INL facilities open to external users

INL facilities open to external users

The International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory provides 22,000 m2 of laboratory space and state-of-the-art equipment for various research areas. INL scientific facilities are fully operational since the beginning of 2011 and cleanroom processes and laboratory equipment are now available for external users. The cleanroom provides class 100 and class 1000 laboratory space dedicated to nanolithography, photolithography, wet process, planarization, reactive Ion etching, deposition, and analytical instrumentation for process and device characterization. A separate biology bay completes cleanroom key capabilities. The central Biology and Biochemistry facility provides support for groups developing research in these areas, including specific facilities for molecular biology, microbiology, bio-imaging facility. The high accuracy laboratories offer a detailed structural characterization of thin films, interfaces, nanostructures, and biological structures. Available techniques include atomic force microscopy, surface analysis by XPS, electron microscopy including a probe corrected TEM, FIB and environmental SEM. Other support labs provide state-of-the-art equipment for optical imaging, spectral ellipsometry, magnetometry, radiofrequency device characterization, MEMS, and nanochemistry/spectroscopy. External users can check equipment and process availability at INL website, as well as the contact person for the particular item. Conditions of use are as follows: 1 -external users coming to INL within approved collaborative projects (FCT, CSIC, European union, companies, […]

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INL will award 21 COFUND fellowships

INL will award 21 COFUND fellowships

The International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) will award 21 COFUND NanoTRAINforGrowth Fellowships. The fellowship programme supports promising postdoctoral researchers in their academic career development through integration into research groups, facilitating new co-operations in a stimulating and interdisciplinary research environment. Successful candidates will have the opportunity to plan a research project and work on their own research idea, at INL´s facilities. The Cofund fellowships will be awarded in the main focus areas of INL, respectively Nanomedicine (emphasis on cancer research) and Nanotechnologies for food safety and environmental control. The programme will also provide training on leadership and communication skills, project management and on obtaining research funding. INL´s NanoTRAINforGrowth fellowship programme will allow international researchers to develop their work over a period of two years.Researchers will be selected through a competitive call, expected to be launched in January 2013. The NanoTRAINforGrowth fellowship programme will run for four years (2013 – 2016) with an overall budget of 3.3M€ and is co-financed by the Marie Curie Actions of the European Union.

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Workshop on Nanotechnology in Food at INL

Workshop on Nanotechnology in Food at INL

The International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) hosted an International Workshop on Nanotechnology Applications in Food – Challenges and Opportunities, last September 3rd and 4th, in Braga. This two-day workshop aimed to present the impact of nanotechnology in the food sector. The potential applications of Nanotechnology in subjects such as food safety, traceability, packaging performance and processing, among others, are expected to significantly improve the quality of food products in the near future. With the development of Nanotechnology, new nanoscale science, materials and structures, and nano-enabled devices and systems can be very beneficial and important in the food industry. The meeting enabled attendants to hear opinions from experts on nanotechnology applied to the food sector. For more information, please contact isabel.machado(at)inl.int

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Ministers of Science of Portugal and People’s Republic of China visited the INL

Ministers of Science of Portugal and People’s Republic of China visited the INL

The Portuguese Minister of Education and Science of Portugal, Nuno Crato, and the Minister of Science and Technology, of the People’s Republic of China, Wan Gang, visited the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory. After a short meeting with the aim of presenting to the Chinese delegation the INL project, a state-of-the-art facility, fully dedicated to nanotechnology and nanosciences, the two ministers visited the laboratories dedicated to nanomaterial’s, energy storage and conversion, nanochemistry and nanoparticle synthesis , spintronics and magnetometry. In the last two laboratories the Chinese Minister of Science had the chance to meet two Chinese researchers who are developing their work at INESC-MN, in collaboration with INL. The tour through the facilities, guided by INL’s the director-general, José Rivas, and deputy director general, Paulo Freitas included also the high accuracy laboratories where the Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang took a closer look at the transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the scanning electron microscopy (STEM), as well as the focus ion beam (FIB). Nanotechnology is one of the areas included in the memorandum of understanding signed between the government of People’s Republic of China and Portugal to promote collaborative research.

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Chad S. Korach delivered talk on the Mechanics of Dental Enamel and Mineralized Bio-Nanocomposites at INL

«Mechanics of Dental Enamel and Mineralized Bio-Nanocomposites» is the title of the talk delivered by Dr Chad S. Korach, June 28th, at the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL), in Braga. Dr Chad S. Korach is Assistant Professor and the Director of the Laboratory for Nanotribology and Wear Mechanics in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Stony Brook University. Abstract Enamel, the hardest substance in the human body, takes the form of a protective crown on teeth and is a human’s only exposed hard tissue. Though enamel is a robust biological composite with high hardness and rigidity, it is susceptible to significant localized wear in the form of cervical lesions. The aetiology of the lesions is attributed to high mechanical stresses in the cervical region and the abrasion of the surface combined with erosive. The unique hierarchical microstructure of enamel plays an important role in the wear process. Here, the mechanics of enamel is studied by instrumented micro scratching and atomic force acoustic microscopy (AFAM) to observe the effects of erosive application on surface damage formation. Relationships between applied stress and enamel erosion are developed. In addition, quantitative AFAM is used to measure the nanomechanical properties of enamel associated with microstructural […]

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Nobel Laureate Harold Kroto gave lecture at INL

Nobel Laureate Harold Kroto gave lecture at INL

Sir Harold Kroto, one of the co-recipients of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry delivered (June 1st) at INL, in Braga (Portugal) a lecture entitled «Carbon in Nano and Outer Space». The Nobel laureate stressed the importance of improving the general level of scientific understanding and awareness worldwide. «Acceptance of the truth» should go hand in hand with «understanding the truth». Harold Kroto invited the young scientists in the audience to address present challenges and to think out of the box, to focus their creativity and commitment in the subject they feel genuinely passionate about. Referring to the importance of the discovery of penicillin and anaesthetics and its impact on the improvement of human well-being, Kroto directed the attention to a present challenge: the decreasing effectiveness of antibiotics. Prof. Kroto began his lecture telling the story of his and his colleagues’ odyssey towards the discovery of C60. In 1970 his research group conducted laboratory began spectroscopic studies on long linear carbon chain molecules with colleague David Walton. This research led to radio astronomy searches with Takeshi Oka and Canadian astronomers (Lorne Avery, Norman Broten and John McLeod) at the National Research Council in Canada which made the surprising discovery that […]

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