Fluidic Self Assembly and the Network of Things

Sangtae Kim
Donald W. Feddersen Distinguished Professor
Purdue University

Date: Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Wednesday, February 1, 2006
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Place: Engineering II, Room 3361

ABSTRACT

Fluidic Self Assembly (FSA) is a novel, cost-effective process for the integration of electrical, optical and mechanical devices, with examples including compound semiconductor devices on silicon substrates (e.g. communication lasers), silicon devices on glass or plastic substrates (pixel drivers for liquid crystal displays) and assembly of radio frequency ID (RFID) devices for auto identification. From a fundamental viewpoint, FSA is simply a “hydrodynamic steering” mechanism for guiding devices into complementary clefts etched in a substrate. Near-term opportunities for RFID in the world of supply chain optimization have rekindled interest in a collection of fundamental problems in fluid dynamics that are longstanding activities of the speaker. The balancing of “curiosity-driven” research and applied technology deployment is illustrated in the form of a computational strategy for modeling of fluidic self assembly including particle-particle and particle-cleft interactions in the presence of sharp corners and edges.