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Outreach Activities of the Portfolio Partnership
The aim of the outreach projects within the Surrey Portfolio Partnership is to engage as many school children and the public as possible. Staff in the ATI are going out to local schools and giving talks, and we are using our Schools Liaison activities to bring students to Surrey (a recent event being the Schools College Science Lecture on 24 th January) (Item 1). We have been involved in the Royal Institute lecture series (Item 2) and the National Science Museum exhibition (Item 3). We are actively contributing to key stage 4 nanotechnology teacher training, working alongside Charterhouse School near Godalming (Item 4). The “EXCEL at Science” outreach project is targeted chiefly at the year 10/11 age groups and aims to produce curriculum materials for GCSE Science and post-16 science linking computer modelling to problem-solving in science and support teachers nationally in the delivery of the new 21 st century Science curriculum. Approximately 16 worksheets, in various stages of completion, on a range of topics in key science areas are being produced and will be distributed free of charge to all schools in England and Wales during summer 2007 (Item 5).
The progress to date with respect to the four inter-departmental Surrey projects collaborating with the Guardian Angel project are: (Item 6)
- “Evaluation of impact of e-health care” led by Professor T Desombre, Professor D Cramp and Dr F MacFarlane
- “Palliative radiotherapy assessment” led by Professor K Bryan, Dr W Knibb and Dr S Faithfull
- “Developing medical scenarios for system test and evaluation” led by Dr J Anderson and Dr K Horton
- “Evaluation of targeted hyper in cancer modes using carbon nanotubes” led by Professor H Pandha
Other public information and general outreach news items published typically in nanotechnology appear under the heading Item 7.
Item 1
School and College Science Lectures Spring 2007
For 6 th form students, able KS4 students and other members of the public
Will nanotechnology change the way we live?
Professor Ravi Silva
From the first industrial revolution to the most recent in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), technology has allowed countries to dominate in a world context. The next is likely to be the Nanotechnology Revolution. Nanotechnplogy embraces science and engineering issues at the nanometre length scale. It promises more for less: smallers, cheaper, lighter, greener and faster devices with greater functionality. The use of nanotechnology in academia and industry is widespread, but the search for wider applications goes on, as this talk will illustrate.
Item 2
Smalltalk: An event organised by the Royal Institute to help bring science to younger people in particular discussing nanotechnologies
“This half day session of talks and discussion exercises helped to clear the mists of confusion about what nanotechnologies will mean for medicine, engineering and technology. Students had the chance to be involved with scientists actually working in the field of nanoscience, to ask them about the ethical implications of their work, and quiz them about the risks and the potential benefits of these new technologies. Not only was this day a chance to learn first hand about the latest hot topic, it also developed communication skills and extended students’ knowledge.”
Taken from http://www.smalltalk.org.uk/page34g.html
Item 3
Nanotechnology arrives at the Science Museum
ATI ambassadors Anthony Miller and Stephen Lyth were at the Science Museum on Friday 25 February 2005 where Science Minister Lord Sainsbury opened the new exhibition “Nanotechnology: small science‚ big deal” and gave the Governments response to “Nanoscience and nanotechnologies: opportunities and uncertainties”.
Anthony and Stephen who are PhD students in the ATI’s NEC group have been helping the Science Museum put the exhibition together since last year. Nanotechnology: small science‚ big deal is the Science Museum’s new free exhibition exploring the science of working at the level of atoms. It reveals how nanotechnologies are already changing our world and ask what might happen in the future.Nanotechnology - small science‚ big deal runs from 25 February until 31 August 2005‚ after which it will tour to four UK venues.
The exhibition shows how scientists can now manipulate particles that are just a few nanometres in length (one nanometre is one millionth of a millimetre). At this scale materials have different properties‚ and as a result a whole new world of possibilities is opening up‚ giving existing products new properties: from tiny computers with massive memories to clothes that don’t stain.
Visitors to Nanotechnology: small science‚ big deal will be able to see objects that use nanotechnologies which are already available and changing the world around us‚ as well as products with unlimited potential for the future‚ including:
·Clothes that stop stubborn stains soaking in
·The Tandem cell which turns sunlight and water into hydrogen fuel
·Digital display screens as thin as paper.
Also on display are amazing photographs taken at the nanoscale (many by the NEC group).Nanotechnologies are still in the very early stages of development‚ and Nanotechnology: small science‚ big deal raises many of the technical and ethical questions surrounding them – how will they be used in the future and what concerns are there? A central component of the exhibition will be feedback from visitors‚ who can express their opinions via computer interactives.
Take a look at http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/antenna/nano/ for more information on the exhibition.
Item 4
ATI researchers contribute to Key stage 4
nanotechnology teacher training event
Researchers from the ATI Nano-electronics Centre assisted Steve Hearn (Head of Physics) from Charter House School run a key stage-4 teacher training event at the Institute of Education in London on July 13 th 2006. The purpose of the event was to introduce the nascent field of nano-science and technology to 20 secondary school science teachers from the region, interested in trying to incorporate this important area into the science curriculum. The activity is part of a much larger push by Surrey academics to get Nanotechnology introduced and accepted by school kids, which also included talks and discussions at Charterhouse, St. John’s Beaumont, Stony Hurst, as well as public lectures at the IEE Guildford, IEE Merrow, IoP Southampton, IEE Redhill by Prof. Ravi Silva.
Dr David Cox, Dr Ross Hatton and Charlie Jeynes, each gave 30 minute presentations, introducing nano-science and technology from the perspective of a physicist, chemist and biologist respectively at the teacher training event. Topics included the tools ofnano-science, nano-biosenors, quantum dot light-emitters and metal nano-particles as a fuel, with everyday examples of existing nanotechnologies such as self-cleaning glass and sun screen.
By all accounts the pilot was a resounding success and will for the basis of a series of one day teacher training workshops in the near future.
Item 5
EXCEL at Science
Dr David Faux – School of Electronics and Physical Sciences
Mr Stephen Hearn – Charterhouse School, Godalming
“EXCEL at Science” is an outreach project targeted chiefly at the Year 10/11 age groups. The aims of the project are:
- To produce curriculum materials for GCSE Science and post-16 science linking computer modelling to problem-solving in science,
- To support teachers nationally in the delivery of the new ScienceGCSE 2006 curriculum and at 16+,
- To enthuse pupils by demonstrating that science is fun so that pupils feel positive about studying science and engineering at higher level,
- To raise the aspirations of youngsters by linking the subjects studied at school with University research and to applications in the real world, especially in the area of nanotechnology.
We are producing a set of models on a range of topics in the key science areas. Each model contains a worksheet focussed on a curriculum area and including, at the foot of the worksheet, an example of an application “in the real world”, focussed on nanotechnology. The Portfolio fund provided a laptop which has been used by a Gap Year student to help produce the worksheets. About 16 worksheets have been produced, or are in advanced draft form, and several have been trialled in a local school.
These materials will be compiled into a booklet and CD and distributed to all schools and colleges in England and Wales in the Summer 2007 and will be supported by a dedicated website. The project was presented (twice) at the Association for Science Education meeting at Birmingham in January 2007 and is scheduled for completion early in 2008.
Item 6: Cross-departmental outreach projects
Evaluation of impact of e-healthcare (from the health management and economics group in the School of Management; the outcome for the GA project is to place technology in the wider framework of NHS and shape future technology evolution); led by Professor T Desombre; Professor D Cramp and Dr F MacFarlane.
Progress to date
This project has started with a systematic review of the literature looking at the use of telemedicine in a home setting and will now move on to look at the impact of e-healthcare on the common working environment. The systematic review has used a thematic analysis approach in synthesizing the data. In particular it has looked at what works, for whom, under what circumstances.
Pallative radiotherapy assessment (from healthcare researchers working on palliative care for cancer patients in the European Institute of Health and Medical Sciences; the outcome for the GA project is to gain information on real trials on remote patient monitoring and usability of technology – and influence the future GA, technology and trials); led by Professor K Bryan, Dr W Knibb and Dr S Faithfull.
Progress to date
Progress matches expectations and is pleasing. The project has been approved by the local research ethics committee (LREC) and a clinician network has been established. Two successful focus groups have been undertaken with palliative care community teams attached to two local hospices where very informative data has been collected. The third focus group is diarised for 29 th January, 2007. Through the newly formed clinical network mentioned, researchers are in the process of arranging the patient / carer interviews. The intention is to complete the research by the end of February, 2007.
In direct association with this research, members of the research team have linked with industry to acquire funding from the South East Economic Development Agency (SEEDA) to develop further the home technological device and to test the extent of its supportiveness to those in palliative cancer care. A three-stranded randomised controlled trial (RCT) is has been selected as a framework. The project is valued at £755,000 and a full-time research assistant is now in post to assist the original research team.
Developing medical scenarios for system test and evaluation (from healthcare researchers in the European Institute of Health and medical Science involved with technology and patient monitoring; the outcome for the GA project is to produce a wide range of scenarios for technology use and more detailed evaluation of a few of these; will shape the follow-on Guardian Angel trials); led by Dr J Anderson and Dr K Horton.
Progress to date
Brief literature review of the development and use of medical case scenarios for medical training
Dementia care. Discussions have been held with a dementia care nurse to map out care pathways and identify ways in which the care of dementia patients can be facilitated by the technology. The care of these patients is multi disciplinary and co-ordination of information and activities if vital but difficult to achieve at present.
Falls clinic. Discussions have been held with the gait analysis laboratory at University of Surrey. Care pathways for falls patients have been mapped and the plan is to facilitate links between care providers such as the gait analysis laboratory and the falls clinic. These patients require multi disciplinary assessment and treatment but this is difficult to achieve in reality.
Evaluation of targeted hyper in cancer modes using carbon nanotubes (from a new professorin the Postgraduate Medical School who heads the oncology and nano-medicine group; the outcome for the GA project is to add to the home based patient monitoring work in the second project above and to provide new types of sensors and treatment probes using carbon nanotubes; led by Professor H Pandha.
Item 7: Other outreach and public announcements
Probing the inner secrets of multi-layer carbon nanotubes
Researchers at the University of Surrey have shown for the first time that knowing the structure of the surface layer of a multi-layer carbon nanotube is not enough to predict its electronic properties.
Nanotubes make dry EEG sensor - nanotechweb.org
Researchers in Spain and the UK have developed a new method for measuring electrical activity in the brain that uses electrodes made from carbon nanotubes. The new technique is as good as conventional eletroencephalography (EEG) methods, is safe to use and does not have any side effects, according to the scientists. Click nanotechweb.org to read article.
Nanotubes light up solar cells - nanotechweb.org
Researchers in the UK have made a new type of hybrid electrode from multiwalled carbon nanotubes and indium-tin oxide that could be used for solar cell applications. The nanotubes are directly grown on indium-tin oxide coated glass, a transparent electrode commonly employed in organic optoelectronic devices, such as solar cells and light-emitting diodes. The nanotube electrodes are highly transparent at longer wavelengths, making them ideal for harnessing light from the Sun. Click nanotechweb.org to read article.
The University of Surrey catches high speed tube to success
Leading UK technology venture company IP Group has teamed up with scientists from the University of Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) and CEVP Ltd, a leader in plasma tool manufacture, to form a new company, Surrey NanoSystems, to provide commercial tools for producing nanomaterials which will revolutionise the semiconductor industry. click here to find out more
Surrey wins Major EU contract on CNT use in biomedical applications
The CARBIO partners apply a multidisciplinary approach to exploit the potential of multi-functional carbon nanotubes (CNT) for biomedical applications, in particular to act as magnetic nano-heaters, drug-carrier systems and sensors which allow a diagnostic and therapeutic usage on a cellular level. CNT with tailored functionalities (different filling, heat sensitive caps) will be synthesized and modified to become compatible to biological systems. Their chemical and physical properties will be studied in order to find mechanisms, which can be applied for a biomedical purpose in appropriate medical devices. Studies of their interaction with biological environments (immune response, toxicity, interaction with the single cell) will provide the basis for applying the CNT for imaging (nanoparticles-based contrast agents), sensoring (nanoparticles-based diagnostics) and cancer treatment (hyperthermia, nanotechnology-based targeted drug delivery). Please follow the CARBIO link to the left to find out more.
Water-soluble multiwall-carbon-nanotube-polythiophene composite for bilayer photovoltaics
Researchers at the Advanced Technology Institute, University of Surrey have developed a water-soluble acid oxidized multiwall carbon nanotube (o-MWCNTs)-polythiophene composite for bilayer photovoltaics. Discrete heterojunction photovoltaic cells utilizing this nanocomposite material as the donor layer exhibit a ~20% increase in fill factor and commensurate increase in power conversion efficiency as compared to cells without o-MWCNTs. Crucially o-MWCNTs are incorporated into the cell structure using an environmentally compatible solvent without complicating the process of device fabrication. click here to find out more
Polymer supported carbon nanotube arrays for field emission and sensor devices
The authors report a simple method for providing a polymer support structure for carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays for device applications. This method has a twofold effect: firstly it secures the nanotubes to the substrate and secondly it significantly decreases the threshold field for field emission from 26.2 to 9.7 V/µm. This method ensures that the main body and tips of the CNTs are polymer-free and therefore can also be applied to CNT sensor array device fabrication. click here to find out more
Tunnelling electrons speed up large area carbon electronics
Abstract: Researchers at the Advanced Technology Institute at the University of Surrey have reported in the January 2006 issue of Nature Materials the first demonstration of negative resistance in amorphous carbon semiconductors. This offers the prospect of low-cost electronic devices switching at Gigahertz rates.
Electronics based on amorphous materials is the key to large area low cost driver circuitry in flat panel displays, but their operating speed has been limited by the difficulty with which electrons move through disordered amorphous materials. Now, the observation of negative resistance in amorphous semiconductors offers the prospect of low-cost devices switching at Gigahertz rates, and opens up applications from large area display drivers to high-speed electronics for mobile communications. These devices are suitable to be used in combination with plastic electronics due to the room temperature deposition process.
The breakthrough at Surrey has been to make devices with layers only a few nanometres thick, through which electrons can pass by quantum-mechanical tunnelling. In a three-layer structure, the composition and thickness of the layers control the energies at which electrons are allowed to tunnel, and can give rise to a region of negative resistance. Such ‘resonant tunnelling diodes’ have been extensively studied in highly ordered crystalline semiconductors such as gallium arsenide, and account for some of the highest-speed electronic devices ever demonstrated. However, previous attempts to realise negative resistance in amorphous materials (e.g. amorphous silicon) have proved unsuccessful.
The Surrey devices are made from thin layers of diamond-like carbon, a material which has the added advantage of chemical robustness, thermal stability, high resistance to electrical breakdown, and biocompatibility. It can be deposited over large areas at room temperature, which makes it compatible with low-cost, flexible plastic substrates. The newly demonstrated suitability of diamond-like carbon for quantum electronics may give rise to the establishment of a new family of high speed carbon based high power devices such as tunnel transistors, oscillators and hybrid devices. These devices would offer the possibility of high speed nano-electronics circuits, stable against chemical attack and suitable for high temperature operation, compatible with large area low cost production.
The work was sponsored by the Portfolio Partnership and Carbon Based Electronics Programmes of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) in the UK.
"This work extends the potential of amorphous carbon electronics to high speed switching at GHz rates, and follows our earlier demonstration of room temperature processing of carbon electronics on plastic" said the lead investigator of the team, Professor Ravi Silva. "Such ground breaking work was only possible due to the flexible funding afforded by the 5 year Portfolio Partnership between the University of Surrey and EPSRC".
Publication details:Resonant tunnelling and fast switching in amorphous carbon quantum well structures
S. Bhattacharyya, S.J. Henley, E. Mendoza, L. Gomez-Rojas, J. Allam and S.R.P. Silva, Nature Materials 5, 19–22 (January 2006)Published online: 25 December 2005 doi:10.1038/nmat1551
Press release 25/12/05 Media enquiries: Peter La, Press Office at the University of Surrey, Tel: 01483 689191 or Email: p.la@surrey.ac.ukRelated internet coverage:
http://www.physorg.com/news9374.html
http://www.nanotechnology.com/news/?id=7746
http://nanotechwire.com/news.asp?nid=2734
http://www.linuxelectrons.com/article.php/20051226135532633
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1547253/posts
http://www.physnews.com/showlink.php?id=61172
http://www.nsti.org/news/nanonews.html
Interpretation of enhancement factor in nonplanar field emitters
A comparison of the field emission properties of exposed nanotubes lying on a tipped carbon nanorope, with the emission properties from a sharpened iron tip of similar dimensions is performed. By varying the electrode separation it is observed that the threshold field for emission for both structures decreases as the electrode separation initially increases; however, for sufficiently large electrode separations, the threshold field is observed to reach an asymptotic value. Our results show that the field enhancement factor is fundamentally associated with the electrode separation, and depending on the experimental conditions in order to obtain a true value for electric field a set of alternative definitions for enhancement factors is required. We further confirm our experimental synopsis by simulation of the local electrostatic field which gives results similar to those obtained experimentally. To find out more click here.....
Study of the current stressing in nanomanipulated three-dimensional carbon nanotube structures
We report the fabrication of free-standing carbon nanotube structures. The welding of individual carbon nanotubes to other nanotubes and metal substrates has been performed, on a selective basis, to produce joints of both good electrical conductivity and mechanical integrity, without the need for a joining material. As a result of this unique process, we study the damage to the microstructure of the nanotube as a function of current. When the current densities are in excess of 2×10 6 A/cm 2, particular care must be taken with regard to the quality of the nanotube and the heat dissipation. This is crucial for the use and application of nanotubes in any future device structure for it gives the upper limits to the "average" current density calculations. This process now allows for the fabrication of bespoke carbon nanotube devices for the prototyping of device performance. To find out more click here..... This paper has also been highlighted in the Virtual Nanotechnology Journal.
Room temperature photoluminescence from nanostructured amorphous carbon
Visible room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) was observed from hydrogen-free nanostructured amorphous carbon films deposited by pulsed laser ablation in different background pressures of argon (P Ar). By varying P Ar from 5 to 340 mTorr, the film morphology changed from smooth to rough and at the highest pressures, low-density filamentary growth was observed. Over the same pressure regime an increase in the ordering of sp 2 bonded C content was observed using visible Raman spectroscopy. The origin of the PL is discussed in terms of improved carrier localization within an increased sp 2 rich phase. To find out more click here.....
Disorder, clustering, and localization effects in amorphous carbon
The nanostructure of amorphous carbon thin films is described in terms of a disordered nanometer-sized conductive sp 2 phase embedded in an electrically insulating sp 3 matrix. It is shown that the degree of clustering and disorder within the sp 2 phase plays a determining role in the electronic properties of these films. Clustering of the sp 2 phase is shown to be important in explaining several experimental results including the reduction of the electron spin resonance linewidth with increasing spin density and the dispersion associated with the width of the Raman active G band. The influence of structural disorder, associated with sp 2 clusters of similar size, and topological disorder, due to undistorted clusters of different sizes, on both spin density and Raman measurements, is discussed. An extension of this description to intercluster interactions to explain some of the electrical transport and electron field emission behavior is also presented. To find out more click here.....
Branched carbon nanofibre network synthesis at room temperature using radio frequency supported microwave plasmas
Carbon nanofibers have been grown at room temperature using a combination of radio frequency and microwave assisted plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The nanofibers were grown, using Ni powder catalyst, onto substrates kept at room temperature by using a purposely designed water-cooled sample holder. Branched carbon nanofiber growth was obtained without using a template resulting in interconnected carbon nanofiber network formation on substrates held at room temperature. This method would allow room-temperature direct synthesized nanofiber networks over relatively large areas, for a range of temperature sensitive substrates, such as organic materials, plastics, and other polymers of interest for nanoelectronic two-dimensional networks, nanoelectromechanical devices, nanoactuators, and composite materials. To find out more click here....
Thermionic emission from defective carbon nanotubes
Using a nanomanipulation system contained within a scanning electron microscope we investigate the thermionic electron emission from multiwall carbon nanotubes. Peak emission currents of 65 nA are measured. The carbon nanotubes being grown at low temperature by the chemical vapor deposition method are defective with poor thermal conductivity. We believe it is crucial for the thermal conductivity to be poor in order to obtain significant thermionic emission from the carbon nanotubes. This allows for the carbon nanotube during electron emission to be at high temperatures, and thus give higher emission efficiencies. At the highest emission current levels we estimate the temperature of the nanotubes to be approximately 2900 K. To find out more click here....Copyright UniS 2007