Distinguished Professor at the Faculty of Engineering, Pierre Berini has been at the forefront of nanofabrication. In his current role as founding director of the uOttawa NanoFab, he contributes to both fundamental research and practical applications of nanotechnology.
His broad research interests are in the field of optics and photonics, and include nanophotonics, plasmonics, metasurfaces, integrated optics and nanofabrication. In the field of nanofabrication, his research focuses on developing advanced fabrication techniques that manipulate materials at the nanoscale, with applications ranging from electronics to medicine.
“Nanofabrication is essential to integration and to access operational regimes in materials that are not accessible naturally. For example, we want to have increasingly powerful electronic devices with more functions: to enable these, components and circuits must be miniaturized and integrated into small form factors,” explains Professor Berini.
Over the past ten years, Berini has been collaborating with academic and industrial researchers to advance their projects in the NanoFab and creating materials and devices that are smaller and more efficient.
State-of-the-art equipment and expertise at the NanoFab
Located at the University of Ottawa, the NanoFab is a unique, $30-million technology platform that hosts three labs: wet chemistry; metrology; and white and yellow clean rooms (Class 10,000).
Its sophisticated and cutting-edge equipment allows users to create structures, circuits and devices at the nanometric scale with higher precision and increased efficiency.
“The platform has huge potential to support the objectives of a wide range of user profiles in a variety of sectors. We welcome graduate students and post-docs as users, collaborators from different faculties, and industry, ranging from two-person companies to multinationals,” says Pierre Berini.
The facility has supported a host of projects in fields ranging from electronic, optical and photonic circuit production to the design of biological sensors.
Since it is an open facility, the NanoFab is uniquely positioned as a cost-effective solution for both internal and external clients. Once they have completed the mandatory training, users can benefit from the available tools for a reasonable fee-for-service. Corporate clients can also collaborate on innovative research projects at the NanoFab, leveraging not only the facility's unique features, but also the expertise of Professor Berini and his team of highly qualified laboratory technologists throughout their project.
Applications of Professor Berini’s nanofabrication research
Professor Berini’s contributions to nanofabrication have practical implications across several industries.
Lab-on-a-chip devices and health-care applications
In a recent paper published in Science Advances, Professor Berini collaborated with researchers from the uOttawa NanoFab and the NEXQT Institute to present techniques and details of an improved electrochemical process that improves the capabilities of microfluids and lab-on-a-chip devices.
The team of researchers is working intensively on biomedical detection sensors to produce devices capable of detecting diseases like leukemia, Dengue fever, bacterial infections in urine and COVID. This technology is leading to faster patient diagnoses by directly testing complex fluids, such as urine and blood products.
Advancements in nanophotonics applied to automated vehicles
In a paper published in Nano Futures, Professor Berini and his team demonstrated the potential of nanofabrication for advances in nanophotonics, such as the creation of nanoantennae for various applications, including beam steering.
Using semiconductor materials and electrical contacts, they have developed nanoscale optical antennas on a reflective surface that can redirect an optical beam in different directions for optical scanning with a laser beam. These antennas can be used in light detection and ranging (LIDAR) applications, ultimately benefiting the automated vehicles sector.
Outlook for the future
Given the ongoing acquisition of new equipment for the NanoFab and the substantial expansion of the platform, Professor Berini is ready to continue exploring new ways of applying nanofabrication that shape the future of technology and society.
“In the coming years, the impact of nanofabrication will likely become even more significant. I am particularly excited about the potential of quantum computing, where nanofabrication will be essential for building the next generation of quantum processors. I also foresee breakthroughs in personalized medicine, where nanoscale devices could be used to diagnose illness and deliver treatments tailored to individual patients’ needs. That’s why we want to maintain the NanoFab’s infrastructure and equipment relevant and up-to-date, so that we can continue to drive innovation,” says Berini.
“In the coming years, the impact of nanofabrication will likely become even more significant.”
Pierre Berini
— Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering
Get in touch
Academic and industry researchers are encouraged to send an email to the NanoFab to enquire about potential collaborations.