This paper reports the first RF-MEMS component in OSTE polymer. Three OSTE-based ridge gap resonators were fabricated by direct, high aspect ratio, photostructuring. The OSTE polymer's good adhesion to gold makes it suitable for RF-MEMS applications. The OSTE ridge gap resonators differ in how they were coated with gold. The OSTE-based devices are compared to each other as well as to Si-based, SU8-based, and CNT-based devices of equal design. The OSTE-based process was performed outside the cleanroom, and with a fast fabrication process (∼1 h). The OSTE-based device performance is on par with that of the other alternatives in terms of frequency, attenuation, and Q-factor.

High-temperature-resistant inertial sensors are increasingly requested in a variety of fields such as aerospace, automotive and energy. Capacitive detection is especially suitable for sensing at high temperatures due to its low intrinsic temperature dependence. In this paper, we present high-temperature measurements utilizing a capacitive accelerometer, thereby proving the feasibility of capacitive detection at temperatures of up to 400 degrees C. We describe the observed characteristics as the temperature is increased and propose an explanation of the physical mechanisms causing the temperature dependence of the sensor, which mainly involve the temperature dependence of the Young's modulus and of the viscosity and the pressure of the gas inside the sensor cavity. Therefore a static electromechanical model and a dynamic model that takes into account squeeze film damping were developed.

Radiation leakages are a considerable problem when measuring waveguide structures at high frequencies. In order to maintain good electrical contact, flanges need to be tightly and evenly screwed to the device under test. This can be a time-consuming operation, especially with repeated measurements. We present a metamaterial-based adapter, which prohibits leakage even in the presence of gaps at the interconnects. This so-called gap adapter has been fabricated from a metallized polymer (SU8). The reflection coefficient is below -20 dB throughout the band for a 50-mu m gap on both sides of the gap adapter. In comparison, a conventional waveguide with a 50-mu m gap on both sides has a reflection coefficient of -10 dB. The gap adapter can be used to perform fast measurements, since the normal flange screws are redundant. We compare the SU8 gap adapter with a Si version and to a smooth metal waveguide reference disc. The SU8 gap adapter performed better than the Si version and much better than the waveguide disc in all test cases. SU8 gap adapters were used to measure on a waveguide component. The SU8 gap adapters with 50-mu m gaps performed comparable with the waveguide component with the flange screws carefully tightened. The polymer also makes the gap adapter mechanically robust and easy to mass fabricate. [2015-0113]

We present the first micromachined double-sided contactless WR03 pin-flange adapter for 220-325 GHz based on gap waveguide technology. The pin-flange adapter is used to avoid leakage at the interface of two waveguides even when a gap between them is present and can be fitted onto any standard WR03 waveguide flange. Tolerance measurements were performed with gaps ranging from 30-100 mu m. The performance of the micromachined pin flange has been compared to a milled pin flange, a choke flange and to standard waveguide connections. The micromachined pin flange is shown to have better performance than the standard connection and similar performance to the milled pin flange and choke flange. The benefits of micromachining over milling are the possibility to mass produce pin flanges and the better accuracy in the 2D design. Measurements were performed with and without screws fixing the flanges. The flanges have also been applied to measure two devices, a straight rectangular waveguide of 1.01 inch and a ridge gap resonator. In all cases, the micromachined pin flange performed flawlessly while the standard flange experienced significant losses at already small gaps.

In this paper, we present the first ridge-gap waveguide resonator made with a polymer base. It is designed for the frequency range 220-325 GHz, and is fabricated solely using a Au coated two-layer SU8-based process. The design is based on previous work done with Si. The new process has advantages such as fewer and cheaper process steps. The SU8 ridge-gap waveguide resonator is made in order to obtain attenuation characteristics via the measured Q-factor of the resonator. The ridge-gap waveguide resonator has the same dimensions as the previous one fabricated in Si, and the same thickness of the Au coating. The SU8-based resonator shows an attenuation loss of 0.41 dB/mm at 282.2 GHz compared to the Si-based resonator with an attenuation loss of 0.043 dB/mm at 283.5 GHz. This makes the SU8 process a more cost-effective alternative to the Si process

Two gap waveguide technologies, groove and ridge, are presented here for F-band applications. Three different groove gap waveguide devices and four different ridge gap waveguide devices have been fabricated. All of them were micromachined to achieve the feature size required for the frequency band and fabricated in a single process using SOI wafers. The two types provide a more robust coupling to standard waveguides and high frequency probes. Measurements for most of the devices are shown in this paper, showing robust measurements and good agreement with simulations. More measurements need to be done but the initial ones show the promise both in the manufacturing technique and the coupling.

Clinical Innovation Fellowships is a program that creates conditions for learning and for innovative thought to take place. It aims to educate innovators and to develop innovations that result in more efficient healthcare production. [1] Multiprofessional 4-person-teams of fellow candidates with competence in engineering, medicine, industrial design and management work together full time for eight months, with the aim to identify clinical needs that can be met by a medical technology innovation (process, product or service) or by an organizational improvement. Early in the program, the team spends two months full time at a clinical department observing the various healthcare activities. Among the clinical needs identified by the fellow candidates three needs will be chosen, validated and approved by the department's management as appropriate starting points for student thesis projects. We describe the phenomenon we have seen when introducing new disciplines as observers and problem solvers in a healthcare context as the improbable dialogue. The improbable dialogue is the unexpected dialogue between professionals and students, or professionals within separate disciplinary boundaries that generally never meet professionally. Such a dialogue may however be the channel in which the curiosity and openness of a novice can reflect on the daily work of a specialist, ultimately resulting in the development of ideas, knowledge exchange and learning. The Clinical Innovation Fellowships program enables this learning to take place and has shown to be a successful catalyst for the improbable dialogue; the unexpected, interdisciplinary, dialogue between healthcare specialists, high qualified fellow candidates with working experience and thesis students from different educational fields. This paper gives a qualitative problematization of the program with respect to the strategy and method of including thesis students to reinforce (almost) any innovation system through interdisciplinary, multiprofessional collaboration, where healthcare and academy learn from each other.

The present paper demonstrates groove gap waveguides at around 100 GHz, fabricated on Gold-plated micromachined silicon. Three different groove gap waveguides have been manufactured and measured: a resonator for determining Q-factor and thereby attenuation, a straight waveguide, and a waveguide with two 90 degree bends.

This paper presents a packaging approach for inertial sensors using wire bonding technology. The die is mounted exclusively by bond wires on the front- and backside to the package. Conventional single-side die attach to substrates, such as gluing, is abandoned. The approach is characterized by its novel and symmetric die attach concept as well as its simplicity of applying a standard wire bonding process. The wire bond attachment facilitates significant reduction of thermally induced mechanical stresses. The attachment concept is characterized in terms of attachment stiffness and potential die resonances using Laser Doppler Vibrometry(LDV). White-light interferometry is used to investigate stress related warping that is induced by the die attachment process.