Dr. Helmut Seidel
Microsystems Department Head, Universität des Saarlandes, Saarbrüken, Germany
May 7, 2013 | 12:00 to 01:00 | 540 Cory Hall, DOP Center Conference Room
Host: Richard Muller
Example Project: Energy autonomous systems are highly attractive for obtaining signals from remote locations with difficult accessibility. A system intended for health monitoring in civil aircraft is presented. It was developed together with industrial partners and includes energy harvesters for thermoelectric power conversion and for mechanical vibration. A piezoelectric and a capacitive vibrational harvester is shown. In the capacitive harvester, we demonstrate for the first time the use of materials exhibiting different electron work functions in order to pre-bias the capacitor without the need for a biasing circuit. Piezoelectric thin-film strain sensors and anemometric sensors for fluid flow were developed on flexible substrates (ultrathin glass and Kapton, respectively). An application in aero-MEMS is described in which the flow sensor is used in a system that controls the location on the plane wing at which there is a transition of flow from the laminar-to-turbulent state. In this way, it is possible to reduce friction and save fuel. Brief Introduction to Engineering Research in Germany: A short overview of the industrial and institutional research and funding landscape in Germany will be given, focusing on programs supporting MEMS and on exchange possibilities for foreign researchers.
www.lmm.uni-saarland.de/index.profil; www.lmm.uni-saarland.de; www.mechatronik.uni-saarland.de/seidel.pdf
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