Group Leader
My main research interests are in the areas of surface/interfacial science and engineering of micro-/nanosystems, and thin-film science and technology.
Research Staff
My main research interests are in surface science and atomic beams, mechanical properties of thin films and membranes, and computational nanoscience.
Post-doctoral Fellows
My current research focuses on the synthesis and characterization of epitaxial graphene from silicon carbide for electronic and sensing applications; surface alloying of gold microparticles on silicon surfaces and during growth of silicon nanowires.
My main project consists in the development of a humidity-insensitive sensor for small molecules in the gas phase, and my secondary project involves the synthesis of Pt nanoparticles and films on Si substrates using galvanic displacement.
My current research work involves the investigation of: 1) nanotribological properties of novel MEMS devices and test structures; 2) interfacial properties of metal-based MEMS structural materials; 3) reliability issues in MEMS devices; 4) scanning probe nanolithography on Si substrates.
My current research focuses on Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS), with the aim of developing more reproducible substrates with high enhancement factors for low limits of detection.
My current research focuses on the development of bio-inspired nanostructured surfaces to achieve high performances in adhesion and friction.
Graduate Students
I am investigating various aspects of self assembly on solid surfaces, such as their growth dynamics and their effectiveness in micro/nanomachines. I am also interested in the synthesis and characterization of bio-inspired dry adhesives.
My current research is directed towards the synthesis of silicon nanowires by the vapor-liquid-solid technique, their integration into ultrasensitive resonant mass detectors, and the characterization of their mechanical and thermal properties.
My current research is to develop, optimize and scale-up epitaxial SiC thin film for the nanoelectronic device application and graphitization.
My current research includes surface engineering of micro- and nano-electromechanical systems (M/NEMS) and materials development for high performance M/NEMS.
Visiting Scholars
My research interest includes computational tools to model problems in high-temperature industrial and materials chemistry particularly involving processes at interfaces.
Undergraduate Students
I typically work with Brian in developing and testing synthetic gecko-inspired dry adhesives.
My research involves minimizing/eliminating the issue of stiction in optoelectronic tweezers.
I am investigating the growth rate and tapering of silicon nanowires using gold colloids as catalyst.
I am doing research on the galvanic deposition of ruthenium, platinum, and gold on silicon substrates.
Group Alumni
| Ph.D. Students: | Jon Kluth Structure and Stability of Surface Passivation Layers on Semiconductor Materials |
| Mike Houston Surface Treatments for Adhesion Reduction in Polysilicon Micromechanical Devices | |
| W. Robert Ashurst Surface Engineering for MEMS Reliability (also alumnus postdoctoral fellow) | |
| Di Gao Silicon Carbide Technology for MEMS and NEMS Applications (co-advised by Roger T. Howe) | |
| Teris Liu Microfabricated “Lab-on-a-chip” Analysis System (co-advised by Richard Mathies) | |
| Jingchun Zhang Silicon Carbide and Diamond Materials Development for MEMS and NEMS (co-advised byRoger T. Howe) | |
| Calvin DaRosaCatalyst Deposition for Microreactors Using Galvanic Displacement (co-advised byEnrique Iglesia) | |
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Christopher Roper Silicon Carbide Thin Films via LPCVD for MEMS and NEMS (co-advised by Roger T. Howe) | |
| Noel Arellano Silicon nanowire based electromechanical systems (co-advised by Roger T. Howe) | |
| Masters Students: | Rajan Kukreja Characterization of Poly-crystalline Silicon-Germanium Alloys for MEMS Applications |
| Kim Cheung Novel Materials for High Temp Microreactors (co-advised byEnrique Iglesia) | |
| Mike Pullon Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Hydrogen Adsorption on Si(100) | |
| Elizabeth Parker Surface Modifications of Si-based MEMS Devices | |
| Melitta Hon Corrosion of Polysilicon MEMS under High Relative Humidity and Actuation Voltage | |
| Postdoctoral Fellows: | Hyuneui Lim Surface Modification of InP-based MEMS |
| Muthu Wijesundara Low-temperature Growth, Doping and Metallization of SiC for MEMS Applications | |
| Sang Han Surface Passivation Chemistry of Ge | |
| Myung Mo Sung Surface Modification using Self-Assembled Monolayers | |
| Michaela FritzSurface Modification of Silicon: Understanding and Controlling Interfacial Forces in Microdevices | |
| Conrad Stoldt Novel Surface Coatings and Structural Materials for MEMS; Surface Science of C60 and SiC Thin Films. | |
| Yuko Ueno Characterizations of Diamondoid Molecules and Thin-films | |
| Joelle Frechette Investigation of Wear in MEMS | |
| Frank DelRio Low-temperature MEMS Technology | |
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| Visiting Scholars: | Luca Magagnin Deposition of Cu and Au on Silicon, integration of metals in MEMS technology |
| Gianluca Valente Silicon Carbide Deposition Modeling through Quantum Mechanical Calculation for the Estimation of the Adsorbtion Kinetics of the Precursor on the Surface | |
| Guohua Xu Conducting Self Assembled Layers for MEMS Anti-stiction | |
| Ilaria Lombardi Template-assisted growth of inorganic nanostructures | |
| Alessandro Veneroni Silicon carbide multiscale reactor modeling | |
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Gwiy-Sang Chung Silicon carbide technology for MEMS |
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Farzaneh Hosseinpour RajabiThermodynamic, Electrochemical and Viscometric Studies on Polymer-Polymer Interactions and Formation of Interpolymer Complexes, Nanotechnology Complexes, Nanotechnology | |
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Bahman Vasheghani Farahani Intermacromoleculars Interactions, Polymer Metal Complexes, Polymer Characterization, Microencapsulation, Nanotechnology | |
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Stefano Fissolo functionalization of epitaxial graphene with organic molecules |
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Brent Rich Katherine Stapleton Justin Opatkiewicz Connie Chung Nicolas Londoño Christina Lee Selene Koo Ajay Kshatriya Usman bin Habib al Paki Anna Remennik Siswanto Sutanto Amol Upadhye Christina Yau Oranna Yauw Erfan Gunawan Chia Wen |