Heather Chiamori
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UC Berkeley
BSAC Graduate Student Researcher
November 27, 2012 | 12:30 to 01:00 | 540 Cory Hall, DOP Center Conference Room
Host: Liwei Lin
Nanostructures have unique properties that will be leveraged for next generation sensor and energy applications: large surface-to-volume ratios, increased sensitivity at lower input power levels, and higher current carrying capability all contribute to increased functionality of nanostructure devices. The synthesis and integration of carbon-, metal- and metal oxide-based nanostructures for sensor and energy applications are studied with the goal of nano-to-micro devices utilizing well-established micro- and nano-fabrication tools and techniques: (1) Self-assembled, integrated carbon nanotube gas/pressure sensors: Suspended carbon nanotubes are grown by in-situ heating of microstructures, self-assembled and integrated directly for electrothermal gas/pressure sensing; (2) Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanostructures for energy applications: Titanium dioxide nanoswords are synthesized using induction heating, with large areas of crystalline faces exhibiting enhanced photocatalytic activity. TiO₂ nanosword synthesis is scaled for bulk growth and combined with microfabrication techniques to study enhanced solar absorption for water splitting under direct sunlight; and (3) Silver nanowires and graphene for biological and optical sensing platforms: Silver nanowires are synthesized using oblique-angle deposition (OAD), where the nanowire porosity and morphology are controlled via substrate deposition angle. Graphene devices are fabricated using nanoimprint lithography (NIL) techniques.
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