Reducing SU-8 hygroscopic swelling by ultrasonic treatment

The volume expansion of SU-8 resist brings serious dimensional errors to electroformed structures.Two approaches have been proposed to reduce resist distortions during electroforming:electroforming at room temperature and adding auxiliary features for mask patterns.However,the former method induces higher internal stresses in the electroformed metal layers.And the latter method makes it difficult to predict the expansion behaviors of the resists.In the paper,the thermal expansion of the SU-8 mould is calculated by ANSYS firstly,and the lower thermal expansion value indicates that hygroscopic swelling plays a leading role in SU-8 mould distortions.An original technique is presented to reduce SU-8 hygroscopic swelling by ultrasonic treatment.The dimensional errors of the electroformed structure fabricated on the ultrasonic treatment mould are 50% lower than the one without ultrasonic treatment.Simulation of hygroscopic swelling is conducted by finite element analysis,and the results indicate that the hygroscopic strain ε of SU-8 after electroforming is declined from 6.8% to 3.1% because of ultrasonic.The measurements show that ultrasonic treatment increased the water contact angle of cured SU-8 from 70.8?to 74.9?.Based on these results,the mechanism of ultrasonic effect on hygroscopic swelling is proposed from the view of ultrasonic vibration decreasing the number of hydroxyl groups in SU-8.The research presents a novel method to improve the precisions of electroformed structures.It has no influence on the internal stresses of final structures and does not increase the complexities of mask layouts.

Methods for the Construction and Realization of a Humanoid Robot's Simulation Platform

This paper proposes a method of humanoid robot data structure definition based on the characteristics of a graph with tree structure. It applies the depth-first search algorithm to traverse and uses screw theory and chain of multiplication to describe the robot＇s postures. The platform references zero moment point theory as the stability constraint of the robot＇s dynamic walking and plans the gaits accordingly, h also realizes the visualization of motion control. This study provides superior means and methods to the evolution of a humanoid robot.

Microfluidic separation of particles by synergistic effect of geometry-induced hydrodynamics and magnetic field

Microfluidic combined with magnetic field have been demonstrated to be the promising solutions for fast and low-damage particles separation.However,the difficulties in the precise layout of magnets and accurate prediction of particle trajectories lead to under and over separation of target particles.A novel particle separation lab-on-chip(LOC)prototype integrated with microstructures and micropolar arrays is designed and characterized.Meanwhile,a numerical model for the separation of magnetic particles by the synergistic effect of geometry-induced hydrodynamics and magnetic field is constructed.The effect of geometry and magnetic field layout on particle deflection is systematically analyzed to implement accurate prediction of particle trajectories.It is found that the separation efficiency of magnetic particles increased from 50.2%to 91.7%and decreased from 88.6%to 85.7%in the range of depth factors from 15µm to 27µm and width factors from 30µm to 60µm,respectively.In particular,the combined effect of the offset distance of permanent magnets and the distance from the main flow channel exhibits a significant difference from the conventional perception.Finally,the developed LOC prototype was generalized for extension to arbitrary systems.This work provides a new insight and robust method for the microfluidic separation of magnetic particles.

Study on the Hydrophobic Property of Shark-Skin-Inspired Micro-Riblets

This paper aims to characterize the hydrophobic property of shark-skin-inspired riblets with potential engineering appli- cations. Based on the hydrophobic theory, a new hydrophobic model which is consistent with the special structure of shark-skin-inspired micro-riblets was proposed. Then, the contact angles of different droplets were measured by optical contact angle measuring device on the shark-skin-inspired micro-riblets and the smooth surface, respectively. The results show that the surface of micro-riblets possesses obvious hydrophobicity, and the actual contact angles of different droplets residing on the riblets decrease with the increase in the droplet volume. According to the new hydrophobic model and the measurement of contact angle, it was found that the arrangement and structure of the shark-skin-inspired micro-riblets significantly affect the surface hydrophobic property. Using the new hydrophobic model, the prediction error of contact angle can be less than 3% compared with the measured one. The research on hydrophobic property of biomimetic micro-riblets is proved to be necessary and important to well explain drag reduction and microbe-resistant property of micro-riblets.

Surface shape control of the workpiece in a double-spindle triple-workstation wafer grinder

Double-spindle triple-workstation（DSTW） ultra precision grinders are mainly used in production lines for manufacturing and back thinning large diameter（≥300 mm） silicon wafers for integrated circuits.It is important, but insufficiently studied,to control the wafer shape ground on a DSTW grinder by adjusting the inclination angles of the spindles and work tables.In this paper,the requirements of the inclination angle adjustment of the grinding spindles and work tables in DSTW wafer grinders are analyzed.A reasonable configuration of the grinding spindles and work tables in DSTW wafer grinders are proposed.Based on the proposed configuration,an adjustment method of the inclination angle of grinding spindles and work tables for DSTW wafer grinders is put forward. The mathematical models of wafer shape with the adjustment amount of inclination angles for both fine and rough grinding spindles are derived.The proposed grinder configuration and adjustment method will provide helpful instruction for DSTW wafer grinder design.

Self-centering characteristics of a petal-shaped capsule robot

Based on the multiple wedge effects, a petal-shaped capsule robot(PCR) is proposed, and the self-centering phenomenon of the PCR is discovered. For investigating the self-centering characteristics, an innovative concept of the instantaneous fluid membrane(FM) thickness, along with the dynamic FM thickness, is proposed; thus a dynamic FM thickness model and a hydrodynamic pressure(HP) model are derived when the PCR axis deviates from the pipe axis under the effect of gravity. A kinematics equation during suspending process in the vertical direction and a swimming kinematics equation in axial direction are derived respectively. Four capsule robots with different eccentricities of the tiles were manufactured and tested, the theoretical and experimental results show that the HP gradient is a fundamental reason for the self-centering phenomenon. The PCR with the self-centering ability can directly avoid the contact with the bottom of the gastrointestinal(GI) tract, achieving the excellent obstacle surmounting ability in the GI complex environment with the less twisted impact on the GI tract, which has a promising application prospect in the GI diagnosis.

Effects of the reciprocating parameters of the carrier on material removal rate and non-uniformity in CMP

Based on the Preston equation, the mathematical model of the material removal rate （MRR）, aiming at a line-orbit chemical mechanical polisher, is established. The MRR and the material removal non-uniformity （MRNU） are numerically calculated by MATLAB, and the effects of the reciprocating parameters on the MRR and the MRNU are discussed. It is shown that the smaller the inclination angle and the larger the amplitude, the higher the MRR and the lower the MRNU. The reciprocating speed of the carrier plays a minor role to improve the MRR and decrease the MRNU. The results provide a guide for the design of a polisher and the determination of a process in line-orbit chemical mechanical polishing.