A robust edge-based template matching algorithm for displacement measurement of compliant mechanisms under scanning electron microscope.

This paper develops a robust edge-based template matching algorithm for displacement measurement of compliant mechanisms under a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The algorithm consists of three steps. First, the Sobel gradient operator and a self-adaptive segment strategy are used to establish the shape model in which the gradient directions of the object's edge points are calculated. Second, a similarity criterion based on image gradients that is robust to illumination change and image noise is utilized for template matching to obtain the coarse results. The third step is to refine the matching results by using an orientation-guided subpixel interpolation strategy. A series of simulations is conducted, and the results show that the proposed algorithm enjoys great robustness against strong image noise and gray-value fluctuation, as well as small rotations and background interferences, and thus is suitable for processing SEM images of compliant mechanisms. Finally, the application of the proposed algorithm in the measurement of the spring constant of the flexure hinges with a straight beam form under a SEM is demonstrated.

Mechanical Structural Design of a Piezoresistive Pressure Sensor for Low-Pressure Measurement: A Computational Analysis by Increases in the Sensor Sensitivity.

This paper proposes a novel micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) piezoresistive pressure sensor with a four-petal membrane combined with narrow beams and a center boss (PMNBCB) for low-pressure measurements. The stresses induced in the piezoresistors and deflection of the membrane were calculated using the finite element method (FEM). The functions of the relationship between the dimension variables and mechanical performance were determined based on the curve fitting method, which can provide an approach for geometry optimization of the sensor. In addition, the values in the equations were varied to determine the optimal dimensions for the proposed membrane. Then, to further improve the sensitivity of the sensor, a series of rectangular grooves was created at the position of the piezoresistors. The proposed diaphragm was compared to existing diaphragms, and a considerable increase in the sensitivity and a considerable decrease in nonlinearity error could be achieved by using the proposed sensor. The simulation results suggest that the sensor with the PMNBCB structure obtained a high sensitivity of 34.67 mV/kPa and a low nonlinearity error of 0.23% full-scale span (FSS) for the pressure range of 0⁻5 kPa. The proposed sensor structure is a suitable selection for MEMS piezoresistive pressure sensors.

Topology optimization of fusiform muscles with a maximum contraction.

Understanding the optimal designs in nature is critical in bionics. This paper presents a method for designing the configuration of fusiform muscle with a maximum contractile displacement based on topology optimization methods. A nearly incompressible continuum constitutive model of skeletal muscle is utilized. The contractile displacement from the relaxed state to the contracted state is regarded as the objective function. To handle the numerical difficulties that result from the existence of element density, an energy interpolation equation is employed, and a modification of the constitutive model of skeletal muscle is proposed. Several numerical examples are given to demonstrate the reasonability of the proposed method.

Micro-motion detection of the 3-DOF precision positioning stage based on iterative optimized template matching.

This study presents a method for micro-motion detection of the three-degrees-of-freedom (3-DOF; x, y, θz) precision positioning stage (PPS) based on iterative optimized template matching (IOTM). In this method, a micro-vision system (MVS) is constructed and employed to capture magnified images of the measured PPS's surface with high quality. In addition, an efficient and accurate IOTM algorithm, which includes a pyramid hierarchical matching step for generating the initial guess and an iterative searching step for 3-DOF fine matching, is proposed to detect the micro-motion of the 3-DOF PPS. The simulation results show that the locating accuracy of the translation component (TC) and rotation component of this algorithm can respectively reach 0.01 pixels and 0.01 deg when the image quality is high and the initial guess is close to the real location. Measurement tests of a nano-PPS verify that the proposed method is practical and effective for 3-DOF micro-motion detection and the absolute accuracy of the TC of the MVS can easily reach the nanometer level.

Hydrodynamic dispensing and electrical manipulation of attolitre droplets.

Dispensing and manipulation of small droplets is important in bioassays, chemical analysis and patterning of functional inks. So far, dispensing of small droplets has been achieved by squeezing the liquid out of a small orifice similar in size to the droplets. Here we report that instead of squeezing the liquid out, small droplets can also be dispensed advantageously from large orifices by draining the liquid out of a drop suspended from a nozzle. The droplet volume is adjustable from attolitre to microlitre. More importantly, the method can handle suspensions and liquids with viscosities as high as thousands mPa s markedly increasing the range of applicable liquids for controlled dispensing. Furthermore, the movement of the dispensed droplets is controllable by the direction and the strength of an electric field potentially allowing the use of the droplet for extracting analytes from small sample volume or placing a droplet onto a pre-patterned surface.