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Nano Materials and Devices (NMD)

Program Leader: Professor Mike Austin

Nanotechnology can deliver many new materials and products, including medical, pharmaceutical, energy and environmental products. Many products, including sunscreens and sunglasses, wound dressings, cosmetics, paints and stain-resistant clothing, are already produced using nanotechnology.

This program aims to develop an integrated capability in nanotechnology, including the design and modelling of nano materials and structures, the synthesis of functional materials, and the fabrication of nano-scale devices.

Key research areas:

  • Investigating the processes controlling self-assembly and organisation of nanostructures on surfaces
  • Developing theoretical models to describe crucial electronic and optical phenomena in nanostructures
  • Synthesising nanostructured materials with enhanced physical, chemical and biological properties
  • Establishing a nanolithography and fabrication capability to generate precisely configured nanostructures
  • Developing new functional nanomaterials for application in information security, safety and air and water purification.

The NMD Program consists of four inter-related research areas investigated through our projects:

Design and Modelling

  • self-assembly processes
  • plasmonic structures
  • electronic and photonic phenomena

Functional Materials

  • porous nano materials
  • self-assembled nano-structures
  • nano composites

Nano-scale Devices

  • devices for environmental solutions (air/water purifiers)
  • novel security features
  • enhanced sensors
  • plasmonic sensors (SERS)
  • nonlinear photonic crystals

Fabrication and Characterisation

  • nanolithography
  • novel fabrication
  • imaging and characterization

Other research programs in the Platform Technologies Research Institute are:

[Next: Projects]