2014 — 2017 |
Dallesasse, John Cunningham, Brian [⬀] |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Eager: Lab-in-a-Smartphone @ University of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign
Proposal: 1447893 PI: Cunningham, Brian Institution: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Title: EAGER: Lab-in-a-Smartphone
Significance: The wide availability of a low-cost, robust, and multimode biosensor detection capability will spur accelerated development of sensing applications in myriad settings where laboratory capabilities are lacking, or where current closed platforms are aimed at only a very specific commercial market. Smartphone-based detection systems are expected to find applications in situations where laboratory facilities are not available such as point-of-care analysis in the home, clinic, farm, or remote locations. The integrated approach to be developed in the proposed work would enable mobile sensing applications that include diagnosis of disease through sensing of specific biomarker proteins (cardiac, cancer, and others), specific identification of infectious disease (viral or bacterial, as performed by PCR), sensing of allergens in food, food/drug manufacturing quality control, sensing of counterfeit drugs, breath analysis, and environmental monitoring of air/water/soil resources
Intellectual Description: The goal of this EAGER proposal is to utilize integrated semiconductor laser diodes and LEDs as illumination sources within the smartphone, and a thin film waveguide/grating coupler to bring light to the sample. The system will operate simply by placing the sample-under-test over the analysis opening, while a custom software application controls all other aspects of the measurement. The resulting system will be capable of performing UV/Visible wavelength absorption spectroscopy, UV/Visible wavelength reflectance spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, and label-free optical biosensor measurements. The platform will use custom microfluidic cartridges designed to perform sample preparation, liquid mixing, and other steps of cell/biomolecular assays that can be developed by the entire ecosystem of mobile application developers.
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0.915 |
2014 — 2017 |
Troccoli, Mariano Dallesasse, John |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
The Transistor-Injected Quantum Cascade Laser, An Improved Coherent Mid-Ir Source @ University of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign
High-power photon sources at mid-infrared wavelengths have commercial potential in areas having large societal impact. The proposed work will create a new device that can be used in ultra-sensitive systems for environmental (greenhouse gas detection, ground water and wastewater monitoring), industrial (chemical process sensing and automotive emission sensors), and homeland security (explosive detection) applications. The device could also be used as an enabling component in new systems being developed for biological imaging and in areas such as cancer cell detection. In all of these applications, the higher output powers expected with the "transistor-injected quantum-cascade laser" should allow systems with greater sensitivity than systems where mid-infrared photons are generated with conventional options. The anticipated ability to modulate at high speed (> 20 GHz) also opens the possibility of producing free-space optical links in non-absorbing atmospheric windows. Such links could be used either in place of or to augment microwave-frequency point-to-point communication channels. This work will also provide other societal benefits. Basic knowledge gained will be incorporated into courses at the University of Illinois on compound semiconductor devices, and will be disseminated through peer-reviewed literature and at conferences. The funding provided will allow undergraduate and graduate research projects to proceed. The PI is also committed to advancing STEM education, and has provided seminars to high school students and teachers during various REU/RET programs at Illinois. The PI is also committed to the education of women and underrepresented groups, and a portion of the project funds will be used to support a female graduate student.
It is the objective of this research program to design, fabricate, and test a novel device architecture for the generation of coherent radiation at mid-infrared and longer wavelengths. The transistor-injected quantum cascade laser is proposed as a 3-terminal device that allows independent control of the field across a quantum cascade region located in the reverse-biased junction of a heterojunction bipolar transistor and the amplitude of the injected current, controlled using the forward biased emitter-base junction. Independent control of cascade structure field stabilizes parameters such as state energy and lifetime that fundamentally impact laser operation. This approach provides several advantages over the 2-terminal quantum cascade laser, which is the incumbent solution for the generation of mid-IR coherent radiation. First, free carrier absorption is lower in the proposed device because both the cascade region and surrounding portions of the p-base and n-collector are within the depletion region of the base-collector junction. Because free-carrier absorption is a key contributor to internal loss at long wavelength, threshold current densities are projected to be lower and both slope efficiency and wall-plug efficiency higher. Additionally, because the field in the cascade region can be fixed at a value that provides optimal resonant coupling between the energy levels in adjacent wells and stable energy state lifetimes, the gain as a function injected current is expected to be more stable and have better linearity. Higher drive currents will not cause gain reduction due to field-related misalignment of quantum states and modification of state lifetimes. Finally, because a small base current is used to control the operation of the device, modulation in the multi-gigahertz frequency range is expected to be possible. Successful demonstration of this device has the potential to create new areas of research in both mid-infrared wavelength through terahertz frequency devices and in the applications for those devices.
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0.915 |
2016 — 2019 |
Goddard, Lynford (co-PI) [⬀] Dallesasse, John Feng, Milton (co-PI) [⬀] |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
E2cda: Type I: Collaborative Research: Electronic-Photonic Integration Using the Transistor Laser For Energy-Efficient Computing @ University of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign
Despite the prevalent use of light to carry information in modern computer networks, data centers, and telecommunications systems to support society's ever-increasing demand for bandwidth, limited progress has been made on the use of light to carry information between or on integrated circuit chips. Even less progress has been made on circuits that use light to process information. A key impediment to progress on true electronic-photonic integration has been the lack of a circuit element that operates in both the domain of light (photons) and electrons. An important breakthrough, made at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign by Professors Nick Holonyak, Jr. and Milton Feng, is that certain types of transistors (the basic building blocks of electronic circuits) can be modified to generate and be acted on by light. These light-emitting transistors (LETs) and transistor lasers (TLs) will be used in this program to form true electronic-photonic digital logic circuits, and high-speed optical links both on and between chips. This technology is expected to dramatically improve the speed and energy efficiency of devices that process information, and to enable the commercial success of a new class of integrated circuits at the forefront of performance. Education and outreach activities will introduce undergraduates and high school teachers to a new technology based on light, renewing excitement in STEM-related fields and the creating the promise for a future career in electronic-photonic circuit engineering.
The technical work in this program is focused on bringing into existence a basic electronic-photonic circuit that can be used as the core building block for ultra-energy-efficient electronic-photonic computing systems. A multidisciplinary team has been assembled with expertise that spans the areas of semiconductor physics, materials and device processing, device design, high-speed circuits, and computer architecture to attack a variety of technical challenges and create a viable technology platform. At the fundamental level, physics-based models will be developed for the devices to optimize them for electronic and photonic functionality and predict their performance in an electronic-photonic circuit. In tandem, devices and circuits will be fabricated and characterized to optimize their performance and to improve the device models. Incorporating these devices and circuits into systems with conventional silicon circuits will require the development of scalable processing technologies that allow the formation of electronic-photonic "islands" embedded within silicon chips along with the electronic and photonic interconnects within and between these islands. Finally, architectures will be developed at the chip and system level that make optimal use of the functionality provided by these electronic-photonic logic circuits.
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0.915 |
2017 — 2019 |
Dallesasse, John Smith, Tracy Campbell, Roy Nahrstedt, Klara [⬀] Braun, Paul (co-PI) [⬀] |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Cc*Integration: Bracelet: Robust Cloudlet Infrastructure For Scientific Instruments' Lifetime Connectivity @ University of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign
Universities typically have many scientific instruments in interdisciplinary research laboratories to conduct high-quality research in science and engineering. Yet many of these older operating instruments are prematurely disconnected from campus networks because they cannot operate at the speed of a modern computing devices, or use legacy operating system software that is not updated with the latest security patches, creating potential vulnerabilities.
This project will develop a robust cloudlet-based infrastructure, called BRACELET. BRACELET is an integrated three-tier infrastructure that integrates the existing campus network, cloud, and security infrastructures with the NSF DIBBs program supported 4CeeD data file upload service. Each cloudlet will be placed alongside potentially vulnerable instruments to shape traffic and protect against external threats. The cloudlet will play a crucial role in keeping the instrument connected throughout its lifetime, continuously providing otherwise missing or new performance and security features for the instrument. BRACELET will extend the capabilities and useful lifetime of scientific instruments, helping to accelerate scientific innovation and discovery.
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0.915 |
2018 — 2020 |
Campbell, Roy Nahrstedt, Klara [⬀] Mchenry, Kenton Dallesasse, John Smith, Tracy |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Cc* Integration: Senselet: Sensory Network Infrastructure For Scientific Laboratory Environments @ University of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign
Scientific instruments (e.g., scanning electron microscopes) are extensively used to discover new materials, develop novel semiconductor device fabrication recipes, and perform new biological processes. One way to speed up scientific discoveries is to provide scientists with advanced cyber-infrastructures to capture, transmit, store, share, analyze, and correlate as much environmental metadata (e.g., humidity, temperature) from scientific lab environments as possible. Current network infrastructure does not capture any external wireless sensory data around the instruments. The recent advent of low-cost, cloud-based sensors and the introduction of diverse wireless network technologies, low-cost mobile and personal devices, and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions provide a novel and viable path for automating sensory data collection in diverse science laboratory environments.
SENSELET, a SEnsory Network infrastructure for SciEntific Lab EnvironmenTs, has the goals of (a) deploying a diverse wireless and scalable sensory infrastructure close to scientific instruments, and (b) correlating and synchronizing sensory data with cloud-based instrument data and metadata in real-time and on-demand. The SENSELET infrastructure will provide additional measurements that will increase accuracy of scientific results, and enable better environmental monitoring and control of labs for lab managers. The SENSELET infrastructure will include (a) wireless sensors such as humidity, temperature, and vibration sensors; (b) an edge computing device with multiple wireless communication interfaces residing in the lab; and (c) private cloud computing service to store and correlate sensory data with instrument data in real-time or on-demand. SENSELET will provide trusted and real-time instrument data uploading, curation, search, and coordination services.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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0.915 |
2021 — 2023 |
Mccollum, Mark (co-PI) [⬀] Pezzarossi, Gianni Dallesasse, John Nahrstedt, Klara [⬀] Sardela, Mauro |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Cc* Integration-Large: Maintlet: Advanced Sensory Network Cyber-Infrastructure For Smart Maintenance in Campus Scientific Laboratories @ University of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign
Studies show that in some industry and scientific environments, between 15 and 60 percent of the total costs originate in maintenance activities, and about 33 cents of every dollar spent on maintenance in the US is wasted because of unnecessary and preventable maintenance activities. The cost of scientific instruments’ maintenance is even greater in universities because the scientific instruments, and associated support equipment, such as vacuum pumps, serve diverse students, staff, and faculty populations for educational and research purposes over much longer periods with smaller budgets than in industry. Instruments’ down-time greatly limits research productivity and programs. Hence, MAINTLET investigates an advanced sensory network cyber-infrastructure with modern AI-guided big data methods that helps the campus scientific laboratories to see patterns that indicate the right time to purchase kits, parts, and services, and minimize opportunity cost due to down-time and all repairs and maintenance.
MAINTLET enables cost-effective, scalable, and sustainable reactive, preventive and predictive maintenance solutions for scientific instruments. MAINTLET provides two important indicators. For preventive and predictive maintenance, simulations identify potential instrument failures, using data from instruments’ surrounding sensors such as acoustic sensors, water flow sensors, and contact water temperature sensors. These data help predict in real-time, using AI techniques, when a pump may need condition-based preventive maintenance. For reactive maintenance, trained failure detectors detect failures in real-time. MAINTLET includes sensors; edge devices such as Raspberry Pis executing reactive maintenance services; WiFi and Zigbee access points and networks interconnecting sensors, edge and cloud devices; and a private cloud with predictive and preventive maintenance services.
The impact of MAINTLET is in terms of decreased instrument failures and down-time and hence speed-up and accuracy of scientific discoveries, and in terms of security (as uncertainty about failed scientific lab equipment can cause both cyber and physical harm). MAINTLET’s various insights are taught in undergraduate and graduate courses to students from Materials Science & Engineering, Computer Science, and other departments. MAINTLET is presented at the Advanced Materials Characterization Workshop with instrument vendors’ exhibit, “Nano at Illinois” event, and other scientific venues. During the summers, the Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering program for high school students, and other outreach programs, organized within the Grainger College of Engineering, receive a series of MAINTLET lectures.
MAINTLET’s website https://t2c2.csl.illinois.edu/projects/maintlet includes links to data, code, results, and simulations as they are developed. The project-related information will be accessible for at least five years after the project ends.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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0.915 |