A Method for Assigning Priorities to United States Measurement System (USMS) Needs: Nano-Electrotechnologies

In 2006, the National Institute of Standards and Technology conducted an assessment of the U.S. measurement system (USMS), which encompasses all private and public organizations that develop, supply, use, or ensure the validity of measurement results. As part of that assessment, NIST collaborated with Energetics Incorporated to identify and authenticate 723 measurement needs that are barriers to technological innovations. A number of these measurement needs (64) are relevant to accelerating innovation and commercialization of nano-electrotechnologies. In this paper, we apply the taxonomy from a 2008 international survey that established a global consensus of priorities for standards and measurements in nano-electrotechnologies to rank in priority order the relevant 64 USMS-identified measurement needs. This paper presents a method for assigning priorities that is statistically based and represents a global consensus of stakeholders. Such a method is needed because limited resources exist to address the large number of measurement needs in nano-electrotechnologies, and the most critical measurement needs should be addressed first.