Ravi Saraf

Ravi Saraf

Contact Information:

City Campus (Lincoln)
OTHM B213
(402) 472-8284
rsaraf2@unl.edu

Personal Links:

• Mesoscale Engineering Lab

Lowell E. and Betty Anderson Distinguished Professor

Academic Degrees

  • Ph.D., Polymer Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1987
  • M.S., Polymer Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1986
  • B.S., Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India, 1980

Areas of Research and Professional Interest

  • Electronic Skin
  • Electronics on Bacterium
  • DNA and Protein Chip
  • Dance of Ions at the Electrode
  • Nanomaterials on DNA and Polymer Scaffold

Research Profiles:

In the News: Powered by the Nebraska Engineering News

Inventions/Patents

  1. R.F. Saraf, G. Singh, 'Direct Detection of Localized Modulation of Ion Concentration on an Electrode-Electrolyte Interface'. US Patent 2010/7,826,060 B2, 11/2/10.
  2. R.F. saraf, S. Niu, V. Berry, V. Maheshwari, 'Fabrication ou ultra Long Necklace of Nanoparticles', US Patent 0,120,236 A1, 05/13/2012.
  3. R.F. Saraf, ‘High Resolution thin film tactile device to detect distribution of stimulation by touch’, US Patent 2008/0123078 A1, 05/29/08.
  4. F.E. Doany, J.R. Marino, C.J. Sambucetti, R.F. Saraf, ‘Means of seeding and metallizing polyimide’,US Patent 7,033,648, 04/25/06.
  5. R.F. Saraf, S. Niu, ‘Bio-chip pPhotoluminescenct method for identifying biological material, and apparatus for use with such methods and bio-Chips’, US Patent 6,706,479 B2,  issued 03/16/04.
  6. J.M. Roldan, R.F. Saraf, et al., ‘Method for forming an antenna and a radio Frequency transponder’, US Patent 6,662,430,  issued 12/16/03.
  7. R.F. Saraf, H.K. Wickramasinghe, ‘Self assembled nano-devices using DNA’, US Patent 6,656,693, issued 12/02/03.
  8. R.F. Saraf, ‘Synthesis of chemical tags’, US Patent 6,632,612, 10/14/03.
  9. M. Angelopoulos, Y. Liao, R.F. Saraf, ‘Plasticized, antiplasticized and crystalline conducting polymers and precursors thereof’, US Patent6,616,863, 09/09/03.
  10. A. Gupta, R.F. Saraf, ‘Micro goniometer for scanning probe microscopy’, US Patent 6,552,339, 04/22/03.
  11. H.K. Wickramasinghe, R.F. Saraf., ‘Ferroelectric storage read-write memory’, US Patent 6,548,843, 04/15/03.
  12. R.F. Saraf, H.K. Wickramasinghe, ‘Nano-devices using block-copolymers’, US Patent 6,403,321, 06/11/02.
  13. J.M. Cotte, J.M. Roldan. J.M. Sambucetti, J. Carlos, R.F. Saraf, ‘Electrode modification using an unzippable polymer paste,’ US Patent 6,281,105, 08/28/01.
  14. R.F.Saraf, et al., ‘Radio Frequency (RF) Transponder (TAG) with composite antenna’, US Patent 6,271,793, issued 8/7/01.
  15. M.J. Brady, D. Duan, R.F. Saraf,  J. Rubino, ‘RFID transponders with paste antennas and flip-chip attachment’, US Patent 6,259,408, 07/10/01.
  16. A. Gupta, R.F. Saraf, ‘Ultra high density storage media and method thereof’, US Patent 6,236,589, 05/22/01.
  17. R.F. Saraf, et al., ‘Electrode modification using an unzippable polymer paste’, US Patent 6,221,503, issued 4/24/01.
  18. R.F. Saraf, H.K. Wickramasinghe, ‘Nano-devices using block-copolymers’, US Patent 6,218,175, issued 4/17/01.
  19. M. Angelopoulos, R.F. Saraf, et al.,  ‘Polycrystalline conducting polymers and precursors therof having adjustable morphology and properties’, US Patent 6,210,606, issued 4/3/01
  20. R.F. Saraf, J.M. Roldan, ‘Lead free conductive composites for electrical interconnections’,  US Patent 6,197,222, issued 03/06/01.
  21. A.A. Ardakani, M. Angelopoulos, V.A. Bourgault, L.D. Comerford , L.D. Comerford, M.W. Mirre, S.E. Molis, R.F. Saraf, J.M. Shaw, P.J. Spellane, N.M. Patel, ‘Electrically conductive polymeric materials and use thereof’, US Patent 6,168,732, 01/02/01.
  22. A.A. Ardakani, M. Angelopoulos, V.A. Bourgault, L.D. Comerford , L.D. Comerford, M.W. Mirre, S.E. Molis, R.F. Saraf, J.M. Shaw, P.J. Spellane, N.M. Patel, ‘Electrically conductive polymeric materials and use thereof’, US Patent 6,149,840, 11/2/00.
  23. J.M. Roldan, R.F. Saraf, ‘Lead-free interconnection for electronic devices’, US Patent  6,127,253’, 10/03/00.
  24. R.F. Gupta, R.F. Saraf, ‘Micro goniometer for scanning microscopy’, US Patent 6,100,523,  issued 8/08/00.
  25. J.M. Roldan, K.L. Mittal, R.F. Saraf, ‘Enhanced adhesion between a vapor deposited metal and an organic polymer surface exhibiting tailored morphology’, US Patent 6,099,939, issued 8/08/00.
  26. A. Gupta, R.F. Saraf. ‘Ultra high density storage media and method thereof’, US Patent  6,017,618, 01/25/00.
  27. M. Angelopoulos, R.F. Saraf, et al., ‘Composition containing a polymer and conductive filler and use therof’, US Patent 6,015,509, issued 1/18/00.
  28. J.M. Roldan, R.F. Saraf, et al., ‘Electrode modification using an unzippable polymer paste’, US Patent 6,013,713, issued 1/11/00.
  29. R.F. Gupta, R.F. Saraf, ‘Ultra high density storage media and method thereof’, US Patent 6,017,618, issued 12/21/99.
  30. J.M. Roldan, R.F. Saraf, et al., ‘Lead-free interconnection for electronic devices’, US Patent 6,005,292, issued 12/21/99.
  31. M. Angelopoulos, R.F. Saraf, et al., ‘Method for providing discharge protection or shielding’, US Patent 5,997,773, issued 12/07/99.
  32. M. Angelopoulos, R.F. Saraf, et al., ‘Housing for electromagnetic interference shielding’, US Patent 5,985,458, issued 11/16/99.
  33. M. Angelopoulos, R.F. Saraf, et al., ‘Method of fabricating plasticized antiplasticized and crystalline conducting polymers and precursors thereof’,US Patent 5,969,024, issued 10/19/99.
  34. M. Angelopoulos, R.F. Saraf, et al., ‘Organic-Metallic composite coating for copper surface protection’, US Patent 5,960,251, issued 08/28/99.
  35. M. Angelopoulos, Y. Liao, R.F. Saraf, ‘Polycrystalline conducting polymers and precursors thereof, having adjustable morphology and physical properties’, US Patent 5,932,143, 08/3/99.
  36. M. Angelopoulos, Y. Liao, R.F. Saraf, ‘Plasticized, antiplasticized and crystalline conducting polymers’, US Patent 5,928,566, 07/27/99.
  37. M. Angelopoulos, R.F. Saraf, et al., ‘Composite comprising a metal substrate and a corrosion protecting layer’, US Patent 5,922,466, issued 07/13/99.
  38. M. Angelopoulos, R.F. Saraf, et al., ‘Method for providing discharge protection or shielding’, US Patent 5,916,486, issued 06/29/99.
  39. R.F. Saraf, J.M. Roldan, M. Liehr, C. Sambucetti, ‘Direct chip attach for low alpha emission interconnect system’, US Patent 5,897,336, issued 04/27/99.
  40. R.B. Booth, E.I. Cooper, M. Gaynes, S.P. Ostrander,  J.M. Roldan, C.J. Sambucetti, R.F. Saraf,  ‘Lead free conductive composite for electrical interconnections’,  US Patent 5866044, issued 2/2/99,  NI-85116 (Taiwan), 07/15/97.
  41. J.M. Roldan, R.F. Saraf, ‘Lead-free interconnection for electronic devices,’ US Patent 5,854,514, 12/29/98.
  42. M. Angelopoulos, V.A. Brusic, T.O. Graham, S. Purushotthaman, R.F. Saraf,  J.M. Shaw, J.M. Roldan,  A.Viehbeck, ‘Electronic package comprising a substrate and a semiconductor device bonded thereto’, US Patent 5776587,  issued 07/07/98.
  43. R.B. Booth, M. Gaynes, R.M. Murcko, V. Puligandla, J.M. Roldan, R.F. Saraf, J.M. Zalesinski,  ‘Direct chip attachment (DCA) with electrically conductive adhesives’, US Patent 5747101,  issued 05/05/98.
  44. M. Angelopoulos, V.A. Brusic, T.O. Grahm, S. Purushothaman, J.M. Roldan, R.F. Saraf, J.M. Shaw, A. Viehbeck, ‘Composition containing a polymer and conductive filler and use thereof’, US Patent 5700398, issued 12/23/97.
  45. R.B. Booth, E.I. Cooper, E.A. Giess, M.R. Kordus, S. Krongelb, S.P. Ostrander, J.M. Roldan, C.J. Sambucetti, R.F. Saraf, ‘Fabrication of double side fully mettalized plated thru-holes, in polymer structures, without seeding or photoprocess’,  US Patent 5545429, issued 08/13/96.
  46. R.B. Booth, M.A. Gaynes, R.M. Murco, V. Puligandla, J.M. Roldan, R.F. Saraf, J.M. Zalesinski, ‘Direct chip attach (DCA) with electrically conductive adhesives’, US Patent 5543585, issued 08/06/96.
  47. F. E. Doany, G.W. Grube, R.F. Saraf, ‘Unzippable polymer mask for screening operations’, US Patent 5314709, issued 05/24/94; 2045187 (Japan).
  48. E.J. O'Sullivan, T.R. O'Toole, J.M. Roldan, L.T. Romankiw, C.J. Sambucetti, R.F. Saraf, ‘Electroless metal adhesion to organic dielectric material with phase separated morphology’, US Patent 5310580, issued 05/10/94.
  49. C. Feger, R.T. Hodgson, D.A. Lewis, R.F. Saraf, ‘Morphological Composite material formed from different precursors’, US Patent 5288842, issued 02/22/94; 2538151 (Japan).
  50. W.S. Huang, I.Y. Khandros, R.F. Saraf, L. Shi, ‘Novel reworkable joining system containing metallic joint and polymer encapsulation’, US Patent5062896, issued 11/5/91; 50450278 (France), 69105793 (Germany), 2004078 (Japan).

Courses Taught

About Ravi Saraf

Dr. Saraf's training is in polymer science, optics and Silicon processing. For the past fifteen years his research interests have been in the interfacial properties of materials, nanometer scale devices & their processing and, more recently, biophysics and bioengineering. An author/coauthor of 31 US Patents and 64 scientific publications, Saraf has focused on research in the basic sciences in order to solve practical problems. Before joining UNL he spent five years at Virginia Tech and 10 years at IBM's corporate research lab, the Thomas J. Watson Research Center at Yorktown Heights. His Ph.D./M.S. is in Polymer Science from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and his B.S is in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India.

Honors and Awards

  • 2002 "Researcher of the Year", Carilion Biomedical Institute, Virginia
  • 1990-99, Ten "Technical Achievement Awards" at IBM

Selected Publications

  • Nguyen, C; Maheshwari, V., Saraf, R.F.; "Ultrasoft 100 nm Thick Zero Poisson's Ratio Film with 60% Reversible Compressibility", Nano Letters,2012, 12, 2171-2175.
  • Yang, B., Yuan, Y.B., Sharma, P., Poddar, S., Korlacki, R., Ducharm, S., Gruverman, A., Saraf, R., Huang, J.S., "Tuning the Energy Level Offset between Donor and Acceptor with Ferroelectric Dipole Layers for Increased Efficiency in Bilayer Organic Photovoltaic Cells",  Advanced Materials,2011, 24, 1455-1460.
  • Korlacki, R., Saraf, R.F., Ducharme, S., " Electrical control of photoluminescence wavelength from semiconductor quantum dots in a ferroelectric polymer matrix", Applied Physics Letters, 2011, 99, Art. No. 153112 (Oct. 10th)
  • Kane, J., Ong, J., Saraf, R.F., "Chemistry, physics, and engineering of electrically percolating arrays of nanoparticles: a mini review", Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2011, 21, 16846-16865.
  • Berry, V., Saraf, R.F., "Modulation Modulation of Electron Tunneling in a Nanoparticle Array by Sound Waves: An Avenue to High-Speed High-Sensitivity Sensors, Small, 2011, 7, 2485-2490.
  • Kundu, S., Gill, R.S., Saraf, R.F., Electrospinning of PAH Nanofiber and Deposition of Au NPs for Nanodevice Fabrication, Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2011, 115, 15845-15852.
  • Kane, J; Inan, M.; Saraf, R.F, “Self-assembled Nanoparticle Necklaces Network Showing Single-Electron Switching at Room Temperature and Bio-Gating Current by Living Microorganisms,” ACS Nano, 2010, 4, 317-323.
  • Maheshwari, V., Fomenko, D.E., Singh, G., R.F. Saraf, “Monolayer deposition of Gold Nanoparticles on Microorganisms- Discrimination by Age”,Langmuir, 2009, 26, 371-377.
  • Singh, G.; Moore, D.; R.F. Saraf, “Localized Electrochemistry on a 10 μm Spot on a Monolith Large Electrode: An Avenue for Electrochemical Microarray Analysis”, Analytical Chemistry, 2009, 81, 6055-6060.
  • Maheshwari, V., and R. Saraf, “Tactile Devices to Sense Touch at Par with Human Finger”, Angewandte Chemie Int. Ed., 2008, 47, 7808-7826; invited.
  • Kundu, S., Maheshwari, V., Saraf, R.F., Photolytic metallization of an nanoclusters and electrically conducting micrometer long nanostructures on a DNA scaffold, Langmuir, 2008, 24, 551-555.
  • Kundu, S., Maheshwari, V., Niu, S., R.F. Saraf, “Polyelectrolyte mediated scalable synthesis of highly stable silver nanocubes in less than a minute using microwave irradiations,” Nanotechnology, 2008, 19, Art. No. 065604 (Feb 13th).
  • Maheshwari, V., Kane, Jennifer, and Ravi F. Saraf, Self-assembly of microns long one dimensional network of cemented Au nanoparticles,Advanced Materials, 2008, 20 (2), 284-287.
  • Niu, S., Singh, G., and R.F. Saraf, “Label-less Fluorescence-based Detection for DNA Microarray,” Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 2007, 23, 714-720.
  • Niu, S., and R.F. Saraf, “Selective assembly of nanoparticles on block copolymer by surface modification,” Nanotechnology, 2007, 18 Art. No. 125607; on line at http://www.iop.org/EJ/abstract/0957-4484/18/12/125607
  • Maheshwari, V., and R.F. Saraf, “Mineralization of Monodispersed CdS Nanoparticles on Polyelectrolyte Superstructure forming an Electroluminescent 'Necklace-of-Beads',” Langmuir, 2006, 22, 8623-8626.
  • Singh, G., and R.F. Saraf, “Direct measurement of ion accumulation at the electrode/electrolyte interface under an oscillatory electric field,” J. Phys. Chem. B, 2006, 110, 12581-12587.
  • Maheshwari, V., and R.F. Saraf, “High-Resolution Thin-Film Device to Sense Texture by Touch,” Science, 2006, 312, 1501-1504.
  • For additional publications, please visit the Digital Commons.