Xiaojing Mu

Flow-driven triboelectric generator for directly powering a wireless sensor node.

A triboelectric generator (TEG) for scavenging flow-driven mechanical -energy to directly power a wireless sensor node is demonstrated for the first time. The output performances of TEGs with different dimensions are systematically investigated, indicating that a largest output power of about 3.7 mW for one TEG can be achieved under an external load of 3 MΩ.

Elasto-Aerodynamics-Driven Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Scavenging Air-Flow Energy

Efficient scavenging the kinetic energy from air-flow represents a promising approach for obtaining clean, sustainable electricity. Here, we report an elasto-aerodynamics-driven triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) based on contact electrification. The reported TENG consists of a Kapton film with two Cu electrodes at each side, fixed on two ends in an acrylic fluid channel. The relationship between the TENG output power density and its fluid channel dimensions is systematically studied. TENG with a fluid channel size of 125 × 10 × 1.6 mm(3) delivers the maximum output power density of about 9 kW/m(3) under a loading resistance of 2.3 MΩ. Aero-elastic flutter effect explains the air-flow induced vibration of Kapton film well. The output power scales nearly linearly with parallel wiring of multiple TENGs. Connecting 10 TENGs in parallel gives an output power of 25 mW, which allows direct powering of a globe light. The TENG is also utilized to scavenge human breath induced air-flow energy to sustainably power a human body temperature sensor.

Dual mode acoustic wave sensor for precise pressure reading

In this letter, a Microelectromechanical system acoustic wave sensor, which has a dual mode (lateral field exited Lamb wave mode and surface acoustic wave (SAW) mode) behavior, is presented for precious pressure change read out. Comb-like interdigital structured electrodes on top of piezoelectric material aluminium nitride (AlN) are used to generate the wave modes. The sensor membrane consists of single crystalline silicon formed by backside-etching of the bulk material of a silicon on insulator wafer having variable device thickness layer (5 μm–50 μm). With this principle, a pressure sensor has been fabricated and mounted on a pressure test package with pressure applied to the backside of the membrane within a range of 0 psi to 300 psi. The temperature coefficient of frequency was experimentally measured in the temperature range of −50 °C to 300 °C. This idea demonstrates a piezoelectric based sensor having two modes SAW/Lamb wave for direct physical parameter—pressure readout and temperature cancellatio...

Viscosity and density decoupling method using a higher order Lamb wave sensor

Viscosity and density are two important physical parameters of liquid. Such parameters are widely used for label-free chemical detection. Conventional technologies employ acoustic wave sensors to detect viscosity and density. In these sensors, the liquid under test directly contacts with the surface of the sensor. The produced acoustic wave in the sensor leaks to the adjacent liquid layer, causing a shift in the resonance frequency of the sensor. However, such sensors are not able to separately measure the viscosity and density because these two parameters jointly affect the shift of frequency. Although some indirect methods for decoupling these two parameters have been investigated, either dual-device or simultaneous measurement of frequency and attenuation is required. In this paper, a novel AlN based acoustic wave sensor is developed for decoupling viscosity and density. Multiple higher order modes of Lamb waves are generated in this sensor and employed to interact with the adjacent liquid under test. The frequency change of two unique modes (mode C and mode D) has been found in a linear relationship with viscosity and density, respectively. With this unique feature, viscosity and density of a liquid can be distinguished by a single device, which is promising for potential industrial applications, label-free chemical detection and clinical diagnosis.

Flexible and transparent triboelectric nanogenerator based on high performance well-ordered porous PDMS dielectric film

A flexible and transparent triboelectric nanogenerator (FT-TENG) has great potential for application in self-powered biosensor systems, electronic skin and wearable electronic devices. However, improving the output performance with little damage to its optical properties is challenging. Herein, we have developed an FT-TENG that has a well-ordered nest-like porous polydimethylsiloxane (NP-PDMS) film and graphene transparent electrodes. The NP-PDMS film with ordered pores is fabricated by hydrochloric acid etching of 500 nm sized ZnO spheres made of aggregated nanoparticles, having a light transmittance of 81.8% and a water contact angle of 118.62°. The FT-TENG based on the NP-PDMS film with a porosity of 12%, gives a maximum output of 271 V and 7.8 μA, which are respectively, 3.7 and 2.1-fold of those of a TENG with a flat PDMS film. The peak output power reaches 0.39 mW with a load resistance of 9.01 MΩ. The dielectric constant and effective thickness of the NP-PDMS film and the capacitance and charge transfer of the FT-TENG are systematically investigated. This work provides a novel and effective method to enhance the performance of FT-TENGs with little damage to their optical properties.

Methods for improving electromechanical coupling coefficient in two dimensional electric field excited AlN Lamb wave resonators

An AlN piezoelectric Lamb-wave resonator, which is excited by two dimensional electric field, is reported in this paper. Rhombus-shape electrodes are arranged on AlN thin film in a checkered formation. When out-of-phase alternating currents are applied to adjacent checkers, two dimensional acoustic Lamb waves are excited in the piezoelectric layer along orthogonal directions, achieving high electromechanical coupling coefficient, which is comparable to film bulk acoustic resonators. The electromechanical coupling coefficient of the 285.3 MHz resonator presented in this paper is 5.33%, which is the highest among AlN based Lamb-wave resonators reported in literature. Moreover, the spurious signal within a wide frequency range is significantly suppressed to be 90% lower than that of the resonance mode. By varying the electrode dimension and inter-electrode distance, resonators having different resonant frequencies can be fabricated on a single wafer, making single-chip broadband filters, duplexers, and multi...

CMOS-compatible ruggedized high-temperature Lamb wave pressure sensor

This paper describes the development of a novel ruggedized high-temperature pressure sensor operating in lateral field exited (LFE) Lamb wave mode. The comb-like structure electrodes on top of aluminum nitride (AlN) were used to generate the wave. A membrane was fabricated on SOI wafer with a 10 µm thick device layer. The sensor chip was mounted on a pressure test package and pressure was applied to the backside of the membrane, with a range of 20–100 psi. The temperature coefficient of frequency (TCF) was experimentally measured in the temperature range of −50 °C to 300 °C. By using the modified Butterworth–van Dyke model, coupling coefficients and quality factor were extracted. Temperature-dependent Youngs modulus of composite structure was determined using resonance frequency and sensor interdigital transducer (IDT) wavelength which is mainly dominated by an AlN layer. Absolute sensor phase noise was measured at resonance to estimate the sensor pressure and temperature sensitivity. This paper demonstrates an AlN-based pressure sensor which can operate in harsh environment such as oil and gas exploration, automobile and aeronautic applications.

Compact MEMS-driven pyramidal polygon reflector for circumferential scanned endoscopic imaging probe

A novel prototype of an electrothermal chevron-beam actuator based microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) platform has been successfully developed for circumferential scan. Microassembly technology is utilized to construct this platform, which consists of a MEMS chevron-beam type microactuator and a micro-reflector. The proposed electrothermal microactuators with a two-stage electrothermal cascaded chevron-beam driving mechanism provide displacement amplification, thus enabling a highly reflective micro-pyramidal polygon reflector to rotate a large angle for light beam scanning. This MEMS platform is ultra-compact, supports circumferential imaging capability and is suitable for endoscopic optical coherence tomography (EOCT) applications, for example, for intravascular cancer detection.

Diaphragm shape effect on the sensitivity of surface acoustic wave based pressure sensor for harsh environment

Aluminum Nitride (AlN) based surface acoustic wave (SAW) pressure sensors for harsh environment applications are of great interest in recent years. Such sensor employs a thick diaphragm (∼50 μm) to endure the high pressure, but this seriously limits the sensitivity of these devices. Understanding of the working mechanism and the effect of geometrical parameters will yield the design principles to achieve improved sensitivity. In this letter, the effect of diaphragm on the performance of SAW pressure sensors is studied. AlN based SAW resonators on (100) wafer with different diaphragm shapes are fabricated, packaged, and characterized. Pressure coefficient of frequency (PCF) of pressure sensors with circular diaphragm, rectangular diaphragm (small aspect ratio) and rectangular diaphragm (large aspect ratio) is found to be 0.071 ppm/psi, 0.038 ppm/psi, and −0.171 ppm/psi, respectively. The longitudinal and lateral strains along the SAW propagation direction (〈100〉 direction) have the opposite effects on the ...

Parasitic analysis and π-type Butterworth-Van Dyke model for complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor Lamb wave resonator with accurate two-port Y-parameter characterizations.

The parasitic effects from electromechanical resonance, coupling, and substrate losses were collected to derive a new two-port equivalent-circuit model for Lamb wave resonators, especially for those fabricated on silicon technology. The proposed model is a hybrid π-type Butterworth-Van Dyke (PiBVD) model that accounts for the above mentioned parasitic effects which are commonly observed in Lamb-wave resonators. It is a combination of interdigital capacitor of both plate capacitance and fringe capacitance, interdigital resistance, Ohmic losses in substrate, and the acoustic motional behavior of typical Modified Butterworth-Van Dyke (MBVD) model. In the case studies presented in this paper using two-port Y-parameters, the PiBVD model fitted significantly better than the typical MBVD model, strengthening the capability on characterizing both magnitude and phase of either Y11 or Y21. The accurate modelling on two-port Y-parameters makes the PiBVD model beneficial in the characterization of Lamb-wave resonators, providing accurate simulation to Lamb-wave resonators and oscillators.