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Electronics, Devices, Computers

Augmented reality system for accessible play, iGYM,...

Using iGYM’s computer vision module, the U-M team partnered with the University of Tsukuba’s FUTUREGYM Team to develop new interactive games that allow children of all abilities to play together.

Dawn of nitride ferroelectric semiconductors

The ability to precisely tune electrical polarization switching through molecular beam epitaxy is a gamechanger
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Efficiency upgrade for OLED screens: A route to blue PHOLED longevity

Commercial devices currently settle for less efficient blue OLEDs, but a set of design innovations has made an efficient blue that is as durable as efficient green OLEDs.

The US has a new most powerful laser

Hitting 2 petawatts, the NSF-funded ZEUS facility at U-M enables research that could improve medicine, national security, materials science and more.

Advanced microelectronics: Why a next-gen semiconductor doesn’t fall to pieces

The mechanism holding new ferroelectric semiconductors together produces a conductive pathway that could enable high power transistors.

Enabling stroke victims to “speak”: $19M toward brain implants to be built at U-M

Stroke victims may regain the ability to read, write and speak with the help of technology developed by David Blaauw and Cindy Chestek.

A new type of slot antenna for NextG communications

The antenna, designed by doctoral student Aditya Varma Muppala and Prof. Kamal Sarabandi, is featured by IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation.

Herbert Winful part of MURI team investigating AI-guided self-organization in nonlinear systems

Prof. Winful adds his unique expertise on the behavior of coupled semiconductor laser systems to a collaborative $9M project led by researchers at Yale University.

U-M awarded up to $7.5M to bring heat-tolerant semiconductors from lab to fab

Open-source effort led by Prof. Becky Peterson supports durable silicon carbide circuits that can operate at record high temperatures.

Heat2Power: a hot new startup that converts stored heat into electricity

Heat2Power, co-founded by Profs. Stephen Forrest and Andrej Lenert, uses high-efficiency, low-cost thermophotovoltaic technology to turn stored heat into energy.

Solving computationally complex problems with Ising machines

A team led by Prof. Pinaki Mazumder is designing quantum-inspired architectures from silicon to solve difficult problems more efficiently than previously possible.

Boosting AI model size and training speed with lightwave-connected chips

AI growth is capped by data transfer rates between computing chips, but transferring data with light could remove the ceiling.

Light, flexible and radiation-resistant: organic solar cells for space

Some carbon-based solar cells already show no drop in performance after three years’ worth of radiation, and the cause of degradation in others could be preventable.

Kickstarter for Buddie: open source, AI-enabled earbuds

Collaborating faculty at the University of Michigan and Fudan University are crowdfunding a new wearable AI audio interface to enable always-listening context awareness, improve privacy, and allow AI application developers to try new ideas.

Developing StiMote, a wireless neural stimulator for restoring vision

The highly collaborative project will leverage many tiny sensing computers, called “motes,” to communicate with the visual cortex of the brain.

Wei Lu earns 2024 Best Paper Award for work in spiking neural networks

The paper was published in Proceedings of the IEEE in September 2023, and already has more than 500 citations.

ECE faculty design chips for efficient and accessible AI

Faculty specializing in architecture, hardware, and software innovation accelerate machine learning across a range of applications.

In vivo wireless readings from a bile duct stent sensor in a pig

New magnetoelastic sensor within a stent transmits information about potential blockages, demonstrating potential use for a wide range of body sizes.

Zetian Mi awarded $3M DARPA grant to scale next generation semiconductor materials on silicon

Mi's team will partner with industry to integrate defect-free III-V materials with silicon.

ECE Spinout company NS Nanotech releases first solid-state semiconductor to produce human-safe disinfecting UV light

NS Nanotech’s new product, enabled by ECE Prof. Zetian Mi’s research, can safely disinfect high-risk spaces like ambulances and school buses.

ECE startup MemryX releases MX3 Edge AI Accelerator

MemryX has announced production availability of a new AI chip, enabled by U-M ECE research.

Space Force establishes $35M institute for versatile propulsion and power at U-M

To optimize power, efficiency and freedom to maneuver, engineers aim to demonstrate new technologies for power generation, electric propulsion and chemical rockets.

A pulsed, helical laser to control other light signals, speeding up fiber-optic communication

New device can act as an all-optical switch, the first step towards processing data encoded in light

An OLED for compact, lightweight night vision

Thinner than a human hair, the device amplifies and converts near infrared light into visible light with the potential for low power consumption and long battery life.

Pei Zhang will contribute to a new NSF Center for Insights into the Pre-Emergence Phase of Pandemics

Prof. Zhang will develop sensor systems to model the movement and risk factors of animal populations in disease spread as part of the interdisciplinary NSF center.

Updating the textbook on polarization in gallium nitride to optimize wide bandgap semiconductors

Understanding the phenomenon underpinning the material’s electronic performance will inform the design of smaller, faster and more efficient electronic and quantum devices.

John Kustin and Vangelis Dikopoulos win Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship to support work on intelligent audio systems

The pair of ECE PhD students will use the award to improve devices such as smart speakers, hearing aids, and car sound systems.

Parag Deotare and Zetian Mi are editors of new book: 2D Excitonic Materials and Devices

The book, which is part of Elsevier’s Semiconductors and Semimetals series, offers both an overview and a deep dive into 2D excitonic materials and their applications.

AI chips could get a sense of time

Timekeeping in the brain is done with neurons that relax at different rates after receiving a signal; now memristors—hardware analogues of neurons—can do that too

University of Michigan team partners with Semiwise to tackle cryogenic control electronics technology

Prof. Dennis Sylvester and PhD student Qirui Zhang are working with UK-based company Semiwise Ltd. to design cryogenic circuitry and improve the efficiency of quantum computing.

John Heron and Zetian Mi edit new book: Emerging Ferroelectric Materials and Devices

The book, which is part of Elsevier’s Semiconductors and Semimetals series, covers the latest developments in existing and emerging ferroelectric technology.

Wei Lu named James R. Mellor Professor of Engineering

Lu is internationally renowned for his pioneering efforts in the development and commercialization of novel electrical devices, specifically memristors for memory and logic applications.

Shubham Mondal awarded Rackham Predoc to support research on III-Nitride semiconductors for next generation electronics

Mondal’s materials research is expected to impact fields such as data centric computing, edge intelligence, and quantum photonic devices.

Auto industry deadlines loom for impaired-driver detection tech, U-M offers a low-cost solution

As the comment period closes on the new federal requirement, a U-M team led by Prof. Mohammed Islam demonstrates that upgrades to current technologies could do the job

Jiangnan Liu receives SVCF Scholarship to support research in quantum photonics

Liu is a PhD student investigating new materials for future opportunities in quantum photonics.

Augmented reality system for accessible play, iGYM, goes international

Using iGYM’s computer vision module, the U-M team partnered with the University of Tsukuba’s FUTUREGYM Team to develop new interactive games that allow children of all abilities to play together.

Shubham Mondal receives SVCF Scholarship to support his research in semiconductor materials

Mondal works to improve the operation of electronic and optoelectronic devices using III-Nitride based semiconductor materials.

Improving generative AI models for real-world medical imaging

Professors Liyue Shen, Qing Qu, and Jeff Fessler are working to develop efficient diffusion models for a variety of practical scientific and medical applications.

Blue PHOLEDs: Final color of efficient OLEDs finally viable in lighting

Synchronizing light and matter adds blue to the OLED color palette

Neural Collapse research seeks to advance mathematical understanding of deep learning

Led by Prof. Qing Qu, the project could influence the application of deep learning in areas such as machine learning, optimization, signal and image processing, and computer vision.

Improving the accuracy and applicability of large language models, like ChatGPT

Prof. Al Hero’s new method, which enhances the reliability of predictive models and promises to reduce the risk of AI hallucinations, was selected as a spotlight paper at NeurIPS 2023.

Nextgen computing: Hard-to-move quasiparticles glide up pyramid edges

Computing with a combination of light and chargeless excitons could beat heat losses and more, but excitons need new modes of transport

Shaping the quantum future with lightwave electronics

The semiconductor-compatible technology is a million times faster than existing electronics and could give us access to an entire new world of quantum phenomena.

Soon-to-be most powerful laser in the US is open for experiments

The NSF-supported facility at U-M is about to begin welcoming researchers to study extreme physics that could advance medicine, microelectronics and more.

U-Michigan a partner in two CHIPS Act Midwest microelectronics hubs

The latest DoD funding announcements bolster Michigan Engineering’s efforts to support revitalization of the U.S. semiconductor sector.

Semiconductor workforce program increases access to hands-on training

'In undergrad, you sometimes feel like you're just passing classes. But what we're doing here is science.'

Aline Eid seeks to better perceive the world using a 5G Wireless Power Grid

Prof. Eid is looking to design the future of smart cities and infrastructures using ultra-low power wireless sensing and communications technologies.

Organic photovoltaics offer realistic pathway to power-generating windows

A new fabrication process greatly improves the reliability of highly-efficient semi-transparent solar cells, which can be applied to windows to generate solar power.

Inside the Quantum Research Institute

Mack Kira, co-director of the Quantum Research Institute with Steven Cundiff, is taking Michigan’s quantum activities to the next level.

Focused ambitions

While hunger for an artificial intelligence that can think like a human remains unsated, AI continues to appear in our lives in smaller ways.

Advancing chips for the auto sector is the goal of new Michigan-based initiative

U-Michigan joins industry, state, education partners to develop talent and technology.

New undergraduate courses prepare students for the Second Quantum Revolution

Quantum information science and engineering is one of the hottest fields in engineering - and ECE wants to make it accessible to everyone.

Aditya Varma Muppala awarded Predoctoral Fellowship to support research impacting imaging systems

Aditya is creating high-resolution, accessible, scalable, and portable imaging radars that are 200x cheaper and 100x smaller than what is currently available.

Sangmin Yoo awarded Predoctoral Fellowship to support research impacting next generation computing

Yoo is making memory devices more flexible and tunable, making them irresistible for modern AI applications.

From new material to device: Ferroelectric HEMT could be a game changer for next generation electronics

Prof. Zetian Mi’s team proved the viability of a reconfigurable, ScAlN/AlGaN/GaN ferroelectric HEMT transistor that is critical for next-generation communication and computing systems

Parag Deotare awarded DURIP grant to probe exciton energy transport at nanoscale

The tool is expected to advance the study of exciton dynamics, which could help identify new research directions for clean energy and information technology.

Ishtiaque Navid receives SVCF Scholarship to support his research in semiconductor materials

Navid’s research is focused on artificial photosynthesis and optoelectronics using III-Nitride based semiconductor materials.

Arthur Xiao receives SVCF Scholarship to support his research in semiconductor materials

Xiao has been working on several projects in Prof. Zetian’s Mi’s group, including micro LED technology and renewable energy.

Nanoscale ferroelectric semiconductor could power AI and post-Moore’s Law computing on a phone

Next-gen computing material gets down to the right size for modern manufacturing.

Scalable method to manufacture thin film transistors achieves ultra-clean interface for high performance, low-voltage device operation

Led by Prof. Becky Peterson, the research focuses on a category of materials important for low power logic operations, high pixel density screens, touch screens, and haptic displays.

Six ECE faculty will help shape the future of semiconductors as part of the JUMP 2.0 program

Elaheh Ahmadi, David Blaauw, Michael Flynn, Hun-Seok Kim, Hessam Mahdavifar, and Zhengya Zhang bring their expertise and creativity to this nationwide undertaking in the area of semiconductors and information & communication technologies.

Open-source hardware: a growing movement to democratize IC design

Dr. Mehdi Saligane, a leader in the open-source chip design community, was among the first researchers to fabricate a successful chip as part of Google’s multi-project wafer program.

New non-invasive optical imaging approach for monitoring brain health could improve outcomes for traumatic brain injury patients

The SCISCCO system could better monitor brain and organ metabolism, helping to diagnose concussions, monitor cerebral metabolism in traumatic brain injury patients, and gauge the response of organs to treatments in an operating or emergency room scenario.

Miniature and durable spectrometer for wearable applications

A team led by P.C. Ku and Qing Qu have developed a miniature, paper-thin spectrometer measuring 0.16mm2 that can also withstand harsh environments.

Best paper for a low-power ADC circuit for brain-machine interface applications

Euisik Yoon’s team, led by Sungjin Oh, developed a low-power neural recording front-end circuit to interface with state-of-the-art neural probes.

Jesse Codling wins Best Presentation award for sensors that help protect these little piggies in their pens

Known affectionately as “The Sh*tty Project,” Codling, an ECE PhD student, monitors the vibrations in pig pens to track the health of the piglets and predict when they’re in danger.

Mike Flynn named Fawwaz T. Ulaby Collegiate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Flynn is one of the world’s premier scholars of analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits and systems, analog-to-digital conversion (ADC), and other interface circuits.

Breakthrough in green micro-LEDs for augmented/mixed reality devices

Prof. Zetian Mi’s team are the first to achieve high-performance, highly stable green micro-LEDs with dimensions less than 1 micrometer on silicon, which can support ultrahigh-resolution full-color displays and other applications.

Seeing electron movement at fastest speed ever could help unlock next-level quantum computing

New technique could enable processing speeds a million to a billion times faster than today's computers and spur progress in many-body physics.

CHIPS and Science Act: Implications and Opportunities

The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 promises to revitalize the U.S. semiconductor industry. Dennis Sylvester offers his perspective on what it means for ECE.

First light soon at the most powerful laser in the US

The ZEUS laser at the University of Michigan has begun its commissioning experiments

Photosynthesis copycat may improve solar cells

The new approach moves energy efficiently and could reduce energy losses converting light into electricity.

Next generation neural probe leads to expanded understanding of the brain

The hectoSTAR probe, with 128 stimulating micro-LEDs and 256 recording electrodes integrated in the same neural probe, was designed for some stellar brain mapping projects

ZEUS Joins International Community of Extreme Light Virtuosos

As a member of the X-lites program, ZEUS joins an international community of extreme light labs working together to advance laser science for the benefit of society

Ester Bentley receives Impact award for her research with the goal of GPS-free navigation

Bentley presented her research as an NDSEG Fellow. She is working to make smaller, more affordable high accuracy navigation-grade gyroscopes.

Toward manufacturing semitransparent solar cells the size of windows

A peel-off patterning technique could enable more fragile organic semiconductors to be manufactured into semitransparent solar panels at scale.

Solar-powered chemistry uses carbon dioxide and water to make feedstock for fuels, chemicals

Producing synthesis gas, a precursor of a variety of fuels and chemicals, no longer requires natural gas, coal or biomass.

2022 IEEE APS R. W. P. King Award recognizes new theory in computational electromagnetics

Patel and Michielssen developed the Wigner-Smith time delay matrix for electromagnetics.

Emulating impossible “unipolar” laser pulses paves the way for processing quantum information

Quantum materials emit light as though it were only a positive pulse, rather than a positive-negative oscillation.

Overcoming the efficiency cliff of red micro-LEDs for virtual/augmented reality

Prof. Zetian Mi leads a team that created highly-efficient red micro LEDs suitable for augmented and virtual reality.

Graphene-hBN breakthrough to spur new LEDs, quantum computing

Study uncovers first method for producing high-quality, wafer-scale, single-layer hexagonal boron nitride

New textbook provides hands-on guide for learning about chaotic dynamics and electronic circuits

The book was co-authored by ECE Master's student Wesley Joo-Chen Thio and Professor Emeritus Julien Sprott of U Wisconsin.

Touheed Anwar Atif awarded Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship for his research on quantum information and quantum computing

Atif’s coding framework addresses quantum information network coding problems and has helped uncover new insights into the world of quantum information.

Ashley Jian receives Barbour Scholarship to further her research on high-power electronics

Jian works to improve the efficiency of high-power electronics for better energy security and sustainability.

Subhajit Mohanty awarded Richard and Eleanor Towner Prize for Distinguished Academic Achievement

Mohanty’s research is focused on advancing high electron mobility transistors for next generation wireless technologies.

Ashley Jian awarded Marian Sarah Parker Prize from the College of Engineering

Jian’s research is focused on improving the efficiency of high-power electronics, which is important for energy security and sustainability.

ECE alum Mihir Sheth receives Young Innovator Award from Innovate UK for making a medical device that weans patients off ventilators quicker

Sheth is the co-founder of Inspiritus Health and has developed a simple to use, non-invasive medical device that keeps patients’ muscles engaged when they are on a ventilator to prevent muscle atrophy.

‘Exciton surfing’ could enable next-gen energy, computing and communications tech

A charge-neutral information carrier could cut energy waste from computing, now that it can potentially be transported within chips.

New understanding of neurons in the hippocampus: they’re all the same

A longstanding collaboration between engineers and neuroscientists leads to new insights into how neurons work in the hippocampus.

Quantum tech: Semiconductor “flipped” to insulator above room temp

Discovery could pave the way to high speed, low-energy quantum computing.

Research full speed ahead on manufacturable III-V materials for next-generation electronics

A recent breakthrough in ferroelectric III-V semiconductors at the University of Michigan has been followed by several advancements and new funding to bring the technology closer to market.

Batteryless next-generation cellular devices could empower a more sustainable future

PhD student Trevor Odelberg is looking to enable long range, highly reliable, and low-power cellular IoT devices that one day can run entirely on harvested energy, reducing battery waste and empowering devices to last for decades.

Heath Hofmann named IEEE Fellow for his impact in the areas of electric machinery and drive systems

Prof. Hofmann’s control technology has been implemented in commercial vehicles, and he works tirelessly to enhance opportunities for underrepresented students.

Euisik Yoon named IEEE Fellow for groundbreaking research in Bio-MEMS

Prof. Yoon’s research has contributed to a better understanding of the brain, as well as improved detection and treatment of cancer.

Zetian Mi named IEEE Fellow for his pioneering contributions to III-nitride photonics and clean energy

Prof. Mi’s research is impacting the future of alternative energy, as well as improved methods for water purification and air disinfection.

Mimicking a human fingertip's sensitivity and sense of direction for robotic applications

With the help of 1.6 million GaN nanopillars per sensor, the University of Michigan team was able to provide human-level sensitivity with directionality on a compact, easily manufactured system

Egg-carton-style patterning keeps charged nanoparticles in place and suitable for a wide range of applications

Prof. Jay Guo and his team discovered a scalable way to settle down and precisely arrange micro- and nano-sized particles according to size

Elaheh Ahmadi receives DARPA Young Faculty Award to support future sensor and communication systems

Ahmadi’s research is focused on using GaN and Ga2O3 materials to provide higher output power per unit area at higher frequencies.

$1 Million DARPA contract to empower the wireless systems of the future

Prof. Elaheh Ahmadi is working to design a new kind of semiconductor that can provide high power at high frequencies

Michigan startup MemryX, Inc. promises faster, cheaper AI processing

The ECE startup builds neuromorphic computer chips uniquely suitable for AI applications

Nanotech OLED electrode liberates 20% more light, could slash display power consumption

A five-nanometer-thick layer of silver and copper outperforms conventional indium tin oxide without adding cost.

Snails carrying the world's smallest computer help solve mass extinction survivor mystery

The study yields new insights into the survival of a native snail important to Tahitian culture and ecology and to biologists studying evolution, while proving the viability of similar studies of very small animals including insects

Dawn of nitride ferroelectric semiconductors for next-generation electronics

The ability to precisely tune electrical polarization switching through molecular beam epitaxy is a gamechanger

Profiles in ECE: Rucha Apte (MS ECE 2021)

From the internships that inspired her interest in signal & image processing and machine learning to late night study sessions at the Duderstadt to her background in classical dance, Master’s student Rucha Apte shares her journey with us.

ECE Lab Kit team recognized by the College of Engineering with the Team Staff Excellence Award

When the pandemic shut down in-person instruction, this six-member team created and delivered individual lab kits to 1,200 students around the world so hands-on lab experience could continue.

3D motion tracking system could streamline vision for autonomous tech

Transparent optical sensor arrays combine with a specialized neural network in new University of Michigan prototype

Pei Zhang solemnly swears that he’s up to some good

In a project he calls the “Marauder’s Map,” Prof. Zhang uses machine learning-based data models, physics models, and heuristic models to turn physical structures into sensing devices.

$6.25 million to develop new semiconductors for artificial photosynthesis

An interdisciplinary team from four universities are developing a new class of semiconductors for novel artificial photosynthesis and the production of clean chemicals and fuels using sunlight, as part of a DoD MURI

Research to advance low-power speech recognition highlighted by Intel

Michael Flynn and his group are applying their groundbreaking work in beamforming to the challenge of low-power on-chip speech recognition.

“Egg carton” quantum dot array could lead to ultralow power devices

By putting a twist on new “2D” semiconductors, researchers have demonstrated their potential for using single photons to transmit information.

Elaheh Ahmadi receives CAREER Award to improve efficiency in high power electrical systems

The research could improve efficiency in systems such as electric vehicles, grid systems, mass transit, and industrial automation

Demba Komma awarded Microsoft Research Ada Lovelace Fellowship for research on IoT localization technologies

Komma, a PhD student, is working to develop robust low powered localization technology for Artificial Intelligence enabled Internet of Things in locations where GPS is limited or blocked.

Mapping quantum structures with light to unlock their capabilities

Rather than installing new “2D” semiconductors in devices to see what they can do, this new method puts them through their paces with lasers and light detectors.

First digital single-chip millimeter-wave beamformer will exploit 5G capabilities

The digital beamforming chip offers significant advantages over current analog beamforming solutions.

Tracking Monarch Butterfly Migration with the World’s Smallest Computer

In a project funded by National Geographic, ECE researchers are teaming up with the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology to advance our understanding of monarch butterfly migration with the most ambitious iteration of the Michigan Micro Mote yet.

5G and ECE: Connecting the world

5G is a technology built on the work of electrical and computer engineers, and reliant on ECE research to fulfill its promise.

Burn after reading

A self-erasing chip for security and anti-counterfeit tech.

Coordination and collaboration are critical to U.S. leadership in plasma science: a Q&A with the Plasma 2020 Decadal Study co-chair

Plasma science has the potential to speed advances in medicine, energy, electronics and more—including helping us deal with pandemics.

Magna cum Laude Merit Award for research to detect the progress of diseases such as multiple sclerosis

The researchers’ imaging technique is fast, accurate, and reproducible

U-M startup SkyGig aims to take 5G to the next level

With new funding in the company, the hardtech startup is bringing revolutionary technologies to reshape mmWave wireless.

Full-color nano-LEDs for better, longer lasting LED performance

Research led by Prof. Zetian Mi to advance LEDs for high-efficiency, high-performance displays is recognized with the Distinguished Paper Award from the Society for Information Display.

Autonomous well monitoring solution recognized with a Best Innovators award

The WAND wireless sensor developed in a collaboration between Total, an oil & gas company, and the University of Michigan is revolutionizing well monitoring

U-M startup NS Nanotech unveils new generation of LEDs for high-efficiency, high-performance displays

Brighter, crisper screens that draw half the power and lasts twice as long are possible with NS Nanotech’s next-gen LEDs.

Making plastic more transparent while also adding electrical conductivity

Michigan Engineers change the game by making a conductive coating that’s also anti-reflective.

Battery-free sensor startup takes aim at industrial efficiency

Part of the team that brought us the world’s smallest computer in 2015 brings the future of computing technology into the present.

“Ultra low-power receivers for IoT applications” wins Outstanding Invited Paper

Prof. David Wentzloff’s paper examining the trends and techniques to achieve ultra-low power receivers was honored by the IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference

Elaheh Ahmadi receives ONR Young Investigator Award to prepare for the next generation of wireless technology

Prof. Ahmadi will contribute to the science and technology of efficient, high-frequency, high-power transistors for 5G and beyond

Zhanni Wu awarded Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship

Wu is working on advanced metasurfaces, which could help next-generation wireless communication, commercial and military radar systems, imaging, and antenna systems.

Small, precise and affordable gyroscope for navigating without GPS

Accurate gyroscopes are a bottleneck for backup navigation systems in autonomous vehicles.

Hessam Mahdavifar receives CAREER award to empower next gen communication

Mahdavifar is preparing for a future of billions of connected devices and an unprecedented increase in mobile traffic.

Best paper award for optimizing wireless power transfer

Prof. Al-Thaddeus Avestruz and PhD student Xin Zan were honored at the IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition for their work improving the efficiency and reliability of wireless power transfer.

David Blaauw named Kensall D. Wise Collegiate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Blaauw’s innovations in low-power computing led to development of the Michigan Micro Mote, the world’s smallest computer.

A 3D camera for safer autonomy and advanced biomedical imaging

Researchers demonstrated the use of stacked, transparent graphene photodetectors combined with image processing algorithms to produce 3D images and range detection.

Hun-Seok Kim receives CAREER Award to facilitate Internet of Things connectivity

Kim takes an interdisciplinary approach to tackle challenges in heterogeneous classes of energy-efficient and versatile communication systems.

‘Green methane’ from artificial photosynthesis could recycle CO2

A catalyst on a solar panel can make methane, the main component of natural gas, with carbon dioxide, water and sunlight.

Creating a place where kids of all abilities can play together

Prof. Hun-Seok Kim helped design iGYM, an augmented reality system that allows disabled and able-bodied people to play physical games together.

Enabling large-scale testing of cancer drugs with machine learning

Prof. Euisik Yoon and his team developed a new machine learning tool that enables large-scale testing of cancer drug effectiveness with microfluidics.

Beyond Moore’s Law: taking transistor arrays into the third dimension

Thin film transistors stacked on top of a state-of-the-art silicon chip could help shrink electronics while improving performance.

Wireless Communication Under the Sea

U-M researchers have created a new means of enabling reliable wireless underwater communication, which could aid military, environmental, and conservation purposes.

Elaheh Ahmadi receives AFOSR Young Investigator Program award

Prof. Ahmadi will investigate promising new materials needed for an increasingly electrified world

Jamie Phillips named Director of the Lurie Nanofabrication Facility

Phillips – who specializes in optoelectronic devices for next generation infrared detectors, solar cells, and thin film electronics – shares his goals for the 13,500 sq. ft. state-of-the-art cleanroom facility.

Two ‘U’ researchers receive Distinguished University Innovator Award

The Michigan Daily profiles Professors David Blaauw and Dennis Sylvester, who are this year’s recipients of the 2019 Distinguished University Innovator Award.

Blaauw, Sylvester are 2019 Distinguished University Innovators

Pioneering computer technology that is spurring innovation and disruption across industries has earned David Blaauw and Dennis Sylvester, professors of electrical engineering and computer science, this year’s Distinguished University Innovator Award.

Channel Coding for Next Generation 5G and Beyond

With the help of two NSF awards totaling $1.7m, Prof. Hessam Mahdavifar is tackling new problems to improve the reliability of communication systems for 5G and beyond.

The new quantum spurs action by the Michigan Quantum Science & Technology Working Group

The new working group showcased Michigan’s strength in Quantum Science at a workshop attended by researchers throughout the University of Michigan.

First programmable memristor computer aims to bring AI processing down from the cloud

Circuit elements that store information in their electrical resistances enable a brain-like form of computing, storing and processing information in the same place.

Afshari group receives Best Invited Paper award at the 2019 IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference

Terahertz and sub-terahertz imaging can provide superior results in some biomedical imaging, spectroscopy, and water saturation detection.

A high-efficiency GaAs solar cell to power the Internet of Tiny Things

The Michigan Micro Mote gets a new gallium arsenide solar cell for added power and adaptability.

SLAM-ming good hardware for drone navigation

Researchers built the first visual SLAM processor on a single chip that provides highly accurate, low-power, and real-time results.

Blood biopsy: New technique enables detailed genetic analysis of cancer cells

Capturing cancer cells from blood samples offers a non-invasive way to observe whether the cancer is disappearing or whether it is becoming resistant to the treatment.

Communicating with the world’s smallest computers

Researchers built the first millimeter-scale transmitter and antenna that can talk Bluetooth Low Energy with ease.

Biopsy alternative: “Wearable” device captures cancer cells from blood

New device caught more than three times as many cancer cells as conventional blood draw samples.

A new $1.6M energy project to develop low cost manufacturing of white organic lighting

Prof. Stephen Forrest is developing an automated high-yield roll-to-roll process to manufacture organic LEDs for lighting.

More efficient machine vision technology modeled on human vision

Prof. Robert Dick and advisee Ekdeep Singh Lubana developed a new technique that significantly improves the efficiency of machine vision applications

Toward brain-like computing: New memristor better mimics synapses

Competition and cooperation, which regulate the strengthening and weakening of connections in the brain, can now be modeled directly.

Miniature satellites to maximize global communication

Havel Liu is working on a project to revolutionize satellite systems, improving communications during natural disasters and providing a blueprint for receiving future interplanetary voicemails

A new company, Omniscent, is sniffing out dangerous levels of toxic chemicals in the air

Subscription service offers real-time monitoring

U-M researchers develop small device that bends light to generate new radiation

This device, the size of a match head, can bend light inside a crystal to generate synchrotron radiation in a lab.

It takes two photonic qubits to make quantum computing possible

Professors Ku and Steel are applying their expertise to take key next steps toward practical quantum computing

Conducting an orchestra of sensor nodes

Keeping time in the Internet of Things with frequency scaling

Solving impossible equations

Eric Michielssen has discovered a new way to rapidly analyze electromagnetic phenomena, and it’s catching on.

Blue Sky and Research Accelerator Initiatives fund solar fuel and high-power research

Memory-processing unit (MPU) could bring memristors to the masses

AI, weather forecasting and data science would all benefit from computers that store and process data in the same place. Memristors could be up to the task.

Beyond Moore’s law: $16.7M for advanced computing projects

DARPA’s initiative to reinvigorate the microelectronics industry draws deeply on Michigan Engineering expertise.

Michigan chips will be first to test next-generation hardware design tools

U-M team will serve as model for nimble and innovative system-on-chip design.

A new hybrid chip that can change its own wiring

The speedy and efficient system-on-chip could unify wireless communication.

Enabling anyone to design hardware with a new open-source tool

Six-month hardware design process will be turned into 24-hour automated task.

Hun-Seok Kim receives DARPA Young Faculty Award to advance research in IoT networks

Kim’s research is expected to impact the future design and wireless operation of the next generation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices

An even smaller world’s smallest ‘computer’

The latest from IBM and now the University of Michigan is redefining what counts as a computer at the microscale.

How to color-code nearly invisible nanoparticles

With a bit of metal, nanoparticles shine in colors based on size.

Light could make semiconductor computers a million times faster or even go quantum

Electron states in a semiconductor, set and changed with pulses of light, could be the 0 and 1 of future “lightwave” electronics or room-temperature quantum computers.

Solar cells enable self-powered camera

A solar cell combined with a camera sensor collects photons to provide electricity.

Semiconductor breakthrough may be game-changer for organic solar cells

Buildings, clothing could generate power.

A shoe-box-sized chemical detector

Powered by a broadband infrared laser, the device can zero in on the ‘spectral fingerprint region’.

New quick-learning neural network powered by memristors

U-M researchers created a reservoir computing system that reduces training time and improves capacity of similar neural networks.

Seed-sized U-M computers pumped into oil wells featured at the Houston Museum of Natural Science

Millimeter-sized computers log the temperature and pressure from deep within oil wells.

U-M, Cavium partner on Big Data research computing platform

The new partnership will provide scalable storage and an analytic software framework available to all U-M researchers.

Cooling off with lasers

Lasers are typically thought of as hot. What if they were able to cool?

$7.75M for mapping circuits in the brain

A new NSF Tech Hub will put tools to rapidly advance our understanding of the brain into the hands of neuroscientists.

Next-gen computing inspired by biology

New memristor chips can see patterns over pixels.

Transparent Silver: Tarnish-proof films for flexible displays, touch screens, metamaterials

A little silver goes a long way to improving touchscreens, displays, and much more

Ultrashort light pulses for fast “lightwave” computers

Extremely short, configurable “femtosecond” pulses of light demonstrated by an international team could lead to future computers that run up to 100,000 times faster than today’s electronics.

Michigan’s millimeter-scale computers featured at ISSCC2017, and in IEEE Spectrum

Professors Blaauw and Sylvester showcase capabilities of tiny computing

Becky Peterson receives NSF CAREER Award for research in amorphous semiconductors for next generation electronics

In this project, Prof. Peterson will develop new alloys of amorphous oxide semiconductors with precisely tuned semiconductor energy band structures, in order to enable new categories of electronic and opto-electronic devices.

A fantastic voyage: ERC for WIMS

The first-ever Engineering Research Center in Wireless Integrated Microsensing and Systems has forged advances in many fields.

Ushering in the next generation of flat-panel displays and medical imagers

Prof. Kanicki expects breakthroughs in both the flat-panel display and imager industries using his-ITZO TFT technology in the near future.

CubeWorks: Solving problems with the world’s smallest and lowest-power computers

Cubeworks receives its first external funding to manufacture millimeter-scale computing devices

The Michigan Probe: Changing the Course of Brain Research

Some believed early Michigan brain researchers were engaging in “science fiction” – until development of an advanced tool for forging breakthroughs proved them wrong.

Parag Deotare receives AFOSR Award for research in Nanoscale Exciton-Mechanical Systems (NEXMS)

Prof. Deotare’s work will deepen our understanding of the underlying physics of exciton-mechanics interactions and help engineer novel devices for energy harvesting and up-conversion.

Leaders in neuroscience look to the future

ICAN bring engineers and neuroscientists together to review the recent advancement in neurotechnology and neuroscience, define the need for next-generation tools, and enhance the translation of technology to the scientific community.

Injectable computers can broadcast from inside the body

This platform has enabled a variety of sensors that can fit inside the human body, made possible by several breakthroughs in ultra-low power computing.

Injectable computers

With a radio specifically designed to communicate through tissue, researchers from the Electrical and Computer Engineering are adding another level to a computer platform small enough to fit inside a medical grade syringe.

Novel collaboration to probe brain activity in unprecedented detail

A pilot program will bring together researchers from different universities to collaborate on advancing research that may lead to a better understanding of the human brain.

Making Memory Smaller, Better, Faster, Stronger

Prof. Wei Lu and former student Dr. Sung Hyun Jo co-founded Crossbar, Inc. to tackle the physical limitations of conventional memory technology.

Lights Out

The power goes out. The aurorae stretch to the tropics. Could a major solar storm mean a year without electricity?

Emmett Leith (1927 - 2005)

Inventor of Practical Holography

A better 3D camera with clear, graphene light detectors

While 3D films are currently made using multiple cameras to reconstruct each frame, this new type of camera could record in 3D on its own.

MBus is the missing interconnect for millimeter-scale systems

The M3 is a fully autonomous computing system that acts as a smart sensing system.

Necmiye Ozay receives CAREER award for research in cyber-physical systems

Cyber-physical systems are smart, networked systems with embedded sensors, processors, and actuators that are designed to interact with the physical world.

Googling the physical world

IoT applications are the next wave of computing and the next driving force of the semiconductor industry. The startup PsiKick [now Everactive] is helping shape this future.

Mapping the brain: probes with tiny LEDs shed light on neural pathways

The new probes can control and record the activity of many individual neurons, and are believed to be the smallest implantable LEDs ever made.

$5M for international neurotechnology “dream team”

A “dream team” of experts in sensors, electronics, data analysis and neuroscience has been awarded a $5 million grant to help unravel the mysteries of the brain and cross-train a group of internationally-connected neuroscientists and engineers.

Layered graphene beats the heat

An international team of researchers, led by faculty at the University of Michigan, have found that a layered form of graphene can expel heat efficiently, which is an important feature for its potential applications in building small and powerful electronics.

Art-inspired solar cells

Kirigami could be the key to flat, lightweight solar cells that can track the sun across the sky.

New Michigan-Saudi Arabia collaboration promises exciting new research – beginning with the auto industry

KACST will provide manpower and will collaborate with Michigan faculty and students on their projects.

What makes cancer cells spread? New device offers clues

Why do some cancer cells break away from a tumor and travel to distant parts of the body? A team of oncologists and engineers from the University of Michigan teamed up to help understand this crucial question.

Mobile Friendly – apps to improve life

Technology continues to transform the health care industry, and researchers at the University have utilized mobile apps to expand the impact of their work.

Elnaz Ansari earns Towner Prize for Distinguished Academic Achievement

Her research interests include analog, digital, and mixed-signal designs.

Michigan Micro Mote (M3) makes history as the world’s smallest computer

A brief history of what led to the technical feat known as the Michigan Micro Mote, a tiny speck of a computer that does it all.

Wei Lu editor of new book – Semiconductor Nanowires: From Next-Generation Electronics to Sustainable Energy

The book is part of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Smart Materials series.

Student Spotlight: Kyusang Lee: A leader in flexible solar cell technology

Kyusang developed an innovative new fabrication technique to build lightweight, flexible devices not possible with conventional silicon.

Becky Peterson awarded DARPA Young Faculty Award to investigate new materials for power semiconductor devices

Prof. Peterson’s findings could be used in wireless sensing and actuation systems, including those that deal with monitoring of the environment and medical conditions.

Mapping the brain with lasers

Yoon is leading a team that will design new light sources with lasers capable of zooming in on individual neuron circuits within the brain.

Student Spotlight: Tal Nagourney – Exploring navigation

Tal is researching fabrication techniques for a micro rate-integrating gyroscope, using a vacuum mold and blowtorch.

Fighting lung cancer: Faster image processing for low-radiation CT scans

This advance could be important for fighting lung cancers, as symptoms often appear too late for effective treatment.

Wakefield and Kieras win Best Paper Award at ICAD 2014

The paper addresses how to manage multiple sources so that the user can maximize the information gained from each acoustic source.

Metal particles in solids aren’t as fixed as they seem, new memristor study shows

The findings show, for the first time, exactly how some memristors remember.

A new way to make laser-like beams using 250x less power

With precarious particles called polaritons that straddle the worlds of light and matter, University of Michigan researchers have demonstrated a new, practical and potentially more efficient way to make a coherent laser-like beam.

Leaders in ultra low power cicuits and systems presenting at VLSI Circuits Symposium

All of the research being presented focuses on getting the absolute best performance from the tiniest circuits, sensors, and electronic devices.

New tech could lead to night vision contact lenses

The detector developed by University of Michigan engineering researchers doesn’t need bulky cooling equipment to work.

Transparent color solar cells fuse energy, beauty

The cells, believed to be the first semi-transparent, colored photovoltaics, have the potential to vastly broaden the use of the energy source.

What are quantum computers going to do for us?

Michigan Engineering professor Duncan Steel explains how quantum computing works, using quantum bits that take on superpositions of 0 and 1 simultaneously.

Making the Internet of Things happen

Wentzloff aims to remove the necessity of a power outlet or even a battery to power miniature sensors.

Image processing 1,000 times faster is goal of new $5M contract

Lu plans to design and fabricate a computer chip based on so-called self-organizing, adaptive neural networks.

Faster, more powerful mobile devices: U-M startup Crossbar could disrupt the memory market

RRAM is a new form of nonvolatile memory that has the potential to replace the flash memory commonly used in tablets, digital cameras and solid-state drives.

When GPS fails, this speck of an electronic device could step in

The research group developed special fabrication processes that allows them to stack and bond seven different devices in layers.

A new laser paradigm: An electrically injected polariton laser

“It is no longer a scientific curiosity. It’s a real device.”

Advancing secure communications: A better single-photon emitter for quantum cryptography

The new device improves upon the current technology and is much easier to make.

Researchers funded to develop a leap forward in Processor Architectures

The project proposes to produce a parallel heterogeneous 3D near-threshold computing system with unprecedented energy efficiency.

Scientific Milestone: A room temperature Bose-Einstein condensate

A BEC is an unusual state of matter in which a group of boson particles can exist in a single quantum state, allowing scientists to observe novel quantum phenomena.

Next-Gen E-Readers: Improved peacock technology could lock in color for high-res displays

Prof. Jay Guo found a way to lock in structural color, which is color made with texture rather than chemicals. The research could lead to advanced color e-readers, more energy efficient electronic devices, and improved data storage and cryptography.

David Wentzloff receives CAREER Award for research in energy-autonomous systems

His research addresses critical needs in the area of wireless communication for the growing field of ubiquitous, energy-autonomous sensing devices.

Zhaohui Zhong receives CAREER Award for research in graphene-based optoelectronics

The use of graphene-based hot carrier optoelectronics is the key novelty of Prof. Zhong’s research.

Super-fine sound beam could one day be an invisible scalpel

“We believe this could be used as an invisible knife for noninvasive surgery,” Guo said. “Nothing pokes into your body, just the ultrasound beam.”

James McCullagh receives Best Student Paper Award for research to keep bridges safe

McCullagh is working to develop energy harvesting devices and circuits to power wireless sensor nodes which can monitor bridge health.

Seunghyun Lee takes the gold for all-graphene flexible and transparent circuit

Lee believes that graphene will play a pivotal role in realizing high speed, mechanically compliant, and transparent electronic systems in the future.

Nathan Roberts earns Best Paper Award for research to assist in remote patient monitoring

Roberts is helping to develop low-power sensor nodes that will be worn on the body to detect certain medical conditions.

Developing the wireless component for personalized health devices

The program aims to create wearable systems that monitor a person’s environment and health in search of connections between pollutants and chronic diseases.

Combining flexible, transparent electronics with high speed communications for the first time

Prof. Zhaohui Zhong and his team of graduate students have built the first flexible, transparent digital modulator for high speed communications.

UG Research Spotlight: Fred Buhler spends his summer improving circuit testing

The project involved designing new boards and writing test software, as well as writing software to control instruments and some integrated circuit design.

Kensall D. Wise: Michigan, MEMS and Microsystems

This retrospective of Kensall D. Wise, William G. Dow Distinguished University Professor Emeritus, provides a view of how he built a world-class program in MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS).

Nano-origami project combines art and engineering to further technology

With an origami-like approach, manufacturers could use existing machinery to make high-tech “paper” that can be folded into the desired device.

Student Research: Amit Patel earns prize in IEEE AP-S Student Paper Competition for antenna research

The method can be useful in the design of low-profile antennas integrated into body panels of vehicles.

Research Spotlight: Sensors and actuators for portable microsystems

Though a number of research challenges remain to realize the potential of microdischarge-based devices, the authors’ work demonstrates their promise.

Artificial synapses could lead to advanced computer memory and machines that mimic biological brains

“This hybrid circuit is a critical advance in developing intelligent machines.”

Next-generation computer memory firm receives U-Ms first startup investment

Crossbar is developing a new nonvolatile memory technology that will offer unprecedented density and power improvements in tomorrow’s electronics.

A smarter way to make ultraviolet light beams

The researchers have optimized an optical resonator to take an infrared signal from relatively cheap telecommunication-compatible lasers and boost it to an ultraviolet beam.

‘Perfect black’ coating can render a 3D object flat, raises intriguing dark veil possibility in astronomy

The carbon nanotube carpet is about half the thickness of a sheet of paper and absorbs 99.9 percent of the light that hits it.

David Blaauw Elected Fellow of the IEEE

Prof. Blaauw was a core member of the Michigan team that developed the award-winning circuit known as Razor in 2003.

New method for building a low-cost, high-performance electric machine and drive could result in huge energy savings

Prof. Hofmann intends to design, build and test a 30kW brushless, self-excited synchronous field winding prototype machine that overcomes the weaknesses of the current technology.

Colored solar cells could make display screens more efficient

Professor Jay Guo has developed the reflective photovoltaic color filter device that can convert absorbed light to electricity.

Laura Freyman awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

Freyman is studying Electrical Engineering and is a member of the Michigan Integrated Circuits Laboratory.

Powering breakthrough technologies

Ambiq Micro could revolutionize ubiquitous computing, with energy-efficient microcontrollers that are 10 times more energy efficient than conventional microprocessors.

New laser could treat acne with telecom technology

The laser could treat acne by targeting the oil-producing sebaceous glands, which are known to be involved in the development of the skin disease.

Making smart dust a reality

This research is expected to have a fundamental and long term impact on a diverse set of applications ranging from energy conservation to health care.

Using imprint processing to mass-produce tiny antennas could improve wireless electronics

The antenna is typically the largest wireless component in mobile devices, and shrinking it could leave more room for other gadgets and features.

A minimally-invasive brain implant to translate thoughts into movement

The implant is called the BioBolt, and unlike other neural interface technologies that establish a connection from the brain to an external device such as a computer, it’s minimally invasive and low power.

Most powerful millimeter-scale energy harvester generates electricity from vibrations

The researchers have built a complete system that integrates a high-quality energy-harvesting piezoelectric material with the circuitry that makes the power accessible.

Toward computers that fit on a pen tip: New technologies usher in the millimeter-scale computing era

U-M faculty have developed what is believed to be the first complete millimeter-scale computing system, with applications in radio communication and wireless sensing.

Xi Chen and Prof. Robert Dick receive DATE Best Paper Award

The authors analyzed performance and accuracy for a variety of dynamic thermal analysis techniques and used their findings to develop a new analysis technique. Congratulations!

Paving the way for ubiquitous computing

Until now, ubiquitous computing has been hampered by the size of necessary batteries—but Ambiq Micro is changing that, with their energy-efficient micro-controllers.

New equation could advance research in solar cells

A groundbreaking new equation could do for organic semiconductors what the Shockley ideal diode equation did for inorganic semiconductors.

Laser-based missile defense for helicopters being developed

Protecting helicopters in combat from heat-seeking missiles is the goal of new laser technology created at the University of Michigan and Omni Sciences, Inc., which is a U-M spin-off company.

Zhengya Zhang earns Best Paper Award at Symposium on VLSI Circuits

The resulting 65nm CMOS test chip achieved an energy efficiency of 21 pJ/bit making it a promising candidate for low-power, high-performance applications.

Ambiq Micro: Taking a startup to the next level

“Imagine a microprocessor so tiny and long lasting that it can be implanted in the eye of a glaucoma sufferer to measure the progress of the disease.”

Millimeter-scale, energy-harvesting sensor system developed

The system could enable new biomedical implants as well as home-, building- and bridge-monitoring devices.

Mini generators make energy from random ambient vibrations

The energy-harvesting devices are highly efficient at providing renewable electrical power from arbitrary, non-periodic vibrations.

Duncan Steel will advance quantum information processes in new MURI

Steel will concentrate his efforts on solid state systems, specifically with epitaxially grown InAs/lGaAs semiconductor quantum dots.

Sensing Sensors: NSF Funding News Ways to Monitor Infrastructure for Safety

The program aims to develop revolutionary wireless sensor node, optimized for infrastructure monitoring.

EECS researchers receive Best Paper Award at ISLPED

The paper explores logic and memory circuit topologies for a new type of transistor in development at IBM.

Smart bridges under development with new grant

The monitoring system will collect data from surface and penetrating sensors, then wirelessly relay the information to an inspector on site or miles away.

University of Michigan Office of Technology to showcase inventions

Guo’s computer chip imprinter is one of more than 300 inventions that researchers disclosed last year to U-M’s Technology Transfer office.

Microchip sets low-power record with extreme sleep mode

The Phoenix Processor uses 30,000 times less power in sleep mode and 10 times less in active mode than comparable chips now on the market.

Jamie Phillips receives Young Faculty Award