Behavioral Modeling of MEMS Sensors for System Level Design

用于系统级设计的 MEMS 传感器行为建模

• 批准号: 0306325
• 负责人: Steven Levitan
• 金额: $ 24万
• 依托单位: University of Pittsburgh
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2003
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2003-08-01 至 2007-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0306325&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Behavioral; Modeling; MEMS; Sensors; System

The promise of new devices and systems whose macroscopic behavior is driven by physical phenomena at the nanometer-scale can only be realized by the intelligent design and analysis of these systems with a well-structured engineering design methodology. The goal of this work is to develop such a methodology and tools that support design and analysis of these systems at multiple levels, from the nano- to the macro-scale.The need for a design methodology is driven by the complexity of the emerging nano-technologies on which these systems are based. First, the systems span engineering disciplines (e.g., mechanical, electrical, and biological) and energy domains (e.g., electrical, mechanical, fluidic, and chemical); therefore, design, simulation and analysis tools must work across a multitude of domains. Second, the systems have processes that work at vastly different rates, from femto-seconds to hours, and thus span orders of magnitude in time scales. Finally, the unique property of these systems is that electro-chemical phenomena at the molecular, or nano-scale sets the properties and controls the behavior of systems at the macro, or human-scale. Thus, it is necessary to provide the design engineer with tools that span energy domains, time and length scales in order to design and analyze the ensemble behavior of these systems. Therefore, the goal of this research is to create a computer aided design (CAD) framework for the intelligent design and analysis of multi-domain, micro- and nano-scale systems. We will initially focus on sensor and actuator systems. These systems are unique in that they leverage the manufacturing infrastructures of VLSI circuits and directed chemical self-assembly together with the ability to utilize sophisticated electronics to interface sensing components with digital signal processing. Very small physical changes (energies on the order of femto-Joules) can be detected, amplified, and fed to digital signal processing computers. Similarly, the small dimensions of the devices enable high-frequency energy conversion or modulation controlled by conventional digital electronics. The results of this work will be new behavioral modeling methodologies and system-level simulation tools to enable multi-domain design flows based on techniques that have proven successful for electronics micro-systems design. Given these tools, micro and nano-system designers will be able to predict the behavior of these complex systems without recourse to time consuming and costly prototyping. This will both increase the number of new systems designed as well as reduce the time-to-market for the next generation of micro and nano-technology based systems.Beyond the direct results of this work, the broader impact of this research will come from three efforts. First, will be the development of a new course and education of a group of graduate and undergraduate students in interdisciplinary engineering: developing CAD tools, using those tools to perform design and analysis, fabricating and testing completed designs. Second, will be an expanded infrastructure at the University of Pittsburgh based on collaborations with the John Swanson Center for Micro-and Nano-Systems. Third will be the dissemination of tools, techniques and methodologies for design of multi-domain micro and nano-systems.

宏观行为由纳米级物理现象驱动的新设备和系统的前景只能通过采用结构良好的工程设计方法对这些系统进行智能设计和分析来实现。这项工作的目标是开发这样一种方法和工具，支持从纳米到宏观尺度的多个层面上设计和分析这些系统。这些系统所基于的新兴纳米技术的复杂性推动了对设计方法的需求。首先，这些系统跨越工程学科（例如机械、电气和生物）和能源领域（例如电气、机械、流体和化学）；因此，设计、仿真和分析工具必须跨多个领域工作。其次，这些系统的进程以截然不同的速率工作，从飞秒到小时，因此在时间尺度上跨越了几个数量级。最后，这些系统的独特属性是分子或纳米尺度的电化学现象在宏观或人类尺度上设定属性并控制系统的行为。因此，有必要为设计工程师提供跨越能量域、时间和长度尺度的工具，以便设计和分析这些系统的整体行为。因此，本研究的目标是创建一个计算机辅助设计（CAD）框架，用于多域、微米和纳米尺度系统的智能设计和分析。我们首先将重点关注传感器和执行器系统。这些系统的独特之处在于，它们利用了 VLSI 电路的制造基础设施和定向化学自组装，以及利用复杂电子设备将传感组件与数字信号处理连接的能力。非常小的物理变化（飞焦级的能量）可以被检测、放大并馈送到数字信号处理计算机。同样，这些设备的小尺寸可以实现由传统数字电子设备控制的高频能量转换或调制。 这项工作的结果将是新的行为建模方法和系统级仿真工具，以基于已被证明在电子微系统设计方面取得成功的技术来实现多领域设计流程。有了这些工具，微米和纳米系统设计人员将能够预测这些复杂系统的行为，而无需依赖耗时且昂贵的原型设计。这将增加设计的新系统的数量，并缩短下一代基于微米和纳米技术的系统的上市时间。除了这项工作的直接结果之外，这项研究的更广泛影响将来自三项努力。首先，将开发一门新课程，并对一群跨学科工程研究生和本科生进行教育：开发 CAD 工具，使用这些工具进行设计和分析，制造和测试已完成的设计。其次，将在与约翰·斯旺森微纳米系统中心的合作基础上扩大匹兹堡大学的基础设施。第三是传播多域微纳米系统设计的工具、技术和方法。