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We present an integrated sensor based on a grating interferometer (GI) for in-plane displacement measurement in microregions of large engineering structures. The system concept and design, based on a monolithic version of Czarnek's GI, is discussed in detail. The technology chain of the GI measurement head (MH), including the master fabrication and further replication by means of hot embossing, is described. The numerical analyses of the MH by means of geometric ray tracing and scalar wave propagation are provided. They allow us to determine geometrical tolerance values as well as refractive index homogeneity and nonflatness of MH working surfaces, which provide proper beam guiding. Finally the demonstrative measurement performed with a model of the sensor is presented. OCIS codes: 120.0120, 120.3180, 120.4120.

This paper presents a novel combdrive configuration of a linear magnetic microactuator. We discuss in detail the influence of the air-gap geometry on the plunger motion and give design rules to avoid pull-in behavior. This analysis results in a new configuration, which is, so far, only known for electrostatic actuators. The magnetic flux is guided over several interdigitating comb structures with moderate large gap width of 25 [micro]m instead of one single plunger, as reported for earlier designs. This results in larger forces, scaling with the number of comb fingers, until the material reaches saturation. The new configuration linearizes the characteristics and saves driving power without sacrificing fabrication stability, which would arise from small air-gap widths. Several combdrive actuators featuring one, two, and eight comb fingers were fabricated in LIGA technology, simulated, and tested. For a driving current of 40 mA, the achievable stroke is measured to increase by 800% for eight comb fingers in comparison to one finger. Alternatively, for a given stroke, a reduction of the driving current of more than 50 % is measured. [2007-0103] Index Terms--Combdrive, electromagnetic actuator, optimization, system stability.

To combine the advantages of the LIGA technology and piezoelectric materials, first prototypes of movable elastic LIGA structures have been realized on piezoelectric substrates. The structures consist of a flexible beam fixed to the piezoelectric substrate at its two ends in order to amplify the [d.sub.31]-contraction of the piezoelectric substrate. By using this flexible LIGA beam as a magnification mechanism, the small displacements of the piezoelectric substrate are amplified by more than a factor of 20, offering various possibilities of applications, especially in micro-optics. In this paper, first the fabrication process and the performance of these new prototypes of LIGA piezoelectric actuators are described in detail, demonstrating the feasibility of the new concept combining the LIGA technique and piezoelectric substrates. Subsequently, LIGA-piezoelectric actuators developed for micro-optical applications are presented. These new optical actuators are also based on an elastic beam but slightly modified in order to modulate light propagating in optical fibers. They find promising applications as micro-optical attenuators or choppers whose performance is demonstrated. Index Terms - Attenuators, choppers, microactuators, piezoelectric material, X-ray lithography.

Artificially modified materials are becoming increasingly important in antenna design. Attractive features make polymer composites very promising materials for improving the fabrication process and antenna performance. In this study, a photosensitive polymer composite is utilized to fabricate precise dielectric-resonator antenna structures using deep-X-ray lithography. The multimode operation and miniaturization aspects of strip-fed composite antennas with very low permittivity (εr < 5 ) are investigated for the first time. The prototype antenna offers a −10 dB impedance bandwidth of 48%, from 18.8 GHz to 30.7 GHz, and gain in the range of 5 dBi. The nonradiating modes are removed by the special boundary conditions enforced by the vertical strip. Stable radiation patterns and low cross-polarization levels over the entire impedance bandwidth are therefore preserved. Further improvements in impedance bandwidth are presented, and the antenna performance and fabrication processes are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose: To explore the potential of grating-based x-ray phase-contrast imaging for clinical applications, a first compact gantry system was developed. It is designed such that it can be implemented into an in-vivo small-animal phase-contrast computed tomography (PC-CT) scanner. The purpose of the present study is to assess the accuracy and quantitativeness of the described gantry in both absorption and phase-contrast., Methods: A phantom, containing six chemically well-defined liquids, was constructed. A tomography scan with cone-beam reconstruction of this phantom was performed yielding the spatial distribution of the linear attenuation coefficient μ and decrement δ of the complex refractive index. Theoretical values of μ and δ were calculated for each liquid from tabulated data and compared with the experimentally measured values. Additionally, a color-fused image representation is proposed to display the complementary absorption and phase-contrast information in a single image., Results: Experimental and calculated data of the phantom agree well confirming the quantitativeness and accuracy of the reconstructed spatial distributions of μ and δ. The proposed color-fused image representation, which combines the complementary absorption and phase information, considerably helps in distinguishing the individual substances., Conclusions: The concept of grating-based phase-contrast computed tomography (CT) can be implemented into a compact, cone-beam geometry gantry setup. The authors believe that this work represents an important milestone in translating phase-contrast x-ray imaging from previous proof-of-principle experiments to first preclinical biomedical imaging applications on small-animal models.