Fruitful collaboration

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1 Enabling your R&D in nanotechnology Volume 1 - october 2012 Welcome! Designing a home test kit for sperm cells, a look into the helium-ionbeam microscope and views on Dutch safety policy concerning nanotechnology. That, and much more besides, is what you can read in the first edition of the NanoLabNL periodical. The periodical takes a look at what is going on at the various NanoLabNL locations. Do you work for an international company or want to start your own busi ness? Are you a researcher or interested in NanoLabNL for other reasons? In this periodical you can read all about what NanoLabNL has to offer. The NanoLabNL periodical will appear regularly. If you would like to be kept informed, you can join the NanoLabNL group on LinkedIn, follow us on Twitter (@nanolabnl) or visit Miriam Luizink, Chairperson of the NanoLabNL foundation NanoLabNL locations You can find the NanoLabNL facilities at the following locations: Groningen Zernike NanoLab Groningen Twente MESA+ NanoLab Twente Delft Kavli NanoLab Delft and TNO NanoLab Delft Eindhoven NanoLab@TU/e and Philips Innovation Services About NanoLabNL NanoLabNL is the Dutch facility for nanotechnology research. Since 2004, we have been offering the use of our facilities and expertise to universities, research institutes, start-ups and industry at four locations in the Netherlands (Delft, Eindhoven, Groningen and Twente). Our mission: To provide a full-service and open-access infrastructure for R&D in nanotechnology. We support scientists in their research and businesses in improving or renewing their products and production processes and/or developing new products. Each of the locations is tied to a university or research institute. The six partners at the four locations cover most of the country and offer the widest possible spectrum of nano - technology facilities for researchers in the Netherlands. Vouchers for industry Are you interested in using our facilities? NanoLabNL offers 10 vouchers worth 7500 to first-time users of our facilities. (industry only) Read more on page 8 and on Fruitful collaboration Twente You don't need to do everything alone at the MESA+ NanoLab. What's more, sometimes this isn't even possible because of the expertise that is needed to operate the advanced equipment. Researchers and technicians therefore often work together. A double portrait. Loes Segerink, researcher 'I'm developing a sperm count home test. Normally men have to go to hospital to have their sperm count tested. I want to make it possible for them to do it at home. Good sperm is active and present in high concentrations. During my doctoral research I succeeded in finding an effective way to establish this concentration. I also managed to measure its activity. I'm now in the process of optimising my method. It's essential that this is suitable for home use. Ideally I want to create a type of predictor stick or a device the size of a mobile phone with a display and an opening for a sperm drop. I'm not that far yet. At the moment I'm working in a lab and I turn buttons and connect wires. It's not user friendly enough yet. It has to be more 'plug & play'. I'm starting a company. The sperm count home test is the ultimate aim, but we're approaching it from a different angle. First we're focusing on a test that can show whether cows are suffering She Loes Segerink (aged 28) Occupation: researcher at MESA+ in Twente He Johan Bomer (aged 53) Occupation: technician at the MESA+ NanoLab Relationship 'Johan is helping Loes make her chips' from mastitis. The test works according to the same principle as the sperm test. Instead of the sperm count, we measure white blood cells in milk. One advantage of a test for animals is that the rules and regulations are much less strict. The device can also be less plug & play-like, because vets and dairy farmers are used to working with less user-friendly equipment. It would be great if we could offer farmers a prototype of the mastitis test in two years. The fertility test could then be ready in five years, providing everything goes well - which is an important consideration. The key to my home test is a 'lab on a chip', which is a mini-laboratory that fits onto a chip. Johan is helping me make the chips. I draw and develop them in a programme. When I have ideas, I ask Johan whether it would be possible to realise them. Often my plans don't work, but Johan always has a solution. He's a real proactive partner and has a great eye for detail. Johan made a significant contribution to the success of my graduation research but the other technicians naturally also helped too.' Johan Bomer, technician 'I make chips for students and postdocs and I supervise PhD students in the area of technology. Moreover, my colleagues and I also keep the MESA+ NanoLab and the BiosLab up and running. We maintain the infrastructure, buy new equipment and strive continuously to develop ever better processes. Making a chip is just like cooking; we improve the recipes and expand the menu. > page 8 1

2 Delft Fundamental and applied research come together in Delft nano laboratories TNO NanoLab Delft Delft has two nano laboratories under one roof. TU Delft s Kavli Nanolab concentrates on fundamental research with a dash of application-oriented research. The TNO NanoLab focuses primarily on putting research into practice with a pinch of fundamental studies. Both laboratories are located in the Van Leeuwenhoek Laboratory, one of the largest nanotechnologies facilities in Europe. An interview with TNO s Caspar Lageweg, manager of the Van Leeuwenhoek Laboratory: 'Being so close together means cooperation almost goes without saying.' Why are you working together in one lab and what are the advantages for users? 'One of the advantages for us is that we can share the costs. We can also make use of each other s equipment. Our offices are a hundred metres apart so we are always walking in and out of each other s facilities. It s a very open, harmonious and constructive environment. We all know more or less what everyone is doing. But we generally keep the details confidential as we work for clients in different industries and you have to keep what you re working on under wraps. The Kavli Nanolab s work primarily centres on devices, that is, parts. The focus of TNO Nanolab lies on the companies that make apparatus, ASML for instance, and Carl Zeiss. Our two labs complement each other.' Are there a lot of spin-off companies within the lab or is it more multinationals that you work for? 'We frequently work with large businesses. For instance, they may encounter a problem and turn to us for a solution. Companies also contract out part of their research to us. Take ASML, their operations primarily focus on the very short term, six months to a year at most. For their longer term research, around one to two years, they make use of our services. Our core business is a strategic perspective on knowledge. We work differently from, for instance, the MESA+ Institute of Nanotechnology in Twente. That s where a lot of small companies and spinoffs operate from.' What challenges are facing you in the coming years? 'Optics and opto-mechatronics will become increasingly important in the future. I sometimes compare an apparatus that makes chips with a slide projector. You ve got the projector, the slide and the screen. If you want to get a perfect, razor-sharp image then you have to ensure that the projector is precisely configured, the slide is dirt-free and the screen immaculately clean and at exactly the right distance. That s how it works in the chip industry. We continuously want to make things sharper, cleaner and smaller. New optics systems have to facilitate that objective.' TNO is the national organization for applied scientific research with 4,500 employees and an annual turnover of 600 million euros. Its mission is to apply scientific knowledge with the aim of strengthening the innovative power of industry and government. Expert technologies Contamination analysis and plasma cleaning, nano-lithography & beaminduced deposition, ultra-high precision metrology stage platform, helium-ionbeam microscopy Jan Leendert Joppe Researchmanager Mail: info.nanolab@tno.nl Tel: +31 (0) / +31 (0) Can you complete the following sentence? Thanks to NanoLabNL the Netherlands is now a primary player and world market leader in the semiconductor industry. But to stay on top we have to continue to invest. TNO can t do that alone, we need the government s support too.' What is it? What can it do? Who uses it? The apparatus: HIM The name Helium Ion Microscope, abbreviated to HIM. It s located in the TNO NanoLab in Delft. The dimensions Two metres high, one metre wide and one metre deep. And that s just the microscope. It s mounted on a granite block for stability. And it is located in a soundproof room so that sound vibrations cannot affect its operation. How does HIM work? HIM is a kind of electron microscope but instead of electrons, it uses helium ions. For the layperson, those are both tiny particles, but a nano expert can see a world of difference. Ions are far heavier and possess less kinetic energy than electrons. These two properties ensure that work can be carried out at a high level of accuracy without causing too much damage to the rest of your preparation. What can HIM do? 1. Take images. 2. Illuminate chips. 3. Attach material to chips. 4. Etch. Who uses HIM and why? + Intel looks at how much platinum they can deposit on a chip and whether the damage is within acceptable levels. + ASML uses HIM to make accurate measurements: are those 27 nanometres actually also precisely 27 nanometres? + Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) places new material under HIM for further study. The materials become so quickly charged in an electron microscope that it s hard to create good images. HIM suffers from that problem to a far lesser degree. + TNO and TU Delft are exploring the limitations of the apparatus: how accurately can we etch and with what details? Delft researches have since succeeded in making a barcode with lines of four nanometres wide and an interstice of 10 nanometres. Competitors in the field have failed to progress beyond a 12 nanometre interstice. Can I also use HIM? Yes. To do so, you must apply to TNO. HIM has its own expert : Emile van Veldhoven. Where incidental use is concerned, he operates the apparatus. People who wish to make extensive use of the microscope can follow a course in order to learn to operate it independently. What s in the pipeline for HIM? HIM is still primarily an instrument for research but it could also be used in the future as production equip - ment. It will have to work quite a bit faster to do that though. For those in the know: a gallium FIB can do something in one minute that takes HIM 60 minutes. HIM brings new dimensions within reach. NanoLabNL possesses basic and expert technologies Each of our four locations offer a range of basic and expert technologies. The basic technologies provide a general infrastructure suitable for common nanofabrication activities with a low geographical threshold. The expert technologies provide unique facilities and/or expertise unlikely to be found anywhere else in the country. 2

3 Delft 'Without the NanoLab my research would not be possible.' Nanopore sensors The NanoLabNL cleanrooms are occupied by businesses, start-up companies and academic users like PhD students and postdocs. Magnus Jonsson is one of those postdocs. He is trying to develop new devices at the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience at Delft University of Technology that combine biology and nanotechnology. 'Without the NanoLab my research would not be possible.' The research 'My research focuses on the development of novel tools. In particular, we develop biophysical tools based on nanophysical phenomena. It sounds pretty abstract, so let me explain. For example, we are interested in creating devices that tells us how much of a particular protein a drop of blood contains. This is important for medical diagnostics. Other examples include tools for the pharmaceutical industry. However, we are also interested in making tools for manipulation and studies of single biomolecules, which can help to gain a better understanding of how life works at the nanoscale. Part of our work is based on nanopores. We make a single, very precise tiny hole in a thin membrane. You can then pull biological molecules, such as protein or DNA, through the tiny hole. With our sensing method we can detect molecules going through the tiny hole one by one. This allows us to study complex structures, such as protein-dna complexes, at the level of single molecules. The Dutch. 'I grew up in Sweden where I did my studies. After earning my PhD in physics, focusing on large-scale biosensing, I wanted more. Or rather less. I wanted to explore and develop sensors that can sense single molecules. Cees Dekker's lab at Delft University of Technology is one of the leading groups in the world of single-molecule sensing. And the addition of the NanoLab provides an important strong fabrication facility. I like the Netherlands. I'd take water over mountains any day. And the people are open and friendly. I appreciate the directness of the Dutch. It took me a while to get used to it, but now I like it. In the future I hope to continue to develop new sensing concepts and my research will hopefully result in useful applications. For example, in medical diagnostic devices or in better DNA sequencing methods. And me? I want to continue in academia the coming years, and perhaps I will get the chance to build my own research group one day..' The NanoLab 'I use a lot of the machines in the Kavli NanoLab - for electron beam lithography, ion beam milling, wet and dry etching as well as for characterisation of my devices. Without the NanoLab my research would not be possible. The lab enables us to use state-of-the-art nanotechnology techniques to develop new biophysical tools and sensor devices. This is essential for our research. And it's not just the machines. The staff is also great. Technicians help me and I can discuss new processes with them. The NanoLab is a state-ofthe-art facility with an open and flexible atmosphere. We are able to work creatively and innovatively. What would I like to say to potential users? The staff and the technicians are there to help you. They can help you with your processes. You are not alone.' Name: Magnus Jonsson (age 31) Occupation: Postdoc at the Department of Bionanoscience, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, TU Delft Work: development of bio-nano devices Nationality: Swedish DNA translocating through a nanopore. Image courtesy Cees Dekker lab TU Delft / Tremani Kavli NanoLab Delft Kavli NanoLab Delft is part of Kavli Institute for Nanoscience at Delft University of Technology. Kavli Nanolab Delft enables the fabrication of electrical, optical, mechanical or fluidic nanodevices. This way we support our users to achieve excellent scientific results, especially in the following research areas: Quantum Nanoscience (superconducting detectors for astronomy, single molecule / single photon / single spin detection, quantum computing, nanoresonators) Bio Nanoscience (single cell/single molecule biophysics, nanomedicine / nanopore / nanoprobe devices) Imaging systems (particle optics, plasmonic structures, photonic crystals) Expert technologies Particle beam processing Large area e-beam lithography Advanced reactive plasma etching Superconducting film growth Bionanoimaging and super resolution techniques Frank Dirne Managing Director Kavli Nanolab Delft Mail: nanolab-kavli@tudelft.nl Tel: +31 (0) Apart from a basic infrastructure for micro and nanofabrication we have a set of expert technologies. Facilities within NanoLabNL All of our equipment can be found in our database (at The database can be searched by location, process and sub-process. If you have any questions about our facilities, please do not hesitate to contact one of our representatives. You can also discuss your technological issues with our technology specialists. Our representatives will be more than happy to assist you. Rates We distinguish two rates related to NanoLabNL facility use: - Public rate: Users from public research communities in the Netherlands, e.g. FOM, STW, NWO, CW, Universities, Research institutes, etc. - Private rate: Other users, private parties. For more information please visit 3

4 Eindhoven The facilities of NanoLabNL also have 'company + company' combinations Working together separately: smart business with maximum effect Technicians often work alongside researchers in de cleanrooms of NanoLabNL. But other combinations are also possible. Companies can hire the facilities for longer periods and offer their services to other companies. Such a combination is formed between Smart Photonics and Effect Photonics in Eindhoven. Smart Photonics makes the chips for Effect Photonics. And, in turn, Effect Photonics uses those chips in equipment for the telecom industry. Company: Smart Photonics Supplies: Founder: high-quality, photonic chips for other companies Richard Visser Why are you using the cleanroom of NanoLab@TU/e? You make products, is that really something for a university environment? 'A university cleanroom where products are being made does indeed sound contradictory. But let me explain. What we're doing is something quite different from what Intel does, for example. We make a couple of wafers a month. Intel makes a couple every second. Intel makes chips from silicon. Our chips are made from indium phosphide and from gallium arsenide. We make photonic chips with high-quality lasers. Data centres in the telecom industry use our laser-fitted chips to send data through glass-fibre cabling, for example. The cleanroom at Eindhoven University of Technology is a real photonic cleanroom. It's specially designed to work with our sorts of chips. If the cleanroom hadn't been there, I'd have had to make a huge investment. The cleanroom is key asset for my company.' What is the company's strongest point? 'We don't have any products ourselves. That's unique. We guarantee our clients that their product remains theirs, which means we're able to work for everyone. There are companies that offer similar services, but they often make their own products as well. That just breeds uncertainty with the client, because they can't be sure that their secret is safe with a company that also makes its own chips. We provide a safe environment.' What is the collaboration like with your client Effect Photonics? Is it a relationship of equal standing in which commissions are exchanged between you? 'Oh, no. We want to remain independent. They pay, we make. Of course, we occasionally ask whether it wouldn't be better to do something in a different way, but ultimately they decide. That's hard and fast. It sounds businesslike, and of course that's what it is. But it's also of great importance for our survival. Identifying yourself too much with one client will be to the detriment of your other clients' trust.' What does your average day look like and where does Smart Photonics hope to be in five years? 'Let's take today as an example. I don't manage to do what I'd planned. I'm a typical entrepreneur who is starting out. This morning I wanted to welcome a new employee, but because something came up, I had to give him the morning off. I make sure that work comes in. I meet with clients. I purchase equipment, take people on, talk to the tax authorities, take care of environmental permits, the list goes on. When I wrote my business plan about a year ago, I stated that within five years I wanted to have a cleanroom built in the vicinity of Eindhoven, producing photonic products for the global market. At present, it looks like that could be achieved within two or three years, seeing the amount of interest that's been generated. The big question, of course, is whether they want to pay for it or not. That's something I'll find out in the coming months.' Company: Effect Photonics Supplies: Founder: equipment to the telecom industry Boudewijn Docter Why do you have your chips made by Smart Photonics? That is something you could have done yourselves, or not? 'In principle, we could've indeed made the photonic chips ourselves. However, we supply a complete product. And that involves more than the chips alone. Electronic circuitry needs to be built, it needs to go in a handy device and we need to sell it. The chips form only one component of our product. The core business of Smart Photonics is making chips, which means we can focus our attention on the rest. I was already acquainted with Richard Visser of Smart Photonics. He came from Philips. When I was doing my PhD research at TU/e, the university was collaborating with Philips. And when Philips decided to pull the plug on the photonics division, Richard felt that because he had the clients and the technology, why not continue it himself. That appeals to me. The good thing about Smart Photonics is that they're independent. They call themselves a 'pure play foundry'. Our design secrets are safe with them.' > page 7 NanoLab@TU/e The NanoLab@TU/e facilities play an important role in the research carried out at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). Located centrally in the top technology region of Eindhoven (Brainport Region Eindhoven), NanoLab@TU/e serves Photonic and Nanotechnology research and innovation in the Netherlands, either through academic research activities or through the multitude of industrial collaborations. NanoLab@TU/e has extensive laboratory facilities at its disposal, offering a wide spectrum of opportunities for research and development activities. NanoLab@TU/e is part of Eindhoven University of Technology, which has established leading positions in the field of nano-engineering of functional materials and devices and Photonic Integrated Circuits. TU/e has a strong reputation in application-oriented fundamental research, in close cooperation with high-tech industries (multinationals such as Philips Research, IBM, Siemens, FEI Company, Oxford Instruments, Intel, Tyco Electronics, NXP, ASML, Océ and DSM). Expert technologies Fabrication of III-V semiconductor and photonic devices, Deposition of organic, magnetic, and electronic nanostructured materials Huub Ambrosius Managing Director NanoLab@TU/e Mail: nanolab@tue.nl Tel: +31 (0) /+31 (0) Richard Visser and Boudewijn Docter at work in NanoLab@TU/e. Philips Innovation Services Philips Innovation Services offers access to a range of advanced innovation services, expertise and high-tech facilities across the whole innovation process. Our services extend from concept creation support, product and process development, prototyping and small series production, equipment development, quality and reliability, right through to sustainability and industrial consulting. We serve customers ranging from start-ups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to multinationals and collaborative knowledge institutes. Philips Innovation Services is associate partner of NanoLabNL, offering its technology infrastructure and industrial expertise to create a bridge between scientific proof of concept and industrial implementation. Elise Rodenburg Group Leader Thin Film Process Integration Mail: innovationservices@philips.com Tel: +31 (0) Background NanoLabNL NanoLabNL has been a valued and valuable national nanotechnology infrastructure network since The decision to utilise only a limited number of research laboratories and to make them accessible to all researchers, both public as well as private, has proven extremely effective. NanoLabNL creates, maintains and provides access to a coherent, high-level, state-ofthe-art infrastructure for nanotechnology research and innovation in the Netherlands. NanoLabNL provides coherence between national infrastructure, access and pricing structure. In addition to the various open innovation initiatives, the Netherlands offers a unique infrastructure that needs to be kept up-to-date. NanoLabNL became a foundation in

5 Groningen Researcher Patty Mulder: Thanks to NanoLabNL, my cells live longer Blood vessel on a chip Nanolabs are not just for geeks and the makers of futuristic computer chips. Research analyst Patty Mulder, for example, is using the Zernike lab to make biochips covered with microscopic canals. In these she grows endothelial cells obtained from umbilical cords, for use in research into cancer and inflammations. An interview in three whys. Why umbilical cords? Umbilical cords contain endothelial cells, Mulder explains. These are cells which line the walls of our arteries, veins and heart. And it seems that they play a major role in the development of tumours: at an early stage in cancer, they change shape. After that the blood vessels divide and the tumour grows. Why microcanals? Usually, cells are cultured in 96-well plates. These are plastic sheets the size of a CD cover, punctured with an array of 96 holes or wells. But they don t really provide a natural environment for endothelial cells, which normally grow up against the wall of a vein or artery, with blood flowing past. If you grow them in a well, there s not much wall and not much flow. So we re now making microcanals out of silicones, on small pieces of glass. The cells attach themselves to the canals and a fluid flows past them. That s far more like their natural surroundings than holes in a plate. We have encountered a number of problems, though. Obviously, you want to know what s happening around the cells. So you need to measure the acidity there, for instance. At school you do that with a beaker and a ph meter the size of a felt-tip pen. But that would never fit in one of our microcanals, of course. Still, I ve now reached the stage where I can measure the acidity in them. Not with a normal ph meter, but using spectrophotometry. Another challenge is making the dimensions of the canals exactly right for both optimum cell growth and our ability to take measurements. I hope to perfect that within the next few years. And in the future I also want to see if we can use the biochip for other types of cell, not just those from umbilical cords. Why the Zernike NanoLab? We make our chips from silicone rubber and glass. But when you adhere these materials one to the other, the join isn t watertight. That s not what you want: the fluid leaks out and the cells die. A student working in my group discovered that the Zernike NanoLab had a piece of equipment to clean materials to an extreme level, the Harrick Plasma Cleaner. I can put my silicone rubber into that for a minute or so and then it sticks perfectly to the glass, without leaking. Thanks to the NanoLab, my cells now live considerably longer. And my group, Pharmaceutical Analysis, hasn t had to buy expensive equipment of its own. Johan Holstein (research technician) and Patty Mulder (research analyst) How does the Zernike NanoLab work? Zernike NanoLab Groningen Patty Mulder now knows her way around the Zernike NanoLab in Groningen. But what if you are a new user? Chief Technician Johan Holstein outlines the procedure. Anyone who wants to make use of the cleanroom first receives an hour of introductory training. I show them the emergency exits and explain what to do in case of fire, the dress code and how to handle chemicals. I also tell them which equipment they can use themselves and which they must ask for help with. Patty Mulder, for example, works with the plasma cleaner. You can use that on your own after an extra half-hour of training. Actually, the NanoLab is more than just a cleanroom. We also have several pieces of equipment outside it. Do prospective users have to book the facilities by phone or ? Or register on a waiting list? I ve now built up a good relationship with Patty, says Holstein. She might on a Monday, say, to let me know that she d like to use the plasma cleaner on Friday. That s usually not a problem. For the big pieces of equipment, we ve compiled a schedule in Google Calendar. You can look at that to see when each device is available. Our laboratories have state-of-the-art techniques for nanofabrication, deposition techniques, lithography, microscopy and scanning probe techniques. Various cleanrooms are available for the fabrication of devices. Besides facilities for the conventional processing of semiconductors and metals (such as GaAs, InAs and Au, Al), organic semiconductors are processed as well. For measurements, we have several labs with cryogenic setups, instrumentation for electronic and microwave measurements, and laser setups. Zernike NanoLab Groningen is part of Zernike Institute of Advanced Materials in the University of Groningen. Expert technology Soft Molecular Landing deposition Johan Holstein Research Technician Zernike NanoLab Groningen Mail: nanolab-zernike@rug.nl Tel: +31 (0) Johan Holstein, Chief Technician at the Zernike NanoLab in Groningen. For the big pieces of equipment, we ve compiled a schedule in Google Calendar. You can look at that to see when each device is available. How to use our facilities Given the broad range of facilities and expertise at NanoLabNL, there is no single guideline for access and use, but the following options are possible: Direct access to our facilities with your own operator (once authorised after instruction/training) Direct access with a dedicated operator from NanoLabNL Use of facilities within research projects It is possible to use our equipment for short-, mid- and long-term research projects. Please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss your technological issues and/or the available options for the facilities you are interested in. 5

6 RIVM Nanosafety expert Adriënne Sips on her wish that toxicologists and technologists work together 'Think about the risks for people and the environment from the outset' NanoLabNL provides facilities for research into the risks of nanotechnology. So where do things currently stand? What are the challenges? And what does 'safe by design' really mean? An interview with Dutch nanosafety expert Adriënne Sips. Just before I am due to interview her by telephone, Adriënne Sips sends me a text message. Please can I call her mobile number, because she has just moved office and her landline has not yet followed. So she is surrounded by unopened boxes as we discuss nanotechnology, the importance of cooperation and how you need to consider user safety as soon as you start developing a product. 'For me, she explains, 'what it s all about is that we need to bear in mind the information needed to demonstrate safety from a much earlier stage. When you re developing a product, from the beginning you have to be aware of the questions it s going raise once it reaches the market. We must ensure that we don t make the same mistakes with nanotechnology as we did with previous emerging technologies, like genetically modified organisms. We didn t pay enough attention to the questions they would arouse in consumers.' Adriënne Sips works at the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), where she coordinates research into the risks of nanotechnology. In practice, what that means is that she brings together policymakers and scientists and that she translates questions from science into policy, and vice versa. She is also Risk Analysis and Technology Assessment theme coordinator for the major national research programme NanoNextNL. And she sits on several bodies concerned with the risks surrounding nanotechnology, so she knows all there is to know about safety in the nanoworld. Huge demand for measuring techniques We start with the current state of affairs. Over the past seven or eight years, there has been a lot of exploratory research around the world into the issue of nanotechnology and safety. Meanwhile, consumer products actually incorporating nanotechnology have actually come onto the market. They include suntan lotions that offer better protection thanks to nanoparticles, and clothing that fights the smell of sweat. But have such items been properly tested, and are they really safe in the long term? 'Until 2012,' admits Sips, 'the situation was unclear. In the absence of any rules, the manufacturers of things like suntan lotions containing nanoparticles of titanium dioxide treated their products as if that chemical was in its non-nano form. But whether or not you re exposed to nanoparticles, and whether they measure 20 nanometres or 80, can actually make a big difference to your health. And you probably want to know, for instance, how the particles are incorporated into the product. Are they fused with the fabric, or can they break free and spread through air or water?' Until very recently, scientific research into questions like this has been exploratory in nature. It was not conducted with a view to drawing up rules. But at the end of 2011 the European Commission established a recommended definition of nanomaterials. This is now helping governments to compile better guidelines covering them. 'But one outstanding challenge,' according to Sips, 'is that there are still no really good measuring techniques. At a research lab, you can with some difficulty take photographs under an electron microscope of the nanomaterials you re developing. But how does a manufacturer ensure that he s able to test large quantities of a product quickly and easily? There s a gap in the market for researchers trying to devise measuring techniques.' After all, a maker has to be capable of demonstrating that the composition of its product is as it claims. And inspectors need to be in a position to check that quickly. Let toxicologists and developers work together Right now, then, measuring techniques are desperately needed. But what about the more distant future? 'In principle,' says Sips, 'longterm studies are possible. If you want to investigate whether a product can cause cancer, for example, you can carry out standard studies using laboratory animals. But a cancer research project like this takes two years, not including the preparatory and completion phases. Add them and you re easily four years and a lot of animals further down the line. It would be simply impossible to study every new material in this way.' Fortunately, the nanoworld is well aware of the problem and there is now more and more international collaboration in this area. That prevents researchers from duplicating one another s work. Attempts are also being made to use shorter studies to say at least something about the longer term. 'I was recently at a meeting about nanomaterials,' Sips explains. 'That was attended by experts who knew everything about their materials, and could predict how they would behave under various circumstances. In many cases, they already possess the knowledge which toxicologists are looking for. So if you bring together materials experts and toxicologists right from the beginning, things happen much faster and you avoid unnecessary work. You have to think about safety from the earliest design phase. We call that safe by design.' NanoLabNL brings together the nanoworld We have talked about the past and the present, but what about the future? And where do the cleanrooms at NanoLabNL fit in? 'At the policy level,' says Sips, 'it s often very neatly worded: we have to ensure the safe implementation of nanotechnology. But in the midst of all the enthusiasm about new opportunities, in the early stages those involved often pay too little attention to the risks for people and the environment. They think safety is being looked after, but that s not a given. I hope that five years from now it will be second nature for risk researchers to work with universities, with start-ups and with established companies. And that s where NanoLabNL can help, because its cleanrooms are a natural meeting place for all those people. I hope that, thanks to NanoLabNL, risk research into nanomaterials is going to take a great leap forward.' NanoLabNL is a foundation The foundation's goals are: - Realizing the micro and nano research facility ambitions. - Facilitating and stimulating of current and future nano-related research. - Stimulating the open-access character of the high tech NanoLabs. - Connecting with national and international research programs. - Increasing external use by companies. NanoLabNL's programme office is run by the Technology Foundation STW 6

7 NanoNextNL Bridge between NanoLabNL and NanoNextNL Bulk consumer LioniX In 2008 Dutch nanotechnologists drew up a strategic agenda. Among other things this led to the establishment of NanoLabNL for infrastructure and NanoNextNL for research and development. The company LioniX uses the facilities of NanoLabNL and also carries out research within NanoNextNL. LioniX is a co-developer, manufacturer and provider of products and components based on micro/nano technology. They work for original equipment manufacturers. The main focus markets include life sciences, telecom, datacom, industrial process control and space. Hans van den Vlekkert, president, chief executive officer and cofounder of Lionix: 'We don't have any products ourselves. That would make us a competitor of our own clients, an undesirable situation.' Which of NanoLabNL's facilities does LioniX use? Van den Vlekkert: 'We use the MESA+ NanoLab in Twente. We pay an all-in hourly rate and in principle we are free to use all the equipment. The NanoLab allows us to provide our clients with chips. We simply cannot afford a cleanroom of our own, as the cost can easily run to a hundred million euros or so. Not all our activities take place in the NanoLab, though. We carry out larger production runs at our sister company and we also outsource some work to companies such as NXP.' What is LioniX's role within the largescale national nano-research programme NanoNextNL? Van den Vlekkert: 'We are one of the most active SME participants, taking part in ten different programmes. NanoNextNL allows us to further develop our technology in the field of optics, fluidics and optofluidics. As a small company we would never be able to fund this ourselves, but the investments resulting from NanoNextNL make it possible. Universities are pleased with our involvement in the research programmes as it allows them to come into contact with the commercial sector. The benefits work both ways.' Do you have any tips for parties who want to make use of the NanoLab? Van den Vlekkert (smiling): They should just come to us directly. Maybe that sounds arrogant, but we work very efficiently, that's just a fact. It s often cheaper for others to have their chips manufactured by us than to do it themselves. We regularly receive assignments from universities, for example. They have us manufacture their chips, for the regular industrial rate. If you want to start work in the cleanroom yourself then you need to factor in about a year for training to master all the technology. That costs time and a lot of money.' Micro and nanotechnology will make a significant contribution to resolving major societal questions such as keeping an ageing society healthy and keeping our environment liveable in a changing climate. The basis for being able to provide this contribution lies in the creation of an open, dynamic and sustainable ecosystem for research and innovation with which the Netherlands can continue to play its leading role in the world, and can extend this role further, in micro and nanotechnology. This ecosystem is created by initiating and guiding research projects within the themes. NanoNextNL is a consortium of more than one hundred companies, universities, knowledge institutes and university medical centres, which is aimed at research into micro and nanotechnology. The total sum involved for NanoNextNL is 250 million euros, half of which is contributed by the collaboration of more than one hundred businesses, universities, knowledge institutes and university medical centres and the other half by the Government of the Netherlands. The programme office of NanoNextNL is run by Technology Foundation STW. More information on < continued from page 5, Eindhoven. What is the company's strongest point? 'I think that we're realistic. Even though I started the company, I also realise that you have to delegate tasks. We have two commercial men working from the UK. That's where a great deal of our network is: it's where the telecom industry is situated. And I've also taken on an experienced managing director, so that when we talk to clients, we're able to present ourselves professionally, both technically and commercially. From that perspective, the collaboration with Smart Photonics is also logical. You can't do everything yourself.' Where does Effect Photonics hope to be in a year and within five years? 'In a year's time, I hope we're still in business. That might sound fatalistic, but you have to be realistic. There's a great demand for our expertise, but at the same time there's also a degree of restraint. Many telecom companies are interested, but they sometimes wonder whether we'll survive, since we're a small company that's just starting out. We've now got the financing to produce the first prototype of our technology. The next step will come when the telecom companies start to bite. That's when we'll really have to start making the product. And that's very expensive. There are many parties who are willing to help with financing, but nobody wants to be the only one. Therefore, we have to go in search of financial backers. These include the telecom companies, but we'll also be visiting the provincial government and the university. And in five years? We'll have grown so much by then that the time will have come for us to be taken over. A big company would like to have us for themselves and not to share us with anybody else. But let's just get through this year first.' Why does Effect Photonics use the NanoLab@TU/e cleanroom, and do you have a tip for other companies contemplating using the facilities? 'Thanks to the NanoLab, we've been given access to a unique infrastructure that we wouldn't have had anywhere else in the world. It would cost several millions to finance it yourself. That's something beyond our reach. Do I have any tips for other companies? Yes, go and have coffee with Huub Ambrosius. He's director of the cleanroom facility in Eindhoven. He knows exactly what's possible and what's not, and whether or not the process you're planning conflicts with existing processes.' NanoLab@TU/e NanoLabNL is included in the Dutch National Roadmap for Large-scale Research Facilities Large-scale research facilities are of invaluable strategic importance for research and science and therefore for the Dutch knowledge-based economy. According to the opinion of the National Roadmap for Large-scale Research Facilities Committee, NanoLabNL is one of the large-scale research facilities of which the construction and operation are of importance to the vitality and innovative capacity of the scientific network in the Netherlands. 7

8 < continued from page 1 My work is very varied. For example, I begin in the cleanroom making chips. In the afternoon I go to my desk and talk to Loes and other researchers about their projects. I also develop masks on the computer, which form the basis of the chip-making process. I would never be able to work at a computer for eight hours a day. The variety is what makes my work so enjoyable. Researchers and businesses can use all our NanoLab facilities. There s a list of our equipment on the intranet. Some of the equipment can be operated by anyone other equipment is absolutely out of bounds. For example, you need to complete training before you're allowed to work in the cleanrooms and some equipment is so highly specialised that it takes months to master. If a company calls, the first thing we ask them to do is put a few ideas down on paper. Then we get together to talk about them: how do you want to work? Have you thought about taking a different approach? What do you want and what can we do for you? Microtechnology and nanotechnology businesses also work in the MESA+ NanoLab. They help other companies, like we do. We have an academic approach and do little processing for third parties, while they have a commercial approach and do a lot of processing and even create entire chips. What's great about the NanoLab and MESA+ is that not only do we have a lot of equipmen t at our fingertips, but also a lot of knowledge; our inhouse team includes biological experts, chemists, physicists, mechanics and electrical engineers. We recently had a lot of images made for Loes using Mark Smithers high-resolution scanning electron microscope. Everything on a chip is so small that it can't be seen with the naked eye whether everything works as you thought it would. We applied a pattern so that we could catch the sperm and we wanted to know whether this had worked. The microscope enables us to see whether the sperm cells are on top of, inside or attached to the pattern. Loes and I were brought together when her supervisor applied for a grant for her doctoral research six years ago. Loes is very enthusiastic. She's not the kind of person who complains. She just gets stuck in and I like that. Finally, a word of appreciation is due to the staff and the management of MESA+. The staff ensure that the equipment is maintained in mint condition and that sufficient facilities are available. The management takes care of financing and purchases new equipment in order that we at MESA+ can continue to operate at top level. Without them, we, as NanoLab users, would be unable to do our work. MESA+ NanoLab Twente MESA+ NanoLab Twente is the state-ofthe-art research facility that can boast an absolutely first-rate cleanroom and advanced analysis possibilities. The laboratory is freely accessible to researchers and entrepreneurs. More than 400 people use the laboratory every year, and almost 40% of its turnover is generated by the dozens of businesses enga ged in research and development or small-scale production in the MESA+ NanoLab. Expert technology Nano-imprint lithography, thin film growth complex materials, hybrid technologies, wide spectrum of analysis Gerard Roelofs Head MESA+ NanoLab Mail: nanolab@mesaplus.utwente.nl Tel: +31 (0) NanoLabNL has 10 vouchers worth 7500 for new users (industry only) The NanoLabNL vouchers worth 7500 are being offered to first-time users of NanoLabNL s facilities. (industry only) There are 10 vouchers available worth 7500, equivalent to hours at NanoLabNL s basic rate. The vouchers cannot be exchanged for cash. The credit of 7500 can be spent on training, supervision or lab research. The vouchers are valid for a period of 1 year from the date of issue. The vouchers provide access to the complete NanoLabNL R&D infrastructure. Any intellectual property rights accrued using the voucher will be the property of the user. The voucher campaign will end on Monday 14 January 2013 at 12:00 am. Applications made after this deadline will only be eligible for a voucher if any have been left unclaimed. The complete application procedure for the vouchers can be found at NanoLabNL is an open and accessible infrastructure with specialised, high quality and highly valuable equipment for critical research and development at the cutting edge of technology. The NanoLabNL vouchers make it even easier for new industrial users to become acquainted with NanoLabNL s expertise and experience. Dr Rens Vandeberg, NanoLabNL Programme Director. More information & contact details A database containing an overview of the available processes and equipment is available at For more information, please contact Dr Rens Vandeberg, NanoLabNL Programme Director (r.vandeberg@stw.nl +31 (0) ). General information and questions Rens Vandeberg, programme director NanoLabNL programme office (STW): r.vandeberg@stw.nl Location NanoLab person Groningen Zernike NanoLab Groningen Johan Holstein nanolab-zernike@rug.nl Twente MESA+ NanoLab Twente Gerard Roelofs nanolab@mesaplus.utwente.nl Delft Kavli NanoLab Delft Frank Dirne nanolab-kavli@tudelft.nl TNO NanoLab Delft Jan Leendert Joppe info.nanolab@tno.nl Eindhoven NanoLab@TU/e Huub Ambrosius nanolab@tue.nl Philips Innovation Services* Elise Rodenburg innovationservices@philips.com * Philips Innovation Services is an associate partner, participating in NanoLabNL concerning content but not in financial terms. Press information Margit de Kok, communication officer NanoLabNL: info@nanolabnl.nl Colophon October 2012 volume 1 number 1 This periodical is published by NanoLabNL Edited by: Margit de Kok, David Redeker Photography: Eric Brinkhorst Graphic design and realisation: FOTON visuele communicatie No part of this publication may be copied or reproduced in any form whatsoever without the prior written permission of the publisher and other copyright holders. This publication has been compiled with the utmost care. However, the publisher cannot be held liable for any inaccuracies in this publication or unforeseen consequences resulting from deficiencies