​Additive Manufacturing (AM) is an emerging part production technology that offers many advantages such as high degree of customization, material savings and design of 3D highly complex structures. However, AM is a complex multiphysics process. Therefore, only a limited number of materials can already be commercially used to produce parts and a handful of others are being studied or developed for such process. Consequently, limited knowledge on this process is available, especially concerning materials that present thermomechanical challenges such as brittle materials.
The research I did during my PhD studies focuses on additive fabrication of silicon pillars on a monocrystalline silicon wafer by Direct Laser Melting (DLM) with a pulsed 1064 nm laser beam. The simple geometry of pillars allowed for the first determining steps into process understanding. Several results were achieved through this PhD work. First, crack-free silicon pillars were successfully built onto monocrystalline silicon wafers. With the help of in-situ process monitoring and sample characterization, wafer substrate temperature and laser repetition rate were found to be the main influential parameters to obtain crack-free samples, as minimum substrate temperature of 730°C and a minimum repetition rate of 100 Hz were necessary to reach this goal (for a feed rate of 15 g/min and a pulse duration of 1 ms). The influence of secondary process parameters such as feed rate and energy per pulse were also discussed. A simple Finite Element Modeling (FEM) model validated by the experiments was used to explain crack propagation in the samples. Then, process monitoring of the DLM process was realized. High-speed camera image analysis revealed that vertical stage speed and powder feed rate should match to obtain a constant pillar building rate. As all pillars presented necking at their base, estimations of the thermal characteristics of the pillar during growth were carried out by FEM simulations. They were more used to explain the pillar final shape. Finally, the microstructure of the pillars built was characterized by the Electron Back-Scattering Dif-fraction (EBSD) technique. In the conditions presented in this work, the microstructure of the pillar was found to be in the columnar growth mode. The feed rate was identified as the most influential parameter on the microstructure, followed by the stage speed, the impurity content of the powder and the crystallographic orientation of the substrate. Epitaxial growth was achieved on more than 1 mm with a feed rate of 1.0 g/min, a stage speed of 0.1 mm/s, a powder with purity of 4N and a <111> oriented wafer substrate. This work could be further continued by making improvements to the DLM setup, studying the influence of additional process parameters on the thermomechanical behavior and the microstructure control of the pillars, and/or using these results to realize more complicated shapes, either with this setup or by using a powder bed technique.
About
I was born in France and I have grown up in a little town called Beynes, in the department Yvelines, no so far from Paris and Versailles. I am the first of four kids! As a child, I wanted to be a journalist. I have always been interested in digging up into a subject in order to transforming into articles that could be read by others. I had a few friends writing a bunch of articles alongside so we could turn everything into magazines. I spent a lot of time playing with a - now old - layout software in order to make this publication look like my favorite magazines at that time – L'Hebdo, le monde des ados. I even managed to get an internship for a week there!
About
I was born in France and I have grown up in a little town called Beynes, in the department Yvelines, no so far from Paris and Versailles. I am the first of four kids! As a child, I wanted to be a journalist. I have always been interested in digging up into a subject in order to transforming into articles that could be read by others. I had a few friends writing a bunch of articles alongside so we could turn everything into magazines. I spent a lot of time playing with a - now old - layout software in order to make this publication look like my favorite magazines at that time – L'Hebdo, le monde des ados. I even managed to get an internship for a week there!
Marie Le Dantec
Science Communication and Visual Design
Address
Gundeldingerstrasse 125
44053 Basel
Switzerland
Social Media
Instagram: @mld_visuals
LinkedIn: Marie Le Dantec
Languages
English (fluent), French (mother language), German (work proficiency), Spanish (A2), Italian (A2)
About me
I am a scientific communicator and visual designer with a strong interest in research and project management. I love exploring innovative ways to convey abstract or complex topics to lay audiences. I’m especially drawn to multidisciplinary projects and have enjoyed working across design, natural sciences, and social sciences. I use illustration as a way to spark curiosity, reflection, and connection. While I mainly work in watercolor and ink, I also experiment with digital drawing and other techniques. Projects that explore sciences, ecology, education, social issues, and the arts are where I feel most at home.
Education
February 2019 - June 2021
October 2013 - August 2018
September 2017 - January 2019
September 2010 - August 2013
I studied Visual Communication (Master of Arts in Design) at the Zürich University of the Arts, Switzerland. I mainly worked on how to build strong storytelling and visual strategies to communicate
about foster care to a broad audience.
I completed my PhD in Materials Science/Photonics at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) & EMPA, Switzerland, specializing in materials science, especially 3D printing of silicon.
I took evening courses in Visual Communication at the Design School Bern and Biel, in Bern, Switzerland where I learned to draw, paint, and how to use the Adobe Suite.
I completed my engineering degree (Master Nanotech) in micro and nanotechnologies for integrated systems at Phelma Grenoble INP (France), Politecnico di Torino (Italy) and EPFL Lausanne (Switzerland). i completed my Master's thesis at Plus Mat AG, a startup that recycles silicon material lost during the silicon wafering process.
Professional Experience
August 2022 - Present Day
2019 - 2024
I am the Communication and Outreach Officer of NCCR SPIN, University of Basel, Switzerland, a consortium of research labs working on spin qubits, the basic building blocks of quantum computers. My roles include:
· Developing and managing outreach projects
· Managing the Equal Opportunities projects
· Organizing events and conferences
· Managing internal and external communications (social media, website)
I have my own freelance company called MLD Illustration, where I propose creative communication and project development (illustration, book and textile design). I was the art director and illustrator of a series of books for children placed in foster care with the association Particip’Action (2019 - 2021).
February 2019 - November 2020
I worked as a graphic designer at 3dprojekt.ch in Pfäffikon SZ (now Werbit), Switzerland. There I produced printing material and graphic concepts for real estate marketing.
Social networks
