U.S. healthcare policy should abandon the LNT model in radiation protection standards

Applications of LLMs to Medical Physics

Real-time image guidance for proton therapy with stereoscopic kV x-ray fluoroscopy

An in-house Windows GUI application for fluoroscopy-based 4D image guidance in proton beam therapy

Nanoconfined Polymer Electrolytes for Rechargeable Thin Film Lithium-ion Batteries

Liquid solutions of lithium salts are widely used as the electrolytes for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. A long-proposed alternative replaces the liquid electrolyte with a solid polymer ion-conductor, which reduces flammability, enhances mechanical integrity and eases the manufacturing of arbitrarily-shaped flexible devices. We explore the properties of solid polymer electrolytes (SPE) under nanoconfinement, using flexible-device-compatiable fabrication techniques. We present studies of model ionic conduction devices made by confining polyethylene oxide (PEO)-based electrolytes within nanometer-scale volumes fabricated by high-resolution lithography and plasma etching. We are investigating this system for its potential to provide high ionic conductivity and strong barrier properties for battery applications. We fabricated cylindrical and trench-like (grating) nano-templates using both interference lithography and electron-beam lithography, with controllable feature sizes ranging from ~200 nm to as small as ~20 nm; these nano-architectures are then controllably filled with PEO incorporating lithium salts. We characterize the nanoconfined SPE with synchrotron grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) studies.