Applications of Advanced Nanomaterials on Microelectronic Devices and MEMS

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2016) | Viewed by 68690

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Department of Electronic Engineering National Formosa University, Yunlin 632, Taiwan
Interests: IOT devices; photovoltaic devices; STEM education
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Department of Electrical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan
Interests: optical and electronic devices; semi-conductive materials; nanotechnology
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Aeronautics, Astronautics and Computational Engineering, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 7QF, UK
Interests: microsystem design; nanotechnology
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Xiamen Academy of Arts and Design, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
Interests: nanostructures; nanomaterials; applied science
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, applications of advanced nanomaterials on microelectronic devices and MEMS have been a highly developing field, due to the flexibility and light weight for daily use, which has the potential to be deployable. Nanomaterials which provide one of the greatest potentials for improving performance and extending capabilities of products in a number of industrial sectors are a new class of materials, having dimensions in the 1–100 nm range. The most successful examples are seen in microelectronics, where "smaller" has always meant a greater performance ever since the invention of transistors: e.g., higher density of integration, faster response, lower cost, and less power consumption. Therefore, the fields of nanostructure devices have been the subject of many reviews. We invite investigators to contribute original research articles on the “Applications of Advanced Nanomaterials on Microelectronic Devices and MEMS” topic. Potential subjects include, but are not limited to:

  • Nanoparticles, nanowires, or nanosheets: preparation and applications;
  • Nanostructures for microelectronic and photonic Devices applications;
  • Nanostructures for energy applications;
  • Optical properties of nano and micro devices;
  • Nanotechnology on microfluidics or nanofluidics and other micro/nano devices;
  • Nanotechnology on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS).

Prof. Dr. Teen-Hang Meen
Prof. Dr. Shoou-Jinn Chang
Dr. Stephen D. Prior
Prof. Dr. Artde Donald Kin­Tak Lam
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Nanomaterials
  • Nanostructure
  • Microfluidics
  • Nanofluidics
  • Optical Properties
  • Micro Electro Mechanical Systems

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Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

2082 KiB  
Article
Interface Friction of Double-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Investigated Using Molecular Dynamics †
by Cheng-Da Wu, Te-Hua Fang and Fu-Yung Tung
Micromachines 2017, 8(3), 84; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi8030084 - 9 Mar 2017
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 5288
Abstract
The interface friction characteristics of double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) are studied using molecular dynamics simulations based on the Tersoff potential. The effects of the DWCNT type, outer shell diameter, and temperature are evaluated. The simulation results show that when an inner shell is [...] Read more.
The interface friction characteristics of double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) are studied using molecular dynamics simulations based on the Tersoff potential. The effects of the DWCNT type, outer shell diameter, and temperature are evaluated. The simulation results show that when an inner shell is being pulled out from a DWCNT, the friction force and normal force between shells increase with increasing the outer shell diameter. The noise of the friction force significantly increases with the increasing temperature. Zigzag@zigzag and armchair@armchair DWCNTs exhibit larger friction forces and smaller normal forces compared to those of chiral@chiral DWCNTs. Full article
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2468 KiB  
Article
Analysis and Optimization of Thermodiffusion of an FBG Sensor in the Gas Nitriding Process
by Tso-Sheng Hsieh, Yi-Chian Chen and Chia-Chin Chiang
Micromachines 2016, 7(12), 227; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi7120227 - 12 Dec 2016
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 5224
Abstract
In this paper, we report the numerical calculations for a thermo-optical model and the temperature sensitivity of a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor. The thermally-induced behaviors of a FBG sensor in the gas nitriding process were analyzed for temperatures ranging from 100–650 °C. [...] Read more.
In this paper, we report the numerical calculations for a thermo-optical model and the temperature sensitivity of a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor. The thermally-induced behaviors of a FBG sensor in the gas nitriding process were analyzed for temperatures ranging from 100–650 °C. The FBG consisted of properly chosen photosensitive fiber materials with an optimized thermo-optic coefficient. The experimental and optimized thermo-optic coefficient results were consistent in terms of temperature sensitivity. In these experiments, the temperature sensitivity of the FBG was found to be 11.9 pm/°C. Full article
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5372 KiB  
Article
Precision Position Control of a Voice Coil Motor Using Self-Tuning Fractional Order Proportional-Integral-Derivative Control
by Syuan-Yi Chen and Chen-Shuo Chia
Micromachines 2016, 7(11), 207; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi7110207 - 15 Nov 2016
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 9258
Abstract
The object of this study is to develop a self-tuning fractional order proportional-integral-derivative (SFOPID) controller for controlling the mover position of a direct drive linear voice coil motor (VCM) accurately under different operational conditions. The fractional order proportional-integral-derivative (FOPID) controller can improve the [...] Read more.
The object of this study is to develop a self-tuning fractional order proportional-integral-derivative (SFOPID) controller for controlling the mover position of a direct drive linear voice coil motor (VCM) accurately under different operational conditions. The fractional order proportional-integral-derivative (FOPID) controller can improve the control performances of the conventional integer order PID controller with respect to the additional fractional differential and integral orders; however, choosing five interdependent control parameters including proportional, integral, and derivative gains, as well as fractional differential and integral orders appropriately is arduous in practical applications. In this regard, the SFOPID controller is proposed in which the five control parameters are optimized dynamically and concurrently according to an adaptive differential evolution algorithm with a high efficiency adaptive selection mechanism. Experimental results reveal that the SFOPID controller outperforms PID and FOPID controllers with regard to the nonlinear VCM control system under both nominal and payload conditions. Full article
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2332 KiB  
Article
In-Plane MEMS Shallow Arch Beam for Mechanical Memory
by Md Abdullah Al Hafiz, Lakshmoji Kosuru, Abdallah Ramini, Karumbaiah N. Chappanda and Mohammad I. Younis
Micromachines 2016, 7(10), 191; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi7100191 - 18 Oct 2016
Cited by 41 | Viewed by 6083
Abstract
We demonstrate a memory device based on the nonlinear dynamics of an in-plane microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) clamped–clamped beam resonator, which is deliberately fabricated as a shallow arch. The arch beam is made of silicon, and is electrostatically actuated. The concept relies on the [...] Read more.
We demonstrate a memory device based on the nonlinear dynamics of an in-plane microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) clamped–clamped beam resonator, which is deliberately fabricated as a shallow arch. The arch beam is made of silicon, and is electrostatically actuated. The concept relies on the inherent quadratic nonlinearity originating from the arch curvature, which results in a softening behavior that creates hysteresis and co-existing states of motion. Since it is independent of the electrostatic force, this nonlinearity gives more flexibility in the operating conditions and allows for lower actuation voltages. Experimental results are generated through electrical characterization setup. Results are shown demonstrating the switching between the two vibrational states with the change of the direct current (DC) bias voltage, thereby proving the memory concept. Full article
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1479 KiB  
Article
PSO-Based Algorithm Applied to Quadcopter Micro Air Vehicle Controller Design
by Huu-Khoa Tran and Juing-Shian Chiou
Micromachines 2016, 7(9), 168; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi7090168 - 15 Sep 2016
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 6019
Abstract
Due to the rapid development of science and technology in recent times, many effective controllers are designed and applied successfully to complicated systems. The significant task of controller design is to determine optimized control gains in a short period of time. With this [...] Read more.
Due to the rapid development of science and technology in recent times, many effective controllers are designed and applied successfully to complicated systems. The significant task of controller design is to determine optimized control gains in a short period of time. With this purpose in mind, a combination of the particle swarm optimization (PSO)-based algorithm and the evolutionary programming (EP) algorithm is introduced in this article. The benefit of this integration algorithm is the creation of new best-parameters for control design schemes. The proposed controller designs are then demonstrated to have the best performance for nonlinear micro air vehicle models. Full article
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14303 KiB  
Article
Resonance Spectrum Characteristics of Effective Electromechanical Coupling Coefficient of High-Overtone Bulk Acoustic Resonator
by Jian Li, Mengwei Liu and Chenghao Wang
Micromachines 2016, 7(9), 159; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi7090159 - 6 Sep 2016
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 7243
Abstract
A high-overtone bulk acoustic resonator (HBAR) consisting of a piezoelectric film with two electrodes on a substrate exhibits a high quality factor (Q) and multi-mode resonance spectrum. By analyzing the influences of each layer’s material and structure (thickness) parameters on the [...] Read more.
A high-overtone bulk acoustic resonator (HBAR) consisting of a piezoelectric film with two electrodes on a substrate exhibits a high quality factor (Q) and multi-mode resonance spectrum. By analyzing the influences of each layer’s material and structure (thickness) parameters on the effective electromechanical coupling coefficient (Keff2), the resonance spectrum characteristics of Keff2 have been investigated systematically, and the optimal design of HBAR has been provided. Besides, a device, corresponding to one of the theoretical cases studied, is fabricated and evaluated. The experimental results are basically consistent with the theoretical results. Finally, the effects of Keff2 on the function of the crystal oscillators constructed with HBARs are proposed. The crystal oscillators can operate in more modes and have a larger frequency hopping bandwidth by using the HBARs with a larger Keff2·Q. Full article
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1861 KiB  
Article
Investigation of Antireflection Nb2O5 Thin Films by the Sputtering Method under Different Deposition Parameters
by Kun-Neng Chen, Chao-Ming Hsu, Jing Liu, Yu-Chen Liou and Cheng-Fu Yang
Micromachines 2016, 7(9), 151; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi7090151 - 1 Sep 2016
Cited by 54 | Viewed by 7571
Abstract
In this study, Nb2O5 ceramic was used as the target to deposit the Nb2O5 thin films on glass substrates with the radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering method. Different deposition temperatures and O2 ratios were used as [...] Read more.
In this study, Nb2O5 ceramic was used as the target to deposit the Nb2O5 thin films on glass substrates with the radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering method. Different deposition temperatures and O2 ratios were used as parameters to investigate the optical properties of Nb2O5 thin films. The deposition parameters were a pressure of 5 × 10−3 Torr, a deposition power of 100 W, a deposition time of 30 min, an O2 ratio (O2/(O2 + Ar), in sccm) of 10% and 20%, and deposition temperatures of room temperature (RT), 200, 300 and 400 °C, respectively. We found that even if the deposition temperature was 400 °C, the deposited Nb2O5 thin films revealed an amorphous phase and no crystallization phase was observed. The optical properties of transmittance of Nb2O5 thin films deposited on glass substrates were determined by using a ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectrophotometer (transmittance) and reflectance spectra transmittance (reflectance, refractive index, and extinction coefficient) in the light wavelength range of 250–1000 nm. When the O2 ratio was 10% and the deposition temperature increased from RT to 200 °C, the red-shift was clearly observed in the transmittance curve and the transmission ratio had no apparent change with the increasing deposition temperature. When the O2 ratio was 20%, the red-shift was not observed in the transmittance curve and the transmission ratio apparently decreased with the increasing deposition temperature. The variations in the optical band gap (Eg) values of Nb2O5 thin films were evaluated from the Tauc plot by using the quantity (the photon energy) on the abscissa and the quantity (α)r on the ordinate, where α is the optical absorption coefficient, c is the constant for direct transition, h is Planck’s constant, ν is the frequency of the incident photon, and the exponent r denotes the nature of the transition. As the O2 ratio of 10% or 20% was used as the deposition atmosphere, the measured Eg values decreased with the increase of the deposition temperature. The reflectance ratio, extinction coefficient, and refractive index curves of Nb2O5 thin films were also investigated in this study. We would show that those results were influenced by the deposition temperature and O2 ratio. Full article
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2966 KiB  
Article
A Novel Classification Technique of Arteriovenous Fistula Stenosis Evaluation Using Bilateral PPG Analysis
by Yi-Chun Du and Alphin Stephanus
Micromachines 2016, 7(9), 147; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi7090147 - 23 Aug 2016
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 6940
Abstract
The most common treatment for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients is the hemodialysis (HD). For this kind of treatment, the functional vascular access that called arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is done by surgery to connect the vein and artery. Stenosis is considered the major [...] Read more.
The most common treatment for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients is the hemodialysis (HD). For this kind of treatment, the functional vascular access that called arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is done by surgery to connect the vein and artery. Stenosis is considered the major cause of dysfunction of AVF. In this study, a noninvasive approach based on asynchronous analysis of bilateral photoplethysmography (PPG) with error correcting output coding support vector machine one versus rest (ESVM-OVR) for the degree of stenosis (DOS) evaluation is proposed. An artificial neural network (ANN) classifier is also applied to compare the performance with the proposed system. The testing data has been collected from 22 patients at the right and left thumb of the hand. The experimental results indicated that the proposed system could provide positive predictive value (PPV) reaching 91.67% and had higher noise tolerance. The system has the potential for providing diagnostic assistance in a wearable device for evaluation of AVF stenosis. Full article
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4724 KiB  
Article
A Modified Lattice Configuration Design for Compact Wideband Bulk Acoustic Wave Filter Applications
by Qingrui Yang, Wei Pang, Daihua Zhang and Hao Zhang
Micromachines 2016, 7(8), 133; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi7080133 - 5 Aug 2016
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 8371
Abstract
High-performance bulk acoustic wave (BAW) filters have been widely applied in the advanced radio frequency (RF) wireless communication systems in the past decade. However, the demand for filters with large bandwidth, up to 10%, still puts a significant stress on the typical aluminum [...] Read more.
High-performance bulk acoustic wave (BAW) filters have been widely applied in the advanced radio frequency (RF) wireless communication systems in the past decade. However, the demand for filters with large bandwidth, up to 10%, still puts a significant stress on the typical aluminum nitride (AlN)-based BAW filters. In this work, a modified lattice configuration is proposed to achieve a wideband filter response using AlN-based BAW resonators. The single stage of this novel topology comprises two auxiliary inductors paralleled in the balanced input and output of the conventional lattice topology. In multi-stage configuration, adjacent two auxiliary inductors can be combined into one; thus, the number of auxiliary inductors decreases exponentially, enabling the compact integration of filter chips. The circuit analysis is performed to reveal the working principle of this configuration. The systematic design methodology is developed ranging from the schematic design to the electromagnetic (EM) simulation. For proof-of-concept validation purposes, a prototype film bulk acoustic wave filter in this configuration is designed and fabricated. The measured 3-dB bandwidth is 400 MHz at the central frequency of 3.25 GHz (12.3% relative bandwidth), which demonstrates a huge superiority in contrast with the conventional ladder and lattice topologies. Full article
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5963 KiB  
Article
Application of Robust, Packaged Long-Period Fiber Grating for Strain Measurement
by Ke-Ping Ma, Chao-Wei Wu, Tso-Sheng Hsieh, Min-Yuan Hsieh and Chia-Chin Chiang
Micromachines 2016, 7(8), 129; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi7080129 - 26 Jul 2016
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5283
Abstract
This paper proposes an optical fiber strain sensor based on packaged long-period fiber gratings (PLPFG) which is fabricated by the micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) process and packaged with poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer materials. The optical fiber sensor packaged with PDMS improves robustness effectively. The proposed [...] Read more.
This paper proposes an optical fiber strain sensor based on packaged long-period fiber gratings (PLPFG) which is fabricated by the micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) process and packaged with poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer materials. The optical fiber sensor packaged with PDMS improves robustness effectively. The proposed PLPFG sensors have periods of 610, 650, 660 μm and fiber diameter of 48, 60, 72 μm, respectively. The resonance dip of the PLPFG grows when a strain loaded onto the sensor. The results show that the largest strain sensitivity of the PLPFG strain sensor was −0.0652 dB/με from 0–1200 με and the linearity (R2) was 0.9812. Accordingly, the proposed PLPFG sensor has good potential for high-sensitivity strain sensing applications. Full article
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