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Micromachines
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Micro and Smart Devices and Systems, 3rd Edition
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Micro and Smart Devices and Systems, 3rd Edition

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "E：Engineering and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2024) | Viewed by 12291

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Zebing Mao

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Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
Interests: functional fluids; soft actuators and sensors; Belousov–Zhabotinsky (BZ) gel; machining and MEMS; microfluidics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Hong Ding

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of NanoEngineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
Interests: MEMS sensors; ultrasound; soft actuators; flexible electronics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Dong Han

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power and Mechatronic Systems, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Interests: electrohydraulic control systems; electromagnetic, piezoelectric and functional fluid drive systems

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Micro and smart devices and systems (solid/fluidic actuators and sensors, flexible electronics, functional fluids, MEMS, microfluidics, wearable devices, self-actuation/sensing and self-power systems, self-oscillating and smart hydrogels, intelligent control systems, lenses, origami batteries, fuel cells, etc.) are becoming increasingly popular in various fields of robotics, telecommunications, chemistry, and biology. In addition, these smart devices and systems help us to improve our quality of life and are beneficial for our understanding of insects and animals in nature. The above devices are made of either rigid or soft materials with special mechanical and electrical properties, which have a large influence on their robustness and stability and can present some intelligent and smart characteristics. However, it is not easy to fully understand their working principles and integrate several components into a smart and intelligent system. Accordingly, relevant topics for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Novel design, modeling, fabrication, and assembly of micro and smart devices and systems based on various actuation and sensing methods of electric, thermal, light, magnetic, chemical reaction, acoustic, etc.
  • Smart and intelligent soft solid and fluidic robots, actuators and sensors, microfluidics, batteries, etc.
  • Theory and modeling of complex nonlinear phenomena relating to micro and smart devices and systems.
  • New developments and applications of all types of micro and smart devices and systems.

We look forward to receiving your submissions.

Dr. Zebing Mao
Dr. Hong Ding
Dr. Dong Han
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Micromachines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • MEMS/NEMS
  • flexible actuators and sensors
  • self-actuation/sensing and self-power systems
  • fluidic systems
  • self-oscillating and smart hydrogels
  • intelligent control systems
  • smart devices

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Related Special Issues

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 2768 KiB  
Article
Parallelization of Curved Inertial Microfluidic Channels to Increase the Throughput of Simultaneous Microparticle Separation and Washing
by Nima Norouzy, Arsalan Nikdoost and Pouya Rezai
Micromachines 2024, 15(10), 1228; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15101228 - 30 Sep 2024
Viewed by 731
Abstract
The rising global need for clean water highlights the importance of efficient sample preparation methods to separate and wash various contaminants such as microparticles. Microfluidic methods for these purposes have emerged but they mostly deliver either separation or washing, with very low throughputs. [...] Read more.
The rising global need for clean water highlights the importance of efficient sample preparation methods to separate and wash various contaminants such as microparticles. Microfluidic methods for these purposes have emerged but they mostly deliver either separation or washing, with very low throughputs. Here, we investigate parallelization of a curved-channel particle separation and washing device in order to increase its throughput for sample preparation. A curved microchannel applies inertial forces to focus larger 10 µm microparticles at the inner wall of the channel and separate them from smaller 5 µm microparticles at the outer wall. At the same time, Dean flow recirculation is used to exchange the carrier solution of the large microparticles to a clean buffer (washing). We increased the number of curved channels in a stepwise manner from two to four to eight channels in two different arraying designs, i.e., rectangular and polar arrays. We examined efficient separation of target 10 µm particles from 5 µm particles, while transferring the larger microparticles into a clean buffer. Dean flow recirculation studies demonstrated that the rectangular arrayed device performs better, providing solution exchange efficiencies of more than 96% on average as compared to 89% for the polar array device. Our 8-curve rectangular array device provided a particle separation efficiency of 98.93 ± 0.91%, while maintaining a sample purity of 92.83 ± 1.47% at a high working flow rate of 12.8 mL/min. Moreover, the target particles were transferred into a clean buffer with a solution exchange efficiency of 96.81 ± 0.54% in our 8-curve device. Compared to the literature, our in-plane parallelization design of curved microchannels resulted in a 13-fold increase in the working flow rate of the setup while maintaining a very high performance in particle separation and washing. Our microfluidic device offers the potential to enhance the throughput and the separation and washing efficiencies in applications for biological and environmental samples. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micro and Smart Devices and Systems, 3rd Edition)
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23 pages, 9500 KiB  
Article
Thermo-Convective Solution Growth of Vertically Aligned Zinc Oxide Nanowire Arrays for Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting
by Frank Eric Boye Anang, Andam Deatama Refino, Gunilla Harm, Defang Li, Jiushuai Xu, Markys Cain, Uwe Brand, Zhi Li, Marion Görke, Georg Garnweitner and Erwin Peiner
Micromachines 2024, 15(10), 1179; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15101179 - 24 Sep 2024
Viewed by 725
Abstract
The search for a synthesis method to create longer ZnO NWAs with high-quality vertical alignment, and the investigation of their electrical properties, have become increasingly important. In this study, a hydrothermal method for growing vertically aligned arrays of ZnO nanowires (NWs) using localized [...] Read more.
The search for a synthesis method to create longer ZnO NWAs with high-quality vertical alignment, and the investigation of their electrical properties, have become increasingly important. In this study, a hydrothermal method for growing vertically aligned arrays of ZnO nanowires (NWs) using localized heating was utilized. To produce longer NWs, the temperature environment of the growth system was optimized with a novel reaction container that provided improved thermal insulation. At a process temperature above ~90 °C, ZnO NWs reached a length of ~26.8 µm within 24 h, corresponding to a growth rate of 1.1 µm/h, nearly double the rate of 0.6 µm/h observed in traditional chemical bath growth using a glass reactor. The densely grown NWs (~1.9/µm2), with a diameter of ~0.65 µm, exhibited a preferred hexagonal c-axis orientation and were vertically aligned to the (100) silicon (Si) substrate. These NW structures have multiple applications, e.g., in piezotronic strain sensors, gas sensing, and piezoelectric energy harvesting. As proof of concept, a piezoelectric nanogenerator (PENG) was fabricated by embedding the NWs in an S1818 polymer matrix over a 15 mm × 15 mm area. Under repeated impulse-type compressive forces of 0.9 N, a maximum peak output voltage of ~95.9 mV was recorded, which is higher by a factor of four to five than the peak output voltage of 21.6 mV previously obtained with NWs measuring ~1.8 µm in length. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micro and Smart Devices and Systems, 3rd Edition)
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14 pages, 7205 KiB  
Article
Low-Power Driving Waveform Design for Improving the Display Effect of Electrophoretic Electronic Paper
by Shanling Lin, Jianhao Zhang, Jia Wei, Xinxin Xie, Shanhong Lv, Ting Mei, Tingyu Wang, Bipeng Cai, Wenjie Mao, Tailiang Guo, Jianpu Lin and Zhixian Lin
Micromachines 2024, 15(9), 1076; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15091076 - 26 Aug 2024
Viewed by 763
Abstract
To address the high power consumption associated with image refresh operations in EPDs, this paper proposes a low-power driving waveform that reduces the refresh power of EPDs by lowering the system’s peak power. Compared to traditional waveforms, this waveform first activates the particles [...] Read more.
To address the high power consumption associated with image refresh operations in EPDs, this paper proposes a low-power driving waveform that reduces the refresh power of EPDs by lowering the system’s peak power. Compared to traditional waveforms, this waveform first activates the particles before erasing them, thus reducing voltage polarity changes. Additionally, it introduces a specific duration of 0 V voltage during the activation phase based on the physical characteristics of the electrophoretic particles to reduce the voltage span. Finally, a particular duration of 0 V voltage is introduced during the erasure phase to minimize the voltage span while ensuring the stability and consistency of the reference gray scale. The experimental results demonstrate that, in standard power tests, the new driving waveform reduces the power fluctuation value by 1.33% and the energy fluctuation value by 37.24% compared to the traditional driving waveform. This reduction in refresh power also mitigates screen flicker and ghosting phenomena. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micro and Smart Devices and Systems, 3rd Edition)
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11 pages, 705 KiB  
Article
A Broadband MS-Based Circularly Polarized Antenna Array Using Sequential-Phase Feeding Network
by Hung Pham-Duy, Dat Nguyen-Tien, Thanh Nguyen-Ngoc, Duc-Nguyen Tran-Viet, Thai Nguyen-Dinh, Tuyen Danh Pham and Hung Tran-Huy
Micromachines 2024, 15(8), 1051; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15081051 - 20 Aug 2024
Viewed by 721
Abstract
This paper introduces the design of a circularly polarized metasurface-based antenna array for C-band satellite applications that owns broadband operation and high gain characteristics. The single radiating element comprises a Y-shape patch and an above-placed 2 × 2 unit-cell metasurface. Further improvement in [...] Read more.
This paper introduces the design of a circularly polarized metasurface-based antenna array for C-band satellite applications that owns broadband operation and high gain characteristics. The single radiating element comprises a Y-shape patch and an above-placed 2 × 2 unit-cell metasurface. Further improvement in operating bandwidth and broadside gain is achieved by arranging four single elements in a 2 × 2 configuration and a sequential-phase feed network. A prototype has been fabricated and measured to validate the feasibility of the proposed antenna array. The measured operating bandwidth is 20% (4.50–5.50 GHz), which is an overlap between a −10 dB impedance bandwidth of 29.8% (4.50–5.99 GHz) and a 3 dB axial ratio bandwidth of 20% (4.50–5.50 GHz). Across this operating band, the peak broadside gain is 10.5 dBi. Compared with the recently published studies, the proposed array is a prominent design for producing a wide operating bandwidth and relatively high gains while maintaining the overall compact dimensions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micro and Smart Devices and Systems, 3rd Edition)
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18 pages, 9544 KiB  
Article
Design, Modeling, and Testing of a Long-Stroke Fast Tool Servo Based on Corrugated Flexure Units
by Ning Chen, Zhichao Wen, Jiateng Rong, Chuan Tian and Xianfu Liu
Micromachines 2024, 15(8), 1039; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15081039 - 15 Aug 2024
Viewed by 653
Abstract
To further enhance the performance of the fast tool servo (FTS) system in terms of stroke, load capacity, and application area, this paper proposes a novel fast tool servo device driven by a voice coil motor (VCM), based on a three-segment uniform corrugated [...] Read more.
To further enhance the performance of the fast tool servo (FTS) system in terms of stroke, load capacity, and application area, this paper proposes a novel fast tool servo device driven by a voice coil motor (VCM), based on a three-segment uniform corrugated flexure (CF) guiding mechanism, with a large stroke, high accuracy, and high dynamics. To describe the unified static characteristics of such device, the compliance matrix method is applied to establish its model, where the influence of CF beam structural parameters on the FTS device is investigated in detail. Furthermore, resolution and positioning accuracy tests are conducted to validate the features of the system. The testing results indicate that the maximum stroke of the FTS device is up to 3.5 mm and the positioning resolution values are 3.6 μm and 2.4 μm for positive and negative stroke, respectively, which further verifies the device’s effectiveness and promising application prospect in ultra-precision microstructure machining. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micro and Smart Devices and Systems, 3rd Edition)
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23 pages, 16463 KiB  
Article
Study on the Pumping Performance and Structure Parameters Optimization of High-Speed Small Compound Molecular Pump
by Zhi Chen, Lei Zhang, Zhizuo Li, Zhizhong Zhang, Guojun Zhang and Fenglin Han
Micromachines 2024, 15(6), 717; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15060717 - 29 May 2024
Viewed by 935
Abstract
A molecular pump is the core component of vacuum systems in portable mass spectrometers and other analytical instruments. The forms of the existing molecular pumps mainly are the combinations of vertical bleed and compression channel, which have the shortcomings of heavy mass and [...] Read more.
A molecular pump is the core component of vacuum systems in portable mass spectrometers and other analytical instruments. The forms of the existing molecular pumps mainly are the combinations of vertical bleed and compression channel, which have the shortcomings of heavy mass and large volume, which seriously restricts the application and development of portable mass spectrometers. Aiming at the problems of low strength and insufficient pumping performance under the miniaturization constraints (mass of 1.8 kg; exhaust diameter of 25 mm) of molecular pumps, a compound pump consisting of a horizontal bleed channel and multi-stage spiral compression channel is proposed. The pumping principle of the compound molecular pump is analyzed to obtain its preliminary structural size parameters. The test particle Monte Carlo method is presented for establishing an aerodynamic model for a high-speed small compound molecular pump, which can be used to investigate the pumping performance of bleed blades and compression channels in a thin air environment. On the basis of the aerodynamic model, the NNIA multi-objective optimization algorithm is presented to optimize the structural parameters of the compound molecular pump. After structural parameter optimization, the maximum flow rate and compression ratio of the compound molecular pump are increased by 13.6% and 41.6%, respectively. The experimental results of the pumping performance show that the predicted data of the aerodynamic model are in good agreement with the experimental data, with an error of 12–27%. Namely, the established aerodynamic model has high accuracy and the optimized structural parameters of the compound molecular pump can provide basic conditions for the large-scale application and promotion of portable mass spectrometers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micro and Smart Devices and Systems, 3rd Edition)
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19 pages, 15054 KiB  
Article
Top-Down Design Method of a Time Domain Accelerometer with Adjustable Resolution
by Enfu Li and Jiaying Jian
Micromachines 2024, 15(5), 635; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15050635 - 9 May 2024
Viewed by 2711
Abstract
A top-down design methodology and implementation of a time domain sensor is presented in this paper. The acceleration resolution of the time domain sensor is equal to the time-measurement accuracy divided by the sensor sensitivity. Combined with the sensitivity formula, the acceleration resolution [...] Read more.
A top-down design methodology and implementation of a time domain sensor is presented in this paper. The acceleration resolution of the time domain sensor is equal to the time-measurement accuracy divided by the sensor sensitivity. Combined with the sensitivity formula, the acceleration resolution is proportional to the vibration amplitude, the time-measurement accuracy, and the third power of the resonant frequency. According to the available time-measurement accuracy and the desired acceleration resolution, the parameters including the vibration amplitude and the resonant frequency were theoretically calculated. The geometrical configuration of the time domain sensor device was designed based on the calculated parameters. Then, the designed device was fabricated based on a standard silicon-on-insulator process and a matched interface circuit was developed for the fabricated device. Experimental results demonstrated that the design methodology is effective and feasible. Moreover, the implemented sensor works well. In addition, the acceleration resolution can be tuned by adjusting the time-measurement accuracy and the vibration amplitude. All the reported results of this work can be expanded to other time domain inertial sensors, e.g., a gyroscope or tilt sensor. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micro and Smart Devices and Systems, 3rd Edition)
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18 pages, 10838 KiB  
Article
Batch Fine Magnetic Pattern Transfer Method on Permanent Magnets Using Coercivity Change during Heating for Magnetic MEMS
by Keita Nagai, Naohiro Sugita and Tadahiko Shinshi
Micromachines 2024, 15(2), 248; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15020248 - 7 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1177
Abstract
In magnetic microelectromechanical systems (MEMSs), permanent magnets in the form of a thick film or thin plate are used for structural and manufacturing purposes. However, the geometric shape induces a strong self-demagnetization field during thickness–direction magnetization, limiting the surface magnetic flux density and [...] Read more.
In magnetic microelectromechanical systems (MEMSs), permanent magnets in the form of a thick film or thin plate are used for structural and manufacturing purposes. However, the geometric shape induces a strong self-demagnetization field during thickness–direction magnetization, limiting the surface magnetic flux density and output power. The magnets must be segmented or magnetized in a fine and multi-pole manner to weaken the self-demagnetization field. Few studies have been performed on fine multi-pole magnetization techniques that can generate a higher surface magnetic flux density than segmented magnets and are suitable for mass production. This paper proposes a batch fine multi-pole magnetic pattern transfer (MPT) method for the magnets of MEMS devices. The proposed method uses two master magnets with identical magnetic patterns to sandwich a target magnet. Subsequently, the coercivity of the target magnet is reduced via heating, and the master magnet’s magnetic pattern is transferred to the target magnet. Stripe, checkerboard, and concentric circle patterns with a pole pitch of 0.3 mm are magnetized on the NdFeB master magnets N38EH with high intrinsic coercivity via laser-assisted heating magnetization. The MPT yields the highest surface magnetic flux density at 160 °C, reaching 39.7–66.1% of the ideal magnetization pattern on the NdFeB target magnet N35. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micro and Smart Devices and Systems, 3rd Edition)
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14 pages, 3999 KiB  
Article
Characterization of Sensitivity of Time Domain MEMS Accelerometer
by Enfu Li, Jiaying Jian, Fan Yang, Zhiyong Ma, Yongcun Hao and Honglong Chang
Micromachines 2024, 15(2), 227; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15020227 - 31 Jan 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1492
Abstract
This paper characterizes the sensitivity of a time domain MEMS accelerometer. The sensitivity is defined by the increment in the measured time interval per gravitational acceleration. Two sensitivities exist, and they can be enhanced by decreasing the amplitude and frequency. The sensitivity with [...] Read more.
This paper characterizes the sensitivity of a time domain MEMS accelerometer. The sensitivity is defined by the increment in the measured time interval per gravitational acceleration. Two sensitivities exist, and they can be enhanced by decreasing the amplitude and frequency. The sensitivity with minor nonlinearity is chosen to evaluate the time domain sensor. The experimental results of the developed accelerometer demonstrate that the sensitivities span from −68.91 μs/g to −124.96 μs/g and the 1σ noises span from 8.59 mg to 6.2 mg (amplitude of 626 nm: −68.91 μs/g and 10.21 mg; amplitude of 455 nm: −94.51 μs/g and 7.76 mg; amplitude of 342 nm: −124.96 μs/g and 6.23 mg), which indicates the bigger the amplitude, the smaller the sensitivity and the bigger the 1σ noise. The adjustable sensitivity provides a theoretical foundation for range self-adaption, and all the results can be extended to other time domain inertial sensors, e.g., a gyroscope or an inclinometer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micro and Smart Devices and Systems, 3rd Edition)
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21 pages, 9984 KiB  
Article
Design and Implementation of a Power Semiconductor-Based Switching Mode Laser Diode Driver
by Chao-Tsung Ma and Fang-Yu Zhang
Micromachines 2024, 15(1), 31; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15010031 - 22 Dec 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1460
Abstract
Fiber lasers are commonly used in many industrial applications, such as cutting, welding, marking, and additive manufacturing. In a fiber laser system, the driver of a pumping source using a laser diode (LD) module and its dynamic control capability directly affect the performance [...] Read more.
Fiber lasers are commonly used in many industrial applications, such as cutting, welding, marking, and additive manufacturing. In a fiber laser system, the driver of a pumping source using a laser diode (LD) module and its dynamic control capability directly affect the performance of the fiber laser system. The commercial design of pumping source drivers for high-power fiber lasers is mainly based on a linear-type DC power supply, which has two major drawbacks, i.e., lower efficiency and bulk. In this regard, this paper proposes for the first time a new design approach with a programmable switching mode laser diode driver using a power semiconductor device (PSD)-based full-bridge phase-shifted (FB-PS) DC-DC converter for driving a 200 W optical power laser diode module. In this paper, the characteristics of a laser diode module and the system configuration of the proposed laser diode driver are first introduced. Then, a current control scheme using the concept of phase angle shifting to achieve a fast dynamic current tracking feature is explained. The proposed current control technique with a fully digital control scheme is then addressed. Next, dynamic mathematical models of the laser diode driver system and controllers are derived, and the quantitative design detail of the controller is presented. To confirm the correctness of the proposed control scheme, a simulation study on a typical control case is performed in PSIM 9.1 software environment. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed LD driver, a digital signal processor is then used as the control core to construct a hardware prototype implementation for performing experimental tests. Results obtained from simulation and hardware tests show highly satisfactory driving performances in the laser diode’s output current command tracking control. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micro and Smart Devices and Systems, 3rd Edition)
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