Nanotechnology is often referred as nanotech. In nanotechnology matters of atomic scale, molecular scale and supra-molecular scale are manipulated. According to the earliest description related to nanotechnology, it is referred that technological goal of nanotechnology is to manipulate atoms and molecule with precision. Such manipulation is done in order to fabricate macro scale products. Fabricating macro scale products is now developed as an individual stream of nanotechnology that is now referred as molecular nanotechnology. National nanotechnology initiative was the responsible for establish a detailed and generalized description of nanotechnology. According to description provided by national nanotechnology initiative, manipulation of matter that possesses at least one dimension size from 1 to 100 nanometers is known as nanotechnology. According to this definition quantum mechanical effects certainly have influences since the process is being conducted on an object that falls in quantum realm according to its scale. As soon as this fact was practically proved, the definition of nanotechnology completely changed. It was considered a research category rather than being just a technological goal. This newly formed category of research was unique from all the research and technologies that research and study about special properties possessed by matter since it was working on objects that were below the determined threshold for size. Now generally, plural forms such as nanotechnologies and nano scale technologies are referred as a wide range containing researches, applications and studies that hold a common trait of size. Billions of dollars are invested by government for researches related to nanotechnology since they possess variety of potential applications such as industrial and military applications. According to figures of AD 2012, following are major investments in nanotechnology researches by various countries:

3.7 billion dollars by USA
1.2 billion by European Union
750 million by government of Japan

Being based on size, nanotechnology is a broad term. Many fields are included in nanotechnology as diverse such as:

Surface science
Organic chemistry
Molecular biology
Semiconductor physics
Micro fabrication
Molecular engineering

Researches associate with nanotechnology are equally diverse. There researches include a wide range from extensions of conventional device physics to molecular self assembly. These researches attempt to develop new materials with the use of dimensions. Material development in nanotechnology is based on non-scale platform. These developments are done in order to attain direct control of matter that is developed on atomic scale.

Nanoscience