NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute (EAPSI) for FY 2013 in Taiwan

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This action funds Spyridon Pavlidis of the Georgia Institute of Technology to conduct a research project in Engineering during the summer of 2013 at the National Chiao Tung University in Hsinchu, Taiwan. The project title is "Stability Enhancement of Roll-to-Roll Printed InGaZnO Thin Film Transistors on Flexible Plastic Substrates." The host scientist is Prof. Bing-Yue Tsui.The intellectual merit of this work is to enhance the stability of indium gallium zinc oxide (InGaZnO) thin film transistors (TFTs) on flexible, low-cost plastic substrates using roll-to-roll manufacturing techniques so that they can be deployed in TFT-based biochemical sensor arrays. Electrical stability is of particular importance in a field-effect transistor (FET) chemical sensor since intrinsic drift of the reference drain current can lead to false positives as well as compromised limits of detection. In addition to optimizing the fabrication steps, through the use of advanced bias techniques, such as bipolar pulsed biasing, the mechanisms of bias stress and recovery are being explored in detail, giving rise to a firmer grasp of the device physics at play. This, in turn, helps suggest which bias schemes are suitable for deployment of such devices as chemical sensors. Moreover, the issues of single device performance, wide-area reproducibility and system integration are all being considered on a large scale as a function of these advanced printing methods. Broader impacts of an EAPSI fellowship include providing the Fellow a first-hand research experience outside the U.S.; an introduction to the science, science policy, and scientific infrastructure of the respective location; and an orientation to the society, culture and language. These activities meet the NSF goal to educate for international collaborations early in the career of its scientists, engineers, and educators, thus ensuring a globally aware U.S. scientific workforce. Furthermore, to address the need for a highly-skilled workforce in the U.S., the Fellow intends to study how primary, secondary and higher educational institutions in Taiwan have contributed to shaping the public's perception of engineering and have permitted the country to become an international leader in the semiconductor and foundry industries. Lastly, with the imminent introduction of InGaZnO TFT-based flexible displays to the market in mind, the simultaneous development of biochemical sensors using the same technology as a result of this EAPSI fellowship could lead to an exciting marriage that profoundly changes the ways that humans interact with portable devices, such as watches and mobile phones; thus giving way to the formation of new enterprises and economic stimulation in the future.