Matteo Rinaldi
Professor,
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Director,
Institute for NanoSystems Innovation
Office
- 617.373.2751
Research Focus
Understanding and exploiting the fundamental properties of micro/nanomechanical structures and advanced nanomaterials to engineer new classes of micro and nanoelectromechanical systems (M/NEMS) with unique and enabling features applied to the areas of chemical, physical and biological sensing and low power reconfigurable radio communication systems
About
Matteo Rinaldi received his first-level (B.S.) and second-level (M.Sc.) Laurea degrees in Electronic Engineering (summa cum laude) from the University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy, in 2004 and 2007, respectively, and his Ph.D. degree in Electrical and Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, in 2010. His research interests primarily include Micro/Nano Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS/NEMS) devices with particular emphasis on Aluminum Nitride (AlN) piezoelectric NEMS sensors for physical, chemical and biological detection, AlN Radio Frequency MEMS/NEMS devices, micro/nano fabrication techniques and integration of MEMS/NEMS devices with electronics. He has authored more than 20 publications in the aforementioned research areas and also holds 3 device patent applications in the field of micro/nano mechanical resonant devices.
Matteo Rinaldi was the recipient of the Best Student Paper Award at the 2009 and 2011 IEEE International Frequency Control Symposiums. In March 2011 he was awarded with the S. J. Stein Prize for his superior achievements in the field of new or unique materials or applications for materials in electronics.
Matteo Rinaldi joined the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at Northeastern University as an Assistant Professor in the Spring 2012 semester.
Honors & Awards
- IEEE International Frequency Control Symposium (IFCS) 2025 Walter G. Cady Award, 2025
- Northeastern University Global Network Accelerator Award, 2024
- Optica Fellow
- College of Engineering Faculty Fellow
- IEEE Sensors Council Early Career Award
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Young Faculty Award
- NSF CAREER Award
Research Overview
Understanding and exploiting the fundamental properties of micro/nanomechanical structures and advanced nanomaterials to engineer new classes of micro and nanoelectromechanical systems (M/NEMS) with unique and enabling features applied to the areas of chemical, physical and biological sensing and low power reconfigurable radio communication systems
Northeastern Sensors & Nano Systems Laboratory
In NS&NS Lab, we are working on the development of miniaturized, low-power and high-performance sensors and radio frequency components. We focus on understanding and exploiting the fundamental properties of micromechanical structures and advanced nanomaterials to engineer new classes of micro- and nano-electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) with unique and enabling features applied to the areas of chemical, physical and biological sensing and low power reconfigurable radio communication systems.
Selected Research Projects
- Enabling Higher Scale Factors in Gyroscopes Through soFt and LacAlized interface-States in microelectromecHanical resonators (FLASH)
- – co-Principal Investigator, DARPA
- Cognitive Distributed Sensing in Congested Radio Frequency Environments
- – co-Principal Investigator, U.S. Army Research Laboratory
- Nano-opto-mechanical Piezoelectric Resonant Infrared-sensitive Metamaterials for Quantum-Limited Photodetection
- – Principal Investigator, DARPA
- High-Performance and Miniaturized Greenhouse Gas Sensor for Drone-based Remote Sensing
- – Principal Investigator, Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy
- CAREER: Nano Electro Mechanical Resonant Sensing Platform for Chip Scale, High Resolution and Ultra-Fast Terahertz Spectroscopy and Imaging
- – Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
- Microelectromechanical Resonant Circulator (MIRC)
- – Principal Investigator, DARPA MTO SPAR Program
- Plasmonic Microelectromechanical Infrared Digitizer (PLASMID)
- – Principal Investigator, DARPA MTO N-Zero Program
- Zero Power Sensors (ZePS)
- – Principal Investigator, DARPA MTO N-Zero Program
Research Centers and Institutes
Department Research Areas
Selected Publications
- Hui, Yu, Kang, Sungho, Qian, Zhenyun, Rinaldi, Matteo (2021). Uncooled Infrared Detector Based on an Aluminum Nitride Piezoelectric Fishnet Metasurface. Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems, 30(1),165-172. 10.1109/JMEMS.2020.3040953
- Hussein, Hussein M. E., Ibrahim, Mahmoud A. A., Rinaldi, Matteo, Onabajo, Marvin, Cassella, Cristian (2021). Reflective Parametric Frequency-Selective Limiters With Sub-dB Loss and μWatts Power Thresholds. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 69(6),2989-3000. 10.1109/TMTT.2021.3072587
- Hussein, Hussein M. E., Rinaldi, Matteo, Onabajo, Marvin, Cassella, Cristian (2021). A chip-less and battery-less subharmonic tag for wireless sensing with parametrically enhanced sensitivity and dynamic range. Scientific Reports, 11(1). 10.1038/S41598-021-82894-X
- Calisgan, Sila Deniz, Rajaram, Vageeswar, Kang, Sungho, Risso, Antea, Qian, Zhenyun, Rinaldi, Matteo (2020). Micromechanical Switch-Based Zero-Power Chemical Detectors for Plant Health Monitoring. Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems, 29(5),755-761. 10.1109/JMEMS.2020.3007309
- Chen, Guofeng, Rinaldi, Matteo (2020). Aluminum Nitride Combined Overtone Resonators for the 5G High Frequency Bands. Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems, 29(2),148-159. 10.1109/JMEMS.2020.2975557
- Herrera, Bernard, Pop, Flavius, Cassella, Cristian, Rinaldi, Matteo (2020). Miniaturized PMUT-Based Receiver for Underwater Acoustic Networking. Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems, 29(5),832-838. 10.1109/JMEMS.2020.3018070
- Hussein, Hussein M. E., Ibrahim, Mahmoud A. A., Michetti, Giuseppe, Rinaldi, Matteo, Onabajo, Marvin, Cassella, Cristian (2020). Systematic Synthesis and Design of Ultralow Threshold 2:1 Parametric Frequency Dividers. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 68(8),3497-3509. 10.1109/TMTT.2020.2999790
- Pop, Flavius, Herrera, Bernard, Cassella, Cristian, Rinaldi, Matteo (2020). Modeling and Optimization of Directly Modulated Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers. Sensors, 21(1),157. 10.3390/S21010157
- Pop, Flavius, Herrera, Bernard, Cassella, Cristian, Rinaldi, Matteo (2020). Enabling Real-Time Monitoring of Intrabody Networks through the Acoustic Discovery Architecture. IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control, 67(11),2336-2344. 10.1109/TUFFC.2020.3002973
Sep 08, 2025
Zepsor Technologies Taps Spark Fund to Scale Zero-Power Sensor Solutions
ECE Professor Matteo Rinaldi and Associate Research Professor Zhenyun Qian founded Zepsor Technologies, an innovative tech company that has developed a zero-power sensor that could reduce the demand for battery replacements.
Jun 03, 2025
New Wireless Sensing Technology Based on Ising Dynamics
ECE Assistant Research Professor Luca Colombo, Professor Matteo Rinaldi, and Associate Professor Cristian Cassella published research on “Programmable Threshold Sensing in Wireless Devices Using Ising Dynamics” in Nature Electronics. They embedded intelligence capabilities in a wireless sensor tag that has the potential to revolutionize the Internet of Things and AI by improving accuracy and reducing energy use.
May 20, 2025
Innovating Nanoscale Semiconductor Technologies
The spring 2025 edition of The Brief publication provides a deep-dive into the variety of innovative research being conducted in nanoscale semiconductor technologies at the Institute for NanoSystems Innovation at Northeastern University. View and download The Brief.
Apr 22, 2025
Rinaldi Receives 2025 IFCS Walter G. Cady Award
ECE Professor Matteo Rinaldi received the IEEE International Frequency Control Symposium (IFCS) 2025 Walter G. Cady Award for his technical contributions in the area of piezoelectric frequency control devices.
Feb 18, 2025
$2M DARPA Award for MEMS Inertial Sensor To Revolutionize Navigation Systems
ECE Associate Professor Cristian Cassella (PI), Professor Matteo Rinaldi, Professor David Horsley, and Assistant Professor Benyamin Davaji were awarded a $2 million DARPA grant for “Enabling Higher Scale Factors in Gyroscopes Through soFt and LacAlized interface-States in microelectromecHanical resonators (FLASH).”
Jan 02, 2025
Patent for Zero-Power Sensing Technology
ECE Professor Matteo Rinaldi and Associate Research Professor Zhenyun Qian were awarded a patent for “Zero power micromechanical switch-based sensing and monitoring system.”
Oct 16, 2024
Advancing Northeastern’s Bicoastal Mission To Develop Next-Generation Silicon Chips
The Institute for NanoSystems Innovation, led by ECE Professors Matteo Rinaldi and David Horsley as director and deputy director, respectively, is growing its bicoastal initiative to pioneer advanced semiconductor design by collaborating with faculty, industry, and graduate students from the Boston and Oakland campuses.
Aug 08, 2024
Patent for Ultra-Low Power Sensor for Remote Monitoring
ECE Professor Matteo Rinaldi and Associate Research Professor Zhenyun Qian were awarded a patent for “Sensor and method using bi-stable digitizing micromechanical switches for analog measurement of input signals.”
Aug 02, 2024
Revolutionizing Quantum Technology With Metamaterial-based Detectors
ECE Assistant Professor Marco Colangelo, Professor Matteo Rinaldi, and Assistant Professor Benyamin Davaji were awarded a $330,000 NSF grant for “Metamaterial-Enabled Superconducting Nanowire Detectors for High Temperature Operation.”
Apr 29, 2024
New Institute for NanoSystems Innovation in Boston and Oakland
The Institute for NanoSystems Innovation, a first-of-its-kind research institute located on both U.S. coasts, is developing nano-scale technologies to drive innovation and miniaturization of chip-level technology advancements and applications. ECE Professor Matteo Rinaldi is the institute’s director and ECE Professor David Horsley is deputy director.