Micro and nanotechnologies

Microtechnology comprises, as a whole, techniques enabling the construction of extremely small structures, from 1mm to 0.1µm. This technology brings together,at the same time :

• manufacturing of of integrated circuits (microelectronics)

• manufacturing of extremely small engines and gears (micromechanics)

• manufacturing of sensors (pressure, speed and temperature etc)

• manufacturing of fibres and optical components for information transportation (optoelectronics)

• manufacturing of innovative materials, from which some extremely small components draw their new properties.

An extremely small structure grouping several functions together (mechanical,electrical and optical) can also becalled a microsystem.

In the same way, nanotechnology groups together techniques allowing even smaller stuctures to be made, from 0.1µm to atomic size.

• In some cases, it is simply a matter of extending microtechnology : the production of integrated circuits , including components smaller than 0.1µm, is really an extension of microelectronics into the world of nanotecnology.

• In other cases, nanotechnology includes new techniques, often coming from the fundamental sciences. These enable new applications, for example in the field of medical instrumentation, to be envisaged.

Nanotechnology is naturally multidisciplinary, as the objects in question, in view of their size, necessitate knowledge of physics, chemistry and biology, and of engineering science for engineers from the fields of pure science (chemistry or biology, electronics etc).