Submit to Micromachines Review for Micromachines Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Feature Papers of Micromachines in Physics 2023

Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Published Papers

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "A：Physics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 8787

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Yi Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of Electronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
Interests: micro/nanomedicine; microfluidics; diagnostics; biosensing; nanomaterials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce this Special Issue, entitled “Feature Papers of Micromachines in Physics 2023”. Over the past several years, we have worked in conjunction with excellent scholars and research groups to publish several high-impact, high-quality manuscripts, which have received a large number of views and citations. Our goal is to publish the latest scientific and technological advances in areas related to the fundamentals and physics of micro/nanoscale multiphysics phenomena and devices (N/MEMS, mechanical and electrical transducers, sensors, actuators, optic devices, photonic devices, optoelectronic devices, micro/nanorobots and so on), in the hopes of providing great contributions to the scientific community.

This Special Issue will be a collection of high-quality papers from excellent scholars around the world, with both original research articles and comprehensive review papers being welcome, published with full open access after peer review, benefiting both authors and readers.

You are welcome to send short proposals for the submission of Feature Papers to our Editorial Office (micromachines@mdpi.com or dikies.zhang@mdpi.com) before submission. The proposals will first be evaluated by Editors, and please note that selected full papers will still be subject to a thorough and rigorous peer review.

We look forward to receiving your excellent work.

Dr. Yi Zhang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Micromachines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (7 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

12 pages, 5028 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Compact Micro-Coriolis Mass-Flow Meter with Optical Readout

by Mahdieh Yariesbouei, Remco G. P. Sanders, Remco J. Wiegerink and Joost C. Lötters

Micromachines 2024, 15(1), 114; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15010114 - 10 Jan 2024

Viewed by 858

Abstract

This paper presents the first nickel-plated micro-Coriolis mass-flow sensor with integrated optical readout. The sensor consists of a freely suspended tube made of electroplated nickel with a total length of 60 mm, an inner diameter of 580 µm, and a wall thickness of approximately 8 µm. The U-shaped tube is actuated by Lorentz forces. An optical readout consisting of two LEDs and two phototransistors is used to detect the tube motion. Mass-flow measurements were performed at room temperature with water and isopropyl alcohol for flows up to 200 g/h and 100 g/h, respectively. The measured resonance frequencies were 1.67 kHz and 738 Hz for water and 1.70 kHz and 752 Hz for isopropyl alcohol for the twist and swing modes, respectively. The measured phase shift between the two readout signals shows a linear response to mass flow with very similar sensitivities for water and isopropyl alcohol of

0.41 \frac{mdeg}{g / h}

and

0.43 \frac{mdeg}{g / h}

, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers of Micromachines in Physics 2023)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 5505 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Coupled Nanomechanical Graphene Resonators: A Promising Platform for Scalable NEMS Networks

by Brittany Carter, Uriel F. Hernandez, David J. Miller, Andrew Blaikie, Viva R. Horowitz and Benjamín J. Alemán

Micromachines 2023, 14(11), 2103; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi14112103 - 16 Nov 2023

Viewed by 1191

Abstract

Arrays of coupled nanoelectromechanical resonators are a promising foundation for implementing large-scale network applications, such as mechanical-based information processing and computing, but their practical realization remains an outstanding challenge. In this work, we demonstrate a scalable platform of suspended graphene resonators, such that neighboring resonators are persistently coupled mechanically. We provide evidence of strong coupling between neighboring resonators using two different tuning methods. Additionally, we provide evidence of inter-resonator coupling of higher-order modes, demonstrating the rich dynamics that can be accessed with this platform. Our results establish this platform as a viable option for realizing large-scale programmable networks, enabling applications such as phononic circuits, tunable waveguides, and reconfigurable metamaterials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers of Micromachines in Physics 2023)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

11 pages, 3550 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Noncircular Channel on Distribution of Threshold Voltage in 3D NAND Flash Memory

by Donghyun Go, Gilsang Yoon, Jounghun Park, Donghwi Kim, Jiwon Kim, Jungsik Kim and Jeong-Soo Lee

Micromachines 2023, 14(11), 2007; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi14112007 - 28 Oct 2023

Viewed by 879

Abstract

The instability in threshold voltage (V_TH) and charge distributions in noncircular cells of three-dimensional (3D) NAND flash memory are investigated. Using TCAD simulation, we aim to identify the main factors influencing the V_TH of noncircular cells. The key focus is on the nonuniform trapped electron density in the charge trapping layer (CTL) caused by the change in electric field between the circular region and the spike region. There are less-trapped electron (LT) regions within the CTL of programmed noncircular cells, which significantly enhances current flow. Remarkably, more than 50% of the total current flows through these LT regions when the spike size reaches 15 nm. We also performed a comprehensive analysis of the relationship between charge distribution and V_TH in two-spike cells with different heights (H_Spike) and angles between spikes (θ). The results of this study demonstrate the potential to improve the reliability of next-generation 3D NAND flash memory. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers of Micromachines in Physics 2023)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 5003 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Compact Polarization MMI Combiner Using Silicon Slot-Waveguide Structures

by Omer Brand, Benjamin Wolftson and Dror Malka

Micromachines 2023, 14(6), 1203; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi14061203 - 06 Jun 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1197

Abstract

The study of designing a compact transverse electric (TE)/transverse magnetic (TM) polarization multimode interference (MMI) combiner based on silicon slot-waveguide technology is proposed for solving the high demands for high-speed ability alongside more energy power and minimizing the environmental impact of power consumption, achieving a balance between high-speed performance and energy efficiency has become an important consideration in an optical communication system. The MMI coupler has a significant difference in light coupling (beat-length) for TM and TE at 1550 nm wavelength. By controlling the light propagation mechanism inside the MMI coupler, a lower order of mode can be obtained which can lead to a shorter device. The polarization combiner was solved using the full-vectorial beam propagation method (FV-BPM), and the main geometrical parameters were analyzed using Matlab codes. Results show that after a short light propagation of 16.15 μm, the device can function as TM or TE combiner polarization with an excellent extinction ratio of 10.94 dB for TE mode and 13.08 dB for TM mode with low insertion losses of 0.76 dB (TE) and 0.56 dB (TM) and the combiner function well over the C-band spectrum. The polarization combiner also has a robust MMI coupler length tolerance of 400 nm. These attributes make it a good candidate for using this proposed device in photonic integrated circuits for improving power ability at the transmitter system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers of Micromachines in Physics 2023)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

23 pages, 1263 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Relieving Compression-Induced Local Wear on Non-Volatile Memory Block via Sliding Writes

by Kailun Jin, Yajuan Du, Mingzhe Zhang, Zhenghao Yin and Rachata Ausavarungnirun

Micromachines 2023, 14(3), 568; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi14030568 - 27 Feb 2023

Viewed by 1202

Abstract

Due to its non-volatility and large capacity, NVM devices gradually take place at various levels of memories. However, their limited endurance is still a big concern for large-scale data centres. Compression algorithms have been used to save NVM space and enhance the efficiency of those lifetime extension methods. However, their own influence on the NVM lifetime is not clear. In order to fully investigate the impact of compression on NVM, this paper first studies bit flips involved in several typical compression algorithms. It is found that more bit flips would happen in the shrunken area of a memory block. This induces the phenomenon of intra-block wear unevenness, which sacrifices NVM lifetime. We propose a new metric called local bit flips to describe this phenomenon. In order to relieve the intra-block wear unevenness caused by compression, this paper proposes a sliding write method named SlidW to distribute the compressed data across the whole memory block. We first divide the memory block into several areas, and then consider five cases about the relationship between new data size and left space. Then, we place the new data according to the case. Comprehensive experimental results show that SlidW can efficiently balance wear and enhance NVM lifetime. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers of Micromachines in Physics 2023)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 4403 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spin Hall Effect of Double-Index Cylindrical Vector Beams in a Tight Focus

by Alexey A. Kovalev and Victor V. Kotlyar

Micromachines 2023, 14(2), 494; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi14020494 - 20 Feb 2023

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 1243

Abstract

We investigate the spin angular momentum (SAM) of double-index cylindrical vector beams in tight focus. Such a set of beams is a generalization of the conventional cylindrical vector beams since the polarization order is different for the different transverse field components. Based on the Richards-Wolf theory, we obtain an expression for the SAM distribution and show that if the polarization orders are of different parity, then the spin Hall effect occurs in the tight focus, which is there are alternating areas with positive and negative spin angular momentum, despite linear polarization of the initial field. We also analyze the orbital angular momentum spectrum of all the components of the focused light field and determine the overwhelming angular harmonics. Neglecting the weak harmonics, we predict the SAM distribution and demonstrate the ability to generate the focal distribution where the areas with the positive and negative spin angular momentum reside on a ring and are alternating in pairs, or separated in different semicircles. Application areas of the obtained results are designing micromachines with optically driven elements. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers of Micromachines in Physics 2023)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 3008 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Area-Efficient Mapping of Convolutional Neural Networks to Memristor Crossbars Using Sub-Image Partitioning

by Seokjin Oh, Jiyong An and Kyeong-Sik Min

Micromachines 2023, 14(2), 309; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi14020309 - 25 Jan 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1545

Abstract

Memristor crossbars can be very useful for realizing edge-intelligence hardware, because the neural networks implemented by memristor crossbars can save significantly more computing energy and layout area than the conventional CMOS (complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor) digital circuits. One of the important operations used in neural networks is convolution. For performing the convolution by memristor crossbars, the full image should be partitioned into several sub-images. By doing so, each sub-image convolution can be mapped to small-size unit crossbars, of which the size should be defined as 128 × 128 or 256 × 256 to avoid the line resistance problem caused from large-size crossbars. In this paper, various convolution schemes with 3D, 2D, and 1D kernels are analyzed and compared in terms of neural network’s performance and overlapping overhead. The neural network’s simulation indicates that the 2D + 1D kernels can perform the sub-image convolution using a much smaller number of unit crossbars with less rate loss than the 3D kernels. When the CIFAR-10 dataset is tested, the mapping of sub-image convolution of 2D + 1D kernels to crossbars shows that the number of unit crossbars can be reduced almost by 90% and 95%, respectively, for 128 × 128 and 256 × 256 crossbars, compared with the 3D kernels. On the contrary, the rate loss of 2D + 1D kernels can be less than 2%. To improve the neural network’s performance more, the 2D + 1D kernels can be combined with 3D kernels in one neural network. When the normalized ratio of 2D + 1D layers is around 0.5, the neural network’s performance indicates very little rate loss compared to when the normalized ratio of 2D + 1D layers is zero. However, the number of unit crossbars for the normalized ratio = 0.5 can be reduced by half compared with that for the normalized ratio = 0. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers of Micromachines in Physics 2023)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Feature Papers of Micromachines in Physics 2023

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Published Papers (7 papers)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI