Albert P. Pisano (Advisor)

Evolutionary Synthesis of MEMS

Raffi Kamalian
Alice M. Agogino
Albert P. Pisano
Kristofer S.J. Pister
2004
An evolutionary synthesis framework for Microelectrical Mechanical System (MEMS) design is presented. MEMS based technologies promise to bring a revolution to the world we live in just as the integrated circuit has done in recent decades; better design tools are critical to this revolution. More complex design objectives and constraints demand automation to generate successful devices. Genetic algorithms and other stochastic evolutionary synthesis approaches are used to design surface micromachined MEMS using...

Microfluidic Accumulator Driven by Capillary Forces

Eric Hobbs
Albert P. Pisano
Liwei Lin
Roya Maboudian
2003
Four million people died in 2002 due to diabetes related conditions[1]. Diabetes is the leading cause of adult blindness, end-stage kidney disease and amputations as a result of diabetic neuropathy. People with diabetes are two to four times more likely to have coronary heart disease and stroke than people who do not suffer from the disease. ...

Low-Power Portable Microfluidic Delivery System

Eric Hobbs
Albert P. Pisano
Liwei Lin
Daniel Fletcher
2004
Future, portable, continuously-monitoring micro-total-analysis-systems are likely to require low-power portable microfluidic delivery systems allowing the actuation of fluids with a minimum expenditure of electrical energy. One method to accomplish this is to utilize a micro-osmotic pum...

Lateral Etching of Silicon: The Hole-in-the-Wall Fabrication Processes

Jeremy Frank
Albert P. Pisano
Liwei Lin
Lydia L. Sohn
2004

This project details three derivatives of a fabrication process that gives the MEMS engineer increased freedom when designing planar microfluidic systems. This new family of processes was developed to laterally etch microfluidic channels in silicon and can be used to place an orifice (the “hole-in-the-wall”) in the center of the sidewall of a channel, Fig. 1.1. This creates improved valve seat geometry and has been used to create planar silicon microvalves that seal...

Planar Microfluidic Devices for Control of Pressure-Driven Flow

Jeremy Frank
Albert. P. Pisano
Liwei Lin
Daniel Fletcher
2004
Active and passive microfluidic valves, thermopneumatic pumps and low-power dosing systems have been fabricated using a new family of fabrication processes. These new processes are capable of producing integrated planar microfluidic systems with a one-thousand-fold increase in flow control over existing planar systems. The three ...

Gianluca Piazza

Alumni
Mechanical Engineering
Professor Albert P. Pisano (Advisor)
Ph.D. 2005

Apex Seal Design for the Mems Rotary Engine Power System

Fabian Martinez
Albert P. Pisano
Carlos Fernandez-Pello
2003
Design, modeling, and analysis of a novel in-plane cantilever apex seal for maintaining high compression ratios in a MEMS-based rotary internal combustion engine are presented. This work is part of an effort to create a portable, MEMS-based Rotary Engine Power System (MEMS REPS) capable of producing power on the order of tens...

Fabian Martinez

Alumni
Mechanical Engineering
Professor Albert P. Pisano (Advisor)
Ph.D. 2005

Optimized Fabrication of Ultra-Deep Reactive Ion Etched Silicon Components for the MEMS Rotary Engine Power System

Fabian Martinez
Albert P. Pisano
A. Carlos Fernandez-Pello
Seth Sanders
2005
Results from the research and development of an ultra-deep reactive ion etching (Ultra-DRIE) process are presented here. The driving motivation of this process development is the manufacturing of high aspect ratio (HAR) Silicon microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and specifically components for the MEMS Rotary Engine Power System (MEMS REPS). The ultimate goal of the MEMS REPS project is to develop a system capable of producing portable elec...

Localized Synthesis, Assembly and Application of Carbon Nanotubes

Dane Christensen
Liwei Lin
Albert P. Pisano
Alexander Zettl
2005
This report describes the localized synthesis, orientation, assembly and application of carbon nanotubes. Synthesis by chemical vapor deposition is activated by means of resistively heating a MEMS structure in a room temperature reaction chamber. Catalyst nanoparticles, created by heating a thin film of NiFe (80%-20% by...