Applications of Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMSs)
A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2025 | Viewed by 105
Special Issue Editor
Interests: piezoelectric films; MEMS; micro-sensors; micro-actuators; functionalised materials; graphene and 2D materials; MEMS and materials; nano/micro characterisation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Microelectromechanical systems continue to play an extremely significant role in relation to thin films, microfabrication, and unique functionality. There are many exciting challenges to overcome to meet the needs of current and future micro sensor–actuator systems.
For a long time, MEMS actuators have been driven by piezoelectric thin films, in particular lead zirconate titanate (PZT), which enables useful actuation at low voltages, especially if the films consist of bilayers and are operated at resonance. How can this simple structure be improved? The focus of actuation has been the functional film, but what about the electrodes? Usually, Au or Pt electrodes form the contacts, but they are not able to control charge at the two interfaces, so transparent conducting oxides such as lanthium nickolate (LNO) are mostly not considered. PZT and its family of materials are lead based. Materials should be lead free.
Actuation is pivotal. So, what other material options could be explored? Actuation in piezoelectric materials works according to electric field (not voltage); however, electrical current can be used to heat shape memory alloy thin films, such as nitinol, or magnetic fields can be used (non-contact) with magnetostrictive materials, such as terfenol-D.
Two-dimensional materials may not have a role to play in actuation directly, but can they find applications in resonant biosensor systems or as membranes in acoustic transducers, such as hearing aids?
The challenge here is to develop devices incorporating such materials in novel MEMS applications, where device functionality is enhanced.
Dr. David F.L. Jenkins
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- lead free
- piezoelectric
- shape memory alloys
- transparent conducting oxides
- magnetostriction
- two-dimensional materials
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