CAREER: Exploiting Collective Behaviors in Coupled Micro- and Nanosystems

项目摘要：职业：利用耦合微纳米系统中的集体行为虽然微/纳米机械谐振器已被证明在从谐振质量传感到基于探针的显微镜的应用中提供了独特的潜力，但其广泛的实施目前受到与隔离谐振器实施相关的相对较低的吞吐量的阻碍。虽然已经提出了非耦合谐振器阵列来克服这种吞吐量限制，但伴随这种方法的信号处理和硬件要求在很大程度上否定了其实用性。 一种替代的，在许多方面更有吸引力的方法，是通过积极利用耦合的微/纳米谐振器阵列中出现的集体行为来实现提高的吞吐量。 该方法具有潜在地产生改进的性能度量和/或固有信号处理的附加益处（例如输入/输出阶数减少）。拟议的项目，结合分析，实验和教育外展活动，旨在调查微/纳米谐振器阵列中出现的集体行为，这些谐振器阵列通过弹性，静电或电磁机制局部或全局耦合，以便显著提高它们在诸如谐振质量感测、机电信号处理和微机械神经计算等新兴应用中的性能。 研究工作最初将集中在代表性微/纳米谐振器阵列的多物理分布参数模型的开发上。 这些模型，结合非线性和非对称性之间的其他相关影响，将系统地离散化和分析使用标准的扰动方法。使用这些分析的结果，本地化和同步的行为将被确定，预测设计工具将被开发，并有前途的阵列设计蒸馏。耦合微谐振器阵列的基础上，这些设计将随后制造和测试，使用制造和表征套件提供给PI在普渡大学的伯克纳米技术中心，以验证预测的动态行为。 最终，这项工作将发展对与耦合微/纳谐振器相关的集体和紧急行为的精细理解，并且在掌握这种理解的情况下，将积极利用这些行为来规避上述吞吐量约束，提高整体器件性能，并刺激基于耦合阵列架构的新型MEMS/NEMS器件的开发。拟议的研究工作将与建立在nanoHUB现有网络基础设施上的教育工作分层整合，nanoHUB是国家科学基金会计算纳米技术网络的门户网站，也是普渡大学夏季本科生研究奖学金（SURF）计划的门户网站。 PI将在nanoHUB上开发和部署（i）用于模拟耦合微/纳谐振器阵列中出现的集体行为的综合软件工具;（ii）关于新兴微/纳机电系统的新K-12模块（MEMS和NEMS），强调工程师在微/纳米技术中的作用;以及（iii）与微纳米系统力学新课程相关的课程材料和讲座。 这些材料将使用nanoHub现有的定性和定量评估工具以及模块特定的评估机制（例如，K-12模块中集成的交互式自测）进行评估。作为一个整体，PI预计，世界各地的数百名科学家和学生将利用这些资源，以进一步了解微/纳米系统在介绍或研究水平。 教育工作还将包括一些通过普渡大学安排的本科生研究经验？的SURF计划。 这些为期一个夏天的密集体验将专门针对代表性不足的学生。

Project Abstract: CAREER: Exploiting Collective Behaviors in Coupled Micro- and NanosystemsThough micro/nanomechanical resonators have been shown to offer distinct potential in applications ranging from resonant mass sensing to probe-based microscopy, their broad implementation is currently impeded by the comparatively-low throughput associated with isolated resonator implementations. While uncoupled resonator arrays have been proposed to overcome this throughput constraint, the signal processing and hardware requirements attendant to this approach largely negate its utility. An alternative, and in many ways more attractive, approach, is to realize improved throughput through the active exploitation of collective behaviors arising in coupled micro/nanoresonator arrays. This approach has the added benefit of potentially yielding improved performance metrics and/or inherent signal processing (e.g. input/output order reduction).The proposed project, incorporating analytical, experimental, and educational outreach activities, seeks to investigate collective behaviors that arise in micro/nanoresonator arrays, which are locally- or globally-coupled through elastic, electrostatic, or electromagnetic mechanisms, in order to significantly improve their performance in emerging applications such as resonant mass sensing, electromechanical signal processing, and micromechanical neurocomputing. The research effort will initially focus on the development of multi-physics, distributed-parameter models of representative micro/nanoresonator arrays. These models, incorporating nonlinearities and asymmetries amongst other pertinent effects, will be systematically discretized and analyzed using standard perturbation methods. Using the results of these analyses, localized and synchronous behaviors will be identified, predictive design tools will be developed, and promising array designs distilled. Coupled microresonator arrays based on these designs will be subsequently fabricated and tested, using the fabrication and characterization suites available to the PI at Purdue University's Birck Nanotechnology Center, to verify predicted dynamic behaviors. Ultimately, the work will develop a refined understanding of the collective and emergent behaviors associated with coupled micro/nanoresonators and, with this understanding in hand, will actively exploit these behaviors to circumvent the aforementioned throughput constraint, improve overall device performance, and spur the development of novel MEMS/NEMS devices based upon coupled array architectures.To ensure broad impact, the proposed research effort will be hierarchically integrated with an educational effort that is founded upon the existing cyber-infrastructure of the nanoHUB - the web portal of the National Science Foundation's Network for Computational Nanotechnology, as well as Purdue University's Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program. The PI will develop and deploy on the nanoHUB (i) a comprehensive software tool for the simulation of collective behaviors emergent in coupled micro/nanoresonator arrays; (ii) a new K-12 module on emergent micro/nanoelectromechanical systems (MEMS and NEMS), which emphasizes the engineer's role in micro/nanotechnology; and (iii) course materials and lectures associated with a new course on the Mechanics of Micro- and Nanosystems. These materials will be assessed using the nanoHub's existing qualitative and quantitative evaluation tools, as well as module-specific evaluation mechanism (e.g. interactive self-tests integrated within the K-12 module). As a whole, the PI anticipates that hundreds of scientists and students worldwide will utilize these resources to further their understanding of micro/nanosystems at either an introductory or research level. The educational effort will also incorporate a number of undergraduate research experiences arranged through Purdue University?s SURF program. These summer-long, intensive experiences will specifically target under-represented students.