Partner #1 BGU: Department of Physics, Ben Gurion University (Is): The SPM group is part of the Department of Physics at Ben Gurion University and is headed by Prof. Yishay Manassen (link to http://www.bgu.ac.il/physics/Index_people.html. The research interest of this group is in STM on semiconductors and metals in UHv and at low temperatures. Additional interests include ESN-STM, dual tip STM techniques, nano-elasticity and surface chemistry.
Facilities: Two custom-made UHv-STMs, one commercial STM/AFM system, one low- temperature system and current development of a dual tip STM inside a SEM. The group has one post doc and three Ph.D. students and one permanent member of staff (Prof. Manassen). The group has extensive experience in STM, both in the operation and especially in making custom-built instruments. Two specially constructed STMs are available for these studies: one in UHv and one in LT. All the necessary RF equipment is available, such as a spectrum analyzer, a lock-in amplifier, a frequency synthesizer, etc. In addition, the control unit and the software produced by SME APE for this experiment are available for these experiments. Infrastructure: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) is one of Israel's foremost research universities, with over 17,000 students enrolled in the faculties of Natural Sciences, Health Sciences, Engineering Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences, the School of Management and the Kreitman School of Advanced Graduate Studies (455 doctoral students).
Partner # 2 INSTM: Consorzio Interuniversitario Nazionale per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Materiali, (I): (link to: http://www.instm.it)
The INSTM is a consortium of Italian universities set up to promote research activities in the field of Science and Technology of Materials. The INSTM Local Research Units involved in the present project are that of Florence, Modena and Pisa. The Florence group (link to http://www.lamm.unifi.it/STAFF/ita_andrea_caneschi.html) is one of the pioneers in molecular magnetism and is currently coordinating a NE on "Molecular Approach to Nano magnets and Multifunctional Materials" MAGMANET. The Florence group is also participating in a STREP project of the 7FP, MolSpinQIP, based on the exploration of the possibility to use spins for the quantum information process. Group members are experts in the field of conventional and high field high frequency ESR spectroscopy of molecular magnets. It is part of the European Institute of Molecular Magnetism.
Facilities and Infrastructure: Labs includes all the facilities to prepare new molecular magnets, from simple radicals to more complicated ones. In addition, all the tools to analyze for analysis of the magnetic properties of such samples in on the macroscopic scale are available, from ESR (ranging from X-band to HF-HF-ESR, i.e. from 9.3 to over 400 GHz), to magnetic susceptibility etc. Special equipment for preparing surfaces with the adsorbed magnetic molecules is also available. Two AFMs, three commercial STMs (one UHv and LT up to 50 K, equipped also with evaporator chambers, XPS, LEED, QCM) and one home-made STM (which is has been specially designed and constructed for the studies proposed here, ) to carry out these experiments working in under ambient. An additional LT -UHv STM is also available. Electronics and software STM development laboratory leaded by G. Aloisi, available.
Partner #3 A.P.E Research srl: (link to: www.aperesearch.com) SME, Trieste (I), develops and produces high- resolution probe microscope (SPM) systems and instrumentation for surface and condensed matter physics. The company was established in 1996 by five young researchers in the field of surface science, together with an expert in finance and business economics. The company was set up at the AREA Science Park in 1997, and since 1999 it has been officially recognized as a spin-off of INFM (Italian National Institute for Condensed Matter Physics). The company has its own laboratory for instrumentation development and participates in several research projects at Italian research institutes (INFM, CNR, INSTM) in SPM. The A.P.E. Research catalogue contains basic versions of STMs, AFMs and near field optical microscopes (SNOM). Special emphasis is put on the development of instrumentation that can operate at very low temperatures (less than 4OK), and all of these products can be customized to meet the customer demands. The company's research group has seven permanent staff members. Five are senior scientists with degrees in physics, engineering and biology, and the other two are technicians.
Facilities available for this project: The facility includes an electronics and software development laboratory and a research and development laboratory. In the former lab engineers and technicians can project and realize digital and analog electronic systems; software for electronic control; data collection and analysis software. In the later lab researchers can design and develop customized SPM systems working in air, UHv and UHv and LT. A machine-shop is available for fabrication of STM parts. An SPM measurements laboratory equipped with several SPM setups working in air and UHv at several temperatures (5OK to 300OK) is also available for performing additional measurements.
Partner # 4 IJS: Jozef Stefan Institute (link to http://www.ijs.si), Solid State Physics Department, NMR and STM laboratories: it is the leading Slovenian research institution for natural sciences. The laboratory for NMR was established in early 1958 and holds expertise in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), electron paramagnetic resonance (ESR) and nuclear quadruple resonance (NQR). STM laboratory was established in 2000 and includes also AFM microscopy. The expertise of the group is in experimental magnetic resonance techniques and solid state materials like quasicrystals, complex intermetallic Nano magnets and nanoparticles. The principal investigator J. Dolinsek (link to http://www.fmf.uni-lj.si/~dolinsek/) was the Slovenian coordinator for an FP5 EU project Smart quasicrystal (2003-2005) and for an FP6 EU Network of Excellence "Complex Metallic Alloys". J. Dolinsek is also a member of the president ship of EUROMAR, the European Magnetic Resonance Society.
Facilities available for this project: NMR laboratory at J. Stefan Institute is fully equipped for magnetic resonance spectroscopy. We are currently operating four NMR spectrometers (100, 200, 380 and 400 MHz), all equipped with cryostats 2 - 500O K. Electronic workshop is supporting NMR laboratory, where novel electronic equipment for NMR is manufactured. ESR laboratory owns two ESR spectrometers in X-band (one pulsed and one continuous wave). STM laboratory is operating with two STM microscopes.
Partner # 5 ALLTEK Innovation Srl: (link to http://www.alltekinnovation.com/ita/chi.asp ) SME, Udine (I), it is a R&D company in the fields of measurement methods, instrumentation and sensors. It was founded by a team of engineers and scientists with interdisciplinary experiences and is supported by a panel of senior scientists from both the academic and the industrial worlds. AllTek offers expert technical assistance in method synthesis, metrological analysis and model identification. It provides consulting and R&D activities in conventional and complex sensor systems. AllTek develops data acquisition systems computer based instruments and virtual and remote instrumentation. AllTek Innovation was founded in 2004 in Gorizia and a new R&D laboratory will be opened in the L. Danieli Science and Technology Park at Udine.
Facilities available for this project: electronics and software development laboratory with advanced instrumentation for R & D in the field of new sensors instrumentation and signal acquisition and processing (including RF).
