Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices have been increasing in popularity for radio frequency (RF) and microwave communication systems due to the ability of MEMS devices to improve the performance of these circuits and systems. This interdisciplinary field combines the aspects of lithographic fabrication, mechanics, materials science, and RF/microwave circuit technology to produce moving structures with feature dimensions on the micron scale (micro structures). MEMS technology has been used to improve switches, varactors, and inductors to name a few specific examples. Most MEMS devices have been fabricated using planar micro fabrication techniques that are similar to current IC fabrication techniques. These techniques limit the thickness of individual layers to a few microns, and restrict the structures to have planar and not vertical features. <p> One micro fabrication technology that has not seen much application to microwave MEMS devices is LIGA, a German acronym for X-ray lithography, electroforming, and moulding. LIGA uses X-ray lithography to produce very tall structures (hundreds of microns) with excellent structural quality, and with lateral feature sizes smaller than a micron. These unique properties have led to an increased interest in LIGA for the development of high performance microwave devices, particularily as operating frequencies increase and physical device size decreases. Existing work using LIGA for microwave devices has concentrated on statically operating structures such as transmission lines, filters, and couplers. This research uses these unique fabrication capabilities to develop dynamically operating microwave devices with high frequency performance. <p>This thesis documents the design, simulation, fabrication, and testing of MEMS variable capacitors (varactors), that are suitable for fabrication using the LIGA process. Variable capacitors can be found in systems such as voltage-controlled oscillators, filters, impedance matching networks and phase shifters. Important figures-of-merit for these devices include quality factor (Q), tuning range, and self-resonant frequency. The simulation results suggest that LIGA-MEMS variable capacitors are capable of high Q performance at upper microwave frequencies. Q-factors as large as 356 with a nickel device layer and 635 with a copper device layer, at operational frequency, have been simulated. The results indicate that self-resonant frequencies as large as 45 GHz are possible, with the ability to select the tuning range depending on the requirements of the application. Selected capacitors were fabricated with a shorter metal height for an initial fabrication attempt. Test results show a Q-factor of 175 and a nominal capacitance of 0.94 pF at 1 GHz. The devices could not be actuated as some seed layer metal remained beneath the cantilevers and further etching is required. As such, LIGA fabrication is shown to be a very promising technology for various dynamically operating microwave MEMS devices.

This dissertation performs a simulation investigation into the nonlinear static and dynamic characteristics of electrostatically driven shaped micro-actuators in micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). The model proposed in the current nonlinear pull-in deflection study considers various boundary conditions for the electrostatically actuated structures, e.g. the cantilever beam and the fixed-fixed beam, and takes account of the electrical field fringing effect and the axial residual stress. Initially, the Adomian decomposition method is employed to evaluate the response of a micro-actuator incorporating a rectangular micro-beam and a flat electrode by obtaining the closed-form solution of the corresponding nonlinear equation. Since no iteration is required in solving the nonlinear deformation, this decomposition method is one of the most efficient methods available for evaluating the unstable pull-in behavior of an electrostatically driven micro-actuator. The present study implements both small and large deflection assumptions when simulating the response of the micro-actuator in order to explore the possible effects of the two models on the accuracy of the simulation results. The shaped micro-beam with a curved electrode micro-actuator is further assessed using the differential quadrature method (DQM) to examine the influence of the nonlinear pull-in effect. This dissertation also studies the contact force and the pull-in deflection of shaped micro-tweezers. The DQM is employed to solve the nonlinear interaction between the curved electrostatic field force and the corresponding deflection of the shaped cantilever actuators. The numerical results confirm the ability of the DQM to treat this form of nonlinear actuator problem accurately, efficiently and systematically. To evaluate the dynamic characteristics of the electrostatic micro-actuator, the DQM is applied to solve the natural frequencies of a fixed-fixed shaped beam vibrating around its statically deflected position under electrostatic loading. The proposed model not only takes account of the nonlinear interaction between the curved electrostatic field force and the restoring force of the shaped micro-beam, but also considers mid-plane stretching, axial residual stress, and electrical field fringing effects. It is shown that an excellent agreement exists between the simulation results obtained using the proposed model and those measured experimentally. This study also investigates the micro-beam and electrode shape effect on the natural frequencies of the actuator system. The analytical results indicate that variations in the shape of the micro-beam or of the electrode not only influence the electrostatic field distribution, but also significantly alter the dynamic characteristics of the micro-actuator. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that the shaped micro-beam with a curved electrode micro-actuator increases the working voltage range of the micro-actuator by a factor of approximately six times compared to that of a micro-actuator incorporating a rectangular micro-beam and a flat electrode. A continuing trend nowadays is the integration of micro-electro-mechanical devices with electronic circuitry to fabricate MEMS devices such as micro-switches, optical micro-mirrors, etc. It is known that when an electrical voltage is applied to these devices, the micro-actuators will undergo a residual vibration before reaching their permanent position. Hence, this dissertation investigates the residual vibration phenomenon of cantilever beam type micro-switches with air squeeze-film damping between the micro-beam and substrate. The present simulations of various shaped micro-actuators provide an understanding of the nonlinear static and dynamic behaviors of these devices and as such provide designers with the information required to properly and accurately control the device operating range during the design stage.

This research is intended to contribute toward the understanding, development, and implementation of a more fundamental design process for bituminous pavement materials, utilizing thermodynamic properties of the materials involved. The theory developed by van Oss, Chaudhury and Good forms the basis of this research. Optimization of techniques to characterize surface energy, as well as consideration and evaluation of additional factors that influence adhesion in the presence of water, are pursued. A synthesis of theories and mechanisms of bitumen-aggregate adhesion is presented, and existing and potential techniques for surface energy characterization are reviewed to establish firm background knowledge on this subject. The Wilhelmy plate technique was scrutinized and improved methodologies and analysis procedures are proposed. Inverse gas chromatography (IGC) is introduced as an alternative technique. A reasonable comparison of total surface energy values form these techniques with mechanical surface tension values were found. Results suggest that bitumen surface energies do not vary substantially. Inability of these techniques to detect the effect of a liquid additive is rationalized by the ‘potential’ surface energy concept. Suggestions for a more realistic characterization of bitumen polar surface energy components are presented. A static gravimetric sorption technique was employed to characterize aggregate surface energies. Dynamic vapor sorption was identified as a candidate alternative technique for aggregate surface energy characterization. A study on the effect of pH on surface energy components of water revealed that this effect is practically negligible. Calculation of the free energy of electrostatic interaction (DGEL) indicated that this term contributes less than 1% to the total free energy of adhesion. Despite this finding, it is shown that DGEL alone is able to distinguish moisture sensitive mixtures. The significance of electrical phenomena at the interface is elucidated through another mechanism following the work of M.E. Labib. The relationship between pH and electron donor-acceptor properties of aggregate surfaces is presented. The Labib approach potentially offers the solution to quantify the effect of pH on adhesion. In addition, it should be possible to resolve issues with the acid-base scale proposed by the founders of the current theory, by replacing it with a more absolute donor-acceptor scale.

The objective of this dissertation is to analytically model a parallel plate electrostatic actuator operating in a liquid electrolyte and experimentally verify the analysis. The model assumes the system remains in thermodynamic equilibrium during actuation, which enables the ion mass balance equations and Guass’ Law to be combined into the Poisson-Boltzmann equation. The governing equations also include the linear momentum equation including the following forces: the electric force, the osmotic force, the spring force, the viscous damping force, and the van der Waals force. Equations are also derived for the energy stored in the actuator. The analytical results emphasize the stored energy at mechanical equilibrium and the voltage versus electrode separation behavior including the instability. The analytical results predict that the system may not be a good actuator because the displacement has a very limited stable range, although the actuator would be suitable for bistable applications. The experiment consisted of a fixed flat gold electrode and a movable gold electrode consisting of a gold sphere several micrometers in diameter mounted on the end of an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) cantilever, which serves as the spring. The electrodes were separated by approximately 100nm of 1mM NaCl aqueous solution. The analytical results were not verified by the experiment. Relative to the analysis, the experiments did not show distinct critical points, and the experiments showed less electrode separation for a given applied electric potential. The experiments did show points at which the electrode separation versus electric potential rapidly changed slope, which may be instability points. It is suggested that this phenomenon may be due to coalesced gas bubbles on hydrophobic regions of the electrode surfaces, which are not included in the model. Although clean gold surfaces are hydrophilic, gold surfaces may become hydrophobic due to impurities.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 102-108).

Thesis--Ph. D., University of Hong Kong. / Mimeographed.

There are many U.S. health-related standards for ozone that aim to limit exposure to ozone. The potential for ozone emission from electrically connected air cleaners is well- known and has led to standards and regulations for portable indoor air cleaning devices, which emit ozone at measured rates of 0.056 – 13.4 mg/hr. However, there is evidence that some in-duct air cleaners may actually emit more ozone than portable air cleaners, despite being exempt from most regulations due to the lack of a suitable test method for measuring ozone generation. To explore if in-duct cleaners actually do emit ozone, I investigated seven commercially available residential in-duct air cleaning devices. These devices used one of two broad technologies as means of air cleaning: UV light or electrical corona. The lowest measured emission rates came from two air cleaners that utilized UV light technology and were 0.309 ± 1.7 mg/hr, which was likely below the detection limit of the apparatus and method, and 4.29± 1.5 mg/hr. Three of the air cleaners tested, also with UV lamps, were of the same brand and model yet exhibited differing emission rates, ranging from 7.44± 1.6 mg/hr to 15.8± 2.6 mg/hr. These three air cleaners were classified as medium emitters and also utilized UV light technology. The high median measured emission rates were measured from both an air cleaner utilizing electrical corona technology, 30.2 ± 4.0 mg/hr, and UV light technology, 29.4 ± 3.9 mg/hr. These experimental results confirm that some in-duct air cleaners are able to generate more ozone than some portable air cleaners and also suggest potential health risks to the indoor environment. / text

This thesis seeks to characterize the size of the interaction volume in a sample subject to electric force microscope (EFM) probing. It discusses the historical relevance of the EFM and the experimental method used. It then discusses the modeling of the fields surrounding the grating sample with the equivalent charge model (ECM) where a tip or other rotationally symmetric conducting element is replaced by a series of point charges on the vertical axis that mimic the original fields. The results of the model were then compared to the experimental data as well as a model simulated using COMSOL, a finite element analysis package. The electrostatic model was found to have good agreement with the simulated and experimental results and was then used to estimate the volume of interaction and the lateral resolution of this technique. The volume of interaction was estimated at 6000 μm3 and the lateral resolution was estimated at 10 μm.

Corona discharge is one of the crucial problems related with high-voltage equipment. This paper focuses on the physical and numerical modelling of corona discharge in an Electrostatic precipitator (ESP). The model is based on Maxwells equations and the Finite element method (FEM) and is implemented with the COMSOL Multiphysics software.The simulation allows studying the electric charge distribution and the behaviour of the electric field inside the ESP. The work is focused primarily on time-dependent studies of the corona discharge.

This thesis seeks to characterize the size of the interaction volume in a sample subject to electric force microscope (EFM) probing. It discusses the historical relevance of the EFM and the experimental method used. It then discusses the modeling of the fields surrounding the grating sample with the equivalent charge model (ECM) where a tip or other rotationally symmetric conducting element is replaced by a series of point charges on the vertical axis that mimic the original fields. The results of the model were then compared to the experimental data as well as a model simulated using COMSOL, a finite element analysis package. The electrostatic model was found to have good agreement with the simulated and experimental results and was then used to estimate the volume of interaction and the lateral resolution of this technique. The volume of interaction was estimated at 6000 μm3 and the lateral resolution was estimated at 10 μm.