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SiC MEMS Pressure Sensors: Technology, Applications and Markets

Silicon Carbide: Material Platform for Harsh Environment Solutions Silicon carbide (SiC) has been used for many conventional applications that require mechanical and chemical stability at high temperatures. Mechanical stability is defined as the ability of a particular material to preserve its mechanical properties – elasticity, fracture toughness, hardness – at temperatures below and above room temperature.

Chemical stability is similarly defined as the ability of a particular material to preserve its composition at temperatures below and above room temperature. For high temperature applications, mechanical properties tend to deteriorate and chemical stability is compromised as corrosion processes occur.

Any material that can overcome these mechanical and chemical limitations becomes a candidate for what are called “harsh environment” applications. Harsh environment means a combination of media properties that can interact with the exposed material and alter its originally intended behavior. Harsh environments can be classified in three broad categories: 1) mechanically aggressive: high loads, vibration, shock; 2) thermally aggressive: high temperature; and 3) chemically aggressive: corrosive media.

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Microcantilever actuators made from carbon nanotube (CNT)-polymer composites could dramatically improve the performance of microelectromechanical systems, according to scientists in Taiwan. The researchers from National Tsing Hua University have developed an easy to actuate material that rapidly suppresses unwanted oscillations thanks to a low quality factor.

“Lightweight and highly flexible CNT-composites provide fast electrothermo-actuation at low power,” Weileun Fang told nanotechweb.org. “Moving the actuator from its original position to its pull-in position can be employed to define two different states such as 0/1 or on/off, which suits many applications in communications and displays.”

The group’s nanocomposite device has a pull-in voltage of just 50?V for a full deflection of 560?µm. As Fang explains, this value is very low compared with existing microcantilevers, which can demand at least 500?V to achieve a similar displacement. The researchers believe that CNT-based field amplification is responsible for the low pull-in voltage.

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