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Nanotechnology is the ability to control or manipulate materials on the atomic scale to create structures that have novel properties and functions because of their size, shape or composition. These structures are typically less than 100 nanometers in size. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter, which is approximately 100,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair and is up to 100 times smaller than geometries typically used in commercial semiconductor manufacturing today.

By organizing atoms into structures of different shapes and sizes on a nanoscale, important properties including electrical, optical and physical, can be controlled. At the nanoscale, these properties can be fundamentally different than the properties of the same materials at a larger, traditional scale. When nanostructures are engineered into end user products, these products are expected to benefit from the unique properties exhibited by the nanostructures. We believe that the application of nanotechnology to multiple industries will significantly improve the performance, cost and functionality of existing products and allow the development of products previously not possible. As an example, with certain traditional materials, color is varied by using different chemicals. At the nanoscale, variations in color can be achieved by varying the size of a nanostructure, rather than its chemical composition. This could improve performance and color flexibility in products, such as displays, solid state lighting and solar cells, while reducing their cost and manufacturing complexity.

Many of the unique properties of nanostructures arise at sizes for which traditional fabrication processes, such as those used in semiconductor manufacturing, are either impractical or not possible using today's technologies. Scientists have therefore developed methods for forming these nanostructures from the bottom up, building them atom by atom with precise control. Innovative and novel technologies are required for the design and synthesis of nanostructures, their assembly into products and their interface into end user products.