Microelectronics Technology Transfer & Licensing Opportunities
Urea or Urine Powered Fuel Cell Technology for Low Cost Energy Systems >>Heriot-Watt has received EPSRC Follow on Fund award to develop a Urea Fuel Cell.
Led by Dr Shanwen Tao the project focus is on developing low temperature membrane electrode assembly (MEA) and catalyst that will use Urea solutions such as Greenox (tm), Adblue (tm) or Urine as a low cost easily transported readily available fuel source.
Lab experiments showing "Proof of Principle" with Urea solutions have been completed.
High Barrier Polymeric Wafer Level MEMS Package Design with 3D interconnect capablility >>The technology is a a MEMS package design methodology providing a High Barrier layer to vapour (near hermetic) yet uses existing wafer level photolithography & LIGA processes common in MEMS, MOEMS and RF-MEMS design. By using a novel conducting arrangement, 3D interconnects or through-cap connection is possible reducing device footprint. The same low temperature process can also be used to bond dissimilar surfaces such as glass to silicon.
Multi-channel Small Footprint Directly Intergrated Optical Sensors for FBG Sensor Network Interrogation >>Funded by a Scottish Enterprise Proof of Concept programme (11-DME-003) a team at Heriot-Watt University is developing lightweight high accuracy Fiber Brag Grating (FBG) network interrogators targeting applications within Civil engineering, Aerospace, biosensing and chemical detection.
Using a small footprint multi-channel design the robust sensor chip offers an alternative to existing spectrometer based solutions in FBG sensing.
High Pulse Energy Ultrafast Laser Source For Imaging, Spectroscopy & Micromachining >>Developed within Professor Derryck Reid's group, the output of the Broadband emission Ultrafast OPO laser source is suitable for applications within micromachining, waveguide fabrication and bio-imaging techniques such as multi photon, Raman or CARS spectroscopy.
High pulse energies and wavelength tuning allow a greater stand-off distance in long range spectroscopy applications.
Reconfigurable Instruction Cell Architecture >>Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have developed a software programmable, reconfigurable core, for integration into custom processing engines capable of converging data, cellular and multimedia processing functionality in a single device for mobile applications.
The technology is a new type of Reconfigurable Processor (Reconfigurable Instruction Cell Architecture, or RICA) composed of a number of computer-like instruction cells on a programmable interconnection network.
The core RICA architecture provides heterogeneous coarse-grain functional units that match one-to-one with existing assembly language software representation to allow the flexible creation of reconfigurable processing units.
Microfluidic Chip for High Efficiency Plasma Separation for non-invasive diagnostics >>Researchers at Heriot-Watt University (Scotland) have designed a microfluidic chip capable of high efficiency separation of (whole) blood into blood plasma and red blood cell streams for further analyses.
The high flow design produces a large particle free zone shown to be 100% cell free; extracted plasma is suitable for direct PCR amplification fo the genetic material without further treatment.
Separation
Hand Held, Low Cost Drug Detection System for detecting Narcotics in Saliva >>Researchers at Heriot-Watt University have developed an innovative method for the presumptive detection of narcotics in saliva.
The technique offers a simple "Yes/No" result in seconds using a low powered handheld reader and economic disposable media.
Method to improve DCE MRI >>Researchers at the University of Aberdeen have developed an improved method of undertaking DCE MRI (dynamic contrast enhancement magnetic resonance imaging) scans
Compostella >>Compostella is a disruptive technology, from the University of Glasgow, which permits position to be measured with extremely high precision at very low cost.
The system is physically small and highly configurable, with few limitations on mounting. Compostella will be the first single device capable of measuring in 6 axes.
Broadband Antenna & Filter Technologies for RFID, Wireless & Mobile Communication Devices >>Heriot-Watt University (Edinburgh, Scotland) is developing novel, broadband directional antenna technologies and UWB filters for applications in RFID, Wireless devices, mobile phones and Radar communications. Using existing dielectric materials of different properties, the novel designs can steer the principle beam of radiation in any direction with a very low radiation backlobe. When several are combined it could provide small, mobile, wireless devices with multiple input multiple output (MIMO) communications.
A further group is investigating LCP Filtering and has several novel designs available for license in UWB applications.
3D-Electroforming & Nano-imprint Lithography of Polymer Microstructures >>Heriot-Watt University researchers are developing an electroforming technology capable of high resolution patterning of planar and 3-Dimensional surfaces, specifically internal and external curves. This versatile technology is applicable to the manufacture of microfluidics devices, micro-optics and functional surfaces. Protected by a GB patent application partners are now welcome for cooperation on the further development and commercialization of the technology.
Spherical Generator >>A spherical generator/motor design which has advantages over standard cylindrical forms, potentially providing increased efficiency in a wide range of applications.
New Terahertz Radiation Source >>Researchers at the Universities of Aberdeen and Glasgow are developing an inexpensive and powerful THz radiation source.
Terahertz or THz technology is a new and exciting frontier in science and engineering with a huge number of potential applications.
Deoxygenation >>Researchers at The Robert Gordon University have created a ceramic catalytic reactor for deoxygenating a fluid.
Blue Laser Fabrication Layer >>Researchers at the Institute of Photonics and Department of Physics at the University of Strathclyde have developed a patented technology of benefit to the semiconductor industry. This technology relates to gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor devices which are most familiar as high brightness blue and green LEDs. The new technology is an aluminium indium gallium nitride layer which provides a means to optically monitor, in situ, the growth of GaN devices on newly developed GaN substrates.
Ultrawideband Ultrasonic Transducer >>University of the West of Scotland has been funded under round four of Scottish Enterprise’s Proof of Concept Fund. This will facilitate further investigation into a novel type of sensor and actuator – the Ultrawideband Ultrasonic Transducer (UUT). The UUT project will combine several different aspects of leading edge technology to enable a highly sensitive single transducer to operate over a wider range of frequencies than ever before.
Active Thin Film Coatings >>Active thin film coatings for high temperature industrial and process monitoring applications are being developed in collaboration between two leading research groups at the University. The new coatings will have applications in acoustic monitoring at high temperatures where existing sensors would fail.
