Dear Colleagues,

Fast-growing demands on component and product performance and functionality, as well as the trend of continuous miniaturization, require new integral manufacturing solutions. In particular, there is an increasing demand for combining different materials (e.g., compound semiconductors, dielectrics, metals, organics, and their composites), different devices (e.g., logic, memory, sensors, radio frequency, analog), and different technologies (e.g., electronics, photonics, plasmonics, MEMS, and sensors) into one single heterogeneous integrated system. New joining materials combined with innovative low-temperature, pressureless, residue-free joining processes with improved alignment accuracies are needed to overcome the limitations of current bonding and packaging technologies. As a result, the scientific discipline of micro-/nanojoining has recently emerged. Microjoining involves the advanced manufacturing of micro-scaled devices and components. The field of nanojoining focuses on the creation of functional bonds at the nano- or atomic-scale (joining of nanomaterials and nano-objects), as well as with the utilization of nanoeffects (joining with nanomaterials) for the development of new joining materials and processes. Nanojoining is expected to become a key technology for the large-scale production and commercial application of nano-devices and nano-systems in the near-future.

This Special Issue is devoted to all scientific and technological aspects related to the emerging field of micro-/nanojoining.

Dr. Lars P.H. Juergens
Dr. Claudia Cancellieri
Guest Editors

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• Joining for integration of nano-/micro-scale materials, components, and devices;
• Nanostructured materials for joining;
• Experimental investigations and model predictions of interface-controlled and/or size-dependent phenomena relevant to the field of nano-/micro-joining (e.g., nano-sintering, short-circuit diffusion, wetting, nucleation, premelting, metastable phase formation, phase stability of nano-confined systems, stress-driven mass transport);
• Method development for nano-/micro-joint characterization (e.g., the determination of mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties of micro-/nano-joints).