US – Page 257 – TechConnect Briefs

Process Sensitivity Analysis of a 0.25-um NMOS Transistor Using Two-Dimensional Simulations

Keshavarz A.A., Laurent L.F., Leonardi P.C., STMicroelectronics, US

This work attempts to predict the sensitivity of the 0.25-um NMOS transistor characteristics and parameters to selected manufacturing process steps. The transistor is on the 0.25um line of production in STMicroelectronics. The methdology uses two-dimensional [...]

First self-consistent thermal electron- phonon simulator

Vasileska D., Raleva K., Goodnick S.M., Arizona State University, US

We have developed the first self-consistent thermal electron-phonon simulator which solves the Boltzmann transport equation for the electrons and the energy balance equations for phonons, and as such allows us to make realistic estimates on [...]

Anomalous Thermomechanical Softening-Hardening Transitions in Micro-oscillators

Sahai T., Bhiladvala R., Zehnder A., Cornell University, US

This work documents and explains a counter-intuitive nonlinear phenomenon, where the laser-detected resonant motion of forced, micromechanical oscillators can be tuned from softening to hardening by increasing the laser power incident on a prestressed silicon [...]

Bulk-Titanium Waveguide – a New Building Block for Microwave Planar Circuits

Huang X.T., Todd S., Ding C., MacDonald N.C., University of California at Santa Barbara, US

We present a new topology for planar microwave transmission line: bulk titanium waveguide. The waveguide is formed by deep trench etching, dielectric gap filling, and planarization. The high aspect ratio of the resulting structure provide [...]

Towards an efficient multidisciplinary system-level framework for designing and modeling complex engineered microsystems

Clark J.V., Zeng Y., Jha P., Purdue University, US

We present advances in designing and modeling complex microsystems at the network/system-level. For design, we develop a graphical user interface that allows users to quickly configure complex systems in 3D using a computer mouse or [...]

Fast Methods for Particle Dynamics in Dielectrophoretic and Oscillatory Flow Biochips

Chowdhury I., Wang X., Jandhyala V., University of Washington, US

This paper presents novel BEM for particle transport in microfluidic channels. Code performance and simulation results are presented

Evidence of the Existence of Complete Phononic Band Gaps in Phononic Crystal Plates

Mohammadi S., Eftekhar A.A., Khelif A., Hunt W.D., Adibi A., Georgia Institute of Technology, US

We show, by measuring the transmission through a phononic crystal (PC) plate, the evidence of the existence of large phononic band gaps (PBGs) in two-dimensional PCs made by a hexagonal (honeycomb) array of holes etched [...]

Shape Memory Alloy and Elastomer Composite MEMS Actuators

Fallon P.D., Gerratt A.P., Kierstead B.P., White R.D., Tufts University, US

Shape memory alloy (SMA) microactuators are under development for use in soft bodied robotics. These actuators take advantage of the shape memory effect of nickel-titanium alloys (nitinol) to deliver high force and large strain in [...]

Micromachined Force Sensors for Characterization of Chemical Mechanical Polishing

Gauthier D., Mueller A., White R., Manno V., Rogers C., Anjur S., Moinpour M., Tufts University, US

Two types of microscale sensors are being developed to take in situ measurements of forces induced during chemical mechanical polishing. Flexible post sensors have been demonstrated, and floating element sensors are under development. Both sensors [...]

Numerical Analysis of Nanofluidic Sample Preconcentration in Hydrodynamic Flow

Wang Y., Pant K., Diffey W., Chen Z., Sundaram S., CFD Research Corporation, US

This paper presents the first, high-fidelity numerical study of nanofluidic streaming potential-based sample preconcentration. Parametric analysis is performed to capture the critical effects of pressure and background electrolyte (BGE) concentration on preconcentrator performance. Our studies [...]