Project acronym CARBONNEMS
Project NanoElectroMechanical Systems based on Carbon Nanotube and Graphene
Researcher (PI) Adrian Bachtold
Host Institution (HI) FUNDACIO INSTITUT DE CIENCIES FOTONIQUES
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE3, ERC-2011-StG_20101014
Summary Carbon nanotubes and graphene form a class of nanoscale objects with exceptional electrical, mechanical and structural properties. I propose to exploit these unique properties to fabricate and study various nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) based on graphene and nanotubes. Specifically, I will address two directions with major scientific interests:
1- I propose to study electromechanical resonators based on an individual nanotube or on a single layer of graphene. My group has a leading position in this recent research field and the idea is to take advantage of our expertise for two sets of experiments, one on inertial mass sensing and one on the exploration of quantum motion. These two topics are generating at present an intense activity in the NEMS community. Experiments are usually carried out using microfabricated silicon resonators but the ultra low mass of nanotubes and graphene has here an enormous asset. It drastically improves the sensitivity of mass sensing and it dramatically enhances the amplitude of the motion in the quantum regime.
2- My team will fabricate and exploit nanomotors based on nanotube and graphene. Only few man-made nanomotors have been demonstrated so far. Reasons are multiple. For instance, the fabrication of nanomotors is technically challenging. In addition, friction forces are often so strong that they hinder motion. Because of their unique properties, nanotubes and graphene represent a material of choice for the development of new nanomotors. We will construct nanomotors with different layouts and address how electrical, thermal or chemical energy can be transformed into mechanical energy in order to drive motion at the nanoscale.
Summary
Carbon nanotubes and graphene form a class of nanoscale objects with exceptional electrical, mechanical and structural properties. I propose to exploit these unique properties to fabricate and study various nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) based on graphene and nanotubes. Specifically, I will address two directions with major scientific interests:
1- I propose to study electromechanical resonators based on an individual nanotube or on a single layer of graphene. My group has a leading position in this recent research field and the idea is to take advantage of our expertise for two sets of experiments, one on inertial mass sensing and one on the exploration of quantum motion. These two topics are generating at present an intense activity in the NEMS community. Experiments are usually carried out using microfabricated silicon resonators but the ultra low mass of nanotubes and graphene has here an enormous asset. It drastically improves the sensitivity of mass sensing and it dramatically enhances the amplitude of the motion in the quantum regime.
2- My team will fabricate and exploit nanomotors based on nanotube and graphene. Only few man-made nanomotors have been demonstrated so far. Reasons are multiple. For instance, the fabrication of nanomotors is technically challenging. In addition, friction forces are often so strong that they hinder motion. Because of their unique properties, nanotubes and graphene represent a material of choice for the development of new nanomotors. We will construct nanomotors with different layouts and address how electrical, thermal or chemical energy can be transformed into mechanical energy in order to drive motion at the nanoscale.
Max ERC Funding
1 996 789 €
Duration
Start date: 2012-01-01, End date: 2016-12-31
Project acronym NOVGRAPHENE
Project Novel uses for graphene
Researcher (PI) Francisco Guinea Lopez
Host Institution (HI) FUNDACION IMDEA NANOCIENCIA
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE3, ERC-2011-ADG_20110209
Summary "Models for novel uses of graphene, not feasible in other materials, will be developed. Emphasis will be made on properties unique to graphene, like its extremely high stiffness, flexibility, tunable metallic features, and very low mass density. Novel applications will be studied in the areas of i) structural deformations and modulation of electronic properties, ii) spin manipulation, and iii) optoelectronics and plasmonics."
Summary
"Models for novel uses of graphene, not feasible in other materials, will be developed. Emphasis will be made on properties unique to graphene, like its extremely high stiffness, flexibility, tunable metallic features, and very low mass density. Novel applications will be studied in the areas of i) structural deformations and modulation of electronic properties, ii) spin manipulation, and iii) optoelectronics and plasmonics."
Max ERC Funding
991 691 €
Duration
Start date: 2012-05-01, End date: 2017-04-30
Project acronym PLASMONANOQUANTA
Project "Frontiers in Plasmonics: Transformation Optics, Quantum and Non-linear phenomena"
Researcher (PI) Francisco José Garcia Vidal
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA DE MADRID
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE3, ERC-2011-ADG_20110209
Summary "The overall objective of this proposal is to work in depth along three ground-breaking lines of research that are at the cutting edge of the current research in Plasmonics. These three subjects have strong overlap and are:
1) Non-linear phenomena and Plasmonic lasing: the introduction of optical-gain media into plasmonic waveguides has proven to be a feasible way to overcome the inherent losses within the metal. In order to reveal the physics behind this phenomenon, we intend to develop a new ab-initio theoretical framework that should combine the resolution of classical Maxwell’s equations with a quantum-mechanical treatment of the molecules forming the optical-gain medium. Within this formalism we also aim to analyze in depth very recent proposals of plasmon-based nano-lasers, the design of active devices based on surface plasmons and the use of optical-gain media in metallic metamaterials.
2) Transformation Optics for Plasmonics: we plan to apply the idea of Transformation Optics in connection with the concept of Metamaterials to devise new strategies for molding the propagation of surface plasmons in nanostructured metal surfaces. Additionally, we will use the Transformation Optics formalism to treat quasi-analytically non-local effects in plasmonic structures.
3) Quantum Plasmonics: several aspects of this new line of research will be tackled. Among others, fundamental studies of the coherence of surface plasmons that propagate along different metal waveguides after being generated by quantum emitters. A very promising line of research to explore will be plasmon-mediated interaction between qubits, taking advantage of the quasi-one-dimensional character of plasmonic waveguides. Strong-coupling phenomena between molecules and surface plasmons and the design of practical scenarios in which entanglement of surface plasmons could take place will be also addressed. We also plan to study how to generate surface plasmons with orbital angular momentum."
Summary
"The overall objective of this proposal is to work in depth along three ground-breaking lines of research that are at the cutting edge of the current research in Plasmonics. These three subjects have strong overlap and are:
1) Non-linear phenomena and Plasmonic lasing: the introduction of optical-gain media into plasmonic waveguides has proven to be a feasible way to overcome the inherent losses within the metal. In order to reveal the physics behind this phenomenon, we intend to develop a new ab-initio theoretical framework that should combine the resolution of classical Maxwell’s equations with a quantum-mechanical treatment of the molecules forming the optical-gain medium. Within this formalism we also aim to analyze in depth very recent proposals of plasmon-based nano-lasers, the design of active devices based on surface plasmons and the use of optical-gain media in metallic metamaterials.
2) Transformation Optics for Plasmonics: we plan to apply the idea of Transformation Optics in connection with the concept of Metamaterials to devise new strategies for molding the propagation of surface plasmons in nanostructured metal surfaces. Additionally, we will use the Transformation Optics formalism to treat quasi-analytically non-local effects in plasmonic structures.
3) Quantum Plasmonics: several aspects of this new line of research will be tackled. Among others, fundamental studies of the coherence of surface plasmons that propagate along different metal waveguides after being generated by quantum emitters. A very promising line of research to explore will be plasmon-mediated interaction between qubits, taking advantage of the quasi-one-dimensional character of plasmonic waveguides. Strong-coupling phenomena between molecules and surface plasmons and the design of practical scenarios in which entanglement of surface plasmons could take place will be also addressed. We also plan to study how to generate surface plasmons with orbital angular momentum."
Max ERC Funding
1 347 600 €
Duration
Start date: 2012-04-01, End date: 2017-03-31
Project acronym RESTRICTION
Project Restriction of the Fourier transform with applications to the Schrödinger and wave equations
Researcher (PI) Keith Mckenzie Rogers
Host Institution (HI) AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DEINVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE1, ERC-2011-StG_20101014
Summary In 1967, Stein proved that the Fourier transform of functions in L^p could be meaningfully restricted to the sphere for certain p>1. The restriction conjecture, which asserts the maximal range of such p, was solved by Fefferman in two dimensions, but the conjecture remains open in higher dimensions. Strichartz considered the same question but with the sphere replaced by the paraboloid or the cone, and a great deal of progress has been made in the last two decades by Bourgain, Wolff and Tao, among others. Due to the fact that the adjoint operators of the restriction operators to the paraboloid and cone correspond to the Schrödinger and wave evolution operators, respectively, this work has been hugely influential. The main goal of this proposal is to improve the state of the art for the mixed norm analogues of these conjectures.
Summary
In 1967, Stein proved that the Fourier transform of functions in L^p could be meaningfully restricted to the sphere for certain p>1. The restriction conjecture, which asserts the maximal range of such p, was solved by Fefferman in two dimensions, but the conjecture remains open in higher dimensions. Strichartz considered the same question but with the sphere replaced by the paraboloid or the cone, and a great deal of progress has been made in the last two decades by Bourgain, Wolff and Tao, among others. Due to the fact that the adjoint operators of the restriction operators to the paraboloid and cone correspond to the Schrödinger and wave evolution operators, respectively, this work has been hugely influential. The main goal of this proposal is to improve the state of the art for the mixed norm analogues of these conjectures.
Max ERC Funding
950 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-09-01, End date: 2017-08-31
Project acronym SPIA
Project Magnetic connectivity through the Solar Partially Ionized Atmosphere
Researcher (PI) Olena Khomenko
Host Institution (HI) INSTITUTO DE ASTROFISICA DE CANARIAS
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE9, ERC-2011-StG_20101014
Summary The broad scientific objective of the SPIA proposal is to understand the magnetism of the Sun and stars and to establish connections between the magnetic activity in sub-surface layers and its manifestation in the outer atmosphere. The complex interactions in magnetized stellar plasmas are best studied via numerical simulations, a new powerful method of research that appeared in astrophysics with the development of large supercomputer facilities. With a coming era of large aperture solar telescopes, ATST and EST, spectropolarimetric observations of the Sun will become available at extraordinary high spatial and temporal resolutions. New modelling tools are required to understand the plasma behaviour at these scales. I propose to consolidate a research group of bright scientists around the PI to explore a novel promising approach for the description solar atmospheric plasma under multi-fluid approximation. The degree of plasma ionization in the photosphere and chromosphere of the Sun is extremely low and significant deviations from the classical magneto-hydrodynamic description are expected. A major development of the SPIA proposal will be the implementation of a multi-fluid plasma description, appropriate for a partially ionized medium, relaxing approximations of classical magneto-hydrodynamics. With the inclusion of standard radiative transfer into the three-dimensional multi-fluid code to be developed by the project team, it will be possible to perform simulations of solar sub-photospheric and photospheric regions, up to the low chromosphere, with a realism not achieved before. The importance of the non-ideal plasma effect for the energy balance of the solar chromosphere will be evaluated, and three-dimensional time-dependent models of multi-fluid magneto-convection will be created. This effort will produce a significant step toward the solution of the long-standing question of the origin of solar chromosphere, one of the most poorly understood regions of the Sun.
Summary
The broad scientific objective of the SPIA proposal is to understand the magnetism of the Sun and stars and to establish connections between the magnetic activity in sub-surface layers and its manifestation in the outer atmosphere. The complex interactions in magnetized stellar plasmas are best studied via numerical simulations, a new powerful method of research that appeared in astrophysics with the development of large supercomputer facilities. With a coming era of large aperture solar telescopes, ATST and EST, spectropolarimetric observations of the Sun will become available at extraordinary high spatial and temporal resolutions. New modelling tools are required to understand the plasma behaviour at these scales. I propose to consolidate a research group of bright scientists around the PI to explore a novel promising approach for the description solar atmospheric plasma under multi-fluid approximation. The degree of plasma ionization in the photosphere and chromosphere of the Sun is extremely low and significant deviations from the classical magneto-hydrodynamic description are expected. A major development of the SPIA proposal will be the implementation of a multi-fluid plasma description, appropriate for a partially ionized medium, relaxing approximations of classical magneto-hydrodynamics. With the inclusion of standard radiative transfer into the three-dimensional multi-fluid code to be developed by the project team, it will be possible to perform simulations of solar sub-photospheric and photospheric regions, up to the low chromosphere, with a realism not achieved before. The importance of the non-ideal plasma effect for the energy balance of the solar chromosphere will be evaluated, and three-dimensional time-dependent models of multi-fluid magneto-convection will be created. This effort will produce a significant step toward the solution of the long-standing question of the origin of solar chromosphere, one of the most poorly understood regions of the Sun.
Max ERC Funding
969 600 €
Duration
Start date: 2012-01-01, End date: 2016-12-31
