SmolSUB was divided into three main activities:
Action 1 (Intellectual Property (IP)) followed the natural process of expansion of the patent, which was granted in Spain and it is currently in national phases (Europe and US) through the PCT application. Moreover, during the course of the project, modifications in the first sublimator model have been performed in order to cover a wider range of applications and/or to improve its performance and data acquisition. In this regard, the modifications to the model have been carried out in an attempt to ensure that the new design is covered by the patent. However, whenever the technical requirements of the device have escaped from the scope of the previously granted claims, the group’s technology transfer experts have worked, together with the assistance of HI transfer department, to find the best IP strategy. This part highlights the fact of the interest and novelty of the device.
In Action 2 (Research/Industrial validation), contacts have been established with different research groups (a total of 20) and companies (a total of 8), consolidating the active relationship for the use of our devices with a total of 5 research groups and 1 company. In this objective, the initial glass device has been distributed to them, with which they have been able to carry out certain experiments (most of them still have the system in their possession and wish to continue using it). In this action it is worth mentioning the advertising of the device among possible future stakeholders of our technology, which has been very well received. As a result of this interaction with the early adopters of our technology, we want to highlight the fact that the received feedback has been of high value in order to keep improving our portfolio of equipment looking to cover the most interesting applications beyond or first expectations.
In an initial stage, molecular electronics was explicitly marked as a field of attraction for stakeholders, but it has also been possible to identify uses of our systems in the area of microfluidics (one of the groups, expert in the field, has been able to perform reproducible and successful experiments that could not be carried out using other types of techniques) and biomedicine (there is a company interested in the integration of our device as an intermediate step in one of its procedures). Therefore, the validation process carried out evidences of the use of our devices in several areas of interest have been proven.
Action 3 (creation of devices/kits/catalogs) requires different steps, starting by the characterization of the performance of the devices, studying the vacuum and temperature capabilities with a range of 7 different molecules and 5 different substrates. A new scientific paper has been published using one of the sublimation devices (of the former ERC Conslidator project, mentioned here as the way to advertise the devices) and the further results are expected to be published in the next moths, even after the end of the project. This knowledge is being used to shape the practical guide and application notes for the use of the device. The possibility of adding in situ measurements, which require greater complexity in the systems, has been evaluated and new devices have been designed to this purpose. In this matter, a quartz crystal microbalance (qcm) and temperature sensors have been successfully included to on time monitor the deposition rate and internal temperatures, respectively. A new sample holder has also been created for providing greater adaptability of the system to different substrates. This information will be extrapolated to all devices. It is important to note that we have achieved high reproducibility in all our experiments, which proves that the devices are robust and reliable.
