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Niekiel MF, Meyer JM, Lewitz H, Kittmann A, Nowak MA, Lofink F, Meyners D, Zollondz JH. What MEMS Research and Development Can Learn from a Production Environment. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 23:5549. [PMID: 37420715 DOI: 10.3390/s23125549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Revised: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/09/2023]
Abstract
The intricate interdependency of device design and fabrication process complicates the development of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Commercial pressure has motivated industry to implement various tools and methods to overcome challenges and facilitate volume production. By now, these are only hesitantly being picked up and implemented in academic research. In this perspective, the applicability of these methods to research-focused MEMS development is investigated. It is found that even in the dynamics of a research endeavor, it is beneficial to adapt and apply tools and methods deduced from volume production. The key step is to change the perspective from fabricating devices to developing, maintaining and advancing the fabrication process. Tools and methods are introduced and discussed, using the development of magnetoelectric MEMS sensors within a collaborative research project as an illustrative example. This perspective provides both guidance to newcomers as well as inspiration to the well-versed experts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malte Florian Niekiel
- Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology ISIT, Fraunhoferstr. 1, 25524 Itzehoe, Germany
| | - Jana Marie Meyer
- Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology ISIT, Fraunhoferstr. 1, 25524 Itzehoe, Germany
| | - Hanna Lewitz
- Institute for Material Science, Kiel University, Kaiserstr. 2, 24143 Kiel, Germany
| | - Anne Kittmann
- Institute for Material Science, Kiel University, Kaiserstr. 2, 24143 Kiel, Germany
| | - Marc Alexander Nowak
- Institute for Material Science, Kiel University, Kaiserstr. 2, 24143 Kiel, Germany
| | - Fabian Lofink
- Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology ISIT, Fraunhoferstr. 1, 25524 Itzehoe, Germany
| | - Dirk Meyners
- Institute for Material Science, Kiel University, Kaiserstr. 2, 24143 Kiel, Germany
| | - Jens-Hendrik Zollondz
- Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology ISIT, Fraunhoferstr. 1, 25524 Itzehoe, Germany
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Schell V, Spetzler E, Wolff N, Bumke L, Kienle L, McCord J, Quandt E, Meyners D. Exchange biased surface acoustic wave magnetic field sensors. Sci Rep 2023; 13:8446. [PMID: 37231050 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-35525-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Magnetoelastic composites which use surface acoustic waves show great potential as sensors of low frequency and very low amplitude magnetic fields. While these sensors already provide adequate frequency bandwidth for most applications, their detectability has found its limitation in the low frequency noise generated by the magnetoelastic film. Amongst other contributions, this noise is closely connected to domain wall activity evoked by the strain from the acoustic waves propagating through the film. A successful method to reduce the presence of domain walls is to couple the ferromagnetic material with an antiferromagnetic material across their interface and therefore induce an exchange bias. In this work we demonstrate the application of a top pinning exchange bias stack consisting of ferromagnetic layers of (Fe90Co10)78Si12B10 and Ni81Fe19 coupled to an antiferromagnetic Mn80Ir20 layer. Stray field closure and hence prevention of magnetic edge domain formation is achieved by an antiparallel biasing of two consecutive exchange bias stacks. The set antiparallel alignment of magnetization provides single domain states over the complete films. This results in a reduction of magnetic phase noise and therefore provides limits of detection as low as 28 pT/Hz1/2 at 10 Hz and 10 pT/Hz1/2 at 100 Hz.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viktor Schell
- Inorganic Functional Materials, Institute for Materials Science, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, 24143, Kiel, Germany
| | - Elizaveta Spetzler
- Nanoscale Magnetic Materials - Magnetic Domains, Institute for Materials Science, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, 24143, Kiel, Germany
| | - Niklas Wolff
- Synthesis and Real Structure, Institute for Materials Science, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, 24143, Kiel, Germany
| | - Lars Bumke
- Inorganic Functional Materials, Institute for Materials Science, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, 24143, Kiel, Germany
| | - Lorenz Kienle
- Synthesis and Real Structure, Institute for Materials Science, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, 24143, Kiel, Germany
| | - Jeffrey McCord
- Nanoscale Magnetic Materials - Magnetic Domains, Institute for Materials Science, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, 24143, Kiel, Germany
| | - Eckhard Quandt
- Inorganic Functional Materials, Institute for Materials Science, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, 24143, Kiel, Germany
| | - Dirk Meyners
- Inorganic Functional Materials, Institute for Materials Science, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, 24143, Kiel, Germany.
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Hoffmann J, Roldan-Vasco S, Krüger K, Niekiel F, Hansen C, Maetzler W, Orozco-Arroyave JR, Schmidt G. Pilot Study: Magnetic Motion Analysis for Swallowing Detection Using MEMS Cantilever Actuators. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 23:3594. [PMID: 37050654 PMCID: PMC10099077 DOI: 10.3390/s23073594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Revised: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
The swallowing process involves complex muscle coordination mechanisms. When alterations in such mechanisms are produced by neurological conditions or diseases, a swallowing disorder known as dysphagia occurs. The instrumental evaluation of dysphagia is currently performed by invasive and experience-dependent techniques. Otherwise, non-invasive magnetic methods have proven to be suitable for various biomedical applications and might also be applicable for an objective swallowing assessment. In this pilot study, we performed a novel approach for deglutition evaluation based on active magnetic motion sensing with permanent magnet cantilever actuators. During the intake of liquids with different consistency, we recorded magnetic signals of relative movements between a stationary sensor and a body-worn actuator on the cricoid cartilage. Our results indicate the detection capability of swallowing-related movements in terms of a characteristic pattern. Consequently, the proposed technique offers the potential for dysphagia screening and biofeedback-based therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes Hoffmann
- Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kiel University, 24118 Kiel, Germany
| | - Sebastian Roldan-Vasco
- GITA Lab, Faculty of Engineering, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín 050010, Colombia
- Faculty of Engineering, Instituto Tecnológico Metropolitano, Medellín 050536, Colombia
| | - Karolin Krüger
- Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kiel University, 24118 Kiel, Germany
| | - Florian Niekiel
- Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology ISIT, 25524 Itzehoe, Germany
| | - Clint Hansen
- Department of Neurology, Kiel University, 24118 Kiel, Germany
| | - Walter Maetzler
- Department of Neurology, Kiel University, 24118 Kiel, Germany
| | - Juan Rafael Orozco-Arroyave
- GITA Lab, Faculty of Engineering, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín 050010, Colombia
- Pattern Recognition Lab, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Gerhard Schmidt
- Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kiel University, 24118 Kiel, Germany
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Elzenheimer E, Bald C, Engelhardt E, Hoffmann J, Hayes P, Arbustini J, Bahr A, Quandt E, Höft M, Schmidt G. Quantitative Evaluation for Magnetoelectric Sensor Systems in Biomagnetic Diagnostics. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 22:s22031018. [PMID: 35161764 PMCID: PMC8838141 DOI: 10.3390/s22031018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2021] [Revised: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Dedicated research is currently being conducted on novel thin film magnetoelectric (ME) sensor concepts for medical applications. These concepts enable a contactless magnetic signal acquisition in the presence of large interference fields such as the magnetic field of the Earth and are operational at room temperature. As more and more different ME sensor concepts are accessible to medical applications, the need for comparative quality metrics significantly arises. For a medical application, both the specification of the sensor itself and the specification of the readout scheme must be considered. Therefore, from a medical user's perspective, a system consideration is better suited to specific quantitative measures that consider the sensor readout scheme as well. The corresponding sensor system evaluation should be performed in reproducible measurement conditions (e.g., magnetically, electrically and acoustically shielded environment). Within this contribution, an ME sensor system evaluation scheme will be described and discussed. The quantitative measures will be determined exemplarily for two ME sensors: a resonant ME sensor and an electrically modulated ME sensor. In addition, an application-related signal evaluation scheme will be introduced and exemplified for cardiovascular application. The utilized prototype signal is based on a magnetocardiogram (MCG), which was recorded with a superconducting quantum-interference device. As a potential figure of merit for a quantitative signal assessment, an application specific capacity (ASC) is introduced. In conclusion, this contribution highlights metrics for the quantitative characterization of ME sensor systems and their resulting output signals in biomagnetism. Finally, different ASC values and signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) could be clearly presented for the resonant ME sensor (SNR: -90 dB, ASC: 9.8×10-7 dB Hz) and also the electrically modulated ME sensor (SNR: -11 dB, ASC: 23 dB Hz), showing that the electrically modulated ME sensor is better suited for a possible MCG application under ideal conditions. The presented approach is transferable to other magnetic sensors and applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Elzenheimer
- Digital Signal Processing and System Theory, Institute of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Kiel University, Kaiserstr. 2, 24143 Kiel, Germany; (E.E.); (C.B.); (E.E.); (J.H.)
| | - Christin Bald
- Digital Signal Processing and System Theory, Institute of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Kiel University, Kaiserstr. 2, 24143 Kiel, Germany; (E.E.); (C.B.); (E.E.); (J.H.)
| | - Erik Engelhardt
- Digital Signal Processing and System Theory, Institute of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Kiel University, Kaiserstr. 2, 24143 Kiel, Germany; (E.E.); (C.B.); (E.E.); (J.H.)
| | - Johannes Hoffmann
- Digital Signal Processing and System Theory, Institute of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Kiel University, Kaiserstr. 2, 24143 Kiel, Germany; (E.E.); (C.B.); (E.E.); (J.H.)
| | - Patrick Hayes
- Inorganic Functional Materials, Institute for Materials Science, Faculty of Engineering, Kiel University, Kaiserstr. 2, 24143 Kiel, Germany; (P.H.); (E.Q.)
| | - Johan Arbustini
- Sensor System Electronics, Institute of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Kiel University, Kaiserstr. 2, 24143 Kiel, Germany; (J.A.); (A.B.)
| | - Andreas Bahr
- Sensor System Electronics, Institute of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Kiel University, Kaiserstr. 2, 24143 Kiel, Germany; (J.A.); (A.B.)
| | - Eckhard Quandt
- Inorganic Functional Materials, Institute for Materials Science, Faculty of Engineering, Kiel University, Kaiserstr. 2, 24143 Kiel, Germany; (P.H.); (E.Q.)
| | - Michael Höft
- Microwave Engineering, Institute of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Kiel University, Kaiserstr. 2, 24143 Kiel, Germany;
| | - Gerhard Schmidt
- Digital Signal Processing and System Theory, Institute of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Kiel University, Kaiserstr. 2, 24143 Kiel, Germany; (E.E.); (C.B.); (E.E.); (J.H.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +49-431-880-6125
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