Renxin Wang

Wide-frequency-bandwidth whisker-inspired MEMS vector hydrophone encapsulated with parylene

In order to eliminate polyurethane hat resonance frequency intervention and reduce fluid influence, a whisker-inspired MEMS vector hydrophone (WIVH) encapsulated with parylene is proposed to broaden frequency bandwidth and improve sensitivity-frequency response performance, compared to the lateral line-inspired MEMS vector hydrophone (LLIVH). Parylene that is conformally deposited on the device surface replaces polyurethane encapsulating hat and silicone oil existing in current encapsulation technology. The main advantage of WIVH as demonstrated by modelling and characterization is the enhanced bandwidth response, which is the critical factor in hydrophone design. Acoustic pressure gradient properties of the WIVH and LLIVH are analyzed to demonstrate the influence of the polyurethane hat. The interactions of the parylene membrane with fluid and the influences on vibrating performance are also investigated. Resonance measurement and sensitivity-frequency response analysis demonstrate the frequency bandwidth of the WIVH could be extended twice compared to that of the LLIVH. Moreover, the WIVH is proved to act as a typical pressure gradient hydrophone with an increment of 6 dB per octave in the linear region.

Development of cup-shaped micro-electromechanical systems-based vector hydrophone

Similar to the vital performance factors, the receiving sensitivity and the bandwidth exist interactively in the micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS)-based vector hydrophones. Some existing methods can improve the sensitivity of the hydrophone, but these improvements are usually gained at a cost of the bandwidth. However, the cup-shaped MEMS vector hydrophone that is presented in this paper can improve its sensitivity while retaining a sufficient bandwidth. The cup-shaped structure acts as a new sensing unit in the MEMS vector hydrophone, replacing the bionic columnar hair that was previously used for sensing. The relationships between the parameters of the cup-shaped structure and the sensitivity of the vector hydrophone were determined by a theoretical deduction. In addition, simulation analyses were performed, and optimized structural parameters were obtained in this work. ANSYS 15.0 simulation was used to derive the optimum characteristics for the cup-shaped structure. The results of the calibration experiments showed that the sensitivity reached up to −188.5 dB (gain of 40 dB, 1 kHz, 0 dB@1 V/μPa), and the bandwidth was in the 20 Hz–1 kHz range, which is sufficient for an underwater acoustic detection at low frequencies. This work has, thus, proved that the cup-shaped vector hydrophone has superior properties for the engineering applications.

Design and Fabrication of Micro Hemispheric Shell Resonator with Annular Electrodes

Electrostatic driving and capacitive detection is widely used in micro hemispheric shell resonators (HSR). The capacitor gap distance is a dominant factor for the initial capacitance, and affects the driving voltage and sensitivity. In order to decrease the equivalent gap distance, a micro HSR with annular electrodes fabricated by a glassblowing method was developed. Central and annular cavities are defined, and then the inside gas drives glass softening and deformation at 770 °C. While the same force is applied, the deformation of the hemispherical shell is about 200 times that of the annular electrodes, illustrating that the deformation of the electrodes will not affect the measurement accuracy. S-shaped patterns on the annular electrodes and internal-gear-like patterns on the hemispherical shell can improve metal malleability and avoid metal cracking during glass expansion. An arched annular electrode and a hemispheric shell are demonstrated. Compared with HSR with a spherical electrode, the applied voltage could be reduced by 29%, and the capacitance could be increased by 39%, according to theoretical and numerical calculation. The surface roughness of glass after glassblowing was favorable (Rq = 0.296 nm, Ra = 0.217 nm). In brief, micro HSR with an annular electrode was fabricated, and its superiority was preliminarily confirmed.

A Mathematical Model of a Piezo-Resistive Eight-Beam Three-Axis Accelerometer with Simulation and Experimental Validation

A mathematical model of a sensor is vital to deeply comprehend its working principle and implement its optimal design. However, mathematical models of piezo-resistive eight-beam three-axis accelerometers have rarely been reported. Furthermore, those works are largely focused on the analysis of sensing acceleration in the normal direction, rather than in three directions. Therefore, a complete mathematical model of a piezo-resistive eight-beam three-axis accelerometer is developed in this paper. The validity of the mathematical model is proved by a Finite Element Method (FEM) simulation. Furthermore, the accelerometer is fabricated and tested. The prime sensitivities of X, Y and Z axes are 0.209 mV/g, 0.212 mV/g and 1.247 mV/g at 160 Hz, respectively, which is in accord with the values obtained by the model. The reason why the prime sensitivity SZZ is bigger than SXX and SYY is explained. Besides, it is also demonstrated why the cross-sensitivities SXZ and SYZ exceed SZX and SZY. Compared with the FEM model, the developed model could be helpful in evaluating the performance of three-axis accelerometers in an accurate and rapid way.

Design and analysis of a multiple sensor units vector hydrophone

Inspired by the hairy structure of fish neuromast, a multiple sensor units (multi-unit) vector hydrophone is proposed in the paper, which integrates multiple sensor units on one chip according to bionics. Its sensitivity and signal noise ratio (SNR) are theoretically analyzed compared with the hydrophone which has only one sensor unit. In order to verify the correctness of the theory, a 4-unit vector hydrophone has been fabricated. For experiments, the comparative calibration experiment is used to validate the theoretical analysis of sensitivity and fast fourier transform algorithm (FFT) is used to process the experiment data to verify the theoretical analysis of SNR. The results show that the sensitivity of the 4-unit hydrophone is improved by 11.8 dB and the SNR is improved by 1.9 dB on average, which is correlated with the theoretical analysis.

New insight into direct electrical characterization of graphene utilizing cleavage-based micro four probe

To characterize the electrical properties of arbitrarily shaped small graphene flakes in a direct way, a kind of cleavage-based micro four probe (C-M4P) is developed and a finite element analysis (FEA)-aided approximation method is subsequently proposed. The cleavage process is put forward in the manufacturing of C-M4Ps, which fulfills the releasing of the C-M4P in an ingenious manner. Specifically, we investigate the cleavage process based on simulation and the scanning electron micrograph (SEM). Furthermore, the FEA-aided approximation method brings new insight into the conductivity characterization of arbitrarily shaped small graphene flakes when the geographic correction factor is non-negligible but complicated to figure out. The electrical properties of monolayer graphene flakes applied with back gate voltage are detected by the C-M4P and analyzed through the FEA-aided approximation method, which are proved to be competent for small graphene flake characterization.