Herman Soemers

A single-mask thermal displacement sensor in MEMS

This work presents a MEMS displacement sensor based on the conductive heat transfer of a resistively heated silicon structure towards an actuated stage parallel to the structure. This differential sensor can be easily incorporated into a silicon-on-insulator-based process, and fabricated within the same mask as electrostatic actuators and flexure-based stages. We discuss a lumped capacitance model to optimize the sensor sensitivity as a function of the doping concentration, the operating temperature, the heater length and width. We demonstrate various sensor designs. The typical sensor resolution is 2 nm within a bandwidth of 25 Hz at a full scale range of 110 μm.

Design and Fabrication of a Planar Three-DOFs MEMS-Based Manipulator

Abstract-This paper presents the design, modeling, and fabrication of a planar three-degrees-of-freedom parallel kinematic manipulator, fabricated with a simple two-mask process in conventional highly doped single-crystalline silicon (SCS) wafers (100). The manipulators purpose is to provide accurate and stable positioning of a small sample (10 × 20 × 0.2 μm3), e.g., within a transmission electron microscope. The manipulator design is based on the principles of exact constraint design, resulting in a high actuation-compliance combined with a relatively high suspension stiffness. A modal analysis shows that the fourth vibration mode frequency is at least a factor 11 higher than the first three actuation-related mode frequencies. The comb-drive actuators are modeled in combination with the shuttle suspensions gaining insight into the side and rotational pull-in stability conditions. The two-mask fabrication process enables high-aspect-ratio structures, combined with electrical trench insulation. Trench insulation allows structures in conventional wafers to be mechanically connected while being electrically insulated from each other. Device characterization shows high linearity of displacement wrt voltage squared over ±10 μm stroke in the xand y-directions and ±2° rotation at a maximum of 50 V driving voltage. Out-of-plane displacement crosstalk due to in-plane actuation in resonance is measured to be less than 20 pm. The hysteresis in SCS, measured using white light interferometry, is shown to be extremely small.

Mechatronic design of a fast and long range 4 degrees of freedom humanoid neck

This paper describes the mechatronic design of a humanoid neck. To research human machine interaction, the head and neck combination should be able to approach the human behavior as much as possible. We present a novel humanoid neck concept that is both fast, and has a long range of motion in 4 degrees of freedom (DOFs). This enables the head to track fast objects, and the neck design is suitable for mimicking expressions. The humanoid neck features a differential drive design for the lower 2 DOFs resulting in a low moving mass and the ability to use strong actuators. The performance of the neck has been optimized by minimizing backlash in the mechanisms, and by using gravity compensation. Two cameras in the head are used for scanning and interaction with the environment.

Sub-nanometer stable precision MEMS clamping mechanism maintaining clamp force unpowered for TEM application

A design is presented for a relatively large force (0.5 mN) high-precision MEMS clamping mechanism. The clamp is a part of a MEMS transmission electron microscope (TEM) sample manipulator, which needs to be fixed unpowered once positioned. The elastic deformation of the clamp suspension has been optimized in order to not influence the TEM sample manipulator position during clamping. The dimensions of the elastic elements have been further optimized for minimal elastic energy storage, minimizing the force needed for deformation and thus reducing the device area. Fabrication involves a back-etch release process, offering great design freedom, resulting in a compact design.

MEMS-based clamp with a passive hold function for precision position retaining of micro manipulators

In this paper the design, modeling and fabrication of a precision MEMS-based clamp with a relatively large clamping force are presented. The purpose of the clamp is to mechanically fix a six-degree-of-freedom (DOF) MEMS-based sample manipulator (Brouwer et al J. Int. Soc. Precis. Eng. Nanotechnol. submitted) once the sample has been positioned in all DOFs. The clamping force is generated by a rotational electrostatic comb-drive actuator and can be latched passively by a parallel plate type electrostatically driven locking device. The clamp design is based on the principles of exact constraint design, resulting in a high actuation compliance (flexibility) combined with a high suspension stiffness. Therefore, a relatively large blocking force of 1.4 mN in relation to the used area of 1.8 mm2 is obtained. The fabrication is based on silicon bulk micromachining technology and combines a high-aspect-ratio deep reactive ion etching (DRIE), conformal deposition of low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) silicon nitride and an anisotropic potassium hydroxide (KOH) backside etching technology. Special attention is given to void reduction of SixNy trench isolation and reduction of heating phenomena during front-side release etching. Guidelines are given for the applied process. Measurements showed that the clamp was able to fix, hold and release a test actuator. The dynamic behavior was in good agreement with the modal analysis.

Design and fabrication of a MEMS mirror for miniature laser projection

For miniature laser projection displays the laser beam is swept very fast back and forth with a MEMS mirror. This paper presents an innovative design for such a MEMS mirror. Both the dynamical behavior and manufacturability have been improved. We designed a process based upon industrially proven process steps to accurately control critical parameters and fabricated a mirror consisting of: cantilever beams, out-of-plane support beams and a rhombus shaped enforcement structure. Measurements show a well defined resonant mode of operation at 23.5 kHz while suffering from only little parasitic resonance modes. This mirror can now be mass-produced at low costs.

Improving the vibration isolation performance of hard mounts for precision equipment

This paper discusses the application of adaptive feedforward control to generate anti-forces in an active hard mount, thereby improving the vibration isolation performance of the mount. The adaptation algorithm is a preconditioned filtered reference least mean squares (FxLMS) algorithm. An integral acceleration feedback controller is used to add artificial damping to the suspension modes and relevant structural modes. Moreover, the feedback control results in a more computationally efficient and faster converging feedforward controller. Simulation and real-time test results on a laboratory setup are presented, which demonstrate the feasibility of the concept.

A 2-DOF Large Stroke Flexure Based Positioning Mechanism

Flexure based stages are particularly important for vacuum applications because they combine low hysteresis, no wear and no contamination with a high supporting stiffness. However, flexure hinges inherently lose stiffness in supporting directions when deflected. Therefore the workspace to footprint ratio is limited. In this article we present the design and modeling of a two degrees of freedom cross flexure based stage that combines a large workspace to footprint ratio with high vibration mode frequencies. Because the mechanism is an assembly of optimized components, the stage is designed according to the exact constraint principle to avoid build-up of internal stresses due to misalignment. FEM results have been validated by measurements on an experimental test setup. The test setup has a workspace-area to footprint ratio of 1/32. The lowest measured natural frequency with locked actuators over a 60 × 60mm workspace was 80Hz.Copyright

Design of an Experimental Set-Up to Study the Behavior of a Flexible Surgical Instrument Inside an Endoscope

The success of flexible instruments in surgery requires high motion and force fidelity and controllability of the tip. However, the friction and the limited stiffness of such instruments limit the motion and force transmission of the instrument. In a previous study, we developed a flexible multibody model of a surgical instrument inside an endoscope in order to study the effect of the friction, bending and rotational stiffness of the instrument and clearance on the motion hysteresis and the force transmission. In this paper, we present the design and evaluation of an experimental setup for the validation of the flexible multibody model and the characterization of the instruments. A modular design was conceived based on three key functionalities: the actuation from the proximal end, the displacement measurement of the distal end, and the measurement of the interaction force. The exactly constrained actuation module achieves independent translation and rotation of the proximal end. The axial displacement and the rotation of the distal end are measured contactless via a specifically designed air bearing guided cam through laser displacement sensors. The errors in the static measurement are 15 μm in translation and 0.15 deg in rotation. Six 1-DOF load cell modules using flexures measure the interaction forces and moments with an error of 0.8% and 2.5%, respectively. The achieved specifications allow for the measurement of the characteristic behavior of the instrument inside a curved rigid tube and the validation of the flexible multibody model.

Mechatronics and Micro Systems

Abstract Many MEMS are characterized by using a micro mechatronic system in conjunction with a physical function to enable devices like acceleration sensors, ink jet heads etc. In this paper examples are given of micro mechatronic functions like (flexure) mechanisms, actuators and sensors, as they form the “building bricks”. This paper also elaborates on the specifics of micro mechatronics relative to “normal-size” mechatronics.