Dr. Luis Fernando Velasquez-Garcia (Heller)

Principal Research Scientist

Primary DLC

Microsystems Technology Laboratories

MIT Room: 39-415B

Areas of Interest and Expertise

Micro- and Nano-Enabled Multiplexed Scaled-Down Systems That Exploit High Electric Field Phenomena for Space, Energy, Healthcare, Manufacturing and Analytical Applications

MEMS
NEMS
Multiplexed Miniaturized Systems
Carbon Nanotubes
Field Emission
Field Ionization
Electron Impact Ionization
Cold Cathodes
Portable Mass Spectrometry
Portable Analytical Instruments
Chemical Reactors
Space Chemical Propulsion
Space Electric Propulsion
Electrospray
Electrospinning
3D Packaging
Plasma Diagnostics
Nanosatellites
Microneedles
Free Electron Lasers
Plasma Diagnostics
Portable Vacuum Pumps
Portable Chemical Pumps
Microrockets
X-Rays

Research Summary

Velasquez-Garcia's research group explores the scaling-down and multiplexing limits of systems composed of an array of elements using micro and nanostructures to optimize systems' performance. Research tackles a variety of topics, from chemical reactors to vacuum micro/nanoelectronics to MEMS/NEMS, for applications such as energy, healthcare, portable analytical instruments, and nanosatellites. The research has three common aspects: (1) miniaturization of the constitutive elements to increase their performance -a metric derived from the physics of the device; (2) multiplexing of the components into massive arrays to attain large output and/or specialized functions, and (3) the development of individual control structures (negative feedback) to maximize the performance of the array. Current research projects focus on high-throughput nanomanufacturing, coherent X-ray generation, and portable vacuum sources.


(summary updated 9/2012)

Recent Work