Major advances in materials design are often the result of innovation in material synthesis and processing technologies. For example, over the past three decades, enormous progress has been made in the development of novel electronic materials and devices after vacuum technology and various thin film deposition methods had reached the level of sophistication that enabled the synthesis of extremely thin layers of metals, dielectrics, semiconductors and insulators. Here, the precise control of thickness, defect structure and chemical composition of the materials were of utmost importance and required unique solutions in processing technology. In contrast, other advanced materials of high innovation potential can be derived from a particular premise to achieve desirable structure-property-performance relationships in the material through microstructural design. The synthesis methods to achieve innovation in these materials are then often of secondary concern: they may still be novel but in many cases they are simply modifications of well-established and mature technologies.
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