Two gentlemen at the Institut d’Electronique, de Microélectronique et de Nanotechnologie (IEMN) at the University of Lille in France, have demonstrating an interesting proof of concept of a new mechanical switching mechanism that relies on the interplay between mechanical and capillary forces as well as how “wet” a drop can get.

The concept is based upon the fact that the wetting properties of a droplet – that is, how easily it spreads out on a surface – can be changed capacitively. Placing a drop on a thin insulator with a semiconductor … Read More → "A Diving Board, Water Drop, and Flashlight"

While the recent MEMS Executive Congress focused on electro-mechanical applications, occasionally MEMS processing techniques were highlighted for strictly electrical purposes, with no mechanical component.

In one example, ICEMOS talked about their collaboration with MEMS manufacturer Omron for a new way of making superjunction power transistors.

Superjunction transistors overcome the R_on/breakdown tradeoff issue using alternating p and n stripes. In theory, these can be arranged a number of different ways, but, according to ICEMOS, the typical way it’s done now is horizontally, by growing a series of epitaxial layers of … Read More → "Another Transistor Goes Vertical"

The piezoelectric effect is pretty straightforward. With certain crystals, if you apply strain, the separation of dipoles in the crystal will set up a piezopotential.

Let’s take that one step further by making contacts on either end of a nanowire made of an appropriate material – in particular, ZnO, but potentially other so-called “wurtzite” semiconductors. Put a potential across is and use mechanical stress in the nanowire to modulate the current: you’ve basically got a FET, with the nanowire acting as a mechanical gate.

Those contacts are Schottky contacts, … Read More → "Piezo… what?"