UMK NEWSLETTER 02/10

DIRECTOR'S VIEW

• The challenge to create future competitive advantage
  

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS AND PUBLICATIONS

Researcher's views

• Mikko Möttönen: Measuring spin and spinning in the international networks

• Antti Kaskela: Multifunctional transparent carbon nanotube electrodes

• Physical Chemistry research group studies electrochemical phenomenon, in the focus lithium-ion batteries
  

Publications

• New materials out of magnetic nanocellulose (Nature)

• Easy fabrication of non-reflecting and self-cleaning surfaces out of silicon and plastics (Advanced Materials)

PRESENTING RESEARCH BASED GROWTH COMPANIES

• Beneq - Production and research equipment for advanced thin film coatings

• Canatu - Nanotechnology based electronic component company

CURRENT IN UMK

• New Materials, Applications and Commercialization - five days intensive course

• UMK Colloquium on New Materials, Fall 2010

• UMK Day 2010, Materials Science and Inventions - again successful

OTHER

• Aalto Physics Colloquium

• Dissertations in materials science and technology

• Supporting members for material science research at UMK: Beneq, Okmetic, and Ruukki

• Contact information

DIRECTOR'S VIEW

The challenge to create future competitive advantage

A major challenge to the Finnish economy is the declining export, diving by 20 billion € from 86 billion € in 2008 to 66 billion € in 2009. The global recession explains much of the decrease, but it is far from evident that traditional major Finnish industry sectors, ICT, pulp and paper, and machinery will catch up. As such it is alarming that technology product export has decreased from 11.2 billion € in 2005 to 6.3 billion € in 2009. Furthermore companies like Kone and Wärtsilä may do well with growth overseas based on service business, but workplaces and tax income are not increasing to the same extent in Finland at all.

Josh Lerner has in his "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" pointed out the importance of innovative growth companies to boost the economy. But with a few exceptions public measures to create new growth companies tend to fail. On the other hand public support was essential for the forming of Silicon Valley way back in time

In this UMK Newsletter I have deliberately highlighted two growth companies, Beneq and Canatu, with ties to Aalto School of Science and Technology and the UMK Center of New Materials. My sincere hope is that the UMK Center for New Materials could contribute to more brilliant ideas coming out from the Aalto University, either supporting existing companies or forming a basis for coming growth companies.

For small countries like Finland the global economy has drastically changed the game in the last 10 - 15 years. There is no doubt a need to question if we are doing the right things. Are research groups with articles published in high impact factor journals generating the brilliant ideas referred to above? Or does everything depend on the actions of single individuals who are able to make it happen in a complex environment? Are unsolved problems coming from industry more or less challenging than topics of mere academic interest? Is it appropriate to distinguish between basic and applied research? Or should we admit that demanding applied research requires basic research, and that it is more relevant to make a distinction between basic research that may generate results that can be applied in a foreseeable way, and basic research where one does not have a clue when and how results may be applied - if at all. Personally I want to stress the importance of doing something really extraordinary and challenging, something never done before. To address a real problem, or even a mere vision, is even more demanding. And that is the type of basic research that should be done in universities.

The actual competition is eventually on the world market. Is our ambition high enough to secure that money spent on education and research is returning to society in the long run?

Runar Törnqvist

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS AND PUBLICATIONS

Researcher's views

Mikko Möttönen:

Measuring spin and spinning in the international networks

Dr. Mikko Möttönen is an Academy Research Fellow and the leader of the Quantum Computing and Devices (QCD) group (Group's web pages) at the Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University. He obtained his doctoral degree from Helsinki University of Technology (TKK) in 2005 and has worked as a post doctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, United States and the University of New South Wales, Australia. Since 2007 he has held an adjunct professorship in quantum computing at TKK and later at Aalto University. His research interests include quantum information processing, Bose-Einstein condensates, and nanoelectronics. During 2002-2010, he has published more than 40 scientific articles on his experimental and theoretical research on these subjects.

Antti Kaskela:

Multifunctional transparent carbon nanotube electrodes

Antti Kaskela is working as a researcher and pursuing his D.Sc. in NanoMaterials Group (NMG) (Group's web pages) lead by professor Esko I. Kauppinen at the Department of Applied Physics. He studies synthesis and applications of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), mainly as optically transparent electrodes. He received his M.Sc. degree in Physics from the University of Helsinki in 2007. Prior to joining the NMG, he worked in Helsinki Institute of Physics and in CERN with microelectronics manufacturing and quality control development. Besides materials research he's also interested in business and economics: He's participating in the Masters Program at the Department of Industrial Economics and Management, he has co-founded several successful web-stores and worked as management consultant for several Finnish companies.
Macroscopic components out of nano-scale materials. Transparent SWCNT electrode on a flexible and transparent polymer substrate is shown against white background. The aerosol based synthesis method allows fabrication of both uniform and patterned large area conductive coatings, which can be used for variety of applications.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) are high aspect ratio cylindrical structures consisting of sp2-hybridized carbon atoms. Carbon atom orientation (chirality) determines whether a tube is semi-conductive, semi-metallic or metallic. SWCNTs have high current carrying capacity and charge carrier mobility and exceptional optical, mechanical and thermal properties. As controlling the tube chirality is still a largely unsolved challenge for the research community, random networks have been considered as the first route to applications of SWCNTs as the required level of control over the nanotube characteristics is less stringent.

READ MORE

Contact information
Antti Kaskela
Aalto University
Department of Applied Physics, NanoMaterials Group
antti.kaskela (at) tkk.fi

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Physical Chemistry research group studies electrochemical

phenomenon, in the focus lithium-ion batteries

The target group is highly motivated and gifted postgraduate students with excellent knowledge of science, but with little knowledge of the world outside the academia. The objective is to provide hands-on learning of what additional skills are required when leaving the university. For this very reason almost all lecturers came from outside the Aalto University. The program is found under the link (Course program).

UMK Colloquium on New Materials, Fall 2010

UMK Day 2010, Materials Science and Inventions -

again successful

UMK Day 2010 attracted some 80 researchers and also some representatives from the collaborators to Micronova on April 22 to find out the recent research outcomes in Materials Science in Aalto University as well as to understand the challenges of making inventions presented from Aalto researcher's and developer's point of view.

The audience had the possibility to vote for the best pitcing - the best research selling talk. All the six ten minute talks were well prepared and inspiring. Dr. Hele Savin from the Electron Physics Group won the competition with her presentation on "Removal of Light Induced Degradation in Silicon", and received a black box which she will share with her group members.


Professor Olli Ikkala had the honour to choose the best poster among 30 posters shown at the poster exhibition. The winning poster was Päivi Törmä's and her group's poster on "High Speed Carbon Nanotube Memory Elements". The group received a white box for winning the competition.

A lively discussion was going on during the Spanish way buffet and poster session. The main message from the participants was that Aalto's research groups need more UMK Day like networking events where you can meet your fellow researchers. The first UMK Day was arranged in spring 2009. The next UMK Day will be again organized in spring 2011.

OTHER

Aalto Physics Colloquium

Dissertations in materials science and technology

Supporting members for material science research at UMK:

Beneq, Okmetic, and Ruukki

The world getting thinner with Beneq

Beneq is an application-driven thin film equipment provider. We explore and develop atomic layer deposition (ALD) and aerosol coating, nAERO® and nHALO®, for high-end R&D and demanding industrial environments. Our business strategy drives us to identify a customer's need, understand and develop a solution for it and commercialize it as equipment. Our focus is on equipment and technology for functional coatings, based on our experience to supply systems for research and industry.

As an integral part of our way of doing business, we protect and defend our know-how, processes and equipment. To date, our patent portfolio contains close to 100 patent families, including processes, equipment and applications.

Okmetic is the world's leading supplier of silicon wafers for MEMS manufacturing

The widest product selection on the market and comprehensive service produce solutions to boost our customers' competitiveness throughout the life cycle of their products. We offer solutions for the manufacture of pressure sensors and accelerometers, actuators, silicon-based microphones and microfluidic and optical components, for example.

Okmetic is a technology company which supplies tailor-made silicon wafers for sensor and semiconductor industries and sells its technological expertise. Crystal growth technology is at the very core of Okmetic's expertise. It provides the foundation also for our highly doped, low-resistivity wafers that enable extremely high performing power semiconductors. We provide solutions for power and discrete semiconductors and integrated circuits. Our high-quality epitaxial wafers are used in the most demanding applications.

Ruukki is a multi-skilled actor in the steel and engineering industries

We supply metal-based components, systems and integrated systems to the construction and mechanical engineering industries. We have a wide selection of metal products and services. We have 11,800 employees in 27 countries including the Nordic countries, the Baltics, Russia & Ukraine, and Central Eastern Europe.

Contact information