Integrated MEMS/NEMS will rival, and perhaps surpass, the societal impact of integrated circuits. This potential is clearly demonstrated by hundreds of exciting applications published annually. To date, however, NEMS have not been designed to meet a performance target specified prior to fabrication, but instead have primarily been technological single-unit demonstrations. As a result, they are not mass manufacturable and reliable, and as such cannot presently provide the impact on MEMS as described above.

iMINT is to carry out tightly-integrated fundamental studies to establish a necessary knowledge base to facilitate the successful integration of nanoelectromechancial systems (NEMS) and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) with repeatable, predictable, and reliable performance