ADVANCED MATERIALS

•Can be defined as materials used in high-tech devices i.e. which operates based on relatively intricate and sophisticated principles (e.g. computers, air/space-crafts, electronic gadgets, etc.).

•These are either traditional materials with enhanced properties or newly developed materials with high-performance capabilities. Thus, these are relatively expensive.

•Advanced materials include semiconductors, biomaterials, and materials of the future (i.e., smart materials and nano engineered materials)

•Typical applications: Integrated circuits, lasers, LCDs, fiber optics, thermal protection for space shuttle, etc.