NMJ Association takes on special challenges
Joining in the nano- and micrometer range
Empa recently founded the NMJ Association together with partner institutions from Japan, Canada, China, the USA and Germany. The association is dedicated to the development of novel joining technologies for the manufacturing and integration of increasingly miniaturized and diverse electronic, sensing and medical devices and components.
Researchers at Empa's Joining Technologies and Corrosion lab are developing novel joining processes (reactive joining, micro- and nano-joining techniques, soldering of and with nanomaterials, diffusion bonding) as well as new joining materials and concepts. The lab has already organized an international conference on this topic in 2014 (NMJ 2014) and now founded the "Association for Nano- and Microjoining" (NMJ Association). It offers a platform for scientific and technological exchange in various fields such as:
- Joining for integration of nano-/micro-scale materials and devices, such as microelectronics, sensors, implantable medical instruments and energy conversion systems
- Adaptation of conventional joining processes, process control and development of new joining concepts for joining miniaturized components and nanostructured materials
- Method development for the characterization of nano-/microjoints (e.g. functional and mechanical properties, microstructure, integrity, reliability)
- Basics of nano-/microjoining (size and interface effects, e.g. melting point depression, diffusion, segregation and phase stability at interfaces)
Founding partners are Osaka University (Japan), Empa (Switzerland), Waterloo University (Canada), Tsinghua University (China), Chemnitz University of Technology (Germany) and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (USA). Further partner organizations will be added on an ongoing basis. The next international conference "Nanojoining and Microjoining" (NMJ 2020) will take place 20 to 23 September 2020 in Leipzig, Germany.
