Technologies

B-ME developed the first thermoplastic composite electrode film based on bio-derived and biodegradable polyesters and carbon nano-fibers. It is metal-free, highly electrically conductive and possess good thermo-mechanical properties, a challenging combination of three features in a single product. This is the first-of-its-kind product, as, to the best of our knowledge, no thermoplastic biobased electrode film has been effectively produced and used so far.

Nowadays, to properly design and develop advanced materials capable to preserve for long times their performance under aggressive environments such as power generation plants, renewables, nuclear reactors and electronics of new generation, transport on ground and on space, aeronautics, catalysis, biomedical implants, the optimization of metallurgical processes involved is crucial.

The compact-GC platform is a MEMS-based analytical module for the purge&trap pre-concentration and (gas)-chromatographic separation of a sample. The two analytical MEMS (pre-concentrator and GC column) are interconnected by means of a MEMS microfluidic manifold. The microfluidic manifold interconnects the analytical MEMS, but it also acts as injector through the integrated micro-valves.

Digital Eye is an innovative, rapid and high-precision intelligent computer vision system for the non-destructive and contactless evaluation of quality and shelf-life of whole or fresh-cut fruit and vegetables. It integrates advanced vision and artificial intelligence technologies to estimate parameters useful to evaluate the quality of fruit and vegetables, during both the harvesting phase and the cold chain.

Molecular doping (MD) is a doping method based on the use of liquid solutions. The dopant precursor is in liquid form and the material to be doped is immersed in the solution. During the immersion process, the molecule containing the dopant atom is deposited on the surface of the material forming a self-assembled monolayer, that is, ordered and compact. Through a subsequent heat treatment, the molecule decomposes and the dopant diffuses.

The invention consists of a method and apparatus for the delivery at low pressure (equal to or less than 10^-7 Torr) of monoatomic fluorine for reaction with surfaces in an ultra-clean environment. Thanks to the low pressure values involved in the proposed method, the risks associated with the use of fluorine are reduced to a minimum.

The proposed technology offers a novel and versatile method for detecting cracks in insulating materials of electrically polarized metal devices, i.e. dielectric coatings on metals, especially in low-pressure gas environments. It uses an ionized plasma that interacts uniformly with the insulating surface, allowing to detect defects invisible to the naked eye. The detection occurs in a single test without changing the environmental conditions and without risking harmful electrical discharges.

Solid State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy (SSNMR) is today one of the most powerful techniques for characterizing solid and soft materials and systems. This spectroscopy allows the detailed characterization of structural and dynamic properties over large spatial (0.1-100 nm) and time (10²-10^-11 s) scales. Accessing these properties allows a deep knowledge of a material to be obtained and  its design and optimization to be oriented.

The environment as well as the food production provide a number of both natural and synthetic compounds whose effects on human being as an organism have not yet been determined nor investigated.

The present technology deals with jewels based on shape memory alloys and fabricated through additive manufacturing. In ICMATE-Lecco laboratories, several NiTi-based rings have been fabricated through a powder bed fusion technology (selective laser melting technique).

The invention consists in a special regulation method of the horizontal axes of operating and rubbing wheels of a centerless grinding machine coupled with an opportune blade profile, allowing a continuous regulation of blade rest angle (angle between tangent to blade profile at the contact point with the work piece and the horizon, denoted by γ) and workpiece height (denoted by hw), without requiring blade substitution and/or manual regulations.

The proposed device is a semi-transparent screen that allows simultaneous viewing of what is beyond the screen and the images projected onto its surface. It consists of two thin glass plates with reflective elements arranged as microlenses, embedded in a resin. The projector's light is reflected by the elements towards the user's eye, while external light passes through the transparent layers without distortion. The transparency and brightness of the screen can be adjusted by modifying the reflective elements.

IMM has developed tactile sensors for the detection of objects and surface and for the handling of objects with humanoid robots (e-skin). These devices can be integrated on ultra-flexible and high conformable substrates and they can be used for multiple applications: 1) for a correct interaction with objects distributed in complex environment; 2) for a safe short-range interaction between humanoid robot and humans; 3) for fabricating smart wearables for the detection of biometric parameters (e.g. heartbeat); 4) for remotely control rovers with wearable gadgets.

X-ray imaging techniques can work in i) "full-field mode" in which the object to study (or part of it) is completely illuminated by the X-ray beam; ii) "scanning mode" in which an X-ray beam, focused through an opportune optics, illuminates in succession contiguous areas of the sample under examination, and the transmitted wave is measured by a detector placed at a proper distance from it. One of these X-ray scanning microscopes is available at the facility (X-ray MicroImaging, XMIL@b) of the Institute of Crystallography (CNR-Bari).