Keynote speech I: Fluctuation control for plasma nanotechnologies

Abstract

Recent progress in nano-materials has made them attractive for an increasing number of their applications such as electronics, medical components, fillers, catalysts, and fuel cells. Nanomaterials need structures and components which exhibit novel and significantly improved physical, chemical and biological properties, because of their nanoscale size, and hence fabrication of nanomaterials by bottom-up processes as well as that by top-down ones are required. A wide variety of nano-material and nano-system fabrication methods are required to be developed to realize complex nano-world. Plasma-based fabrication of nanomaterials and nanostructures is widely employed for top-down processes such as ULSI fabrication as well as bottom-up processes such as carbon nanotube production. We are exploring frontier science of interactions between plasmas and nano-interfaces by focusing on novel features such as fluctuations of interactions due to the nanometer scale. Plasma processing based on the science realizes highly precise top-down processes by suppressing fluctuations and well controlled self-organized bottom-up processes by controlling fluctuations. We aim to bring about an explosive development of fabrication technologies of nanomaterials and nanostructures.