Smart Microrobots Enabled by Transferable Multifunctional Hybrid Metamaterial Thin Films - College of Engineering - Purdue University

Project Description

Microrobot manufacturing has evolved from traditional planar microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) fabrication to sub-micron precision 3D architectures enabled by the recent development of two-photon polymerization (TPP). While these advances have largely solved the geometry problem in microrobot manufacturing, the functional integration problem remains. Current TPP-compatible materials are limited in their intrinsic magnetic, electrical, optical, and sensing capabilities, forcing most microrobots to undergo multiple post-processing steps to incorporate magnetic materials for actuation while still lacking onboard sensing. Vertically Aligned Nanostructures (VANs), as a new class of multifunctional hybrid metamaterials (HMMs), offer a transformative solution by enabling precisely engineered nanoscale regions with tailored magnetic, plasmonic, piezoelectric, optical, ferroelectric, and chemical functionalities to be selectively integrated onto 3D-printed microrobots. Recent advances in multifunctional VAN architectures have demonstrated strong interfacial coupling and tunable multifunctionality within a single material platform, creating an unprecedented opportunity to fabricate truly intelligent microsystems. The project focuses on the design and integration of VAN on microrobots for onboard sensing and adaptive functionality. The candidate will work on thin film transfer and integration, TPP design and process, and microrobot fabrication, tests and demonstration.

Start Date

January 2027 or May 2027

Postdoc Qualifications

Candidates with experiences in microrobots, MEMS, thin film transfer / integration and device fabrication / testing are highly sorted. 

Co-advisors

Haiyan Wang (MSE and ECE) and David J Cappelleri (ME, BME)

Bibliography

Yang, Y., Gan, J.B., Huang, J. Wang, Cappelleri, Generalized direct fabrication of embedded–magnet microrobots with enhanced material compatibility. J Micro-Bio Robot 22, 12 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12213-026-00208-8.

Benson Kunhung Tsai, Jialong Huang, Ya-Ching Yu, Meng Hao Lee, Benjamin Thomas Stegman, Emiliano Joseph Flores, Patrick Zhang Tong, Ke Xu, Shiyu Zhou, Jianan Shen, Jiawei Song, Yizhi Zhang, Lia Stanciu, Wenzhuo Wu, Xinghang Zhang, Haiyan Wang, Freestanding BaTiO3-Au Vertically Aligned Nanocomposite toward flexible Multi-sensing Platform, Advanced Functional Materials, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202418004.

Zedong Hu, Hongyi Dou, Jeremy B. Gan, Cun Li, Xuanyu Sheng, Juanjuan Lu, Abhijeet Choudhury, Jialong Huang, Yizhi Zhang, Zhongxia Shang, Ye Cao, Xinghang Zhang, Haiyan Wang, An Ultra-robust Memristor Based on Oxide-oxide Vertically Aligned Nanocomposite Achieved by Interface Engineering for Neuromorphic Computing, Advanced Functional Materials, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202512719.

Jialong Huang1, Benson Kunhung Tsai1, Abhijeet Choudhury1, Jianan Shen1, Claire A. Mihalko 1, Shiyu Zhou1, Chang Liu1, Haiyan Wang, Freestanding TiN-Au Vertically Aligned Nanocomposite Thin Films for Flexible Plasmonics, Advanced Materials Interfaces, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202500613.

Benson Kunhung Tsai a, Jialong Huang a, Jianan Shen a, Yizhi Zhang a, James P. Barnard a, Claire A. Mihalkoa, Abhijeet Choudhury a, Shiyu Zhou a, Haiyan Wang, Thermally Stable CeO2 Nanostructures Prepared by Selective Water-dissolution of Sr3Al2O6-CeO2 Vertically Aligned Nanocomposite, Advanced Engineering Materials, https://doi.org/10.1002/adem.202500530, 2025.