CHARISMA is a ITN European Industrial Doctorate (ITN-EID) funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme which promotes the concept of applied chemical irreversibility to engineer displays for smart labels applications. The EIDs provide training through doctoral research to talented early stage researchers (ESRs). Through 9 ESR research projects, CHARISMA will establish an intersectoral training and research programme at the chemistry/physics/engineering interface with partners from 5 European countries.
LFE researchers Hamed Pourkheirollah and Matin Forouzmehr are attending their Marie Skłodowska-Curie programs secondment this spring. Hamed has already began his secondment in the March 7th and Matin will start his three months secondment at 7th of May. They both will be located in Freiburg, Germany with Ynvisible GmbH company. Starting from May 12th, Hamed will continue for one month his secondment with Ynvisible in their other location in Lisbon, Portugal and then continuing for another two months to UK and work with LCR-Hallcrest company.
The one of the main goals of the CHARISMA project is to fabricate a smart label using irreversible electrochromic technology. In his research with this project Hamed focuses on printed energy harvesting and storage/system integration. Ynvisible GmbH focuses on fabricating low power flexible displays and indicators and during his stay in Frieburg Hamed is testing his supercapacitors fabricated in LFE with the Ynvisibles indicators. The goal is to have both the indicators and the fabricated supercapacitors in the final smart label. In LCR-Hallcrest UK Hamed will be testing interaction of temperature sensor and supercapacitors among other things.
Matins goal is to design and fabricate a printable switching circuit which is able to trigger the electrochromic display. The core elements of this circuit are thin film transistors (TFT). In his research Matin has been working on improvement of TFTs dielectric quality using mainly Al2O3 and HfO2 deposition by ALD to be used as gate insulator. In Ynvisible Matin will concentrate in training about electrochromic displays and testing his own TFTs integrated with electrochromic displays.
Ynvisible GmbH develops and markets interactive solutions for everyday printed items based on electrochromics. The company was founded in 2010 in Portugal as a spin-out from YDreams a company dedicated to the creation of state-of-the-art innovative interactivity projects, products and technologies. Ynvisible’s has a highly skilled and multidisciplinary team in chemistry and materials science, electronics, product design and integration and business development. These competencies allow Ynvisible to combine end use design and technology, to deliver complete end solutions to consumer brand owners looking to apply electrochromic devices in their products.
LCR Hallcrest is a family owned pioneer of temperature sensitive, colour changing graphic technology and specialises in the formulation and microencapsulation of Liquid Crystal mixtures and the development and manufacture of thermometer labels, pigments, inks and paints that change colour. For over 40 years Liquid Crystal has been used to monitor and communicate temperature and solve problems in a wide range of industrial, medical and food hygiene applications. The LCR Hallcrest name is synonymous with this effort and has been at the forefront of the innovation, development and manufacturing of products such as whimsical novelties like the mood ring of the 70’s, consumer products such as the battery testers, to medical diagnostic thermometers currently used in millions of surgeries annually.