Technologies are generally described for operating and manufacturing optomechanical accelerometers. In some examples, an optomechanical accelerometer device is described that uses a cavity resonant displacement sensor based on a zipper photonic crystal nano-cavity to measure the displacement of an integrated test mass generated by acceleration applied to the chip. The cavity-resonant sensor may be fully integrated on-chip and exhibit an enhanced displacement resolution due to its strong optomechanical coupling. The accelerometer structure may be fabricated in a silicon nitride thin film and constitute a rectangular test mass flexibly suspended on high aspect ratio inorganic nitride nano-tethers under high tensile stress. By increasing the mechanical Q-factors through adjustment of tether width and tether length, the noise-equivalent acceleration (NEA) may be reduced, while maintaining a large operation bandwidth. The mechanical Q-factor may be improved with thinner (e.g., <1 micron) and longer tethers (e.g., 10-560 microns).

The present invention relates to textile articles and clothing such as outdoor garments, indoor garments, and commercial protective wear exposed to contact mixtures of water and oil, swimwear and winter wear exposed to mixtures of water and air. At least part of these textile articles possess a surface provided with at least one of 1) a high surface area, 2) hierarchical pattern, 3) contact angles such that hydrophilic portion of a contact mixture possesses a high contact angle and the hydrophobic portion of a contact mixture possesses a low contact angle, and 4) hysteresis angle greater than 5 degrees. Hydrophobic/Hydrophilic contact mixtures of the present invention can be surfaces where water and or ice are present in combination with oil and or air. The textile articles of the present invention resist slippage on surfaces possessing hydrophobic/hydrophilic contact mixtures.

Various implementations of MEMS sensors include an IC die having a cavity that forms at least part of the back volume of the sensor. This arrangement helps to address the problems of lateral velocity gradients and viscosity-induced losses. In some of the embodiments, the cavity is specially configured (e.g., with pillars, channels, and/or rings) to reduce the lateral movement of air. Other solutions (used in conjunction with such cavities) include ways to make a diaphragm move more like a piston (e.g., by adding a protrusion that gives it more up-down motion and less lateral motion) or to use a piston (e.g., a rigid piece of silicon such as an integrated circuit die) in place of a diaphragm

Various embodiments of a laser illumination system are disclosed. In an example, a system includes one or more lasers, a beam combiner (if multiple lasers are used) configured to direct a combined light beam along a path, a focusing optical element to receive the light beam and focus the received light towards a focus point, a MEMS mirror positioned to receive light from the focusing optical element and output a moving light beam, moving in an angular range ar.sub.1 and at a frequency f.sub.1, a collimating element configured to receive the beam output by the MEMS mirror and output a beam that is more collimated than the light received from the MEMS mirror, and a CLA positioned to receive the light beam from the collimating optical element, alter the received light beam, and output a substantially flat-top distribution of light that propagates through an objective lens to a target plane.

Various implementations of MEMS sensors include an IC die having a cavity that forms at least part of the back volume of the sensor. This arrangement helps to address the problems of lateral velocity gradients and viscosity-induced losses. In some of the embodiments, the cavity is specially configured (e.g., with pillars, channels, and/or rings) to reduce the lateral movement of air. Other solutions (used in conjunction with such cavities) include ways to make a diaphragm move more like a piston (e.g., by adding a protrusion that gives it more up-down motion and less lateral motion) or to use a piston (e.g., a rigid piece of silicon such as an integrated circuit die) in place of a diaphragm.

The present disclosure provides a microstructured article including a thermoplastic polymer shaped to have a curve. At least a portion of the curve includes a microstructured surface of utilitarian discontinuities and the microstructured surface includes peak structures and adjacent valleys. The peak structures and the curve are formed of a single piece of the thermoplastic polymer. A method of making the microstructured articles is also provided including a) obtaining a tool shaped to include at least one of a protrusion or a concavity; b) disposing a microstructured film on at least a portion of the tool including the protrusion and/or the concavity; and c) thermoforming a single piece of thermoplastic polymer onto the tool to form a microstructured article shaped to include a curve. The curve is an inverse of the protrusion or the concavity of the tool.