About Us / Objetives & Impact


The aim of NaPa is to strengthen the potential of nanotechnology within the European Research Area by bringing together the existing expertise in the field of nanopatterning methods. This integration of expertise constitutes the foundation for innovations leading to breakthroughs in the field of nanofabrication, thus, paving the way to efficient exploitation of the potentials of nanotechnology.
In NaPa, we build upon the know-how acquired in different countries and in several projects funded within FP5. The critical mass of integrated research effort in the EU is vital in order to ensure standardisation, sustainability and cost-efficient manufacturing. Furthermore, the tools to be developed within NaPa will be less capital-intensive, and the processes are envisioned to be environmentally friendly.

This project will integrate ‘top down’ and ‘bottom up’ fabrication approaches by, on the one hand, extending the miniaturisation route pioneered by the IC industry and, on the other hand, strengthening the route towards self-assembly. In this way NaPa becomes a cornerstone for enabling technologies, supporting production approaches in nanotechnology.
NaPa will build a multi-disciplinary skill base among S&T personnel providing organisational forms for stronger interactions between industrial and academic research.

Two examples illustrate the potential arising from the expected results of NaPa:
  • Defined nanopatterned catalytic surfaces may help to implement microreaction technologies towards better controlled chemical processes.
  • The integration of bio molecules with nanostructured surfaces promises new functionalities and cost/sample volume reductions in biotechnology and medical sciences.
The NaPa project addresses the Community socio-economic objectives from many vantage points. In response to the need for the transformation of industry towards higher added-value operation, the consortium benefits from each industrial participants, which ensure that the nature of nanopatterning addresses future demands of the ICT, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, health and medicine sector.

The commerce within Europe will benefit from NaPa since it is foreseen that in the coming years an increasing number of new applications exploiting nanotechnology will emerge. The key outcome from NaPa will be standardisation of processes for nanopatterning, forming the basis of a library. Such a library will resemble current ones available for CMOS technology. It is expected that the NaPa consortium will contribute to the growth and consolidation of nanotechnology-based industry within
Europe.

Moreover, the project encourages the combination of academic education and industrial training, thereby promoting uptake of results emerging from nanoscience and nanoengineering. In this way it opens opportunities for new industrial products. Through the educational activities of the consortium, a genuine enthusiasm for science and its applications will be nurtured.

European, American and Asian reports suggest that within the next 10 years the number of trained people needed in the sectors of micro- and nanotechnology will be close to half a million. The increasing demands of European industry and research for qualified human resources in these areas are addressed in this project by several means. For example, about 60 persons will be employed and trained during the project in leading European industrial and research laboratories. This training will be enhanced by exchange visits between laboratories within the consortium to carry out joint research, strengthening the integration within the ERA.