Dear reader,
With this inaugural issue of our newlybranded micro & nano magazine, Micronarc will take you on a fantastic journey! The only journey that starts with a step, and entirely fits in the very first footprint!
We will travel together into the world of the invisible, the unthinkable, the undoable; a world rarely reached by humans. By the time you arrive, you will be amazed to discover an entire community of pioneers, workers, scientists and entrepreneurs, from Western Switzerland, measuring the invisible, shaping the unthinkable, and assembling the undoable. Each of them focuses on a very specific aspect of micro and nanotechnology:
- some are developing new artificial materials that offer unique performances and properties;
- smart micromotors to assist surgeons;
- others built a culture for innovation to incrementally reduce size and consumption in order to drastically increase mobility and autonomy;
- some are sensing almost imperceptible pressure, accelerations, or chemicals;
- adding clever CLR-LIGA motifs readable by a laser to avoid counterfeiting;
- using Digital Holography Microscopy to read 3D topography at nanoscale resolution;
- all this is supported by prestigious institutes, Technology Transfer centers and facilitators for business expansion in Western Switzerland;
- plus the vast network of microtechnology experts and companies which represent a fertile heritage, acting as the economic matrix that is nourishing and keeping alive the beating heart of this Swiss ecosystem.
In parallel, constant efforts are made in the development of more accurate, reliable and cost effective, processes to manufacture microsystems. Then, when the final product is completed, it might require a specific coating to adapt and resist to its environment so that it can be integrated, for specific applications, into the human body.
An important breakthrough, where Western Switzerland acquired and consolidated unique experience and tradition, is the area of high precision machines and tools; the need to process, cut, drill and polish all kind of materials and microcomponents, as well as to assemble them in a fast and accurate way.
This entire community shares the same spirit to challenge and expand the limits of their daily activities through one key word: multidisciplinary. They are driven by passion but also by patience, which is pragmatism and perseverance, because working at the micro or nanoscale is a complex task that takes time, money and numerous failures to achieve reliable results.
Fruitful interactions between industry and the educational system are in place and crucial – not only to prepare the coming generations of new talents but also to listen intensively to their needs – because let’s not underestimate the fact that the young generation might soon represent the majority of early adopters for hightech products and interfaces built with microsystems and nanotechnologies. Specifically among them: tablets, smartphones, Google Glass, and internet of things’ devices (estimated by ABI Research as 30 billion devices wirelessly connected to the internet by 2020).
To conclude this journey, we also invite you to come back to the source, revisiting the roots of Swiss’ microtechnology, with the «Turtle Automata» and the inside cover of our magazine: ingenious beauty in slow motion and magnificent Art Pieces! These are exceptional accomplishments to illustrate the traditions and endless quest for perfection of Western Switzerland.
If you want to meet us or participate to some events, please check the «Events» section that includes our coordinates.
On behalf of the Micronarc Team, I wish you to be inspired by this first issue of our micro&nano Mag.
Happy reading!
