Collaboration with Apple Paves the Way for Future Chip Development Courses
In the fast-paced world of VLSI (Very Large-Scale Integrated) design, where innovation and technological advancements are constant, the demand for engineers equipped with a comprehensive understanding of the entire chip manufacturing process is soaring. Recognizing this need, ECE and Apple collaborated to launch an innovative undergraduate course: ECE 4804 VLSI Design: Theory to Tapeout.
The academia-industry course is one of very few in the country that offers undergraduate students an opportunity to delve into the intricacies of the complete VLSI design cycle — from system specification and architectural design to fabrication and testing.
Designed and taught by Professor Visvesh Sathe, the course goes beyond mere industry training and directly addresses the escalating demand for expertise in real-world hardware design. Students experience the thrills, challenges, and satisfaction of prototyping a digital SoC (system on a chip) within the confines of a classroom.
Researchers Pioneer Process to Stack Micro-LEDs
Georgia Tech-Europe Professor Abdallah Ougazzaden and research scientist Suresh Sundaram (who both also hold appointments in ECE) collaborated with researchers from
MIT to turn the conventional LED manufacturing process on
its head — literally.
The study showed that the world’s thinnest and smallest pixeled displays can be enabled by an active layer separation technology using 2D materials such as graphene and boron to enable high array density micro-LEDs resulting in full-color realization of micro-LED displays.
“We have now demonstrated that this advanced 2D, materials-based growth and transfer technology can surpass conventional growth and transfer technology in specific domains, such as in virtual and augmented reality displays,” said Ougazzaden, the lead researcher of the Georgia Tech team.
Georgia Tech Receives $65 Million Grant from Semiconductor Research Corporation for JUMP 2.0 Centers
Last year, the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced a new program to improve the nation’s information and technology infrastructure. With a global chip shortage, supply chain issues, and other challenges in play, a group of Georgia Tech faculty members jumped at the opportunity to participate.
Their landing was perfect. Two new research centers, representing an investment of about $65.7 million, were awarded to Georgia Tech through the SRC-administrated Joint University Microelectronics Program 2.0, or JUMP 2.0.
Cyber Faculty Sets Out to Protect Nation’sInvestment in AI Manufacturing
As researchers begin to shape the future of artificial intelligence in manufacturing, Georgia Tech recognizes the potential risks to this technology once it is implemented on an industrial scale. That’s why Saman Zonouz, an associate professor in ECE and the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy, is researching ways to protect the nation’s newest investment in manufacturing.
The project is part of the $65 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration to develop the Georgia AI Manufacturing (GA-AIM) Technology Corridor. While main purpose of the grant is to develop ways of integrating artificial intelligence into manufacturing, it will also help advance cybersecurity research, educational outreach, and workforce development in the subject as well.
Cybersecurity and Privacy.
NIH BRAIN grant funds Emory-Georgia Tech center for next-generation neurotechnology
Georgia Tech and Emory University received a $4.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) BRAIN Initiative to establish a center to make and globally distribute next-generation micro-technologies for neuroscience. The funds will be awarded over a five-year period.
The Center for Advanced Motor BioEngineering and Research will make cutting-edge biosensors that were developed jointly by the two universities, disseminate them to neuroscientists across the country and around the world, and provide training and other resources for how to use the biosensors to explore a range of research questions.
Co-principal investigators for the project are ECE Professor Muhannad Bakir and Samuel Sober, Emory associate professor
of biology.
New Chip Could Make Treating Metastatic Cancer Easier and Faster
Cancer spreads via circulating tumor cells (CTCs) that travel through the blood to other organs, and they are nearly impossible to track. Now, researchers have found a detection method that could revolutionize cancer treatment by showing how cancers metastasize and what stage they are. This could lead to earlier and more targeted treatment, beginning with a simple blood test.
Associate Professor Fatih Sarioglu’s lab invented a new type of chip called the Cluster-Well, combining the precision of microfluidic chips with the efficiency of membrane filtration to find CTC clusters. Using micron-sized features, microfluidic chips can precisely locate each cell in a blood sample and determine if it’s cancerous.
Exploring Europa Possible with Silicon-Germanium Transistor Technology
Europa is more than just one of Jupiter’s many moons – it’s also one of most promising places in the solar system to look for extraterrestrial life. Under 10 kilometers of ice is a liquid water ocean that could sustain life. But with surface temperatures at -180 Celsius and with extreme levels of radiation, it’s also one of the most inhospitable places in the solar system. Exploring Europa could be possible in the coming years thanks to new applications for silicon-germanium transistor technology research at
Georgia Tech.
Regents’ Professor John D. Cressler and his students have been working with silicon-germanium heterojunction bipolar transistors (SiGe HBTs) for decades and have found them to have unique advantages in extreme environments like Europa.
You can find more ECE research highlights by exploring the ECE recent news section.