Systems Engineering at the Nanoscale

50 INTRODUCTION A system is a composite of different elements that when brought together yield results that are not obtainable from the elements alone.1 The function of systems engineering is to guide the development of individual components into robust and efficient systems capable of autonomous operation as complex systems, where complex systems are defined as systems in which elements are diverse and have intricate relationships with each another. Nanotechnology refers to the creation of functional materials, devices, and systems via control of matter on the nanometer-length scale (nominally 1–100 nm) and exploitation of novel phenomena and properties (physical, chemical, biological) at that length scale. In general, nanotechnology begins with nanoscience: the study of material properties and their interactions at the nanoscale and how they can be exploited. Once the properties of nanostructures are well characterized and can be reproducibly fabricated, those properties can be exploited as a technology. Two important concepts define a system: