STICTION AND ANTI—STICTION IN MEMS AND NEMS

Stiction in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) has been a major failure mode ever since the advent of surface micromachining in the 80s of the last century due to large surfacearea-to-volume ratio. Even now when solutions to this problem are emerging, such as self-assembled monolayer (SAM) and other measures, stiction remains one of the most catastrophic failure modes in MEMS. A review is presented in this paper on stiction and anti-stiction in MEMS and nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS). First, some new experimental observations of stiction in radio frequency (RF) MEMS switch and micromachined accelerometers are presented. Second, some criteria for stiction of microstructures in MEMS and NEMS due to surface forces (such as capillary, electrostatic, van der Waals, Casimir forces, etc.) are reviewed. The influence of surface roughness and environmental conditions (relative humidity and temperature) on stiction are also discussed. As hydrophobic films, the self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) turn out able to prevent release-related stiction effectively. The anti-stiction of SAMs in MEMS is reviewed in the last part. The project supported by the Distinguished Young Scholar Fund of NSFC (10225209), key project from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KJCX2-SW-L2) and National “973” Project (G1999033103)     

Quasi-static and dynamic loading responses and constitutive modeling of titanium alloys

The results from a systematic study of the response of a Ti–6Al–4V alloy under quasi-static and dynamic loading, at different strain rates and temperatures, are presented. The correlations and predictions using modified Khan–Huang–Liang (KHL) viscoplastic constitutive model are compared with those from Johnson–Cook (JC) model and experimental observations for this strain rate and temperature-dependent material. Overall, KHL model correlations and predictions are shown to be much closer to the observed responses, than the corresponding JC model predictions and correlations. Similar trend has been demonstrated for other titanium alloys using published experimental data [Mech. Mater. 33(8) (2001) 425; J. Mech. Phys. Solids 47(5) (1999) 1157].     

A comparative study of the thermotropic mesomorphic tendencies and rheological characteristics of three cellulose derivates: Ethylene and propylene oxide ethers and an acetate butyrate ester

Samples of cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) and ethyl cellulose (EC) are contrasted with commercial (atactic) polystyrene (PS) and isotactic polypropylene (PP) in studies of (i) differential scanning calorimetry, (ii) quiescent polarized light microscopy (iii) optical retardation variation following an imposed stress field. It is concluced that HPC and EC are thermotropic liquid crystals, while CAB behaves in a manner similar to a vitrifying isotropic melt such as PS. Studies of the shear viscosity and dynamic viscosity indicate HPC and EC exhibit yield values while CAB shows a zero shear viscosity and Vinogradov-Malkin reduced viscosity curve identical to PS. The normal stress and extrudate swell behavior of CAB are also similar to PS. The HPC and EC exhibit substantially reduced extrudate swell. Measurement of the principal normal stress difference behavior of the HPC melt is troubled by the existence of yield values.     

集成光学角速度传感器及其关键器件的研制

本文介绍了清华大学研制的集成光学角速度传感器 ( IORS)系统方案及其关键器件 ,包括 :( 1 )窄线宽单模光纤 Bragg光栅外腔式二极管激光器 ( FBG- LD) ;( 2 )声体波的声光移频器 ( AOFS)及其直接数字合成 ( DDS)的控制电路 ;( 3)谐振型 IORS( R- IORS)的实验装置 ,采用光纤仿真的光波导 Sagnac敏感环 ( SSR) ;( 4 )干涉型 IORS( I- IORS)的实验装置 ,采用光纤仿真的再入式 SSR。采用上述 AOFS研制了一种全光纤延迟的自外差测量系统 ,用于测量上述 FBG- L D。初步的实验结果表明 ,所提出的上述 R- IORS和 I- IORS都可开发为新型光学陀螺的产品     

Social, political, and epistemological aspects of genetics and genomics

The papers in this special issue were first given at a conference in Toronto, Canada, in April 2004 entitled 'Genomics, Genetics, and Society: Bridging the Disciplinary Divides'. The papers fall into four intersecting themes. (1) The introduction of genetic and genomic technologies into communities. (2) Governance, the morals of scientific discourse and policy making. (3) What is a gene? (4) Public knowledge, public trust and improved dialogue between the public and scientists.     

The Pulsed Ultrasonic Backscatter Polar Scan and its Applications for NDT and Material Characterization

In a conventional ultrasonic polar scan (UPS) experiment, the amplitude or time-of-flight-diffraction (TOFD) values of the transmitted and/or reflected acoustic pulse are recorded for a wide range of incidence angles, in view of gaining knowledge about the elastic properties at the insonified material spot. Here we apply the pulsed UPS technique and investigate the backscattered signal, resulting in the ultrasonic backscatter polar scan (UBPS). It is shown that a UPBS contains a blueprint of geometrically related features of the insonified material spot which can be of particular interest for various industrial applications. We applied the UBPS for (i) the determination of the stacking sequence of a cross-ply composite laminate, (ii) the semi-quantification of a multidirectional microscopic surface corrugation, (iii) the detection of corrosion in an early stage as well as (iv) the detection and the localization of a closed surface breaking crack.     

Hydride-induced embrittlement and fracture in metals—effect of stress and temperature distribution

A mathematical model for the hydrogen embrittlement of hydride forming metals has been developed. The model takes into account the coupling of the operating physical processes, namely: (i) hydrogen diffusion, (ii) hydride precipitation, (iii) non-mechanical energy flow and (iv) hydride/solid-solution deformation. Material damage and crack growth are also simulated by using de-cohesion model, which takes into account the time variation of energy of de-cohesion, due to the time-dependent process of hydride precipitation. The bulk of the material, outside the de-cohesion layer, is assumed to behave elastically. The hydrogen embrittlement model has been implemented numerically into a finite element framework and tested successfully against experimental data and analytical solutions on hydrogen thermal transport (in: Wunderlich, W. (Ed.), Proceedings of the European Conference on Computational Mechanics, Munich, Germany, 1999, J. Nucl. Mater. (2000a) 279 (2-3) 273). The model has been used for the simulation of Zircaloy-2 hydrogen embrittlement and delayed hydride cracking initiation in (i) a boundary layer problem of a semi-infinite crack, under mode I loading and constant temperature, and (ii) a cracked plate, under tensile stress and temperature gradient. The initial and boundary conditions in case (ii) are those encountered in the fuel cladding of light water reactors, during operation. The effects of near-tip stress intensification as well as of temperature gradient on hydride precipitation and material damage have been studied. The numerical simulation predicts hydride precipitation at a small distance from the crack-tip. When the remote loading is sufficient, the near-tip hydrides fracture. Thus a microcrack is generated, which is separated from the main crack by a ductile ligament, in agreement with experimental observations.     

Axonal sodium and potassium conductance density determines spiking dynamical properties of regular- and fast-spiking neurons

Nonlinear Dynamics - Compared with regular-spiking (RS) neurons, the action potentials (APs) of fast-spiking (FS) neurons are characterized by narrow spike durations and unusually fast decay...     

Equations and algorithms for determining the inertial attitude and apparent velocity of a moving object in quaternion and biquaternion 4D orthogonal operators

We consider equations and algorithms describing the operation of strapdown inertial navigation systems (SINS) intended for determining the inertial attitude parameters (the Rodrigues–Hamilton (Euler) parameters) and the apparent velocity of a moving object. The construction of these equations and algorithms is based on the Kotelnikov–Study transference principle, Hamiltonian quaternions and Clifford biquaternions, and differential equations in four-dimensional (quaternion and biquaternion) orthogonal operators.     

Analysis and prediction of tyre-soil interaction and performance using finite elements

The finite element method [FEM] of analysis previously developed for prediction of rigid wheel-soil interaction is improved and extended to take into account (a) the effect of flexibility of tyre carcass where energy losses now occur in development of mobility, (b) a simpler requirement for specification of boundary condition using input loading, and (c) normal and tangential load stress from the tyre distributed across the tyre-soil interface and varying with slip. The comparisons of analytically computed (predicted) drawbar pull with actual experimentally obtained drawbar pull results for tests in three types of tyres show good correlations. The effect of inflation pressure on development of tyre deformation energy losses can be seen from the analytically computed values.     

Structural and Mechanical Properties of Gastropod Connective and Smooth Muscle Tissue

The pedal integument of terrestrial gastropod Arion rufus is composed mainly of smooth muscle cells (SMCs, 45 %), haemocoelic cavities (36 %), and collagen connective tissue. Using stereological methods, SMC two-dimensional length density (0.12 μm^?1), numerical density (426,000 mm^?3), and mean distance (31 μm) in the cluster were assessed. The average SMC could be approximated by an ellipsoid 72 μm in length with semi-axes of 3 μm. Three-dimensional reconstructions of SMCs and haemocoelic cavities of gastropod tissue were created using serial thick and semi-thin sections. These reconstructions showed the spatial arrangement of individual SMCs within the tissue: longitudinally, perpendicularly, and obliquely oriented to the main axis of the gastropod body. Using uniaxial mechanical loading with linearly increasing load or elongation at various loading rates (2, 10, and 20 mN/min; 2 and 3 mm/min) in transverse and longitudinal orientations to the main gastropod body axis, the Young’s modulus of elasticity for small (23–27 kPa) and large deformations (49–132 kPa) as well as ultimate stress (105–250 kPa) and strain (300–400 %) were determined. There was a trend toward stiffer integument tissue in the longitudinal direction compared to the transversal direction and toward increasing stiffness with loading velocity.     

Fractal geometry and topology abstracted from hair fibers

Based on the concepts of fractal super fibers, the （3, 9＋2）-circle and （9＋2, 3）-circle binary fractal sets are abstracted form such prototypes as wool fibers and human hairs, with the （3）-circle and the （9＋2）-circle fractal sets as subsets. As far as the （9＋2） topological patterns are concerned, the following propositions are proved： The （9＋2） topological patterns accurately exist, but are not unique. Their total number is 9. Among them, only two are allotropes. In other words, among the nine topological patterns, only two are independent （or fundamental）. Besides, we demonstrate that the （3, 9＋2）-circle and （9＋2, 3）-circle fractal sets are golden ones with symmetry breaking.     

Extension and characterization of pressure-sensitive molecular film

Pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) has the potential as a diagnostic tool for pressure measurement in high Knudsen number regime because it works as a so-called “molecular sensor”. However, there are few reports concerning application of PSP to micro-devices, because conventional PSPs are too thick owing to polymer binders. In our previous work, we adopted the Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) technique to fabricate the pressure-sensitive molecular film (PSMF) using Pd(II) Mesoporphyrin IX (PdMP), which has pressure sensitivity only in the low pressure range (below 130 Pa). In this study, aiming for pressure measurement under an atmospheric pressure condition, we have constructed four samples of PSMFs composed of Pt(II) Mesoporphyrin IX (PtMP), Pt(II) Mesoporphyrin IX dimethylester (PtMPDME), Pt(II) Protoporphyrin IX (PtPP) and Cu(II) Mesoporphyrin IX dimethylester (CuMPDME) as luminescent molecules. The pressure sensitivity of those PSMFs was measured, and it was clarified that the pressure sensitivity of PSMF-PtMP is the highest among the four samples. Moreover, the temperature dependency of PSMF-PtMP was investigated, and we found that the temperature dependency of PSMF is dominated not by the oxygen diffusion in the layer, but by non-radiative deactivation process of excited luminescent molecules.     

松弛与蠕变力学特性转换关系的研究

本文首先论述了拉伸应力松弛模量Ｅ（ｔ）与拉伸蠕变柔量Ｄ（ｔ）之间的近似与精确转换关系式，提出一种诊断Ｄ（ｔ）的数值积分算法，通过应力松弛模量实验给出一种固体推进剂Ｅ（ｔ）和Ｄ（ｔ）的实测与转换计算结果，计算结果有较小的误差具有重要的实用价值。     

薄膜/涂层的摩擦学设计及其研究进展

介绍了近年来有机分子自组装薄膜(SAMs)、物理气相沉积(PVD)和化学气相沉积(CVD)类金刚石薄膜(DLC)、液相法制备类金刚石薄膜、功能梯度薄膜以及绿色环保电化学沉积镀层的制备及其摩擦学研究进展,讨论了薄膜/涂层的制备方法和影响薄膜/涂层结构及其摩擦学性能的各种因素,评述了几种具代表性的薄膜/涂层摩擦磨损机理,分析并指出了SAMs、DLC、梯度薄膜和电镀镀层的摩擦学研究方向.     

Analytical modeling and simulation of porous electrodes: Li-ion distribution and diffusion-induced stress

A new model of porous electrodes based on the Gibbs free energy is developed, in which lithium-ion(Liion) diffusion, diffusion-induced stress(DIS), Butler–Volmer(BV) reaction kinetics, and size polydispersity of electrode particles are considered. The influence of BV reaction kinetics and concentration-dependent exchange current density(ECD) on concentration profile and DIS evolution are numerically investigated. BV reaction kinetics leads to a decrease in Li-ion concentration and DIS. In addition, concentrationdependent ECD results in a decrease in Li-ion concentration and an increase in DIS. Size polydispersity of electrode particles significantly affects the concentration profile and DIS.Optimal macroscopic state of charge(SOC) should consider the influence of the microscopic SOC values and mass fractions of differently sized particles.     

Effect of Al2O3 content and milling time on microstructure and mechanical properties of aluminum metal matrix composites

Experimental Techniques - In this study, aluminum metal matrix composites (Al-MMCs) reinforced with aluminum oxide (Al2O3) (5, 10, 15 wt%) were produced using the powder metallurgy (PM) process....