SGER: Scaling Down Mechanically Driven Fluidic Self-Assembly

abstractcts - 0426779。流体自组装（FSA）是一种令人兴奋的制造微观组件的新方法，包括将电子、机械和光学器件集成到硅上，或将硅电子芯片集成到塑料或其他基板上。该过程自动工作，使用随机流体传输，允许在几分钟内放置大量设备。最近，业界利用FSA大幅降低了射频识别（RFID）标签的成本，这是一种用于自动管理产品、供应和设备流动的新兴技术。大众媒体最近报道了沃尔玛，国防部和许多其他敦促在供应链中广泛采用RFID技术的报道。广泛采用RFID标签的限制因素之一是其成本，由于材料成本（约mm3 Si）和拾取和放置机器人组装的制造成本，每个标签的成本以美元计算。FSA可以通过同时消除机器人组装和允许更小标签的精确组装来帮助解决这两个问题。这项工作的智力价值在于考虑了在缩小标签大小时遇到的新问题。其中包括一系列新的表面力，这些力可能变得重要，而体积力（如浮力和惯性）则变得不那么重要。此外，随着布朗运动的增加，小尺寸标签的悬浮液体的原子性质变得明显。FSA，至少在大范围内，是最有效的集中悬浮的梯形标签。为了研究浓缩悬浮液中FSA的动力学，将使用两类RFID标签替代品进行实验，一类是透明的，其折射率与流体相同，另一类是不透明的。悬架看起来是透明的，但仍然显示出浓缩悬架的动态。在工作成功完成后，工作的更广泛影响将是显而易见的。追踪消费者和国防产品的更便宜的方法将带来经济效率，这将有利于我们的社会。此外，减少运输和储存的低效率将有利于环境。超低成本RFID标签的可用性是这种进步的推动者，但需要开发新的信息技术技术来管理大量的新信息存储，并推动我们的国家网络基础设施从计算机网络到计算机和所有跟踪对象网络的转变。拟议实验的新颖之处在于，他们将在与FSA制造过程相关的范围内使用悬浮体积分数。此外，这项工作的探索性在于找到一种溶剂的正确组合，这种溶剂的折射率与固体材料相同，可以被微加工成与RFID标签制造过程相关的形状。一旦解决了这些问题，将进行一系列改变固体分数、颗粒大小、流速等的实验。FSA在小尺度上的动态将变得明显。这项工作的成功结论将导致对具有实际制造参数的FSA动力学进行更大规模的调查。

AbstractCTS-0426779S. Wereley, Purdue UniversityFluidic self-assembly (FSA) is an exciting new method for manufacturing microscopic assemblies, including integration of electronic, mechanical, and optical devices on silicon, or of silicon electronic chips onto plastic or other substrates. The process works automatically, using random fluidic transport, allowing the placement of very large numbers of devices in minutes. Recently, industry has exploited FSA to lower dramatically the cost of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags an emerging technology for managing the flow of products, supplies and equipment automatically. The popular press has recently featured reports of WalMart, the DOD and many others urging widespread adoption of RFID technology in the supply chain. One of the limiting factors for widescale adoption of RFID tags is their cost which is measured at dollars per tag, due to the material costs (approximately mm3 of Si) and manufacturing costs from pick and place robotic assembly. FSA can help solve both of the problems by simultaneously eliminating the robotic assembly and allowing precision assembly of much smaller tags. The intellectual merit of this work is the consideration of the new problems that are encountered when scaling the size of the tag down. These include a host of new surface forces that can become important while volume forces, such as buoyancy and inertia become less important. Furthermore, the atomistic nature of the suspending liquid becomes apparent for the smaller size tag with the increase of Brownian motion. FSA, at large scales at least, is most efficient with a concentrated suspension of the trapezoidal tags. In order to study the dynamics of FSA within a concentrated suspension, experiments will be conducted using two classes of RFID tag substitutes, one that is transparent with a refractive index identical to that of the fluid and one that is opaque. The suspension will thus appear transparent but still display the dynamics of a concentrated suspension. Upon the successful completion of work, the broader impacts of the work will be apparent. Cheaper ways to track consumer and defense products will lead to economic efficiencies that will benefit our society. Further, reducing shipping and storage inefficiencies will be good for the environment. The availability of ultra low-cost RFID tags is an enabler of such advances, but new information technology techniques will need to be developed to manage the vast new stores of information and drive a transformation of our national cyberinfrastructure from a network of computers to a network of computers and all tracked objects.. The novelty of the proposed experiments is that they will use suspension volume fractions in a range that is relevant to the FSA manufacturing process. Further, the exploratory nature of the work resides in finding the right combination of a solvent whose refractive index is identical to a solid material that can be microfabricated into shapes relevant to the RFID tag manufacturing process. Once these problems are tackled, a series of experiments varying solid fraction, particle size, flow rate, etc., will be performed. The dynamics of FSA at small scales will become apparent. Successful conclusion of this work will lead to a larger-scale investigation into the dynamics of the FSA with practical manufacturing parameters.