Dr Androula Nassiopoulou received the B.Sc. degree in Physics from the University ofAthens in 1975 and the M.Sc. and Ph.D degrees from the University of Paris XI (ORSAY) in 1977 and 1980 respectively. She then moved to the University of Reims, France as Associate Professor, from where she received the habilitation to direct research (Doctorat d’Etat) in 1985. She is with the Institute of Microelectronics (IMEL) at NCSR Demokritos since 1986. In 1996 she has been elected by an international scientific committee as the Director of IMEL and she served the Institute from this position for two consecutive mandates (1996-2009). As Director of IMEL, she contributed to its establishment as a Centre of Research Excellence in Micro, Nanoelectronics and Sensors in the National, European and International scene. Funds for Excellence were granted to IMEL in 2001 and 2005 that served to develop a fully equipped Si processing laboratory in clean room, complemented by structural, electrical and optical characterization facility. During her mandates IMEL developed important expertise and know-how in its field and established its role in the European and National  research scene: it became founding member of the European Institute of Nanoelectronics-SINANO, member of the European Nanoelectronics technology platform ENIAC, founding member of the National Scientific Society Micro&Nano and  founding associate member of the Hellenic Semiconductor Industry Association.

Dr Nassiopoulou was also member of the board of Management of NCSR Demokritos in 1996-2009 and Vice President of NCSR Demokritos in 2001-2003, member of the Greek National Research Council in 2001-2003, member of the Expert Advisory Group of NMP-FP6 in 2003-2005, member of the Scientific Community Council of the European Nanoelectronics platform (ENIAC) in 2008-2012 and member of the Governing Board of the European Institute of Nanoelectronics (Sinano) in 2009-2012. She was the founder and currently the President of the Greek National scientific society “Micro & Nano”, devoted to Micro and Nanoelectronics, Nanotechnologies, and MEMS.

Dr Nassiopoulou is currently Director of Research at theInstitute of Microelectronics of NCSR Demokritos, at the Head of the “Nanostructures for Nanoelectronics and Sensors” research group. Her current research interests are in the following:

Nanostructures: formation and characterization

The materials currently investigated include Si nanowires and nanocrystals, porous Si, porous anodic alumina and others. The techniques used include electrochemistry, metal-assisted chemical etching, low pressure chemical vapour deposition (LPCVD), sputtering and electron gun evaporation.

Nanostructures: Applications in Electronics and sensors

The Electronic devices currently investigated include on-chip RF passive devices integrated on a nanostructured porous Si substrate (CPWs, inductors, antennas), and memory devices.

Sensors include thermal devices (gas flow sensors for medical and automotive applications, cooling devices, thermoelectric generators).

Dr A. G. Nassiopoulou has been involved in a large number of EU research projects, including

1. FP5 ESPRIT BRA, project EOLIS, Contr. No 7228 on the “Emission of light in Si”
2. FP5 ESPRIT-INCO, project PST Sensors Contr. No 950507 on “Integrated gas flow sensors using porous Si” coordinated by A. G. Nassiopoulou
3. FP5 ESPRIT-MELARI, project SMILE, Contr. No …., on “Silicon modules for integrated light engineering”
4. FP6 Growth-STREP-project SFEGAS, Contr. No GIRD-1999-00167 on “Sensor array for fast explosion-proof gas monitoring”
5. FP6-IST-project FORUM FIB, Contr. No 29573 on the “Fabrication, organization and use of memories obtained by FIB”
6. FP6 IST-STEP, project Escher, Contr. No 33287 on “Self-assembled building blocks for nanocomputers”
7. FP6 IST-NoE, project SINANO on “Si-based nanodevices”
8. FP6-IST-IP, project Goodfood, Contr. No 508774 on “Food safety and quality monitoring with microsystems”,
9. FP6 IST-I3, project ANNA, Contr. No 026134 on a “European Integrated Activity of Excellence and Networking for Nano and Microelectronic Analysis”
10. FP7 ICT-NoE project NANOSIL, Contr. No 216171 on “Silicon-based nanostructures and nanodevices for long term nanoelectronics applications”.

She is currently involved in the following EU projects: 1) FP7-ICT-NoE Nanofunction, Contr. No 257375 on “Beyond CMOS Nanodevices for Adding Functionalities to CMOS”, SE2A - EU FP7 ENIAC JU, project SE2A, Contract No 120009 on “Nanoelectronics for Sale, Fuel Efficient and Environment Friendly Automotive Solutions” and FP7 CSA- project NANO-TEC, Contract No 257964 on “Beyond CMOS Nanodevices for Adding Functionalities to CMOS”

She coordinated a large number of national projects and grants including project granted for the Institute Excellence in 2001 and 2005, a project AKMON with matching funds for industrial projects and several research projects from the General Secretariat for Research and Technology (5 EPET, 2 PENED, several bilateral projects with different countries etc.).

Dr A. G. Nassiopoulou is author or co-author of over 250 publications in international journals, reviews, books, and conference proceedings, has been granted 5 patents, edited 15 Special issues of International Journals or Conference Proceedings volumes and chaired/co-chaired more than 15 International and National Conferences and Symposia, including 5 PSST Conferences held every two years in Spain, 3 Micro&Nano Conferences held every three years in Athens and 3 E-MRS Symposia within the E-MRS Conference held every year in Strasbourg or Nice, France.

Teaching activities

Her involvement in Higher Education started with an Associate Professor position at the University of Reims in France (5 years of full teaching program (1980-85)) and continued with yearly courses in the PhD course program of NCSR Demokritos (1986-1997), the MSc/PhD program on Microelectronics of the National and Kapodistriac University of Athens, for the establishment of which she actively contributed (1997-today), the MSc program of NTUA on microsystems and nanodevices (2007-2012), and the MSc/PhD program of the University of Thessaloniki on Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies (2004-2010).

She supervised 15 PhD theses and several MSc and diploma theses.

Main research achievements

Worldwide pioneering research results of A. G. Nassiopoulou include the following:

• Observed, for the first time worldwide, electron energy loss spectra in the reflection mode. Based on this first result a new surface spectroscopy technique emerged, called SEELS (Slow-Electron-Energy-Loss Spectroscopy) (Surface Science, 149, 313, 1985, Surface Science, 162, 965 (1985), Surface Science (165, 203 (1986)).
• Investigated the kink effect on the current-voltage characteristics of a MOSFET at low temperatures down to liquid He (J. Appl. Phys., 68(4), 1896, (1990), Sol. Stat. Electr, 32(8), 603 (1989) etc)
• Investigated electron interaction with matter and the effect of electron-induced signals on the intensity and lateral resolution of Auger electron spectroscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (Surf. Interf. Anal.,15, 405, (1990), Surf. Interf. Anal., 16, 203, (1990), Surf. Science, 254, 309-319, (1991), Surf. Interf. Analysis, 19, 419, (1992), Microchimica Acta, 13, 605-610, (1996) etc)
• Developed, for the first time worldwide, Si nanowires using lithography and etching and observed visible light emission from them (Appl. Phys. Letters, 66(9), 1114, (1995), Physica Status Solidi, (b) 190, 91, (1995), J. Vacuum Science and Technol. B 15(3) 640, (1997))
• Developed, for the first time worldwide, an electroluminescent device based on silicon nanowires (nanopillars) (Appl. Phys. Letters, 69(15), 2267, (1996), Thin Solid Films, 297, 176,  (1997)). Phys. St. Sol. (a) 165,79, (1998)
• Investigated different effects in Si nanocrystals embedded in SiO₂ or CaF₂and in Si nanowires, as follows:
  1. Polarized Raman and Photoluminescence in silicon nanowires, J. Appl. Phys. 84(2), 1059-1063, (1998)
  2. Stable-photo and electroluminescence from Si nanocrystals embedded in SiO₂ (Appl. Phys. Lett, 77 (12),  1816, (2000), Phys. St. Sol. (a) 165,79, (1998))
  3. Dependence of the radiative recombination lifetime on electric field in silicon nanocrystals embedded in SiO₂, Europhys. Lett, 51 (2), 168, (2000)
  4. Self-trapped excitons in silicon nanocrystals of sizes below 1.5 nm in Si/ SiO2 multilayers, Jour. of Appl. Phys., 90(11), 5735, (2001)
  5. Electroluminescence from silicon nanocrystals in Si/CaF2 superlattices (Appl. Phys. Lett., 79(13) 2076, (2001))
  6. Light emission and non-linear transport in Si nanocrystals/CaF₂ superlattices, J. of Luminescence, 22, 2313, (1998) Mat. Sci. & Engin. B69-70, 546-548, (2000)
  7. Photoluminescence lifetimes in silicon nanowires, (Phys. Rev. B, vol. 66, 205 323, (2002))
  8. Si nanocrystals under high hydrostatic pressure: Increased phase transition Physical Rev. B, 58(21), 14089, (1998)
  9. Polarized Raman and Photoluminescence studies in silicon nanowires, J. Appl. Phys. 84(2), 1059-1063, (1998)
  10. Charging/discharging properties of Si and Ge nanocrystals with application in nanocrystal memories (Appl. Phys. Lett. 82(3) 397, (2003), Nanotechnology 15, 1-7, 1233-1239, (2004), Nanotechnology 15, 1-5, 352-356, (2004), J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol., vol. 7, 316-321 (2007), J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol., vol. 7, 368-373 (2007)
• Based on the low thermal conductivity of porous Si, proposed a novel thermal isolation platform on the Si wafer. Developed different thermoelectric and sensor devices using thick porous Si layers for thermal isolation (Sens. & Actuators A, 76(1-3) p.133, (1999), Phys. Stat. Sol. (a) 182,307, (2000), IEEE Sensors Journal, Vol. 2 (2) 1530, (2002), Sensors & Actuators A, 100, 413-422, (2004), IEEE Sensors Journal, 2(5), 463-475, (2002), Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 95(1-3), 78, (2003)).  Currently investigates porous Si for use in cooling devices on the Si wafer.
• Developed bulk Si micromachining for suspended membranes and cantilevers on Si using porous Si as sacrificial layer. Developed porous Si membranes for sensors and microfluidics (Microelectronic Engineering, 35, 397, (1997), Sensors and Actuators A68, 429-434 (1998), IEEE J. Microelectromech. Syst , 12 (6),  863, (2003), J. of Micromech. & Microengin. 13, 323, (2003), Phys. Stat. Sol. (a), 197 (2), 539, (2003)
• Developed highly ordered porous anodic alumina thin films on Si for use as templates for nanostructure growth on Si, as masking layers in Si nanopatterning and as active layers in nanodevices (Nanotechnology 16, 103, (2005), Ionics, 11 (3-4), 236 (2005), Nanotechnology 19, 495306 (2008), Physica Status Solidi (A) Applications and Materials, 206 (6), pp. 1286-1289, 2009, Physica Status Solidi (A) Applications and Materials, 206 (6), pp. 1309-1312, 2009 Journal of Applied Physics 107 (11), art. no. 113104 (2010) IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 57 (10), art. no. 5535075, pp. 2679-2683 2010
• Developed and investigated the use of porous Si thick layers for RF shielding on the Si wafer

Selected recent publications

• "On-Chip High-Performance Millimeter-Wave Transmission Lines on Locally Grown Porous Silicon Areas," Issa H, Ferrari P, Hourdakis E, Nassiopoulou A G, .IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 58 (11), pp. 3720-3724 (2011)
• “Role of surface vibration modes in Si nanocrystals within light emitting porous Si at the strong          confinement regime”, Mahdouani M., Gardelis S., and Nassiopoulou A.G., Journal of Applied       Physics 110 (2), art. no. 023527  (2011)
• "Charge-trapping MOS memory structure using anodic alumina charging medium", Hourdakis E. and Nassiopoulou A. G., Microelectronics Engineering 88 (7), pp. 1573-1575 (2011)
• “Lateral electronic transport in 2D arrays of oxidized Si nanocrystals on quartz: Coulomb blockade effect and role of hydrogen passivation”, Manousiadis P., Gardelis S., and Nassiopoulou A.G., Journal of Applied  Physics 109 (8), art. no. 083718 (2011)
• “Lateral electrical transport, optical properties and photocurrent measurements in two-dimensional arrays of silicon nanocrystals embedded in SiO₂”, Gardelis S., Manousiadis P., and Nassiopoulou A.G., Nanoscale Research Letters 6 (1), pp. X1-6:227  (2011)
• "High performance MIM capacitor using anodic alumina dielectric", Hourdakis E. and Nassiopoulou A. G., Microelectronics Engineering, DOI: 10.1016/j.mee.2011.03.020 2011
• “Silicon nanowires by a single-step metal-assisted chemical etching on lithographically defined areas: formation kinetics”, A. G. Nassiopoulou, V. Gianneta and C. Katsogridakis, Nanoscale Research Letters, vol. 6 (1), 597 (2011)).
• “Nanomechanical properties of thick porous silicon layers grown on p-p+-type bulk crystalline Si”, Charitidis C.A., Skarmoutsou A., Nassiopoulou A. G., Dragoneas A., Materials Science and Engineering A 528 (29-30), pp. 8715-8722 (2011)
• “Comparison of electrical measurements with structural analysis of thin high-k Hf-based dielectric films on Si”, E. Hourdakis, M. Theodoropoulou, A. G. Nassiopoulou, A. Parisini, M. A. Reading, J. A. van den Berg, T. Conard, and S. Degendt, ECS Trans. 25 (3) 363-372 (2009)
• "Optimized porous Si microplate technology for on-chip local RF isolation", F. Zacharatos, H. Contopanagos, A. G. Nassiopoulou, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, 56 (11), pp. 2733-2738 (2009)
• "Investigation of Auger recombination in Ge and Si nanocrystals embedded in SiO2 matrix", M. Mahdouani, R. Bourguiga, S. Jaziri, S. Gardelis, A. G. Nassiopoulou, Physica E: Low-Dimensional Systems and Nanostructures, 42 (1), pp. 57-62 (2009)
• "Dynamic charge transfer effects in two-dimensional silicon nanocrystal layers embedded within SiO₂", V. Ioannou-Sougleridis, A. G. Nassiopoulou, J. of Appl. Phys., 106 (5), art. no. 054508 (2009)
• "Ultrafast time-resolved spectroscopy of Si nanocrystals embedded in SiO2 matrix", E. Lioudakis, A. Emporas, A. Othonos, A. G. Nassiopoulou, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 483 (1-2), pp. 597-599 (2009)
• "Photoluminescence properties of porous silicon/fluorene dye composites ", M. Fakis, F. Zacharatos, V. Gianneta, P. Persephonis, V. Giannetas, A. G. Nassiopoulou, Materials Science and Engineering B, 165 (3) 2009
• "Effect of exciton migration on the light emission properties in silicon nanocrystal ensembles", S. Gardelis, A. G. Nassiopoulou, N. Vouroutzis, N. Frangis, Journal of Appl. Phys., 105 (11), art. no. 113509, 2009 (Selected for the July 2009, Issue (vol. 8, issue 7) of Virtual Journal of Ultrafast Science, 2009)
• "Formation of porous anodic alumina templates in selected micrometer-sized areas on a Si substrate. Application for growing ordered Ti nanopillars", V. Gianneta, M. Huffman, A. G. Nassiopoulou, Physica Status Solidi (A) 206 (6), pp. 1309-1312, 2009
• "Highly ordered hexagonally arranged sub-200 nm diameter vertical cylindrical pores on p-type Si using non-lithographic pre-patterning of the Si substrate", F. Zacharatos, V. Gianneta, A. G. Nassiopoulou, Physica Status Solidi (A) 206 (6), pp. 1286-1289, 2009
• "Enhancement and red shift of photoluminescence (PL) of fresh porous Si under prolonged laser irradiation or ageing: Role of surface vibration modes", S. Gardelis, A. G. Nassiopoulou, M. Mahdouani, R. Bourguiga,S. Jaziri, Physica E: Low-Dimensional Systems and Nanostructures, 41 (6), pp. 986-989, 2009
• "Laterally ordered 2-D arrays of Si and Ge nanocrystals within SiO₂ thin layers for application in non-volatile memories", A. G. Nassiopoulou, A. Olzierski, E. Tsoi, A. Salonidou, M. Kokonou, T. Stoica, L. Vescan, International Journal of Nanotechnology, 6 (1-2), pp. 18-34 (2009)
• “Calculated optical transitions in a silicon quantum wire modulated by a quantum dot”, X. Zianni and A. G. Nassiopoulou, Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics 20, S68-S70 (2009)