T_cSUH Bi-Weekly Seminars

Friday, September 04, 2009

Room 102, University of Houston Science Center

12:00 PM - 01:00 PM

Ion Implantation is the injection of energetic ions into a solid, thereby changing the physical properties of the solid by impurity doping, and/or by radiation damage. It is mostly used in semiconductor device fabrication and in metal finishing as well as in various applications in materials science research and technology. In this talk, I will briefly review the process of ion implantation, its characteristics, and its applications in material modification. I will give a few examples of our current activities using ion implantation. More importantly, I will be proposing applications related to ion beam modification of soft materials for biological applications. Although ion implantation has been around for more than forty years, biological applications of ion implantation have come of age gradually in the last decade or so. I will be discussing some recent developments in ion implantation modification of polymers and ion beam modification of surface hydrophilicity for applications in protein pattern printing and subsequent living cell adhesion. The intention of this talk is to seek feedback, interaction, and collaboration from the biology, biochemistry, biophysics, and biomedical communities.

Wei-Kan Chu is a Professor of Physics, with research in the area of ion beam characterization, and ion beam modification of materials. He received a B.S. degree from National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan, and a Ph.D degree at Baylor University. He did post-doctorial research at CALTEH on ion beam physics, and later working as senior engineer at IBM before teaching at UNC-Chapel Hill, and University of Houston.