Hydrophobic coatings are water-resistant and can be used to condense steam for efficient heat-transfer. Certain applications require ultra-thin coating, which the current...
Hydrophobic coatings are water-resistant and can be used to condense steam for efficient heat-transfer. Certain applications require ultra-thin coating, which the current coats are prone to delamination upon surface damage.
In a collaborative effort between the Evans and Miljkovic lab, a new ultra-thin hydrophobic coating has been developed. This coating can be easily applied to existing materials to protect surfaces against water damage. Unlike previous coatings, this invention is capable of self-heal, thus enhancing its durability and lifetime.
Pictured below: top row is previous coatings, bottom row is this invention.
Wireless charging at a distance can be time consuming and inefficient in real-world applications, including for embedded devices such as electronic medical implants....
Wireless charging at a distance can be time consuming and inefficient in real-world applications, including for embedded devices such as electronic medical implants. University of Illinois researchers have developed a metasurface that can redirect magnetic fields to efficiently charge devices that are far from and/or misaligned with a power source. The metasurface is flexible and performs well even when distorted, making it an excellent candidate for mounting on skin or other curved or nonuniform surfaces. This technology can be configured to charge multiple devices and offers an approximately 10x faster charge as compared to state-of-the-art solutions for difficult-to-charge devices.
Can Bayram has designed a process to overcome the limitations of the h-GaN counterpart such as its inability to maintain an acceptable efficiency of light output without...
Can Bayram has designed a process to overcome the limitations of the h-GaN counterpart such as its inability to maintain an acceptable efficiency of light output without increasing costs. Dr. Bayram’s invention takes the form of an industry approved process that yields a large area uniform structure c-GaN array resulting in a GaN semiconductor that would be able to produce photons even under high power density operation. This allows this technology to emit light in the green part of the visible spectrum more efficiently than its h-GaN counterpart that achieves a higher efficiency than even the Department of Energy’s goal efficiency.
Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed improvements to their innovative photonic integrated circuit (PIC) design, which features three-dimensional...
Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed improvements to their innovative photonic integrated circuit (PIC) design, which features three-dimensional subsurface networks of optical components (UIUC ref. no. 2017-212). The paradigm, called "volumetric photonic integrated circuits" (VPIC), addresses the bottleneck of large surface area requirements faced by conventional PICs by embedding the networks vertically within a semiconductor (e.g., porous silicon) material.
The present improvements include a variety of new subsurface components which exhibit low loss and high total efficiency competitive with silicon photonics. Components include high Q microrings; lenses and waveguides for efficient coupling; Mach Zehnder interferometers; loop mirrors; and distributed Bragg reflectors.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers Songbin Gong, Ruochen Lu, Yansong Yang, and Steffen Link have fabricated an acoustic filter that functions with high...
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers Songbin Gong, Ruochen Lu, Yansong Yang, and Steffen Link have fabricated an acoustic filter that functions with high fractional bandwidth and low signal loss at gigahertz frequencies necessary for emerging 5G new radio technologies.
The acoustic filter is suitable for 5G mobile devices (e.g. smart phones), which will employ wavebands of higher frequencies than 4G technology. The device maintains small proportions without the fabrication challenges seen from scaling existing acoustic filter components present in 4G devices.
The filter employs a double layer of thin-film lithium niobate, a piezoelectric material, which serves to convert mechanical energy (radio waves) to electronic signals in 5G devices with better performance in the 3-6 GHz range than existing technologies.
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) is a widely used polymer in consumer goods like plastic bottles and is highly accepted for recycling due to its lightweight, durability,...
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) is a widely used polymer in consumer goods like plastic bottles and is highly accepted for recycling due to its lightweight, durability, and low oxygen permeability, which helps keep foods fresh. PET can be recycled mechanically or depolymerized into its chemical components, but only 9% of the 35.7 million tons of plastic waste generated in 2018 was recycled. Recycled plastics often suffer from lower quality due to contamination and physical damage, and they can be more expensive than virgin plastics, as seen with Coca-Cola's reduction in recycled plastic usage. Upcycling plastics with engineered microorganisms offers potential cost and environmental benefits, though it has not yet been proven viable on an industrial scale.
University inventors have developed genetically-engineered Pseudomonas putida strains that synergistically degrade polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic into building blocks that can be used to create new materials. The use of multiple strains of bacteria instead of a single one allows for the use of a greater number of degradation pathways. This alleviates the metabolic pressure on the strains and reduces the effects of toxic starting materials and degradation products, increasing efficiency.
The electric vehicle market continues to expand rapidly, with advances in battery technologies and charging infrastructure making EVs an attractive choice for a growing...
The electric vehicle market continues to expand rapidly, with advances in battery technologies and charging infrastructure making EVs an attractive choice for a growing number of consumers in the US and across the world. While EVs allow vehicles to be powered from domestic energy sources and reduce reliance on foreign oil imports, manufacturers remain heavily dependent on a small number of non-domestic raw materials to create the permanent magnets needed for conventional EV motor drives. Price volatility, supply chain constraints, and geopolitical pressures make the ongoing reliance on permanent magnet EV motors unsustainable.
Variable pole induction motors are of great interest for use in electric vehicles due to their increased efficiency compared to fixed pole induction motors and their lack of reliance on the scarce and geopolitically strained resources needed for permanent magnet motors. Consumers have been less than enamored with the performance of early variable-pole induction machines, however, as these models suffered from rough torque bumps that were felt by drivers during vehicle operation. Professor Arijit Banerjee and collaborators at the University of Illinois have developed two approaches to address this issue. The first employs a "bumpless" electronic pole changing method to minimize torque bump to less than 5% while achieving transition times under 200 ms. The second uses "virtual poles" to obviate bumps and achieve continuous transition. Both approaches improve transient performance during speed changes, providing a smooth driver experience. An accomopanying optimization, control, and modulation suite further optimizes performance and thermal management, allowing motors to be designed with a smaller footprint.
Benefits
Reduced reliance on scarce raw materials sourced from geopolitically unstable regions
Chemical agents such as sarin gas are extremely potent, with exposed victims succumbing to repiratory paralysis within minutes of inhaling a lethal dose. Although sarin...
Chemical agents such as sarin gas are extremely potent, with exposed victims succumbing to repiratory paralysis within minutes of inhaling a lethal dose. Although sarin gas was outlawed by the Chemical Weapons Convention and is classified as a Schedule 1 substance, its use by the Syrian government in 2011 and subsequent uses of chemical weapons by Russia in Ukraine have increased the awareness and risk of exposure for military personnel and security contractors. Extremely sensitive detection of chemical agents is imperitive for providing personnel with the information necessary to avoid dangerous levels of exposure while confirming the presence or use of these agents.
Existing techniques for detecting nerve agents such as sarin are slow and have difficulty detecting levels below one part per billion, or ppb. This inability to identify trace levels makes it difficult to control or confirm exposure to this dangerous substance. Professor Paul Braun has developed a postage-stamp-sized device that is deployable in the field and is capable of detecting sarin at levels below 1 ppb.
Benefits
Extremely sensitive (part per billion) detection of sarin gas or other chemical agents
Field deployable
Publication
Amplified Detection of Chemical Warfare Agents Using Two-Dimensional Chemical Potential Gradients. Mohammad A. Ali, Tsung-Han Tsai, and Paul V. Braun. ACS Omega 2018 3 (11), 14665-14670
