Spintronics, in which both the spin and the charge of the electron are used, is one of the most exciting new disciplines to emerge from nanoscience. The 3SPIN project seeks to open a new research front within spintronics: namely 3-dimensional spintronics, in which magnetic nanostructures are formed into a 3-dimensional interacting network of unrivalled density and hence technological benefit. 3SPIN will explore early-stage science that could underpin 3-dimensional metallic spintronics. The thesis of the project is: that by careful control of the constituent nanostructure properties, a 3-dimensional medium can be created in which a large number of topological solitons can exist. Although hardly studied at all to date, these solitons should be stable at room temperature, extremely compact and easy to manipulate and propagate. This makes them potentially ideal candidates to form the basis of a new spintronics in which the soliton is the basic transport vector instead of electrical current. ¬3.5M of funding is requested to form a new team of 5 researchers who, over a period of 60 months, will perform computer simulations and experimental studies of solitons in 3-dimensional networks of magnetic nanostructures and develop a laboratory demonstrator 3-dimensional memory device using solitons to represent and store data. A high performance electron beam lithography system (cost 1M¬) will be purchased to allow state-of-the-art magnetic nanostructures to be fabricated with perfect control over their magnetic properties, thus allowing the ideal conditions for solitons to be created and controllably manipulated. Outputs from the project will be a complete understanding of the properties of these new objects and a road map charting the next steps for research in the field.

Polarimetry is a crucial tool in both fundamental and applied physics, ranging from the measurement of parity nonconservation (PNC) in atoms, to the determination of biomolecule structure, and the probing of interfaces. These measurements tend to be extremely challenging as the change of the polarization of light is usually extremely small; typical differences in polarization states are of the order of 10^-5 to 10^-8. Current experimental techniques often require acquisition times of the order of seconds or, in the case of PNC, even many days, limiting the possibilities of time-resolved measurements. Here, I propose to develop optical-cavity-based techniques which will enhance measurements of the polarization sensitivity and/or the time-resolution by 3-6 orders of magnitude. Preliminary data from prototypes and feasibility studies are presented. I propose to demonstrate how these breakthroughs will revolutionize polarimetry, by addressing some of the most important multidisciplinary problems in fundamental physics, biophysics, and material science: a) Testing the limits of the Standard Model with atomic PNC measurements. Current PNC experiments, and more importantly theory, for cesium atoms are limited to precision of about 0.5%. The novel and robust experimental technique I am proposing here affords 4 orders-of-magnitude higher sensitivity, thus giving access to lighter atoms, where the theory can be better than 0.1%, for the most stringent test of the Standard Model, while seeking new physics. b) The measurement of protein folding dynamics. Highly sensitive time-resolved spectroscopic ellipsometry, providing novel dynamical information on protein folding: nanosecond resolved, position measurements of functional groups of surface proteins, which map out the time-dependent protein structure. c) Determination of thin film thickness and surface density with nanosecond resolution, for the study of processes such as laser ablation and polymer growth.

DOTFIVE is a three-year IP proposal for a very ambitious project focused on advanced RTD activities necessary to move the Silicon/germanium heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) into the operating frequency range of 0.5 terahertz (THz) (500 gigahertz GHz) enabling the future development of communication, imaging or radar Integrated Circuits (IC) working at frequencies up to 160 GHz . For a given lithography node bipolar transistors and more recently HBT have always lead the frequency race compared to MOS devices, while offering higher power density and better analogue performances (transconductance, noise, transistor matching).The main objective of this highly qualified consortium is to establish a leadership position for the European semiconductor industry in the area of millimeter wave (mmW) by research and development work on silicon based transistor devices and circuit design capabilities and know-how. SiGe HBT is a key reliable device for applications requiring power > few mW (future MOS limitation) and enabling high density, low cost integration compared to III-V. To achieve the goal DOTFIVE unites a powerful consortium:

Nanotechnology is expected to have a big impact on most of our life. Nanostructred materials become more and more important in various fields such as nanoelectronics, information storage technology etc. At the nanometer scale, i.e. 1-100 nm, material properties are clearly size dependent and new properties are expected. Among functional materials nanoscale ferroelectrics can have a major role because they can be applied in different fields such as sensors, actuators, memory devices and optics. However they cannot be applied to nanometer scale devices before the influence of the lateral size on physical properties will be clarified.In order to find answer for the problems there is a need to have good quality nanoscale structures. It is a challenge to fabricate such structures in this range using both lithography (¿top¿down¿ approach) and self-assembling and self-patterning methods (¿bottom¿up¿ approach). Whereas conventional lithographic systems work usually with a resolution of about 100 nm the bottom-up approaches allow the inexpensive fabrication of structures with size of 10-20 nm. The main goal of the work is preparation of nanosized ferroelectric crystals by self-assembling methods. Successful strategies and routes have been developed to synthesize nanoscale materials of numerous simple systems such as semiconductors or metals. Complex systems such as ferroelectric oxides are not yet systematically addressed, despite of the possibility of discovering new materials with unique properties. Physical route based on the concept of microstructural instability of ultrathin films and chemical routes will be applied to obtain different perovskite crystals. A good quality of nanostructures that lateral dimension can be tuned in nanometer range is expected to fabricate and in future this will allow investigating structure-property relations (e.g. by transmission electron microscopy and piezoresponse force microscopy) and solve ¿size effects¿ problem.

The aim of the HIGHSPIN project is to incorporate tunable, highly spin-polarised (THSP) materials into spintronic devices and utilise them in new 2D and 3D nanomagnetic data storage architectures.

The Low Temperature Laboratory (LTL) of Helsinki University of Technology (HUT) offers expertise, facilities, and equipment for outside users to undertake measurments at temperatures from 4 K down to the lowest attainable to date. ULTI is expected to contribute to scientific progress and technical development in ultra low temperature physics, to serve as a first-rate educational center for young physicists and, because of its long-standing connections with the low temperature research in Russia, to act as a node for scientific collaboration between Russia and EU countries.

The in-house research includes experimental programs on refrigeration, cryogenics and nanofabricated cryosensors, experiemental and theoretical studies of quantum fluids and solids, nuclear magnetism, and electrical transport in nanostructures. The local low temperature research staff consists of 35 persons of whom 6 are professors, 4 senior scientists, 5 post-doctorals, 5 technicians and 2 secretarial employees; the rest are graduate andundergraduate students. The refrigeration equipment includes three nuclear cooling cryostats capable of reaching sub-mK temperatures and five 20-mK cryostats. As a new addition to our facility, we offer for the users full access to our 55 m2 semi clean room with electron beam lithography line as well as limited access to a 2600 m2 clean room, jointly operated by HUT and VTT, the neighboring State Research Center. The staff of the HUT/VTT clean room has expertise on design and manufacturing of nanofabricated cryosensors both electrical and micromechanical.

Of the total research activity at the ULT installation, at most 18% will be allocated to the ULTI visitors. On average at any given time 1.5 EU-sponsored Users would work in the LTL, and about 40 persons participating in 35 different projects could benefit from the ULTI in four years.

The technological objective of MONARCH is to produce the world????'s first scanning electron microscope (SEM) on-a-chip. Such an instrument would represent a step-change in electron beam (e-beam) technology comparable with the introduction of the silicon chip to electronics. This device will be orders of magnitude smaller than existing technology, would operate at lower voltages and have an order of magnitude higher resolution for a fraction of the cost of a current state-of-the-art SEM. It would provide the first instrument capable of rapidly scanning a surface layer and producing an image with elemental identification at atomic resolution. This disruptive technology has dramatic implications for many sectors other than electron microscopy, including e-beam lithography, genetic sequencing, ultra-high density data storage and focussed ion beam milling. In particular it is expected to be a key enabling tool for the booming sectors of nanotechnology and MNEMS (micro-nano-electromechanical systems). Crucially it could also allow lithography on a scale suitable for true nano-electronics.The physics behind the MONARCH project are beautifully simple: by scaling the device dimensions down to the nano-scale, the voltages, beam energies and aberrations are scaled down proportionally. The system becomes diffraction-limited, rather than aberration-limited, and the lenses can be electrostatic rather than magnetic. These principles have been known for decades, but the realisation of such devices has only been made possible through very recent parallel advances in several nano-machining technologies: improved FIB techniques, the evolution of MEMS technology and scanning probe microscopy (e.g. very short focal length electrostatic lenses). In short these techniques have transformed a thought-experiment into a realistic possibility: ultra-low energy, ultra-high power, ultra-pure e-beams.MONARCH will deliver a prototype operational integrated SEM-on-a-chip system.

COLDNANO (UltraCOLD ion and electron beams for NANOscience), aspires to build novel ion and electron sources with superior performance in terms of brightness, energy spread and minimum achievable spot size. Such monochromatic, spatially focused and well controlled electron and ion beams are expected to open many research possibilities in material sciences, in surface investigations (imaging, lithography) and in semiconductor diagnostics. The proposed project intends to develop sources with the best beam quality ever produced and to assess them in some advanced surface science research domains. Laterally, I will develop expertise exchange with one Small and Medium Enterprise who will exploit industrial prototypes. The novel concept is to create ion and electron sources using advanced laser cooling techniques combined with the particular ionization properties of cold atoms. It would then be first time that 'laser cooling' would lead to a real industrial development. A cesium magneto-optical trap will first be used. The atoms will then be excited by lasers and ionized in order to provide the electron source. The specific extraction optics for the electrons will be developed. This source will be compact and portable to be used for several applications such as Low Energy Electron Microscopy, functionalization of semi-conducting surfaces or high resolution Electron Energy Loss Spectrometry by coupling to a Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope. Based on the knowledge developed with the first experiment, a second ambitious xenon dual ion and electron beam machine will then be realized and used to study the scattering of ion and electron at low energy. Finally, I present a very innovative scheme to control the time, position and velocity of individual particles in the beams. Such a machine providing ions or electrons on demand would open the way for the 'ultimate' resolution in time and space for surface analysis, lithography, microscopy or implantation.

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.

The overall aim of the NANOSENS project is to upgrade the research and innovation capacity of the National Institute of Research and Development for Technical Physics (NIRDTP) to the highest European level in microsensors for medical applications and biosensors based on magnetic nanoparticles and nanowires. NIRDTP is a very promising European research organisation in the fields of nanoscience and microsystems. The Institute has a total staff of 73 persons (researchers and administrative). NIRDTP's existing scientific expertise and facilities will be further developed through a range of research and innovation capacity building activities derived from NIRDTP's SWOT analysis. The activities will increase NIRDTP's visibility, society/regional responsiveness and innovation potential for the most advanced topics of microsensors and biosensors: Research Topic A: Microsensors for Medical Applications A1. Acoustic microsensors based on nano- and microwires for medical applications; A2. Implantable magnetic microsensors based on nanostructured materials for medical applications; Research Topic B: Biosensors based on Nanoparticles and Barcode Nanowires B1. Sensors based on nanosized detection elements for applications in nanomedicine; B2. Biosensors based on multilayered nanowires for the detection of biomolecules. Central to the activities are twinning partnerships with six specialist research organisations: 1. Sheffield Centre for Advanced Magnetic Materials and Devices within the Department of Engineering Materials, University of Sheffield, UK (SCAMMD); 2. Department of Materials for Information Technologies in the Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid, Spain (ICMM-CSIC); 3. Siemens Corporate Technology, Erlangen, Germany (SIEMENS); 4. Nanobioelectronics & Biosensors Group in the Institut Català de Nanotecnologia, Barcelona, Spain (ICN); 5. Solid State Physics group within the Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, UK (UGLA); 6. Materials Science Electron Microscopy Department at the University of Ulm, Germany (UULM). NIRDTP will increase its human potential by hiring seven experienced researchers, one IP manager and one Innovation Manager, as well as organising know-how exchanges and trainings for existing and new staff with twinning partners. NIRDTP will increase its technology potential by purchasing a scanning Auger nanoprobe equipment, upgrading its RF sputtering equipment with laser ablation capabilities, and purchasing a gel electrophoresis system. Finally, to ensure its research quality and innovation capability, NIRDTP will be ex-post evaluated by a team of international, independent experts nominated by the Commission.