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Micro- and Nanoscale Engineering
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Affiliated Faculty:
David Erickson,
Brian Kirby,
Ephrahim Garcia,
Harold Craighead,
Mingming Wu,
Micro- and nanoscale systems are currently driving a large portion of modern engineering research because of
the impact these systems can have on scientific discovery and technological development.
Researchers in our Mechanical
Engineering Graduate Field are taking advantage of our extensive nanofabrication infrastructure and experience
to develop novel devices and explore new and exciting physics.
Our micro- and nanoscale engineering efforts encompass numerous fabrication techniques and applications.
Our research includes miniaturized chemical analysis systems, chemical, optical, and mechanical
sensors and actuators, and fundamental studies of thin film and interfacial phenomena.
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A microfluidic injector for mixing and reacting approximately 500 picoliters of fluid at high pressures (70 atm)
before injecting the results into a miniaturized high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system.
A chemically-etched glass substrate holds laser-polymerized fluoropolymer elements that open and close fluidic
channels just like transistors in microelectronic circuits open and close electrical connections.
(Courtesy
Brian Kirby) |
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Nanophotonic and Nanofluidic devices can be used to transport and manipulate the smallest forms of matter. New nanotechnologies being developed could yield more sensitive techniques for disease detection or faster communications devices.
(Courtesy David Erickson)
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Usually, the newest and most exciting research in our area bridges gaps between technical and application areas
and thus defies easy categorization;
however, we have categorized our research into a number of areas, including:
- Sensors and Actuators
- Optics and Photonics
- MEMS and BioMEMS
- Energy Systems
- Biological Analysis
- Micro- and Nanofluidics
- Nanoscale Integration
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For more information on micro- and nanosystem research in MAE please see the following research group webpages
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A silicon cantilever designed to allow attogram mass sensitivity detection
of chemicals. A 50 nm gold dot on the Si surface allows chemical functionalization
for biosensor applications.
(Courtesy Harold Craighead)
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