CAREER: Exploiting Collective Behaviors in Coupled Micro- and Nanosystems

项目摘要：职业：开发耦合微纳系统中的集体行为尽管微/纳米机械谐振器已被证明在从共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，但它们的广泛实施目前受到与孤立谐振器实现相关的相对较低的吞吐量的阻碍。虽然非耦合谐振器阵列已经提出克服这种吞吐量限制，信号处理和硬件要求随之而来的这种方法在很大程度上否定了它的效用。另一种方法，在许多方面更具吸引力，是通过积极利用耦合微/纳米谐振器阵列中产生的集体行为来实现提高吞吐量。这种方法还有一个额外的好处，即可能产生改进的性能指标和/或固有的信号处理（例如输入/输出顺序减少）。该项目将分析、实验和教育推广活动结合起来，旨在研究微/纳米谐振器阵列中出现的集体行为，这些微/纳米谐振器阵列通过弹性、静电或电磁机制进行局部或全局耦合，以显著提高其在共振质量传感、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于开发具有代表性的微/纳米谐振器阵列的多物理场、分布参数模型。这些模型，包括非线性和不对称性以及其他相关效应，将使用标准摄动方法系统地离散和分析。利用这些分析的结果，本地化和同步行为将被识别，预测设计工具将被开发，有前途的阵列设计将被提炼。基于这些设计的耦合微谐振器阵列随后将使用普渡大学Birck纳米技术中心PI提供的制造和表征套件进行制造和测试，以验证预测的动态行为。最终，这项工作将对与耦合微/纳米谐振器相关的集体和紧急行为有一个更好的理解，并且，有了这种理解，将积极利用这些行为来规避上述吞吐量限制，提高整体器件性能，并促进基于耦合阵列架构的新型MEMS/NEMS器件的发展。为了确保广泛的影响，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。PI将在nanoHUB (i)上开发和部署一个综合软件工具，用于模拟耦合微/纳米谐振器阵列中出现的集体行为；（ii）关于新兴微/纳米机电系统（MEMS和NEMS）的新K-12模块，强调工程师在微/纳米技术中的作用；（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特定模块的评估机制（例如，在K-12模块中集成的交互式自测）进行评估。总体而言，PI预计全球数百名科学家和学生将利用这些资源在入门或研究层面进一步了解微/纳米系统。教育方面的努力还将包括普渡大学安排的一些本科生研究经历。这是冲浪节目。这些长达夏季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.