Fair R.B. – TechConnect Briefs

Integrated Hierarchical Design of Microelectrofluidic Systems using SystemC

Zhang T., Chakrabarty K., Fair R.B., Cadence Design Systems, Inc., US

This paper describes the role of SystemC in developing an integrated modeling and simulatio environment for microelectrofluidic systems (MEFS). Based on the unique modeling and simulation needs for MEFS, we examine suitability of several existing [...]

System Performance Evaluation with SystemC for Two PCR Microelectrofluidic Systems

Zhang T., Chakrabarty K., Fair R.B., Cadence Design Systems, Inc., US

We present a performance comparison between two types of microfluidic systems - continuous-flow systems and droplet-based systems. The comparison based on a specific microfluidic application - a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system. The modeling and [...]

Mechanical Property Measurement of Thin-film Gold Using Thermally Actuated Bimetallic Cantilever Beams

Pamula V.K., Jog A., Fair R.B., Duke University, US

We describe a method for estimating the Young's modulus of thin-film gold deposited on the poly2 layer in the MUMPS process is described. An optical detection system employing position sensitive detectors (PSD) is built to [...]

Reconfigurable Microfluidic System Architecture Based on Two-Dimensional Electrowetting Arrays

Ding J., Chakrabarty K., Fair R.B., Duke University, US

We present an architectural design and optimization methodology for performing biochemical reactions using two-dimensional electrowetting arrays. We define a set of basic microfluidic operations and leverage electronic design automation principles for system partitioning, resource allocation, [...]

Statistical Optimal Design of Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS)

Ren H., Jog A., Fair R.B., Duke University, US

A three-step technique for MEMS quality optimization is demonstrated. It exploits the relative merits of its constituent optimization components. Analog Devices' ADXL50 accelerometer was the test device with microstructure dimen-sions serving as design parameters. Manufacturing [...]

Design of Reconfigurable Composite Microsystems Based on Hardware/Software Co-design Principles

Zhang T., Chakrabarty K., Fair R.B., Duke University, US

Custom microsystems are expensive, inflexible, and unsuitable for high-volume production. We address this problem by leveraging hardware/software co-design principles to design reconfigurable composite microsystems. We partition the system design parameters into nonreconfigurable and reconfigurable categories. [...]

The Coupled-Domain System Simulation/Simulatability Problem

Jopling J., Rose D., Fair R.B., Duke University, US

This paper discusses the diculties in current approaches to modeling and simulation of coupled-domain systems and presents new approaches and solutions to simulation execution and the model-simulation gap. The ongoing paradigm shift toward coupled-domain systems [...]

Scalable Macromodels for Microelectromechanical Systems

Srinivasan V., Jog A., Fair R.B., Duke University, US

A fully automatic macromodeling methodology to generate scalable reduced-order models for microelectromechanical systems is presented in this paper. Krylov subspace methods are used to generate reduced-order models from detailed higher-order models of the device under [...]

Towards Microelectrofluidic System (MEFS) Computing and Architecture

Dewey A., Fair R.B., Jopling J., Ding J., Zhang T., Cao F., Schreiner B., Pollack M., Duke University, US

This paper presents the rationale, design, and simulation of next-generation microelectro fluidic system computational architectures for the emerging field of bioinformatics. Current microelectro fluidic processors (e.g. biochips) have largely dedicated architectures supporting relatively specialized applications. [...]

Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) Design and Design Automation Research Projects at Duke University

Dewey A., Fair R.B., Duke University, US

This paper presents an overview of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) research being conducted at Duke University. The Duke University MEMS research program encompasses initiatives in both application design and design automation. These two areas serve synergistic [...]