From lab to real life

Nano-fibres offer a wide spectrum of
applications

"Invisible electronics", "nano-electric generation", "nano-fibers that conduct electricity"… These days, science papers and journals are bursting with nanotechnology-based innovations that promise to do more with less in the future. For the first time since its inception, the German-China Bilateral Forum "Frontier of Nanotechnology and Nanostandardization" turned its attention to standardization, with the aim to take nanotechnology out of the lab and into the "real" commercial world. Scientists and experts from IEC TC (Technical Committee) 113: Nanotechnology standardization for electrical and electronic products and systems, reported on progress of standardization work for this emerging technology.

Nanotechnology looks to be the way forward. With natural resources dwindling and energy costs rising, scientific research is naturally seeking to identify new ways of building and running useful devices that use fewer materials and energy – in fact, less of everything.

Inside their labs scientists are working on transparent electronic circuits that could pave the way for "invisible electronics" and other futuristic applications, including flexible electronic newspapers designed to mimic the look and feel of a newspaper page, and wearable computers, "smart fabrics" that can be incorporated seamlessly into ordinary clothing. Highly aligned, single-walled carbon nanotubes can easily be applied to glass and plastic surfaces, offering a wealth of potential practical applications in daily life.

Another area of nanotechnology is the ability to generate power from the environment without using batteries. This approach can be applied to implantable medical devices, sensors and similar portable electronics and is based on the "piezoelectric effect", which is the conversion of pressure, acceleration, strain or force into an electrical signal. This means that electricity from movement, muscles, blood pressure, sound waves and hydraulic energy generated by blood flow or vessel contraction can be channelled and put to use.

Invisible nano-fibres also offer a wide spectrum of applications. They are able to conduct electricity and light up or change colour and can be used to charge organic LEDs (Light-Emitting Diodes). The same fibres can also be used to repel dirt or water, and could act as glucose sensors or field emission displays, shielding devices from electromagnetic interference.

The major challenge for all these and other emerging nanotechnologies is how to take them from the scientist's work bench to full-scale industrial manufacturing and commercial use. This was the core theme of the German-China Bilateral Forum called "Frontier of Nanotechnology and Nanostandardization", which brought together an elite panel of scientists from Germany and China, who are all involved in standardization work in their respective countries and in TC 113.

The forum has been taking place on a regular basis since 2000 and serves to promote scientific dialogue, joint research projects and exchange between the two countries.

In addition to scientific presentations on latest nano-materials, nano-magnetics, nano-devices and nano-optics, experts for the first time addressed the needs and strategies for standardization in this area. At the end of the week-long meeting, participants expressed a strong desire to continue a regular information exchange on these topics.

The forum took place 4-9 September, in Lanzhou, China, and was sponsored by the German Research Foundation, DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, BMBF (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung).