News

Go to Inl in the News

COVID-19 EVENTS FUNDED PROJECTS GENERAL INL PICKS INNOVATION MOST POPULAR PEOPLE RESEARCH SCALE EXPERIENCES SCALE TRAVELS SPOTLIGHT WOMEN IN SCIENCE WOMEN IN STEM

INL and the Argentine Republic forge a Strategic Partnership

The International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of the Argentine Republic have formalized a landmark collaboration through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The General-Director of INL, Professor. Dr. Clivia M. Sotomayor and the Argentinian Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Daniel Filmus, signed this Agreement during a virtual meeting last November 9th, with the presence of the President of the Argentine Nanotechnology Foundation, Dr. Vera Álvarez among other people from the Argentine Republic and the INL. This agreement, framed within the INL Internationalization Strategy, strengthen the ties between INL and the Argentine Research and Innovation Ecosystem and sets the stage for an extensive partnership in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology. The MoU, in force until November 2025 and renewed every two years, outlines several priority activities that will drive the collaboration: Exchange of scientific-technological Information and Personnel, since the partnership will actively promote mobility programs for researchers and technologists, facilitating knowledge exchange and skill development; Support of Joint Research and Development Projects; Exploration of funding opportunities for Research and Innovation and Innovation Promotion, enhancing the strategic impact of research outcomes. The execution of these activities will be overseen by […]

INL hosts successful Photonics Online Meetup

On November 13th and 14th, INL joined the global initiative Photonics Online Meetup (POM) as a POM-hub, bringing together 100 photonics enthusiasts from 24 organizations across Northwestern Iberia for two days of insightful discussions and engaging sessions. The conference was broadcast from the auditorium, while the lobby provided a platform for networking and socializing. The event was attended by representatives from various academic institutions, including the University of Minho, University of Porto, University of Aveiro, University of Vigo, University of Santiago de Compostela, University of Coimbra, University of Lisbon, FCT NOVA Lisbon, as well as representatives from local photonics-related industries and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). There were 42 poster submissions, and the best poster prize included student registration for the conference AOP2024 and the opportunity to be featured in the program as an invited speaker, sponsored by the Sociedade Portuguesa de Óptica e Fotónica. This event was sponsored by MT Brandão Lda and Izasa Scientific.

Matryoshka-like MEMS accelerometer

Nowadays, MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) accelerometers play a crucial role in various applications such as inertial navigation, earthquake detection, spacecraft guidance, geophysical sensing, and structural monitoring. These microfabricated structures offer advantages such as small size, lightweight, low cost, low power, and easy integration with semiconductor technology, making them widely adopted in different fields. Researchers at INL have recently published a study introducing a micromachining technique to create complex MEMS structures for multi-axis sensing. The developed sensor uses a capacitive open-loop operation and features a hierarchical design resembling matryoshka dolls. This design allows for simple fabrication and operation, making it suitable for structural monitoring systems. The sensor comprises a double proof-mass hierarchical design with separate electrode sets for in-plane differential measurements. It operates based on changes in capacitance resulting from accelerations in different directions – accelerations in the xx and yy directions affect the gap of the differential sensing electrodes, leading to a differential capacitance change, while zz acceleration affects non-differentially their overlapping area. To detect zz acceleration direction, out-of-plane parallel plates are added to the device using suspended metallic membranes. Inês Garcia, one of the authors of this study and a member of the IMiNa research group, explains that “the proposed […]

Advancing artificial intelligence using nanophotonics

Nanophotonic Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs) are essential for creating efficient artificial intelligence (AI) systems inspired by the brain. These networks use tiny, efficient devices, that are smaller than a micron, to mimic the behaviour of neurons. However, there are challenges in developing compact and efficient components for generating and detecting spiking signals in these networks. In this recently published paper, a result of the European Union funded research project ChipAI, researchers discuss the difficulties, early successes, and opportunities for building a crucial photonic neural architecture using specific nanoscale devices called resonant tunnelling diodes, also known as nanoRTDs. These diodes act as artificial neurons that can generate rapid spikes. The INL team explores the potential for integrating nanoRTDs with small light-emitting diodes and nanolaser diodes to create both spiking signal emitters and receivers, all of which would be compact, fast, and energy-efficient. Bruno Romeira, one of the authors of this perspective article, explains “this paper addresses the benefits and challenges of developing small brain-inspired light-based computing systems, where the key feature is the use of light pulses, or spikes, to encode information. This approach is inspired by the way biological brains process information, as spikes are used to encode and transmit […]

Nine INL researchers ranked in the top 2% of scientists worldwide

Nine INL researchers received recognition by Stanford University, placing them among the top 2% of scientists worldwide. Stanford University recently published its global list of renowned scientists in various fields on October 10, 2022. Stanford University established an accessible database featuring highly cited scientists, offering standardised details on citations, h-index, co-authorship adjusted hm-index, citations to papers in different authorship positions and a composite indicator (c-score). This data is available separately for assessing career-long impact and the impact achieved in the year 2022. Notably, the following members from INL have earned a place on the ‘World Ranking Top 2% Scientists’ list for 2022: Joaquín Fernadéz-Rossier, Laura Salonen, Lifeng Liu, Miguel Cerqueira, Sanna Sillankorva, Victor Souza, Zhongchang Wang, Nuno Peres, and Paulo Ferreira. Congratulations for this remarkable achievement! For the complete list, you can visit the following link.

Evaluating the “quantumness” of a quantum computer

Programmable optical circuits are one of the leading architectures for quantum information processing. They enable tests of key aspects of quantum mechanics, and they have various applications in fields like metrology, cryptography, and computation. These devices handle information in a non-traditional way, using quantum states of light. As programmable optical circuits become larger and more complex, there is an increasing need for reliable methods to confirm their quantum capabilities and determine the most effective ways to use them for information processing. INL researchers, in a strong collaboration with Sapienza University of Rome, CNR-INF (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche e Instituto Nazionale di Fotonica), and Politecnico di Milano, have recently published a new study that demonstrates how to certify several quantum properties of devices of increasing complexity. The paper was published on November 3rd in the journal Science Advances (full publication here). The experiments, led by Prof Fabio Sciarrino and carried out at the Quantum Lab group in Sapienza University, certified the presence of genuine quantum characteristics such as contextuality and coherence in a programmable integrated optical circuit. Dr Taira Giordani, lecturer at Sapienza University and member of the Quantum Lab team, explains that “this work is the first experimental application of […]

Prev 1 … 12 13 14 15 16 … 163 Next