scope:

This Recommended Practice (RP) is an overview of factors involved in the design, start-up, and operation of facilities in the field of nanotechnology.

The overview focuses on the unique considerations related to planning, design, construction, and start-up that typically confront owners, designers, and users of the advanced-technology facilities supporting research or production at the nanometer scale.

Intended as an executive-level summary, this document provides guidance in the planning and decisionmaking processes required for establishing facilities involved in nanoscale research and production as well as subcellular-scale biological research.

Specifications for ranges and criteria recommended within this RP form a framework intended to stimulate further discussion between the owner and the design team.

A series of supplementary RPs will cover specific topics in expanded detail. These RPs will provide recommendations on the following subjects as they relate to nanotechnology facilities:

• Planning

• Design

• Construction

• Start-up

• Operations

In addition, technical RPs will expand upon more complex topics that cross the above subjects, such as:

• Safety

• Quantitative aspects of environmental definition and evaluation, including vibration, acoustics, electromagnetic interference (EMI), and temperature