published_or_final_version / Mechanical Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

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Thesis advisor: Vidya Madhavan / Three projects have been undertaken during the design and the construction of a scanning tunneling microscope. The first project focuses on a method of testing the movement of piezoelectric ceramics by means of a modified Michelson interferometer. These tests determine the magnitude and the direction of motion on the scale of a few angstroms. These piezos are then used in moving the tip of the STM. The second project concerned the design of a surface analysis chamber to be used for thin film depositions. This chamber will operate at UHV levels and will produce samples to be examined by the STM. The final project dealt with the construction and testing of a feedback loop to be used in the e-beam heater during thin film depositions. This box monitors the current between the sample and the source modifying the voltage across the filament to ensure the current between the two remains constant, ensuring a constant deposition rate. / Thesis (BS) — Boston College, 2004. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Physics. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

Les lithiases urinaires peuvent affecter le rein, l'uretère ou la vessie, et affectent en moyenne, au moins une fois durant leur vie, 1 personne sur 11 aux Etats-Unis. La lithotritie extracorporelle est une technique largement répandue dans le monde qui consiste à focaliser des ondes de choc acoustiques de haute intensité sur les lithiases afin de les briser. Le travail présenté dans cette thèse porte sur l'optimisation de la lithotritie piézoélectrique, à la fois dans sa conception mais aussi dans son efficacité, tout en réduisant son coût de fabrication. Premièrement, une étude de l'état de l'art de la lithotritie a été réalisée, suivie par des expériences sur des lithotriteurs commerciaux et expérimentaux afin de déterminer les différents axes de recherche de la thèse. Ensuite, une optimisation des éléments piézoélectriques d'un lithotriteur a été réalisée afin d'obtenir un traitement plus performant. Finalement, des lithotriteurs composés de transducteurs piézoélectriques focalisés grâce à des lentilles optimisées ont été conçus et fabriqués. Leurs champs acoustiques, leurs effets sur la cavitation et leur efficacité à fragmenter des lithiases artificielles ont été évalués. Les lithotriteurs résultant ont montré des performances équivalentes à des lithotriteurs commerciaux existant, tout en permettant un traitement plus flexible que ces derniers / Kidney Stones can be found in the kidney, ureter, or in the bladder, and affect about 1 in 11 people at least once in a lifetime in the US. Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy is a widely used technique where high intensity acoustic pulses are focused toward kidney stones in order to break them. The work presented in this thesis focus on optimizing piezoelectric lithotripter, both in design and efficiency, in order to have more efficient treatment while also being less costly. First, a study of the current state of lithotripsy was made, followed by experiments on commercial and experimental lithotripters in order to define properly the different parameters to be worked on. From this, it was decided to optimize the current piezoelectric elements in the lithotripter to obtain a more efficient treatment. Then, a lithotripter using optimized lens focused piezoelectric transducers set in confocal setups was designed and manufactured. Its acoustic characterization, effect on cavitation and model stone fragmentation efficiency were evaluated. The resulting lithotripter showed performances equivalent to existing commercial lithotripter, while allowing more flexible treatment than traditional lithotripter

Three-dimensional integrated circuits (3D ICs) have been designed with the purpose of achieving higher communication speed by reducing the interconnect length between integrated circuits, and integrating heterogeneous functions into one single package, among other advantages. As a growing, new technology, researchers are still studying the different parameters that impact the overall lifetime of such packages in order to ensure the customer receives reliable end products. This study focused on the effect of four design parameters on the lifetime of the interconnects and, in particular, solder balls and through-silicon vias (TSVs). These parameters included TSV pitch, TSV diameter, underfill stiffness and underfill thickness. A three-dimensional finite element model of a 3D IC package was built in ANSYS to analyze the effect of these parameters under thermo-mechanical cyclic loading. The stresses and damage in the interconnects of the IC were evaluated using Coffin-Manson and the energy partitioning fatigue damage models. A three-level Taguchi design of experiment method was utilized to evaluate the effect of each parameter. Minitab software was used to assess the main effects of the selected design parameters. Locations of maximum stresses and possible damage initiation were discussed, and recommendations were made to the manufacturer for package optimization. Due to the very small scale of the interconnects, conducting mechanical tests and measuring strains in small microscopic scale material is very complicated and challenging; therefore, it is very difficult to validate finite element and analytical analysis of stress and strain in microelectronic devices. At the next step of this work, a new device and method were proposed to facilitate testing and strain measurements of material at microscopic scale. This new micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) consisted of two piezoelectric members that were constrained by a rigid frame and that sandwiched the test material. These two piezoelectric members act as load cell and strain measurement sensors. As the voltage is applied to the first member, it induces a force to the specimen and deforms it, which in turn deforms the second piezoelectric member. The second piezoelectric member induces an output voltage that is proportional to its deformation. Therefore, the strain and stresses in the test material can be determined by knowing the mechanical characteristics of the piezoelectric members. Advantages of the proposed system include ease of use, particularly at microscopic scale, adaptability to measure the strain of different materials, and flexibility to measure the modulus of elasticity for an unknown material. An analytical analysis of the device and method was presented, and the finite element simulation of the device was accomplished. The results were compared and discussed. An inelastic specimen was also analyzed and sensitivity of the device to detecting nonlinear behavior was evaluated. A characteristic curve was developed for the specific geometry and piezoelectric material.

<p>Implants are commonly used for orthopaedic and dental applications. There is however a problem with implants; they have a tendency to get loose after 10-15 years of usage. Bone that is not used will get weaker; this can be concluded from studies of people being immobilised or in microgravity. When an implant is put into bone, the surrounding bone does not experience any deformation and it will resorb. This is called stress shielding. Finally the implant will get loose. To avoid this problem we want to give electrical stimulation to the bone surrounding the implant. Electricity has been used before to stimulate bone, and it has been shown that immobilised bone can almost be maintained by using electric stimulation.</p><p>Piezoelectricity is a property of certain materials that make them generate electricity when they are deformed. When an implant is coated with a piezoelectric material, electrical stimulation can be achieved for the surrounding bone that is stress shielded.</p><p>In this diploma work, a test-equipment is built to stimulate cells. Cells will be grown on a piezoelectric plate that is bent by the test-equipment. Thus, the cells will be stimulated by both mechanical stress and electric potential since the piezoelectric material generates electricity when it is deformed. Piezoelectric samples and culture wells suitable for bending applications are prepared and tested in the equipment.</p><p>Some initial cell growth experiments have been performed to see that the material is suitable for cell growth.</p>

Implants are commonly used for orthopaedic and dental applications. There is however a problem with implants; they have a tendency to get loose after 10-15 years of usage. Bone that is not used will get weaker; this can be concluded from studies of people being immobilised or in microgravity. When an implant is put into bone, the surrounding bone does not experience any deformation and it will resorb. This is called stress shielding. Finally the implant will get loose. To avoid this problem we want to give electrical stimulation to the bone surrounding the implant. Electricity has been used before to stimulate bone, and it has been shown that immobilised bone can almost be maintained by using electric stimulation. Piezoelectricity is a property of certain materials that make them generate electricity when they are deformed. When an implant is coated with a piezoelectric material, electrical stimulation can be achieved for the surrounding bone that is stress shielded. In this diploma work, a test-equipment is built to stimulate cells. Cells will be grown on a piezoelectric plate that is bent by the test-equipment. Thus, the cells will be stimulated by both mechanical stress and electric potential since the piezoelectric material generates electricity when it is deformed. Piezoelectric samples and culture wells suitable for bending applications are prepared and tested in the equipment. Some initial cell growth experiments have been performed to see that the material is suitable for cell growth.

The solidly mounted resonator (SMR) is constructed of a Bragg reflector and a piezoelectric layer AlN. In order to obtain an appropriate SMR for the high frequency communication applications and high sensitivity bio-sensor applications, the Bragg reflector, the AlN, and the loading effect have been investigated thoroughly. The thesis presents the influences of surface roughness of the Bragg reflector and materials¡¦ selection on the resonance characteristics of an SMR. Three combinations of thin films, AlN/Al, Mo/Ti, and Mo/SiO2, are adopted. Originally, an AlN/Al multi-layer is used as the Bragg reflector. The poor surface roughness of this Bragg reflector results in a poor SMR frequency response. To improve the surface roughness of Bragg reflectors, a Mo/Ti multi-layer with a similar coefficient of thermal expansion is adopted. By controlling deposition parameters, the surface roughness of the Bragg reflector is improved. Finally, a material combination of Mo/SiO2 with high acoustic impedance ratio of 4.7 is adopted. Better resonance characteristics of SMR are obtained. The experimental results show a distinct resonance phenomenon around 2.5 GHz and excellent noise restraint. Afterwards, a ¼£f mode SMR is experimentally realized. The selection of high and low acoustic impedance for the first layer beneath piezoelectric layer results in the ¼£f mode and ½ £f mode resonance configurations, respectively. The coupling coefficient Keff2 of 6.9% is obtained, which is in agreement with the theoretical analysis. Following, the theoretical analysis upon the dual mode frequency-shift was characterized, and a modified formula was carried out. The c-axis tilted angle of AlN was altered as well as the various mass loading on the SMR. Based on the experimental results, the dual resonance frequencies showed a nonlinear decreasing trend with a linear increase of the mass loading. Furthermore, the ratio of the longitudinal resonant frequency to the shear resonant frequency remained at a range around 1.76 despite the various c-axis tilted angles of AlN and gradual mass loading on the SMR. The electromechanical coupling coefficient, keff2, of the shear resonance rose with the increase of the c-axis tilted angle of AlN. However, the longitudinal resonance fades away with the AlN c-axis tilted angle, and the quality factor of the longitudinal resonance decreases. Finally, the dual mode resonances are improved by tilting the off-center substrates toward the sputtering source and successfully enhance the longitudinal resonance while preserve the shear resonance at the same time. Not only the shear resonance for the liquid-based sensing application, but also an outstanding longitudinal resonance could be obtained. The practicability of the dual-mode resonator is extended for the applications of high frequency wireless communication and high sensitivity bio-chemical sensors.

Thesis (M.S.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2002. / Thesis advisor(s): Todd Weatherford, Ronald Pieper. Includes bibliographical references (p. 39-40). Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.)--Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2004. / Berthelot, Committee Chair; Lynch, Committee Member; Jacobs, Committee Member. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 111-113).