The effort is designed to move nanoelectronics innovations from laboratory to the marketplace for applications ranging from communications, information technology, consumer products and optoelectronics.

IEEE will host a roadmap workshop on May 18 in New York to define the scope and timing of the standards.

Roadmap work will be led by a steering committee representing diverse segments of the nanoelectronics community, including materials and device developers, nanoelectronics integrators along with regulatory concerns.

The workshop, colocated with the Nano-Business Conference, will build on the IEEE-SA (Standards Association) nanoelectronic standards framework for nanomaterials, devices, functional blocks and applications. Plans call for a first draft of the roadmap for presentation at a second workshop in October and publication at the end of 2006. The roadmap will be updated annually.

According to Nathan Tinker, roadmap coordinator and co-founder of the Nano-Business Alliance trade organization, "The IEEE roadmap will help the industry prioritize the standards it needs and focus its resources." Tinker added that the roadmap will supplement other technology blueprints like the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors and the International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative.

IEEE-SA said a broad nanoelectronic roadmap builds on similar efforts targeting carbon nanotube technology. The 2003 effort yielded several standards activities, including the recently approved IEEE 1650, "Standard Test Methods for Measurement of Electrical Properties of Carbon Nanotubes." The first-ever nanoelectronics standard provides a common template for generating reproducible electrical data on nanotubes.