Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.2
3.0
Journals
Micromachines
Special Issues
MEMS Force Sensor
share announcement

MEMS Force Sensor

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "E：Engineering and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 March 2021) | Viewed by 15580

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Hidetoshi Takahashi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Kanagawa 223-8522, Japan
Interests: MEMS; force sensor; biomechanics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Force sensors in the microelectromechanical system (MEMS) field have been studied and developed over the past few decades. One of the most common MEMS force sensors is a pressure sensor that includes the application of small microphones and airflow sensors. In a broad sense, an accelerator is a force sensor because it detects acceleration as a physical quantity. In recent years, tactile sensors, including multi-axis force sensors and flexible sensor sheets, have been further studied as applicable to robots. A variety of other MEMS force sensors are also being developed. The sensing elements of these sensors, a piezoresistive, piezoelectric, and capacitive element, have been developed to realize sufficiently sensitive measurements. In the present IoT age, MEMS force sensors are one of the most suitable devices to monitor physical phenomena, because of their size, power consumption, and compatibility for communication devices. Accordingly, this Special Issue seeks to showcase research papers, short communications, and review articles that focus on novel developments in MEMS force sensors, and their use for various applications.

Dr. Hidetoshi Takahashi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Micromachines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • MEMS
  • force sensor
  • inertial pressure
  • tactile
  • force and torque
  • stress and strain

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (5 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

15 pages, 5193 KiB  
Article
Biaxial Angular Acceleration Sensor with Rotational-Symmetric Spiral Channels and MEMS Piezoresistive Cantilevers
by Rihachiro Nakashima and Hidetoshi Takahashi
Micromachines 2021, 12(5), 507; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi12050507 - 30 Apr 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2789
Abstract
Angular acceleration sensors are attracting attention as sensors for monitoring rotational vibration. Many angular acceleration sensors have been developed; however, multiaxis measurement is still in a challenging stage. In this study, we propose a biaxial angular acceleration sensor with two uniaxial sensor units [...] Read more.
Angular acceleration sensors are attracting attention as sensors for monitoring rotational vibration. Many angular acceleration sensors have been developed; however, multiaxis measurement is still in a challenging stage. In this study, we propose a biaxial angular acceleration sensor with two uniaxial sensor units arranged orthogonally. The sensor units consist of two rotational-symmetric spiral channels and microelectromechanical system (MEMS) piezoresistive cantilevers. The cantilever is placed to interrupt the flow at the junctions of parallelly aligned spirals in each channel. When two cantilevers are used as the resistance of the bridge circuit in the two-gauge method, the rotational-symmetric spiral channels enhance the sensitivity in the target axis, while the nontarget axis sensitivities are canceled. The fabricated device responds with approximately constant sensitivity from 1 to 15 Hz, with a value of 3.86 × 10−5/(rad/s2), which is equal to the theoretical value. The nontarget axis sensitivity is approximately 1/400 of the target axis sensitivity. In addition, we demonstrate that each unit responds according to the tilt angle when the device is tilted along the two corresponding rotational axis planes. Thus, it is concluded that the developed device realizes biaxial angular acceleration measurement with low crosstalk. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue MEMS Force Sensor)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 4954 KiB  
Article
Structural Reinforcement Effect of a Flexible Strain Sensor Integrated with Pneumatic Balloon Actuators for Soft Microrobot Fingers
by Satoshi Konishi, Fuminari Mori, Ayano Shimizu and Akiya Hirata
Micromachines 2021, 12(4), 395; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi12040395 - 2 Apr 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3360
Abstract
Motion capture of a robot and tactile sensing for a robot require sensors. Strain sensors are used to detect bending deformation of the robot finger and to sense the force from an object. It is important to introduce sensors in effective combination with [...] Read more.
Motion capture of a robot and tactile sensing for a robot require sensors. Strain sensors are used to detect bending deformation of the robot finger and to sense the force from an object. It is important to introduce sensors in effective combination with actuators without affecting the original performance of the robot. We are interested in the improvement of flexible strain sensors integrated into soft microrobot fingers using a pneumatic balloon actuator (PBA). A strain sensor using a microchannel filled with liquid metal was developed for soft PBAs by considering the compatibility of sensors and actuators. Inflatable deformation generated by PBAs, however, was found to affect sensor characteristics. This paper presents structural reinforcement of a liquid metal-based sensor to solve this problem. Parylene C film was deposited into a microchannel to reinforce its structure against the inflatable deformation caused by a PBA. Parylene C deposition into a microchannel suppressed the interference of inflatable deformation. The proposed method enables the effective combination of soft PBAs and a flexible liquid metal strain sensor for use in microrobot fingers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue MEMS Force Sensor)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 13827 KiB  
Article
6-Axis Stress Tensor Sensor Using Multifaceted Silicon Piezoresistors
by Kentaro Noda, Jian Sun and Isao Shimoyama
Micromachines 2021, 12(3), 279; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi12030279 - 8 Mar 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2274
Abstract
A tensor sensor can be used to measure deformations in an object that are not visible to the naked eye by detecting the stress change inside the object. Such sensors have a wide range of application. For example, a tensor sensor can be [...] Read more.
A tensor sensor can be used to measure deformations in an object that are not visible to the naked eye by detecting the stress change inside the object. Such sensors have a wide range of application. For example, a tensor sensor can be used to predict fatigue in building materials by detecting the stress change inside the materials, thereby preventing accidents. In this case, a sensor of small size that can measure all nine components of the tensor is required. In this study, a tensor sensor consisting of highly sensitive piezoresistive beams and a cantilever to measure all of the tensor components was developed using MEMS processes. The designed sensor had dimensions of 2.0 mm by 2.0 mm by 0.3 mm (length by width by thickness). The sensor chip was embedded in a 15 mm3 cubic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) (polydimethylsiloxane) elastic body and then calibrated to verify the sensor response to the stress tensor. We demonstrated that 6-axis normal and shear Cauchy stresses with 5 kPa in magnitudes can be measured by using the fabricated sensor. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue MEMS Force Sensor)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 6547 KiB  
Article
Remote Recognition of Moving Behaviors for Captive Harbor Seals Using a Smart-Patch System via Bluetooth Communication
by Seungyeob Kim, Jinheon Jeong, Seung Gi Seo, Sehyeok Im, Won Young Lee and Sung Hun Jin
Micromachines 2021, 12(3), 267; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi12030267 - 4 Mar 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2218
Abstract
Animal telemetry has been recognized as a core platform for exploring animal species due to future opportunities in terms of its contribution toward marine fisheries and living resources. Herein, biologging systems with pressure sensors are successfully implemented via open-source hardware platforms, followed by [...] Read more.
Animal telemetry has been recognized as a core platform for exploring animal species due to future opportunities in terms of its contribution toward marine fisheries and living resources. Herein, biologging systems with pressure sensors are successfully implemented via open-source hardware platforms, followed by immediate application to captive harbor seals (HS). Remotely captured output voltage signals in real-time mode via Bluetooth communication were reproducibly and reliably recorded on the basis of hours using a smartphone built with data capturing software with graphic user interface (GUI). Output voltages, corresponding to typical behaviors on the captive HS, such as stopping (A), rolling (B), flapping (C), and sliding (D), are clearly obtained, and their analytical interpretation on captured electrical signals are fully validated via a comparison study with consecutively captured images for each motion of the HS. Thus, the biologging system with low cost and light weight, which is fully compatible with a conventional smartphone, is expected to potentially contribute toward future anthology of seal animals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue MEMS Force Sensor)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 5398 KiB  
Article
Micro Water Flow Measurement Using a Temperature-Compensated MEMS Piezoresistive Cantilever
by Romain Pommois, Gaku Furusawa, Takuya Kosuge, Shun Yasunaga, Haruki Hanawa, Hidetoshi Takahashi, Tetsuo Kan and Hisayuki Aoyama
Micromachines 2020, 11(7), 647; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi11070647 - 30 Jun 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3379
Abstract
In this study, we propose a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) force sensor for microflow measurements. The sensor is equipped with a flow sensing piezoresistive cantilever and a dummy piezoresistive cantilever, which acts as a temperature reference. Since the dummy cantilever is also in the [...] Read more.
In this study, we propose a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) force sensor for microflow measurements. The sensor is equipped with a flow sensing piezoresistive cantilever and a dummy piezoresistive cantilever, which acts as a temperature reference. Since the dummy cantilever is also in the form of a thin cantilever, the temperature environment of the dummy sensor is almost identical to that of the sensing cantilever. The temperature compensation effect was measured, and the piezoresistive cantilever was combined with a gasket jig to enable the direct implementation of the piezoresistive cantilever in a flow tube. The sensor device stably measured flow rates from 20 μL/s to 400 μL/s in a silicon tube with a 2-mm inner diameter without being disturbed by temperature fluctuations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue MEMS Force Sensor)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-5
Back to TopTop