Waterloo Professor Wins Major Canadian Research Award

Digital folding plastic

(Ottawa, Ontario) – Folding a map can be one of life's little challenges. For Dr. Arokia Nathan it's a big one. But then, the thin, flexible plastic maps he's developing are digital.

The University of Waterloo electrical and computer engineer's research is at the cutting-edge of work to develop electronics, including sensors and displays, on flexible plastic. It's highly innovative science for which Dr. Nathan is receiving a 2001 Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Steacie Fellowship – one of Canada's premier science and engineering awards.

The award is one of six announced today by The Honourable Brian Tobin, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and Dr. Tom Brzustowski, President of NSERC.

"With the NSERC Steacie Fellowships, six of our best scientists and engineers will do what they do best – pushing forward the frontiers of innovative research and improving the quality of our lives," said Minister Tobin. "Dr. Nathan is at the front of the pack in a fast developing field. The new Steacie award will allow him to focus on the contribution he can make to Canadian innovation."

Dr. Nathan's research captures the imagination in its potential to bring futuristic concepts to reality. These range from smart-cards in which your bank information could be digitally displayed, to the creation of digital X-ray images, replacing the need for X-ray films. The researcher's long-term goal is to create the ultimate smart-plastic device – a Personal Digital Assistant.

"This is the beginning of a new technological revolution," says Dr. Nathan, who grew up in Malaysia. "Can you imagine a generation of children who will be able to unroll a digital book or computer from a tube? It's really a paradigm shift."

Moving flexible plastic displays and sensors from fundamental research to reality will be the focus of Dr. Nathan's NSERC Steacie Fellowship research.

The underlying technology for both sensors and displays is similar, says Dr. Nathan. For sensors, a device captures light energy (for example, visible or X-ray) and converts it into an electrical current. For displays such as computer monitors, the opposite occurs – electrical energy is transformed into light.

In both cases the technical challenge lies in creating what are known as thin-film silicon circuits on flexible plastic, says Dr. Nathan.

These silicon circuits – the logic behind these devices – are currently fabricated at about 300°C. Plastics, however, will lose their essential physical properties at this temperature. Dr. Nathan must therefore develop techniques to make these circuits at much lower temperatures, without compromising the circuit performance.

"My research is still in the proof of concept stage," explains Dr. Nathan. But this hasn't dampened his enthusiasm. He's already overcome major technical challenges in the basic science underpinning thin-film silicon technology and related integrated circuit design.

The new NSERC Steacie Fellow is confident that he will have working prototypes of flexible plastic displays within the period of the fellowship, and be able to make the technology available to Canadian industry.

"The time gap between science and product is getting narrower and narrower," says Dr. Nathan.

Really smart plastic: Dr. Arokia Nathan is designing plastic you really won't be able to leave home without. That's because you will not only have forgotten your credit card, but also your keys, pager, books, maps, newspapers and Discman. All of these tools and more will be part of a Personal Digital Assistant, a compact, lightweight electronic smart-device being developed by the University of Waterloo electrical and computer engineer. The 2001 NSERC Steacie Fellowship recipient's research is at the leading-edge of work to create electronics on lightweight, foldable plastics. "Once you are able to create circuits on flexible substrates, the possibilities are endless," says Dr. Nathan.

The Prize: NSERC Steacie Fellowships are awarded to the most outstanding Canadian university scientists or engineers who have earned their doctorate within the last twelve years. Nominations are received by NSERC from universities across Canada and judged by a distinguished panel of independent experts. The award includes a payment to the University of Waterloo towards Dr. Nathan's salary, and increased research funding from NSERC, freeing him to pursue his research full-time.

The five other award winners this year are:
Dr. Simaan AbouRizk (University of Alberta);
Dr. Peter Grütter (McGill University);
Dr. Ben Koop (University of Victoria);
Dr. Sarah Otto (University of British Columbia); and
Dr. Warren Piers (University of Calgary).

Contacts:

Dr. Arokia Nathan, University of Waterloo, (519) 888-4803, anathan@venus.uwaterloo.ca.

Francis Lionnet, NSERC, at (613) 992-9001, fzl@nserc.ca.