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IRG 1 focuses on exploring the science and technology of semiconductor nanomembranes so thin that the thinness determines the structure and topography, and creates distinct electronic, mechanical, chemical, and optical properties. The combination of unique methods of strain engineering at the atomic level with precise Si processing allows a distinctive combination of top-down and bottom-up assembly that creates a significant scientific opportunity in \"inexact-dimensionality\" systems (combinations of sheets, wires, ribbons, dots, and arbitrary shapes) and in \"soft\" hard materials. The effort also provides potential technological outcomes for completely new Si-based nano-bio-electronic and nano-chemo-mechanical devices and the creation of nanomaterials with new functionalities. A concomitant benefit is the development of tools and synthetic methods that will impact research and technology advancement in areas much beyond our own work.
