Liwei Lin (Advisor)

Research Advised by Professor Liwei Lin

Lin Group:  List of Projects | List of Researchers

BPN402: MiNaSIP 2.C.2: Zero-Stress MEMS Packaging

Chen Yang
Bin Zhang
Ryan Sochol
2010

Tools for linking the environment (application/tester/customer system) with the micro world of a MEMS device are extremely limited. It has proven difficult to accurately predict package, tester, and circuit board interactions and results. Thus, this research aims (1) to explore the physics of micro/macro interfacial contacts/stresses in the back-end packaging process to the overall MEMS RF device performances, and (2) to develop models for stresses in packages with MEMS devices (including RF MEMS such as QFN, LGA, cavity packages, etc.) both in process and final product stages. The...

BPN315: Rapid Synthesis of Nanostructures via Induction Heating

Brian D. Sosnowchik
2010

The primary objective of this work is to develop a platform technology for the rapid synthesis nanostructured materials using an induction heating system. The technology is clean, scalable, inexpensive and versatile, and may be used to rapidly synthesize a wide range of nanomaterials in a room-temperature environment in as little as 30 seconds. Such a synthesis technology may be used to quickly prototype novel and existing vapor-liquid-solid-grown nanomaterials for sensor applications, and open up a new class of nanomaterial synthesis.

Project end date: 08/11/10

BPN404: Biomass Powered Energy Harvester

Erika Parra
2010

This work investigates power scavenging from the decomposition of biomass via a bioelectric fuel cell. Specifically, energy harvesting from microbial metabolism is studied for conversion into electrical energy.

Project end date: 08/11/10

Electrostatic Footpads Enable Agile Insect-Scale Soft Robots with Trajectory Control

Jiaming Liang
Yichuan Wu
Justin K. Yim
Huimin Chen
Zicong Miao
Hanxiao Liu
Ying Liu
Yixin Liu
Dongkai Wang
Wenying Qiu
Zhichun Shao
Ming Zhang
Xiaohao Wang
Junwen Zhong
Liwei Lin
2021

Agility and trajectory control are two desirable features for robotics, but they become very challenging for soft robots without rigid structures to support rapid manipulations. Here, a curved piezoelectric thin film driven at its structural resonant frequency is used as the main body of an insect-scale soft robot for its fast translational movements, and two electrostatic footpads are used for its swift rotational motions. These two schemes are simultaneously executed during operations through a simple two-wire connection arrangement. A high relative centripetal acceleration of 28 body...

Lin Lab: Insect-Sized Robot Navigates Mazes with the Agility of a Cheetah

July 2, 2021
Kara Manke

Many insects and spiders get their uncanny ability to scurry up walls and walk upside down on ceilings with the help of specialized sticky footpads that allow them to adhere to surfaces in places where no human would dare to go.

Engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, have used the principle behind these some of these footpads, called electrostatic adhesion, to create an insect-scale robot that can swerve and pivot with the agility of a cheetah, giving it the ability to traverse complex terrain and quickly avoid unexpected obstacles.

The robot is...

BPN557: MEMS-Based Biological Platform for Cell-to-Cell Interaction Characterization

Jiyoung Chang
2010

This project seeks and explores novel biological platform to study cell to cell interaction based on MEMS technology. Electrochemical and other surface treatment schems are used to enable switching the surface from cell fouling to cell non-fouling and vice versa. Optical transparancy of the whole device will be achieved for enhanced visual observation and electrical conductance of the device will be added for further electrical analysis such as impedance analaysis. Scaling down to single cell level study will be explored in the future device design and understanding sub- cellular...

BPN427: Hermetic Bonding for Optical Feed-through

Koo Hyun Nam
Jiyoung Chang
2010

Optical packaging differs from traditional packaging in several ways, and many of these differences emerge from the need to protect the electrical, mechanical, and optical components of a system while preserving its exposure to the environment. Thus, the materials and packaging processes involved in such a system must be chosen with these goals in mind. This research project seeks to ascertain reliable and feasible hermetic packaging methods to ensure mechanical durability as well as insulation from electrical leakage for an optical feed-through operating in highly variable...

BPN362: MEMS Supercapacitor

Yingqi Jiang
2011

Employing the Electrochemical Double Layers (EDL) phenomenon and porous electrode materials, the supercapacitor have an astonishing high specific capacitance, typically on the order of thousands of times greater than common capacitors. In this project, thanks to MEMS technology, we have for the first time brought the supercapacitor concept into micro scale. Different from its sandwich-like macro scale configuration, a novel planar structure has been proposed and implemented. This device has the wide potential applications such as micro power sources and circuitry components with...

BPN549: Laser-Based Synthesis of Nanostructures

Richard Winslow
2011

Current methods of growing nanostructures use bulk fabrication processes. Examining new methods to focus where and how these structures are synthesized will allow more complex devices to be made. Lasers can act as an energy source that locally heats material. By concentrating lasers on specific thin films during processing, nanostructures can be grown over small areas with greater precision. This process will also provide a means to grow very different structures within close proximity to each other. Finally, the amount of heat transferred to the films can be fine-tuned with the...

BPN474: Micro CVD for Nanostructure Synthesis

Qin Zhou
2011

This project intends to miniaturize the conventional chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system into the micrometers range in dimension. It is believed that Micro-CVD provides better control on the gas flow, gas temperature and gas species in some aspects. This may result in the sythesis of unique nanostructures with new properties. Based on the idea, a prototype micro machined silicon structure is fabricated in the Microlab and is used to synthesize carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene. The CNTs can directly be grown on varies of substrate including paper and plastic, and they are of...