Matteo Altissimo

• PhD
• Researcher at Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A.

Electron beam lithography (EBL) is one of the tools of choice for writing micro- and nanostructures on a wide variety of materials. This is largely due to the fact that modern EBL machines are capable of writing nanometer-sized structures on areas up to mm(2). The aim of this contribution is to give technical and practical backgrounds in this extre...

The results of a collaborative development activity aimed to the realization of multi-cell detectors based on monolithic SDD pixel technology will be described. Two kind of detection systems, skilled for the light lines at synchrotrons, have been brought to high levels of finalization and integration; a 64 cells detection system dedicated to absorp...

Rhodnius prolixus is the main triatomine insect vector of Chagas Disease, which affects between 6 and 8 million individuals, with approximately 12,000 deaths per year in Latin America. Azadirachtin is a drug that causes changes in several species of insects, including triatomines, thereby inhibiting their development. This work exploits Low-Energy...

Third and fourth generation light sources have revolutionized the research in many scientific and technological disciplines. New scientific challenges impose the construction of cutting-edge performance machines and experimental stations. In this context, off-the-shelf detection systems severely constrain the achievable results. These reasons motiv...

This work presents the latest findings of an ongoing research project Billé et al. [1] where the angular dependence of XRF detection could be exploited for the topographical study of the specimen. It presents the results of a simulation framework and of measurements performed with a new detector system [2] deployed on the TwinMic beamline [3] (Elet...

Many clinical circumstances impose the necessity of collection and prolonged storage of gametes and/or ovarian tissue in order to preserve the reproduction potential of subjects. This is particularly appropriate in the case of young women and pre-pubertal girls undergoing chemotherapeutic treatments. The success of later assisted fertilization will...

Well-differentiated papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs) are the most common type of thyroid cancer. Thyroid function depends on the presence of certain trace elements necessary for both the synthesis and the metabolism of thyroid hormones. We conducted an observational translational study on formalin fixed paraffin embedded thyroid tissue slices co...

Silicon Nitride (SiN) membranes have long been the substrate of choice for many different synchrotron techniques at very different wavelengths (from IR to hard X-rays), due to their ease of production, relative robustness even in films <200 nm in thickness, and compatibility with standard microfabrication techniques. Here we present a set of data r...

Research question: Does synchrotron X-ray fluorescence (XRF) provide novel chemical information for the evaluation of human ovarian tissue cryopreservation protocols? Design: Tissues from five patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery for benign gynaecological conditions were fixed for microscopic analysis either immediately or after cryopreserva...

Low-energy X-ray fluorescence (LEXRF) is an essential tool for bio-related research of organic samples, whose composition is dominated by light elements. Working at energies below 2 keV and being able to detect fluorescence photons of lightweight elements such as carbon (277 eV) is still a challenge, since it requires in-vacuum operations to avoid...

Revealing the structure of complex biological macromolecules, such as proteins, is an essential step for understanding the chemical mechanisms that determine the diversity of their functions. Synchrotron based X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy have made major contributions in determining thousands of protein structures even from mi...

In spite of the constant technological improvements in the field of detector development, X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) in the soft X‐ray regime remains a challenge. The low intrinsic fluorescence yield for energies below 2 keV indeed renders the applicability of low‐energy XRF still difficult. Here, we report on a new multi‐element multi‐tile detection...

Revealing the structure of complex biological macromolecules, such as proteins, is an essential step for understanding the chemical mechanisms that determine the diversity of their functions. Synchrotron based x-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy have made major contributions in determining thousands of protein structures even from mi...

The current status of the TwinMic beamline at Elettra synchrotron light source, that hosts the European twin X-ray microscopy station, is reported. The X-ray source, provided by a short hybrid undulator with source size and divergence intermediate between bending magnets and conventional undulators, is energy-tailored using a collimated plane-grati...

In synchrotron facilities, imaging techniques are on high demand from the scientific community. Those related to X-ray microscopy are among the most prominent ones. Such techniques include scanning transmission x-ray microscopy (STXM), full-field transmission x-ray microscopy (TXM), and coherent diffraction imaging (CDI) which have a wide spectrum...

The last decades have witnessed substantial efforts in the development of several detector technologies for X-ray fluorescence (XRF) applications. In spite of the increasing trend towards performing, cost-effective and reliable XRF systems, detectors for soft X-ray spectroscopy still remain a challenge, requiring further study, engineering and cust...

Electrical energy storage based on Zn–air concepts is experiencing increasing interest for applications ranging from consumer electronics to automotive and grid storage, owing to their high energy density, intrinsic safety, environmental friendliness, and low cost. Their implementation is nevertheless daunted by several materials science riddles, a...

The amyloid precursor protein (APP) gene family includes APP and the amyloid precursor-like proteins, APLP1 and APLP2. These proteins contain metal binding sites for copper, zinc and iron and are known to have physiological roles in modulating the metal homeostasis in brain cells. Here we report the application of X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XFM...

An efficient and facile size- and shape-selective separation of gold nanorod (GNR) solutions is developed using a fractionated precipitation strategy. This convenient method has the benefit of eliminating nanoparticulate side products that can substantially deteriorate the quality of self-assembled nanostructures. The fabrication of advanced plasmo...

This paper presents an experimental demonstration of pronounced Fano resonances in a remarkably simple, three-dimensional (3D) plasmonic system, composed of two groups of paired cut-wires with different sizes. Theoretical calculations using the Finite Element Method, which are in good agreement with the experiment, are provided to describe the Fano...

The usefulness of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles has led to their wide distribution in consumer products, despite only a limited understanding of how this nanomaterial behaves within biological systems. From a nano-toxicological viewpoint the interaction(s) of ZnO nanoparticles with cells of the immune system is of specific interest, as these nanos...

Plasmonic dark modes are pure near-field modes that can arise from the plasmon hybridization in a set of interacting nanoparticles. When compared to bright modes, dark modes have longer lifetimes due to their lack of a net dipole moment, making them attractive for a number of applications. We demonstrate the excitation and optical detection of a co...

In this chapter, silicon nanowires that are compatible with CMOS fabrication processes have been described. It has been shown that these nanowires can be functionalized by conjugating monoclonal antibodies to their surface in order to build sensitive biochemical sensors. It has also been shown that by using frequency-based signals, all the necessar...

Nanorods standing at attention! A self-assembly technique based on convective and capillary forces was used for the direct fabrication of standing arrays of gold nanorods on lithographically predefined areas. The hexagonal close-packed structure of gold nanorods creates an ideal substrate for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

The self‐assembly of gold nanorods into standing arrays was achieved with precise placement over large areas. In their Communication on page 8732 ff., U. Bach et al. report on a nanofabrication process based on convective and capillary forces. The functionalization of the nanorods can be used to fine‐tune the interparticle and particle–substrate in...

Die Selbstorganisation von prazise platzierten, grosflachigen Anordnungen aufrecht stehender Goldnanostabe wird von U. Bach et al. in ihrer Zuschrift auf S. 8862 ff. durch einen Nanofabrikationsprozess auf der Basis von Konvektions- und Kapillarkraften erreicht. Die Funktionalisierung der Nanostabe kann genutzt werden, um die Wechselwirkungsenergie...

1. Spatially resolved X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy with synchrotron radiation is a technique that allows imaging and quantification of chemical elements in biological specimens with high sensitivity. In the present study, we applied XRF techniques at a macro and micro level to carry out drug distribution studies on ex vivo models to confir...

X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XFM) facilitates high-sensitivity quantitative imaging of trace metals at high spatial resolution over large sample areas and can be applied to a diverse range of biological samples. Accurate determination of elemental content from recorded spectra requires proper calibration of the XFM instrument under the relevant o...

Quantized x-ray phase vortices, namely, screw-type topological defects in the wave fronts of a coherent monochromatic scalar x-ray wave field, may be spontaneously nucleated by x-ray lenses. Phase retrieval is used to reconstruct the phase and amplitude of the complex disturbance created by aberrated gold nanolenses illuminated with hard x rays. A...

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is rapidly becoming one of the tools of choice in tracing the presence of both endogenous and exogenous chemical elements in biological samples. The sub-micron spatial resolution routinely obtainable at multi-keV energies at third generation light sources, combined with the high brilliance of the photon beam, allows mapping...

We demonstrate high spatial resolution phase retrieval of a non-periodic gold nano-structure using the method of Fresnel coherent diffractive imaging. The result is quantitative to better than 10% and does not rely on any a priori knowledge of the sample.

A new high resolution (400 nm) Fresnel Zone Plate (ZP) of 1 mm diameter has been designed and produced in order to accurately measure its spatial resolution and efficiency. This experiment is an extension of the previous tests performed to measure the efficiency of these devices. The measurements were carried out on the diffractometer Morpheus at P...

In the last years we witnessed an increasing trend in miniaturization of electronic, mechanical, optical and magnetic components. Currently, the ultimate Critical Dimension (CD) of such components is rapidly approaching the 10 nm length scale, with a growing interest in integrating different components in complex systems. Advanced fabrication techn...

The fabrication of single electron transistors and/or highly sensitive biosensors is still a challenging task on account of the tight control required to get proper shapes and size of the electrodes. The nanosized tips and the separation of a few nanometers between electrode pairs are critical features. Conventional lithography is not suited to obt...

A novel route for fabrication of compact optical system for X-rays is presented. It is based on the extensive use of tools developed for microelectronics and micromechanics: electron beam lithography, optical lithography and X-ray lithography. Virtually any shape can be obtained in order to match the system to the different needs. In this paper, we...

The construction of the Australian synchrotron provides a unique opportunity to exploit many exciting fields of science, including the possibility to fabricate objects by means of soft X-ray lithography (XRL). Soft XRL is able to faithfully replicate objects with critical sizes down to few tens of nanometers, with high accuracy and high throughput....

The excellent characteristics that nanoimprint lithography (NIL) shows as a two-dimensional patterning technique, such as resolution and throughput, are shared with its three-dimensional (3D) structuring version. Nevertheless, the potentialities of NIL for 3D structuring remain largely unexplored and unexploited, hindered by the difficulties in the...

Diffractive optics now plays a major role in optical systems for the extreme ultraviolet and X-ray region. For example, zone plates in their different appearances are widely used for focusing X-rays, as monochromatizing condenser optics, and for high resolution imaging, particularly in X-ray microscopy. The idea in this paper is based upon a more g...

The aim of this report is to demonstrate a unified version of microscopy through the use of advanced diffractive optics. The unified scheme derives from the technical possibility of realizing front wave engineering in a wide range of electromagnetic spectrum. The unified treatment is realized through the design and nanofabrication of phase diffract...

ELETTRA (http://www.elettra.trieste.it/index.html) is a third generation synchrotron radiation source facility operating at Trieste, Italy, and hosts a wide range of research activities in advanced materials analysis and processing, biology and nano-science at several various beam lines. The energy spectrum of ELETTRA allows x-ray nano-lithography...

Advanced nano-technology is exploited to produce a set of Fresnel neutron zone plates of large aperture and with similar and reproducible characteristics. These zone plates have been employed to test the performance of a stack of them. It is found that the stack of many zone plates can be effective in handling a neutron beam.

The aim of this paper is to present the design, the fabrication and the first experimental tests of neutrons focussing for our fabricated phase zone plates. Two different diffractive optical elements will be presented in the article. One is a 5 mm zone plate with a resolution of 400 nm and the other is a matrix (30×30) different Zone Plates, each o...

The aim of this paper is to present the design, the fabrication and the first experimental tests of neutrons focussing for our fabricated phase zone plates. Two different diffractive optical elements will be presented in the article. One is a 5 mm zone plate with a resolution of 400 nm and the other is a matrix (30 × 30) different Zone Plates, each...

Advanced nano-technology is exploited to produce a set of Fresnel neutron zone plates of large aperture and with similar and reproducible characteristics. These zone plates have been employed to test the performance of a stack of them. It is found that the stack of many zone plates can be effective in handling a neutron beam.

Two lithographic techniques suitable for fabricating complex 3D structures with high spatial resolution are presented and discussed. The first one is based on the combined use of nanoimprint and X-ray lithography. Its technological potential has been demonstrated by patterning several types of structures with X-ray lithography on hexagonal array of...

We present results on a lithographic approach that combines nanoimprint (NIL) and x-ray lithography (XRL) for fabricating unconventional three-dimensional (3D) polymer structures. The use of XRL for structuring a prepatterned resist by NIL gives rise to high-resolution high-aspect-ratio structures whose overall profile is enveloped by the original...

In this paper we compare two techniques to design diffractive gratings with periods close to the wavelength of the illumination beam. The first method, based on the Rayleigh method, is faster and allows good result if grating period is more than 1.2 bigger than the wavelength. The second method, known as Fourier Modal Method, is more precise but al...

Diffractive optical elements (DOE"s) can be used to manipulate the amplitude, the phase and the polarization of light beams. They can operate over a wide range of wavelength from UV to x-ray radiation. Interest in DOE"s has grown rapidly in recent years since they are smaller and lower in size and weight than conventional optical elements and in ad...

In this paper we report results obtained in the design and fabrication of diffractive optical elements (DOEs) with minimum feature size down to tens of nanometers by the use of e-beam and x-ray lithography. The DOEs are patterned using e-beam lithography and replicated by x-ray lithography. Since in our days there is an increased interest for extre...

Magnetic arrays of rectangular dots 1100 nm x 300 nm with 200 nm spacing (pattern a) and dots 800 nm x 550 nm with 200 nm spacing (pattern b) with the nominal thickness of 30 nm in Permalloy (Ni81Fe19) material were fabricated using X-ray lithography in combination of lift-off technique. A detailed magnetic characterization of the dot arrays was ac...

In this paper we report results obtained in the fabrication and use of novel coded diffractive nano-optics that, beyond focusing, can perform new optical functions. In particular, the intensity of light in the space beyond the optical elements can be redistributed with almost complete freedom. These novel X-ray optical elements have been tested and...

We describe a novel approach for converting the specimens phase information into strong image contrast in the x-ray region, the differential interference contrast x-ray microscopy (X-DIC). In the used setup, X-DIC operation was accomplished by a twin zone plate (TZP), i.e. two zone plates on both sides of the same substrate, laterally shifted by ab...

Silicon micromachining is an attractive technique for batch production of a wide class of miniaturized components and systems. In particular, micromachined components can be combined with semiconductor lasers, microlenses, and micromechanics to develop a new class of instruments. A worldwide impulse in micromachining is originated by the space indu...

Optical tweezer arrays generated by diffractive optical elements can extend the capabilities to manipulate and organize microscopic particles into complex structures, to sort them intelligently and to study collective behavior in many-body systems materials. We describe new design methods, based on iterative algorithms, to calculate phase-only diff...

Progress on the fabrication of zone plates for hard X-rays is reported. The issue of achieving a high aspect ratio for lithographic structures has been addressed by developing a specific fabrication protocol based on the combined use of electron beam and proximity X-ray lithography. An example of a 1 mm diameter wide zone plate, optimized for a 23...

X-ray imaging in differential interference contrast (DIC) with submicrometer optical resolution was performed by using a twin zone plate (TZP) setup generating focal spots closely spaced within the TZP spatial resolution of 160 nm. Optical path differences introduced by the sample are recorded by a CCD camera in a standard full-field imaging and by...

Patterned arrays of magnetic wires, dots and anti-dots have attracted a lot of interest both for their potential applications in magnetic data-storage devices and for the investigation of magnetic phenomena in low-dimensional systems. However the employment of micro- and nano-structures in magnetic high density recording media and non-volatile RAM...

In this paper we present the beamline for X-ray lithography installed at ELETTRA (Trieste, Italy). The peculiarity of the beamline design consists mainly in its wide lithographic window. This is achieved by combining high-pass filters (Beryllium windows or other suitable material filters) with low-pass filters (mirrors at increasing angles of incid...

Some considerations on the design of computer generated phase elements applied to the intensity redistribution of Gaussian light beams are presented in this paper. The computer generated phase elements are designed using an iterative transform algorithm for Fresnel domain. Parameters which influence the performances of these algorithms and the comp...