Micro/Nano Scale

Latest Innovations

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...

 

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

 

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...

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.

 

Method for Growing a Polarization Free GaN-Based Laser Diode

Prof. Bayram from the University of IL has developed a method of depositing (growing) GaN on silicon substrates with complete surface coverage of cubic phase GaN. 
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Prof. Bayram from the University of IL has developed a method of depositing (growing) GaN on silicon substrates with complete surface coverage of cubic phase GaN. 

This technology provides a new method of integrating GaN photonics with silicon electronics. 

Applications are in light emitting diodes and transistors. 

Publication: Richard Liu and Can Bayram, "Aspect Ratio Optimization of cubic phase GaN on patterned silicon substrate using phase transition", Appl.Phys. Lett. To be submitted.

Non-Refractory Microstructured Metals for High Temperature Applications

Dr. Krogstad from the University of IL has developed a high surface area to volume nickel foam that is structurally stable at extremely high temperatures. 
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Dr. Krogstad from the University of IL has developed a high surface area to volume nickel foam that is structurally stable at extremely high temperatures. 

Submicron scale non-refractory microstructured metals suffer from poor thermal stability because their large surface area to volume ratio promotes sintering and a consequent loss of structure and properties. The aluminization process applied in the current invention produces a material that is stable up to 1000°C, allowing for use in high temperature applications.

Enantioselective Separation of Racemic Mixtures Using Carbon Nanoparticles

Dr. Pan from the University of IL has developed chirally active carbon nanoparticles that have shown to be highly enantioselective adsorbants. This technology is very...

Dr. Pan from the University of IL has developed chirally active carbon nanoparticles that have shown to be highly enantioselective adsorbants. This technology is very useful for separating racemic mixtures when a specific enantiomer is targeted. 

This technology is a cost effective means of chiral resolution which does not suffer from the toxicity and reactivity issues that other chiral nanoparticles do. 

Publication: 
Guru Raja Vulugundam, Santosh K. Misra, Fatemeh Ostadhossein, Aaron S. Schwartz-Duval, Enrique A. Daza, Dipanjan Pan: "(-)/(+)-Sparteine Induced Chirally-active Carbon Nanoparticles for Enantioselective Separation of Racemic Mixtures", Chem. Commun., May 16, 2016.

Method for Constructing Flow Constrictions Inside Microfluidic Channels (TF01064)

A necessary function for microfluidic devices used in biology is the ability to "hold" a cell or other object (e.g., embryo) in a known physical location while maintaining...

A necessary function for microfluidic devices used in biology is the ability to "hold" a cell or other object (e.g., embryo) in a known physical location while maintaining the flow around it. This is particularly useful in bioproduction and applications such as incubation/maturation, infection, fertilization, or chemical treatment of a biological object. Although lithographic etching can be used to construct the holding areas (i.e., constriction regions), this method is expensive and complex. This technology uses a simple and inexpensive method -- polymerization -- to construct flow constriction regions. A prepolymer mixture if flowed into the microfluidic channel and polymerized using an ultraviolet source. As it is polymerized, the polymer shrinks, creating a small gap at the top of the channel. This gap allows the fluid flow to continue while the cell/object is held in place. Thus, this technology enables microfluidic devices to be constructed more cost-efficiently.

MacEtch Method Using CMOS Compatible catalyst TiN

 

 

Dr. Xiuling Li from the University of IL has developed a new MacEtch method using TiN as the metal catalyst. Compared with conventional MacEtch catalysts,...

 

 

Dr. Xiuling Li from the University of IL has developed a new MacEtch method using TiN as the metal catalyst. Compared with conventional MacEtch catalysts, mostly noble metal such as Pt Au Ag, TiN has been used as insulator/adhesive layer in current CMOS production, thereby is a compatible catalyst. This method enables the combination of MacEtch with CMOS production to fabricate micro-nano structure with high-aspect ratios.

Graphene-on-Diamond Nanomembrane On-Chip Power Inductor

The graphene-on-diamond on-chip power inductor is made though a self-rolled-nanomembrane technology. It has a small footprint along with high power inductance and high...

The graphene-on-diamond on-chip power inductor is made though a self-rolled-nanomembrane technology. It has a small footprint along with high power inductance and high heat dissipation. This structure can be arranged into arrays to meet specific power converting needs in a smaller size than current methods.

 

 

An SH0 Lithium Niobate Dispersive Delay Line for Chirp Compression

The power of EM wave will get attenuated as it travels through the air. Therefore, by the time it ends up getting picked up by the receiver, the power level usually is...

The power of EM wave will get attenuated as it travels through the air. Therefore, by the time it ends up getting picked up by the receiver, the power level usually is below the detection threshold, as processing of the attenuated signal occupies the majority of the front-end receiver and thus conumes large amounts of energy. Instead of amplification (power), the invention uses chirp conversion technique which takes a chunk of input wave and compresses all the energy into a small space.

Novel Vertical Hetero- and Homo- Junction Tunnel Field-Effect Transistors Based on Multi-Layer 2D Crystals

The invention is a vertical hetero- and homo- junction tunnel FET (TFET) based on multi-layer black phosphorus (BP) and...

The invention is a vertical hetero- and homo- junction tunnel FET (TFET) based on multi-layer black phosphorus (BP) and transition metal dichalcogenides. The novel multi-layer structure allows low power and bypassing of current limits by using BP as a channel. Compared to MS2, BP has smaller bandgap, allowing electrons to swim much more easily. In addition, using multi-layer structure allows smaller contact resistance.

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