Thesis (B.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1981. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING. / Bibliography: leaves 91-92. / by Robert Gregory Clarke. / B.S.

Wireless communication circuits rely on the use of high-quality passive elements (inductor-capacitor resonant tanks) for the implementation of selective filters and high-purity frequency references (oscillators). Typically available CMOS, on-chip passives suffer from high losses, primarily inductors, and consume large areas that cannot be populated by transistors leading to a significant area penalty. Mechanical resonators exhibit significantly lower losses than their electrical counterparts due to the reduced parasitic loss mechanisms in the mechanical domain. Efficient transduction schemes such as the piezoelectric effect allow for simple electrical actuation and read-out of such mechanical resonators. Piezoelectric thin-film bulk acoustic resonators (FBARs) are currently among the most promising and widely used mechanical resonator structures. However, FBARs are currently only available as off-chip components, which must be connected to CMOS circuitry through wire-bonding and flip-chip schemes. The use of off-chip interfaces introduces considerable parasitics and significant limitations on integration density. Monolithic integration with CMOS substrates alleviates interconnect parasitics, increases integration density and allows for area sharing whereby FBARs reside atop active CMOS circuitry. Close integration of FBARs and CMOS transistors can also enable new circuit paradigms, which simultaneously leverage the strengths of both components. Described here, is a body of work conducted to integrate FBAR resonators with active CMOS substrates (180nm and 65nm processes). A monolithic fabrication method is described which allows for FBAR devices to be constructed atop the backend small CMOS dies through low thermal-budget (< 300°C) post-processing. Stand-alone fabricated devices are characterized and the extracted electrical model is used to design two oscillator chips. The chips comprise amplifier circuitry that functions along with the integrated FBARs to achieve oscillation in the 0.8-2 GHz range. The chips also include test structures to assess the performance of the underlying CMOS transistors before and after the resonator post-processing. A successful FBAR-CMOS oscillator is demonstrated in 65nm CMOS along with characterization of FBARs built on CMOS. The approach presented here can be used for experimenting with more complex circuits leveraging the co-integration of piezoelectric resonators and CMOS transistors.

Software cognitive radios and Internet of Things (IoT) are recent interest areas that need low loss and low power consumption hardware. More specifically, the area of software cognitive radios requires that hardware be frequency agile and highly selective. Meanwhile, IoT relies on multiple low power sensor networks. By combining Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductors (CMOS) technology with piezoelectric Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), we can fabricate Systems-on-Chip (SoC) that can be used as filters or references (oscillators) and highly selective sensors. In this work we developed a die-level compatible process for the monolithic integration of Bulk Acoustic Resonators (BAWs) on CMOS for low power, reduced area and high-quality passives for radio frequency applications. Using CMOS as a fabrication substrate some stringent requirements were added to maintain the dies and the technology’s integrity. A few of these limitations were the need for a low thermal budget fabrication process, die handling and electro-static discharge (ESD) protection. The devices were first fabricated on glass for modeling extraction that was later used for the design of the integrated circuits (IC). Three integrated circuits were designed as substrates for the integration using IBM’s 180nm and TSMC’s 65nm technology. A monolithic BAW oscillator with a resonance frequency of 1.8GHz was demonstrated with an FOM ~186dBc/Hz, comparable to other academia work. Using the developed process, a membrane BAW structure (FBAR) was integrated as well. Using a susceptor coating and zinc oxide’s (ZnO) high temperature coefficient of frequency (TCF) the device was studied as an alternative uncooled infrared sensor. Finally, a reprogrammable IC and an RF PCB were designed for volatile organic compound (VOC) testing using self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) as the absorber layer.

Analytical force and dynamic models for material removal processes such as end and face milling do not account for material and process related uncertainties such as tool wear, tool breakage and material inhomogeneity. Optimization of material removal processes thus requires not only optimal process planning using analytical models but also on-line monitoring of the process so that adjustments, if needed, can be initiated to maximize the productivity or to avoid damaging expensive parts. In this thesis, a Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) sensor based process monitoring method that is independent of the cutting conditions and workpiece material is developed for measuring the cutting forces and/or torque in milling. The research includes the development of methods and hardware for wireless acquisition of time-varying strain signals from PVDF sensor-instrumented milling tools rotating at high speeds and transformation of the strains into the measurand of interest using quantitative physics-based models of the measurement system. Very good agreement between the measurements from the low cost PVDF sensors and the current industry standard, piezoelectric dynamometer, has been achieved. Three PVDF sensor rosettes are proposed for measuring various strain components of interest and are shown to outperform their metal foil strain gauge counterparts with significantly higher sensitivity and signal to noise ratio. In addition, a computationally efficient algorithm for milling chatter recognition that can adapt to different cutting conditions and workpiece geometry variations based on the measured cutting forces/torque signals is proposed and evaluated. A novel complex exponential model based chatter frequency estimation algorithm is also developed and validated. The chatter detection algorithm can detect chatter before chatter marks appear on the workpiece and the chatter frequency estimation algorithm is shown to capture the chatter frequency with the same accuracy as the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). The computational cost of the chatter detection algorithm increases linearly with data size and the chatter frequency estimation algorithm, with properly chosen parameters, is shown to perform 10 times faster than the FFT. Both the cutting forces/torque measurement methodology and the chatter detection algorithm have great potential for shop floor application. The cutting forces/torque measurement system can be integrated with adaptive feedback controllers for process optimization and can also be extended to the measurement of other physical phenomena.

The field of organic electronics is recently emerging in modern electrical applications. Organic light emitting diodes have been developed and are implemented in commercially available products. The novel materials are also used in sensor applications, utilizing their intrinsic physical, chemical and electrical characteristics. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrene-sulfonic acid) (PEDOT:PSS) is one of the most successful organic conductive materials. Developed as antistatic coating, it is now used in other fields as well such as in electro-optical devices as transparent electrodes. One of the reasons for its widely spread use is that water-based dispersions in high quality are available. In addition, it is considered highly stable, resisting degradation under typical ambient conditions. For this work, the usability of PEDOT:PSS as active layer for electromechanical sensor applications was investigated. The electrical properties of the material were characterized including temperature dependencies and environmental influences. A piezoresistive effect with negative sign was found. It is small in magnitude and of the same order as the change in resistance due to geometrical effects. The piezoresistive effect is temperature dependent and increasing in magnitude with higher temperatures. An average longitudinal piezoresistive coefficient pi_l of -5.6x10-10 Pa-1 at room temperature has been evaluated. The transverse effect under the same conditions is opposite in sign and two thirds in magnitude of the lateral effect. The hole mobility of PEDOT:PSS follows an Arrhenius function and thus the resistivity has a negative temperature coefficient. Some other thermally induced effects have been observed such as de-doping of the material resulting in an irreversibly lowered conductivity. Due to the low thermal conductivity of the substrate material used, Joule heating of the samples played an important role during the characterization and was utilized to investigate the temperature dependencies. The change of resistance caused by an applied stress to the sample is small, with a gage factor smaller than one.

In this analysis, the efficacy of cavitation jets for heat transfer enhancement was demonstrated. The cavitation jet was formed from a cluster of cavitation bubbles that are the result of a submerged piezoelectric diaphragms oscillating about a given velocity threshold Two different heaters operating in two different flow environments were examined. For each heater in each environment, the cavitation jet significantly increased the heat transfer

Epoxy composite laminated piezoelectric stress-enhanced actuators (ECLIPSE) have been developed for potential applications by the United States Air Force and others. This class of actuators offers several advantages over other unimorph actuators such as lighter weight, design flexibility, and short production time. Anisotropic differential thermal expansion is utilized in the design of the actuators to achieve large out-of-plane curvature and place the brittle piezoelectric ceramic in residual compression. The numerous composite material choices and configurations can be used to control characteristics of the actuator such as radius of curvature and force output. ECLIPSE actuators were characterized during this study. They were made from layers of Kevlar 49/epoxy composite and a lead zirconate titanate ceramic (PZT) plate. All ECLIPSE actuators tested were built with a PZT plate with the same dimensions and material, but had different layup configurations. By changing the stacking order of the composite and PZT material, characteristics of the actuator were altered. The performance of each ECLIPSE actuator was compared. The maximum achievable displacement of each actuator was measured by cyclically applying an electric field at low frequency between zero and the maximum electric field allowable for the piezoelectric material. The frequency was also increased to a resonance condition to characterize the fatigue behavior of these actuators. In addition, the force output of various actuators was measured with a four-point bending apparatus. The experimental data was compared to a classical lamination theory model and an extended classical lamination theory model. These models were used to predict actuator behavior as well as to calculate the stress and strain distribution through the thickness of the actuator.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

An automatic implantable cardiac defibrillator (AICD) is a device that is implanted in the chest to constantly monitor and, if necessary, correct episodes of arrhythmia. While the longevity of the average AICD patient has increased to 10 years after implantation, only 5% of implants functioned for seven years, and this mismatch poses a significant and ever growing clinical and economic burden. Moreover, there are now efforts to “piggyback” devices on AICDs and BVPs for additional functionality, all of which require more power. An innovative approach towards generating power for AICDs is to harness the energy of the heart by embedding energy generators in AICD leads. The cardiovascular system as a source generator is appealing due to its ability to continuously deliver mechanical energy as long as the patient is alive. Herein a device incorporating nanostructured piezoelectrics was developed as a means to harvest the energy of heart. The generator system integrates inorganic piezoelectric nanomaterials, including aligned arrays of nanowires of crystalline zinc oxide (ZnO), with elastomeric substrates. The design combines several innovative structural configurations including a “wavy” flexible electrode and a layout where the nanowires are near or on the neutral mechanical plane. A wet synthetic strategy to reliably prepare piezoelectric ZnO nanostructures directly onto the devices was also developed and optimized to produce nanowires with high densities, large aspect ratios and high orientation. The elastomeric support permits direct integration within AICD leads and is small and flexible enough to not add resistance in systole. The flexible devices were integrated into a testbed mimicking the input a failing right ventricle and the results demonstrate progress towards energy harvesting from the cardiovascular system. A model was developed to gain insight as to how to structure the nanowire array within the latitude of the synthesis to boost the energy production. To further improve the output, the nanowires were passivated with dipolar molecules to change their resistivities and the barrier height of the Schottky contact. A novel low photon energy photoelectron spectroscopy tool was developed to measure the effects of the molecules on the individual nanowire properties. This concept of using nanostructured piezoelectrics as a means to convert the energy of the body may in the coming years represent a paradigm shift from battery dependant AICD modules to completely autonomous functional systems. / text