Two-day OHS training at MCN 30-31st March 2016
2016-03-30 - 2016-03-31 | MCN Board Room, 151 Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
Training available to all users! No Registration Required.

Wednesday 30th March 2016

9:30am – 12:30pm Essential OHS
1:00pm – 2:30pm Manual handling, Equipment and Processes
3:45pm – 4:45pm Workplace Safety Inspections

Thursday 31st March 2016

9:30am – 12:30pm Ergonomics and Manual Handling
1:30pm – 3:30pm Substances and Dangerous Goods Awareness
3:45pm – 4:45pm Hazard and Incident Investigation

MCATM: 2D Materials Characterisation Workshop
2016-05-30 | Monash University, Science Lecture S4, 16 Rainforest Walk, Clayton, Victoria, 3168, Australia
The Monash Centre for Atomically Thin Materials (MCATM) presents a one-day workshop on two-dimensional (2D) materials characterisation. Participants will learn about the different experimental techniques available within MCATM and at other institutions in Melbourne, and how they can be applied to measure the fundamental properties of 2D materials.
Techniques covered will include scanning probe microscopy, electron and optical microscopy and synchrotron-based photoelectron spectroscopy. Presentations and discussions will focus on the technique, the theory behind it and its implementation in two-dimensional materials research. See our program for the day.
Speakers will include researchers from MCATM and Monash University along with colleagues from The University of Melbourne, CSIRO, the Australian Synchrotron and the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication. Read more on our speakers.
Registration is free and essential. RSVP your attendance by 23 May 2016. Please feel free to download the workshop flyer and invite your colleagues and network to come along.
We look forward to welcoming you at Science Lecture S4, 16 Rainforest Walk, Monash Clayton.

New Capability Seminar: The NanoFrazor-Explore System (SwissLitho AG)
2016-07-07 10:00 - 12:00 UTC | MCN Board Room, 151 Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
Next week MCN will take delivery of our new NanoFrazor Explore System from SwissLitho AG. This fantastic nanolithography tool (see below for tech details) comes to us as a result of a successful LEIF bid led by Melbourne University’s — and ANFF-VIC Collaboration Committee member — Prof Ray Dagastine.
Following commissioning of the tool, engineers from SwissLitho have agreed to hold a seminar and afternoon demo session on 7th July 2016 from 10AM in the MCN Boardroom for interested users. This is perhaps your one opportunity to ask any and all applications related questions you might have directly to the experts in this pioneering technology out of IBM Zurich. RSVP required.
For those interested, AXT (local support for SwissLitho) has arranged a number of these sessions around Australia, see flyer TSPL Workshop 2016.
NanoFrazor Explore System
The NanoFrazor Explore has been developed for researchers who want to have easy and flexible access to high-resolution nanometer-sized geometries of almost any kind. It is based on Thermal Scanning Probe Lithography, a technology developed at IBM Research Zurich, which uses an ultra-sharp tip to evaporate a thermally sensitive resist. The tool has a wide range of applications in the fields of nanophotonics, nanooptics, nanomagnetism, nanoelectronics, plasmonics, etc.
Key features

Thermal Scanning Probe cantilevers with ultra-sharp tips
3D nanolithography
In-situ metrology with sub-nm resolution for overlay, stitching & closed-loop lithography
Real-time, automatic tuning of patterning parameters
Short overall fabrication time, no resist development needed
Stand-alone unit with low requirements on infrastructure (no vacuum or high voltages required)
High degree of customization and automatization
Ideal for small workpieces up to a size of 4-inch
Compatibility with various transfer processes and materials
Exchange and calibration of cantilevers within one minute

Advanced features

Marker-less correlation stitching of neighboring fields
Local heating of various surfaces for chemical patterning
No substrate damage by charged particles, can be used as an extension or replacement of an e-beam lithography tool
Further increase in throughput with optional laser writing extension and Mix-and-Match

Download the NanoFrazor FactSheet.
Above information and images courtesy of SwissLitho AG

MCN Live Instrument Demonstration: AFM Quantitative Nanoscale Mechanical Mapping
2016-07-27 09:30 - 2016-07-29 13:30 | MCN Board Room, 151 Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
Attention Users-
From Wed 27th – Fri 29th July 2016, MCN, in conjunction with Bruker and Coherent Scientific, will host a number of advanced demonstrations focused on peak force quantitative nanomechanical mapping (QNM) which provides, “… direct and unambiguous observation of nanoscale mechanical properties such as stiffness, adhesion, sample deformation and energy dissipation, in real time during [AFM] imaging, across the broadest range of sample surfaces from soft cells (kPa) to hard crystalline materials (TPa).”
Event Details:

Sessions to be held daily at 9:30am and 1:30pm from 27th-29th July
Limited to 4-5 users per session!
Email Dr Hemayet Uddin (hemayet.uddin@nanomelbourne.com) to reserve your spot
Download program flyer here.

Wearable and Point of Care Biodiagnostics Workshop
2016-08-15 | New Horizons Bldg (Rm 407/408), 20 Research Way, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
Download official flyer: Wearables and point of care biodiagnostics seminar

Serving Australian Innovation - National Research Infrastructure for the MedTech & Pharma Industry
2016-09-01 09:00 - 13:00 | Monash Conference Centre, Seminar Rm 2, Lv 7, 30 Collins Street, Melbourne, VICTORIA, 3000, Australia
Access to world-class research infrastructure is critical to support high quality R&D activities and to improve Australia’s overall innovation output. The National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) was established to provide cutting-edge instruments, facilities and expertise to enable public and private research activities. The NCRIS facilities and their experts can be accessed by Australian SMEs to solve business problems and facilitate the development of new products and services. This workshop will provide you with a rare opportunity to engage simultaneously with five NCRIS facilities highly relevant for the MedTech and Pharma sector, to introduce their unique capabilities and how they can be accessed and to solve business R&D problems. The workshop will include five (5) twenty-five (25) minute presentations, followed by a Q&A session.
Please RSVP using the link above within 48hrs of the event commencement. Space will be limited.
See program flyer here -> National facilities for Medtech and Pharma R&D.

Molecular Imaging and Sensing Seminar & Lunch
2016-09-07 10:00 - 13:30 | The Odeon, La Trobe University Student Union, Bundoora, VIC, 3086, Australia
Location:
The Odeon (next to Union Hall and the Eagle Bar), Union Drive
Purpose:
The aim of this seminar is to showcase research within the molecular sensing and imaging themes with a focus on how nanofabrication supports this work. Several of the talks will highlight some of the molecular sensing, imaging and design capabilities available to researchers locally and at the Melbourne Centre of Nanofabrication (MCN).
Speakers:
Five speakers will be joining us from molecular sensing and imaging including guest speakers from MCN and the Swinburne biointerface engineering hub.

Start Time (mins)

People

Title

1000

Brian A. and David H.
Grant van Riessen (LTU)

Welcome

1020

John Zhu (MCN)

MCN Overview.

1045

Courtney Ennis (LTU)

Molecular thin films.

1110

Karyn Jarvis (Swin.)

The Biointerface engineering hub.

1135

All

Lunch

1235

Daniel Langley (LTU)

Microfluidics for Cell Trapping and Sample Delivery

1255

Shan Kou’s Lab (LTU)

Near-field sensing and imaging of molecules.

1320

Summary wrap up

Please RSVP for catering purposes using the Register button above

2016 Australian Symposium on Nano-Scale Resolved Infrared Spectroscopy
2016-09-12 - 2016-09-13 | Deakin University, Waterfront, 1 Gheringhap St, Geelong, VIC, 3220, Australia
Background
Infrared nano-spectroscopy is becoming a standard platform for opto-chemical analysis of molecular, plasmonic and photonic materials beyond the diffraction limit of light. This enhanced spatial resolution is achieved by combining scanning probe and infrared microscopies in a single experiment, in which optical resolution only depends on the form factor of the probe. Recently, with the use of broadband sources with high spectral irradiance through the mid-infrared range, such as synchrotron sources, many open questions related to the vibrational response of nanomaterials in the fingerprint region are closer to be elucidated. Single cell chemistry, two-dimensional metamaterials, nano-biomedicine, soft nanomaterials design and nanoparticles-based drug delivery are some of the potential areas to be benefited the technique.
Objectives of the Symposium
This symposium will offer over 2 days an interactive platform to learn about nano-scale resolved infrared spectroscopy through general lectures, case studies, modelling and data analysis session.
Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) data analysis as well as advanced IR micro-spectroscopy will also be highlighted and presented to provide a comprehensive overview for new users to the potential and limitations of the techniques.
Symposium Program Here

BBQ Launch: 2016 ANFF-VIC Technology Fellow Ambassador Program
2016-09-15 11:00 - 15:30 | MCN Board Room, 151 Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
Attention ANFF-VIC Users/Staff/Stakeholders-
On Thursday, September 15th, MCN will be hosting a BBQ — open to all users and facility stakeholders — in order to officially launch the 2016 ANFF-VIC Technology Fellow Ambassador (TFA) Program. This event is a great opportunity to meet and discuss your research as well as listen to a series of short research talks from the newly appointed Fellows. The rough schedule for the event will be as follows:
11:00-11:30pm TFA Booking Basics (ONLY for TFA students, postdocs and Fellows)
11:30-12:30pm Program Open & 10-min short talks from new Fellows
12:30-3:30pm BBQ lunch, drink and socialising
Please RSVP above for catering purposes by COB 9th Sept. Contact Sean Langelier (sean.langelier@nanomelbourne.com) with any questions you might have.
For more details on the newly appointed Technology Fellows see here.

EBL and Data Preparation workshop on September 28th-29th
2016-09-28 - 2016-09-29 | MCN Board Room, 151 Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
MCN is organising a free two-day EBL and Data Preparation workshop on September 28-29 (9am-4pm). Dr. Nit Taksatorn from GenIsys (Layout Beamer Software) will hold a workshop with a focus on new features in EBPG and Layout Beamer followed by a couple of selected applications from EBL user-base worldwide.
As a part of this workshop, we will also have a separate, special session of the EBL users meeting. It is an opportunity for our users to present some of their fabrication work at MCN. The idea behind the presentations is to encourage users to discuss the fabrication challenges they had or may still have and initiate some discussions around the table to get ideas and input from other users, especially from the Layout Beamer team, if it is design related. The main purpose of this series is to bring the EBL user community together, share projects and insights.
Participants in the workshop will prepare short presentations the fabrication aspects of their device with a focus on the Beamer software as well as lithography. Talks should be 10-15 min long.
All EBL users are encouraged to attend. To register for the event, please email Dr Fatima Eftekhari @ fatima.eftekhari@nanomelbourne.com

An Introduction to Blender: Creating Publication Quality Images
2016-10-21 09:00 - 17:00 | MCN Board Room, 151 Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
On Friday, October 21st, MCN will be hosting a free 3D graphics workshop to introduce attendees to Blender, an open source 3D creation suite. It is aimed at people who have not used Blender before or haven’t done any non-CAD 3D modelling. This hands-on workshop will begin with the basics of interface navigation and simple modelling. Tutorials will cover rendering, materials & lighting and some particle effects. Please bring along your own laptop and power adaptor as well as a 3-button mouse (left-click, right-click, scroll wheel). Lunch is BYO but morning and afternoon tea will be provided.
Space will be limited to 20 attendees. Please RSVP to Soon Hock Ng (soonhock.ng@monash.edu). See workshop schedule below.

Time

Event

09:00 – 09:15

Welcome and Introduction

09:15 – 09:30

Introduction to Blender

09:30 – 10:30

Blender Tutorial 1 – Interface & modelling

10:30 – 11:00

Morning Tea

11:00 – 11:20

Materials & Lighting

11:20 – 12:30

Blender Tutorial 2 – Materials & lighting

12:30 – 13:30

Lunch Break

13:30 – 14:30

Blender Tutorial 3 – Modifiers & particles

14:30 – 15:30

Blender Tutorial 4 – Make a model by yourself

15:30 – 16:00

Afternoon Tea

16:00 – 17:00

Advanced Techniques

ANFF Design House: Synopsis TCAD Training Workshop
2016-11-14 - 2016-11-15 | Monash University, Clayton, 14 Rainforest Walk, Rm 147, Clayton, Victoria, 3168, Australia
Attention ANFF Design House Users!!
While in town for the ANFF Annual Research Showcase, the folks at Synopsis TCAD will be holding a FREE two day training event, Nov 14-15th at Monash University (download official program flyer here). This is a rare opportunity to receive hands on training directly from the experts.
The intensive two day workshop will showcase the comprehensive suite of products offered in Synopsys’ TCAD. This includes industry leading process and device simulation tools, as well as a powerful GUI-driven simulation environment for managing simulation tasks and analysing simulation results. In this training, a basic introduction of TCAD concepts and tool usage will be covered as well as:

Sentaurus framework
Structure editor
Process simulation
Device simulation
Sentaurus visualization
Case Study – 180nm CMOS design

For more information on workshop content, visit ANFF’s Design House.
To register, or find out more information, please email Design House Coordinator, Shan Don at shan.don@monash.edu

2016 ANFF Annual Research Showcase (Melbourne)
2016-11-16 - 2016-11-17 | Australian Synchrotron, Australian Synchrotron, 800 Blackburn Road , Clayton , Victoria , 3168 , Australia
Call for abstracts now: OPEN
The ANFF Annual Research Showcase this year will be held on Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 November with a technology training day on Tuesday 15 November at the National Centre for Synchrotron Science (NCSS) building, Australian Synchrotron. This promises to be an exciting event with presentations of the latest ANFF research with a theme of Mind the gap. ANFF is enabling researchers to close the gaps between technological challenges and research outcomes through access to state of the art equipment and fellow researchers across the organisation. We look forward to welcoming you at the event.
Key Dates:

Registrations open: 31 August 2016
Registrations close: 31 October 2016
Abstracts open: 15 August 2016
Abstracts close: 14 October 2016
Program available: 31 October 2016
Showcase: 16-17 November 2016

New capabilities seminar: Near-field Optical Microscopy (neaspec)
2016-11-22 11:00 - 12:00 | MCN Board Room, 151 Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
MCN will be hosting a seminar on its latest equipment addition, a scattering-type Scanning Near-field Optical Microscope (s-SNOM).
The seminar will be held in MCN at 11am on Tuesday, 22 November 2016 and hosted by Adrian Cernescu from Neaspec.
The technique allows the user to overcome the diffraction limit of conventional light microscopy or spectroscopy. This enables optical measurements at a spatial resolution of 10nm, not only at visible frequencies but also in the infrared or terahertz spectral range. Several applications of nano-imaging and spectroscopy on different materials will be presented.
The talk will be accompanied by a tour of MCN for those that are yet to see the facility’s latest offerings.
For Adrian’s full introduction to the seminar click here. To sign up to the event click here.

Nanophoton Micro-Raman Mapping and TERS Seminar
2016-11-23 14:00 - 15:00 | MCN Board Room, 151 Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
Nanophoton, a Japanese equipment manufacturer, has been invited to give a seminar on its Micro-Raman Mapping and TERS techniques at MCN. The talk will be held in MCN’s boardroom at 2pm on Wednesday, 23 November 2016.
Applications Specialist Dr Taisuke Ota, who will be giving the talk, will cover both the applications and benefits of Raman/TERS techniques and technologies.
Raman Spectroscopy is a powerful surface analysis tool for polymer characterisation, providing vibrational information about molecular species as well as degree of crystallisation and polymerisation. In conjunction with confocal microscopy, it is capable of providing detailed 3D chemical analysis of complex structures.
The technique has recently been enhanced using line scan technology which increases data acquisition rates and ultimate spatial resolution. This seminar will demonstrate how confocal Raman microscopy can be extended to use in research environments to monitor multi-layer films, crystallisation process and chemical compounds.
Tip-enhanced Raman scattering (TERS) microscope is an instrument which combines laser Raman microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The technique shows high sensitivity and spatial resolution beyond the diffraction limit. Using TERSsense, observation of the small structures of Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene is possible.
Click here to view the seminar flyer, or click here to register for the talk.

Emerging Sensing Technologies Summit 2016 (ESTS’16)
2016-12-07 08:00 - 2016-12-09 17:00 | Rydges on Swanston, 701 Swanston St, Melbourne, Vic, 3053, Australia
The ANFF-Vic team will be exhibiting at the Emerging Sensing Technologies Summit 2016 (ESTS’16), held in Melbourne, Australia from 7-9 December 2016.
The event will bring together leading researchers from Australia and abroad to discuss the latest innovations in sensing technology.
ANFF-Vic engineers will be available to answer any questions you have about the centre, its capabilities and opportunities for research to be conducted at the facility.
The summit will host talks given by experts from both academia and industry throughout the three days, investigating recent and future developments in sensing technology.
This year’s themes include optical and microwave sensors, chemical and gas sensors, biosensors, sensing materials, thick and thin film sensors, antennas, ultra low power sensors, flexible and wearable sensors, remote sensing, imaging, radar sensors, sensor modelling, extreme sensing, single chip sensors, machine olfaction for environmental sensing, and sensor networks.
The conference’s venue, Rydges on Swanston, is within walking distance to Melbourne University, RMIT, Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne Museum and Melbourne Central station.

Guest Seminar with Professor Henry Snaith
2017-01-09 12:30 - 16:00 | MCN Board Room, 151 Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
MCN will be hosting a guest seminar held by Professor Henry Snaith. His work at Oxford University is pioneering future developments in solar cell technologies where he leads the Photovoltaic and Optoelectronic Device Group.
In December 2010, Professor Snaith co-founded a company – Oxford Photovoltaics – in order to commercialise the solar technology developed in his laboratory. His talk will touch on aspects of both his fundamental research and industry translation experience.
The seminar will be held at the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication (MCN) on 9th January 2017. The talk will be accompanied by tours of the MCN facility and one of the Centre’s famous BBQs to welcome back existing users after the end of year break and to allow new visitors a chance to talk to staff about collaborative opportunities.
Professor Snaith’s talk will begin at 12.30pm, the BBQ starts at 1.30pm, followed by tours of the facility.

ANFF-VIC Celebrate Diversity Lunch
2017-04-27 13:00 - 15:00 | MCN Board Room, 151 Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
Diversity is at the heart of our growing community of MCN and ANFF-VIC users.
We would like to invite all of our friends to come and celebrate our differences with food, conversation and table tennis.
We are hosting a bring-your-own style buffet lunch in MCN’s kitchen area on 27 April 2017, and asking attendees to bring a dish from their home country. Register your dish HERE!.
We want to see food from France, dishes from Dubai, snacks from Sri Lanka and tastes from Timbuktu.
The food frenzy starts at 1pm and continues until 3pm. MCN’s kitchen equipment includes two microwaves, a barbeque, and a stove. However, we would suggest that food is pretty much ready to serve on arrival to ensure competition for kitchen space is kept to a minimum.
There’s awards for your culinary skills. The creators of the tastiest dish and the best presented plate will take home prizes.
It’s not all food. We will also be hosting the inaugural MCN Table Tennis Championship so register and bring your game face – It’s going to get tense. If you’d like to register please let us know in the questionnaire linked below.
If you’d like to come, please:

RSVP to the event here
Let us know what food you’ll be bringing

Feel free to pass this email on to colleagues and friends that may be interested.

US-Australia Emerging Cancer Biomedical Technologies Workshop
2017-06-13 08:00 - 2017-06-15 17:00 | Virginia Tech Research Center, 900 N Glebe Rd, Arlington, VA, 22203, United States
The U.S. National Cancer Institute, in collaboration with Virginia Tech and the Australian Trade and Investment Commission, is planning a workshop this coming June 2017 to bring together U.S. and Australian scientists working in the cancer research field to discuss emerging cancer biomedical technologies. The purpose of the workshop is to explore opportunities to develop new basic to translational research collaborations between U.S. and Australian participants, as well as future strategies for cancer research internationally.
Additional information about the workshop, U.S. location, and topics as well as a link for interest submission is in the attached flyer. Interest submissions are due by the 31st January 2017.

MCN Welcomes the University of Tokyo
2017-08-23 10:00 - 16:00 | MCN Board Room, 151 Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
MCN is hosting a day of talks from researchers from the University of Tokyo and ANFF-VIC on 23 August 2017.
Talks from our visitors will cover nanomaterials, polymers, semiconductors and energy storage, while our local researchers will discuss medical technologies, advanced applications of silicon materials, and drug delivery mechanisms.
The full day of talks, lunch and tours begins at 10.15am, with an introduction to the facility from ANFF-VIC’s newly announced general manager. Talks will be held for the rest of the day, followed by tours of MCN, which begin at 3.15pm and end at 4.00pm.
Click here to view the day’s schedule.

Tanner L-Edit Webinar
2017-08-30 13:00 - 14:00 | VIC
ANFF’s Design House is holding a Tanner (now: Mentor Graphics) L-Edit Webinar on Wednesday 30 August 2017, at 1pm Melbourne time.
This one-hour Webinar will highlight the MEMS and IC CAD tools from Tanner and SoftMEMS that are distributed by ANFF. The talk will cover new features in the latest releases of the layout, simulation and 3D modelling tools available to the ANFF nodes and will describe how to get started in the tools.
Agenda:

What’s new in the Tanner IC/MEMS Tools – 2016.2 and looking forward to 2017
What’s new in the SoftMEMS 3D Modeling tools – SoftMEMS v9.0 and looking forward to v10
Starting new designs in Tanner
New features for Improving manufacturability of MEMS designs
The MEMS Ecosystem – updated links between Tanner and SoftMEMS to SolidWorks, COMSOL, ANSYS
New MEMS oriented resources available from Tanner/SoftMEMS – white papers and guides
Live demo
Q&A

If you are interested in attending, please, send me a message to Shan.don@monash.edu.

Research Seminar: Physiological and Biodynamic Effects of Physical Vibration on the Human Body.
2017-10-05 10:00 - 10:30 | MCN Board Room, 151 Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
The MCN is proud to host A/Prof. Mohammad Fard from RMIT as he discusses Physiological and Biodynamic Effects of Physical Vibration on Human Body.
Abstract:
Within the past two decades, the growing applications of the Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) have allowed the automotive/aerospace industry to design lighter structures with high safety and improved interior noise-vibration comfort. However, the lightening of the structures increases the transmission of the high frequency vibration into the vehicle occupant body. The transmission of vibration into the human body raises the cognitive load of the vehicle occupant and makes it psychologically and physiologically harder to maintain the performance of cognitive tasks such as driving. This seminar reviews the team recent research activities on characterisation and prediction of the physiological and biodynamic effects of the exposure to high frequency vibration. The team’s newly developed FEM model of the human body and the human-body-vibration measurement method will all be reviewed. The recent findings in psychologically and physiologically effects of vibration will also be presented. Finally, some of the advanced CAE modelling techniques that are used to predict and reduce the transmission of the high frequency vibration into the occupant body will be presented.
View the full flyer and Professor Fard’s biography here

2017 ANFF & AMMRF Research Showcase - Make & Measure
2017-11-22 08:00 - 2017-11-23 18:00 | VIC
Register here
The Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF) and Australian Microscopy and Microanalysis Research Facility (AMMRF) provide Australia with world-class nano- and micro-scale capabilities – ANFF makes, AMMRF measures.
ANFF and AMMRF are funded under the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) – all three organisations are celebrating our 10th anniversaries in 2017. This Showcase brings users and staff together to celebrate our successes, and look to the future.
It will highlight how our facilities enable innovative research in fields including medical technologies, advanced manufacturing, energy and agribusiness.
In addition to plenary sessions and talks, a number of workshops, poster sessions and panel discussions will be held.
There will be a Gala Dinner held on the evening of November 22 and all attendees are welcome! A Sponsor’s Breakfast and Presentation Session will be held on November 23.
Please register your attendance by indicating the days you wish to attend, and be sure to additionally register for either the dinner or the breakfast if you would like to come.
For more information see the ANFF or AMMRF event page
Abstract submissions are open until 29 September 2017. Follow this link to submit your entry.

MCN welcomes Jörg Hübner, Director, DTU Danchip
2017-11-30 13:30 - 15:00 | MCN Board Room, 151 Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
MCN is hosting a seminar with Jörg Hübner, the Director of DTU Danchip on Thursday 30 November between 1:30 – 3:00 pm.
Jörg will discuss his organisation which is the Danish equivalent of MCN’s parent group, the Australian National Fabrication Facility. His talk will also include Danchip’s recent scientific developments and new processing techniques for a range of applications.
Jörg is a fascinating speaker and an authority on the commercialisation of scientific research.
Register here
Biography: Jörg received his M.Sc. E.E. from the University of Stuttgart, Germany, a PhD in Photonics from the Technical University of Denmark in 1998 and completed a comprehensive executive education program (PLD) at Harvard Business School in 2011.
During his PhD and in his following academic positions he worked as a consultant for several start-up companies, transferring technology from academic environments to industry. In 2001 he joined Sparkolor Corporation, a Silicon Valley start-up company as Senior Engineering Manager. In 2005 he became Deputy Director at the Department of Micro- and Nanotechnology at the Technical University of Denmark a position he held until 2009 when he was appointed Director of DTU Danchip, the National Center for Micro-and Nanofabrication in Denmark.
Register here

Semiconducting polymer solar cells and electronic sensors with Dr Natalie Holmes
2017-12-07 15:00 - 15:30 | MCN Board Room, 151 Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
The Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication is pleased to host Dr Natalie Holmes as she presents her research on printable solar cells and biosensors.
Natalie is visiting the Centre through the ANN Short Term Travel Fund to gain access to MCN’s FIB-SEM capabilities – her talk will be preceded by an introduction to FIB-SEM.
Abstract: This talk will give an overview of polymer solar cell and electronic sensor research underway at the Centre for Organic Electronics. These research fields are attracting significant interest due to the low-cost, large-scale fabrication afforded by the polymer printing inks. Glucose biosensors and dehydration sensors present an attractive technology for the remote detection of biological analytes.
Polymer solar cells use the same semiconducting polymer materials and offer a competitive alternative to existing conventional solar cells. The cells are semitransparent, flexible devices able to be printed with similar manufacturing techniques to newspapers and labels. The development of nanoparticle colloidal inks presents an eco-friendly option that could be employed for large-scale polymer solar cell fabrication in the future.
Biography: Dr Natalie Holmes was awarded her PhD in Chemistry from the University of Newcastle in 2015, as an Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) scholar, where she was involved in the development of aqueous nanoparticle inks for the fabrication of organic solar cells. Her research investigated the structure-function relationships in these devices through the use of synchrotron-based X-ray microscopy, electron microscopy and spectroscopy, which led to the publication of several of the seminal articles in the emerging research field of nanoparticle organic solar cells.
Shortly after finishing her PhD, Natalie took up a Visiting Postdoctoral Research Associate position at Karlstad University, Sweden before returning to Australia as a Research Associate at the Centre for Organic Electronics (COE), University of Newcastle in materials science, developing nano- and micro-structured functional polymeric materials for organic electronic sensor and solar cell applications.

MCN welcomes Dr Helmut Schift and Dr Adrian Cernescu
2017-12-14 10:00 - 12:00 | MCN Board Room, 151 Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
MCN is holding talks from two speakers on Thursday 14 December – Dr Helmut Schift, Head of the Polymer Nanotechnology Group at INKA-PSI in Switzerland, and Dr Adrian Cernescu, Senior Process Engineer at neaspec GmbH and expert in nanoscale optical applications.
Dr Helmut Schift: Helmut is a pioneer of nanoimprint lithography – his talk will feature recent developments made by his team, including 3D patterning capabilities such as direct writing laser lithography (two-photon polymerization).
Helmut and INKA-PSI develop novel methods for topological and chemical surface patterns, in particular using nanoimprint lithography and other moulding techniques. The group develop technology, tools, and processes to provide a toolbox for replication processes needed for academic research and industrial applications.
Dr Adrian Cernescu: Adrian will be discussing how scattering-type Scanning Near-field Optical Microscopy (s-SNOM) can be used to provide imaging and spectroscopy at 10nm spatial resolution. He will introduce s-SNOM, and how it can be used to overcome the diffraction limit of conventional light microscopy or spectroscopy.
The technique enables optical measurements at a spatial resolution of 10nm not only at visible frequencies but also in the infrared or terahertz spectral range. Several applications of nano-imaging and spectroscopy on different materials will be presented.

Research Seminar - Dr Emory Chen (Molecular Foundry)
2018-02-09 11:00 - 12:00 | G29-New Horizons Building (#82), Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 3168, Australia
High-throughput design of doped colloidal nanocrystals
Where: G29 – New Horizons Building (#82) Monash University
Colloidal inorganic nanocrystals exhibit precise morphologies and tunable properties, making them essential components for nanophotonic devices and biological imaging. Our research explores the reaction networks that govern the controlled synthesis of inorganic nanoparticles, and we investigate the photophysical networks that govern the optical properties of upconverting nanoparticles. To develop a holistic understanding of these intricate networks, we use combinatorial and high-throughput robotic techniques to map the dynamics of these networks across material compositions and reaction conditions. Using these methods, we manipulate the energy transfer pathways of lanthanide-doped upconverting nanoparticles, which combine near-infrared photons into visible light. Combinatorial screening and theoretical modeling reveal lanthanide dopant compositions that enable imaging of single upconverting nanoparticles comparable in size to fluorescent proteins and reveal nanoparticle compositions that enable excitation at the optimal wavelengths for imaging through tissue. Finally, we demonstrate that these nanoparticles can be used to fabricate microscale, upconverted lasers for biological sensing and stimulation.
Dr. Emory Chan is a Staff Scientist at the Molecular Foundry, a U. S. Department of Energy nanoscience user facility at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Dr. Chan’s research interests include the combinatorial and high-throughput synthesis of semiconductor nanocrystals and lanthanide-doped upconverting nanoparticles. He received a B.S. in Chemistry from Stanford University. Dr. Chan performed his doctoral research on with Prof. Paul Alivisatos and Prof. Richard Mathies in the Chemistry department at the University of California at Berkeley. Prior to his appointment as Staff Scientist at the Molecular Foundry, Dr. Chan was a postdoc with Dr. Delia Milliron and later served on the technical staff at the Foundry.

From Wearables to THINKables with IBM's Dr Stefan Harrer
2018-03-01 10:30 - 11:30 | MCN Board Room, 151 Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
MCN is hosting a seminar with Dr Stefan Harrer, Manager of Brain-Inspired Computing Research and IBM Master Inventor at IBM Research. He will be discussing a neuromorphic processor released by IBM and highlighting the importance of nanotechnology in its development.
Abstract:
Wearables will be transformed into THINKables offering continuous, cognitive, real-time analytics of measured biometric and biological data at the point of sensing. Thereby ultra-low power neuromorphic platforms – such as IBM’s recently introduced TrueNorth chip – could play a key role in connecting on-body nanobiosensors directly with deep-learning technology for instant analytics, prediction and interfacing with artificial intelligence systems.
Biography:
In 2015 Stefan co-founded the Brain-Inspired Computing Research program of IBM Research – Australia and now leads it as Manager and Research Staff Member. His team spearheads an effort to employ IBM’s brain-inspired TrueNorth chip to develop artificial intelligence-enabled biomedical and healthcare solutions at the intersection of neuroscience and neuromorphic computing.
Stefan has authored and co-authored 40 technical publications, is an inventor on 26 issued patents and has more than 20 patents pending. His work has been featured in WIREDMagazine, Popular Science, Scientific American, TechTimes, Engadget and Fast Company amongst others. He holds a PhD in EECS from the Technical University Munich and an Honours Masters Certificate in Technology Management from the Center for Digital Technology and Management.

Presenting the ANFF-VIC Publication of the Year
2018-05-04 14:00 - 15:00 | MCN Board Room, 151 Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
The MCN is delighted to welcome both Dr Daniel Langley and Dr Brian Abbey to discuss their award-winning research. Daniel and Brian are members of the team that won the ANFF-VIC Publication of the Year and will present their work at MCN on Friday 4 May.
View the full abstract here.
The team – which also included Eugeniu Balaur, Yongsop Hwang, and Catherine Sadatnajafi – was investigating a non-destructive way to analyse chemicals using visible light.
The research demonstrates a device that can determine the concentration of a specific chemical by creating an ‘optical barcode’ that can be compared to a library of known concentrations.
The research team’s paper Optical Chemical Barcoding Based on Polarization Controlled Plasmonic Nanopixels was selected as the winner of the competition by ANFF VIC’s selection panel due to its impact, pioneering nature and level of engagement with MCN. Read more about the competition here.
Please join the MCN staff to hear more about this fascinating research and to congratulate the team on their award.
Register on Eventbrite

Nanofabrication and devices for coherent x-ray applications
2018-07-13 14:00 - 15:00 | MCN Board Room, 151 Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
Dr Grant Van Riessen and PhD student Alaleh Aminzadeh – both from the La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science (LIMS) – are coming to MCN to provide insight on their recent research into x-ray applications.
Grant is an ANFF-VIC Technology Ambassador and will be discussing some of the emerging opportunities that are arising for both characterisation and fabrication enabled by his group’s recent work using ANFF-VIC facilities.
View the abstract here
Click here to register on Eventbrite
