Nanotechnology is considered as the key technology for the development of new functional systems, smart materials and functional device. Based on physical phenomena which appear mostly in the sub-100 nm scale such as quantum mechanical effects, matter may change is macroscopic properties significantly, for example, with respect to melting points, electrical conductivity and magnetic properties, and also exotic optical and mechanical properties.

The existing tools of high resolution characterization and spectroscopy with atomic resolution by STM/AFM and TEM allow us to systematically optimize these systems utilizing in many cases the biological approach of self-assembly to generate multi-level and hierarchical structures.

The talk will display some examples of nanotechnology in industrial products as well as medical technologies, and describes the activities at CeNTech and INT on the way to novel applications using nanotechnology concepts.

Web: www.uni-muenster.de/Physik/PI/Fuchs

        www.centech.de