Skip to main content

Engineering

Latest Innovations
Aligned Free-Standing Copper Nanowires This invention fabricates copper nanowires using thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) at temperatures of about 200 to 400 C. The method can produce vertically... Read More This invention fabricates copper nanowires using thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) at temperatures of about 200 to 400 C. The method can produce vertically aligned copper nanowires on various metallic, oxide, and plastic substrates without the need for pores, templates, catalysts, or lithography of the substrate surface. The CVD process does not use hydrogen and is compatible with standard silicon processing technologies. Copper wires with diameters of 70 to100 nanometers and lengths of several microns can be produced and characterized. Electron emission properties have been measured and are superior to most other materials including carbon nanotubes. The processing conditions are adjusted so as to promote the growth of wires instead of films. Applications: Flat panel display devices Computing Medical imaging Entertainment Home appliances Wireless communication Remote sensors Benefits: Simplicity and scalability - A straightforward CVD process that uses standard equipment is utilized. This technique does not require complex substrate preparation. Compatibility - The process is compatible with most standard semiconductor processing protocols. The wires can be grown on a wide variety of materials including metals, silicon, and plastics.
AOXADUR Antioxidant Treatment for Increasing Service Life of Asphalt Mixtures Background Chemical binders used in asphalt paved surfaces are subject to age hardening, resulting in... Read More Background Chemical binders used in asphalt paved surfaces are subject to age hardening, resulting in increased stiffness over time, a major cause of cracking and the subsequent need for re-surfacing. Over the last 40 years, treating the binders with some form of anti-oxidant (AOX) has shown some promise in reducing binder stiffness, but it still is prone to softening at higher temperatures, stiffening at lower temperatures or leaching out over time. To ensure long-term durability, a viable AOX treatment should remain dimensionally stable over a wide temperature range and be environmentally and occupationally safe to use. AOXADUR Developed by a team of researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2006, this revolutionary AOX binder treatment consists of three additives to base asphalt: aldehyde, thioester and a caltalyst. A condensation reaction of aldehyde with asphalt to form novolacs, which can act as antioxidants, results in a reduction of age-susceptible polar aromatics in the binder. The thioester serves as a secondary antioxidant, which is highly effective against oxidative degradation of hydrocarbons. Laboratory testing of over 40 binders at the University of Illinois showed that the AOXADUR-modified binder produces the lowest aging index the measurement of asphalt aging potential during service life. Further, the AOXADUR-modified binder showed a dramatic increase in high-temperature stiffness and a substantial decrease in low-temperature stiffness. This improvement in binder properties at both high and low temperatures results in less thermal stress and reduced cracking potential. Finally, the age-fighting characteristics of AOXADUR make it an appealing choice asphalt mixtures containing recycled asphalt pavement (RAP). With AOXADUR, higher amounts of RAP material can be used, which can lead to a reduction in the amount of new aggregate and asphalt binder required per ton of mixture, leading to economic and environmental benefits and increased sustainability of the roadway materials.
Cobalt Precursors For Formation of Cobalt or Cobalt-Containing Material Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of cobalt requires a cobalt precursor that can be easily vaporized, leaving high-purity cobalt on a surface while causing no... Read More Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of cobalt requires a cobalt precursor that can be easily vaporized, leaving high-purity cobalt on a surface while causing no surface damage. This newly developed technology covers the composition of new cobalt precursors and a method for producing high-quality cobalt (or cobalt-containing) films and powders using those precursors. Details Because of the substantial surface damage created by using physical vapor deposition (PVD) to deposit cobalt, researchers have become interested in using chemical vapor deposition (CVD). This requires a cobalt precursor that can be easily vaporized and that will leave high-purity cobalt on a surface while causing no surface damage. New technology developed by researchers at the University of Illinois provides novel organometallic compounds with relatively high vapor pressures and good thermal stability that leave pure cobalt on a surface without requiring hydrogen. The resulting compounds, which can be isolated as volatile liquids or solids, vaporize easily and deposit cobalt effectively under reduced pressure, producing very high purity cobalt films. Applications This innovative new technology can be used by the semiconductor industry for depositing cobalt or cobalt-containing films such as CoSi2 using chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The technology may also be advantageous for important future applications in areas such as magneto-optics and magnetic memory applications. Benefits Easy implementation: This technology has low deposition temperatures, and requires no reducing agent. By-products of the process are recycled, eliminating added safety and health issues. Safer deposition: This method requires no hydrogen. More effective deposition: Precursors are easily vaporized for improved cobalt deposition. This technology achieves high purity of the films deposited below 300 degrees C. Unlike conventional physical deposition methods, this method yields cobalt films on 3-D surfaces with a smooth, dense surface morphology without surface damage. High stability towards oxygen and high thermal stability. Versatility: This method can be used for pure cobalt and for oxides, as well as for nickel and iron triads.
Visualization of Internet Based Information [VISIT] A method and system for presenting a visual representation of search results relating to information on a computer network. A complex relevance rating scheme for... Read More A method and system for presenting a visual representation of search results relating to information on a computer network. A complex relevance rating scheme for generating a relevance rating for each match of the search results. The display space is defined with a display space relevance profile. A visual representation of the matches is determined and positioned within the display space according to the match relevance rating and the display space relevance profile.
RF Wireless Power Transfer to Chip-Scale Apparatuses An inductive wireless power system is particularly appealing for secured short-range operation, considering its non-contacting and non-radiative nature.... Read More An inductive wireless power system is particularly appealing for secured short-range operation, considering its non-contacting and non-radiative nature. However, one of the major challenges of inductively and wirelessly powering chip-scale apparatuses stems from the miniature size of chip-scale apparatus. The effective range of power transfer or communication is limited by the size of the coil that resides on the implanted chip or the hardware root of trust. For a distance exceeding five diameters of the coils, the power transfer efficacy diminishes to practically nothing even with high Q coils and magnetic resonance enhanced designs. The lab employs a novel approach of treating multi-coil WPT systems as RF filters formed by spatially and weakly coupled resonators, for which the final power transfer efficacy (PTEF) can be determined similarly to the insertion loss of a filter. The effectiveness and accuracy in predicting the performance of the designed WPT systems are tested by micro fabricating the coils on a Si wafer and measuring the power transfer efficacy. The measurement and modeling results reach excellent agreement. As a result, inductive wireless power transfer over a long distance (~5 times the coil diameter) has been achieved with an unprecedented high efficacy (-27 dB).
Spectro-Electrochemical Cell used for Ultrafast Spectroscopy Professor Dana Dlott and Natalia Garcia Rey have designed a spectra-electrochemical cell that is user and environmental friendly. The material used is... Read More Professor Dana Dlott and Natalia Garcia Rey have designed a spectra-electrochemical cell that is user and environmental friendly. The material used is chemically resistant for cleaning and electrochemical experiments. Previous designs presented a complicated assembly with many different parts, large volume, and a liquid gap between the window and the electrode that could not be controlled. Their findings show how important it is to have control of the gap for the ultrafast spectroscopic analysis and for understanding of the electrochemical reactions occurring on the electrolyte-electrode. This design also allows one to move the electrode sample to refresh the solution and repeat the experiment, setting the sample back to the same position with micrometer precision, which is very important in laser experiments and for comparing between results. The design uses commercial electrodes that can be polished, electrochemically cleaned and assembled in the cell. Previous designs use evaporated metallic thin fill on glass, increasing the cost of each experiment, and limitations of the electrodes to study (ie. single crystals). In addition, this design does not require a special sample holder; it can fit a commercially available 2" diameter mirror mount.
Dynamic Devices for Microwave Communications Dr. Eden from the University of IL has developed plasma devices that are instantaneously tuned to change their optical properties. This has applications in the microwave... Read More Dr. Eden from the University of IL has developed plasma devices that are instantaneously tuned to change their optical properties. This has applications in the microwave communications market, which has historically required many individual components that must be mechanically exchanged.
Multiplexed High Energy Lasers Dr. Eden from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has invented a new type of laser capable of creating thousands of near-perfect beams and combining them into... Read More Dr. Eden from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has invented a new type of laser capable of creating thousands of near-perfect beams and combining them into one high energy beam. This new laser has significant applications in manufacturing, defense, and research. 2015-170 Web1.png 2015-170 Web2.png
Improving 100X the sensitivity of room-temperature IR sensors Prof. Wasserman and Prof. Gong from the ECE department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, have partnered to develop a new sensor for infrared light... Read More Prof. Wasserman and Prof. Gong from the ECE department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, have partnered to develop a new sensor for infrared light. Combining the specific wavelength absorption of metamaterials and high sensitivity to temperature of laterally vibrating resonators, they have created new IR sensors that specifically detect target wavelengths, are 100X more sensitive than current detectors, and also are compatible to standard CMOS fabrication. These new IR sensors could be used in many different applications ranging from thermal detection, spectroscopy, or gas sensing. Publications: Gong, Songbin, Nai-Kuei Kuo, and Gianluca Piazza. "A 1.75 GHz piezoelectrically-transduced SiC lateral overmoded bulk acoustic-wave resonator." Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems Conference (TRANSDUCERS), 2011 16th International. IEEE, 2011. Mason, Joshua, et al. "Strong coupling of molecular and mid-infrared perfect absorber resonances." Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE 24.1 (2012): 31-33. Mason, J. A., S. Smith, and D. Wasserman. "Strong absorption and selective thermal emission from a midinfrared metamaterial." Applied Physics Letters98.24 (2011): 241105 2015-141 Web.png
Terahertz Antenna for High Data Rate Communication Dr. Xiuling Li from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has invented a helical antenna using her self-rolled-up membrane technology that is capable of terahertz... Read More Dr. Xiuling Li from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has invented a helical antenna using her self-rolled-up membrane technology that is capable of terahertz transmission and reception. This has the potential to overcome the "terahertz" gap that plagues communications and can greatly increase data transfer rates. 2016-008 Web.png

Pages