Nano-CEMMS research addresses the development of fundamentally new modes of creating, manipulating and assembling micro- and nano-structures to create nano-enabled devices. Integrating expertise in micro and nano fluidics; optical and electronic sensing; precision staging and positioning; micro-nano fabrication; MEMS; and multi-scale computational modeling, it addresses:

• Fundamental issues in nanoscale transport and sensing as they relate to the most basic of manufacturing capabilities (i.e., transcription and manipulation of matter with nanoscale precision and transduction of its resulting state)
• The integration of this knowledge in the realization of new processes and tools for manufacturing at the nanoscale
• The application of these tools and processes to important applications (in this case flexible, unconventional electronic structures and ultra large-scale combinatorial chemistry)

Over time, research within the Center has developed or contributed to five novel process technologies with associated tools that are characterized by their scalability, robustness, and economic viability. These include:

• Molecular gate-based printing
• Electrohydrodynamic writing
• Electrochemical Patterning
• Direct Write Processes
• Adhesiveless Micro Transfer Printing

This repertoire of processes allows for the creation, placement and integration of micro and nanostructures made from very dissimilar materials and with varied geometries and dimensions.

Nano-CEMMS processes enable a new and rapidly gaining approach to product realization. Heterogeneous Integration, or the integration of multiple functions (e.g., electrical, mechanical, chemical, thermal and optical) into ever-shrinking voxels (or volume elements) of a product. Researchers in the Center explore the realization of heterogeneously integrated products such as combinatorial chemistry chips and flexible, high-resolution micro-displays.

Research activities in Nano-CEMMS, over the last year, have led to 57 journal articles, 36 conference papers with 65 being joint publications between Center PIs, nine invention disclosures, four patents, and 98 invited talks and seminars.