A microelectromechanical device, in particular a non-volatile memory module or a relay, comprising: a mobile body including a top region and a bottom region; top electrodes facing the top region; and bottom electrodes, facing the bottom region. The mobile body is, in a resting condition, at a distance from the electrodes. The latter can be biased for generating a movement of the mobile body for causing a direct contact of the top region with the top electrodes and, in a different operating condition, a direct contact of the bottom region with the bottom electrodes. In the absence of biasing, molecular-attraction forces maintain in stable mutual contact the top region and the top electrodes or, alternatively, the bottom region and the bottom electrodes.

Two-axis MEMS Micromirror is disclosed featuring combs drive actuation with independent drive for each of two axes of rotation and a layered hinge design providing an improved shock and vibration performance. The two-axis MEMS Micromirror is fabricated using Double SOI wafer as the primary starting material. In addition, actuation voltages are driven to an inner axis through multiple layers in one or more outer hinges, allowing for a robust and reliable micromirror that is easy to drive with multiple DC voltages, and moderately insensitive to temperature, shock and vibration. Furthermore, this novel design achieves set angles that are highly stable over time.

A beam steering device and a system employing the same are provided. The beam steering device includes: waveguides provided on a substrate to form channels through which light is transmitted; a modulators provided on the waveguides and configured to change, according to electrical signals, a phase of the light by changing a refractive index of the light which passes through the waveguides; and a driving circuit configured to provide the electrical signals to the modulators to drive the modulators.

A microelectromechanical device, in particular a non-volatile memory module or a relay, comprising: a mobile body including a top region and a bottom region; top electrodes facing the top region; and bottom electrodes, facing the bottom region. The mobile body is, in a resting condition, at a distance from the electrodes. The latter can be biased for generating a movement of the mobile body for causing a direct contact of the top region with the top electrodes and, in a different operating condition, a direct contact of the bottom region with the bottom electrodes. In the absence of biasing, molecular-attraction forces maintain in stable mutual contact the top region and the top electrodes or, alternatively, the bottom region and the bottom electrodes.

The present invention is related to a triaxial micro-electromechanical gyroscope, comprising: a ring-shaped detection capacitor located at the center; two sets of driving capacitors located at outer sides of the ring-shaped detection capacitor and symmetrically distributed at two sides of an origin along a y-axis; two sets of second detection capacitors located at the outer sides of the ring-shaped detection capacitor respectively and symmetrically distributed at the two sides of the origin along an x-axis; and a linkage part connected with movable polar plates of the driving capacitors, movable polar plates of the second detection capacitors, and an outer edge of ring-shaped upper polar plates of the ring-shaped detection capacitor, respectively. The triaxial micro-electromechanical gyroscope provided by the present invention adopts a single structure design, and integrates capacitive electrostatic driving and differential capacitive detection.

A system of flexural, actuating, and semiconducting elements of part-types necessary to assemble actuated robotic systems. These parts are joined with a common interface, interlocking with neighboring parts to form a regular lattice structure. Primary considerations for the design of the part interfaces include ease of assembly and the ability to transfer mechanical loads and electronic signals to neighboring parts. The parts are designed to be assembled vertically so structures can he built incrementally one part at a time. They can be easily fabricated at a range of length-scales using a variety of two-dimensional manufacturing processes. These processes include, for example, stamping and laminating, which enable high-throughput production. The simple mechanical interfaces between parts also enable disassembly allowing for reconfigurability and reuse. The interlocking nature of these assemblies allows loads to be distributed through many parallel load-paths.

The present invention generally relates to nanofabrication and, in some embodiments, to methods of synthesizing selectively binding patched nanoparticles and the devices that can be made from them. In some embodiments, the invention relates to methods of assembling arbitrarily shaped structures from patched nanocubes and the devices and uses that follow. For example, nanocube building blocks may be patched by stamping their faces with a selectively binding chemical species (e.g. DNA, antibody-antigen pairs, etc.), or by using self-assembly to attach to the nanocubes multiple selectively binding patch species whose immiscibility can be preprogrammed. Arbitrarily shaped structures can then be designed and assembled by deciding which faces will be bonded to each other in some target structure and combining nanocubes that have selectively binding patches on those faces. Other aspects of the invention are also directed to methods of making such nanocubes or other nanoparticles, methods of forming such nanocubes.

A beam steering device and a system employing the same are provided. The beam steering device includes: waveguides provided on a substrate to form channels through which light is transmitted; a modulators provided on the waveguides and configured to change, according to electrical signals, a phase of the light by changing a refractive index of the light which passes through the waveguides; and a driving circuit configured to provide the electrical signals to the modulators to drive the modulators.

A microelectromechanical device, in particular a non-volatile memory module or a relay, comprising: a mobile body including a top region and a bottom region; top electrodes facing the top region; and bottom electrodes, facing the bottom region. The mobile body is, in a resting condition, at a distance from the electrodes. The latter can be biased for generating a movement of the mobile body for causing a direct contact of the top region with the top electrodes and, in a different operating condition, a direct contact of the bottom region with the bottom electrodes. In the absence of biasing, molecular-attraction forces maintain in stable mutual contact the top region and the top electrodes or, alternatively, the bottom region and the bottom electrodes.

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) switches are disclosed. The MEMS switch may have an actuation voltage greater than the expected voltage of a signal being passed by the MEMS switch in normal operation. The MEMS switches may include a distributed hinge structure in some embodiments. Radial contact pads are included in some embodiments, with or separate from the distributed hinge.