In bottom-up nano-electronics, electrical components such as transistors, memory elements, light-emitting diodes, lasers, and sensors are fabricated by chemical synthesis and then assembled into circuits.

This has tremendous potential for making circuits more cheaply than is now possible. Electronic components can be made in large numbers with practically atomic precision using chemical synthesis. This flagship will address some important fundamental issues concerning the coupling of atoms, molecules or nanocrystals to macroscopic leads. Transistors based on carbon nanotubes, polyiso-cyanide nanowires, semiconducting nanowires, monolayers of fullerenes, and conjugated polymers will be investigated. Self-assembly techniques will be used to incorporate the nanoscale devices into circuits. The first applications are likely to be sensors for medicine and the chemical industry. Eventually, bottom-up techniques will be used in mass-market microelectronics.

Flagshipcaptain:
Dr. W.G. van der Wiel
Universiteit Twente
MESA+ Research Institute for Nanotechnology