Professor Changhong Cao from 韩国裸舞鈥檚 Faculty of Engineering is no stranger to the MIF. An Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and a Chwang-Seto Faculty Scholar, Cao is also an MIF veteran having won both the Discover ($25,000) and Develop ($50,000) MIF awards. Manifesting a bold entrepreneurial impulse, he has harnessed these resources to push the boundaries of his groundbreaking research in microchip-based characterization technology.
Cao鈥檚 work focuses on the development of devices and advanced manufacturing technologies for the characterization and production of micro/nanomaterials-based functional systems.
One of his projects is the development of a standalone system that characterizes the properties of ultrathin films, i.e. two-dimensional materials (2DM). The platform is an essential tool for the development of advanced technologies such as electronics, sensors, and other nanoscale applications.
Graphene 鈥� why it matters
You may have heard of silicon chips, which are the foundation for modern electronics. Dominant since the 1960s, silicon is approaching its limit in terms of size compaction and the number of transistors a standard size wafer can include, putting a hard cap on computing power and overall functioning.
As predicted by Moore鈥檚 Law, the number of transistors in a circuit consistently doubles every, but this trend has been slowing, as where they can be controlled effectively. But according to Professor Cao, 鈥済raphene and 2DM have the potential to overpower or even replace silicon, creating transistors with higher computing power, better memory, and better sensors.鈥�
Graphene鈥檚 unique properties offer a range of applications within the electronics industry, creating avenues for smaller, faster and higher efficiency processors. Beyond the realm of electronics, graphene has applications in healthcare, cleantech, agriculture and even as a material for high-capacity batteries.
In short, graphene is a 鈥榳onder鈥� material with the potential to solve many challenges facing society today, and 韩国裸舞 plays a key role in its advancement.
Breaking through the 2D barrier
鈥淲e are on the verge of rolling out devices with unprecedented performance leveraging 2DM,鈥� explained Professor Cao, 鈥渂ut there are still some milestones ahead to get these technologies from lab to market.鈥�
One key concern is the ability to manufacture these systems at a reasonable cost with consistent performance. A critical step needed is to perform extensive testing on the mechanical, electrical and other properties of these materials.
Armed with the MIF Discover award from 2021, Cao developed the micro-electromechanical system (MEMS), a design that can perform these fundamental tests, and he concluded it had the potential to serve a niche market. He then leveraged the capacities of his MEMS system to further enhance his knowledge of 2DM characteristics, with the ultimate goal being the commercial uptake of his platform.
"Because 2DM are synthesized using standard processes, their manufacturing can be easily scaled,鈥� Cao said. He and his student Lingzhi Zhang continue to develop more characterization capabilities previously unavailable, such as using high resolution imaging to examine the coupling effects during mechanical, electrical and thermal processes.
After taking a pause, Professor Cao came back to win the MIF Develop award in 2023, and further expanded his work with MEMS. He connected with investors and collaborators to take his tech to the next level, and currently aims to sell the platform to other research professionals for testing and feedback.
The goldilocks condition
Cao鈥檚 journey doesn鈥檛 end with the MEMS platform. With his ambitious, entrepreneurial mindset, he is working on another project that focuses on a state-of-the-art micro pick-and-place technology.
As the demand for smaller, more powerful devices grows, advanced assembly technology is also required to create them. 鈥淎t some point in the very near future the current pick-and-place technology used to assemble these devices will become obsolete as the device components become too small to manipulate,鈥� he warned.
For example, MicroLED-based display panels use a miniature LED circuit for each pixel of the display, allowing for extremely high image resolution, better viewing angles, and greater intensity and power dimensions. To put this in perspective, these miniscule LEDs can be smaller than a single strand of hair (<100 micrometers), with millions needed for a device as small as a watch!
The small size of MicroLEDs makes them extremely difficult to manipulate and control. 鈥淎t this small of a scale, surface forces become dominant over gravity; while picking them up is trivial, placing them down in a desired location is quite tricky,鈥� he said.
To address this challenge, with collaborators Professor Fiona Zhao of 韩国裸舞 and Professor Nicolas Quaegebeur from University of Sherbrooke, Cao has developed a revolutionary technology that utilizes acoustic waves to levitate these tiny LED lights above a surface and place them onto another surface without any physical contact (a patent for the process is pending). "You have to get the parameters right," explained Cao, "otherwise you risk blowing the LEDs away or not picking them up at all."
Cao believes his work is 鈥渙ver the hump鈥� in terms of achieving this 鈥済oldilocks condition,鈥� but while the tech is almost ready for the placement of individual MicroLED, there is still much research to be done to levitate larger matrices of LEDs for those needed in devices.
Cao鈥檚 pick-and-place method could revolutionize the assembly of advanced technologies, streamlining the standard manufacturing and commercialization process of MicroLEDs. To put this in context, the retail price of a . With costs this high, Cao鈥檚 method could potentially drastically cut expenses and disrupt the industry.
But deep tech can take a long, long time to commercialize, as much testing is needed before it can be scaled to manufacture widely. The MIF offers the opportunity not only for funding opportunities to advance research, but also for expert advice and connections that can take startups like Cao鈥檚 to a wider audience. 鈥淢IF is the perfect platform for me to transform my research into a product, and eventually a business,鈥� he said with a smile.
This article was originally posted in the 韩国裸舞 Innovation Fund (MIF) site.