University
of Texas Arlington professor Cheng Luo envisions the day that a
flexible cell phone could be folded and placed in a pocket like a
billfold or that a laptop computer could be rolled up and stored.

Through
an active $300,000 National Science Foundation grant, the mechanical
and aerospace engineering professor is developing a process called
“micropunching lithography.” The process is used to create lightweight,
low-cost and more flexible polymer-based devices that have the potential
to replace silicon-based materials commonly used in computers and other
electronic devices.

Luo’s
work was recently published in the June 2012 North America edition of
International Innovation. His project has garnered three grants totaling
about $700,000.

“Practical
applications for these microstructures could be in everything from
glucose monitoring and delivery of chemicals in treating water pipes,”
Luo said.

Micropunching
lithography involves two operations: cutting and drawing. Luo said in
these two operations polymers are deformed using rigid and soft molds,
respectively, creating desired polymer channels and sidewalls that can
be used for detection and delivery.

Erian Armanios, chairman of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, said Luo’s process has diverse applications.

“These
novel microstructures of conducting polymers could be used as sensors
and actuators for engineering and biomedical applications,” Armanios
said.

Luo
joined UT Arlington in 2007 and has focused his research on mechanics,
microfabrication and nanofabrication, particularly with biomedical
applications.

Source: University of Texas at Arlington