MEMS Breakthrough Filters Electronic Signals

August 10, 2009

1 Min Read
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Vibrating MEMS structures capable of filtering electronic signals may someday be used in biomedical sensors. Image: Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University

Researchers at Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN) have created a MEMS-based device that acts as a novel band-pass filter. Designed to vibrate in specific patterns, the resonators are able to filter electronic signals and could someday be used to develop advanced chemical and biological sensors for medical applications."The new technology represents a potential way to further miniaturize band-pass filters while improving their performance and reducing power use," according to the university.Fabricated from silicon using standard manufacturing techniques, the vibrating MEMS structures feature beams measuring roughly 10 µm in diameter that can be joined mechanically or linked by employing electric fields and magnetic attraction. The Purdue scientists' research differed from previous attempts because they opted to link the beams in "nontraditional coupling arrangements" rather than in straight chains.Details about the technology can be found at Purdue's Web site.

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