The new axis NanoCaracterisation ans Instrumentation, wich has been created in 2010, is a transversal axis within the C’Nano IdF, wich is meant to stimulate exchanges and to promote technical developments or novel applications in the fiels of instrumentation specifically dedicated to nanosciences and nanotechnologies.

The development of nanosciences and nanotechnologies requires instruments and tools wich are capable to characterize matter at the nanoscale, and creates new needs associated to the detection of nanoparticles or to the measurement of some their properties.
Scanning probe microscopies (STM, AFM, MFM, SNOM, ...), electron microscopies and related techniques (SEm, TEM, PEEM, ...) play a major role to probe and manipulate nano-materials, and to observe new effects occurring at the nanoscale. Besides these probe, other instruments are also needed to measure properties such as the size and the shape of the nanoparticles, thei mass, their charge, ..., or simply to detect wether they are present in a given medium or environment in order to prevent against possible hazards.
Innovative applications of existing probes have arisen over the past few years, and new tools were born.
The axis NanoCaracterisation and instrumentationhas been created to gather such developments, which are linked to various axes within the C’Nano IdF, and to give them th high visibility which they deserve.