Nanotimes 12 10

12-09/10 :: September/October 2012
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New Thin-Film Polymer Metamaterial (42)
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Content | Editors Letter
Content
Editors Letter
Dear Readers, Again, we are happy to present an amazing nanotimes edition with latest key nanotech news. Nanotechnology, specifically nanosilver remains in the discussion. There is increasing concern about the environmental effects. Over the last ten years, NGOs often created a hostile environment for nanotech entrepreneurs in Germany. That is one reason why German and Austrian nanotechnology companies stopped communicating nanotech in public or emigrated elsewhere. I still remember Samsungs washing machine with a so-called Silver Nano Health System and its introduction to the market in 2006 in Germany. The announcement led to a heated discussion in the media led by NGO BUND, a German environmental organization. In Sweden, the washing machine had already been introduced to the market. Furthermore, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency EPA had declared it acceptable for use. Now, nanosilver is again coming under attack. A Swedish study concludes that silver can cause long-term damage to agricultural land. This result was published recently by Chalmers researcher Rickard Arvidsson [ Contributions to Emission, Exposure and Risk Assessment of Nanomaterials, Chalmers University of Technology]. Mr. Arvidsson conducted a study at Gothenburgs waste water treatment plant. His team concludes that the toxic pollution depends on the amount of silver that manufacturers use in clothing.
Stamping Process to Pattern Biomolecules [47]

Watchlist Companies News in Brief EU-Projects Patents Events 2012/13 Cartoon Corner 06 11 12 41 42 83 84 85 86 87 88 91 93
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The capital market situation is becoming increasingly difficult for small nanotech companies incl. the US. For example, the former exemplary company A123 Systems, an electric car batteries manufacturer, filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 weeks ago. It will show in the next few weeks if the engagement of the Chinese Wanxiang Group Corp. is effective. The auto parts maker will provide $50 million loan, a so-called debtor-in-possession financing. In Europe, politicians will likely have to look for a better legal solution for financing companies via crowdfunding. Last week I was in Vienna. A small shoe manufacturer stirs up the Austrian capital market there. The business founder has received funds up to EUR3 million ($3.8 m) from friends and family. He pays his investors interest; however, he has no banking license. That got him into trouble with the financial regulation authorities in Austria. The political Vienna has somewhat backed down after weeks of dispute. Sometimes it is worth to fight for your (business) interests.
Thomas Ilfrich

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Watchlist I
Company Symbol Private MMM AONE ACTG ACCL Private Private ACUS Private APD ALU Private AJX Private Private ALTI ACO AMSC Private AMRI Private Private Private Private AMAT Private Country
Company Applied Nanodetectors Applied Nanotech Arknano Technology Developm. Arrowhead Research Artimplant Asemblon Aspen Aerogels BASF Bayer Beneq BHR Group BioForce Nanosciences Bio-Gate BioMers BioSante Pharmaceuticals Boeing Bosch Bruker bubbles & beyond Buhler Partec Cabot Cambridge NanoTech Cambrios CAP-XX CAPRES Carl Bechem Lubrication
Symbol Private APNT Private ARWR AAPLTF Private Private BASFY BAYZF Private Private BFNH Private Private BPAX BA Private BRKR Private Private CBT Private Private CPX Private Private
Country
1366 Technologies 3M A123 Systems Acacia Research Accelrys Accurion (Nanofilm) Aculon Acusphere Advanced Nano Products Air Products Alcatel-Lucent ALD NanoSolutions Alexium International Alfalight ALIO Industries Altair Nanotechnologies AMCOL International American Superconductor Amprius AMRI (Albany Molecular Research) AnCatt Aneeve Nanotechnologies Angstron Materials Anson Nanotechnology Group Applied Materials Applied NanoFluorescence
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Watchlist II
Company FEW Chemicals First Nano (CVD Equipment) Flamel Technologies Flibe Energy Frontier Carbon (FCC) Future Carbon General Electric GigOptix (Lumera) GoNano Technologies Graphene Industries Graphene Laboratories GS Nanotech Haldor Topse A/S Harris & Harris Group Headwaters HeJi Hemoteq Hewlett-Packard Hitachi holotools Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies Hyperion Catalysis Int. IBM ILJIN Illumina Image Metrology Symbol Private CVV FLML Private Private Private GE GGOX Private Private Private Private Private TINY HW Private Private HPQ HIT Private Private Private IBM Private ILMN Private
Company CDT (Sumitomo Chemical) Chengdu Alpha Nano Technology Chevron (MolecularDiamond) Chongyi Zhangyuan Tungsten Clean Technology International Cluster Technology Crystal Clear Technologies DayStar Deutsche Nanoschicht Diamond Hard Surface DME Nanotechnologie Dow Chemical Doxa AB DuPont Dyesol E Ink (YFY Group) Element 6 (De Beers/umicore) Elmarco EPG (Engineered nanoProducts) Everspin Technologies Evonik Industries Exergy Technologies eZelleron FastCAP Systems FCC (Union Company) FEI Company
Symbol SOMMF Private CVX 002378 Private 4240 Private DSTI Private Private Private DOW Private DD DYSOY 1907 Private Private Private Private Private Private Private Private Private FEIC
Country
Country
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Watchlist III
Company Symbol Private Private INTK Private Private Private Private Private
I7N
Country Lumiphore Luxtera
Company
Symbol Private Private MF6.FSE Private Private Private MXIM Private MBLX Private MKGAY Private Private Private Private 517140 XDSL Private Private Private Private Private Private NNOCF Private Private
Country
ImageXpert IMS Nanofabrication Industrial Nanotech (Nansulate) Infinite Power Solutions Integran Technologies Integrated Nano-Technologies Intrinsiq Materials IOTA NanoSolutions (Unilever) ItN Nanovation Jadoo Power Jilin OLED Material Tech JMAR Technologies Kateeva Kelvin Nanotechnology KLA-TENCOR Klocke Nanotechnik Konarka Technologies Kopin Kurion Landa Labs Lehigh Nanotech LIFE Technologies LiqTech Liquidmetal Technologies Liqum Lockheed Martin
MagForce Nanotechnologies Magnisense Mantis Deposition Mar Systems Maxim Mesolight (Qdots) Metabolix Inc. MicroGen Systems Millipore (Merck Germany) Minus K Technology Modumetal Molecular Imprints Moore Nanotechnology Systems Moser Baer India mPhase Technologies namos Nano109 NanoAmor NanoAxis (AxiCad QDs) Nano-C NanoCarbLab (NCL) Nanoco Group PLC Nanocomp Oy Nanocomp Technologies (NCTI)
Private Private JMAR Private Private KLAC Private Private KOPN Private Private Private LIFE LIQT LQMT Private LMT
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Watchlist IV
Company NANO-SS JSC Nanostart Nanostellar (catalysts) NanoString Technologies Nanosurf Nanosys NanoTechLabs Nanotec Electrnica Nanotech Security NanoTex Nano-X Natural Nano NEC Neoker Neo Material Technologies NeoPhotonics NETZSCH Group NGK Insulators Ltd. NIL Technology Novacentrix Novaled Novavax nPoint nTact (former FAS Holdings) NTERA NT-MDT Symbol Private NASRY Private Private Private Private Private Private NTS Private Private NNAN NIPNF Private NEM NPTN Private 5333 Private Private Private Private Private Private Private Private
Company Nanocyl Nano Dispersions Technology Nanofilm Nanofocus Nanoforce Technology Nanogate Nano Green Technology NanoH2O Nanoholdings NanoInk NanoLab Nanoledge NanoMask (EMFP) NanoMaterials Ltd. (ApNano) NanoMech Nanonics Imaging Nanophase Technologies Nanoptek NanoScale NanoScape Nanoscience Instruments Nanoshel NanoSight Nanosolar Nanosphere NanoSpire (Cavitation)
Symbol Private Private Private N2F.FSE Private N7G.FSE Private Private Private Private Private Private NANM Private Private Private NANX Private Private Private Private Private Private Private NSPH Private
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Country
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Watchlist V
Company Symbol NVE Private OBDU B Private Private Private
OXA
Country QD Vision
Company
Symbol Private Private QQ Private Private Private Private Private OMG Private Private Private Private Private DOW Private Private Private Private 006400 Private Private Private Private Private Private
Country
NVE Corporation Oasys (Osmotic Application Systems) Obducat Ocean NanoTech Optitune (BraggOne Oy) Optomec Oxford Advanced Surfaces Oxford Photovoltaics Photronics Picosun PlasmaChem Plasma-Therm Plastic Logic Plug Power PolyAn Polyera PolyIC Polymer Vision Polyphotonix PolyPlus Battery Polypore PolyRemedy promeos pSivida pureNANO QD Soleil (subsid. of Nanosys)
QED Technologies QinetiQ Group Qlight Nanotech Qtech Nanosystems QuantuMDx Group Quantum Materials Quantum Materials (QMC) QuantumSphere (OM Group) QuNano Raymor Industries Reinste Nano Ventures Retina Implant RevolutionFibres Rohm and Haas (part of DOW) Rolith RUSNANO SA Envitech Saint-Gobain Glass Samsung SDI sarastro SCHOTT (owner: Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung) SDCmaterials Showa Denko Carbon SICC-Coatings Silanotex
Private PLAB Private Private Private Private PLUG Private Private Private Private Private Private PPO Private Private PSDV Private Private
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Watchlist VI
Company TraceDetect Ubiquitous Energy Ultratech ULVAC Unitika Universal Display US Global Nanospace US Nanocorp Vasasensor Veeco Instruments Vistec Vorbeck Materials Vulvox Nanobiotechnology Westaim Western Digital (Komag) XG Sciences Xidex YashNanotech Zhuhai Jetcolour Nanotech Ziptronix zNano Zoz Group Zygo Zyomix Zyvex Instruments Zyvex Technologies Symbol Private Private UTEK Private 3103 PAL USGA.PK Private Private VECO Private Private Private WEDXF WDC Private Private Private Private Private Private Private ZIGO Private Private Private
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Company Silex Microsystems SiMPore SiOnyx SNS Nano Fiber Technology Sol Chip Solicore Soligie SolMateS Sonics & Materials SouthWest NanoTechnologies Starpharma (Dendritic Nanotech) Spire Steward Advanced Materials Strategic Polymer Sciences Strike Graphite Surrey NanoSystems Tagra (Efal Group) TECNAN Tecqua (liquid glass) Tekna Plasma Systems TerraPower Tethis ThalesNano Thinfilm Thomas Swan Toray Industries
Symbol Private Private Private Private Private Private Private Private Private Private SPL SPIR Private Private Private Private Private Private Private Private Private Private Private THIN Private Private
Country
Country
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Companies Facts
Companies Summaries
iltrete Brand from 3M, known for its air filtration products for heating and cooling systems, is introducing a new line of do-it-yourself, plumbed-in Filtrete Water Filtration Products. There are three different types of Filtrete Water Filtration installation systems, including Drinking Water Systems used with Existing or Dedicated Faucets, High Performance and Sump Style Whole House Systems, and Universal In-Line Refrigerator Filters. The new plumbed-in systems are currently available at Walmart stores nationwide and can also be purchased online. Filtrete replacement filters and other accessories are also available.
http://FiltreteWater.com
3M also introduced an innovative new coating for photovoltaic (PV) modules and concentrated solar power (CSP) mirrors at Solar Power International. 3M Anti-Soiling Liquid is an easy-to-apply coating designed for aftermarket use that helps solar modules stay cleaner, longer. The Company also announced that WIELAND Dental + Technik GmbH & Co. entered a licensing agreement with 3M for use of 3Ms processed zirconia coloring technology. 3M reported record third-quarter earnings of $1.65 per share, an increase of 8.6% versus the third quarter of 2011. Operating income was $1.7 billion and operating income margins for the quarter were 22.4%. Third-quarter net income was $1.2 billion and earnings were $1.65 per share.
http://www.3M.com
n October 16, 2012, A123 Systems, Inc. has entered into an asset purchase agreement with Johnson Controls, Inc., which plans to acquire A123s automotive business assets, including all of its automotive technology, products and customer contracts, its facilities in Livonia and Romulus, Mich., its cathode powder manufacturing facilities in China, and A123s equity interest in Shanghai Advanced Traction Battery Systems Co., Alphas joint venture with Shanghai Automotive. The asset purchase agreement also includes provisions through which Johnson Controls intends to license back to A123 certain technology for its grid, commercial and government businesses. A123 also continues to engage in active discussions regarding strategic alternatives for its grid, commercial, government and other operations, and has received several indications of interest for these businesses. To facilitate the transaction process, A123 and all of its US subsidiaries have filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. A123s non-US subsidiaries were not included in the filing. This action is expected to allow A123 to provide for an orderly sale of its automotive business assets and all other assets and business units under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code and help maximize the value of its assets for its stakeholders. In conjunction with the proposed asset purchase agreement, A123 has received a commitment from
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Companies Facts
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Johnson Controls for $72.5 million in debtor in possession financing to support A123s continued operations during the pendency of the sale process.
http://www.a123systems.com
more complete biology solution, from efficient study orchestration to study execution in the lab. Accelrys also reported financial results for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2012, including a 14% year-over-year increase in Non-GAAP revenue. NonGAAP revenue for the quarter ended September 30, 2012 increased $5.4 million to $43.4 million from $38.0 million for the same quarter of the previous year, or an increase of 14%. Non-GAAP revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2012, increased $12.6 million to $126.8 million from $114.1 million for the same period of the previous year, or an increase of 11%. For the year ending December 31, 2012, the Company expects non-GAAP revenue to be between $169 and $171 million, and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share to be between $0.32 and $0.33 per diluted share on fully diluted weighted average shares outstanding of 56 million and using an effective tax rate of 40%.
http://www.accelrys.com
BSMaterials, Inc. has been chosen for the 2012 Artemis Project Top 50 Water Tech Listing for the second year in a row. The Top 50 identifies the most promising companies that are applying innovation in the market to address todays dire water challenges. The principal product of the company is Osorb, a glass material that rapidly swells to pull small, organic toxins into its matrix. It repels water, making it ideal for water treatment. ABSMaterials is creating formulas to address various contaminants, including hydrocarbons, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, herbicides, chlorinated solvents and endocrine disruptors. Edmiston, a chemistry professor at the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, USA, and inventor of Osorb, became the companys chief scientist.
http://www.absmaterials.com
ccelrys, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACCL), a leading provider of scientific innovation lifecycle management software, has announced that the latest release of the companys enterprise electronic laboratory notebook (ELN), Symyx Notebook by Accelrys, offers a new multidimensional scientific spreadsheet for use in planning, executing and tracking a wide range of biological experiments. In addition, powerful new project tracking and optimization software provides a
MCOL International Corporation (NYSE: ACO) reports that the Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, payable on October 9, 2012 to shareholders of record as of August 29, 2012. AMCOL also reports that it has filed a Form 12b-25 to report the delay in filing its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the 2012 second quarter ended June 30, 2012. Following the release of AMCOLs earnings for the second quarter in a press release dated July 27, 2012, AMCOL determined that it may need to reduce the value of
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inventory recorded in its Environmental segments operations in Spain. AMCOL management and their Audit Committee are working together to determine the amount of the reduction required and to identify the financial reporting periods impacted. At this time, the Company believes that the relevant periods may include one or more periods dating back to as early as 2010. Currently, neither AMCOL management nor their Audit Committee is able to determine whether any financial statements will need to be restated or whether the financial results presented in the July 27, 2012 press release will need to be revised.
http://www.amcol.com
ttolight announces that it has raised CHF 1.5m from both institutional and private investors: these include Aargauische Kantonalbank, Zrcher Kantonalbank, StartAngels Network and Verve Capital Partners. The active participation of the existing investors in this 2nd financing round reinforces their confidence in Attolight. Leti is announcing a new collaboration with the Swiss company Attolight to develop cathodoluminescence technology for more applications. Attolights innovative technology combines electron and light microscopy to reveal ultra-trace impurities and crystallographic defects that are not visible using other imaging techniques.
http://www.leti.fr http://www.attolight.com/
PI Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: ATNY) announced the addition of high reliability MIL grade SMPS ceramic capacitors to its Spectrum Control product line. These high-speed switch mode power supply (SMPS) capacitors feature extremely low equivalent series resistance (ESR) and equivalent series inductance (ESL), as well as predictable performance characteristics with changes in temperature, voltage and frequency. They are ideal for high reliability and high frequency applications. A commercial industrial grade alternative in a non-military package configuration is also available. The company has also received a $8.1 million order for its Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) business unit to provide electronics solutions for tactical surveillance systems. The order was placed by a Fortune 100 company repeat customer and is scheduled to be delivered over the next nine months.
http://www.apitech.com
rrowhead Research Corporation (NASDAQ: ARWR) received a Notice of Allowance from the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for patent application US 13/032,029 entitled, Compositions for Targeted Delivery of siRNA. The patent broadly covers compositions, methods, and uses for a new formulation of Arrowheads Dynamic Polyconjugate (DPC) siRNA delivery platform, where attachment of siRNA and delivery vehicle is not required to produce high-level, efficient knockdown of target genes. The new IP expands the DPC platform and is used in Arrowheads ARC-520 candidate in development for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.
http://www.arrowheadresearch.com
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esearcher at Anasys Instruments, United States, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, United States, present in ACS Nano a nanofabrication, chemical identification, and nanometer-scale chemical imaging of polymer nanostructures with better than 100nm spatial resolution. The new diagnostic tools that can support cutting-edge nanomanufacturing.
Jonathan R. Felts, Kevin Kjoller, Michael Lo, Craig B. Prater, and William P. King: Nanometer-Scale Infrared Spectroscopy of Heterogeneous Polymer Nanostructures Fabricated by Tip-Based Nanofabrication, In: ACS Nano, Volume 6, Issue 9, September 25, 2012, Pages 8015-8021, DOI:10.1021/nn302620f: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/nn302620f http://www.anasysinstruments.com/
technology programs offered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the National Science Foundations (NSF) Partnerships for Innovation program.
http://www.cnse.albany.edu
IND Biosciences, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of highly selective targeted and programmable therapeutics called Accurins, announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has recently issued five US patents to the company. The patents cover BIND014, the companys lead Accurin product candidate for solid cancer tumors, and its Medicinal Nanoengineering platform which enables the design, engineering and manufacturing of Accurins with unprecedented control over drug properties to maximize trafficking to disease sites. The newly-issued patents include: US Patent 8,246,968 and US Patent 8,236,330: Both of these patents relate to BIND-014 and its targeting ligand. US 8,206,747 relates to the polymer composition of BIND-014 and US Patent 8,211,473 relates to a lyophilized composition of BIND-014. Both of these patents cover BIND-014 and BINDs Medicinal Nanoengineering platform. US Patent 8,193,334 relates to BINDs Medicinal Nanoengineering platform.
http://www.bindbio.com
.E.S.S. Technologies (B.E.S.S.), and CNSE of the University at Albany (US) has entered into a licensing agreement with its first student spin-off company, which will allow B.E.S.S. to commercialize and begin scale-up of its innovative battery storage technology, enabling homegrown high-tech growth in upstate New York. B.E.S.S., which stands for Battery Energy Storage Systems, is a component design and engineering firm started by a group of CNSE graduate students in 2010. Working at CNSEs Albany NanoTech Complex, B.E.S.S. developed an innovative process to build nanostructures which offer significantly increased energy storage capacity, faster charging rates, and a longer lifetime for lithium-ion batteries. CNSE has already assisted B.E.S.S. in obtaining more than $800,000 in funding through
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Companies Facts
abot Corporation (NYSE: CBT) announced results for its fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2012. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012, net income attributable to Cabot Corporation was $37 million ($0.58 per diluted common share), which includes a per share charge of $0.19, principally for restructuring, acquisition related expenses and tax related certain items. Adjusted EPS for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 was $0.75 per share.
http://www.cabotcorp.com
mer electronics, EVs, and grid-scale energy storage, said CalBattery CEO Phil Roberts. The key to this new GEN3 battery material is the use of a breakthrough Argonne silicon graphene process which stabilizes the use of silicon in a lithium battery anode. Although Silicon absorbs lithium ten times better than any other anode materials it rapidly deteriorates during charge/discharge cycles. CalBattery has worked at Argonne and other facilities over the past year to develop this new anode material to work in a full LIB cell with multiple cathode and electrolyte materials. The superior results of the development program at ANL leads the Company to believe that this advanced anode material could eventually replace conventional graphite based anode materials used in most LIBs manufactured today. This novel composite anode material is suitable for use in combination with a variety of existing and new LIB cathode and electrolyte materials that will help dramatically improve overall battery performance and lower LIB cycle cost effectively storing electricity at a cost competitive with energy produced from fossil fuels. CalBattery is now in the process of fast-tracking the commercialization of its GEN3 breakthrough battery anode material. Over the next two years the Company plans: (1) to produce and sell its si-graphene anode material to global battery and EV OEMs, and (2) US production of a limited quantity of specialized batteries for high-end applications. We believe that our new advanced silicon graphene anode composite material is so good in terms of specific capacity and extended cycle life that it will become a graphite anode drop-in replacement material for anodes in most lithium ion batteries over the next 2-3 years, said Roberts. The Company believes this transforma-
alifornia Lithium Battery, a finalist in DOEs 2012 Start Up Americas Next Top Energy Innovator challenge, has announced the record-setting performance of its new GEN3 silicon graphene composite anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Independent test results in full cell LIBs indicate the new GEN3 anode material, used with advanced cathode and electrolyte materials, increases energy density by 3 times and specific anode capacity by 4 times over existing LIBs. For eight months CalBattery has been working with Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) to commercialize a novel lithium battery anode material for use with advanced cathode and electrolyte materials to achieve new levels of LIB performance. The work is showing extraordinary results. Independent full cell tests reveal unrivaled performance characteristics, with an energy density of 525WH/Kg and specific anode capacity 1,250mAh/g. In contrast, most commercial LIBs have an energy density of between 100-180WH/kg and a specific anode capacity of 325mAh/g. This equates to more than a 300% improvement in LIB capacity and an estimated 70% reduction in lifetime cost for batteries used in consu-
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Companies Facts
tional technology will change the way LIB power is produced, managed, and stored, especially if it can lead to LIBs being produced for under $175/kWh and directly compete with the cost of energy from fossil fueled power generation.
http://www.clbattery.com
ambrios Technologies Corporation, and the CEM (Chemical & Electronic Material) division of LG Electronics (LG), announced the worlds first ClearOhm material-based 23 touch panel. The touch panel made by LG is used in the LG V325, a new Windows 8-certified All-in-One PC and LG-branded monitors that will go on sale starting this month.
http://www.cambrios.com
with a new method of imaging dynamic processes in living organisms.

http://www.zeiss.de
arl Zeiss Microscopy is introducing ORION NanoFab at the European Microscopy Congress (EMC) in Manchester, UK. It is the first multi-ion-beam tool based on Gas Field Ion Source (GFIS) technology. As a major enhancement to the existing helium ion microscope, ORION NanoFab also utilizes neon ions. The system is therefore capable of providing a complete sub-10 nanometer nanofabrication and sub-nanometer imaging solution for industry, government, and academic research laboratories. An optional gallium focused ion beam (FIB) column can also be integrated. Moreover, the Microscopy business group at Carl Zeiss is presenting a new microscopy technology at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. Lightsheet Z.1 provides biologists
elluForce, the world leader in the commercial development of NanoCrystalline Cellulose (NCC), also referred to as Cellulose Nanocrystals (CNC), is proud to announce that its Vice President, Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Richard Berry, has been selected as one of Canadas Clean50 honourees. This award, now in its second year, recognizes the most outstanding leaders in sustainable development and clean capitalism in Canada. CelluForce is a joint venture of Domtar Corporation and FPInnovations.
http://www.celluforce.com
RAIC Technologies announced the addition of even more laser wavelengths to its state-ofthe-art CRAIC Apollo Raman microspectrometer.
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Designed to be added to many different types of light microscopes, the CRAIC Apollo enables scientists and engineers to measure the Raman spectra from microscopic samples or microscope sampling areas of large samples.
http://www.microspectra.com
flow within the system whenever the engines output is increased or decreased (engine revs/throttle input are increased or decreased).
http://www.cumminsfiltration.com
ummins Filtration Inc., has debuted its all-new NanoNet line of fuel filtration products that utilize nanotechnology in the filtration media, providing an exceptional level of efficiency and harmful particulate removal. NanoNet marks the first time that a nanotechnology-based filtration media has been commercially developed for fuel filtration products within the industry. The nanotechnologybased NanoNet filtration media is available on the following Cummins Filtration FleetGuard products: FF5810; FF5811; FF5812; FF5813; FF5814; FF5815; FF5816; FF6817; FF5819; FF5823; FF53093; FS53001 and FS53002. Debuting exclusively with FleetGuard fuel filtration products, the companys technologically-advanced NanoNet filtration media will eventually make its way into other Cummins Filtration product segments beginning in early 2013. Cummins Filtrations NanoNet nanotechnology-based fuel filtration media has been developed over several years of careful and extensive real-world field-testing to ensure an unrivaled degree of harmful particulate removal from fuel systems. Whats more, NanoNet fuel filtration products exhibit between 7-13 times greater retention of harmful particles within the fuel filtration media during engine vibration and fuel surge than its closest competitor. Fuel surge results in a fluctuation of fuel
ow Electronic Materials, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW), introduced its new IKONIC polishing pad platform, bringing to market Dows most advanced polishing
pads for chemical mechanical planarization (CMP). The IKONIC platform offers a series of new pads designed to deliver the highest performance levels for the broadest range of CMP applications at or below the 28nm technology node. IKONIC polishing pads are currently available for sampling, and commercialization is targeted for early 2013.
http://www.dow.com
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aterials scientists at the US Department of Energys Ames Laboratory, Etrema Products, Inc. (EPI), and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division have developed new ways to form a high tech metal alloy which promise new advances in sensing and energy harvesting technologies. To look at it, a length of wire fabricated in the Ames Laboratory looks much like the kind of steel wire a do-it-yourselfer could pick up at the local hardware store. A sheet form of the material, fabricated by EPI, looks equally unassuming. But these materials are made of a high tech alloy called Galfenol, and the new forms of this smart material may be the key to future manufacturing breakthroughs like the creation of vibration free, quieter motors. Galfenol, composed primarily of gallium and iron, was co-discovered in 1999 by the Ames Laboratory and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division. Galfenols unique properties make it change shape when subjected to a magnetic field, and flexible enough for a variety of manufacturing processes.
http://www.etrema-usa.com/
stock. This is the second quarterly dividend paid by FEI. The initial $0.08 dividend was paid on July 24 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on July 11. The timing and amounts of future dividends are subject to determination and approval by FEIs board. The University of Manchester and FEI are also pleased to announce the installation of one of the worlds most powerful high-resolution microscopes the Titan G2 80-200 scanning transmission electron microscope (S/TEM) at the Universitys School of Materials. The procurement of the new S/TEM from FEI was funded as part of an 8 million ($12.8 million USD) UK government investment for nuclear materials research at Manchesters Dalton Nuclear Institute. The Titan G2 80-200 S/TEM will enable researchers to study the structure and elemental composition of materials at the atomic level, assisting them in building a greater understanding of their behavior and modification under certain conditions.
http://www.FEI.com/TemPrep
EI (NASDAQ: FEIC) announced new Helios NanoLab DualBeam systems for engineers that need to make vital process improvement decisions. The 450HP and 1200HP DualBeam systems include new capability that meets the critical requirements for semiconductor process development at the 28nm device geometry node and below. Moreover, the Company has approved payment of a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share of common
orth Dimension Displays (FDD), a leading provider of high-resolution microdisplays and a subsidiary of Kopin Corporation (NASDAQ: KOPN), introduced its new 0.83 QXGA microdisplay, the worlds highest resolution, full color microdisplay, at the SPIE Security + Defence Exhibition in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Offering 2048 x 1536 pixels, the new 0.83 QXGA microdisplay is ideal for the worlds highest performance near-to-eye applications such as ultra-wide field of view head mounted displays for
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immersive gaming and military training applications and electronic viewfinders for medical imaging and cinematography cameras.
http://www.forthdd.com
olomic LLC, a startup company seeking to commercialize a groundbreaking technology developed at UCLA, USA, that turns simple cell phones into powerful microscopes has joined UCLAs on-campus technology incubator program at the California NanoSystems Institute. The novel medical-diagnostic imaging technology invented by Aydogan Ozcan, an associate professor of electrical engineering at UCLAs Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, and his students has the potential to bring better health care and monitoring to impoverished and underserved areas of the globe. The technology, known as LUCAS Ultrawide-field Cell monitoring Array platform based on Shadow imaging was ranked No. 1 among a field of more than 65 entries judged by the magazine as part of its annual Top 10 Innovations contest. Other winners in the top 10 included a new high-powered DNA sequencer, a mini-MRI system, a watch-like device that measures the bodys circadian rhythm, and a first-ofits-kind 360-degree optical imager. Holomic obtained an exclusive license for this technology from UCLA before joining the incubator program, which was set up three years ago to nurture early-stage research and help speed the commercial translation of new technologies developed at UCLA. At the incubator, Holomic has access to the worldclass equipment in the CNSIs core lab facilities to pursue research-and-development work. Cell phones have penetrated all corners of the planet, said Holomic CEO Neven Karlovac. We plan
recent publication in Nano Letters by new company CrayoNano demonstrates a technology that enables growth of vertically aligned and self-catalyzed nanowires on graphene and graphite. Some work was done on graphene on SiC supplied by Graphensic AB.
http://www.graphensic.com/
eadwaters fourth quarter 2012 revenue increased by 7% to $190.1 million from $178.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2011. Gross profit increased by 16% to $56.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, compared to $49.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. Operating income improved from $7.2 m in 2011 to $15.9 m in 2012, and Adjusted EBITDA declined by $4.1 million to $28.8 m.
http://www.headwaters.com
eidelberg Instruments announced the sale of a DWL 2000 maskless laser lithography system to the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Microelectronics Research (IMECAS).
http://www.himt.de
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to take advantage of their global reach to provide a product that will meet a real medical need.
http://www1.cnsi.ucla.edu/index http://youtu.be/ZI2BPhRCfAo http://innovate.ee.ucla.edu/
daTech Ltd (IdaTech) has closed its transaction with Ballard Power Systems (TSX: BLD; NASDAQ: BLDP). In that transaction, IdaTech granted a nonexclusive technology license and sold key assets of its Telecom Backup Power business to Ballard, including IdaTechs name and trademarks. Consequently, the company will announce a change to its name. Signi- fying a long term commitment to the success of the transaction, payment will be made through the issuance of Ballard common shares, which will be transferred to Investec, IdaTechs principal funder. Ballard has worked closely with IdaTech over the past several years, supplying fuel cell stacks for its systems.
http://www.idatech.com/
reagents for conducting whole genome analysis on produce and produce-related environmental Salmonella and shigatoxigenic E. coli isolates. The contract is worth up to $17 million over a period of five years. Illumina also announced five initial TruSight content sets for use in next-generation sequencing (NGS) in laboratory settings. Customers can immediately leverage this content to develop their own tests, and in the first half of 2013 will have the additional capability to augment the sets with custom content. Illumina also launched the Infinium HumanCoreBeadChip family of products. Illumina also announced that Magistrate Judge Elizabeth D. LaPorte of the US District Court for the Northern District of California granted a motion for summary judgment of invalidity filed by Complete Genomics, Inc. against certain claims of Illuminas US Patent No. 6,306,597.
http://www.illumina.com
llumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) has acquired Cambridge, UK-based BlueGnome Ltd. for an undisclosed sum. BlueGnome, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Illumina, is a leading provider of solutions for the screening of genetic abnormalities associated with developmental delay, cancer, and infertility. Moreover, llumina was awarded a contract from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to provide the agency with MiSeq sequencing systems and
nfineon Technologies AG (OTCQX: IFNNY) introduced its first single-chip radar solutions for applications in industrial and commercial sensing. Based on a SiGe process technology and operating in the 24GHz ISM band (24.0 to 24.25GHz), the new product family features the highest integration radar system-on-chip transceivers in the market and a companion receive only chip, which collectively provide system designers with the flexibility to achieve cost and performance targets in a diverse range of applications. The three devices in the new family are the BGT24MTR11 (single transmit and single receive chan-
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device family provides all the functionality required for state-of-the-art electronic fuel injection (EFI) in one-cylinder combustion engines. Infineon also introduced the new 600V CoolMOS P6 MOSFET product family, designed to enable higher system efficiency while being easy to use, the new products address the gap between technologies that focus on delivering ultimate performance (CoolMOS CP), and those that concentrate more on ease of use (e.g. CoolMOS C6 or E6).
http://www.infineon.com/p6 http://www.infineon.com
nel), BGT24MTR12 (single transmit and two receive channels) and BGTMR2 (twin receiver). Moving from one single receiver to two or more receive channels allows implementation of systems that detect objects more precisely and at wider angles. Infineon also launched the worlds smallest engine management ICs, saving up to two-thirds of board space in control systems for two- and three-wheelers compared to todays solutions. The new TLE808x
oronto based Integran Technologies Inc. announced the commercial launch of its novel nanostructured multilayer coating technology which provides unprecedented design flexibility in applying unique structural and functional enhancements to a wide variety of finished and semi-finished components including metals, polymers and polymer composites. Under development for several years with the support of the Canadian Government and the US Department of Defense, Integrans proprietary graded, multi-layer and nanolaminate technology is covered by a number of specific US and foreign patent filings including the recently issued US 8,129,034 which applies to lightweight articles, precision molds, sporting goods and automotive parts, and covers specific fine-grained metallic coatings and nanolaminates containing Ni, Cu, Co, Fe, Mo, W, Zn, P, B and C.
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LA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) announced two new additions to the companys IC fab-based reticle inspection portfolio: the X5.2 and Teron 611 systems. As the latest offering in the successful 5XX product line, the new X5.2 applies its high performance to capture defects and pattern degradation on masks currently in production, with extended capability for the upcoming 20nm node. The Teron 611 is designed for the 20nm node and beyond, offering technology-enabling sensitivity to inspect masks at the leading edge of IC production.
http://www.kla-tencor.com
Moreover, Integran has reached an agreement with Enduro Industries LLC (Enduro) to extend Enduros license exclusivity term for Integrans nanocrystalline Cobalt electroplating process, Nanovate CoP, in the US fluid power market by five years. Enduro Industries LLC of Hannibal, Missouri, a subsidiary of PTC Alliance, has successfully marketed a corrosion and wear resistant Nano-Cobalt alternative alongside its conventional engineered hard chrome (EHC) Chromerod and Chromrod Extreme product lines.
http://www.integran.com/pages/news.html
onscope manufactures Scanning Ion Conductance Microscopes, using patented technology originally developed by a team of scientists from Imperial College London and The University of Cambridge, UK.
http://www.ionscope.com http://www.imagemet.com
opin Corporation (NASDAQ: KOPN), announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 29, 2012. Revenues for the three months ended September 29, 2012 were $21.9 million, compared with $29.6 million in the third quarter of 2011. III-V product revenues were $13.7 million, compared with $15.5 million for the third quarter of 2011, reflecting slower growth in mobile phone demand in the 2012 period. Display product revenues decreased to $8.2 million from $14.1 million for the same period of last year due to lower revenue from the Companys military display products in the 2012 period. The net loss for the third quarter of 2012 was $6.7 million, or $0.11 per share, compared with net income of $0.2 million, or $0.00 per share, for the third quarter of 2011. Results for the three-month periods of 2012 and 2011 included a $0.5 million loss and a $1.0 million gain, respectively, related to foreign currency fluctuations. Non-cash stock compensation expense increased $0.8 million to $1.5
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million in the third quarter of 2012, compared with $0.7 million in the third quarter of 2011. Additionally, during the third quarter of 2012 Kopin increased its investment in Ikanos Consulting, Ltd. to 51% of outstanding common stock and recorded a non-cash loss of $0.6 million related to its stepped-up investment. Kopin achieved a key milestone in October, as Motorola Solutions introduced the HC1, the first commercially available headset computer powered by the Companys Golden-i platform. Voice recognition, hands-free operation and gesture control are integrated into the Golden-i operating system.
to enforce commercialization of NanoTherm therapy. Thus, focussing on establishing the NanoTherm therapy in the oncology market as well as on its commercialization for near-term value generation. In the short to mid term, MagForce will dedicate its financial resources to the post marketing trial in glioblastoma, which is expected to start in early 2013 and is supposed to make a significant contri bution to its strategic set up. Simultaneously, the Company will also focus on the commercialization of its NanoTherm therapy with its distribution partners including DELRUS and TekGrup, development partners such as the Mayo Clinic for gastro-intestinal cancer and the Department of Urology at Duesseldorf University for prostate cancer, as well as the production of nanoparticles. In line with this strategy, the Companys core functions, including clinical and business development, medical affairs plus legal & IP will be concentrated at the MagForce site in Munich where these teams are already located. Production of nanoparticles, NanoActivators, software engineering as well as the finance department will remain at the Companys registered office in Berlin. Moreover, MagForce announced the financial results for the first half of the 2012 fiscal year, ending June 30, 2012. In the first half of the year, MagForce was able to successfully finalize distribution partnerships with DELRUS (Russia) and Tek Grup (Turkey), as well as a development partnership with the Mayo Clinic (USA). During the reporting period, the company recorded a loss of EUR3.6 million/USD4.65 million (prior year period: EUR4.6 million/USD5.94 million). The decline is essentially a result of the restructuring measures introduced at the end of 2011 and the accompanying
A video demonstrating Golden-i technologys capabilities is available at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzUwvW6zcNY
iquidmetal Technologies, Inc. formally introduced Nomad Sales as the Companys sales representative firm in the Midwest region of the US. Nomad Sales will be promoting Liquidmetal amorphous alloys for commercial markets such as aerospace, medical and industrial products.
Liquidmetal Technologies has also engaged Liolios Group to lead a new investor relations and financial communications program.
http://www.liquidmetal.com
agForce AG (MF6.FSE) announced additions to the management board and further measures
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Die Nanotechnologie ist die die Schlsseltechnologie des 21. Jahrhunderts. Ihr wirtschaftliches Potenzial ist immens. Als eine fhrende NanotechnologieBeteiligungsgesellschaft investiert die Nanostart AG Venture Capital in junge Nanotechnologie-Unternehmen weltweit. Sie untersttzt die Unternehmen mit Kommerzialisierungs-Know-how und bindet sie in ein weltweites Netzwerk aus Industrie, Wissenschaft und Forschung, staatlichen Stellen sowie Investoren und Kapitalmarktexperten ein. Das aktuelle Portfolio von Nanostart aus Europa, den USA und Asien bildet die Bandbreite nanotechnologischer Innovationen ab.
Nanostart AG
Goehtestrae 26-28
D-60313 Frankfurt am Main
T +49 (0) 69 - 21 93 96 00
info@nanostart.de
www.nanostart.de
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strategic change. Personnel expenses decreased due to the reduction in staff, particularly in the second management level, as well as in commercial functions. In the first half of the year, we laid out the basic requirements for the acceptance and future commercialization of our NanoTherm therapy, and for the future development of our company. Today we are concluding this phase of strategic focus with the introduction of vital measures and additions to the management team. Over the short term, we are concentrating all our efforts and financial resources on establishing NanoTherm therapy in the area of oncology and consequentially on the post-marketing clinical trial in glioblastoma. Together with strategic and distribution partners, we want to reinforce the commercialization of NanoTherm therapy, ensuring sufficient funding. commented Christian von Volkmann, CFO.
http://www.magforce.de
Phase Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: XDSL) has received a Notice of Allowance from the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) for a Modular Device patent. The invention generally relates to a handheld, powered device containing at least one power module having at least one battery, wherein the power module is removable and separately connects to each of the load modules. Moreover, mPhase Technologies is completing arrangements, in cooperation with Invest In France, an agency of the French government, for a second round of meetings at the Grenoble Technology Cluster known as Minalogic. The Company first visited the Cluster in March of 2012 after the relevant agencies reviewed mPhases patent portfolio and recent valuation. The purpose of the second visit is to continue discussions with potential large strategic partners seeking to use the Companys Smart NanoBattery. mPhase Technologies released a multi-purpose video of its new product targeted toward the automotive and marine industry end of October 2012. The product, which features advanced battery technology, was created under a Design Development Agreement with Porsche Design Studio of Zell Am See, Austria.
http://www.mpowertech.com http://www.mPhaseTech.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsZYhLURQo&feature=youtu.be
erck and Seiko Epson Corporation announced a cooperation and licensing agreement for inkjet inks used in the manufacture of organic lightemitting diode (OLED) displays. According to the agreement, Epson will supply Merck with ink technology that dissolves Mercks OLED materials so that they can be used for the production of printable displays used in OLED television screens. Financial terms of the business agreement were not disclosed.
http://www.merck.de
urata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (TOKYO: 6981, (ISIN: JP3914400001) will start mass production of the worlds thinnest electric double-layer capacitors (DMF Series) featuring low resistance and the highest levels of power density throughout the
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industry, a benefit when used as an auxiliary power supply for LED flash units. Electric double-layer capacitors are capable of storing energy with physical adsorption of the ion on the surface of active carbon without using chemical reactions, which makes them devices that are not only able to semi-permanently repeat electrical charging and discharging in comparison with normal rechargeable batteries, but also able to be charged and discharged rapidly. They also do not use lead or any other toxic substances, and because of this they are attracting much attention as storage devices that conform to the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS) covering electric and electronic equipment established by the European Union, etc., thereby placing minimal burden on the environment. Murata acquired this technology from Australias CAP-XX Ltd.; the business partnership established in 2008 has resulted in Murata manufacturing the DME series of electric double-layer capacitors since December 2010. The DMF series features an optimized internal configuration to realize a design approximately 30% more compact than the DME series, making
the DMF it the thinnest of its type in the world. The DMF also features the highest levels of power density in the industry and the same low resistance of a few dozen milliohms and stable temperature characteristics as the DME series, enabling it to be charged and discharged flexibly through high-output and lowoutput areas in a wide variety of temperature ranges. The capacitors can be used as the power supplies for camera flashlights utilizing high-intensity LEDs, and will contribute to improving the brightness of LED flashlights on not only digital cameras, but also on smartphones.
http://www.murata.com
ANIUM, a leading provider of semiconductor packaging, test and engineering services, has extended its offering to include fan-in WLP volume production on 300mm wafers.
NANIUM earlier this year licensed Flip Chip Internationals (FCI) Spheron Plated Cu Redistribution technology to provide solutions for 300mm wafer-level chip scale packaging (WLCSP) using fan-
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in WLP processes. After completing line setup and qualification for that technology, the company added the capability to manufacture fan-in WLP products, which extends its service portfolio using the latest technology on 300mm wafers.
http://www.nanium.com
anoInk announced that it is one of the top 75 finalists for the prestigious 2012 Chicago Innovation Awards reflecting a cross section of the Chicago and surrounding regions business communities. NanoInk was recognized for its Protein Nanoarray Assay, which provides a complete solution for the detection, identification and quantification of clinically and biologically relevant, low abundance proteins from a wide variety of sample types. Moreover, NanoInk was recognized as one of the Top Emerging Nanotech Innovators of 2012 at the NanoBusiness Commercialization Associations 11th Annual NanoBusiness/Nanomanufacturing Summit on September 4 to 6 in Boston. This award was presented to NanoInk for its contribution to diagnostic testing. The NanoFabrication Systems Division of NanoInk is also pleased to announce E-Hong Instruments Co., Ltd. will serve as its distributor in Taiwan for its desktop nanofabrication equipment including the NLP 2000 System, the DPN 5000 System, and MEMs-fabricated consumables. The NanoFabrication Systems Division of NanoInk also announced E-Hong Instruments Co., Ltd. will serve as its distributor in Taiwan for its desktop nanofabrication equipment including the NLP 2000 System, the DPN 5000 System, and MEMs-fabricated consumables.
http://www.nanoink.net
ANOBIOTIX, a French company and nanomedicine pioneer developing NanoXray, a revolutionary therapeutic approach to local cancer treatment, announced the registration of its document de base by the Autorite des Marche Financiers (AMF), the French stock market authority, in preparation of its planned IPO on the regulated market of NYSE Euronext in Paris.
http://www.nanobiotix.eu
anoGuardian, a division of NanoInk, Inc. that delivers on-dose brand protection solutions to the pharmaceutical industry to fight counterfeiting and illegal diversion, gave a poster presentation at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting and Exhibition in Chicago (Abstract: Can Nanofabrication be used to Combat Counterfeit Medicines by Applying On-dose Authentication Features without Disrupting the Integrity of the Medicine?).
http://www.nanoguardian.net
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anologica AB announced that Sren Gyll, Gisela Sitbon and Todd Ashton have joined the companys board after a vote during the annual shareholders meeting. Sren Gyll is one of Swedens most renowned business leaders and has, among other things, been CEO at Volvo. The long list of board member assignments he has held includes those at Pharmacia & Upjohn, Skanska, Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget, Industrifrbundet and Svenskt Nringsliv. Nanologica customizes material properties to tackle issues pertaining solubility, stability and controlled release prevalent in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics sector, amongst others.
http://www.nanologica.com/
The NanoBCA is the industrys top trade organization dedicated to promoting the advancement and commercialization of nanotechnology while helping companies bring affordable, life-improving nanotech products to the market. NanoMech also announced a partnership with KDH Defense Systems, Inc. to deploy technology that will keep soldiers and law enforcement professionals healthier and more comfortable through KDHs award winning body armor.
http://www.nanomech.biz
anosphere, Inc., (NASDAQ: NSPH) announced the appointment of Roy N. Davis to the Board of Directors. Mr. Davis had been with Johnson & Johnson for nearly three decades prior to his retirement this past January. Moreover, Nanospheres Verigene Gram-Positive Blood Culture Nucleic Acid Test (BC-GP) (IUO), based on the companys proprietary array-based nanoparticle technology, demonstrated overall sensitivity and specificity of 99%, respectively, for the detection of a broad panel of gram-positive bacteria from positive blood cultures, according to a recent study. The BC-GP Test also correctly detected the presence or absence of genes encoding vancomycin resistance in Enterococcus spp. and methicillin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus or S. epidermidis. Researchers concluded that the test, which required less than 5 minutes of user hands-on time, provided accurate organism identification and detection of resistance
anoMech, an international material science company announced that the NanoBusiness Commercialization Association (NanoBCA) has selected it for the 2012 Top Emerging Nano Innovators Award.
We are very proud of this recognition, said Jim Phillips, NanoMech Chairman and CEO. The breakthrough technologies the NanoMech team has developed, such as nGlide, TuffTek, and TriboTuff, have led to this tremendous honor for our family of loyal employees and very supportive investors. NanoMech is focused on innovating by applying breakthrough novel science into must-have products bringing immediate and drastic improvement into
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Staphylococcus aureus or S. epidermidis. Researchers concluded that the test, which required less than 5 minutes of user hands-on time, provided accurate organism identification and detection of resistance genes compared to routine laboratory methods.
http://www.nanosphere.us/
the nano- and high-tech space to the investment and business community. Nanostart-holding ItN Nanovation AG has successfully completed the capital increase announced on September 12. By placing 838,964 new shares among existing shareholders, a net value of nearly 1.2 million euros will flow into the company. The issue price was determined in direct juxtaposition to the stock market price, as the legal right to purchase was excluded. The capital increase raises the share capital of ItN Nanovation to 11,832,766 euros. The incoming funds will serve to strengthen the equity capital of the company.
http.//www.itn-nanovation.de http://nanostart.de/
anostart Asia Pacific is preparing an additional fundraising of up to 4 million SGD for its further expansion. A large part of the amount has already been committed. As in the previous funding in February 2012, the money comes from the existing shareholders and new investors based in the region. It shall be used for follow up funding the existing portfolio. Furthermore Nanostart Asia Pacific is already working on new investment opportunities. In addition the company has formed an advisory board with renowned experts in order to support the further development of the company. The board will initially comprise of Harry De Wit, President Asia with Covidien, Prof. Dr. Uwe Klima, Head of Cardiosurgery at the American Hospital Dubai, Gnter Mayer, Senior Manager with Infineon, Jrgen Binzer, Entrepreneur and Vice President with Hollingsworth & Vose in Germany and Chua Hong Moh, Entrepreneur from Singapore. The advisors will support the companys further development and its expansion in Asia by providing their expertise as well as their broad network. The announcement is made during the event Investing in Singapore Nanotechnology at Singapore Polytechnic, where Nanostart Asia Pacific and Singapore Polytechnic jointly feature their activities in
anoString Technologies, Inc., has obtained the CE Mark for its PAM50-based gene expression test for breast cancer, clearing the company to sell its test in the European Union and other countries recognizing the CE Mark. NanoStrings test provides a subtype classification based on the fundamental biology of an individuals breast tumor (referred to as intrinsic subtyping), as well as a prognostic score that predicts the probability of cancer recurrence over 10 years in post-menopausal women with hormone receptor-positive, early stage breast cancer (ESBC) who have been treated with hormonal therapy.
http://www.NanoString.com http://www.nanostart.de
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antero, Inc., and imec have announced a joint development program. The collaboration will focus on the carbon-nanotube-based memory developed by Nantero, NRAM, and its application in high-density next-generation memories with a size under 20nm. NRAM arrays will be manufactured, tested and characterized in imecs advanced nanoelectronics facilities.
http://www.nantero.com http://www.forskningsradet.no/en/Newsarticle/Revolutionised_production_of_titanium_components_may_revamp_industry/1253979913312?lang=en
eoPhotonics announced the appointment of Mr. Charles J. (Jay) Abbe to the companys Board of Directors. Mr. Abbe served as president, chief operating officer and director of JDS Uniphase Corporation from February 2000 until his retirement in June 2001.
http://www.neophotonics.com
orwegian titanium companies have been granted funding to develop a brand-new production technology, which may mark the beginning of a revolution in industry worth billions. With funding from the User-driven Research based Innovation (BIA) programme at the Research Council of Norway, Norsk Titanium Components (NTiC) has developed an entirely new method of producing titanium components, making it cheaper and easier to capitalise on this material of tomorrow. Titanium is a material that is in high demand in the oil and gas, aerospace and defence industries. Norway has large reserves of this raw material, but producing end-products made of titanium is currently both expensive and difficult.
ovaled, a leader in the Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLEDs) field, announced it is named in the prestigious 2012 Global Cleantech 100 list, produced by Cleantech Group. The listing and the additional award recognize Novaleds innovative approach to clean technology and energy efficiency by developing technologies and materials that enhance the performance of OLEDs.
http://www.novaled.com
he Netzsch Analyzing & Testing division has acquired Brukers Thermal Analysis instruments business in Japan. Together with the well-established international Netzsch group, Netzsch Japan will further develop, produce, distribute and service the existing and new Thermal Analysis product lines. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
http://www.netzsch.com
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icosun Oy, a leading atomic layer deposition (ALD) equipment manufacturer has co-organized the 1st International Conference on ALD Applications and 2nd China ALD Conference in cooperation with Fudan University, one of Chinas top universities. The event took place in Shanghai at Fudan Universitys premises. The conference attracted approximately 100 participants and high quality presentations and posters were presented by top ALD researchers around the world. The topics covered a wide range of applications, ALD fundamentals, as well as the most advanced research results in microelectronic devices, integration, and nanosciences. China is one of the fastest growing ALD communities with many top research institutes and industries working on exciting applications. Thanks to the organizing committee and excellent speakers, we have seen some of the worlds most advanced research being actively developed and discussed during this event. The already second China ALD conference has become a central event to broaden the cooperation between research groups in China and throughout the world, states Dr. Wei-Min Li, Applications Director of Picosun. Picosun Oy is also joining the China-Finland Nano Innovation Center, opened November 02, 2012. The center, located in the city of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province in the Eastern China, was initiated by Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of China and Ministry of Employment and the Economy (TEM) of Finland.
http://www.picosun.com
Sivida Corp. (NASDAQ: PSDV; ASX: PVA) announced financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended June 30, 2012. Revenues for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012 totaled $3.5 million compared to $5.0 million for the prior fiscal year. Revenues in both years included royalty income from sales of Retisert by Bausch & Lomb and revenue recognition from the June 2011 amendment and restatement of the Pfizer collaboration agreement. In addition, fiscal 2012 reflected revenue recognition from the July 2011 termination of the Intrinsiq license agreement. For the year ended June 30, 2012, pSivida reported a net loss of $24.8 million, or $1.19 per share, compared to a net loss of $8.6 million, or $0.44 per share, for the prior fiscal year. Fiscal year 2012 results included a $14.8 million impairment charge for pSividas finite-lived intangible assets arising from the November 2011 complete response letter for ILUVIEN for DME and the resulting significant decrease in pSividas share price. Revenues for the fiscal 2012 fourth quarter were $699,000 compared to $3.7 million for the fourth quarter a year earlier. The fiscal 2011 fourth quarter included $3.3 million of revenue recognition from the amended Pfizer collaboration agreement. pSivida reported a net loss of $2.3 million, or $0.11 per share, for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2012, compared to a net loss of $140,000, or $0.01 per share, for the fourth quarter of the prior year. At June 30, 2012, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $14.6 million. In August 2012, the Company completed a registered direct offering of shares of common stock and warrants raising net proceeds of $4.7 million.
http://www.psivida.com
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ueensgate Instruments an Elektron Technology brand unveiled its revolutionary new Dual Sensor Technology at this years European Microscopy Congress.
http://nanopositioning.com/news/queensgate-launchdual-sensor-technology-emc2012
http://www.raymor.com http://www.nanointegris.com
aymor Industries, Inc. and NanoIntegris Technologies, Inc. have completed a business combination to integrate the world leading single-walled carbon nanotube growth company (Raymor) with the leader in carbon nanotube purification and separation (NanoIntegris). Over the next year, Raymor and NanoIntegris will integrate the carbon nanotube supply chain, lower the costs of production, and develop applications with strategic partners. The group will initially expand its product mix, scale up its separation process, and develop applications with partners. Raymors SWCNT production capacity is approaching 1 ton per year at a price point of $10/gram. Low cost intermediate and high purity grades will be launched this fall. Additionally, NanoIntegris is continuing to scale up its separation process to launch new semiconducting and conducting inks with significant price reductions. Through its two divisions, AP&C and Raymor Nanotech, Raymor Industries Inc. is a leading manufacturer of spherical titanium (and other high melting point metal) powders and of SWCNTs. NanoIntegris Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Raymor Industries Inc., is a leading manufacturer of high purity semiconducting and metallic CNT materials.
USNANO and Lilliputian Systems, Inc. announced the closing of $40 million of a planned $60 million equity financing round, led by a $25 million investment from RUSNANO, headquartered in Moscow. RUSNANO, which focuses on the development of the Russian nanotechnology industry through co-investments in nanotechnology projects, joins Lilliputians current blue chip investors including Intel Corporation, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Altira Group, Stata Venture Partners, Atlas Venture, and Fairhaven Capital.
http://www.lilliputiansystems.com http://www.rusnano.com
cientists at CRANN, the Science Foundation Ireland-funded nanoscience institute based at Trinity College Dublin, have partnered with world-leading brewing company SABMiller on a project to increase the shelf life of bottled beer in plastic bottles. The new deal will see SABMiller invest in the project over a two year period. Professor Jonathan Coleman and his team in CRANN are using nanoscience research methods to develop a new material that will prolong the shelf-life of beer in plastic bottles. Current plastic bottles have a relatively short shelf life, as both oxygen and carbon dioxide can permeate the plastic and diminish the flavour.
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The new material, when added to plastic bottles will make them extremely impervious, meaning that oxygen cannot enter and that the carbon dioxide cannot escape, thus preserving the taste and fizz. The team will exfoliate nano-sheets of boron nitride, each with a thickness of approx. 50,000 times thinner than one human hair. These nano-sheets will be mixed with plastic, which will result in a material that is extremely impervious to gas molecules. The molecules will be unable to diffuse through the material and shelf life will be increased. As well as increasing the shelf life of the beer itself, less material is required in production, reducing cost and environmental impact. Dr. Diarmuid OBrien, Executive Director, CRANN said, This partnership with SABMiller highlights the applicability of nanoscience and its relevance to everyday products. Improving every consumable from our lighting, our cars, our electronic devices, medicines, clothing and food and drink is being researched by nanoscientists worldwide. Ireland is amongst the world leaders in this area, ranked 6th globally for materials science. Because of the work like that of Professor Coleman and his peers, last year CRANN received over EUR5 million in non-Exchequer funding to progress research projects. Companies worldwide, like SABMiller, are taking notice. We are delighted to partner on this exciting project and look forward to its results.
http://www.sabmiller.com
amsung Electronics, Co., Ltd., announced foundry production of STMicroelectronics leading products using 32/28nm High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) process technology. Samsung Electronics foundry business has been selected by STMicroelectronics to provide it with products at the 32/28nm process node. The relationship has already resulted in tapingout of a dozen ST advanced system-on-chip (SoC) devices for mobile, consumer and network applications. Samsung and STMicroelectronics have developed 32/28nm High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) technology through participation in the International Semiconductor Development Alliance (ISDA). Samsungs foundry business has offered access to 32nm HKMG process technology for early market leaders and 28nm HKMG process technology for customers looking for traditional migration benefits.
http://www.samsung.com
and 9, Inc., a pioneer in precision MEMS timing products for wireless and wired applications, announced that Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), a worldleading provider of telecommunications equipment and services to mobile and fixed network operators, has invested $3 million in the company. Sand 9s micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) timing products offer significant advantages over legacy quartz crystal solutions, which currently dominate this market. Sand 9s timing products offer greater immunity to electromagnetic interference (EMI) and vibration in combination with low noise and high stability, which ensures precision timing
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even in ruggedized environments. Founded in 2007 in Cambridge, MA, Sand 9 is a pioneer in advanced MEMS timing technology.
http://www.sand9.com
Starpharma drug-dendrimer conjugate molecules. The primary objective of the program is to assess the suitability of the dendrimer constructs for particular applications within the cancer field. Starpharma Holdings also announced completion of recruitment in its two Phase 3 trials investigating VivaGel as a treatment for bacterial vaginosis (BV).The Phase 3 treatment trials were conducted across more than 30 international sites, and recruited 250 patients per trial. The results of the trials are expected to be available by early December 2012 following the completion of patient follow-up, data collection and the necessary statistical analyses. Starpharma also released its Appendix 4C Quarterly Cashflow report for the period ended September 2012. The cash balance at 30 September 2012 was $37.6 million. Total operating and investing cash outflows for the quarter were $5.9 million; with net proceeds from the issue of shares totaling $0.8 million, resulting in a net decrease in cash of $5.1 million. The cash burn for the quarter is in line with budget.
http://www.starpharma.com
olarmer Energy, Inc., and Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) South China University of Technology (SCUT), and have successfully set a new world record in power conversion efficiency for polymer-based organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells. The 9.31 percent efficiency was certified by the Newport Technology & Application Centers Photovoltaic Lab in Long Beach, Calif. Solarmer is developing transparent, lightweight, flexible, plastic solar panels, which are expected to cost a fraction of what silicon solar panels cost. These solar panels will create new markets that are currently not addressable with conventional silicon solar panel technology. The company was founded in 2006 to commercialize technology developed at UCLA. It now is based in El Monte, Calif., USA.
http://www.solarmer.com http://www.phillips66.com
tarpharma Holdings Ltd (OTCQX: SPHRY) announced the signing of an agreement with global pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca giving AstraZeneca the right to test certain proprietary Starpharma oncology molecules based on Starpharmas dendrimer technology. Under the agreement AstraZeneca will undertake oncology studies using specific
tella Specialty Chemicals, a holding of Nanostart Asia Pacific, starts marketing of its products in Asia. The company has set up its manufacturing site in Singapore and all necessary licenses for the production of specialty chemicals have been granted by the authorities. The marketing strategy of the company considers sales via distributors all over Asia as well as direct sales to OEMs in the region. A number of well known electronic component manufacturers have been served with trial shipments as potential
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ALIO Industries the worlds leading True Nano motion system manufacturer was founded in 2001 with the focus of producing high quality, ultra precise motion products with novel new ways of designing and building 6-D Nano Precision motion platforms. In 2012 ALIO incorporated in Bavaria with the focus of supporting current and future customers with ALIO factory trained engineers. ALIO GmbH located with our sales partner, Laser 2000 to give our customers improved application development to long term field support. In the past 5 years nano precision motion has become main stream for nano and micro machines of all industries that move to miniaturize, machine, manufacture and inspect components, especially in the nano machine tools, PV, photonics, metrology and laser processing at the True Nano level. With over 300 standard products from hexapods to planar air bearing systems all build to ALIOs exacting precision and quality. ALIO has perfected the monolithic XY stages to outperform other commercially available mechanical stages by an order of magnitude and 5 times more precise than legacy air bearing designs on the market making these motion platforms the standard for metrology and laser processing. ALIO is the worlds leading manufacturer of 6-D Nano Precision motion systems.
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customers. Simultaneously, negotiations are ongoing with various distributors covering the Asia Pacific region. The idea is to choose 4-5 key partners to cover the region and the various business fields. However, an identified range of business fields will still be handled by Stellas own sales force. Stella has a product portfolio of more than 40 different specialty chemicals. The hiring process of experienced sales and technical support staff is ongoing.
http://www.stellachem.com http://www.nanostart.de
relationships position us well to continue our track record of success. At September 29, 2012, Ultratech had $280.9 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments. Working capital was $331.5 million and stockholders equity was $12.93 per share based on 27,021,299 total shares outstanding as of September 29, 2012.
http://www.ultratech.com
ltratech, Inc. (NASDAQ: UTEK) announced unaudited results for the three-month period ended September 29, 2012. For the third quarter of fiscal 2012, Ultratech reported net sales of $60.5 million as compared to $54.9 million during the third quarter of fiscal 2011. Ultratechs net income for the third quarter of 2012 was $12.4 million, or $0.45 per share (diluted), as compared to net income of $10.5 million, or $0.39 per share (diluted) for the same quarter last year. Arthur W. Zafiropoulo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, We achieved another quarter of strong financial results, and we believe the outlook for Ultratech remains bright. We have taken advantage of our strong financial position to invest in new and complementary products that further enhance our market leading position in advanced packaging, laser spike annealing and high-brightness LEDs. We believe that our highly focused business strategy, leading technology capabilities, and strong customer
eeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: VECO) announced that Nantong Tongfang Semiconductor Co., Ltd. has received shipment of Veecos TurboDisc K465i MOCVD System for research of GaNon-Si high brightness light emitting diodes (HB LEDs). The system was delivered to Tongfangs new LED Technology Center in Nantong, China.
http://www.thtf.com.cn
Moreover, Veeco Instruments announced that SEMATECH, a global semiconductor consortium that conducts research and development to advance chip manufacturing, has recently achieved a major breakthrough using Veecos NEXUS Low Defect Density Ion Beam Deposition (LDD IBD) System to significantly reduce defects from multi-layer deposition of mask blanks used for extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL). Veeco Instruments also announced its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2012. John R. Peeler, Veecos Chairman and CEO, commented, Veecos third quarter revenue was
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$127 million, and adjusted EBITA and non-GAAP earnings per share were $17 million and $0.34, in line with our guidance. Veeco generated $46 million in cash flow from operations, ending the quarter with $574 million in cash and short term investments. Third quarter LED & Solar revenues were $94 million: approximately $79 million in MOCVD and $15 million in MBE. Data Storage revenues were $33 million. Veecos fourth quarter 2012 revenue is currently forecasted to be between $100 million and $115 million. Earnings per share are currently forecasted to be between ($0.09) to $0.03 on a GAAP basis, and $0.04 to $0.16 on a non-GAAP basis.
http://www.veeco.com
iNIR presents a new concept in spectroscopy uses a resonant-based detection technique where light is both analyzed and detected in a single, completely monolithic component manufactured using conventional semiconductor processing techniques.
http://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/print/volume-48/issue-10/features/spectrometers-chip-based-resonant-spectroscopy-overcomes-traditional-challenges.html http://www.zinir.com/
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Sensors //
US Researchers Create Thin-Film Polymer Metamaterial
Based on Material by Rice University, USA
aterials scientists at Rice University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have created very thin color-changing films that may serve as part of inexpensive sensors for food spoilage or security, multiband optical elements in laser-driven systems and even as part of high-contrast displays. The new work led by Rice materials scientist Ned Thomas. The micron-thick material called a photonic gel is so inexpensive to make that, Thomas said, We could cover an area the size of a football field with this film for about a hundred dollars. But for practical applications, much smaller pieces would do. Suppose you want a food sensor, said Thomas, the William and Stephanie Sick Dean of Rices George R. Brown School of Engineering and former chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT. If its inside a sealed package and the environment in that package changes because of contamination or aging or exposure to temperature, an inspector would see that sensor change from blue to red and know immediately the food is spoiled. Such visual cues are good, he said, especially when you need to look at a lot of them. And you can read these sensors with low tech, either with your own eyes or a spectrophotometer to scan things. The films are made of nanoscale layers of hydrophobic polystyrene and hydrophilic poly(2-vinyl pyridine).
Alternating, nano-sized layers of hydrophilic and hydrophobic molecules self-assemble into a block copolymer called a photonic gel, developed at Rice University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It changes color depending on the amount of water absorbed by the hydrophilic layers, which can be tuned by the solvent used. Thomas Lab/Rice University
In the liquid solution, the polymer molecules are diffused, but when the liquid is applied to a surface and the solvent evaporates, the block copolymer molecules self-assemble into a layered structure. The polystyrene molecules clump together to keep water molecules out, while the poly(2-vinyl pyridine), P2VP for short, forms its own layers between
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Top: One photonic gel developed at Rice University was put through a series of color changes when repeatedly washed and exposed to new compounds. The gels show potential for inexpensive sensors and filters. Thomas Lab/Rice
the polystyrene. On a substrate, the layers form into a transparent stack of alternating nano-pancakes. The beauty of self-assembly is that its simultaneous, all the layers forming at once, Thomas said. The researchers exposed their films to various solutions and found different colors depending on how much solvent was taken up by the P2VP layers. For example with a chlorine/oxide/iron solution that is not readily absorbed by the P2VP, the film is transparent, Thomas said. When we take that out, wash the film and bring in a new solution with a different ion, the color changes. The researchers progressively turned a clear film to blue (with thiocyanate), to green (iodine), to yellow (nitrate), to orange (bromine) and finally to red (chlorine). In each case, the changes were reversible. Thomas explained that the direct exchange of counterions from the solution to the P2VP expands those layers and creates a photonic band gap the light equivalent of a semiconducting band gap that allows color in a specific wavelength to be reflected. The wavelengths in that photonic band gap are forbidden to propagate, he said, which allows the
gels to be tuned to react in specific ways. Imagine a solid in which you create a band gap everywhere but along a 3-D path, and lets say that path is a narrowly defined region you can fabricate within this otherwise photonic material. Once you put light in that path, it is forbidden to leave because it cant enter the material, due to the band gap. This is called molding the flow of light, he said.
Cover: A photonic gel developed at Rice University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology self-assembles from long polymer molecules. Polystyrene and poly(2-vinyl pyridine) are mixed in a solution that, when evaporated, allows the polymers to quickly form into nanosized layers. The layers can be tuned to reflect specific colors when exposed to particular chemicals. Joseph Walish/MIT
Ho Sun Lim, Jae-Hwang Lee, Joseph J. Walish, and Edwin L. Thomas: Dynamic Swelling of Tunable Full-Color Block Copolymer Photonic Gels via Counterion Exchange, In: ACS Nano ASAP, September 28, 2012, DOI: 10.1021/ nn302949n: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/nn302949n
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Medicine //
Silver Is Damaging To Human Fibroblasts
Based on Material by UDE, Germany
ilver, an element long favored by medicine for its antiseptic properties, turns out to be damaging to human fibroblasts when used in the dosages required to be effective. Furthermore, the presence of albumin weakens silvers ability to fight bacteria. These findings were recently made by a team of researchers working under the direction of Dr. Stephan Barcikowski, a professor with the Center for Nanointegration (CENIDE) at University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE), Germany.
The team conducted a series of tests examining the antibacterial activities of silver nanoparticles that the researchers produced themselves using laser technology. The scientists bound the nanoparticles to various synthetic materials so that they would not be absorbed by the body but would remain effective, because their large surfaces emit enough silver ions. It is these ions that are, in fact, the active substances that, for example, kill bacteria at a wound, reducing the risk for infection. Silver is therefore a substance well-suited for preserving medical products or for covering burn wounds. Experiments using various bacteria conducted in collaboration with the clinic at the Hannover Medical School under the direction of Dr. Meike Stiesch confirmed silvers germicidal properties. Subsequent studies, however, demonstrated that at the concentrations required for killing bacteria, the silver ions also damaged fibroblasts to a significant degree. We
hadnt expected this to be the case, of course, given that silver is already widely used throughout medicine, said Barcikowski, Chair of Technical Chemistry I at the UDE and editor-in-chief of the journal BioNanoMaterials. But further testing proved that it was the ions themselves that were damaging the cells and not, as we had at first suspected, the synthetic materials. When the scientists then mixed the samples with albumin, silvers antibacterial effectiveness dropped, but the damaging effect on the cells remained the same. The therapeutic margin is therefore extremely narrow in this case, making medical applications risky. Further studies are currently investigating whether it is possible to use the wound-healing properties of nanomaterials in a targeted manner. The study, In-situ conjugation of nanoparticles using ultra-short pulsed laser ablation in monomer solution for electrospinning at burn wound sites, which is part of the DFG Priority Program 1327 Sub-100 nm Structures, is currently looking into this. In collaboration with RWTH Aachen University and the Hannover Medical School, a team is researching whether nanoparticles composed of milder substances, such as zinc, iron, and magnesium, can be used to heal burn wounds. The researchers would like to test less harmful nanomaterials and then make them usable for therapeutic purposes.
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Sebastian Grade, Jrg Eberhard, Philipp Wagener, Andreas Winkel, Csaba Laszlo Sajti, Stephan Barcikowski, Meike Stiesch: Therapeutic Window of Ligand-Free Silver Nanoparticles in Agar-Embedded and Colloidal State: In Vitro Bactericidal Effects and Cytotoxicity, In: Advanced Engineering Materials, Volume 14, Issue 5, May 2012, Pages B231-B239,DOI:10.1002/adem.201180016: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adem.201180016
Anne Hahn, Gudrun Brandes, Philipp Wagener, Stephan Barcikowski: Metal ion release kinetics from nanoparticle silicone composites, In: Journal of Controlled Release, Volume 154, Issue 2, 5 September 2011, Pages 164-170, DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2011.05.023: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2011.05.023
Sebastian Grade, Jrg Eberhard, Anne Neumeister, Philipp Wagener, Andreas Winkel, Meike Stiesch and Stephan Barcikowski: Serum albumin reduces the antibacterial and cytotoxic effects of hydrogel-embedded colloidal silver nanoparticles, In: RSC Advances, Issue 18, 2012, Pages 71907196, DOI:10.1039/c2ra20546g: http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c2ra20546g
Philipp Nachev, Danielle D. van T, Vincent Coger, Philipp Wagener, Kerstin Reimers, Peter M. Vogt, Stephan Barcikowski, and Andrij Pich: Synthesis of hybrid microgels by coupling of laser ablation and polymerization in aqueous medium, In: Journal of Laser Applications, Volume 24, Issue 4, September 2012, Article 042012 [7 pages], DOI:10.2351/1.4730803: http://dx.doi.org/10.2351/1.4730803
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Optics //
Novel Optical Connection Between Semiconductor Chips
Based on Material by KIT, Germany
team of KIT researchers directed by Professor Christian Koos has succeeded in developing a novel optical connection between semiconductor chips. The researchers first fix the chips and then structure a polymer-based optical waveguide in a perfectly fitting manner. To adapt the interconnection to the position and orientation of the chip, the scientists developed a method for the three-dimensional structuring of an optical waveguide. They used so-called two-photon polymerization which reaches a high resolution. A femtosecond laser writes the free-form waveguide structure directly into a polymer that is located on the surface of the chip. For this purpose, the KIT researchers use a laser lithography system made by the Nanoscribe company, a spinoff of KIT. Prototypes of the photonic wire bonds reached very small losses and a very high transmission bandwidth in the range of infrared telecommunication wavelengths around 1.55 micrometers. In first experiments, the researchers already demonstrated data transmission rates in excess of 5 terabits per second. Potential applications of photonic wire bonds lie in complex emitter-receiver systems for optical telecommunication as well as in sensor and measurement technology.
The wire bond is adapted to the position and orientation of the chips. N. Lindenmann and G. Balthasar
N. Lindenmann, G. Balthasar, D. Hillerkuss, R. Schmogrow, M. Jordan, J. Leuthold, W. Freude, and C. Koos: Photonic wire bonding: a novel concept for chip-scale interconnects, In: Optics Express, Vol. 20, No. 16, 30 July 30, 2012, Pages 17667-17677, DOI:10.1364/OE.20.017667: http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OE.20.017667
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Lithography //
New Stamping Process to Pattern Biomolecules
Based on Material by UCLA, USA
esearchers at UCLA (US) have turned the conventional soft lithography process on its head: Instead of using a stamp to transfer molecules onto bare surfaces, they have used chemically treated stamps to remove molecules already in place on gold substrates, essentially peeling away select molecules through chemical bonds to create precise patterns measuring just a few molecules across. The new process, called Chemical Lift-off Lithography (CLL), results in higher-resolution patterning and avoids the blurring problems of earlier techniques. The stamp used in the new process is molded by using a master made with more sophisticated and expensive tools than those used in making rubber stamps for offices and children, but the stamps can be used over and over again. Between each use, they are simply reactivated by an oxygen plasma. The chemical bonds formed at the stamp-substrate interface are sufficiently strong to remove not only molecules in the monolayers but also one layer of gold atoms from the substrate. This observation settled a long-running discussion over whether, for such monolayers, gold-gold bonds break more easily than molecule-gold bonds they do, the researchers found. The research team was able to fabricate a variety of high-resolution patterned features, and stamps were cleaned and reused many times with little feature deterioration. The remaining monolayer, they found, can act as a resist for etching exposed gold features. The backfilling of new molecules into the lifted-off areas enabled patterned protein capture, and sharp 40nm chemical patterns were achieved.
Wei-Ssu Liao, Sarawut Cheunkar, Huan H. Cao, Heidi R. Bednar, Paul S. Weiss, and Anne M. Andrews: Subtractive Patterning via Chemical Lift-Off Lithography, In: Science, Vol. 337, No. 6101, September 21, 2012, Pages 15171521, DOI: 10.1126/science.1221774: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1221774
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Water //
Heat-Conducting Composites for Seawater Desalination
Based on Material by FHG IFAM, Germany
esalination plants can convert seawater to drinking water. Yet these plants require pipelines made of a special kind of steel or titanium expensive material that is growing increasingly difficult to procure. Heat-conducting polymer composites may soon replace titanium altogether. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM in Bremen are now developing an alternative to the titanium tubes: pipelines made of polymer composites. The special thing about this method: the polymer composites are a plastic, and yet they conduct heat. Another benefit: they can be produced in continuous lengths and are correspondingly more economical than their metal counterparts. But what did researchers do to make a polymer heat-conducting? We introduced metal particles into the material or more precisely, we add up to 50% copper microfibers by volume. This does not change the processing properties of the composite, and it can still be processed as any other polymer would, notes Arne Haberkorn, a scientist at IFAM. The researchers have already developed the material itself; now they want to optimize its thermal conductivity. To accomplish this, they are installing the piping in a pilot seawater-desalination plant: here, they are testing its thermal conductivity, checking to see how much of a microorganism-based coating
FHG IFAM
forms on the pipes, and how heavily the material corrodes in its salty surroundings. They then optimize the composite properties based on the results. The researchers have set the evaporation process to run at a temperature of 70 Celsius (158 F) so there is hot gas heated to 70 pumped through the pipelines. This offers several advantages: fewer deposits congregate on the pipes, the material doesnt corrode as quickly, and the pressure differential between the inside and outside of the piping is not as dramatic. The usages for the material are not confined to seawater desalination, either.
Arne Haberkorn, Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM http://www.ifam.fraunhofer.de/
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Engineering //
Size Diversity in Cement Nanoparticles Optimizes Packing Density to Give Concrete its Strength
Based on Material by Denise Brehm, MIT Civil and Environmental Engineering
oncrete may be one of the most familiar building materials on Earth, but its underlying structure remains a bit of a mystery. Materials scientists and concrete engineers still dont fully understand exactly how the cement paste that works as glue in concrete hardens during the first hours after water and cement powder are mixed. New technologies are making it possible for researchers in MITs Concrete Sustainability Hub to make steady progress toward solving this mystery. First they determined that cement paste is a granular material, where the particles or basic nanoscale units pack together most densely when arranged orderly. A few years later they discovered that the calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H) molecules that make up the basic nanoscale unit of cement have a disorderly geometric arrangement, rather than the orderly crystalline structure scientists had long assumed. In new work, they found that the size of C-S-H particles themselves is also somewhat disorderly: The particles form at very diverse sizes and this diversity in the size of the nanoscale units leads to a denser, disorderly packing of the particles, which corresponds to stronger cement paste. The researchers hope this understanding will allow materials scientists and concrete engineers to alter the C-S-H particles at the molecular level to deve-
This figure illustrates how the size diversity of cement nanoparticles allows them to pack together tightly, increasing the strength of the cement. Enrico Masoero
lop stronger, more durable concrete that will have a reduced environmental footprint.
E. Masoero, E. Del Gado, R. J.-M. Pellenq, F.-J. Ulm, and S. Yip: Nanostructure and Nanomechanics of Cement: Polydisperse Colloidal Packing, In: Physical Review Letters, Volume 109, Issue 15, Article 155503 [4 pages], DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.155503: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.155503
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Testing //
Fast Toothpaste Check
Based on Material by FHG, Germany
esearcher at Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM in Halle have developed a new process for testing the abrasive effect of toothpastes, allowing this abrasivity, as experts call it, to be compared and evaluated in the lab. They worked closely with the Microtribology Centre TC in Karlsruhe on a new evaluation method. The abrasive effect of a particular toothpaste on tooth dentin depends on the hardness, amount and particle size of the abrasive additives it contains, such as silica or alumina. Abrasivity is measured as the RDA value (radioactive dentin abrasion), ranging from 30 to over 200. This value is determined via a complex process that involves testers brushing over radioactively marked dentin samples. The abraded material is then measured via the resultant radiation intensity of the toothpaste slurry. Not all experts agree on the validity of RDA values, as test results have been known to vary partly from lab to lab. The researchers at the IWM have chosen an alternative method to this radiotracer system. Our new approach enables us to determine realistic abrasion rates and characterize the interaction between brush, enamel and toothpaste. Whats more, our tests are less laborious than the time-intensive radiotracer pro-
cedures carried out by only a handful of laboratories worldwide, says Dr. Andreas Kiesow, team leader at the IWM. The scientist and his team have successfully managed to determine the abrasion of various toothpastes on a microscopic scale and to measure the friction values using microtribological experiments. Until now, tribological values such as friction coefficient, did not exist says Kiesow. The researchers use human teeth as well as different toothpastes made by industrial partners for their experiments. These toothpastes were diluted with water and saliva in order to create a solution whose consistency corresponds to the mixture of toothpaste and saliva that is present when people brush their teeth. The friction and wear tests were each carried out with a single bristle referred to as a monofilament. This is mounted in specialized tribological instruments, a microtribometer and a nanoindenter, and moved over the sample in both straight and circular motions, in the latter case up to 8000 times. Highly sensitive instruments then measure the depth of the resultant marks left on the surface of the tooth. Our findings reveal that the RDA value of toothpastes correlates with the depth of abrasion; the higher the value, the greater the abrasion. By analyzing the friction value we also identified a clear relationship
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between the friction behaviors of the bristle on the dental enamel and the abrasiveness of the toothpaste, sums up Kiesow. The new process allows the researchers to not only characterize the abrasion more quickly and simply, but also to describe how different geometries of toothbrush filaments act upon the surface of the tooth and how the bristle shape should ideally be designed. The experts at IWM can use their know how to support manufacturers of dental hygiene with product development. At the end of the day it is the consumer who benefits most.
Dr. Andreas Kiesow. Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials, Halle branch of the instituite IWMH: http://www.en.iwm.fraunhofer.de/
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Microscope //
New Near-Field Scanning Microwave Microscope (NSMM)
Based on Material by NIST, USA
ISTs ability to determine the composition and physics of nanoscale materials and devices is about to improve dramatically with the arrival of a new near-field scanning microwave microscope (NSMM). Basically, what were doing is using the very fine spatial resolution of scanning probe instruments such as scanning tunneling microscopes or atomic force microscopes (AFM) and combining it with the broadband compatibility of microwave measurements, says Mitch Wallis of the Radio-Frequency Electronics Group. Our motivation is that we want to look at things like magnetic resonance or mechanical resonance on the nanoscale using microwaves. If you look at your cell phone or your computer, theyre all operating in the range of a few gigahertz. So we have to measure the nanoscale objects that make up those devices to get an understanding of how they perform at those frequencies. Otherwise, its going to be much harder to integrate them into useful commercial devices. In broad outline, a NSMM set-up consists of an atomic force microscope combined with a continuous or pulsed microwave signal applied to the AFM tip. The tip scans across the sample in a soft contact or at a distance of a few nanometers above the surface, emitting a microwave signal that is scattered by the
material, altering its frequency, amplitude and other properties. The nature of the altered signal returning to the tip which also serves as the receiving antenna depends critically on variables such as permeability, permittivity, sheet resistance, dielectric constant, impedance, or the manner in which capacitance changes with voltage, which in turn are determined by the physical composition of the object under investigation. By measuring the frequency-dependent scattered signal, we have, in effect, another knob to turn, says veteran researcher Pavel Kabos of the Advanced High-Frequency Devices Program. And very recently weve been able to examine local properties of samples in extremely small dimensions, very close to the single-molecule level. This is of intense interest, for example, to microchip designers and fabricators who need to know the doping profile around a transistor gate or source or drain in a dynamic randomaccess memory chip. Spatial information recorded by the scanning tip is merged with data from the returning microwave signal at each point in a designated area (typically a few micrometers square) to create a composite image. NSMMs can be tuned to produce images at depths ranging from sub-micrometer to 100 m below the surface. So, for example, if you have a thin
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metal layer on top of the sample and a piezoelectric material underneath, you can see whats happening to the piezo material through the metal sheet, Kabos says. It may seem counterintuitive that wavelengths on the order of a centimeter down to a few millimeters can provide nanometer-scale resolution. Its something of a paradox, Kabos says, until you look at the dimensions involved. The sharp AFM tip is only about 100 nanometers wide, and it is positioned only a few nanometers from the surface or is in a soft contact with the sample. It is the tip elevation that governs the resolution. The tip distance is so much smaller than the signal wavelength that near-field effects predominate, permitting resolution in nanometers and highly accurate, quantitative measurements. The researchers can alter both the tip voltage and the microwave frequency to examine different aspects of the sample. For example, in one 2012 paper, Atif Imtiaz and PML colleagues, along with researchers at instrument-maker Agilent Technologies, Inc., showed how changing the tip bias reveals the local carrier density in a semiconductor, and hence the dopant profile of a region. Depending on the sign of the applied bias to the tip, the charge carriers in the semiconductor are attracted or depleted from the surface, forming a space charge region, the authors write. Because the width of that region is also a function of the carrier density, it provides a sensitive measure of dopant composition. Very recently, Kabos says, we have been able to look into a 3m wide area
and see how the doping is distributed at the P-N junction, as well as locate the junction precisely. Alternatively, changing the microwave frequency reveals other properties. The same material may look very different at 5, 7, or 18 GHz, Kabos says. So we can not only determine the doping profile locally, but also look at performance for a given frequency in a given region. The new device, slated for a fall arrival, will provide many new capabilities. The existing instruments have a single tip that is open to the air. The new NSMM has four tips, permitting simultaneous comparisons of materials, and it is enclosed in an ultra-high vacuum chamber to minimize signal interference and sample contamination. It also features a vacuum samplepreparation chamber and temperature control from about 30 K to room temperature. Among other uses, the new instrument will allow the researchers to explore in much greater detail the properties that affect the suitability of various materials, operating at microwave frequencies, for use in nanoscale electronics and bioelectronics, as well as emerging technologies for spintronic or phasetronic applications in single- and multi-layer configurations.
Background: PML home-made NSMM, shown with tip poised above the surface of a 2 cm wide sample. NIST Cover: Schematic diagram of NSMM apparatus. NIST http://www.nist.gov/
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Materials //
Vanadium Oxide Bronze: A New Material for the Computing Industry?
cientists create a nanomaterial whose unusual electrical properties could be exploited to increase computer chips switching speed. University at Buffalo researchers are among scientists working to identify materials that could one day replace silicon to make computing faster. Their latest find: A vanadium oxide bronze whose unusual electrical properties could increase the speed at which information is transferred and stored. In Advanced Functional Materials, the research team reports that they have synthesized nanowires made from vanadium oxide and lead. The reason that these nanowires are so special is that they perform a rare trick: When exposed to an applied voltage near room temperature, the wires transform from insulators that are resistant to carrying electricity to metals that more readily conduct electricity.Each of these two states insulator and metal could stand for a 0 or 1 in the binary code that computers use to encode information, or for the on and off states that the machines use to make calculations.
When exposed to an applied voltage near room temperature, these nanowires transform from electrical insulators to electrical conductors. Each wire is about 180 nanometers wide. Peter Marley, with color added
The ability to electrically switch these nanomaterials between the on and off state repeatedly and at faster speeds makes them useful for computing, said study co-author Sambandamurthy Ganapathy, a UB associate professors of physics.
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Silicon computing technology is running up against some fundamental road blocks, including switching speeds, added Sarbajit Banerjee, another co-author and a UB associate professor of chemistry. The voltage-induced phase transition in the material we created provides a way to make that switch at a higher speed.
Peihong Zhang, a UB associate professor of physics, and students from Ganapathys research group. One intriguing characteristic of the material they synthesized is that it only exhibits valuable electrical properties in nano-form. Thats because nanomaterials often have fewer defects than their bulkier counterparts, Banerjee and Marley explained. In the case of the lead vanadium oxide nanowires, the wires distinctive structure is crucial to their ability to switch from an insulator to a metal. Specifically, in the insulator phase, the position of the lead in the nanowires crystalline structure induces pools of electrons to gather at designated locations. Upon applying a voltage, these pools join together, allowing electricity to flow freely through them all and transforming the material into a metal. When materials are grown in bulk, theres a lot of defects in the crystals, and you dont see these interesting properties, Marley said. But when you grow them on a nanoscale, youre left with a more pristine material.
Nanowires crafted from vanadium oxide and lead. These wires unique electrical properties could make them ideal for use in switching components of computers. Peter Marley, with colored added
http://www.buffalo.edu/news/13667
As with other nanomaterials, the health and environmental impacts of the nanowires would have to be investigated before their widespread use, especially since they contain lead, Banerjee cautioned. Banerjee and Ganapathy oversaw the study, which appeared online Aug. 17 in the journal Advanced Functional Materials. UB chemistry PhD student Peter Marley was lead author. Other contributors include
Peter M. Marley, Adam A. Stabile, Chun Pui Kwan, Sujay Singh, Peihong Zhang, G. Sambandamurthy, Sarbajit Banerjee: Charge Disproportionation and Voltage-Induced Metal-Insulator Transitions Evidenced in -PbxV2O5 Nanowires, In: Advanced Functional Materials, Early View, August 17, 2012, DOI:10.1002/adfm.201201513: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201201513
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Semiconductor Etching //
Optically Monitoring and Controlling Nanoscale Topography
Based on Material by University of Illinois, USA
niversity of Illinois researchers have a new lowcost method to carve delicate features onto semiconductor wafers using light and watch as it happens. Chip makers and semiconductor researchers need to very precisely control the dimensions of their devices. The dimensions of the components affect performance, speed, error rate and time to failure. The Illinois researchers new technique can monitor a semiconductors surface as it is etched, in real time, with nanometer resolution. It uses a special type of microscope that uses two beams of light to very precisely measure topography.
Chris Edwards, Amir Arbabi, Gabriel Popescu and Lynford L Goddard: Optically monitoring and controlling nanoscale topography during semiconductor etching, In: Light: Science & Applications, Volume 1, September 28, 2012, e30, DOI:10.1038/lsa.2012.30: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/lsa.2012.30
A three-dimensional image of an etched gallium-arsenide semiconductor, taken during etching with a new microscopy technique that monitors the etching process on the nanometer scale. The height difference between the orange and purple regions is approximately 250 nanometers. Chris Edwards, Amir Arbabi, Gabriel Popescu, and Lynford Goddard
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Research by scientists at the University of Bath (UK) is challenging claims that nanoparticles in medicated and cosmetic creams are able to transport and deliver active ingredients deep inside the skin.
Christopher S.J. Campbell, L. Rodrigo Contreras-Rojas, M. Begoa Delgado-Charro, Richard H. Guy: Objective assessment of nanoparticle disposition in mammalian skin after topical exposure, In: Journal of Controlled Release, Volume 162, Issue 1, August 20, 2012, Pages 201-207, DOI:10.1016/j.jconrel.2012.06.024: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2012.06.024 http://www.bath.ac.uk/pharmacy/
se parent company, Meyer Burger, has already started the commercialization of machines built for assembling this type of heterojunction sensors. Within three to five years, we expect to reach a production cost of 100 francs per square meter of sensors, estimates Stefaan DeWolf. In Switzerland, with the conversion efficiency achieved, such a surface will be able to produce between 200 and 300 kWh of electricity per year.
A. Descoeudres, Z.C. Holman, L. Barraud, S. Morel, S. De Wolf, C. Ballif: >21% Efficient Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells on n- and p-Type Wafers Compared, In: IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, Early Access Articles, August 08, 2012, DOI:10.1109/JPHOTOV.2012.2209407: http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/JPHOTOV.2012.2209407
EPFLs Institute of Microengineering (CH) presented in Frankfurt hybrid photovoltaic cells with an energy conversion efficiency of 21.4%, the highest obtained for the type of substrate they used. This breakthrough will contribute to lower the cost of solar cell based installations. The PVlab specializes in thin film solar cells and has been interested for several years in hybrid technologies, better known as heterojunction technologies, designed to enhance solar captors performance. We apply an infinitesimal layer one hundredth of a micron of amorphous silicon on both sides of a crystalline silicon wafer, explains Christophe Ballif. This sandwich conception contributes to increase the sensors effectiveness. To bring these innovations to a stage of industrialization may only take a few years. This research was partly financed as a commission for Roth & Rau Switzerland, who-
A collaborative consortium hopes to build the worlds first fully functioning nano-electro-mechanical (NEM) relay-based processor targeting an energy efficiency that cannot be matched by transistor implementations thanks to a EUR2.44 million (USD3.14 m) grant by the European Commission. The NEMIAC project (Nano-Electro-Mechanical Integration and Computation) will investigate this new technology to build digital integrated circuits for ultra-low power computing applications. The NEMIAC-consortium is led by IBM in Zurich, the other industrial partner is STMicroelectronics. Academic partners are the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) Sweden, University of Bristol UK,
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cole Polytechnique Fdrale De Lausanne (EPFL) Switzerland, and Lancaster University UK.
http://seis.bris.ac.uk/~eeidbp/nemiac/nemiac.html http://www.bris.ac.uk/
Researchers at HHI have now managed to double the efficiency of black silicon solar cells. They have created cells that can produce more electricity from the infrared spectrum. We achieved that by modifying the shape of the laser pulse we use to irradiate the silicon, says Kontermann. This enabled the scientists to solve a key problem of black silicon: In normal silicon, infrared light does not have enough energy to excite the electrons into the conduction band and convert them into electricity, but the sulfur incorporated in black silicon forms a kind of intermediate level. You can compare this to climbing a wall: The first time you fail because the wall is too high, but the second time you succeed in two steps by using an intermediate level. However, in sulfur this intermediate level not only enables electrons to climb the wall, it also works in reverse, enabling electrons from the conduction band to jump back via this intermediate level, which causes electricity to be lost once again. By modifying the laser pulse that drives the sulfur atoms into the atomic lattice, researchers can change the positions that these atoms adopt in the lattice and change the height of their levels, in other words their energy level. We used the laser pulses to alter the embedded sulfur in order to maximize the number of electrons that can climb up while minimizing the number that can go back down, Kontermann sums up.
Black silicon is irradiated with a laser. Small image: Black silicon, magnified. Fraunhofer HHI
In the first stage of the project, the scientists modified the laser pulses and investigated how this changed the properties of black silicon and the efficiency of solar cells made from this material. Now they are working on using different shapes of laser pulses and analyzing how this changes the energy level of the sulfur. In the future, they hope that a system of algorithms will automatically identify how the laser pulse should be modified in order to achieve optimum efficiency. The researchers have already successfully built prototypes of black silicon solar cells and their next step will be to try and merge these cells with commercial technology.
Dr. Stefan Kontermann, Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich Hertz Institute HHI: http://www.hhi.fraunhofer.de/en/start-page/
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A new system for delivering a drug to organ transplant patients, which could avoid the risk of harmful side effects, is being developed by scientists at Strathclyde.
J. L. Italia, M. N. V. Ravi Kumar, and K. C. Carter: Evaluating the Potential of Polyester Nanoparticles for Per Oral Delivery of Amphotericin B in Treating Visceral Leishmaniasis, In: Journal of Biomedical Nanotechnology, Volume 8, Number 4, August 2012, Pages 695-702(8), DOI:10.1166/jbn.2012.1414: http://dx.doi.org/10.1166/jbn.2012.1414
Until now, no chip existed, on which both silicon and erbium-doped material were integrated. In her thesis, PhD candidate Laura Agazzi of the University of Twente demonstrates a working chip for the first time. It will be able to amplify light at speeds up to 170 Gbit/sec. The prototype chip has a signal gain of 7.2 decibel at infrared light (1533nm). The prototype is a starting point, but the results are very promising. One of the possibilities is a laser with an extremely narrow linewidth of 1.7 kHz. In any application that needs emission or amplification of light, this integration of both materials is useful. It is not limited to telecom. You could use these chips for sensor purposes, for tracing extremely small particles, for example, Agazzi adds. Laura Agazzi conducted her research within the Group Integrated Optical Microsystems (IOMS) of prof Markus Pollnau, which is part of the MESA+
Institute for Nanotechnology of the University of Twente. End of September she successfully defended her thesis Spectroscopic Excitation and Quenching Processes in Rare-Earth-Ion-Doped Al2O3 and their Impact on Amplifier and Laser Performance. Her thesis, or a summary, are available digitally.
http://www.utwente.nl
US Naval Research Laboratory electronics science and technology engineers demonstrate the ability of single walled carbon nanotube transistors (SWCNTs) to survive the harsh space environment, investigating the effects of ionizing radiation on the crystalline structures and further supporting the development of SWCNT-based nanoelectronics for use in harsh radiation environments. By developing a SWCNT structure with a thin gate oxide made from thin silicon oxynitride, NRL researchers recently demonstrated SWCNT transistors that do not suffer from such radiation-induced per-
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formance changes. This hardened dielectric material and naturally isolated one-dimensional SWCNT structure makes them extremely radiation tolerant.
http://www.nrl.navy.mil
ral principles. We have proven that it works in this system, she says. The team found that, in addition to the rate at which the strain is applied, the effect depends critically and in a highly predictable way on the temperature of the material. People think theyre independent, Fan says, but it turns out the effects of strain rate and temperature are strongly related.
A team in MITs Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE) that studied how materials react to stresses, including impacts. The findings could ultimately help explain phenomena as varied as the breakdown of concrete under sudden stress and the effects of corrosion on various metal surfaces. Using a combination of computer modeling and experimental tests, the researchers studied one specific type of stress in a defect called a screw dislocation in one kind of material, an iron crystal lattice. But the underlying explanation, the researchers say, may have broad implications for many kinds of stresses in many different materials. Essentially, the team analyzed how the strength of a material can increase quite abruptly as the rate of strain applied to the material increases. This transition in the rate at which a material cracks or bends, called a flow-stress upturn, has been observed experimentally for many years, but its underlying mechanism has never been fully explained, the researchers say. The formulation is not specific to this particular defect, Yildiz explains. Rather, she and her colleagues have figured out what they believe is a set of geneThe effects are quite dramatic, Yildiz says: The rate of change taking place within the material can suddenly change by orders of magnitude, transforming a slow erosion into a sudden catastrophic fracture. The analysis could potentially help predict the breakdown of structures as varied as concrete buildings, metal pressure vessels in powerplants, and the structural components of airplane bodies, but further work will be needed to show how these basic principles can be applied to these different materials.
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Yue Fan, Yuri N. Osetsky, Sidney Yip, and Bilge Yildiz: Onset Mechanism of Strain-Rate-Induced Flow Stress Upturn, In: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 109, Issue 13, September 28, 2012, Article 135503 [5 pages], DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.135503: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.135503
follow the relevant processes in the material; that is, the behaviour of electrons at different points in time.
Lee Carroll, Peter Friedli, Stefan Neuenschwander, Hans Sigg, Stefano Cecchi, Fabio Isa, Daniel Chrastina, Giovanni Isella, Yuriy Fedoryshyn, Jrme Faist: Direct-Gap Gain and Optical Absorption in Germanium Correlated to the Density of Photoexcited Carriers, Doping, and Strain, In: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 109, Issue 5, August 03,
Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) researchers have investigated the mechanisms necessary for enabling the semiconductor Germanium to emit laser light. As a laser material, Germanium together with Silicon could form the basis for innovative computer chips in which information would be transferred partially in the form of light. This technology would revolutionise data streaming within chips and give a boost to the performance of electronics. The researchers have demonstrated that Germanium must be put under strain by an external force in order to turn it into a laser material material and have thus contributed to a very active research field. In their studies, which were performed at the Swiss Light Source (SLS) at PSI, the researchers investigated those properties of Germanium that are important for the generation of laser light, and compared them with those of currently available laser materials. We stimulate the material by means of a powerful laser and simultaneously observe the changes occurring using infra-red radiation from the SLS, elucidates the doctoral student Peter Friedli, who carried out the decisive experiments together with scientist Lee Carroll. To do this, we used the fact that these light pulses are only 100 picoseconds (i.e. 0.1 billionths of a second) long, allowing us to
2012, Article 057402 [5 pages], DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.057402: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.057402 http://www.psi.ch/ Lee Carroll, Peter Friedli, Philippe Lerch, Jrg Schneider, Daniel Treyer, Stephan Hunziker, Stefan Stutz, and Hans Sigg: Ultra-broadband infrared pump-probe spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation and a tuneable pump, In: Review of Scientific Instruments, Volume 82, Issue 6, Article 063101 [9 pages], DOI:10.1063/1.3592332: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3592332
Plans are now proceeding to commercialise a revolutionary liquid laundry additive called CatClo, which contains microscopic pollution-eating particles. The new additive is the result of collaboration between the University of Sheffield and London College of Fashion, with initial support from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Items of clothing only need to be washed in the additive once, as the nanoparticles of titanium dioxide grip onto fabrics very tightly. When
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the particles then come into contact with nitrogen oxides in the air, they react with these pollutants and oxidise them in the fabric. The nitrogen oxides treated in this way are completely odourless and colourless and pose no pollution hazard as they are removed harmlessly when the item of clothing is next washed, if they havent already been dissipated harmlessly in sweat. The additive itself is also completely harmless and the nanoparticles are unnoticeable from the wearers point of view. One person wearing clothes treated with CatClo would be able to remove around 5g of nitrogen oxides from the air in the course of an average day roughly equivalent to the amount produced each day by the average family car. Professor Tony Ryan OBE of the University of Sheffield, who has co-led the project working closely with Professor Helen Storey MBE from London College of Fashion, says: Its the action of daylight on the nanoparticles that makes them function in this way. The development of the additive is just one of the advances were making in the field of photocatalytic materials materials that, in the presence of light, catalyse chemical reactions. Through CatClo, we aim to turn clothes into a catalytic surface to purify air.
http://www.catalytic-clothing.com/
Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have created a new kind of barcode that could come in an almost limitless array of styles with the potential to enable scientists to gather vastly more vital information, at one given time, than ever before. The method harnesses the natural ability of DNA to self-assemble.
Shown here are the color combinations (216) resulting from attaching just three colors to a DNA nanotube using origami technology underscoring the potential of this new method. Chenxiang Lin, Ralf Jungmann, Andrew M. Leifer, Chao Li, Daniel Levner, George M. Church, William M. Shih, Peng Yin, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard Medical School
Bryan Wei, Mingjie Dai, Peng Yin: Complex shapes self-assembled from single-stranded DNA tiles, In: Nature, Vol. 485, No. 7400, Pages 623-626, May 31 2012, DOI:10.1038/nature11075: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature11075
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The University of Texas at Austin (US) has been selected to receive an $18.5 million grant over the next five years from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to create and lead a nanosystems engineering research center. Inside the nanomanufacturing tool for roll-to-roll nanosculpting on plastic substrates. The plastic substrate rolled on the tool consists of the primary film on which nanosculpting takes place to make flex electronic devices, protected by a peelable thinner film as shown. The Nanomanufacturing Systems for Mobile Computing and Mobile Energy Technologies (NASCENT) will develop innovative nanomanufacturing, nanosculpting and nanometrology systems that could lead to versatile mobile computing devices such as wearable sensors, foldable laptops and rollable batteries.
http://www.utexas.edu/
and Clydene Scharlau Chair in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. Engineers can use this class of material to devise new multifunctional devices based on the electrons spin. The new structure is based on the concept of correlated charge carriers, like those found in rust, or iron oxide. In rust, if one electron does something, all of the other electrons know about it. This phenomenon, called correlated electrons, does not exist in silicon-based materials that run todays computers, televisions, complex medical equipment, power cell phones and keep the electricity on in homes.
Jian Liu, M. Kareev, D. Meyers, B. Gray, P. Ryan, J. W. Freeland, and J. Chakhalian: Metal-Insulator Transition and Orbital Reconstruction in Mott-Type Quantum Wells Made of NdNiO3, In: Physical Review Letters, Volume 109, Issue 10, September 07, 2012, Article 107402 [5 pages], DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.107402: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.107402
A University of Arkansas (US) physicist and his colleagues have examined the lower limits of novel materials called complex oxides and discovered that unlike conventional semiconductors the materials not only conduct electricity, but also develop unusual magnetic properties. Contrary to what we have today in modern microelectronics devices based on silicon, here in a single quantum well, which is just four nanometers thick, we now have several functionalities in one device layer, said J. Chakhalian, professor of physics and holder of the Charles
An international, Harvard-led team of researchers have demonstrated a new type of light beam that propagates without spreading outwards, remaining very narrow and controlled along an unprecedented distance. This needle beam, as the team calls it, could greatly reduce signal loss for on-chip optical systems and may eventually assist the development of a more powerful class of microprocessors. Based at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), US, and the Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Carnot de Bourgogne, CNRS, in France,
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the applied physicists both characterized and created this needle beam, which travels efficiently at the interface of gold and air.
tions. The Nanoparticles by Design Unit is working with the Biological Systems Unit to build and test new types of nanoparticle-studded electrodes. The idea is to coat a core of cheap material with a very thin layer of a more expensive, biocompatible metal, then stick the resulting nanoparticles onto the surface of a carbon electrode. In addition to harnessing the properties of the expensive metal at minimal cost, this will increase the surface area of the electrode so that it can host more electricitygenerating bacteria.
http://www.oist.jp/groups/nanoparticles-design-unitmukhles-ibrahim-sowwan https://groups.oist.jp/bsu
Federico Capasso (left), Patrice Genevet (right), and an international team of colleagues have demonstrated a new type of tightly controlled light wave that could eliminate signal loss in on-chip optical devices. Eliza Grinnell, SEAS Communications
Jiao Lin, Jean Dellinger, Patrice Genevet, Benoit Cluzel, Frederique de Fornel, and Federico Capasso: CosineGauss Plasmon Beam: A Localized Long-Range Nondiffracting Surface Wave, In: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 109, Issue 9, Article 093904 [5 pages], DOI: 10.1103/ PhysRevLett.109.093904 http://prl.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v109/i9/e093904
Researcher at Rice University (USA), and Universit catholique de Louvain (Belgium), report an approach to roll out Li-ion battery components from silicon chips by a continuous and repeatable etch-infiltrate-peel cycle. They demonstrate an operational full cell 3.4 V lithium-polymer silicon nanowire (LIPOSIL) battery which is mechanically flexible and scalable to large dimensions.
Alexandru Vlad, Arava Leela Mohana Reddy, Anakha Ajayan, Neelam Singh, Jean-Franois Gohy, Sorin Melinte, and Pulickel M. Ajayan: Roll up nanowire battery from
Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate Universitys Biological Systems Unit is one of the research groups in Japan now working on making waste-fueled microbial fuel cells (MFCs) cheap and efficient enough for real-world applica-
silicon chips, In: PNAS Early View, September 4, 2012, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1208638109: http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1208638109
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Clemson University physics professor Apparao Rao has received a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to explore the use of carbon nanomaterials for energy storage. The Clemson physics professor will lead a team of researchers from Clemson and the University of California-San Diego in developing novel types of electrochemical capacitors with blueprints for their scalability.
http://www.clemson.edu
ideas of step-flow crystal growth augmented by detailed first-principles calculations. The analysis adds a useful perspective on the synthesis of carbon nanotubes and its essential distinction from graphene.
Vasilii I. Artyukhov, Yuanyue Liu, and Boris I. Yakobson: Equilibrium at the edge and atomistic mechanisms of graphene growth, In: In: PNAS Early View, September 4, 2012, DOI:10.1073/pnas.1207519109: http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1207519109
Organic catalysts are a breakthrough in the quest for inexpensive and efficient materials for environmentally friendly production of energy in fuel cells. A new study by physicists at Ume University in Sweden provides better knowledge about key processes in producing these catalysts.
Tiva Sharifi, Guangzhi Hu, Xueen Jia, and Thomas Wgberg: Formation of Active Sites for Oxygen Reduction Reactions by Transformation of Nitrogen Functionalities in Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanotubes, In: ACS Nano ASAP, September 28, 2012, DOI: 10.1021/nn302906r: http.//dx.doi.org/10.1021/nn302906r
As part of an internal project at the Gemini Tribology Centre (friction, wear, lubrication), a group of researchers from SINTEF and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have spent two years building ground-breaking expertise in coatings and thermal spraying. The researchers are now testing whether it is possible where two metal surfaces are in contact with each other to apply a coating to the surfaces formed of hard parCapsule in the wear track, SINTEF/NTNU
Researcher at Engineering and Materials Science, and Department of Chemistry and Smalley Institute of Nanoscale Science and Technology, Rice University, USA, put forward a comprehensive picture dubbed nanoreactor, which draws from
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ticles and capsules filled with liquid lubricant. We apply the lubricant using a thermal spray technique, where powder and capsules are fired at the surface using a flame, says Sergio Armada of SINTEF Materials and Chemistry. When the metal surfaces come into contact with each other, the coating is broken down in a controlled manner, releasing the contents of the capsules, and the lubricant will then prevent further friction. The researchers have carried out a number of tests on slide bearings in industrial settings, in which they have measured friction on surfaces with and without the capsules. When a coating without capsules was applied to the slide bearing, the friction coefficient was 0.7, while friction was reduced to 0.15 in bearings coated with a layer of capsules.
http://www.sintef.com
Henrikki Mertaniemi, Robert Forchheimer, Olli Ikkala, Robin H. A. Ras: Rebounding Droplet-Droplet Collisions on Superhydrophobic Surfaces: from the Phenomenon to Droplet Logic, In: Advanced Materials Early View, September 04, 2012, DOI: 10.1002/adma.201202980: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adma.201202980 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_ embedded&v=GTnVwyWaVQw http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_ embedded&v=ygMdQ9NUbok
Researchers in Aalto University have developed a new concept for computing, using water droplets as bits of digital information. This was enabled by the discovery that upon collision with each other on a highly water-repellent surface, two water droplets rebound like billiard balls.
Researchers from Berlin, Louvain, and from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology present a new method to produce photonic crystals. The SPRIE Sequential Passivation and Reactive Ion Etching method can produce a three-dimensional photonic crystal within a few minutes, as it is based on conventional industrial processes. In principle, a three-dimensional structure can be generated in silicon using a freely choosable mask. This opens up new possibilities for meeting the requirements made on optical components in telecom-munications. Our new SPRIE fabrication methods uses established technologies, such as etching and innovative methods like self-organization and combines them in a very creative manner, says Martin Wegener, Professor of the Institute of Applied Physics and Institute of Nanotechnology of KIT, Germany, and coordinator of the German DFG Center for Functional Nanostructures (CFN). The SPRIE method
Water droplets moving on a superhydrophobic surface collide with each other and rebound like billiard balls. Aalto University
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is applied to structure silicon on large areas in a simple and three-dimensional manner. First, a solution with micrometer-sized spheres of polystyrene is applied to the silicon surface. After drying, these spheres automati-cally form in a dense monolayer on the silicon. Upon metal coating and the removal of the spheres, a honeycomb etching mask remains on the silicon surface.
10m, their depth exceeds their width by a factor of more than 10. The process steps and the electric field are adjusted precisely to control the structure of the walls. Instead of a simple hole with vertical smooth walls, every etching step produces a spherical depression with a curved surface. This curvature is the basis for the regular repeating structures of novel waveguides. Optical telecommunication takes place at a wavelength of 1.5m. With our etching method, we produce a corrugated structure in the micrometer range along the wall.
Alexandru Vlad, Andreas Frlich, Thomas Zebrowski, Constantin Augustin Dutu, Kurt Busch, Sorin Melinte, Martin Wegener and Isabelle Huynen: Direct Transcription of Two-Dimensional Colloidal Crystal Arrays into Three-Dimensional Photonic Crystals, In: Advanced Functional Materials, Early View, October 08, 2012, DOI:10.1002/adfm.201201138: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201201138
Image: Deep below the silicon surface, the SPRIE method produces regular structures in the micrometer range that refract light. KIT/CFN
This etching mask is our two-dimensional template for the construction of the three-dimensional structure, says Frlich. The free areas are removed by etching with a reactive plasma gas. An electric field is applied to make the gas particles etch into the depth only or ho-mogeneously in all directions. In addition, we can specifically pas-sivate the walls of the hole, which means that it is protected from further etching by a polymer layer. Repeated etching and passivation makes the holes of the etching mask grow into the depth. With up to
In a new experiment, a silica fibre just 500 nm across has been shown not to obey Plancks law of radiation. The researcher investigate the thermalization via heat radiation of a silica fiber with a diameter smaller than the thermal wavelength. The temperature change of the subwavelength-diameter fiber is determined through a measurement of its optical path length in conjunction with an ab initio thermodynamic model of the fiber structure. The results differ significantly from the predictions of Plancks law based on the spectral emissivity of silica.
C. Wuttke, A. Rauschenbeutel: Probing Plancks Law for an Object Thinner than the Thermal Wavelength, In: arXiv:1209.0536: http://arxiv.org/abs/1209.0536
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Penn State, North Carolina State University, the University of Virginia and Florida International University (US) will collaborate on a national nanotechnology research effort to create self-powered devices to help people monitor their health and understand how the surrounding environment affects it. The NSF Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Advanced Self-Powered Systems of Integrated Sensors and Technologies (ASSIST), to be headquartered on NC States Centennial Campus, also includes five affiliated universities and about 30 industry partners in its global research consortium. ASSIST will be funded by an initial five-year $18.5 million grant from the NSF.
http://www.psu.edu/
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The NanoMaterials Innovation Center is providing no cost equipment training to New York-based small-to-medium sized companies (50 or less employees).
http://www.nanomic.org
A research group at the NIMS International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA) succeeded in the development of band diagram measurement system in atmospheric condition for organic semiconductor materials.
http://www.nims.go.jp/eng/news/press/2012/08/ p201208270.html
MIT researchers have developed a new technique for magnetically separating oil and water that could be used to clean up oil spills. They believe that, with their technique, the oil could be recovered for use, offsetting much of the cost of cleanup.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_ embedded&v=ZaP7XOjsCHQ
The Academy of Finland has granted EUR1.6 million to a consortium based at Tampere University of Technology (TUT) under the Programmable Materials funding scheme. The project runs from September 1, 2012 to August 31, 2016 and is entitled Photonically Addressed Zero Current Logic through Nano-Assembly of Functionalised Nanoparticles to Quantum Dot Cellular Automata (PhotonicQCA). The project combines expertise from the departments of Electronics, Chemistry and Bioengineering and Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) to look
at the unique possibilities of combining organic chemistry, semiconductor growth and nanofabrication to put the basis of a visionary technology platform for future nanoelectronic devices and logic circuits. PhotonicQCA fits well to the objectives of the Programmable Materials scheme, which looks for visionary new ways to use materials.
http://www.aka.fi/en-GB/A/Programmes-and-Cooperation/Research-programmes/Ongoing/Programmablematerials/
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Engineers at Oregon State University have made a breakthrough in the performance of microbial fuel cells that can produce electricity directly from wastewater. The new technology developed at OSU can now produce 10 to 50 more times the electricity, per volume, than most other approaches using microbial fuel cells, and 100 times more electricity than some.
Yanzhen Fan, Sun-Kee Han and Hong Liu: Improved performance of CEA microbial fuel cells with increased reactor size, In: Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 5, Issue 8, 2012, June 13, 2012, Pages 8273-8280, DOI:10.1039/ C2EE21964F: http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C2EE21964F
A research group including Hokkaido University, NIMS, etc., succeeded in developing a novel alloy catalyst in which the platinum atoms and ruthenium atoms that contribute to improved efficiency in residential-use fuel cells are perfectly intermixed.
The theoretical and experimental framework of a new coherent diffraction strain imaging approach was developed in the Center for Nanoscale Materials X-Ray Microscopy Group in collaboration with Argonnes Materials Science Division, together with users from IBM. Nanofocused X-ray Bragg projection ptychography creates a tool to efficiently image strain fields with unperturbed boundary conditions in technologically and scientifically relevant energy systems. This new technique is capable of imaging lattice distortions in thin films nondestructively at spatial resolutions of <20 nm using coherent nanofocused hard X-rays. This work (Top) Focused beam coherent marks a significant X-ray nanodiffraction patterns step forward in the collected from a SiGe-on-SOI development of nonprototype device edge and destructive coherent (middle and bottom) projected X-ray diffraction strain field reconstructed by imaging techniques ptychographic methods. ANL for the study of nanoscale lattice features in real materials under real conditions.
S. O. Hruszkewycz et al.: Quantitative nanoscale imaging of lattice distortions in epitaxial semiconductor heterostructures using nanofocused X-ray Bragg projection pty-
Figure: Residential-use solid polymer-type fuel cell system (polymer electrolyte fuel cell: PEFC), and an enlarged diagram of the developed catalyst (lower left). http://www.nims.go.jp/
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chography, In: Nano Letters, Vol. 12, Issue 10, October 10, 2012, Pages 5148-5154, DOI: 10.1021/nl303201w: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/nl303201w http://nano.anl.gov/research/xray.html
nology where computer memory is based on resistance, instead of an electron charge. This resistive random access memory, or RRAM, is referred to by some researchers as a memristor. Products using this approach could become even smaller, faster and cheaper than the silicon transistors that have revolutionized modern electronics and transparent as well.
Santosh Murali, Jaana S. Rajachidambaram, SeungYeol Han, Chih-Hung Chang, Gregory S. Herman, John F. Conley Jr.: Resistive switching in zinc-tin-oxide, In: Solid-State Electronics, July 30, 2012, DOI:10.1016/j. sse.2012.06.016: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sse.2012.06.016
A team of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania has found a way to generate a kind of structural color that has the added benefit of another trait of butterfly wings: super-hydrophobicity, or the ability to strongly repel water. The research was led by Shu Yang, associate professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Penns School of Engineering and Applied Science.
Jie Li, Guanquan Liang, Xuelian Zhu, Shu Yang: Exploiting Nanoroughness on Holographically Patterned ThreeDimensional Photonic Crystals, In: Advanced Functional Materials, Volume 22, Issue 14, Pages 2980-2986, July 24, 2012, DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201200013: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201200013 A critical review in Chemical Society Reviews: Yuanjin Zhao, Zhuoying Xie, Hongcheng Gu, Cun Zhu and Zhongze Gu: Bio-inspired variable structural color materials, In: Chemical Society Reviews, Vol. 41, Issue 8, 2012, Pages 3297-3317, DOI: 10.1039/C2CS15267C: http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C2CS15267C
A research team at the University of Delaware (US) studied paramagnetic colloids while periodically applying an external magnetic field at different intervals. With just the right frequency and field strength, the team was able to watch the particles transition from a random, solid like material into highly organized crystalline structures or lattices.
James W. Swan, Paula A. Vasquez, Peggy A. Whitson, E. Michael Fincke, Koichi Wakata, Sandra H. Magnus, Frank De Winne, Michael R. Barratt, Juan H. Agui, Robert D. Green, Nancy R. Hall, Donna Y. Bohman, Charles T. Bunnell, Alice P. Gast, and Eric M. Furst: Multi-scale
Oregon State University (OSU), USA, present the first report of resistive switching in zinc-tin-oxide. The researchers at OSU have confirmed that zinc tin oxide has significant potential for use in this field, and could provide a new, transparent tech-
kinetics of a field-directed colloidal phase transition, In: PNAS Early Edition, September 17, 2012, DOI:10.1073/ pnas.1206915109: http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1206915109
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Researcher at Northwest A&F University, China, demonstrated how the DNA/RNA native structures are disrupted by the fullerene (C60) in a physiological condition. The nanoparticle was found to bind with the minor grooves of double-stranded DNA and trigger unwinding and disrupting of the DNA helix, which indicates C60 can potentially inhibit the DNA replication and induce potential side effects. They used an examination of 2254 native nucleotides with molecular dynamics simulation and thermodynamic analysis.
Xue Xu, Xia Wang, Yan Li, Yonghua Wang, Ling Yang: A large-scale association study for nanoparticle C60 uncovers mechanisms of nanotoxicity disrupting the native conformations of DNA/RNA, In: Nucleic Acids Research, Volume 40, Issue 16, September 2012, Pages 76227632, DOI:10.1093/nar/gks517: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/nar/gks517
important for national security to as-yet unimagined machines, like nanoscale submarines that can navigate through the human blood stream. UCLAs partners in the new center include UC Berkeley, Cornell University, Switzerlands ETH Zurich and California State University, Northridge.
A multidisciplinary team of researchers from UCLA and other universities is poised to help turn science fiction into reality in the form of some of the worlds tiniest electromagnetic devices thanks to a major grant from the National Science Foundations Engineering Research Center (ERC) program. The grant, worth up to $35 million over 10 years, will fund a new center headquartered at UCLAs Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science that will focus on research aimed at developing highly efficient and powerful electromagnetic systems roughly the size of a biological cell systems that can power a range of devices, from miniaturized consumer electronics and technologies
Image: TANMS researchers have used an electric field to turn a magnetic field on (left) and off (right). They measured this effect in a ferromagnetic thin film on top of a piezoelectric substrate, using a magnetic force microscope. At left, the dark lines represent magnetic north poles emanating from the ferromagnetic thin film, and the light lines represent magnetic south poles. At right, an electric field is applied to the piezoelectric substrate, and the lines vanish, meaning that the magnetic field is no longer present. The researchers will expand on this ability to control magnetic fields in nanostructured ferromagnetic elements in the work of the TANMS Nanosystems Engineering Research Center. TANMS seeks to integrate newly discovered large-effect multiferroic materials into electromagnetic devices, thereby enabling chip-scale generation of magnetic fields through the simple application of a voltage. Their research could lead to transformations in memory systems, antenna systems, and nanomotor systems. Ray C. J. Hsu, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, UCLA http://www.engineer.ucla.edu/
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Researchers from North Carolina State University have created flower-like structures out of germanium sulfide (GeS) a semiconductor material that have extremely thin petals with an enormous surface area. The GeS flower holds promise for nextgeneration energy storage devices and solar cells.
A team of physicists at Max-Planck-Institute of Quantum Optics (Garching), Harvard University (Cambridge, USA), and California Institute of Technology (Pasadena, USA) develops a scheme for noise tolerant and yet safely encrypted quantum tokens. Unforgeable quantum credit cards in sight.
Fernando Pastawskia, Norman Y. Yaob, Liang Jiangc, Mikhail D. Lukinb, and J. Ignacio Ciraca: Unforgeable noisetolerant quantum tokens, In: PNAS, Vol. 109, No. 40, October 2, 2012, Pages 16079-16082, DOI:10.1073/ pnas.1203552109: http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1203552109
The GeS nanoflowers have petals only 20-30nm thick, and provide a large surface area in a small amount of space. NCSU
Chun Li, Liang Huang, Gayatri Pongur Snigdha and Linyou Cao: Role of Boundary Layer Diffusion in Vapor Deposition Growth of Chalcogenide Nanosheets: The Case of GeS, In: ACS Nano ASAP, September 25, 2012, DOI: 10.1021/nn303745e: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/nn303745e http://www.ncsu.edu/
An interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Delaware (US) is developing a novel structural health monitoring system that could avert construction disasters in the future. Erik Thostenson and Thomas Schumacher, both affiliated faculty members in the UD Center for Composite Materials, have received a three-year $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to investigate the use of carbon nanotube composites as a kind of smart skin for structures. In preliminary research, the two found that a carbon nanotube hybrid glassfiber composite attached to small-scale concrete beams formed a continuous conductive skin that is exceptionally sensitive to changes in strain as well as to the development and growth of damage.
http://www.udel.edu http://www.ccm.udel.edu
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The most common form of strokes are caused by a sudden reduction in blood flow to the brain (ischemia) that leads to an inadequate supply of oxygen and nutrients. These so-called ischemic strokes are one of the leading causes of death and disability in industrialized nations. If they are not immediately remedied by medical intervention, areas of the brain may die off. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, Korean researchers have now proposed a new approach for supplemental treatment: Ceria nanoparticles could trap the reactive oxygen compounds that result from ischemia and cause cells to die.
Chi Kyung Kim et al.: Ceria Nanoparticles that can Protect against Ischemic Stroke, In: Angewandte Chemie International Edition Early View, September 12, 2012, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201203780: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201203780
Thomas and his team found that nanoclusters developed by adding atoms in a sequential manner could provide interesting optical properties. It turns out that the gold nanoclusters exhibit qualities that may make them suitable for creating surfaces that would diffuse laser beams of high energy. They appear to be much more effective than gold nanocrystal.
Reji Philip, Panit Chantharasupawong, Huifeng Qian, Rongchao Jin, and Jayan Thomas: Evolution of Nonlinear Optical Properties: From Gold Atomic Clusters to Plasmonic Nanocrystals, In: Nano Letters ASAP, July 30, 2012, DOI: 10.1021/nl301988v: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/nl301988v http://www.ucf.edu
University of Central Florida (US) assistant professor has developed a new material using nanotechnology, which could help keep pilots and sensitive equipment safe from destructive lasers. UCF Assistant Professor Jayan Thomas, in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University Associate Professor Rongchao Jin chronicle their work in journal Nano Letters. Thomas is working with gold nanoparticles and studying their properties when they are shrunk into a small size regime called nanoclusters. Nanoclusters occupy the intriguing quantum size regime between atoms and nanocrystals, and the synthesis of ultra-small, atomically precise metal nanoclusters is a challenging task, Thomas said.
Researcher at Pennsylvania State University, USA, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, BASF SE, Germany, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Germany, propose a mechanism based on optical trapping of a protein at the site of plasmonic field enhancements for achieving ultra sensitive detection in only microliter-scale sample volumes, and in real-time.
Miguel A. Santiago-Cordoba, Murat Cetinkaya, Svetlana V. Boriskina, Frank Vollmer, Melik C. Demirel: Ultrasensitive detection of a protein by optical trapping in a photonic-plasmonic microcavity, In: Journal of Biophotonics
Special Issue: Lab-on-a-Chip Based Diagnostics, Volume 5, Issue 8-9, August 2012, Pages 629-638, DOI:10.1002/jbio.201200040:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jbio.201200040
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A new nano machine shop that shapes nanowires and ultrathin films could represent a future manufacturing method for tiny structures with potentially revolutionary properties. The structures might be tuned for applications ranging from high-speed electronics to solar cells and also may have greater strength and unusual traits such as ultrahigh magnetism and plasmonic resonance, which could lead to improved optics, computers and electronics. The researchers used their technique to stamp nanoand microgears; form tiny circular shapes out of a material called graphene.
The paper, NASAs Relationship with Nanotechnology: Past, Present and Future Challenges, investigates how NASA has both guided and defunded cutting-edge nanotechnology development since 1996 at its own research facilities and in its collaborations with university scientists and laboratories.
http://news.rice.edu/2012/10/16/nasa-must-reinvestin-nanotechnology-research-according-to-new-rice-university-paper/ NASAs Relationship with Nanotechnology: Past,
Present and Future Challenges: http://www.bakerinstitute.org/policyreport54
This illustration depicts a new nano machine shops ability to shape tiny wires, an advance that represents a possible future manufacturing method for applications ranging from high-speed electronics to solar cells. Purdue University / Gary Cheng Ji Li, Ting-Fung Chung, Yong P. Chen, and Gary J. Cheng: Nanoscale Strainability of Graphene by Laser ShockInduced Three-Dimensional Shaping, In: Nano Letters, Volume 12, Issue 9, September 12, 2012, Pages 45774583, DOI: 10.1021/nl301817t: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/nl301817t
Researchers at the US Department of Energys National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) believe that they have struck a balance between conversion efficiency and manufacturing costs by developing a nanotechnology-enabled silicon solar cell that boasts 18.2% conversion efficiency and that should be cheaper to produce.
Jihun Oh, Hao-Chih Yuan & Howard M. Branz: An 18.2%-efficient black-silicon solar cell achieved through control of carrier recombination in nanostructures, In: Nature AOP, September 30, 2012, DOI:10.1038/nnano.2012.166: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2012.166 http://spectrum.ieee.org/nanoclast/semiconductors/ nanotechnology/nanostructured-silicon-solar-cells-achieve-high-conversion-efficiency-without-antireflective-coatings
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Electric current shoots straight across a sheet of defect-free graphene with almost no resistance, a feature that makes the material highly attractive to engineers who would use it in things like touchscreens and other electronics, said Rice University theoretical physicist Boris Yakobson.
Vasilii I. Artyukhov, Yuanyue Liu, and Boris I. Yakobson: Equilibrium at the edge and atomistic mechanisms of graphene growth, In: PNAS, Vol. 109, No. 38, September 4, 2012, Pages 15136-15140, DOI:10.1073/ pnas.1207519109: http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1207519109 http://news.rice.edu/2012/09/04/every-atom-countsin-graphene-formation/
A graphic by Rice researchers shows graphene growth via open-pentagon armchair edges, with atoms joining one by one to form the materials familiar hexagonal lattice. The researchers analyzed the energies involved in graphene creation in a study that may help experimentalists grow better-quality graphene via chemical vapor deposition. Yakobson Lab/Rice University
Rice University researchers have come up with a set of calculations to predict how graphene grows in the process known as chemical vapor deposition. The graph set against an illustration of graphene growing on a nickel catalyst shows the initial energy barrier a carbon atom must overcome to join the bloom; subsequent atoms face an ever-smaller energy barrier until the process begins again for the next line. Vasilii Artyukhov/Rice University
Qubit-based computing exploiting spooky quantum effects like entanglement and superposition will speed up factoring and searching calculations far above what can be done with mere zero-or-one bits. To domesticate quantum weirdness, however, to make it a fit companion for mass-market electronic technology, many tricky bi-lateral and multilateral arrangements among photons, electrons, circuits, cavities, etc. need to be negotiated. A new milestone in this forward march: a Princeton-Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) collaboration announces the successful excitation of a spin qubit using a resonant cavity. The circuit, via the cavity, senses the presence of the qubit as if it were a bit of capacitance. This result points toward the eventual movement of quantum information over bus conduits much as digital information moves over buses in conventional computers.
Image: Hybrid quantum dot-superconducting resonator device. (a) Circuit schematic and micrograph of the hybrid device design. Scanning electron micrograph (b) and cross-sectional schematic view (c) of the nanowire double quantum dot (DQD). The left and right barrier gates (BL and BR), left and right plunger gates (L and R),
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and middle gate (M) are biased to create a double-well potential within the nanowire. The drain contact of the nanowire, D, is grounded, and the source contact, S, is connected to an antinode of the resonator, oscillating at a voltage VCavity. Credit Petersson et. al. K. D. Petersson, L. W. McFaul, M. D. Schroer, M. Jung, J. M. Taylor, A. A. Houck, J. R. Petta: Circuit quantum electrodynamics with a spin qubit, In: Nature, Volume 490, Number 7420, October 18, 2012, Pages 380-383, DOI:10.1038/nature11559: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature11559
http://jqi.umd.edu/news/357-bus-service-for-qubits.html
demonstrated this to be possible. By combining ion processing and nanolithography they have managed to create complex three-dimensional structures at nanoscale.
Khattiya Chalapat, Nikolai Chekurov, Hua Jiang, Jian Li, Babak Parviz, G. S. Paraoanu: Self-Organized Origami Structures via Ion-Induced Plastic Strain, In: Advanced
The fabrication of many objects, machines, and devices around us rely on the controlled deformation of metals by industrial processes such as bending, shearing, and stamping. Is this technology transferrable to nanoscale? Can we build similarly complex devices and machines with very small dimensions? Scientists from Aalto University in Finland and the University of Washington in the US have just
Materials Early View, October 01, 2012, DOI:10.1002/ adma.201202549: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adma.201202549 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_ embedded&v=tw1AAxcULwQ http://ltl.tkk.fi/wiki/LT/Kvantti
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they represent an important basis for the continued development of new inhaled medications, explains Professor Lehr. The newly gained insights show that it is important to consider how drugs overcome the mucus gel scaffold. Mucolytic techniques can be used where, essentially, the rods are melted such that they dissolve before the nanoparticle and, once the particle has passed, they fuse again.
Julian Kirch, Andreas Schneider, Berengere Abou, Alexander Hopf, Ulrich F. Schfer, Marc Schneider, Christian Schall, Christian Wagner und Claus Michael Lehr: Optical tweezers reveal relationship between microstructure and nanoparticle penetration of pulmonary mucus, In: PNAS Early Edition, October 22, 2012, DOI:10.1073/ pnas.1214066109: http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1214066109 Left: Lung mucus: Rigid, thick gel rods separating pores filled with liquid phase. Nanoparticles for example drug nanoparticles become stuck at these structures as though they were bars of a cage. Schneider/Kirch et al.
Scientists at the Saarland University and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) unraveled lung mucuss physical properties: They discovered that a rigid gel scaffold in lung mucus separates large, fluid-filled pores and prevents nanoparticle movement beyond individual pore boundaries. Their findings deepen our understanding of diseases of the respiratory system, notably infections, and support the development of new inhaled medications. Our results are helping us to better understand the etiology of infectious diseases of the airways and how to treat them more effectively. In particular,
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM in Freiburg, working jointly with Hegla, have engineered a new process to cut safety glass. We cut the interior film before the glass is scored and broken apart, explains Tobias Rist, scientist at Fraunhofer IWM. We use a laser beam that can be guided over the pane as desired. This is why we are also able to cut unusual geometries. The laser beam penetrates the glass and releases its energy primarily in the film. The film gets hot enough for it to melt and vaporize. With this method a channel is produced in the film, and the film is separated locally. When the film is cut, the
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glass is carved and fractured parallel to the resulting film channel. The process can be readily automated and applied on an industrial scale, says Rist. Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Material IWM:
http://www.iwm.fraunhofer.de
A research team from the University of Bristols Centre for Quantum Photonics (CQP, UK) have brought the reality of a quantum computer one step closer by experimentally demonstrating a technique for significantly reducing the physical resources required for quantum factoring.
Enrique Martn-Lpez, Anthony Laing, Thomas Lawson, Roberto Alvarez, Xiao-Qi Zhou, Jeremy L. OBrien: Experimental realization of Shors quantum factoring algo-
Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum DresdenRossendorf (HZDR), Germany, and the TU Vienna, Austria, were at last able to reconcile important issues concerning the effects of highly charged ions on surfaces. The scientists are calling their results the missing important piece of the puzzle to help them understand the interaction of highly charged ions with surfaces.
rithm using qubit recycling, In: Nature Photonics AOP, October 21, 2012, DOI:10.1038/nphoton.2012.259: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2012.259 The Centre for Quantum Photonics, UK: http://www.phy.bris.ac.uk/groups/cqp/
Following bombardment with highly charged ions, nanohillocks have formed in an area of localized melting. Atomic force microscope image (HZDR). HZDR A.S. El-Said, R.A. Wilhelm, R. Heller, S. Facsko, C. Lemell, G. Wachter, J. Burgdrfer, R. Ritter, F. Aumayr: Phase diagram for nanostructuring CaF2 surfaces by slow highly charged ions, In: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 109(2012), Article 117602, DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.117602: http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.117602
A new type of nanoscale molecular trap makes it possible for industry to store large amounts of hydrogen in small fuel cells or capture, compact and remove volatile radioactive gas from spent nuclear fuel in an affordable, easily commercialized way. But what makes this MOF, called ZIF-8, dramatically different from designs created during the past decade is its ability to distort the windows in the framework and trap large volumes of gas at relatively low pressures. ZIF-8 takes about twice the pressure of a junkyard car compactor, which is about 10 times less pressure than is needed to compress other comparable zeolite MOFs. This creates an environmentally friendly process that is within the reach of existing industrial machinery, can be produced on a large scale and is financially viable.
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The ZIF-8 is composed of zinc cations and organic imidazolate-based linkers. The topology of the framework is analogous to sodalite a well-known zeolite.
acturing advanced optical materials and ceramics. The method was developed by a team of chemists, chemical engineers, and physicists at New York University (NYU), the Harvard School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, the Harvard Department of Physics, and Dow Chemical Company.
This illustration of a metal-organic framework, or MOF, shows the metal center bound to organic molecules. Each MOF has a specific framework determined by the choice of metal and organic. ANL http://www.anl.gov/
Illustration Pengcheng Song, Yufeng Wang, and Yu Wang Yufeng Wang, Yu Wang, Dana R. Breed, Vinothan N. Manoharan, Lang Feng, Andrew D. Hollingsworth, Marcus Weckm, David J. Pine: Colloids with valence and specific directional bonding, In: Nature, Vol. 491, Number
Scientists have created new kinds of particles, 1/100th the diameter of a human hair, that spontaneously assemble themselves into structures resembling molecules made from atoms. These new particles come together, or self-assemble, to form structures in patterns that were previously impossible to make and hold promise for manuf-
7422, November 01, 2012, Pages 51-55 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature11564
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Current commercially available fuel cells use platinum nanoparticles as the catalyst to speed up the chemical reaction because platinum is the only metal that can resist the highly acidic conditions inside such a cell. However, the widespread use of fuel cells has been impeded by the high cost of platinum and its low stability. To overcome this limitation, a team of researchers led by IBN Executive Director Professor Jackie Y. Ying has discovered that by replacing the central part of the catalyst with gold and copper alloy and leaving just the outer layer in platinum, the new hybrid material can provide 5 times higher activity and much greater stability than the commercial platinum catalyst. With further optimization, it would be possible to further increase the materials catalytic properties. IBNs new nanocomposite material can produce at least 0.571 amperes of electric current per milligram of platinum, compared to 0.109 amperes per milligram of platinum for commercial platinum catalysts. To make this catalyst more active than the commercial platinum catalyst, the researchers have designed the core of the nanocrsytalline material to be a gold-copper alloy.
Jinhua Yang, Xiaojun Chen, Xianfeng Yang, Jackie Y. Ying. Stabilization and compressive strain effect of AuCu core on Pt shell for oxygen reduction reaction, In: Energy & Environmental Science, Advance Article, July 24, 2012, DOI:10.1039/C2EE22172A: http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C2EE22172A http://www.a-star.edu.sg
Silver nanoparticles can have a severe environmental impact if their utilization in clothing continues to increase. If everyone buys one silver nanoparticle-treated sock a year, the silver concentration in waste water treatment plant sludge can double. If the sludge is subsequently used as fertilizer, the silver can cause long-term damage to agricultural land. These are the results of a study conducted at Chalmers University of Technology.
http://www.chalmers.se/en/Pages/default.aspx
Researchers from A*STARs Institute of Microelectronics (IME) have developed the first compact high performance silicon-based cavity-backed slot (CBS) antenna that operates at 135 GHz. The antenna demonstrated 30 times stronger signal transmission over on-chip antennas at 135 GHz.
http://www.ime.a-star.edu.sg/
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Project Nanomal
The EUR5.2million (4million) Nanomal project is planning to provide an affordable hand-held diagnostic device to swiftly detect malaria infection and parasites drug resistance. It will allow healthcare workers in remote rural areas to deliver effective drug treatments to counter resistance more quickly, potentially saving lives. The device the size and shape of a mobile phone will use a range of latest proven nanotechnologies to rapidly analyse the parasite DNA from a blood sample. The Nanomal consortium is being led by St Georges, University of London, which is working with UK handheld diagnostics and DNA sequencing specialist QuantuMDx Group and teams at the University of Tuebingen in Germany and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. It was set up in response to increasing signs that the malaria parasite is mutating to resist the most powerful class of anti-malaria drugs, artemisinins. The European Commission has awarded EUR4million (3.1million) to the project.
http://www.nanomal.org/
test methods and semiconductor sensors for use in lithium ion batteries. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding this research work in order to further develop Germanys top position as a center for industry, science and technology, and to accelerate the shift to more climatefriendly and cost-effective mobility. The German government has also elected SafeBatt as one of nine lighthouse projects of Germanys National Electric Mobility Platform (NPE). SafeBatt stands for active and passive measures for intrinsically safe lithium ion batteries. The SafeBatt project partners are BASF SE, BMW AG, Daimler AG, Deutsche ACCUmotive GmbH & Co.KG, ElringKlinger AG, Evonik Litarion GmbH, Infineon Technologies AG, Li-Tec Battery GmbH, SGS Germany GmbH, Volkswagen AG, Wacker Chemie AG, the Institute for Chemical Technology ICT of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the Technical University of Braunschweig with the Institute for Particle Technology iPAT, the University of Mnster with its battery research center MEET as well as the Technical University of Munich with its Department for Electrical Energy Storage.
http://www.infineon.com/
Project SafeBatt
Over the next three years, 15 partners from German science and the automotive and supply industry will research how the safety of lithium ion batteries can be further improved for electric and hybrid vehicles. A focal part of the research will be new materials,
JRC Report Reviews Measurement Methods for Nanoparticle Sizing

A new report by the European Commissions Joint Research Centre (JRC) presents an in-depth review of methods available to measure the size of nanoparticles. Following the adoption of the definition of
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85
the term nanomaterial in October 2011, this report identifies relevant measurement methods and key challenges for measuring nanoparticle size in the regulatory context. The report underlines that no single measurement method can be used for all materials to determine if each of them falls within the regulatory definition. Different methods will be required depending on the material under investigation.
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/jrc/downloads/jrc_20120917_ newsrelease_measurement_methods.pdf
Project TECNALIA / INNOBITE

TECNALIA is leading the development of new biocomposites based on the transformation of urban and agricultural waste into high-performance products for the construction sector. These innovative materials will be developed within the framework of INNOBITE INNOvative BIocomposiTEs, a European Commission FP7 collaborative project co-participated by several research centres and European SMEs: VTT (FI), EMPA (CH), EXERGY (UK), VERTECH (FR), TECNARO (DE), ECOPULP (FI), ACF (ES) and CIMV (FR).
http://www.basqueresearch.com
Project IMPROVE
The 35 European partners in the research project IMPROVE implementing manufacturing science solutions to increase equipment productivity and fab performance have succeeded in making the European semiconductor industry more competitive in the global arena. In 2009, a group of renowned European semiconductor companies joined together under the technical project management of Infineon Technologies AG. Their aim was to identify new methods to increase the efficiency of semiconductor manufacturing in Europe and, at the same time, reduce costs and processing times. Technology partners of the project funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) were software enterprises, semiconductor companies with production sites in Europe, research institutes and academia from Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Portugal.
http://www.infineon.com/cms/en/corporate/press/news/ releases/2012/INFXX201209-063.html
Nanomaterials: Case by Case Safety Approach for Breakthrough Technology

The European Commission adopted a Communication on the Second Regulatory Review on Nanomaterials, which also includes the Commissions plans to improve EU law to ensure the safe use of nanomaterials. The Communication underlines nanomaterials diverse nature and types, ranging from everyday materials that have been used safely for decades to highly sophisticated industrial materials and tumour therapies. There is an increasing body of information on the hazard properties of nanomaterials, which are difficult to generalize and justify specific risk assessments.
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?referenc e=IP/12/1050&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN& guiLanguage=en
86
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Patents
Patents
Measurement Method for the Field at a Superconducting Cavity under Operating Temperature
Inventor(s): Dr. Ralf Eichhorn / TransMIT GmbH Abstract: In the production of cavities the field distribution is measured in order to ensure quality and efficiency. The new technology is particularly developed for superconducting cavities and can be used in difference to the traditional operation under working temperature up to 4K. For this reason the calibration is carried out under realistic terms. The essential attribute is that the measuring takes place over the entire cavity. Field modifications during the cooling down are also observable. The concept addresses producer of cavities which work to 4K. This equipment is mostly used in research facilities operating as an accelerator.
Multiple Cell Separator Device for Separation and Manipulation of Cells and Microorganisms
Inventor(s): Prof. Dr. Michiel Postema, Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Thomas Walther
Abstract: In life sciences cell cultures play an essential role, especially in the biotechnological and biomedical research. The specific separation of different cell types in order to achieve standardized primary cell cultures is vitally important. The existing methods are afflicted with a number of disadvantages. The new product offers the possibility to identify and separate several types of cells or microorganisms out of a mixed cell population (multi cell system), without having to stain the cells, label them with antibodies or remove the cells from the cultivation system for morphological examination.
Contact: TransMIT GmbH, Thomas Widmann, Kerkrader Str. 3, D-35394 Giessen, Phone: +49-(0)641-94364-35: http://www.hipo-online.de/files/TM430ExposeEN_2012-07-11.pdf
Contact: TransMIT GmbH, Lars Pfugbeil, Kerkrader Strae 3, 35394 Giessen, Phone: 0641-9436424: http://www.hipo-online.de/files/220812TM583ExposeE ngl_2012-08-23.pdf
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Patents
87
OLED Polymer with Minor Defects and Simple Production for an OLED Display
Inventor(s): PD Dr. Stefan Immel, Dipl.-Chem. Serena Nickel, Prof. Dr. Matthias Rehahn, Dr. Thorsten Schwalm Abstract: This development enables a simple coating and structuring of a carrier with an OLED polymer. As a result of this, OLED displays are easy to produce. An advantage of this development is the solvent which is saved during the structuring of the OLED polymer. This is achieved by eschewing certain processing steps. Another effect of the invention is the significant reduction of defects within the OLED polymer. A uniform aging of the different colours can thus be achieved. This offers the particular advantage that colour shifts can significantly be reduced during aging. Ageing effects can consequently be compensated to a certain extent simply by increasing the current. This therefore extends the service life of the OLED. However, the OLEDs operating life remains finite. TransMIT is looking for cooperation partners for the further development of the invention up to routine application and/or distribution and production partners in Europe, the USA, and Asia.
Contact: TransMIT GmbH, Lars Pfugbeil, Kerkrader Strae 3, 35394 Giessen, Phone: 0641-9436424: http://www.hipo-online.de/files/TM335ExposeEN_2012-07-11.pdf
Friction Bearing for Reducing Resonance Vibrations

Inventor(s): Dr. Athanasios Chasalevris, Dr. techn. Fadi Dohnal
Abstract: This new type of friction bearing facilitates an effective reduction in resonance vibrations by using a movable friction bearing half-shell which only opens when the critical rotor speeds are passed. The degree of damping increases by enlarging the film thickness of the lubricant over the short-term; as a result, the usual additional externally applied damping means are unnecessary. The theoretical preparations for the development of this friction bearing have been completed. The next step is to construct a prototype.
Contact: TransMIT GmbH, Jrg Krause, Kerkrader Str. 3 D-35394 Giessen, Phone: +49-(0)641-94364-25: http://www.hipo-online.de/files/TM602EN_2012-07-06. pdf
88
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Events
September 2012
September 3-7, 2012, Ligure, Italy FP7 MAGNONICS
http://www.magnonics.org/school
September 25-26, 2012, Birmingham, UK MM, MEMS & NANO Live UK 2012
http://www.rapidnews.com/
September 04-07, 2012, Beijing, China Nanotoxicology 2012 6th International Conference on Nanotoxicology
http://english.nanoctr.cas.cn/nanotoxicology2012/
September 24-25, 2012, Berlin, Germany 3. AtMol Series, International Workshop: Imaging and manipulating molecular orbitals
http://www.atmol.eu/Berlin2012
September 9-12, 2012, Berlin, Germany Electronics Goes Green 2012+

http://www.egg2012.de/
October December 2012
September 10-14, 2012, Madrid, Spain 13. Trends in Nanotechnology International

http://www.tntconf.org/2012/
October 03-06, 2012, Strbske Pleso, Slovakia 1. International Conference on Nanomaterials: Fundamentals and Applications
http://nfa2012.science.upjs.sk/
September 14-15, 2012, Rome, Italy Nanoforum 2012

http://www.nanoforum.it
September 15-16, 2012, Beijing, China 3. International Conference on Nano Science and Technology (ICNST 2012)
http://www.icnst.org
October 16-17, 2012, Dresden, Germany International Laser Symposium Fiber & Disc (FiSC 2012); (7th International Workshop on Fiber Lasers)
http://www.iws.fraunhofer.de/workshop/e_workshop.html
September 17-22, 2012, St. Petersburg, RU 6. International Congress on Advanced Electromagnetic Materials in Microwaves and Optics
http://congress2012.metamorphose-vi.org/
October 16-18, 2012, Shanghai, China analytica China

http://www.analyticachina.com
September 20-21, 2012, Bandung, Indonesia Nanotechnology Applications in Energy and Environment 2012
http://www.naee2012.org
October 28-31, 2012, Helsinki, Finland SENN2012 - International Congress on Safety of Engineered Nanoparticles and Nanotechnologies
http://www.ttl.fi/en/international/conferences/ senn2012/Pages/default.aspx
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Events 2012
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October 27-30, 2012, New Delhi, Delhi, India 3. International Conference on Stem Cells and Cancer (ICSCC-2012): Proliferation, Differentiation and Apoptosis
http://www.icscc.in/
December 10-11, 2012, De ReeHorst, Ede, NL Netherlands MicroNanoConference 2012

http://www.micronanoconference.nl
November 02-06, 2012, Xcaret, Mexico Peptide Chemistry Conference 2012

http://tinyurl.com/6mto6ne
December 15-16, 2012, Bali Island, Indonesia 2. International Conference on Electrical Engineering and Applications ICEEA 2012
http://www.iceea.net/
November 03-04, 2012, Shenzhen, China 8. International Conference on MEMS NANO, and Smart Systems ICMENS 2012
http://www.icmens.org
December 29-30, 2012, Hong Kong, China 3. International Conference on Physics Science and Technology ICPST 2012
http://www.icpst.org/
November 07-09, 2012, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA MEMS Executive Congress US 2012
http://www.memscongress.com
December 29-30, 2012, Hong Kong, China International Conference on Industrial Applications and Innovations ICIAI 2012
http://www.iciai.org/
November 13-15, 2012, Grenoble, France Nanosafe 2012

http://www.nanosafe.org/
January / February 2013
November 15, 2012, Dresden, Germany Workshop Lithium-Sulfur-Batteries, Fraunhofer IWS

http://www.iws.fraunhofer.de
January 8-11, 2013, Las Vegas, USA MEMS Industry Group at 2013 International CES
http://registration3.experientevent.com/showCES131/ Default.aspx
November 21-25, 2012, Coimbatore, India MAM-12 6. International Symposium on Macroand Supramolecular Architectures and Materials
http://www.mam12.ksrct.ac.in/
Nov. 29 to December 03, 2012, Xcaret, Mexico 2nd Solar Fuels Conference Conference 2012
http://tinyurl.com/7qjxlg3
January 11-13, 2013, Palo Alto, CA The 2013 Foresight Technical Conference, Illuminating Atomic Precision
http://foresight.org
90
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Events
March 2013
January 15-17, 2013, Abu Dhabi, UAE The World Future Energy Summit (WFES) 2013
http://www.worldfutureenergysummit.com/
March 13-14, 2013, Rosemont, IL, USA MICRO NANO MEMS 2013
http://www.micronanomems.com
January 19-20, 2013, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 3. International Conference on Advanced Materials Research ICAMR 2013
http://www.icamr.org/
March 29-31, 2013, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st International Conference on Chemical, Nano & Sustainable Engineering (ICCNSE-2013)
http://www.assetedu.org/viewjc.php?id=c4&page_ id=22
February 01-02, 2013, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India International Conference on Recent Trends in Applied Physics & Material Science
http://www.ram2013.com
March 19-21, 2013, London, UK Image Sensors 2013

http://www.image-sensors.com
February 13-15, 2013, Porto, Portugal NanoPT International Conference

http://www.nanopt.org/12EN/index.php
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April / May 2013
November 2013
April 03-05, 2013, Bled, Slovenia Austrian-Slovenian Polymer Meeting ASPM 2013
http://www.aspm.si
November 12-14, 2013, Mumbai, India analytica Anacon India

http://www.analyticaindia.com/
April 23-26, 2013, Bilbao, Spain ImagineNano 2013

http://www.imaginenano.com
May 12-15, 2013, Washington, USA Nanotech 2013

http://www.techconnectworld.com/Nanotech2013/
June September 2013

June 18-20, 2013, Bad Gastein, Austria Course on Nanomaterials
http://www.nanoconsulting.de
September 25-27, 2013, Kiel, Germany Euro Intelligent Materials 2013

http://www.intelligent-materials. de
September 13-14, 2013, Shillong, Meghalaya, India International Conference on Emerging Trends and Applications in Computer Science 2013
http://icetacs.anthonys.ac.in
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TransMIT GmbH with more than 120 employees is the partner of 5 Hessian universities. Our core activity is to bring together universities and enterprises: On the one hand, we evaluate, protect and realise university inventions. On the other, we arrange for suitable R&D projects and license options on behalf of small to medium-sized companies and large firms. Please have a look at out various nanotechnology and polymer inventions at www.hipo-online.net
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12-09/10 :: September/October 2012

New Thin-Film Polymer Metamaterial (42)

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