The main objective of this project is to develop an MOCVD technology (Equipment, Precursors, Gas purification and Growth processes) for the industrial production of Indium Nitride (InN) quantum dot based devices. The know-how produced will also be applicable to the production of InN and In-rich InGaN alloy based devices. On a purely scientific basis, this project will address the epitaxy of a new, challenging and extremely promising semiconductor material, InN, and its nanostructures. This material has a huge potential for applications in infrared emission and detection, for telecommunication applications, high efficiency solar cells and electro-optic modulators. Another aspect of the proposed project is linked to environmental issues. Nitride semiconductor growth is a much more environmental friendly technology compared to the state of the art since it involves non-toxic precursors. The consortium consists of three industrial partners (AIXTRON, EPICHEM, SAES Getters) and one international level academic laboratory (GES). They will join their complementary expertise to develop the advanced MOCVD technology for InN based nanophotonic devices. The workplan has 9 technological and scientific workpackages and 1 related to management issues. The work will be realized through a strong interaction between all partners. GES will qualify the new precursors, MOCVD and purifier technology and will use those for the process design. Based on the process results the equipment and precursors will continuously be optimized. At the end of the project, an InN nanostructure based LED will be realized as demonstrator, to qualify the whole production technology developed in the frame of the project. The project addresses the key activity NMP-2004-IST-NMP-3 of the second joint IST NMP call FP6-2004-IST-NMP-2.

Due to its specific stiffness and strength, as compared to its low weight, Gamma-TiAl alloy is a promising material for automotive, energy and aerospace applications. However, its wider use is limited by its low sustainability to severe environmental attack in oxidising, sulphidising, hot corrosion as well as insufficient wear and erosion resistance at elevated temperature. Based on similar requirements in the machining industry, the INNOVATIAL consortium is tackling the demand for innovative coatings that can withstand attack up to 1000 C by complex environments, providing long term immunity against damage due to wear and erosion. This IP has the ambition to synthesise ultra-performance nanoscale-structured PVD coatings, which can provide environmental protection of Gamma-TiAl in order to boost the application of Gamma-TiAl to high service temperatures and long dwell times, and investigate application on hard metals thanks to: - Scientific understanding of thin films for Ti-Al materials. - Development of new coatings: interface engineering, nanocomposites, superlattice coatings, intermetallic coatings, top coats (Me-oxy-nitride glazes, thermal barrier coatings) - Upgrade High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering for thin film production - Use of new characterisation techniques for a complete microstructural characterisation at the sub-nanometre scale. Through horizontal and vertical integration, covering fundamental research, to demonstration and validation, the multidisciplinary consortium is integrating 10 renowned research centres, academics, 15 representative industrials (producers of Gamma-TiAl alloys, technology providers and end-users) among which 6 high-tech SMEs. Strong impacts are expected, both economic (European leadership of job-coating industry , of Gamma-TiAl components, sustain machining industry) and societal (lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in vehicles, improve lifetime of components, withdraw cooling fluids in industry.

This proposal will use novel in-situ metrology to probe the atomic level mechanisms that govern the growth and device behaviour of nanomaterials in realistic process environments. We focus on the catalytic chemical vapour deposition of carbon nanotubes, graphene, Si/Ge nanowires and related heterostructures. The application potential for these nanostructures is large, but currently limited by insufficient control of growth. We propose to use a range of complementary in-situ probes, including environmental transmission electron microscopy, high-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), in-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) and in-situ Raman spectroscopy, to significantly advance the understanding of their growth mechanisms. We see these nanomaterials as model systems to advance the fundamental understanding of phase behaviour, nucleation and interface dynamics in nanoscale systems, which is the key to future materials design. Deeper insights into these phenomena are also crucial to understand the behaviour of nanomaterials under device operation conditions. We propose to address critical performance parameters of nano-structured Si-based anodes for Li ion batteries by in-situ nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and in-situ XRD methods under repeated Li cycling in an operational battery. We further propose to study the morphological origins of the collective adhesive and mechanical properties of carbon nanotube forests by in-situ scanning electron microscopy as basis for the design of biomimetic, functional dry adhesives and compliant interconnect structures.

Cell membranes contain a large part of the delicate machinery of life and comprise the barriers controlling access to and from the interior of the cell. With the increasing use of nanoparticles (NPs) in medical imaging, drug delivery, cosmetics and materials the need is great and increasing to understand how NPs physically interact with cell membranes. On the one hand it is important to understand mechanisms to control risks of novel nanomaterials and to design therapeutic agents which can enter cells specifically and non-destructively. On the other hand, the structure and function of biological membranes inspire development of biomimetic smart materials for biotechnological applications which exploit or are modeled on biological membranes, but given enhanced functionality and external control of properties through incorporation of functional NPs. The aim of the proposed work is to develop understanding of the biophysical interaction of functional NPs with lipid membranes, in particular NP incorporation into and penetration through lipid membranes. Further, the aim is, based on that knowledge, to understand and control the self-assembly of superparamagnetic NPs into synthetic and cell lipid membranes to actuate them and control their physical properties in pursuit of novel biomimetic smart materials and cell analytical methods. The required level of control for this research has until recently been beyond the reach of existing NP systems (lack of synthetic control, stability and characterization) and methodology (lipid membrane models and high resolution techniques for their investigation). However, it can now be achieved using the Fe3O4 NP platform and surface-based and vesicular membrane model systems of tuned composition that I have developed. Using the same platform, breakthrough magneto-responsive biomimetic smart materials with application in drug delivery and cell manipulation with novel mechanisms of actuation will be self-assembled and investigated.

Imagine having a fully transparent and flexible, foldable, low cost, displays or at the glass window of your home/office, a transparent electronic circuit, do you believe on that? Maybe you are asking me if I am writing science fiction. No I am not. In fact this is a very ambitious objective but is tangible in the framework of this project due to the already acquired experience in the development of transparent thin film transistors using novel multifunctional and multicomponent oxides that can behave as active or passive semiconductor materials. This is an interdisciplinary research project aiming to develop a new class of transparent electronic components, based on multicomponent passive and active oxide semiconductors (n and p-types), to fabricate the novel generation of full transparent electronic devices and circuits, either using rigid or flexible substrates. The emphasis will be put on developing thin film transistors (n and p-TFTs) and integrated circuits for a broad range of applications (from inverters, C-MOS like devices, ring oscillators, CCDs backplanes for active matrices, biossensor arrays for DNA/RNA/proteins detection), boosting to its maximum their electronic performances for next generation of invisible circuits. By doing so, we are contributing for generating a free real state electronics that is able to add new electronic functionalities onto surfaces, which currently are not used in this manner and that silicon cannot contribute. The multicomponent metal oxide materials to be developed will exhibit (mainly) an amorphous or a nanocomposite structure and will be processed by PVD techniques like rf magnetron sputtering at room temperature, compatible with the use of low cost and flexible substrates (polymers, cellulose paper, among others). These will facilitate a migration away from tradition silicon like fab based batch processing to large area, roll to roll manufacturing technology which will offer significant advantages

The IP4Plasma project aims to bridge the gap between IPR protected laboratory-scale innovations in the field of atmospheric pressure plasma assisted chemical vapour deposition (AP-PA-CVD) technology and its industrial implementation for advanced surface treatment and nano-scale coating of materials. This will be done by demonstrating the suitability of the technology for existing and new industrial applications in the medical products and diagnostics sector. A mobile pilot scale plasma treatment system will be designed and built for this purpose based on existing experience and IPR protected know-how, and subsequently validated in end user production facilities. In the project, the manufacturers of atmospheric pressure plasma equipment and the end users of the technology will work together with research organisations and experts in technology innovation to overcome the barriers to commercial application of a unique IPR portfolio.This will create new business opportunities with large market potential for the industrial partners involved (mainly SMEs), and thus strengthen their global competitiveness.

Coordination polymers are infinite arrays of bridging ligands bound to two or more transition metal ions. The potential application of coordination polymers in the areas of materials and nanoscience is significant as their properties can be tuned through variation of the transition metal ions and bridging ligands. To date, research in the area of functional nanoscale coordination polymers has been limited to amorphous (spherical) and crystalline (non-spherical) examples and the controlled growth of coordination polymers has not been realized. We propose the use of metal-containing diblock copolymer templates, which self-assemble in a number of different morphologies depending on the volume fraction of the blocks, to influence the structure of coordination polymers on the nanoscale, and for the first time demonstrate control over their size and shape. Our approaches will afford multifunctional materials with highly tunable properties, and the incorporation of diblock copolymers will allow for the rational design and controlled growth of nanoscale coordination polymers. This highly interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research proposal requires a wide range of skills and this is exactly the mix possessed by the applicant (ligand design, coordination chemistry, stable-radical chemistry, electrochemistry, and molecule-based magnetism) and the host laboratory (polymer chemistry, materials chemistry, and nanoscience). The proposed research will bring a promising young researcher to Europe, and will lead to a new area of functional polymer and materials research where a range of potential applications are envisioned.

Scaling has driven the microelectronics industry for over 40 years and revolutionised information and communication technologies, health care, education, engineering, etc. Maintaining progress has becomes more challenging and costs of fabrication facilities are rising exponentially. Possible technical/cost solutions centre on development of ‘bottom-up’ techniques to (nano)pattern (the patterns yield device elements) surfaces rather than ‘top-down’ photolithographic (PL) methods that are the major cost of manufacturing circuitry (a single PL system is ~€65 million for next generation devices). Self-assembly is one route to nanopatterns but regularity/alignment over large areas is not consistent with circuit manufacture. Recent work on the self-assembly of block-copolymer (BCP) systems suggests that realisation of patterns of small feature size (~10 nm), at high density (i.e. spaced at ~10 nm), in precisely defined positions (to an accuracy of < 10 nm) on a large area substrate (12”) is possible. This proposal will develop BCP methodology into a set of process techniques for subsequent industrial pre-development. The methodology centres around a combination of bottom-up and top-down techniques to provide the fidelity required to make the methods reproducible and reliable. This proposal would have significant value:- - Enable continued development of devices towards their ultimate performance. - Allow development of advanced circuitry at lower costs. - Prevent monopolisation of the semiconductor industry by 1 or 2 companies that can afford capital costs by opening the market to new competition. - Afford the EU with opportunities to develop profitable companies in materials, process equipment and emerging device technologies. Without a suitable EU-level engagement in this area, competition in the US and Asia will gain a significant technological lead that will minimise the EU’s potential to deliver new and advanced nano-electronic devices.

On-demand-designed and precision-synthesized multicomponent or hybrid materials with unorthodox combinations of properties are potential keys to fascinating next-generation devices. At the same time there is a strong scientific desire to create a comprehensive repertory of basic understanding, design strategies and experimental tools to construct such outstanding smart materials from different building blocks and to shape them into sophisticated hierarchical architectures. In LAYERENG-HYBMAT I propose a fundamentally new category of nanocomposite materials, that is, layer-by-layer grown coherent inorganic-organic hybrid materials where the cohesion between the layers is based on covalent bonding. Such materials are -once carefully designed and fabricated -able to display in a single material a tailored combination of properties of conventional inorganics and organics, and even beyond. The core hypothesis is that such intimately fused outstanding hybrids are materialized in a simple but extremely elegant manner by mimicking the state-of-the-art thin-film technology, i.e. ALD (atomic layer deposition), originally developed for purely inorganic thin films. The proposed method combines ALD and MLD (molecular layer deposition) cycles and enables the layer-by-layer deposition of coherent inorganic-organic thin films and coatings through sequential self-limiting gas-surface reactions with high precision for the composition and polymer-chain dispersity. With additional nanostructuring capacity these materials have the potential to open up new horizons in electronics, photonics, thermoelectrics, diagnostics, packaging, etc. The project builds on my long experience in frontier new-material research on other types of multilayered materials and successful proof-of-the-concept ALD/MLD experiments, and addresses all the fundamental aspects of new-material design, modelling, precision synthesis, property tailoring and function characterization.

Light-Rolls focus on research and development of modular based production units for the seamless, high throughput manufacture of micro-structured, polymer based components and Microsystems. The scientific objective aims to realize structures in the micron range and integrate also Dies, smaller then 0,5mmx0,5mm and thickness down to 50 um to be assembled in high-speed. Nanopar-ticulate dispersions used in fast conductive track printing technologies will allow the parallel gen-eration of conductive lines down to 30µm track width. Light-Rolls is based on highly innovative manufacturing and assembly technologies: 1. RMPD®-rotation, a patented process technology, which uses a UV curable liquid to generate polymer structures (generative manufacturing approach). 2. New chip assembly methods, originating from self assembly methods 3. High resolution -high speed conductive track and interconnection generation by ink-jet printing methodologies. These processes comprise the founding elements of the Light-Rolls technology platform with a roll-to-roll philosophy. The manufacturing modules will be integrable, exchangeable, with mechanical, fluidic and IT interfaces, to make it easy and cost efficient to adjust the sequence of process steps to the product to be produced. Besides the translation of processes for high-throughput manufacturing, high yield will be achieved by the application of advanced process control and production IT meth-ods. Lines run without dangerous chemicals and use integrated recycling. For future products a Light-Rolls knowledge base for design for manufacturing will be elaborated. A pilot line will be set-up, tested for fabrication of flexible LED-display systems. Manufacture of other components like Lab-on-Chip or integration of new micro-energy storage components is possible in future to address needs of European industry. Products have potential of 100 Mio Euro worth revenue for 1 partner alone for a 5 year period beyond project end.