We demonstrate that spatial arrangement and optical properties of metamaterial nanostructures can be controlled dynamically using currents and magnetic fields. Mechanical deformation of metamaterial arrays is driven by both resistive heating of bimorph nanostructures and the Lorentz force that acts on charges moving in a magnetic field. With electrically controlled transmission changes of up to...

Experimental results of a modified micromachined microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) mirror for substantial enhancement of the transverse laser scanning performance of endoscopic optical coherence tomography (EOCT) are presented. Image distortion due to buckling of MEMS mirror in our previous designs was analyzed and found to be attributed to excessive internal stress of the transverse bimorp...

Advances in low power VLSI design, along with the potentially low duty cycle of wireless sensor nodes open up the possibility of powering small wireless computing devices from scavenged ambient power. A broad review of potential power scavenging technologies and conventional energy sources is first presented. Low-level vibrations occurring in common household and office environments as a potent...

Polymeric nanolayers are introduced here as active, thermal-stress mediating structures facilitating extremely sensitive thermal detection based upon the thermomechanical response of a bimaterial polymer-silicon microcantilever. To maximize the bimaterial bending effect, the microcantilever bimorph is composed of stiff polysilicon, with a strongly adhered polymer deposited via plasma-enhanced c...

Current models of non-linear electromechanical behaviours of piezoactuators are mostly intended for actuator configurations where the strain of the piezoelectric material is directly used as the linear output. On the other hand, in the design of piezoactuators, there exist non-trivial configurations where the internal strains of the piezoelectric materials manifest externally in the form of ben...

The sliding mode technique is used to control the deformation of a membrane mirror strip augmented with two macrofiber composite bimorphs located near the ends of the strip. The first bimorph is actuated in bending and the second is actuated axially. The structure is modeled as an Euler–Bernoulli beam under tensile load and the macrofiber composite patches are modeled as monolithic piezoceramic...