Technologies

The Proof-of-Concept A.L.I.C.E. or "Actuators based on Light sensitive CompositE" aims at the development of innovative materials through 3D/4D printing processes and uses them as actuators in the fields of photovoltaics, concentrated solar power, thermodynamic solar, and other applications such as optical deflectors, optical microvalves, and optical switches.

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.

CNR-ISTEC develops geopolymer composites for thermostructural applications, such as: self-supporting cavities; thermal and acoustic insulation; thermal and fire barriers; high temperature coatings and damping; molds and cores for foundry; foams and refractory linings. Geopolymers are chemically bonded materials at T <300 ° C. Being inorganic polymers without water in the structure, they tolerate high temperatures: they are incombustible, do not emit gas or fumes and do not explode.

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.

The insertion of executable programs within QR codes is a new enabling technology for many application contexts in everyday life. Every time Internet access is unavailable, QR code usage is limited to reading the data it contains without any possibility of interaction.

Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) are 1D structures with diameter ranging from few tens to hundreds of nanometers and length varying from few tens of nanometers to millimiters. SiNWs are fabricated in the labs of the IMM-CNR, Rome Unit,  by using bottom-up technologies such as plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) at low growth temperature ((≤350°C), allowing the use of plastic and glassy substrates. Their electrical properties can be tuned by controlling the p/n doping during the growth.

VisLab laboratory of IMM possesses a latest generation Raman micro-spectroscope equipped for vibrational measurements with high spatial and spectral resolution, at controlled temperature and in fast-imaging. The apparatus can be used to collect information and chemico-physical maps without the need for sample preparation and alteration, therefore for non-destructive studies and in operating conditions.

The herein described technology aims at the development of a platform of injectable hydrogels for application as drug carriers for localized delivery or in the regenerative medicine field. The use of ad-hoc synthesized poly(ether urethane)s (PEUs) as hydrogel forming materials is a common property which characterizes all the systems belonging to this platform.

Uniform coverage with porous layers over extended surfaces is beneficial for many purposes. Depending on the nature/composition, thickness and interfaces of the layer, this kind of special coverage can assure pivotal properties such as transparency, bendability, high surface reactivity, intermixing capability. In the long list of desired porous materials, transparent oxides find application in the fields of Photovoltaics, Sensing, Photocatalysis, Water Purification and Splitting, Lithium Batteries and many more.

The NanoMicroFab infrastructure, support companies operating in the field of micro and nanoelectronics through the supply of materials, development of processes, design, fabrication and characterization of materials and devices. NanoMicroFab makes use of existing CNR facilities of the Institute of Microelectronics and Microsystems, the Institute of Photonics and Nanotechnologies and the Institute for the Structure of Matter and provides: • a complete line of development of devices based on wide band gap semiconductors.

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.

Combinations of several enzymes in a production chain are preferred to “first generation” enzymatic processes (where the "single reaction - single enzyme" principle was followed), for the synthesis of compounds with high added value starting from simple and cheap substrates. An important requirement for obtaining control in "cascade enzymatic reactions" is the ability to deliver from one biocatalyst to the next one the various intermediates, limiting as much as possible the diffusion of the latter in the solvent.

The technology concerns planar optical antennas composed of thin metal films and dielectric materials for the efficient direction of the light emitted by light sources, such as fluorescent molecules and bio-markers. They consist of a reflector layer, adjacent to the substrate, and a director, semi-reflective, between which the emitter is positioned, integrated into a homogeneous dielectric layer.

The invention is a synthetic method to prepare colloidal nanomaterials of V-VI-VII semiconductors that do not contain toxic elements. This is the first method for the synthesis of mixed anion nanomaterials without toxic elements at large, which permitted to obtain, among others, bismuth chalcohalide nanocrystals that are arguably considered as one of main candidates to be the next big thing for light energy conversion.