The OXiNEMS team investigated the fabrication processes for M/NEMS based on transition metal oxide thin films. We realized new typologies of M/NEMS structures with different oxides such as (La,Sr)MnO3 (a well-known magnetic oxide), LaAlO3 (a high-permittivity dielectric), EuTiO3 (a dielectric with anti-ferromagnetic transition at 5.3 K and studied for its incipient ferro-electricity). We made systematic and deep characterizations of the mechanical properties of cantilevers, freestanding trampolines and microbridges under different measurement conditions and temperatures, enlarging the comprehensions of the advantages and limits of epitaxial oxides for the realization of new micro&nanomechanical sensors and actuators. The race toward the realization of a full-oxide magnetometer (hybrid sensor) has focused our research on several original aspects in the microfabrication of complex freestanding structures made with oxide heterostructures.
At some stage of the project we decided to realize a preliminary basic structure. This prototype integrates an YBCO superconducting micro-patterned thin film circuit with a magnetic resonator made of a silicon nitride freestanding trampoline combined with a cobalt magnetic layer. The operation of the hybrid sensor is based on nanomechanical sensing: the external magnetic field determines the amount of current flowing through the superconducting circuit and then the value of the mechanical resonance of coupled magnetic trampoline. The mechanical resonances of the trampoline resonator are probed using a focused laser beam (optomechanical detection). The OXiNEMS project realized five optomechanical setups with different purposes and installed at different venues (CNR, University of Hamburg, University Gabriele d’Annunzio (UdA) and Quantified Air B.V. (QA). As the hybrid sensors are expected to work in real environment and be integrated in a future magnetoencephalographic system, UdA and QA developed the instrumentation to integrate the sensor into a channel working inside a magnetically shielded environment. This biomagnetic channel comprises the sensor, the scalable interferometer and the custom cryogenic system that will be placed near the human skull for the detection of the biomagnetic field. Our research activities generated scientific knowledge and original results and at the same time developed technological solutions with different technology readiness levels paving the way to new products and processes together with concrete perspectives for future collaborative projects.
In collaboration with the Exploitation Partner (META), we, the project partners, identified and assessed a select set of Key Exploitable Results (KERs). We evaluated their maturity, market potential, value propositions, existing competition, and mapped out pathways for their future exploitation. To maximize the impact of each KER, partners engaged various stakeholder groups through targeted dissemination activities, including presentations at 28 international conferences, publications in 7 journals, and educational outreach. Additionally, KERs were communicated to the general public through five events at the Genoa Science Festival and European Researchers’ Night, alongside dedicated outreach webpages on the project website. The field of oxide nanomechanics has also been promoted with the organization of an open online school on this topic on November 8th, 2023. An online workshop on “Materials and Devices for Biomagnetism and Magnetometry” has been organized on April 16th, 2024.
Two invention patents conceived within the project have been granted while a third patent application arising from OXiNEMS has been recently filed. Our project website (www.oxinems.eu) contains all the information related to the dissemination and communication actions.
