introduction In the 2016-18 Three-Year Plan of the CNR, our Department has divided the research activities of its Institutes into 21 Project Areas, in turn classified into 4 Strategic Areas. This Report collects the white papers of the 21 Project Areas, realized by the researchers of the Department. The Department's main purpose is to support the research activities of the Institutes, carrying out the following tasks: 1. Coordination between strategic areas and contacts with the external scientific community; 2. Promotion of multidisciplinary and inter-departmental activity providing opportunities for action in contexts where the individual Institute fails to act; 3. Scouting of innovation, analyzing development trends and questioning companies about their research needs and activating groups of institutes/researchers according to the demand; 4. Participation in National Technological Clusters, where possible, by coordinating public research structures (University, Public Research Agencies); 5. Participation of the Department and its institutes as proponents of Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) on strategic issues (e.g. Blue Growth); 6. Participation with a role of inter-ministerial and inter-institutional coordination of national research, innovation and technology transfer efforts; 7. Promotion of research agreements with large multinational companies and international research organizations; 8. Sensitization of research staff towards technology transfer and business creation, strengthening the function of technical support to the Institutes; 9. Support for the management of large-scale projects, avoiding duplication of administrative skills in the Institutes, and increasing the efficiency of the Department/scientific network system; 10. Identification of future scenarios of intervention that take into account new technological trends, new problems and emerging needs, also in light of what countries do where investments in science and technology are greater. 5 DIITET PROJECT AREAS Strategic areas Project areas AP 2 - Future internet AP 3 - Data, content and media AP 4 - e-Infrastructure AP 5 - Cybersecurity 9 - Information Technologies AP 6 - Robotics and control systems AP 7 - Factory of the future AP 8 - Healthcare and well-being AP 9 - Biotechnology AP 11 - Technologies for the use and preservation of cultural heritage AP 1 - Devices and systems for ICT AP 2 - Future internet AP 3 - Data, content and media AP 4 - e-Infrastructure AP 6 - Robotics and control systems AP 7 - Factory of the future 10 - Systems and Telecommunications AP 8 - Healthcare and well-being Engineering AP 9 - Biotechnology AP 11 - Technologies for the use and preservation of cultural heritage AP 12 - Technologies for aerospace and earth observation AP 13 - Secure societies AP 14 - Technologies for sustainable agriculture, food safety and security AP 16 - Smart Cities AP 19 - Marine technologies AP 3 - Data, content and media AP 6 - Robotics and control systems AP 7 - Factory of the future AP 8 - Healthcare and well-being AP 9 - Biotechnology AP 10 - Advanced materials and nanotechnologies AP 11 - Technologies for the use and preservation of cultural heritage AP 12 - Technologies for aerospace and earth observation 11 - Industrial and Civil Engineering AP 13 - Secure societies AP 14 - Technologies for sustainable agriculture, food safety and security AP 15 - Sustainable construction AP 16 - Smart Cities AP 17 - Low emission energy technologies AP 18 - Low environmental impact vehicles for a sustainable transport AP 19 - Marine technologies AP 20 - Controlled thermonuclear fusion AP 3 - Data, content and media AP 5 - Cyber security AP 6 - Robotics and control systems AP 7 - Factory of the future 15 – Applied Mathematics AP 8 - Healthcare and well-being AP 11 - Technologies for the use and preservation of cultural heritage AP 13 - Secure societies AP 16 - Smart Cities AP 21 - Applied mathematics 6 Strategic Strategic area 10 - Strategic Strategic Project areas area 9 - Systems and area 11 - area 15 - Information Telecommunications Industrial and Applied Technology Engineering Civil Mathematics Engineering AP 1 - Devices and systems for ICT AP 2 – Future internet AP 3 - Data, content and media AP 4 - e-Infrastructure AP 5 - Cyber security AP 6 - Robotics and control systems AP 7 - Factory of the future AP 8 - Healthcare and well-being AP 9 - Biotechnology AP 10 - Advanced materials and nanotechnologies AP 11 - Technologies for the use and preservation of AP 12 - Technologies for aerospace and earth b AP 13 - Secure societies AP 14 - Technologies for sustainable agriculture, food f d AP 15 - Sustainable construction AP 16 - Smart Cities AP 17 - Low emission energy technologies AP 18 - Low environmental impact vehicles for a bl AP 19 - Marine technologies AP 20 - Controlled thermonuclear fusion AP 21 - Applied mathematics 7 INDEX AP 1 - DEVICES AND SYSTEMS FOR ICT….pag. 9 AP 2 – FUTURE INTERNET….pag. 18 AP 3 - DATA, CONTENT AND MEDIA….pag. 26 AP 4 - E-INFRASTRUCTURE….pag. 34 AP 5 - CYBER SECURITY….pag. 42 AP 6 - ROBOTICS AND CONTROL SYSTEMS….pag. 50 AP 7 - FACTORY OF THE FUTURE….pag. 62 AP 8 - HEALTHCARE AND WELL-BEING….pag. 68 AP 9 - BIOTECHNOLOGY….pag. 78 AP 10 - ADVANCED MATERIALS AND NANOTECHNOLOGIES….pag. 86 AP 11 - TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE USE AND PRESERVATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE....pag. 94 AP 12 - TECHNOLOGIES FOR AEROSPACE AND EARTH OBSERVATION....pag. 108 AP 13 - SECURE SOCIETIES....pag. 115 AP 14 - TECHNOLOGIES FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE, FOOD SAFETY AND SECURITY....pag. 129 AP 15 - SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION....pag. 139 AP 16 - SMART CITIES....pag. 146 AP 17 - LOW EMISSION ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES....pag. 153 AP 18 - LOW ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT VEHICLES FOR A SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT....pag. 161 AP 19 - MARINE TECHNOLOGIES....pag. 169 AP 20 - CONTROLLED THERMONUCLEAR FUSION....pag. 176 AP 21 - APPLIED MATHEMATICS....pag. 184 EDITORIAL TEAM AND CONTACT PERSON (CP) ....pag. 194 8 AP1 DEVICES AND SYSTEMS FOR ICT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Project Area (PA) entitled “Devices and Systems for ICT” is a cross-cutting research area that focuses on the development of a broad range of devices and technologies, encompassing photonics, microwave/millimeter-wave technologies, micro/nano-electronics, and chemical electronics. The objective of the PA is to make new components and technologies available to ICT applications, including next-generation 5G terrestrial and satellite networks, Internet of Things (IoT), environmental monitoring, diagnosis of civil structures and cultural heritage, Industry 4.0, automotive, nuclear fusion, and healthcare. In this context, the activities are aimed at increasing the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of the components/systems/processes involved, from the concept and formulation (TRL 1-2) to the experimental verification in the operational environment (TRL 7), through proof-of-concept and bread-boarding (TRL 3-5). Depending on the specific technology maturity, the activities at CNR are carried out within the framework of programs funded by agencies (European Commission, European Space Agency, Italian Space Agency, Fusion for Energy, MISE, MIUR) for more fundamental researches, and industrial contracts with national companies for industry-driven activities. In this scenario, CNR plays an important role in supporting the national industry by boosting knowledge transfer in fields relevant to many application domains. The activities carried out in this PA can be clustered in three main topics, i.e. photonics, microwave and millimeter-wave technologies and devices, and micro and nano-electronics technologies. 1. STATE OF THE ART OF THE RELEVANT SCIENTIFIC AREA Topic 1 Photonics Photonics is one of the most pervasive KETs in ICT and has a major impact in many areas including classical and quantum information and communication, industrial manufacturing and production, life sciences and health-care, environmental and structural health monitoring, smart lighting, energy saving and production, food quality assessment, aerospace, safety and security, cultural heritage. Optical sensors, classical and quantum light sources (from LEDs to VCELs and QDs), fiber, integrated and micro-optical devices (like micro or nano-resonators), are all example ok key technologies allowing the generation of light and its management through guidance and manipulation, and can apply to all types of societal challenges. Sensors Optical sensors are emerging to play a vital role in several areas, ranging from environmental monitoring to biomedical diagnostic. The wide range of wavelengths from UV to the Mid-IR now available, thanks to new laser technologies, permits a specific and quantitative analysis of the samples under investigation. The continuous miniaturization of optical components has led to the development of highly integrated optical sensing techniques and devices (from millimeter size gratings to nanotips), including additional functionalities, like microfluidics, and leading to self-contained microsystems and lab-on-chip. Fiber grating based sensing is a well consolidated research field with application for the structural health monitoring and in all the fields in which low intrinsic invasiveness and immunity from electromagnetic fields are required. This technology is therefore extremely useful and convenient in harsh environments as compared to conventional non-dielectric sensing systems. 9 Sources Recent developments in the solid-state-laser research area have been triggered by the availability of new host materials like transparent polycrystalline