Anne-Claire EILER (D3) received IEEE EDS Japan Chapter Student Award

Anne-Claire EILER, a 3rd-year doctoral student in the Department of Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, won an IEEE EDS Japan Joint Chapter Award for her presentation given at the 2020 IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) that was held online on 12-18 December 2020.

The IEEE EDS Japan Joint Chapter supports members in Japan who are responsible for the development of the electronic device field to further grow as research and　development specialists. EDS Japan Chapter has established the Japan Chapter Student Award to encourage student researchers to engage in academic activities and revitalize their research activities. This award is given to young student researchers belonging to universities and graduate schools in Japan who are recognized as having outstanding contributions to electronic device technology.

The title of the winning presentation: “Thin-Film Transistor Platform for Electrophysiological and Electrochemical Characterization of Biological Cells”.
This study presents a new microelectrode array using the Thin-Film Transistor (TFT) technology for detecting the extracellular potential of excitable cells and performing electrochemical measurements. Microelectrode arrays using TFTs have the advantage of being transparent with a high density of microelectrodes on a large surface. The electrical activity of heart cell cultures was successfully measured with the TFT array, and the cell contraction was observed simultaneously with an inverted microscope. Moreover, voltammetry and amperometry measurements were also demonstrated by using the transparent microelectrodes as working electrodes, and an integrated Ag/AgCl reference electrode. As a result, the TFT array platform offers the possibility of building new valuable lab-on-a-chip devices that integrate many measurement techniques on one chip for the study of cell cultures, tissues, and organoids.

I am truly honored to receive an IEEE EDS Japan Joint Chapter Student Award for the presentation given at the 2020 IEDM conference. I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to my academic supervisor, Dr. Agnès Tixier-Mita, for her precious help and guidance in this research, and to everyone who participated in the realization of this study.