UT 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.
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.
His research is representative of the work under way at
The University of Texas at Arlington, a comprehensive research institution of
nearly 33,500 students in the heart of North Texas. Visit www.uta.edu for more information.
The University of Texas at Arlington is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer.