Flexible and
Large Area Nanoelectronics
Flexible electronics is an exciting technology which requires expertise
in several areas such as physics, chemistry and engineering. Therefore,
the students in our group will not only gain experience with
state-of-the-art instrumentation and techniques but also gain an
understanding of the inter-disciplinary nature of this area. Students
also interact with our collaborators at several US universities and
laboratories, as well as with collaborators abroad. Flexible
electronics has many new applications ranging from large area sensors
to flexible displays to roll-up photovoltaics. However, to make
flexible electronics a viable technology a number of key components
still need to be developed including memory, logic, analog devices and
amplifiers. The Flexible Electronics group in the Materials Science
Department at UTD, is focused in the development and integration of
these different components. Some of the current projects include:
Sensors for Detecting Radiation.
We work in new technologies for nuclear threat detection, including the
fundamental interactions of neutrons and charged particles with matter.
We design and fabricate complex circuits and test devices for
sensitivity and radiation hardness. We work in collaboration with the
Gen-II fabrication facility at the Flexible Display Center at Arizona
State University.
Nano-Engineered Materials for Flexible
Electronics
(Metals, Dielectrics, Semiconductors). The students work on the
development of nano-structured materials for contacts, dielectrics and
semiconductors for flexible electronics. They learn about fundamental
materials synthesis and characterization as well as device fabrication
to correlate materials properties with device performance.
Process Integration (nMOS,
pMOS, CMOS, etc). In this area the group explores the issues associated
with the effect of materials properties and chemistry and structure of
the electrode/organic interface with the electrical performance of
organic thin film transistor (OTFT) devices. This work will be
performed in collaboration with Centro de Investigacin en Materials
Avanzados (CIMAV), which is one of Mexico leading research laboratories
in nanoscale science.
Transparent Devices:
Memory Integration:
Device modeling and Simulation.
We work in electrostatic simulations to model electronic transport in
molecular systems, which in conjunction with device fabrication and
testing, aid in improving the understanding of organic semiconductor
materials and devices. We fabricate representative organic
semiconductor devices with different molecules, grain sizes, grain
orientations, and other parameters; measure their electrical
characteristics, and develop, validate, and refine original
mathematical and computer models to describe the electrical
characteristics of the devices.
Prototypes Demonstration: Our
group works not only in the fundamental science if materials and
devices, but also applies it into real applications. See below some of
our prototypes.