MEMS and Microsystems: Future FabLabs for Nano Devices

Professor Reza Ghodssi
MEMS Sensors and Actuators Lab
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Institute for Systems Research
University of Maryland

Materials technology and process integration are the key enabling tools for novel advances in MEMS and Microsystems for future nano-scale devices and applications. In this talk, I present an overview of the various building block materials and process technologies developed in our group, MEMS Sensors and Actuators Lab (MSAL), to address this exciting and diverse goal. First, the use of InP as an attractive monolithic integrative material for all-optical switching applications is described through micro-actuators for sensing nano-scale particles. Next, the challenges involved in developing a precision and batch fabricated 3-D micromachining technology in silicon by way of gray-scale lithography and deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) are presented. This powerful microfabrication technique is now enabling the development of next generation 3-D micro-scale devices for gas delivery and sensing. Finally, selective deposition of the biopolymer chitosan as an interface between organic and inorganic materials is proved to be versatile and robust for biofabrication of optical and micro-mechanical sensors in a micro-fluidic environment for biomolecular reactions and cell-based sensing.

Biography
Reza Ghodssi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Institute for Systems Research (ISR) at the University of Maryland (UMD). He is also a core faculty member in the Bioengineering Graduate Program and Small Smart Systems Center (SSSC) at UMD. His research interests are in the design and development of microfabrication technologies and their applications to microsensors, microactuators, and integrative microsystems for biosensing and energy harvesting. Dr. Ghodssi received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, in 1990, 1992 and 1996, respectively. He was a Postdoctoral Associate and a Research Scientist in the Microsystems Technology Laboratories and the Gas Turbine Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 1997 until 1999. During his tenure at MIT, he developed the building block MEMS fabrication technologies for a microturbine generator device, and also served as an Assistant Director on that project. Dr. Ghodssi has received the 2001 UMD George Corcoran Award, the 2002 National Science Foundation CAREER Award, and the 2003 UMD Outstanding Systems Engineering Faculty Award. Dr. Ghodssi is a co-founder of the MEMS Alliance Group in the greater Washington area and a member of the IEEE, AVS, MRS, ASEE and AAAS societies.

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