EE Colloquia: From Next Generation Devices to Manufacturing Digital Twins

Abstract: In this research, we develop a nature-inspired aerosol-based nanoparticle 3D printing method that creates highly complex 3D structures. These structures are then used to realize novel electronic and electrochemical devices with unusual and hitherto unattained properties. First, this technique is used to fabricate a molecular biosensor that detects pathogen antibodies (such as COVID-19 antibodies) and antigens in 10 seconds at femtomolar sensitivities. This represents the fastest detection biomarkers yet reported. This technology was validated using patient clinical trials. Second, we use 3D printing to create fully customizable brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) that record electrical signals between neurons at densities of thousands of electrodes/cm2, which is 5-10× the current state-of-the-art BCI technologies. The technology was validated through animal testing via recording of the action potentials from the mouse brain. We also demonstrated the printing of high-capacity Li-ion batteries and thin flexible robotic skins with embedded sensors. I will also talk about our recent work on manufacturing digital twins for the electronics printing technique. Specifically, we will focus on the use of multiple sensors to get information on state variables during such processes and the use of physics-based and data-based models for process control. This framework will form a template for creating equipment and process digital twins for electronics manufacturing (e.g., packaging and fab processes).

Biography: Prof. Panat is Russell V. Trader Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). He is also the Associate Director of Research at the Manufacturing Futures Institute at CMU, which is focused on bringing the latest advances in digital technologies to advanced manufacturing. Prof. Panat completed his PhD in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from the University of Illinois at Urbana in 2004. He joined Intel Corporation’s R&D unit in Chandler, AZ, where he worked for 10 years on microprocessor packaging R&D; specifically on 3D heterogeneous integration. At Intel, Dr. Panat led a team of engineers that developed the manufacturing process for world’s first halogen-free IC chip. He was part of a team that introduced the first Si chip with a billion transistors. He returned to academia in 2014 and joined CMU in fall 2017. His research is focused on microscale 3D printing and its applications to biomedical engineering, stretchable electronics, and Li-ion batteries. His research is funded by NIH, DOE, NSF, US Army, US Air Force, and federal intelligence agencies, in addition to industry and several foundations. Prof. Panat is recipient of several awards, including MRS gold medal, Mavis Memorial Award, an award at Intel for his work on the halogen-free chip, Struminger Teaching Fellowship, and the Russell V. Trader chair professorship at CMU.