A significant challenge in graphene fabrication is the production of large, suspended graphene layers. This issue applies to any kind of graphene-based device and is particularly critical when the fabrication of closed cells is required, for example in the fabrication of large, sealed cells for in-operando XPS or TEM investigation, or the fabrication of Golay cell-like bolometers.
Papers
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 The new FNF SEM-FIB laboratory is ready! |
 The spaces of the Nano Fabrication Facility are further enlarged: a new laboratory has been created for the facility, at the MM building, dedicated to tubular furnaces, for the oxidation processes of silicon and for the production of Glassy Carbon. |
 A new Cryostage has been installed on the available Cross Beam at FNF labs; the tool will extend the fields of application of electron microscopy. It should be noted that a new access mode to FNF will now be possible at a reduced rate, for those interested in accessing only the Dual Beam laboratory; in addition to this, the cryo stage, the sputter coater, the laminar flow hood for sample preparation, and finally the CO2 critical point drier system are also included. |
 In the framework of piezoelectric/ferromagnetic patterned heterostructures, the purpose of this work is to electrically control the magnetic properties by tuning the morphology, especially by modifying the magnetic shape anisotropy through patterned strain. We have thus designed and studied a heterostructure with bottom nano-striped and top full film electrodes. ZnO piezoelectric and CoFeB magnetic materials were chosen to respond at critical criteria of its geometry. In addition, numerical simulations and magnetostatic calculations were performed to understand the reproduction of the pattern across the multiferroic heterostructure. Calculations have shown that the geometry of the heterostructure presents strict constraints, as for instance the distance between stripes versus the piezoelectric thickness. This study is a preliminary step towards reversible patterning of magnetic properties. |
Electrochemical sensors are devices able to determine the concentration, through direct electrical measurements, of molecules and biomolecules in solutions. The miniaturization to a size below the 1 um in small-size arrays of nanoelectrodes (NEA), offers advantages in terms of increased sensitivity and compactness. NEAs of nanoholes on a thin film of polycarbonate (PC) deposited on boron-doped diamond (BDD) macroelectrodes has successfully fabricated by thermal nanoimprint lithography (TNIL), with a high reliability and reproducibility.The device has employed for the detection of, gliadin protein fragments physisorbed on the polycarbonate surface of NEAs by immuno-indirect assay using a secondary antibody labelled with horseradish peroxidase (HRP), in the range of concentration of 0.5–10 g/mL, by cyclic voltammetry.The fabrication of high-resolution nanostructures allows low-cost production, and possibly the scale up of NEAs-based electrochemical sensing platform to monitor biochemical molecules for both food and biomedical applications. |
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Time-resolved investigations on any phase of matter through pump-probe methods involving FELs and laser beams is a new frontier for modern science. The underlying problem for these experiments is the requirement of an accurate spatial and temporal superposition of pump and probe beams on the sample: at the present, this is still a critical procedure, also in term of large time needed going to the detriment of the available beamtime. |
A computer-generated holograms (CGH) encoding information for light beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) has been developed in collaboration between IOM-CNR and Padua University. The use of a numerical code, based on an iterative Fourier transform algorithm, allowed a phase-only diffractive optical element (PO-DOE) by exploiting a new method based on transmission through high-order spiral phase plates (SPPs). |
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The nanopatterning of the methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3) perovskite, a polycrystalline hybrid organic-inorganic semiconductor with very promising perspectives for photovoltaic and optoelectronic applications has been achieved. Nanopatterning of MAI is obtained via Pulsed-NIL technology, an ultrafast version of the thermal nanoimprint lithography (NIL) based on stamps with integrated heaters. By Pulsed-NIL we were able to replicate onto the hybrid perovskite structures with details at the sub-100 nm scale, in spite of its crystalline nature. |
Cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions are essential to the survival and proliferation of most cells, and are responsible for triggering a wide range of biochemical pathways. More recently, the biomechanical role of those interactions was highlighted, showing, for instance, that adhesion forces are essential for cytoskeleton organization. Silicon nanowires (Si NWs) with their small size, high aspect ratio and anisotropic mechanical response represent a useful model to investigate the forces involved in the adhesion processes and their role in cellular development. |