Experimental investigation on micromilling of oxygen-free, high-conductivity copper using tungsten carbide, chemistry vapour deposition and single-crystal diamond micro tools

Insufficient experimental data from various micro tools limit industrial application of the micromilling process. This paper presents an experimental comparative investigation into micromilling of oxygen-free, high-conductivity copper using tungsten carbide (WC), chemistry vapour deposition (CVD) diamond, and single-crystal diamond micromilling tools at a uniform 0.4mm diameter. The experiments were carried out on an ultra-precision micromilling machine that features high dynamic accurate performance, so that the dynamic effect of the machine tool itself on the cutting process can be reduced to a minimum. Micromachined surface roughness and burr height were characterized using white light interferometry, a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and a precision surface profiler. The influence of variation of cutting parameters, including cutting speeds, feedrate, and axial depth of cut, on surface roughness and burr formation were analysed. The experimental results show that there exists an optimum feedrate at which best surface roughness can be achieved. Optical quality surface roughness can be achieved with CVD and natural diamond tools by carefully selecting machining conditions, and surface roughness, Ra, of the order of 10nm can also be obtained when using micromilling using WC tools on the precision micromilling machine.EU FP6 MASMICRO projec

Iterative Linearized Density Matrix Propagation for Modeling Coherent Energy Transfer in Photosynthetic Light Harvesting

We present results of calculations [1] that employ a new mixed quantum classical iterative density matrix propagation approach (ILDM , or so called Is‐Landmap) [2] to explore the survival of coherence in different photo synthetic models. Our model studies confirm the long lived quantum coherence , while conventional theoretical tools (such as Redfield equation) fail to describe these phenomenon [3,4]. Our ILDM method is a numerical exactly propagation scheme and can be served as a bench mark calculation tools[2]. Result get from ILDM and from other recent methods have been compared and show agreement with each other[4,5]. Long lived coherence plateau has been attribute to the shift of harmonic potential due to the system bath interaction, and the harvesting efficiency is a balance between the coherence and dissipation[1]. We use this approach to investigate the excitation energy transfer dynamics in various light harvesting complex include Fenna‐Matthews‐Olsen light harvesting complex[1] and Cryptophyte Phycocyanin 645 [6]. [1] P.Huo and D.F.Coker ,J. Chem. Phys. 133, 184108 (2010) . [2] E.R. Dunkel, S. Bonella, and D.F. Coker, J. Chem. Phys. 129, 114106 (2008). [3] A. Ishizaki and G.R. Fleming, J. Chem. Phys. 130, 234111 (2009). [4] A. Ishizaki and G.R. Fleming, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 106, 17255 (2009). [5] G. Tao and W.H. Miller, J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 1, 891 (2010). [6] P.Huo and D.F.Coker in preparationNational Science Foundation (CHE-0911635

Sorting and separation of microparticles by surface properties using liquid crystal-enabled electro-osmosis

Sorting and separation of microparticles is a challenging problem of interdisciplinary nature. Existing technologies can differentiate microparticles by their bulk properties, such as size, density, electric polarizability, etc. The next level of challenge is to separate particles that show identical bulk properties and differ only in subtle surface features, such as functionalization with ligands. In this work, we propose a technique to sort and separate particles and fluid droplets that differ in surface properties. As a dispersive medium, we use a nematic liquid crystal (LC) rather than an isotropic fluid, which allows us to amplify the difference in surface properties through distinct perturbations of LC order around the dispersed particles. The particles are placed in a LC cell with spatially distorted molecular orientation subject to an alternating current electric field. The gradients of the molecular orientation perform two functions. First, elastic interactions between these pre-imposed gradients and distortions around the particles separate the particles with different surface properties in space. Second, these pre-imposed patterns create electro-osmotic flows powered by the electric field that transport the sorted particles to different locations thus separating them. The demonstrated unique sorting and separation capability opens opportunities in lab-on-a-chip, cell sorting and bio-sensing applications

Design of a five-axis ultra-precision micro-milling machine—UltraMill. Part 2: Integrated dynamic modelling, design optimisation and analysis

Using computer models to predict the dynamic performance of ultra-precision machine tools can help manufacturers to substantially reduce the lead time and cost of developing new machines. However, the use of electronic drives on such machines is becoming widespread, the machine dynamic performance depending not only on the mechanical structure and components but also on the control system and electronic drives. Bench-top ultra-precision machine tools are highly desirable for the micro-manufacturing of high-accuracy micro-mechanical components. However, the development is still at the nascent stage and hence lacks standardised guidelines. Part 2 of this two-part paper proposes an integrated approach, which permits analysis and optimisation of the entire machine dynamic performance at the early design stage. Based on the proposed approach, the modelling and simulation process of a novel five-axis bench-top ultra-precision micro-milling machine tool—UltraMill—is presented. The modelling and simulation cover the dynamics of the machine structure, the moving components, the control system and the machining process and are used to predict the entire machine performance of two typical configurations