Design and fabrication of a PZT cantilever for low frequency vibration energy harvesting

In this study, a PZT cantilever with a Si proof mass is designed and fabricated for a low frequency energy harvesting application. A mathematical model of a multi-layer composite beam was derived and applied in a parametric analysis of the piezoelectric cantilever. Finally, the dimensions of the cantilever were determined for the resonant frequency of the cantilever. Our cantilever design was based on MATLAB and ANSYS simulations. For this simulation, the proof mass volumes were varied from 0 to 0.5 mm3 and resonant frequencies were calculated from 833.5 Hz to 125.5 Hz, respectively. Based on simulation, we fabricated a device with beam dimensions of about 4.10 mm x 0.48 mm x 0.012 mm, and an integrated Si proof mass with dimensions of about 0.481 mm x 0.48 mm x 0.45 mm. The resonant frequency, maximum peak voltage, and highest average power of the cantilever device were 224.8 Hz, 4.8 mV, and 2.24 nW, respectively.     

Liquid-phase chemical and biochemical detection using fully integrated magnetically actuated complementary metal oxide semiconductor resonant cantilever sensor systems

A novel resonant cantilever sensor system for liquid-phase applications is presented. The monolithic system consists of an array of four electromagnetically actuated cantilevers with transistor-based readout, an analog feedback circuit, and a digital interface. The biochemical sensor chip with a size of 3 mm x 4.5 mm is fabricated in an industrial complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process with subsequent CMOS-compatible micromachining. A package, which protects the electrical components and the associated circuitry against liquid exposure, allows for a stable operation of the resonant cantilevers in liquid environments. The device is operated at the fundamental cantilever resonance frequency of approximately 200 kHz in water with a frequency stability better than 3 Hz. The use of the integrated CMOS resonant cantilever system as a chemical sensor for the detection of volatile organic compounds in liquid environments is demonstrated. Low concentrations of toluene, xylenes, and ethylbenzene in deionized water have been detected by coating the cantilevers with chemically sensitive polymers. The liquid-phase detection of analyte concentrations in the single-ppm range has been achieved. Furthermore, the application of this sensor system to the label-free detection of biomarkers, such as tumor markers, is shown. By functionalizing the cantilevers with anti-prostate-specific antigen antibody (anti-PSA), the corresponding antigen (PSA) has been detected at concentration levels as low as 10 ng/mL in a sample fluid.     

Magnetically actuated complementary metal oxide semiconductor resonant cantilever gas sensor systems

In the present paper, an electromagnetically actuated resonant cantilever gas sensor system is presented that features piezoresistive readout by means of stress-sensitive MOS transistors. The monolithic gas sensor system includes a polymer-coated resonant cantilever and the necessary oscillation feedback circuitry, both monolithically integrated on the same chip. The fully differential feedback circuit allows for operating the device in self-oscillation with the cantilever constituting the frequency-determining element of the feedback loop. The combination of magnetic actuation and transistor-based readout entails little power dissipation on the cantilever and reduces the temperature increase in the sensitive polymer layer to less than 1 degrees C, whereas previous designs with thermally actuated cantilevers showed a temperature increase of up to 19 degrees C. The lower temperature of the sensitive polymer layer on the cantilever directly improves the sensitivity of the sensor system as the extent of analyte physisorption decreases with increasing temperature. The electromagnetic sensor design shows an almost 2 times larger gas sensitivity than the earlier design, which is thermally actuated and read out using p-diffused resistors. The gas sensor is fabricated using an industrial complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process and post-CMOS micromachining.     

Micromachining of a bimorph Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) cantilever using a micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) process for energy harvesting application

We designed and fabricated a bimorph Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) cantilever with an integrated Si proof mass to obtain a low resonant frequency for an energy harvesting application. The cantilevers were fabricated on the micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) scale. A mode of piezoelectric conversions were d31 and d33 mode in cantilever vibration Therefore, we designed and fabricated a single cantilever with d31 unimorph, d31 bimorph, d33 unimorph, and d33 bimorph modes. Finally, we fabricated a device with beam dimensions of about 5,400 microm x 480 microm x 14 microm (< +/- 5%), and an integrated Si proof mass with dimensions of about 1,481 microm x 988 microm x 450 microm (< +/- 5%). In order to measure the d31 and d33 modes, we fabricated top and bottom electrodes. The distance between the top electrodes was 50 microm and the resonant frequency was 89.4 Hz. The average powers of the d31 unimorph, d31 bimorph, d33 unimorph, and d33 bimorph modes were 3.90, 9.60, 21.42, and 22.47 nW at 0.8 g (g = 9.8 m/s2) and optimal resistance, respectively.     

Time-Resolved Evaporation Rate of Attoliter Glycerine Drops Using On-Chip CMOS Mass Sensors Based on Resonant Silicon Micro Cantilevers

The time-resolved evaporation rate of small glycerine drops (in the attoliter range) is determined by means of a mass sensor based on a resonant cantilever integrated in a CMOS chip. The cantilever is fabricated on crystalline silicon, using silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates for the integration of the CMOS-MEMS. Glycerine drops are deposited at the free end of the cantilever. The high mass sensitivity of the sensor (8 ag/Hz) allows to determine the evaporation rate for glycerine drops smaller than 500 aL, which are found to be below 3.2 aL/s in volume or 4 fg/s in mass.     

多晶硅梁的加速疲劳实验

MEMS器件在循环振动载荷作用下,器件可能会发生断裂、软化等疲劳失效现象.本文中选取了以表面工艺加工的多晶硅结构—固支梁与悬臂梁作为实验研究对象,并在微结构梁上利用光刻的方法对两个被测结构分别引入了凹槽和切口两种缺陷形式,并在其上加载循环静电载荷,进行加速疲劳实验.实验利用激光多普勒测振仪测量谐振频率的变化,来表征微梁结构等效弹性模量的改变.实验结果表明,无论固支梁或者悬臂梁,其谐振频率都发生了明显的偏移:固支梁结构初始频率为170.749 kHz,实验后谐振频率增大,偏移量达到15.618 kHz,其相对变化量为9.15%,而悬臂梁结构初始频率为112.357 kHz,实验后谐振频率变小,减小量达到1.342 kHz,相对偏移为1.34%,器件性能发生明显退化.     

Vibration energy harvester with sustainable power based on a single-crystal piezoelectric cantilever array

We designed and fabricated a bimorph cantilever array for sustainable power with an integrated Cu proof mass to obtain additional power and current. We fabricated a cantilever system using single-crystal piezoelectric material and compared the calculations for single and arrayed cantilevers to those obtained experimentally. The vibration energy harvester had resonant frequencies of 60.4 and 63.2 Hz for short and open circuits, respectively. The damping ratio and quality factor of the cantilever device were 0.012 and 41.66, respectively. The resonant frequency at maximum average power was 60.8 Hz. The current and highest average power of the harvester array were found to be 0.728 mA and 1.61 mW, respectively. The sustainable maximum power was obtained after slightly shifting the short-circuit frequency. In order to improve the current and power using an array of cantilevers, we also performed energy conversion experiments.     

Nanocantilever signal transduction by electron transfer

Microfabricated cantilever beams promise to bring about a revolution in the field of chemical, physical, and biological sensor development. The resonance frequency of a microfabricated cantilever shifts sensitively because of mass loading from molecular adsorption. The minimum detectable adsorbed mass on a cantilever sensor can be increased by orders of magnitude by changing the dimensions of the device; smaller and thicker cantilevers offer higher resonance frequency and therefore better mass detection sensitivity. Here we describe micromachined silicon cantilevers that are 0.5 to 4 microns in length, fabricated with the use of a focused ion beam (FIB). In addition, we demonstrate a technique for detection of the cantilever resonance frequency that is based on electron transfer.     

Design of High-Sensitivity Cantilever and Its Monolithic Integration With CMOS Circuits

Rectangular piezoresistive cantilevers with stress concentration holes opened were designed and fabricated in order to increase the response signals of piezoresistive cantilever first. Both the simulations and the measurements on the cantilever sensitivity show that this design can obviously result in an improvement on the displacement sensitivity of the piezoresistive cantilever. After a characterization study on the piezoresistive cantilever, a monolithic integration of the microcantilever array with a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) readout circuitry based on the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) CMOS and the SOI micromachining technologies was designed. A cantilever array, a digital controlled multiplexer, and an instrumentation amplifier compose the integrated sensor system, and post-CMOS process was designed to fabricate the integrated system. The measurement results on the SOI CMOS circuitry of the integrated system prove a feasibility of the integration design     

Effect of metal coating and residual stress on the resonant frequency of MEMS resonators

MEMS resonators are designed for a fixed resonant frequency. Therefore, any shift in the resonant frequency of the final fabricated structure can be a denting factor for its suitability towards a desired application. There are numerous factors which alter the designed resonant frequency of the fabricated resonator such as the metal layer deposited on top of the beam and the residual stresses present in the fabricated structure. While the metal coating, which acts as electrode, increases the stiffness and the effective mass of the composite structure, the residual stress increases or decreases the net stiffness if it is a tensile or compressive type respectively. In this paper, we investigate both these cases by taking two different structures, namely, the micro cantilever beam with gold layer deposited on its top surface and the MEMS gyroscope with residual stresses. First, we carry out experiments to characterize both these structures to find their resonant frequencies. Later, we analytically model those effects and compare them with the experimentally obtained values. Finally, it is found that the analytical models give an error of less than 10% with respect to the experimental results in both the cases.     

基于电磁驱动及磁电／电容检测的硅谐振式双轴角速率传感器设计和测试

本文介绍了一种MEMS角速率传感器的设计、制作和测试．该传感器采用硅梁作为支撑和震动的结构．电磁力在驱动模式中被用来激励质量块做往复运动．驱动模式的频率被设计为5955．38Hz．针对另外两个轴向的角速率检测,设计检测模式的频率分别为6151．01Hz和6591Hz．质量块在驱动模式下的最大位移被设计为20μm．在器件的制作过程中使用了湿法刻蚀、电子柬蒸发、阳极键合、等离子体增强化学气相沉淀（PECVD）、lift—off、感应耦合等离子体活性离子蚀刻（ICP—RIE）等MEMS工艺．质量块的尺寸是1440μm×1400μm×33．6μm,硅梁的设计尺寸分别为10μm×562．5μm×33．6μm,10μm×532．5Ixm×33．6μm,芯片的外形尺寸是3127μm×3069μm．为了进行器件测试,搭建了真空测试平台．测试结果表明,驱动模式下器件的谐响应频率为9609Hz,使用磁电检测的模式其谐响应频率为9605Hz．器件中电容检测需要特殊的电路,该电路目前正在搭建中．分析发现实测结果与模拟仿真结果的差异在于加工过程中产生的误差．     

Low Cost Digital Vibration Meter

This report describes the development of a low cost, digital Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) vibration meter that reports an approximation to the RMS acceleration of the vibration to which the vibration meter is subjected. The major mechanical element of this vibration meter is a cantilever beam, which is on the order of 500 µm in length, with a piezoresistor deposited at its base. Vibration of the device in the plane perpendicular to the cantilever beam causes it to bend, which produces a measurable change in the resistance of a piezoresistor. These changes in resistance along with a unique signal-processing scheme are used to determine an approximation to the RMS acceleration sensed by the device.     

Nanomusical systems visualized and controlled in 4D electron microscopy

Nanomusical systems, nanoharp and nanopiano, fabricated as arrays of cantilevers by focused ion beam milling of a layered Ni/Ti/Si(3)N(4) thin film, have been investigated in 4D electron microscopy. With the imaging and selective femtosecond and nanosecond control combinations, full characterization of the amplitude and phase of the resonant response of a particular cantilever relative to the optical pulse train was possible. Using a high repetition rate, low energy optical pulse train for selective, resonant excitation, coupled with pulsed and steady-state electron imaging for visualization in space and time, both the amplitude on the nanoscale and resonance of motion on the megahertz scale were resolved for these systems. Tilting of the specimen allowed in-plane and out-of-plane cantilever bending and cantilever torsional motions to be identified in stroboscopic measurements of impulsively induced free vibration. Finally, the transient, as opposed to steady state, thermostat effect was observed for the layered nanocantilevers, with a sufficiently sensitive response to demonstrate suitability for in situ use in thin-film temperature measurements requiring resolutions of <10 K and 10 μm on time scales here mechanically limited to microseconds and potentially at shorter times.     

A time-based VLSI potentiostat for ion current measurements

A time-based CMOS integrated potentiostatic control circuit has been designed and fabricated. The design maintains a constant bias potential between the reference and working electrodes for an amperometric chemical sensor. A technique of converting input currents into time for amperometric measurements is proposed. This technique eliminates current amplifying circuitry, reduces matching problems, and increases dynamic range while saving on area and power consumption. Redox currents ranging from 1 pA to 200 nA can be measured with a maximum nonlinearity of /spl plusmn/0.1% over this range. The design can be used to generate cyclic voltammograms for an electrochemical reaction by sweeping the voltages across a range specified by the user. Analog inputs are processed and digital outputs are generated without requiring a power-hungry A/D converter. A prototype chip has been fabricated in the 0.5-/spl mu/m AMI CMOS process. Experimental results are reported showing the performance of the circuit as a chemical sensor.     

高准确度刚度测量仪结构优化设计

针对高准确度小变形弹性元件的刚度测量需求,以锥形弹性垫圈弹性试验为例,分析了目前国内通用刚度测量仪在测量高准确度小变形弹性元件刚度时存在的问题,通过分析与试验验证,得出在设计高准确度刚度测量仪时,应避免选用悬臂梁式施力机构和悬臂梁式力值测量器的观点,提出力值测量器和位移测量器分别采用柱式力传感器和激光位移传感器,施力机构采用双立柱的高准确度刚度测量仪设计方案。     

Estimation of bending of micromachined gold cantilever due to residual stress

Electroplated gold is widely used as the material for the micromachined beam structures due to its excellent electrical and mechanical properties. This work attempts to analyze the surface micromachined gold cantilever beams under inherently present stress gradient. The structure is analyzed by using finite element method simulation at different intrinsic stress gradients. The gold layers are deposited using cyanide electroplating bath operated at different current densities. Residual stresses in electroplated gold layers deposited on photoresist coated silicon samples are estimated by using X-ray diffraction technique. Cantilever beam structures are fabricated using surface micromachining technique. The tip deflections of the fabricated cantilever beams are found to be ~16 and 8 μm corresponding to the 1.0 and 0.7 mA/cm² current densities (mean), respectively. The corresponding intrinsic stress gradients are estimated to be ?13.9 and ?7.2 MPa/μm, respectively. Simulated and measured values of residual stresses are well matched.     

Helium ion beam milling to create a nano-structured domain wall magnetoresistance spin valve

We have fabricated and measured single domain wall magnetoresistance devices with sub-20?nm gap widths using a novel combination of electron beam lithography and helium ion beam milling. The measurement wires and external profile of the spin valve are fabricated by electron beam lithography and lift-off. The critical bridge structure is created using helium ion beam milling, enabling the formation of a thinner gap (and so a narrower domain wall) than that which is possible with electron beam techniques alone. Four-point probe resistance measurements and scanning electron microscopy are used to characterize the milled structures and optimize the He ion dose. Successful operation of the device as a spin valve is demonstrated, with a 0.2% resistance change as the external magnetic field is cycled. The helium ion beam milling efficiency as extracted from electrical resistance measurements is 0.044?atoms/ion, about half the theoretical value. The gap in the device is limited to a maximum of 20?nm with this technique due to sub-surface swelling caused by injected ions which can induce catastrophic failure in the device. The fine patterning capabilities of the helium ion microscope milling technique indicate that sub-5?nm constriction widths could be possible.     

Microelectronic capacitance transducer for particle detection

This paper describes the CMOS circuit design of a sensor for detecting changes of capacitance due, for instance, to the incidence of particles or bubbles on the electrodes. The circuit is based on a simple design originating at the University of California, Berkeley, for measuring crosstalk on integrated circuits. The basic front-end sensor circuit comprises eight MOSFETs and has a sensitivity of 40 mV/fF. A differential amplifier receives the outputs from two sensor circuits each having 20-/spl mu/m square inter-digitated electrodes. The resulting sensitivity of the fabricated sensor is 1 V/fF with a noise level equivalent to 10 aF. Monte Carlo circuit simulations have been used to identify transistor dimensions to yield acceptable yield, and prototype custom silicon chips have been fabricated using a 0.8-/spl mu/m CMOS process. Static and dynamic tests, using polyamide particles as small as 10-/spl mu/m diameter, verify correct operation of the sensors. The sensor is now being developed for application in miniature electrical tomography systems.     

Highly Flexible Hybrid CMOS Inverter Based on Si Nanomembrane and Molybdenum Disulfide

2D semiconductor materials are being considered for next generation electronic device application such as thin‐film transistors and complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) circuit due to their unique structural and superior electronics properties. Various approaches have already been taken to fabricate 2D complementary logics circuits. However, those CMOS devices mostly demonstrated based on exfoliated 2D materials show the performance of a single device. In this work, the design and fabrication of a complementary inverter is experimentally reported, based on a chemical vapor deposition MoS₂ n‐type transistor and a Si nanomembrane p‐type transistor on the same substrate. The advantages offered by such CMOS configuration allow to fabricate large area wafer scale integration of high performance Si technology with transition‐metal dichalcogenide materials. The fabricated hetero‐CMOS inverters which are composed of two isolated transistors exhibit a novel high performance air‐stable voltage transfer characteristic with different supply voltages, with a maximum voltage gain of ≈16, and sub‐nano watt power consumption. Moreover, the logic gates have been integrated on a plastic substrate and displayed reliable electrical properties paving a realistic path for the fabrication of flexible/transparent CMOS circuits in 2D electronics.     

中低频集中质量悬臂式簧片仪基频分析方法研究

簧片仪是一种中低频冲击响应谱测量装置,设计时可将其简化为端部附带集中质量的悬臂梁。簧片仪的振型方程中存在超越函数,对于等截面簧片仪来说,可使用二分法等数值方法求解,计算量较大,该方法不适用于复杂截面簧片仪基频设计。首先利用悬臂梁自由端受集中力的挠度公式,推导出其等效刚度等效单自由度的弹簧振子系统,利用弹簧振子相关频率公式解决求解集中质量等截面悬臂梁的基频问题,该方法与振型方程求解的基频对比,发现在10 Hz以下的中低频区域,可以很好的保证等截面悬臂梁的基频精度,大于10 Hz的中频段,误差随频率的升高而迅速增大。接下来,通过Mohr积分的方法,推导出等强度集中质量悬臂梁自由端的最大挠度,并给出其基频的设计公式,该方法与试验进行对比,发现误差与等截面悬臂梁有相同趋势,因此利用瑞利能量法修正设计公式中的质量参数,修正后与实验误差在5%左右。经理论与试验验证,所提出的簧片仪设计方法简单可行、计算结果可信。