Microsystem Technology And Microrobotics

Microsystem technology (MST) integrates very small (up to a few nanometers) mechanical, electronic, optical, and other components on a substrate to construct functional devices. These devices are used as intelligent sensors, actuators, and controllers for medical, automotive, household and many other purposes. This book is a basic introduction to MST for students, engineers, and scientists. It is the first of its kind to cover MST in its entirety. It gives a comprehensive treatment of all important parts of MST such as microfabrication technologies, microactuators, microsensors, development and testing of microsystems, and information processing in microsystems. It surveys products built to date and experimental products and gives a comprehensive view of all developments leading to MST devices and robots.

Over half a century after the discovery of the piezoresistive effect, microsystem technology has experienced considerable developments. Expanding the opportunities of microelectronics to non-electronic systems, its number of application fields continues to increase. Microsensors are one of the most important fields, used in medical applications and micromechanics. Microfluidic systems are also a significant area, most commonly used in ink-jet printer heads. This textbook focuses on the essentials of microsystems technology, providing a knowledgeable grounding and a clear path through this well-established scientific dicipline. With a methodical, student-orientated approach, Introduction to Microsystem Technology covers the following: microsystem materials (including silicon, polymers and thin films), and the scaling effects of going micro; fabrication techniques based on different material properties, descriptions of their limitations and functional and shape elements produced by these techniques; sensors and actuators based on elements such as mechanical, fluidic, and thermal (yaw rate sensor components are described); the influence of technology parameters on microsystem properties, asking, for example, when is the function of a microsystem device robust and safe? The book presents problems at the end of each chapter so that you may test your understanding of the key concepts (full solutions for these are given on an accompanying website). Practical examples are included also, as well as case studies that enable a better understanding of the technology as a whole. With its extensive treatment on the fundamentals of microsystem technology, this book also serves as a compendium for engineers and technicians working with microsystem technology.

This concise introduction to microsystems technology includes the latest trends in this emerging scientific discipline. Completely revised, this edition has expanded chapters on silicium and LIGA technology as well as new topics.

The first textbook on micron-scale mobile robotics, introducing the fundamentals of design, analysis, fabrication, and control, and drawing on case studies of existing approaches. Progress in micro- and nano-scale science and technology has created a demand for new microsystems for high-impact applications in healthcare, biotechnology, manufacturing, and mobile sensor networks. The new robotics field of microrobotics has emerged to extend our interactions and explorations to sub-millimeter scales. This is the first textbook on micron-scale mobile robotics, introducing the fundamentals of design, analysis, fabrication, and control, and drawing on case studies of existing approaches. The book covers the scaling laws that can be used to determine the dominant forces and effects at the micron scale; models forces acting on microrobots, including surface forces, friction, and viscous drag; and describes such possible microfabrication techniques as photo-lithography, bulk micromachining, and deep reactive ion etching. It presents on-board and remote sensing methods, noting that remote sensors are currently more feasible; studies possible on-board microactuators; discusses self-propulsion methods that use self-generated local gradients and fields or biological cells in liquid environments; and describes remote microrobot actuation methods for use in limited spaces such as inside the human body. It covers possible on-board powering methods, indispensable in future medical and other applications; locomotion methods for robots on surfaces, in liquids, in air, and on fluid-air interfaces; and the challenges of microrobot localization and control, in particular multi-robot control methods for magnetic microrobots. Finally, the book addresses current and future applications, including noninvasive medical diagnosis and treatment, environmental remediation, and scientific tools.

Microbiorobotics: Biologically Inspired Microscale Robotic Systems, Second Edition presents information on a new engineering discipline that takes a multidisciplinary approach to accomplish precise manipulation of microscale spaces. Microorganisms have evolved various mechanisms to thrive in microscale environments and are therefore a useful tool for use in many applications, ranging from micromanufacturing techniques, to cellular manipulation. In the context of microrobotics, biological microrobots can directly harness the microorganisms for propulsive and sensing power and synthetic microrobots can mimic the microorganisms’ motions for effective locomotion. This second edition covers new advances and insights that have emerged in recent years. Several new chapters have been added on important new research areas, with existing chapters thoroughly revised. In particular, increased coverage is given to fluid dynamics of microswimmers in nature. Gives the reader an understanding of the fundamental changes in dynamics and fabrication techniques in the microenvironment Offers a unique two-pronged approach to microrobotics from a biological perspective, i.e. bioinspired engineering design of biological systems to accomplish engineering tasks Introduces an interdisciplinary readership to the toolkit that micro-organisms offer to micro-engineering

From conception to realization, Microrobotics: Methods and Applications covers all aspects of miniaturized systems that physically interact and manipulate objects at the microscale. It provides a solid understanding of this multidisciplinary field, which combines areas of materials science, mechanical engineering, and applied physics. Requiring no

Microsystems are systems that integrate, on a chip or a package, one or more of many different categories of microdevices. As the past few decades were dominated by the development and rapid miniaturization of circuitry, the current and coming decades are witnessing a similar revolution in the miniaturization of sensors, actuators, and electronics; and communication, control and power devices. Applications ranging from biomedicine to warfare are driving rapid innovation and growth in the field, which is pushing this topic into graduate and undergraduate curricula in electrical, mechanical, and biomedical engineering.