Increasing the detection sensitivity while extending simultaneously the analysis to numerous biomarkers simultaneously (multiplexing) are essential breakthroughs to be addressed for improving significantly the field of biomedical analysis. Such progresses would allow earlier diagnostics and a better differentiation in pathologies as is currently required for numerous diseases and in particular for septic shocks and severe sepsis, opening the way to personalized treatments to the concomitant benefits of the patients and of the social care administrations. Advances in multiplexed analysis are also a crucial ask from pharmaceutical industries within the frame of their research programs on high throughput screenings. Fluoro-immunnoassays are based on the biomolecular recognition events that occur between biomarkers and specific antibodies labelled with fluorescent dyes. Upon the immune interaction, the spatial proximity can lead to resonant energy transfer processes (RET) that can be monitored to quantify the biomarkers concentrations. But if the development of monoclonal antibodies provides very specific interactions with the antigens, the current use of conventional fluorescent labels severely restricts the detection sensitivity and the possibility of multiplexed analysis on a single sample. The NanoFRET project aims at exploiting the exceptional spectroscopic properties of luminescent semiconducting nanocrystals (Quantum Dots, QDs) to provide ultrasensitive multiplexed fluoroimmunoassays. By combining CdSe based QDs with lanthanide complexes, we recently demonstrated that one can significantly increase the sensitivity of FRET associated signals, and that such analysis can be conducted on up to five different recognition events in a same sample (multiplexing). Within the NanoFRET project, we intend to enlarge the proof of concept obtained from the biotin-streptavidin interaction to immunocomplexes formed between antigens and antibodies, by addressing the nanocrystals with antibodies at their surface. In particular, we will focus our attention on the detection of procalcitonin (PCT) and proadrenomedulin (PAM), biological marker of systemic inflammatory reaction and of severe sepsis, the early detection of which would lead to the development of improved treatment and therapy. NanoFRET is based on the partnership of three public research teams, internationally recognized within the fields of luminescent semiconducting nanoparticles, lanthanide complexes for biolabelling and energy transfer phenomena, associated with a French industrial partner, specialized in clinical diagnostic and in the development of fluoroimmunoassays. It aims at bringing the exploratory results yet obtained (and protected by patents of the CNRS and the CEA) at and applied level targeted towards sepsis detection, while covering the aspects of a potential industrial development. This highly pluridisciplinary research program will allow the transfer of a fundamental technology to the industrial partner and aims at bringing significant breakthroughs within the fields of health nanotechnologies by addressing innovative nanosystems based on quantum dots.

The aim of the EXCALYB project is to develop the processes, material stacks and CMOS integration for new types of high density, highly scalable non-volatile memories. This will allow for high density (feature size <20nm corresponding to 1 Tbit/in²) with high data rates, as well as a very significant reduction of power consumption of electronic circuits in standby mode. EXCALYB project aims to establish an innovative sub-20nm technology platform to be used in the evaluation of magnetic tunnel junction based spintronic devices at nanoscale dimensions. The developed process flow will not be specific only to MRAM cells, and could be used to evaluate any device based on magnetic tunnel junctions, such as spin-torque oscillators, magnetic field sensors and generally any electrically connected pillar device having magnetic materials. A successful integration will provide an alternative approach for the evaluation of integrated hybrid circuits, using CMOS and magnetic elements. This low-cost platform unique in France is complementary with ongoing efforts to create 200/300mm magnetic backend lines. The proposed alternative significantly reduces the costs associated with evaluating circuit designs that include magnetic tunnel junctions. The cost reduction comes from the fact that the 3 to 4 backend mask levels are not required each time a new design needs to be evaluated. Mask reticles for 200/300mm magnetic backend process can account for significant initial costs, becoming the major roadblock to use emergent technology used in new applications. The EXCALYB project aims to provide the technology missing for these applications, requiring the availability of high performance non-volatile memory with associated non-volatility for very low-power consumption. The project will allow demonstrate these devices and explore their scalability in future generations, by reducing the cell size for extreme integration low power operation. EXCALYB will leverage the existing knowledge of each partner to achieve a significant scientific and technological breakthrough. Magnetic memory cell concept breakthroughs pursued in this project could be used directly in novel MRAM memory implementations by Crocus Technology. The explored concepts provide a clear technology roadmap for MRAM below 20nm cell sizes. This will allow strengthening the intellectual property and know-how enabling the deposition of devices with important industrial applications. It will strengthen the position of Crocus Technology as a French/European contender in the high performance non-volatile arena. The research involves in particular bringing to maturity a perpendicular MTJ stack for sub-20 dimensions using thermal assistance for the spin torque writing process. Our own initial results have shown the world best figure of merit between thermal stability and writing current. There is considerable improvement to expect from the first demonstration, especially in terms of TMR amplitude, leading to even higher values of thermal stability to STT switching current ratio. Establishing a process flow to sub-20nm dimensions will allow experimental validation of the expected scalability. It will be a significant breakthrough to validate ultimate density perpendicular cells, in both standalone cells and in integrated hybrid circuits. The concept of hybrid non-volatile circuits is extremely appealing due to the stand-by power savings that it can achieve. The in-plane self-reference cells represent a low-density high value application for embedded high temperature applications MRAM that could quickly find market acceptance. The project will test the scalability of current cells, and provide the material research necessary to scale these cells down to 45nm, corresponding to 3 additional technology generations from the current 130nm cell size.

Large cryogenic systems (e.g. cryoplant of the Large Hadron Collider), extract large heat loads at low temperature. This process requires much power at room temperature and cryogenic users and manufacturers have been for a long time aware of the importance of the energy efficiency of these devices. Indeed, these large cryoplants are optimized for a certain design point, and it has been possible in the past years to reach an efficiency of 20% of the Carnot efficiency in the LHC cryoplant. However, such large cryoplants are tricky to control, and subjected to some instabilities as soon as the heat loads change significantly above a certain time scale. Moreover, when heat loads change, the optimum efficiency, reached at the design point, is no longer guaranteed, as the optimum efficiency is the result of a complex compromise between the operations of different components. It would be of major interest for cryogenic users to have at their disposal a tool ensuring that the electrical consumption of the cryoplant will always be minimum. This is the objective of this project. In this project, we propose to develop a totally new control system for large refrigerators, which amazingly still use so far very simple PIDs, in spite of their complexity. Such a control system could also be used in any complex cryogenic system, where heat loads are not constant in time. Our approach is the following: first we will base our control system on a dynamic modeling of a large cryoplant. In the recent years, steady improvements were made in the dynamic modeling of such complex devices, and we will build upon recent results obtained at CERN and at CEA Grenoble. Based on such modeling, we will divide the refrigerator into different subsystems. Then the description of these subsystems will be based on “control oriented” simplified models, which will still describe accurately the subsystems, but will require much less memory and calculation than the general physics driven model of the refrigerator. This will enable an easier implementation of these simplified models in a PLC. Each subsystem will be controlled by its local controller, with various interactions with its neighbors. In this project, we plan to use a “Parametrized Distributed in Time Model Predictive Control” scheme, which seems the most promising local multivariable controller, and the most suited to our constrained environment. This new approach is a generalization of the MPC scheme, which is likely to enable an optimized control within a real time system such as a cryogenic refrigerator. The different subsystems will need to exchange information between each other, and some decisions will be needed, in order to solve possible conflicts. This is a typical case, where a cooperative control architecture would bring a major improvement. In this domain, GIPSA-lab has a prominent experience, and will therefore bring its skill in the definition of such an innovative architecture. Within this project, we therefore plan to develop a totally innovative control scheme of a cryogenic refrigerator. All the different steps will need to be carefully experimentally validated, and this will be done in the medium-sized cryogenic refrigerator available at CEA-SBT. This refrigerator is totally dedicated to R&D, and will be made available for verifying the models, testing local controllers, and evaluating the benefits brought by the innovative architecture developed within this project. A medium sized company will be in charge of the software translation to PLC, enabling an efficient and rapid development of the controller. Final tests, either on a simulator of a CERN refrigerator, or, if it is available, on a large cryogenic refrigerator itself based at CERN, will be performed to finally validate the whole development. This project needs an exceptional variety of prominent expertise(cryogenics,thermodynamic cycles, control systems and PLCs), which are gathered in the CRYOGREEN project submitted here.

This project aims at designing and synthesizing photochromic dyes suitable for the sensitization of wide band gap inorganic semiconductors and ultimately it targets the development of a new class of multifunctional photovoltaic devices. It addresses fundamental questions regarding the potential application of photochromic materials for solar energy conversion. The principal objective of the project is to demonstrate that new families of photochromic sensitizers can replace advantageously ruthenium complexes and conventional organic dyes in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) to give rise to a new generation of solar cells showing self-adaptable optical transmission with the solar conditions. The potential of this approach is huge, since we propose a novel and disruptive technology that could open a new market: solar photochromic windows for future integration in buildings. The solar cells envisioned in this project could be highly transparent in the visible range and become colorful upon irradiation, showing self-adjustable light transmission with the weather conditions.

Modern society is subject to current environmental constraints due to the presence of pollutants in air, water or soil generating an alarming increase in allergic phenomena in the population. This chronic disease is steadily increasing since 40 years, leading from long-term human health deterioration to serious body reactions (anaphylaxis). Most of the allergens consist in (glyco)-proteins from various origins such as pollen, dust mites, and food products (both animals and plants). Commercial analogic diagnosis solutions exist such as skin test or biochip technology (ISAC test) but are not fully adapted to answer the community involvement. They mainly suffer from a lack of sensitivity or a prohibitive cost. Moreover, their methodology does not allow screening the complete human allergenic cartography. The DIALMIB project proposes a new digital approach for a multiplexed diagnosis of allergy, in conceptual break with the existing analog biochip technologies. DIALMIB is based on a microparticles color-code technology in liquid medium. This technology should allow the specific detection of IgE in patient’s sera with colored microbeads functionalized with allergen extracts from different sources. Coupling magnetic sorting, thermodynamic assembly and ultra-sensitive digital microbead lens-free analysis, this low-cost technology should increase the possibilities of the test (cross-allergies detection possibilities) and democratize it. This project aims at providing a commercial solution including a diagnosis tool and consumables (reaction kit). Industrial transfer of this technology would open the market of clinical diagnosis to a start-up company issued from two of the project’s academic partners. If succeed, this digital microbeads technology could address other health applications (oncology, neurodegenerative diseases…) involving protein detection