University of Waterloo – Page 2

Structural Color Generation in Silicon Nanowires Enable Low-Cost Refractive Index Sensors

Walia J., Khorasaninejad M., Dhindsa N., Saini S.S., University of Waterloo, CA

Structural colors are generated using waveguiding and diffractive effects in ordered silicon nanowire arrays. Tunable colors can be achieved by changing the angle of incidence. The generated colors are used for refractive index sensors with [...]

Direct-Write Microfabrication for Enhancement of Functionality of Optical Fiber Devices

Alemohammad H.R., Foroozmehr E., Cotten B., Toyserkani E., University of Waterloo, CA

The improvement of the functionality of optical fiber devices has always been a research topic. In this regard, coating of optical fibers with metal thin films has been considered as an effective approach. We report [...]

MEMS Strain Sensors with High Linearity and Sensitivity with an Enhanced Strain Transfer Mechanism for Wind Turbine Blades

Moradi M., Sivoththaman S., University of Waterloo, CA

A new physical sensor design for strain measurement for wind turbine blades is presented. While the proposed sensors are highly sensitive, they are based on simple operating principle: application of an input force, which is [...]

Off-Chip Printed Interconnects for Ultrathin Flexible Products

Alemohammad H., Zadeh A., Sheats J., Toyserkani E., University of Waterloo, CA

The relentless needs for increasing the functionality of microelectronic products while reducing their size and weight and having the advantages of thinness and flexibility call for novel technologies for the integration and assembly of multi-chip [...]

Residual Stress Dependency on Wafer Location of Thin Film PECVD Silicon Nitride

Godin J.R., Won P.M. Nieva S.-H.P., Phong L.N., University of Waterloo, CA

The residual stress of use plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) silicon nitride has been investigated in the past. The majority of these studies utilize bulk stress measurements through wafer curvature, assuming that the residual [...]

Effect of Nonlinear Structural Stiffness on the Response of Capacitive MEMS Devices

Shavezipur M., Nieva P., Khajepour A., Hashemi S.M., University of Waterloo, CA

In this paper, a design technique is presented that can linearize the response of MEMS capacitive elements such as tunable capacitors, capacitive sensors and out-of-plane electrostatic actuators. The method combinations the electrode flexibility and nonlinear [...]

A Parallel-plate-based Fishbone-Shape MEMS Tunable Capacitor with Linear Capacitance-Voltage Response

Shavezipur M., Nieva P., Khajepour A., Hashemi S.M., University of Waterloo, CA

Conventional designs for MEMS parallel-plate tunable capacitor suggest rectangular electrodes and linear structural stiffness which offer high Q-factor and quick responses; however, they have low tunability of 50% and nonlinear capacitance-voltage responses. This paper presents [...]

A Novel Virtual Button User Interface for Determining the Characteristics of an Impulse Input Based on MEMS Inertial Sensors

Zwart A., Effa D., Nieva P., Lancaster-Larocque S., University of Waterloo, CA

This paper introduces a novel application of MEMS accelerometer in consumer electronics device for a ‘Virtual Button’ Technology. MEMS based accelerometers is designed in order to measure low-g acceleration to sense tapping motion on the [...]

Field Emission Properties of Carbon Nanotube Arrays with Defects and Impurities

Roy Mahapatra D., Sinha N., Melnik R., Yeow J.T.W., University of Waterloo, CA

Field emission from carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in the form of arrays or thin films give rise to several strongly correlated process of electromechanical interaction and degradation. Such processes are mainly due to (1) electron-phonon interaction [...]

Design Optimization of Field Emission from a Stacked Carbon Nanotube Array

Roy Mahapatra D., Sinha N., Melnik R., Yeow J.T.W., University of Waterloo, CA

Field emission (FE) from carbon nanotubes (CNTs) grown on a cathode substrate is difficult to characterize using simple formulae or data fitting, which is due to (1) electron-phonon interaction (2) electromechanical force field leading to [...]