Electronics and Photonics

Engineers at Stanford have developed a prototype single-fiber endoscope that improves the resolution of these much-sought-after instruments fourfold over existing designs. The advance could lead to an era of needle-thin, minimally invasive endoscopes able to view features out of reach of today’s instruments.

Engineers at Stanford have demonstrated a high-resolution endoscope that is as thin as a human hair with a resolution four times better than previous devices of similar design. The so-called micro-endoscope is a significant step forward in high-resolution, minimally invasive bio-imaging with potential applications in research and clinical practice.  Micro-endoscopy could enable new methods in diverse fields ranging from study of the brain to early cancer detection.

Last modified Thu, 28 Mar, 2013 at 13:12

Decal-like application process allows thin, flexible solar panels to be applied to virtually any surface from business cards to roofs to window panes.

For all their promise, solar cells have frustrated scientists in one crucial regard – most are rigid. They must be deployed in stiff and often heavy fixed panels, limiting their applications. So researchers have been trying to get photovoltaics to loosen up. The ideal:  flexible, decal-like solar panels that can be peeled off like band-aids and stuck to virtually any surface, from papers to window panes. 

Last modified Thu, 20 Dec, 2012 at 15:42

ME 327 Final Project Demonstrations

Tuesday, Dec. 11 from 10 am to 12 pm

Building 550 (Peterson) Atrium

https://me327.stanford.edu

Professor Allison Okamura

Last modified Wed, 5 Dec, 2012 at 14:24

Professor of Electrical Engineering will develop new reflective coatings to help cool buildings and cars.

Shanhui Fan, a professor of electrical engineering at the Stanford School of Engineering, has been chosen to receive $399,901 to develop Photonic Radiative Day-Time Cooling Devices, better imagined as coatings for the rooftops of buildings and cars that reflect sunlight, allowing heat to escape and enabling passive cooling, even when the sun is shining. Fan’s device would require no electricity and would reduce the need for air conditioning, leading to energy and cost savings.

Last modified Fri, 11 Jan, 2013 at 13:37

Researchers at Stanford are on the verge of a major breakthrough with carbon nanotubes.

Subhasish Mitra, Stanford associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science, and Philip Wong, the Willard R. and Inez Kerr Bell Professor in the Stanford School of Engineering, discuss their work with carbon nanotubes and the interdisciplinary culture at Stanford. This kind of cutting-edge research is made possible by gifts to the Stanford School of Engineering.

Last modified Mon, 3 Dec, 2012 at 15:30

A team of Stanford chemists and engineers has created the first synthetic material that is both sensitive to touch and capable of healing itself quickly and repeatedly at room temperature. The advance could lead to smarter prosthetics or more resilient personal electronics that repair themselves.

Nobody knows the remarkable properties of human skin like the researchers struggling to emulate it. Not only is our skin sensitive, sending the brain precise information about pressure and temperature, but it also heals efficiently to preserve a protective barrier against the world. Combining these two features in a single synthetic material presented an exciting challenge for Stanford Chemical Engineering Professor Zhenan Bao and her team.

Last modified Wed, 28 Nov, 2012 at 14:46

Stanford researchers in physics and engineering have demonstrated a device that produces a synthetic magnetism to exert virtual force on photons similar to the effect of magnets on electrons. The advance could yield a new class of nanoscale applications that use light instead of electricity.

Magnetically speaking, photons are the mavericks of the engineering world. Lacking electrical charge, they are free to run even in the most intense magnetic fields. But all that may soon change. In a paper published in Nature Photonics, an interdisciplinary team from Stanford University reports that it has created a device that tames the flow of photons with synthetic magnetism.

Last modified Fri, 16 Nov, 2012 at 10:13

Researchers have developed a solar cell made entirely of carbon, an inexpensive substitute for the pricey materials used in conventional solar panels.

Stanford University scientists have built the first solar cell made entirely of carbon, a promising alternative to the expensive materials used in photovoltaic devices today. The results are published in the Oct. 31 online edition of the journal ACS Nano.

Last modified Wed, 31 Oct, 2012 at 9:40

Electrical Engineering Professor Olukotun and two colleagues won a grant of $1.3 million to develop core techniques and software libraries for high-throughput DNA sequencing to address challenges in human genetics and metagenomics.

The National Science Foundation (NSF), with support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has announced that Oyekunle "Kunle" Olukotun, a professor of electrical engineering and of computer science at the Stanford University School of Engineering, and two colleagues were among the recipients of a grant as part of the