Top 7 Simulation Success Stories from the COMSOL Conference

Shawn Wasserman posted 2017-11-01

Winners of the best paper and poster awards from the COMSOL Conference. (Image courtesy of COMSOL.)

Pictured from left to right: Fahd Mohiyaddin, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Shaun Berry, MIT Lincoln Laboratory; Dipesh Niraula, University of Toledo; Cristian Morales, Boston University; Bryan Adomanis, Air Force Institute of Technology; and Svante Littmarck, CEO and president of COMSOL.

Not pictured: Hwaider Lin, Northeastern University, and Curtis Bradley, Benét Laboratories.

At this year’s COMSOL Conference, over 100 users presented their multiphysics simulations to computer-aided engineering (CAE) analysts, engineers developers, users and students.

Now COMSOL has released these presentations, so you can review their findings at home today.

Svante Littmarck, CEO and president of COMSOL, and his team also whittled down these presentations to seven award winners.

So, without further ado, let’s review the winners. These winning simulations might offer something useful to your own work, so feel free to find out more about them in the links below.


Top Paper: Liquid Microlenses with Adjustable Focusing and Beam Steering for Single Cell Optogenetics

This first simulation comes in the form of an optogenetics study. The science is based onusing light-sensitive and genetically engineered neurons to transmit nerve signals.

A single optical element for focusing and steering. (Image courtesy of MIT Lincoln Laboratory.)

“Being able to photo-excite individual neurons at arbitrary sites in the brain at a single-cell level would advance the field of optogenetics tremendously,” said Shaun Berry of MITs Lincoln Laboratory and winner of one of the Best Paper Awards at COMSOL.

The team at MIT is aiming to cerate an on-chip liquid microlens implant. The chip contains two immiscible fluids—in this case, oil and water—that are contained within tapered electrodes.

When a voltage is applied to the electrodes, the researchers discovered that the curvature across the fluid interface could be controlled using electrowetting. Depending on how this curvature is applied, it could be used to steer and focus a beam of light to a single-cell resolution.

“Using COMSOL [Multiphysics®], we were able to model the behavior of the liquid microlens under electrical actuation and rapidly evaluate different designs. This modeling work has led to the successful demonstration of micron-sized liquid lenses that combined both focusing and beam steering,” said Berry.

To read this paper, follow this link.


Top Paper: Numerical Modeling of Resistive Switching in RRAM Device

Conducting filament within a metal-insulator-metal multilayered restrictive random-access memory (RRAM) device. Arrows show the polarization of insulating hosts under favorable (blue) and unfavorable (red) energetic states. (Image courtesy of the University of Toledo.)

The next paper to win an award focuses on resistive random-access memory (RRAM). This technology is under development to become an alternative to current silicon memory due to its higher data storage and lower power consumption.

“Modeling resistive switching is an important piece in solving [the] RRAM puzzle, which has now been systematically modeled,” said Dipesh Niraula from the University of Toledo and COMSOL paper award winner.

The hope is that by modeling a nanoscale simulation of the resistive switching of RRAM devices, engineers can better scale down electronic components. Niraula reports that current research is focusing on how the device handles low- and high-resistance states.

“Currently,” Niraula added,“we are working on modeling ON and OFF modes of operation, which, combined with [the] resistive switching mode, will provide the memory device community with a complete numerical model of [an] RRAM device.”

To read this paper, follow this link.


Top Paper: Simulation of Silicon Nanodevices at Cryogenic Temperatures for Quantum Computing

A single electron transistor (SET) island depicted in an electron density simulation of a semiconductor. (Image courtesy of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.)

Fahd Mohiyaddin, of the Quantum Computing Institute at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), contributed the next paper to win an award at the COMSOL Conference.

The team’s research helped to determine a mathematical model for the simulation of semiconductors at cryogenic temperatures.

ORNL reports that this is a significant step in the development of quantum computing.

“In our research, we describe methods to model the electrostatics in cryogenic semiconductor devices for quantum computation,” said Mohiyaddin. “These methods, which are a part of a larger computational workflow to model silicon quantum bits (qubits), are crucial to characterize and design optimal devices for realizing quantum computing architectures.”

A significant challenge in the ORNL research was figuring out how to get their simulations to converge variables such as electrical fields, currents, conduction band energies and carrier densities. To see how they could converge the simulation at 15 Kelvin, read the paper at this link.


Best Poster: MHD Electrolyte Flow Within an Inter-Electrode Gap Driven by a Sinusoidal Electric Field and Constant Magnetic Field

The first poster to receive an award at the COMSOL Conference explored the pulsed electrochemical machining (PECM) process. PECM is used to manufacture micromechanical parts with high-quality finishes like superalloys.

Simulation of electrolyte flow within an inter-electrode gap within a sinusoidal electric field. At high frequencies, the flow didn’t reverse direction, while it did reverse direction in low frequencies. Simulation includes magnetic fields (red), electric fields (yellow), Lorentz force (black) and electrolyte flow (blue arrows). (Image courtesy of Benét Laboratories.)
Using a workpiece anode, a tool cathode and an electrical field, engineers can deposit material to shape the tool.

However, to increase the efficiency of the process, a magnetic field can be used to increase electrolyte flow. Additionally, a pulsed electrical current can be used to improve surface quality. Unfortunately, these two tweaks can also create complex magnetohydrodynamic flow that affects the part’s performance.

“The complex magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow, when a sinusoidal voltage is combined with a constant magnetic field, required a multiphysics approach to help find optimal conditions for machining. We were able to incorporate electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) experimental results into the MHD simulation to help us find more optimal ECM conditions,” said Curtis Bradley of Benét Laboratories and winner of the COMSOL poster award.

Using simulation, Bradley and his team are working to optimize the process. To learn more, check out the poster at this link.


Top Poster: RF NEMS Magnetoelectric Sensor Simulation and Demonstration 

Simulation of an induced voltage by a direct magnetoelastic coupling (a) and a displacement profile of a magnetoelastic resonator (b). (Image courtesy of Northeastern University.)

The next simulation to be honored at the COMSOL Conference depicted the simulation, fabrication and testing of a radio frequency nanoelectromechanical system (RF NEMS).

Hwaider Lin and fellow researchers at Northeastern University created RF NEMS sensors using magnetostrictive and piezoelectric thin-film materials.

“The RF NEMS sensor is based on our research on nanomechanical magnetoelectric antennas that can be made one to two orders of magnitude smaller than state-of-the-art antennas and enable further miniaturization with many potential applications for portable communications systems,” explained Lin.

The aim is to create sensors that are smaller and lighter, and which have a higher sensitivity than what is currently available on the market. Therefore, this technology can potentially help engineers to create new Internet of Things (IoT), wearable, bioimplant and smartphone products. 

To learn more, follow this link.


Top Poster: Increasing Dust Removal Efficiency of Electrodynamic Screens Using Frequency Optimization via COMSOL Multiphysics

Those interested in solar energy will find the work of Cristian Morales, from Boston University, fascinating. It deals with an inventive way of cleaningoff solar panels that have been coated after a sand storm.

Electric potential and particle trajectories of a 5Hz electrodynamic screen being cleaned after 0.001 seconds. (Image courtesy of Boston University.)
Even partially covering a solar panel, such as would occur after a sand storm, can significantly affect its energy-capturing abilities. However, removing this dust, especially in the middle of a desert, can be a costly and labor-intensive undertaking.

The award-winning simulation depicts how you could clean solar panels using an electrodynamic screen that covers the energy-capturing system. Using a pattern of interdigitated electrodes, the electrodynamic screen charges the dust particles, so they are repelled.

Metasurface model. (Image courtesy of the Air Force Institute of Technology.)

The COMSOL simulation shows that the screens were cleaned within a second. Now, this simulation must be verified via experimentation.

For more on EDS cleaning, follow this link.


Popular Choice Poster: COMSOL Multiphysics Implementation of a Genetic Algorithm Routine for Metasurface Optimization 

The poster that was voted the best by the attendees at the COMSOL Conference was created by Bryan Adomanis of the Air Force Institute of Technology.

Adomanis’ simulations depict a 3D plasmonic structure that can be used to design a metasurface lens.

According to this research, Adomanis’ design has achieved transmittances that are twice as big as the fundamental limitation of 2D planar metasurfaces.

For more on Adomanis’ research, follow this link.