Special Issue "Polymer MEMS"

Quicklinks

Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 December 2011)

Special Issue Editor

Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Smela
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, 2176 Glenn L. Martin Hall, College Park, MD 20742 , USA
Website: http://www.smela.umd.edu
E-Mail: smela@umd.edu
Phone: +1 301-405-5265
Fax: +1 301-314-9477

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polymer MEMS is a fast-expanding field with wide-ranging applications, from lab-on-a-chip systems to new actuators to flexible devices. Polymer MEMS have generated excitement because they offer novel and improved functionality, as well as lower cost. This special issue seeks to capture recent developments as well as shape future directions. Our goals are to showcase interesting, high-quality research, to encourage and enable wider use of polymeric materials by the microsystems community, to advance understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the field, and to inspire new approaches and ideas.
In view of the recent advances in this exciting field, Micromachines will publish a special issue dedicated to polymer MEMS. We invite papers in all areas of polymer MEMS, including but not limited to the following topics. Papers may be original contributions or reviews, and they may be experimental or theoretical.

Sensors and Actuators

- mechanical (strain, pressure, etc.)
- chemical and electrochemical
- optical
- thermal

Electroactive and smart materials

- piezoelectrics
- shape memory polymers
- gels, conjugated polymers
- nanocomposites
- biomaterials

Microfluidics

- technologies for cell culture, cell analysis, drug testing
- systems for proteomics, metabolomics, genomics, etc.
- components, including microvalves, pumps
- sample preparation

Integration

- integration with circuitry
- integration with Si MEMS
- packaging
- biocompatibility

Fabrication

- printing (ink jet, screen), rapid prototyping
- molding, embossing, roll-to-roll processing
- etching, laser machining
- electrochemical deposition
- UV-crosslinking, surface modification

Novel form factors

- flexible, stretchable, foldable systems
- large-area systems
- 3D microsystems, spheres, tubes, fibers

Dr. Elisabeth Smela
Guest Editor

Submission

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. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as 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 refereed through a 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 quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. For the first couple of issues the Article Processing Charge (APC) will be waived for well-prepared manuscripts. English correction and/or formatting fees of 250 CHF (Swiss Francs) will be charged in certain cases for those articles accepted for publication that require extensive additional formatting and/or English corrections.

Keywords

microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)
microfabrication
sensor
actuator
microfluidics
lab on a chip
micro total analysis systems (MicroTAS)
packaging
integration
SU8
parylene
polyimide
smart material
electroactive material
composite

Published Papers (8 papers)

Werner Karl Schomburg, Katharina Burlage and Christof Gerhardy

Article: Ultrasonic Hot Embossing

Micromachines 2011, 2(2), 157-166; doi:10.3390/mi2020157

Received: 31 March 2011; in revised form: 3 May 2011 / Accepted: 9 May 2011 / Published: 11 May 2011

Show/Hide Abstract | Download PDF Full-text (282 KB)

Christian A. Gutierrez and Ellis Meng

Article: Liquid Encapsulation in Parylene Microstructures Using Integrated Annular-Plate Stiction Valves

Micromachines 2011, 2(3), 356-368; doi:10.3390/mi2030356

Received: 1 August 2011; in revised form: 28 August 2011 / Accepted: 29 August 2011 / Published: 8 September 2011

Show/Hide Abstract | Download PDF Full-text (3147 KB)

Shue Wang, Wenfeng Liang, Zaili Dong, Vincent G. B. Lee and Wen J. Li

Article: Fabrication of Micrometer- and Nanometer-Scale Polymer Structures by Visible Light Induced Dielectrophoresis (DEP) Force

Micromachines 2011, 2(4), 431-442; doi:10.3390/mi2040431

Received: 7 November 2011; in revised form: 28 November 2011 / Accepted: 7 December 2011 / Published: 13 December 2011

Show/Hide Abstract | Download PDF Full-text (2863 KB)

Abstract: We report in this paper a novel, inexpensive and flexible method for fabricating micrometer- and nanometer-scale three-dimensional (3D) polymer structures using visible light sources instead of ultra-violet (UV) light sources or lasers. This method also does not require the conventional micro-photolithographic technique (i.e., photolithographic masks) for patterning and fabricating polymer structures such as hydrogels. The major materials and methods required for this novel fabrication technology are: (1) any cross-linked network of photoactive polymers (examples of fabricated poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-diacrylate hydrogel structures are shown in this paper); (2) an Optically-induced Dielectrophoresis (ODEP) System which includes an “ODEP chip” (i.e., any chip that changes its surface conductivity when exposed to visible light), an optical microscope, a projector, and a computer; and (3) an animator software hosted on a computer that can generate virtual or dynamic patterns which can be projected onto the “ODEP chip” through the use of a projector and a condenser lens. Essentially, by placing a photosensitive polymer solution inside the microfluidic platform formed by the “ODEP chip” bonded to another substrate, and applying an alternating current (a.c.) electrical potential across the polymer solution (typically ~20 V_p-p at 10 kHz), solid polymer micro/nano structures can then be formed on the “ODEP chip” surface when visible-light is projected onto the chip. The 2D lateral geometry (x and y dimensions) and the thickness (height) of the micro/nano structures are dictated by the image geometry of the visible light projected onto the “ODEP chip” and also the time duration of projection. Typically, after an image projection with intensity ranging from ~0.2 to 0.4 mW/cm² for 10 s, ~200 nm high structures can be formed. In our current system, the thickness of these polymer structures can be controlled to form from ~200 nanometers to ~3 micrometers structures. However, in the in-plane dimensions, only ~7 μm resolution can be achieved now, due to the optical diffraction limit and the physical dimensions of DMD mirrors in the projector. Nevertheless, with higher quality optical components, the in-plane resolution is expected to be sub-micron.

Benjamin R. Watts, Thomas Kowpak, Zhiyi Zhang, Chang-Qing Xu, Shiping Zhu, Xudong Cao and Min Lin

Article: Fabrication and Performance of a Photonic-Microfluidic Integrated Device

Micromachines 2012, 3(1), 62-77; doi:10.3390/mi3010062

Received: 20 December 2011; in revised form: 20 January 2012 / Accepted: 7 February 2012 / Published: 15 February 2012

Show/Hide Abstract | Download PDF Full-text (410 KB)

Yasunari Hotta, Yuhua Zhang and Norihisa Miki

Article: A Flexible Capacitive Sensor with Encapsulated Liquids as Dielectrics

Micromachines 2012, 3(1), 137-149; doi:10.3390/mi3010137

Received: 1 February 2012; in revised form: 2 March 2012 / Accepted: 2 March 2012 / Published: 13 March 2012

Show/Hide Abstract | Download PDF Full-text (3603 KB)

Tomokazu Takahashi, Masto Suzuki, Shota Iwamoto and Seiji Aoyagi

Article: Capacitive Tactile Sensor Based on Dielectric Oil Displacement out of a Parylene Dome into Surrounding Channels

Micromachines 2012, 3(2), 270-278; doi:10.3390/mi3020270

Received: 15 February 2012; in revised form: 14 March 2012 / Accepted: 16 March 2012 / Published: 28 March 2012

Show/Hide Abstract | Download PDF Full-text (2905 KB)

Masato Suzuki, Tomokazu Takahashi and Seiji Aoyagi

Article: Flexible Tactile Sensor Using Polyurethane Thin Film

Micromachines 2012, 3(2), 315-324; doi:10.3390/mi3020315

Received: 11 February 2012; in revised form: 5 March 2012 / Accepted: 13 March 2012 / Published: 10 April 2012

Show/Hide Abstract | Download PDF Full-text (588 KB)

Kai-Seng Koh, Jitkai Chin, Joanna Chia and Choon-Lai Chiang

Article: Quantitative Studies on PDMS-PDMS Interface Bonding with Piranha Solution and its Swelling Effect

Micromachines 2012, 3(2), 427-441; doi:10.3390/mi3020427

Received: 10 March 2012; in revised form: 26 April 2012 / Accepted: 26 April 2012 / Published: 4 May 2012

Show/Hide Abstract | Download PDF Full-text (954 KB) | View HTML Full-text | Download PMC-XML Full-text

Last update: 17 February 2012

Micromachines EISSN 2072-666X Published by MDPI Publishing, Basel, Switzerland RSS E-Mail Table of Contents Alert