Physical Sensors & Devices

Research that includes:

  • Silicon MEMS actuators: comb, electro-thermal, and plastic deformation
  • Precision electronic sensing and measurements of capacitive, frequency, and coulombic MEMS variables
  • Structures and architectures for gyroscopes, accelerometers, micro strain gauges for direct application to rigid structures e.g., steel, and levitated MEMS

BPN505: Deployment of Wireless Stick-On Circuit Breaker PEM AC Sensors for the Smart Grid

Richard Xu
2014

The electric power consumption of the entire Berkeley campus ranges from 18MW to 30MW,of which Cory Hall, the Electrical Engineering building, comprises from 3% to 5%. Presently, the power entering the building is metered monthly at the primary terminals of its 12.4 kilovolt distribution step-down transformer. In order to increase energy efficiency and to experiment with, and further develop, our miniature electrical sensors, we are in the process of installing proximity sub-metering of loads accessed through a standard circuit breaker panel to which miniature proximity-based current...

BPN705: Standard CMOS-Based, Fully Integrated, Stick-On Electricity Meters for Building Sub-Metering

Michael C. Lorek
2015

We propose the development and testing of a system of technologies to minimize the installed cost of electricity sub-metering in buildings. This system utilizes non-contact, self-calibrating voltage and current sensors and wireless communication to eliminate the need for installation by an electrician, installation of conduit and enclosures, and installation of wired communication infrastructure. Electricity sub-metering is a critical component for continuous commissioning, fault detection and diagnosis, demand response, and other energy efficiency opportunities.

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BPN764: Untethered Stress-Engineered MEMS MicroFlyers

Spencer Ward
Ameen Hussain
Vahid Foroutan
Ratul Majumdar
2015

In this project, we are developing and testing microscale flying structures, called Microflyers. The microflyers consist of a 300 µm × 300 µm sized chassis fabricated from polycrystalline silicon using surface micromachining. At present, the flyers are levitated using microfabricated heaters attached to an underlying substrate. A novel, in-situ masked post-release stress-engineering process is used to generate a concave upwards curvature of the flyers chassis, causing static pitch and roll stability during flight, take-off, and landing. The initial experiments have demonstrated...

BPN768: Plug-Through Energy Monitor for Wall Outlet Electrical Devices

Michael C. Lorek
2015

This project focuses on the development of a Plug-Through Energy Monitor (PTEM) for electrical devices connected to wall outlets. Using a non-intrusive inductive current sensing technique, the load current can be measured without requiring a series sensing element that breaks the circuit. This enables slim profile sensing hardware, and eliminates the power dissipated across series elements as in traditional current measurement techniques. This work aims to design a PCB-based solution that measures load current & line voltage, accurately calculates real power dissipated by a plug...

BPN655: Materials for High Quality-Factor Resonating Gyroscopes

Hadi Najar
Chen Yang
2015

This project will investigate new materials suitable for achieving Q-factors in excess of 1 million in resonating gyroscopes. Experimental studies of dissipation caused by thermoelastic and surface losses will be performed using resonator test structures. The effect of doping and microstructure is explored on CVD diamond MEMS resonators. Hundreds of surface micromachined cantilevers and double-ended tuning fork (DETF) resonators were fabricated in nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) and microcrystalline diamond (MCD) films deposited using hot filament CVD technique with varying levels of...

BPN534: Fully-Integrated Micromechanical Clock Oscillator

Henry G. Barrow
2015

This project aims to develop a fully integrated micromechanical clock oscillator which outperforms current quartz-based clock oscillators in terms of both size and cost. A 32-kHz micromechanical resonator with a temperature coefficient better than 10 ppm over the commercial temperature range will act as the oscillator's reference. In addition, this oscillator will utilize an integrated fabrication process above modern transistor circuits in order to minimize device footprint and production expense.

Project end date: 08/25/15

BPN424: Silicon Carbide Nanomaterials for Harsh Environment Applications

Lunet E. Luna
2015

Silicon Carbide (SiC) is a material of interest to fabricate sensors and actuators able to operate in harsh environments. Particularly, its mechanical and electrical stability and its chemical inertness make SiC well suited for designing devices capable of operation in high temperature and corrosive environments. Harsh-environment stable metallization remains one of the key challenges with SiC technology. We are developing novel metallization schemes, utilizing solid-state graphitization, to improve the long-term reliability of Pt/Ti/poly-SiC contacts in high temperature environments...

BPN784: Aluminum Gallium Nitride 2DEG Sensors and Devices

Kaiyuan Yao
2015

Two dimensional electron gas (2DEG) and hole gas (2DHG) can be induced at the interface of epitaxial AlGaN/GaN due to spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization. Such electronic system features high transport mobility, carrier density and piezoelectric sensitivity. Mechanical strain and vibrations of devices can be transduced to electronic signals in embeded 2DEG for further processing. In this project, we study physical properties of this strongly-coupled electromechanical system, and develop possible devices such as pressure sensor, MEMS resonator, ultrasonic transducer, etc....

BPN435: A Micromechanical Power Amplifier

Wei-Chang Li
2015

This overall project aims to demonstrate methods for amplifying signals with higher efficiency compared to transistor circuitry using strictly mechanical means for ultra-low-power signal processing applications.

Project end date: 08/26/15

BPN697: Natural Gas Pipeline Research

Pit Pillatsch
2015

The project goal is to develop technologies for natural gas pipelines that provide increased system awareness and reliability, lower system costs, better assessment of pipeline integrity, and provide tangible benefits for utility customers. The benefits sought are natural gas pipelines that are more reliable, efficient, and secure. The BSAC research is divided into three areas: 1. Microfabricated MEMS natural gas sensors 2. Low-power wireless sensor communication infrastructure 3. Ultrasonic diagnostic and test devices for natural gas pipelines

Project end date: ...