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Micro/Nano Scale

Latest Innovations
Single-chip Neural Probe with High Temporal Resolution Dr. Yurii Vlasov from the University of Illinois has developed a single-chip neural nanodialysis probe that can sample in vivo brain chemicals, store them, and then... Read More Dr. Yurii Vlasov from the University of Illinois has developed a single-chip neural nanodialysis probe that can sample in vivo brain chemicals, store them, and then directly deploy them for analysis, all while maintaining high temporal resolution. This device uses reversible inlets-outlets and embedded ionization ports to both sample in vivo brain chemicals and deploy them, without need for intermediate storage. This risks less contamination or Taylor dispersion than other methods, and reduces the need for bulky peripherals. Application This can be used for collecting and analyzing in-vivo biochemical concentrations in the brain. Benefits This is a single chip silicon neural probe that can sample live chemicals, store them, and then directly deploy them for analysis. Other neural probes cannot store and deploy these chemical samples, which reduces the temporal resolution of the samples.
5G Acoustic Filters Dr. Songbin Gong from the University of Illinois has developed a suite of technologies for the design strategy and method of fabricating acoustic front-end filters at various frequencies,... Read More Dr. Songbin Gong from the University of Illinois has developed a suite of technologies for the design strategy and method of fabricating acoustic front-end filters at various frequencies, including frequencies > 6 GHz. These acoustic front-end filters demonstrate high electromechanical coupling, high fractional bandwidths, as well as high quality factors. This is achieved through a combination of materials selection, resonator design, and filter design. This technology: Increases the frequency range and the fractional bandwidth of acoustic filters Enables the future generations of wireless communication Allows access to frequency bands above 6 GHz and provides the high FBW required for 5G communications
Ultrasoft Slip-mediated Bending in Few-layer Graphene This technology leverages the bending stiffness and super lubricity of few-layer materials to create ultra-flexible 2D materials with tunable electronic properties.... Read More This technology leverages the bending stiffness and super lubricity of few-layer materials to create ultra-flexible 2D materials with tunable electronic properties. Applications include MEMS actuators and flexible/stretchable electronics, as well as the miniaturization of a variety of macroscale actuator devices.
High Resolution Distributed Sensor Inventors from the University of Illinois have developed novel phase-separated optical fibers for use in a distributed sensor. These phase-separated optical fibers have... Read More Inventors from the University of Illinois have developed novel phase-separated optical fibers for use in a distributed sensor. These phase-separated optical fibers have high loss (0.05 to 5 dB/m @ 1550 nm) when compared with conventional optical fibers, and the loss dominated by Rayleigh scattering. Moreover, these phase separated fibers are produced through a molten core method (MCM) which makes the cost of production relatively low when compared with conventional fibers. When employed in a Rayleigh based distributed sensor these phase-separated optical fibers provide short-range sensitivity that is orders of magnitude greater than conventional fibers.
Energy Efficient Nanoscale Capacitor Dr. Alexey Bezryadin, with his research group, has developed a dielectric capacitor that provides 200 J/g of storage density. By injecting and trapping charges within a... Read More Dr. Alexey Bezryadin, with his research group, has developed a dielectric capacitor that provides 200 J/g of storage density. By injecting and trapping charges within a thin dielectric layer, a Coulomb barrier is created that prevents leakage currents that cause capacitors to discharge more quickly. Initial applications for the technology are in cold electronics, which could include quantum computing, space technologies, infrared cameras, or MRI machines.
Method To Produce Nanoscale 3D Porous Silicon Patterns and Applications This method of forming a nanoscale three-dimensional pattern in a porous semiconductor includes providing a film comprising a semiconductor material and defining a... Read More This method of forming a nanoscale three-dimensional pattern in a porous semiconductor includes providing a film comprising a semiconductor material and defining a nanoscale metal pattern on the film, where the metal pattern has at least one lateral dimension of about 100 nm or less in size. Semiconductor material is removed from below the nanoscale metal pattern to create trenches in the film having a depth-to-width aspect ratio of at least about 10:1, while pores are formed in remaining portions of the film adjacent to the trenches. The method can be extended to form self-integrated porous low-k dielectric insulators with copper interconnects.
III-V Metal Assisted Chemical Etching to Produce High Aspect Ratio III-V Semiconductor Nanostructures This technology is a new method for creating high aspect ratio III-V semiconductor nanostructures. Unlike currently used commercial technologies, this method does not... Read More This technology is a new method for creating high aspect ratio III-V semiconductor nanostructures. Unlike currently used commercial technologies, this method does not damage the crystal lattice of the existing structure, thus eliminating defects that hinder the material’s transport and optical properties.
Defect Resistant Red LEDs Standard red LEDs suffer from rapid degradation and low efficiency, which becomes increasingly poor at smaller dimensions. Dr. Lee’s novel LED design integrates InP... Read More Standard red LEDs suffer from rapid degradation and low efficiency, which becomes increasingly poor at smaller dimensions. Dr. Lee’s novel LED design integrates InP quantum dots to overcome the deleterious sidewall recombination that reduces the performance of conventional red LEDs. This technology dramatically increases the defect tolerance of red LEDs, with devices showing comparable performance when grown on a range of surfaces including GaAs and GaAs/Si.
Eliminating Oxygen Vacancies in Thin-Film Metal Oxides through a Liquid Environment Dr. Seebauer from the University of Illinois has developed a method to eliminate oxygen vacancy defects in thin-film metal oxides. The novel method of a liquid environment... Read More Dr. Seebauer from the University of Illinois has developed a method to eliminate oxygen vacancy defects in thin-film metal oxides. The novel method of a liquid environment enables the improvement of these materials without involving a normally difficult manufacturing process. The process enables the control of oxygen vacancies to a certain depth and density. The removal of the defect allows for the metal oxide thin-film to have better photocatalytic properties. This could be useful for sensors and power devices which are a quickly growing market. The filled vacancies also affect subsequent redox reactions by inhibiting the transfer of electrons.
A Method for the Heterogeneous Integration of III-Nitride-based Materials for the Development of Optoelectronic Devices Professor Dallesassee and coworkers from the University of Illinois has developed a method for the heterogeneous integration of III-Nitride materials on various... Read More Professor Dallesassee and coworkers from the University of Illinois has developed a method for the heterogeneous integration of III-Nitride materials on various non-native substrates. This method uses a carrier wafer for the fabrication of the III-Nitride devices, which are then transferred to a host wafer and eutectically bonded. The method takes advantage of current tooling and allows for the fabrication of optoelectronic devices embedded into a CMOS platform for full electronic controls on a common substrate, such as silicon. These technique overcomes many of the limitations currently associated with the integration of III-Nitride materials such as their sub-par thermal performance, and the high costs associated with the handling and alignment of the III-Nitride devices onto the substrate.

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