Sunday, July 06, 2008

News

April 2008

• Lin passes Ph.D. Qualifying Examination

PMML graduate student Kevin L. Lin has successfully completed his Ph.D. Qualifying Examination. Congratulations, Kevin!

April 2008

• Lin completes M.S. degree

PMML graduate student Kevin L. Lin has successfully completed the requirements for the Master of Science degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Lin's M.S. thesis, "Large-Area, Stretchable, Multimodal Sensor Skins Fabrictaed by Novel Process Technologies and Heterogeneous Integration," was accepted by the Graduate College on April 15, 2008.

Congratulations, Kevin! Well done!!

March 2008

• Jain awarded David Richardson Medal of Optical Society of America

Professor Kanti Jain has been awarded the David Richardson Medal by the Board of Directors of the Optical Society of America for achievements in the field of optical engineering. Each year OSA presents the award to one individual chosen for his "dedication, ingenuity, and perseverance in attaining the highest level of scientific achievement in their chosen fields." The award recognizes those who have had significant influence primarily in the commercial and industrial sector of optical engineering. Dr. Jain is specifically honored for his "pioneering contributions to the development of high-resolution optical microlithography technologies, particularly for the invention and development of excimer laser lithography technologies and systems for production of microelectronic devices," according to the OSA citation. Excimer laser lithography systems are now used worldwide for semiconductor integrated circuit manufacturing. In addition, in the 1990s, Dr. Jain developed the technologies for large-area lithography that are widely used today in the production of flat-panel displays and televisions.

(See also: www.ece.uiuc.edu/news/headlines/hl-jain-medal.html)

February 2008

• Research on new ITO patterning method featured in SPIE Newsroom

The successful research effort in the PMML group on development of a new patterning method for thin films of ITO by excimer laser photoablation processing has been featured in SPIE Newsroom. The new method is attractive in the fabrication of flat-panel displays and other microelectronic devices.

"Low cost patterning process for flat panel displays," SPIE Newsroom, 8 February, 2008
(See also: http://spie.org/x19491.xml?highlight=x2408)

December 2007

• Research on new display fabrication patterning technique featured in ECE Headline News

The successful research effort in the PMML group on development of a new patterning technique for thin films of ITO and other materials by excimer laser photoablation processing has been featured as a Headline News story on the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering website. The new method, developed by Professor Kanti Jain and postdoctoral researcher Junghun Chae, is potentially attractive in lowering production costs in the fabrication of flat-panel displays and other microelectronic devices. The inventors have applied for a patent for the technology and are pursuing commercialization efforts.

"New technique simplifies flat-panel display fabrication," ECE headline News, December 7, 2007.
(See: www.ece.uiuc.edu/news/headlines/hl-jain-display.html)

September 2007

• Reddy completes M.S. degree

PMML graduate student Uttam Reddy has successfully completed the requirements for the Master of Science degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Reddy’s M.S. thesis, "Subpixel Resolution Nanolithography and Applications in Advanced Semiconductor Devices," was accepted on September 17, 2007, making him the first graduate of the PMML group.

Congratulations, Uttam!!!

September 2007

• Research on new ITO patterning method featured in Photonics Spectra

The successful research effort in the PMML group on development of a new patterning method for thin films of ITO by excimer laser photoablation processing has been featured in Photonics Spectra. The new method is attractive in the fabrication of flat-panel displays and other microelectronic devices. "Patterning Films with Fewer Steps," Photonics Spectra, Vol. 41, No. 9, p. 112, September 2007. (See also: www.photonics.com/content/spectra/2007/September/LED/88889.aspx)

July 2007

• Patent application filed on new technology for fabrication of nanoscale dual damascene structures

K. Jain and U. Reddy, Methods for Making Nanoscale Dual Damascene Profiles and Devices Made by Same, U.S. Pat. pending.

June 2007

• Paper on new ITO patterning method for flat-panel display fabrication published in Applied Physics Letters

J. Chae, S. Appasamy and K. Jain, Patterning of indium tin oxide by projection photoablation and lift-off process for fabrication of flat-panel displays, Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol. 90, p. 261102 (2007).

April 2007

• Patent application filed on new methods for fabrication of complex nanoscale devices

K. Jain and U. Reddy, Complex Micro and Nanoscale Fabrication Methods, Structures, and Devices, U.S. Pat. pending.

April 2007

• Reddy passes Ph.D. Qualifying Examination

PMML graduate student Uttam Reddy has successfully completed his Ph.D. Qualifying Examination.

April 2007

• Reddy wins Perry Fellowship

PMML graduate student Uttam Reddy has been awarded the Harriett and Robert Perry Fellowship. The Perry Fellowship was created in 1996 by a gift from Robert Perry, an alumnus of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Mr. Perry and his late wife wished to establish a fund that would help to ease the financial burden for meritorious students in the ECE department seeking an advanced degree. This Fellowship provides a cash award of $5,000.

March 2007

• Jain group and collaborators win $6.3 million DARPA award for proposal on disruptive manufacturing technology

A team comprising University of Michigan at Ann Arbor (Professors Suman Das and John Halloran), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Professor Jain), Anvik Corporation, and Honeywell Aerospace has received a $6.3M, four-year award from DARPA for their proposal "Direct Digital Manufacturing (DDM) of Airfoils" in response to DARPA’s solicitation on "Disruptive Manufacturing Technologies." DDM of airfoils will be achieved by the processing of photocurable ceramic resins through a new direct digital manufacturing technology known as Large Area Maskless Photopolymerization (LAMP) being developed by the team. LAMP combines layered manufacturing of complex three-dimensional objects by solid freeform fabrication (SFF) with the fine-feature resolution and high throughput of massively parallel scanning maskless lithography to achieve a disruptive breakthrough in part build speed and feature definition. LAMP promises an unprecedented ability to rapidly manufacture parts that have macroscale exterior dimensions and microscale interior features. (See also: www.ece.uiuc.edu/news/headlines/hl-jain-grant.html)

January 2007

• Patent application filed on cost-effective fabrication methods for flat-panel displays

K. Jain, J. Chae and S. Appasamy, High-Throughput, Low-Cost, Dual-Mode Patterning Methods for Large-Area Substrates, U.S. Pat. pending.

April 2006

• Reddy wins Olesen Award

PMML graduate student Uttam Reddy has received the Olesen Award of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, given to a graduate student for excellence in undergraduate teaching. The award is made each semester to one or more graduate students teaching in the ECE department to recognize an outstanding effort in undergraduate teaching. The award was set up as part of the Harold L. Olesen Fund for Undergraduate Instruction Improvement.

February 2006

• Jain elected Fellow of IEEE

Professor Kanti Jain has been conferred the title of IEEE Fellow by the Board of Directors of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers for his work on high-resolution excimer laser lithography. As presented in an IEEE press release: "An important part of the IEEE’s mission is to recognize the professional achievements of its members. The Institute’s highest honor is the rank of IEEE Fellow, bestowed on members who have contributed ‘to the advancement or application of engineering science and technology ’." The technology of excimer laser lithography was invented and developed by Jain at IBM in the 1980’s and is now used worldwide in semiconductor chip production.