Led by the Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEEC), a team of experts have proposed a new taxonomy to overcome the weak, inconsistent, and confusing structures and naming conventions followed by cleanroom nanofabrication facilities.
A team of experts had conducted a mapping exercise to identify repeating patterns in the research infrastructure offered by nanofabrication facilities in Europe and the United States. The goal of the exercise was to map, categorize and propose a universal structure.
The mapping exercise revealed instrument categorizations in nanofabrication research infrastructures to be inconsistent, confusing, and detrimental to research and innovation activities.
The experts consequently proposed an entirely new concept of generic instrument names and categorization based on the existing ISO standard ISO/TS 80004-8:2020. However, the experts had to modify the ISO standard and extend it to cover the needs of cleanroom nanofabrication centers.
The final competence map consists of 5 categories, 21 subcategories, and 55 generic instrument names. It covers 80-90% of nanofabrication tools available in nanofabrication facilities. The map is constructed in a way that other categories can be easily added if needed. The experts have proposed a three-level hierarchical system to ensure the new nanofabrication taxonomy is flexible, expandable, and robust.
A strategy for disseminating and convincing the community about the usefulness of the taxonomy will be addressed by the NanoFabNet Hub over the coming months.
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