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NFFA Europe Pilot

NEP: NFFA Europe Pilot

 

Duration: 03/2021-02/2026

 

Specific eligibility: multi-facility proposals about research at the frontier of the nanoscience and nanotechnology 

 

Proposal submission platform: NFFA.eu

www.nffa.eu

Start date: 01/03/2021 | End date: 28/02/2026

NFFA-Europe-Pilot is a distributed research infrastructure that integrates nanofoundries (growth, synthesis and nano/micro-fabrication) with advanced characterization and fine analysis available at European large-scale facilities, and with theory and simulation tools. It offers users the possibility to carry out cutting edge research at the frontier of the nanoscience and nanotechnology with the widest possible range of tools and more than 180 techniques currently available. Researchers accessing the NFFA-Europe facilities can control and design the properties of materials from the nano- to the micro-scale, and even up to the macro-scale.

Thanks to the H2020 project NFFA-Europe Pilot, a new project supported by the H2020 framework programme of the European Commission, this comprehensive catalogue of facilities and services is now offered to users for free. NFFA-Europe Pilot will consolidate and expand the operation of an Interoperable Distributed Research Infrastructure for Nanoscience (IDRIN) – a unique platform to perform complex projects, offering a seamless series of science services to its users.

Through the NFFA-Europe Research Infrastructure, comprehensive research projects become feasible through the submission of a single proposal.

NFFA-Europe-Pilot offer is divided in 6 installations:

  1. lithography and patterning;
  2. growth and synthesis;
  3. structural and morphological characterization;
  4. electronic, chemical, and magnetic characterization;
  5. from nano to micro/macro;
  6. theory and simulation.

The online catalogue provides the description and technical details of the techniques offered in each installation (https://www.nffa.eu/offer/).

There are 4 calls for proposals per year, which deadlines are:

  • beginning of March,
  • beginning of June,
  • beginning of September,
  • beginning of December.

Submit your proposal via the dedicated web page: https://www.nffa.eu/apply/

 

ELIGIBILITY

  1. TNA is provided to academic users.
  2. Only user-groups that will disseminate the results they generate under the project are eligible.
  3. The user PI (Principal Investigator) and the majority of the users must work in a country other than the country(ies) where the installations are located (France for SOLEIL).

This rule does not apply:

- if access is provided by partners INL and JRC;

- in case of remote access to a set of installations located in different countries offering the same type of service.

  1. In case of positive proposal evaluation, access for user groups with at least half of the users working in an EU or associated country is granted within the capacity of NFFA-Europe; access for user groups with a majority of users not working in an EU or associated country is limited to 20% of the total access provided by NFFA-Europe.

 

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENT

NFFA-Europe proposals must include access to at least two different types of Installations (Litho/Growth/SM Charact./ECM Charact./Nano to Micro and Theory).

The following exception to this general rule are admitted: proposals that need combined access to fine analysis employing both neutrons and synchrotron radiation at Large Scale Facilities to investigate the same sample systems are eligible even when the requested techniques belong to the same installation.

 

PRIORITY CRITERIA

NA

 

EVALUATION

As soon as the proposal is submitted on the website, the technical liaison network (TLNet - a network of scientists and technicians in charge of coordinating the access request and supporting user access) consults the sites offering access to the required techniques on the feasibility of the proposed experiment. Feasible proposals are then evaluated and ranked according to scientific merit by an external panel of reviewers (Access Review Panel - ARP). The best-ranked proposals are assigned to the most appropriate NFFA-Europe site/sites and scheduled for access. “Highlight Proposals”, selected among excellent, promising and challenging research proposals on scientifically and technologically “hot topics” adopting a comprehensive approach (well-justified and balanced access to complementary techniques/methods), will be granted fast-track access.

 

REIMBURSEMENT RULES

This program reimburses up to two users per proposal.

Normally, the duration of trip cum stay includes two or more travelling days (the onward and the return journeys) and a number of days equivalent to the number of access days granted. One unit of access is the equivalent of a shift of eight hours that corresponds to a day.

Travel expenses: the maximum contribution per person per site accessed is €500. This means that regardless of the actual travel costs incurred, the maximum reimbursement will not exceed €500 per user per site. Otherwise, it will be equal to the amount of costs incurred, if lower.

Subsistence costs:  The maximum contribution per person per day is €100. This covers daily expenses such as accommodation and meals during the trip and the stay at the access site.

 

REIMBURSEMENT PROCEDURE

Original tickets OR e-Tickets OR original invoices must be collected by each user and sent to SOLEIL Travel Office (with reference to the proposal ID). The invoice must clearly show information relating to the nature, the date, and the price of all subsistence costs (for accommodation also the hotel category).

 

AFTER ACCESS / REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

As recipient of financial support by the EU Commission via SOLEIL you must meet the EU reporting requirements:

Top Menu “Proposal & Experiment Management” >> After experiment >> End of run reports" button.

 

Top Menu “Proposal & Experiment Management >> After experiment >> Experimental report” button.

 

  • At the end of the access sessions, users are requested by the NFFA-Europe management to fill the documents below:

NFFA-Europe Satisfaction Questionnaire

NFFA-Europe User Report

 

  • Users are obliged to acknowledge support from NFFA-Europe Pilot project by the following text string that needs to be literally included into the publication:

“This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, under grant agreement No 101007417 NFFA-Europe Pilot. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the Granting Authorities can be held responsible for them.”

 

  • Acknowledge SOLEIL and please include the following statements:

"Parts of this research were carried out at "beamline " at SOLEIL. We would like to thank N.N. for assistance during the experiment (if not co-author of the publication)"

 

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