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INL hosted workshop on research and development of photovoltaics

European projections show that in 2050, 15% to 30% of all generated electricity will come from photovoltaics, making it a field of strategic interest for Portugal and Europe. Among others, this was one of the motivations for the workshop that took place Monday (9th of February) at the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL), in Braga. “Portugal has a very significant number of researchers working in different aspects of photovoltaics and this workshop was used to identify synergy opportunities between the groups. There is no doubt that this is a strategic sector for Portugal and for Europe”, said Pedro Salomé, a researcher from INL and co-organizer of the workshop that gathered over 40 photovoltaic specialists in Braga, Portugal. Along with researchers from INL and Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia (LNEG), the other co-organising partner, the following institutions also participated: Universidade do Minho, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, Universidade de Aveiro, Universidade de Coimbra, Faculdade de Ciências e Instituto Superior Técnico da Universidade de Lisboa and Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa. There were also observers from the industry taking part in the meeting, namely Martifer Solar, Open Renewables and Edp Inovação. In total, 42 […]

INL Researcher Lifeng Liu awarded FCT Investigator Grant

In the 2014 FCT Investigator call, Lifeng Liu was awarded a “Development Grant” for his proposal entitled “Atomic Layer Deposition Enabled Nanostructure Surface and Interface Engineering for Energy Storage and Conversion”, ranking the 4th in the domain of “Engineering-Technology-Sciences” with an overall score of 9/9. The proposed project aims to use the emerging atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique to synthesize high-quality hybrid nanostructures and engineer the surface as well as the interface of nanomaterials; meanwhile usinge the obtained hybrid nanomaterials to fabricate energy conversion and storage devices such as lithium-ion batteries, supercapacitors, solid-state solar cells and water splitting cells. The main objectives of the project are to develop novel hybrid nanostructures that can offer remarkably improved performance when used in energy conversion and storage and to improve greatly the operational stability of water splitting cells and lithium-ion battery electrodes based on metal oxide nanostructures.

Doctoral Programme in Advanced Integrated Microsystems

INL is a partner in the Doctoral programme in Advanced Integrated Microsystems (AIM), together with the Universidade de Lisboa (www.ulisboa.pt) and the Universidade Nova de Lisboa (www.unl.pt). The programme offers advanced research-based training in the design and implementation of miniaturized multifunctional devices and systems fabricated using top-down and bottom-up micro and nanofabrication techniques. These systems will be applied to bioprocessing, biotechnology, biomedicine, pharmaceutical sciences, biosensing for biomedical, environmental and food safety, physical sensing – optical, magnetic, electronic, micromechanical. Detailed information is available here.

INL strengthens collaborative ties with Argentine researchers

The governments of Argentina, Portugal and Spain signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen scientific and technical cooperation between the three countries in the area of nanotechnology. The objective is to develop joint projects in the area of nanotechnology and encourage the training of highly qualified human resources. The document will facilitate the access to Argentine institutions of science, technology and innovation, researchers, students and companies to the research facilities of the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory. The memorandum was signed by the Argentine Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Lino Barañao, the Portuguese Minister of Education and Science, Nuno Crato, and the Spanish Ambassador Eduardo Junco, representing the Spanish Secretary of State for Research, Development and Innovation, Carmen Vela, on March 11th in Lisbon.

Brazil, Portugal and Spain Begin Major Collaboration at INL

A call for projects involving Brazilian companies as well as Brazilian research, technology and innovation organisations have been launched. This is the result of the Memorandum of Understanding signed at the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL), March 8th. The agreement signed between the governments of Brazil, Spain and Portugal is based on previous cooperation agreements and establishes the framework for the role of INL in the development of training and research activities in Nanotechnology. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed during the visit of the Brazilian and the Portuguese Ministers of Science and Education, Aloizio Mercadante and Nuno Crato, to INL and it will facilitate the access for Brazilian science, technology, and innovation centres as well as for students, researchers and companies to INL state of the art facilities. The main areas of cooperation are nanodevices, nanoelectronics, nanoparticles applied to nanomedicine, environment control and water and food quality monitoring. link to call Photo: (L-R) Jose Rivas, Director General of INL; Aloizio Mercadante, Brazilian Minister of Education and Science; Nuno Crato, Portuguese Minister of Education and Science; and Paulo Freitas, Deputy Director-General of INL – credit – WAPAphoto.

INL involved in EC´s coordinated approach to promote the safety of nanomaterials

The International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) participates in the European Commission’s NANoREG project on the safety of nanomaterials. At INL, the goal of this four-year project is to establish and test specific measurement and characterization methods and offer a wide set of well‐characterized manufactured or engineered nanomaterials (MNMs). The industrial use of nanomaterials has grown significantly, therefore more knowledge about the health and environmental hazard impacts of nanomaterials is necessary. Interest in the use of nanomaterials is considerable, as they can be used to improve product characteristics; for example, nanoparticles help make a surface self-cleaning through a hydrophobic coat of paint; but the safety of these nanoparticles raises questions. The fast development of nanomaterials and their presence on the market make it necessary to evaluate their environmental and health impacts. The project aims at developing guidelines for safe usage, risk management and safety instructions while assessing the need for new legislation. NANoREG is a FP7 project aiming to deliver the answers needed by regulators and legislators on EHS by linking them to scientific evaluation of data and test methods. The NANoREG consortium joins governmental authorities, research institutes and companies from 14 European countries. With this project, we will get not […]

INL will award 21 COFUND fellowships

The International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) will award 21 COFUND NanoTRAINforGrowth Fellowships. The fellowship programme supports promising postdoctoral researchers in their academic career development through integration into research groups, facilitating new co-operations in a stimulating and interdisciplinary research environment. Successful candidates will have the opportunity to plan a research project and work on their own research idea, at INL´s facilities. The Cofund fellowships will be awarded in the main focus areas of INL, respectively Nanomedicine (emphasis on cancer research) and Nanotechnologies for food safety and environmental control. The programme will also provide training on leadership and communication skills, project management and on obtaining research funding. INL´s NanoTRAINforGrowth fellowship programme will allow international researchers to develop their work over a period of two years.Researchers will be selected through a competitive call, expected to be launched in January 2013. The NanoTRAINforGrowth fellowship programme will run for four years (2013 – 2016) with an overall budget of 3.3M€ and is co-financed by the Marie Curie Actions of the European Union.

Nobel Laureate Harold Kroto gave lecture at INL

Sir Harold Kroto, one of the co-recipients of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry delivered (June 1st) at INL, in Braga (Portugal) a lecture entitled «Carbon in Nano and Outer Space». The Nobel laureate stressed the importance of improving the general level of scientific understanding and awareness worldwide. «Acceptance of the truth» should go hand in hand with «understanding the truth». Harold Kroto invited the young scientists in the audience to address present challenges and to think out of the box, to focus their creativity and commitment in the subject they feel genuinely passionate about. Referring to the importance of the discovery of penicillin and anaesthetics and its impact on the improvement of human well-being, Kroto directed the attention to a present challenge: the decreasing effectiveness of antibiotics. Prof. Kroto began his lecture telling the story of his and his colleagues’ odyssey towards the discovery of C60. In 1970 his research group conducted laboratory began spectroscopic studies on long linear carbon chain molecules with colleague David Walton. This research led to radio astronomy searches with Takeshi Oka and Canadian astronomers (Lorne Avery, Norman Broten and John McLeod) at the National Research Council in Canada which made the surprising discovery that […]

INL installs LPX Pegasus ASE, a Deep Silicon Etch (DRIE) with a broad range of challenging applications

Advanced Silicon Etch (ASE) is a deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) technique used to rapidly etch deep and high aspect ratio structures in silicon. LPX Pegasus is the continuation of STS’ Advanced Silicon Etch (ASE) technology. Through an in-depth understanding of the Bosch process and with the required hardware, Pegasus is able to provide excellent profile control and selectivity. The increased etch rate and improved uniformity lead to higher throughput and device yield, resulting in increased productivity. This inductively de-coupled plasma (IDP) system uses fluorine-based gases for anisotropic deep silicon trench etching. The 13.56 MHz RF power supply produces high-density, low-pressure, low-energy plasma. This type of plasma allows high selectivity and aspect ratio etching for depths greater than 150 microns and has an expected etch rate better than 15 microns/ min. Used primarily for MEMs devices, the typical materials used in this etcher are silicon wafers covered with photoresist and thin films of silicon dioxide and silicon nitride. The performance improvements that Pegasus brings have numerous benefits for research as well as for end-users. At the moment, the tool is being installed in the INL’s facilities and it is expected that the final validation process will take place the first […]

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