolution, cybersecurity strategy and policy, etc. He has successively hosted and undertaken over ten projects of the National Social Science Fund and provincial and ministerial strategic evaluation consulting projects, published three books and textbooks, and published more than 100 academic papers in domestic and international journals, receiving six awards above the military level, and has been invited to lecture at renowned foreign universities and think tanks.

Authors｜Wang Wuwen, Xie Wenbin, Guan Yunfei

Editor｜You Yu

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