The research objectives of this Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award are: 1) to advance fundamental understanding of size-dependent plasticity in titanium-based microelectromechanical systems (Ti MEMS); and 2) to develop means for strengthening Ti MEMS in situ, after they have been fabricated. The former is motivated by the importance of such understanding in establishing guidelines for reliable design, while the latter is motivated by the limited material selection capability and poor fabrication process versatility in MEMS. To achieve the first objective, mechanical testing will be used to characterize deformation response of micromechanical structures produced using recently-developed techniques for deep reactive ion etching of Ti. To achieve the second, diffusional alloying will be used to strengthen Ti MEMS with interstitial nitrogen solute. Understanding gained in these studies will help elucidate mechanisms underlying size-dependent strength in Ti, as well as foster development of new technological capabilities with direct relevance to both conventional MEMS and emerging biomedical microdevice applications.
Research, teaching, and outreach efforts will be integrated to help inspire and prepare the next generation of scientists and engineers, as well as engage a local community that is rich in ethnic and socioeconomic diversity, but not well-represented in higher education. These efforts will also help support continued growth and diversification of the U.S. science and engineering (S&E) enterprise, and will leverage a new partnership with the California Science Project, a statewide network focused on enhancing science instruction. Specific activities to be undertaken will include those focused on: 1) supporting diversity in S&E higher education; 2) inspiring interest in advanced S&E studies; and 3) promoting K-12 S&E interest and awareness.
