Understanding Nanoelectromechanical Quantum Circuits and Systems (NEMX) for the Internet of Things (IoT) Era (River Publishers Series in Electronic Materials and Devices)

The operational theme permeating most definitions of the IoT concept, is the wireless communication of networked objects, in particular, smart sensing devices and machines, exchanging data a la Internet. In this book, a detailed look is taken at the fundamental principles of devices and techniques whose exploitation will facilitate the development of compact, power-efficient, autonomous, smart, networked sensing nodes underlying and encompassing the emerging IoT era.The book provides an understanding of nanoelectromechanical quantum circuits and systems (NEMX), as exemplified by firstly the uncovering of their origins, impetus and motivation, and secondly by developing an understanding of their device physics, including, the topics of actuation, mechanical vibration and sensing. Next the fundamentals of key devices, namely, MEMS/NEMS switches, varactors and resonators are covered, including a wide range of implementations. The book then looks at their energy supply via energy harvesting, as derived from wireless energy and mechanical vibrations. Finally, after an introduction to the fundamentals of IoT networks and nodes, the book concludes with an exploration of how the NEMX components are encroaching in a variety of emerging IoT applications. Front Cover Half Title Series Page - RIVER PUBLISHERS SERIES IN ELECTRONIC MATERIALS AND DEVICES Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Page Contents Preface Acknowledgements List of Figures List of Tables List of Abbreviations Chapter 1 - The Internet of Things 1.1 Origins 1.2 IoT Motivation/Impact 1.3 Summary Chapter 2 - Microelectromechanical and Nanoelectromechanical Systems 2.1 MEMS/NEMS Origins 2.2 MEMS/NEMS Impetus/Motivation 2.3 Summary Chapter 3 - Understanding MEMS/NEMS Device Physics 3.1 Actuation 3.1.1 Electrostatic Actuation 3.1.1.1 Parallel-plate capacitor 3.1.1.2 Electrostatically actuated cantilever beam 3.1.1.3 Interdigitated (comb-drive) capacitor 3.1.2 Piezoelectric Actuation 3.1.2.1 Piezoelectric cantilever probe 3.1.3 Casimir Actuation 3.1.3.1 Casimir’s own force calculation 3.1.3.2 Lifshitz’ calculation of the casimir force 3.1.3.3 Casimir force calculation of brown and maclay 3.1.3.4 Casimir force calculations for arbitrary geometries 3.1.3.4.1 Computing the casimir energy based on multipole interactions 3.1.3.4.2 Computing the casimir force using finite-difference time-domain techniques 3.1.3.4.3 Computing the casimir force using the framework of macroscopic quantum electrodynamics 3.1.3.5 Corrections to ideal casimir force derivation 3.1.4 Radiation Pressure Actuation 3.1.4.1 Radiation pressure manipulation of particles 3.1.4.2 Radiation pressure trapping of particles 3.1.4.3 Radiation pressure effect on cantilever beams 3.2 Mechanical Vibration 3.2.1 The Single-Degree-of-Freedom System 3.2.2 The Many-Degree-of-Freedom System 3.2.3 Rayleigh’s Method 3.3 Thermal Noise in MEMS/NEMS 3.3.1 Fundamental Origin of Intrinsic Noise [66] 3.3.1.1 Amplitude of brownian (random) displacement of cantilever beam [69] 3.4 Sensing 3.4.1 The Accelerometer 3.4.1.1 Capacitive accelerometer implementation 3.4.1.2 Quantum mechanical tunneling accelerometer 3.4.2 Vibration Sensors 3.5 Summary Chapter 4 - Understanding MEMS/NEMS Devices 4.1 Introduction 4.2 MEMS/NEMS Switches 4.2.1 Nanoelectromechanical Switches 4.2.1.1 Downscaled MEMS/NEMS switches 4.2.1.2 MEMS/NEMS switches via new materials 4.3 MEMS/NEMS Varactors 4.3.1 Nanoelectromechanical Varactors 4.3.1.1 Dual-gap MEMS/NEMS varactors 4.3.1.2 MEMS/NEMS varactors via new materials 4.4 MEMS/NEMS Resonators 4.4.1 Nanoelectromechanical Resonators 4.4.1.1 Clamp–clamp RF MEMS resonators 4.4.1.2 MEMS/NEMS resonators via new materials 4.5 Summary Chapter 5 - Understanding MEMS/NEMS for Energy Harvesting 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Wireless Energy Harvesting 5.2.1 RF-DC Conversion Circuit 5.2.2 Resonant Amplification of Extremely Small Signals 5.3 Mechanical Energy Harvesting 5.3.1 Theory of Energy Harvesting from Vibrations 5.3.1.1 Piezoelectric conversion 5.3.1.2 Electrostatic conversion 5.4 Summary Chapter 6 - NEMX Applications in the IoT Era 6.1 Introduction 6.1.1 Wireless Connectivity 6.1.1.1 Communication protocols 6.1.1.2 Network range 6.2 Roots of the Internet of Things 6.3 Applications of the Internet of Things 6.3.1 NEMX in Smart Home IoT Applications 6.3.2 NEMX in Wearable IoT Applications 6.3.3 NEMX in Smart Cities IoT Applications 6.3.4 NEMX in Smart Grid IoT Applications 6.3.5 NEMX in Industrial Internet IoT Applications 6.3.6 NEMX in Connected Car IoT Applications 6.3.7 NEMX in Connected Health IoT Applications 6.3.8 NEMX in Smart Retail IoT Applications 6.3.9 NEMX in Smart Supply Chain IoT Applications 6.3.10 NEMX in Smart Farming IoT Applications 6.4 Applications in Wireless Sensor Networks 6.4.1 NEMX-Based Radios for the IoT 6.4.2 Agricultural Applications 6.5 5G: Systems [156] 6.6 5G: Technologies [158] 6.6.1 Device-to-Device Communications 6.6.2 Simultaneous Transmission/Reception 6.6.3 mmWave/5G Frequencies for IoT 6.7 Summary Appendix A - MEMS Fabrication Techniques Fundamentals A.1 Introduction A.2 The Conventional IC Fabrication Process A.3 Bulk Micromachining A.4 Surface Micromachining A.5 Materials Systems A.6 Summary Appendix B - Emerging Fabrication Technologies for the IoT: Flexible Substrates and Printed Electronics B.1 Flexible Substrates [176] B.1.1 Device Fabrication on Flexible Substrates B.1.1.1 Thin-Film Transistors (TFTs) B.1.2 Film Bulk Acoustic Wave Resonators (FBARs) B.2 Printed Electronics [178] B.2.1 Printing Technologies B.2.1.1 Contact Printing Techniques B.2.1.2 Non-Contact Printing Techniques B.3 Summary References Index About the Author Back Cover