There are three steps: first year (2023-2024) consisting of build facility to create functional multimaterial fibers via thermal drawing technique, that are usually used to create optical and other functional fibers. The facility will allow VinUni to create devices at very low-cost that can be used immediately. 

The subsequent years (2024-2027) consisting of fabrication prototypes and devices aiming for environmental application. First prototypes will be fiber sensing for environment monitoring. This is done by adding new materials into the fibers structure via non-conventional methods, (i.e. co-drawing of inorganic semiconductors, composites, electrochemical coating of metals, blow-coating of organic semiconductors). We will include the 3D printing lab of ME into the rapid prototyping so that students can use the facility. This sub project aims to recruit and training VinUniversity students via UROP/Capstone projects, as well as PhD students at VinUni (EE and ME). External collaborations will consist of Vietnamese researchers and institutes for joint research proposals.  

The solar cell fibers sub-project is high-level research that will require collaborations with world-class institutes. The main goal at VinUni is to produce fibers, integration in devices; then working with collaboration on the characterization of the solar cells will be done with external collaborations. Students trained via the sub project 1 will be able to work in the sub-project 2. Two external collaborations are being developed, one with Prof. Thuc-Quyen Nguyen at UCSB (USA) on the use of organic materials as solar cells, and the other with Prof. Marina Freitag at University of Newcastle (U.K.) on the use of dye-synthetized solar cells). This sub-project is co-funded by VinIF at 140’000 USD for 3 year (until end of 2026).