WHAT IS NANOELECTRONICS?

Microelectronics has changed our world drastically: computers, mobile phones, digital television, DVD players, car navigation and security features, medical screening and health care equipment have all become essential parts of our everyday lives. Nanoelectronics is just the next evolutionary step, as the number of transistors that can be integrated on a single chip reaches one billion, but it indeed represents a revolution marking a dramatic step forward.

WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM IT?

Products with totally new capabilities will become available for general use, dreams such as intelligent cars, non-invasive health monitoring and disease prevention, homes sensitive and responsive to the needs of the persons living in it will become available to everybody., We will get better control of our health and environment, and over the quality of our food and our air, we will be able to recognise diseases even before symptoms appear, and we will be able to be fully mobile and at the same stay constantly in touch with everybody.

WHY ENIAC?

Such developments will require completely new architectural approaches to deal with the ever increasing levels of complexity required. If the primary knowledge needed for innovation, that is the development of the enabling technology for Nanoelectronics, will be built up and retained in Europe, this will result in enormous benefits to national and regional economies of the EU Member and Associated States, in terms of industrial competitiveness, employment and the resulting general wellbeing of citizens.

A fundamental condition for such knowledge-based European leadership is co-operation and interaction between all key players: European research centres, major producers of semiconductors, materials, equipment and applications, high technology small and medium-sized enterprises, national and regional authorities, universities and financial institutions.

The European Technology Platform on Nanoelectronics and its governing structure European Nanoelectronics Initiative Advisory Council (ENIAC) have the mission to bring together all these leading players to develop and implement a coherent European vision, making the best use of European talent and infrastructures to ensure European leadership in shaping our future.