Innovation within Micro- and Nanotechnologies

Dear Colleagues,

Nanotechnology can be defined as consisting of “the processing of, separation, consolidation, and deformation of materials by one atom or by one molecule”, while microtechnology can be defined as “the art of creating, manufacturing or using miniature components, equipment and systems that have been mass produced. The first and foremost feature in this field is its multidisciplinary nature, as microtechnology systems use electronic, computerized, chemical, mechanical and optical elements as well as various other materials. The products of microtechnology are mainly microsystems and microsystem components”. When combined, we may say that “micro- and nanotechnologies (MNT) includes both microtechnology and nanotechnology, as well as a combination of both technologies to create and integrate structures, devices and systems that have novel properties and functions because of their small and/or intermediate size”. The impact power of MNT can be best visualized by the famous quote by Robert Feynman in his Nobel lecture in 1958: “There is plenty of room at the bottom”. The field has steadily grown in importance, and is now a key enabling field for many industries, enabling steadily increasing performance at steadily lower cost in many products ranging from professional high-end applications to low-cost consumer applications. Research activities have also progressed steadily to support innovation in MNT. Important application areas include pharmaceutics (e.g., engineered medical drugs, microfluidics), biomedical technology (e.g., pacemakers, artificial organs, etc.), microsensors (e.g., automotive, industrial, aerospace, consumer (mobile phones, smart watches, etc.)), microactuators (e.g., microvalves in Lab-on-a-Chip for biomedical diagnostics), micro-optics (e.g., lasers, LEDs, camera chips, etc.) nanomaterials (e.g., paint additives, antibacterial refrigerator coatings, catalytics in microchemistry, etc.). Worldwide, excellent research activities in MNT are steadily contributing to the progress in the state-of-the-art, and this Special Issue will highlight work of excellence in the field.

Prof. Per Ohlckers
Guest Editor

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• nanotechnology
• microtechnology
• microsensors
• microactuators
• microsystems
• microchemistry
• pharmaceutics
• biomedical technology
• nanomaterials