| EPSRC Reference: |
EP/C541820/1 |
| Title: |
Equipment for Supporting Microsystems Research at Edinburgh & IMRC related projects at Cambridge, Cranfield, Heriot-Watt & Loughborough |
| Principal Investigator: |
Walton, Professor AJ |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Researcher Co-Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Sch of Engineering |
| Organisation: |
University of Edinburgh |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 November 2005 |
Ends: |
31 July 2008 |
Value (£): |
497,764
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| Aerospace, Defence and Marine |
Chemicals |
| Electronics |
Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology |
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| Related Grants: |
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| Panel History: |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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This project is is procuring equipment for supporting Microsystems research at Edinburgh and IMRC related projects at Cambridge, Cranfield, Heriot Watt and Loughborough. The two items of equipment are detailed belowA Particle Image Velocimetry system to measure fluid flow Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) has become a standard technique for determination of spatial flow in which successive images of seeding particles, in a thin planar illuminated region within the flow, are captured by CCD camera. Measurement of the particle spacing for the known time delay between images enables particle velocities to be determined. Micro-PIV is an extension of this technique for measuring small-scale flows. In micro-PIV the laser illuminates the entire volume of fluid and a microscope enables observation of a planar slice within the flow, because of its narrow depth of field.An anodic bonder for MEMS fabrication and packaging Anodic bonding enables the hermetic bonding of glass to silicon without the use of adhesives. The method involves heating the silicon and glass wafers to between 300 and 500oC (depending on the glass used) and applying a high voltage between them. At these temperatures the alkali-metal ions in the glass are mobile and they migrate from the interface which creates a depletion layer with high electric field strength. This electrostatic attraction helps to ensure good contact between the silicon and glass and subsequent current flow of the oxygen anions from the glass to the silicon wafer results in an interface anodic reaction, finally resulting in a permanent chemical bond. In particular, anodic bonding has many MEMS applications which include the fabrication of items such as RF resonators, accelerometers, pressure sensors, micro-pumps and other fluid handling devices which require fluid channels to be capped. Its low bonding, temperature and the hermetic sealing capability (in a vacuum if required) and the possibility of aligning pre-patterned glass a some of the technology's perceived benefits.The research that this equipment will support includes microsystems for boiling studies and cooling, Microfluidics associated with biotechnology, Wafer-scale level DC-DC electroformed power converters, microfluic test vehicles that simulate electroplating cells, visualisation at the microscale the flow and concentration gradients of the electrolyte solutions within the deep groves during electroforming, characterisation of boiling cooling microfluidic systems that employ boiling technology and the analysis of droplet mixing in dielectric wetting micro fluid flow.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.ed.ac.uk |