Nano 2026

Nanoparticles (NPs) are now ubiquitous across electronics, optics, catalysis, medicine, and consumer products, owing to properties that emerge uniquely at the nanoscale. This rapid uptake, however, raises pressing safety concerns for end users, workers, and the environment, that demand process-level solutions. We present a fully in-vacuo, scalable platform that addresses this challenge by combining gas-phase condensation (GPC) of sputtered atomic vapor (via gas flow sputtering, GFS) with additional plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and reactive magnetron sputtering sources for direct, in-situ encapsulation of metal NPs within organic or inorganic dielectric matrices. Because NP synthesis and embedding occur in a single in-vacuum sequence, nanoparticles are fixated before any contact with ambient air or end users, achieving a genuine safe-by-design nanocomposite architecture.

We demonstrate this approach for Ag, Ti, and Pt NPs, showing tunable particle size (3–9 nm for Ag) controlled via aggregation-zone pressure and discharge power, and large-area deposition (up to 150×200 mm², with

Dr Harry Nizard completed his PhD in materials engineering at the Technical University of Dresden and has studied plasma technology and nanomaterials over the last 15 years. He currently serves as a scientist and coordinator at the Fraunhofer Institute for Electron Beam and Plasma Technology (FEP) in Dresden, where he leads PECVD and sputtering projects. He has published 11 peer-reviewed articles, holds 2 patents, and serves as a reviewer for 5 scientific journals.