News & Events

Javey Lab: Researchers Demonstrate New Semiconductor Device Possibilities using Black Phosphorus

August 11, 2021
William Schulz

Stress and strain, applied in just the right manner, can sometimes produce amazing results.

That is what researchers, led by a team at UC Berkeley’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, discovered about an emerging semiconductor material — black phosphorus (BP) — used to make two types of optoelectronic devices: light emitting diodes (LEDs) and photodetectors.

Under mechanical strain, BP can be induced to emit or detect infrared (IR) light in a range of desirable wavelengths — 2.3 to 5.5 micrometers, which spans the short- to mid-wave IR — and to do so...

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...

BSAC Welcomes New Faculty Co-Director

May 26, 2021

Please welcome Professor Alp Sipahigil to BSAC's distinguished board of faculty co-directors.

Alp Sipahigil is the Chang Hui Faculty Fellow and an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley. He has joint appointments as a Faculty Scientist at the Materials Sciences Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a supporting appointment at UC Berkeley Physics. His research is in solid-state quantum technologies, with a focus on hybrid quantum devices based on superconducting qubits, nanomechanics,...

Maharbiz Lab: Tiny Wireless Implant Detects Oxygen Deep within the Body

April 14, 2021
Kara Manke

Engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, have created a tiny wireless implant that can provide real-time measurements of tissue oxygen levels deep underneath the skin. The device, which is smaller than the average ladybug and powered by ultrasound waves, could help doctors monitor the health of transplanted organs or tissue and provide an early warning of potential transplant failure.

The technology, created in collaboration with physicians at the University of California, San Francisco, also paves the way for the creation of a variety of miniaturized sensors that could...