Advanced and Nano Manufacturing Research at NSF

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)'s 'new' Advanced Manufacturing (AM) program is an amalgam of previous programs that explored nano-scale, additive or subtractive manufacturing, manufacturing machines or materials engineering or cybermanufacturing. The AM program seeks new ideas in, across and outside these domain areas, especially manufacturing at different scales and their integration to generate complex systems. A key component of the AM program is nanomanufacturing and an important application area for nanomanufacturing is flexible hybrid electronics (FHE). This paper describes the AM program and achievements in nanomanufacturing research. Nanomanufacturing research efforts through the core program, solicitations and center-level are highlighted. Projects in FHE that address challenges in processes, such as printing, imprinting and self-assembly, in materials, such as inks and substrates, and in scale-up, e.g., wafer-scale or continuous roll-to-roll are described. The paper is an overview of activities in these areas and is meant to serve as a resource for information and collaboration.