Profile

Prof. Francesca Brunetti received her Degree in Engineering "cum laude" from The University of Rome (Italy) Tor Vergata in 2001 and in 2005 her PhD in Telecommunications and Microelectronics from the University of Rome Tor Vergata. In 2005, she was awarded of a Marie Curie Individual Fellowship spent in the Institute for Nanoelectronics of the Technical University of Munich, Germany. In 2006 she became researcher in the Department of Electronic Engineering of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, and since 2018, she is Associated Professor at the same Department.  

Research activity

Prof. Brunetti has developed a broad and multidisciplinary experience in analysis, design and manufacture of electronic and optoelectronic devices through the use of nanomaterials (carbon nanotubes and graphene), organic semiconductors and perovskites realized on rigid and flexible substrates, including paper. 

In collaboration with the Technical University of Branshweig, she studied the realization process of organic transistor, while during the Marie Curie Fellowship she focussed the attention on nanofabrication processes to realize optoelectronic devices using nanoimprint technique. Since 2004 she has been working on the use of CNTs in electronic devices, in particular considering their field emission properties for the realization of electronic devices such as nano-vacuum triodes and micro-electron guns (this activity led to 3 patents) and the combination of nanotubes and polymers for the realization of piezoresistive sensors.

Cofounder of the Centre for Hybrid and Organic Solar Energy at the University of Rome Tor Vergata (CHOSE, www.chose.it) in the last years, she focussed her attention on the energy related problems, considering the use of nano-structured organic materials for the construction of photovoltaic devices. In particular, attention is focused on organic photodetectors for applications in low cost optical communications and third-generation organic solar cells on flexible substrates, graphene for application in organic solar cells, perovskite solar cells and large are modules. Recently, she started an activity on the realization of supercapacitors on flexible and recyclable substrates, among which paper. H-index (scopus): 18, with overall 1293 citations (source: Scopus)

Teaching

Prof. Brunetti taught laboratory optical communications (2007-2008), starting from 2008-2009 she holds the course of optoelectronics lab and the course of optoelectronics for telecommunications. She has supervised 6 bachelor, 7 master thesis and a PhD thesis. She taught all'ITSS-International Travelling Summer School on Microwaves and Lightwaves 2008 to 2010 and ISOPHOS-International School on Organic Photovoltaics 2010 and 2012.

Projects

Prof. Brunetti took part in several national and international projects, she has been responsible for the research unit of Tor Vergata in PRIN-2007 "Fabrication and modeling of an array of tactile sensors" and she was co-responsible with the prof. Aldo Di Carlo of the European Project OPTHER "Optically driven THz amplifier" for which Tor Vergata was coordinator. She was the coordinator of the European Project n.309201 Go-NEXTs (" Graphene doping and texturing in efficient electrodes for organic solar cells "), she is the local coordinator of two European Projects: H2020- LCE-07-2016-2017 “SmArt Designed Full Printed Flexible RObust Efficient Organic HaLide PerOvskite solar cells”-APOLO, and H2020- ICT-2018-2020 “Wearable Applications enabled by electronic Systems on Paper”- WASP. She is also the coordinator of the project ASI-Nuove idee per la componenetistica spaziale per il futuro “Perovskite and other printable materials for energy application in space-PEROSKY” founded by the Italian Space Agency.

Pubblications

Prof. Brunetti has published 60 articles in the most prestigious international journals, 6 patents. 45 proceeding at international conferences: 27 oral presentations, 14 invited presentations

Prof.Brunetti is co-founder of the spin-off company Intellienergia srl which is devoted to the che provides all engineering services related to the construction and management of plants powered by renewable sources (IAFR) together with as well as professional training, monitoring and final accounting.