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Continuous Electrowetting Actuation Utilizing Current Rectification Properties Of Valve Metal Films, Corey M. Lynch
Continuous Electrowetting Actuation Utilizing Current Rectification Properties Of Valve Metal Films, Corey M. Lynch
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) is a technique for reducing the apparent contact angle of a fluid droplet, which has many promising applications in the fields of optics, digital displays, and lab-on-a-chip research. In this thesis, a design is presented for a novel single circuit device for achieving continuous droplet motion, by using the current-rectifying properties of valve metals to create diode-like behavior. This contrasts with existing designs, which require an array of individual electrodes to achieve motion in discrete steps. We are able to demonstrate continuous droplet motion across a 28mm-long test strip with an applied voltage of 303 V …
Optimization And Characterization Of Lab-On-A-Chip Elements: Microfluidic Chambers And Microneedles, Puneet Khanna
Optimization And Characterization Of Lab-On-A-Chip Elements: Microfluidic Chambers And Microneedles, Puneet Khanna
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
In this work, MEMS based fabrication is used to engineer multifaceted enhancements to microfluidic systems such as lab-on-a-chip devices. Two specific elements of microfluidic systems are the focus of this study: microfluidic chambers and microneedles. Microfluidic chambers, which are back-end passive elements, via proposed material and structural modifications, are shown to exhibit reduced non-specific DNA binding and enable increased cell lysis efficiency. Microneedles, which are front-end interfacing elements, have been fabricated in silicon and in silicon dioxide varieties. The geometry of silicon microneedles has been varied via DRIE processing to yield sharpened tips. Sharpening of microneedle tips provides reduced skin …
Kinematics Of Curved Flexible Beam, Saurabh Jagirdar
Kinematics Of Curved Flexible Beam, Saurabh Jagirdar
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Compliant mechanism theory permits a procedure called rigidbody replacement, in which two or more rigid links of the mechanism are replaced by a compliant flexure with equivalent motion. Methods for designing flexure with equivalent motion to replace rigid links are detailed in Pseudo-Rigid-Body Models (PRBMs). Such models have previously been developed for planar mechanisms. This thesis develops the first PRBM for spherical mechanisms. In formulating this PRBM for a spherical mechanism, we begin by applying displacements are applied to a curved beam that cause it todeflect in a manner consistent with spherical kinematics. The motion of the beam is calculated …
Development Of A Generic Pda Based Control Mechanism For In-House Fabricated Miniature Sensors, Sunny Kedia
Development Of A Generic Pda Based Control Mechanism For In-House Fabricated Miniature Sensors, Sunny Kedia
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
A novel method of controlling miniature sensors using Handspring Visor Prism PDA has been implemented. A generic motherboard was developed to map the data and address lines from the Visor onto a Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD) to provide basic electrical signals to the sensor board. The sensor board housed the sensor and contained application specific circuitry. The PDA, the motherboard, and the sensor board completed the control mechanism for the sensor. Miniature sensors and PDA based control mechanism scaled down the size of the complete system making the unit portable. This unit facilitated a faster analysis of data on …
A Novel Normal-To-Plane Space Efficient Micro Corner Cube Retroreflector With Improved Fill Factor, Rahul Agarwal
A Novel Normal-To-Plane Space Efficient Micro Corner Cube Retroreflector With Improved Fill Factor, Rahul Agarwal
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
A Corner Cube Retro-reflector (CCR) is a device that can be used as transmitters in wireless free space optical communication systems, or remote sensing instruments. A novel approach to fabricate the CCR is developed, where almost 100% of the planar chip area acts as the CCR compared to the maximum of 33% in the prior MEMS CCRs. Unlike the conventional micro machined CCRs that have two planes (mirrors of the CCR) normal to the surface of the wafer, our approach yields all the mirrors within the bulk of the wafer, ensuring very high packing densities and wide acceptance angles. The …