Conference will take place on November 16th and 17th 2021. Final program of the NNT2021 conference can be downloaded here.
Plenary Presentation
Title: A new era for free-form micro-optics manufacturing
PHABULOuS: The final frontier …
Abstract: The urgent need to provide miniaturized optical components is at the origin of the exponential growth of the micro-optics market over the last decade, with an increasing need for this type of technology to address the challenges set by photonics applications for the five to ten years to come. The industrial demand for free-form micro-optical components is a current market reality. However, the high access barriers to pre-commercial production capabilities in Europe prevent companies, especially SMEs, from commercially exploiting this technology. Aim of PHABULOuS is to set up a self-sustainable pilot line for the design and manufacturing of free-form micro-optical components and their integration into high added-value products. The pilot line will translate urgent and high-impact industrial needs into industrially relevant processes necessary for the successful demonstration in production runs.
Biography:
Rolando Ferrini (Head of CSEM MicroNano Optics & Managing Director of PHABULOuS) joined CSEM Muttenz in 2011, where he is Head of the MicroNano Optics Section as well as of the Focus Area Photonics. Since 2020 he coordinates the H2020 project PHABULOuS and acts as Managing Director of the corresponding pilot line for the manufacturing of freeform micro-optical components. In 1999, he obtained his PhD degree in Physics at the Università degli Studi di Pavia, Pavia, Italy, with a thesis on the optical properties of III-V semiconductor materials for electronics and optoelectronics. From 2000 to 2004, he worked as Research Associate at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland, where he studied the optical properties of semiconductor-based photonic crystal devices. From 2004 to 2011, as Senior Research Associate at EPFL, he was in charge of the activities on organic devices for optics, photonics and lighting.
Plenary Presentation
Title: Electronic skins for robotics and wearables
Abstract: The human skin is a large-area, multi-point, multi-modal, stretchable sensor, which has inspired the development of an electronic skin for robots to simultaneously detect pressure and thermal distributions. By improving its conformability, the application of electronic skin has expanded from robots to human body such that an ultrathin semiconductor membrane can be directly laminated onto the skin. Such intimate and conformal integration of electronics with the human skin, namely, smart skin, allows for the continuous monitoring of health conditions. The ultimate goal of the smart skin is to non‐invasively measure human activities under natural conditions, which would enable electronic skins and the human skin to interactively reinforce each other. In this talk, I will review recent progresses of stretchable thin‐film electronics for applications to robotics and wearables and address issues and the future prospect of smart skins.
Biography:
Takao Someya
Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo (UTokyo)
Takao Someya was appointed dean of School of Engineering, UTokyo in 2020, where he has been member of faculty since 1997. He also conducted research at Columbia University’s Nanocenter and at Bell Labs.
At UTokyo, he became professor in 2009. He served on the board of directors of the Material Research Society 2009-2011. He is also Chief Scientist at RIKEN and Team Leader at its Center for Emergent Matter Science since 2015. His expertise is stretchable and organic electronics, developing the world’s first stretchable electronic skin (e-skin) for robotic application. He was awarded the 16th Leo Esaki Prize in 2019.
Recent Media Coverage: CNN Business Evolved: https://edition.cnn.com/videos/business/2021/04/22/e-skin-wearable-health-someya-spc-intl.cnn
Keynote Presentation
Title: Printing technologies using soft silicone blanket for conformal electronic-device fabrication
Abstract: Design is one of the principal factors when buying new electronic products. Generally, curvy surfaces produce stylish designs which are attractive to buyers. However, electrodes, wires, and electronic components to drive electronic devices are basically formed on a flat and thick substrate, such as glass and printed circuit boards, which limits the freedom of the cabinet design of the devices. Consequently, we are currently developing conformal printing methods utilizing a silicone blanket, that is, screen-offset printing, which is a combination of conventional screen printing on the blanket and transfer printing from the blanket to a final substrate. Owing to the softness of silicone, we can transcriptionally form three-dimensional conductive patterns along a substrate surface with a complex shape. In the presentation, this conformal printing and its application to sensors will be comprehensively discussed. In addition, fabrication techniques combining nanoimprinting and printing will be introduced.
Biography:
Ken-ichi Nomura was born in 1979. He obtained his M.S. degree in Engineering in 2003 from Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan. From 2003–2007, he worked at Sony Corporation and engaged in the development of CCD image sensors. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in Engineering in 2010 from Waseda University. Currently, he is working on novel printing methods and their applications to sensor devices at Sensing System Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Japan
Keynote Presentation
Title: Large-area nanostructured electronics manufactured at a flash
Abstract: In traditional electronics the ability to downscale critical dimensions of its building block, the transistor, has proven extremely successful in advancing the computational power of modern-day microelectronics. However, the adaptation of existing manufacturing techniques in emerging technologies, such as large-area printed electronics, has proven challenging both in terms of technology and economics. Despite the difficulties new forms of electronics have been gaining ground, transforming both the research and development landscape as well as the broader marketplace of electronics and the relevant manufacturing infrastructure. In this talk I will discuss our recent efforts towards downscaling emerging forms of large-area, nanostructured electronics through the combination of new fabrication paradigms and advanced materials. Particular emphasis will be placed on the development and evolution of adhesion lithography (a-Lith) and its use in an expanding library of applications ranging from ultra-fast, solid-state opto/electronic devices to new forms of nano-reactors for solar fuel generation and energy storage.
Biography:
Thomas D. Anthopoulos is a Professor of Material Science and Engineering at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia. He received his B.Eng. and D.Phil. degrees from Staffordshire University in UK. He then spent two years at the University of St. Andrews (UK) where he worked on organic semiconductors for application in light-emitting diodes before join Philips Research Laboratories in The Netherlands to focus on printable microelectronics. From 2006 to 2017 he held faculty positions at Imperial College London (UK), first as an EPSRC Advanced Fellow and later as a Reader and full Professor of Experimental Physics. His research interests are diverse and cover the development and application of novel processing paradigms and the physics, chemistry & application of functional materials.
Keynote Presentation
Title: Nanoimprinted diffractive- and meta-optics in consumer electronics
Abstract: This paper will present the most recent advances in nanoimprint with respect to design, mass production and integration of nanostructured diffractive optical elements and metaoptics on consumer electronics products.
Biography:
Theodor Nielsen, CEO, Founder, NIL Technology ApS. Mr. Nielsen holds an engineering masters degree from The Technical University of Denmark (DTU) where he has specialized in nanotechnology. Mr. Nielsen has worked with nanoimprint lithography since 2003 where he as part of his studies took part in pioneering the nanoimprint activities in Denmark. Mr. Nielsen is one of the founders of NIL Technology where he has held the position as CEO since 2006. NIL Technology is an optical components company delivering advanced solutions using diffractive- and meta-optics. NIL Technology is active in consumer electronics market (mobilephone sensing and imaging, VR/AR displays), automotive (Lidar, sensing), robotics, etc. Company currently employees 60+ people and have offices in Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden and US.
Keynote Presentation
Title: Nanoimprint Lithography: A Historical Perspective and a Look Towards the Future
Abstract: Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is a high throughput, high-resolution parallel patterning method in which a surface pattern of a stamp is replicated into a material by mechanical contact and 3D material displacement. This can be done by shaping a liquid followed by a curing process for hardening, by variation of the thermomechanical properties of a film by heating and cooling or by any other kind of shaping process using the difference in hardness of a mold and a moldable material. The local thickness contrast of the resulting thin molded film can be used as a means to pattern an underlying substrate on wafer level by standard pattern transfer methods, but also directly in applications where a bulk modified functional layer is needed. NIL possesses other important advantages over conventional photolithography and other NGL techniques since it does not require expensive projection optics, advanced illumination sources, or specialized resist materials that are central to the operation of these technologies. Therefore, it is mainly aimed towards fields in which electron beam and high-end photolithography are costly and do not provide sufficient resolution at reasonable throughput. This was demonstrated by Stephen Chou in 1996 using stamps with 10 nm features. Another famous example of this capability is the reproduction of a 2 nm carbon nanotube by the John Rogers Research group at the University of Illinois. Although much of the focus so far has been on semiconductor device fabrication, it is important to recall that the unique physical and chemical phenomena at the nanoscale can lead to other types of novel devices that have significant practical value. Emerging nano-resolution applications include sub-wavelength optical components (antireflection gratings and wire-grid polarizers), biochemical analysis devices (nanofluidics), high-speed compound semiconductor chips, distributed feedback lasers (gratings), photonic crystals (on vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) and photovoltaic (PV) solar cells), patterned sapphire substrates (PSS) for light emitting diodes (LED) and high-density bit patterned magnetic media (BPM) for storage. To take advantage of these opportunities, it is necessary to be able to cost effectively image features that range from a few hundred nanometers to well below 100 nm. In this presentation, we will review the various nanoimprint methods and discuss how they have been used to fabricate devices for a variety of markets, including advanced semiconductor devices.
Biography:
Doug Resnick is the Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for Canon Nanotechnologies, Inc. Prior to his current role, Doug served as the VP of Mask Technology and later as the VP of Strategic Development for Molecular Imprints. Previously, Doug worked for Motorola Labs (1990-2004), where he was responsible for developing their imprint lithography program. He has authored or coauthored over 200 technical publications and is an inventor of more than 30 U.S. patents. He has served as the conference chair for the EIPBN, SPIE Microlithography and NNT Symposiums. Doug received his Ph.D. from the Ohio State University in the field of Solid State Physics.
Tutorial Presentation
Title: Organ-on-Chip in Europe: the way forward
Abstract: Organ-on-Chip (OoC) is an emerging technology that benefits from the convergence of stem cells and tissue engineering with microfluidics and microfabrication of sensors and actuators. Mounting evidence indicates that OoC devices may provide better model systems for research on health and disease, because they can recapitulate aspects of human physiology and pathology as improvements to existing bioassays. Concerted efforts to coordinate standardization, qualification and independent testing of devices are much needed to ensure coherent development of the technology and bring it closer to fulfilling its potential in drug development, disease modelling, and personalized medicine. An OoC roadmap, developed in the EU project ORCHID (Organ-on-Chip In Development), and a dialogue between all stakeholders united in the European Organ-on-Chip Society (EUROoCS), can lead the way forward for adoption, application and a growing demand of OoC.
Biography:
Janny van den Eijnden-van Raaij is managing director of hDMT, the Netherlands Organ-on-Chip Consortium. She obtained her PhD as a biochemist at Radboud UMC Nijmegen in 1985. She then became group leader at the Hubrecht Institute Utrecht focusing on stem cells and growth factors in embryonic/ tumour development. In 2003 she became managing director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center South Eindhoven. Under her regime the cancer registry and epidemiological research department developed to the European leader in this field. In 2014 she switched to Organs-on-Chip (OoC) and established hDMT in 2015, a national OoC Consortium, consisting of the hDMT foundation and 14 partner organizations, including technical universities, medical centers and knowledge institutes. Research is done by the partners and the partners are supported by the foundation. The renowned scientists of the hDMT partners have various backgrounds, and share knowledge, expertise, ideas and facilities to develop human OoC models, that better recapitulate the human body and will reduce animal experiments. The researchers collaborate in specific projects with many companies and other private partners in the hDMT network. Van den Eijnden-van Raaij built a broad international network on OoC in the H2020 ORCHID project, that she co-coordinated with the Leiden University Medical Center, and she is board member (secretary/treasurer) and founding member of the European Organ-on-Chip Society (EUROoCS).
Publications: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6566-5957
