Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are one of the most widely studied and commercially attractive nanoparticles studied to date. Their commercial success is best quantified by the production volume of CNTs, which is growing exponentially, and is currently estimated at 5000 ton/yr. In part, this success can be attributed to the physical properties of CNTs, some of which are unlike any other engineering material (e.g. Young's Modulus of 1 TPa, a tensile strength of 100 GPa, thermal conductivities up to 3500 Wm-1K-1). However, these off-the-chart properties only apply to high quality individual nanotubes whereas most commercial applications require tens to millions of carbon nanoparticles to be assembled into one device. Unfortunately, the mechanical and electronic figures of merit typically drop by at least an order of magnitude in comparison to the constituent nanoparticles once integrated into an assembly. It is therefore critical to develop new manufacturing processes which enable assembling CNTs in a controlled fashion and to integrate these CNT aggregates in devices. These devices are extremely challenging to manufacture reliably, not only because of challenges in the synthesis and assembly of CNTs but also because these fragile CNT structures need to be interfaced with electrodes for electrical read-out, and often need to be in contact with gases or liquids for sensing, microfluidic, biomedical and energy storage applications. In this EPSRC Adventurous Manufacturing grant, we demonstrate a multi-scale manufacturing approach that allows to individually optimise different device length scales in an approach that has never been attempted previously. Bringing these manufacturing methods together is challenging because they rely on different alignment processes and have different thermal budgets, but when integrated correctly, phase 1 of the project demonstrated that they enable the manufacturing of radically new nanomaterial based devices. Ultimately, this new set of manufacturing techniques form a platform technology that can be used to solve a multitude of engineering problems and find applications in chemical sensors, biomedical applications, microfluidics and actuators. This project is partnering with UK based manufacturing companies to ensure that the processes developed in this project are embedded in the UK industry and become easily accessible to both academic and industrial stakeholders.

The equipment requested in this proposal will strengthen the existing EPSRC National Research Facility which provides access to UK academics and industry with facilities for ion implantation and irradiation. Ion Implantation is a technique used to by the semiconductor industry to introduce dopant atoms into specific regions of semiconductor devices. It can do this with extremely high levels of control and accuracy and over large areas. Ion implanters are used many times in the fabrication process of semiconductor devices and are heavily utilized in production line fabrication plants around the world. None of these are available for R&D programs, as the production line process is tightly controlled and does not allow for any interruption in the process flow. Consequently R&D relies upon stand alone facilities, such as the one provided by the UK National Ion Beam Centre at Surrey. R&D programs involving high energy implantation (ions accelerated to a potential over 1MV) are common in opto-electronics and solar cell research areas, where deep implants are required both doping and optical confinement of components. Ion Irradiation uses the same high energy accelerator to produce radiation damage in structural materials to simulate the conditions inside nuclear reactor vessels. The long term effects of neutron (as well as other ionising radiation) irradiation on reactor materials is well known, such as embrittlement, creep and swelling. There search for improved materials is key to improving the lifetime and running costs of nuclear reactors. These effects may take decades to manifest in a reactor. The irradiation facility allows these effects to be observed in a few tens of hours under the ion beam. The use of high energy ions is particularly important to produce the radiation damage suitably far away from the surface of the material, which is known to be a perturbing influence. Research in these areas in the UK from both academia and industry has grown steadily and the use of the high energy ion implanter at Surrey has more than tripled since the machine was installed 30 years ago. The reliance on a single 30 year old machine to provide this service is not ideal and a second machine is requested to provide increased availability as well as a more robust service. Currently some ion species can be "challenging" to produce and take up large amounts of machine time in extracting the small numbers of ions generated. With high demand on the single machine it can be more difficult to justify the time spent on these applications. A second implanter will allow a more robust service, providing back up against failure, as well as providing additional time to users and long runs will not hold up other users so drastically.

Capsule endoscopy for medical diagnosis in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract has emerged only in the past 10 years. Now established in "pillcams", which have benefitted more than 1 m patients worldwide, it is a clear candidate for further innovation. Most capsule endoscopy devices record and transmit video data representing the visual appearance of the inside of the gut, but work has begun on other diagnostic techniques, such as the measurement of pH, and there has been some research into the use of capsules for treatment as well. Medical ultrasound imaging is a safe, inexpensive technique which can be applied in real-time at the point of care. Ultrasound is also capable of treatment through focused ultrasound surgery and, in research, for targeted drug delivery. The core of the Sonopill programme is the exploration of ultrasound imaging and therapeutic capabilities deployed in capsule format. This will be supported by extensive pre-clinical work to demonstrate the complementary nature of ultrasound and visual imaging, along with studies of multimodal diagnosis and therapy, and of mechanisms to control the motion of the Sonopill as it travels through the GI tract. This brings research challenges and opportunities in areas including ultrasound device and systems design, microengineering and microelectronic packaging, autonomous capsule positioning, sensor suites for diagnosis and intervention, and routes to translation into clinical practice. Our carefully structured but open-ended approach maximises the possibility to meet these research challenges while delivering for the UK a sustainable international lead in multimodality capsule endoscopy, to provide greater capabilities for the clinician, more acceptable practice for the patient population, and lower costs for economic wellbeing.

Power electronics are seldom seen, yet our daily lives would be very different without them. Power electronics are crucial to improving the battery life of a mobile phone & to maximising the efficiency of high-voltage transmission lines. They are found in railways & hybrid cars, in TVs & energy efficient lighting. Although not perhaps obvious, power electronics are vital to meeting the CO2 reduction targets set by Government. The use of these technologies in the control of electrical machines in factories is predicted to save up to 9% of total electrical energy consumption in the UK. In addition, power electronics are going to be key to controlling the renewable energy sources of the future low carbon economy, which will be producing 30% of our energy by 2020. With a predicted 50% improvement in energy efficiency over current silicon devices, transistors produced from gallium nitride (the same semiconductor material used in low energy LEDs) have the potential to revolutionise power electronics. By working together, research teams from the Universities of Glasgow, Cambridge, Nottingham, Liverpool, Bristol, Sheffield & Manchester will develop & prototype highly efficient, gallium nitride power electronics devices with world-leading performance. Critically, routes to manufacture in a silicon wafer fabrication facility will be developed. Making these step changes is an outstanding opportunity for the 19 silicon manufacturing facilities in the UK, as the global power electronics market is currently worth £135 billion, & growing at a rate of 10% per annum. The outcomes will also underpin next generation applications in high-value manufacturing sectors including traditional UK strengths such as the automotive, aerospace, consumer electronics, lighting, healthcare & energy industries. . Not surprisingly, global competition in the area of gallium nitride power electronics is fierce, & a number of high profile research projects have recently been established in Europe, the US & the Far East. This flagship UK project is a consortium of world-leading University research groups who together have the skill, expertise & critical mass to compete successfully against the rest of the world. To achieve our challenging goals, Cambridge, Nottingham & Sheffield will together focus on the growth & evaluation of gallium nitride materials on silicon substrates to produce the starting semiconductor wafers required for manufacture. Bristol & Nottingham will perform detailed simulations of device performance to inform the choice of gallium nitride materials & also the specific transistor structures for the various applications. Glasgow & Liverpool will combine expertise to develop procedures for the manufacture of gallium nitride transistors using "silicon friendly" approaches & then combine these processes to produce world-leading devices. Manchester, Nottingham & Bristol will evaluate the transistors in measurement systems which mimic the various real world applications for which power electronics are required. Throughout the project, there will be continual feedback between the teams to ensure that optimsied devices are produced. For scientific, technical & economic reasons, a number of UK based companies spanning semiconductor wafer growth, silicon based power electronics device manufacture, & systems suppliers using power electronics components have aligned themselves with the project, keen to exploit the outcomes of the research. By developing world-leading gallium nitride power electronics components using silicon manufacturing approaches, this project, which is directly aligned with the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council energy efficiency & manufacturing the future strategies , will deliver internationally leading scientific outputs & next generation technologies which UK companies will be in a position to quickly take forward thereby maximising both academic impact & economic benefit.