
Clark Nguyen
Professor
Info Links
Research Areas
Research Centers
Teaching Schedule
Fall 2019
- EE 105. Microelectronic Devices and Circuits, MoWeFr 4:00PM - 4:59PM, McCone 141
Spring 2020
- EE C247B. Introduction to MEMS Design, TuTh 9:30AM - 10:59AM, Cory 521
Biography
Clark T.-C. Nguyen received the B. S., M. S., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California at Berkeley in 1988, 1991, and 1994, respectively, all in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences. In 1995, he joined the faculty of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he was a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science up until mid-2006. In 2006, he joined the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California at Berkeley, where he is now a Professor and a co-Director of the Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center. His research interests focus on micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) and include integrated micromechanical signal processors and sensors, merged circuit/micromechanical technologies, RF communication architectures, and integrated circuit design and technology. From 1995 to 1997, he was a member of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s New Millennium Integrated Product Development Team on Communications, which roadmapped future communications technologies for NASA use into the turn of the century. In 2001, Prof. Nguyen founded Discera, Inc., a company aimed at commercializing communication products, based upon MEMS technology, with an initial focus on the very vibrating micromechanical resonators pioneered by his research. He served as Vice President and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Discera until mid-2002, at which point he joined the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on an IPA, where he served for 3.5 years as the Program Manager of the MEMS, Micro Power Generation (MPG), Chip-Scale Atomic Clock (CSAC), MEMS Exchange (MX), Harsh Environment Robust Micromechanical Technology (HERMIT), Micro Gas Analyzers (MGA), Radio Isotope Micropower Sources (RIMS), RF MEMS Improvement (RFMIP), Navigation-Grade Integrated Micro Gyroscopes (NGIMG), and Micro Cryogenic Coolers (MCC) programs, in the Microsystems Technology Office of DARPA.
Prof. Nguyen received the 1938E Award for Research and Teaching Excellence from the Uni-versity of Michigan in 1998, a Univ. of Michigan EECS Departmental Achievement Award in 1999, the Ruth and Joel Spira Award for Outstanding Teaching in 2000, the University of Michigan’s 2001 Henry Russel Award, a UC Berkeley EECS Department EE Outstanding Teaching Award in 2013. He received the 2006 Cady Award from the IEEE UFFC society and the 2017 IEEE Robert Bosch Micro and Nano Electro Mechanical Systems Award. Among his publication accolades are the 2007 IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control Best Paper Award, the 2005 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference Jack Raper Award for Outstanding Technology Direc-tions, the Best Invited Paper Award at the 2004 IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference, the 2004 DARPA Tech Best Technical Presentation Award, and together with his students, eight Best Student Paper Awards at major conferences that include the IEEE Int. Frequency Control Sympo-sium, the IEEE Int. Microelectromechanical Systems Conference, the IEEE Int. Electron Devices Meeting, and the Int. Conf. on Solid-State Sensors, Actuators, & Microsystems (Transducers). To date, he has organized and chaired a total of 37 IEEE and DARPA workshops, and was the Technical Program Chair and General Chair of the 2010 and 2011 IEEE Int. Frequency Control Symposiums; as well as a Co-General Chair of the 2017 IEEE Int. Micro Electro Mechanical Systems Conference. Prof. Nguyen is a Fellow of the IEEE and is currently President of the IEEE (Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control (UFFC) Society.
Education
- 1994, Ph.D., Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences, Univ. of California at Berkeley
- 1991, M.S., Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences, Univ. of California at Berkeley
- 1989, B.S., Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences, Univ. of California at Berkeley
Selected Publications
- N. Thura Lin, R. Tristan, R. Zeying, L. Sheng-Shian, and C. Nguyen, "High-Q spoke-supported ring resonators," IEEE/ASME J. Microelectromech. Syst., vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 11-29, Feb. 2016.
- L. Hung and C. Nguyen, "Capacitive-piezoelectric transducers for high-Q micromechanical AlN resonators," IEEE/ASME J. Microelectromech. Syst., vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 458-473, April 2015.
- A. Mehmet, W. Lingqi, R. Zeying, and C. Nguyen, "A negative-capacitance equivalent circuit model for parallel-plate capacitive-gap-transduced micro-mechanical resonators," IEEE Trans. Ultrason., Ferroelect., Freq. Contr., vol. 61, no. 5, pp. 849-869, May 2014.
- S. Li, Y. Lin, Z. Ren, and C. Nguyen, "An MSI micromechanical differential disk-array filter," in 14th Intl. Conf. on Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems (TRANSDUCERS 2007). Digest of Technical Papers, Piscataway, NJ: IEEE Press, 2007, pp. 307-311.
- C. Nguyen, "MEMS technology for timing and frequency control," IEEE Trans. Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control, vol. 54, no. 2, pp. 251-270, Feb. 2007.
- M. U. Demirci and C. Nguyen, "Mechanically corner-coupled square microresonator array for reduced series motional resistance," IEEE/ASME J. Microelectromechanical Systems, vol. 15, no. 6, pp. 1419-1436, Dec. 2006.
- J. R. Clark, W. Hsu, M. A. Abdelmoneum, and C. Nguyen, "High-Q UHF micromechanical radial-contour mode disk resonators," IEEE/ASME J. Microelectromechanical Systems, vol. 14, no. 6, pp. 1298-1310, Dec. 2005.
- Y. Lin, S. Li, Z. Ren, and C. Nguyen, "Third-order intermodulation distortion in capacitively-driven VHF micromechanical resonators," in Proc. 2005 IEEE Ultrasonics Symp., Vol. 3, Piscataway, NJ: IEEE Press, 2005, pp. 1592-1593.
- Y. Lin, S. Li, Z. Ren, and C. Nguyen, "Vibrating micromechanical resonators with solid dielectric capacitive transducer gaps (Best Frequency Control Paper Award)," in Proc. 2005 IEEE Intl. Frequency Control Symp. and Exposition (IFCS '05), Piscataway, NJ: IEEE Press, 2005, pp. 128-134.
- C. Nguyen and J. Kitching, "Towards chip-scale atomic clocks (Jack Raper Award for Best Paper Award)," in 2005 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conf. (ISSCC 2005). Digest of Technical Papers., Vol. 1, Piscataway, NJ: IEEE Press, 2005, pp. 84-85.
- J. Wang, Z. Ren, and C. Nguyen, "1.156-GHz self-aligned vibrating micromechanical disk resonator," IEEE Trans. Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control, vol. 51, no. 12, pp. 1607-1628, Dec. 2004.
- Y. Lin, S. Lee, S. Li, Y. Xie, Z. Ren, and C. Nguyen, "Series-resonant VHF micromechanical resonator reference oscillators," IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits, vol. 39, no. 12, pp. 2477-2491, Dec. 2004.
- C. Nguyen, "Vibrating RF MEMS for next generation wireless applications (Best Invited Paper Award)," in Proc. IEEE 2004 Custom Integrated Circuits Conf., Piscataway, NJ: IEEE Press, 2004, pp. 257-264.
- S. Lee and C. Nguyen, "Mechanically-coupled micromechanical resonator arrays for improved phase noise (Best Frequency Control Paper Award )," in Proc. 2004 IEEE Intl. Frequency Control Symp. and Exhibition, Piscataway, NJ: IEEE Press, 2004, pp. 144-150.
- A. Wong and C. Nguyen, "Micromechanical mixer-filters ("mixlers")," IEEE/ASME J. Microelectromechanical Systems, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 100-112, Feb. 2004.
- Y. Xie, S. Li, Y. Lin, Z. Ren, and C. Nguyen, "UHF micromechanical extensional wine-glass mode ring resonators (Roger A. Haken Best Student Paper Award)," in 2003 IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM '03) Technical Digest, Piscataway, NJ: IEEE Press, 2003, pp. 953-956.
- K. Wang, A. Wong, and C. Nguyen, "VHF free-free beam high-Q micromechanical resonators," IEEE/ASME J. Microelectromechanical Systems, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 347-360, Sep. 2000.
- F. D. Bannon III, J. R. Clark, and C. Nguyen, "High-Q HF microelectromechanical filters," IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 512-526, April 2000.
- K. Wang and C. Nguyen, "High-order medium frequency micromechanical electronic filters," IEEE/ASME J. Microelectromechanical Systems, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 534-557, Dec. 1999.
- C. Nguyen, "Frequency-selective MEMS for miniaturized low-power communication devices (Invited Paper)," IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory and Techniques, vol. 47, no. 8, pp. 1486-1503, Aug. 1999.
Awards, Memberships and Fellowships
- EDS Robert Bosch Micro and Nano Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) Award, 2017
- Electrical Engineering Award for Outstanding Teaching, 2013
- Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Fellow, 2007
- IEEE Electron Devices Society (EDS) Fellows, 2007
- SSCS ISSCC Jack Raper Award for Outstanding Technology Directions Paper, 2006
- UFFC W. G. Cady Frequency Control Award, 2006