University of Illinois

Arizona State University

Placid M Ferreira

John A Rogers

Keng Hao Hsu

Deepkishore Mukhopadhyay

Xiuling Li

Reza Saeidpourazar

Nicholas X Fang

Andrew Alleyne

Jang-Ung Park

Sandipan Mishra

Jingyan Dong

Kira Barton

Nenad Miljkovic

Seok Joo Kim

Wen Huang

Kimani C Toussaint

Qing Yao

Xin Yu

Bruno Azeredo

Winston Chern

William L Wilson

ChangHee Son

Ik Su Chun

Sanjiv Sinha

Manjunath C Rajagopal

Peter Lee Schultz

Kyle E Jacobs

Amy Wagoner Johnson

Anil Kumar

Zhijain Pei

Nitin Khanna

Gowtham Kuntumalla

Akhilesh Sanjay Somani

A dry adhesive for attachment to a flexible adherend comprises a shape memory polymer having a glass transition temperature (T) above 25° C. and a compliant backing layer attached to the shape memory polymer. The shape memory polymer is configured to form a conformal and/or hermetic contact with a flexible adherend at temperatures at or above the Tand to retain the conformal and/or hermetic contact during flexing of the flexible adherend at temperatures below the T.

Dry adhesive comprising a shape memory polymer for attachment to a flexible adherend

An apparatus for fabricating a hybrid tube includes a rotatable mandrel and a first housing configured to translate alongside the rotatable mandrel while dispensing a first strip to be helically wound about the mandrel. The first housing includes an angle adjustment mechanism to control a dispensation angle of the first strip. The apparatus also includes least one energy or adhesive source for bonding overlapping strip portions on the rotatable mandrel and forming the hybrid tube. The at least one energy or adhesive source is configured for translation alongside the rotatable mandrel.

Method and apparatus for fabricating a hybrid tube

An imprinting platform including a noble metal catalyst, a semiconductor substrate, and a pre-patterned polymer stamp, where the catalyst is attached to the stamp, and related methods and articles.

Electrochemical imprinting of micro- and nano-structures in porous silicon, silicon, and other semiconductors

A transfer printing process that exploits the mismatch in mechanical or thermo-mechanical response at the interface of a printable micro- or nano-device and a transfer stamp to drive the release of the device from the stamp and its non-contact transfer to a receiving substrate are provided. The resulting facile, pick-and-place process is demonstrated with the assembling of 3-D microdevices and the printing of GAN light-emitting diodes onto silicon and glass substrates. High speed photography is used to provide experimental evidence of thermo-mechanically driven release.

Non-contact transfer printing

Methods and apparatus for characterizing a sample in situ as to both its mechanical and optical characteristics. The apparatus comprises a reflective microscope with a concave primary mirror and a convex secondary mirror sharing a common optical axis, and an actuator vignetted by the convex secondary mirror for applying a force to a nanoprobe in a direction having a component along the common optical axis. The apparatus may addition include a source for generating an illuminating beam, a detector, and a processor for forming an image based on a signal provided by the detector.

Nanoindenter multimodal microscope objective for mechanobiology

Provided are high-resolution electrohydrodynamic inkjet (e-jet) printing systems and related methods for printing functional materials on a substrate surface. In an embodiment, a nozzle with an ejection orifice that dispenses a printing fluid faces a surface that is to be printed. The nozzle is electrically connected to a voltage source that applies an electric charge to the fluid in the nozzle to controllably deposit the printing fluid on the surface. In an aspect, a nozzle that dispenses printing fluid has a small ejection orifice, such as an orifice with an area less than 700 &#x3bc;mand is capable of printing nanofeatures or microfeatures. In an embodiment the nozzle is an integrated-electrode nozzle system that is directly connected to an electrode and a counter-electrode. The systems and methods provide printing resolutions that can encompass the sub-micron range.

High resolution electrohydrodynamic jet printing for manufacturing systems

Provided are various methods and devices for electrohydrodynamic (E-jet) printing. The methods relate to sensing of an output current during printing to provide control of a process parameter during printing. The sensing and control provides E-jet printing having improved print resolution and precision compared to conventional open-loop methods. Also provided are various pulsing schemes to provide high frequency E-jet printing, thereby reducing build times by two to three orders of magnitude. A desktop sized E-jet printer having a sensor for real-time sensing of an electrical parameter and feedback control of the printing is provided.

High resolution sensing and control of electrohydrodynamic jet printing

A rolled-up inductor structure for a radiofrequency integrated circuit (RFIC) comprises a multilayer sheet in a rolled configuration comprising multiple turns about a longitudinal axis. The multilayer sheet comprises a conductive pattern layer on a strain-relieved layer, and the conductive pattern layer comprises at least one conductive strip having a length extending in a rolling direction. The at least one conductive strip thereby wraps around the longitudinal axis in the rolled configuration. The conductive pattern layer may also comprise two conductive feed lines connected to the conductive strip for passage of electrical current therethrough. The conductive strip serves as an inductor cell of the rolled-up inductor structure.

Rolled-up inductor structure for a radiofrequency integrated circuit (RFIC)

A new method for forming an array of high aspect ratio semiconductor nanostructures entails positioning a surface of a stamp comprising a solid electrolyte in opposition to a conductive film disposed on a semiconductor substrate. The surface of the stamp includes a pattern of relief features in contact with the conductive film so as to define a film-stamp interface. A flux of metal ions is generated across the film-stamp interface, and a pattern of recessed features complementary to the pattern of relief features is created in the conductive film. The recessed features extend through an entire thickness of the conductive film to expose the underlying semiconductor substrate and define a conductive pattern on the substrate. The stamp is removed, and material immediately below the conductive pattern is selectively removed from the substrate. Features are formed in the semiconductor substrate having a length-to-width aspect ratio of at least about 5:1.

Method of forming an array of high aspect ratio semiconductor nanostructures

Provided are various methods and devices for electrohydrodynamic (E-jet) printing. The methods relate to sensing of an output current during printing to provide control of a process parameter during printing. The sensing and control provides E-jet printing having improved print resolution and precision compared to conventional open-loop methods. Also provided are various pulsing schemes to provide high frequency E-jet printing, thereby reducing build times by two to three orders of magnitude. A desk-top sized E-jet printer having a sensor for real-time sensing of an electrical parameter and feedback control of the printing is provided.

MEMS stages comprising a plurality of comb drive actuators provide micro and up to nano-positioning capability. Flexure hinges and folded springs that operably connect the actuator to a movable end stage provide independent motion from each of the actuators that minimizes unwanted off-axis displacement, particularly for three-dimensional movement of a cantilever. Also provided are methods for using and making MEMS stages. In an aspect, a process provides a unitary MEMS stage made from a silicon-on-insulator wafer that avoids any post-fabrication assembly steps. Further provided are various devices that incorporate any of the stages disclosed herein, such as devices requiring accurate positioning systems in applications including scanning probe microscopy, E-jet printing, near-field optic sensing, cell probing and material characterization.

High precision silicon-on-insulator MEMS parallel kinematic stages

An electrostatic drive includes a first electrode and a second electrode responsive to a drive signal. The drive signal includes an actuation signal constituent and a sensing signal constituent. The sensing signal constituent is at a frequency higher than a natural mechanical resonant frequency of the electrostatic drive. In response to the actuation signal constituent, displacement between the first electrode and the second electrode changes, which is evaluated by detecting a change in an electrical characteristic of the drive as a function of the sensing signal constituent.

Displacement actuation and sensing for an electrostatic drive

Disclosed herein are electrochemical fabrication platforms for making structures, arrays of structures and functional devices having selected nanosized and/or microsized physical dimensions, shapes and spatial orientations. Methods, systems and system components use an electrochemical stamping tool such as solid state polymeric electrolytes for generating patterns of relief and/or recessed features exhibiting excellent reproducibility, pattern fidelity and resolution on surfaces of solid state ionic conductors and in metal. Electrochemical stamping tools are capable high throughput patterning of large substrate areas, are compatible with commercially attractive manufacturing pathways to access a range of functional systems and devices including nano- and micro-electromechanical systems, sensors, energy storage devices, metal masks for printing, interconnects, and integrated electronic circuits.

Growing community of inventors

Champaign, IL, United States of America

Placid M Ferreira