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Mechanical Engineering Home > Seminars > Fall 2001

Fall 2001

by

Thomas G. Wiegele, Ph.D.
Program Manager - Optical MEMS
Advanced Micro Machines

Goodrich Corporation
Burnsville, MN 55306

Wednesday, September 19, 2001
3:30-4:30 p.m.
Room 108 ME
Broadcast on UNITE Channel A
Coffee and cookies will be available in 152 ME following the seminar

Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) are finding applications in many different technology areas including automotive (air bag sensors), biomedical (intravenous blood pressure monitors), office computing (ink jet print heads) and telecommunications (optical switches). This presentation will describe the design issues associated with working at the micron scale, the processing issues associated with tailoring semiconductor processing techniques for the fabrication of moving mechanical components, and the many applications that now take advantage of this relatively new technology. A description of the basic MEMS process flow will also be given, MEMS simulation tools will be described, and a brief overview of the MEMS marketplace will be discussed.

Thomas G. Wiegele received a B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Illinois (1985), a M.S. degree in Manufacturing Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology (1987), and a Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin (1995). Dr. Wiegele has been involved in MEMS (Micro Electromechanical Systems) research for over 10 years, working on devices ranging from micro-turbines and micro-generators to accelerometers and optical switches. He is currently the Program Manager for a MEMS-based optical switch which will be used in telecommunications applications. Prior to his employment with Goodrich, he was with Motorola for 11 years, where he was most recently involved in the development of an integrated micro-accelerometer for automotive air bag deployment applications. His experience spans MEMS design, simulation, fabrication and characterization. Dr. Wiegele is an active member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and is on the Program Committee for the Modeling and Simulation of Microsystems Conference, an international conference held annually.

Informal Faculty Luncheon: Wednesday, September 19, 2001, 12:00 noon. A table is reserved at McCormick's Restaurant, Radisson Hotel Metrodome. Dr. Wiegele will not be able to attend.