Thumbnail-sized inertial measurement systems based on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology have been perceived as a breakthrough in the field of inertial navigation. However, even as micromechanical accelerometers have seen widespread commercialization, vibratory micromechanical gyroscopes have not enjoyed similar success. Previous approaches to high-performance micromechanical gy...

A device comprised of interlinked micromechanical resonators with capacitive mixer transducers has been demonstrated to perform both low-loss frequency translation (i.e. mixing) and highly selective filtering of applied electrical input signals. In particular, successful down-conversion of radio frequency (RF) signals from 40-200MHz and subsequent filtering at a 27MHz intermediate frequency (IF...

In this paper, a four-bar mechanism with two flexible links is proposed to be used in a micromechanical flying insect robot wing thorax design for stroke amplification. PZT5H and PZN-PT based unimorph actuators are utilized at the input link of the four-bar. The kinematics and dynamics of the proposed wing strcuture with two parallel four-bar mechanisms are analyzed, and DC forces generated at ...

Having now produced devices with sufficient Q, thermal stability, aging stability, and manufacturability, vibrating RF MEMS technology is already finding its way into next generation timing and wireless applications. At this juncture, the technology is now poised to take its next logical steps: higher levels of circuit complexity and integration. In particular, as vibrating RF MEMS devices are ...

Curved micromechanical beams are a versatile platform for exploring multistable behavior, with potential applications in mechanical based logic elements and electrical and optical switches. Here we demonstrate bidirectional electrostatic actuation of a bistable, latched, micromechanical beam by the same electrode, which was used for the snap-through switching of the device. The release of the m...

This paper presents some recent improvements in the fabrication and control of the Micromechanical Flying Insect (MFI), a centimeter sized aerial vehicle currently being developed at the University of California, Berkeley. We report a lift of 506μN from a single wing, which is sufficient for a 100 mg machine to lift itself off the ground. This lift matches very well with predictions based on qu...

A MEMS thermal actuator is a micromechanical device that typically generates motion by thermal expansion. In this paper we have studied the thermal expansion of different shapes of thermal actuator and implemented using COMSOL tool.Different shapes are designed and analyzed.Rectangular, triangular and U shaped actuator is designed and implemented.