Partners

CNR-SPIN

Expertise: The SPIN institute of the National Research Council (CNR) is a research infrastructure of Regione Liguria for the fabrication and characterization of advanced materials and its mission is the study of innovative materials and their application in the fields of electronics and energy.  CNR-SPIN has laboratories equipped for structural, morphological and transport properties measurements. The members of the CNR-SPIN group are experimentalists in condensed matter physics, with expertise in electric and thermoelectric transport, both in terms of physical mechanisms and of application perspectives, in device fabrication and characterization.

Facilities inherent to the SUBLI project

• PPMS system by Quantum Design (temperature 2-400K, magnetic field 0-9T)
• Cryogenic-free system by Cryogenics (temperature 1.6K-RT, magnetic field 0-9T)
• Home-made system for the precise characterization of thermoelectric properties
• Rx diffractometer
• Atomic Force Microscope
• Helium liquefier
• Clean room with optical lithography
• Atomic Force Microscopy
• Scanning Tunneling Microscopy
• Micromanipulator for transfer of flakes
• Thermal evaporation system
• Sputtering system

Role in project:

• mechanical exfoliation of VdWD flakes and transfer on on pristine or pre-patterned substrates;
• electric, thermoelectric and thermal transport measurements as a function of temperature, magnetic field, gate voltage;
• design and fabrication of devices in collaboration with the other partners;
• data analysis in collaboration with other partners;
• characterization of device operation;
• administrative management of the project, through the dedicated financial, legal, and administrative staff;
• dissemination and exploitation activities in collaboration with other partners.

Expertise: ISMN is the institute for the Study of Nanostructured Materials of the National Research Council (CNR). The CNR-ISMN unit of Bologna embrace a wide area of knowledge, spanning from material characterization to the study of technological processes, and the design and fabrication of integrated devices. The institute is a European excellence in the development and use of electron, ion and X-ray characterization techniques. The research activity in the structural characterization of materials focuses on electron crystallography, dopant profiling or development of imaging techniques for the scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) and the low-energy scanning microscope (SEM). The SUBLI participants are involved in the CVD synthesis and characterization  of low dimensional chalcogenides and unconventional 2D materials, including VdWDs and graphene, in the framework of European projects.

The largest publicly funded facility in Italy for silicon micro-machining, fully equipped with the main technological instrumentations for performing research in the fields of micro-nano electronics, is available to the SUBLI consortium through CNR-ISMN.

Facilities inherent to the SUBLI project

• Clean room with optical lithography
• Scanning Electron Microscope
• Transmission Electron Microscope
• Focused Ion Beam
• Rx diffractometer
• Electron beam lithography

Role in project:

• structural characterization;
• fabrication of contacts, heaters and thermometers for electric and thermoelectric measurements;
• design and fabrication of devices in collaboration with the other partners;
• data analysis in collaboration with other partners;
• dissemination and exploitation activities in collaboration with other partners.

University of Cagliari

Expertise: The Department of Physics of the University of Cagliari is well-experienced in computational material science. Its staff has extensive experience in the field of computational material science. In 30 years of continuous activity, they have accumulated a broad knowledge of calculation methods from first principles such as: QuantumEspresso, VASP, Wien2K. Thanks to these calculation suites, it is possible to investigate the band structures of solids, their magnetic and transport properties. Thanks to collaborations with French CNRS institutes (Neel, ICMB) the unit is well placed in the study of high Tc superconductors. Furthermore, the unit, through collaborations within the Department, is active in the study of the thermoelectric properties of low-dimensional systems. With regard to computing infrastructures, the Department, through the management of a departmental Data Processing Center (CED), provides access to network, storage, communication and numerical intensive computing services. Moreover, SUBLI participants routinely apply to CINECA for ISCRA and PRACE high performance massive-computing projects.

Facilities inherent to the SUBLI project

• ISCRA HPC project @ CINECA
• Multi-core WorkStation

Role in project:

• Ab initio calculations;
• modelling;
• data analysis in collaboration with other partners;
• characterization of device operation;
• dissemination and exploitation activities in collaboration with other partners.

Polytechnic of Milan

Expertise: The Polytechnic of Milan (PoliMi) staff is well experienced in magneto-optical and magneto-transport characterization of films, micro- and nano-magnetic structures and devices for spin-optoelectronics, spin-orbitronics, magneto-electronics and nano-biotechnology, and in the development of instrumentation for surface science. The activity of PoliMi staff involved in SUBLI is focused on the fabrication and characterization, by electron spectroscopies, magneto-optics and magneto-transport techniques, of heterostructures and devices based on multifunctional materials and antiferromagnet templates. The PoliMi research unit is centered at PoliFAB, the micro and nano technology center of the Polytechnic of Milan equipped with a 330 m2 class- ISO06 cleanroom for device micro and nano-fabrication, created in 2015 to provide the highest technological standards for a wide range of applications and processes involving the five Key Enabling Technologies: photonics, micro and nanoelectronics, biotechnologies, advanced materials and nanotechnology.

Facilities inherent to the SUBLI project

• Kerr microscope
• Magneto-transport characterization setup at variable temperature
• Ultra-stable visible laser for Kerr effect

Role in project:

• Magneto-Optical Kerr Effect (MOKE) under applied charge current and under applied thermal gradient;
• Bilinear Magneto-Electric Resistance (BMER) under applied charge current and under applied thermal gradient.