Nanomanufacturing Hub

Overview

The Internet is expanding beyond the traditional computing and communications devices that we use daily to include any physical object in our environment. This expansion is known as the 'internet of things'.

Next generation mobile communications networks will allow sensors attached to any object to share information about its local environment over the internet. With large numbers of sensors in place, they enable a detailed understanding of our environment, which allows better monitoring and new types of control for higher living standards.

The 'internet of things' will have a revolutionary role in defining next generation engineering and services. The key technical challenge is to be able to fabricate devices at small enough geometry, in a highly repeatable manner, over very large areas, using inexpensive processing, and can be scaled-up without losing the performance advantages in the fabrication of the device systems.

Our mission

Our objective is to position the United Kingdom in a leadership position to define this future. The main tool will help develop a nano-fabrication capability, which provides an inexpensive, high throughput, high-performance platform integrating sensors, actuators, communication, energy capture and storage functions with low power circuits.

The platform will enable the design and prototyping a large variety of devices and sensors. Our project partners and supporters will employ these new scale-up capabilities to design, develop, and manufacture sensors for smart homes, vehicles, wearables, hospitals, and cities.

The e-Stamps, fabricated using the Nano-OPS tool, will be enabled by nano-scale device features that will open a new era in flexible electronic backplanes, while being maximally energy efficient. These functions will be augmented by smart material interfaces that enable quasi-passive systems, including the challenge of harvesting and storing the energy to allow long-term autonomous operation.

A closely coupled team of researchers who can cover the range of materials science, device design and physics, device fabrication, characterisation, testing, and system integration are working together to enable these goals. The Hub will support small and medium sized enterprises through the lower technology readiness levels that require more research input and experience. We will help identify and mitigate risks through small-scale device fabrication, providing a more rapid prototyping route and will help define strategies to pull through to pilot scale.