Grenoble Team Comes Close to Winning Igem
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NEWSLETTER Event Innovation Silicon photonics: Leti creates Grenoble two 300-mm testers eti has made a major step forward in the field of optical and electro-optical measurements with L two new testers for photonic components on team comes 300-mm wafers. Until now, there was simply no tester available on the market for wafers of this diameter. Leti made the new devices by replacing the probes on two conventional testers with fiber optics. The probe close to holders are controlled step-by-step using motors and Leti algorithms that automatically align the probes to within a micron. The modified testers underwent several months of testing; the researchers using them are more winning than happy with their performance. Several years ago Leti made similar modifications to 200 mm testers, so the lab now boasts a truly exceptional range of photonic testers, with two 200-mm testers and iGEM two 300-mm testers that are available for use by other research centers. A team of Grenoble students participated in Contact: [email protected] MIT’s prestigious iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) competition in Boston on A high-precision, three-axis November 5–7, 2011. The team didn’t bring home accelerometric signal a trophy this time, but the experience was a eti has designed an addressing electronic circuit memorable one. offering accuracy to within a thousandth of the L full dynamic scale. The circuit’s accuracy was measured in tests conducted by Thales Avionics. While he eleven-member team of mathematics and single-axis sensors commonly offer comparable degrees biology students had been working since of accuracy—especially in aerospace and defense January on a mercury biosensor concept inspired applications—this Leti-designed circuit marks the new T state of the art for three-dimensional signals. by a series of meetings with chemical-industry giant Arkema. They took the new idea to the proof-of-concept The circuit is intended for use in a Tronics Microsystems stage and carried out an initial series of tests. iGEM gave three-axis accelerometric MEMS, and offers substantial them an opportunity to present their findings before 59 electronic noise optimization and very high heat stability. other finalists from around the globe, and to meet with It is able to withstand changes in its environment, and researchers and manufacturers like NASA and Autodesk. is suitable for applications in fields such as aerospace, geotechnical instrumentation, and high-performance Modeling concept garners attention automotive testing. The judges gave the team points for their excellent Contact: [email protected] modeling work. Frustratingly, this year’s iGEM finals did not include a modeling prize—unlike the European semi-finals in Amsterdam. Current sensors: Although the multidisciplinary team failed to bring home a win, they can be proud to have made it to the finals of big magnetoresistance, such a prestigious international competition. They also gained valuable experience and got an insider look at small price potential future careers. Third-year Grenoble Institute eti has developed a low-cost, compact, 16-channel of Technology-Phelma engineering student Geoffrey current sensor offering excellent linearity, Bouchage said, “I was planning to go on to get a PhD, but L resolution, and isolation properties (with more this experience has steered me more towards project than 1kV between the processor and sensor). This management.” Other team members plan to pursue advancement uses giant magnetoresistance (GMR) research in synthetic biology. systems and direct deposition of the current lines on the read circuit. Leti developed the sensor in response iGEM opened team members’ eyes to the world of to current measurement needs for fuel cell applications. No 17 opportunities out there for them. As for their mercury The use of GMR compensates for external magnetic Dec ’11 biosensor, Arkema could be interested in the technology. fields and ensures consistent measurements in unstable However, other researchers will have to take development environments. The sensor could also be used for a bit further first. automotive battery monitoring. Contact: [email protected] Contact: [email protected] Newsletter Innovation Infrared retinas inspired Ethera introduces by the human eye formaldehyde sensors eti has achieved a world first by obtaining infrared images from a hemispheric— thera, a start-up created in March 2010, launched rather than flat—retina. This retina is based on an ultra-thin (25 to 50 micron) its first product line in late September of this year: silicon substrate that is flexible enough to curve without folding or splitting. The a range of formaldehyde sensors to measure L2 E 1 cm retina (320 x 250 pixels spaced 30µm) has a radius of 80 mm. indoor air pollution in residential, commercial, and public This breakthrough technology will make the field curvature correction lenses that flat buildings. Simple enough to be used by anyone, the retinas require obsolete, thereby shrinking the size of large telescopes by a third. And the sensors can detect very low pollutant concentrations, reduced size will benefit other fields, as well; the new retina will likely be used in space with the readings displayed directly on the device. These systems, drones, and mobile telephone optics. And, as an added bonus, reducing the sensors mark a vast improvement over conventional number of lenses also improves image quality. systems; until now, samples had to be collected in test tubes and analyzed using gas chromatography. Contact: [email protected] Manufactured in Saclay, France, the sensors come in two versions: one measuring immediate exposure and one measuring long-term exposure. Ethera plans to introduce MRAM: additional sensors next year to measure other indoor air New pathways pollutants like aldehydes, benzene, toluene, and xylene. for electric current Contact: [email protected] pintec, a joint CEA/INAC-CNRS/UJF research unit, has developed a new MRAM structure with research partners in Spain. Manufacturers have already shown AtMol develops novel S interest in the new development, which was published in Nature magazine. The MRAM structure consists of a layer of cobalt between two platinum and aluminum oxide technological objects electrodes, and could revolutionize memory technology. The electric current follows he European Union AtMol project on molecular new read/write pathways that optimize the properties of the materials through which it electronics is spurring the development of travels at each stage, eliminating contradictory demands. T unprecedented technological objects at Leti, The MRAM structure is also faster and could cut the amount of current required tenfold. including surfaces of several hundred nanometers per Just how the new structure works is not yet clear; the Rashba effect and the spin Hall side on silicon substrates. These virtually-perfect surfaces effect are two possible explanations. (with a roughness of under 1 nm) are protected using temporary packaging. Leti is also using focused ion beam Contact: [email protected] (FIB) technology to mill 40 nm nanovias spaced at 300 nm to allow for electrical contacts on the substrates. The objects will be sent to research partners including All-electric spintronics: AtMol project coordinator CEMES (a Toulouse-based CNRS lab) for integration. Ultimately the chips, which will Never say never! offer vacuum levels ten million times greater than MEMS n INAC lab is now one of world’s select few capable of producing a spin current technology, will enable the electric characterization of using neither a magnetic field nor ferromagnetic materials. Their secret? A catalogued molecular components. lateral 50 nm platinum nanowire device in which the injector and detector are A Contact: [email protected] connected by a central channel. The system measures just 200 nm x 100 nm, and a 100 microampere current generates a spin current of around 1 microvolt. The next step will be to increase the conversion yield to 20% to meet market demands. Notable number The INAC lab, which is working in association with Albert Fert’s CNRS lab, has now turned rimary technology its focus to using two-material combinations and doped materials to achieve better research rarely delivers yields. P high production yields Contact: [email protected] immediately, especially for functional products. And % yet, yields of 87% were Single photon sources 87 recently achieved on 3D circuit demonstrators for wireless applications. Compared with conventional 2D demonstrators for come out of the fridge the same circuits, these 3D demonstrators incorporate hile current semiconductor single photon sources operate at 220 K at best, several technological advancements developed by researchers at INAC have achieved 300 K operation using II–IV semiconductor- STMicroelectronics and Leti—including the stacking and W based quantic boxes. The structure is made of 10-nn-diameter zinc selenium partitioned design of the two components and backside (ZnSe) nanowires, into which 3-nm- to 4-nm-thick cadmium selenium (CdSe) quantic interconnect vias and routing, all using a 65 nm CMOS boxes are inserted. The nanowires are grown on a zinc selenium substrate that allows process. accurate control of nanowire direction. These results come thanks to Leti’s long-standing With their extremely high emission rates, these devices could enable repetition successful collaboration with Brewer Science, EVG, frequencies