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University of California, San Diego
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Spring 2025 MAE 156B: Senior Design Project
Sponsored by Professor Michael J. Sailor
Duy Cao | Gautam Ganesh | Alice Khalil | Johnny Mendoza
The final design is a compact heating stage that rapidly cycles silicon quantum dots between 120 °C and 40 °C to reverse blinking and enable precise optical measurements. It features an AlN heater, a magnetically sealed PTFE chamber, and a motorized X-Y stage with ±10 μm accuracy, allowing for fast, repeatable experiments in the Sailor Group’s nanomaterials research.
Top and bottom components of the chamber
UC San Diego’s Sailor Group researches silicon-based quantum dots, which emit light under 405 nm excitation. Over time, these dots can enter a non-emissive “blinking” state, disrupting experiments for up to a week. Our project aims to accelerate the recovery process to restore consistent photoluminescence.
Problem Definition
Problem Definition
Silicon quantum dots used in nanomaterial research suffer from a phenomenon called "blinking," where prolonged UV exposure causes them to temporarily lose their ability to emit light. This disrupts experiments in the Sailor Lab by requiring a week-long recovery period for the dots to return to their emissive state. To address this, a reliable system is needed to accelerate the blinking recovery process through controlled heating, while also enabling precise, repeatable optical measurements.
Objective
Objective
The objective of this project is to design and build a compact, user-friendly heating stage that accelerates the blinking recovery of silicon quantum dots through controlled thermal cycling. The system must also enable precise X-Y positioning and consistent photoluminescence measurements to support repeatable and efficient experiments in nanomaterial research.
Requirements of the Project
Requirements of the Project
This project aims to create a temperature-controlled system to study and speed up blinking recovery in silicon quantum dots. The device must:
Heat samples to 120°C in under 10 minutes
Cool to 40°C or below in under 20 minutes
Offer X-Y translation within ±10 μm with digital coordinate readout
Measure photoluminescence from a 1 mm region
Enable reproducible, high-throughput experiments for the Sailor group's nanomaterials research
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