Specialisation:

Flexible and Printed Electronics, Materials for Printed Electronics, Piezo-Tribo Nanogenerators and Self-powered sensors, Electronic-Skin, Wearable Heaters and Liquid Crystal based Optical Devices

Major Professional Contributions:

I am working as a Scientist in CSIR since 2016. In August 2019, I have moved to CSIR-NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram as ‘Scientist’ in the Materials Science and Technology Division and subsequently got promoted as ‘Senior Scientist’ in May 2020. Currently I am working in the area of ‘Electronic materials and devices’ and my major contributions in Indigenization of printed electronics materials and devices for energy-efficient heating, mechanical energy harvesting and sensing applications are as follows:

·              Customized packaging solutions to smart sensors is provided using Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramics (LTCC) technology. My team has successfully packaged and tested various MEMS devices and microsensors for strategic sector [ISRO, BARC and DRDO]. In addition, Indigenization of the LTCC technology for ISRO (under RESPOND scheme) and the development of conductive ink technology for BHEL, Gurugram (under DST Solar Grand Challenge Award) for use in solar photovoltaics applications are on-going.

·              Designed and fabricated application-specific microhotplates using LTCC technology for strategic and domestic sectors (Developed under CSIR-FTT project)

·              Developed and installed thick film meso-scale hotplates integrated micro-farming unit for use in extremely low temperature and high altitude centers of DRDO-DIHAR at Leh and Chang La. These hotplates provide ambient temperature inside micro-farming unit for army jawans (DRDO sponsored project).

·              Fabricated customized sensor electrodes on thick film printed technology for bio-sensing applications for DRDO-DRDE, Gwalior (DRDO sponsored project). My team has been recognized with ‘Foundation Day Award (2019)’ from CEERI in 'Services and Process Innovation' category for this outstanding work.

·              Designed and fabricated a gas detector module (‘LTISK’) for the detection of CO and LPG using off-the-shelf sensors (Developed under CSIR-FTT project).

·              A low power consuming (<0.25 W/cm²) self-sterilizing fabric heater is developed using in-house prepared conductive silver ink. The fabric heater has been integrated with a stop-gap face mask and demonstrated its capability for complete annihilation of pathogens at 120℃ by resistive heating using a 5V DC supply. [Patent Application No.:202111046365]

·              An all-flexible and facile triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has been developed from used surgical face mask and plastic wastes which delivered an electrical power output of 71.16 mW/m² from merely finger tapping force and demonstrated powering various electronic gadgets, aiding toward the circular economy (ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 2021, 13, 51132-51140, I.F:10.38). We also developed a 2D material based TENG which enhanced the electrical power output of the conventional device by 70 times (Nano Energy, 2021, 90, 106628, I.F:19.06). Recently, we have developed a high-performance TENG using micro-patterned PDMS and electrospun cellulose for mechanical energy harvesting and self-powered vibrational sensing applications (Nano Energy, 2022, 98, 107339, I.F: 19.06). In addition, we have prepared various lead-free piezoelectric materials and devices for mechanical energy harvesting and sensing applications (Materials Today Communication, 2022, 31, 103291, I.F: 3.66

·            A high-performance, flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator (PENG) based on electrospun PVDF-BaTiO3 nanofibers has been developed and demonstrated for the self-powered vibration sensing applications in machineries and structures (ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 2022, 14, 44239−44250, I.F: 10.38)

·              Energy efficient (0.137 W/cm² at 136°C) flexible heater is developed using in-house prepared room-temperature curable conductive ink based on CNT-polymer composite. (Applied Materials Today, 2021, 23, 100987, I.F: 8.66)

·              A wearable pressure sensor based on micro-patterned capacitive layer is prepared and demonstrated for in-vivo blood pressure monitoring (Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, 2020, 314, 112251, I.F: 4.29)

 In the effort to fight back Covid-19 pandemic, a touch-free, smart hand sanitizer dispenser (“Palm Safe”) has been developed. The smart sensor technology enables both indoor as well as outdoor applications by avoiding false triggering and dispersing the sanitizer in a preset volume (1-5 ml). The technology is licensed to M/s. Tachlog Pvt. Ltd, Trivandrum. [Listed in ‘CSIR Technologies for COVID-19 Mitigation’ by CSIR HQ, New Delhi

Consultancy Areas:

Printed electronic materials and devices, Piezo/Triboelectric nanogenerators, Flexible energy harvesters and tactile sensors, Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramics (LTCC) based devices and components, Customized packaging of MEMS devices and Microsensors, Liquid Crystals (LC) based optical memory devices and sensors, Printed wearable heaters

Sector Associated With:

Flexible and Printed Electronics, Materials Science, Electronics Engineering

Sectors Interested to Offer Service:

Flexible and Printed Electronics, Materials Science, Electronics Engineering

Professional Experience

   Senior Scientist, CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram

(May 2020- till date)

Scientist, CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram

(August 2019- May 2020)

Scientist, CSIR-Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute (CEERI),Pilani

(May 2016- August 2019)

Quick Hire Scientist, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi

(August 2013- May 2016)

Keywords

Flexible and Printed Electronics, Materials for Printed Electronics, Piezo-Tribo Nanogenerators and Self-powered sensors, Electronic-Skin, Wearable Heaters and Liquid Crystal based Optical Devices