Silicone Microlens: Convert your cell phone into a microscope
A small silicone rubber lens that can be adhered to your cell phone camera, converting it into a microscope. Developed by Seth Mclaughlin, Sachel Jetly, Claire Chen, Hannah Chen, Nathan Han, Keying Deng, and Eileen Huffer-Ege, who were trainees in the 2021 and 2022 Summer School for Silicon Nanotechnology (SSSiN), one of the Research Immersion in Materials Science and Engineering (RIMSE) programs of the UC San Diego MRSEC.
Quantum Dots: Nanoparticles that glow.
Subject of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, quantum dots are nanoparticles made from solid materials known as semiconductors that are finding uses in a wide range of applications, from medical diagnostic systems, to solar cells, to television sets. The most well-known semiconductor is silicon, the material at the heart of all modern microelectronics. This kit contains a non-toxic sample of silicon quantum dots, which glow with a bright orange color when placed under a small black light. The kit explains the concept of photoluminescence, some materials (such as a day-glow highlighter pen) that utilize the concept of photoluminescence, and how quantum dots can be configured to display all the colors of the rainbow. Developed by Ellie Bauer, Keying Deng, Clémentine Gevers, Sophia Hsu, Eileen Huffer-Ege, Louise Lejeune, Siran Rao, Jocelyn Zhang, and Ashley Tamura who were trainees or mentors in the 2022 and 2023 Summer School for Silicon Nanotechnology (SSSiN), one of the Research Immersion in Materials Science and Engineering (RIMSE) programs of the UC San Diego MRSEC.
The Roving Spectrometer: Remote training on use and applications of an optical spectrometer
Developed by Claire Zhang (left) in response to the coronavirus pandemic in Summer 2020 and perfected by Nathan Han in Summer 2021, each Roving Spectrometer consists of a backpack that contains a miniature spectrometer, optical fibers, lenses, sample stage, light sources, and the ancillary components needed to perform optical reflectance, diffuse reflectance, and photoluminescence measurements on various solid samples. The kit also contains representative samples to support the training experiments. This became so popular we integrated it into the MRSEC Lending Library and the Summer School for Silicon Nanotechnology (SSSiN), one of the Research Immersion in Materials Science and Engineering (RIMSE) programs of the UC San Diego MRSEC.