Posted: April 27, 2007

The IEEE has completed its Nanoelectronics Standards Roadmap

The IEEE has completed its Nanoelectronics Standards Roadmap(NESR), which establishes a framework for creating standards to help industry transition electronic applications based on nanotechnology from the laboratory to commercial use. The nanotech community can review and comment on the document, either by e-mail or at a “town-hall”-style meeting on 22 May at the NSTI Nanotech 2007 Conference in Santa Clara, Calif.
The IEEE Nanoelectronic Standards Roadmapping Initiative, which began in early 2003, is co-chaired by Evelyn Hirt of Battelle and John Tucker of Keithley Instruments. Its members come from industry, government and academia and from many nations. The roadmap focuses on standards for nanomaterials and devices that promise to yield the highest value in the near-term. It also anticipates standards likely to be needed at higher levels of integration for functional blocks and applications.
In 2007, the roadmap recommends the initiation of five nanoelectronic standards: three for nanomaterials involving conductive interconnects, organic sensor structures and nano-dispersions and two for nano-devices involving nanoscale sensors and nanoscale emitting devices. It also targets the start of seven nanomaterial standards and five nano-device standards in 2008.“The many individuals who worked on the roadmap have created a rational path for managing the development of nanoelectronic standards,” says Edward Rashba, Director, New Business Ventures. “Their vision will help industry realize the potential for nano-enabled electronic products in such fields as communications, information technology, biotechnology and optoelectronics.
“The standards identified in the roadmap are intended to foster industry's growth by enabling researchers to build on each other’s findings, harmonize best practices, and support manufacturers across the value chain from materials, processing and test equipment to subsystems and systems.”
Feedback on the Roadmap
The town hall meeting on the roadmap at the NSTI Nanotech Conference will start with a roundtable discussion by experts from industry, academia and government. The roundtable will be led by the NESR co-chairs John Tucker and Evelyn Hirt, and will include Meyya Meyyappan, Director of the Center for Nanotechnology at the NASAAmes Research Center, Alan K. Allan, Staff Engineer for Intel Technology Manufacturing Group (TMG) External Programs to support the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS), Paul Brazis, Senior Staff Electrical Engineer at Motorola Labs, Brent M. Segal, Co-founder and part-time Chief Operating Officer of Nantero and. Alan Rae, VP Market & Business Development, Nanodynamics.
The discussion after the roundtable will seek input on the roadmap from those present. Topics to be discussed in include how well the roadmap anticipates the nanoelectronics environment expected in coming years, other areas it should include, and how the document can be made more useful.
“If the industry concurs with the choice of the five nanoelectronic standards the roadmap targets to start in 2007, we’ll begin work on them this summer or fall,” says Rashba. “These standards will build on the nanoelectronic standards efforts already underway or completed at the IEEE.”
One IEEE nanoelectronics standard, IEEE 1650™, “Standard Test Methods for Measurement of Electrical Properties of Carbon Nanotubes”, has been completed. This document, the first of its kind, provides a common template for generating reproducible electrical data on nanotubes. Organizations worldwide have aligned their characterization methods with it. A second standard, IEEE P1690™, “Standard Methods for Characterization of Carbon Nanotubes Used as Additives in Bulk Materials” is underway.
For additional information on the IEEE Nanoelectronic Standards Roadmapping Initiative, contact Cherry Tom at [email protected], (732) 465-5848.
Source: IEEE