Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology
Encyclopedia
The Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN) is located at the University of Waterloo
and is co-located with the Institute for Quantum Computing
in The Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre (QNC). WIN is headed by Dr. Arthur Carty
, former National Research Council President and National Science Advisor.
The Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology comprises faculty from eight different departments in the faculties of Science and Engineering.
(co-CEO of Research in Motion
and Chancellor of the University of Waterloo). Government funding includes 17.9 million dollars from the Canada Foundation for Innovation
(CFI) which has been matched by the Province of Ontario. In addition, an anonymous donor has provided an endowment of 29 million dollars for 3 endowed chairs and 42 Graduate Nanofellowships.
research facility, equipped with surface and nano-materials research tools for exploring areas of nanotechnology and nano-scale sciences..
, Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, and Electrical and Computer Engineering are collaborating on modeling, design, fabrication, processing, characterization and analysis of nano-scale properties of materials, structures, devices and systems. This development will be further driven by the need to address a critical issue also faced in the integration of nano-scale devices: the interface between nano-structured materials and the macroscopic world.
/CMOS
(Nano Electro Mechanical Systems/Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) to develop manipulators with atomic precision in all three dimensions with on-chip control. Example applications include: scanning probe microscopy
, atomic force microscopy, nano-materials characterization and atomic resolution imaging with the objective of developing technologies for precision nano-scale assembly and manufacturing.
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
and is co-located with the Institute for Quantum Computing
Institute for Quantum Computing
The Institute for Quantum Computing, or IQC, located in Waterloo, Canada, is an affiliate research institute of the University of Waterloo with a multidisciplinary approach to the field of quantum information processing.-IQC's Mission:...
in The Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre (QNC). WIN is headed by Dr. Arthur Carty
Arthur Carty
Arthur J. Carty, OC, FRSC , is a Canadian academic and former National Science Advisor to the Government of Canada.Dr...
, former National Research Council President and National Science Advisor.
The Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology comprises faculty from eight different departments in the faculties of Science and Engineering.
Major Research Facilities
The Quantum-Nano centre is the site of a community laboratory for nano-metrology and nano-fabrication. Construction began on June 9, 2008 and is expected to be completed early in 2011. The 160 million dollar, 284000 square feet (26,384.5 m²) facility will be the home to a 17000 square feet (1,579.4 m²) laboratory.Funding
Capital funding for construction of the QNC was made possible by major gifts and awards from multiple sources including a 101 million dollar donation from Ophelia and Mike LazaridisMike Lazaridis
Mihalis "Mike" Lazaridis , OC, O.Ont is a Greek Canadian businessman. He is the founder and co-CEO of Research In Motion , which created and manufactures the BlackBerry wireless handheld device. He is also a former chancellor of the University of Waterloo, and an Officer of the Order of Canada...
(co-CEO of Research in Motion
Research In Motion
Research In Motion Limited or RIM is a Canadian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada that designs, manufactures and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market...
and Chancellor of the University of Waterloo). Government funding includes 17.9 million dollars from the Canada Foundation for Innovation
Canada Foundation for Innovation
Created by the Government of Canada in 1997, the Canada Foundation for Innovation strives to build our nation’s capacity to undertake world-class research and technology development to benefit Canadians...
(CFI) which has been matched by the Province of Ontario. In addition, an anonymous donor has provided an endowment of 29 million dollars for 3 endowed chairs and 42 Graduate Nanofellowships.
Giga to Nano Electronics Laboratory
G2N is a fabrication laboratory that integrates a range of thin-film manufacturing, assembly, testing, and characterization equipment to create electronic systems in the very large (a few billion pixels) and very small (a few nanometres) size range .WATLab
WATlab is a nano-materials metrologyMetrology
Metrology is the science of measurement. Metrology includes all theoretical and practical aspects of measurement. The word comes from Greek μέτρον , "measure" + "λόγος" , amongst others meaning "speech, oration, discourse, quote, study, calculation, reason"...
research facility, equipped with surface and nano-materials research tools for exploring areas of nanotechnology and nano-scale sciences..
Advanced Micro-Nano Lab
The Advanced Micro-Nano Lab will address the following device technologies.- Micro/Nanoelectromechanical Systems (MEMS/NEMS): micro-optics, electromechanical wireless components, and biomedical & microfluidics devices.
- Carbon Nanotube devices, eventually targetting biomedical applications.
Nano-Engineered Materials
Research in nano-engineered materials includes many departments and Faculties at Waterloo. Researchers in Chemistry, Chemical EngineeringChemical engineering
Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with physical science , and life sciences with mathematics and economics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...
, Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, and Electrical and Computer Engineering are collaborating on modeling, design, fabrication, processing, characterization and analysis of nano-scale properties of materials, structures, devices and systems. This development will be further driven by the need to address a critical issue also faced in the integration of nano-scale devices: the interface between nano-structured materials and the macroscopic world.
Nano-Engineered Materials Projects
- Development and characterization of ferromagnetic iron-particles as drug delivery vehicles. These particles act like tiny magnets, and can be directed to specific areas of the body by an external magnetic field. These magnetic nanoparticles can also be used to purify enzymes, proteins and to remove organic contaminants from waste water systems.
- The design, synthesis, characterization, application and fundamental studies of new crystalline metal oxide nano-materials that may be used for next-generation rechargeable batteries.
- Nano-engineering of polymer electrolyte membranes. Hydrogen fuel cells use these membranes to combine hydrogenHydrogenHydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
and oxygenOxygenOxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
and produce energy. - Development of nano-particles as powerful catalysts for petrochemical refinery applications.
- Basic and applied research in photonic and photonic band gap crystals for optical and microwave communications.
- Design, synthesis, fundamental understanding and processing of polymer nano-composites, which are used in several applications for the automotive, aerospace, electronic components and packaging industries.
- Nanostructured materials for energy storage and conversion
- Synthesis of electoactive nanomaterials
- Bulk production of nanomaterials
- Nanopowders, nanotubesCarbon nanotubeCarbon nanotubes are allotropes of carbon with a cylindrical nanostructure. Nanotubes have been constructed with length-to-diameter ratio of up to 132,000,000:1, significantly larger than for any other material...
, nanowires
- Nanopowders, nanotubes
- Novel Process
- CVD, crystallization laser ablation
- Polymer nanocomposites
- Flexible transistors/electronics
- Coatings/catalysts
- Nano biomaterials
- Nano materials for imaging
- Novel spintronic materials
Nano-Electronics Design and Fabrication
Developing techniques to integrate NEMSNanoelectromechanical systems
Nanoelectromechanical systems are devices integrating electrical and mechanical functionality on the nanoscale. NEMS form the logical next miniaturization step from so-called microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS devices...
/CMOS
CMOS
Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor is a technology for constructing integrated circuits. CMOS technology is used in microprocessors, microcontrollers, static RAM, and other digital logic circuits...
(Nano Electro Mechanical Systems/Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) to develop manipulators with atomic precision in all three dimensions with on-chip control. Example applications include: scanning probe microscopy
Scanning probe microscopy
Scanning Probe Microscopy is a branch of microscopy that forms images of surfaces using a physical probe that scans the specimen. An image of the surface is obtained by mechanically moving the probe in a raster scan of the specimen, line by line, and recording the probe-surface interaction as a...
, atomic force microscopy, nano-materials characterization and atomic resolution imaging with the objective of developing technologies for precision nano-scale assembly and manufacturing.
Nano-fabrication Projects
- Fundamental and applied research into flexible, transparent electronics; that is, electronics embedded on a mechanically flexible substrate such as plastic, rather than on traditional and brittle ones such as silicon.
- Experimentation in electron beam lithographyElectron beam lithographyElectron beam lithography is the practice of emitting a beam of electrons in a patterned fashion across a surface covered with a film , and of selectively removing either exposed or non-exposed regions of the resist...
, to fabricate nanostructures and nanoelectronic devices, and to determine how the arrangement of molecules affects the chemical properties of substances. - Fundamental studies and development of nanocrystalline thin-film semiconductors, devices and circuits for electronics and spintronics.
- Development and fabrication of micro- and nano-electro mechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS). New devices being researched include NEMS-based metamaterials, miniature signal processing devices, biomedical, diagnostic and image processing devices, tiny wireless components (filters, mixers, antennas), miniature opto-electromechanical devices (optical relays, optical multiplexers, deformable optics), miniature biosensors and environmental sensors, and micro- and nano-fluidics devices.
- Organic synthesisOrganic electronicsOrganic electronics, plastic electronics or polymer electronics, is a branch of electronics dealing with conductive polymers, plastics, or small molecules. It is called 'organic' electronics because the polymers and small molecules are carbon-based...
, characterization and application of molecular organic semiconductor materials for electronic/optoelectronic devices. These materials are uniquely positioned to allow low cost fabrication processes (e.g., printable electronics) and to enable novel applications, such as, flexible- and molecular-electronics. - X-ray detectors
- Terahertz detectors and sources
- Imagers
- Ultrasensitive sensors
- Spintronic device design and fabrication
- NanolithographyNanolithographyNanolithography is the branch of nanotechnology concerned with the study and application of fabricating nanometer-scale structures, meaning patterns with at least one lateral dimension between the size of an individual atom and approximately 100 nm...
- Nano-joining
- Direct bandgap nanowires for solar cells
- Quantum photovoltaic devices
- Advanced CAD tool development and application to emerging devices and sensors
Nano-Instrumentation
Techniques to fabricate new instrumentation to characterize critical parameters such as size, composition, stiffness, surface characteristics, dopant concentration, magnetic coercivity, and other properties of particular interest to the nano scale. Due to their small size, nano-systems are extremely challenging to assemble, and yet precise control of their parameters is often critical to their performance. A related goal is to cause a paradigm shift in classical chemical measurements (in which samples are brought to the lab for analysis) by developing wireless, energy-efficient mobile nano-instruments that allow users to bring the lab to the sample. Examples of “the lab” include nano-instruments of all types and two examples of “the sample” include the environment or a patient. The metrology arm of the new labs will be used to study measurements at the nano-scale, to develop new and unique nano-scale measuring instruments, and to calibrate such instruments. It will also address associated challenges involved in fabricating, integrating and packaging instruments at the nano-scale.Nano-scale Metrology Projects
- Fundamental studies leading to development of theories behind measurements at the nano-scale.
- Fabrication of instrumentation and development of methodology for micro- and nano-analytical chemistry for measurements of pollutants on-site.
- Using micro as an interface between the nano-scale and the macroscopic, human-scale.
- Development and characterization of mobile micro- and nano- instruments that are small, cheap and under wireless control.
- Measurement of how nano-materials grow and form on surfaces.
- Studies of polymer interfaces, adhesion and confinement of polymer chains glass transition in confined geometries.
- Characterization and modeling of mechanical behaviour, fatigue properties, toughness and fluid-dynamics of advanced materials as dimensions shrink.
- Nanoelectromechanical systemsNanoelectromechanical systemsNanoelectromechanical systems are devices integrating electrical and mechanical functionality on the nanoscale. NEMS form the logical next miniaturization step from so-called microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS devices...
(NEMS) - Nano-packaging
- Nano-micro interface technology
- Nanofluidic devices
- Advanced CAD- electromechanical systems
- Development of novel cooling technologies for nano devices/high density circuits
- E-Beam epitaxyEpitaxyEpitaxy refers to the deposition of a crystalline overlayer on a crystalline substrate, where the overlayer is in registry with the substrate. In other words, there must be one or more preferred orientations of the overlayer with respect to the substrate for this to be termed epitaxial growth. The...
- Nano-sampling techniques
- Nano-metrology
Nano-Biosystems
Nano-bio is a field that includes both the use of nanotechnology in biological and agri-food systems and utilization of biological or bio-mimetic techniques in nanotechnology. Nano-biotechnology shows a tremendous promise of improving the quality of life. For example, nano-vehicles might deliver drugs directly to targeted cells, nano-membranes may be used for development of cheap, effective water purification systems, or nano-chips that interface neurons with electronics may become common place. Additionally, NEMS (nano-electro¬mechanical systems) might use sensors and physical controls to stabilize individuals with heart, kidney or liver disease. As nanotechnology researchers strive to create self-assembling devices, they are beginning to exploit natural self-assemblers: proteins, DNA and viruses. Examples also include development of food quality monitoring sensors and microfluidic biosensor components.Nanoscale imaging of biological systems helps to understand the nanoscale structure-function relationship of materials and in evaluating the food quality-function information. Characterization of nanoscale fragments of biomaterials such as DNA, proteins, chromosomes, plant cells, bacteria, starch granules and anti-allergens are extremely important.Nano-bio Projects
- Lab-on-a-chipLab-on-a-chipA lab-on-a-chip is a device that integrates one or several laboratory functions on a single chip of only millimeters to a few square centimeters in size. LOCs deal with the handling of extremely small fluid volumes down to less than pico liters. Lab-on-a-chip devices are a subset of MEMS devices...
applications, such as DNA-chips and pharmacy-on-a-chip. - Creation of nano-vehicles that mimic the way viruses interact with specific cells. This will facilitate the delivery of drugs directly to targeted cellsTargeted drug deliveryTargeted drug delivery, sometimes called smart drug delivery, is a method of delivering medication to a patient in a manner that increases the concentration of the medication in some parts of the body relative to others. The goal of a targeted drug delivery system is to prolong, localize, target...
, and could, for instance, eliminate the toxic side-effects of chemotherapyChemotherapyChemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
by directing the therapeutic agents to cancer cells only. - Development of nanotech methods for therapeutic applications, for example, for replacing faulty DNA or RNA strands with corrected strands.
- Fundamental and applied research into how certain peptides self-assembleSelf-assemblySelf-assembly is a term used to describe processes in which a disordered system of pre-existing components forms an organized structure or pattern as a consequence of specific, local interactions among the components themselves, without external direction...
into nano-structures, which will increase understanding of certain neurological diseases, and may subsequently lead to novel treatment methods. - Development of polymeric nanostructures from self-assembly block copolymers for delivery of drugs, proteins and DNA.
- Application of nanotech research into flexible electronics to create low-dose, portable, “wrap-around” x-ray machines.
- Development of nano-techniques for inactivation of microbes: an efficient and cheap method of food sterilization.
- Creation of “nanowires” based on a chain-link arrangement of ferritinFerritinFerritin is a ubiquitous intracellular protein that stores iron and releases it in a controlled fashion. The amount of ferritin stored reflects the amount of iron stored. The protein is produced by almost all living organisms, including bacteria, algae and higher plants, and animals...
structures. - Interfacing nano-chips to bio-moleculesBiomoleculeA biomolecule is any molecule that is produced by a living organism, including large polymeric molecules such as proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, and nucleic acids as well as small molecules such as primary metabolites, secondary metabolites, and natural products...
. - Using micro-arrays for high-throughput screening and developing printable arrays.
- NanomedicineNanomedicineNanomedicine is the medical application of nanotechnology. Nanomedicine ranges from the medical applications of nanomaterials, to nanoelectronic biosensors, and even possible future applications of molecular nanotechnology. Current problems for nanomedicine involve understanding the issues related...
- Gene therapyGene therapyGene therapy is the insertion, alteration, or removal of genes within an individual's cells and biological tissues to treat disease. It is a technique for correcting defective genes that are responsible for disease development...
- Polymeric nanostructures
- Implantable nano-enabled devices
- Sensors for food quality monitoring
Collaborations and Partnerships
Nanotechnology research at Waterloo has national and international scope through collaboration and partnerships with:- College of Nanoscale Science and EngineeringCollege of Nanoscale Science and EngineeringThe College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering , on the campus of the University at Albany is a global education, research, development and technology deployment resource for students and researchers in nanotechnology...
, Albany, New YorkAlbany, New YorkAlbany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River... - IITIndian Institutes of TechnologyThe Indian Institutes of Technology are a group of autonomous engineering and technology-oriented institutes of higher education. The IITs are governed by the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961 which has declared them as “institutions of national importance”, and lays down their powers, duties,...
, Bombay, India - Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy, Hamilton, OntarioHamilton, OntarioHamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
- NRC Institute for Microstructural Sciences
- National Institute for NanotechnologyNational Institute for NanotechnologyThe National Institute for Nanotechnology is a research institution located on the University of Alberta main campus, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Its primary purpose is nanotechnological research....
, Edmonton, Alberta - Canada Foundation for InnovationCanada Foundation for InnovationCreated by the Government of Canada in 1997, the Canada Foundation for Innovation strives to build our nation’s capacity to undertake world-class research and technology development to benefit Canadians...
- Ministry of Research and Innovation