This community collects the results of the four-year H2020 Project "SiC optical nano-strain-meters for pico-detection in Geosciences (SiC nano for picoGeo), started in November 2019 and financed under the FET Open call for proposal. The EU-funded SiC nano for PicoGeo project is developing a novel ground strain measurement system for geohazard monitoring that exploits a unique material. It has the potential to detect strain with approximately 100 times greater sensitivity than current technology.  As populations increase, more and more people are living near volcanoes and seismic faults. Accurate and precise measurement of slow-moving and small strain transients preceding volcanic eruptions and earthquakes is critical to the protection of infrastructure and human lives. Silicon carbide (SiC), particularly in a three-layer stacked cubic crystalline form (3C-SiC), has gained increasing attention as a highly sensitive mechanical strain sensor.

The project is coordinated by the Institute for microelectronics and microsystems (IMM) of the Italian National Research Council (Cnr)