Nanotechnology research involves the investigation of substances or components, where the characteristic unit scale length lies under that of 100 nm. Such nanostructures can arise, for example, when the crystallite size of polycrystals or the thickness of multilayered structures is reduced to within this size range. The smallness of size results in novel properties which are of interest in many technical processes.
Nanotechnology has a high innovative potential and a good chance of becoming one of the key technologies of the 21st century. Products based on nanotechnology already have a turnover of 30 billion Euro with a projected growth rate of 10 %.
Within NanoMat three research centres of the Hermann von Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren, ten universities with natural and engineering science departments, one Max Planck Institute, an Institute of the Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, three Fraunhofer Institutes, an Institute of the Polish Academy of Science, the DECHEMA and four major companies coordinate their research programmes. The theme of the research is “Synthesis and investigation of nanostructured metals and ceramics, and investigation of the materials and applications which result from their nanoscale nature.”
Close cooperation within the NanoMat network enables the abilities of the partners to be interlinked so that projects can be carried out in continuous and interdisciplinary way from the preliminary research stage through to the transfer to economically viable products.
The partners of this network have a high scientific and technical capability. This is documented by the numerous prizes and scientific awards, such as a Nobel Prize, six Leibniz Awards and more than 60 other renowned scientific distinctions awarded by academic and scientific associations. In addition, the partners in NanoMat have registered more than 200 patents and 10 licenses and have over 60 current cooperation agreements with industry in the field of nanotechnology.