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“Nanomicrowave” cooking up something new

‘Microwave Nanotechnology for Semiconductor and Life Sciences’ or Nanomicrowave, which is coordinated by the UK’s Bio Nano Centre Ltd and involves nine other partners from UK, Austria, France and Italy, will make use of recent developments in nanotechnology to explore the interaction of microwaves with matter at much smaller scales than before, namely micrometres to nanometres. Current applications of microwave technologies – in communications, remote sensing or in industry, for example – are based on the interaction of microwaves and matter at supra-wavelength scales: that is, bigger than centimetres.

“At these new sub-wave length scales, we expect that fascinating new physical phenomena may appear,” explains Gabriel. “These will give rise to new applications of microwave technologies in many fields such as nanoelectronics, nanospintronics, nanobiology and nanomedicine.”

Gabriel’s group will lead the workpackage devoted to the applications of microwave nanotechnologies to biological systems and contribute their expertise in nanoscale electrical measurements in biology to the FP7-funded project, which is planned to last four years.