Nanometre

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

**1 nanometre** =
SI units
1×10⁻⁹ m	1×10⁻³ μm
US customary / Imperial units
3.281×10⁻⁹ ft	39.37×10⁻⁹ in

A nanometre (American spelling: nanometer, symbol nm) (Greek: νάνος, nanos, dwarf; μετρώ, metrό, count) is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one billionth of a metre (i.e., one millionth of a millimetre), which is the current SI base unit of length. It can be written in scientific notations as 1×10⁻⁹ m (engineering notation) or 1 E-9 m (exponential notation) — both meaning 1/1,000,000,000 metres.

It is one of the more often used units for very small lengths, and equals ten Ångström, an internationally recognized non-SI unit of length. It is often associated with the field of nanotechnology. Formerly, millimicron (symbol mµ) was used for the nanometre.

It is also the most common unit used to describe the manufacturing technology used in the semiconductor industry. It is the most common unit to describe the wavelength of light, with visible light falling in the region of 400-700nm.