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Most present-day electronics are made with solid-state transistors constructed of semiconducting materials, such as silicon. This solid-state technology largely replaced the prior use of vacuum tubes ...
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“Rectennas” are antennas that can receive radio signals and rectify them to generate electrical power for wireless power transfer. Potential applications for rectennas range from large-sca...
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Nanotubes and nanowires are used extensively to tailor material properties. However, wide implementation of their extraordinary characteristics has been difficult due to their 1-D geometry and limited...
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Mechanical engineers commonly employ a software modeling tool called finite element analysis (FEA) to virtually simulate a design prior to physical prototyping.  In FEA, a three dimensional (3-D)...
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Biological microarrays are valuable tools that enable the parallel analysis of thousands of different analytes. However, one of the chief problems with existing protein microarrays is the nonspecific ...
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Photoreceptors are specialized cells that capture and convert light into signals that can be processed by the retina and visual centers of the brain. Supportive cells called the retinal pigment epithe...
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Micro-electro-discharge machining (micro-EDM) is a microfabrication technique involving the serial discharge of electrical pulses between a microelectrode and a work piece, with a simple RC circuit co...
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Scanning thermal probes hold promise for many applications, including high-resolution temperature mapping (e.g., for ULSI circuit diagnostics), topographical mapping, photothermal absorption spectrosc...
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Atomically sharp micro-fabricated tips are used in atomic force microscopy (AFM) for scanning near-field microwave microscopy (SNMM) to create an image of the tiny topography on or under a surface. Th...
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Patch clamping is a well-known technique for investigating the movement of ions and molecules through cellular membranes via ion channels. To create an extremely high-resistance ‘gigaseal’ around ...
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Terahertz (THz) electromagnetic radiation penetrates cloth, paper and partially into the skin without the damaging effects of X-rays. Portable electronic devices capable of generating this radiation w...
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Pulsed laser polishing (PLP) helps smooth metal and other material. The technique employs lasers to irradiate a surface, melting small areas with each pulse. In these molten areas, rough surface protr...
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In ultrasonic welding, work pieces are clamped between a horn and anvil and then joined using high-frequency vibration energy. Friction and heat between the surfaces causes them to soften and meld tog...
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Approximately half of all diseases affect the function of ion channels in cell membranes. Testing the flow of ions and molecules through these membranes clearly is vital to drug discovery and research...
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Nano-carbon based hybrid materials possess extraordinary properties and show great promise for improved efficiency and sensitivity in a wide range of applications including capacitors, sensors, transp...
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Nanowires have many potential applications including use in microprocessors to greatly increase computing speed, in the creation of devices like nanorobots that could one day be used to treat cancer, ...
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Electromagnetic radiation may be generated by the acceleration or deceleration of charged particles such as electrons. Synchrotron radiation occurs when the trajectory of high-speed electrons is curve...
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Patch clamping is a well known method for measuring the flow of ions and molecules through ion channels imbedded in the cellular membrane.  The method employs micropipettes, or similar microscale...
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Electrothermal actuators have been used in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) to produce rectilinear displacement. These actuators possess a number of advantages, including high output forces, low ...
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Diodes are two-terminal electrical devices that only allow electrical current to flow in one direction. Diodes are used often in electrical circuits to extract a direct current from an alternating cur...
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Micro-electro-discharge machining (micro-EDM) is a micromachining technique well suited to cutting electrically conductive materials, such as steel, graphite or silicon. However, because it is a ...
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