The use of Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) based piezoelectric nanofibers for sensing and actuation has been reported widely in the past. However, in most cases, PVDF piezoelectric nanofiber mats have been used for sensing applications. This work fundamentally characterizes a single electrospun PVDF nanofiber and demonstrates its application as a sensing element for nanoelectromechanical sensors (NEMS). PVDF nanofiber mats were spun by far field electrospinning (FFES) process and complete material characterization was conducted by means of scanning electron microscope (SEM) imaging, Raman Spectroscopy and FTIR spectroscopy. An optimized recipe was developed for spinning a single suspended nanofiber on a specially designed MEMS substrate which allows the nano-mechanical and electrical characterization of a single PVDF nanofiber. Electrical characterization is conducted using a single suspended nanofiber to determine the piezoelectric coefficient (d33) of the nanofiber to be -58.77 pm/V. Also the mechanical characterization conducted using a nanoindenter revealed a Young’s Modulus and hardness of 2.2 GPa and 0.1 GPa respectively. Finally, an application that utilizes the single PVDF nanofiber as a sensing element to form a NEMS flow sensor is demonstrated. The single nanofiber flow sensor is tested in presence of various oscillatory flow conditions.

This work demonstrates the application of electrospun single and bundled carbon nanofibers (CNFs) as piezoresistive sensing elements in flexible and ultralightweight sensors. Material, electrical, and nanomechanical characterizations were conducted on the CNFs to understand the effect of the critical synthesis parameter-the pyrolyzation temperature on the morphological, structural, and electrical properties. The mechanism of conductive path change under the influence of external stress was hypothesized to explain the piezoresistive behavior observed in the CNF bundles. Quasi-static tensile strain characterization of the CNF bundlebased flexible strain sensor showed a linear response with an average gauge factor of 11.14 (for tensile strains up to 50%). Furthermore, conductive graphitic domain discontinuity model was invoked to explain the piezoresistivity originating in a single isolated electrospun CNF. Finally, a single piezoresistive CNF was utilized as a sensing element in an NEMS flow sensor to demonstrate air flow sensing in the range of 5-35 m/s.

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In this paper, the bi-stability of a buckled multi-layered micro-bridge with elastically constrained boundary conditions is studied theoretically and experimentally. The residual moment due to non-symmetric distribution of residual stress in the layers of the micro-bridge is taken into consideration. The buckled shape model, which characterizes the initial buckled deflection, is employed in this study. A systematic method of designing bi-stable buckled micro-bridges has been developed and applied to multi-layered structures. The method is tested against ANSYS simulation and shown to be in excellent agreement. Two multi-layer micro-bridges have been fabricated: (i) 2.5 µm thick low stress SiO2/1 µm thick high compressive stress SiO2/2 µm thick SCS Si; (ii) 1 µm thick high compressive stress SiO2/2 µm thick SCS Si. The fabricated bridges are tested for bi-stability by thermal actuation and the results agree well with the analysis. The intrinsic bi-stable nature of a buckled micro-bridge can only be guaranteed as long as the residual moment is within a certain threshold value.

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