| Posted: Sep 18, 2010 |
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NCKU won two silver medals in invention from 2010 National Invention and Creation Award
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(Nanowerk News) The cross-disciplinary team of Prof. Wen-Chau Liu of Department of Electrical Engineering and Prof. Huey-Ing Chen of Department of Chemical Engineering and the research team of Prof. Mi-Ching Tsai of Department of Mechanical Engineering at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Tainan, Taiwan, have each won a silver medal in invention from the 2010 National Invention and Creation Award with the inventions of Semiconductor Transistor-Type Hydrogen Sensor and Multi-DOF Ultrasonic Motor with Magnetic Preload, respectively.
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The National Invention and Creation Award is organized by the Intellectual Property Office of the Ministry of Economic Affairs to recognize excellent works, praise outstanding inventors and motivate public enthusiasm for invention and creation, aiming to encourage national research, invention and creation, establish high-standard and high-quality autonomous technologies and elevate international competitiveness.
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Being one of the annual events of the creative industry in Taiwan, the National Invention and Creation Award is categorized into Invention Award, Creation Award and Contribution Award. The Invention Award is then classified into six groups, where each group will select one gold medal and two silver medals.
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The gold medal in the group of semiconductor was given to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and one of the silver medals in invention was given to the cross-disciplinary team of NCKU Prof. Wen-Chau Liu and Prof. Huey Ing Chen, along with a certificate, a trophy, and a grant of NT$300,000.
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Compared with the previous hydrogen sensors, the Semiconductor Transistor-Type Hydrogen Sensor invented by the NCKU cross-disciplinary team is smaller in size, lighter in weight, superior in sensing, and it has the advantages of lower power consumption, lower production cost and energy saving.
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The Semiconductor Transistor-Type Hydrogen Sensor, which can be used in the production and integration of communication devices and optical components, has excellent performance and unlimited potential in the market, and it has won a gold medal at the 2010 International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, Switzerland.
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Prof. Wen-Chau Liu expressed, "The Semiconductor Transistor-Type Hydrogen Sensor is mainly applied on public safety, such as hydrogen leak monitors of chemical factories, hydrogen input monitors required during semiconductor manufacture, hydrogen leak monitors of automotive and aerospace industrial fuel cells and hydrogen leak monitors required during medical equipments manufacture."
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Prof. Huey-Ing Chen stated, "The Semiconductor Transistor-Type Hydrogen Sensor is small in size and light in weight. It is only 0.6g after unpacking. It only requires less than 50 mW of operation power. It can detect hydrogen leak with a concentration as low as 5 ppm within 10 seconds. The sensor can operate between room temperature and 120oC. With further integration, it can be applied on Integrated Circuit (IC), Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), people's livelihood and communications."
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The Multi-DOF Ultrasonic Motor with Magnetic Preload invented by NCKU team has won a silver medal in the group of machinery. Unlike traditional piezoelectric motors, Multi-DOF Ultrasonic motors has advantages of high efficiency, low-power consumption and more flexible use, breaking the limitations of traditional piezoelectric motors which require mechanical bearings to operate.
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The Multi-DOF Ultrasonic Motor is versatile in that it can be coupled with various objects. For example, the motor can be combined with the wireless driver module, enabling it to move freely on inverted or vertical surface. Moreover, the motor can also be easily applied to daily necessities and recreational objects, including dolls and intelligent automatic chessboard, thus the market potential is unlimited."
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In the example of the intelligent automatic chessboard, with wireless remote control module, the pieces on the chessboard can automatically move by themselves. Also, with wireless driver module, the magnets on the whiteboard can automatically mark dates or important agenda.
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Prof. Mi-Ching Tsai revealed: "Usually, in places where quiet is the norm, such as hospitals or areas vulnerable to electromagnetic interference, precise positioning equipments and auto-focus cameras require the use of ultrasonic motors. Through mechanical design, the Piezoelectric Motor can act as an Electromagnetic Motor and perform rotary or linear movement. "
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The Multi-DOF Ultrasonic Motor with Magnetic Preload has also received several awards: second place in 2009 Green Tech Race of TECO Technology Foundation, Taiwan; a gold medal from 2009 Seoul International Invention Fair (SIIF), Korea; two special awards from the Association of Russian House for International Scientific and Technological Cooperation (RHISTC) and International Festival of Innovation, Knowledge and Creations, Serbia.
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The 2010 National Invention and Creation Award has elected 49 patent works, including 6 gold medals and 18 silver medals in invention and 6 gold medals and 19 silver medals in creation, as well as 6 works in contributions.
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The recognized patent works in invention and creation will each receive a grant ranging from NT$200,000 to NT$450,000. Among them, the gold medals in invention and creation will each receive a grant of NT$450,000 and the silver medals in invention and creation will each receive a grant of NT$300,000.
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The awarding ceremony of the 2010 National Invention and Creation Award was held on September 8th in Taipei International Convention Center (TICC).
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