Electronics

Latest Innovations
Microassembly of Heterogenous Materials for the Manufacture of MEMs Devices Dr. Seok Kim from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has developed a method for assembling 3D architectures out of heterogeneous materials used to make MEMs... Read More Dr. Seok Kim from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has developed a method for assembling 3D architectures out of heterogeneous materials used to make MEMs devices. His method uses new protocols for the making of SU8 and silicon oxide inks that can then be transfer printed and joined to other substrates, including gold and silicon. This method is scalable and cuts down on waste compared to existing manufacturing processes. The ability to pick, place, and join 3D structures can enable to device designs for increasing small and complex MEMs devices.
Non-Reciprocal Communication Device Professor Gaurav Bahl has developed a novel way to enable non-reciprocal communication with optical, acoustic and electromagnetic media. This innovation can be very small... Read More Professor Gaurav Bahl has developed a novel way to enable non-reciprocal communication with optical, acoustic and electromagnetic media. This innovation can be very small, and operate at high frequencies.
Voice Detection through a Vibration Motor Dr. Choudhury from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has developed a method of using a device’s vibration motor to sense vocal communication like a microphone... Read More Dr. Choudhury from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has developed a method of using a device’s vibration motor to sense vocal communication like a microphone. This method utilizes the phenomena of back-EMF and signal processing to record the phonemes that make up human vocal communication. This method proved accurate at recording intelligible sound through the vibration motor of a smart phone. Uses of this include voice-controlled wearables and a secondary microphone to augment a device’s primary microphone.
MacEtch for Ge and β-Ga₂O₃ This metal-assisted chemical etching (MacEtch) technology can be used to fabricate structure and texture on Ge and β-Ga₂O₃Et. The optoelectronic... Read More This metal-assisted chemical etching (MacEtch) technology can be used to fabricate structure and texture on Ge and β-Ga₂O₃Et. The optoelectronic devices made by this method show improvement in both optical and electrical properties. Kim et al., "Scaling the Aspect Ratio of Nanoscale Closely Packed Silicon Vias by MacEtch: Kinetics of Carrier Generation and Mass Transport," Adv. Funct. Mat., 2017
Millimeter-Scale Thermal Switch Drs. William King and Nenad Miljkovic with collaborators at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a millimeter-scale high-contrast thermal switch... Read More Drs. William King and Nenad Miljkovic with collaborators at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a millimeter-scale high-contrast thermal switch that can be used for cooling in power electronics and a variety of other electrical and thermal power systems. This liquid-metal based, electrically-controlled thermal switch controls heat transfer of thermally sensitive systems with hotspots smaller than 1 mm and as large as 1 cm and beyond. This technology has a high switching ratio (>10), high switching speed (>1Hz), and it utilizes liquid metal alloys with reduced toxicity, high thermal conductivity and surface tension. Liquid-based thermal switches are the most promising solutions for thermal management at room temperature. They allow to reduce the contact thermal resistance, enhance the operational speed and reduce heat losses. This new device will enable development of thermal circuit in the electrical and thermal power systems on a practical level.
Ultra-Low Frequency Portable RF Transmitter Professor Bahl from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has developed a new RF transmitter capable of transmitting at frequencies below 3 kHz while exploiting... Read More Professor Bahl from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has developed a new RF transmitter capable of transmitting at frequencies below 3 kHz while exploiting the magnetic component of the electromagnetic field. Transmitting at these low frequencies while taking advantage of the magnetic component of the electromagnetic field will allow for transmission of RF signals through conductive material such as water or the ground. Prior technology for transmitting radio signals at such low frequencies required very large antenna structures along with a large power input. The current technology weighs less than 10 kg and fits in a backpack. This technology has applications in the military as well as oil exploration, mining, and anywhere else where data communication is desired underground or underwater.
MiddlePolice: DDoS Prevention Software Professor Yih-Chun Hu from the University of Illinois has developed software that can protect networks against Internet attacks. In particular, it greatly reduces DDos... Read More Professor Yih-Chun Hu from the University of Illinois has developed software that can protect networks against Internet attacks. In particular, it greatly reduces DDos attacks, which plague the Internet. This new software could be used for personalized Internet security. MiddlePolice combines high protection of capability systems with the facile development of cloud-based services.
Polarization Dependent Damage-Free Laser-Assisted Plasma Etching Drs. David Ruzic and Jason Peck from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a new plasma etching process assisted by a polarized pulsed laser. This... Read More Drs. David Ruzic and Jason Peck from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a new plasma etching process assisted by a polarized pulsed laser. This technology addresses the need of damageless, anisotropic etching for features of 100 nm or less. It is the only known process to etch 3D structures in integrated circuits which lie along one direction, and not etch those that are perpendicular. It will enable making integrated circuits with smaller feature sizes.
Sensor Triggered Mechanical Actuation of Artificial Traps Drs. Ying Diao and Fengjiao Zhang from Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have... Read More Drs. Ying Diao and Fengjiao Zhang from Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed an electrically triggered shape memory device that mimics a venus flytrap to capture moving or still objects. This technology combines the shape memory polymers and the pressure sensors. It can be 3D printed, miniaturized and flexibly mounted on arbitrary shaped surfaces. For more information, please contact the Office of Technology Management at otm@illinois.edu.
Large-Area Coating of Highly-Aligned Conjugated Polymer Thin Films Dr. Diao from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has developed a method for generating highly-aligned thin films using existing large-area coating techniques.... Read More Dr. Diao from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has developed a method for generating highly-aligned thin films using existing large-area coating techniques. Utilizing a novel dynamic templating technique thin films are generated with highly-aligned polymer crystals. The resulting thin films have improved charge transport and directionality compared to conventionally generated thin films. This method is applicable to a wide-array of molecular systems unlike current templating methods which are highly specific and narrow in their applicability. Dynamic-template-directed multiscale assembly for large-area coating of highly-aligned conjugated polymer thin films. / Mohammadi, Erfan; Zhao, Chuankai; Meng, Yifei; Qu, Ge; Zhang, Fengjiao; Zhao, Xikang; Mei, Jianguo; Zuo, Jian Min; Shukla, Diwakar; Diao, Ying. Nature communications, Vol. 8, 16070, 13.07.2017.