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Materials Science and
Engineering

Hugo Celio and the Kratos XPS

Core Faculty

TMI's core faculty lead cutting-edge research by running their grants through the institute, fostering collaboration and resource sharing.

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Graduate Program

Our Materials Science and Engineering program is one of the best in the nation, and our graduates go on to be leaders in their fields.

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Research

TMI supports interdisciplinary research at UT Austin, with over 100 faculty focusing on clean energy, nanotechnology, and advanced materials using our state-of-the-art facilities.

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Instrument Capabilities

The West Bond Wire Bonder (Model 7476D-79) is a manual wedge-wedge wire bonding system used to create electrical interconnections between microfabricated devices, semiconductor chips, and external packages. The system uses ultrasonic energy to bond fine metallic wires to metal contact pads, enabling reliable electrical connections for device testing and packaging. The system can bond to metal pads as small as 50 µm and can produce up to 21 bond sites before the wire is parted. The bonder accommodates aluminum and gold wires from 0.0007 to 0.002 inches (17.8–50.8 µm) in diameter using the wedge-wedge bonding technique. Aluminum wire is typically bonded at room temperature using ultrasonic energy, while gold wire bonding is performed with additional workpiece heating.

Key features:

  • The system is set up for 0.00125 inch or 31.75 microns diameter aluminum wire.
  • Wedge-wedge bonding of aluminum and gold wires
  • Wire diameters from 0.0007 to 0.002 inches (17.8–50.8 µm)
  • Current system configuration for 0.00125-inch (31.75 µm) aluminum wire
  • Ability to make up to 21 bond sites before wire parting
  • Ultrasonic bonding at approximately 63 kHz
  • Adjustable bonding force and ultrasonic energy for process optimization
  • Aluminum wire bonding at room temperature
  • Heated-stage capability for thermosonic bonding of gold wire
  • X-Y-Z manual micromanipulator for precise positioning of the bonding tool
  • Binocular microscope for direct visualization and alignment of bond locations
  • Capability to bond to small metal contact pads
  • Suitable for bonding devices to packages and electrical test fixtures

Useful Documentation

Fees and Policies

  • UT Users: $35/hour
  • Higher Education/State Agencies (Assisted): $92/hour
  • Corporate/External Users (Assisted): $94/hour
  • Higher Education/State Agencies (Unassisted): $64/hour
  • Corporate/External Users (Unassisted): $65/hour

A cleanroom entry fee will be charged in addition to the cleanroom facility usage fee.

  • UT Users $6
  • Higher Education/State Agencies: $10
  • Corporate/External Users: $10

Traning

Please contact James Smitherman to schedule a training session.

Texas Materials Seminar Series

The Texas Materials Seminar Series features MSE 397 Seminars, TMI Distinguished Lectureships, and TMI Special Seminars, where leading faculty and professionals from around the world share cutting-edge innovations and advancements in materials engineering with our students.

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$12M+

In Grant Funding

20+

Research Patents

10K+

Sq. Ft. of Research Labs

News

Zhantao Chen Publishes New Article on AI-assisted Tool

Zhantao Chen, an Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering and a TMI-affiliate, has published an article on an AI tool in Nature Machine Intelligence. The article used AI to help researchers in ways that would assist in experimental tasks that are often labor-intensive and tiresome.

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Terry Zheng & Yu Group Publish New Work on Water-Based Electrolytes

Materials Science and Engineering graduate student Tianrui (Terry) Zheng, under the supervision of Dr. Guihua Yu has published research in Advanced Materials introducing a biphasic electrolyte architecture that combines the strengths of water-based (aqueous) and organic-based electrolytes for long-duration, high-rate zinc metal batteries.

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Get Better Sleep With Ultrasound Patch That Boosts REM Rest

A wearable bioelectronic device increased REM sleep in real-world trials, without invasive surgery or medication.

Published by UT News.

Yuebing Zheng Awarded 'New Directions' Seed Funding from UT OVPR

Yuebing Zheng was awarded seed funding through the University's Office of the Vice President for Research, Scholarship and Creative Endeavors. The 'New Directions in Research' grants are one time payments that give faculty an opportunity to obtain proof-of-concept or pilot data for future, larger grants.

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Terry Zheng Awarded UT Chevron Energy Graduate Fellowship

Tianrui (Terry) Zheng, a Materials Science & Engineering graduate student working with Dr. Guihua Yu, is a recipient of the 2026-2027 UT Chevron Energy Graduate Fellows Award from UT's Energy Institute.

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