This paper presents a micro-fabricated flexible and curled PZT [Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3] cantilever using d33 piezoelectric mode for vibration based energy harvesting applications. The proposed cantilever based energy harvester consists of polyimide, PZT thin film, and inter-digitated IrOx electrodes. The flexible cantilever was formed using bulk-micromachining on a silicon wafer to integrate it wit...

Using a developed laser light-scattering (LLS) procedure, we accomplished the characterization of an unfractionated polyimide (UPI) in CHCl3 at 25°C. The Laplace inversion of precisely measured intensity–intensity time correlation function from dynamic LLS leads us first to an estimate of the characteristic line-width distribution G(G), and then to the translational diffusion coefficient distri...

Inverter circuits have been made by connecting two high-quality pentacene field-effect transistors. A uniform and pinhole-free 900 nm thick polyimide gate-insulating layer was formed on a flexible polyimide film with gold gate electrodes and partially removed by using a CO2 laser drilling machine to make via holes and contact holes. Subsequent evaporation of the gold layer results in good elect...

A 57-year-old male patient visited our clinic for decreased visual acuity in the right eye for 10 days. He denied any trauma history, but recalled that the symptom developed after straining. He had undergone uncomplicated phacoemulsification and posterior chamber intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in the bag of the right eye 11 years ago. The IOL was a three-piece silicone polyimide-haptics de...

Assessment of neural biocompatibility requires that materials be tested with exposure in neural fluids. We have studied the mechanical performance of laser bonded microjoints between titanium foil and polyimide film (TiPI) in artificial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The samples were exposed in CSF for two, four and twelve weeks at 37 °C. The laser microbonds showed initial degradation up to four w...

Micromachined resistors are thermal transducers that can be used to measure air and water flow rate. For the thermal resistor to function as a flow sensor, the electrical resistivity must be a strong function of temperature it must be sufficiently thermally isolated from the supports and substrate. The thermal resistor can be made of a metal or doped semiconductor and can thermally isolated by ...

Vestibular prostheses aim at substituting lost vestibular function by stimulating the vestibulocochlear nerve. For this purpose, suitable microelectrode structures have to be developed, making high demands on fabrication technology. Flexible, polyimide-based systems can be used for this purpose, however in order to insert such electrodes in the semicircular canals in the ear, adequate stiffness...

The surface pining effects on phase separation dynamics of polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) with thin cell gaps are demonstrated. Comparing various boundary conditions, the inner surfaces of the substrates with or without polyimide layers [but no rubbing] cannot provide enough anchoring force, so in either case the liquid crystal (LC) droplets flow and coalesce to form larger and less ...

To develop materials for shielding astronauts from the hazards of GCR, natural Martian surface materials are considered for their potential as radiation shielding for manned Mars missions. The modified radiation fluences behind various kinds of Martian rocks and regolith are determined by solving the Boltzmann equation using NASA Langley's HZETRN code along with the 1977 Solar Minimum galactic ...

This paper describes the development of a polyimide-based MEMS strain-sensing device. Finite element analysis was used to investigate an artificial knee implant and assist on device design and to optimize sensing characteristics. The sensing element of the device was fabricated using polyimide micromachining with embedded thin-metallic wires and placed into a knee prosthesis. The device was eva...