The rapid growth of microelectromechanical systems ͑MEMS͒ industry has introduced a need for the characterization of thin film properties at all temperatures encountered during fabrication and application of the devices. A technique was developed to use MEMS test structures for the determination of the difference in thermal expansion coefficients ͑␣͒ between poly-Si and SiO 2 thin films at high temperatures. The test structure consists of multilayered cantilever beams, fabricated using standard photolithography techniques. An apparatus was developed to measure the thermally induced curvature of beams at high temperatures using imaging techniques. The curvatures measured were compared to the numerical model for multilayered beam curvature. The model accounts for the variation in thermomechanical properties with temperature. The beams were designed so that the values of Young's moduli had negligible effect on beam curvature; therefore, values from literature were used for E Si and E SiO 2 without introducing significant error in curvature analysis. Applying this approximation, the difference in thermal expansion coefficients between ␣ Si and ␣ SiO 2 was found to increase from 2.9ϫ10 Ϫ6 to 5.8ϫ10 Ϫ6°CϪ1 between room temperature and 900°C. These results suggest that the ␣ for poly-Si thin films may be significantly higher than values for bulk, crystalline Si.
Optical characterization of graphite anodes in lithium ion batteries (LIB) is presented here for potential use in estimating their state of charge (SOC). The characterization is based on reflectance spectroscopy of the anode of commercial LIB cells and in situ optical measurements using an embedded optical fiber sensor. The optical characterization of the anode using wavelengths ranging from 500 to 900 nm supports the dominance of graphite over the solid electrolyte interface in governing the anode's reflectance properties. It is demonstrated that lithiated graphite's reflectance has a significant change in the near-infrared band, 750-900 nm, compared with the visible spectrum as a function of SOC. An embedded optical sensor is used to measure the transmittance of graphite anode in the near-infrared band, and the results suggest that a unique inexpensive method may be developed to estimate the SOC of a LIB.
The development, fabrication, and embedment of fiber-optic evanescent wave sensors (FOEWSs) to monitor the state of charge (SOC) and the state of health (SOH) of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are presented. Etching of FOEWSs is performed using a solution of 40 wt % ammonium fluoride (NHF) and 49 wt % hydrofluoric acid (HF) (6:1), which is found to be superior to an etching solution containing just 49 wt % HF. FOEWSs were characterized using glycerol and found to have the highest sensitivity in a lithium-ion battery when they lose 92% of their transmittance in the presence of glycerol on their sensing region. The physical effect that the FOEWS has on the graphite anode is also investigated and is found to be much more significant in Swagelok cells compared to that in in-house-fabricated pouch cells, mainly due to pressure variation. The FOEWS was found to be most sensitive to the changes in the LIB when it was completely embedded using a slurry of graphite anode material within a pouch cell. The optimized fabrication process of the embedded FOEWS demonstrates the potential of using such sensors commercially for real-time monitoring of the SOC and SOH of LIBs while in operation.
We have designed and characterized a MEMS-based Fabry–Perot device (MFPD) to measure vibration at high temperatures. The MFPD consists of a micromachined cavity formed between a substrate and a top thin film structure in the form of a cantilever beam. When affixed to a vibrating surface, the amplitude and frequency of vibration are determined by illuminating the MFPD top mirror with a monochromatic light source and analyzing the back-reflected light to determine the deflection of the beam with respect to the substrate. Given the device geometry, a mechanical transfer function is calculated to permit the substrate motion to be determined from the relative motion of the beam with respect to the substrate. Because the thin film cantilever beam and the substrate are approximately parallel, this two-mirror cavity arrangement does not require alignment or sophisticated stabilization techniques. The uncooled high-temperature operational capability of the MFPD provides a viable low-cost alternative to sensors that require environmentally controlled packages to operate at high temperature. The small size of the MFPD (85–175 µm) and the choice of materials in which it can be manufactured (silicon nitride and silicon carbide) make it ideal for high-temperature applications. Relative displacements in the sub-nanometer range have been measured and close agreement was found between the measured sensor frequency response and the theoretical predictions based on analytical models.
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