The main problem in nanotechnology is the lack of methods for mass production. This is especially true for SMEs, which do not have the ability to invest in expensive equipment for large-scale production of nanostructures. Nanoimprint lithography on the other hand provides a tool that is comparably cheap and suited for mass production. 3D NANOPRINT aims at the development of a complete process technology with the necessary tools to produce 3-dimensional nanostructures with ultra high precision. In comparison to deep or extreme ultra violet lithography (abbreviated as DUV and EUV lithography respectively) this research paves the way for the widespread use of a nanoscale production technology also by smaller companies, since the investment costs of nanoimprint production lines are less than 1% of the DUV or EUV investments. The project consist of two levels, a directly process oriented part dealing with nanoimprint lithography itself, nanoimprint resists, reactive ion etching and alignment problems and an application oriented part. In this part requirements for nanoimprint lithography as production tool are defined, assuring that the final result of the project is a cost effective, high throughput, ultra-precise tool for the production of 3 dimensional nanostructures. As a reference application 3-dimensional photonic crystals have been chosen, since the optical properties of such devices are extremely sensitive to the quality of the production process (therefore are excellent indicators) and assure a high economic impact since the photonics market is growing quickly. Other applications considered are micro- and nano-optical devices.

Carbon nanotubes have many unique and extreme physical properties for this reason they will playa key role in the next future of society. Many governments allover the world are investing great resources in nanotechnologies research activities. The reason is the great performances of nanostructured materials and the large variety of applications of these technologies. The objective of this proposal is to realize a new machinery based on a cheap technological procedure, the Channel Spark Ablation (CSA), to produce high quality single walled carbon nanotubes which should yield the same quality as laser ablation, but at much lower costs. The nanotubes produced by this equipment will be used as passive electronic elements into innovative solar cells and dye sensitised solar cells. The major innovation of the proposal IS the idea to adopt an innovative technology to provide single-walled nanotubes at first on the kilogram scale and ultimately on a tonne scale. The.CSA is a system based on the pulsed electron-beam generation from the glow-discharge plasma environment. The applicability of the CSA to nanotubes preparation relies on the high effective temperatures that can be reached at the target surface and on its similarities to Pulsed Laser Ablation. It is clear that the development of sophisticated equipment and its further adjustment required for different materials utilisation can not be tackled by an only company. The contribution of the RTD performers will be essential to avail the indispensable know-how and resources to overcome the theoretical and technical problems and so to get the final positive result. The economical reason of the trans-national cooperation is given by the great industrial interest, allover the Europe, for this new, promising technique for nanotubes mass production. Actually the most important limitation of the nanostructured materials is due to the high production cost mainly due to high energy consumption and low process pro

Nanostructured functional materials constitute one of the most dynamic and rapidly expanding fields in scienceand technology, which include their use in such diverse areas as materials technology, biotechnonology, energyand environmental technology, electronics, catalytic applications etc. From other side, the increasingly importantrole in biophysics and in life sciences is played by laser spectroscopie methods. The present project challengesone of the most exciting and phenomena rich sub-fields of nano-science and nano-technology (N&N): theinteraction of visible and near visible light with nanostructured materials. It is aimed at fabrication of optically-active synthetic nanostructures for the exploration of sensing mechanisms with biological matter.In the framework of the present project research activity is planned to be concentrated on, firstly, deliberatefabrication of optically-active substrate by means of state-of-the-art nanofabrication techniques (e-beamlithography, colloidal lithography etc.) and, secondly, exploration of obtained optically-active substrates forbiosensing applications. Utilizing shaped metallic nanostructures or arrays of metallic nanostrctures to influencethe fluorescence of biomolecules in close proximity to the surface is planned by tuning surface plasmonresonance energy of formed nanoarchitectures. Controlled positioning of macromolecular species on the pre-fomed nobel metal nanostructures to probe enhanced fluorescence or enhanced quenching, necessary for ultra-sensitive detection scheme, will be performed. Later goal constitutes a demostration of sensitivity of builtarchitectures to the binding events between preformed sensing platform and biomolecular species,complementary to those available in the fabricated synthetic bio-nanoarchitectures.Overall, the results of research activity are expected to contribute substantially in fundamental understanding ofsurface enhancement#

Molecular scale interactions at artificial and naturally occurring responsive surfaces, e.g. the cell membrane, play a crucial role in many biological and biomedical processes. Responsive surfaces with molecular level control are considered as key to many crucial problems in nanobiotechnology. We aim at contributing to the development of such surfaces starting from a fundamental understanding of structure-property relationships in advanced nanomaterials and processes from the molecular scale. Specifically we propose to investigate the translation of external stimuli into forces in single macromolecules by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements for two classes of stimuli-responsive polymers, i.e. unique redox-active organometallic poly(ferrocenylsilanes) and elastin-based biopolymers. The communication with single molecules occurs via conformational/dimensional changes of these polymers under stress via changes in chain torsional potential energy landscape and thus variations in the corresponding macromolecular characteristic ratio. These occur upon redox stimulation or upon changes in e.g. temperature or pH. The challenging project will be tackled in a rational manner (control instead of trial and error) by depositing molecules individually at precisely defined positions using scanning probe lithography. Subsequently, the nanomechanical properties of an ensemble of individually addressable molecules will be probed molecule for molecule by single molecule force spectroscopy, hence avoiding a convolution of data of many molecules. This approach will also be utilized to selectively pick up individual macromolecules by chemically functionalized tips, followed by AFM measurements that aim at unraveling the effects of several external stimuli on the macromolecules response. Based on the results, responsive surfaces with molecular level control can be designed for applications in the areas of (bio)sensors, drug delivery, nano/microfluidics, and smart coatings.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) form the basis of most current nanotechnology research due to their unique and extreme properties including ballistic electron transport at room temperature, structure-dependent metallic/semiconductor behaviour, electromechanical properties and extremely high Young mudulus. Several important achievements have been realised in nanotubes electronics. However, a major hindrance for the emergence of real applications is the lack of control in fabricating these nanoscale devices. This project will develop new rational design methods for CNTs based electronic nanodevices. Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) will be employed to grow CNTs at the desired location by placing the catalyst dots where required by focused ion beam and e-beam lithography. We will combine Ni and Co colloids chemistry and e-beam lithography to obtain small catalyst dots suitable for the growth of single wall CNTs. The recently discovered mechanism of sequential catalytic growth will be used to control the direct insertion of CNTs with spin-polarised particles during their growth. Plasma enhanced CVD will be employed for growing CNTs on thermal-sensitive substrates. Nanotubes will be oriented by the application of an electric field and by lateral growth using growth barriers. The ballistic transport of nanotubes is presently accompanied by a large contact resistance, so that the overall conductance is much lower in practice than the expected theoretical conductance. In situ growth will enable direct connecting of the nanotubes and prevent damage and pollution induced by the usual suspension/deposition process. Individual CNT structure will be characterised by in situ AFM/Raman analyses to correlate growth conditions, structural and transport properties. By using these tools, we intend to develop direct and controlled design of CNT based interconnects, field emission transistors and spin-valve devices.

The principal objective of this grant is to develop via the Transfer of Knowledge Marie Curie Action a state of the art compact table top X-pinch device. The x-ray emission of the X-pinch generator will be in the range of 1-10 keV, the total x-ray power will be 1kW and will be investigated as a function of the pulsed current, the wire material and the material size. Emphasis will be given to investigate the physics of the formation of the dense hot plasma at the cross-point and the radiation transport. The self-generated magnetic field in the overdense region of the x-ray point source will be diagnosed using a novel technique based on the Faraday rotation of a probe laser pulse and the Cotton-Mouton effect on XUV harmonics generated by a femtosecond laser system. Applications of x-rays in science, industry and medicine will be explored. In particular, x-ray lithography for new semiconductor material research for nanotechnology purposes and x-ray radiography and microscopy of biological cells will be performed. The proposed work envisaged will provide excellent Transfer of Knowledge opportunities from world leading Universities and Research Centers (Imperial College, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, University of California) to a less favoured region (Crete) in need of developing new areas of competence and knowledge in the field of pulsed power technology and x-ray sources.

The general goal of this project is to train young researchers in nanotechnology, to go for a technology leap from purely silicon technology to new and more advanced technologies in the future Europe. A broad interdisciplinary training program in the field of nanotechnology is proposed covering three areas, 1) The improvement of analysis methods for nanotechnology, 2) prototyping of nano-devices and 3) a novel and future process for nanotechnology, i.e., self-assembly. The objectives of the training program are:O1: Challenge the limits of high-resolution imaging and explore new types of electron sources. O2: Perform research on new ways to image and understand self-assembly processes.O3: Investigate ways to enhance electron beam lithography and nano-deposition techniques.O4: Research on a new ion source that can produce focused ion beams of any desired atom.O5: Build sensors for bio-molecules from nanotubes and nanowires, using self-assembly and micro-contact printing.O6: Build sensors for bio-molecules using self-assembly of magnetic particles. It is expected that the proposed training will meet the stringent needs of a modern science and technology training, which will give the trainees a strong basis to start a research career at international top-level. The training will be in Philips Research Labs in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, mounted in the sector Materials and Process Technology. This sector, where all activities of Philips Research on basic physics, chemistry and nano-technology are concentrated, consists of a staff of 130 highly skilled researchers. The program is embedded in a large structure of successful Philips internal projects related to nanotechnology and a network of national- and international contacts with university groups. The requested 6 trainees will be coached by 10 senior-, or principal scientists at Philips Research and by 6 professors from 4 Dutch universities (Delft, Eindhoven, Leiden and Utrecht).

Conventionally, electronic device functions are generated by combining various materials, in which each material has one particular functionality. With the atomic limit as the ultimate achievable goal in sight, we try to explore methods that do not need extensive use of top-down nanotechnology, including lithography and deposition/etching techniques, but use device structures that are spontaneously created by nature in the general framework of electronic phase separation. Here one material can adopt more than one electronic state, and by judicious organization of these electronic states device functions can be generated with built-in atomic precision. In a number of materials like manganites, a spectacularly diverse range of exotic magnetic, electronic and crystal structures can coexist at different locations on the same crystal. What looks in one sense like awkward complexity is in fact a route toward engineering without the difficulties of atomic scale lithography - by manipulating the propensity of phase separation and phase coexistence in these materials we may make dynamically controlled functional electronic structures. The coexisting phases may form robust magnetic, electronic and crystallographic textures on 'mesoscopic' length scales. By controlling an array of textured phases analogous to those in liquid crystals we may be able to control locally the electronic structure and properties without atomic-scale fabrication. In manganites, for example, a simple domain wall in the ferromagnetic metallic phase could spontaneously develop an insulating barrier of the charge order phase creating the ultimate spin-tunnel junction. COMEPHS is the first European project that aims to concentrate all necessary resources in Europe in order to achieve functionality of mesoscopic textured states. The research aims to provide basis for a new set of electronic technology and COMEPHS is expected to ensure European preeminence in this strategic domain.

NATAL aims to develop a new core technology of powerful and compact laser sources for the visible and ultraviolet spectral ranges. Such devices are needed for a variety of applications including nano-materials processing, medicine, RGB displays, life sciences, as well as UV lithography and surface chemistry. The lasers envisaged by NATAL represent a radical departure from the existing technologies. Nanophotonic materials and science are the key themes running throughout the proposed programme. The main areas addressed by NATAL include (i) development of innovative nano-structured gain devices (ii) development of advanced micro-optical elements to enable the functionality and control of lasers. Central focus of this programme is the concept of the Optically-Pumped Vertical External Cavity Surface-Emitting Semiconductor Laser (OP-VECSEL). These sources retain the power-scaling, beam quality and intracavity control capability of solid-state lasers, while offer the wavelength versatility, broadband pump absorption and compact gain region supplied by semiconductor technology. NATAL will use the innovative thermally-conductive optical windows bonded directly to the surface of the OP-VECSEL chip. This approach allows to facilitate wavelength extension and power scaling, microchip operation and novel schemes for optical mode control, in addition to integrated device formats with a wide range of functionality. Specific wavelength targets include direct operation in the red (630-670 nm) and frequency-doubled OP-VECSELs operating at 315-335 nm (UV), 470 nm (blue), 520 nm (green), and 610 nm (red). These wavelengths cover important absorption bands in a host of materials significant to nanotechnology (quantum dot and conventional fluorphores, light-emitting polymers, photoresists, biomaterials) and large scale consumer applications.

The overall objective of this 3-year project is to develop a CMOS-compatible industrial process for the fabrication of field effect transistors based on carbon nanotubes (CNT-FETs). In order to solve the CNT manipulation and placement problems, two approaches based on template growth in engineered porous structures will be investigated. In the first one, CNTs will be grown inside porous alumina templates obtained by anodic oxidation of Al films. The originality of the method is that the pores are synthesised parallel to the surface of the substrate (instead of perpendicular as usual) which will greatly ease the contacting operations for the source, drain and gate electrodes of the CNT-FETs with large numbers of CNTs connected in parallel. In the second approach, CNTs will be grown in vertical pore structures obtained by nanolithography and reactive ion etching. In both cases, the catalyst particles (necessary for the nucleation and growth of CNTs at low to medium temperature) will be electrodeposited at the bottom of the pores prior to chemical vapour deposition growth of the CNTs. As the catalyst particles are confined inside the pores, high temperature surface diffusion is prevented during (or before) growth and the nanometric size of the particles is preserved, leading to uniform CNT diameters. Moreover, by using monocrystalline films or substrates at the bottom of the pores, we propose to deposit the catalyst particles in an epitaxial-type mode, which will lead to a perfectly controlled structure likely to induce chirality control for the CNTs. This point is of paramount importance for the future of CNT-based electronics. The project brings together 4 European partners with complementary skills, from 3 different countries. If the proposed approach is successful, only Europe would have the critical size to set up new standards and industrial practices for CNT-based electronics. It is therefore essential that such research is carried out at European level.