Mechanical science and engineering Harley Johnson, left, and graduate student Brian McGuigan look to a common optical phenomenon for inspiration in electronics design. Photo by L. Brian Stauffer
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The phenomenon that forms interference patterns on television displays when a camera focuses on a pattern like a person wearing stripes has inspired a new way to conceptualize electronic devices. Researchers at the University of Illinois are showing how the atomic-scale version of this phenomenon may hold the secrets to help advance electronics design to the limits of size and speed. In their new study, mechanical science and engineering professor Harley Johnson and his co-authors recast a detail previously seen as a defect in nanomaterial design to a concept that could reshape the way engineers design electronics. The team, which also includes mechanical science and engineering graduate student Brian McGuigan and French collaborators Pascal Pochet and Johann Coraux, published its findings in the journal Applied Materials Today. On display screens, moire patterns occur when the pixelation is at almost the same scale as a photographed pattern, Johnson said, or when two thin layers of a material with a periodic structure, like sheer fabrics and window screens, are placed on top of each other slightly askew. At the macro scale, moires are optical phenomena that do not form tangible objects.
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