MEMS

(Micro-Electro Mechanical System)

Outline
 MEMS Introduction
 Sensor and its type
 Applications
 References
What is MEMS?
 MEMS or Micro-Electro Mechanical System is a
technique of combining Electrical and
Mechanical components together on a chip, to
produce a system of miniature dimensions.

 MEMS is the integration of a number of micro-

components on a single chip which allows the
microsystem to both sense and control the
environment.

 The components are integrated on a single chip

using micro fabrication technologies.
What is a Sensor?
 A device used to measure a physical
quantity(such as temperature) and convert it
N

W E
2 Axis Magnetic
into an electronic signal of some kind(e.g. a S
Sensor
voltage), without modifying the environment.
2 Axis
 What can be sensed? Accelerometer
Almost Everything!!! Light Intensity
Commonly sensed parameters are: Sensor
 Pressure Humidity
 Temperature Sensor
 Flow rate Pressure Sensor
 Radiation
 Chemicals Temperature Sensor
But why MEMS for sensors?
 Smaller in size
 Have lower power consumption
 More sensitive to input variations
 Cheaper due to mass production
 Less invasive than larger devices
 Type of Sensors

Mechanical Optical Thermal Chemical & Biological

Sensors Sensors Sensors Sensors

• Direct Sensors (Light • Thermo mechanical • Electronic Nose

• Accelerometers  Electronic Signal) (Dimension) • Electronic Tongue
• Pressure Sensors • Indirect Sensors • Thermo Resistive
• (Light  (Resistance)
Microphones
Intermediate • Acoustic
• Gyroscopes(Rotation
Energy (Sound)
Rate)
 Electronic • Biological
Signal)
• Biological Light
Sensors
Mechanical Sensors

 Accelerometers
 Pressure Sensors
 Microphones
 Gyroscopes(Rotation
Rate) ,etc.
Accelerometers
 Inertial sensor:
 Newton’s 1st law (Mass of inertia).
 Device used to measure:
 Acceleration
 Displacement
 Force
MEMS-based accelerometer with capacitors is typically a structure that uses
two capacitors formed by a moveable plate held between two fixed plates.

Under zero net force the two capacitors are equal but a change in force will
cause the moveable plate to shift closer to one of the fixed plates, increasing
the capacitance, and further away from the other fixed reducing that
capacitance.

This difference in capacitance is detected and amplified to produce a voltage

proportional to the acceleration
Pressure Sensors
 Pressure sensors are required in all walks of life, irrespective of civilian,
defence, aerospace, biomedical, automobile, Oceanography or domestic
applications.
 Among the various devices, pressure sensors using MEMS technology have
received great attention because the pressure sensors find applications in
everyday life involving sensing, monitoring and controlling pressure.
 Pressure sensors are categorized as
a) Absolute Pressure Sensors
b) Gauge Pressure sensors
c) Differential Pressure Sensors
a) Absolute Pressure Sensors

 Measure the pressure relative to a reference vacuum

encapsulated within the sensor Such devices are used for
atmospheric pressure measurement and as manifold
absolute pressure (MAP) sensors for automobile ignition
and airflow control systems.
 Pressure sensors used for cabin pressure control, launch
vehicles, and satellites also belong to this category.
Schematic diagram of Absolute Pressure
sensor
b) Gauge Pressure
sensors
 Measure pressure relative to atmospheric pressure. One
side of the diaphragm is vented to atmospheric pressure.
 Blood pressure (BP), intra-cranial pressure (ICP), gas
cylinder pressure and most of ground-based pressure
measurements are gauge pressure sensors.
Schematic diagram of Gauge Pressure
sensor
c) Differential Pressure Sensors
 Measure accurately the difference ΔP between two
pressures P1 and P2 across the diaphragm (with ΔP << P1
or P2 ), and hence need two pressure ports.
 They find applications in airplanes used in warfare. They
are also used in high pressure oxidation systems.
Schematic diagram of Differential Pressure sensors
 In almost all types of pressure sensors, the basic sensing element is the
diaphragm, which deflects in response to the pressure.
 As the deflections in diaphragm-based sensors are small they cannot be
directly measured. This mechanical deflection or the resulting strain in the
diaphragm is converted ultimately into electrical signals using suitable
transduction mechanisms, namely,
1) Capacitive
2) Piezoresistive or piezo-electric
Capacitive Pressure Sensor
 This approach uses the diaphragm as one electrode of a parallel
plate capacitor structure and diaphragm displacement causes a
change in capacitance with respect to a fixed electrode.
 The merits of capacitive pressure sensors are their high sensitivity,
which is practically invariant with temperature.
 An electronic circuit is used to convert the capacitance change into
an electrical output.
Schematic representation of pressure sensors
(a) Piezoresistive (b) capacitive (c) Piezoelectric
Microphone
 Microphone is transducer that converts acoustic energy into electrical energy. The
microphones are widely used in voice communications devices, hearing aids,
surveillance and military aims, ultrasonic and acoustic distinction under water,
noise and vibration control.
 Basically the microphone MEMS sensor is a variable capacitor where the
transduction principle is the coupled capacitance change between a fixed plate
(back plate) and a movable plate (membrane) caused by the incoming wave of
the sound.
 Gyroscopes
 A gyroscope is a device for measuring or maintaining the
orientation, based on the principles of the conservation of
momentum.
 It uses vibrating mechanical element to sense the
rotation.
 Transfer of energy between two vibrating resonator is by
coriolis acceleration.
Types of Gyroscope

 Spinning Gyroscope
 Optical Gyroscope
 Vibrating Gyroscope
 The rotation of tines causes the Coriolis Force.
 Forces detected through either electrostatic, electromagnetic or piezoelectric.
 Displacements are measured in the Comb drive.
Applications of Gyroscope

 Yaw rate sensor for skid control in antilock braking applications for
automobiles.
 Inertial navigation systems.
 Smart cruise control.
 Guiding gun launched munitions.
 Detection of roll over detections.
Applications in Medical Science
 Biocavity Laser : This device
distinguishes cancerous from non
cancerous cells thus aiding the surgeons
in operations.

 Smart Pill :
 Implanted in the body
 Automatic drug delivery (on
demand)

 Sight for the blind : MEMS based array

that may be inserted in the retina of a
blind person to provide partial sight
Applications in Marine Science
Sensing in marine environment maybe done for
various reasons:

 Oil exploration and related applications

 Global weather predictions

 Monitor water quality for any contamination

 Measure parameters detrimental to the “health” of

structures in the sea ( like oil rigs and ships )

 Study of aquatic plants and animals

 In military operations
Applications in Marine Military Operations
 An array of MEMS sensors spread on the ocean floor
could detect the presence of enemy submarines.

 MEMS sensors (pressure sensors, accelerometers etc.)

are being used in anti-torpedo weapons on submarines
and ships.

 MEMS sensors in torpedoes are responsible for

 Detonating the torpedo at the right time
 Hitting the target in a crowded environment
 Prevent any premature explosion
 Actuation systems for mobile micro-robotics
must meet the following challenges:
 Traverse terrain with obstacles bigger than robot
 Low power/ high efficiency
 Simple control
 Withstand harsh environments
 Simple mechanics for both scalability and ease
of manufacturing
 Rolling motion like a car is very efficient and traverses
simple terrain very well.
 The use of arms and legs adds the ability to traverse
steps and other obstacles.
 Electromagnetic motors are mechanically complex and do
not scale down very well.
 Manufacturing electric motors less than a millimeter in
size is very challenging. Other problems are power
efficient (30-40% max.) and fragility.
When an external force is applied, the charge
centers of the crystal structure separate creating
electric charges on the surface of the crystal. This
process is also reversible.
Electric charges on the crystal will cause a
mechanical deformation.
Quartz, turmalin, and seignette are common
natural piezoelectrics
Piezoelectric materials are materials that
expand/contract when an electric field is applied to
them. They also will produce an electric field
across themselves if a mechanical force is applied
to them.
Piezoelectric materials deform linearly with applied
electric field. Unfortunately, conventional
materials only deform up to 0.1%.
where E is the electric field, d is the piezoelectric
tensor of the material, F is an externally applied
force, and CT is the stiffness of the material
Bending Mode Mechanical Amplifiers
 Unimorph
 Bimorph

 A parallel connection produces twice the displacement

as a series connection
 Flextensional Amplifiers
 Stacks
Similar to the bimorph is the piezoelectric stack where several
elements are placed on top of each other and electrically connected in
parallel. Displacements are N (number of elements in stack) greater
for the same applied voltage.
 Cantilevers
Other ways of producing mechanical amplification are through
the use of cantilevers in figure3. This is just a simple mechanical
amplifier that increases displacement but reduces force.
There are two clamps and one extentional element.
While clamp A is on and clamp B is off the drive piezo
is extended. Then, clamp A is off and B is on returning
clamp B to its original position by relaxing the drive
piezo. Again, clamp A is on and clamp B is off the
drive piezo is extended and so on. This is done many
times and the rod moves up.
Piezoelectric rotary motors have been developed that not
only weigh much less than conventional electromagnetic
motors but also supply much higher stall torque

Piezoelectric rotary motors

have been developed that
not only weigh much less
than conventional electromagnetic motors but also
supply much higher stall torque
Relaxor-ferroelectrics are similar to piezoelectrics
except the strain is produced by the second order
electrostrictive effect as opposed to the first
order effect.
Advantages
 quadratic relationship
 low hysteresis
 insusceptibility to stress depoling
 return to zero displacement
Magnetostrictive material deforms in a magnetic
field.
One common magnetostrictive material TERFENOL
(TER (Terbium) FE (Iron) NOL Naval Ordinance
Laboratory)) produces a 0.2% strain in a 100 kA/m
field.
Piezoelectrics are capacitive and magnetstrictors
are inductive, delivering high electrical power to
them individually can be inefficient and/or require
matching networks.
The materials are made of ionizable molecules that
can dissociate and attain a net charge when a
electric field is applied.
These actuators have a large deformation in
the presence of low applied voltage.
These actuators best work in a humid
environment, but may be encapsulated.
Shape memory alloys are metals that deform
when electric current is passed through them.
The deformation is due to thermal expansion.