2020 (archive)
18.12.2020
2020 IFIMUP talks in review
In such a challenging year, we started with presential and adapted to crowded online sessions. We had talks from colleagues leaving and new members arriving at IFIMUP.
Thank you to all the IFIMUP talks presenters and audience for keeping the IFIMUP talks alive. We all hope that these sessions haven been fruitful for the different groups work.
By Catarina Dias
15.12.2020
WiPTherm promotional video
WiPTherm has a new website and YouTube channel featuring a promotional video. WiPTherm is a FET project whose major goal to address the challenges of energy consumption in CubeSat technology using a wireless technology combined with lasers. IFIMUP/FCUP is the Host Institution of this on-going European Project in collaboration with CeNTI (Portugal), University of Limoges (France), University of Vigo (Spain) and INESC TEC (Portugal).
By Catarina Dias
14.12.2020
IFIMUP at JEMS2020
The Joint European Magnetic Symposia 2020 (JEMS2020) occurred last week, from December 4th-11th virtually (Lisbon-based). The conference registered more than 600 participants, from all over the world, which had the opportunity to present, discuss, learn, and teach a vivid community. The conference was organized in five plenary sessions, 12 semi-plenary sessions and 17 different symposia, with typically four symposia running in simultaneous.
The organization of this conference, one of the largest (in number of participants and topics covered) conferences dedicated to Magnetism in the world, had a strong IFIMUP signature. IFIMUP head, Professor João Pedro Araújo was the co-chair of JEMS, in partnership with Professor Paulo Freitas (chair) from INESC-MN. Below follows a list of IFIMUP members involved in JEMS organization:
João Ventura, Organization Committee, Symposia Chair
João Horta, Publication Committee
Professor André Pereira, National Advisory Committee, Symposia Chair
Armandina Lopes, National Advisory Committee
David Navas, National Advisory Committee
Gleb Kakazei, National Advisory Committee, Symposia Chair
IFIMUP had also a strong participation in the conference, directly involved in 16 communications (5 Posters, 11 Oral Communications including one invited). The list of IFIMUP authors presenting their communications includes the following researchers: Javier Rial, Mariana Proença, Sofia Ferreira-Teixeira, Daniel Silva, Arlete Apolinário, João Costa, João Horta Belo, Gonçalo Oliveira, Andrii Vovk, Estelina Lora da Silva, Pedro Rodrigues and Ricardo Moreira.
We acknowledge and congratulate the organization and the participants for a very successful JEMS2020!
By João Horta Belo
27.11.2020
Periodic meetings - 2020 IFIMUP Talks #9 by Master student João Costa
On December 4 at 12h online via Zoom Colibri, João Costa will give the 9th session of the 2020 IFIMUP Talks series. João Costa is a Master student currently doing his thesis at IFIMUP. His talk will be on "Optimization of the production of R5(SixGe1-x)4 nanoparticles through Nanosecond and Femtosecond Pulsed Laser Ablation in Liquids".
By Catarina Dias
25.11.2020
Dr. Ana Silva defended her PhD Thesis
Dr. Ana Silva defended today her PhD Thesis on “Ultrafast Magnetization Dynamics in Multilayered Films Down to Few-cycle Regime”. She is the most recent PhD from the University of Salamanca, Spain. Our warmest congratulations to her and to her supervisors, Dr. David Navas and Prof. Helder Crespo, and to her tutor Dr. Íñigo Juan Sola. The work focused on the use of the Time-Resolved Magneto-Optical (TR-MO) setup for studying the static and dynamical properties of [CoFeB(𝑡𝐶𝑜𝐹𝑒𝐵)/Pd]N multilayers ultrathin films.
Dynamical behaviour of ultrathin [CoFeB (tCoFeB)/Pd] films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, A. S. Silva, S. P. Sá, S. A. Bunyaev, C. Garcia, I. J. Sola, G. Kakazei, H. Crespo, and D. Navas, Submitted to Sci. Reports, 2020.
Magnetic properties of permalloy antidot array fabricated by interference lithography, A. S. Silva, A. Hierro-Rodriguez, S. A. Bunyaev, G. N. Kakazei, O. V. Dobrovolskiy, C. Redondo, R. Morales, H. Crespo, and D. Navas, AIP Advances 9, 035136 (2019)
By Catarina Dias
20.11.2020
Periodic meetings - 2020 IFIMUP Talks #8 by PostDoc Estelina Silva
On November 23 at 12h online via Zoom Colibri, Estelina Silva will give the 8th session of the 2020 IFIMUP Talks series. Estelina Silva is a PostDoc that recently started to work with us. Her talk will be on "First-principles study of the phase transformations of Hf-based Ruddlesden-Popper perovskite systems".
By Catarina Dias
09.11.2020
FCT national projects call
IFIMUP got 2 projects recommended for financing in this year national call for IC&DT projects in all scientific domains. A total of 5847 applications were submitted and only 312 projects were selected for funding. This call has a budget allocation of 75 million euros, in an investment supported by national funds, through the FCT budget.
The financed projects were in the “Nanotechnology” and “Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Systems Evaluation” Panels, with Rui Vilarinho (Electric-Field Engineered Lattice Distortions (E-FiELD) for optoelectronic devices) and Daniel Silva (Demagnetizing-based magnetocaloric refrigeration) as PIs, respectively.
By Catarina Dias
26.10.2020
Periodic meetings - 2020 IFIMUP Talks #7 by PostDoc Mariana Rocha
On October 30 at 12h online via Zoom Colibri, Mariana Rocha will give the 7th session of the 2020 IFIMUP Talks series. Mariana Rocha is a PostDoc that recently started to work with us. Her talk will be on " Thermoelectric devices: a chemistry point of view ".
By Catarina Dias
23.10.2020
Dr. Bogdan Postolnyi defended his PhD Thesis
Dr. Bogdan Postolnyi defended today his PhD Thesis on “Superhard Protective Coatings with Enhanced Toughness: Multi-Layered Nanocomposite Metal Nitrides”. Our warmest congratulations to him and to his supervisors, Prof. João Pedro Araújo, Prof. Alexander Pogrebnjak (Sumy State University, Ukraine) and Prof. Luís Manuel Fernandes Rebouta (CP, U.Minho). The work focused on superhard CrN/MoN coatings for industrial applications as protective coatings, focusing on hardness, toughness, and wear resistance improvements.
Past, present and future of the critical raw materials in cutting tools for machining applications, A. Rizzo, S. Goel, M. L. Grilli, R. Iglesias, L. Jaworska, V. Lapkovsky, N. Pavel, B. O. Postolnyi, D. Valerini, Materials, 2020, 13(6), 1377.
Multilayer Design of CrN/MoN Superhard Protective Coatings and Their Characterisation, B. O. Postolnyi, O. V. Bondar, K. Zaleski, E. Coy, S. Jurga, L. Rebouta, J. P. Araujo, Advances in Thin Films, Nanostructured Materials, and Coatings, Springer, Singapore, 2019: pp. 17–29.
Multilayer design of CrN/MoN protective coatings for enhanced hardness and toughness, B. O. Postolnyi, V. M. Beresnev, G. Abadias, O. V. Bondar, L. Rebouta, J. P. Araujo, A. D. Pogrebnjak, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2017, 725, 1188–1198.
By Catarina Dias
22.10.2020
Dr. Paula Quitério defended her PhD Thesis
Dr. Paula Quitério defended today her PhD Thesis on “Environmentally friendly photoanodes for solar water splitting”. Our warmest congratulations to her and to her supervisors, Prof. João Pedro Araújo, Dr. Célia Sousa and Prof. Adélio Mendes (LEPABE/FEUP). The work focused on the fabrication and characterization of nanotubes and nanowires of iron oxide hematite (α-Fe2O3), tungsten trioxide (WO3) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) for photoelectrochemical cells, aiming to produce hydrogen from sustainable and clean resources.
Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting: Thermal Annealing Challenges on Hematite Nanowires, Paula Quitério, Arlete Apolinário, Sérgio Magalhães, Eduardo Alves, Adélio Mendes, Célia Sousa and João P. Araújo, Accepted for publication in The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2020, 124, 24, 12897–12911.
The effect of electrolyte re-utilization in the growth rate and morphology of TiO2 nanotubes, José D.Costa, Paula Quitério, Arlete Apolinário, Célia T.Sousa, João Azevedo, João Ventura, Luísa Andrade, Adélio Mendes, João P. Araújo, Materials Letters, 2016, 171, 224–227.
By Catarina Dias
08.10.2020
JEMS 2020 Student Travel Grant to IFIMUP PhD Student
Sofia Ferreira Teixeira was awarded one of the Student Travel Grants to attend JEMS 2020. This travel grant is awarded by the European Magnetic Association (EMA) and will cover the registration fee for the conference.
The Joint European Magnetic Symposia (JEMS) is the main and most comprehensive conference on magnetism in Europe. JEMS 2020 is going to take place in December, 7-11, in a mixed format, both in Lisbon and online, combining face-to-face presentations with virtual sessions. After the conference was postponed due to COVID-19, the new dates and format will ensure that the needs and constraints of the participants will be met, while still allowing for the discussion of the state of the art of fundamental and applied magnetism, and novel magnetic materials, through different Symposia.
Sofia will thus give an oral presentation entitled "Spin to charge conversion in topological insulator Sb2Te3 sputtered thin films towards magnetisation switching devices in the Symposium Domain walls, Skyrmions and spin-orbit related phenomena". This work is a collaboration between IFIMUP and Imperial College London. Under the supervision of Prof. André Pereira and Prof. João Pedro Araújo of IFIMUP, and Prof. Lesley Cohen of Imperial College London, bilayer structures based on the topological insulator Sb2Te3 were characterised and spin pumping measurements were carried out, which will be the subject of the presentation at JEMS 2020.
By André Pereira
08.09.2020
IFIMUP at Física2020
In this year conference of the Portuguese Physics Society, Física2020, the Condensed Matter Physics and Physics Applied to Engineering session had the majority of its oral presentations from IFIMUP researchers: Fábio figueiras, Manjunath Balagopalan, Mariana Gomes, Rui Vilarinho and Sofia Teixeira, who presented their work online via Zoom.
By Rui Vilarinho
08.09.2020
IFIMUP at CMD2020GEFES
IFIMUP had a strong presence on the latest Condensed Matter Division conference of the European Physical Society that took place online from August 31st to September 4th. In this conference Joaquim Agostinho Moreira proposed a Mini-colloquium regarding Ultrafast Dynamics and Transient States in Matter, in collaboration with Klaas-Jan Tielrooij (ICN2, Spain) and Harvey Amorín (ICMM-CSIC). Furthermore, Fábio Figueiras, Mariana Gomes, Rui Vilarinho and Sofia Teixeira presented pre-recorded oral presentations in several different Mini-colloquia.
By Rui Vilarinho
25.08.2020
IFIMUP’s research on the news
Hélder Crespo talked with the Portuguese National Newspaper Público about their recent work developed on the temporal measurement of ultrashort laser pulses directly on a target during high-intensity laser-matter interactions . He told that this new technique makes it possible to measure laser pulses where very important extreme processes occur, such as nuclear reactions. It works as a kind of magnifying glass to see extreme phenomena, allowing us to touch the fire without getting burned. He further explained that the new method also allows to know and optimize the impulses directly and indirectly and exactly in the area where they are focusing.
This new method can be useful in the treatment of cancer, since these ultra-intense lasers are capable of accelerating protons and producing radioactive isotopes applied in therapies to fight the disease. With this new technique, it will be possible to make the best use of these lasers that have multiple applications in areas ranging from biology to chemistry, and may even, in the particular case of cancer, revolutionize the treatment of this disease. Furthermore, this method (THIS d-scan), will allow to validate very recent theories about the interaction between laser and matter.
IFIMUP and Sphere Ultrafast Photonics researchers had the collaboration of researchers from the Max-Born-Straße (Germany) and the Imperial College London (UK). The complete text in Portuguese ("New method capable of measuring laser pulses may be useful in cancer treatment") can be seen here.
By Catarina Dias
23.07.2020
Periodic meetings - 2020 IFIMUP Talks #6 by PostDoc Neenu Prasannan
On August 4 at 11h30 online via Zoom Colibri, Neenu Prasannan will give the 6th session of the 2020 IFIMUP Talks series. Neenu Prasannan is a PostDoc that recently started to work with us. Her talk will be on "Structure-property correlation in perovskite and related oxides".
By Catarina Dias
16.07.2020
IFIMUP @ LinkedIn
Follow us on LinkedIn for more information regarding our job opportunities and other updates.
By Catarina Dias
08.05.2020
Periodic meetings - 2020 IFIMUP Talks #5 by Research Fellow Miguel Amaral
Next Friday, May 8 at 12h online via Zoom Colibri, Miguel Amaral will give the 5th session of the 2020 IFIMUP Talks series. IFIMUP Talks consists on periodic meetings where IFIMUP researchers present their current state of work, focusing on the open questions and difficulties. The presentation is followed by an open discussion with possible suggestions presented by the audience. Miguel Amaral was a Research Fellow that recently left IFIMUP to pursue a PhD at ŠARIĆ LAB, Computational Biological and Soft Matter Physics, UCL, London. His talk will be on "Biological membranes: the biophysics perspective".
By Catarina Dias
20.04.2020
Periodic meetings - 2020 IFIMUP Talks #4 by Research Fellow Francisca Gomes
Next Friday, April 24 at 12h online via Zoom Colibri, Francisca Gomes will give the 4th session of the 2020 IFIMUP Talks series. IFIMUP Talks consists on periodic meetings where IFIMUP researchers present their current state of work, focusing on the open questions and difficulties. The presentation is followed by an open discussion with possible suggestions presented by the audience. Francisca Gomes was a Research Fellow that recently left IFIMUP to pursue a PhD in Tissue Engineering at the University of Twente. Her talk will be on "Superparamagnetic ferrite nanoparticles for gastric infection applications".
By Catarina Dias
21.03.2020
Materials donated to Portuguese Hospitals to help fight Covid-19
In a joint initiative by the University of Porto, IFIMUP donated individual protection material to S. João and Sto. António Hospitals, both in Porto. For the total set of 320 boxes of diverse materials, IFIMUP was able to contribute with:
eye protection items
plastic aprons
Nitrile L gloves without powder (10 boxes of 100 units)
FFP2 masks +5 FFP3 masks
boot covers
We thank everyone that made this possible and have to be proud of belonging to a University, which in less than 3 days has managed, at a particularly difficult time, to respond to the request of our central hospitals and to contribute to the fight against the pandemic.
By Catarina Dias
06.03.2020
IFIMUP at Fantasporto 2020
IFIMUP and the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, brought advanced, surprising and high artistic potential image technologies to the 2020 edition of the Porto International Film Festival (Fantasporto) on its 40-year anniversary. An exhibition that featured about a dozen holograms produced in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and IFIMUP. Highlighted, among others, are the holographic portraits of the President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics, Gérad Mourou, made during his visits to FCUP.
“Like cinema, holography is a technique supported by light, in this case in special light that only lasers are capable of producing. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a three-dimensional hologram with depth contains the equivalent of an infinity of images”, states Prof. Helder Crespo (FCUP/IFIMUP). This was a unique exhibition in the country, that surprised who had the opportunity to visit it at Teatro Rivoli, form February 28 to March 6.
By Catarina Dias
21.02.2020
Periodic meetings - 2020 IFIMUP Talks #3 by Visiting Researcher Pablo Vallet Moreno
Next Thursday, February 27 at 11h30 on room 106 (DFA), Pablo Vallet Moreno will give the 3rd session of the 2020 IFIMUP Talks series. IFIMUP Talks consists on periodic meetings where IFIMUP researchers present their current state of work, focusing on the open questions and difficulties. The presentation is followed by an open discussion with possible suggestions presented by the audience. Pablo Vallet Moreno is a visiting researcher from the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Spain and his talk will be on “Ionic Liquid and Ionogels: Potential Battery Electrolites".
By Catarina Dias
14.02.2020
Open Days at FCUP
IFIMUP was once again present at FCUP's "Open Days". The objectives of this initiative are to make courses and career opportunities known to students in High school and their families. They have the opportunity to know and participate in science activities, contacting with high interest and prestigious research and acquiring information about teaching and research areas. IFIMUP's students and researchers explained the concepts regarding superconductors, ferrofluids and holograms using experimental setups.
By Catarina Dias
14.02.2020
IFIMUP's Master student at IJUP 2020
João Costa, Master's student in Physical Engineering at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP) and new member of the Institute of Physics of Advanced Materials, Nanotechnology and Photonics (IFIMUP) participated in the 13th Edition of IJUP - the Youth Research Meeting of University of Porto with an oral presentation entitled “Optimization of the production of nanoparticles of R5 (SixGe1-x) 4 through Pulsed Laser Ablation in Liquids”. João was thus able to present the results of his experimental work so far and explain the future work to be carried out until the end of his master's thesis at the “A2: Mathematics and Physics” session of IJUP.
By João Horta
04.02.2020
Featured Article at Applied Physical Reviews
IFIMUP Researchers recently published an article in Applied Physics Reviews. The Editors selected it as “one of the journal's best in 2019”, and have chosen to promote it as a Featured Article. In a few days, the article already called the attention of the scientific community having achieved more than 340 full views.
This work was developed within the scope of the ongoing European project MSCA-RISE-734801-MAGNAMED: “New magnetic nanostructures for medical applications.” Which involves 12 European and American Academic Institutions and 2 Industry partners. The illustrative video can be seen here.
By Célia Sousa
03.02.2020
Best Poster Presentation at the NALS 2020
Suellen Moraes (PhD student) and Célia Sousa (Auxiliary Researcher) from the IFIMUP Multifunctional Magnetic Materials and Nanostructures group, and Claudia Nunes from REQUIMTE-FFUP, were in Madrid from 29th to 31th of August, attending Nanomaterials Applied to Life Sciences 2020 (NALS2020).
At NALS2020, Suellen Moraes presented the work entitled “Iron-based nanostructures encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles as a multifunctional nanocarriers for doxorubicin controlled delivery”, which has received interest of many researchers. Claudia Nunes presented an oral contribution entitled “Tailoring lipid based nanoparticles to fight cancer”, a work in collaboration with IFIMUP. Célia Sousa was the chairperson of the Nanodiagnosis Session. During the closing ceremony, Suellen´s poster presentation was awarded with the “Best Poster Presentation Award”. NALS awards are from Nature Nanotechnology and Nanoscale Advances.
NALS 2020 covered the relentless advances made in nanotechnology in a multidisciplinary and cross-sectional approach, from the design of new materials to their final application in the fields of Medicine, Biology, and Environment, bringing together academia and industrial researchers.
By Célia Sousa
30.01.2020
Periodic meetings - 2020 IFIMUP Talks #2 by Junior Researcher Andrii Vovk
Next Wednesday, February 5 at 11h30 on room 106 (DFA), Andrii Vovk will give the 2nd session of the 2020 IFIMUP Talks series. IFIMUP Talks consists on periodic meetings where IFIMUP researchers present their current state of work, focusing on the open questions and difficulties. The presentation is followed by an open discussion with possible suggestions presented by the audience. Andrii Vovk is a Junior Researcher that will talk about the work carried out as a collaborative effort between IFIMUP and INA (Zaragoza) and his talk will be on “Preparation, structural and magnetic characterization of Heusler Alloys thin films Co2FeGe".
By Catarina Dias
15.01.2020
Periodic meetings - 2020 IFIMUP Talks #1 by PhD student Sofia Ferreira Teixeira
Next Monday, January 20 at 11h30 on room 106 (DFA), Sofia Ferreira Teixeira will give the 1st session of the 2020 IFIMUP Talks series. IFIMUP Talks consists on periodic meetings where IFIMUP researchers present their current state of work, focusing on the open questions and difficulties. The presentation is followed by an open discussion with possible suggestions presented by the audience. Sofia Ferreira Teixeira is a PhD student that recently had a six-month visiting period at Imperial College London and her talk will be on “Spin to charge current conversion in nanostructures based on topological insulator Sb2Te3 sputtered thin films".
By Catarina Dias
15.01.2020
IFIMUP's research on TV
ExameInformatica_AP.mp4André Pereira was interviewed by "Exame Informática" broadcasted on the channel SIC Notícias about the Nanoflexteg project that aims to create flexible thermoelectric generators based on printing techniques.
By Catarina Dias
03.01.2020
IFIMUP's research on TV
A team of journalists from the national channel Porto Canal visited IFIMUP's laboratories to find out about the work being performed under the FET project WIPTherm. André Pereira explains how the technology that they are developing will be able to wireless power small satellites orbiting in space.
By Catarina Dias