Description of partners

INSTITUT DES NANOTECHNOLOGIES DE LYON (INL)

INL is a joint research unit between CNRS, Ecole Centrale de Lyon, INSA-Lyon and University Lyon, established on January 1st, 2007. Research is organised around four main topics (materials, electronics, photonics and photovoltaics, and biotechnologies). INL has home facilities (Nanolyon platform) for semiconductor material MBE-growth and fully equipped clean-room device fabrication facilities, including e-beam lithography and etching equipments. Nanolyon represents a competitive technological platform that assures well the durability of ambitious and innovative research projects led within INL or associated with other local or regional or national partners.

The Heteroepitaxy and Nanostructures group at INL has a long expertise in the MBE growth of III-V systems and has acquired an international reputation for its works in the fields of III-V quantum dots and of the growth of InP based heterostructures for optoelectronic and photonic devices. In the last 10 years, the group has engaged important effort dedicated to the study of the growth and integration of crystalline oxides and of III-V NWs on Si. Concerning NWs, INL was the coordinator of the ANR project INSCOOP (2011-2015) dedicated to the integration of III-V NWs on Si waveguide on SOI for on-chip optical connections. The study of the optical properties of III-V NWs was carried out in collaboration with the Spectroscopy and Nanomaterial group at INL.

The Photovoltaic group has a 30-year experience in the field of c-Si solar cells and expertise ranging from design to material fabrication and device characterization. Among other activities, it is currently involved in a OSEO project (MONOXEN) developing industrial n-type Si based solar cell and 2 ANR projects dealing with planar III-V on Si tandem solar cells (MENHIR and NOVAGAINS). It is in charge of conception of Si bottom cell and is developing solutions for the tunnel junction in Si.

LABORATORY FOR PHOTONICS AND NANOSTRUCTURES (LPN)

The Laboratory for Photonics and Nanostructures (LPN) is a CNRS laboratory with a broad spectrum of research activities, ranging from fundamental to applied physics: quantum optics, nonlinear optics, spin electronics, quantum transport, physics of nanostructures, nanomagnetism, photonics, microfluidics, materials science and device physics. LPN-CNRS is a node of the National Network of Nanotechnology Facilities composed of laboratories with very high-technology facilities. LPN hosts a 1000 m2 clean-room, with state-of-the-art equipments for semiconductor growth (4 MBE and 1 MOVPE reactors) and processing (e-beam and UV lithography, reactive ion etching, focused ion beam, metal and dielectric deposition…). LPN-CNRS is also equipped with state-of-the-art tools for structural characterization, such as transmission electron microscopy (spherical aberration-corrected probe JEOL 2200FS, FEI TITAN) and high resolution X-ray diffraction.

A short list of some past and present activities/collaborations which are linked to this project:

National research project: ANR INSCOOP: III-V nanowires integration on SOI for on-chip optical connections (oct. 2011-march. 2015)

French-Japanese project: (ANR/JST) UPSTIN: Ultra low power spin transistor based on InAs nanowires, Japanese partner: RCIQE Hokkaido Univ., Sapporo, Japan (déc 2010 –dec. 2013)

International collaborations on NW growth:

UNIVERSITE PARIS SUD
INSTITUT D'ELECTRONIQUE FONDAMENTALE (IEF/UPSUD)

Institut d'Electronique Fondamentale (IEF) is a joint research unit between CNRS and University Paris Sud (UPSud). IEF hosts a nano-fabrication and clean-room facility CTU-IEF-Minerve, which is one of the 7 large nanofabrication centers in France. IEF is one of the largest laboratories of UPSud with 250 members including 84 permanent researchers, 89 PhD students, 20 post-doctoral researchers and 57 technical and administrative staff members. Its activities are dedicated to nanoscience, namely nano-photonics, nano-electronics, and micro-nano systems. IEF possesses all the equipment necessary to succeed with the allocated tasks of this project. These include: microscopy tools (SEM with EBIC, XRD, AFM with electrical mode), a setup for IR-UV micro-photoluminescence, an absorption/reflection spectroscopy set-up, an LBIC set-up, a photocurrent spectroscopy set-up (IR-UV spectral range), and a cryogenic four-probe station with optical access. The NanoPhotoNit group of IEF has developed since 2006 a strong expertise on NWs physics and device applications including devices for energy harvesting. This expertise is well adapted to succeed with the nanowire solar cell implementation within WP5.

IMEP-LAHC

The Institut de Microélectronique Electromagnétisme et Photonique and LAboratoire d'Hyperfréquences et de Caractérisation, IMEP-LaHC, is a « unité mixte de recherche (CNRS/Grenoble INP/UJF/Université de Savoie) » of 150 people strongly committed in research activities related to micro- and nano-electronics, microphotonics, micro- and nano-systems, microwaves and microwave-photonics. Research activities of IMEP-LaHC cover large areas (materials, technologies, components, circuits and systems) which allow carrying out multidisciplinary research in common with our partners in nanophysics, material chemistry, circuit designers or system manufacturers in electronics and optoelectronics. Anne Kaminski-Cachopo and Davide Bucci are already involved in the analysis (opto-electronic simulation and characterization) of Si, ZnO/CdTe and GaAs nanowire based solar cells in the frame of European Network of Excellence (Nanofunction) and in regional projects. In this project, IMEP-LAHC will be involved in the solar cell design optimization thanks to its expertise in photonic simulation (3D RCWA home-made software developped by Davide Bucci) and in electrical simulation of opto-electronic devices.

SILSEF

SILSEF (Advanced materials, advanced manufacturing) is a start-up created in 2010 to develop nano-patterning and functionalisation technologies. In addition, it established technology platform NILAB -Nano Imprint Laboratory- to leverage the technologies, equipment and expertise of its partner members (Collège de France, Hubert Curien, LMI/UCB Lyon, LMGP/INPG, LNIO/UTT) to provide customized solutions on a range of materials (silicon, thin films, special alloys or polymers). Key technology is Nano-Imprint Lithography (NIL), an emerging low cost technology to produce nano-objects and nano-features in volume. A catalogue of stamps provides many patterns for microelectronic or microfluidic circuits, and customized 3D designs to modify surface properties: anti-reflecting, super-hydrophobic surfaces, diffraction, photonic crystals… Customers are mostly major industrial manufacturers and also research organisations s(CNES, CERN…).. SILSEF also participates in several collaborative projects (ANR, EUROSTAR, LABEX). The company filed four patents over the last year: two for polymer injection molding, and two for light management. In this project, SILSEF will bring its NIL know how and unique experinece for low cost patterning of polymers and solgel.