Evan Baker

Numerical and experimental investigation of light trapping effect of nanostructured diatom frustules

Recent advances in nanophotonic light-trapping technologies offer promising solutions in developing high-efficiency thin-film solar cells. However, the cost-effective scalable manufacturing of those rationally designed nanophotonic structures remains a critical challenge. In contrast, diatoms, the most common type of phytoplankton found in nature, may offer a very attractive solution. Diatoms exhibit high solar energy harvesting efficiency due to their frustules (i.e., hard porous cell wall made of silica) possessing remarkable hierarchical micro-/nano-scaled features optimized for the photosynthetic process through millions of years of evolution. Here we report numerical and experimental studies to investigate the light-trapping characteristic of diatom frustule. Rigorous coupled wave analysis (RCWA) and finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) methods are employed to investigate the light-trapping characteristics of the diatom frustules. In simulation, placing the diatom frustules on the surface of the light-absorption materials is found to strongly enhance the optical absorption over the visible spectrum. The absorption spectra are also measured experimentally and the results are in good agreement with numerical simulations.

Topology optimization and fabrication of low frequency vibration energy harvesting microdevices

Topological design of miniaturized resonating structures capable of harvesting electrical energy from low frequency environmental mechanical vibrations encounters a particular physical challenge, due to the conflicting design requirements: low resonating frequency and miniaturization. In this paper structural static stiffness to resist undesired lateral deformation is included into the objective function, to prevent the structure from degenerating and forcing the solution to be manufacturable. The rational approximation of material properties interpolation scheme is introduced to deal with the problems of local vibration and instability of the low density area induced by the design dependent body forces. Both density and level set based topology optimization (TO) methods are investigated in their parameterization, sensitivity analysis, and applicability for low frequency energy harvester TO problems. Continuum based variation formulations for sensitivity analysis and the material derivative based shape sensitivity analysis are presented for the density method and the level set method, respectively; and their similarities and differences are highlighted. An external damper is introduced to simulate the energy output of the resonator due to electrical damping and the Rayleigh proportional damping is used for mechanical damping. Optimization results for different scenarios are tested to illustrate the influences of dynamic and static loads. To demonstrate manufacturability, the designs are built to scale using a 3D microfabrication method and assembled into vibration energy harvester prototypes. The fabricated devices based on the optimal results from using different TO techniques are tested and compared with the simulation results. The structures obtained by the level set based TO method require less post-processing before fabrication and the structures obtained by the density based TO method have resonating frequency as low as 100 Hz. The electrical voltage response in the experiment matches the trend of the simulation data.

Microstereolithography of Three-Dimensional Polymeric Springs for Vibration Energy Harvesting

The inefficiency in converting low frequency vibration (6~240 Hz) to electrical energy remains a key issue for miniaturized vibration energy harvesting devices. To address this subject, this paper reports on the novel, three-dimensional micro-fabrication of spring elements within such devices, in order to achieve resonances and maximum energy conversion within these common frequencies. The process, known as projection microstereolithography, is exploited to fabricate polymer-based springs direct from computer-aided designs using digital masks and ultraviolet-curable resins. Using this process, a micro-spring structure is fabricated consisting of a two-by-two array of three-dimensional, constant-pitch helical coils made from 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate. Integrating the spring structure into an electromagnetic device, with a magnetic load mass of 1.236 grams, the resonance is measured at 61 Hz, which is within 2% of the theoretical model. The device provides a maximum normalized power output of 9.14 μW/G ( ms−2) and an open circuit normalized voltage output of 621 mV/G. To the best of the authors knowledge, notable features of this work include the lowest Young’s modulus (530 MPa), density (1.011 g/cm3), and “largest feature size” (3.4 mm) for a spring element in a vibration energy harvesting device with sub-100 Hz resonance.

Process development for high-resolution 3D-printing of bioresorbable vascular stents

The recent development of “continuous projection microstereolithography” also known as CLIP technology has successfully alleviated the main obstacles surrounding 3D printing technologies: production speed and part quality. Following the same working principle, we further developed the μCLIP process to address the needs for high-resolution 3D printing of biomedical devices with micron-scale precision. Compared to standard stereolithography (SLA) process, μCLIP fabrication can reduce fabrication time from several hours to as little as a few minutes. μCLIP can also produce better surface finish and more uniform mechanical properties than conventional SLA, as each individual “fabrication layer” continuously polymerizes into the subsequent layer. In this study, we report the process development in manufacturing high-resolution bioresorbable stents using our own μCLIP system. The bioresorbable photopolymerizable biomaterial (B-ink) used in this study is methacrylated poly(1, 12 dodecamethylene citrate) (mPDC). Through optimization of our μCLIP process and concentration of B-ink components, we have created a customizable bioresorbable stent with similar mechanical properties exhibited by nitinol stents. Upon optimization, fabricating a 2 cm tall vascular stent that comprises 4000 layers was accomplished in 26.5 minutes.

Material property manipulation of photopolymer vibration energy harvesters

The inefficiency in converting naturally occurring vibration frequencies (sub-100 Hz) to electrical energy continues to be a major obstacle for miniaturized vibration energy harvesters. In a recent work, we addressed this issue by introducing photopolymer-based designs, using projection microstereolithography which exhibited 61 Hz resonant frequencies due to low elastic moduli and low flexural rigidity using a three-dimensional, helical coil design. In this paper, we extend upon those findings to report on a post-process technique which uses ultraviolet exposure time to manipulate the material properties of photopolymer-based vibration energy harvesters. The results show with 1–3 minutes of post-exposure, an effective elastic modulus variation from 399–904 MPa and a parasitic damping change from 0.0595–0.0986 kgs−1. Likewise, resonant frequency shifts of 53.5–805 Hz and power output increase from 56.5 to 120.4 μW (when excited at a constant acceleration of 6.06±0.06 ms−2) are achieved, without geometry changes and using the same photopolymer material.Copyright

Design of mechanical metamaterials for simultaneous vibration isolation and energy harvesting

Through finite element analysis and a 3D printing assisted experimental study, we demonstrate a design of mechanical metamaterials for simultaneous mechanical wave filtering and energy harvesting. The mechanical metamaterials compromise a square array of free-standing cantilevers featuring piezoelectric properties being attached to a primary structural frame. A complete bandgap has thus been created via the strong coupling of the bulk elastic wave propagating along the structural frame and the distributed local resonance associated with the square array of piezoelectrically active cantilevers. Operating within the stop-band, external vibration energy has been trapped and transferred into the kinetic energy of the cantilevers, which is further converted into electric energy through mechano-electrical conversion of its integrated piezoelectric elements. Therefore, two distinct functions, vibration isolation and energy harvesting, are achieved simultaneously through the designed mechanical metamaterials.

The development of all-polymer-based piezoelectrically active photocurable resin for 3D printing process (Conference Presentation)

We present in this work the development and experimental validation of a new piezoelectric material (V-Ink) designed for compatibility with projection stereolithography additive manufacturing techniques. Piezoelectric materials generate a voltage output when a stress is applied to the material, and also can be actuated by using an external voltage and power source. This new material opens up new opportunities for functional devices to be developed and rapidly produced at low cost using emerging 3D printing techniques. The new piezoelectric material was able to generate 115mV under 1N of strain after being polled at 80°C for 40 minutes and the optimal results had a piezoelectric coefficient of 105x10^(-3)V.m/N. The current iteration of the material is a suspension, although further work is ongoing to make the resin a true solution. The nature of the suspension was characterized by a time-lapse monitoring and through viscosity testing. The potential exists to further increase the piezoelectric properties of this material by integrating a mechanical to electrical enhancer such as carbon nanotubes or barium titanate into the material. Such materials need to be functionalized to be integrated within the material, which is currently being explored. Printing with this material on a “continuous SLA” printer that we have developed will reduce build times by an order of magnitude to allow for mass manufacturing. Pairing those two advancements will enable faster printing and enhanced piezoelectric properties.

Understanding the nanophotonic light-trapping structure of diatom frustule for enhanced solar energy conversion: a theoretical and experimental study

Recent designs in nanophotonic light-trapping technologies offer promising potential to develop high-efficiency thin-film solar cell at dramatically reduced cost. However, the lack of a cost effective scalable nanomanufacturing technique remains the main road-block. In nature, diatoms exhibit high solar energy harvesting efficiency due to their frustules (i.e., hard porous cell wall made of silica) possessing remarkable hierarchical nano-features optimized for the photosynthetic process through millions of years evolution. To explore this unique light trapping effect, different species of diatoms (Coscinodiscus sp. and Coscinodiscus wailesii) are cultured and characterized by Scanning electron microscope (SEM). Rigorous Coupled Wave Analysis (RCWA) and Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method are employed to numerically study the nanophotonic light-trapping effect. The absorption efficiency is significantly enhanced over the spectrum region centered on 450nm and 700nm where the electric fields are found strongly confined within the active layer. The transmission and reflection spectra are also measured by optical spectroscopy and the experimental results are in good agreement with numerical simulations.