Introducing the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology
Advances in manipulating and arranging matter on the tiniest of scales have spurred businesses and governments around the world to set their sights on a nanotechnology field of dreams. Helping U.S. industry to be among the first to succeed in this global quest for a diverse array of new products and new capabilities is the role of the new Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). From Discovery to Production Through a distinctive combination of measurement expertise, multidisciplinary research, specialized instruments and fabrication equipment, and partnerships, the CNST aims to provide a major technical boost to the nation’s pursuit of an almost unlimited assortment of emerging or only-imagined nanotechnology products. From automotive to aerospace and from chemical processing to consumer electronics, virtually every industry—and every market—stands to benefit. The CNST’s prime objective is to lay the technical groundwork necessary to translate nanotechnology’s many anticipated offerings into practical realities— manufacturable, market-ready products. To accomplish this goal, the Center leverages and combines the diverse knowledge and capabilities of NIST, industry, academia, and other government agencies to support all phases of nanotechnology development, from discovery to production.
Based in the Institute’s world-class Advanced Measurement Laboratory, the Center features a large Nanofabrication (Nanofab) Facility. The CNST Nanofab is equipped with a still-growing array of state-of-the-art—and, sometimes, unsurpassed—tools for making, testing, and characterizing prototype nanoscale devices and materials. These instruments will be available to collaborators and to outside users, through a proposal process. The CNST’s in-house research team, also in the build-up phase, blends many types of specialized expertise. It will consist of physicists, chemists, materials scientists, electrical and mechanical engineers, biologists, theorists, and computer scientists. The composition of the staff will reflect the diversity of nanotechnology pursuits, from basic science to applications in medicine, energy, pollution control, defense, construction, quantum computing, and nearly every other area of technology. Long-term partnerships focused on solving major measurement-related obstacles will be a hallmark of the CNST research effort. Through the CNST, nanotechnology researchers in businesses, at universities, and at other government agencies also will have a portal to the more than 100 nanotechnology projects under way at NIST, the federal government’s lead laboratory for work on nanoscale measurements and standards. The Center will help to coordinate access to NIST’s vast wealth of advanced measurement capabilities that exist outside its Nanofab facility.
Out with the Old, In with the Revolutionary In the realm of nanotechnology—from 1 nanometer to 100 nanometers—the old rules of measurement and manufacturing no longer apply. At the level of atoms and molecules, the behavior and properties of materials can be bizarre, totally alien to our everyday, macroscopic surroundings. Unusual as it is, the nanoscopic realm holds tremendous opportunities for real-world technologies and practical applications. Realizing these opportunities will require revolutionary rather than evolutionary advances. For the many industries aiming to exploit nanoscale behaviors and properties in new products and new processes, entirely new tools and methods for measuring and manufacturing are needed. The CNST squarely addresses this critical technology challenge. In Focus: NNI Goals NIST’s new center of excellence concentrates on two chief—and integrally related—priorities of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). The government-wide NNI program is designed to further research and development and, ultimately, speed the delivery of practical uses of nanotechnology that address economic, national, and international needs. The CNST will contribute to progress in all seven of the NNI “program component areas,” but it focuses directly on:
Measurement and manufacturing are an inseparable pair. Simply stated, if a firm cannot measure, accurately and reliably, the quality-determining features of products and processes, then it cannot manufacture efficiently. Nor can it meet the requirements of increasingly demanding customers. The twin focus of the CNST makes it an important, and needed, addition to the nation’s nanotechnology efforts. Why Is CNST Needed?
The CNST builds on and extends the nanoscale science accomplishments of researchers at universities and elsewhere. By working collaboratively, the CNST and partnering organizations will solve pivotal measurement problems that can delay or diminish the development of nanotechnology. Left unresolved, these challenges could undermine success in translating discoveries into manufacturable products. More accurate and, often, entirely new measurements are needed to explain the peculiar “ground rules” that govern structures, properties, and behaviors at the nanoscale. Today, the lack of reliable, repeatable measurements often prevents comparisons of research results, impedes scientific communication, and slows progress. Scaling up to robust, economical processes for mass manufacturing of envisioned nanotechnology products poses additional complex problems. Measurements are key to overcoming many of the technical challenges across the spectrum from discovery to laboratory to factory. This is why CNST outputs—tools, measurements, models, and more—will be broadly useful, applicable to many nanotechnology pursuits in industry, academia, and government. Collaborative research at the Center will address diverse needs that extend well beyond tools for measuring distances and dimensions on molecular and atomic scales. Examples of these needs include more sensitive means for detection; new methods for measuring the novel properties of nanoscale materials and for evaluating the performance of nanoscale devices as well as systems of these devices; and tools for assessing interactions at the boundaries between different materials and structures. The ability to image and measure, with atomic accuracy, any nanostructure for any relevant property in three dimensions is a transcending goal, basic to nearly all nanotechnology pursuits. Similarly, researchers, engineers, and designers require tools for simulating, modeling, and predicting, as well as integrating technologies across scales ranging from nanometers to micrometers to centimeters and beyond. At the same time, progress at the CNST will further NIST’s efforts to help to build a supporting measurement infrastructure. This underpinning technical platform is necessary to ensure the reproducibility, comparability, and traceability of measurement results—across instruments, across organizations, and across international boundaries. Without this infrastructure and the associated international measurement standards, future markets and global trade in nanotechnology products will be impeded.
CNST Features Launched in early 2006, the CNST is undergoing a phased-in ramp-up to full-scale operation over the next two years. An in-house research program has been launched, and the Center’s Nanofab has completed installation of an assortment of fabrication equipment and measurement instrumentation, which is now in full operation. Nanofab: Supported by a staff of technicians, engineers, and scientists, the CNST Nanofab features sets of state-of-the-art tools for e-beam and photolithography, ion milling, electron and optical imaging, dry etching, metal deposition, wet chemistry, wafer preparation, and optical and electrical measurements. The facility is expected to be available to outside users starting in the second quarter of 2007. Information on the proposal process, access procedures, and fees as well as descriptions of the facility’s equipment will be posted on the CNST web site at http://cnst.nist.gov. Research: Through active recruitment of scientists to fill staff and post-doctoral research positions, the CNST is building its multidisciplinary team that will be able to address measurement challenges across all phases of nanotechnology development. As this team is being assembled, the Center’s existing staff is initially focusing on: nanofabrication, especially self-assembly methods and other bottom-up approaches; atomic scale characterization; nanomagnetics; nanophotonics; and modeling nanoscale devices in macroscopic environments. Planning of future research programs is under way in consultation with businesses, university research groups, government research agencies, and other organizations active in nano-technology research and development. “Open Door” Policy: While based at NIST’s Advanced Measurement Laboratory, which ranks among the world’s most sophisticated facilities for laboratory research, the CNST provides a window on nanotechnology research under way in all of the Institute’s seven major laboratories, and it facilitates access to specialized—often beyond the commercial state-of-the art—instruments and testing facilities on NIST’s Gaithersburg, Md., campus. The CNST actively promotes collaborative research relationships to address critical measurement needs that fill the divide that separates nanoscience breakthroughs from marketplace applications. Organizations interested in collaborative research projects should contact the individuals listed under “Collaborative Research Facilities” on the CNST web site at http://cnst.nist.gov. For More Information Contact: Robert Celotta, (301) 975-8001 Created: March 17, 2006 |
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