Institute for Integrative Nanosciences (IIN)
The Institute for Integrative Nanosciences IIN was founded on 1st March 2007. About 70-80 scientists and staff members originating from more than ten different nations carry out research both at our main location in Dresden but also at our research site in Chemnitz which was founded two years later in 2009. Research activities at the IIN cover a wealth of modern topics in the Nanosciences ranging from flexible electronics to micro-/nanoscale robotics.
The most important inventions from the IIN include flexible and printable magnetoelectronic devices, the smallest men-made jet engines, self-propelled nanotools, strain tunable single photon devices, lab-in-a-tube systems and ultra-compact self-wound batteries.
Most recent highlights:
Chemotactic behaviour of artificial engines
When man-made self-powered micromotors swim in a gradient of chemical fuel, they experience a chemical attraction towards the fuel and deviate from their otherwise random motion. We now report that self-propelled microjets and microparticles change their trajectory when hydrogen peroxide fuel is added to the solution in which they navigate, a response similar to the chemotactic behavior of some living organisms.
L. Baraban et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Edit. 52, 5552–5556 (2013) URL PDF
Diamond lattice photonic crystals from rolled-up membranes
A novel method for the fabrication of diamond lattice photonic crystals by rolling strained pre-patterned titania membranes is proposed. Using rolled-up nanotechnology, full band gap and highly customizable partial band gap photonic crystals are possible. A combination of finite element analysis and band structure calculations of our proposed system shows that photonic crystal bending negligibly influences the band gap, and that at least six windings are necessary. These findings motivate further efforts towards the fabrication of rolled-up photonic crystals.
M. R. Jorgensen et al., Phys. Rev. A. 87, 041803 (2013) URL PDF
Dynamic molecular processes detected by nanomembrane based microtube cavities
Dynamic molecular processes of water and ethanol are detected on the surface of rolled-up opto-chemical microtube resonators. Based on perturbation theory, quantitative information about structural changes in molecular layers are acquired. A robust ice-like H2O molecular layer on the microtube surface was revealed through detecting molecular interactions at room temperature. The ability of the self-assembled microtube cavities to probe molecular changes on the sensing surface constitutes a versatile platform for the detection of diverse surface phenomena in a label-free fashion.
L. B. Ma et al., Adv. Mater. 25, 2357 (2013). URL PDF
New battery research: rolled-up trilayer nanomembranes improve durability and lifetime
We report a new type of tubular configuration made from naturally rolled-up C/Si/C trilayer nanomembranes. A high capacity of ~2000 mAh g-1 can be retained at a current density of 50 mA g-1 without discernible decay, and the capacity can keep ~1000 mAh g-1 even after 300 cycles at 500 mA g-1 with almost 100% capacity retention. The trilayer structure design provides a stable conductive network and prevents Si pulverization and aggregation during cycling, thus guaranteeing superior electrochemical performance.
J. Deng et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Edit. 52, 2326 (2013) URL PDF
Rolled-up field effect transistors
We fabricate inorganic thin film transistors with bending radii of less than 5μm maintaining their high electronic performance with on-off ratios of more than 100.000 and subthreshold swings of 160mV/dec. The fabrication technology relies on the roll-up of highly strained semiconducting nanomembranes, which compacts planar transistors into three-dimensional tubular architectures. The rolled-up transistors are perfectly embedded into the wall of a cylindrical fluidic channel, which may boost the performance of large-scale integrated microfluidics to a level way beyond of what is currently available.
Rolling their own for energy storage devices
We report a novel hybrid tubular structure composed of multilayer Ge and Ti nanomembranes with superior reversible capacity by rolled-up nanotech. The intrinsic strain accommodated in the Ge/Ti bilayer nanomembranes is efficiently released by a self-rolling process that thus offers a minimization of the whole system energy. The high conductivity, fast lithium ion diffusion and good volume tolerance of the material are evaluated by single tube devices. The proof of concept in this work paves the way for integration of microbatteries for chip-scale applications.
C. Yan et al., Adv. Mater. 25, 539 (2013) URL PDF
This work was highlighted in:
Renewable Energy (May, 2013) URL
Stretchable magnetoelectronics
Stretchable magnetoelectronic devices are demonstrated for the first time. We fabricated GMR multilayers as well as spin valves on free-standing elastic Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) membranes. The GMR performance of the sensors on rigid silicon and on free-standing PDMS is similar and does not change with tensile deformations of up to 29% revealing a top sensitivity of 0.8 %/Oe in a magnetic field of 12 Oe. Stretchable magnetoelectronics generates a new quality to modern interactive application fields like smart skin and flexible consumer electronics equipped with magnetic functionalities.
M. Melzer et al., Adv. Mater. 24, 6468 (2012) URL PDF
M. Melzer et al., Nano Lett. 11, 2522 (2011) URL PDF
This work was highlighted in:
Advances in Engineering (April 22, 2013) URL
Making quantum dots electronically symmetric
The lack of structural symmetry which usually characterizes semiconductor quantum dots lifts the energetic degeneracy of the bright excitonic states and hampers severely their use as high-fidelity sources of entangled photons. We demonstrate experimentally and theoretically that it is always possible to restore the excitonic degeneracy by the simultaneous application of large strain and electric fields. This is achieved by using one external perturbation to align the polarization of the exciton emission along the axis of the second perturbation, which then erases completely the energy splitting of the states. This result, which holds for any quantum dot structure, highlights the potential of combining complementary external fields to create artificial atoms meeting the stringent requirements posed by scalable semiconductor-based quantum technology.
R. Trotta et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 147401 (2012) URL PDF
This work was chosen as PRL Editors' suggestion and selected for a Viewpoint in Physics (October 1, 2012) URL
Self - Elongating Nanowires
We report the self-assembled growth of Ge nanowires with a height of only 3 unit cells and a length of up to 2 micrometers by means of molecular beam epitaxy. Compared to nanowires grown by catalytic methods, the catalyst-free Ge nanowires we obtained exhibit an outstanding uniformity in their lateral size, they lie horizontally along well-defined crystallographic directions, and they are monolithically integrated into the silicon substrate. In view of their exceptionally small and self-defined cross section, these Ge wires hold promise for the realization of hole systems with exotic properties and provide a new development route for silicon-based nanoelectronics.
J. J. Zhang et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 085502 (2012) URL PDF
This work has been highlighted in:
Magnetically capped rolled-up nanomembranes
In this work, we address curvature-driven modifications of magnetic properties in confined cylindrically curved magnetic nanomembranes. The curved architectures are prepared by capping non-magnetic micrometer- and nanometer-sized rolled-up membranes with a soft-magnetic 20 nm thick permalloy (Ni80Fe20) film. Due to the curvature-driven thickness gradient in magnetic nanostructures, magnetic stray field merely exists at the longitudinal edges of the cap. The corresponding anisotropy of magnetostatic interaction (along with respect to across the cylindrical cap) allows to reduce interaction between neighboring magnetic nanostructures still preserving vortex state, which is a bottleneck of planar stripes. Thus, a much higher areal density of magnetic wires compared to planar stripes might be achieved, which is beneficial to increase storage density of racetrack memory devices.
Printable magnetoelectronics
We fabricated the first printable magnetic sensor that relies on the giant magnetoresistance effect (GMR). The magnetic ink can be painted on virtually any substrate such as paper, polymers, ceramics, glass and exhibits a room-temperature GMR of up to 8%. The performance of a printable GMR sensor is demonstrated by integration into a hybrid electronic circuit produced on the paper of a postcard. The operation of a light emitting diode (LED) is triggered by a permanent magnet that modifies the resistance of the printable magnetic sensor and alters the current flow through the LED. Our demonstrator with a magnetic switch printed on a postcard suggests paves the way for interactive and fully printable electronics.
D. Karnaushenko et al., Adv. Mater. 24, 4518 (2012) URL PDF
This work was highlighted in:
- Nanowerk (July 19, 2012) URL PDF
- Spectrum IEEE (July 20, 2012) URL PDF
- Bild (August 29, 2012) URL PDF
- Pro-physik (August 29, 2012) URL PDF
- Uni aktuell at TU Chemnitz (August 29, 2012) URL PDF
- Wissenschaftler (August 31, 2012) URL PDF
- PREVIEW Event & Communication (September 3, 2012) URL PDF
- Wissenschaft Aktuel (September 4, 2012) URL
- Paper of the month: The Latest Science (September 3, 2012)
- Advances in Engineering (April 16, 2013) URL
Two ERC grants for Dr. Denys Makarov and Dr. Samuel Sanchez
Congratulations to Denys Makarov and Samuel Sanchez - each of them securing an ERC "Starting Grant" worth 1.5Mio Eur for their projects "Shapeable Magnetoelectronics in Research and Technology" and "Lab-in-a-tube and Nanorobotic biosensors", respectively. Both awarded projects are groundbreaking and open entirely new fields in nanomembrane technologies.
On-chip integration of rolled-up ring resonators as label-free optofluidic sensors
We demonstrate fully integrated rolled-up optofluidic ring resonators (RU-OFRRs) based on glass SiO2 material with high quality factors of up to 2900. The microfluidic integration of several RU-OFRRs on one chip is solved by enclosing the microtubes with a patterned robust SU-8 polymeric matrix. A viewport on each microtube enables exact excitation and monitoring of whispering gallery modes under constant ambient conditions, while exchanging the content of the RU-OFRR with liquids of different refractive indices. The sensitivity of the integrated RU-OFRR, which is the response of the modes to the change in refractive index of the liquid, is up to 880 nm/refractive index units.
Lab-in-a-tube
A lab-in-a-tube device comprises numerous ultracompact components in a single tube which can be developed using rolled-up technology. A single device, being one of thousands in the on-chip system, would be independently capable of stimulating, monitoring and investigating individual organisms.
Engineering the properties of Quantum-Light-Emitting Diodes by strain
We present the first nanomembrane Quantum-Light-Emitting Diodes (QLEDs) integrated onto piezoelectric actuators. We demonstrate that the large strain fields provided by the piezoelectric actuators can be used to engineer the whole emission properties of the quantum emitters (semiconductor quantum dots) without degrading the electrical injection operation of standard QLEDs. The hybrid device presented here has the potential to form the basis of scalable electrically-driven sources for quantum communication.
Tunable generation of correlated vortices in open superconductor tubes
We theoretically apply transport currents and magnetic fields to open superconducting tubes. In such tubes, which can be created by rolled-up nanotech, vortices nucleate periodically at one edge of the tube, subsequently move along the tube axis under the action of the Lorentz force and denucleate at the opposite edge of the tube. The characteristic times of the vortex motions are efficiently controlled by the tube radius and are significantly different to the situation in a planar film under the same magnetic field. Our results open perspectives towards tailoring non-equilibrium properties of vortices and their application as tunable superconducting flux generators for fluxon-based information technologies.
V. M. Fomin et al., Nano Lett. 12, 1282 (2012) URL PDF
*click on pictures to see animation
Elastic magnetic sensor with isotropic sensitivity for in-flow detection of magnetic objects
We present a conceptually new approach for the detection of magnetic objects flowing through a fluidic channel. We produce an elastic and stretchable magnetic sensor and wrap it around a capillary tubing. Thus, the stray fields induced by the flowing magnetic objects can be detected virtually in all directions (isotropic sensitivity), which is unique for the elastic sensor compared to rigid planar counterparts. In combination with magnetic particles as biomarkers, this elastic magnetic sensor can be considered as a new generation of biosensors for cells or even biomolecules evading many difficulties of traditional optical detection methods like low speed, excitation, bulky and expensive equipment, biomolecular amplification and the need for transparent packaging.
Self-propelled nanotools drilling into cells
We design nanoscale tools in the form of autonomous and remotely guided catalytically self-propelled rolled-up tubes. If these tubes are rolled-up in an asymmetric fashion they move in a corkscrew-like trajectory and rotate with high frequency around their own axis. This rotating motion allows them to drill into cell material (here: fixed HeLa cells). Since they can be remotely controlled by an external magnetic field, deliberate non-invasive nano-surgery might become reality in the far future.
Fabrication and applications of large arrays of multifunctional rolled-up SiO/SiO2 microtubes
Biocompatible, multifunctional large arrays of transparent SiO/SiO2 microtubes are fabricated by rolled-up nanotech. The outer tubular diameter as a function of thicknesses of SiO and SiO2has been systematically studied and the roll-up parameters have been optimized to deterministically achieve a yield of nearly 100%. A macroscopic continuum mechanical model is in good agreement with the experimental data. The relative ease in functionalization of the “glass” microtubes with different biomaterials renders rolled-up nanotech an excellent option for various on- and off-chip applications, including optofluidic sensors, micro-engines and pre-patterned 3D scaffolds for cell culturing.
S. M. Harazim et al., J. Mater. Chem. 22, 2878 (2012) URL PDF
This work was selected as a hot article by the journal.
Spin selective tunneling through SiGe quantum dots
When contacting a quantum dot (QD) with normal metallic leads no spin selective tunnel rates are expected. However, low-temperature magneto-transport measurements through individual SiGe self-assembled QDs have now revealed that this assumption is not always true. Indeed, we have observed that spin-selective tunnel rates through individual QDs can be achieved with normal metallic contacts. The surprising spin selectivity arises from the interplay of the orbital effect of the magnetic field with the strong spin-orbit interaction present in the valence band of the semiconductor. This work was carried out in collaboration with CEA-Grenoble and Yale University.
G. Katsaros et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 246601 (2011) URL PDF
Lab-in-a-tube
Working towards creating a fully functional Lab-in-a-tube, we report a method for the precise capturing of embryonic fibroblast mouse cells into rolled-up microtube resonators. The microtubes contain a nanometer-sized gap in their wall which defines a new type of optofluidic sensor, i.e., a flexible split-wall microtube resonator sensor (F-SWμRS), employed as a label-free fully integrative detection tool for individual cells. The sensor action works through peak sharpening and spectral shifts of whispering gallery modes within the microresonators under light illumination.
E. J. Smith et al., Nano Lett. 11, 4037 (2011) URL PDF
This work was highlighted in:
Lab Chip 12, 503 (2012) URL
"Starting" and "stopping" microjet engines
The control over the autonomous motion of artificial nano/micromachines is essential for real biomedical and nanotechnological applications. Consequently, a complete nanomachine should be able to be turned on and off at will. We report the tuning of the propulsion power of catalytic microjets through illumination of a solution by a white-light source. We show that light suppresses the generation of microbubbles, stopping the engines if they are fixed-to or self-propelled above a platinum-patterned surface. The microjets are reactivated by dimming the light source that illuminates the fuel solution.
A. A. Solovev et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Edit. 50, 10875 (2011) URL PDF
Magnetic microhelix coil structures
We design and investigate three-dimensional microhelix coil structures that are radial-, corkscrew-, and hollow-bar-magnetized. The magnetization configurations of the differently magnetized coils are experimentally revealed by probing their specific dynamic response to an external magnetic field. Helix coils offer an opportunity to realize microscale geometries of the magnetic toroidal moment, observed so far only in bulk multiferroic materials.
E. J. Smith et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 097204 (2011) URL PDF
Rolled-up magnetic sensor for in-flow detection of magnetic objects
Rolled-up nanotech is used to fabricate magnetic sensor devices, which are directly integrated into fluidic architectures. Strain engineering is applied to roll-up a thin layer stack revealing giant magnetoresistence (GMR). In this way, the rolled-up tube acts as a fluidic channel, while the integrated GMR sensor responds to a magnetic field. In-flow detection of ferromagnetic CrO2 nanoparticles embedded in a biocompatible polymeric hydrogel shell is highlighted. The advantage of rolled-up devices is their integrability into existing on-chip technologies and the ability to combine several functions into a single architecture, possibly leading to a fully operational lab-in-a-tube system.
Superfast motion of catalytic microjet engines at physiological temperature
We reduced the toxicity of the fuel used to self-propel artificial nanomachines. At physiological temperatures, i.e. 37°C, only very small amounts of H2O2 as fuel is needed to propel the microjets. Under those conditions, Fibroblast cells are viable for more than 1 hour which is highly important for the not-too-distant use of artificial nanomachines in biomedical applications. In addition, at 5% H2O2, the microjets acquire superfast speeds reaching 10 mm sec-1. The dynamics of motion is altered while increasing the speed, i.e. the motion deviates from the linear to curvilinear trajectories which has been theoretically modelled.
S. Sanchez et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 133, 14860 (2011) URL PDF
This work was highlighted in:
New Scientist, 2832 (2011) (Oct 2, 2011) URL
Hybrid organic/inorganic molecular heterojunctions
We combine self-assembly and top-down methods to create hybrid junctions consisting of single organic molecular monolayers sandwiched between metal and/or single-crystalline semiconductor nanomembrane based electrodes. The fabrication process is fully integrative and produces a yield loss of less than 5% on-chip. The nanomembrane-based electrodes guarantee a soft yet robust contact to the molecules where the presence of pinholes and other defects becomes almost irrelevant. We also pioneer the fabrication and characterization of semiconductor/molecule/semiconductor tunneling heterojunctions which exhibit a double transition from direct tunneling to field emission and back to direct tunneling, a phenomenon which has not been reported previously.
C. C. Bof Bufon et al., Nano Lett. 11, 3727 (2011) URL PDF
This work was highlighted in:
Nature Materials, 10, 724 (2011) (Sep 23, 2011) URL
Towards remotely controlled intelligent microrobots
In this tutorial review we describe recent progress on catalytic microtubular engines fabricated by rolled-up nanotech. The control over speed, directionality and interactions of the microengines to perform tasks such as cargo transportation is also discussed. Since rolled-up nanotech on polymers can easily integrate almost any type of inorganic material, huge potential and advanced performance such as high speed, cargo delivery, motion control, and dynamic assembly are foreseen-ultimately promising a practical way to construct versatile and intelligent catalytic tubular microrobots.
Y. F. Mei et al., Chem. Soc. Rev. 40, 2109 (2011) URL PDF
This work was highlighted in:
Slowing down single photons from quantum dots
Nowadays, the vast majority of information is transferred by light in optical fibers. The single elementary particle of light is called a photon. The advantage of single photons is that they can carry and transfer quantum information over very long distances, enabling 100% secure communication, impossible to crack. We have successfully designed a new type of semiconductor material (quantum dots), which emit photons at a frequency that can be combined with rubidium atoms. By guiding the emitted light through the atoms the speed of the photons is reduced to less than 4% of the speed of light in vacuum. The breakthrough can enable the realization of quantum memories - an essential component in quantum information technology. Merging semiconductor and atomic physics in a hybrid interface opens the way to a series of novel experiments and research directions. For instance, quantum memories and quantum repeaters for quantum dot generated photons can now be fabricated. This work was carried out in close collaboration with the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
N. Akopian et al., Nat. Photonics 5, 230 (2011) URL PDF
This work was highlighted in:
Guinness World Record® for "Smallest Man-Made Jet Engine"
"The smallest man-made jet engine measures just 600nm across and weighs 1 picogram. It was produced by Alex A. Solovev, Samuel Sanchez, Yongfeng Mei and Oliver G. Schmidt at the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (IFW Dresden)."
This is the text of the official certificate issued by Guinness World Records® beginning of this year (see left side for scanned original).
This achievement was highlighted in:
- Pro-Physik.de (March 8, 2011) URL
- Die Welt (March 8, 2011) URL
- Scinexx (March 9, 2011) URL
- Nanowerk (March 9, 2011) URL
Barkhausen Poster Award 2010 goes to IIN
Congratulations to Michael Melzer, who has been awarded this year's Barkhausen Poster Prize on 4 February 2011!
On his poster he described in detail how to fabricate highly sensitive thin films to detect small magnetic fields on rubber substrates. His work paves the way for a technology rapidly moving towards stretchable and flexible magnetoelelctronics. An electronic version of the poster can be found here.
The Barkhausen Poster Prize is awarded every year to students and young scientists for their outstanding research and convincing presentation. The award is funded by Materialforschungsverbund Dresden, TU Dresden, European Center for Micro- and Nanoreliability and Fries Research & Technology.
Microbots swimming in the flowing streams of microfluidic channels
The motion of artificial catalytic nanomachines is commonly studied in free bulk solution, which differs significantly from the stream-like channel networks existing in the human body. Here, we demonstrate that catalytic microbots can self-propel in the microchannels of a microfluidics system and transport multiple spherical microparticles into desired locations. We also show for the first time that artificial micromachines can easily swim against strong flowing streams.The integration of “smart and powerful” microbots with microchips will lead to plentiful functions in lab-on-a-chip devices including e.g. efficient and convenient drug or cell separation.
Cardboard rolls on the nanoscale
Everybody knows that cardboard paper can be a highly anisotropic material. You can easily bend or roll it in one direction and it is stiff in the other. If you take a close look you will find that the paper is periodically buckled along one direction. We have now exploited this phenomenon on the nanoscale to define the roll-up direction of ultra-thin membranes on a substrate surface. Given the abundance of fabrication methods to create thin corrugated films (including graphene), our work will help to realize novel 3D tubular nanostructures with well-controlled position, orientation, material composition, and exciting functionalities.