Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT) Sandia

DOE's Nano Effort

October / November 07 Volume 5 Number 5

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In his address to the 2002 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Jack Marburger, President Bush's science advisor, declared that we are in the early stage of a revolution in science. "The revolution I am describing," he said, "is one in which the notion that everything is made of atoms finally becomes operational."

The development of what Marburger called "the atom-by-atom understanding of functional matter" opens a dazzling array of possibilities for observing the functioning of living systems, modifying the fundamental properties of materials, and designing atomic-scale structures with entirely new properties, leading to fresh opportunities for advances in science and technology.

Our ability to work with structures whose dimensions are measured in billionths of a meter, or nanometers, is emerging from a coordinated national program of investment in science and technology over the past few decades. This investment has supported a variety of research activities, facilities, and tools for understanding, probing and beginning to manipulate matter at the nanoscale. On the leading edge is the Department of Energy, whose programs, facilities and tools for nanoscale research are integrated into the National Nanotechnology Initiative. Launched by the government in 2001, the NNI is focused on accelerating the pace of revolutionary discoveries in nanoscale science, engineering and technology and facilitating their incorporation into beneficial technologies. The NNI is an interagency effort that supports a broad program of nanoscale research in materials science, physics, chemistry, biology and engineering, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary work.

The cornerstone of the DOE's Office of Basic Energy Science's (BES) effort in nanoscience has been the development and operation of five new Nanoscale Science Research Centers to support the synthesis, processing, fabrication and analysis of materials at the nanoscale. They are:

—€ The Center for Functional Nanomaterials at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York
—€ The Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies at Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico
—€ The Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee
—€ The Center for Nanoscale Materials at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois
—€ The Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California

These facilities are designed to be the nation's premier user centers for interdisciplinary research at the nanoscale, serving as the basis for a national program that encompasses new science, new tools and new computing capabilities. Together, the centers provide a gateway to existing major user facilities for X-ray, neutron and electron scattering.

Each center focuses on a different area of nanoscale research, such as materials derived from or inspired by nature; hard and crystalline materials, including the structure of macromolecules; magnetic and soft materials, including polymers and ordered structures in fluids; and nanotechnology integration.

Each center is housed in a new laboratory building near one or more existing BES facilities for X-ray, neutron or electron scattering. As with the existing BES user facilities, access is through submission of proposals that are reviewed by independent proposal evaluation boards.

In New Mexico, the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT) is devoted to establishing the scientific principles that govern the design, performance and integration of nanoscale materials. Through its core facility in Albuquerque and its gateways to both Sandia and Los Alamos, CINT provides access to tools and expertise to explore the continuum from scientific discovery to the integration of nanostructures into the microworld and themacroworld.

To address the national grand challenges of nanoscience and technology, CINT supports five scientific thrusts that serve as synergistic building blocks for integration research.

—€ Nano-Bio-Micro Interfaces: Importing biological principles and functions into artificial biomimetic nanosystems and microsystems.
—€ Nanophotonics and Nanoelectronics: Developing novel and unique properties necessary for the precise control of electronic and photonic wave functions.
—€ Complex Functional Nanomaterials: Promoting complex and collective interactions between individual components in materials to yield emergent properties and functions.
—€ Nanomechanics: Increasing our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of mechanical behavior of nanoscale materials and structures.
—€ Theory and Simulation: Providing state-of-the-art computational resources needed to address complex, multiple-length-scale problems.