Jung-Chih Chiao - US grants

9979296
Delisio

Our society has experienced unprecedented growth in the exchange of information over wireless communication networks. This decade alone has witnessed an explosion in the use of electronic mail, the World Wide Web, cellular telephony, mobile computing, electronic pagers, and video conferencing. These services will undoubtedly become even more popular as we enter the 21St century, but today's wireless communication networks will soon be unable to handle the inflated bandwidth requirements for these and future interactive, broadband, multimedia services.

The millimeter-wave band (30 - 300 GHz) clearly offers the spectrum to accommodate broadband, high-speed services. Achievable transmission rates are on the order of 5 Gbps -- more than 100 times the T3 (45 Mbps) transmission rate. In fact, this rate is competitive with that of optical fiber, which is currently the technology of choice to transmit large amounts of information. Millimeter-wave networks not only provide the necessary bandwidth for high bit rates and wide-band modulation schemes, but the associated short wavelengths also imply smaller antenna and circuit size, resulting in more compact modules for mobile communications. The increased atmospheric attenuation in this part of the spectrum is useful for secure satellite cross-links and high-capacity wireless local-area networks.

In some nations the development of these systems is already well underway. For example, Japan has developed 60-GHz, 155-Mbps wireless local area networks for multimedia distribution. If the United States is to preserve its role as the world's leader in high-speed communications, it must act quickly. The Federal Communications Commission has considered frequency allocations as high as 150 GHz.

Realizing communication components at millimeter wavelengths, however, presents a number of technical challenges in devices, circuits, coding, signal processing, and networks. At the University of Hawaii, faculty members of the College of Engineering have formed a strong team to focus on wireless technology in each of these areas. This proposal describes the device, circuit, and subsystem issues. A companion proposal describes the signal processing and networking issues.

This research could enable an entirely new generation of millimeter-wave components for wireless communication. Improved passivation techniques promise electronic devices with low noise, high reliability, and high breakdown voltages. Revolutionary MEMS devices allow greater functionality and superior performance. The quasi-optical reflection amplifiers could be used in powerful solid-state transmitters. Quasi-optical diode and active mixers would be integral components in sensitive mixers with the dynamic range necessary for high-performance applications. Quasi-optical subsystems incorporating MEMS reconfigurable antennas and photonic crystals hold great promise. Possible communication applications include high-speed mobile personal communication systems, wireless local area networks, and emergency relief communications transceivers. Fueled by the demand for faster and faster data rates, these communication applications will continue to evolve toward millimeter-wave frequencies.
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This proposal focuses on the development of an integrative system consisting of miniature wireless neuronal signal sensor and stimulator implants to provide accurate recording of neural activities and investigate the inhibitory effects of pain signals through neurostimulation. A neurostimulation implant delivers low electrical currents to the nervous tissues that affect the kinetics of ion transport across a neural membrane and produce electrical suppression of pain signals. However, the lack of an integrative recorder and stimulator system prevents us from physiologically documenting the pain activities in freely moving objects. This work involves integrating advances from four multidisciplinary areas of research: (1) flexible microelectromechanical system (MEMS) devices, (2) telemetry circuitry and wireless communication, (3) signal processing, (4) neuroscience and neurobiology.

Intellectual Merits: Technological advances are the development of miniature implants on flexible substrates with wireless communication capability for an integrative system. Using the integrative sensor and stimulator system as an enabling tool, scientific investigation will be carried out to establish the knowledge of neuronal signals, propagation models, inhibitory mechanisms and their relationship to external stimuli, parameter databases for bioelectrical models and optimization algorithms in pain management.

Broader Impacts: The impacts of chronic pain relief will not only improve individuals life quality but also the family relationship and national economics. The database will benefit the basic understanding in neuroscience. The technologies developed will be useful for medical implants and data acquisition techniques in biology applications. This cooperative project between the Electrical Engineering and Psychology integrates the research efforts with education and outreach objectives. Graduate and undergraduate students will be working together in the same laboratories, and by hands-on experiences, they will be trained with integrated multidisciplinary knowledge. Three North Texas high-school education programs in disadvantaged communities are in place to provide high-school teachers and students involvement in the research works.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this AREA research project is to investigate the effects of various chemical gradients on prostate cancer cell migration and the involved mechanisms using an enabling microfluidic platform in order to elucidate the mechanisms of prostate cancer cells in the bone metastasis. Two specific aims are proposed including: (1) Develop and characterize microfluidic devices to create repeatable and controllable gradients in micro channels which are arrayed in a parallel fashion under the same field of view of a videoscope in order to test gradient effects of multiple chemicals simultaneously. Using the microfluidic devices, Investigate the effects of chemokine gradients on prostate cancer cell migration and the involved molecular mechanisms to fill the gap of our knowledge in bone metastasis of prostate cancer that can serve a ultimate goal of discovering potential target(s) for cancer therapy. (2) Investigate deformation and related mechanisms of prostate cancer cells during migration using the microfluidic platforms in order to understand how cells migrate through bone microgaps. This research project will help to answer key questions about bone metastases due to prostate cancer cell migration toward chemokine gradients, with experiments enabled by the new arrayed 3-D microfluidic platform. While investigating the proposed research topics, the multidisciplinary collaboration between electrical engineering and biochemistry targeting clinical medicine issues provides a unique academic training to students. Working with prostate cancer cell biologists at Jean H. and John T. Walter, Jr., Center for Research in Urologic Oncology, the integrated, complex yet practical knowledge gained in the team will inspire creative perspectives to establish a foundation for further participation in NIH programs since our institute has not been a major recipient of NIH support, and encourage students to pursue advanced study and potential career paths in the health-related fields. Innovation: The novel aspects of this work lie in the 3-D microfluidic platform enabling in-parallel simultaneous experiments for various chemokines and gradients as well as the finding about the effects of chemical gradients on prostate cancer cell migration and invasion. The microfluidic platform enables multiple simultaneous gradient experiments, increases gradient resolution for accurate studies, provides controllable environments, reduces chemical amount and costs, reduces manual labor and enables ability to study cell deformation for related invasion mechanisms. The effects of chemical gradients on prostate cancer migration will be of interest to understand bone metastases and the potential therapy methods. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: A microfluidic platform to study the effects of chemokine gradients on prostate cancer cell migration and deformation. This research project responds to the requests for the Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) program to stimulate biomedical research activities at our university, which has not been a major recipient of NIH support. To reach the goal, we propose to investigate the effects of various chemical gradients on prostate cancer cell migration and the involved mechanisms using an enabling microfluidic platform in order to elucidate the mechanisms of prostate cancer cells in the bone metastasis. The research aims will develop an innovative microfluidic platform for high throughput cell experiments and answer key questions about prostate cancer cell migration and deformation by the effects of chemokine gradients. Through multidisciplinary collaboration between electrical engineering and biochemistry to study clinical medicine problems with consultation by prostate cancer cell biologists at the Center for Research in Urologic Oncology, UT-Southwestern Medical Center, we aim to provide a unique academic training to graduate and undergraduate students and to establish a foundation for further participation in NIH programs in the future.

"This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)"

The objective of this research is integration of optical, electrical and mechanical systems at nano- and micro-meter scale, thus enabling novel biomedical, energy harvesting and structural health monitoring devices and systems, otherwise not possible. The approach is to use a wafer aligner and bonder system for precision alignment and bonding of a diverse set of substrates including semiconductor wafers, glass substrates, metals and polymers.

The intellectual merit lies in combining top-down and bottom-up fabrication techniques to pioneer new interfaces between semiconductor-based devices and biomolecules that can be tailored for specific applications, both as sensors and actuators / controllers of biological phenomena. The interrogation of bio-molecules and understanding of real cellular interactions require 3-D biocompatible structures, chambers and interfaces. Ranging in length scales from a few nanometers to many microns, inter and intra-cellular mechano-transduction signals play important roles in many aspects of cellular functions.

The proposed Precision Wafer Aligner / Bonder will be part of NanoFab at UT Arlington, which is an interdisciplinary resource open to scientists within and outside of the University. The Dallas-Forth Worth metropolitan region is home to more than 400 high tech institutions. As a user facility, the NanoFab will make the wafer aligner / bonder available 24/7 to these researchers and provide them training for usage. An annual workshop as well as an online discussion forum dedicated to 3-D integration will be established.