Stefano Lai, PhD

DIEE – University of Cagliari
Piazza d’Armi – 09123 CAGLIARI (Italy)
Tel. +39 070 675 5769

email: stefano.lai@diee.unica.it

Stefano Lai (Cagliari, 1984) obtained magna cum laude the M.Sc. Degree in Electronics in 2010 discussing the thesis “Fabrication and characterization of DNA sensors in CMOS and organic technology”. He joined the EOLAB – Microelectronics Lab at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering as Ph.D. student in 2011. He received the Ph.D. in Electronics and Computer Science in 2014 discussing the thesis “Charge Modulated Field-Effect Transistors: technologies and applications for biochemical sensing”. In 2014 he joined the Advanced Electronic Devices group as Postdoctoral research fellow. Since 2018 he is Assistant Professor in Bioengineering at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Cagliari.

His research activities involve several aspects related to plastic and organic electronics applications:

• Development, fabrication and characterization of Organic Field-Effect Transistor-based biochemical sensors;
• Development, fabrication and characterization of Organic Field-Effect Transistor-based radiation sensors;
• Development, fabrication and characterization of Organic Field-Effect Transistor-based physical sensors (e.g., temperature and mechanical sensors);
• Optimization and standardization of large area fabrication processes for Organic Field-Effect Transistors operating at low voltages;
• Simulation and fabrication of organic electronic circuitries and readout electronics for organic sensors;
• Tattoo organic electronics.

He was involved as research assistant for the European projects Roboskin (FP7/2007-2013, Grant Agreement n. 231500) and HYMEC (FP7/2007-2013, Grant Agreement n. 263073). In the European project i-FLEXIS (FP7/2007-2013, Grant Agreement n. 611070) he was the main research responsible for the assessment of standardized, reproducible fabrication processes for high-performing, low voltage organic field-effect transistors and X-Rays sensors, for the development of encapsulation strategies for organic devices and for the development, simulation, fabrication and characterization of organic electronic circuits for the readout of organic X-Rays sensor response. He is currently involved as main researchers for his unit in the project “Piattaforma elettronica per la rilevazione diagnostica e prognostica di marker Tumorali” (“Electronic Platform for prognostic and diagnostic detection of tumoral markers”).

Publications:

Stefano Lai is author of 44 peer-reviewed papers (29 journal articles, 15 conference proceedings), 2 book chapters and is the inventor of 2 international patents. His papers have been cited 450 times by 310 documents, and his Hirsh index is 13 (source: Scopus, updated to August, 2019)

Journal Papers

• S. Lai, A. Garufi, F. Madeddu, G. Angius, A. Bonfiglio, P. Cosseddu, “A Wearable Platform for Monitoring Wrist Flexion and Extension in Biomedical Applications Using Organic Transistor-Based Strain Sensors“, IEEE Sensors Journal, 19(15), pp. 6020-6028, 2019.
• A. Ciavatti, L. Basiricò, I. Fratelli, S. Lai, P. Cosseddu, A. Bonfiglio, J. E. Anthony, B. Fraboni, “Boosting Direct X‐Ray Detection in Organic Thin Films by Small Molecules Tailoring“, Advanced Functional Materials 29, 1806119, 2019.
• S. Lai, G. Casula, P. Cosseddu, L. Basiricò, A. Ciavatti, F. D’Annunzio, C. Loussert, V. Fisher, B. Fraboni, M. Barbaro, A. Bonfiglio, “A plastic electronic circuit based on low voltage, organic thin-film transistors for monitoring the X-Ray checking history of luggage in airports“, Organic Electronics 58, pp. 263-269, 2018.
• C. Napoli, S. Lai, A: Giannetti, S. Tombelli, F. Baldini, M. Barbaro, A. Bonfiglio, “Electronic Detection of DNA Hybridization by Coupling Organic Field-Effect Transistor-Based Sensors and Hairpin-Shaped Probes“, Sensors , 18(4), 990, 2018.
• S. Lai, F. A. Viola, P. Cosseddu, A. Bonfiglio, “Floating gate, organic field-effect transistor-based sensors towards biomedical applications fabricated with large-area processes over flexible substrates“, Sensors, 18(3), 688, 2018.
• S. Lai, I. Temiño, T. Cramer, F. G. del Pozo, B. Fraboni, P. Cosseddu, A. Bonfiglio, M. Mas-Torrent, ^“Morphology Influence on the Mechanical Stress Response in Bendable Organic Field-Effect Transistors with Solution-Processed Semiconductors“, Advanced Electronic Materials, 1700271, 2017.
• A. Spanu, F. Viola, S. Lai, P. Cosseddu, P. C. Ricci, A. Bonfiglio, “A reference-less pH sensor based on an organic field effect transistor with tunable sensitivity“, Organic Electronics: physics, materials, applications, 48, pp. 188-193, 2017.
• S. Lai, P. Cosseddu, L. Basiricò, A. Ciavatti, B. Fraboni, A. Bonfiglio, “A Highly Sensitive, Direct X-Ray Detector Based on a Low-Voltage Organic Field-Effect Transistor“, Advanced Electronic Materials, 3 (8), art. no. 1600409, 2017.
• S. Lai, A. Zucca, P. Cosseddu, F. Greco, V. Mattoli, A. Bonfiglio, “Ultra-conformable Organic Field-Effect Transistors and circuits for epidermal electronic applications“, Organic Electronics: physics, materials, applications, 46, pp. 60-67, 2017.
• S. Lai, P. Cosseddu, A. Zucca, A. Loi, A. Bonfiglio, “Combining inkjet printing and chemical vapor deposition for fabricating low voltage, organic field-effect transistors on flexible substrates“, Thin Solid Films, 631, pp. 124-131, 2017.
• S. Lai, P. Cosseddu, A. Bonfiglio, “A method for direct contact resistance evaluation in low voltage coplanar organic field-effect transistors“, Applied Physics Letters, 110 (15), art. no. 153304, 2017.
• S. Conti, S. Lai, P. Cosseddu, A. Bonfiglio, “An Inkjet‐Printed, Ultralow Voltage, Flexible Organic Field Effect Transistor“, Advanced Materials Technology, 2, art. no. 1600212, 2016.
• T. Cramer, L. Travaglini, S. Lai, L. Patruno, S. De Miranda, A. Bonfiglio, P. Cosseddu, B. Fraboni, “Direct imaging of defect formation in strained organic flexible electronics by Scanning Kelvin Probe Microscopy“, Scientific Reports, 6, art. no. 38203, 2016.
• S. Lai, M. Barbaro, A. Bonfiglio, “Tailoring the sensing performances of an OFET-based biosensor”, Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 233, pp. 314-319, 2016.
• S. Lai, M. Barbaro, A. Bonfiglio, “The role of polarization-induced reorientation of DNA strands on organic field-effect transistor-based biosensors sensitivity at high ionic strength”, Applied Physics Letters, 107, 103301, 2015.
• A. Spanu, S. Lai, P. Cosseddu, M. Tedesco, S. Martinoia, A.Bonfiglio, “An organic transistor-based system for reference-less electrophysiological monitoring of excitable cells”, Scientific Reports, 5, 8807, 2015.
• P. Cosseddu, S. Lai, G. Casula, L. Raffo, A. Bonfiglio, “High performance, foldable, organic memories based on ultra-low voltage, thin film transistors”, Organic Electronics, vol. 15(12), pp. 3595-3600, 2014.
• P. Cosseddu, F. Viola, Lai, L. Raffo, A. Bonfiglio, “A Temperature Transducer Based on a Low-Voltage Organic Thin-Film Transistor Detecting Pyroelectric Effect”, Electron Device Letters, IEEE, vol. 35(12), pp. 1296-1298, 2014.
• A. Loi, L. Basirico, P. Cosseddu, S. Lai, M. Barbaro, A. Bonfiglio, P. Maiolino, E. Baglini, S. Denei, F. Mastrogiovanni, G. Cannata, “Organic Bendable and Stretchable Field Effect Devices for Sensing Applications,” Sensors Journal, IEEE , vol.13, no.12, pp.4764,4772, Dec. 2013.
• S. Lai, P. Cosseddu, A. Bonfiglio, M. Barbaro, “Ultralow Voltage Pressure Sensors Based on Organic FETs and Compressible Capacitors”, Electron Device Letters, IEEE, vol. 34(6), pp. 801-803, 2013.
• M. Demelas, S. Lai, A. Spanu, S. Martinoia, P. Cosseddu, M. Barbaro, A. Bonfiglio, “Charge sensing by Organic Charge-Modulated Field Effect Transistors: application to the detection of bio-related effects”, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2013,1, 3811-3819.
• S. Lai, M. Demelas, G. Casula, P. Cosseddu, M. Barbaro, A. Bonfiglio, “Ultralow Voltage, OTFT‐Based Sensor for Label‐Free DNA Detection”, Advanced Materials vol. 25 (1), pp. 103-107, 2013.
• S. Lai, P. Cosseddu, G.C. Gazzadi, M. Barbaro, A. Bonfiglio, “Towards high frequency performances of ultra-low voltage OTFTs: Combining self-alignment and hybrid, nanosized dielectrics”, Organic Electronics, vol. 14(3), pp. 754–761, 2013.
• S. Lai, A. Caboni, D. Loi, M. Barbaro, “A CMOS Biocompatible Charge Detector for Biosensing Applications”, Electron Devices, IEEE Transactions on, vol. 59 (9), pp. 2512-2519. 2012.
• M. Demelas, S. Lai, G. Casula, E. Scavetta, M. Barbaro, A. Bonfiglio, “An organic, charge-modulated field effect transistor for DNA detection”, Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, vol. 171-172, pp. 198-203, 2012.
• M. Barbaro, A. Caboni, D. Loi, S. Lai, A. Homsy, P.D. Van Der Wal, N.F. de Rooij, “Label-free, direct DNA detection by means of a standard CMOS electronic chip”, Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, vol. 171–172, pp. 148–154, 2012.
• P. Cosseddu, S. Lai, M. Barbaro, A. Bonfiglio, “Ultra-low voltage, organic thin film transistors fabricated on plastic substrates by a highly reproducible process”, Applied Physics Letters 100 (9), 093305, 2012.

Conference Proceedings

• S. Lai, A. Garufi, F. Madeddu, G. Angius, A. Bonfiglio, P. Cosseddu, “An Organic Transistor-Sensorized Glove for Noninvasive Monitoring of Hand Movements for Healthcare Applications“, Proceedings of IEEE Sensors 2018-October, art. no. 8589803, 2018.
  
• S. Lai, G. Casula, P. Cosseddu, A. Bonfiglio, M. Barbaro, F. D’Annunzio, C. Loussert, L. Basirico, A. Ciavatti, B. Fraboni, V. Fischer, “All-Polymer Integrated Circuit for Monitoring the X-Ray Checking History of Luggages“, Proceedings – IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, 2018-May, art. no. 8351691, 2018.
  
• S. Lai, M. Barbaro, A. Bonfiglio, “Organic FET-based DNA hybridization sensor with sub-picomolar sensitivity“, Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS, 2015-November, art. no. 7320238, pp. 7958-7961, 2015.
• F. A. Viola, P. Cosseddu, S. Lai, A. Spanu, A. Bonfiglio, “Flexible temperature sensors based on charge modulated organic thin film transistors“, 2015 11th Conference on Ph.D. Research in Microelectronics and Electronics, PRIME 2015, art. no. 7251389, pp. 278-281, 2015.
• P. Cosseddu, S. Lai, A. Bonfiglio, “Highly flexible and low voltage Organic Thin Film Transistors for wearable electronics and e-skin applications“, IEEE-NANO 2015 – 15th International Conference on Nanotechnology, art. no. 7388876, pp. 1317-1319, 2015.
• P. Cosseddu, G. Casula, S. Lai, A. Bonfiglio, “Flexible non-volatile memory devices based on organic semiconductors”, Proceedings of SPIE – The International Society for Optical Engineering, 9569, art. no. 956906, 2015.
• A. Spanu, M. Tedesco, S. Martinoia, S. Lai, P. Cosseddu, A. Bonfiglio, “Bioelectrical and metabolic activity recordings by means of organic field effect transistors”, IEEE AISEM Annual Conference, 2015 XVIII, pp. 1-3, 2015.
• P. Cosseddu, L. Seminara, L. Pinna, S. Lai, R.S. Dahiya, M. Valle, M. Capurro, A. Bonfiglio, “Tactile sensors based on the integration of a piezoelectric polymer with organic thin-film transistors”, Sensors, 2014 IEEE.
• A. Spanu, S. Lai, P. Cosseddu, A. Bonfiglio, M. Tedesco, S. Martinoia, “Organic FET device as a novel sensor for cell bioelectrical and metabolic activity recordings,” Neural Engineering (NER), 2013 6th International IEEE/EMBS Conference on , pp.937,940, 6-8 Nov. 2013.
• S. Lai, P. Cosseddu, G. C. Gazzadi, G. Martines, A. Bonfiglio, M. Barbaro, “Ultra-low Voltage, Self-aligned OTFTs for Frequency Applications”, MRS Online Proceedings Library, vol. 1567, 2013.
• P. Cosseddu, A. Loi, L. Basirico, S. Lai, A. Bonfiglio, “Organic bendable and stretchable field effect devices for sensing applications”, Sensors, 2012 IEEE, pp. 1-4.
• P. Cosseddu, L. Basirico, A. Loi, S. Lai, P. Maiolino, E. Baglini, S. Denei, F. Mastrogiovanni, G Cannata, A. Bonfiglio, “Inkjet printed Organic Thin Film Transistors based tactile transducers for artificial robotic skin”, Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob), 2012 4th IEEE RAS & EMBS International Conference on, pp. 1907-1912.
• A. Loi, L. Basiricò, P. Cosseddu, S. Lai, P. Maiolino, E. Baglini, S. Denei, F. Mastrogiovanni, G. Cannata, C. Palomba, M. Barbaro, A. Bonfiglio, “Matrices of inkjet printed OFETs for the realization of artificial robotic skin” MRS Online Proceedings Library, vol. 1401, 2012.
• M. Demelas, S. Lai, M. Barbaro, A. Bonfiglio, “DNA Hybridization Detection based on an Organic Charge Modulated Field Effect Transistor”, IEEE Sensor 2011, Limerick (Ireland), pp. 1917-1920.
• S. Lai, D. Nessi, M.P. Cabasino, A. Giua e C. Seatzu, “A Comparison Between Two Diagnostic Tools Based on Automata and Petri Nets”, 9th International Workshop on Discrete Event Systems, Goteborg, Sweden, May 28-30, 2008.

Book chapters

• P. Cosseddu, S. Lai, A. Loi, A. Bonfiglio, “Organic transistor-based mechanical sensors for artificial skin applications“, in “Organic Sensors: Materials and Applications”, E. Garcia-Breijo; B. Gómez-Lor Pérez and P. Cosseddu Eds., IET Publish., 2016.
• Demelas, S. Lai, P. Cosseddu, A. Loi, M. Barbaro, A. Bonfiglio, “Chemical sensors using organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs)”, in “Handbook of Flexible Organic Electronics: Materials, Manufacturing and Applications”, Stergios Logothetidis Ed., Woodhead Publish., 2014.

Patents

• International Patent, “An organic transistor-based system for electrophysiological monitoring of cells and method for the monitoring of the cells”. Inventors: M. Tedesco, A. Bonfiglio, A. Spanu, S. Lai, S. Martinoia, P. Cosseddu. Ownership: Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Università degli Studi di Genova. Filing date: February 4^th, 2016.
• International Patent, “Low voltage organic transistors”. Inventors: P. Cosseddu, S. Lai, M. Barbaro, A. Bonfiglio. Ownership: Università degli Studi di Cagliari. Filing date: August 3^rd, 2011.

Conferences:

Stefano Lai attended to 13 international and 3 national conferences, giving 14 oral presentations and presenting 4 posters. He was invited speaker to 4 conferences:

• The Swiss Conference on Printed Electronics and Functional Materials, Basel (Switzerland), November 21^st-23^rd, 2013 (“Ultra-Low voltage Organic Devices for Sensing Applications”)
• Bioelectronic Symposium, Singapore (Singapore), October 20^th-21^st, 2014 (“Organic charge sensing devices as powerful tools for the quantitative detection of biological, chemical, and physical variables”)
• IEEE 15th International Conference on Nanotechnology, Rome, July 27^th-30^th, 2015 (“Highly flexible and low voltage Organic Thin Film Transistors for wearable electronics and e-skin applications”).
• XXXI Eurosensors Conference, Paris, September 3^rd-6^th, 2017 (“Printed and Flexible Mechanical Sensors”, lecture for the Conference School “Printed and flexible electronics for the development of sensing systems”)

External Links:

• Google Scholar;
• Scopus;
• ORCID.