X-Message-Number: 39 From arpa!Xerox.COM!merkle.pa Thu Nov 17 14:38:52 PST 1988 Received: from Cabernet.ms by ArpaGateway.ms ; 17 NOV 88 14:38:54 PST Date: Thu, 17 Nov 88 14:38:52 PST From: Subject: Talk on microstructures at IBM Almaden To: Message-ID: <> Status: RO This is probably only of interest to people in the silicon valley area -- though the general fact that research in this area is continuing might well be of broader interest. Any way, here it is: 11/21 - MICROSTRUCTURES ON SILICON -- A NEW DIMENSION FOR MECHANISMS Prof. R. S. Muller, Co-director, Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center, University of California at Berkeley Stor. Sys. and Tech. Sem. Mon., Nov. 23 10:30 A.M. Room: Audit. Prospects for new microsystems have been aroused by the demonstration of electrically powered motors having rotors a tenth mm in diameter. These devices belong to a new class of mechanical structures made by micromachining silicon single-crystal substrates or other materials that are either part of conventional IC processing or else produced compatibly with planar technology. These precisely fabricated structures make possible high-performance sensors and actuators when combined with on-chip circuits and portend a new class of microsystems that may have revolutionary impact on engineering design. An especially powerful technique derived from IC processing is to employ polycrystalline silicon as a mechanical material in which microstructures are freed from the substrate by oxide etching -- a procedure that avoids the need for anisotropic etchants. This technology was first demonstrated as a means to produce rotating and sliding structures, gears, and springs and lately, to make micro-motors. Active thin films that can function as stress transducers or as actuating motors (through the piezoelectric effect), or as heat sensors (through the pyroelectric effect) can also be fabricated together with silicon IC's. The very promising prospects offered by these techniques are illustrated by some of the structures that have been built or are currently under study. Research on the mechanical properties of materials and on the scaling of mechanical design, as well as on the effective uses of computer aids, is needed to provide the engineering base that will make it possible to exploit fully this technology. Host: H. H. Zappe For further information on individual talks, please contact the host listed above. Visitors, please arrive 15 minutes early. IBM's new Almaden Research Center (ARC) is located adjacent to Santa Teresa County Park, between Almaden Expressway and U.S. 101, about 10 miles south of Interstate 280. From U.S. 101, exit at Bernal Road, and follow Bernal Road west past Santa Teresa Blvd. into the hills (ignoring the left turn for Santa Teresa Park). Alternatively, follow Almaden Expressway to its southern terminus, turn left onto Harry Road, then go right at the ARC entrance (about a quarter of a mile later) and go up the hill. For more detailed directions, please phone the ARC receptionist at (408) 927-1080. IBM Almaden Research Center electronically distributes both its complete calendar of seminars and a subset of Computer Science seminars only. Send requests for inclusion in either electronic mailing list to (CALENDAR at ALMVMA on VNET or BITNET), specifying either the complete calendar or the Computer Science subset. Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=39