Fall 2001

ME/IE 8773-8774

Microassembly of Hybrid Microsystems

by

Bradley J. Nelson
Associate Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Minnesota

Wednesday, October 10, 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

Robotic micromanipulation is a key barrier to the development of many complex microdevices. The eventual commercial success of many microscale technologies requires that the handling of microparts be performed automatically in order to preserve potential economic benefits. Economical assembly and packaging of microdevices of any complexity is currently not possible for two reasons. First, the manipulation of micron-sized objects is poorly understood. Second, manufacturing facilities capable of quickly and cheaply assembling these devices have not been developed, partly because research in micromanipulation has yet to demonstrate robust microassembly strategies. For example, precision alignment and bonding operations have been identified as the single most costly manufacturing step in developing micro-optoelectronic devices. Though the future for micro-optoelectronics appears bright, the technology barrier that microassembly presents for the commercial success of this field is very real. This same barrier exists for the fields of microrobotics and hybrid microsystems.

This talk will present the efforts of my research group in developing robotic tools for building intelligent microrobotic systems. The systems we build have a range of applications: from tools for performing surgery on biological cells; to physically manipulating bits of information for dramatically improving disk drive density; to miniature pan/tilt camera platforms carried on mobile microrobots used for monitoring the environment. Our microassembly research consists of several components, including research in visual servoing; a theoretical and experimental analysis of the microphysics of micropart interactions including development of a force sensor capable of sensing nanonewton scale forces; and development of microgripping devices using microfabrication technology. A primary goal of our microassembly work is to develop a new manufacturing paradigm so that hybrid microparts can be economically assembled into intelligent microrobotic machines.

My overall research program focuses on four distinct but synergistic areas, including robotic micromanipulation, hybrid MEMS (microelectromechanical systems), biomanipulation, and micromechatronic systems. Our research skills cover a broad range of mechanical engineering including robotics, controls, computer vision, microfabrication, design and simulation, manufacturing, modeling, and biomedical technologies. A brief overview of these different aspects of our work will also be presented.

Brad Nelson is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota. He has a B.S. degree (Bronze Tablet) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, an M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota, and a Ph.D. degree in Robotics (School of Computer Science) from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a recipient of the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, the National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, and a McKnight Land-Grant Professorship. He has been an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has worked as an engineer for Honeywell Inc. and Motorola Inc., and has served as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in Botswana, Africa. His research interests include computer vision, controls, manufacturing, mechatronics, MEMS, microrobotics, and robotics.

Informal Faculty Luncheon: Wednesday, October 10, 2001, 12:00 noon Prof. Nelson will be able to attend.