We present a lamellar grating interferometer realized with microelectromechanical system technology. It is used as a time-scanning Fourier-transform spectrometer. The motion is carried out by an electrostatic comb drive actuator fabricated by silicon micromachining, particularly by silicon-on-insulator technology. For the first time to our knowledge, we measure the spectrum of an extended white...

The mechanical-electrical coupling properties of piezoelectric semiconductors endow these materials with novel device applications in microelectromechanical systems, sensors, human-computer interfaces, etc. When an applied strain is exerted on a piezoelectric semiconductor, piezoelectric charges are generated at the surface or interface of the semiconductor, which can be utilized to control the...

A new geometry of high-force electrothermal actuator is demonstrated using microelectromechanical systems technology. The actuator consists of two sets of inclined, parallel, suspended beams, which are tethered at one end and linked together at the other. The first set is divided into two halves, which are connected in series and heated electrically. The second set acts as a tether for the firs...

We have previously presented a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) based viscometric sensor for continuous glucose monitoring using protein Concanavalin A (Con A). To address its drawbacks, including immunotoxicity and instability issues, we have synthesized stable, biocompatible copolymers poly(acrylamide-ran-3-acrylamidophenylboronic acid) (PAA-ran-PAAPBA) for viscosity based glucose sensing...

Label-free detection of the interaction between hexahistidine-tagged human κ-opioid receptor membrane protein and anti-His antibody is demonstrated in liquid by an optical microelectromechanical system utilizing electromagnetically actuated microresonators. Shift in resonance frequency due to accretion of mass on the sensitive surface of microresonators is monitored via an integrated optical re...

Interface dynamics of post contact states in regularized models of electrostatic-elastic interactions are analyzed. A canonical setting for our investigations is the field of MicroElectromechanical Systems (MEMS) in which flexible elastic structures may come into physical contact due to applied Coulomb forces. We study the dynamic features of a recently derived regularized model (A.E. Lindsay e...

importance, with Nigel Shadbolt’s editorial in the July/August 2003 issue.5 Other concepts such as ubiquitous computing, pervasive computing, con­ text awareness, and embedded systems overlap with AmI, but there are distinctive differences.6 The Istag reports define AmI at a concep­ tual level and identify important technologies for achieving it. In Ambient Intelligence: From Vision to Reality,...

Film damping caused by microfluids has important effects on the dynamic characteristics of moving elements of microelectromechanical system devices. There are two kinds of film damping existing in microelectromechanical system devices, for instance, slide film damping and squeeze film damping. This article presents an overview on the recent research progress on the slide film damping in microel...

A miniaturized laser-scanning endoscope is presented that makes use of a composite laser beam for color imaging. A novel approach is followed in the device, which is based on scanning the target tissue with the laser beam using two miniaturized MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) micromirrors and employs specific collection, detection, and postprocessing of the scattered light for reconstruct...

A biopsy is a well-known medical test used to evaluate tissue abnormality. Biopsy specimens are invasively taken from part of a lesion and visualized by microscope after chemical treatment. However, diagnosis by means of biopsy is not only variable due to depth and location of specimen but may also damage the specimen. In addition, only a limited number of specimens can be obtained, thus, the e...