Outreach Activities


March 8th, 2011
Ionic Oxide Clusters: Formation, Deposition and Applications
Bruno Masenelli
INL, CNRS-INSA Lyon, France

14.30 Sala Consiglio - Physics Department - Via Celoria 16 - 20133 Milano



February 24th, 2010
Magnetoresistance and Spintronic Devices
Dr. Roberto Mantovan
Laboratorio Nazionale MDM CNR-INFM, Agrate Brianza (MI), Italy

Magnetoresistance (MR) is the change of electrical resistance in a material occurring upon the application of a magnetic field. Since the first observation of MR in Fe by William Thomson in 1856, different MR phenomena has been discovered, sometimes understood, and exploited in the recent years. In particular, the engineering of thin films and multilayers opened the way for the realization of devices showing large MR effects like to so-called giant-MR (GMR) and tunnel-MR (TMR), which opened the way for the realization of innovative spin-based electronic devices for applications in magnetic field sensing (high density hard disks) and non-volatile memory devices (magnetic RAM, MRAM). In this talk, I will present the basic principles of MR phenomena focusing on the exploitation of MR effects in spintronic devices. Results of MR measurements in magnetite (Fe3O4) films deposited by chemical vapour deposition will be presented, together with a correlation between MR and the atomic-scale properties of Fe3O4 as investigated by Mössbauer spectroscopy. I will present our efforts in the development of a full in situ atomic layer/chemical vapour-deposition system for the synthesis of magnetic tunnel junctions for memory applications, an activity performed in the framework of the SPAM project.

10.30 Aula Caldirola - Physics Department - Via Celoria 16 - 20133 Milano



February 24th, 2010
Block-Copolymer Thin Films for Advanced Nanolitography Applications
Dr. Michele Perego
Laboratorio Nazionale MDM CNR-INFM, Agrate Brianza (MI), Italy

Block copolymer lithography is an emerging nano-lithographic process utilizing self-assembled nanoscale morphologies of block copolymers to fabricate uniform, densely spaced nanometerscale features over wafer-scale areas. Self organizing block-copolymers are fully compatible with standard semiconductor technology and represent a low-cost and efficient instrument for the creation of nanostructures with critical dimensions below the current photolithographic resolution limits. However, the control and fine adjustment of the in-plane nanostructures positioning by using block copolymer technology is still a challenge.
In this talk I will present an overview of the current approaches for the controlled self-assembly of block-copolymers in thin films for different nanofabrication applications. In particular I will focus on the latest experimental results related to the implementation of block-copolymer based protocols for the synthesis of silicon nanostructures (nanodots, nanowires). These nano-objects are supposed to be used as building blocks for the fabrication of devices in which the different fabric elements will be interfaced to create of a new generation of electronic and optoelectronic devices. This research activity is funded by the NanoSci-ERA consortium through the NANO-BLOCK project.

10.00 Aula Caldirola - Physics Department - Via Celoria 16 - 20133 Milano



February 10th-11th, 2010
Basic Principles and Advanced Applications of Atomic Force Microscopy in Bio-nano-systems
Dr. Fernando Moreno-Herrero
Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Madrid, Spain

Basic principles

February 10th, 2010
14.30 Aula D - Physics Department - Via Celoria 16 - 20133 Milano

Applications in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology February 11th, 2010
9.30 Aula Consiglio - Physics Department - Via Celoria 16 - 20133 Milano



January 28th-29th, 2010
Lectures on Micro and Nanofabrication
Dr. Nikolaj Gadegaard
Electronics & Electrical Engineering, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom

Nanoengineering for Bioengineering

In this lecture, some of the fabrication technologies used in nanofabrication will be discussed. This will cover different types of lithography and replication techniques. The last part of the lecture will briefly touch on the subject of surface chemistry.
January 28th, 2010
9.30 Aula Polvani - Physics Department - Via Celoria 16 - 20133 Milano

Biological Applications of Micro- and Nanopatterning

In this lecture, the substrates “fabricated” in the previous lecture will be applied to biological systems. The response of cell lines and stem cells will be discussed and examples of tissue engineering applications will be given.
January 29th, 2010
9.30 Aula Polvani - Physics Department - Via Celoria 16 - 20133 Milano



January 21st, 2010
Nanostructured materials through combustion synthesis: design, functionalization, applications, and sustainability
Prof. Lutz Mädler
IWT Foundation Institute of Materials Science Process & Chemical Engineering Division
Department of Production Engineering, University of Bremen, Germany

Flame aerosol technology is one of the most widely used synthesis routes in manufacturing of commercial quantities of nanoparticles. The application of flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) further broadens the spectrum of flame made powders and their use in various applications as there are more liquid than gaseous precursors available. Even particles with pre-defined stoichiometric composition can be produced. Design principles of such functional nanoparticles will be presented with regard to specific applications such as dental fillers, UV-filters, catalysts and especially gas sensors. Because of the large number of new nanomaterials that are being produced, it is of increasing importance to develop a platform for safety and risk assessment. The presentation will highlight the emerging paradigms of toxicity that can be linked to the physicochemical properties of engineered nanoparticles with a view to outlining scientific principles that originate at the nano/bio interface and that could determine biocompatible or injurious interactions. Using flame spray pyrolysis for testing of major toxicological paradigms such as UV activation, redox cycling chemistry of the particles, the ability of nanoparticles to absorb circulatory or cellular proteins as a function of particle size, surface area, functionalized surface groups, charge, hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity etc. will also be briefly described.

17.30 Sala Consiglio - Physics Department - Via Celoria 16 - 20133 Milano



July 29th, 2009
Hydrogen Sensing Properties of Mg-based Alloy and Pd Films
Prof. Chu Wo Ong
Department of Physics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, People's Republic of China

15.00 Sala Caldirola - Physics Department - Via Celoria 16 - 20133 Milano



May 15th, 2009
Nonlinear Elasticity of Monolayer Graphene
Prof. Luciano Colombo
Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Cagliari, Italy
SLACS-INFM/CNR, Italy

By combining continuum elasticity theory and tight-binding atomistic simulations, we work out the constitutive nonlinear stress-strain relation for graphene stretching elasticity and we calculate all the corresponding nonlinear elastic moduli. Present results offer a robust picture on elastic behavior of one-atom thick carbon sheets and provide the proper interpretation of recent experiments. In particular, we discuss the physical meaning of the effective nonlinear elastic modulus there introduced and we predict its value in good agreement with available data. Finally, a hyperelastic softening behavior is observed and discussed, so determining the failure properties of graphene.

12.00 Sala Caldirola - Physics Department - Via Celoria 16 - 20133 Milano



March 16th, 2009
Dr. Hooman Vahedi Tafreshi
Mechanical Engineering Department, Virginia Commonwealth University, USA

Modelling Transport Phenomena in Nano- and Micro-Fibrous Porous Microstructures. Permeability

In this talk, our recent advances in developing 3-D geometrical models resembling the internal microstructure of fibrous materials are reviewed. Virtual 3-D models will be generated and utilized in simulating the fluid flow in fibrous materials by solving the Stokes flow equations in the void space between the fibers. The resulting pressure and velocity fields are then used to calculate the microscale permeability of the material. Using a dual-scale modeling approach, the microscale permeability values are combined in a macro-scale model to simulate the fluid infiltration rate in the fibrous media and also to obtain their pore size distributions. Here, we also present our recent work on developing an analytical expression for predicting the permeability of fibrous media made up of two different fiber sizes.

Modelling Transport Phenomena in Nano- and Micro-Fibrous Porous Microstructures. Nanoparticle Filtration/Separation

With the velocity and pressure fields in the void space between the fibers in a fibrous medium calculated, one can simulate the trajectory of micro- or nano-particles throughout the medium and calculate the rate particle deposition on the fibers. In this talk, we discuss our recent progress with modeling flow field around nanofibers and their applications in particle filtration/separation.

11.30 Sala Caldirola - Physics Department - Via Celoria 16 - 20133 Milano



March 3rd-4th, 2009
Fundamentals of Technical Design – Mechanical Processing and Workshop Machines
Dr. Francesco Cavaliere
Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy

The course is aimed at undergraduate and PhD students, researchers and anyone interested in experimental activities which involve mechanical and vacuum equipment. Aim of the course is to give participants basic information on mechanical processing, on materials, on design and on the techniques commonly used to realise mechanical systems.

9.00 Sala Caldirola and Officina del Dipartimento di Fisica - Physics Department - Via Celoria 16 - 20133 Milano



October 2nd, 2008
Uncommon Properties of Common Carbon Coatings: Surface Modified Coatings and Hosts to Basic Polymers and Carbyne
Dr. Maksym Rybachuk
Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Berlin, Germany

Functional carbon coatings that include soft and hard amorphous carbon films, and amorphous diamond-like (DLC) films are known to contain significant fraction of carbon atoms organised in sp3 configuration. These films are unique due to their valuable mechanical properties and tuneable optoelectronic properties which can be modified becoming either graphite-like or similar to natural diamond. Films synthesised out of a hydrogenated medium occasionally contain trans-polyacetylene and carbyne, these inclusions while perceived of being ineffectual, have been difficult to identify and quantify.
This seminar will present the experimental work investigating inclusions of basic π- conjugated polymers (trans-polyacetylene a