Control of matter via light has always fascinated humankind; not surprisingly, laser patterning of materials is as old as the history of the laser. However, this approach has suffered to date from a stubborn lack of long-range order. We have recently discovered a method for regulating self-organised formation of metal-oxide nanostructures at high speed via non-local feedback, thereby achieving unprecedented levels of uniformity over indefinitely large areas by simply scanning the laser beam over the surface.

We plan to chase new goals by exploring the limits of gold chemistry and organic synthesis. A major goal is to promote copper to the level of gold as the catalyst of choice for the activation of alkynes under homogeneous conditions. Another major goal is to develop enantioselective reactions based on a new chiral catalyst design to overcome the inherent limitations of the linear coordination of d10 M(I) coinage metals. We whish to contribute to bridge the gap between homogeneous and heterogeneous gold catalysis discovering new reactions for C-C bond formation via cross-coupling and C-H activation. We will apply new methods based on Au catalysis to fill the gap that exists between chemical synthesis and physical methods such as graphite exfoliation or laser ablation for the synthesis of nanographenes and other large acenes.

The study of living matter has to be considered as an exciting and substantive

Coherent extreme ultraviolet (XUV) light sources open up new opportunities for science and technology. Promising examples are attosecond metrology, spectroscopic and structural analysis of matter on a nanometer scale, high resolution XUV-microscopy and lithography. The most promising technique for table-top sources is femtosecond laser-driven high-harmonic generation (HHG) in gases. Unfortunately, their XUV photon flux is not sufficient for most applications. This is caused by the low average power of the kHz repetition rate driving lasers (<10 W) and the poor conversion efficiency (<10-6). Following the traditional path of increasing the power, numerous research teams are engineering larger and more complex femtosecond high-power amplifier systems, which are supposed to provide several kilowatts of average power in the next decade. However, it is questionable if such systems can easily serve as tool for further scientific studies with XUV light.

The performance of thermoelectric generation has long since been limited by the fact that it depends on hardly tunable intrinsic materials properties. At the heart of this problem lies a trade-off between sufficient Seebeck coefficient, good electrical properties and suitably low thermal conductivity. The two last being closely related by the ambivalent role of electrons in the conduction of both electrical and thermal currents. Current research focuses on materials composition and structural properties in order to improve this trade-off also known as the figure of merit (zT). Recently, evidences aroused that nanoscale structuration (nanowires, quantum dots, thin-films) can improve zT by means of electron and/or phonon confinement. The aim of this project is to tackle the intrinsic reasons for this low efficiency and bring TE conversion to efficiencies above 10% by exploring two unconventional and complementary approaches: Phononic Engineering Conversion consists of modulating thermal properties by means of a periodic, precisely designed, arrangement of inclusions on a length scale that compares to phonon means free path. This process is unlocked by state of the art lithography techniques. In its principles, phononic engineering offers an opportunity to tailor the phonon density of states as well as to artificially introduce thermal anisotropy in a semiconductor membrane. Suitable converter architecture is proposed that takes advantage of conductivity reduction and anisotropy to guide and converter heat flow. This approach is fully compatible with standard silicon technologies and is potentially applicable to conformable converters. The Micro Thermionic Conversion relies on low work function materials and micron scale vacuum gaps to collect a thermally activated current across a virtually zero heat conduction device. This approach, though more risky, envisions devices with equivalent zT around 10 which is far above what can be expected from solid state conversion.

To extend beyond existing limits in nanodevice fabrication, new and unconventional lithographic technologies are necessary to reach Single Nanometer Manufacturing (SNM) for novel ‘Beyond CMOS devices’. Two approaches are considered: scanning probe lithography (SPL) and focused electron beam induced processing (FEBIP). Our project tackles this challenge by employing SPL and FEBIP with novel small molecule resist materials. The goal is to work from slow direct-write methods to high speed step-and-repeat manufacturing by Nano Imprint Lithography (NIL), developing methods for precise generation, placement, metrology and integration of functional features at 3 - 5 nm by direct write and sub-10nm into a NIL-template. The project will first produce a SPL-tool prototype and will then develop and demonstrate an integrated process flow to establish proof-of-concept ‘Beyond CMOS devices’ employing developments in industrial manufacturing processes (NIL, plasma etching) and new materials (Graphene, MoS2). By the end of the project: (a) SNM technology will be used to demonstrate novel room temperature single electron and quantum effect devices; (b) a SNM technology platform will be demonstrated, showing an integrated process flow, based on SPL prototype tools, electron beam induced processing, and finally pattern transfer at industrial partner sites. An interdisciplinary team (7 Industry and 8 Research/University partners) from experienced scientists will be established to cover specific fields of expertise: chemical synthesis, scanning probe lithography, FEBIP-Litho, sub-3nm design and device fabrication, single nanometer etching, and Step-and-Repeat NIL- and novel alignment system design. The project coordinator is a University with great experience in nanostructuring and European project management where the executive board includes European industry leaders such as IBM, IMEC, EVG, and Oxford Instruments.

Phosphorus (P) is a key and often limiting nutrient for phytoplankton in the ocean. A strong positive feedback exists between marine P availability, primary production and ocean anoxia: increased production leads to ocean anoxia, which, in turn, decreases the burial efficiency of P in sediments and therefore increases the availability of P and production in the ocean. This feedback likely plays an important role in the present-day expansion of low-oxygen waters (“dead zones”) in coastal systems worldwide. Moreover, it contributed to the development of global scale anoxia in ancient oceans. Critically, however, the responsible mechanisms for the changes in P burial in anoxic sediments are poorly understood because of the lack of chemical tools to directly characterize sediment P. I propose to develop new methods to quantify and reconstruct P dynamics in low-oxygen marine systems and the link with carbon cycling in Earth’s present and past. These methods are based on the novel application of state-of-the-art geochemical analysis techniques to determine the burial forms of mineral-P within their spatial context in modern sediments. The new analysis techniques include nano-scale secondary ion mass spectrometry (nanoSIMS), synchotron-based scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) and laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). I will use the knowledge obtained for modern sediments to interpret sediment records of P for periods of rapid and extreme climate change in Earth’s history. Using various biogeochemical models developed in my research group, I will elucidate and quantify the role of variations in the marine P cycle in the development of low-oxygen conditions and climate change. This information is crucial for our ability to predict the consequences of anthropogenically-enhanced inputs of nutrients to the oceans combined with global warming.

This research program aims at pioneering and developing new nanofabrication techniques for carbon-nanoelectronics using a so-called 'bottom-up' approach. Individual building blocks for carbon-based nanodevices, such as catalyst nanoparticles, horizontally aligned carbon-nanotubes and ultra-scaled contacts and dielectrics will be precisely placed directly on the chip, without the use of lithography. This will be accomplished by using unique combinations of electron-beam induced deposition (EBID), atomic layer deposition (ALD) and oblique ion beam treatments. The process development will go hand-in-hand with atomic level understanding of the developed processes using in-situ and ex-situ analysis techniques to ensure process reproducibility and selectivity.

The EAgLE project aims at establishing at the Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences (IFPAN) a leading multiprofile research Centre for designing and fabricating new materials, their characterization and testing under extreme experimental conditions. The Centre will identify and select novel materials, structures, phenomena, and computational protocols for functional new-concept nanodevices.

Shape memory alloys (SMA) exhibit unique and useful effects, such as a capacity to cycle a component between two different macroscopic shapes by cycling the temperature. In the recent years MEMS components made of shape memory alloys have attracted considerable interest in the research field as they offer a high output work density and exhibit specific desirable thermomechanical effects. As a consequence, many research studies have been focused on the development of shape memory thin films which could be integrated into the planar technology of microsystems. However, there are few works in the literature where the effects of the grain size (d)/sample size (D) ratio are studied, and those that do exist are insufficient to draw general conclusions.