NANOCMOS is a project integrating in a coherent structure, activities that in the past have been the object of ESPRIT/IST, JESSI/MEDEA projects in the field of CMOS technologies. It focuses on the RTD activities necessary to develop the 45nm, 32nm and below CMOS technologies. From these technology nodes it will be mandatory to introduce revolutionary changes in the materials, process modules, device and metallisation architectures and all related characterization, test, modelling and simulation technologies, to keep the scaling trends viable and make all future IST applications possible. NANOCMOS covers all these aspects. The project include as well important Training and Dissemination activities. A professional Management structure will be implemented. The first objective of the project is the demonstration of feasibility of Front-End and Back-End process modules of the 45nm node CMOS logic technology. The project intents to process as demonstrator a very aggressive SRAM chip displaying worldwide best characteristics. This objective will be achieved within two years from project start. The second objective of the project is to realize exploratory research on critical issues of the materials, devices, interconnect and related characterization and modelling to start preparing the 32/22 nodes considered to be within the limits of the CMOS technologies. The third objective of the project is to prepare the take up of results described in the Objective I and implement a 45nm Full Logic CMOS Process Integration in 300 mm wafers by the end of 2007. This integration will be part of a separate MEDEA+ project. NANOCMOS initial Consortium gathers most of best competences existing in Europe in the domain. It is expected to incorporate new partners, to fulfil already identified tasks. NANOCMOS places Europe on a privileged position in the competition to develop the enabling technologies of the 2010 e-Society.

With the BioEMERGENCES project, we aim at providing an experimental platform to observe in vivo emergent patterns at various scales and measure their variability between different individuals of the same species. This is a strategy towards the measurement of the individual susceptibility to genetic diseases or response to treatments.Emergent patterns arising at all levels of living organisms are influenced both by the external environment (top-down) and by the internal environment (bottom-up). As a consequence, two living beings are different even if they are two clones of the same species because the history of their coupling with their external environment is different. For these reasons, medicine evolves towards personalised protocols. To make them tangible, we have to be able to achieve the measurement at all organisation levels of the individual response to genetic defects or xenobiotics.The impossible measurement of individual differences will be tackled in a live vertebrate organism -the zebrafish- that has been largely validated as a powerful model for investigations related to human. Selected emergent phenomena arising at various scales will be recorded and reconstructed to measure the qualitative and quantitative differences between two classes of individuals. Measuring the individual response to a new class of anti-cancer drugs -the DRIL molecules- and the individual susceptibility to holoprosencephaly in a genetically deficient fish population will serve as a testbed for our experimental platform. The main result expected from BioEMERGENCES is the specification of a European platform to achieve high throughput measurement of individual differences and screening of drugs combinations such as bi or tri-therapies. Such a platform will allow responding to both the unavoidable scientific question of the construction of a synthetic description of individuals and the future requirement for new drugs in the field of personalized nano-medicine.

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) in combination with hydrogen are considered one of the best candidates to help to mitigate the climate change. However, there are still some challenges to release this technology to the market. One of the main costly issues for its commercialization is the amount of the platinum (Pt) that is used as catalyst, especially in the cathode where the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) takes place. Even though progress has been made during the past years decreasing the Pt loading, the utilization and stability of Pt must be increased to meet the application demands by changing the current commercial carbon support (mainly Vulcan XC-72). Here it is proposed the use of a hydrophobic carbon nanofiber (CNF) layer as Pt support that combine high stability to oxidation, high specific surface area without micropores and large pore volume. The first part of the project consists of the growth of a CNF layer, which is directly grown on one side of a carbon paper substrate. The first objective of the project is the direct deposition of Pt nanoparticles on only one side of the CNF layer while avoiding a deep penetration of the Pt particles and maintaining certain hydrophobicity. The external location of the Pt particles, close to the central membrane, is crucial for a high fuel cell performance. On the other hand, certain hydrophobicity is needed to improve the evacuation of water formed in the cathode eliminating, or at least reducing, the use of PTFE. The second objective is the study of the influence of the addition of proton conductive polymers in the electrocatalytic ORR of the electrode. Finally, the last objective is the fuel cell electrochemical characterization of the electrodes by preparing membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) by using commercial and/or in-house prepared anodes and membranes, so that the fuel cell performance can be measured and compared with a commercial MEA based on Pt/Vulcan XC-72.

Cationic lipids (CL) are the most promising candidates for efficient and safe gene-delivery vectors for gene therapy. Compared with viral capsids, CLs do not induce a response from the immune system. Moreover, while viral capsids have a maximum DNA-carrying capacity of about 40 kbp, CLs, which form self-assemblies with distinct lamellar LαC and inverted hexagonal HIIC, or HIC nanostructures when complexed with DNA, place no limit on the size of the DNA. Despite all these promises, transfection efficiency (TE; a measure of the expression of an exogenous gene that is transferred into cells) remains low, and only a substantial increase in the knowledge of relative interactions between CLs, DNA and cell's components can lead to the design of optimal CL-DNA complexes for gene therapy. Here we propose to design and study novel surface-functionalised PEG-CL-DNA complexes with a RGD and SV 40 peptide sequences. The use of PEG is required to avoid opsin complexation (hence, removal from the organism), while the RGD sequence is expected to induce endocytosis, allowing entrance of the complexes into cells. The SV 40 (a nuclear localisation sequence -NLS) is expected to lead to transport of the smaller sized complexes into the nucleus, permitting the usage of CLs as vectors in slowly or non-dividing cells. To test these hypotheses, transfection studies and confocal microscopy will be carried out in cells, whereas the structures and interactions of the complexes will be characterised with synchrotron x-ray diffraction. The interactions between CLs, DNA and cell components (mainly cytoskeleton filaments and cytoskeletal proteins) will be studied in-vitro with synchrotron x-ray diffraction, confocal microscopy and cryo-transmission electron microscopy. The whole of these studies will permit the rationalisation of the crucial parameters affecting TE, based on the structures of CL-DNA complexes and their interactions with the cytoskeleton.

Magnetite nanotubes are interesting for numerous applications including MRI, Biological and molecular separation, arsenic removal and catalysis of ammonia synthesis. The goal of this project is thus to create magnetic peptidic nanotubes using a bottom-up approach. A self-assembled peptidic nanotube template will be used to nucleate or attach magnetite nanoparticles on its inner and / or outer surface. The peptides will be selected for their ability to self-assemble in water and potential to mineralize magnetite or silica on their surface. The magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4) will be formed by oxydation of Fe(II) precursors onto the peptide surface or extracted from magnetotactic bacteria and bound onto the tube surface. We will also mineralize an additional silica layer in order to create triple-layered nanotubes (magnetite-peptide-silica or peptide-magnetite-silica) to improve the resilience and biocompatibility of these nanotubes. If necessary, the peptidic part will be removed through heating at high temperature (600°C). The resulting objects will be studied using SAXS, TEM, optical microscopy, Mössbauer spectroscopy.This study will help to gain insight on the biomineralization mechanisms used by magnetotactic bacteria to control the precipitation of magnetite chains in their cytoplasm.

As electronic sensor systems are becoming more complex and individualised, standard state of the art approaches will not be anymore appropriate to meet the objectives (cost, reliability, time to market, etc.) of the future. The innovative approach presented here will realize e-CUBES, .i.e. investigate and develop ¿small sensor cubes¿ which are wireless communicating among each other. The e-CUBES will build-up an ad-hoc network to realize the desired system functionality. e-CUBES addresses various multi-disciplinary applications in the important field of wireless sensor networks, with special emphasis but not limited to the following key application areas: - Distributed smart monitoring for Aeronautics and Space applications; - Wireless sensor networks for Health and Fitness; - Distributed intelligent Automotive Control. Particular focus of e-CUBES is on the following technologies: - Individual technologies at various layer levels, suitable for 3D integration; - Layer processing/thinning technologies for 3D integration; - 3D assembling and packaging; - New communication means, e.g. antennas, passive and RF integration, and communication networks; - Power supply and power management for portable applications; - Design methodologies for the 3D SoC and related simulation tools. The e-CUBES technology poses particular challenges with regard to the desirable sizes (a few cubic millimetres), the need to achieve continuous operation through an integrated or external wireless power supply, and the necessity of allowing multiple e-CUBES to communicate. The system is characterized by a large number of individual interconnected e-CUBES. The 'e-CUBES' vision therefore represents a new approach to systems integration that will help to develop complex, flexible and cost-efficient.

cQ3D proposes a 48-month program to improve the quantum coherence of superconducting flux qubits using cutting-edge developments in circuit quantum electrodynamics (QED). Beyond the immediate benefit to quantum computing with superconducting circuits, this effort will enable fundamental physics, such as the investigation of non-equilibrium quasiparticles in superconductors. Finally, it will pave the way for hybrid quantum computing with superconducting flux qubits coupled to electronic spins.

Understanding structure-property relationships across lengthscales is key to the design of functional and structural materials and devices. Moreover, the complexity of modern devices extends to three dimensions and as such 3D characterization is required across those lengthscales to provide a complete understanding and enable improvement in the material's physical and chemical behaviour. 3D imaging and analysis from the atomic scale through to granular microstructure is proposed through the development of electron tomography using (S)TEM, and 'dual beam' SEM-FIB, techniques offering complementary approaches to 3D imaging across lengthscales stretching over 5 orders of magnitude. We propose to extend tomography to include novel methods to determine atom positions in 3D with approaches incorporating new reconstruction algorithms, image processing and complementary nano-diffraction techniques. At the nanoscale, true 3D nano-metrology of morphology and composition is a key objective of the project, minimizing reconstruction and visualization artefacts. Mapping strain and optical properties in 3D are ambitious and exciting challenges that will yield new information at the nanoscale. Using the SEM-FIB, 3D 'mesoscale' structures will be revealed: morphology, crystallography and composition can be mapped simultaneously, with ~5nm resolution and over volumes too large to tackle by (S)TEM and too small for most x-ray techniques. In parallel, we will apply 3D imaging to a wide variety of key materials including heterogeneous catalysts, aerospace alloys, biomaterials, photovoltaic materials, and novel semiconductors. We will collaborate with many departments in Cambridge and institutes worldwide. The personnel on the proposal will cover all aspects of the tomography proposed using high-end TEMs, including an aberration-corrected Titan, and a Helios dual beam. Importantly, a postdoc is dedicated to developing new algorithms for reconstruction, image and spectral processing.

Additive manufacturing technologies such as 3D printing of polymers and metals have a large impact in many sectors. In this project we propose to explore ways to develop and commercially exploit a new type of 3D printing tool for manufacturing of silicon nanostructures. These 3D printers will make it possible to design and implement silicon micro- and nano-electromechanical system (MEMS&NEMS) sensors and photonic components in low volumes at affordable costs. As a result, resource-intensive semiconductor clean-room infrastructure will no longer be required to design and implement MEMS, NEMS and photonics components. A 3D printer for silicon nanostructures is made possible by employing a novel additive layer-by-layer manufacturing process that has been developed within the ERC Starting Grant project M&M´s (No.277879) lead by the PI. This process is based on alternating steps of chemical vapour deposition (CVD) of silicon and local implantation of gallium ions by focused ion beam (FIB) writing. In a final step, the defined 3D structures are formed by etching the silicon in potassium hydroxide (KOH), where the ion implantation provides the etching selectivity. The feasibility of the technology has been demonstrated within the ERC-M&M´s project by forming 3D silicon structures with layer thicknesses of 40 nm and lateral dimensions as small as 30 nm. To implement a 3D printer that can manufacture 3D silicon nanostructures from computer-generated 3D graphics, the steps of focused ion beam (FIB) writing and silicon deposition have to be combined as a fully automated switched process in a single tool.

Supramolecular assemblies -formed by the self-assembly of hundreds of protein subunits -are part of bacterial nanomachines involved in key cellular processes. Important examples in pathogenic bacteria are pili and type 3 secretion systems (T3SS) that mediate adhesion to host cells and injection of virulence proteins. Structure determination at atomic resolution of such assemblies by standard techniques such as X-ray crystallography or solution NMR is severely limited: Intact T3SSs or pili cannot be crystallized and are also inherently insoluble. Cryo-electron microscopy techniques have recently made it possible to obtain low- and medium-resolution models, but atomic details have not been accessible at the resolution obtained in these studies, leading sometimes to inaccurate models. I propose to use solid-state NMR (ssNMR) to fill this knowledge-gap. I could recently show that ssNMR on in vitro preparations of Salmonella T3SS needles constitutes a powerful approach to study the structure of this virulence factor. Our integrated approach also included results from electron microscopy and modeling as well as in vivo assays (Loquet et al., Nature 2012). This is the foundation of this application. I propose to extend ssNMR methodology to tackle the structures of even larger or more complex homo-oligomeric assemblies with up to 200 residues per monomeric subunit. We will apply such techniques to address the currently unknown 3D structures of type I pili and cytoskeletal bactofilin filaments. Furthermore, I want to develop strategies to directly study assemblies in a native-like setting. As a first application, I will study the 3D structure of T3SS needles when they are complemented with intact T3SSs purified from Salmonella or Shigella. The ultimate goal of this proposal is to establish ssNMR as a generally applicable method that allows solving the currently unknown structures of bacterial supramolecular assemblies at atomic resolution.