2012 Overview

Nanomanufacturing is the utilization of value-added processes to control matter at the nanoscale (1 to 100 nanometers) in one, two, and three dimensions for reproducible, commercial-scale production. Nanomanufacturing methods encompass bottom-up directed assembly, top-down high resolution processing, molecular systems engineering, and hierarchical integration with macro-scale systems, and further remain the essential bridge between the discoveries of the nanosciences and real-world nanotechnology products. The challenges facing nanomanufacturing methods, processes, and systems represent an inherently multi-disciplinary set of problems addressing issues that must combine the range of top-down and bottom-up processes available in order to provide multi-scale systems integration in order to achieve the necessary economy of scale for large-scale production. These critical challenges further include the need to control assembly of three-dimensional heterogeneous systems; to process nanoscale structures in high-rate/high-volume applications without compromising their inherent properties; and to ensure the long-term reliability of nanostructures through testing and metrics.

The Nanomanufacturing Summit 2012 will showcase technical contributions by experts and practitioners in the field of nanomanufacturing. A primary objective is to highlight those areas of practice that stand out from the general nanotechnology and nanoscience themes as being near-term and having the potential to facilitate the commercial development and/or marketable application of nanoscale materials, systems and devices.