Photo-Acoustics Research (PAR) Laboratory
As director, Dr. Cetinkaya has worked on many externally-funded projects such as dynamic behavior of ligand-receptor catch bonds (funded by NSF), transdermal drug delivery with micro-needle devices (NewWorld Pharmaceutics), adhesion and detachment of non-uniformly charged nano/micro-particles (NSF, Intel and Xerox), micro-rotational disk mass sensors (ARO/CAMP/Clarkson), and design/testing/evaluation of small-scale sensor structures (NSF/CAMP/Clarkson), and the mechanical property characterization of solid dosage forms/pharmaceutical materials (Pfizer). Over the years, the PAR Lab has received several research grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Intel, SEMATECH, Xerox Corp., Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer Inc., the US Army Research Office, Consortium for the Advancement of Manufacturing in Pharmaceuticals, Praxair/Electronics, as well as Center for Advanced Materials Processing (CAMP) at Clarkson and the New York State sources. The research carried out at the PAR Lab has been published and/or accepted for publication in 90 peer-reviewed journal articles as well as several conference proceedings and book chapters.
Research Interests
Dr. Cetinkaya’s area of research interests include solid mechanics, mechanical vibration, thermo-elastic wave propagation, mechanics of nano/micro-scale systems, transient finite element analysis and symbolic computing. He is the director of the Photo-Acoustics Research (PAR) Laboratory, and the co-director of the Nanomechanics/Nanomaterials (NN) Laboratory at Clarkson University. Specific applications areas of the projects at the laboratories include transdermal drug delivery, nano/micro-particle adhesion and removal, nondestructive evaluation of pharmaceutical materials, laser ultrasonics, and design/testing/evaluation of small-scale structures. The PAR and NN laboratories have received research funds from the National Science Foundation, Intel, SEMATECH, Xerox Corp., Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer Inc., Consortium for the Advancement of Manufacturing in Pharmaceuticals (CAMP), Praxair/Electronics, the US Army, as well as Center for Advanced Materials Processing (CAMP) at Clarkson.
Acoustic Monitoring and Characterization of Drug Tablets
Physical properties and mechanical integrity of drug tablets as well as their coat thickness and quality can affect their critical therapeutic and structural functions. Monitoring for defects and the characterization of tablet mechanical properties are of great practical interest in drug tablet manufacturing and unit operations, as noted in FDA’s PAT and QbD initiatives. The objective of this project is to develop non-invasive, non-destructive acoustic techniques for pharmaceutical manufacturing applications as well as to understand fundamental factors affecting mechanical properties of tablets.
Real-Time Acoustic Monitoring of Drug Tablet Compaction
Compaction represents one of the most essential unit operations in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry because physical and mechanical properties of the tablets, such as density and strength (hardness/friability) as well as the functional characteristics (e.g. dissolution rate) are determined during this process. The objective of this project is to develop real-time acoustic techniques for monitoring compaction in dies. In the Photo-Acoustics Research Laboratory, we utilize an instrumented die-punch setup and to simulate the compaction process, to extract elastic properties of drug tablet cores as well as to monitor the die-wall lubrication and die-fill height during pharmaceutical compaction process using acoustic methods.
Work-of-Adhesion Characterization of Nanoparticle-coated Toner
In photocopying and printing, new generation chemical toner has various superior properties over traditional pulverized toner. However, research is required to understand adhesion properties of these particles and their relations to a number of other relevant parameters to take full advantage of his toner. In current study, two non-contact methods are employed to characterize the work-of-adhesion of an individual nanoparticle-coated toner particle. It is demonstrated that work-of-adhesion can be extracted from the resonance frequencies of rocking motion of a particle under acoustic base and air-coupled excitations.
Transport and Manipulations of Micro-Particles on Dry Surfaces
Gaining fundamental understanding of the transport and motion of small-scale objects on dry surfaces is the focus of this research effort. The needs in this area have been growing, as more micro/nano-technology applications require the transport and manipulations in nano/micro-scale. Our research efforts in this area focus on the transport and motion characteristic of micro-spheres under the influence of acoustic fields generated in solid substrates and in air by piezoelectric transducers.
MEMS Rotational Disk Oscillators for High-Frequency Sensors
A free-standing rotational oscillator has been developed as a novel detection element in mass sensing in liquid and air media. Traditional oscillators, such as cantilever beams, operate in out-of-plane vibrational modes, which limit the operation frequencies, and result in excessive stresses and high damping (low Q factor) in the device leading to reduced measurement sensitivities. High damping associated with out-of-plane motion is particularly dominant in liquids. Rotational oscillators would drastically decrease damping and stress in liquid phase by providing a rotational mode. Our main research objective is to gain fundamental understanding in vibrational motion of such disks and their uses in practical sensing applications.
Effect of Residual Stress on Structure Stability of Microscale Membranes
During fabrication, large deformations are observed in very high-aspect ratio free-standing micro-scale membranes. Axi-symmetric and full three dimensional membrane models of a 1.6 μm thick, 6 mm diameter membrane were developed to study the structural stability of these membranes with substantial residual stresses.
MD Simulations of Nanoparticle-Substrate Adhesion
A Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation study is initiated to gain fundamental understanding of rolling and sliding elasto-adhesion interactions between a spherical nanoparticle and a substrate. This study is needed to understand the modes of particle removal and detachment for cleaning of semiconductor substrates, MEMS, the strength and stability of network of adhered round objects in a diverse spectrum of applications (e.g. particles, powders, blood cells and nanotubes) on micro/nano-scale.
Shock Tube Pressure Amplification for LIP Nanoparticle Removal
Nanoscale substrate cleanliness is a critical requirement in nanotechnology and semiconductor applications. A novel particle removal technique based on Laser Induced Plasma (LIP) shockwaves has been introduced and evaluated for nanoparticle removal by the Photo-Acoustics Research Laboratory. An in-air and submerged method using shock tubes for amplifying the dynamic pressure of LIP shockwaves for removing sub-50 nanoparticles has been demonstrated.
Substrate Damage in Nanoparticle Removal under LIP Exposure
Damage-free sub-100nm particle removal is a challenge in the semiconductor industry and nanotechnology. Laser induced plasma (LIP) is an emerging technique for fast, dry, chemical-free, non-contact, precision and selective cleaning of sub-100 nm particles. Determination of the primary causes for material alterations and damage due to LIP application in nanofilms deposited on substrates utilized in EUVL/photomasks, as well as investigation of the onset of these material alterations were the objectives of this investigation.