Split a human hair thirty thousand times and you have the equivalent of a nanometer. The aim
of this work is to provide an introduction into nanotechnology for the s- entifically
interested. However such an enterprise requires a balance between comprehensibility and
scientific accuracy. In case of doubt preference is given to the latter. Much more than in
microtechnology - whose fundamentals we assume to be known - a certain range of engineering and
natural sciences are interwoven in nanotechnology. For instance newly developed tools from
mechanical engine- ing are essential in the production of nanoelectronic structures. Vice versa
- chanical shifts in the nanometer range demand piezoelectric-operated actuators. Therefore
special attention is given to a comprehensive presentation of the matter. In our time it is no
longer sufficient to simply explain how an electronic device operates the materials and
procedures used for its production and the measuring instruments used for its characterization
are equally important. The main chapters as well as several important sections in this book end
in an evaluation of future prospects. Unfortunately this way of separating coherent -
scription from reflection and speculation could not be strictly maintained. So- times the
complete description of a device calls for discussion of its inherent - tential the hasty
reader in search of the general perspective is therefore advised to study this work's technical
chapters as well.
