MURRAY HILL, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1998 APR 30 (Newsbytes) -- By Grant Buckler, Newsbytes. Researchers at Lucent Technologies Inc.'s [NYSE:LU] Bell Labs research unit have built a trampoline. No, the scientists aren't planning to unwind by bouncing up and down; this trampoline is a square twice the width of a human hair and can be used to test the magnetic properties of materials.
The microscopic trampoline, described in a paper published in the May 1 edition of the journal "Science," demonstrates the potential of micromachines -- tiny mechanical devices that are built much the same way as integrated circuits are created, by laying down layers of material on a silicon wafer.
David Bishop, a Bell Labs physicist and member of the team that built the micro-trampoline, explained that micromachines are created by building up layers of material, as with a silicon chip. Among the materials is one that can be eaten away by acid, so that after everything is stacked up, parts can be removed, leaving spaces such as the empty area under the tiny trampoline. Bishop likens it to making lasagna, by building up layers of pasta and sauce, and then washing away the sauce afterward.
The trampoline described in the Science article is supported by four microscopic springs at its corners. Underneath it is a sensor, so that changes in electrical capacitance between the trampoline surface and the base can be measured. To test the response of a material to a strong magnetic field, the Bell Labs researchers glue a sample to the trampoline "table" and then expose it to a field. The trampoline's springs allow the sample to move, and the movement can be measured by recording the change in capacitance.
Until the trampoline technique, researchers could not measure the magnetization of materials accurately in very large magnetic fields, Bell Labs officials said.
The project is useful not just as a way of conducting experiments in magnetism, Bishop said, but as a demonstration of what can be done with micromachine, or micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS), technology.
Micromachines are already being used in a few commercial products, Bishop said. While Lucent is not currently using them in any of its products, micromachines have potential in areas such as optical switching and microphones.
Some people believe MEMS will have as large an impact as microelectronics, Bishop said, though he added that "I'm not sure I'd go quite that far."
Lucent Technologies' World Wide Web site is at lucent.com . |
