MEMS Research At MEAM - The University
of Michigan
by
Liwei Lin, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics
University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Wednesday, May 12, 1999
1:25 - 2:15 p.m.
Room 102 ME
Broadcast on UNITE Channel B
Coffee will be available in 152 ME following the seminar
In the past twenty years, the application of
microelectronic technology to the fabrication of mechanical devices
greatly stimulated research in semi-conductor microsensors and
microactuators. Micromachining technologies take advantage of
batch processing to address the manufacturing and per- formance
requirements of the sensor industry. The versatility of semiconductor
materials and the miniaturization of VLSI patterning techniques
promise new sensors with better capabilities and improved performance-to-cost
ratio over those of conventionally machined devices. This talk
will introduce design and manufacturing of MEMS technologies from
the viewpoint of a mechanical engineer. MEMS Research at MEAM
(Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics Department) - the
University of Michigan will be presented. Examples and applications
in different subject areas related to Mechanical Engineering will
be described such as design, materials, and vibration of microstructures;
electro-thermal-elastic modeling and phase change phenomena in
the microscale; MEMS packaging and molding processes. Specific
devices to be discussed include a micro strain gauge with mechanical
amplifier; a surface micromachined pressure sensor; a bubble powered
microactuator; a micro bubble pump with built-in microchannel;
a microelectromechanical filter for wireless communication applications
and a silicon-processed microneedle for bio-medical applications.
Various design and manufacturing issues will be introduced to
explain the make of these devices including surface-micromachining,
bulk-micromachining, and plastic molding processes of hot embossing
and injection molding. Current research programs at MEAM from
2 DARPA grants and 3 NSF awards will be briefed via preliminary
results in the areas of MEMS post-packaging, MEMS sensors for
disk/head contact interfacial problems, integrated mesoscopic
electro- mechanical manufacturing and plastic MEMS. This talk
will be concluded with future trends and research directions in
MEMS from the viewpoint of a mechanical engineer.
Liwei Lin received the B.S. degree in Power Mechanical Engineering
from National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, Republic of China,
in 1986, the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering
from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1991 and 1993
respectively. He joined BEI Electronics Inc. USA from 1993 to
1994 in the research and development of microsensors. From 1994
to 1996, he was an Associate Professor in the Institute of Applied
Mechanics, National Taiwan University, Taiwan. Since 1996, he
has been an Assistant Professor at the Mechanical Engineering
and Applied Mechanics Department at the University of Michigan.
He joined the Berkeley Sensor \& Actuator Center, an NSF/Industry/University
research cooperative center as a research assistant during his
graduate study. His research interests are in microelectromechanical
systems, including design, modeling and fabrication of microstructures,
microsensors and microactuators. Dr. Lin is the recipient of the
1998 NSF CAREER Award for research in MEMS packaging. He led the
effort in establishing the MEMS sub-division in ASME and is currently
serving as the Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee for the
for the MEMS sub-division. He holds 6 U.S. patents in the area
of MEMS.
Informal Luncheon: Wednesday,
May 12, 1999, 11:45 am, Room 404, Campus Club Professor Lin will
be able to attend.
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