ME 590 Study or Research in Selected Mechanical Engineering Topics

Proposal Form
Term: Fall 2012 Title of the project: Exploration of sensing and control techniques for large range electrostatic comb drive micro scale xy XY stages Work location: Precision Systems Design Lab, Lurie Nanofabrication Center General description of the project (as long as necessary): The project aims at exploring the micro scale nanopositioning systems. Further advances in areas including biology, chemistry, material science, where manipulation at nano scale is required, depends on capability of the high precision nanopositioning systems. One of the prospective applications of the high bandwidth, high precision nanopositioning system is high speed Atomic Force Microscopy. Your specific contribution to the project. Exactly what is it you are planning to do this semester? Do you have an independent project with a clearly defined goal? Do you have a specific role in a larger project? (100 to 200 words) My specific contribution for this semester would be

Study of large range comb drives, their dynamic behavior, and issues concerning displacement sensing and position control methodologies. Experimental analysis and characterization of the fabricated micro scale xy stage.

Nature of interaction with faculty, graduate students, etc. A weekly meeting would be arranged with the project advisor to discuss progress and problems that have been encountered in the project. Progress report will be prepared on a weekly basis to discuss what was accomplished over the last week and to set goals for the next week.

A statement of the educational objectives of this project. (What educational purpose does this project serve? How does it fit into your interests to perform independent study or research? 100 to 200 words) Many applications such as Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), data storage etc requirerequires highly precise positioning capabilities at a high bandwidthrate. For instance, in order to enable a traditional AFM of surface imaging in very high speed (video-rate: 10-20fram/second), one needs to increase the bandwidth of positioning stage of current state of the art device ten times. Study and experimental characterization of micro scale comb drive based xy XY stages instead of current macro scale stages would increase the natural frequency and therefore enable high bandwidth of the positioning stage, which in turn increase the performance of current AFMcontrol. A combination of experimental and theoretical work involved in the project would provide a good insight and training for conducting similar and even more challenging independent research and developmental work in future. A statement of the educational outcomes of this project. (What are the specific skills that you will be learning in ME 590? Working on this project would impart me with knowledge of design of mems MEMS structures, particularly, understanding of design, fabrication and characterization of electrostatic the comb drive actuatorss. I would be able to apply and expand my knowledge in solving problems concerning their displacement sensing, dynamic response and control. Indicate what content you expect your final report to contain. (i.e., How are you going to demonstrate to the instructor that you have learned what is expected from you, and that the class has served its intended purpose? The final report would include the detailed introduction and literature survey that is required in order to accomplish the objectives of the project. Experimental analysis results will be presented along with explanation of sensing and control techniques proposed or implemented. It would also contain suggestions and recommendations for the improvements and the experimental work to be carried out in future. Indicate whether your project contains safety concerns (1 to 200 words) There is no major safety concern associated with this project. All necessary safety precautions will be taken while dealing with any potential hazardous machinery or equipment. List previous coursework that will be useful in your ME 590 research: ME 552 - Mechatronic Systems Design ME 565 - Linear Feedback Control

ME 561 - Digital Control Systems List other classes to be taken this semester: ME 553 - MEMS IOE 466 Statistical Quality Control