Sensors: Integrated Piezoresistive Sensing for Compliant Microdevices

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Abstract0428532PI: Timothy W. McLain Brigham Young UniversityThe integration of sensing capabilities into microdevices is a significant challenge because the sensors used are often larger than the devices they monitor. Compliant micromechanisms may provide a means of overcoming the difficulty associated with sensor integration in a variety of applications. Compliant microdevices use the deflection of flexible members to obtain their motion, which results in desirable characteristics at the micro level. These characteristics include manufacturability using existing methods, high-precision motion, and high reliability. A significant advantage of compliant mechanisms that has yet to be fully exploited is that they have physical properties that change as the device moves. Since their motion comes from strain in the compliant elements, any strain-sensitive properties of the material (such as electrical resistivity) will change as the device moves. This intrinsic sensing capability of compliant devices is an asset that this project intends to utilize in the control and function of micro devices. The concept of sensors intrinsic to compliant mechanisms is powerful and enabling for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Numerous applications could benefit from the functionality provided by this sensing concept including: micro-sized nanopositioners, non-contact force threshold detectors, force transducers for microdevices, reliable bistable microswitches, and nonvolatile noncontact mechanical memory.This is a project supported under Sensors Initiative NSF 04-522.