Popular technology on a tiny scale

It is 17 years since Professor Lars Samuelson of Lund University founded the Nanometer Structure Consortium, a network that combines basic research with engineering proficiency. In the past few years, nanoscience research has developed rapidly.

‘ It´s a technology almost everyone´s keen on. As a research field, it´s a hub for many different disciplines.´

Understanding of materials science is a central issue for the network. Which mechanisms govern the way electrons, atoms and molecules are organised in a structure, and what determines the properties of the resulting material?
‘ The characteristic feature of nanoscience is that you try, in a “bottom-up" perspective, to understand how nature is constructed so that you can design materials with the same desirable properties,´ says Lars Samuelson.

Cooperation with industry

‘ Industry wants to go on reducing the size of electronic components without needing to pay astronomical sums. We can use nanotechnology to produce these components in a cheap, spontaneous way.´

In September, the Nanometer Structure Consortiumembarked on a major European project with industrial aims involving such companies as Philips in the Netherlands and Belgium, Infineon in Germany and the IBM research laboratory in Switzerland.

Today, nanothreads have already been used to make logical circuits, measuring instruments and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). There are hopes of being able to use nanothreads for medical purposes by, for example, selectively registering single molecules in biological systems.

Local and global

‘ We´ve become the world leader in nanotechnology, and many researchers want to join us. It´s vital to seize this opportunity. The money enables us to offer extensive programmes for visiting and postdoctoral researchers and for guest professorships. We can also attract researchers from all over the world to scientific symposia and workshops.´

The Consortium has a strong local base. Altogether, the network comprises 90 researchers, who are all located in Lund or directly connected with research in Lund.

‘ When the Consortium was formed, the idea wasn´t to create a network in which we'd meet perhaps only once or twice a year. We get together every week and have lively discussions about everything from quantum physics to neuroscience,´ says Lars Samuelson.

Story: Peter Tillhammar
Photograph on start page (‘Nanoforest´ — a potential future means of developing both new materials and high-performance electronic components): unknown photographer
Photograph on article page (Lars Samuelson): Kenneth Ruona

Read more about nanoscience at Lund University: the Nanometer Structure Consortium