Next Generation Electromechanical Sensors

拟议的研究计划将推进国家的最先进的微和纳米机电系统（MEMS）和（NEMS）沿沿着两个主要推力。第一个将为大信号和高频MEMS传感器和室温NEMS传感器的发展奠定技术框架。它将建立在这个框架上，以实现高灵敏度的MEMS和NEMS气体，化学和生物传感器。第二个目标是开发系统的方法来设计和实现强大的MEMS致动器，可以在具有挑战性的条件下执行复杂的功能。它将实施这些方法来提供强大的可变形微镜和微镊子。MEMS和NEMS是活跃的研究和创新领域，刚刚开始自己的。他们利用相对成熟且具有成本效益的制造技术来引入新型微型机器（传感器和执行器），这些机器不仅性能优于宏观机器，而且还引入了新的功能。在过去的十年中，它们彻底改变了传感器市场，并在执行器市场取得了重大但有限的进展。拟议的研究计划旨在释放MEMS / NEMS传感器和执行器的全部潜力，通过编组非线性动力学的分析工具和光电计量学的实验工具来理解，控制和减少这些系统的复杂运动和响应的工程实践。在接下来的5年里，它将进行以下所述的基础研究和设备开发。1)目前，传感器行业受到传感器设计上陈旧观念的阻碍。从历史上看，它必须将传感器限制在一个小的（线性）范围内，其中单个常数（灵敏度）将刺激与输出信号（被测变量）联系起来。这是不必要的，现在在数字信号处理的当前标准，可以处理任意的刺激-被测关系。但该行业仍然坚持线性的概念，认为这是一个衡量性能的指标。这一限制将传感器的工作范围限制在小信号（运动）上，从而降低了测量的质量：信噪比（SNR）。移动到大信号传感器的新范例将增加SNR，允许相同的传感器响应于相同的刺激产生更大的信号（被测变量）。它将使传感器更加强大，降低信号调理要求，并使传感器系统更简单，更便宜。该计划将为传感器行业的下一阶段增长奠定技术基础并开辟道路。2)我们将开发MEMS致动器，微镊子和可变形微镜，这些联合收割机结合了复杂的功能，低电压要求和全电检测和控制技术。这些致动器将使微物体（细胞和DNA）和自适应光学系统的新型测试模式能够广泛应用于从天文学到眼科学的各种应用。

The proposed research program will advance the state-of-the-art on micro and nano electromechanical systems (MEMS) and (NEMS) along two main thrusts. The first will lay a technical framework for the development of large signal and high-frequency MEMS sensors and room temperature NEMS sensors. It will build on this framework to realize high sensitivity MEMS and NEMS gas, chemical, and biological sensors. The second thrust will develop systematic methods to design and realize robust MEMS actuators that can perform complex functions under challenging conditions. It will implement those methods to deliver robust deformable micro mirrors and micro tweezers. MEMS and NEMS are active research and innovation areas just coming to their own. They have capitalized on a relatively mature and cost-effective fabrication technology to introduce novel micro-machines (sensors and actuators) that do not only outperform their macro counterparts, but also introduce new functionalities. They have completely transformed the sensor market over the last decade and made significant, but limited, inroads in the actuator markets. The proposed research program aims to unleash the full potential of MEMS / NEMS sensors and actuators by marshalling analytical tools of nonlinear dynamics and experimental tools of optical and electrical metrology to understand, control, and reduce to engineering practice the complex motions and responses of those systems. Over the next 5 years, it will undertake the fundamental investigations and device developments described below. 1) Currently, the sensor industry is hampered by obsolete notions on sensor design. Historically, it had to limit sensors to a small (linear) range where a single constant (sensitivity) relates the stimulus to the output signal (measurand). This is unnecessary now under the current standards of Digital Signal Processing that can handle arbitrary stimulus-measurand relationships. But the industry is still wedded to the concept of linearity to the point where it considers it a metric of performance. This constraint limits the sensor operating range to small signals (motions), thereby reducing the quality of their measurements: Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR). Moving to a new paradigm of Large Signal Sensors will increase the SNR, allowing the same sensor to produce larger signal (measurand) in response to the same stimulus. It will make sensors more robust, reduce the signal conditioning requirements, and make sensor systems simpler and cheaper. This program will lay the technical grounds and create a path for the next stage of the sensor industry growth. 2) We will develop MEMS actuators, micro tweezers and deformable micro mirrors, that combine complex functionality, low-voltage requirements, and all-electric detection and control techniques. Those actuators will enable novel test modalities of micro-objects (cells and DNA) and adaptive optics systems for a wide of applications from astronomy to ophthalmology.