Heiko O. Jacobs index

In modern science and engineering, the borders between existing fields provide some of the best opportunities for research. We focus on multidisciplinary, exploratory research that deals with heterogeneous integration of nanomaterials and devices across length scale and material boundaries. The projects can be divided into two trust areas:

Heterogeneous Integration Across Length Scales Through Self-Assembly and Transfer (Trust 1)

The first research trust is geared at developing engineered self-assembly and nanotransfer methods to enable the integration of functional (electronic and photonic) materials and devices into heterogeneous systems. The goal is to overcome the scaling limitations of robotic assembly lines and serial manufacturing. The team pioneered techniques of self-assembly and transfer demonstrating a number of different applications. We generally begin with the application and reverse engineer a unique manufacturing process accordingly that we license to interested companies. Our engineered self-assembly processes use surface tension, shape recognition, hierarchies, receptors, and binding site that can be programmed to direct the assembly (no pick and place) as well as to from electrical interconnect between the disparate elements (no wirebonder needed). Demonstrated applications include:

· Realization of Flexible Cylindrical Display Segments using Liquid Solder Directed Self-Assembly and Bonding

· Parallel Self-Packaging of Semiconductor Dies Replacing Serial Pick and Place and Wirebonding

· Flip-Chip Self-assembly of Semiconductor Dies with Unique Angular Orientation and Contact Pad Registration

· Sequential Self-Assembly of a Miniaturized Transponder/Sensor System that can be Activated and Interrogated Remotely

· Integration of 20 µm - 2 mm size high performance chiplets and dies on flexible substrates using fluidic assembly and transfer

Our current and future goal is to push forward yields, throughput, and scaling limits as well as to include other applications that can benefit from high-throughput integration of multifunctional devices and systems that go beyond current state-of-the-art in micro and nanomanufacturing.

Integration and Characterization of Functional Nanomaterials and Devices (Trust 2)

The second research trust follows a similar theme but exclusively deals with nanomaterials that are formed by bottom-up synthesis in our lab. The research is geared at the development of novel techniques to enable the fabrication of future hybrid micro and nanoscale systems which carry nanomaterial building blocks at exact locations on a surface. The methods fall in the general area of patterning and printing. Our earliest work dates back to the development of scanning probe lithography methods to pattern surfaces on nanometer scale. Today scanning probe allows fabricating prototypes of devices such as single electron transistors. More recent research has focused on parallel methods to pattern, print, or integrate nanomaterials with sub 100 nm precision.

· Nanoscale Patterning and Electric Nanocontact Lithography - We developed a method that is referred to as electric nanocontact printing that is 5 orders of magnitude faster than conducting scanning probe lithography. Instead of using a single electrical contact to expose the surface it uses a flexible conductive stamp to form multiple electrical contacts of different size and shape.

· Nanoxerographic Printers - The team has also pioneered a set of nanoxerographic printers that enables the parallel integration of nanoparticles onto precise locations on a substrate from the gas or liquid phase with a resolution that is 5000 times higher than conventional xerographic printers. The technique can prints organic, inorganic, metallic, semi-conduction, or insulating nanoparticles in the 4 nm - 40 mm size window and finds applications in the integration of Nanoparticle devices including transistors and light emitting diodes.

· Integration of Nanowires - Another approach is geared at the integration of nanowires to form nanowire based devices and systems. We have demonstrated the growth of nanowires at predefined locations on a surface and the fabrication of heterojunction Nanowire LEDs studying the device physics, transport, and electroluminescence in collaboration with an industry partner.

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