Projects
PHD researcher on structure of 2Dsemiconductor-dielectrics interfaces. KU Leuven
As the academy found the abundant nature of graphene, a two-dimensional material which draws a lot of attention. After decades of research, it was found that the interesting nature of layered materials with strong in-plane bonding and weak out-of-plane interactions could possibly leads the semiconductor device application into a new era. However the electrical properties of graphene is not suitable to be a channel in a metal-oxide ...
Atomic scale observation of atom distributions in 3D devices using atom probe tomography KU Leuven
The rapid growth of the semiconductor industry over the past several decades was enabled by scaling of the integrated circuits to smaller physical dimensions, which allowed to increase their performance simultaneously decreasing their cost. However, due to this decrease of dimensions, the complexity of semiconductor devices had to be increased to preserve and improve their functionality. New device architectures and additional materials are ...
Production of immunogenic tumor lysate loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles as anti-cancer vaccine KU Leuven
With cancer being a leading cause of mortality, immunotherapy is emerging as an innovative procedure to control the disease. It is a fast evolving complex field aiming to stimulate components of the immune system against tumor cells. One of these approaches is active specific immunotherapy based on the injection of autologous mature dendritic cells loaded with autologous tumor lysate. Proof-of-principle studies have shown that these vaccines ...
Phosphorus recovery from incineration ash of phosphorus rich waste streams KU Leuven
Phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient for all living organisms. Currently, P used in fertilizers and animal feed is largely extracted from non-renewable phosphate rock of which reserves are depleting. The European Union (EU) considers both P and phosphate rock as critical raw materials because of their strategic importance and the economic dependence on a limited number of non-EU suppliers. In this regard, it is important to recover P from ...
Novel Sustainable Binders incorporating High Volumes of Bauxite Residue KU Leuven
Bauxite residue (BR) is the alkaline residue of alumina production with an annual production exceeding that of 150 Mt and a total disposed volume exceeding the 4 Gt. In principle, BR has great potential considering its large availability, however, the use of BR is currently still limited to less than 3% due to its alkaline nature, presence/fear of elevated concentrations of radionuclides, small particle size and low reactivity in a ...
Development of photo emission spectroscopy from planar to 3D structures . KU Leuven
Surface and interface analysis, within the semiconductor industry, has reached a level of refinement beyond that imaginable 25 years ago. Likewise, device architectures and dimensions are now at a level not thought possible even 10 years ago. With this, the question often asked is: How far can this go on. To gain a better understanding of the path forward, new analytical methods and protocols are needed .One area experiencing significant ...
Atomic-scale redistribution during metallization of compound systems KU Leuven
In semiconductor devices, novel functionality and enhanced performance are achieved through reduced dimensionality and a rapidly expanding materials library, including compound and complex heterogeneous materials. Emerging semiconductor materials such as GeSn or GeSiSn hold the promise of enhanced device performance but are prone to (at present unknown) compositional changes (e.g. Sn precipitation or surface segregation) and structural ...
Efficiency enhancement of bulk thermoelectrics by a nanostructuring approach Ghent University
Mesoporous silica materials with linear and interconnected pore systems and tuneable pore diameters were synthesized for their use as template material for the nanocasting of thermoelectric materials, which allows us to synthesize nanowire network structures with a controllable diameter and interconnectivity. It was shown that the templateU+2019s pore diameter could be easily enlarged by ageing them at a higher temperature or using ...
Development of High Strength Aluminum-Based Alloys for Laser Powder Bed Fusion KU Leuven
The main goal of the PhD project is to develop an innovative high strength Al alloy, feasible by powder metallurgy and suitable for Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF), with improved weldability and increased mechanical and corrosion resistance in comparison to cast grades Al alloys currently employed in Additive Manufacturing (AM). Development of the innovative aluminium alloy specifically designed for SLM will be mainly focused on two different ...