To closely analyze the dislocation structure evolution during nano-indentation, a multi-scale discrete dislocation plasticity code is modified to include nano-indentation loading. This code couples two length scales, discrete dislocation dynamics and continuum finite element analysis and has been successfully applied to analyze various problems in mechanics and materials science. Description of...

This paper reviews some of the major and most recent advances in nanoscale-magnetic resonance imaging (nano-MRI) for personalized medicine (PM). Nano-MRI may drastically expand the capabilities of the traditional magnetic resonance images (MRI), down to the nanometer scale and possibly, in the near future, at the atomic scale. Nano-MRI is potentially able to observe structures which cannot be s...

⎯ A new micromachining method to fabricate wafer scale, atomically smooth nano-membranes is described. The delicate membrane is supported on a robust silicon microsieve fabricated by plasma etching. The supporting sieve is micromachined independently of the nano-membrane, which is later fusion bonded to it. The transferred thin-film membrane can be dense, porous or perforated according to the a...

Nano-technology is the study of matter behaviour on atomic and molecular scale (i.e. nano-scale). In particular, carbon black is a nano-material generally used for the reinforcement of rubber compounds. Nevertheless, the exact reason behind its success in this concrete domain remains unknown. Characterisation of rubber nano-aggregates aims to answer this question. The morphology of the nano-agg...

Cellulose has a complex, multi-level supermolecular architecture. This natural polymer is built from superfine fibrils having diameters in the nano scale, and each such nanofibril contains ordered nanocrystallites and low-ordered nano-domains. In this review, the nano-structure of cellulose and its influence on various properties of the polymer is discussed. In particular, the ability of nano-s...

In this paper, a visual and haptic human-machine interface is proposed for teleoperated nano scale object interaction and manipulation. Design specifications for a bilateral scaled teleoperation system with slave and master robots, sensors, actuators, and control are discussed. Phantom haptic device is utilized as the master manipulator, and a piezoresistive Atomic Force Microscope probe is sel...

Microand nano-scale manufacturing has been the subject of an increasing amount of interest and research effort worldwide in both academia and industry over the past 10 years. Traditional lithography-based technology forms the basis of silicon-based micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) manufacturing, but also precision manufacturing technologies have been developed to cover micro-scale dimens...

The Nano-Tera.CH initiative is a broad engineering program in Switzerland for health and security of humans and the environment, currently funded by the Swiss government. The program rationale is rooted in advances in engineering nano-scale materials and their exploitation in a variety of systems, requiring extreme integration and coordinated control of diverse micro/nano-scale components. Embo...

This paper applies I.M. Gelfand’s distinction between adequate and non-adequate use of mathematical language in different contexts to the newly opened window of model-based measurements of intracellular dynamics. The specifics of geometry and dynamics on the mesoscale of cell physiology are elaborated in contrast to the familiar Newtonian mechanics and the more recent, but by now also rather we...