Underwater communication presents many challenges in order to transmit data with large bandwidth and over long distance and/or over a wide area.  Indeed, water absorption, scattering and turbidity prevent radio waves to be used similarly as in air. Acoustic transmission has therefore been the standard technology for decades, but suffers from a very small bandwidth (less than 1 Mbps), whereas a video stream or conventional large data stream requires a bandwidth higher than 10Mbps.  Free Space Optical systems have been developed and tested underwater lately taking advantage of the development of lasers and LEDS with wavelengths around 500nm. In this range, water absorption is minimal and optical communication range could theoretically reach 150m with a bandwidth in the tens of Mbps. Large distance communication and correct alignment between the transmitter and the receiver remain however challenging.   UC Berkeley researchers have developed a new method for long-distance and/or wide­area underwater wireless communication using Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) equipped with a Free Space Optical system allowing high bandwidth communication. The high stability and agility of the AUV allows to maintain a correct alignment between the receiver and the transmitter of two different AUVs keeping the data communication operational. 

Digital fabrication with wood currently centers around using Computer Numerical Control (CNC) routers to cut shapes out of planar materials, such as plywood. While this technique is capable of producing highly complex geometries, it does not appropriately address the geometries required by many woodworking tasks.  Also, lumber (which can have slim aspect ratios resembling 1-D stock material) can be difficult to work with using CNC tools, which are optimized for planar stock material   UC Berkeley researchers have developed a digital fabrication system for woodworking ("MatchSticks"). MatchSticks is a digital fabrication system tailored for joinery by combining a portable CNC machine, a touchscreen user interface, a parametric joint library and software.  MatchSticks enables makers of varying skill to rapidly explore and create artifacts from wood.  

Water is a scarce resource in some part of the United States, and recent droughts in the Midwest and the South have elevated the issue of water scarcity to a national level. Existing water sources will face increasing strain due to population growth and climate change, and financial and regulatory barriers will prevent the development of new sources. One method to alleviate water scarcity is storm water capture. Storm water can be used for non-potable applications such as irrigation, laundry, and toilet flushing to significantly reduce domestic municipal water consumption. However, in arid regions of the US, rain comes in short, intense storms only a few months out of the year, and the duration and intensity of these storms require large storage tank volumes for storm water capture to be financially feasible.    One solution is to integrate storm water capture with greywater capture. Greywater is a reliable source of water for domestic reuse, and includes water from washbasins, laundry, and showers (kitchen sinks and water for toilet flushing are considered blackwater). Combining greywater-storm water in the same collection system allows for a much smaller storage tank. A UC Berkeley researcher, along with other researchers, have developed aforecast-integrated automated control system for combined greywater-storm water storage and reuse. A simple and reliable approach for managing greywater and storm water collection at a household or community level is provided, allowing for the near-continuous monitoring and adjustment of water quantity and quality in a combined greywater-storm water storage tank based on monitored feedback/output from individual, tank-specific sensors and/or sensors located elsewhere in the water collection system.   

Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-language:JA;} Van der Waals crystals are a class of materials composed of stacked layers. Individual layers are single- or few-atoms thick and exhibit unique mechanical, electrical, and optical properties, and are thus expected to see widespread adoption in devices across a range of fields such as optical, electronic, sensing, and biomedical devices.  Graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides offer desirable properties as few-layer or monolayer film. Accessing the monolayer form in a repeatable fashion, as part of a predictable and high-yield manufacturing process is critical to realizing the many potential applications of two-dimensional materials at scale. In order to fabricate devices made from few- or monolayer materials, layer(s) of material of specified size and shape, arranged in a pre-determined pattern, must be deposited on a desired substrate and conventional transfer methods include pressure-sensitive adhesives and other viscoelastic polymers and require applied pressure to adhere to their target which can cause out-of-plane deformations and problems with isolating and transferring the patterned few- or monolayer material. Deep etching has similar drawbacks.   UC Berkeley researchers have discovered methods and compositions that enable the transfer medium to adhere strictly to patterned regions, allowing the transfer to remove only patterned material and leave behind unpatterned bulk. This method involves the creation of an intermediate layer between the source material and the transfer medium. Because this layer must strictly cover patterned material, it serves as an etch mask for isolating few-layer material in the desired pattern. Any material which is microns-thick, patternable at the desired lateral pattern scale (likely micron-scale), and subsequently removable would make a suitable intermediate layer. 

96 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Endocrine disrupting compounds are found in increasing amounts in our environment, originating from pesticides, plasticizers, and pharmaceuticals, among other sources. These compounds have been implicated in diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and cancer. The list of chemicals that disrupt normal hormone function is growing at an alarming rate, making it crucially important to find sources of contamination and identify new compounds that display this ability. However, there is currently no broad-spectrum, rapid test for these compounds, as they are difficult to monitor because of their high potency and chemical dissimilarity.   To address this, UC Berkeley researchers have developed a new detection system and method for the sensitive detection of trace compounds using electrochemical methods.  This platform is both fast and portable, and it requires no specialized skills to perform. This system enables both the detection of many detrimental compounds and signal amplification from impedance measurements due to the binding of bacteria to a modified electrode. The researchers were able to test the system finding sub-ppb levels of estradiol and ppm levels of bisphenol A in complex solutions. This approach should be broadly applicable to the detection of chemically diverse classes of compounds that bind to a single receptor.  

Conventional chemical sensors or chemical resistors detect the molecule concentration by monitoring the resistance change caused by the reaction near the sensing material surface. One of the problems with these systems is with drift, when over time the analyte molecules poison the device’s sensing surface, causing weaker performance on selectivity and sensitivity. This often requires rigorous and timely calibrations to the sensor, which involves human intervention, and often times complete sensor replacement. To address this problem, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a vertical platform that dramatically improves the sensor’s ability to manage and recover from the poison environments. By examining and manipulating the sensing plane vis-à-vis the near field surface, researchers have demonstrated an effective and robust chemical sensing platform for a range of gas sensing applications.

96 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Structural health monitoring (SHM) is becoming critical in structural engineering and geotechnical engineering applications in recent years. The use of fiber optic distributed sensors for SHM has the advantage of long sensing distance, distributed sensing information and small size.  Distributed fiber optic sensors can be used to monitor distributed temperature and strain information but also has application for used in detection of seismic activity, security sensing, and traffic/railway/bridge monitoring.   UC Berkeley researchers have developed methods and sensors for distributed dynamic strain measurement using optical fiber that results in a larger sensing signal, better signal-to-noise ratio and longer sensing distance up to a few km lengths. The system can take strain readings at every 4m along an 1km length optical fiber at 2.5 kHz sampling speed with a strain resolution of 30 microstrain.  

Flexible electrostatic actuators are well designed for a range of commercial applications, from small micro-mechanical robotics to large vector displays or sound wall systems. Electrostatic actuation provides efficient, low-power, fast-response driving and control of movable nano-, micro-, and macro-structures. While commercially available electrostatic actuators have the requisite high levels of mechanical energy / force for some applications, their energy requirements are typically orders of magnitude higher than what is needed in large-area, low-power applications. Moreover, conventional approaches to these types of electrostatic actuators have limited design geometries and are prone to reliability issues like electrical shorts. To address these problems, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have experimented with planar electrostatic actuators using novel printing and electrode patterning and engineering techniques. The team has demonstrated a repulsive-force electrostatic actuator device (100 mm x 60 mm achieved) with extremely high field strength and high voltage operation and without insulator coatings or air breakdown.

0 0 1 183 1047 UC Berkeley 8 2 1228 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} Hyper-accumulation of copper in biological fluids and tissues is a hallmark of pathologies such as Wilson’s and Menkes diseases, various neurodegenerative diseases, and toxic environmental exposure. Diseases characterized by copper hyper accumulation are currently challenging to identify due to costly diagnostic tools that involve extensive technical workup.   To solve these problems, UC Berkeley researches developed a simple yet highly selective and sensitive diagnostic tool along with new materials that can enable monitoring of copper levels in biological fluid samples without complex and expensive instrumentation.  The diagnostic tool includes a robust three-dimensional porous aromatic framework (PAF) densely functionalized with thioether groups for selective capture and concentration of copper from biofluids as well as aqueous samples.  The PAF exhibits high selectivity for copper over other biologically relevant metals, with a saturation capacity reaching over 600 mg/g.  The researchers were able to use the diagnostic tool, which included a colorimetric indicator, to identify aberrant elevations of copper in urine samples from mice with Wilson’s disease and also traced exogenously added copper in serum. 

Realizing the potential of massive sensor networks requires overcoming cost and power challenges. When sleep/wake strategies can adequately limit a network node's sensor and wireless power consumption, then the power limitation comes down to the real-time clock (RTC) that synchronizes sleep/wake cycles. With typical RTC battery consumption on the order of 1µW, a low-cost printed battery with perhaps 1J of energy would last about 11 days. However, if a clock could bleed only 10nW from this battery, then it would last 3 years. To attain such a clock, researchers at UC Berkeley developed a mechanical circuit that harnesses squegging to convert received RF energy (at -58dBm) into a local clock while consuming less than 17.5nW of local battery power. The Berkeley design dispenses with the conventional closed-loop positive feedback approach to realize an RCT (along with its associated power consumption) and removes the need for a sustaining amplifier altogether. 

Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers (pMUTs) have attracted industry attention for their good acoustic matching, small geometry, low cost-by-batch fabrication, and compatibilities with CMOS and consumer electronics. While planar pMUTs have reasonable performance over bulk piezoelectric transducers, certain deficits remain in terms of coupling and acoustic pressure outputs, DC displacements, bandwidth, and power consumption. To address these deficiencies, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a next generation of shaped pMUTs which are no longer fully defined by resonance frequency and can accommodate larger pressure outputs and bandwidths. This new pMUT apparatus can significantly boost overall performance while dramatically reducing power as compared to flat diaphragm state-of-the-art pMUTs.

Airborne particulates (such as vehicle exhaust, dust, and metallics) are a health hazard.  Monitors for measuring particulate matter (PM) concentrations in air are typically designed for stationary industrial use; and while they are quite sensitive, they are also bulky, heavy, and expensive.  Accordingly, there is a need for PM concentration monitors that are inexpensive and portable so that they can be more pervasive, and also used by mass-market consumers. Recently, various types of portable PM monitors have been developed.  One class of monitor uses optical technology to measure particulates flowing through (not deposited on) the device.  This optical technology is not sensitive to extremely small particles (with diameters of 200 nanometers or less), yet these small particles are a serious health hazard.  Another class of PM monitor uses various technologies to measure the mass of particles deposited on (not flowing through) the device.  This type of monitor can be quite sensitive, but eventually, it can become overloaded with deposited particles.  Moreover, multiple layers of particles can eliminate the possibility of determining the chemical nature of the particles. To address these shortcomings, researchers at UC Berkeley have developed a means of periodically cleaning deposited particles from mass-sensing components of deposit-based PM sensors.  The Berkeley technology results in PM sensors that are not only portable and low-cost, but also have long-lasting functionality.

The use of electric fields for signaling and manipulation is widespread, mediating systems spanning the action potentials of neuron and cardiac cells to battery technologies and lab-on-a-chip devices. Current FET- and dye-based techniques to detect electric field effects are systematically difficult to scale, costly, or perturbative. Researchers at the University of California Berkeley have developed an optical detection platform, based on the unique optoelectronic properties of two-dimensional materials that permits high-resolution imaging of electric fields, voltage, acidity, strain and bioelectric action potentials across a wide field-of-view.

Most cluster analysis parameters in atom probe tomography (APT) are selected ad hoc. This can often lead to data misinterpretation and misleading results by instrument technicians and researchers. Moreover, arbitrary cluster parameters can have suboptimal consequences on data quality and integrity, leading to inefficiencies for downstream data users. To address these problems, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a framework and specific cluster analysis methods to efficiently extract knowledge from better APT data. By using parameter selection protocols with theoretical explanations, this technology allows for a more optimized and robust multivariate statistical analysis technique from the start, thus improving the quality of analysis and outcomes for both upstream and downstream data users.

Since the 1970s, the semiconductor industry has strived to shrink the cost and size of circuit patterns printed onto computer chips in accordance with Moore’s law, doubling the number of transistors on a computer’s central processing unit (CPU) every two years. The introduction of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, printing chips using 13-nm-wavelength light, opens the way to future generations of smaller, faster, and cheaper semiconductors. There are serious challenges with EUV masks as compared with conventional optical transmissive mask behavior including the multi-layer stack of silicon and molybdenum as a complex reflector of EUV light. Moreover, research into non-optical solutions (e.g. e-beam) is expected to take many years and $100Ms of dollars to reach market maturity. To address these problems, researchers at UC Berkeley and Berkeley Lab worked with the IMPACT+ research team to create a unique optical approach called Optimized Pupil Engineering (OPE) which can detect and characterize mask defects with an 80% enhancement on defect Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) as compared to current systems. This significant improvement reduces false positives and includes pattern and multilayer defects, while it leverages optical-based reticle platforms on the market today. OPE could one day be also used to characterize a variety of semiconductor masks and not limited to EUV lithography.

Earthquakes are unpredictable disasters. Earthquake early warning (EEW) systems have the potential to mitigate this unpredictability by providing seconds to minutes of warning. This warning could enable people to move to safe zones, and machinery (such as mass transit trains) to be slowed or shutdown. The several EEW systems operating around the world use conventional seismic and geodetic network infrastructure – that only exist in a few nations. However, the proliferation of smartphones – which contain accelerometers that could potentially detect earthquakes – offers an opportunity to create EEW systems without the need to build expensive infrastructure. To take advantage of this smartphone opportunity, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have developed a technology to allow earthquake alerts to be issued based on detecting earthquakes underway using the sensors in smartphones. Called MyShake, this EEW system has been shown to record magnitude 5 earthquakes at distances of 10 km or less. MyShake incorporates an on-phone detection capability to distinguish earthquakes from every-day shakes. The UC Berkeley technology also collects earthquake data at a central site where a network detection algorithm confirms that an earthquake is underway as well as estimates the location and magnitude in real-time. This information can then be used to issue an alert of forthcoming ground shaking. Additionally, the seismic waveforms recorded by MyShake could be used to deliver rapid microseism maps, study impacts on buildings, and possibly image shallow earth structure and earthquake rupture kinematics.

An estimated 15 million fracture injuries occur each year in the United States. Of these, 10% of fractures result in delayed or non-union, with this number rising to 46% when they occur in conjunction with vascular injury. Current methods of monitoring include taking X-rays and making clinical observations. One problem is that radiographic techniques lag and physician examination of injury is fraught with subjectivity. Another problem is that no standardized methods exist to assess the extent of healing that has taken place in a fracture. To address these problems, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed diagnostic methods and a device that can reliably detect non-union in its early pathologic phases. Berkeley’s tool utilizes impedance spectroscopy to monitor fracture health by distinguishing between the various types of tissue present in the clearly defined stages of healing. This would enable early intervention to prevent problem fractures from progressing to non-union, by providing physicians with more information that can resolve the initial stages of fracture healing.

People vary dramatically in their taste perception. What one person perceives as mild and pleasant, another will perceive as aversively spicy. Perception of piquancy, sweetness, sourness, temperature, bitterness, and other components of taste all vary across individuals in this way. Some substances, such as cilantro and phenylthiocarbamide, are famously polarizing, producing perceptual experiences that differ radically across individuals. Yet there is no universal system for measuring taste perception; people have a sense for what they like, but they cannot measure it or communicate it to others precisely. This means, for example, that food providers are left almost entirely in the dark, forced to cater to the average and not the individual. To address this need, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have created methods and compositions for consumable products to measure individual differences in taste perception. This innovative approach could lead to new products in support of a universal system for measuring taste perception, with an opportunity for consumers and retailers to understand food and beverage preferences in more precise, quantitative terms.

Trillions of sensors are envisioned to achieve the potential benefits of the internet of things.  Realizing this potential requires wireless sensors with low power requirements such that there might never be a need to replace a sensor’s power supply (e.g. battery) over the lifetime of that device.  The battery lifetime of wireless communications devices is often governed by power consumption used for transmitting, and therefore transmit power amplifiers used in these devises are important to their commercial success.  The efficiencies of these power amplifiers are set by the capabilities of the semiconductor transistor devices that drive them.  To achieve improved efficiencies, researchers at UC Berkeley have developed a novel method and structure for realizing a zero-quiescent power trigger sensor and transceiver based on a micromechanical resonant switch.  This sensor/transceiver is unique in its use of a resonant switch (“resoswitch”) to receive an input, amplify it, and finally deliver power to a load.  This novel technology also greatly improves short-range communication applications, like Bluetooth.  For example, with this technology, interference between Bluetooth devices would be eliminated.  Also, Miracast would work, despite the presence of interfering Bluetooth signals.

To-date, plasmon detection methods have been utilized in the life sciences, electrochemistry, chemical vapor detection, and food safety. While passive surface plasmon resonators have lead to high-sensitivity detection in real time without further contaminating the environment with labels. Unfortunately, because these systems are passively excited, they are intrinsically limited by a loss of metal, which leads to decreased sensitivity. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have developed a novel method to detect distinct molecules in air under normal conditions to achieve sub-parts per billion detection limits, the lowest limit reported. This device can be used detecting a wide array of molecules including explosives or bio molecular diagnostics utilizing the first instance of active plasmon sensor, free of metal losses and operating deep below the diffraction limit for visible light.  This novel detection method has been shown to have superior performance than monitoring the wavelength shift, which is widely used in passive surface plasmon sensors. 

Conventional chemical sensor discriminates different analytes by rejecting the interference using selective decorations on the sensor body. A cross-reactive chemical sensor array discriminates different analytes by interpreting the collective sensor response using signal processing technique, and solves for the interference. Commercial sensor manufacturers search for the optimal choice of material, identifier and the signal processing technique to maximize the sensor performance in terms of chemical detection and discrimination. To address the need, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a platform with 2D material incorporated in a cross-reactive field effect transistor (FET) sensor array. By examining and manipulating the properties of the sensor array, researchers have invented a low power, high efficiency, and versatile chemical sensing technology that is promising for commercialization.

Linear motion is an essential mechanical property used in huge variety of applications. There are multiple ways to create linear motion, including screws, cams, pulleys, pneumatic and hydraulic actuation. Overall performance of these linear actuators can be defined in terms of cost, scale, speed, and efficiency. Current actuators are strong in one or two of these performance categories, which limits their use to specific applications.   UC Berkeley researchers have designed a novel linear actuator that is strong across all four performance categories. The clever Berkeley design provides fast and efficient actuation, and its unique structure is scalable for multiple applications. It is especially conducive to applications that have tight space confines, need a large degree of displacement at a high rate, and are cost constrained.

Magnetostrictive materials convert magnetic fields into mechanical strain and vice versa. They are widely used in sensors, actuators, electrical motors and other technological devices. The materials currently used for these applications are relatively inefficient (e.g. nickel or iron-aluminum alloys) or are very expensive (e.g. Terfenol-D). To address these challenges, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a process framework using incipient martensitic transformations to achieve useful magnetostriction in relatively inexpensive materials. Early laboratory models suggest the Berkeley materials have comparable behavior to rare earth-based counterparts, with preliminary data to suggest superior performance than both rare earth-based and rare earth-free materials on the market today.

Existing structured illumination microscopy can increase the resolution of an image by a factor of 2, however, it requires expensive optical or mechanical devices (e.g., spatial light modulators, digital micromirror devices, or piezo translation stages).  Also, the existing movable patterned mask generated by the light interference using SLM or DMD suffers from hysteresis and repeatability problems due to mechanical motion.  UC Berkeley researchers have developed a computational illumination hardware and software system that can achieve pattern-shift on the object plane without mechanically switching the patterns and therefore without movement of any component.  The lensless system can be easily implemented into existing microscopes without extra hardware can can be extremely fast and suitable for real-time imaging applications.     

Microfluidic technologies have demonstrated great potential in a wide variety of fields, providing accurate and reliable management of small samples and reagents. Healthcare is particularly well-positioned to benefit from this technology with an ongoing rise in demand for point-of-care (POC) health technologies, including concepts such as lab-on-a-chip (LOC). Despite their promise, these LOC devices have not been widely commercialized or adopted primarily because of the critical transition from an initial research design into a final product. To overcome this challenge, differences in the fabrication methods used in the research process and in final industrial production need to be eliminated.To meet this challenge, investigators at UC Berkeley have made a groundbreaking development creating microfluidic devices in plastics, bridging the fabrication process from lab to commercial manufacturing. Utilizing hot embossing, a new fabrication methodology has been developed for embedding metallic microelectrodes in thermoplastic microfluidic devices. Microelectrodes are first fabricated on steel wafers by means of photolithographic techniques and electrode position, and then transferred to the plastic using hot embossing. The unique shape of the microelectrodes provides self-anchoring mechanisms that ensure structural stability and reliability of the devices. A wide variety of thermoplastics can be used in this process, including polycarbonate, polymethylmethacrylate, cyclic olefin copolymer, and others. Moreover, this technique can be combined with embedded silicon-based sensors providing the necessary connectronics and access to the miniaturized biological or physical sample. With this rapid fabrication method for microfluidic prototypes it is possible to scale the fabrication to a large series of devices easily, shortening the transition of current research to commercial microfluidic devices and revolutionizing current production practices.