Projects
This is a selected list of the projects ORC is involved in, sorted by funding agency. Hover over the links to see the full project titles and click for details.
Contents
- EU projects
- Tekes projects
- Academy of Finland projects
- Marie Curie actions
- Other projects
- Finished projects
EU projects
These international projects are funded by the European Union.
EU FP7 APACOS – Automated Precision Assembly for Complex Optical Systems
The APACOS project (http://www.apacos.net/) is founded by European Commissions within R4SME scheme. It aims at developing solutions for the automated assembly of laser systems adapted to new laser sources designed for automated assembly. ORC’s Semiconductor Technology Group is a key partner of the consortium led by Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology in Germany. One of the main tasks of ORC team is the development of high-power yellow laser with perspectives in the markets of health care and life sciences. Secondly ORC will develop single-emitter laser diodes for visible green and yellow lasers used for projection and display applications. Together, the APACOS consortium strives for a more standardized and automated assembly of lasers and optical systems considering aspects of product design, production system requirements, and process development. That will lead to a set of design guidelines for laser sources and a flexible assembly cell for laser optics. The project results are expected to have a major impact on the European laser industry by strengthening innovative laser manufacturers through more competitive production conditions.
Project duration : 2012 – 2014
Contact person: Prof. Mircea Guina
EU FP7 NEWLED – Nanostructured Efficient White LEDs based on short-period superlattices and quantum dots
NEWLED will develop high efficiency and high brightness monolithic and hybrid all-semiconductor WHITE light-emitting GaN-based diodes. Power losses due to phosphor conversion and the problem of different ageing rates of the GaN LED pump will be eliminated by the development of phosphor free structures with increased brightness (power emitted per surface per angle). NEWLED will enhance the efficiency of yellow InGaAlP/AlGaAs LEDs by bandgap engineered superlattices. Novel light extraction approaches will target advanced directionality and colour adjustment. Values of 50 to 60% overall efficiency with a conversion of greater than 200 lm/W in the exploited warm white LEDs are targeted as well as the realisation of a colour rendering index (CRI) of greater than 95. Advanced packaging will enable effective heat dissipation and light management. The devices will have immediate applications in automotive, industrial lighting and displays industries. Widespread implementation would reduce global energy consumption by approximately 10% and reduce CO2 emissions by 3Bn tonnes with consequent economic and environmental benefits.
Project duration: 2012 - 2016
Contact person: Oleg Okhotnikov.
EU FP7: RAMPLAS – 100 Gb/s Optical RAM on-chip: Silicon-based, integrated Optical RAM enabling High-Speed Applications in Computing and Communications
RAMPLAS cross-disciplinary workplan blends innovation in computer science, optical design, photonic integration and semicondictor physics. It aims to provide the theoretical foundations of optical RAM and to introduce novel optical RAM circuit designs. A building block approach will associate circuit design with physical layer parameters. Novel epitaxial methods will be employed for the fabrication of ultrafast dilute-nitride-antimonide gain regions on GaAs (InGaAsNSb/GaAs) towards the deployment of active elements for 100GHz optical RAM. Heterointegration techniques will increase integration density on established SOI technology. Multi-bit RAM chips with up to 64-bit capacity are envisaged to pave the way to densely integrated optical RAMs and kByte capacities The research outcomes of RAMPLAS will be evaluated in a solid proof-of-concept validation plan based both on simulations and experiments, intending to set the scene for new paradigms in Computing, Communications and Test & Measurement.
Participants: Centre for Research and Technology Hellas CERTH Greece (Coordinator), Technical University of Berlin TUB Germany, VTT Technical Research Centre VTT Finland, Phoenix BV PHOENIX, Netherlands, National Technical University of Athens ICCS/NTUA Greece
Project duration : 2011 – 2014
Contact person: Prof. Mircea Guina
EU FP7: DeLight – Development of low-cost technologies for the fabrication of high-performance telecommunication lasers
The DeLight project (http://www.delightproject.eu) develops advanced structures and low-cost technologies, in particular nanoimprint lithography (NIL), for the fabrication of high-performance telecommunication lasers. Surface gratings a thousand times smaller than the diameter of human hair are used to generate ultra-pure light and multiple laser sections are employed to provide direct-modulation speeds of 43 Gb/s and beyond. The surface-gratings - applied in the fabrication of distributed feedback (DFB) and distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) lasers at 1.3 and 1.55 µm - are compatible with a single-sweep epitaxial growth and processing. This avoids all the fabrication complication, yield reduction, performance impairment and, ultimately, device cost increase associated with the overgrowth required in the conventional DFB/DBR semiconductor laser fabrication process. High-order photon-photon resonances, taking place in multiple longitudinal section lasers, are exploited to extend the direct modulation bandwidth far beyond the limits imposed currently by the electron-photon resonance.
Project duration: 2008 - 2012.
Contact person: Mihail Dumitrescu.
EU FP7 : FAST-DOT – Compact Ultrafast Laser Sources Based On Novel Quantum Dot Structures
The principal objective of FAST-DOT (http://fast-dot.eu) is to exploit the unique combination of ultrafast properties and key wavelengths available from quantum-dot (QD) materials to produce a new generation of compact ultrafast laser devices. Within the scope of FAST-DOT the consortium will develop QD-based laser technology to deliver compact, inexpensive, high-performance laser sources and devices in a broad spectral range; provide new, affordable photonics devices and supporting knowledge to enable widespread development of biophotonics applications, and apply the unique properties of QD-based ultrafast lasers to benefit already existing biophotonics applications.
Project duration : 2008 – 2012
Contact person: Oleg Okhotnikov.
Tekes projects
These projects are funded by Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation. Tekes is the main public funding organisation for research, development and innovation in Finland.
Tekes: NextSolar – Technology up-scaling for next generation multi-junction solar cells
NextSolar is one of a project conducted at the Semiconductor Technology Group of ORC that is deemed as having a high potential for making an important societal impact. The objective is to advance the fabrication technology of novel compound semiconductors, i.e. dilute nitrides, and demonstrate their functionality in multi-junction solar cells with efficiencies in the range of 40-45 under concentrated conditions (i.e. for CPV systems). Compared with standard PV technologies, the CPV systems exhibit many benefits including higher efficiency, several order of magnitude reduction in the area of semiconductor materials used, and lower use of other energy-intensive materials. Also the materials (aluminium, steel, glass) for the panel frames and optics are easily recyclable. This activity is supported by important cooperation with semiconductor industry, utility companies, and specialized research networks such as COST MP0805.
Project duration: 2012 - 2013
Contact person: Prof. Mircea Guina.
Tekes: BRIGHTLASE – Advanced dilute nitride technology for high brightness lasers
BRIGHTLASE is an extension of the activities developed at the Semiconductor Technology Group of ORC within the Tekes “Functional Materials” program. In this project, we target to develop a new laser technology platform for generating high-brightness yellow-orange (i.e. 570–620 nm) radiation. Such light sources are needed urgently for high-impact applications in medicine, spectroscopy, or industrial control. We will capitalize on our pioneering research results regarding the use of dilute nitride compounds to achieve record high output powers at the said wavelengths from frequency doubled semiconductor disk lasers. The main expected results include: the development of a process suitable for commercial production of the yellow lasers, building prototypes that would enable engagement with application developers, setting up a commercialization strategy, and performing a preliminary assessment of environmental impact and life-cycle of the developed technology.
Project duration: 2012 - 2013
Contact person: Prof. Mircea Guina.
Tekes: NANOPOWER – Novel polymer nanocomposites for power capacitors
Partners: Department of Electrical Energy Engineering, TUT (Coordinator); Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT), Advanced Materials; University of Jyväskylä, Nanoscience Center; and ORC.
NANOPOWER is a consortium research project funded within the TEKES Functional Materials Programme. Briefly, the target of the project is to design and develop state-of-the-art polymer nanocomposite high-voltage insulator materials, which have certain preferred dielectric properties, such as high dielectric constant while at the same time low AC dielectric losses and high dielectric breakdown threshold field. In addition to the four partners, six international companies are sponsoring and involved in the project. Furthermore, the project has international research collaborators such as: Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden), University of Leicester (UK), Kyushu Institute of Technology (Japan), and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (USA).
The main research tasks of the ORC partner are: computational studies on electronic and atomic structures, and on dielectric, vibrational and optical properties (Raman and IR spectroscopies) for polymer-nanocomposite insulator materials, and stability studies on the related nanostructures. These ab initio (first-principles) computational studies are being carried out in the frameworks of the density functional theory (DFT) and density functional perturbation theory (DFPT). An essential target of the theoretical studies within the NANOPOWER project would be to use results from these (quantum mechanical) theories as input data to semiclassical models in order to predict the dielectric breakdown threshold conditions. These models will be developed together with the research group from the University of Leicester.
Project duration: 2011 – 2013
Contact person: Eero Arola
Tekes: FLIPSOI – Optics integration by flip-chip bonding on a silicon waveguide platform
Partners: VTT Micronova (Coordinator), ORC
FLIPSOI (Optics integration by flip-chip bonding on a silicon waveguide platform) is a TEKES-funded project which will develop dilute nitride semiconductor optical amplifiers, mode-locked semiconductor lasers, and modulators for hybrid integration on SOI (silicon on insulator) platforms.
The main objective of this project is to develop commercially viable technologies for hybrid integration of discrete optical chips into highly functional, state-of-the-art optical modules. The target applications are mainly in optical telecommunication and short-range optical interconnections where the total data rate per optical module can reach terabits per second. The modules can be used for example in optical fiber networks, high end routers, super computers, data centres and satellites. ORC’s role in this project is related to the fabrication of active chips, i.e. lasers, amplifiers and modulators based on GaAs technology.
InGaAsN/GaAs quantum-well (QW) heterostructures will be used to build SOAs, mode-locked lasers, and EAMs operating at 1.25–1.3 μm. The III-V chips will be bonded by VTT on the SOI platform. Finally, silicon-based packaging concepts will be developed as an alternative to presently used packaging methods that dominate the total cost of most optical modules.
Project duration: 2009 - 2012
Contact person: Prof. Mircea Guina.
Tekes: SOLAR III-V – Advanced III-V semiconductors for multi-junction high efficiency solar cells
Partners: ORC (Coordinator), Helsinki University of Technology, University of Turku
SOLAR III-V is a consortium research project funded by the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (TEKES) within the framework of the Functional Materials program. The general goal of the project is the development of functional semiconductors and nano-scale epi-structures for high efficiency solar cells.
Multi-junction (MJ) III-V compound semiconductor solar cells are the prime choice for efficient harvesting of solar energy. The key to pitching the conversion efficiency at the highest attainable level rests upon the ability to fabricate monolithic semiconductor heterostructures in MJ configuration, with each of the junctions being optimized to harvest a different part of the solar spectrum. When combined with concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) techniques, high efficiency III-V solar cells offer attractive opportunities for achieving the price target required to make solar energy competitive with traditional energy sources. The efficiency of current multi-junction cells can be increased by a more efficient conversion of the radiation band from about 0.8 eV to 1.25 eV. This is possible with the use of dilute nitride heterostructures (InGaAsN or InGaAsNSb); solar cells incorporating dilute nitrides are expected to reach efficiencies beyond 50 %. The main research topic to be addressed in SOLAR III-V is concerned with the rapid degradation of electrical and optical properties of InGaAsN as the mole fraction of [N] is increased. In parallel with improving the quality of semiconductor heterostructures, we will work on demonstrating novel solar cell concepts incorporating dilute nitrides.
Project duration: 2009 - 2012
Contact person: Prof. Mircea Guina.
Tekes: FABRICS – Fabrication and service performance of advanced stainless steels for demanding exhaust applications
FABRICS is a subproject of FIMECC Ltd. – Finnish Metals and Engineering Competence Cluster – Demanding Applications (DEMAPP) program, which aims to increase and deepen the cooperation between companies, universities, and research institutes in the area of top quality research. The program focuses on research and development of advanced materials for demanding application environments. The objective of the FABRICS subproject is to clarify the use of advanced ferritic stainless steels for exhaust system applications and to explore new applications. These materials are cost-efficient and sustainable, but their fabrication properties and possible limitations are not sufficiently well known. The scientific goal of FABRICS is to gain profound understanding of the mechanical-, oxidation-, and corrosion properties of these materials at high temperatures.
The role of Surface Science Laboratory in FABRICS is to provide experimental facilities for obtaining quantitative information concerning the local atomic structure of the alloy surfaces, adsorbate induced segregation effects, and chemical state of alloy constituents upon high temperature treatments and simulated corrosion tests of stainless steel materials. The surface analyses are performed primarily by electron spectroscopic methods utilizing both conventional and synchrotron radiation sources. The technological objectives of controlling the surface-mediated processes include improving the durability and self-healing properties of the protective oxide layer on ferritic stainless steels.
Project duration: 2010 – 2013
Contact person: Prof. Mika Valden
Tekes: NanoFinish – Nanostructures and finishing of advanced stainless steel surfaces
NanoFinish project aims for the development of advanced stainless steel materials by controlling the formation of their surface nanostructures, such as the protective oxide layer, in great detail. Such control can be achieved through careful design of alloy composition, including the addition of specific minor and micro-alloying elements, and optimization of the surface finishing process (bright annealing) based on surface analytical research. The main research questions of this project are related to understanding the atomic- and molecular level details of the gas-solid surface interaction, which leads to reduction of unwanted oxide scales and subsequent formation of protective thin films. The goal is to control these phenomena in order to obtain desired properties, such as improved corrosion resistance, cleanability, durability under demanding application environments, and novel functionalities. The primary investigative tools employed in this research are molecular beam surface scattering and other methods of experimental surface science.
Project duration: 2010 – 2013
Contact person: Prof. Mika Valden
Tekes: KURKO – Composites for tissue construction
KURKO is a part of Functional Materials Program of TEKES and coordinated by the Department of Biomedical Technology, TUT. In this project, biodegradable porous synthetic polymer composite materials are engineered and studied for tissue engineering and medical applications. The aim is to manufacture scaffolds that mimic the structure and composition of the targeted tissue and promote differentation of stem cells and tissue growth. These composites enable treatments for difficult tissue injuries especially in bone, cartilage and tendon tissues. The project combines high level knowledge of polymer processing and development with supercritical carbon dioxide processing which enables the development and tailoring of functional porous polymer composites for biomedical applications.
The role of Surface Science Laboratory is to determine the surface properties of the composite materials and gain insights on how the surface properties change upon biodegradation and how bioactive materials in the composite are distributed and released in simulated physiological environment. The surface analyses are performed by electron spectroscopy.
Project duration: 2011 – 2014
Contact person: Prof. Mika Valden
Tekes: JOIN2 – Puolijohdekomponenttien automaattinen liittäminen ja testaus (Automatic joining and testing of semiconductor components
This extension for the JOIN Tekes project develops automatic joining processes for semiconductors and testing the joins and the components for the industry. Duration: 2011-2012. Contact: Pekka Savolainen.
Tekes: Produla – Photonics production platform
This project aims at developing flexible production capabilities for customised optoelectronic products. The research work will be guided by two pilot applications: i) LED lighting module and ii) Optoelectronic gas sensor module. The key technologies are hybrid-integration and low-cost light sources and photodetectors. Hybrid integration includes packaging of optoelectronics modules using customised sub-assemblies, circuit boards and encapsulant/molding processes. Novel photonic devices and optical components/structures will also to be studied and developed for the pilot applications. The light sources for sensing applications are mid-IR lasers and LED sources combined with photodetectors. Fabrication of these devices will utilize advanced epitaxial growth and nanopatterning expertise developed during the recent years. Especially the goal is to scale fabrication processes suitable for industrial production of the devices.
Project duration 1.6.2010 – 31.5.2012 (24 months).
Contact person: Prof. Tapio Niemi.
Academy of Finland projects
These projects are funded by the Academy of Finland, the main source of funding for basic research projects in Finland.
Academy of Finland: NANos – New Approach for Heteroepitaxy: Antimonide Nanowires
NANoS is three-year Postdoctoral Research Project. The main goal of NANoS is to demonstrate controlled and cost-effective method to fabricate site-controlled antimony nanowires (NW) on Silicon templates. The antimony NWs are suitable for mid-infrared devices or for high-speed electronics. They also have potential for use in spin electronics. Other applications include thermo-electronics and magnetic sensors.
Project duration: 2012 - 2015
Contact person: Soile Suomalainen
Academy of Finland: Photonics QCA – Photonically Addressed Zero Current Logic through Nano-Assembly of Functionalised Nanoparticles to Quantum Dot Cellular Automata
Photonics QCA is a multidisciplinary consortium funded at TUT within the “Programmable Materials” program of the Finnish Academy. 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 nonofabrication to put the basis of a visionary technology platform for future nanoelectronic devices and logic circuits. Photonics QCA aims to combine the concepts of Quantum-Dot Cellular Automata (QCA) for zero-current logic with chemical functionalisation of quantum dot semiconductor structures and the use of these hybrid structures to enable optical addressing. QCA switch by rearranging charges within a cell, and can be a path to logical circuits that do not require flow of current, but fabrication has been a challenge to date, and addressing of smaller and smaller structures by wiring is also a problem. This project will study novel approaches for fabrication and positioning of quantum dot (QD) structures and chemical functionalisation for optical control of the injection and transfer of charge into and between QDs. The goal of the project is to point the way toward novel QCAs that can be written, clocked and read out optically without the need for electronic nano-micro interfaces; this could create a fully new paradigm for design, fabrication and addressing of logical circuitry.
Project duration: 2012-2016
Contact person: Prof. Mircea Guina.
Academy of Finland: HIGHMAT – Epitaxy and Fundamental Studies of Novel Highly-Mismatched III-V Semiconductor Alloys
HIGHMAT targets a significant breakthrough in the physics and technology of highly-mismatched III-V-Bi alloys. This is a new class of compound semiconductors that holds remarkable promises to revolutionize the development of lasers, high-efficiency solar cells, mid-IR detectors, or spintronic devices. The main objectives of the project are: i) To devise epitaxial conditions suitable for synthesis of novel III-V-Bi heterostructures and to understand the surface mechanisms involved in Bi incorporation processes; ii) To elucidate the structural, optical, and electrical properties of the III-V-Bi heterostructures by using innovative surface science methods and characterization tools at the atomic level; and iii) To assess the suitability of the III-V-Bi alloys for realizing novel optoelectronic devices. The program is designed to foster international and national cooperation with leading research groups having complementary expertise in investigations of novel materials and nanostructures. Scientific breakthroughs are expected, for example, in the determination of crystal sites occupied by Bi and the surface structures of these unusual alloys. In long term, the project is deemed to have a high societal and economical impact by offering new alternatives to mainstream optoelectronics technologies, in particular for the less developed mid-IR wavelength range.
Project duration: 2012-2016
Contact person: Prof. Mircea Guina.
Academy of Finland and INTAS: QUADSYS – Quantum Nano-Photonics with Ordered Semiconductor Quantum Dot Systems
QUADSYS project is a European consortium co-founded by the Finnish Academy and INTAS within ERA.NET-RUS framework program. The consortium is coordinated by Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Switzerland and incorporates the Semiconductor Technology Group of ORC together with Lebedev Physical Institute, RAS, Moscow, and Ioffe Physical Technical Institute, RAS, Saint Petersburg, Russia. The projects target the development of ordered quantum dot (QD) systems using epitaxial growth on patterned substrates. This technology will be employed in the investigation of quantum optics phenomena and functional devices, including single- and entangled-photon emitters. To this end, site-controlled QDs with prescribed emission wavelength and heterostructure potential wells will be fabricated, and emission of single- and entangled-photons from specific confined exciton states will be investigated. Theoretical models of the confined excitonic states and their correlation with the statistics of the emitted photons will be developed and used for the interpretation of the experimental results. Various quantum optical processes, including single photon interference and the generation of indistinguishable photons and quantum teleportation of excitonic states will be investigated. The project should yield novel QD systems enabling to study advanced quantum photonics processes in the solid state.
Project duration: 2012-2014
Contact person: Prof. Mircea Guina.
Academy of Finland: DROPLET – Novel quantum-dot concepts in III-V epitaxy
The aim of DROPLET is to establish novel III-V semiconductor quantum-dot (QD) growth schemes using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The focus of this project lies on droplet-epitaxy technique and its novel modification: refilling of self-assembled nanoholes. These MBE techniques are quite different from the commonly exploited Stranski-Krastanov QD growth process, in which strained epitaxial layers play the key role. In contrast to that, in droplet epitaxy, a metallic group-III element is first deposited at relatively low temperature on a substrate. The following step – crystallization ¬– is achieved by supplying a group-V element resulting in QDs. When re-filling the nanoholes, metallic droplets are deposited at high temperatures. The droplets form nanoholes, which are then re-filled with a QD material. The main advantages of these closely related, controllable QD growth techniques are the possibility to create entirely lattice-strain-free QDs and an enhanced flexibility in the selection of materials, far beyond that of Stranski-Krastanov QDs.
Project duration: 2011-2013
Contact person: Andreas Schramm
Academy of Finland: REDMETA – Resonance-domain metamaterials for sub-wavelength optics
Metamaterials often consist of nanoparticle arrays with periods of a few hundred nanometers. Such structures support propagating electromagnetic modes, which provide long-range coupling between the particles. Such resonance-domain metamaterials have been greatly underexploited. The overall goal of the REDMETA Consortium is to develop resonance-domain metamaterials. It is expected that such metamaterials will outperform conventional ones in (i) the tunability of spectral features; (ii) the ability to form a desired local-field distribution and to use it for radiation control; and (iii) the magnitude of the optical nonlinearity.
The work will be based on a close collaboration between Prof. Yuri Svirko at the Department of Physics of the University of Joensuu (coordinator), Dr. Goëry Genty at the Nonlinear Optics Group at the Department of Physics of the Tampere University of Technology, and Dr. Janne Simonen at the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) of TUT.
Project duration: 2010 - 2013
Contact person: Janne Simonen.
Academy of Finland: NEREUS – Negative Refraction in semiconductor and Photonics Crystals Metamaterials
Metamaterials (MMs) constitute an exciting and important contemporary realm of science, which offers a completely new perspective to the optical world and enables practical applications that were previously thought to be impossible. Examples include perfect lenses, invisibility cloaks and light-stopping structures, the latter one having been proposed by one of the partners of this proposal.
NEREUS is conceived towards harnessing the extraordinary properties of MMs through the meticulous theoretical study, design and fabrication of solid-state, metamaterial-based, structures capable of "superlensing" and, also, of dramatically slowing down or completely stopping (and then releasing) incoming light signals. The key objective will be to design and fabricate well-behaved, low-dimensional, meta-structures (semiconductor-based) with stable, broadband and, particularly, low-loss performance, such that they can be reliably deployed in the construction of MM waveguiding heterostructures.
Project duration: 2009 - 2012.
Contact person: Janne Simonen.
Academy of Finland: NANOmat – Modular spectromicroscopy system for nanomaterials synthesis and characterization (FIRI project)
NANOmat project is an effort to build a self-sustaining interdisciplinary consortium for advanced materials science, scientific collaboration and researcher training centered on a novel surface analytical research system, NanoESCA. In addition to surface analytical instrumentation, the system features an ALD reactor for synthesis of novel materials. NANOmat is funded from FIRI2010 infrastructure program of the Academy of Finland. The system is a modular research system featuring facilities for synthesis of a wide variety of novel materials and their subsequent characterization by imaging spectromicroscopy. The infrastructure is of significant importance for the research in different fields at TUT, but access is also granted to materials researchers in Finland based on funded research proposals.
Project duration: 2010 – 2013
Contact person: Prof. Mika Valden
Academy of Finland: SR-MAXIV – Synchrotron radiation based studies at MAX-IV (FIRI project)
SR-MAXIV is funded from FIRI2010 infrastructure program of the Academy of Finland. It aims at enhancing access for the wide Finnish synchrotron radiation (SR) user base to the forthcoming MAX-IV synchrotron in Lund, Sweden. Availability of a state-of-the-art SR and short pulse facility in close geographical proximity serving extremely high brightness on wide range of photon energies is extremely high on the priorities of researchers on the field. The goal of the project is to provide Finnish expertise on developing the MAX-IV site. Contributing to infrastructure at MAX-IV site helps to establish long term collaboration with the MAX-IV Laboratory. Directing the designs and commission of the beamlines and experimental end stations ensures the best usability, availability and suitability of the upcoming state of art radiation source for Finnish researchers in the future. The surface science research related to this project is coordinated by Prof. Mika Valden of Surface Science Laboratory at Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC). The principal coordinator of the consortium is Prof. Marko Huttula (University of Oulu).
Project duration: 2011 – 2015
Contact person: Prof. Mika Valden
Academy of Finland: Biofunc – Biofunctionalization of stainless steel surfaces using novel electrospray mediated supersonic molecular beam deposition technique
The scientific goal of Biofunc is to develop a novel electrospray mediated supersonic molecular beam deposition (ES-SSMB) technique for controlled, covalent immobilization of protein, enzyme or avidin-biotin complexes on silanized FeCrNiMn based nanopatterned materials. The aim is to guide the biomolecule adsorption (protein or enzyme) or cell attachment on stainless steel surface by bottom-up nanofabrication approach where the stainless steel surface will be modified in a controllable fashion by bright annealing, hydroxylation treatments and silanization. By synthesizing tailor-made supramolecular assemblies with ES-SSMB technique we can stabilize hydrogen bonding and metal-ligand interactions. This facilitates exceptional control over chemical composition and morphology of stainless steel surfaces for specific binding of biomolecules for biomedical applications and biodiagnostics in food and medical industry.
Project duration: 2011 – 2015
Contact person: Prof. Mika Valden
Marie Curie actions
Marie Curie Actions are aimed at the development and transfer of research competencies, the consolidation and widening of researchers' career prospects, and the promotion of excellence in European research.
Marie Curie: LaserNaMi – Laser Nanoscale Manufacturing
Marie Curie IRSES project “Laser Nanoscale Manufacturing (LaserNaMi)” focuses on staff exchange between the partners in EU and China. The research topics is related to new maskless nanoscale manufacturing technologies based on laser interference lithography (LIL). The project has three partners from EU and four from China.
Contact person: Prof. Tapio Niemi.
Marie Curie: RANDFIELDS – Random fibre lasers for telecommunications and distributed sensing
RANDFIELDS fosters collaboration between EU and Russian academic partners in the fields of ultra-long fibre lasers and random lasers and their telecommunication and sensing applications. The project has six partners (UK, Finland, Belgium, Russia) and is coordinated by Aston University, UK.
Contact person: Prof. Oleg Okhotnikov.
Marie Curie: TeLaSens - Carbon Nanotubes Technologies in Pulsed Fibre Lasers for Telecom and Sensing Applications
The final target TeLaSens is the implementation of a non-linear optical device in fibre lasers in order to achieve ultra-short pulse generation in the optical range important for telecommunication, environmental and biological sensing. The exchange program will benefit from participation of leading experts in nano-materials, optical spectroscopy, computation chemistry, fibre optics and lasers from both EU (UK, Denmark, Finland) and Partner countries (Russia, Ukraine). TeLaSens is coordinated by Aston University, UK.
Contac persont: Prof. Oleg Okhotnikov.
Other projects
ERA-NET NanoSci-E+: ACEPLAN – Active plasmonics and lossless metamaterials
Metal surfaces can support so called surface plasmons, density waves of free electrons. These plasmon waves can interact with light, opening the way to a novel area of optics, namely plasmonics. When the metal surface is nanostructured, a possibility for true nanoscale optics emerges. This work aims to alleviate or even remove the unavoidable absorption losses caused by the metal by amplifying the plasmon waves with semiconductor quantum wells and dots, thus demonstrating low-loss plasmonic components. They will be designed by novel electromagnetic simulation methods developed during the project, running on a supercomputer cluster. This approach will also be used to design and fabricate novel wide-band low-loss or even lossless metamaterials, highly promising structures with a negative refractive index that can for example slow or even stop incoming light pulses. The final aim of the project is to demonstrate applications for telecom wavelengths.
The partners of the project are Dr. Janne Simonen from ORC (coordinator), Prof. Ortwin Hess from the University of Surrey, UK, and Dr. Antonella Bogoni from CNIT, Italy.
Project duration: 2009 - 2012
Contact person: Janne Simonen
Council of Tampere Region: LaserNano – Laser- ja nanoteknologiaan perustuva materiaalin valmistus- ja muokkausmenetelmä (Laser based fabrication and modification of nanomaterials)
The main idea in the “LaserNano”- project is to fabricate various nanoparticles and -materials by laser ablation either in vacuum or in liquids. Possible application areas include sensors, coatings, electrodes, biomedical, fluorescent labeling etc. To support networking and collaboration with industry a steering group is set up. The group consists of members from TUT, industrial partners and the council of Tampere. The project is funded by European Regional Development Fund via the Council of Tampere Region.
Project duration: 2010-2013.
Contact person: Prof. Tapio Niemi.
Finished projects
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Acedemy of Finland
- A-PLAN - Active Plasmonics
- ActiveFibre - Microstructured optical fibres functionally enhanced by photoactive molecules
- Dauntless - Development of vanguard semiconductor sources for single and entangled photon emission
- GEMINI - Ultrafast Sources Based on Vertical Cavity Geometry
- Keski-infrapuna-alueen laser
- LIGHTCAVITI - Light localization in optical nanocavities
- NANOTOMO - Mechanical properties of nanostructures
- NEONATE - New compound semiconductor materials for optoelectonics devices
- IR LASERS - Advanced vertical IR lasers and broadband superluminescent diodes
- MAGELLAN - Managing the speed of light: from slow light to fast and back
- QUEST - Ultra-Fast Quantum-Regime Semiconductors, Optoelectronics and Subsystems
- STEEL - Surface and interface physics of stainless steel materials
- SurfBiofunc - Surface biofunctionalization of metallic materials by metallosupramolecular nanostructures
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European Space Agency
- DFB - Design and Development of Extremely Narrow-band Semiconductor Feedback Laser Technology
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European Union
- DELILA (FP6) - Development of lithography technology for nanoscale structuring of materials using laser beam interference
- NATAL (FP6) - Nano-Photonics Materials and Technologies for Multicolor High-Power Sources
- FAST ACCESS (FP6) - Low-cost 1.3 um sources for Fast Access technologies
- MONOPLA (FP6) - Monolithic Short Optical Pulse Diode Laser for Ultrahigh Speed Communication
- URANUS (FP6) - Ultrafast Technology for Multicolor Compact High-Power Fibre Systems
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Tekes
- BioPulse - Multiphoton biomaterial processing using ultrashort laser pulses
- JOIN - Puolijohdekomponenttien automaattinen liittäminen
- Kustannustehokkaat THz-lähteet
- LAMP - Cost-effective Fiber Lasers for Material Processing
- LASE -- Ultrafast Optical Technology
- Lena - Tarkat litografiset menetelmät miniatyrisoitujen ja energiatehokkaiden näyttöjen ja antureiden valmistamisessa
- Nanophotonics and Nanophotonics Extension
- Pulsar - Ultra-Short-Pulse Fibre Laser Deposition of thin-films
- V2C - Building University innovations from Venture Capital
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TE-Centre
- INFRA - Puolijohde- ja kuituteknologian kehittäminen
- L3 - Lasersirujen ja laserbaarien liittäminen
- Service Centre for Industry