RESEARCH CAPABILITIES:

• Laser ablation, micromachining, and micro-deposition
• Time-resolved optical diagnostics, including nanosecond pump-probe shadowgraph imaging    
  
• Fabrication and characterization of polymer microfluidic devices
• Contact angle measurement
• Nanoparticle fabrication using Pulsed Laser Ablation in Liquids (PLAL)
  

MAJOR EQUIPMENT:

Ultraviolet Laser Micromachining System: 

• Spectra Physics Nd:YLF laser with 349 nm wavelength and 5 ns pulse 
•  Newport 850G micrometer actuators driven by ESP300 controller
• Infrared Laser Micromachining System

Trumpf TruPulse Nano Fiber laser with 1059 nm wavelength

• 20 W Continuous Wave power
• Variable pulse width from 3 ns to 45 ns 
• Newport 850G micrometer actuators driven byh ESP301 controller

Optical diagnostic equipment and microscopes

• Lasers and optics for diagnotics: He-Ne lasers, Argon laser, Nitrogen laser-pumped dye laser, Superluminescent Diode
• 1 GHz bandwidth Tektronix oscilloscope
• Berkeley Nucleonics digital pulse delay generator
• Optical Coherence Tomography apparatus with 10  micron resolution
• Olympus BX51 optical microscope  
• Dinlite 5 MP long work distance digital microscopes  

Flow bench for microfluidic device characterization including:

• Ohaus Adventurer AX423N/E  precision balance for mass flow rate measurements
• WinWedge data acquisition software
• Precision linear slide for maintaining pressure head
  
• Syringe pump (New Era Pump systems)
  

Quincy Lab 20AF convection oven  

Static Contact Angle measurement apparatus

Nanoparticle fabrication apparatus for generating nanoparticle colloids 

CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS:

• Laser-based fabrication of submersible superhydrophobic surfaces
• Fabrication of microfluidic devices for enhanced drug delivery
• Laser-Induced Forward Transfer (LIFT) for micro-deposition
• Pulsed Laser Ablation in Liquids (PLAL) 
• Thermocapillary flow and rupture during thin film laser micromachining

LINKS:                                       

            David A. Willis Homepage

            SMU Homepage

            SMU Mechanical Engineering

            SPIE- The International Society for Optical Engineering

            ASME- The American Society of Mechanical Engineers

            LIA- The Laser Institute of America

The contents of this Web site are the sole responsibility of Professor David Willis and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of Southern Methodist University. The administrator of this site is David Willis, who may be contacted at dwillis@lyle.smu.edu.