Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center

The Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center (BSAC) is the Graduated National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Microsensors and Microactuators. We conduct industry-relevant, interdisciplinary research on micro- and nano-scale sensors, moving mechanical elements, microfluidics, materials, processes & systems that take advantage of progress made in integrated-circuit, bio, and polymer technologies.

Number of records: 87

POSTER	RESEARCH THRUST	ABSTRACT click link to view abstract	PROJECT MATERIALS WEBSITE, Login Required	PROJECT TITLE	ADVISOR
1	Physical Sensors & Devices	BPN868	BPN868 Website	Self-Cleaning Mass Sensor for Particulate Matter Monitors	Richard M. White
2	Physical Sensors & Devices	BPN801	BPN801 Website	Electromagnetic Energy Harvester for Atmospheric and Power-System Sensors on Overhead Power Distribution Lines	Richard M. White, Paul K. Wright
3	Physical Sensors & Devices	BPN857	BPN857 Website	Miniature Autonomous Rockets	Kristofer S.J. Pister
4	Physical Sensors & Devices	BPN873	BPN873 Website	MEMS Filament Motors	Kristofer S.J. Pister
5	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust	BPN903	BPN903 Website	Applications of Wireless Sensor Networks	Kristofer S. J. Pister
6	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust	BPN735	BPN735 Website	Walking Silicon Microrobots	Kristofer S.J. Pister
7	Physical Sensors & Devices	BPN826	BPN826 Website	Autonomous Flying Microrobots	Kristofer S.J. Pister
8	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust	BPN858	BPN858 Website	Zero Insertion Force MEMS Socket for Microrobotics Assembly	Kristofer S.J. Pister
9	Physical Sensors & Devices	BPN902	BPN902 Website	Jumping Silicon Microrobots	Kristofer S.J. Pister
10	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust	BPN803	BPN803 Website	Single Chip Mote	Kristofer S.J. Pister, Ali M. Niknejad
11	BioMEMS	BPN899	BPN899 Website	Design of a MEMS Swimming Robot	Kristofer S.J. Pister
12	Micropower	BPN874	BPN874 Website	Charge Pumping with Finger Capacitance for Body Energy Harvesting	Michel M. Maharbiz
13	BioMEMS	BPN718	BPN718 Website	Direct Electron-Mediated Control of Hybrid Multi-Cellular Robots	Michel M. Maharbiz
14	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust	BPN844	BPN844 Website	Wireless Sub-Millimeter Temperature Sensor for Continuous Temperature Monitoring in Tissue	Michel M. Maharbiz
15	BioMEMS	BPN816	BPN816 Website	Cytokine Fast Detection	Michel M. Maharbiz
16	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust	BPN848	BPN848 Website	Wireless Neural Sensors: Robust Ultrasonic Backscatter Communication in the Brain	Michel M. Maharbiz
17	BioMEMS	BPN716	BPN716 Website	Ultrasonic Wireless Implants for Neuro-Modulation	Michel M. Maharbiz
18	BioMEMS	BPN795	BPN795 Website	An Implantable Microsensor for Cancer Surveillance	Michel M. Maharbiz
19	Physical Sensors & Devices	BPN894	BPN894 Website	An electrolytically driven micromotor	Michel M. Maharbiz
20	Physical Sensors & Devices	BPN780	BPN780 Website	Impedance Spectroscopy to Monitor Fracture Healing	Michel M. Maharbiz
21	BioMEMS	BPN890	BPN890 Website	An Electrolytically Driven MEMS Neural Probe	Michel Maharbiz
22	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust	BPN871	BPN871 Website	An Ultrasonic Implantable for Continuous In Vivo Monitoring of Tissue Oxygenation	Michel M. Maharbiz, Mekhail Anwar
23	BioMEMS	BPN853	BPN853 Website	Tethered Bacteria-Based Biosensing	Michel M. Maharbiz
25	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices	BPN889	BPN889 Website	Fabrication and Self-assembly of Microstructured Scaffolds for Living Material	Michel Maharbiz
26	Physical Sensors & Devices	BPN876	BPN876 Website	Metal-Organic Frameworks: A Highly Tunable Class of Materials for Chemical Sensing with High Selectivity	Roya Maboudian, Carlo Carraro, Ali Javey
27	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices	BPN875	BPN875 Website	Transfer-Free Synthesis of Graphene on Insulating Substrates	Roya Maboudian
28	NanoPlasmonics, Microphotonics & Imaging	BPN878	BPN878 Website	Scalable synthesis of Core-Vest Nanoparticles assisted by Surface Plasmons	Roya Maboudian, Carlo Carraro
29	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices	BPN843	BPN843 Website	Non-Enzymatic Electrochemical Sensors Based on Wearable Carbon Textile	Roya Maboudian, Carlo Carraro
30	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices	BPN835	BPN835 Website	Silicon Carbide Passivated Electrode for Thermionic Energy Conversion	Roya Maboudian, Carlo Carraro
31	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust	BPN859	BPN859 Website	High Frequency Oscillator Characterization	Clark T.-C. Nguyen
32	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust	BPN828	BPN828 Website	Zero Quiescent Power Micromechanical Receiver	Clark T.-C. Nguyen
33	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust	BPN814	BPN814 Website	UHF Capacitive-Gap Transduced Resonators With High Cx/Co	Clark T.-C. Nguyen
34	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices	BPN867	BPN867 Website	Fully Integrated CMOS-Metal MEMS Systems	Clark T.-C. Nguyen
35	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust	BPN865	BPN865 Website	CMOS-Assisted Resoswitch Receivers	Clark T.-C. Nguyen
36	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust	BPN866	BPN866 Website	Wide-Bandwidth UHF Bandpass Filters	Clark T.-C. Nguyen
37	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust	BPN864	BPN864 Website	Micromechanical Resonator Waveform Synthesizer	Clark T.-C. Nguyen
38	Physical Sensors & Devices	BPN743	BPN743 Website	Highly Responsive pMUTs	Liwei Lin
39	Micropower	BPN782	BPN782 Website	Flexible Load-Bearing Energy Storage Fabrics	Liwei Lin
40	Physical Sensors & Devices	BPN799	BPN799 Website	3D Printed Microsensors	Liwei Lin
41	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices	BPN672	BPN672 Website	Solar Hydrogen Production by Photocatalytic Water Splitting	Liwei Lin
42	Microfluidics	BPN846	BPN846 Website	3D Printed Biomedical and Diagnostic Systems	Liwei Lin
43	NanoPlasmonics, Microphotonics & Imaging	BPN892	BPN892 Website	Wearable Muscle Diagnostic System for Sports Monitoring Based on pMUT arrays	Liwei Lin
44	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust	BPN840	BPN840 Website	W-Band Additive Vacuum Electronics	Liwei Lin
45	Microfluidics	BPN774	BPN774 Website	Applications of 3D Printed Integrated Microfluidic Circuitry, Finger-Powered Pumps, and Mixers	Liwei Lin
46	Microfluidics	BPN893	BPN893 Website	3D printed microfluidic devices for circulating tumor cell isolation	Liwei Lin
47	Micropower	BPN855	BPN855 Website	Flexible Sensors and Energy Harvesters	Liwei Lin
48	Physical Sensors & Devices	BPN772	BPN772 Website	Graphene for Room Temperature Gas Sensors	Liwei Lin
49	Micropower	BPN885	BPN885 Website	Transition Metal Carbide Based Membrane for Solar-water Energy Harvesting	Liwei Lin
50	Micropower	BPN742	BPN742 Website	Hash Environmental Energy Storage Based on Two-Dimensional Carbide Materials	Liwei Lin
51	Physical Sensors & Devices	BPN886	BPN886 Website	2D carbides as a new family of gas sensing materials with wide working temperature range	Liwei Lin
52	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices	BPN860	BPN860 Website	Laser Printed Carbide-Graphene Paper Enables Foldable Electronics and EMI Shielding	Liwei Lin
53	Physical Sensors & Devices	BPN877	BPN877 Website	Pulse Acquisition and Diagnosis for Health Monitoring	Liwei Lin
54	BioMEMS	BPN870	BPN870 Website	Hot Embossed Thermoplastic Bubble-Actuated Micropump	Dorian Liepmann
55	Microfluidics	BPN839	BPN839 Website	Flow Control in Plastic Microfluidic Devices Using Thermosensitive Gels	Dorian Liepmann
56	BioMEMS	BPN729	BPN729 Website	Development of Microfluidic Devices with Embedded Microelectrodes using Electrodeposition and Hot Embossing	Dorian Liepmann
57	Physical Sensors & Devices	BPN608	BPN608 Website	FM Gyroscope	Bernhard E. Boser
58	BioMEMS	BPN685	BPN685 Website	Real-Time Intraoperative Fluorescence Imager for Microscopic Residual Tumor in Breast Cancer	Bernhard E. Boser, Mekhail Anwar
59	BioMEMS	BPN882	BPN882 Website	An Ultra-Thin Molecular Imaging Skin for Intraoperative Cancer Detection Using Time-Resolved CMOS Sensors	Bernhard E. Boser, Mekhail Anwar
60	Physical Sensors & Devices	BPN852	BPN852 Website	Frequency to Digital Converter for FM Gyroscopes	Bernhard E. Boser
61	Package, Process & Microassembly	BPN354	BPN354 Website	The Nanoshift Concept: Innovation through Design, Development, Prototyping, and Fabrication Services	Michael D. Cable
62	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices	BPN856	BPN856 Website	Broadly-Tunable Laser with Self-Imaging Three-Branch Multi-Mode Interferometer	Ming C. Wu
63	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices	BPN825	BPN825 Website	Direct On-Chip Optical Synthesizer (DODOS)	Ming C. Wu
64	Microfluidics	BPN552	BPN552 Website	Light-Actuated Digital Microfluidics (Optoelectrowetting)	Ming C. Wu
65	NanoPlasmonics, Microphotonics & Imaging	BPN751	BPN751 Website	Large-Scale Silicon Photonic MEMS Switch with Sub-Microsecond Response Time	Ming C. Wu
66	NanoPlasmonics, Microphotonics & Imaging	BPN458	BPN458 Website	Optical Antenna-Based nanoLED	Ming C. Wu, Ali Javey
67	NanoPlasmonics, Microphotonics & Imaging	BPN869	BPN869 Website	Efficient Waveguide-Coupling of Electrically Injected Optical Antenna-Based nanoLED	Ming C. Wu
68	NanoPlasmonics, Microphotonics & Imaging	BPN703	BPN703 Website	High-Speed nanoLED with Antenna Enhanced Light Emission	Ming C. Wu
69	NanoPlasmonics, Microphotonics & Imaging	BPN721	BPN721 Website	Non-Linear FMCW Lidar Using Resampling Methods for Long Range and High Resolution	Ming C. Wu
70	NanoPlasmonics, Microphotonics & Imaging	BPN788	BPN788 Website	MEMS-Actuated Grating-Based Optical Phased Array for LIDAR	Ming C. Wu
71	BioMEMS	BPN884	BPN884 Website	Anisotropic Proton Transport in Artificially Aligned Collagen Fiber	Luke P. Lee
72	BioMEMS	BPN829	BPN829 Website	Integrated Multiplexed Optical Microfluidic System (iMOMs) for Dengue Diagnosis	Luke P. Lee
73	NanoPlasmonics, Microphotonics & Imaging	BPN809	BPN809 Website	Photonic Cavity Bioreactor for High-throughput Screening of Microalgae	Luke P. Lee
74	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices	BPN888	BPN888 Website	Large-Area Processing of Monolayer Semiconductors for Lighting Applications	Ali Javey
75	Physical Sensors & Devices	BPN898	BPN898 Website	A Wearable Sweat Sensing Patch for Dynamic Sweat Secretion Analysis	Ali Javey
76	Physical Sensors & Devices	BPN770	BPN770 Website	Chemical Sensitive Field Effect Transistor (CS-FET)	Ali Javey
77	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices	BPN822	BPN822 Website	Monolayer Semiconductor Optoelectronics	Ali Javey
78	Physical Sensors & Devices	BPN891	BPN891 Website	Dopant-free asymmetric heterocontact silicon solar cells with >20% efficiency	Ali Javey
79	Physical Sensors & Devices	BPN896	BPN896 Website	Drug monitoring with wearable sweat sensors	Ali Javey
80	Physical Sensors & Devices	BPN901	BPN901 Website	Roll-to-Roll Gravure Printed Electrode Arrays for Non-Invasive Sensing Applications	Ali Javey
81	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices	BPN704	BPN704 Website	Vapor-Liquid-Solid Growth of Polycrystalline Indium Phosphide Thin Films on Metal	Ali Javey
82	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices	BPN895	BPN895 Website	Infrared Photodetectors Based on 2D Materials	Ali Javey
83	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices	BPN887	BPN887 Website	Edge Recombination Velocity of 2D Materials	Ali Javey
84	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices	BPN862	BPN862 Website	2D Semiconductor Transistors with 1-Nanometer Gate Length	Ali Javey
85	Physical Sensors & Devices	BPN851	BPN851 Website	High Fill Factor Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers on Transparent Substrates	David A. Horsley
86	Physical Sensors & Devices	BPN785	BPN785 Website	Scandium AlN (ScAlN) for MEMS	David A. Horsley
87	Physical Sensors & Devices	BPN628	BPN628 Website	Novel Ultrasonic Fingerprint Sensor Based on High-Frequency Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers (PMUTs)	David A. Horsley
88	Physical Sensors & Devices	BPN849	BPN849 Website	Large-Amplitude PZT PMUTs	David A. Horsley

Project Abstracts

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Physical Sensors & Devices
Project ID	BPN801
Project Title	Electromagnetic Energy Harvester for Atmospheric and Power-System Sensors on Overhead Power Distribution Lines
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords	Energy harvester, power-system sensors, atmospheric and environmental sensors, overhead power distribution lines
Researchers	Zhiwei Wu
Abstract	The purposes of this project are to develop inexpensive, easily-installed energy harvesters for mounting on overhead or underground power distribution lines in order (1) to power sensors that evaluate and report on the functioning of the power system, and (2) to power co-located environmental sensors, such as particulate-matter monitors and toxic gas sensors, that can transmit their measurements to nearby personal cellphones and long term storage.
Contact Information	zway@berkeley.edu, rwhite@eecs.berkeley.edu, paulwright@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Richard M. White, Paul K. Wright

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Physical Sensors & Devices
Project ID	BPN857
Project Title	Miniature Autonomous Rockets
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords	MEMS, Inchworm Motors, MAVs
Researchers	Brian G. Kilberg, Daniel Contreras
Abstract	Pico air vehicles (PAVs), sub-5cm aerial vehicles, are becoming more feasible due to advances in wireless mesh networks, millimeter-scale propulsion, battery technology, and MEMS control surfaces. Our goal is to develop an aerodynamic MEMS control surface that could be used in PAV applications. This device uses electrostatic inchworm motors to rotate a thin silicon fin 10 degrees. We measured 1.6 uNm of output torque generated by the actuator. In order to determine the aerodynamic performance of the device, we integrated the control surface into a force-sensing platform and operated the device in 23 m/s of airflow. The actuated control surface generated between 0 and 0.25 mN of aerodynamic lift. In order to power this actuator on an untethered PAV, we designed a compact, LiPo battery- powered 90 V power supply PCB that fits in a 3.8 cm x 1.5 cm footprint. We also designed a 20-cm long rocket with onboard power, inertial guidance, and feedback control that we will use as a test platform for the MEMS control surfaces. Our long-term goal is to integrate the MEMS control surface, power supply PCB, and a single chip micromote into an autonomous millimeter-scale rocket.
Contact Information	bkilberg@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Kristofer S.J. Pister

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Physical Sensors & Devices
Project ID	BPN873
Project Title	MEMS Filament Motors
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords
Researchers	Craig B. Schindler, Daniel S. Contreras, Joseph T. Greenspun
Abstract	Pushup, walking, jumping, and flying microrobots have been demonstrated. Other previous work has demonstrated microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) capable of creating silicon silk, as well as microrobots capable of assembling millimeter scale carbon fibers. However, microrobots capable of manipulating very small diameter filaments, fibers, and wires initially external to themselves is still an area of open research. We have successfully demonstrated a silicon-on- insulator (SOI) MEMS device pushing a 7 um diameter carbon filament through an adjustable width channel at a speed of 0.2 mm/s. Future applications include a microrobotic spider, an array of individually controllable neural probe implanters, a wound or fabric stitching microrobot, plug-and- play linear servos for paper robots, etc.
Contact Information	craig.schindler@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Kristofer S.J. Pister

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust
Project ID	BPN903
Project Title	Applications of Wireless Sensor Networks
Status	New
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords
Researchers	Craig B. Schindler, Daniel S. Drew, Brian Kilberg
Abstract	As the size, cost, power, and communication latency of wireless sensor nodes continues to decrease, wireless sensor networks have the potential to be used in a variety of new and interesting ways. In this project we aim to demonstrate applications and use cases that are possible with small, low power, and low latency networks; for example, collecting high- resolution personal telemetry via products with embedded sensor networks, networked autonomous robotic systems, smart buildings, and industrial process control. While this project utilizes custom 15mmx15mm wireless sensor nodes, current state of the art wireless nodes are built on a single piece of silicon only a few cubic millimeters in volume. This continued miniaturization will allow for truly ubiquitous sensor and actuator networks.
Contact Information	craig.schindler@berkeley.edu, ddrew73@berkeley.edu, bkilberg@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Kristofer S. J. Pister

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust
Project ID	BPN735
Project Title	Walking Silicon Microrobots
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords	Microrobotics, electrostatic, actuators, MEMS
Researchers	Daniel Contreras
Abstract	This project focuses on developing a new generation of sub-centimeter MEMS based walking robots. These robots are based on electrostatic actuators driving planar silicon linkages, all fabricated in the device layer of a silicon-on- insulator (SOI) wafer. By using electrostatic actuation, these legs have the advantage of being low power compared to other microrobot leg designs. This is key to granting the robot autonomy through low-power energy harvesting. The ultimate goal will be to join these silicon legs with a CMOS brain, battery power, a high voltage power source, and high voltage buffers to achieve a fully autonomous walking microrobot. Now that we have demonstrated locomotion of a single-legged walking robot through tethered external power, we are shifting our focus to developing a hexapod using a similar actuation scheme. The first generation silicon hexapod will be based on multi- chip assembly using silicon wafer throughole vias and demonstrate a basic dual tripod gait. We have also demonstrated electrostatic inchworm motors capable of actuating a shuttle at 35mm/s. We are also working on a new generation of motors with force generation over 2mN at 65V.
Contact Information	dscontreras@eecs.berkeley.edu
Advisor	Kristofer S.J. Pister

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Physical Sensors & Devices
Project ID	BPN826
Project Title	Autonomous Flying Microrobots
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords	electrohydrodynamics, microrobotics, ionocraft, ion thrust, MAV
Researchers	Daniel S. Drew, Craig Schindler, Nathan Lambert
Abstract	Among the state of the art academic research on pico air vehicles, the majority has focused on biomimetic flight mechanisms (e.g. flapping wings). This project looks to develop a new microfabricated transduction mechanism for flying microrobots with the goal of opening up the application space beyond that allowed by the industry-standard quadcoptor. The proposed mechanism, electrohydrodynamic (EHD) force generated via sub-millimeter corona discharge, functions silently and with no moving parts, directly converting ion current to induced air flow. Microfabricated silicon electrodes are currently being used to create devices with thrust to weight ratios in excess of 15. Microrobots with four individually addressable thrusters have been assembled that mass about 15mg and measure less than 2cm on a side, with the capability of takeoff at about 2400V while carrying a 45mg additional payload of commercial 9- axis IMU, associated passives, and FlexPCB breakout board. A new emitter electrode design with an integrated sharp tip array pointed at the collector grid has yielded a corona onset voltage of 1450V and an unladen takeoff voltage below 2000V, decreases of 30% and 20% respectively from previous efforts on the quad-thruster. Current work is focused on demonstrating controlled hovering of the robot; the first step on this path is simulated control using experimentally measured aerodynamic drag, voltage to force response, and sensor noise values. Ultimately, integration with a low power control and communications platform will yield a truly autonomous flying microrobot powered by ion thrusters – the ionocraft.
Contact Information	ddrew73@eecs.berkeley.edu
Advisor	Kristofer S.J. Pister

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust
Project ID	BPN858
Project Title	Zero Insertion Force MEMS Socket for Microrobotics Assembly
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	Fellowship
Keywords	mems, zif, microassembly, microrobot
Researchers	Hani Gomez, Daniel Contreras, Joseph Greenspun
Abstract	To help resolve the control and power challenges present in developing micro robots, the research focus of this project is the design and development of a ZIF (zero insertion force) MEMS socket. The ultimate goal is to achieve electrical connection between a 65nm single-chip mote and a multi-legged SOI micro robot. As proof of concept, the most recent socket prototype has demonstrated successful connection to a MEMS motor chiplet, which is orthogonal to the socket. Both chiplets were fabricated using a two-mask SOI (silicon- on- insulator) process. The socket uses probes to precisely and reliably connect to pads on the motor chiplet. Once connected, the MEMS motor can be run while inserted in the socket, standing up right. Future work will allow MEMS structures to easily probe the pads of CMOS chips, strongly connecting the two technologies both electrically and mechanically (the connection is designed to withstand 1000s of g’s of vibration). The ZIF socket will provide a smooth and simple approach to the integration of CMOS chips with MEMS structures.
Contact Information	gomezhc@berkeley.edu, dscontreras@berkeley.edu, greenspun@berkeley.edu, ksjp@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Kristofer S.J. Pister

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Physical Sensors & Devices
Project ID	BPN902
Project Title	Jumping Silicon Microrobots
Status	New
Funding Source	DARPA
Keywords
Researchers	Craig Schindler
Abstract	This project aims to create millimeter-scale MEMS-based jumping robots. These microrobots can be used in applications ranging from mobile sensor networks to planetary exploration. By using a simple two-mask Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) fabrication process, planar mechanisms are easily integrated with electrostatic actuators. These electrostatic motors do mechanical work on a shuttle to store mechanical energy via the bending and stretching of silicon springs. Once a sufficient amount of energy has been stored, the motors release the stored energy and the microrobot can jump. An added benefit of these motors is their low power requirement; the motors can operate using ~100 uW to generate over 1 mN of force. To achieve full autonomy, the microrobot will need a CMOS chip for sensing and control, as well as a system for energy scavenging and storage. Currently, we’ve demonstrated a prototype capable of storing 4 uJ of mechanical energy using onboard motors with tethered power.
Contact Information	greenspun@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Kristofer S.J. Pister

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust
Project ID	BPN803
Project Title	Single Chip Mote
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	Industry
Keywords
Researchers	Osama Khan, David Burnett, Lydia Lee, Filip Maksimovic, Alex Moreno Belmares, Brad Wheeler
Abstract	The Internet of Things (IoT) is a natural evolution of computing. CMOS technology enabled the network of computers that provided a platform for creating social networks. We are just seeing the early stages of another transition point in technology and entering into a new era where computing, sensing, and communication is essentially becoming disposable. The microsystem serves as a platform that allows us to embed wireless connectivity into everyday objects or serves as a brain for walking and flying microrobots. The lifetime, robustness, profile, and cost of these microsystems play a critical role to enable these emerging applications. Therefore, a single chip mote hardware platform is developed to address these unmet needs from the current existing hardware platforms. The system-on-chip (SoC) is architected from the bottom-up to meet the new use case and performance requirements of energy constrained environments with limited energy capacity e.g. batteryless operation from harvested energy or operation from printed batteries. The project seeks to reduce the active radio power by a factor of 10, reduce the overall system cost and profile of a microsystem by eliminating external components (e.g. crystal frequency reference) that are typically needed for a fully functioning wireless sensor node.
Contact Information	oukhan@berkeley.edu, ksjp@berkeley.edu, brad.wheeler@berkeley.edu, db@eecs.berkeley.edu, fil@eecs.be
Advisor	Kristofer S.J. Pister, Ali M. Niknejad

 

Document Top Table of Projects	BioMEMS
Project ID	BPN899
Project Title	Design of a MEMS Swimming Robot
Status	New
Funding Source	Fellowship
Keywords	MEMS, electrostatic, microrobot, swimming, aqueous, liquid
Researchers	Ryan M. Shih, Daniel S. Contreras, Travis L. Massey, Joseph T. Greenspun
Abstract	This project is dedicated towards the design of a MEMS swimming robot capable of locomotion in liquid media. Some project goals include 1) characterizing individual mechanisms in aqueous environments, 2) integrating mechanisms to achieve swimming motion, and 3) identifying possible power sources.
Contact Information	rmshih@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Kristofer S.J. Pister

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Micropower
Project ID	BPN874
Project Title	Charge Pumping with Finger Capacitance for Body Energy Harvesting
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	Foundation
Keywords	energy harvesting, charge pumping, electrostatic, body capacitance
Researchers	Alyssa Y. Zhou
Abstract	We propose a touch interrogation powered energy harvesting system which transforms the kinetic energy of a human finger to electric energy. As is well known for touch display devices, the proximity of a finger can alter the effective value of small capacitances. We utilize these capacitance changes through a harvesting circuit to charge a capacitor with each finger tap. This technology illustrates the ability to communicate with and operate low-power sensors with motions already used for interfacing to devices.
Contact Information	alyssa.zhou@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Michel M. Maharbiz

 

Document Top Table of Projects	BioMEMS
Project ID	BPN718
Project Title	Direct Electron-Mediated Control of Hybrid Multi-Cellular Robots
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	Office of Naval Research (ONR)
Keywords	microbiorobotics, synthetic biology, biosensors, hybrid biological systems, bacterial electrophysiology
Researchers	Alyssa Y. Zhou, Tom J. Zajdel
Abstract	We propose a millimeter-scale, programmable cellular-synthetic hybrid sensor node capable of sensing and response in aqueous environments. This will be the first demonstration of a millimeter-scale synthetic autonomous multi-cellular hybrid with organic and man-made components. We have successfully developed a miniaturized bioelectronic sensing system (BESSY) including a centimeter-scale, two-channel, three-electrode potentiostat and a custom-fabricated, submersible, self-contained miniaturized reactor (m-reactor). The BESSY is capable of in-situ sensing of specific chemicals among environmental perturbations using differential current measurement.
Contact Information	alyssa.zhou@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Michel M. Maharbiz

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust
Project ID	BPN844
Project Title	Wireless Sub-Millimeter Temperature Sensor for Continuous Temperature Monitoring in Tissue
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	DARPA
Keywords	Sensor, wireless, monitoring, biomedical, chronic, implant, temperature, thermometer, ultrasound, backscatter
Researchers	B. Arda Ozilgen
Abstract	We demonstrate a tetherless, sub-millimeter implantable temperature sensing system employing ultrasonic powering and ultrasonic backscatter modulation assembled using commercially available components. We have demonstrated two sizes of sensors based on available components with volumes of 1.45 mm3 and 0.118 mm3. Individual sensors are able to resolve ±0.5 °C changes in temperature, suitable for medical diagnostic and monitoring purposes. We have demonstrated less than 0.3 °C drift in temperature readings over 14 days in physiological temperature conditions. Our goal is to solve a long-standing issue: chronically and tetherlessly monitoring deep tissue temperature.
Contact Information	arda.ozilgen@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Michel M. Maharbiz

 

Document Top Table of Projects	BioMEMS
Project ID	BPN816
Project Title	Cytokine Fast Detection
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	DARPA
Keywords	Ion concentration polarization, ultrafast enrichment
Researchers	Bochao Lu
Abstract	Sepsis is a life-threatening condition both in civilian and military medical scenarios. Patients with sepsis usually exhibit a vigorous systemic release of cytokines such as interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) into serum. The ability to monitor relative cytokine levels continuously at fast time scales (tens of minutes) could open the door to closed-loop, patient-specific sepsis management therapies. The current methods of cytokine detection take hours and cost thousands of dollars because the physiological concentration is so low around femtomolar. At such low concentrations, the limiting factor becomes mass transport instead of binding kinetics, due to increased diffusion length from bulk solution to sensor surface. We present a method, based on nanofabrication and ion concentration polarization (ICP) which enriches analytes using only a DC power supply.
Contact Information	steven_lu@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Michel M. Maharbiz

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust
Project ID	BPN848
Project Title	Wireless Neural Sensors: Robust Ultrasonic Backscatter Communication in the Brain
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	DARPA
Keywords	ultrasound, low-power, wearable, biosensing, neural dust
Researchers	David Piech
Abstract	Brain-machine interfaces provide an artificial conduit to send information to and from the brain, and modulate activity in the brain. These systems have shown great promise in clinical, scientific, and human-computer interaction contexts, but the low reward/risk ratio of today’s invasive neural interfaces has limited their use to an extremely niche clinical patient population. It has been shown that ultrasonic backscatter communication can enable the sensing and stimulation of neural activity with extremely small wireless implants, which can both improve performance and reduce risk. This project will develop a neural interface system which extends this technique to wirelessly communicate with multiple sensors in the brain.
Contact Information	piech@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Michel M. Maharbiz

 

Document Top Table of Projects	BioMEMS
Project ID	BPN716
Project Title	Ultrasonic Wireless Implants for Neuro-Modulation
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	DARPA
Keywords	brain-machine interfaces, ultrasonic energy transfer and harvesting, backscatter communication
Researchers	Konlin Shen, David Piech, B. Arda Ozilgen
Abstract	A major hurdle in brain-machine interfaces (BMI) is the lack of an implantable neural interface system that remains viable for a substantial fraction of a primate lifetime. Recently, sub-mm implantable, wireless electromagnetic (EM) neural interfaces have been demonstrated in an effort to extend system longevity. However, EM systems do not scale down in size well due to the severe inefficiency of coupling radio waves at mm and sub-mm scales. We propose an alternative wireless power and data telemetry scheme using distributed, ultrasonic backscattering systems to record high frequency (~kHz) neural activity. Such systems will require two fundamental technology innovations: 1) thousands of 10 – 100 um scale, free- floating, independent sensor nodes, or neural dust, that detect and report local extracellular electrophysiological data via ultrasonic backscattering, and 2) a sub-cranial ultrasonic interrogator that establishes power and communication links with the neural dust. To test the feasibility of this approach, we performed the first in-vivo experiments in the rat model, where we were able to recover mV-level action potential signals from the peripheral nerves. Further miniaturization of implantable interface based on ultrasound would pave the way for both truly chronic BMI and massive scaling in the number of neural recordings from the nervous system.
Contact Information	konlin@berkeley.edu, piech@berkeley.edu, arda.ozilgen@berkeley.edu, maharbiz@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Michel M. Maharbiz

 

Document Top Table of Projects	BioMEMS
Project ID	BPN795
Project Title	An Implantable Microsensor for Cancer Surveillance
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords	prostate cancer, beta radiation, Solid-state detectors, Low noise, CMOS, Imaging
Researchers	Kyoungtae Lee
Abstract	We aim to develop a micro surveillance device for early identification of cancerous cell growth in collaboration with radiation oncology research from UCSF. UCSF will develop a molecular probe that specifically targets prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), which is overexpressed on prostate cancer cells. By radiolabeling these probes, cancer sites may be monitored in conjunction with an implantable array. We will design a 100x100um semiconductor radiation sensor that can feasibly detect and localize cancer recurrence from 10^4 - 10^5 cells when placed near a cancer site. The sensors will use ultrasonic methods for power and signal transmission, as demonstrated in Dongjin Seo, et al., arXiv preprint arXiV:1307.2196 (2013). Initial sensor design will enhance CMOS device sensitivity to time-dependent signal variation and will also explore signal recovery in the limited biological window where the radiolabelled probe is detectable.
Contact Information	ktlee@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Michel M. Maharbiz

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Physical Sensors & Devices
Project ID	BPN894
Project Title	An electrolytically driven micromotor
Status	New
Funding Source	Fellowship
Keywords	micromotor, electrolysis
Researchers	Mauricio J. Bustamante
Abstract	Underwater self-powered micro-swimmers have several biomedical and environmental applications, such as drug delivery and pathogen elimination in water. Therefore, there is a need for propulsion mechanisms, such as an underwater rotary micro-motor that can drive an impeller for propulsion, similar to flagellar motor in bacteria. This project, currently in its first semester, aims to produce an underwater motor in the single- micron scale. The proposed mechanism uses bubbles generated through water electrolysis to drive the rotor. Current flowing through an electrolyte activates the hydrolysis of water forming gas bubbles. It has been observed that when these bubbles are generated in tapered microchannels, they move toward the wide end due to surface tension forces. We propose to construct the channels in such a way that the motion of the bubbles drags a rotor, and hypothesize that the use of surface forces will allow for better scalability.
Contact Information	mauricio_bustamante@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Michel M. Maharbiz

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Physical Sensors & Devices
Project ID	BPN780
Project Title	Impedance Spectroscopy to Monitor Fracture Healing
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	NSF
Keywords
Researchers	Monica C. Lin
Abstract	An estimated 15 million fracture injuries occur each year in the United States. Of these, 10% of fractures result in delayed or non-union, with this number rising to 46% when they occur in conjunction with vascular injury. Current methods of monitoring include taking X-rays and making clinical observations. However, radiographic techniques lag and physician examination of injury is fraught with subjectivity. No standardized methods exist to assess the extent of healing that has taken place in a fracture, revealing the need for a diagnostic device that can reliably detect non-union in its early pathologic phases. Electrical impedance spectroscopy has been used to characterize different tissues, and we hypothesize that this technique can be applied to fractures to distinguish between the various types of tissue present in the clearly defined stages of healing. We are developing an objective measurement tool that utilizes impedance spectroscopy to monitor fracture healing, with the goal of providing physicians with more information that can resolve the initial stages of fracture healing. This would enable early intervention to prevent problem fractures from progressing to non-union.
Contact Information	monica.lin@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Michel M. Maharbiz

 

Document Top Table of Projects	BioMEMS
Project ID	BPN890
Project Title	An Electrolytically Driven MEMS Neural Probe
Status	New
Funding Source	NIH
Keywords	neural probe, electrolysis, glial scarring
Researchers	Oliver Chen
Abstract	Glial scarring and passivization of long-term implanted neural probes is one bottleneck in brain- machine interface technology. However, ultraflexible probes with similar mechanical properties as tissue have been shown to minimize scarring and other biological responses. We propose a flexible, microscale neural probe that can be actuated using a electrolytically generated bubble. This device is designed to be able to record neural signals up to 100um away from the insertion site. To further avoid insertion damage, the speed of actuation can be controlled via the electrolysis rate. This design can allow for high-density, accurate neural recordings for a wide variety of clinical applications and research thrusts.
Contact Information	ochen@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Michel Maharbiz

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust
Project ID	BPN871
Project Title	An Ultrasonic Implantable for Continuous In Vivo Monitoring of Tissue Oxygenation
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	Foundation
Keywords
Researchers	Soner Sonmezoglu
Abstract	Our group previously demonstrated a “neural dust” system for neural recording which includes an implantable device and external ultrasonic transducers to power and communicate with the implantable. In this work, we extend that paradigm, demonstrating an implantable that can measure and report tissue oxygenation. Oxygenation state is a key parameter when assessing the metabolic state of cells and tissues, tissue and organ viability, tumor state, among many examples in both basic science and clinical care. Various types of methods for the detection of oxygen have appeared in recent years, including the Clark electrode, Winkler titration, and optical sensing. Among these, there is a growing interest in optical sensors for use in consumer electronic devices because they possess advantages of (a) fast response, (b) high sensitivity, (c) good precision and accuracy, (d) lack of oxygen consumption during measurements, (e) ease of miniaturization, (f) low cost, and (g) enabling in vivo, non-invasive and real- time measurements. In this project, we aim to develop a miniaturized oxygen sensor system consisting of a micro-light emitting diodes (LEDs) for optical excitation, bio-compatible thin-film for encapsulation of an oxygen-sensitive fluorophore, ultrasonic transducer for wireless communication and wireless powering of the implantable device, and single-chip CMOS integrated circuit for optical detection and signal processing. The sensor system determines oxygen level utilizing the fluorescence lifetime of a fluorophore, which is a function of the oxygen concentration of the thin film that is influenced by the surrounding environment.
Contact Information	ssonmezoglu@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Michel M. Maharbiz, Mekhail Anwar

 

Document Top Table of Projects	BioMEMS
Project ID	BPN853
Project Title	Tethered Bacteria-Based Biosensing
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	Office of Naval Research (ONR)
Keywords	biosensing, bacterial chemotaxis, bacterial flagellar motor, microbiorobotics
Researchers	Tom J. Zajdel
Abstract	Though the chemotaxis sensing system of emph{Escherichia coli} is known to approach fundamental physical limits for biosensing, few attempts have been made to co-opt the system as the front end for a biohybrid sensor. We propose a biohybrid sensor that monitors chemotactic bacterial flagellar motor (BFM) rotation speed and direction to infer analyte concentration for a low-power, fast, and sensitive response. We present the design and fabrication of a four point impedimetric array that uses current injection electrodes to circumvent electrode polarization screening, enabling solution resistance monitoring within a four-micron by four-micron region. We also demonstrate the first lithographically patterned silica shaft encoders for the BFM, which utilize localized biotin-avidin chemistry to selectively bind to the BFM and encode rotation. When these two components are integrated by bringing the rotating shaft encoders in proximity to the microelectrode array, they will enable an electrochemical method for observing the BFM. Such an impedance-based biohybrid sensor obviates the need for a microscope and in principle may be multiplexed and scaled to large arrays of BFMs, enabling the development of deployable low-power and fast sensing systems that directly observe the BFM to infer analyte concentration.
Contact Information	zajdel@eecs.berkeley.edu, maharbiz@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Michel M. Maharbiz

 

Document Top Table of Projects	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices
Project ID	BPN889
Project Title	Fabrication and Self-assembly of Microstructured Scaffolds for Living Material
Status	New
Funding Source	DARPA
Keywords
Researchers	Wei Li
Abstract	Design, synthesize, assemble, and characterize hard-soft hybrid composites that resemble brick-and- mortar structure of nacre, but that can switch between being porous and flexible to impermeable, stiff, and strong in response to environmental cues.
Contact Information	wei.li@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Michel Maharbiz

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Physical Sensors & Devices
Project ID	BPN876
Project Title	Metal-Organic Frameworks: A Highly Tunable Class of Materials for Chemical Sensing with High Selectivity
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	State
Keywords	Sensing, Metal-organic frameworks, tunability, chemistry, ChemFET, CS-FET
Researchers	David Gardner, Tina Yang, Dr. Hossain Fahad
Abstract	A classic challenge in gas sensing is tunability of sensing material to suit the specific application. A new class of materials, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), can take on thousands of forms, each with unique properties. Metal-organic frameworks are comprised of metal-cluster nodes connected by organic linkers. Changing the metal cluster or the organic linker can modulate the sensing response by at least two mechanisms: one, the metal cluster determines what gasses can bind to the material, and second, the length and functional groups of the organic linker control which gasses can enter the MOF. Guest molecules diffuse through the material and modulate the MOF’s surface potential, which can be sensed by a device, such as CS- FET (developed by Dr. Hossain Fahad and Prof. Ali Javey). We have recently achieved conformal coverage of the device with the MOF sensing material using a layer-by-layer growth method, where the device is alternately exposed to the metal component and organic component. The gas sensing performance of the device is investigated and found to be sensitive to acidic gasses, e.g. NO2. The layer-by-layer approach is applicable to a wide variety of MOF materials, providing opportunities to tailor the gas sensing characteristics of the device.
Contact Information	dwg@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Roya Maboudian, Carlo Carraro, Ali Javey

 

Document Top Table of Projects	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices
Project ID	BPN875
Project Title	Transfer-Free Synthesis of Graphene on Insulating Substrates
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords	graphene, synthesis, CVD
Researchers	Leslie L. Chan, Dung-Sheng Tsai, Zhongtao Wang, Yuhui Xie
Abstract	Graphene has become one of the pinnacles of nanomaterials research, touted for its manifold applications and potential as “the next silicon” in electronics. At this time, integrated production of graphene-based devices remains a barrier, requiring a process that is reliable, large-scale, and compatible with conventional fabrication approaches. One common method for graphene synthesis is chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on metal substrates, which requires a transfer step to target materials (e.g., insulating substrates for device applications). However, this extra transfer step often leads to wrinkles, contamination, and breakage that can lead to poor device performance. This project seeks to devise a robust method for growing high-quality, wafer-scale, mono/bi-layer graphene directly on insulating substrates such as SiO2, enabling efficient and coherent incorporation of graphene for next-generation devices.
Contact Information	leslie.chan@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Roya Maboudian

 

Document Top Table of Projects	NanoPlasmonics, Microphotonics & Imaging
Project ID	BPN878
Project Title	Scalable synthesis of Core-Vest Nanoparticles assisted by Surface Plasmons
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	Fellowship
Keywords	plasmonic, superresolution, colloidal chemistry
Researchers	Siyi Cheng, Arthur O. Montazeri
Abstract	Compared with single-component nanocrystals, core–shell nanocrystals show better performance in various areas, such as energy harvesting and storage, catalysis, sensing and functionalized targeted cell therapy. The solution-based fabrication process is the most common strategy for synthesizing core-shell structures. However, the complex and difficult-to-scale fabrication procedures severely reduce their practical applications. Besides, the thermodynamically driven process of the fabrication of core-shell nanostructures possesses several constraints on their size and geometry, the most prominent being the high degree of uniformity in their shape. If energy (or matter) could be channeled with super-resolution, more complex architectures would become possible, such as partial cladding of complex nanoparticles with nontrivial shapes. In this project, we exploit the plasmonic activity of the nanoparticle itself to help channel light into a nonuniform heatmap over the particle with sub-particle resolution. We show that surface plasmons which result from the coupling of light with the free electrons in a metal, can be harnessed to achieve a variety of pre-programmed designer core- shell nanostructures. By localizing the energy carried by far-field radiation onto nanometer- sized regions, surface plasmon effectively create hot blueprints that drive self-assembly of composite structures. Herein, several kinds of core-shell nanostructures are fabricated assisted by surface plasmon to illustrate the concept, and several possible applications of these complex nanomaterials are discussed.
Contact Information	siyic@berkeley.edu, arthur.montazeri@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Roya Maboudian, Carlo Carraro

 

Document Top Table of Projects	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices
Project ID	BPN843
Project Title	Non-Enzymatic Electrochemical Sensors Based on Wearable Carbon Textile
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	NSF
Keywords	electrochemical sensor, carbon fiber textile
Researchers	Siyi Cheng, Ying Li, Hu Long
Abstract	Wearable sensors have attracted considerable interest owing to their tremendous promise for applications in various fields, such as clinical diagnosis, environmental pollution monitoring and food quality assessment, due to their practical advantages of operation convenience, low cost and in-situ analysis mode. Compared with enzymatic sensors, non-enzymatic sensors show enhanced stability, simplicity, reproducibility, and cost effectiveness. Among a variety of electrode materials, carbon textile is flexible, conductive and stable in corrosive conditions. Furthermore, it provides large surface area, high porosity and a three-dimensional structure, which is crucial for nanostructure-based electrochemical devices. It is also inexpensive and biocompatible among carbon-based materials. However, proper surface functionalization is needed to achieve selectivity. Herein, we are developing synthesis processes to achieve different transition metal oxides and their composites on flexible carbon textile for advanced electrochemical biosensing applications.
Contact Information	yingli@seu.edu.cn, siyic@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Roya Maboudian, Carlo Carraro

 

Document Top Table of Projects	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices
Project ID	BPN835
Project Title	Silicon Carbide Passivated Electrode for Thermionic Energy Conversion
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	Federal
Keywords	Silicon Carbide, Tungsten, Thermionic Emission, LPCVD, High-Temperature
Researchers	Steven R. DelaCruz, Zhongtao Wang
Abstract	In thermionic energy converters (TECs), electrons emitted from a hot electrode (emitter) into a vacuum gap are harvested by a cooler electrode (collector), and then return to the emitter, delivering power to an external load. In this process, TECs convert heat directly into electricity and have the potential to achieve high efficiencies comparable to those of conventional heat engines. We have initiated a collaborative project to develop a microfabricated, close-gap thermionic energy converter that utilizes heat from a combustion source. Potential applications include residential combined heat and power systems and light-weight battery alternatives. One key challenge is designing the emitter, which needs to be highly conductive and survive temperatures as hot as 1700 °C in an oxidizing environment. While tungsten is an attractive choice for the emitter, it readily oxidizes under the envisioned conditions. Owing to its chemical inertness and mechanical strength at high temperatures, silicon carbide is an effective option for electrode passivation. In this work, we are developing processes for fabricating a SiC-protected tungsten electrode, exploring the necessity and effectiveness of various interdiffusion barriers, and investigating its long-term stability under harsh environments.
Contact Information	sdelacruz@berkeley.edu, zhtwangeptech@gmail.com, maboudia@berkeley.edu, carraro@berkeley.edu,
Advisor	Roya Maboudian, Carlo Carraro

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust
Project ID	BPN859
Project Title	High Frequency Oscillator Characterization
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	Fellowship
Keywords
Researchers	Alain Anton
Abstract	This project aims to study and understand fundamental mechanisms that govern phase noise, aging, thermal stability, and acceleration stability in high frequency micromechanical resonator oscillators.
Contact Information	aanto021@eecs.berkeley.edu
Advisor	Clark T.-C. Nguyen

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust
Project ID	BPN828
Project Title	Zero Quiescent Power Micromechanical Receiver
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	DARPA
Keywords
Researchers	Alper Ozgurluk
Abstract	This project aims to explore and demonstrate a mostly mechanical receiver capable of listening without consuming any power, consuming power only when receiving valid bits.
Contact Information	ozgurluk@eecs.berkeley.edu, liur@eecs.berkeley.edu, ctnguyen@eecs.berkeley.edu
Advisor	Clark T.-C. Nguyen

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust
Project ID	BPN814
Project Title	UHF Capacitive-Gap Transduced Resonators With High Cx/Co
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	DARPA
Keywords
Researchers	Alper Ozgurluk, Yafei Li
Abstract	The project explores methods by which the Cx/Co of UHF capacitive-gap transduced resonators might be increased to above 5% while maintaining Q's >10,000.
Contact Information	ozgurluk@eecs.berkeley.edu
Advisor	Clark T.-C. Nguyen

 

Document Top Table of Projects	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices
Project ID	BPN867
Project Title	Fully Integrated CMOS-Metal MEMS Systems
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	DARPA
Keywords	RF MEMS, UHF, filters, CMOS, integration
Researchers	Kieran A. Peleaux
Abstract	As RF MEMS technology evolves to shift towards UHF frequencies, the parasitics inherent in hybrid fabrication approaches become the performance bottleneck. This project aims to integrate metal MEMS resonators directly over CMOS circuitry to achieve fully integrated MEMS systems. Pursuant to this goal, this project proposes several designs for UHF MEMS bandpass filters, exploring how different CMOS-compatible metals can yield performance metrics—such as quality-factor (Q), temperature stability and frequency drift—that are comparable to those of standard polysilicon MEMS resonators.
Contact Information	kpeleaux@berkeley.edu, ctnguyen@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Clark T.-C. Nguyen

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust
Project ID	BPN865
Project Title	CMOS-Assisted Resoswitch Receivers
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	DARPA
Keywords
Researchers	Kyle K. Tanghe
Abstract	This project aims to harness extremely low power CMOS integrated circuits to boost the Q’s of micromechanical resoswitches towards much higher sensitivity resoswitch receivers.
Contact Information	tanghek@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Clark T.-C. Nguyen

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust
Project ID	BPN866
Project Title	Wide-Bandwidth UHF Bandpass Filters
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	DARPA
Keywords	UHF, Wideband, Filter
Researchers	Qianyi Xie
Abstract	This project aims to explore the physical limitation of gapped-piezoelectrical resonator and capacitively- transduced resonator for the realization of wide-bandwidth bandpass filters at UHF frequencies.
Contact Information	qianyi_xie@berkeley.edu, ctnguyen@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Clark T.-C. Nguyen

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust
Project ID	BPN864
Project Title	Micromechanical Resonator Waveform Synthesizer
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	DARPA
Keywords
Researchers	Thanh-Phong Nguyen
Abstract	This project aims to demonstrate a waveform synthesizer using multiple micromechanical resonator oscillators with outputs combined to use ultimately in a super-regenerative receiver.
Contact Information	thanhphong_nguyen@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Clark T.-C. Nguyen

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Physical Sensors & Devices
Project ID	BPN743
Project Title	Highly Responsive pMUTs
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords	Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers (pMUTs), curved pMUTS, bimorph pMUTs, dual electrode bimorph pMUT, ring pMUTs, ultrasonic sensors
Researchers	Benjamin Eovino, Yue Liang, Hong Ding, Sedat Pala
Abstract	Ultrasonics has been realized as a nondestructive measurement method for a variety of applications, such as medical imaging, healthcare monitoring, structural testing, range finding, and motion sensing. Furthermore, high intensity ultrasound can be used in therapeutic treatments, such as lithotripsy for kidney stone comminution, hyperthermia for cancer therapy, high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) for laparoscopic surgery, and transcranial sonothrombolysis for brain stroke treatment. MEMS ultrasonic transducers are known to have several pronounced advantages over the conventional ultrasound devices, namely higher resolution, higher bandwidth, and lower power consumption. The main purpose of this project is to develop new architectures of Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers (pMUTs) with higher electro-mechano-acoustical energy efficiency and increased sensitivity while using CMOS-compatible fabrication technology, making them suitable for battery-powered handheld devices. The specific focus is on increasing the electromechanical coupling, bandwidth, and acoustic pressure output in aims of creating power-efficient hand-held medical devices for diagnosis/therapy.
Contact Information	beovino@berkeley.edu, lunaliang93@berkeley.edu, honedean@berkeley.edu, spala@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Liwei Lin

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Micropower
Project ID	BPN782
Project Title	Flexible Load-Bearing Energy Storage Fabrics
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	Army/ARL
Keywords	Flexible supercapacitor, Wearable electronics, Structural energy storage, Carbon fiber
Researchers	Caiwei Shen, Dongwoo Shin, Yuanyuan Huang
Abstract	The power source is a bottleneck for the successful development of flexible electronics. Instead of using rigid and bulky batteries, flexible multifunctional devices that store energy and bear loads at the same time provide better solutions by working as powering structural components. Here we demonstrate the woven supercapacitor fabrics featuring high flexibility comparable to that of wearable textiles, high tensile strength of over 1GPa, high failure pressure of 500MPa, and fast charging within seconds. The supercapacitor fabrics can power all kinds of wearable electronics, or be used in other applications that desire load-bearing ability and arbitrary form-factor design for the power systems.
Contact Information	shencw10@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Liwei Lin

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Physical Sensors & Devices
Project ID	BPN799
Project Title	3D Printed Microsensors
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	DARPA
Keywords	Microsensor, 3D printing, Metallization
Researchers	Dongwoo Shin, Huiliang Liu, Renxiao Xu
Abstract	This project aims at developing high-throughput 3D printing methods for building microsensors for various applications. We formulate new inks/solutions and investigate optimal printing conditions for various 3D printing methods such as inkjet and electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing.
Contact Information	dongwooshin@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Liwei Lin

 

Document Top Table of Projects	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices
Project ID	BPN672
Project Title	Solar Hydrogen Production by Photocatalytic Water Splitting
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	KAUST
Keywords	Solar energy, photocatalysis, nano materials
Researchers	Emmeline Kao, Neil Ramirez
Abstract	Hydrogen is a promising, environmentally-friendly fuel source for replacing fossil fuels in transportation and stationary power applications. Currently, most hydrogen is produced from non-renewable sources including natural gas, oil, and coal. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is a new renewable energy technology that aims to generate hydrogen from water using solar energy. When light is absorbed by the photocatalyst, an electron-hole pair is generated that interacts with water molecules in a surface reduction-oxidation reaction to decompose the water into hydrogen and oxygen. The current challenge in PEC water splitting is finding low-cost, stable materials with good visible light absorption and high efficiency for water splitting. Recent progress in developing ultra-thin black TiOx via atomic layer deposition(ALD) shows potential for solving these challenges. In comparison to naturally occurring white TiO2, black TiOx has a narrowed band gap, which allows for increased solar absorption (into visible), vastly improving potential for passive operation of PEC water splitting under sunlight illumination. It also exhibits high resistance to photocorrosion. Furthermore, the ability to deposit this material with ultra-precise ALD allows for geometric manipulation to increase charge separation efficiency and absorption. This project aims to improve the performance of PEC devices for water splitting by developing new high surface area photoelectrodes enclosed in a thin layer of black TiOx.
Contact Information	kao@berkeley.edu, neil.ramirez@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Liwei Lin

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Microfluidics
Project ID	BPN846
Project Title	3D Printed Biomedical and Diagnostic Systems
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords
Researchers	Eric C. Sweet, Jacqueline Elwood, Ryan Jew
Abstract	Every year, more than twenty thousand people in the United States die from antibiotic- resistant bacterial infections. Despite increasing rates of antibiotic resistance, little clinical research is being performed into the discovery of new drugs; instead, a commonly used method to combat antibiotic resistance is combination therapy, where various antibiotics are combined into a “drug cocktail” to be simultaneously administered to the patient. However, biomedical research into the interactions of three or more antibiotics is fairly limited, a result of the critical functional-limitation of standard BioMEMS analytical devices (e.g., two- dimensional PDMS microfluidic chips fabricated via soft lithography) that such monolithic structures can only produce gradients of two fluidic inputs at a time. Furthermore, the biomedical community lacks a simple and accessible method of determining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of a single antibiotic where the gold standard is still manual labor- intensive pipetting, dilutions, and agar plates. For this project, we present a novel micro- scale 3D printed microfluidic concentration gradient generator (CGG) that produces a symmetric concentration gradient between three fluidic inputs, which we used to determine the interactions of various combinations of three commonly clinically administered antibiotics (Nitrofurantoin, Tetracycline and Trimethoprim), as well as the MIC value for each individual antibiotic, on ampicillin-resistant E. Coli. Bacteria. Our singular device could be used in a clinical setting, when attempting to treat a known or unknown antibiotic-resistant strain, to decrease the analysis time and required volume of antibiotics to perform a determination of the interactions of multiple antibiotics simultaneously, as well as to analyze the MIC value of each antibiotic, which could set a significant clinical precedent resulting in faster and more effective treatment of new infections and potentially a greater number of patient lives saved. Furthermore, our three-flow CGG could increase the efficacy and speed of experiments in other areas in biomedical research where concentration gradients of reagents are relevant, such as stem cell research.
Contact Information	ericsweet@berkeley.edu, jacqueline_elwood@berkeley.edu, rjew@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Liwei Lin

 

Document Top Table of Projects	NanoPlasmonics, Microphotonics & Imaging
Project ID	BPN892
Project Title	Wearable Muscle Diagnostic System for Sports Monitoring Based on pMUT arrays
Status	New
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords
Researchers	Hong Ding, Benjamin E. Eovino, Yue Liang
Abstract	Muscle disorders, such as hematoma and atrophy, are major medical concerns stemming from the results of heavy muscles works such as intensive manual labors and physical exercises. For example, about 30% of sports injuries are related to muscles and it has been challenging to monitor the muscles usages and conditions with real-time feedback to avoid the extensive usages of muscles. From the perspective of availability, cost, and simplicity, ultrasonic imaging is a better route than technologies such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for muscle disorder diagnostics, especially for usages in sports traumatology and rehabilitation training. The emerging technology of piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers (pMUTs) by wafer-scale, CMOS-compatible MEMS fabrication techniques has been developed for several consumer electronics such as 3D gesture recognition and fingerprint sensing. Due to the features of better acoustic coupling, lower cost and lower power consumption as compared to the traditional ultrasonic transducers, pMUTs are potentially better for wearable consumer electronics. Here, we propose the concept of a wearable muscle diagnostic system for sports monitoring based on pMUT arrays. Experimental results have shown clear images from both A- and B-mode scans on three polymer-based, artificial structures mimicking both normal and disorder muscle statuses. As such, this pMUT arrays based wearable medical imaging system could find potential applications in wearable and battery-powered ultrasonic muscle monitoring systems.
Contact Information	honedean@berkeley.edu, lunaliang93@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Liwei Lin

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Wireless, RF & Smart Dust
Project ID	BPN840
Project Title	W-Band Additive Vacuum Electronics
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	DARPA
Keywords
Researchers	Ilbey Karakurt
Abstract	Radio frequency (RF) devices for high frequency applications such as satellite communication and mobile and ground uplinks have brought about the demand for higher power handling capabilities and increased efficiency in these devices. Technologies for creating low cost, advanced millimeter wave electronics devices without sacrificing quality or performance has thus grown. Direct metal additive manufacturing techniques, such as electron beam melting, has been projected to be capable of fabricating such devices. Key concerns regarding these techniques are the requirements for high purity materials (99.6%), small feature sizes (~2um) and low surface roughness (less than 200 nm for 95 GHz devices and above) for high frequency applications. This project will demonstrate that direct metal additive manufacturing combined with magnetic field assisted abrasive polishing techniques can be used to provide a rapid manufacturing process for fully enclosed and cooled complex interaction structures to be used in high frequency applications.
Contact Information	ilbeykarakurt@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Liwei Lin

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Microfluidics
Project ID	BPN774
Project Title	Applications of 3D Printed Integrated Microfluidic Circuitry, Finger-Powered Pumps, and Mixers
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords	Lab-on-a-Chip, 3D Printing, Microfluidics, Low-power, Passive, Mixing, biosensing
Researchers	Jacqueline Elwood, Eric Sweet, Ryan Jew, Rudra Mehta, Felicia Trinh
Abstract	In this ongoing project we have previously developed a new class of three-dimensional modular fluidic operators (i.e. fluidic diodes, capacitors and transistors); passive 3D internally- rifled mixers; and have previously demonstrated low- cost one-way pumping and mixing systems powered solely by the operator’s finger. Currently, we aim to develop our easy-to- fabricate 3D microfluidic systems into functional biosensors via straight-forward integration with conductive polymer electrodes. Here, we present our preliminary investigations into the development of entirely 3D printed microfluidic salivary point-of-care diagnostic tools, specifically for the determination of salivary alcohol content (SAC) and salivary lactate content (SLC). In law enforcement, blood alcohol content (BAC) is routinely determined indirectly by measurement of breath alcohol content (BrAC) using commercialized breathalyzer technology. However, measurement of SAC has a nearly 1:1 correlation with BAC, much closer than BAC:BrAC, over 2,000:1. Therefore, SAC could prove to be a more reliable metric of sobriety than BrAC. In addition, for diabetic patients, continuous home monitoring blood glucose levels necessitates repeated finger pricking and blood testing. However, researchers have previously established measurable correlations between salivary lactic acid levels and blood glucose levels, opening the possibility for non-invasive, point-of-care salivary-based blood sugar monitoring. In this project, we aim to demonstrate proof-of-concept salivary diagnostic prototypes comprised of our previously-demonstrated 3D microfluidic technology and composite conductive polymer electrodes. SAC will be determined via pH-sensitive PEDOT:PSS/PANI polymer electrodes, and SLC will be determined via hydrogen peroxide-sensitive PEDOT:PSS/PAA polymer electrodes. Upon further development, such designs could prove critical tools in resolving the foremost commercial limitations of conventional microfluidic point-of- care diagnostic devices, specifically for salivary diagnostics.
Contact Information	jacqueline_elwood@berkeley.edu, ericsweet@berkeley.edu, rjew@berkeley.edu, Rudra.Mehta@berkeley.edu,
Advisor	Liwei Lin

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Microfluidics
Project ID	BPN893
Project Title	3D printed microfluidic devices for circulating tumor cell isolation
Status	New
Funding Source	Industry
Keywords	3D printed device; capture efficiency; microfluidics; circulating tumor cell.
Researchers	Juhong Chen
Abstract	There are 90% of all cancer-related deaths that are caused by cancer metastasis. In these cases, cancer cells detach from a tumor, enter blood vessels, and circulate in human peripheral blood. These tumor cells are called circulating tumor cells (CTCs), which have the potential to invade and colonize in a distal site, resulting in patients' death. Thus, there is an urgent need for detection of CTCs to enable early treatment. In this research, a 3D printed microstructured (mesh-like) devices are developed for CTCs isolation from human blood. The microstructured surfaces will be covalently modified with antibodies for specific capture of CTCs. And, tumor cells (SW 480 and 293T) will be used to investigate the isolation performance of our fabricated 3D printed devices. This study will have wide application in multiple aspects of cancer diagnosis.
Contact Information	juhongchen@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Liwei Lin

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Micropower
Project ID	BPN855
Project Title	Flexible Sensors and Energy Harvesters
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords	Energy harvesting, flexible, stretchable, sensor
Researchers	Junwen Zhong, Ilbey Karakurt, Yichuan Wu, Nathaniel Liu, Mingjing Qi
Abstract	Wearable and implantable devices are expected to become more abundant due to developments in materials and microfabrication technologies. However, battery replacement is a major problem for these systems. Shrinking the size of sensors and actuators also reduces their power requirements, and it makes energy harvesting a viable solution as a renewable power source. In this project, we work with various sets of flexible materials to develop 1) an energy harvester to generate electrical power to either extend battery life or eliminate the battery; 2) sensors to detect biological signals from different parts of the body.
Contact Information	junwenzhong@berkeley.edu, ilbeykarakurt@berkeley.edu, yichuanwu@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Liwei Lin

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Physical Sensors & Devices
Project ID	BPN772
Project Title	Graphene for Room Temperature Gas Sensors
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords	Chemical Sensor, Gas Sensor, Graphene FET, Selectivity
Researchers	Takeshi Hayasaka, Huiliang Liu, Zhichun Shao, Niravkumar Joshi, Vernalyn Copa, Lorenzo Lopez
Abstract	As air pollution from industrial and automobile emission becomes more and more severe, the personalized, integrated gas sensor is desirable for everyone to monitor everyday's air quality as well as their personal health condition non-invasive. Such sensor should have the desirable features like energy efficient, miniature size, accurate response (down to ppm level), and selectivity. Traditional bulk MOX based gas sensor works in the temperature range of 300 to 400 oC, which requires large amount of energy to power the heater. We here propose using graphene based field effect transistor as label-free sensor platform, to detect gas selectively by measuring its electrical properties at room temperature.
Contact Information	hayasaka@berkeley.edu, liuhl@berkeley.edu, zhichun_shao@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Liwei Lin

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Micropower
Project ID	BPN885
Project Title	Transition Metal Carbide Based Membrane for Solar-water Energy Harvesting
Status	New
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords
Researchers	Xining Zang
Abstract	Solar-enabled evaporation is a solar-energy-harvesting technology that can be used in modern power plants, chemical plants, and seawater desalination plants. A new type of nanostructured laterally assembled two-dimensional carbide (MoC0.66) membrane is manufactured using CO2 laser ablation and vacuum filtration. With high absorption efficiency in a wide spectrum range from visible light to IR, the membrane functions as photo-absorber. With a carbide membrane on top of water, the evaporation under energy input is greatly promoted. Meanwhile, evaporation enabled water flow in the hierarchically porous 2D carbide membrane also has the potential of voltage generation. Such carbide membrane has great potential in water-related energy harvesting and renewable energy.
Contact Information	xining.zang.me@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Liwei Lin

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Micropower
Project ID	BPN742
Project Title	Hash Environmental Energy Storage Based on Two-Dimensional Carbide Materials
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords
Researchers	Xining Zang, Minsong Wei
Abstract	MXENE carbide with rich surface -OH, -OOH functional group generally cannot survive higher than 200 oC, and structure collapse with surface oxidation will be critical for energy storage. However, 2d- like nanocrystalline assembled carbide with “purer” carbide phase will provide better temperature and chemical resilience. Highly conductive, capacitive 2d-like carbide hybrid electrodes with high surface area and strong ion intercalation will provide solutions for extreme condition energy storage with high capacitance/capacity.
Contact Information	xining.zang.me@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Liwei Lin

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Physical Sensors & Devices
Project ID	BPN886
Project Title	2D carbides as a new family of gas sensing materials with wide working temperature range
Status	New
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords
Researchers	Xining Zang, Niravkumar Joshi
Abstract	Some of the 2d and 2d-like carbide exhibit tunable band structure with relatively high conductivity, which provides sensing function for dopants such as gas molecules. 2d-like carbide also has limited phase change induced nanostructure aggregation. With up to 1000K thermal stability, such carbides will be a better fit than other oxide and nitride materials in higher temperature sensing. For certain gases that require combustion sensing, nanostructure 2d-like carbides will be much stable and reliable. 2d-like Molybdenum carbide is three times more sensitive than graphene in response to NO2 and provides much stronger signal to CO2.
Contact Information	xining.zang.me@berkeley.edu, nirav.joshi@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Liwei Lin

 

Document Top Table of Projects	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices
Project ID	BPN860
Project Title	Laser Printed Carbide-Graphene Paper Enables Foldable Electronics and EMI Shielding
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords
Researchers	Xining Zang, Yao Chu, Minsong Wei, Renxiao Xu, Junwen Zhong
Abstract	Paper electronics have been a popular subject in recent years, with various works concentrating on the printing of additive materials on papers. Here, we show a drastically different approach by a direct-write laser patterning process on paper. Innovative claims are: (1) direct conversion of non-conductive paper to conductor by laser; (2) a variety of foldable architectures and devices using the as-fabricated paper electronics; and (3) among various possible basic device applications, we show a foldable triboelectricity generator and a folded supercapacitor as the potential paper-based power source for paper electronics, a wireless humidity sensor, and a heavy metal ion detector as working components.
Contact Information	xining.zang.me@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Liwei Lin

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Physical Sensors & Devices
Project ID	BPN877
Project Title	Pulse Acquisition and Diagnosis for Health Monitoring
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	Fellowship
Keywords	Wearable Devices, Piezo Electret Sensor, Pulse Wave Acquisition, Traditional Chinese Medicine
Researchers	Yao Chu, Junwen Zhong, Huiliang Liu
Abstract	Traditional Chinese medicine has been existing for more than two thousand years and one of the important diagnostic methods is the pulse diagnosis. It generally takes decades of trainings for a practitioner to master this skill as pulse acquisition and diagnosis require long-term experiences and are very subjective. This project aims to use the combination of pulse acquisition and big data analytics to realize the traditional Chinese medicine practices. The hardware part will be based on MEMS-type wearable sensors to be embedded in a smartwatch or wristband to mimic Chinese doctor’s three fingers to acquire the detail wave-forms of the pulse on the wrist. The learning and practicing will be achieved by the training process on the multi-dimensional pulse-wave data. We have developed a flexible and self-powered pressure sensor based on a sandwich- structured piezo-electret, which exhibits high sensitivity and excellent stability for human pulse acquisitions.
Contact Information	chuyao@berkeley.edu, junwenzhong@berkeley.edu, songyu_elaine@hotmail.com, liuhl@berkeley.edu, lwlin@
Advisor	Liwei Lin

 

Document Top Table of Projects	BioMEMS
Project ID	BPN870
Project Title	Hot Embossed Thermoplastic Bubble-Actuated Micropump
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords	Hot embossed microdevice, bubble micro pump, electrolysis pump, plastic bubble pump
Researchers	Jackelin Amorin Cotrina, Marc S. Chooljian
Abstract	Advances in technology have allowed for development of health diagnostics microdevices, but implementation of microdevices for drug delivery is relatively new. Continuous drug delivery often requires large and complex pumps, making development of micropumps desirable. Similarly, commonly used materials such as silicon, are too expensive for mass production of disposable devices, and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is not compatible with some pharmaceutical drugs due to partitioning effects into the PDMS matrix. Thermoplastic incorporation into microdevices production is more cost efficient compared to silicon and can be tuned to have a variety of chemical, optical, and mechanical properties, in contrast to PDMS. In this research we tested the efficiency of new biosafe drug dispensing microdevice which works with an incorporated micro bubble pump system. The bubble pump system uses electrolysis of water, in which water is broken down into hydrogen and oxygen gas to create a pressure change that displaces a volume of liquid equal to the volume of gas formed. Bubble pumps, unlike mechanical pumps, have no moving parts and are therefore more easily miniaturized. The devices are fabricated using a modified hot embossing method developed by our lab, which allows microelectrodes integration into thermoplastic fluidic channels to create electrolysis chambers. Development of a functional microbubble pump that uses the advantages of thermoplastics will lead to improved development of biosafe drug dispensing microdevices.
Contact Information	jamorin@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Dorian Liepmann

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Microfluidics
Project ID	BPN839
Project Title	Flow Control in Plastic Microfluidic Devices Using Thermosensitive Gels
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords
Researchers	Marc Chooljian
Abstract	Our new microfabrication process can integrate electronics into plastic devices, simplifying on chip sensing and actuation. Traditional microfluidic prototyping (PDMS soft-lithography) requires large off chip components for active flow control. These components impose scalability limitations. Leveraging thermo- gelling polymers and integrated resistive heaters we can implement on chip active flow control. These polymers, poloxamers, are nonionic triblock copolymers known for their temperature dependent self- assembling and thermo-gelling behavior. Poloxamers can quickly (<30ms) undergo a phase transition into a gel-like substance over a temperature change of two degree Celsius. The viscosity rapidly increases by a 1000-fold, effectively stopping flow. Furthermore, the transition temperature can be easily adjusted by varying poloxamer concentration, allowing for precise thermal control. Using targeted heating with our integrated resistive heaters, we can leverage the phase transition temperature to create rapid reversible valves. These devices expand microfluidic prototyping capabilities in fields such as mixers, fluidic logic, cell culturing, and imaging.
Contact Information	mschooljian@gmail.com
Advisor	Dorian Liepmann

 

Document Top Table of Projects	BioMEMS
Project ID	BPN729
Project Title	Development of Microfluidic Devices with Embedded Microelectrodes using Electrodeposition and Hot Embossing
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords	Packaging, Microfluidics, Electrodes, Hot Embossing
Researchers	Marc Chooljian
Abstract	The use of microfluidic devices has experienced a tremendous increase over the last years, especially valuable for healthcare applications. In this context plastic materials are increasingly relevant especially for large scale fabrication and commercialization. However plastics are still not widely used at the research level due to the lack of available inexpensive industrial–like fabrication equipment. In this work we describe a rapid and highly cost-effective approach for fabricating plastic microfluidic devices with embedded microelectrodes allowing 2D and 3D configurations. We present an interdigitated microelectrode configuration applied to impedance cytometry and cellular electroporation/lysis on chip devices as an example of the great potential of this technology. Our long-term goals are to further explore the potential of hot-embossed microscale devices as platforms for complete BioMEMS devices. This includes the integration of functionalized elements and silicon-based biosensors. A variety of functional coatings will be developed to apply integrated electrodes to many different sensing applications.
Contact Information	mschooljian@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Dorian Liepmann

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Physical Sensors & Devices
Project ID	BPN608
Project Title	FM Gyroscope
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords	gyroscope, fm gyroscope, scale factor, bias stability, calibration
Researchers	Burak Eminoglu, Kaveh Gharehbaghi
Abstract	MEMS gyroscopes for consumer devices, such as smartphones and tablets, suffer from high power consumption and drift which precludes their use in inertial navigation applications. Conventional MEMS gyroscopes detect Coriolis force through measurement of very small displacements on a sense axis, which requires low-noise, and consequently high-power, electronics. The sensitivity of the gyroscope is improved through mode-matching, but this introduces many other problems, such as low bandwidth and unreliable scale factor. Additionally, the conventional Coriolis force detection method is very sensitive to asymmetries in the mechanical transducer because the rate signal is derived from only the sense axis. Parasitic coupling between the drive and sense axis introduces unwanted bias errors which could be rejected by a perfectly symmetric readout scheme. This project develops frequency modulated (FM) gyroscopes that overcome the above limitations. FM gyroscopes also promise to improve the power dissipation and drift of MEMS gyroscopes. We present results from a prototype FM gyroscope with integrated CMOS readout electronics demonstrating the principle.
Contact Information	eminoglu@eecs.berkeley.edu
Advisor	Bernhard E. Boser

 

Document Top Table of Projects	BioMEMS
Project ID	BPN685
Project Title	Real-Time Intraoperative Fluorescence Imager for Microscopic Residual Tumor in Breast Cancer
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	ASCO, DoD, and Mary Kay Foundation
Keywords	cancer, fluorescence imaging, radiation, surgery, breast cancer, oncology
Researchers	Efthymios P. Papageorgiou
Abstract	Successful treatment of early stage cancer depends on the ability to resect both gross and microscopic disease, yet no method exists to identify residual cancer cells intraoperatively. This is particularly problematic in breast cancer, where microscopic residual disease can double the rate of cancer returning, from 15% to 30% over 15 years, affecting a striking 37,500 women annually. Currently, residual disease can only be identified by examining excised tumor under a microscope, visualizing tumor cells stained with specific tumor markers. This microscopic evaluation restricts identification of tumor cells to the post-operative setting. Unfortunately, traditional optics cannot be scaled to the sub-centimeter size necessary to fit into the cavity and be readily manipulated over the entire surface area. To solve this problem, we have developed an imaging strategy that forgoes external optical elements for focusing light and instead uses angle-selective gratings patterned in the metal interconnect of a standard CMOS process.
Contact Information	epp@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Bernhard E. Boser, Mekhail Anwar

 

Document Top Table of Projects	BioMEMS
Project ID	BPN882
Project Title	An Ultra-Thin Molecular Imaging Skin for Intraoperative Cancer Detection Using Time-Resolved CMOS Sensors
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	ASCO, DoD, and Mary Kay Foundation
Keywords
Researchers	Hossein Najafi
Abstract	Successful treatment of cancer requires targeted and individualized treatment, and subsequently an assessment of the state of the tumor being examined, both gross and microscopic, however oncologists have no method of identifying microscopic tumor in the patient.  This results in tumor cells being left behind in patients undergoing surgery. Currently, the only way to determine the presence of any microscopic residual is to examine the excised tumor, stained with a proper marker, under a microscope, which only adds to the complexity and length of the surgery and treatment. The two current alternatives in these cases  are either to do a more expanded resection, causing more healthy cells to be removed as well in the process, or to simply estimate the residual disease to be negligible and risk a recurrence of the cancer. The modern biomarkers and staining of the cancer cells are sufficiently reliable to be detectable, nevertheless, they still need bulky focusing optics and high performance optical filters and as a result incompatible with the minimally invasive oncologic procedures of imaging small tumor cavities in surgical operations. Our solution brings the tools of pathology into the operation room (OR) and the tumor itself allowing to visualize and examine the tumor bed in real-time and alleviating the need for further operations in the future. This work takes advantage of the unique feature of the biomarker being used, enabling them to be excited at near- infrared (NIR) wavelengths and thanks to Silicon’s optical features, we can leverage its optical properties in the NIR range with a time- gated approach, to eliminate the need for optical equipment during the imaging process. As a result, we can almost effortlessly provide real-time information on the presence of potential residual disease in the patient during surgery and provide a direct visualization of microscopic tumor residuals in the patient to allow for a guided resection and a targeted treatment.
Contact Information	hossein_najafi@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Bernhard E. Boser, Mekhail Anwar

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Physical Sensors & Devices
Project ID	BPN852
Project Title	Frequency to Digital Converter for FM Gyroscopes
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords	Frequency to Digital Converters, FM Gyroscope
Researchers	Kaveh Gharehbaghi, Burak Eminoglu
Abstract	Frequency modulated (FM) gyroscopes are a new class of inertial sensors which measure the angular rotation rate. They offer several advantages including accurate scale factor, large dynamic range, and robust performance over temperature variation. The frequency of the output signal should be detected precisely to extract the slight frequency variations in the modulated signal. This research focuses on the design of high-resolution frequency to digital converters (FDC) for use as the interface circuit for FM gyroscopes. In particular, it is intended to optimize noise performance, dynamic range, and power consumption of the readout circuit. The design procedure can be classified into circuit-level analysis and system-level optimization.
Contact Information	kaveh@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Bernhard E. Boser

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Package, Process & Microassembly
Project ID	BPN354
Project Title	The Nanoshift Concept: Innovation through Design, Development, Prototyping, and Fabrication Services
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	Industry
Keywords	Nanoshift, nanolab, microlab, process, recharge, commercial
Researchers	Ning Chen, Salah Uddin
Abstract	Nanoshift LLC is a privately held research and development company specializing in MEMS, microfluidics, and nanotechnologies. Nanoshift provides high quality, customizable services for device and process design, research and development, rapid prototyping, low-volume fabrication, and technology transfer into high volume. Projects are typically from industry, government, and academia. Nanoshift is the solution for your device concept-to- commercialization needs. Nanoshift collaborates with BSAC to make industry-leading development resources available for all BSAC Industrial Members, while improving BSAC's visibility and funding.
Contact Information	reception@bsac.eecs.berkeley.edu
Advisor	Michael D. Cable

 

Document Top Table of Projects	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices
Project ID	BPN856
Project Title	Broadly-Tunable Laser with Self-Imaging Three-Branch Multi-Mode Interferometer
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	Industry
Keywords	WDM, tunable lasers, single-mode lasers
Researchers	Guan-Lin Su
Abstract	Tunable lasers with high SMSRs are cost-effective solutions to replace multiple DFB lasers as the light source for WDM systems. Interferometer- based lasers, such as C3 and Y- lasers, have advantages over grating- and ring-resonator-based lasers in terms of cost and fabrication complexities; however, a large optical path difference between the two arms is required for high SMSRs but it defeats the Vernier effect and reduces the wavelength tuning range. In our proposed three-branch MMI laser, two tuning arms with similar lengths ensure a wide tuning range, and an additional long arm provides extra optical interference and increases the SMSR. In this project, our designed laser can be optimized to be single-mode across the entire C-band, and the use of a self-imaging MMI avoids additional losses that would potentially increase the threshold. Based on our simulation, the laser wavelength of the device can be electrically tuned over 30 nm with a 100-GHz ITU channel spacing. It is expected that, upon the completion of the project, the developed tunable laser can serve as a low-cost solution for datacom and telecom applications.
Contact Information	gsu2@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Ming C. Wu

 

Document Top Table of Projects	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices
Project ID	BPN825
Project Title	Direct On-Chip Optical Synthesizer (DODOS)
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	DARPA
Keywords
Researchers	Jean-Etienne Tremblay, Guan-Lin Su, Kyungmok Kwon
Abstract	The advent of precise microwave frequency synthesis in the 1940’s enabled a disruptive revolution in the capabilities enabled by microwave technology, including wireless and wireline communications, RADAR, electronic warfare, and atomic sensors and timing technology. It is envisioned that the DODOS program will advance a similar transformative revolution based on ubiquitous optical frequency synthesis technology. Laboratory-scale optical frequency synthesis was successfully realized in 1999 with the invention of self-referenced optical frequency combs based on femto-second pulse-length mode-locked laser sources. This has led to optical synthesizers with frequency accuracy better than 10e-19 and demonstration of optical clocks with stability floor below 2x10e-18. However, such systems are large, costly, and thereby confined to laboratory use. Recent development of Kerr combs generated in microresonators, as well as chip-scale mode-locked lasers, enable the development of a microscale self-referenced optical frequency comb with performance rivaling that of laboratory-scale systems. Combined with recent progress in on-chip photonic waveguides and photonic crystals, widely-tunable laser sources, and optical modulators, along with advances in on-chip optical-CMOS heterogeneous integration, it is now possible to develop a robust and deployable single-chip integrated optical frequency synthesizer. It is expected that the DODOS program will enable low-cost and high performance optical frequency control with the ubiquity of microwave synthesis.
Contact Information	jetremblay@berkeley.edu, gsu2@berkeley.edu, kwon0512@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Ming C. Wu

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Microfluidics
Project ID	BPN552
Project Title	Light-Actuated Digital Microfluidics (Optoelectrowetting)
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords	Digital Microfluidics, Droplet Microfluidics, Electrowetting, Optoelectrowetting, EWOD, Optofluidics
Researchers	Jodi Loo
Abstract	The ability to quickly perform large numbers of chemical and biological reactions in parallel using low reagent volumes is a field well addressed by droplet-based digital microfluidics. Compared to continuous flow-based techniques, digital microfluidics offers the added advantages such as individual sample addressing and reagent isolation. We are developing a Light- Actuated Digital Microfluidics device (also known as optoelectrowetting) that optically manipulates nano- to micro-liter scale aqueous droplets on the device surface. The device possesses many advantages including ease of fabrication and the ability for real-time, reconfigurable, large-scale droplets control (simply by altering the low-intensity projected light pattern). We hope to develop Light-Actuated Digital Microfluidics into a powerful platform for lab-on-a-chip (LOC) applications.
Contact Information	jodiloo@eecs.berkeley.edu
Advisor	Ming C. Wu

 

Document Top Table of Projects	NanoPlasmonics, Microphotonics & Imaging
Project ID	BPN751
Project Title	Large-Scale Silicon Photonic MEMS Switch with Sub-Microsecond Response Time
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	DARPA
Keywords	optical switch, silicon photonics, large scale, fast, small footprint
Researchers	Johannes Henriksson, Jianheng Luo, Kyungmok Kwon
Abstract	We developed a new architecture suitable for building a large-scale optical switch with fast response time. We have demonstrated switches with a scale of 128x128 and speed of sub-microsecond using our new architecture. The switch architecture consists of an optical crossbar network with MEMS-actuated couplers and is implemented on a silicon photonics platform. Thanks to high integration density of the silicon photonics platform, we could integrate 128x128 switch on an area less than 2 cm2. To our knowledge this is the largest monolithic switch, and the largest silicon photonic integrated circuit, reported to date. The passive matrix architecture of our switch is fundamentally more scalable than that of multistage switches. We believe that our switch architecture can be scaled-up to larger than 1000x1000.
Contact Information	jhenriksson@berkeley.edu, kwon0512@berkeley.edu, blackmice@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Ming C. Wu

 

Document Top Table of Projects	NanoPlasmonics, Microphotonics & Imaging
Project ID	BPN458
Project Title	Optical Antenna-Based nanoLED
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	Federal
Keywords	Plasmonics, Laser, Light Emitting Diode, Nanophotonics, Nanocavity, Optical Interconnects, Transition Metal Dichalcogenides
Researchers	Kevin Han, Seth Fortuna, Sujay Desai, Matin Amani
Abstract	Spontaneous emission has been considered slower and weaker than stimulated emission. As a result, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have only been used in applications with bandwidth < 1 GHz. Spontaneous emission is inefficient because the radiating dipole is much smaller than the wavelength and such short dipoles are poor radiators. By attaching an optical antenna to the radiating dipole at the nanoscale, the emission rate can be significantly increased enabling high modulation bandwidths theoretically >100 GHz. This project focuses on the physical demonstration of this new type of nanophotonic device. Current fabrication and experimental results of devices using transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) as an emitter material will be presented. Fundamental limits of rate enhancement will also be discussed.
Contact Information	kyh@eecs.berkeley.edu
Advisor	Ming C. Wu, Ali Javey

 

Document Top Table of Projects	NanoPlasmonics, Microphotonics & Imaging
Project ID	BPN869
Project Title	Efficient Waveguide-Coupling of Electrically Injected Optical Antenna-Based nanoLED
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	Federal
Keywords	light emitting diode, waveguide coupling, optical antenna
Researchers	Nicolas M. Andrade, Seth A. Fortuna, Kevin Han
Abstract	Optical interconnects require fast and efficient electrically-injected nanoscale light sources that can be coupled efficiently to a low-loss photonic waveguide. The spontaneous emission rate can be increased by coupling the active region of a nanoscale emitter to an optical antenna, which would allow for modulation rates >50 GHz. The aim of this project is to demonstrate efficient waveguide coupling of an optical antenna to a single mode InP waveguide.
Contact Information	nicolas_andrade@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Ming C. Wu

 

Document Top Table of Projects	NanoPlasmonics, Microphotonics & Imaging
Project ID	BPN703
Project Title	High-Speed nanoLED with Antenna Enhanced Light Emission
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	Federal
Keywords	nano-photonics, optical antenna, photonics, optical interconnect, nanotechnology, optoelectronics, plasmonics
Researchers	Seth A. Fortuna, Kevin Han, Nicolas Andrade
Abstract	Traditional semiconductor light emitting diodes (LEDs) have low modulation speed because of long spontaneous emission lifetime. Spontaneous emission in semiconductors (and indeed most light emitters) is an inherently slow process owing to the size mismatch between the dipole length of the optical dipole oscillators responsible for light emission and the wavelength of the emitted light. More simply stated: semiconductors behave as a poor antenna for its own light emission. By coupling a semiconductor at the nanoscale to an external antenna, the spontaneous emission rate can be dramatically increased alluding to the exciting possibility of an LED that can be directly modulated faster than the laser. In this project, we plan to demonstrate an antenna- enhanced nanoscale semiconductor light emitting diode (nanoLED) with direct modulation rate >50 GHz, exceeding the bandwidth of the semiconductor laser. Such an nanoLED is well-suited as a light source for on-chip optical communication where small size, fast speed, and high efficiency are needed to achieve the promised benefit of reduced power consumption of on-chip optical interconnect links compared with less efficient electrical interconnect links.
Contact Information	fortuna@eecs.berkeley.edu
Advisor	Ming C. Wu

 

Document Top Table of Projects	NanoPlasmonics, Microphotonics & Imaging
Project ID	BPN721
Project Title	Non-Linear FMCW Lidar Using Resampling Methods for Long Range and High Resolution
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	DARPA
Keywords	Lidar, VCSEL, FMCW, metrology, 3D imaging
Researchers	Xiaosheng Zhang
Abstract	Range-finding sensors have applications that span several industries and markets, from industry metrology, robotic control to autonomous vehicles. Frequency-modulated continuous-wave Lidar has been proven effective in providing high resolution distance and velocity measurements, but suffers from limited range due to the limited coherence length of tunable laser sources. Implementations typically require expensive lasers with large coherence length or complex feedback to linearize tunable laser sweeps and extend coherence length. Instead, we use resampling methods to linearize laser sweeps and reduce laser phase noise, all in post- processing, thus reducing the need for precision feedback control or expensive tunable laser hardware. We have demonstrated sub-millimeter resolution at free-space distances >20-meters with 1-inch receiving aperture. In addition, we present a demonstration of this technology which approaches reasonable 3D image acquisition speeds with sub-mm depth precision. Use of FPGA or GPU for post-processing can help approach real-time frame-rates 3D imaging.
Contact Information	xiaosheng_zhang@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Ming C. Wu

 

Document Top Table of Projects	NanoPlasmonics, Microphotonics & Imaging
Project ID	BPN788
Project Title	MEMS-Actuated Grating-Based Optical Phased Array for LIDAR
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	Industry
Keywords	Lidar, Optical MEMS, Beamsteering
Researchers	Youmin Wang
Abstract	We aim to integrate the OPA MEMS system into the application of automobile navigation, which is currently primarily dominated by opto-mechanical scanning based systems. Opto-mechanical scanning devices are usually bulky and relatively slow, and cannot provide the steering speeds and versatility necessary for many applications. In drawing from phased array concepts that revolutionized RADAR technology by providing a compact, agile alternative to mechanically steered technology, the OPA based LIDAR program seeks to integrate thousands of closely packed optical emitting facets, precise relative electronic phase control of these facets, and all within a very small form factor. Comparing with other competing LIDAR system, the OPA based LIDAR system will have multiple degrees of freedom for phase control which enables not only agile beam steering but also beam forming and multiple beam generation, greatly expanding the diversity of applications. Traditional optical phased arrays (OPA) are made of liquid crystal phase shifters, piston mirrors, and optical waveguide arrays. The liquid crystal OPA has slow response time. MEMS OPA with piston mirrors has fast response time. However, realization of OPA with large field of view is challenging because it requires small pitch in the phased array. Recently, it was reported that optical phase shift is controlled by moving a grating element in the lateral direction. However, the widths of the phase shifters are limited by the size of the actuators. In this project, the actuators are integrated underneath the diffractive elements so OPA with high fill factor and small pitch can be realized. Such OPA will have large field of view and high optical efficiency.
Contact Information	youmin.wang@berkeley.edu, wu@eecs.berkeley.edu
Advisor	Ming C. Wu

 

Document Top Table of Projects	BioMEMS
Project ID	BPN884
Project Title	Anisotropic Proton Transport in Artificially Aligned Collagen Fiber
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	Foundation
Keywords	anisotropic proton transport, nematic
Researchers	Doyeon Bang
Abstract	Proton transportation is ubiquitous in biological signaling as well as enabled a broad range of modern device components. However, proton conductor using tunable, controllable and mass producible biological material is not yet developed for in vivo application to interface biological system. Here, we demonstrate anisotropic proton transport in the artificially aligned collagen fiber network, which is mimicking the nematic structure of the muscle fiber to show that aligned collagen can assist biological signaling as a protonic highway. Artificially aligned nematic collagen fiber network is synthesized by “grow-and-snap” method, which produces >94.2% of collagen fiber is aligned along the fluid streamline (± 10º), and >82.3% of collagen fibril is aligned along the direction of the fiber (± 10º). We demonstrate that proton conduction in nematic collagen network is Grotthuss hopping along the backbone of tropocollagen chain according to the measurement of the activation energy of the proton transportation (~ 0.19 eV) and proton conduction along the tropocollagen chain result in the surface-charge mediated two-dimensional transport, which is generally observed in the nanofluidic channels. According to the fiber orientation dependent proton conduction measurement, anisotropic proton transportation is found due to the structural anisotropy and horizontally aligned collagen fiber network exhibited higher conductance over vertically aligned collagen fiber. The understanding of the mechanism of collagen assistance to proton transport may build up a theoretical basis for further development of therapy method to cure wound-induced proton-transfer disability.
Contact Information	doyeonbang@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Luke P. Lee

 

Document Top Table of Projects	BioMEMS
Project ID	BPN829
Project Title	Integrated Multiplexed Optical Microfluidic System (iMOMs) for Dengue Diagnosis
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	Fellowship
Keywords	Diagnostics, Dengue, qPCR, immunoassay, multiplexed detection
Researchers	Jong-Hwan Lee, Jun Ho Son
Abstract	Dengue is an endemic viral disease that affects tropical and subtropical areas. It is estimated that more than 50 million infections occur worldwide per year. Due to its lack of pathognomonic clinical features, dengue is often mistakenly diagnosed as other febrile diseases, which thus leads to ineffective and costly overtreatment. Previously developed diagnostic tests for dengue can only detect a single biomarker (or two to three kinds of targets) at a time and they also lack comprehensive and syntagmatic analysis between various dengue-specific biomarkers. For an effective and precision diagnostics of dengue infection, a diagnostic test should not only be highly sensitive and specific, but also determine dengue virus serotype and distinguish between primary and secondary infection. This can only be accomplished by developing a multiplexed test that covers multiple targets. Here we present an integrated multiplexed optical microfluidic system (iMOMs) with the detection capability of four different nucleic acids biomarkers and five different protein biomarkers (i.e. NS-1, IgM, IgG, IgA, and IgE) on chip. We design, simulate, and fabricate the iMOMs using polymer microfluidic substrates. We integrate biological printing technology with the microfluidic device technology. We demonstrate multiplexed dengue specific- nucleic acid amplifications and immunoassays. The iMOMs will be an ideal dengue diagnostic platform for both developed and developing countries and can be applied to give accurate and ultra-sensitive point-of- care diagnoses for other intractable diseases as well.
Contact Information	jonghwanlee@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Luke P. Lee

 

Document Top Table of Projects	NanoPlasmonics, Microphotonics & Imaging
Project ID	BPN809
Project Title	Photonic Cavity Bioreactor for High-throughput Screening of Microalgae
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	Foundation
Keywords	biofuel, microalgae, bioenergy, bioreactor, high-throughput screening, photonic cavity
Researchers	Minsun Song, SoonGweon Hong
Abstract	Photosynthesis of algal is considered as a sustainable, alternative and renewable solution for generating green energy. For high-productivity algaculture in diverse local environments, a high- throughput screening method is needed in selecting algal strains from naturally available or genetically engineered strains. Herein, we present an integrated plasmonic photobioreactor for rapid, high-throughput screening of microalgae. Our 3D nanoplasmonic optical cavity-based photobioreactor generates the amplification of photosynthesis in the cavity with selective wavelengths. The hemispheric plasmonic cavity promotes effective intercellular interaction and also permits effective visual examination of algal growth. Furthermore, noninvasive real-time monitoring of electrophysiological response upon photonic regulation of microalgae allows to characterize microalgal population. Using Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, we accomplish enhanced growth rate (2X) and lipid production rate (1.5X) with no distinctive lag phase. We also demonstrate that the temporal dynamics of the electrophysiological response over microalgae culture period are highly correlated with cell conditions (i.e., metabolic activity and population). By facilitating growth rates and automatic characterization of microalgal population, the integrated microalgae analysis platform (iMAP) will serve as rapid microalgae screening platforms for biofuel applications.
Contact Information	sms1115@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Luke P. Lee

 

Document Top Table of Projects	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices
Project ID	BPN888
Project Title	Large-Area Processing of Monolayer Semiconductors for Lighting Applications
Status	New
Funding Source	NSF
Keywords	transient-electroluminescence, 2D materials, transparent display
Researchers	Der-Hsien Lien, Matin Amani, Sujay B. Desai
Abstract	Transition-metal dichalcogenide monolayers have naturally terminated surfaces and can exhibit a near- unity photoluminescence quantum yield in the presence of suitable defect passivation. To date, steady-state monolayer light emitting devices suffer from Schottky contacts or require complex heterostructures. We demonstrate a transient-mode electroluminescent device based on transition-metal dichalcogenide monolayers (MoS2, WS2, MoSe2 and WSe2) to overcome these problems. Electroluminescence from this dopant-free two-terminal device is obtained by applying an AC voltage between the gate and the semiconductor. Notably, the electroluminescence intensity is weakly dependent on the Schottky barrier height or polarity of the contact. We fabricate a monolayer seven-segment display and achieve the first transparent and bright millimeter-scale light emitting monolayer semiconductor device.
Contact Information	dhlien@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Ali Javey

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Physical Sensors & Devices
Project ID	BPN898
Project Title	A Wearable Sweat Sensing Patch for Dynamic Sweat Secretion Analysis
Status	New
Funding Source	Foundation
Keywords	Wearable biosensors, Microfluidic device, Sweat patch, Multiplexed sensing, Electrochemical sensor, Flexible electronics
Researchers	Hnin Y. Nyein
Abstract	Wearable sweat sensing is a rapidly rising research driven by its promising potential in health, fitness and diagnostic applications. Despite the growing field, major challenges in relation to sweat metrics remain to be addressed. These challenges include sweat rate monitoring for its complex relation with sweat compositions and sweat sampling for sweat dynamics studies. In this work, we present a wearable sweat sensing patch that enhances real-time electrochemical sensing and sweat rate analysis via sweat sampling. The patch allows progressive sweat flow in the microfluidic channel, governed by the pressure induced by the secreted sweat, that enhances sweat sampling and electrochemical detection via a defined sweat collection chamber and a directed sweat route. The sensing patch is thoroughly characterized, and off- body and on-body simultaneous electrochemical detection and flow rate monitoring are demonstrated. The patch is enabled to autonomously perform sweat analysis by interfacing the sensing component with a printed circuit board that is capable of on-site signal conditioning, analysis and transmission.
Contact Information	hnyein@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Ali Javey

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Physical Sensors & Devices
Project ID	BPN770
Project Title	Chemical Sensitive Field Effect Transistor (CS-FET)
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	NSF
Keywords	CS-FET, Gas Sensor, microfabrication, TMO
Researchers	Hossain M. Fahad
Abstract	Silicon IC-based fabrication processing will be used to develop novel compact gas sensors that, unlike current sensors, will operate at room temperature, consume minimal power, exhibit superior sensitivity, provide chemical selectivity and multi-gas detection capabilities, and offer the prospect of very low-cost replication for broad-area deployment. We name this device structure “Chemical Sensitive FET” or “CS-FET.” The operation of the CS-FET involves transistor parametric differentiation under influence of differentiated gas exposures.
Contact Information	hossain.fahad@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Ali Javey

 

Document Top Table of Projects	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices
Project ID	BPN822
Project Title	Monolayer Semiconductor Optoelectronics
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	Federal
Keywords
Researchers	Hyungjin Kim, Matin Amani, Der-Hsien Lien
Abstract	In spite of the great promise they hold for a broad range of applications, two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have had a significant drawback of poor photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield (QY) at room temperature. Among a number of studies which have suggested the way to improve QY, superacid treatment, one of the most promising strategies, has enhanced the QY of TMDCs to near 100%. However, insufficient treatment yield and instability of enhanced QY have emerged as critical obstacles to this approach towards practical applications in real devices. In this work, we demonstrate the 2D TMDCs with near-perfect optoelectronic properties and high stability against the external environment. By a simple method which consists of superacid treatment and the encapsulation of 2D TMDCs with an amorphous fluoropolymer, our proposed work not only preserves the QY enhancement but also substantially improves the yield of treatment, leading to the uniformly improved QY near 100% at low injection levels. Since we also demonstrate that our encapsulating layer followed by superacid treatment can be patterned by general photolithography and compatible with subsequent fabrication process, our work presents a novel route of being directly applicable for a new class of optoelectronic devices.
Contact Information	aiden@berkeley.edu, ajavey@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Ali Javey

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Physical Sensors & Devices
Project ID	BPN891
Project Title	Dopant-free asymmetric heterocontact silicon solar cells with >20% efficiency
Status	New
Funding Source	Federal
Keywords	Solar cells, heterocontacts
Researchers	James Bullock, Mark Hettick, Wenbo Ji
Abstract	A salient characteristic of solar cells is their ability to subject photo-generated electrons and holes to pathways of asymmetrical conductivity—‘assisting’ them towards their respective contacts. All commercially available crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells achieve this by making use of doping in either near-surface regions or overlying silicon-based films. Despite being commonplace, this approach is hindered by several optoelectronic losses and technological limitations specific to doped silicon. A progressive approach to circumvent these issues involves the replacement of doped-silicon contacts with alternative materials which can also form ‘carrier-selective’ interfaces on c-Si. Here we successfully develop and implement dopant-free electron and hole carrier-selective heterocontacts using alkali metal fluorides and metal oxides in combination with passivating intrinsic amorphous silicon interlayers, resulting in power conversion efficiencies of 20.7%.
Contact Information	james.bullock@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Ali Javey

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Physical Sensors & Devices
Project ID	BPN896
Project Title	Drug monitoring with wearable sweat sensors
Status	New
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords	drug monitoring, wearable biosensors, electrochemical sensors, flexible electronics
Researchers	Li-Chia Tai
Abstract	Drug monitoring plays crucial roles in doping control and precision medicine. It helps physicians tailor drug dosage for optimal benefits, track patients’ compliance to prescriptions and understand the complex pharmacokinetics of drugs. Conventional drug tests rely on invasive blood draws. While urine and sweat are attractive alternative biofluids, the state- of-the-art methods require separate sample collection and processing steps and fail to provide real-time information. Here we present a wearable platform equipped with an electrochemical sensing module for drug monitoring. Sweat drug levels are monitored under various conditions, such as drug doses and measurement time after drug intake. Our work leverages a wearable sweat sensing platform towards noninvasive and continuous point-of-care drug monitoring and management.
Contact Information	j.tai@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Ali Javey

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Physical Sensors & Devices
Project ID	BPN901
Project Title	Roll-to-Roll Gravure Printed Electrode Arrays for Non-Invasive Sensing Applications
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	NSF
Keywords	Wearable biosensors, Flexible electronics, Roll-to-roll processing, Gravure printing, Multiplexed sensing, In situ analysis
Researchers	Mallika S. Bariya
Abstract	As recent developments in noninvasive biosensors spearhead the thrust towards personalized health and fitness monitoring, there is a need for high throughput, cost-effective fabrication of flexible sensing components. Towards this goal, we are working on roll-to-roll (R2R) gravure printed electrode arrays that are robust under a diverse range of electrochemical sensing applications, including detection of ions, metabolites, and heavy metals in human perspiration. R2R printed arrays that are suitable for continuous, in situ use are a key step towards enabling large-scale production of wearable electrochemical sensors for noninvasive, personalized health monitoring applications.
Contact Information	m.bariya@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Ali Javey

 

Document Top Table of Projects	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices
Project ID	BPN704
Project Title	Vapor-Liquid-Solid Growth of Polycrystalline Indium Phosphide Thin Films on Metal
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	Federal
Keywords	Solar Cells, Photovoltaics, Indium Phosphide, InP, VLS, Thin Film
Researchers	Mark Hettick, Hao Li
Abstract	Here, we develop a technique that enables direct growth of III-V materials on non- epitaxial substrates. Here, by utilizing a planar liquid phase template, we extend the VLS growth mode to enable polycrystalline indium phosphide (InP) thin film growth on Mo foils.
Contact Information	mark.hettick@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Ali Javey

 

Document Top Table of Projects	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices
Project ID	BPN895
Project Title	Infrared Photodetectors Based on 2D Materials
Status	New
Funding Source	DARPA
Keywords	2D Materials, photodetector, infrared,
Researchers	Matin Amani, James Bullock
Abstract	Infrared (IR) photodetectors are currently subject to a rapidly expanding application space, with an increasing demand for compact, sensitive, and inexpensive detectors. Despite continued advancement, technological factors still limit the widespread usage of IR detectors; specifically, the need for cooling and high costs associated with the processing of III-V and II-VI semiconductors. Here, we explore photoconductors and heterojunction photodiodes utilizing black- phosphorous (bP) and black phosphorous arsenic alloys as mid-wave infrared (MWIR) detectors. While previous studies have demonstrated photodiodes using bP, here we significantly improve the performance, showing for the first time that such devices can be competitive with conventional MWIR photodetectors. Specifically, we demonstrate specific detectives as high as 6*10^10 cm Hz^{1/2} W^{-1} and by leveraging the anisotropic optical properties of bP we demonstrate the first monolithic polarization resolved photodetector which operates without the need for external optics.
Contact Information	mamani@berkeley.edu, ajavey@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Ali Javey

 

Document Top Table of Projects	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices
Project ID	BPN887
Project Title	Edge Recombination Velocity of 2D Materials
Status	New
Funding Source	Federal
Keywords
Researchers	Peida Zhao, Matin Amani
Abstract	Deep study of various 2D transition metal dichalcogenide material edge defects and their respective edge recombination velocity. Also includes investigation into possible passivation schemes to further reduce the ERV of respective 2D materials.
Contact Information	pezhao@berkeley.edu, ajavey@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Ali Javey

 

Document Top Table of Projects	NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices
Project ID	BPN862
Project Title	2D Semiconductor Transistors with 1-Nanometer Gate Length
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	Federal
Keywords	MoS2, carbon nanotube gate, TMDC, scaling, density of states, SOI
Researchers	Sujay B. Desai, Chunsong Zhao
Abstract	MoS2 transistors with a 1-nm physical gate length using a single-walled carbon nanotube as the gate electrode are demonstrated. These devices exhibit near ideal subthreshold swing ~65 millivolts per decade and an On/Off current ratio ~10^6. This work provides new insight into the ultimate scaling of gate lengths for a FET by surpassing the 5 nm limit often associated with Si technology. Furthermore, the impact of using gate electrodes with limited density of states on the characteristics of nanoscale transistors is studied. Current work involves self- aligned doping of the extension regions in the device to improve On currents.
Contact Information	sujaydesai@eecs.berkeley.edu, chunsongzhao@berkeley.edu
Advisor	Ali Javey

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Physical Sensors & Devices
Project ID	BPN851
Project Title	High Fill Factor Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers on Transparent Substrates
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	Industry
Keywords	AlN, piezoelectric, ultrasonic, PMUT, glass
Researchers	Guo-Lun Luo
Abstract	This study presents a high fill-factor array of aluminum nitride (AlN) piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers (PMUTs) fabricated on a transparent substrate. PMUTs with diameters ranging from 40 microns to 100 microns were fabricated, resulting in resonant frequencies from 3 MHz to 18 MHz in air. A high fill-factor of 62% was achieved. Immersed pulse- echo experiments were conducted at 2.5 MHz.
Contact Information	glluo@ucdavis.edu
Advisor	David A. Horsley

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Physical Sensors & Devices
Project ID	BPN785
Project Title	Scandium AlN (ScAlN) for MEMS
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords	Piezoelectric, MEMS, AlN, ScAlN, Thin films, PMUT
Researchers	Qi Wang
Abstract	The goal of this project is to design, fabricate and characterize novel MEMS devices based on scandium aluminum nitride (ScAlN) thin films. ScAlN thin film is a promising piezoelectric material due to its CMOS process compatibility, low relative permittivity and high piezoelectric coefficient and enables better performance of piezoelectric MEMS devices.
Contact Information	qixwang@ucdavis.edu, dahorsley@ucdavis.edu
Advisor	David A. Horsley

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Physical Sensors & Devices
Project ID	BPN628
Project Title	Novel Ultrasonic Fingerprint Sensor Based on High-Frequency Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers (PMUTs)
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords	piezoelectric, ultrasound transducers, medical imaging, fingerprint sensors
Researchers	Xiaoyue (Joy) Jiang, Qi Wang
Abstract	This project presents the first MEMS ultrasonic fingerprint sensor with the capability to image epidermis and dermis layer fingerprints. The sensor is based on a piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (PMUT) array that is bonded at wafer- level to complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) signal processing electronics to produce a pulse-echo ultrasonic imager on a chip. To meet the 500 DPI standard for consumer fingerprint sensors, the PMUT pitch was reduced by approximately a factor of two relative to an earlier design. We conducted a systematic design study of the individual PMUT and array to achieve this scaling while maintaining a high fill-factor.
Contact Information	joy.jiang@berkeley.edu, dahorsley@ucdavis.edu
Advisor	David A. Horsley

 

Document Top Table of Projects	Physical Sensors & Devices
Project ID	BPN849
Project Title	Large-Amplitude PZT PMUTs
Status	Continuing
Funding Source	BSAC Member Fees
Keywords	PMUT, piezoelectric, PZT
Researchers	Yuri Kusano
Abstract	Ultrasonic transducers are widely used in various applications including medical imaging, nondestructive evaluation, object/gesture recognition, automotive, and range-finding. Compared to conventional capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs), piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers (PMUTs) have an advantage that they can be utilized without high bias voltages, resulting in simpler electronic interfaces. This project targets air-coupled PMUTs with wide bandwidth to achieve high axial resolution in pulse-echo imaging, where air-coupled transducers typically operate in the frequency range of 40 kHz to 800 kHz. Regarding the piezoelectric material, the thin-film PZT (lead-zirconate-titanate) is widely used for piezoelectric devices and well-known to have higher piezoelectric coefficient e31,f as well as higher transmitting efficiency than those of another major piezoelectric material AlN. In this project, we design, model, and characterize PZT PMUTs with a large displacement amplitude for in-air operation to improve the sensor performance in pulse-echo imaging system.
Contact Information	ykusano@ucdavis.edu, dahorsley@ucdavis.edu
Advisor	David A. Horsley