The Design, Modeling and Experimental Investigation of a Micro-G Microoptoelectromechanical Accelerometer with an Optical Tunneling Measuring Transducer.

This treatise studies a microoptoelectromechanical accelerometer (MOEMA) with an optical measuring transducer built according to the optical tunneling principle (evanescent coupling). The work discusses the design of the accelerometer's microelectromechanical sensing element (MSE) and states the requirements for the design to achieve a sensitivity threshold of 1 µg m/s2 at a calculated eigenvalue of the MSE. The studies cover the selection of the dimensions, mass, eigenfrequency and corresponding stiffness of the spring suspension, gravity-induced cross-displacements. The authors propose and experimentally test an optical transducer positioning system represented by a capacitive actuator. This approach allows avoiding the restrictions in the fabrication of the transducer conditioned by the extremely high aspect ratio of deep silicon etching (more than 100). The designed MOEMA is tested on three manufactured prototypes. The experiments show that the sensitivity threshold of the accelerometers is 2 µg. For the dynamic range from minus 0.01 g to plus 0.01 g, the average nonlinearity of the accelerometers' characteristics ranges from 0.7% to 1.62%. For the maximum dynamic range from minus 0.015 g to plus 0.05 g, the nonlinearity ranges from 2.34% to 2.9%, having the maximum deviation at the edges of the regions. The power gain of the three prototypes of accelerometers varies from 12.321 mW/g to 26.472 mW/g. The results provide broad prospects for the application of the proposed solutions in integrated inertial devices.

An Optical Measuring Transducer for a Micro-Opto-Electro-Mechanical Micro-g Accelerometer Based on the Optical Tunneling Effect.

Micro-opto-electro-mechanical (MOEM) accelerometers that can measure small accelerations are attracting growing attention thanks to their considerable advantages-such as high sensitivity and immunity to electromagnetic noise-over their rivals. In this treatise, we analyze 12 schemes of MOEM-accelerometers, which include a spring mass and a tunneling-effect-based optical sensing system containing an optical directional coupler consisting of a fixed and a movable waveguide separated by an air gap. The movable waveguide can perform linear and angular movement. In addition, the waveguides can lie in single or different planes. Under acceleration, the schemes feature the following changes to the optical system: gap, coupling length, overlapping area between the movable and fixed waveguides. The schemes with altering coupling lengths feature the lowest sensitivity, yet possess a virtually unlimited dynamic range, which makes them comparable to capacitive transducers. The sensitivity of the scheme depends on the coupling length and amounts to 11.25 × 103 m-1 for a coupling length of 44 µm and 30 × 103 m-1 for a coupling length of 15 µm. The schemes with changing overlapping areas possess moderate sensitivity (1.25 × 106 m-1). The highest sensitivity (above 6.25 × 106 m-1) belongs to the schemes with an altering gap between the waveguides.

Improvement of the Surface Properties of Polyether Ether Ketone via Arc Evaporation for Biomedical Applications.

Polyether ether ketone is a bioinert polymer, that is of high interest in research and medicine as an alternative material for the replacement of bone implants made of metal. The biggest deficit of this polymer is its hydrophobic surface, which is rather unfavorable for cell adhesion and thus leads to slow osseointegration. In order to address this drawback, 3D-printed and polymer extruded polyether ether ketone disc samples that were surface-modified with titanium thin films of four different thicknesses via arc evaporation were investigated and compared with non-modified disc samples. Depending on the modification time, the thickness of the coatings ranged from 40 nm to 450 nm. The 3D-printing process does not affect the surface or bulk properties of polyether ether ketone. It turned out that the chemical composition of the coatings obtained did not depend on the type of substrate. Titanium coatings contain titanium oxide and have an amorphous structure. Microdroplets formed on the sample surfaces during treatment with an arc evaporator contain a rutile phase in their composition. Surface modification of the samples via arc evaporation resulted in an increase in the arithmetic mean roughness from 20 nm to 40 nm for the extruded samples and from 40 nm to 100 nm for the 3D-printed samples, with the mean height difference increasing from 100 nm to 250 nm and from 140 nm to 450 nm. Despite the fact that the hardness and reduced elastic modulus of the unmodified 3D-printed samples (0.33 GPa and 5.80 GPa) are higher than those of the unmodified extruded samples (0.22 GPa and 3.40 GPa), the surface properties of the samples after modification are approximately the same. The water contact angles of the polyether ether ketone sample surfaces decrease from 70° to 10° for the extruded samples and from 80° to 6° for the 3D-printed samples as the thickness of the titanium coating increases, making this type of coating promising for biomedical applications.

Polylactic acid nano- and microchamber arrays for encapsulation of small hydrophilic molecules featuring drug release via high intensity focused ultrasound.

Long term encapsulation combined with spatiotemporal release for a precisely defined quantity of small hydrophilic molecules on demand remains a challenge in various fields ranging from medical drug delivery, controlled release of catalysts to industrial anti-corrosion systems. Free-standing individually sealed polylactic acid (PLA) nano- and microchamber arrays were produced by one-step dip-coating a PDMS stamp into PLA solution for 5 s followed by drying under ambient conditions. The wall thickness of these hydrophobic nano-microchambers is tunable from 150 nm to 7 µm by varying the PLA solution concentration. Furthermore, small hydrophilic molecules were successfully in situ precipitated within individual microchambers in the course of solvent evaporation after sonicating the PLA@PDMS stamp to remove air-bubbles and to load the active substance containing solvent. The cargo capacity of single chambers was determined to be in the range of several picograms, while it amounts to several micrograms per cm2. Two different methods for sealing chambers were compared: microcontact printing versus dip-coating whereby microcontact printing onto a flat PLA sheet allows for entrapment of micro-air-bubbles enabling microchambers with both ultrasound responsiveness and reduced permeability. Cargo release triggered by external high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) stimuli is demonstrated by experiment and compared with numerical simulations.

Bioactivity and osteointegration of hydroxyapatite-coated stainless steel and titanium wires used for intramedullary osteosynthesis.

A lot of research was conducted on the use of various biomaterials in orthopedic surgery. Our study investigated the effects of nanostructured calcium-phosphate coating on metallic implants introduced into the bone marrow canal. Stainless steel or titanium 2-mm wires (groups 1 and 2, respectively), and hydroxyapatite-coated stainless steel or titanium wires of the same diameter (groups 3 and 4, respectively) were introduced into the tibial bone marrow canal of 20 dogs (each group = 5 dogs). Hydroxyapatite coating was deposited on the wires with the method of microarc oxidation. Light microscopy to study histological diaphyseal transverse sections, scanning electron microscopy to study the bone marrow area around the implant and an X-ray electron probe analyzer to study the content of calcium and phosphorus were used to investigate bioactivity and osteointegration after a four weeks period. Osteointegration was also assessed by measuring wires' pull-off strength with a sensor dynamometer. Bone formation was observed round the wires in the bone marrow canal in all the groups. Its intensity depended upon the features of wire surfaces and implant materials. Maximum percentage volume of trabecular bone was present in the bone marrow canals of group 4 dogs that corresponded to a mean of 27.1 ± 0.14%, while it was only 6.7% in group 1. The coating in groups 3 and 4 provided better bioactivity and osteointegration. Hydroxyapatite-coated titanium wires showed the highest degree of bone formation around them and greater pull-off strength. Nanostructured hydroxyapatite coating of metallic wires induces an expressed bone formation and provides osteointegration. Hydroxyapatite-coated wires could be used along with external fixation for bone repair enhancement in diaphyseal fractures, management of osteogenesis imperfecta and correction of bone deformities in phosphate diabetes.