Background
Semiconductor nanotechnology drives the rapid digital transformation but exerts a significant environmental toll across the supply chain, from the sourcing of rare raw materials via resource-intensive production and emission of process gases, to insufficient e-waste recycling. Addressing this challenge demands a paradigm shift in semiconductor manufacturing.
Research question
Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and protein design now enable atom-level precision on nanometer scales, opening new possibilities for sustainable innovation. In this project, we will target protein-based semiconductor nanostructures. This will be achieved by developing AI protein design methods to pattern protein components on 2D surfaces with great precision, using self-assembly as a mechanism to produce these molecular structures. Proteins will be used as scaffolds to template mineral growth with predefined geometries predicted to have optimal properties. Assembled systems will be subjected to a range of physical measurements to characterize their electronic and optical properties. By combining computational and experimental approaches, this initiative aims to redefine semiconductor manufacturing, aligning cutting-edge technology with sustainability.
Aim
The project aim is to establish protein-emplated design of semiconductor nanostructures as a basis for a novel and more sustainable way of producing semiconductor materials and devices, namely using microbial factories in bioproduction processes.
Synergy and Team
The project will be facilitated by NanoLund, Lund University’s Center for Nanoscience, and the Lund Center for Molecular Protein Science (CMPS). The proposed NEST project will be conducted at two primary sites.
The first site is within the Division of Solid State Physics (PIs H Linke and V Darakchieva) at Lund University, which encompasses about 15 research groups specializing in epitaxy, nanofabrication, characterization, and applications of semiconductor nanostructures. The second site is the Chemistry Center in Lund, with three PIs (I André, KS Jensen and A Saragovi) associated with CMPS. CMPS consists of around 15 research groups studying the molecular mechanisms of biological processes by exploring the structure, dynamics, interactions of proteins and the use of AI to design proteins.
This multidisciplinary environment fosters significant synergies, enabling a strong feedback loop between computational method development and experimental characterization.
Sustainability aspects
The project aim is to establish protein-templated design of semiconductor nanostructures as a basis for a novel and more sustainable way of producing semiconductor materials and devices, namely by the use of microbial factories in bioproduction processes. In the long term one can imagine that microbes may even be able to harvest raw materials from polluted water or e-waste, enabling recovery and recycling of precious materials. The project is thus relevant for the first four pillars of the WISE matrix: a) Design and modeling, b) synthesis and processing, c) structures, and d) properties, and their intersection with iii) Circularity and Replacement.
Contact
Main PI WASP: Ingmar André, ingemar.andre@biochemistry.lu.se
Main PI WISE: Heiner Linke, heiner.linke@ftf.lth.se
