What Is Nanotechnology Engineering?

university wafer substrates

Substrates for Nanotechnology Engineering

A nanotechnology engineer requested a quote for the following:

Your help in getting a quotation will be highly appreciated:
25 wafer of GaN-on-Silicon, Prime grade:
25 wafers 2 inches <111> 1000+/-25um SSP 2000nm N-type Un-doped
25 wafers 4 inches <111> 525~1000+/-25um SSP 2000nm N-type Un-doped

UniversityWafer, Inc. Quoted:

25 wafer of GaN-on-Silicon, Prime grade:

1. 25 wafer of GaN-on-Silicon, Prime grade: 25 wafers 2 inches <111> 1000+/-25um SSP 2000nm N-type Un-doped  $usd/ea; 2~3 weeks delivery

2. 25 wafer of GaN-on-Silicon, Prime grade: 25 wafers 4 inches <111> 1000+/-25um SSP 2000nm N-type Un-doped  $ usd/ea; 2~3 weeks delivery

Reference #271289 for pricing.

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Learn About Nanotechnology Engineering

Nanotechnology engineering involves the design, manipulation, and application of materials and devices at the extremely small scale of atoms and molecules—on the order of one to 100 nanometers (a nanometer is one billionth of a meter). At these dimensions, materials often exhibit unique or enhanced properties (electrical, optical, mechanical, or chemical) compared to their larger-scale counterparts.

Key aspects of nanotechnology engineering include:

  1. Scale: Focuses on building and analyzing structures that can be as small as a few atoms in width, enabling precision control over a material’s properties.

  2. Interdisciplinary Nature: Combines principles from multiple fields—physics, chemistry, biology, and various branches of engineering—to innovate in areas such as electronics, medicine, energy, and manufacturing.

  3. Applications:

    • Electronics: Creation of faster, more efficient semiconductors, transistors, and circuits at the nanoscale.
    • Medicine: Development of targeted drug delivery systems, nanoscale imaging, and diagnostic tools for early disease detection.
    • Materials Science: Enhancement of material strength, flexibility, and other properties through nanoscale structuring (e.g., stronger composites, self-cleaning surfaces).
    • Energy: Improved solar cells, batteries, and energy storage solutions with increased efficiency and durability.

In practice, nanotechnology engineers use specialized techniques (like lithography, self-assembly, or molecular modeling) to construct and study materials at the nanoscale. The field promises breakthroughs in both fundamental science and real-world products, with the goal of creating novel, high-performance materials and devices that can revolutionize numerous industries.

What Substrates Specs Are Often Use In Nanotechnology Research?

In nanotechnology research, the choice of substrates depends on the specific application, whether it's for MEMS, biosensors, quantum computing, semiconductor devices, or coatings. Below are some of the most common substrate specifications used:

1. Silicon (Si) Wafers

  • Crystallographic Orientation: ⟨100⟩, ⟨110⟩, ⟨111⟩ (⟨100⟩ is the most common for CMOS & MEMS)
  • Resistivity:
    • Intrinsic/UHP (Ultra-High Purity) for sensitive applications like quantum devices
    • High Resistivity (>10kΩ·cm) for RF & MEMS applications
    • Low Resistivity (<0.1Ω·cm) for semiconductor processing
  • Thickness: 100 nm (SOI) to several mm
  • Surface: DSP (Double Side Polished) or SSP (Single Side Polished)
  • SOI (Silicon-on-Insulator): Thin top silicon layer with buried oxide (BOX), ideal for nanofabrication

2. Silicon Dioxide (SiO₂) / Quartz Wafers

  • Uses: Transparent to UV/Visible light; excellent electrical insulator
  • Crystal Orientation: ⟨0001⟩ for single-crystal quartz
  • Low thermal expansion for high-precision nanolithography

3. Sapphire (Al₂O₃) Wafers

  • High hardness & chemical stability
  • Used in: Photonics, high-frequency devices, GaN growth for LEDs
  • Orientation: C-plane (0001), A-plane (11-20), R-plane (1-102)

4. Silicon Carbide (SiC)

  • Key Features: High thermal conductivity, excellent for power devices
  • Common orientations: 4H-SiC, 6H-SiC
  • Used for: High-temperature & high-power nanotech applications

5. Glass / Fused Silica

  • Low surface roughness and optically transparent
  • Common for: Microfluidics, biochips, photonics

6. III-V Semiconductor Wafers (GaAs, InP, GaN)

7. Graphene and 2D Materials

  • Monolayer & multilayer graphene on SiO₂/Si
  • MoS₂, WSe₂, and hBN (hexagonal boron nitride)
  • Used for: Nanoelectronics, quantum computing, biosensors

8. Polymer and Flexible Substrates

  • PDMS (Polydimethylsiloxane): Used in soft lithography
  • Parylene & Kapton: For flexible electronics

Final Thoughts

For nanotechnology research, flatness, uniformity, and low defect density are critical. UniversityWafer, Inc. provides ultra-flat, high-purity substrates tailored for MEMS, quantum devices, biochips, and advanced semiconductor research.

Would you like help selecting the best substrates for a specific application?