Abstract. This article reviews major micro-and nanolithography techniques and their applications from commercial micro devices to emerging applications in nanoscale science and engineering. Micro-and nanolithography has been the key technology in manufacturing of integrated circuits and microchips in the semiconductor industry. Such a technology is also sparking revolutionizing advancements in nanotechnology. The lithography techniques including photolithography, electron beam lithography, focused ion beam lithography, soft lithography, nanoimprint lithography and scanning probe lithography are discussed. Furthermore, their applications are summarized into four major areas: electronics and microsystems, medical and biotech, optics and photonics, and environment and energy harvesting.

We have established methods for the design and fabrication of a novel MEMS actuator for flow control based on the electrostrictive principle. Patterned metal electrodes were employed in order to obtain large out-of-plane deformation. A series of finite-element method (FEM) analyses of the electrical and strain fields was performed in order to optimize the design parameters. The maximum deformation for 2-mm-diameter actuators reaches 112 µm, which is 5.6% of the actuator diameter and six times larger than that of the plain metal-electrode actuator. The elastic energy density reaches 29% of the stored electrostatic energy. The power consumption at the driving frequency of 100 Hz is estimated to be on the order of 100 µW. The present electrostrictive actuator has a fast response, and its operating frequency is up to several kilohertz. A synthetic jet issuing from a 0.4-mm orifice is successfully developed using the present electrostrictive actuator, and this demonstrates the viability of the present actuator in active flow control.[ 2006-1762]Index Terms-Electrostrictive polymer, finite-element method (FEM) analysis, out-of-plane deformation, patterned metal electrode, synthetic jet.

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The large number of deaths caused by malaria each year has increased interest in the development of effective malaria diagnoses. At the early-stage of infection, patients show non-specific symptoms or are asymptomatic, which makes it difficult for clinical diagnosis, especially in non-endemic areas. Alternative diagnostic methods that are timely and effective are required to identify infections, particularly in field settings. This article reviews conventional malaria diagnostic methods together with recently developed techniques for both malaria detection and infected erythrocyte separation. Although many alternative techniques have recently been proposed and studied, dielectrophoretic and magnetophoretic approaches are among the promising new techniques due to their high specificity for malaria parasite-infected red blood cells. The two approaches are discussed in detail, including their principles, types, applications and limitations. In addition, other recently developed techniques, such as cell deformability and morphology, are also overviewed in this article.

A micro synthetic jet actuator driven by electrostrictive diaphragm actuator was developed for flow control applications. Metal concentric ring electrodes were employed in order to obtain large out-of-plane deformation.It is found that the deformation strongly depends on the gap/width ratio of the ring electrode. The maximum deformation for 2m-diameter actuators is as large as 3 0 p , which is 3 times larger than that of the plain metal electrode actuator. A prototype synthetic jet actuator was fabricated by using the present electrostrictive actuator, and the jet flow issued from a 0.5mm orifice was visualized.