CONFERENCE SCOPE
The Nanoelectronic Devices for Defense & Security (NANO-DDS) Conference
is a bi-annual science and technology event which has been organized for the purpose of reviewing the evolving
research and development (R&D) activities in the arena of nanoelectronic devices that have direct relevance to critical
capability needs for national defense & security in the future. The charter of this special conference is to unify and focus
the very broad array of nanoelectronic and supporting nanotechnology activities that are currently engaged in reaching
the long expected applications payoffs in core defense and security related areas such as sensing, data processing, computation and communications.
The unique focus of the NANO-DDS Conference is motivated because the R&D community that is actively fueling the important
advances in nanoelectronic devices and systems presently spans many scientific and engineering disciplines and is often segmented into
groups at the far ends of what can be defined as an applications spectrum. Specifically, one segment of the R&D community works mostly
at the highly-applied end of the spectrum where nanoelectronic devices are being implemented to enhance and extend existing technological
capabilities. Another segment of the R&D community works mostly at the frontier end of the spectrum where novel nanoelectronic devices
are being conceptualized and investigated for their potential merits in defining entirely new technological capabilities. Therefore, the NANO-DDS
Conference seeks to establish a formal academic forum for bridging the intellectual gap between the frontier and applications portions of the
nanoelectronic devices spectrum for the purpose of accelerating nanotechnology payoffs that have relevance to national defense and security.
The 2009 meeting will emphasize the major nano-S&T challenges within an applications oriented framework (see section below) as articulated
by the following theme.
Conference Theme: Interfacing Methodologies, Device Concepts & Architectural Strategies for Realizing Nanoscale Sensors & Systems
TECHNICAL OBJECTIVE STATEMENT
Nanoscale science and technology (Nano-S&T) have emerged over the last decade as important and highly visible components
of nearly all scientific and engineering disciplines. This rapid growth in Nano-S&T activities has been motivated in large part by the
fantastic and seemingly unlimited possibilities for advancing the state-of-the-art through the leveraging of fundamental mechanisms at
the nanoscale and molecular levels through a progressively increasing ability to understand, prescribe and control all the basic properties
(structural, chemical, mechanical, electronic and photonic) of ultrasmall devices and systems. In addition, since Nano-S&T intrinsically
represents an underlying blueprint and cross-cutting enabler to all disciplines, it permeates all the fundamental physical sciences and
dictates the ultimate limits of nearly all engineering endeavours.
It is important to recognize that one of the strongest and most identifiable links of Nano-S&T to our modern society is through its
recent impact on semiconductor-based consumer electronics — i.e., the continued down-scaling of Silicon-based computing and
communication components and systems. While these advances are extremely important in their own right, the longer-term view of
nanoelectronics is much more grandiose — i.e., the expectation is for completely new types electronic/photonic-based devices and
architectures with revolutionary and/or disruptive technological capabilities. Both the continued down-scaling of conventional
semiconductor electronics and the next-generation electronics (i.e., that some might call molecular-based electronics), rely heavily
on a broad array of Nano-S&T investigations that span such areas as: biology, chemistry, physics, material science, along with
engineering sciences such as electronics and mechanics, and even the computer sciences. By their very nature, all these multidisciplinary
Nano-S&T efforts must concern themselves with molecular-level processes, and therefore must incorporate methodologies for
interfacing to the microscopic phenomenon. As such, almost all the foundation work for the next-generation of nanoelectronics is
intrinsically defining new sensor modalities, while at the same time it is contributing to the advancement of the traditional capabilities
(data & signal processing, computation and communication) needed for the realization of intelligent sensors and integrated multi-functional sensor systems.
This conference focuses on research and development (R&D) from the areas of nanoscience, nanomaterials, nanofabrication
and nanoengineering that are collectively building intellectual and technological bridges from nanoscale concepts to practical nanoelectronic devices and systems.
More specifically, the conference seeks to provide a special academic forum for promoting interactions and information exchanges between leading
scientists and technologists for the purpose of creating a unique nanoelectronic knowledge base and technology roadmap. The expected payoffs
are an acceleration of the progress towards futuristic nanoscale devices and systems that possess new modalities, significantly enhanced effectiveness
and integrated functionality (e.g., data processing, computation and communications) useful in defense and security relevance applications Long
term expected payoffs include, but are not limited to, the sensing and monitoring of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats so as to
improve the survivability of soldiers on the battlefield and innocent civilians in the international community.
Therefore, contributed abstracts and exhibitor participation are welcome to the 2009 NANO-DDS Conference that focus on evolving and emerging
Nanoelectronic Device related R&D. Note that the 2009 meeting will be organized around an applications-oriented framework that encompasses
all the leading nano-S&T challenges. In addition, the entire first-day of the conference will be dedicated to the overarching subject of
“S&T for interfacing to the nanoscale,” which is extremely important to all nanoelectronic endeavors. Hence, the conference (and a companion
Special Issue of the IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology on “Interfacing Methodologies, Device Concepts & Architectural Strategies for Realizing
Nanoscale Sensors & Systems” which is being organized by members of the conference publication committee) will cover the
major nano-S&T topics below:
I. Science & Technology for Interfacing to the Nanoscale
II. Sensor & System Applications
II. Device Concepts & Sensor/System Functionality
III. Materials, Fabrication and Integration for Sensor/System Architectures
The Conference
Technical Advisory Committee (TAC)
has constructed a comprehensive list of session focus areas which is available at the
Call-for-Papers
page.