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Micromachines
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MEMS/NEMS Sensors: Fabrication and Application
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MEMS/NEMS Sensors: Fabrication and Application

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "A：Physics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 January 2019) | Viewed by 78195

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Goutam Koley

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
Interests: III-Nitride MEMS; chemical sensors; biosensors; 2D materials; nanoelectronics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Ifat Jahangir

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Intel Corporation, OR 97124, USA
Interests: III-Nitride MEMS; 2D materials; nanowires; nanoelectronics; chemical sensors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Due to the ever-expanding applications of micro/nano-electromechanical systems (NEMS/MEMS) as sensors and actuators, interest in their development has rapidly expanded over the past decade. Encompassing various excitation and readout schemes, the MEMS/NEMS devices transduce physical parameter changes, such as temperature, mass or stress, caused by changes in desired measurands, to electrical signals that can be further processed. Some common examples of NEMS/MEMS sensors include pressure sensors, accelerometers, magnetic field sensors, microphones, radiation sensors, and particulate matter sensors. 

Despite a long history of development, fabrication of novel MEMS/NEMS devices still poses unique challenges due to their requirement for a suspended geometry; and many new fabrication techniques have been proposed to overcome these challenges. However, further development of these techniques is still necessary, as newer materials such as compound semiconductors, and 2-dimensional materials are finding their way in various MEMS/NEMS applications, with more complex structures and potentially smaller dimensions. 

For this Special Issue, you are invited to submit contributions describing the development in the broad area of MEMS/NEMS based sensors, ranging from nanoscale to macroscale in dimensions and operating over a large range of frequencies from GHz to a few Hz. The scope covers different types of individual MEMS/NEMS sensors made with traditional and emerging materials employing various transduction schemes, sensor networks, multimodal data fusion; theory and applications, physical models and fabrication techniques.

Prof. Dr. Goutam Koley
Dr. Ifat Jahangir
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Micromachines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • MEMS/NEMS Sensors
  • Sensor fabrication
  • Physical sensors
  • Chemical sensors
  • Biological sensors
  • Radiation sensors

Published Papers (18 papers)

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Editorial

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3 pages, 143 KiB  
Editorial
Editorial for the Special Issue on MEMS/NEMS Sensors: Fabrication and Application
by Goutam Koley
Micromachines 2019, 10(9), 554; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi10090554 - 22 Aug 2019
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1944
Abstract
MEMS sensors are currently undergoing a phase of exciting technological development, not only enabling advancements in traditional applications such as accelerometers and gyroscopes, but also in emerging applications such as microfluidics, thermoelectromechanical, and harsh environment sensors [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue MEMS/NEMS Sensors: Fabrication and Application)

Research

Jump to: Editorial, Review

15 pages, 4490 KiB  
Article
Design of a Micromachined Z-axis Tunneling Magnetoresistive Accelerometer with Electrostatic Force Feedback
by Bo Yang, Binlong Wang, Hongyu Yan and Xiaoyong Gao
Micromachines 2019, 10(2), 158; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi10020158 - 25 Feb 2019
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3725
Abstract
This paper presents the design, simulation, fabrication and experiments of a micromachined z-axis tunneling magnetoresistive accelerometer with electrostatic force feedback. The tunneling magnetoresistive accelerometer consists of two upper differential tunneling magnetoresistive sensors, a middle plane main structure with permanent magnetic films and lower [...] Read more.
This paper presents the design, simulation, fabrication and experiments of a micromachined z-axis tunneling magnetoresistive accelerometer with electrostatic force feedback. The tunneling magnetoresistive accelerometer consists of two upper differential tunneling magnetoresistive sensors, a middle plane main structure with permanent magnetic films and lower electrostatic feedback electrodes. A pair of lever-driven differential proof masses in the middle plane main structure is used for sensitiveness to acceleration and closed-loop feedback control. The tunneling magnetoresistive effect with high sensitivity is adopted to measure magnetic field variation caused by input acceleration. The structural mode and mass ratio between inner and outer proof masses are optimized by the Ansys simulation. Simultaneously, the magnetic field characteristic simulation is implemented to analyze the effect of the location of tunneling magnetoresistive sensors, magnetic field intensity, and the dimension of permanent magnetic film on magnetic field sensitivity, which is beneficial for the achievement of maximum sensitivity. The micromachined z-axis tunneling magnetoresistive accelerometer fabricated by the standard deep dry silicon on glass (DDSOG) process has a device dimension of 6400 μm (length) × 6400 μm (width) × 120 μm (height). The experimental results demonstrate the prototype has a maximal sensitivity of 8.85 mV/g along the z-axis sensitive direction under the gap of 1 mm. Simultaneously, Allan variance analysis illustrate that a noise floor of 86.2 μg/Hz0.5 is implemented in the z-axis tunneling magnetoresistive accelerometer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue MEMS/NEMS Sensors: Fabrication and Application)
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13 pages, 2699 KiB  
Article
The Effect of the Anisotropy of Single Crystal Silicon on the Frequency Split of Vibrating Ring Gyroscopes
by Zhengcheng Qin, Yang Gao, Jia Jia, Xukai Ding, Libin Huang and Hongsheng Li
Micromachines 2019, 10(2), 126; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi10020126 - 14 Feb 2019
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4165
Abstract
This paper analyzes the effect of the anisotropy of single crystal silicon on the frequency split of the vibrating ring gyroscope, operated in the n = 2 wineglass mode. Firstly, the elastic properties including elastic matrices and orthotropic elasticity values of (100) and [...] Read more.
This paper analyzes the effect of the anisotropy of single crystal silicon on the frequency split of the vibrating ring gyroscope, operated in the n = 2 wineglass mode. Firstly, the elastic properties including elastic matrices and orthotropic elasticity values of (100) and (111) silicon wafers were calculated using the direction cosines of transformed coordinate systems. The (111) wafer was found to be in-plane isotropic. Then, the frequency splits of the n = 2 mode ring gyroscopes of two wafers were simulated using the calculated elastic properties. The simulation results show that the frequency split of the (100) ring gyroscope is far larger than that of the (111) ring gyroscope. Finally, experimental verifications were carried out on the micro-gyroscopes fabricated using deep dry silicon on glass technology. The experimental results are sufficiently in agreement with those of the simulation. Although the single crystal silicon is anisotropic, all the results show that compared with the (100) ring gyroscope, the frequency split of the ring gyroscope fabricated using the (111) wafer is less affected by the crystal direction, which demonstrates that the (111) wafer is more suitable for use in silicon ring gyroscopes as it is possible to get a lower frequency split. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue MEMS/NEMS Sensors: Fabrication and Application)
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14 pages, 2606 KiB  
Article
Evolution of Si Crystallographic Planes-Etching of Square and Circle Patterns in 25 wt % TMAH
by Milče M. Smiljanić, Žarko Lazić, Branislav Radjenović, Marija Radmilović-Radjenović and Vesna Jović
Micromachines 2019, 10(2), 102; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi10020102 - 31 Jan 2019
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 5054
Abstract
Squares and circles are basic patterns for most mask designs of silicon microdevices. Evolution of etched Si crystallographic planes defined by square and circle patterns in the masking layer is presented and analyzed in this paper. The sides of square patterns in the [...] Read more.
Squares and circles are basic patterns for most mask designs of silicon microdevices. Evolution of etched Si crystallographic planes defined by square and circle patterns in the masking layer is presented and analyzed in this paper. The sides of square patterns in the masking layer are designed along predetermined <n10> crystallographic directions. Etching of a (100) silicon substrate is performed in 25 wt % tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) water solution at the temperature of 80 °C. Additionally, this paper presents three-dimensional (3D) simulations of the profile evolution during silicon etching of designed patterns based on the level-set method. We analyzed etching of designed patterns in the shape of square and circle islands. The crystallographic planes that appear during etching of 3D structures in the experiment and simulated etching profiles are determined. A good agreement between dominant crystallographic planes through experiments and simulations is obtained. The etch rates of dominant exposed crystallographic planes are also analytically calculated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue MEMS/NEMS Sensors: Fabrication and Application)
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11 pages, 6833 KiB  
Article
A Novel Fabricating Process of Catalytic Gas Sensor Based on Droplet Generating Technology
by Liqun Wu, Ting Zhang, Hongcheng Wang, Chengxin Tang and Linan Zhang
Micromachines 2019, 10(1), 71; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi10010071 - 20 Jan 2019
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3690
Abstract
Catalytic gas sensors are widely used for measuring concentrations of combustible gases to prevent explosive accidents in industrial and domestic environments. The typical structure of the sensitive element of the sensor consists of carrier and catalyst materials, which are in and around a [...] Read more.
Catalytic gas sensors are widely used for measuring concentrations of combustible gases to prevent explosive accidents in industrial and domestic environments. The typical structure of the sensitive element of the sensor consists of carrier and catalyst materials, which are in and around a platinum coil. However, the size of the platinum coil is micron-grade and typically has a cylindrical shape. It is extremely difficult to control the amount of carrier and catalyst materials and to fulfill the inner cavity of the coil, which adds to the irreproducibility and uncertainty of the sensor performance. To solve this problem, this paper presents a new method which uses a drop-on-demand droplet generator to add the carrier and catalytic materials into the platinum coil and fabricate the micropellistor. The materials in this article include finely dispersed Al2O3 suspension and platinum palladium (Pd-Pt) catalyst. The size of the micropellistor with carrier material can be controlled by the number of the suspension droplets, while the amount of Pd-Pt catalyst can be controlled by the number of catalyst droplets. A bridge circuit is used to obtain the output signal of the gas sensors. The original signals of the micropellistor at 140 mV and 80 mV remain after aging treatment. The sensitivity and power consumption of the pellistor are 32 mV/% CH4 and 120 mW, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue MEMS/NEMS Sensors: Fabrication and Application)
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15 pages, 11715 KiB  
Article
Implementation of a CMOS/MEMS Accelerometer with ASIC Processes
by Yu-Sian Liu and Kuei-Ann Wen
Micromachines 2019, 10(1), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi10010050 - 12 Jan 2019
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 5087
Abstract
This paper presents the design, simulation and mechanical characterization of a newly proposed complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)/micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) accelerometer. The monolithic CMOS/MEMS accelerometer was fabricated using the 0.18 μm application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)-compatible CMOS/MEMS process. An approximate analytical model for the spring [...] Read more.
This paper presents the design, simulation and mechanical characterization of a newly proposed complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)/micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) accelerometer. The monolithic CMOS/MEMS accelerometer was fabricated using the 0.18 μm application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)-compatible CMOS/MEMS process. An approximate analytical model for the spring design is presented. The experiments showed that the resonant frequency of the proposed tri-axis accelerometer was around 5.35 kHz for out-plane vibration. The tri-axis accelerometer had an area of 1096 μm × 1256 μm. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue MEMS/NEMS Sensors: Fabrication and Application)
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11 pages, 3374 KiB  
Article
Bonding Strength of a Glass Microfluidic Device Fabricated by Femtosecond Laser Micromachining and Direct Welding
by Sungil Kim, Jeongtae Kim, Yeun-Ho Joung, Jiyeon Choi and Chiwan Koo
Micromachines 2018, 9(12), 639; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi9120639 - 03 Dec 2018
Cited by 37 | Viewed by 8423
Abstract
We present a rapid and highly reliable glass (fused silica) microfluidic device fabrication process using various laser processes, including maskless microchannel formation and packaging. Femtosecond laser assisted selective etching was adopted to pattern microfluidic channels on a glass substrate and direct welding was [...] Read more.
We present a rapid and highly reliable glass (fused silica) microfluidic device fabrication process using various laser processes, including maskless microchannel formation and packaging. Femtosecond laser assisted selective etching was adopted to pattern microfluidic channels on a glass substrate and direct welding was applied for local melting of the glass interface in the vicinity of the microchannels. To pattern channels, a pulse energy of 10 μJ was used with a scanning speed of 100 mm/s at a pulse repetition rate of 500 kHz. After 20–30 min of etching in hydrofluoric acid (HF), the glass was welded with a pulse energy of 2.7 μJ and a speed of 20 mm/s. The developed process was as simple as drawing, but powerful enough to reduce the entire production time to an hour. To investigate the welding strength of the fabricated glass device, we increased the hydraulic pressure inside the microchannel of the glass device integrated into a custom-built pressure measurement system and monitored the internal pressure. The glass device showed extremely reliable bonding by enduring internal pressure up to at least 1.4 MPa without any leakage or breakage. The measured pressure is 3.5-fold higher than the maximum internal pressure of the conventional polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)–glass or PDMS–PDMS bonding. The demonstrated laser process can be applied to produce a new class of glass devices with reliability in a high pressure environment, which cannot be achieved by PDMS devices or ultraviolet (UV) glued glass devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue MEMS/NEMS Sensors: Fabrication and Application)
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14 pages, 6364 KiB  
Article
Monolithic Low Noise and Low Zero-g Offset CMOS/MEMS Accelerometer Readout Scheme
by Yu-Sian Liu and Kuei-Ann Wen
Micromachines 2018, 9(12), 637; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi9120637 - 30 Nov 2018
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3692
Abstract
A monolithic low noise and low zero-g offset CMOS/MEMS accelerometer and readout scheme in standard 0.18 μm CMOS mixed signal UMC process is presented. The low noise chopper architecture and telescopic topology is developed to achieve low noise. The experiments show noise floor [...] Read more.
A monolithic low noise and low zero-g offset CMOS/MEMS accelerometer and readout scheme in standard 0.18 μm CMOS mixed signal UMC process is presented. The low noise chopper architecture and telescopic topology is developed to achieve low noise. The experiments show noise floor is 421.70 μg/√Hz. The whole system has 470 mV/g sensitivity. The power consumption is about 1.67 mW. The zero-g trimming circuit reduces the offset from 1242.63 mg to 2.30 mg. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue MEMS/NEMS Sensors: Fabrication and Application)
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12 pages, 2308 KiB  
Article
A 5 g Inertial Micro-Switch with Enhanced Threshold Accuracy Using Squeeze-Film Damping
by Yingchun Peng, Guoguo Wu, Chunpeng Pan, Cheng Lv and Tianhong Luo
Micromachines 2018, 9(11), 539; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi9110539 - 23 Oct 2018
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2436
Abstract
Our previous report based on a 10 g (gravity) silicon-based inertial micro-switch showed that the contact effect between the two electrodes can be improved by squeeze-film damping. As an extended study toward its potential applications, the switch with a large proof mass suspended [...] Read more.
Our previous report based on a 10 g (gravity) silicon-based inertial micro-switch showed that the contact effect between the two electrodes can be improved by squeeze-film damping. As an extended study toward its potential applications, the switch with a large proof mass suspended by four flexible serpentine springs was redesigned to achieve 5 g threshold value and enhanced threshold accuracy. The impact of the squeeze-film damping on the threshold value was theoretically studied. The theoretical results show that the threshold variation from the designed value due to fabrication errors can be reduced by optimizing the device thickness (the thickness of the proof mass and springs) and then establishing a tradeoff between the damping and elastic forces, thus improving the threshold accuracy. The design strategy was verified by FEM (finite-element-method) simulation and an experimental test. The simulation results show that the maximum threshold deviation was only 0.15 g, when the device thickness variation range was 16–24 μm, which is an adequately wide latitude for the current bulk silicon micromachining technology. The measured threshold values were 4.9–5.8 g and the device thicknesses were 18.2–22.5 μm, agreeing well with the simulation results. The measured contact time was 50 μs which is also in good agreement with our previous work. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue MEMS/NEMS Sensors: Fabrication and Application)
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12 pages, 5115 KiB  
Article
Thermal Performance of Micro Hotplates with Novel Shapes Based on Single-Layer SiO2 Suspended Film
by Qi Liu, Guifu Ding, Yipin Wang and Jinyuan Yao
Micromachines 2018, 9(10), 514; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi9100514 - 11 Oct 2018
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3912
Abstract
In this paper, two kinds of suspended micro hotplate with novel shapes of multibeam structure and reticular structure are designed. These designs have a reliable mechanical strength, so they can be designed and fabricated on single-layer SiO2 suspended film through a simplified [...] Read more.
In this paper, two kinds of suspended micro hotplate with novel shapes of multibeam structure and reticular structure are designed. These designs have a reliable mechanical strength, so they can be designed and fabricated on single-layer SiO2 suspended film through a simplified process. Single-layer suspended film helps to reduce power consumption. Based on the new film shapes, different resistance heaters with various widths and thicknesses are designed. Then, the temperature uniformity and power consumption of different micro hotplates are compared to study the effect of these variables and obtain the one with the optimal thermal performance. We report the simulations of temperature uniformity and give the corresponding infrared images in measurement. The experimental temperature differences are larger than those of the simulation. Experimental results show that the lowest power consumption and the minimum temperature difference are 43 mW and 50 °C, respectively, when the highest temperature on the suspended platform (240 × 240 μm2) is 450 °C. Compared to the traditional four-beam micro hotplate, temperature non-uniformity is reduced by about 30–50%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue MEMS/NEMS Sensors: Fabrication and Application)
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18 pages, 11851 KiB  
Article
Automatic Frequency Tuning Technology for Dual-Mass MEMS Gyroscope Based on a Quadrature Modulation Signal
by Jia Jia, Xukai Ding, Yang Gao and Hongsheng Li
Micromachines 2018, 9(10), 511; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi9100511 - 10 Oct 2018
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3639
Abstract
In order to eliminate the frequency mismatch of MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems) gyroscopes, this paper proposes a frequency tuning technology based on a quadrature modulation signal. A sinusoidal signal having a frequency greater the gyroscope operating bandwidth is applied to the quadrature stiffness correction [...] Read more.
In order to eliminate the frequency mismatch of MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems) gyroscopes, this paper proposes a frequency tuning technology based on a quadrature modulation signal. A sinusoidal signal having a frequency greater the gyroscope operating bandwidth is applied to the quadrature stiffness correction combs, and the modulation signal containing the frequency split information is then excited at the gyroscope output. The effects of quadrature correction combs and frequency tuning combs on the resonant frequency of gyroscope are analyzed. The tuning principle based on low frequency input excitation is analyzed, and the tuning system adopting this principle is designed and simulated. The experiments are arranged to verify the theoretical analysis. The wide temperature range test (-20 ∘ C –60 ∘ C ) demonstrates the reliability of the tuning system with a maximum mismatch frequency of less than 0.3 Hz. The scale factor test and static test were carried out at three temperature conditions (−20 ∘ C, room temperature, 60 ∘ C), and the scale factor, zero-bias instability, and angle random walk are improved. Moreover, the closed-loop detection method is adopted, which improves the scale factor nonlinearity and bandwidth under the premise of maintaining the same static performances compared with the open-loop detection by tuning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue MEMS/NEMS Sensors: Fabrication and Application)
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9 pages, 6613 KiB  
Article
Miniaturized NIR Spectrometer Based on Novel MOEMS Scanning Tilted Grating
by Jian Huang, Quan Wen, Qiuyu Nie, Fei Chang, Ying Zhou and Zhiyu Wen
Micromachines 2018, 9(10), 478; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi9100478 - 20 Sep 2018
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 3782
Abstract
This paper presents a dispersive near-infrared spectrometer with features of miniaturization, portability and low cost. The application of a resonantly-driven scanning grating mirror (SGM) as a dispersive element in a crossed Czerny–Turner configuration enables the design of a miniaturized spectrometer that can detect [...] Read more.
This paper presents a dispersive near-infrared spectrometer with features of miniaturization, portability and low cost. The application of a resonantly-driven scanning grating mirror (SGM) as a dispersive element in a crossed Czerny–Turner configuration enables the design of a miniaturized spectrometer that can detect the full spectra using only one single InGaAs diode. In addition, a high accuracy recalculation is realized, which can convert time-dependent measurements to spectrum information by utilizing the deflection position detector integrated on SGM and its associated closed-loop control circuit. Finally, the spectrometer prototype is subjected to a series of tests to characterize the instrument’s performance fully. The results of the experiment show that the spectrometer works in a spectral range of 800 nm–1800 nm with a resolution of less than 10 nm, a size of 9 × 7 × 7 cm3, a wavelength stability better than ±1 nm and a measuring time of less than 1 ms. Furthermore, the power consumption of the instrument is 3 W at 5 V DC, and the signal-to-noise ratio is 3267 at full scale. Therefore, this spectrometer could be a potential alternative to classical spectrometers in process control applications or could be used as a portable or airborne spectroscopic sensor. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue MEMS/NEMS Sensors: Fabrication and Application)
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10 pages, 3367 KiB  
Article
Design, Simulation and Experimental Study of the Linear Magnetic Microactuator
by Hanlin Feng, Xiaodan Miao and Zhuoqing Yang
Micromachines 2018, 9(9), 454; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi9090454 - 11 Sep 2018
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3885
Abstract
This paper reports the design, simulation and experimental study of a linear magnetic microactuator for portable electronic equipment and microsatellite high resolution remote sensing technology. The linear magnetic microactuator consists of a planar microcoil, a supporter and a microspring. Its bistable mechanism can [...] Read more.
This paper reports the design, simulation and experimental study of a linear magnetic microactuator for portable electronic equipment and microsatellite high resolution remote sensing technology. The linear magnetic microactuator consists of a planar microcoil, a supporter and a microspring. Its bistable mechanism can be kept without current by external permanent magnetic force, and can be switched by the bidirectional electromagnetic force. The linearization and threshold of the bistable mechanism was optimized by topology structure design of the microspring. The linear microactuator was then fabricated based on non-silicon technology and the prototype was tested. The testing results indicated that the bistable mechanism was realized with a fast response of 0.96 ms, which verified the simulation and analysis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue MEMS/NEMS Sensors: Fabrication and Application)
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11 pages, 4365 KiB  
Article
Frequency Characteristic of Resonant Micro Fluidic Chip for Oil Detection Based on Resistance Parameter
by Zilei Yu, Lin Zeng, Hongpeng Zhang, Guogang Yang, Wenqi Wang and Wanheng Zhang
Micromachines 2018, 9(7), 344; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi9070344 - 09 Jul 2018
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3165
Abstract
Monitoring the working condition of hydraulic equipment is significance in industrial fields. The abnormal wear of the hydraulic system can be revealed by detecting the variety and size of micro metal debris in the hydraulic oil. We thus present the design and implementation [...] Read more.
Monitoring the working condition of hydraulic equipment is significance in industrial fields. The abnormal wear of the hydraulic system can be revealed by detecting the variety and size of micro metal debris in the hydraulic oil. We thus present the design and implementation of a micro detection system of hydraulic oil metal debris based on inductor capacitor (LC) resonant circuit in this paper. By changing the resonant frequency of the micro fluidic chip, we can detect the metal debris of hydraulic oil and analyze the sensitivity of the micro fluidic chip at different resonant frequencies. We then obtained the most suitable resonant frequency. The chip would generate a positive resistance pulse when the iron particles pass through the detection area and the sensitivity of the chip decreased with resonant frequency. The chip would generate a negative resistance pulse when the copper particles pass through the detection area and the sensitivity of the chip increased with resonant frequency. The experimental results show that the change of resonant frequency has a great effect on the copper particles and little on the iron particles. Thus, a relatively big resonant frequency can be selected for chip designing and testing. In practice, we can choose a relatively big resonant frequency in this micro fluidic chip designing. The resonant micro fluidic chip is capable of detecting 20–30 μm iron particles and 70–80 μm copper particles at 0.9 MHz resonant frequency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue MEMS/NEMS Sensors: Fabrication and Application)
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13 pages, 3863 KiB  
Article
Adaptive Backstepping Design of a Microgyroscope
by Yunmei Fang, Juntao Fei and Yuzheng Yang
Micromachines 2018, 9(7), 338; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi9070338 - 03 Jul 2018
Cited by 57 | Viewed by 3751
Abstract
This paper presents a novel algorithm for the design and analysis of an adaptive backstepping controller (ABC) for a microgyroscope. Firstly, Lagrange–Maxwell electromechanical equations are established to derive the dynamic model of a z-axis microgyroscope. Secondly, a nonlinear controller as a backstepping [...] Read more.
This paper presents a novel algorithm for the design and analysis of an adaptive backstepping controller (ABC) for a microgyroscope. Firstly, Lagrange–Maxwell electromechanical equations are established to derive the dynamic model of a z-axis microgyroscope. Secondly, a nonlinear controller as a backstepping design approach is introduced and deployed in order to drive the trajectory tracking errors to converge to zero with asymptotic stability. Meanwhile, an adaptive estimator is developed and implemented with the backstepping controller to update the value of the parameter estimates in the Lyapunov framework in real-time. In addition, the unknown system parameters including the angular velocity may be estimated online if the persistent excitation (PE) requirement is met. A robust compensator is incorporated in the adaptive backstepping algorithm to suppress the parameter variations and external disturbances. Finally, simulation studies are conducted to prove the validity of the proposed ABC scheme with guaranteed asymptotic stability and excellent tracking performance, as well as consistent parameter estimates in the presence of model uncertainties and disturbances. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue MEMS/NEMS Sensors: Fabrication and Application)
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9 pages, 3175 KiB  
Article
High Temperature AlGaN/GaN Membrane Based Pressure Sensors
by Durga Gajula, Ifat Jahangir and Goutam Koley
Micromachines 2018, 9(5), 207; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi9050207 - 28 Apr 2018
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4774
Abstract
A highly sensitive Gallium Nitride (GaN) diaphragm based micro-scale pressure sensor with an AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field effect transistor (HFET) deflection transducer has been designed and fabricated for high temperature applications. The performance of the pressure sensor was studied over a pressure range of [...] Read more.
A highly sensitive Gallium Nitride (GaN) diaphragm based micro-scale pressure sensor with an AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field effect transistor (HFET) deflection transducer has been designed and fabricated for high temperature applications. The performance of the pressure sensor was studied over a pressure range of 20 kPa, which resulted in an ultra-high sensitivity of ~0.76%/kPa, with a signal-to-noise ratio as high as 16 dB, when biased optimally in the subthreshold region. A high gauge factor of 260 was determined from strain distribution in the sensor membrane obtained from finite element simulations. A repeatable sensor performance was observed over multiple pressure cycles up to a temperature of 200 °C. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue MEMS/NEMS Sensors: Fabrication and Application)
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11 pages, 38993 KiB  
Article
DC-25 GHz and Low-Loss MEMS Thermoelectric Power Sensors with Floating Thermal Slug and Reliable Back Cavity Based on GaAs MMIC Technology
by Zhiqiang Zhang and Yao Ma
Micromachines 2018, 9(4), 154; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi9040154 - 29 Mar 2018
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4065
Abstract
Wideband and low-loss microwave power measurements are becoming increasingly important for microwave communication and radar systems. To achieve such a power measurement, this paper presents the design and measurement of wideband DC-25 GHz and low-loss MEMS thermoelectric power sensors with a floating thermal [...] Read more.
Wideband and low-loss microwave power measurements are becoming increasingly important for microwave communication and radar systems. To achieve such a power measurement, this paper presents the design and measurement of wideband DC-25 GHz and low-loss MEMS thermoelectric power sensors with a floating thermal slug and a reliable back cavity. In the sensors, the microwave power is converted to thermovoltages via heat. The collaborative design of the thermal slug and the back cavity, i.e., two thermal flow paths, is utilized to improve the efficiency of heat transfer and to ensure reliable applications. These sensors are required to operate up to 25 GHz. In order to achieve low microwave losses at the bandwidth, the floating thermal slug is designed instead of the grounded one. The effects of the floating slug on the reflection losses are analyzed by the simulation. The fabrication of these sensors is completed by GaAs monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC) and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology. Measured reflection losses are less than −25.6 dB up to 12 GHz and −18.6 dB up to 25 GHz. The design of the floating thermal slug reduces the losses, which is equivalent to improving the sensitivity. At 10 and 25 GHz, experiments exhibit that the sensors result in sensitivities of about 51.13 and 35.28 μV/mW for the floating slug and 81.68 and 55.20 μV/mW for the floating slug and the cavity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue MEMS/NEMS Sensors: Fabrication and Application)
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Review

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31 pages, 6690 KiB  
Review
Applications of Photonic Crystal Nanobeam Cavities for Sensing
by Qifeng Qiao, Ji Xia, Chengkuo Lee and Guangya Zhou
Micromachines 2018, 9(11), 541; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi9110541 - 23 Oct 2018
Cited by 56 | Viewed by 7218
Abstract
In recent years, there has been growing interest in optical sensors based on microcavities due to their advantages of size reduction and enhanced sensing capability. In this paper, we aim to give a comprehensive review of the field of photonic crystal nanobeam cavity-based [...] Read more.
In recent years, there has been growing interest in optical sensors based on microcavities due to their advantages of size reduction and enhanced sensing capability. In this paper, we aim to give a comprehensive review of the field of photonic crystal nanobeam cavity-based sensors. The sensing principles and development of applications, such as refractive index sensing, nanoparticle sensing, optomechanical sensing, and temperature sensing, are summarized and highlighted. From the studies reported, it is demonstrated that photonic crystal nanobeam cavities, which provide excellent light confinement capability, ultra-small size, flexible on-chip design, and easy integration, offer promising platforms for a range of sensing applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue MEMS/NEMS Sensors: Fabrication and Application)
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