Room-temperature strong coupling in organic microcavities is usually achieved by combining high-quality optical resonators with highly ordered excitonic media, a requirement that limits scalability and processing flexibility. Here we show that this constraint can be relaxed by using molecular aggregation as a design parameter rather than treating it as a parasitic effect. We realize solution-processed Rhodamine 6G-poly(vinyl alcohol) films embedded in low-quality-factor silver Fabry-Perot microcavities and demonstrate clear angle-resolved anticrossing with coupling energies up to 324 meV despite the large optical losses of the metallic mirrors. A two-exciton coupled-oscillator model shows that the relative weight of these species controls the collective coupling strength and can be tuned through dye loading and spin-coating conditions. In contrast, angle-resolved photoluminescence is dominated by a broad, red-shifted lower-polariton emission, consistent with relaxation through excimer-like states formed in densely packed molecular domains. These results identify molecular aggregation as a practical design lever for loss-tolerant strong coupling in wet-processed metallic cavities and suggest that ground-state aggregates and excited-state excimer-like species play distinct roles in polariton formation and emission.

This work presents two fabrication strategies for the development of organic thin-film devices at the micro- and nano-scales. We make use of non-commercial PEDOT synthesized via liquid-phase oxidative chemical polymerization, using vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) as a oxidant. The optimization of this synthetic technique enables the production of homogeneous PEDOT films with a controlled thickness and tunable electrical properties. At the micro-scale, we fabricate a PEDOT microstripe with gold contacts using standard optical lithography and confirm the high electrical performance of the processed PEDOT device. Moreover, at the nanoscale we apply a self-assembling technique, namely the nanosphere lithography, to pattern the thin film over a large area with a hexagonally close-packed array of nanopillars. This technique allows us to achieve individual nanopillar dimensions as small as 255 nm in diameter. The ability to achieve such controlled geometries suggests significant potential for developing organic photonic crystals and metasurfaces. These findings highlight a versatile fabrication framework that bridges standard lithography and unconventional self-assembly, providing a scalable pathway toward advanced organic electronic and tunable photonic devices.

The Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition in ultra-thin NbN films is investigated in the presence of weak perpendicular magnetic fields. A jump in the phase stiffness at the BKT transition is detected up to 5 G, while the BKT features are smeared between 5 G and 50 G, disappearing altogether at 100 G, where conventional current-voltage behaviour is observed. Our findings demonstrate that weak magnetic fields, insignificant in bulk systems, deeply affect our ultra-thin system, promoting a crossover from Halperin-Nelson fluctuations to a BCS-like state with Ginzburg-Landau fluctuations, as the field increases. This behavior is related to field-induced free vortices that screen the vortex-antivortex interaction and smear the BKT transition.

High-energy heavy-ion irradiation is known to produce effective vortex pinning centers in the high-T cuprate superconductors, as amorphous columnar tracks. However, while the beneficial effects on pinning has been well established through dc and low-frequency characterizations, the same analysis in the high-frequency regime is far from complete. Even less investigated are the effects of heavy ion irradiation on the microwave properties of metallic low-Tc superconducting films. Here, we report on the effects of 1.15 GeV Pb irradiation on the high frequency properties of YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) and Nb3Sn thin films. The microwave analysis, performed in the range 7-8 GHz, allows obtaining the fundamental properties of both the materials, as the London penetration depth and gap values, and of the main pinning parameters, through the determination of the Campbell length by measurements in dc magnetic fields up to 4 T. GeV heavy-ion irradiation confirmed to be extremely effective for YBCO also in the high frequency regime, enhancing both the pinning constant and the depinning frequency, thus pushing the critical current density to about 30% of the depairing current density. On the other hand, the discontinuous but correlated defects produced in Nb3Sn was found to be ineffective to enhance the pinning properties (the pinning constant in fact decreases), while the observed increment of the depinning frequency is ascribed to the reduction of the vortex viscosity, in turn due to the growth of the normal state resistivity.

Fixing the numerical values of fundamental constants of nature, following the revision of the International System of Units (SI), opens new perspectives for the mise en pratique of SI units. Indeed, every experiment able to correlate physical observables to fundamental constants becomes a direct realization of the corresponding SI unit, bringing services of National Metrological Institutes (NMIs) directly to the end-user. However, this novel approach requires the integration and miniaturization of advanced device concepts working according to the principles of quantum physics. Here, we show the realization of an intrinsic standard of resistance based on memristive devices directly traceable to the SI, working in air, at room temperature, and implementable on-chip. Operating nanoionic memristors in the quantum conductance regime, we report on a programming strategy based on the electrochemical polishing effect to achieve controllable quantum conductance levels multiples of the fundamental unit of conductance G_0 that, being related only to fundamental constants of nature, can be exploited as intrinsic standard values. Consensus values for conductance levels deviating from SI values of G_0 and 2G_0 of -3.8 % and 0.6 % have been established through an interlaboratory comparison experiment involving three NMIs and three academic/research centers. The obtained results are consistent with the established consensus values. Experimental and simulation results pave the way for the “NMI-on-chip” concept implementation towards the realization of systems that do not require calibration (self-calibrating systems) and that are directly traceable to the SI (zero-chain traceability).

Recently, superconducting nanostructures gained particular attention due to the visualisation of some intriguing phenomena, such as phase fluctuations, quantum phase slip, shape resonance in critical temperature, allowing the definition of a tailored superconducting nanodevice with the desired superconducting features, quantum phenomena. A deep investigation into the relationship between superconductivity, low dimensionality, quantum phenomena should be performed, in order to explain the emergence mechanism of these effects in nanostructures, how superconductivity is affected. In the following, we report on the investigation of the superconductive transition in triangular -shaped Nb pads connecting a Nb nanostripe. As revealed by R vs T curves, and the superconductive transition is observed to be characterised by two regions: i) a first smooth and wide transition reflecting the continuous reduction in the width of the Nb triangular pads that progressively experience superconductive transition, and ii) a more abrupt transition reflecting the transition of the Nb nanostripe. This work could pave the way concerning the realisation of Nb nanostructures with tunable critical temperature, transition width, and slope.

The revision of the International System of Units opens new perspectives for the mise en pratique of SI units, fixing numerical values of fundamental constants of nature. Here, we show the realization of an intrinsic standard of resistance based on memristive devices working in air, at room temperature, directly accessible to the end user. Operating nanoionic cells in the quantum conductance regime, we report on a programming strategy based on the electrochemical polishing effects, allowing to control quantum conductance levels multiple of the fundamental unit of conductance and implement it as intrinsic standard values. The metrological consistency of results with respect to consensus values is verified, deviating -3.8 % and 0.6 % from of G0 and 2G0 values, respectively. Results pave the way for the implementation of National Metrological Institute services on-chip, towards the realization of self-calibrating systems with zero-chain traceability.

The recent revision of the International System of Units (SI)-which fixed the numerical values of nature's fundamental constants-has opened new perspectives for practical realizations of SI units. Here we demonstrate an intrinsic resistance standard based on memristive nanoionic cells that operate in air at room temperature and are directly accessible to end users. By driving these devices into the quantum conductance regime and using an electrochemical-polishing-based programming strategy, we achieved quantum conductance levels that can be exploited as intrinsic standard values. An interlaboratory comparison confirmed metrological consistency, with deviations of -3.8% and 0.6% from the agreed SI values for the fundamental quantum of conductance, G0, and 2G0, respectively. These results lay the groundwork for the implementation of national metrology institute services on chip and for the development of self-calibrating measurement systems with zero-chain traceability.

The Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards (VAMAS) was established by G7 in 1982 and supports world trade in products dependent on advanced materials technologies, through International collaborative projects aimed at providing the technical basis for harmonized measurements, testing, specifications, and standards. It comprises more than 15 Technical Working Areas devoted to the standardization and measurements of advanced materials. The participants are selected on a volunteering basis and must represent at least three international areas, Europe, Americas and East (www.vamas.org). The aim of this international interlaboratory comparison is to determine quantitatively the thermal properties of arrays of silicon nanowires by measuring periodicity, diameter and height, effusivity and thermal conductance using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning thermal microscopy (SThM). The samples are fabricated by INRiM and will be circulated among the interested partners starting from June 2025 for the SThM measurements. Data will be evaluated by CMI and INRiM and included in the VAMAS final report of the project. INTRODUCTION The use of nanowires is diffused in several applications, ranging from photovoltaics to hydrogen production by photo-catalysis, and the evaluation of the thermal properties is a critical assessment for their use. Scanning Thermal Microscopy is a promising technique for this purpose, but needs accurate study and calibration to measure values of thermal and conductivity. University, industry and calibration laboratories need reference samples and standards at the nanometric level for resolution certification of a variety of measuring instruments, such as Scanning Thermal Microscopes. There are no currently available nanowires arrays standard for thermal properties on the market and the measurements of nanowires thermal properties are typically qualitative and with too low uncertainty levels for the increasing needs of metrology. This VAMAS interlaboratory comparison will try to approach the thermal measurements of thermal properties of silicon and porous silicon nanowires with standardized samples and procedures. The main goals of the interlaboratory comparison will be: - Develop a standard based on silicon nanowires with different thermal conductance values, ranging from bulk silicon to silicon dioxide. - Develop a calibration procedure, combining experimental data from different characterization techniques, like Scanning Probe Thermal Microscopy and the 3ω method. - Evaluate measurement uncertainty. - Development of standardized procedures to define the thermal properties of the nanowires. Funding Participants fund their own involvement in the project. Samples for the interlaboratory comparison will be supplied by INRiM, the calibration procedure will be developed and diffused by CMI. Deliverables and Dissemination Report will evaluate the variance observed in the associated measurement protocol, to guide further development. Results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and will be proposed in ISO/IEC standards. CONCLUSIONS The VAMAS project on the Thermal properties of Silicon and Porous Silicon Nanowires has been presented illustrating the fabrication methodology, the calibration approach, and the measurement protocol. The participation to the interlaboratory comparison is free and the measurement activity will start on June 2025.

Since the discovery of Metal Assisted Chemical Etching (MACE) 1, the direct dependence of the resulting silicon nanostructures as extruded by the metal mask has led to several applications on large area, like photovoltaics2, Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering platforms 3, energy harvesting and thermo-electrics4. Coupling MACE with nanosphere lithography5 allowed the fabrication of silicon nanowire arrays with desired dimensions and functionalities over a large area. In this communication, an overview of some applications of porous silicon nanowires will be given with particular attention to the realization of porous nanowires, losing structural stiffness and gaining high flexibility, used for the development of gold-coated active substrates for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and for the development of thermoelectric devices where the thermal transport properties of single nanowires are of interest. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, discovered in 19746, is a promising analytical tool for detecting chemical and biological species at single molecule levels in liquid and gas phases. Its specificity and sensitivity have led to applications in electrochemistry, environmental analysis, and bio-sensing. Thanks to the development of electromagnetic and chemical theories to explain SERS, it is now widely accepted that the phenomenon is primarily attributed to electromagnetic field enhancement. The light enhancement is achieved through the excitation of localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) in gaps, crevices, or sharp features of plasmonic materials, typically noble and coinage metals with nanoscale features. This process generates Raman hot spots due to the proximity of metal nanostructures separated by a few nanometers. In our work, we optimized the fabrication of gold-coated flexible porous silicon nanowires understanding the formation of the hot spots at the tip-to-tip sites of nanowires bundles7 and controlling the patterning over large area obtained by nanospheres self-assembly to correlate the nanospheres distribution in a monolayer to the final SERS substrates enhancement performances and homogeneity8. Moreover, we integrated the SERS measurements with the absolute quantification of the number of active molecules contributing to the SERS signal by means of reference-free synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence measurements9. The progress in this work on SERS will be discussed. Furthermore, in the field of thermoelectric materials and devices, an accurate evaluation of the thermal and electrical conductivity of single nanowires is mandatory, so our efforts are addressed to the production and the advanced characterization of single porous silicon nanowires. MACE represents the most suitable method to produce long nanowires with desired diameter and aspect ratio (> 1:200) for single-wire electrical and thermal characterization10. Porous silicon nanowires of 100 nm of diameter obtained by MACE from highly doped substrates have been nanomanipulated, bonded and measured on a custom-designed MEMS platform 18, and the thermal conductivity resulted being of 0.8 W/MK, lower than thermal silicon dioxide values and almost two orders of magnitude less than crystalline bulk silicon. The thermal and electrical conductivity of the silicon nanowires can be modified by conformally coating the nanostructures with ALD-based deposition of ZnO. The STEM characterization of the structural properties of the coated single nanowires is discussed together with the thermal and electrical conductivity. Acknowledgements Part of this work has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101007417, having benefited from the access provided by CEA LETI in Grenoble within the framework of the NFFA-Europe Pilot Transnational Access Activity, proposal [ID310]. Part of this work has been carried out at Nanofacility Piemonte, a laboratory supported by the ‘‘Compagnia di San Paolo’’ Foundation, and at QR Lab - Micro & Nanolaboratories, INRiM. References Li, X. & Bohn, P. W. Appl. Phys. Lett. 77, 2572–2574 (2000). Peng, K. Q. & Lee, S. T. Advanced Materials vol. 23 (2011). Qiu, T., Wu, X. L., Shen, J. C., Ha, P. C. T. & Chu, P. K. Nanotechnology 17, (2006). Dávila, D. et al. J. Micromechanics Microengineering 21, 104007 (2011). Huang, Z., Geyer, N., Werner, P., De Boor, J. & Gösele, U. Advanced Materials vol. 23 285–308 (2011). McQuillan, A. J. Notes Rec. R. Soc. Lond. 63, 105–109 (2009). Kara, S. A. et al. RSC Adv. 6, 93649–93659 (2016). Cara, E., Mandrile, L., Ferrarese Lupi, F., Giovannozzi, A.M., Dialameh, M., Portesi, C., Sparnacci, K., De Leo, N., Rossi, A.M. and Boarino, L., Sci. Rep, 8(1), 11305 (2018). Cara, E., Mandrile, L., Sacco, A., Giovannozzi, A.M., Rossi, A.M., Celegato, F., De Leo, N., Hönicke, P., Kayser, Y., Beckhoff, B. and Marchi, D., Journal of Materials Chemistry C, 8(46), 16513-16519 (2020). Ferrando-Villalba, P. et al. Sci. Rep. 8, (2018). Figure 1

The microwave response of superconducting devices can be affected by nonlinearity effects of both intrinsic and extrinsic origin. In this study, we report on the nonlinear behavior of NbTi microwave resonators, in the presence of dc magnetic fields up to 4 T. The aim of this work is to characterize the vortex-induced nonlinearity, which in these conditions of frequency (11 GHz) and fields is expected to give the major contribution to dissipation, when the circulating rf current exceeds a given threshold. Nonlinearity is investigated by analyzing Q-degradation and resonance curve distortion as a function of the input rf power, while the emergence of sharp discontinuities is associated to the existence of an rf limiting current density. The current densities corresponding to the onset of these features are compared to the critical current density from dc measurements, helping us to outline a comprehensive picture. Moreover, the pinning constant was extracted as a function of temperature by means of a Gittleman–Rosenblum analysis, revealing the prominent role of δTc−type pinning. We also analyzed the effects of introducing controlled artificial disorder and pinning sites through 1.5-MeV proton irradiation. After irradiation, we observed an increase of both the pinning constant and the in-field nonlinearity threshold and limiting current.

The Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards (VAMAS) has been established by G7 in 1982 and supports world trade in products dependent on advanced materials technologies, through International collaborative projects aimed at providing the technical basis for harmonized measurements, testing, specifications, and standards. It is composed by more than 15 Technical Working Areas devoted to the standardization and measurements of advanced materials. The participants are selected on a volunteering base and must represent at least the three international areas, Europe, Americas and East. The aim of this international interlaboratory comparison is to determine quantitatively the thermal properties of arrays of silicon nanowires measuring periodicity, diameter and height, effusivity and thermal conductance using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning thermal microscopy (SThM). The samples are fabricated by INRiM and will be circulated among the interested partners starting from November 2024 for the SThM measurements. Data will be evaluated by CMI and INRiM and included in the VAMAS final report of the project. 1. Introduction The use of nanowires is diffused in several applications, ranging from photovoltaics to hydrogen production by photo catalysis, and the evaluation of the thermal properties is a critical assessment for their use. Scanning Thermal Microscopy is a promising technique for this purpose, but needs accurate study and calibration to measure values of thermal and conductivity. University, industry and calibration laboratories need reference samples and standards at the nanometric level for resolution certification of a variety of measuring instruments, such as Scanning Thermal Microscopes. There are no currently available nanowires arrays standard for thermal properties on the market and the measurements of nanowires thermal properties are typically qualitative and with too low uncertainty levels for the increasing needs of metrology. This VAMAS interlaboratory comparison will try to approach the thermal measurements of thermal properties of silicon and porous silicon nanowires with standardized samples and procedures. The main goals of the interlaboratory comparison will be: - Develop a standard based on silicon nanowires with different thermal conductance values, ranging from bulk silicon to silicon dioxide. - Develop a calibration procedure, combining experimental data from different characterization techniques, like Scanning Probe Thermal Microscopy and the 3ω method. - Evaluate measurement uncertainty. - Development of standardized procedures to define the thermal properties of the nanowires. 2. Samples fabrication and Interlaboratory comparison The samples to be measured will be fabricated by INRiM by MACE and Deep Reactive Ion Etching, aside of the Region of Interest (RoI) containing one or more arrays of porous silicon nanowires, three SiO2 layers with different thickness will allow a calibration close to the porous silicon thermal conductivity values [1] (Fig.1a). The MACE etching will be performed after nanosphere lithography and Au metallization [2] or by patterning the gold layer by FIB. Another set of samples will be fabricated by Electron Beam Lithography and Deep Reactive Ion Etching (Fig.1b). The SThM calibration and measurements will be performed following the works in reference [3,4]. The thermal conductivity of the initial substrates, both crystalline silicon and SiO2 layers, will be measured in parallel with the 3ω approach to obtain real values with a complementary and quantitative method. 3. Funding Participants fund their own involvement in the project. Samples for the interlaboratory comparison will be supplied by INRiM, the calibration procedure will be developed and diffused by CMI. 4. Deliverables and Dissemination Report will evaluate the variance observed in the associated measurement protocol, to guide further development. Results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and will be proposed in ISO/IEC standards. 5. Conclusions The VAMAS project on the Thermal properties of Silicon and Porous Silicon Nanowires has been presented illustrating the fabrication methodology, the calibration approach, and the measurement protocol. The participation to the interlaboratory comparison is free and the measurement activity will start on November 2024. References [1]. P. Ferrando-Villalba, L. D’Ortenzi, G.G. Dalkiranis, E. Cara, A.F. Lopeandia, L.l. Abad, R. Rurali, X. Cartoixà, N. De Leo et al., Sci. Rep., 8, 1, 12796 (2018) [2]. E. Cara, L. Mandrile, F. Ferrarese Lupi, et al., Sci. Rep. 8, 11305 (2018). [3]. P. Klapetek, Quantitative Data Processing in Scanning Probe Microscopy: SPM Applications for Nanometrology. (Elsevier Science, 2018). [4] Eloise Guen, Pierre-Olivier Chapuis, R. Rajkumar, Philipp Dobson, Gordon B Mills, et al. Scanning thermal microscopy on samples of varying effective thermal conductivities and identical flat surfaces. Journal of Applied Physics, American Institute of Physics, In press. ffhal-03020300ff Figure 1

The EMPIR project 20FUN06 MEMQuD - “Memristive devices as quantum standard for nanometrology” has as one of its fundamental goals the development of technical capability and scientific knowledge for the implementation of a quantum resistance standard based on memristive devices characterized by high scalability down to the nanometer scale, CMOS compatibility and working in air at room temperature. In this work it is presented an overview of the project, highlighted relevant characteristics and working principles of memristive devices and potential applications with focus on metrological application with framing allowed by the last revision of the International System of Units (SI) that is the motivation and background for the aim of this project

Memristive devices based on the resistive switching mechanism are continuously attracting attention in the framework of neuromorphic computing and next-generation memory devices. Here, we report on a comprehensive analysis of the resistive switching properties of amorphous NbOx grown by anodic oxidation. Besides a detailed chemical, structural and morphological analysis of the involved materials and interfaces, the mechanism of switching in Nb/NbOx/Au resistive switching cells is discussed by investigating the role of metal-metal oxide interfaces in regulating electronic and ionic transport mechanisms. The resistive switching was found to be related to the formation/rupture of conductive nanofilaments in the NbOx layer under the action of an applied electric field, facilitated by the presence of an oxygen scavenger layer at the Nb/NbOx interface. Electrical characterization including device-to-device variability revealed an endurance >10(3) full-sweep cycles, retention >10(4) s, and multilevel capabilities. Furthermore, the observation of quantized conductance supports the physical mechanism of switching based on the formation of atomic-scale conductive filaments. Besides providing new insights into the switching properties of NbOx, this work also highlights the perspective of anodic oxidation as a promising method for the realization of resistive switching cells.

Copper oxide nanowires (NWs) are promising elements for the realization of a wide range of devices for low-power electronics, gas sensors, and energy storage applications, due to their high aspect ratio, low environmental impact, and cost-effective manufacturing. Here, we report on the electrical and thermal properties of copper oxide NWs synthetized through thermal growth directly on copper foil. Structural characterization revealed that the growth process resulted in the formation of vertically aligned NWs on the Cu growth substrate, while the investigation of chemical composition revealed that the NWs were composed of CuO rather than Cu2O. The electrical characterization of single-NW-based devices, in which single NWs were contacted by Cu electrodes, revealed that the NWs were characterized by a conductivity of 7.6 × 10−2 S∙cm−1. The effect of the metal–insulator interface at the NW–electrode contact was analyzed by comparing characterizations in two-terminal and four-terminal configurations. The effective thermal conductivity of single CuO NWs placed on a substrate was measured using Scanning Thermal Microscopy (SThM), providing a value of 2.6 W∙m−1∙K−1, and using a simple Finite Difference model, an estimate for the thermal conductivity of the nanowire itself was obtained as 3.1 W∙m−1∙K−1. By shedding new light on the electrical and thermal properties of single CuO NWs, these results can be exploited for the rational design of a wide range of optoelectronic devices based on NWs.

The sequential infiltration synthesis (SIS) of inorganic materials in nanostructured block copolymer templates has rapidly progressed in the last few years to develop functional nanomaterials with controllable properties. To assist this rapid evolution, expanding the capabilities of nondestructive methods for quantitative characterization of the materials properties is required. In this paper, we characterize the SIS process on three model polymers with different infiltration profiles through ex situ quantification by reference-free grazing incidence X-ray fluorescence. More qualitative depth distribution results were validated by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.

Memristive devices that rely on redox-based resistive switching mechanism have attracted great attention for the development of next-generation memory and computing architectures. However, a detailed understanding of the relationship between involved materials, interfaces, and device functionalities still represents a challenge. In this work, we analyse the effect of electrode metals on resistive switching functionalities of NbOx-based memristive cells. For this purpose, the effect of Au, Pt, Ir, TiN, and Nb top electrodes was investigated in devices based on amorphous NbOx grown by anodic oxidation on a Nb substrate exploited also as counter electrode. It is shown that the choice of the metal electrode regulates electronic transport properties of metal–insulator interfaces, strongly influences the electroforming process, and the following resistive switching characteristics. Results show that the electronic blocking character of Schottky interfaces provided by Au and Pt metal electrodes results in better resistive switching performances. It is shown that Pt represents the best choice for the realization of memristive cells when the NbOx thickness is reduced, making possible the realization of memristive cells characterised by low variability in operating voltages, resistance states and with low device-to-device variability. These results can provide new insights towards a rational design of redox-based memristive cells.

The hardware implementation of the reservoir computing paradigm represents a key aspect for taking into advantage of neuromorphic data processing. In this context, self-organised nanonetworks represent a versatile and scalable computational substrate for multiple tasks by exploiting the emerging collective behaviour of the system arising from complexity. The emerging behaviour allows spatio-temporal processing of multiple input signals and relies on the nonlinear interaction in between a multitude of nanoscale memristive elements. By means of a physics-based grid-graph modeling, we report on the implementation of reservoir computing for a speech recognition task in a memristive nanonetwork based on nanowires (NWs) acting as a physical reservoir. Besides analysing the pre-processing step for the transduction of the audio samples in electrical stimuli to be applied to the physical reservoir, we analyse the effect of the network size and the adoption of virtual nodes on computing performances. Results show that memristive nanonetworks allow in materia implementation of reservoir computing for the realisation of brain-inspired neuromorphic systems with reduced training cost.

Novel materials with defined composition and structures at the nanoscale are increasingly desired in several research fields spanning a wide range of applications. The development of new approaches of synthesis that provide such control is therefore required in order to relate the material properties to its functionalities. Self-assembling materials such as block copolymers (BCPs), in combination with liquid phase infiltration (LPI) processes, represent an ideal strategy for the synthesis of inorganic materials into even more complex and functional features. This review provides an overview of the mechanism involved in the LPI, outlining the role of the different polymer infiltration parameters on the resulting material properties. We report newly developed methodologies that extend the LPI to the realisation of multicomponent and 3D inorganic nanostructures. Finally, the recently reported implementation of LPI into different applications such as photonics, plasmonics and electronics are highlighted.