Measurements on Electrostatically Actuated MEMS Cantilever Systems 

Zachary Harmany

Mentor: Professor  Srinivas Tadigadapa

                                                                                         

            The area where my research will be focusing is in the rapidly expanding field of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS).  These devices are created by scaling macroscopic objects down and constructing them out of silicon.  In particular, I will be conducting measurements on electrostatically actuated MEMS cantilever systems.  Under an applied sinusoidal voltage, these cantilevers can be shown to possess resonant frequencies similar to a macroscopic system that can be modeled approximately by a mass on a spring.  I will be studying where these resonant frequencies occur and how factors like the pressure of the surrounding air affect these structures.

            After obtaining precise measurements of these systems, our plan is to then cover these structures with high strength carbon nanotubes.  These nanotubes should increase the stiffness of our system that would outweigh the added mass presented by the nanotubes.  This stiffness should be able to be detected by observing an increase in the resonant frequency of the cantilever.  Our hope is that we would be able to show that the properties of these nanotubes are able to greatly affect the properties of MEMS structures.  I also believe that fusing micro- and nano-technologies could lead to beneficial and innovative devices.