The advancement of metrology as the science of precise and traceable measurements is the indispensable basis for future progress not only in natural sciences and technology, but also for trade and society. The quest for higher precision, better standardization, ubiquitous calibration and primary standards drives the metrological research of today. At the heart of metrology is traceability to the SI units as the establishment of a documented unbroken chain of calibrations complemented by the analysis of all contributions to measurement uncertainty, i.e. of the complete error budget.
One emerging topic is the metrology of nanosystems. Here a limited number of parameters of a measurand can be dealt with using established concepts for obtaining traceability with small measurement uncertainty, but many important measurands require new approaches.
In particular, challenges arise from multiparametric interdependencies that determine complex measurands. For traceability of such measurands in biological nanosystems new approaches are also needed for many reasons, including self-organization, cell growth, and matrix effects. Moreover, quantum effects, such as entanglement, are especially important in nanosystems. They compromise the independence of different measurements and require new paradigms of traceability and measurement uncertainty determination.
The Technische Universität Braunschweig (TU BS) and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) organise the research training group NanoMet to establish new routes towards traceability of measurands of complex nanosystems.
We focus on methods in three fields of nanometrology: complex measurands with multiparametric interdependencies, complex measurands in biological nanosystems, and measurands based on quantum effects determine the scientific training programme. This interdisciplinary approach will lead to a better understanding and application of general strategies to achieve traceability of novel measurands emerging in complex nanosystems.
Joint mentoring by scientists from the TU Braunschweig and the German national metrology institute PTB is a unique feature of this research training group ensuring that its graduates will gain an in-depth understanding of the established and novel concepts of metrology and its application in upcoming fields of technology.