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Found in everything from space shuttles to dental fillings, composite materials have thoroughly infiltrated modern society. But their potential is still greatly untapped, offering researchers ample opportunity for discovery.
Within the particle showers created at the Large Hadron Collider, answers to some of the universe’s mysteries are waiting.
Model systems like pigeons can help illuminate our own evolutionary and genomic history.
UT Arlington's tiny windmills are bringing renewable energy to a whole new scale.
The stability of our highways, pipelines, and even manholes is reaching a breaking point.
Scientists believe they have discovered a subatomic particle that is crucial to understanding the universe.
UT Arlington researchers unlock clues to the human body’s most mysterious and complex organ.
UT Arlington researchers probe the hidden world of microbes in search of renewable energy sources.
Wounded soldiers are benefiting from Robert Gatchel’s program that combines physical rehabilitation with treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Tiny sensors implanted in the body show promise in combating acid reflux disease, pain and other health problems.
Nanotechnology researchers pursue hybrid silicon chips with life-saving potential.
Biomedical engineers combat diseases with procedures that are painless to patients.
Weidong Zhou
In the electronics industry, size definitely matters. And Weidong Zhou's research is taking that maxim to the next level.
The electrical engineering professor is developing a new type of ultra-thin semiconductor laser, one that can be integrated—with increased capacity and energy-efficiency—into mainstream electronics on the same silicon substrate.
"Companies like IBM and Intel are using this technology for high-performance computing centers," says Dr. Zhou. "The big push now is for the next big thing: smaller, faster, and less and less power consumption."
The U.S. Army Research Office awarded a three-year, $600,000 grant to Zhou and co-principal investigator Yuze "Alice" Sun, an electrical engineering assistant professor, to build on advances already made in printed photonic crystals and silicon "lab-on-a-chip" technology.
Zhou's membrane laser is less than one micron thick and is compatible with planar Complementary Metal Oxide Silicon platforms, which are considered the building blocks for electronics because they can easily be integrated with current platforms. He believes that by incorporating certain compound semiconductor materials with a silicon photonic crystal cavity, a laser may be built directly on a silicon chip next to other electrical components, resulting in increased speed and efficiency.
"We are looking for devices and components to be integrated on a chip," Zhou says. "As we address electrical injection, integration with other devices on the chip, and increased power capabilities, we can begin to apply this technology to products in the medical field or the consumer arena."
UTA hosts gathering of global physicists involved in the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment
Finding viable, affordable energy sources is of preeminent importance in today’s society. Researchers at UTA are making breakthroughs that may help transform the way we consume and generate power.
