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Spin waves in bits observed for the first time

Spin waves in bits observed for the first time

Image STM image of two artificial bits of seven iron atoms each: one vertically oriented (top) and one diagonally oriented (bottom left) Every time a bit on your hard disk drive is flipped, for a very short period, countless waves will propagate through the bit. These waves are known as spin waves. How spin waves exactly influence the flipping process is hard to determine. In a joint effort, researchers at the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) together with colleges at TU Delft (the Netherlands) have now succeeded for the first time in observing spin waves in a bit consisting of only six atoms. They report their findings in this month’s issue of Nature Materials, which devotes the cover to their work. Read Press Release here First full movie of the flip of a magnetic bit

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Theory Group Research on “Control of single-spin magnetic anisotropy by exchange coupling” published in Nature Nanotechnology

Theory Group Research on “Control of single-spin magnetic anisotropy by exchange coupling” published in Nature Nanotechnology

When directly on a metal surface, the magnetism (black arrows) of a single cobalt atom (orange circles) is screened by strong interactions with the surrounding metallic sea (blue). By moving these atoms towards the centre of an island of thin insulator material (white), we can gradually decrease that strength of that interaction, which results in a remarkable enhancement of the magnetic anisotropy. Image Credit: Alfaro Cuevas (http://alfarocuevas.blogspot.com/) The energy needed to change the magnetic orientation of a single atom can be modified by varying the atom’s electrical coupling to nearby metals. The capability to determine an atom’s magnetic orientation provides control over its magnetic stability and therefore its usefulness in a variety of future device applications. This striking result was published in the current edition of the journal Nature Nanotechnology by an international group of scientists working at International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (Portugal), the London Centre for Nanotechnology (LCN) at UCL (UK), the University of Zaragoza (Spain), and the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics (Germany). Read more here. Journal link: Control of single-spin magnetic anisotropy by exchange coupling. doi: 10.1038/NNANO.2013.264

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10 research projects selected under INL-Brazil collaboration

10 research projects selected under INL-Brazil collaboration

10 nanotechnology research projects were selected within the INL-Brazil collaboration agreement (CAPES/INL call). The projects will be developed in Brazilian research centers in collaboration with the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory. This initiative arises from the Memorandum of Understanding signed at the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL), earlier this year, between the governments of Brazil, Portugal and Spain. The results of the 1st call launched by the Brazilian Ministry of Education (CAPES) can be found here. The collaboration agreement allows the access of Brazilian researchers and students to INL’s state of the art facilities and promotes increased awareness and mobility among the different centers. The main areas of cooperation are electronic nanodevices, nanostructures and nanoparticles for applications in nanomedicine, environment control and water and food quality monitoring.

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Spintronics in Graphene – 11 PhD & 4 Post-Doctoral Positions available

Spintronics in Graphene – 11 PhD & 4 Post-Doctoral Positions available

The SPINOGRAPH – “Spintronics in Graphene” is a Marie Curie Initial Training Network (ITN) providing state-of-the-art training for early-stage researchers (ESR) and Experienced Researchers (ER) in the field of Spintronics in Graphene. The network brings together 9 world-leading partners and offers a total of 11 Early Stage Research (ESR) PhD positions for 36 months and 4 Experienced Researcher (ER) post-doctoral positions for 24 months. Host institutions are INL, Braga, Portugal-Coordinator (2 PhD), AMO GmbH, Aachen, Germany (1 postdoc), CIC Nanogune, San Sebastian, Spain (2 PhD), CNRS, Paris, France (1 postdoc), CSIC Madrid, Spain (2 PhD), Graphenea, San Sebastian, Spain (1 postdoc), University of Aachen, Germany (1 PhD, 1 Postdoc), University of Groningen, Netherlands (2 PhD), University of Manchester, UK (2 PhD). The recruited researchers will participate in challenging and exciting projects at the forefront of research on Spintronics in Graphene and benefit from several network-wide schools, workshops and specific training courses. More information here.

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INL facilities open to external users

INL facilities open to external users

The International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory provides 22,000 m2 of laboratory space and state-of-the-art equipment for various research areas. INL scientific facilities are fully operational since the beginning of 2011 and cleanroom processes and laboratory equipment are now available for external users. The cleanroom provides class 100 and class 1000 laboratory space dedicated to nanolithography, photolithography, wet process, planarization, reactive Ion etching, deposition, and analytical instrumentation for process and device characterization. A separate biology bay completes cleanroom key capabilities. The central Biology and Biochemistry facility provides support for groups developing research in these areas, including specific facilities for molecular biology, microbiology, bio-imaging facility. The high accuracy laboratories offer a detailed structural characterization of thin films, interfaces, nanostructures, and biological structures. Available techniques include atomic force microscopy, surface analysis by XPS, electron microscopy including a probe corrected TEM, FIB and environmental SEM. Other support labs provide state-of-the-art equipment for optical imaging, spectral ellipsometry, magnetometry, radiofrequency device characterization, MEMS, and nanochemistry/spectroscopy. External users can check equipment and process availability at INL website, as well as the contact person for the particular item. Conditions of use are as follows: 1 -external users coming to INL within approved collaborative projects (FCT, CSIC, European union, companies, […]

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INL will award 21 COFUND fellowships

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.

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Chad S. Korach delivered talk on the Mechanics of Dental Enamel and Mineralized Bio-Nanocomposites at INL

«Mechanics of Dental Enamel and Mineralized Bio-Nanocomposites» is the title of the talk delivered by Dr Chad S. Korach, June 28th, at the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL), in Braga. Dr Chad S. Korach is Assistant Professor and the Director of the Laboratory for Nanotribology and Wear Mechanics in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Stony Brook University. Abstract Enamel, the hardest substance in the human body, takes the form of a protective crown on teeth and is a human’s only exposed hard tissue. Though enamel is a robust biological composite with high hardness and rigidity, it is susceptible to significant localized wear in the form of cervical lesions. The aetiology of the lesions is attributed to high mechanical stresses in the cervical region and the abrasion of the surface combined with erosive. The unique hierarchical microstructure of enamel plays an important role in the wear process. Here, the mechanics of enamel is studied by instrumented micro scratching and atomic force acoustic microscopy (AFAM) to observe the effects of erosive application on surface damage formation. Relationships between applied stress and enamel erosion are developed. In addition, quantitative AFAM is used to measure the nanomechanical properties of enamel associated with microstructural […]

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Nobel Laureate Harold Kroto gave lecture at INL

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 […]

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

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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