NCRIS Capability - Fabrication

Full description The term ‘fabrication’ refers to the production of advanced materials, including nano-materials, with unique functional capabilities. Advanced materials and devices made from them are fundamentally important to all modern technologies such as those in the aerospace, automotive and biomedical industries. One of the hallmarks of advanced materials – whether they be polymeric, metallic or organic – is the rational design and controllable processing of their building blocks. Increasingly, the building blocks for advanced materials with novel or improved properties are found in the nanosized range. Nanoscale building blocks such as nanoparticles, nanotubes and nanofibres often hold the key to materials’ properties and performance. Through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) the Australian Government has committed $41 million over five years to establish the Australian National Fabrication Facility Limited (ANFF), a comprehensive source of equipment and expertise to service the nation’s fast emerging nanotechnology industry. The funding has been augmented significantly with co-investments from several state governments, the CSIRO and a number of universities and industry partners. The NCRIS investment builds on existing infrastructure and instrumentation worth approximately $130 million and provides new fabrication equipment and clean-room environments vital to the advancement of nanoscience research.