Mark Sheplak's Research Group

IMG Faculty Help Launch the NSF MIST Center

Submitted by David Arnold on Fri, 01/09/2015 - 10:28am

The NSF Multi-functional Integrated System Technology Center (MIST Center) held it’s Kickoff Meeting on Dec. 11-12, 2014. Led by IMG faculty Dr. Nishida and Dr. Arnold, and in partnership with UCF, the mission of the MIST Center is to facilitate integration of novel materials, processes, devices, and circuits into multi-functional systems through research partnerships between university, industry, and government stakeholders. With inaugural membership from eight organizations, the MIST Center selected 8 projects (6 at UF and 2 at UCF) to be conducted during 2015. The UF projects are:

  • Directed Nanoparticle Assembly by Electrophoretic Deposition (PI: Dr. Arnold)
  • Laser Micromachining of 3-D Miniature Parts in Hard Materials (PI: Dr. Sheplak)
  • Technology Development for Harsh Environment Microsensors (PI: Dr. Sheplak)
  • High-Performance CoPt Micromagnets (PI: Dr. Arnold)
  • Compact Array Antennas with High Gain, Power Efficiency, and EMI Immunity in a System-in-Package Platform (PI: Dr. Yoon)
  • Ferroelectric HfO2 for Energy Storage and Non-volatile Memory Applications (PI: Dr. Nishida)

Proposal Defense: Tiffany Reagan

Submitted by Tiffany Reagan on Mon, 10/20/2014 - 2:05pm
Event date: 
Wed, 10/22/2014 - 4:00pm

Tiffany Reagan will defend her dissertation proposal entitled "A flush-mount MEMS piezoelectric microphone with through-silicon-vias for aeroacoustic flight testing applications" at 12:00 pm on Wednesday, October 22 in LAR 234. Refreshments will be provided.

Per Export Administration Regulations, which apply to the content of the proposal defense (ECCN 9E991), no persons from a sanctioned or embagoed entity is permitted to attend. This includes citizens of Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria.

IMG Kickoff Meeting

Submitted by David Arnold on Tue, 08/05/2014 - 4:20pm
Event date: 
Fri, 08/22/2014 - 5:00pm to 6:30pm

We will hold an IMG Kickoff meeting on Friday August 22nd in Larsen 310, starting at 1 pm, immediately after our Friday BBQ.  This meeting is mandatory for all IMG personnel.  We will provide an overview of IMG to new students, review lab organization/training, emphasize importance of the wiki, and review safety information.

Dissertation Defense: Daniel Blood

Submitted by Daniel Blood on Wed, 06/25/2014 - 8:54pm
Event date: 
Fri, 06/27/2014 - 5:00pm to 6:00pm

Daniel Blood will defend his dissertation "Simulation, Part Path Correction, and Automated Process Parameter Selection for Ultrashort Pulsed Laser Micromachining of Sapphire" on Friday, June 27 in Larsen 234 at 1:00. Refreshments and drinks will be provided, and all are encouraged to attend.

Daniel Blood part of team awarded $25,000 for winning the UF Big Idea Business Plan Competition

Submitted by Mark Sheplak on Fri, 05/02/2014 - 2:36pm

Daniel Blood, Rob Damitz and Erica Gonzaga, co-founders of aqUV, developed a portable water purification device that uses ultraviolet light to sterilize water were awarded $25,000 for winning the UF Big Idea Business Plan Competition.   More information can be found here.

IMG @ Hilton Head 2014

Submitted by David Arnold on Wed, 03/12/2014 - 11:37am

IMG will present six papers at the upcoming Hilton Head Workshop in June 2014 (www.hh2014.org):

  • N. Garraud and D. P. Arnold, “Characterization of the rotational dynamics of magnetic micro-discs in suspension” (poster)
  • J. Li, V. Tseng, and H. Xie, "Wafer-level fabrication of power inductors in silicon for compact dc-dc converters” (poster)
  • D. Mills, T.-A. Chen, and M. Sheplak, “A MEMS optical moiré shear stress sensor for harsh environment applications” (poster)

  • O. D. Oniku, A. Garraud, W. C. Patterson, and D. P. Arnold, “Development and modeling of a micromagnetic imprinting process” (poster)
  • W. C. Patterson, E. E. Shorman, N. Garraud, and D. P. Arnold, “A magnetic microscope for quantitative mapping of the stray fields from magnetic microstructures” (poster)
  • C. Velez, I. Torres-Díaz, O. D. Oniku, L. Maldonado-Camargo, C. Rinaldi, and D. P. Arnold, “Fabrication of Magnetic Microstructures by In Situ Crosslinking of Magnetically Assembled Nanoparticles” (poster)

Proposal Defense - Daniel Blood

Submitted by Daniel Blood on Wed, 01/15/2014 - 12:57am
Event date: 
Thu, 01/16/2014 - 6:00pm to 6:45pm

Daniel Blood will defend his dissertation proposal "Simulation, Part Path Correction, and Automated Process Parameter Selection for Ultrashort Pulsed Laser Micro-Machining of Sapphire" on Thursday, January 16 in MAE-B 210 at 1:00. Refreshments and drinks will be provided, and all are encouraged to attend.

Ultrashort Pulsed Laser Micromachining of Sapphire Sensors for High Temperature Environments

 

As engineers seek to design more efficient gas turbines, they require a detailed understanding of fundamental thermal-fluid phenomena, as well as active control methods, in high-temperature environments. The high-temperature requirement is based on the increasing turbine inlet temperatures, which have risen to 1500 C, in combined cycle systems in order to improve turbine peak power and efficiency. The limited survivability of silicon-based MEMS sensors in high-temperature and harsh environments has caused researchers to investigate other materials for high-temperature MEMS-based sensors; more specifically sapphire.

 

Sapphire’s material properties make its entry into the world of high temperature sensors promising, but it also renders most traditional MEMS manufacturing methods impractical. Sapphire’s chemical inertness does not allow for effective dry or wet etching; consequently, a more effective method of machining the material is necessary. One potential solution is to use laser ablation, or material removal by vaporization due to localized heat input, to pattern the material. Femtosecond and picosecond pulsed lasers have shown the ability to reduce or eliminate the thermal damage issues of longer pulsed lasers. These lasers are classified as ultrashort pulse width because the duration of the pulse is so short that it does not allow for thermal conduction into the crystal lattice of the material.

Proposal Defense - Dylan Alexander

Submitted by Dylan Alexander on Mon, 04/15/2013 - 10:50pm
Event date: 
Thu, 04/18/2013 - 12:30pm

Dylan Alexander will defend his dissertation proposal, entitled "Design, reliability-based optimization, and fabrication of a piezoresistive microelectromechanical microphone with back-side contacts for aeroacoustic measurements" at 8:30am on Thursday, April 18th in LAR 234. Refreshments will be provided. 

Per Export Administration Regulations, which apply to the content of the proposal defense (ECCN 9E991), no persons from a designated "terrorist supporting country" is permitted to attend. This includes citizens of Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria.