2D ENGINE targets new 2D materials phases that do not exist in Nature in bulk but that can be engineered by synthetic techniques in thin film form. The new 2D phases emerge from their 3D polar parent materials with the wurtzite structure and stabilize below a critical thickness (a few ML) as a result of surface energy minimization, adopting a planar non-polar hexagonal (h) BN-like structure. The new materials exhibiting sp2 hybridization are expected to have the stability of graphene but also possess a finite energy gap that makes them useful for (opto)electronic devices. h-AlN 2D dielectric as well as h-GaN and h-SiC 2D semiconductors are targeted with the aim to fabricate functional electronic and photonic devices, first as a means to validate the quality of these materials at the highest possible level, second to show that the new 2D phases could have an impact addressing urgent needs in digital and Si photonics technologies. Moreover, 2D ENGINE aims to show new functionalities such as nanoscale ferroelectricity produced by twisted bilayer h-AlN or h-BN which can lead to ultra-low power ferroelectric tunnel junction memristors for in-memory computing. To implement the objectives, we will base our growth methodology on liquid metal catalyst (LMCat) substrates to achieve seamless merging of small islands to larger-area single crystals in the mm scale. High-sensitivity synchrotron XRD, surface analytical techniques, Raman spectroscopy and radiation-mode optical microscopy will be employed for real time (operando) monitoring of growth and for the unambiguous identification of the new 2D phases at the atomic scale supported by atomistic simulations and AI-assisted data analysis. The necessary process modules will be developed with an emphasis on robotic-arm-assisted direct separation, layer twisting and transfer in order to assemble the device layer stacks for further processing of nano-scaled 2D transistors and integrated 2D LED/waveguide systems.

MISEL aims at bringing artificial intelligence to the edge computing (decisions made on-device) through a low-power bio-inspired vision system with multi-spectral sensing and in sensor spatio-temporal neuromorphic processing based on complex events. The science-to-technology breakthrough is the heterogeneous integration of a neuromorphic computing scheme featuring three different abstraction levels (cellular, cerebellar and cortex processors) with high-density memory arrays and adaptive photodetector technology for fast operation and energy efficiency. The context-aware, low power and distributed computation paradigm supported by MISEL is promising alternative to the current approach relying on massive-data transfers and large computational resources, e.g., workstations or cloud servers. This answers to the challenges and related scope presented in the Work Programme towards "more complex, brain mimicking low power systems" "exploiting a wider range of biological principles from the hardware level up" by introducing the human eye like adaptivity with cellular processor and the data fusion, learning, reasoning, and “conscious” decisions performed by the cortex. The stand-alone system fabricated in MISEL will be tested on timely and challenging applications such as distinguishing birds from drones through their spatio-temporal flying signature, and scene anomaly detection from a mobile platform. From the technology development and industrialization point of view, MISEL includes the whole value chain: materials research for back-end of line (BEOL) processing-compatible densely-packed ferroelectric non-volatile memories (FeRAMs) and intensity adaptive photodetectors, novel neuromorphic computing algorithms and circuit implementations, and system level benchmarking. This is all in line with the challenge and scope of "outperforming conventional SoA with relevant metric" and benchmarking "challenging end-to-end scenarios of use" for industrial adaptation.

PERSEPHONe (PERovskite SEmiconductors for PHOtoNics) is a coordinated training network which wants to generate new skills, knowledge and innovation for the development of a novel technological platform for photonics based on metal-halide perovskite semiconductors. These materials have impressive optoelectronic properties and they can be engineered to achieve a large set of functionalities whose integration could lead to important improvement to Silicon photonics, Silicon (Oxy)Nitride and other established technological platforms. PERSEPHONe is a multidisciplinary and intersectoral effort which sees, in parallel, the development of perovskite materials, the development of photonic devices and the integration of such building blocks in integrated photonic circuits, with the intent to set the bases for a technology which is commercially viable. 8 academic and 5 industrial beneficiaries, from 7 different EU Countries and one EU-13 Country will train 14 ESRs, exposing them to a wide spectrum of expertise: materials synthesis, photonic (and optoelectronic) devices and integrated circuits fabrication, characterization, and modeling, upscaling and manufacturing together with a powerful set of soft skills. Each ESRs will learn how to deal with complex problems, acquiring broad competences and becoming highly adaptable. They will be aware of their skills and attitudes and spend them efficiently in both corporate and academic worlds, eventually reinforcing the European placement in the high tech market.