Project description DEENESFRITPL Advanced ultrafast imaging of light-activated nanomaterials With technology miniaturisation, functional materials activated by light are engineered in the deep nanoscale regime, where bulk macroscopic models can no longer accurately predict heat, charge or spin transport. As a result, smart design of functional nanosystems has to date represented a complex task. The EU-funded ULTRAIMAGE project addresses this challenge, introducing a new method for microscopy that can image sustainable nanomaterials activated by light pulses, with high spatial and temporal resolution. ULTRAIMAGE will enable a better understanding of fundamental nanoscale behaviour and the rational design of next generation devices. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Imaging charge, spin, and energy flow in functional materials when hit by a light pulse, is a current grand challenge in nanotechnology relevant to a host of systems including photovoltaics, optoelectronic and spin devices. The design of such materials relies critically on the availability of accurate characterisation tools of how light-induced function and performance are related to nano-to-mesoscale electronic and lattice structural properties. To address this challenge, ULTRAIMAGE will introduce ground-breaking capabilities in microscopy of nanomaterials, providing access to their far-from-equilibrium states, with resolution on nanometer-to-Ångstrom length and femtosecond time scales. Key to this advance is the combination of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) to soft X-ray tabletop coherent light sources with a technique for coherent diffractive imaging called ptychography, in which multiple diffraction patterns from overlapping fields of view are processed by iterative algorithms to recover amplitude and phase images of sample and beam, separately. Nanoscale movies of the sample’s impulsive response, irradiated by ultrafast laser pulses, will be obtained with extremely high fidelity and in a non-destructive approach, with sub-20nm transverse resolution, 0.5Å axial precision, and ≈10fs temporal resolution. Each movie frame will be characterized by amplitude and phase images of the sample, with exquisite quantitative contrast to material composition, and to its topography. ULTRAIMAGE will introduce a world-class tabletop facility for ultrafast ptychography with coherent short-wavelength EUV light, which will enable the understanding with unprecedented detail of fundamental nanoscale behaviour, vital to a better design of energy-efficient next generation devices. Fields of science natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyplanetary sciencesplanetary geologynatural sciencesphysical sciencesopticsmicroscopynatural sciencesphysical sciencesopticslaser physicsultrafast lasersengineering and technologynanotechnologynano-materialsengineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsrenewable energysolar energyphotovoltaic Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-2019-STG - ERC Starting Grant Call for proposal ERC-2019-STG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-STG - Starting Grant Host institution UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PAVIA Net EU contribution € 1 894 577,00 Address STRADA NUOVA 65 27100 Pavia Italy See on map Region Nord-Ovest Lombardia Pavia Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 1 894 577,00 Beneficiaries (2) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PAVIA Italy Net EU contribution € 1 894 577,00 Address STRADA NUOVA 65 27100 Pavia See on map Region Nord-Ovest Lombardia Pavia Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 1 894 577,00 RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN Participation ended Netherlands Net EU contribution € 0,00 Address Broerstraat 5 9712CP Groningen See on map Region Noord-Nederland Groningen Overig Groningen Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost No data
