Workshop on "Robotic assembly of 3D MEMS".

Proceedings of a workshop proposed in IEEE IROS'2007.The increase of MEMS' functionalities often requires the integration of various technologies used for mechanical, optical and electronic subsystems in order to achieve a unique system. These different technologies have usually process incompatibilities and the whole microsystem can not be obtained monolithically and then requires microassembly steps. Microassembly of MEMS based on micrometric components is one of the most promising approaches to achieve high-performance MEMS. Moreover, microassembly also permits to develop suitable MEMS packaging as well as 3D components although microfabrication technologies are usually able to create 2D and "2.5D" components. The study of microassembly methods is consequently a high stake for MEMS technologies growth. Two approaches are currently developped for microassembly: self-assembly and robotic microassembly. In the first one, the assembly is highly parallel but the efficiency and the flexibility still stay low. The robotic approach has the potential to reach precise and reliable assembly with high flexibility. The proposed workshop focuses on this second approach and will take a bearing of the corresponding microrobotic issues. Beyond the microfabrication technologies, performing MEMS microassembly requires, micromanipulation strategies, microworld dynamics and attachment technologies. The design and the fabrication of the microrobot end-effectors as well as the assembled micro-parts require the use of microfabrication technologies. Moreover new micromanipulation strategies are necessary to handle and position micro-parts with sufficiently high accuracy during assembly. The dynamic behaviour of micrometric objects has also to be studied and controlled. Finally, after positioning the micro-part, attachment technologies are necessary

Recent advances in the study of Micro/Nano Robotics in France.

International audienceIn France, during the last decade, significant research activities have been performed in the field of micro and nano robotics. Generally speaking the microrobotic field deals with the design, the fabrication and the control of microrobots and microrobotic cells. These microrobots are intended to perform various tasks in the so-called Microworld. The scale effects from macroworld to microworld deeply affect robots in the sense that new hard constraints appear as well as new manufacturing facilities. Concerning the nanorobotics, in order to achieve high-efficiency and three-dimensional nanomanipulation and nanoassembly, parallel imaging/manipulation force microscopy and three-dimensional manipulation force microscope, as well as nanmanipulation in the scanning electron microscope, have been developed. Manipulation of nanocomponents, such as nanoparticles, nanowires and nanotubes, have been addressed to build two-dimensional nano patterns and three-dimensional nano structure

Principle of a submerged freeze microgripper.

International audienceManipulating microscopic objects still remains a very challenging task. In this paper, we propose a freeze microgripper working in an innovative environment, i.e. liquid medium.We first review a comparative analyse of the influences of dry and liquid media on contact and non contact forces. It clearly shows the interest of the liquid medium. A survey of different microhandling systems based on the use of ice is also given. The proposed submerged microgripper exploits the liquid surroundings to generate an ice microvolume as an active end-effector. Its principle based on Peltier effect is described and the physical characteristics of the prototype are detailed. We present the results of the numerical modelling of the prototype developed. Experimentations validate the thermal principle. Using it for micromanipulation tasks is the purpose of further work

A submerged freeze microgripper for micromanipulations.

International audienceEfficient, reliable and flexible handling is still very challenging in micromanipulation and micro-assembly. In this paper, we propose an original thermally actuated gripper based on the use of ice to manipulate submerged artificial micro-objects sized under 100 µm. Manipulating in liquid surroundings can indeed be more interesting than in dry conditions. A comparative analysis on the impact of dry and liquid media on surface forces, contact forces and hydrodynamic forces shortly given first shows it. Concerning the use of ice for micromanipulation, cryogenic grippers are a flexible solution. Nevertheless, as they currently work in air, water must be provided by an external device and capillary force occurs during the release. Our submerged freeze microgripper takes advantages of the aqueous surroundings for the handling process as explained. Ther thermal principle, based on the Peltier effect, the characteristics of the microgripper prototype and the first micromanipulation tests are also presented

Submerged freeze gripper to manipulate Micro-objects.

International audienceManipulating microscopic objects with the necessary dexterity still remains a very challenging task. In this paper, we propose a freeze gripper able to manipulate micro-objects in an innovative way, i.e. in submerged surroundings. We first review the influences of dry and liquid media on contact forces and non contact forces. This comparative analyse clearly shows the interest of the liquid medium. A survey of different microhandling systems based on the use of ice is also given. Then submerged microgripper with frozen water as an active end-effector is porposed as a promising new approach for manipulating low thermal conductive micro-objects. A prototype using the Peltier effect has been numerically modeled and developed. It is described in the paper. Experimental results validate the cooling and warming of the freeze gripper. A generic micromanipulation task is the purpose of further work

Microrobotique pour composants micrométriques : les challenges pour leur manipulation et leur assemblage.

National audienceLa miniaturisation de nombreux produits manufacturés est une réalité et ce processus s'accentue. Ceci conduit la communauté scientifique à proposer des systèmes de production permettant de fabriquer des systèmes hybrides, c'est-à-dire dont les composants proviennent de plusieurs processus de fabrication ou de microfabrication, et ayant des structures 3D complexes afin d'intégrer plusieurs fonctions dans des volumes les plus réduits possibles. Le micro-assemblage réalisé avec des systèmes microrobotiques est une réponse pertinente à ce besoin de produits micromécatroniques. A travers une présentation des principales activités dans ce domaine dans le monde, on peut constater que la mise en oeuvre réelle de systèmes pour manipuler et assembler de façon automatisée (ou en partie) des composants sous-millimétriques reste un véritable challenge si l'on veut cumuler des propriétés de haute précision, de fiabilité, de productivité et de flexibilité. D'autre part, l'intérêt de groupes industriels Européens et l'émergence de start-ups montrent que l'assemblage de composants de taille sousmillimétrique est un enjeu sociétal. En terme de prospective, le passage de la barrière dimensionnelle des 10

Experimental study on droplet self-alignment assisted robotic microhandling

Tämän diplomityön päätavoite on tutkia kokeellisesti eri prosessiparametrien vaikutusta Teknillisessä korkeakoulussa kehitetyn hybridimenetelmän tuloksiin mikrokokoonpanossa. Menetelmässä yhdistetään robottimikrotarttujan käyttö ja mikrokappaleiden pisara-avusteinen itseorganisoituminen kapillaarivoimien avulla. Työn selvitysosuudessa on kaksi osiota. Ensimmäisessä osiossa tutustutaan mikrokokoluokan erityispiirteisiin ja mikrokokoonpanomenetelmiin sekä robottiavusteisten ja itseorganisoituvuutta käyttävien menetelmien kautta. Toisessa osiossa keskitytään kapillaarivoimaan ja sen sovelluksiin mikrokappaleiden käsittelyssä. Kokeellinen menetelmä ja koelaitteisto esitellään työn toisessa osuudessa. Myös parametrit, joita ovat vapautuspaikan ero lopulliseen paikkaan, nesteen määrä ja palan koko, esitellään tarkemmin. Testien kulun yksityskohdat käsitellään. Kokeellisessa osassa suoritettujen testien tulokset esitetään. Kokoonpanon onnistumistodennäköisyyttä tarkastellaan ja vertaillaan eri prosessiparametrien funktiona. Menetelmän tarkkuutta arvioidaan pyyhkäisyelektronimikroskooppikuvien avulla. Tulokset osoittavat, että tutkitulla robotiikaa ja pisaran itseasennoitumista hyödyntävällä menetelmällä voidaan luotettavasti kokoonpanna mikrokappaleita. Saavutettu tarkkuus (1-2 µm) on vertailukelpoinen itseorganisoitumista käyttävien menetelmien kanssa.The main objective of this thesis is to experimentally study the effect of different process parameters on the results of a hybrid micro assembly method previously developed at TKK. The hybrid method is a combination of robotic micro handling and droplet self-alignment. The survey part of the thesis has two sections. The first part gives an overview of the micro world and the state-of-the-art of micro assembly methods including both robotic and self-assembly methods. The second part concentrates on capillary force and its applications in micro handling. The experimental method, the test set-up and key test parameters are discussed in the second part of the thesis. The key parameters include biases (the initial error in the part location before self-alignment) in three axes, the amount of liquid for self-alignment and the size of the parts. Moreover, the test procedure is described in details. Several sets of tests were conducted and the results are analyzed carefully in the third, experimental part of the thesis. Especially the success rates and areas of success as a function of different parameters are studied and compared. The accuracy of the final assembly is analyzed by a scanning electron microscope. The results show that the hybrid micro assembly method is reliable for assembling micro parts. The study on the effects of the process parameters prove that accuracy requirements of the handling robot are very low while the accuracy obtained with the method is in the range of 1-2 µm, comparable with what has been achieved by self-assembly

Microfabricated bistable module for digital microrobotics.

International audienceHigh precision microrobots are needed more and more to perform micro/nanomanipulation and microassembly tasks in various environments like microrobotic stations, electronic microscopes (SEM, TEM), etc. Current microrobots are based on the use of smart materials to perform proportional or incremental actuation. To avoid the main drawbacks of these microrobots (non linearities, integration of sensors, robust control, energy consumption, sensitivity to noise), we propose a new type of microrobots, called digital microrobots, based on microfabricated bistable modules. The study presented in this paper is dedicated to the microfabricated bistable modules, notably the structure and the actuators design and characterization. The results open a new paradigm in the field of microrobotics leading to open loop control and the design of various kinematics adapted to the microworld. Moreover, no external energy is required to maintain the microrobot in its position

Automatic Microassembly of Tissue Engineering Scaffold

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH