Ctrl-P to Print
MEMS/NEMS: Science & Technology Fundamentals (MEMS/NEMS S&T)
Program Manager: Dr. Dennis Polla
The MEMS/NEMS S&T Fundamentals effort seeks to create focus centers dedicated to advancing a number of core technologies considered essential to the advancement of MEMS/NEMS technology. Research investigates innovative approaches capable of having a pervasive impact on continuing technology advances with significant potential for contributing to the transition of MEMS/NEMS technology into DoD systems. This program is intended to foster the creation of multiple and highly interactive MEMS/NEMS focus centers composed of university, industrial, and government laboratory organizations.
Innovative research for focus centers is concentrated in the following fundamental technology areas:
- Surface Physics: Understanding the chemical and physical nature of MEMS/NEMS surfaces, interfaces, and how bonds terminate. Approaches directed toward enhancing fundamental understanding of the role of surfaces and materials interfaces during processing, device operation, and long-term reliability are desired.
- Noise Mechanisms: Understanding noise limitations in MEMS/NEMS devices. Approaches directed toward enhancing fundamental understanding of the ultimate limitations of all sources of noise to the performance of individual devices and more complex microsystems are desired.
- Reliability Physics: Understanding the physical basis for failure in all types of MEMS/NEMS. Fundamental work in this area might include scientific studies of fatigue of materials and interfaces at micro- and nano-scales.
- Scaling Physics: Understanding dimensional scaling trade-off spaces in electrical, mechanical, optical, chemical, and biological MEMS, as well as limits to the dynamic range of scaled devices and systems.
- Microfluidics: Understanding and controlled manipulation of fluids in micro- and nanosystems. Issues related to the reliability physics and compatibility of fluidic components such as valves, pumps, capillaries, etc.
- Interconnections: Interfacing the nano-to-macro world; impedance matching between the macro, micro, and nano domains.
- Single-Molecule Methods: Bottom-up construction of MEMS/NEMS structures and devices, surface functionalization, atom-by-atom engineering; self-replicating MEMS/NEMS.
- Modeling: New methods for simulating MEMS/NEMS performances (e.g., understanding the limits in quality factor (Q) in vibrating micro- and nanomechanical resonators.
- Signal Processing Methods: Frequency domain versus time domain computation