Feature Papers from Micromachines Reviewers

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 July 2022) | Viewed by 13405

Special Issue Editors

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West, Montreal, QC H3G 1M8, Canada
Interests: microsystems; sensing (inertial, flow, load, strain); design of MEMS; data processing; modeling of coupled micro and macro systems; packaging of microsensors; MEMS for turbulence control; microfabrication; non-conventional microfabrication; rapid prototyping; migration from auto to aero; reliability of MEMS; failure models; test methodologies
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue welcomes high-quality papers from Micromachines journal reviewers.

Prof. Dr. Ion Stiharu
Dr. Yi Zhang
Guest Editors

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 short 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 (6 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 2578 KiB  
Article
Design and Implementation of Low-Voltage Tunable Capacitive Micro-Machined Transducers (CMUT) for Portable Applications
by Chirag Goel, Paul-Vahe Cicek and Alexandre Robichaud
Micromachines 2022, 13(10), 1598; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi13101598 - 26 Sep 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1703
Abstract
Capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUT) are MEMS-based transducers with advantages over conventional ultrasonic transducers, such as their small size, the ease of integration with semiconductor electronics, and batch fabrication. In this study, the effect of different membrane topologies on the displacement, resonant frequency, [...] Read more.
Capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUT) are MEMS-based transducers with advantages over conventional ultrasonic transducers, such as their small size, the ease of integration with semiconductor electronics, and batch fabrication. In this study, the effect of different membrane topologies on the displacement, resonant frequency, and output pressure of the CMUT membrane is investigated in the transmission mode in an air environment. A novel structural-support feature, the rocker stem, is introduced, where the membrane is weakly held to the substrate in order to minimize mechanical constraints. Four different CMUT topologies are designed and assessed to analyze the impacts of topological variations. A new CMUT array configuration is also designed to provide an approach for maximizing CMUT density. This study aims to contribute to efficient CMUT design and the determination of optimum structural parameters for portable applications in air. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers from Micromachines Reviewers)
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23 pages, 10033 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Compliance and Kinetostatic of a Novel Class of n-4R Compliant Parallel Micro Pointing Mechanism
by Jun Ren and Qiliang Li
Micromachines 2022, 13(7), 1014; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi13071014 - 27 Jun 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1514
Abstract
A novel class of n-4R compliant parallel pointing mechanisms is proposed, and the compliance and kinetostatic model of the mechanism are established and analyzed successively. Firstly, the compliance model of a class of n-4R compliant parallel pointing mechanism is established based [...] Read more.
A novel class of n-4R compliant parallel pointing mechanisms is proposed, and the compliance and kinetostatic model of the mechanism are established and analyzed successively. Firstly, the compliance model of a class of n-4R compliant parallel pointing mechanism is established based on the coordinate transformation. The model is verified by finite element analysis, and the influence of geometric parameter variations on the compliance performance of the mechanism is analyzed. Secondly, the mechanism is simplified to an equivalent spring system, and the governing equation of the equivalent spring system is constructed by utilizing the established compliance model. According to the governing equation, the mapping relationship between the input force and the output displacement of the mechanism is subsequently obtained, that is, the kinetostatic model. Then, the accuracy of the kinetostatic model is verified by two simulation examples: The spiral trajectory of the mobile platform center and the spatial pointing trajectory of the mechanism. The results of the two examples show that the deviations between the analytical results and the FE-results are within 0.038% and 0.857%, with the excellent consistency indicating the accuracy of the kinetostatic model. Finally, the influence of the geometric parameter values on the mapping matrix in the kinetostatic model is studied. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers from Micromachines Reviewers)
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16 pages, 1828 KiB  
Article
Thiourea-Isocyanate-Based Covalent Organic Frameworks with Tunable Surface Charge and Surface Area for Methylene Blue and Methyl Orange Removal from Aqueous Media
by Selin S. Suner, Sahin Demirci, Duygu S. Sutekin, Selehattin Yilmaz and Nurettin Sahiner
Micromachines 2022, 13(6), 938; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi13060938 - 13 Jun 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2058
Abstract
A thiourea hexamethylene diisocyanate covalent organic framework (TH COF) was synthesized by adjusting the surface charge and surface area. The surface charge value of TH COF, −3.8 ± 0.5 mV, can be changed to −29.1 ± 0.4 mV by treatment with NaOH (dp-TH) [...] Read more.
A thiourea hexamethylene diisocyanate covalent organic framework (TH COF) was synthesized by adjusting the surface charge and surface area. The surface charge value of TH COF, −3.8 ± 0.5 mV, can be changed to −29.1 ± 0.4 mV by treatment with NaOH (dp-TH) and 17.1 ± 1.0 mV by treatment with HCl (p-TH). Additionally, the surface area of TH COF was 39.3 m2/g, whereas the surface area of dp-TH COF and p-TH COF structures were measured as 41.4 m2/g and 42.5 m2/g, respectively. However, the COF structure had a better adsorption capability with acid and base treatments, e.g., dp-TH COF absorbed 5.5 ± 0.3 mg/g methylene blue (MB) dye, and p-TH COF absorbed 25.9 ± 1.4 mg/g methyl orange (MO) dye from 100 mL 25 ppm aqueous dye solutions, thereby increasing the MB and MO absorption amounts of the TH COF structure. Furthermore, by calculating the distribution, selectivity, and relative selectivity coefficients, the absorption capacity order was determined as dp-TH > TH > p-TH COFs for the MB dye, whereas it was p-TH > TH > dp-TH COFs for the MO dye. Finally, the reusability of dp-TH COF for MB absorption and p-TH COF for MO absorption were investigated. After five repeated uses, dp-TH COF retained 64.6 ± 3.7% of its absorption ability, whereas p-TH COF preserved 79.7 ± 3.2% of its absorption ability relative to the initial absorption amount. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers from Micromachines Reviewers)
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9 pages, 2673 KiB  
Article
Data Glove Using Soft and Stretchable Piezoresistive Sensors
by Kean Aw, Jessica Budd and Thomas Wilshaw-Sparkes
Micromachines 2022, 13(3), 372; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi13030372 - 26 Feb 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2107
Abstract
This research investigates the design and implementation of elastomer-based piezoresistive strain sensors and applies them to a data glove to demonstrate their application. The piezoresistive strain sensors are made by mixing Ecoflex 00-30 and carbon-black nanoparticles and then using stencil and doctor blading [...] Read more.
This research investigates the design and implementation of elastomer-based piezoresistive strain sensors and applies them to a data glove to demonstrate their application. The piezoresistive strain sensors are made by mixing Ecoflex 00-30 and carbon-black nanoparticles and then using stencil and doctor blading to deposit the piezoresistive traces as a mass fabrication technique. The primary objective is to integrate two sensing piezoresistive elements as one single-piece sensor that detects the bending angles of the metacarpophalangeal and proximal interphalangeal joints of each finger. Using a unique zig-zag pattern allows to selectively mask any unwanted piezoresistive sensing. The sensor has a gage factor of 0.68. Experiments conducted have demonstrated that the use of these soft, flexible, and stretchable piezoresistive sensors is repeatable and viable sensors for data-glove and has the potential for other wearable applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers from Micromachines Reviewers)
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Review

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20 pages, 4210 KiB  
Review
Actuators for Implantable Devices: A Broad View
by Bingxi Yan
Micromachines 2022, 13(10), 1756; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi13101756 - 17 Oct 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2673
Abstract
The choice of actuators dictates how an implantable biomedical device moves. Specifically, the concept of implantable robots consists of the three pillars: actuators, sensors, and powering. Robotic devices that require active motion are driven by a biocompatible actuator. Depending on the actuating mechanism, [...] Read more.
The choice of actuators dictates how an implantable biomedical device moves. Specifically, the concept of implantable robots consists of the three pillars: actuators, sensors, and powering. Robotic devices that require active motion are driven by a biocompatible actuator. Depending on the actuating mechanism, different types of actuators vary remarkably in strain/stress output, frequency, power consumption, and durability. Most reviews to date focus on specific type of actuating mechanism (electric, photonic, electrothermal, etc.) for biomedical applications. With a rapidly expanding library of novel actuators, however, the granular boundaries between subcategories turns the selection of actuators a laborious task, which can be particularly time-consuming to those unfamiliar with actuation. To offer a broad view, this study (1) showcases the recent advances in various types of actuating technologies that can be potentially implemented in vivo, (2) outlines technical advantages and the limitations of each type, and (3) provides use-specific suggestions on actuator choice for applications such as drug delivery, cardiovascular, and endoscopy implants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers from Micromachines Reviewers)
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18 pages, 1961 KiB  
Review
Self-Assembly of DNA-Grafted Colloids: A Review of Challenges
by Manish Dwivedi, Swarn Lata Singh, Atul S. Bharadwaj, Vimal Kishore and Ajay Vikram Singh
Micromachines 2022, 13(7), 1102; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi13071102 - 14 Jul 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2674
Abstract
DNA-mediated self-assembly of colloids has emerged as a powerful tool to assemble the materials of prescribed structure and properties. The uniqueness of the approach lies in the sequence-specific, thermo-reversible hybridization of the DNA-strands based on Watson–Crick base pairing. Grafting particles with DNA strands, [...] Read more.
DNA-mediated self-assembly of colloids has emerged as a powerful tool to assemble the materials of prescribed structure and properties. The uniqueness of the approach lies in the sequence-specific, thermo-reversible hybridization of the DNA-strands based on Watson–Crick base pairing. Grafting particles with DNA strands, thus, results into building blocks that are fully programmable, and can, in principle, be assembled into any desired structure. There are, however, impediments that hinder the DNA-grafted particles from realizing their full potential, as building blocks, for programmable self-assembly. In this short review, we focus on these challenges and highlight the research around tackling these challenges. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers from Micromachines Reviewers)
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