Inertial sensing technologies, including accelerometers and gyroscopes, have been invaluable in numerous fields ranging from consumer electronics to healthcare and clinical practices. Inertial measurement units, specifically accelerometers, represent the most widely used microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices with excellent and reliable performance. Although MEMS-based accelerometers have many attractive attributes, such as their tiny footprint, high sensitivity, high reliability, and multiple functionalities, they are limited by their complex and expensive microfabrication processes and cumbersome, fragile structures that suffer from mechanical fatigue over time. Moreover, the rigid nature of beams and spring-like structures of conventional accelerometers limit their applications for wearable devices and soft-human machine interfaces where physical compliance that is compatible with human skin is a priority. In this dissertation, the development of novel practical resistive and capacitive-type inertial sensors using liquid metal as a functional proof mass material is presented. Utilizing the unique electromechanical properties of liquid metal, the novel inertial sensor design confines a graphene-coated liquid metal droplet inside tubular and 3D architectures, enabling motion sensing in single and multiple directions. Combining the graphene-coated liquid metal droplet with printed sensing elements offers a robust fatigue-free alternative material for rigid, proof mass-based accelerometers. Resistive and capacitive sensing mechanisms were both developed, characterized, and evaluated. Emerging rapid fabrication technologies such as direct laser writing and 3D printing were mainly adopted, offering a scalable fabrication strategy independent of advanced microfabrication facilities. The developed inertial sensor was integrated with a programmable system on a chip (PSoC) to function as a stand-alone system and demonstrate its application for real-time- monitoring of human health/ physical activity and for soft human-machine interfaces. The developed inertial sensor architecture and materials in this work offer a new paradigm for manufacturing these widely used sensors that have the potential to complement the performance of their silicon-based counterparts and extend their applications.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:kaust.edu.sa/oai:repository.kaust.edu.sa:10754/679853 |
| Date | 07 1900 |
| Creators | Babatain, Wedyan |
| Contributors | Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa, Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Science and Engineering (CEMSE) Division, Alouini, Mohamed-Slim, Saikaly, Pascal, Ma, Zhenqiang |
| Source Sets | King Abdullah University of Science and Technology |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Rights | 2023-07-25, At the time of archiving, the student author of this dissertation opted to temporarily restrict access to it. The full text of this dissertation will become available to the public after the expiration of the embargo on 2023-07-25. |
Page generated in 0.0024 seconds