Laboratory staff have developed a fabric that is woven with microstructured photonic bandgap polymer fibers.

Advanced Materials and Microsystems

We work at the convergence of materials science and micro- and nanoscale engineering to develop microsystems with novel functionality. We develop materials, microfabrication processes, and multifunctional microsystems, with the aim to leverage properties at the small scale in everything we do. Our activities range from forming metamaterials and phase-change materials, to integrating optoelectronic devices in unusual form factors such as fibers and fabrics, to developing microfluidic devices based on electrowetting, to creating new materials and new processes for 3D printing. Our application space is equally broad: it encompasses low-cost picosatellites fabricated in a silicon foundry, advanced fibers that can sense and communicate and be woven into clothing, energy-efficient microhydraulic actuators for micro-robotics, optofluidics for enhanced eyewear, and energy storage and energy harvesting components. Our high-impact work is enabled by the Microelectronics Laboratory, the Defense Fabric Discovery Center, and other cleanroom facilities at the Laboratory.

Featured Projects

a researcher looks through a small window on a large metal multichambered molecular beam epitaxy tool.
advanced materials
A new approach to materials discovery aims to expedite the process of deploying new materials for specific mission needs.
a wire in wound up in a spool. The wire appears to be cooper and has red LEDs lit up throughout it.
microelectronics
A small, low-cost system that leverages long-length fibers embedded with electronics could provide persistent monitoring of the undersea environment.
Three step progression of material in self repair, from cracked, to processing, to fully repaired.
advanced materials
New materials that are chemically inspired by nature could be tailored at the molecular level to dissipate vibrations in microsystems. Materials that can survive repeated external stresses could enable a next generation of enhanced microsystems.
A zoomed-in view of a metal nozzle shooting a stream of orange onto a metal surface, and a nozzle shooting a stream of purple at the orange stream of material.
advanced materials
A novel method for manufacturing interconnects could open the door for 3D-printed microelectronic systems.

Advancing Our Research

Featured Publications

Multilayer microhydraulic actuators with speed and force configurations

Mar 11
Microsyst. Nanoeng., Vol. 7, Art. No. 22, 2021.

Antennas and RF components designed with graded index composite materials

Jul 27
2020 Intnl. Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society Symp., ACES, 27-31 July 2020.

Analog coupled oscillator based weighted Ising machine

Oct 15
Sci. Rep., Vol. 9, No. 1, 15 October 2019, 14786.

Our Staff

View the biographies of members of the Advanced Materials and Microsystems Group.