BrainMap

Daniela Dragoman

PhD

Professor - UNIVERSITATEA BUCURESTI

Researcher | Teaching staff

Web of Science ResearcherID: F-6154-2016

Expertise & keywords

Elastomeric tuneable metasurfaces for efficient spectroscopic sensors for plastic detection Call name: EEA Grants - Proiecte Colaborative de Cercetare
EEA-RO-NO-2018-0438 2019 - 2023

Role in this project: Partner team leader

Coordinating institution: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE - DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA MATERIALELOR BUCURESTI RA

Project partners: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE - DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA MATERIALELOR BUCURESTI RA (RO); SINTEF AS (NO); INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE- DEZVOLTARE PENTRU MICROTEHNOLOGIE - IMT BUCURESTI INCD (RO); UNIVERSITATEA BUCURESTI (RO)

Affiliation: UNIVERSITATEA BUCURESTI (RO)

Project website: https://elastometa.ro

Abstract:

If current production and waste management trends continue, it is projected that roughly 12 billion metric tons of plastic waste will be in landfills or in the natural environment by 2050. Plastics represent a significant environmental problem: They are for the most part not biodegradable, cause problems for terrestrial and aquatic life, and enter the food chain in the form of microplastics. A shift towards a circular economy has been proposed to meet these challenges, in which production, circulation and consumption do not leave behind negative footprints and do not deplete natural resources. An essential component in the transition to a circular economy involves turning waste into value, thereby giving incentives to reduce, reuse and recycle. Simplified and low-cost methods of sorting materials are currently making a great impact on the environment: It is estimated that the reverse vending machines of the company TOMRA alone capture 35 billion beverage containers every year, and thereby reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an equivalent of 2 million cars driving 10'000km annually.

Photonic sensors are ideally suited for material sorting due to the spectroscopy technique, which allows for discrimination between different polymer types by illuminating with near infrared electromagnetic fields and measuring absorption. An important development goal is to make such spectroscopy simple, affordable and energy efficient. The ElastoMETA project aims to design and fabricate functional nanostructured surfaces, known as metasurfaces, to meet these goals. These surfaces contain simple subwavelength nano-structures that can shape light which is transmitted through them. Despite their simplicity, they offer a new paradigm for advanced field manipulation due to unprecedented control of phase, polarization, amplitude and dispersion of the electromagnetic fields. The versatility of this approach is evident by the short time during which numerous realizations have been made: e.g. micro-lenses, filters, couplers, emitters and even holograms. With further development, metasurfaces are expected to have several advantages over existing optical sensor technologies for recycling applications (e.g. diffractive optics), in terms of (i) increased efficiency, (ii) relative ease of fabrication, and (iii) enhanced functionality.

The ElastoMETA project aims to develop designs and cost-effective nanostructuring processes for (a) tuneable, filtering and efficient lens designs, and (b) directional infrared emitters, for plastic detection. These developments are central to improving the efficiency and functionality of a spectroscopic microsensor for a circular economy. To this end ElastoMETA combines Romanian expertise in UV-nanoimprint and electron beam lithography from the National R&D Institute of Materials Physics (INCDFM) and the National R&D Institute in Microtechnology (IMT), and in theoretical photonics at University of Bucharest (UB) with Norwegian expertise at SINTEF Microsystems and Nanotechnology (SINTEF MiNaLab) in developing micro-optical sensor devices for industrial plastic and gas detection. This new long-term strategic partnership aims to bring developments at the forefront of photonics and nanotechnology towards commercial sensor applications for a competitive Romanian and Norwegian industry within the circular economy.

ElastoMETA demands close collaboration of the Romanian and Norwegian partners on interdisciplinary and interrelated work, related to i) design and simulation of functional structures acting as tunable, filtering lenses and directional sources, 2) process development using electron beam lithography for design verification, 3) UV nanoimprint lithography for cost effective nanostructuring of large area lenses, 4) embedding structures in elastomeric substrates to allow for mechanical tuneability 5) optical characterization and testing of the manufactured structures and 6) dissemination and evaluation of the project.

Advanced nanoelectronic devices based on graphene/ferroelectric heterostructures (GRAPHENEFERRO) Call name: P 4 - Proiecte Complexe de Cercetare de Frontieră
PN-III-P4-ID-PCCF-2016-0033 2018 - 2022

Role in this project: Partner team leader

Coordinating institution: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE- DEZVOLTARE PENTRU MICROTEHNOLOGIE - IMT BUCURESTI INCD

Project partners: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE- DEZVOLTARE PENTRU MICROTEHNOLOGIE - IMT BUCURESTI INCD (RO); UNIVERSITATEA BUCURESTI (RO); INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE - DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA MATERIALELOR BUCURESTI RA (RO); INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA LASERILOR, PLASMEI SI RADIATIEI - INFLPR RA (RO)

Affiliation: UNIVERSITATEA BUCURESTI (RO)

Project website: http://www.imt.ro/grapheneferro/

Abstract:

Applications such as high-frequency and neuromorphic circuits, optoelectronic/plasmonic detection of biomolecules or thermo-opto-electronics energy harvesting, require tunable and reconfigurable functionalities. Graphene is suitable for these applications because of electrostatic doping, its optical constants being tuned via gate voltages. However, oxide substrates limit the mobility in graphene to few thousands cm2/V•s. On the contrary, the mobility in graphene/ferroelectric (G/F) heterostructures is 2-3 orders of magnitude larger. The groundbreaking nature of the project is based on the possibility of significantly enhancing the functionality of graphene-based transistors/devices by using crystalline ferroelectric substrates instead of common oxides or SiC substrates. The G/F heterostructures allow: (i) the achievement of very high mobilities in G/F field effect transistors (FETs), which push the transistor gain in the 0.3-1 THz range, far above 70 GHz at which the maximum gain is attained nowadays, (ii) the fabrication of uncooled tunable detectors working in the THz and IR, (iii) the exploitation of the hysteretic resistance behaviour, essential for neuromorphic applications such as artificial synapses, (iv) the fabrication of reconfigurable microwave circuits, and (v) of tunable thermoelectronic devices, since graphene displays a giant thermoelectric effect. The project will consist of the design, fabrication and testing of groundbreaking, innovative nanoelectronic devices, in particular ultrafast electronic devices, neuromorphic circuits for computation, reconfigurable and harvesting devices, all based on the outstanding physical properties of G/F heterostructures. All fabrication techniques for growing graphene-ferroelectric heterostructures in this project should be scalable at wafer scale. The project is implemented by a consortium of 3 national R&D institutes and the leading Romanian university, which have the necessary advanced infrastructure.

Generation and identification of antimicrobial species from medicines exposed to laser radiation in view of fighting multiple drug resistance acquired by bacteria Call name: P 1 - SP 1.1 - Proiecte de cercetare Postdoctorală
PN-III-P1-1.1-PD-2016-1072 2018 - 2020

Role in this project: Key expert

Coordinating institution: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA LASERILOR, PLASMEI SI RADIATIEI - INFLPR RA

Project partners: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA LASERILOR, PLASMEI SI RADIATIEI - INFLPR RA (RO)

Affiliation: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA LASERILOR, PLASMEI SI RADIATIEI - INFLPR RA (RO)

Project website: http://lsg.inflpr.ro/pd68.html

Abstract:

One of the most important current drawbacks that have to be addressed in fighting infections with multiple drug resistant bacteria is the ineffectiveness of current antibiotics to destroy them and the lack of new antibiotic molecules and of new treatment schemes. At the same time, a fast and cheap approach for drug development is needed such as exposure of existing drugs to laser beams. Then, identification of new drugs must be made, which implies in most cases HPLC systems. A better solution is the high-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC), an offline method that is superior to other analytical techniques in terms of total costs and time for analysis. Development of a HPTLC single track scanner to identify new photoproducts is proposed in this project, for which low-intensity monochromatic light generated by picosecond lasers is used. The signal obtained from the HPTLC plates is analysed with a spectrograph equipped with a CCD camera for fluorescence spectra monitoring and a photomultiplier coupled to an oscilloscope for fluorescence lifetime evaluation. The overall objective of the proposal is to photo-generate antimicrobial species by exposing current drugs to UV laser beam and to characterize and identify the new species by performing qualitative and quantitative analysis using an improved HPTLC densitometry system. The results concerning the new species will be correlated with mass spectrometry measurements performed by LC-TOF/MS and the molecular structures of the antimicrobial compounds will be validated with Gaussian09 software.

The project strategy, as part of the overall project plan, is to publish 4 in peer-reviewed journals, have a project website, to participate at 3 international conferences, one research stage in an international institute and 3 research stages in 2 national institutes. The dissemination of the project will offer the success and sustainability of the outputs in the long term by raising awareness, inform, engage and promote.

Nanostructures for quantum and plasmonic computing Call name: P 4 - Proiecte de Cercetare Exploratorie
PN-III-P4-ID-PCE-2016-0122 2017 - 2019

Role in this project: Project coordinator

Coordinating institution: UNIVERSITATEA BUCURESTI

Project partners: UNIVERSITATEA BUCURESTI (RO)

Affiliation: UNIVERSITATEA BUCURESTI (RO)

Project website: http://www.mdeo.eu/MDEO/Proiecte/ID35/Main.php

Abstract:

The project addresses the problem of fast, reliable and accessible computation motivated by the fact that present-day classical Boolean computers are reaching rapidly their limits. Two alternative approaches based on new principles and architectures will be investigated in this multidisciplinary project: quantum and plasmonic computing, the objective being the development of novel and compact configurations of quantum and plasmonic logic gates and algorithms implemented using nanostructures.

This multidisciplinary project will investigate

(i) quantum computing configurations in ballistic two-dimensional electron gases/materials, focusing on developing compact configurations for quantum algorithms working at room-temperature and/or using current measurements as readout procedures.

(ii) logic gates in the plasmonic slot configuration, which involves gap surface plasmons propagating along narrow dielectric gaps in metals (of the order of 100 nm) that can be fabricated with standard technologies.

(iii) tunable plasmonic slot logic circuits with enhanced functionality, in which two-dimensional materials with gate-tunable refractive index influence the outcome of nearby plasmonic circuits.

Analogies between electron transport in nanostructures and light propagation Call name: Exploratory Research Projects - PCE-2011 call
PN-II-ID-PCE-2011-3-0224 2011 - 2016

Role in this project: Project coordinator

Coordinating institution: Universitatea din Bucuresti

Project partners: Universitatea din Bucuresti (RO)

Affiliation: Universitatea din Bucuresti (RO)

Project website: http://mdeo.eu/mdeo/proiecte/ID0224/

Abstract:

The project will explore the analogies between propagation of electromagnetic waves and electron transport in both semiconductor nanostructures governed by the Schrödinger equation and graphene, described by the Dirac equation. In the first case, the analogies are based on the formal similarity between the time-independent Schrödinger equation and the Helmholtz equation, while in the second case the spinor wavefunction in graphene can be put into correspondence with the polarization states of light, electromagnetic field components or light propagation in photonic bandgap structures with a honeycomb lattice. Although electrons and photons differ in many aspects, such as quantum statistics or electric charge, analogies between them have been evidenced in ballistic, i.e. collisionless, and multiple-scattering propagation regimes, when phase coherent effects are preserved. The aim of the project is to develop analogies for cases that have not been studied before, with the intent to emphasize the differences as well as the similarities between electron and photon propagation. In particular, the project is expected to contribute theoretically and experimentally to a better understanding of electron transport in asymmetric inhomogeneous disordered nanoscale conductors and could lead to the design of novel devices based on the analogies between electron and light propagation.

FILE DESCRIPTION	DOCUMENT
List of research grants as project coordinator or partner team leader
Significant R&D projects for enterprises, as project manager
R&D activities in enterprises
Peer-review activity for international programs/projects