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Micro/Nano electro-mechanical systems

We are exploring the collective behaviour of a large number of micro/nano electro-mechanical devices, with an aim to utilise them as sensors. With advancement in fabrication technology, we can make sensors with very small (~nanometers) dimensions. However, we still need large structures to electricity connect them to the external world. Using the collective behaviour of a number of coupled micro-resonators, we have verified the feasibility of multi-sensors with single input/output connection. We have also used this technique to characterise manufacturing process variations as well as determine the Young's modulus of silicon in various orientation.

We extensive use mathematical techniques like inverse eigenvalue analysis, perturbation analysis as well as monte-carlo techniques. We are currently working on further our understanding of coupled nano-sensors, when they become nonlinear. In addition, we are also working on using our coupled systems for sensing a large number of biological as well as chemical substances at one go.

We are also interested in experimentally observng some of the interesting behaviours of nonlinear systems. One such system, which we have been investigating is that of two Van der Pol oscillator, coupled through a displacement as well as a velocity term. Using theoritical as well as numeric simulations, interesting behaviours depending upon the strength of the coupling parameters have been reported in past. Our desire was to observe them in laboratory. Our approach in past was very simple: Design and build an analogue system with integrators and multipliers. However, this is quickly taking a life of its own due to new types of nonlinearities, we are observing in micro/nano systems. To make matter brilliant, we (I) engineers are generally not very good at nonlinear things :(  We am currently investing other regimes of the system with more nonlinearity introduced through other parameters. The holy grail, of course, would be a system with large number of coupled oscillators....

Some of our publication in this arena include

Full papers

• M. Vujadinovic, T. Hiller, T. Northemann and B Choubey, “A Phase Noise Model for Mode-Split Open-Loop MEMS Gyroscopes”, Accepted for Proceedings of the IEEE Inertial - International Symposium on Inertial Sensors and Systems, 2023
• M. Vujadinovic, T. Hiller and B Choubey, “Scale Factor Instability Noise in Mode-Split Open-Loop MEMS Gyroscopes”, Accepted for Proceedings of the IEEE Inertial - International Symposium on Inertial Sensors and Systems, 2023
• M. Vujadinovic, T. Hiller, L. Blocher, T. Northemann and B Choubey, “Towards a Better Understanding of Offset Changes Across Temperature in Mode-Split Open-Loop MEMS Gyroscopes”, Accepted for Proceedings of the IEEE Inertial - International Symposium on Inertial Sensors and Systems, 2023
• T. Liu, P. C.P. Chao and B. Choubey, “Enhanced sensory identification in arrays of coupled resonant sensors”, in IEEE Sensors Journal Vol. 22, Issue 9, May 2022.
• B. Choubey, “Sensory identification in arrays of coupled resonant sensors” in IEEE Sensors Journal, Volume: 19 , Issue: 22 , November, 2019
• H. Nelson, M. Porter and B. Choubey, “Variability in Fermi-Pasta-Ulam-Tsingou arrays can prevent recurrences”, in Physical Review E, Vol. 98, pp 062210, December 2018
• M. Kumar, H. Bhaskaran and B. Choubey, , “Coupled piezoresistive graphene nano-resonators”, in Proceedings of the IEEE MEMS – 32nd International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems, Seoul, South Korea, 2019
• G. Tao, H. Zhang, H. Chang and B. Choubey, “Inverse Eigenvalue Sensing in Coupled Micro/Nano System”  in IEEE/ASME Journal of Microelectromechanical systems, Vol. 27, Issue 5, pp 886-895, October, 2018
• G. Tao and B. Choubey, “Variability Induced Sensitivity Degradation in Coupled Nano/Micro Resonant Sensors”, in IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology, Vol 17 , Issue 4, pp 709-713, July 2018
• G. Tao and B. Choubey, “Inverse Eigenvalue Sensing with Corner Coupled Square Plate MEMS Resonators Array”, in Analog Integrated Circuits and Signal Processing, Volume 95, Issue 3, Pages 447–455, 2018
• G. Tao and B. Choubey, “A Simple Technique to Readout and Characterize Coupled MEMS Resonators”, in the IEEE/ASME Journal of Microelectromechanical systems, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 617-625, Aug. 2016
• B. Choubey, E.J. Boyd, I. Armstrong and D. Uttamchandani “Determination of the anisotropy of Young's modulus using a coupled microcantilever array”, in IEEE/ASME Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems, Vol. 21, No.5, pp 1252-1260, October, 2012
• B. Choubey, M. Ward and S. Collins, “On characterising microelectromechanical processes using coupled resonators”, in IEEE/ASME Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems, Vol. 21(4), pp 791-800, August, 2012
• B. Choubey, C. Anthony, N.H. Saad, M. Ward, R. Turnbull and S. Collins “Characterisation of coupled micro resonators using inverse eigenvalue analysis”, Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 97(13), pp 133114, October 2010
• B. Choubey, "An experimental investigation of coupled van der pol oscillators", Transaction of ASME, Journal of Vibration and Acoustics, June 2010 -- Volume 132, Issue 3
• A. McEwan and B. Choubey “On microresonators based mass sensors: approaches, challenges and directions”, Invited, International Journal of Smart Sensing and Intelligent systems, Vol. 9, No. 1, March, 2016
• G. Tao and B. Choubey, “Characterizing coupled MEMS resonators with an electrical resonator”, Journal of Physics: Conference Series, Volume 757, Number 1, August 2016
• B. Choubey, “Going fabless with MEMS”, Sensors and Transducers, Vol. 127. (4), pp. 1-14, April, 2011



• B. Choubey, M. Kumar and H. Bhaskaran, “Coupled piezoresistive graphene nano-resonators”, in Proceedings of the 32nd International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems, MEMS 2019, Seoul, South Korea
• C.M. Chen and B. Choubey, “Ultrasound Transducer Quality Factor Control Using Coupled External Electrical Resonator”, IEEE Sensors Conference, October, 2018
• H. Nelson and B. Choubey, “On the Effect of Variability on Fermi, Pasta and Ulam Matrices”, in 2nd IMA Conference on Nonlinearity and Coherent Structures, 2017
• B. Choubey, “Identifying Sensing Element in a Resonant Sensor Array” Proceedings of IEEE Sensors, Glasgow, November, 2017
• G. Tao and B. Choubey, “On Measuring Variability and its Effect on Sensitivity of Coupled Nano/Micro Resonators”, in Proceedings of the IEEE Int'l Conference on Nano/Micro Engineered & Molecular Systems (IEEE NEMS), Los Angeles, April, 2017
• A. Mohammadi and B. Choubey, "Ultra High Sensitivity in Differential Coupled Micro/Nano-Resonator Sensors", in Proceedings of the IEEE Int'l Conference on Nano/Micro Engineered & Molecular Systems (IEEE NEMS), Los Angeles, April, 2017
• A. Mohammadi, B. Choubey, M. Yuce and N. Karmakar, “An Integrated Programming Technique for Mechanical Microresonators” in Proceedings of the IEEE Int'l Conference on Nano/Micro Engineered & Molecular Systems (IEEE NEMS), Los Angeles, April, 2017
• G. Tao and B. Choubey, “Inverse eigenvalue analysis techniques for coupled M/NEMS resonators”, Proceedings of the 11th Annual IEEE Int'l Conference on Nano/Micro Engineered & Molecular Systems, Matsushima Bay & Sendai, Japan, April, 2016
• G. Tao, A. Makarov, V. Lukic and B. Choubey, “Vehicle Speed Estimation From Tracking License Plates”, in Proceedings of the IEEE 23rd Telecommunications Forum, TELFOR, Belgrade, November, 2015
• E.J. Boyd, B. Choubey, I. Armstrong and D. Uttamchandani “A simple technique for determination of the anisotropy of Young’s modulus of single crystal silicon by using coupled micro-cantilevers”, Proceedings of the IEEE MEMS Conference, Paris, January, 2012
• B. Choubey, C. Anthony, M. Ward and S. Collins, “Validation of Inverse Eigenvalue Analysis method for characterisation of coupled MEMS resonators using eigenvectors”, Proceedings of the IEEE Sensors Conference, Hawaii, 2010
• B. Choubey, M. Ward and S. Collins “On readouts of multiple micro/nano resonator sensors with mismatch”, in Proceedings of the IEEE Sensors Conference, Lecce, Italy, Page 478-481, October 2008
• N. H. Saad, C. Anthony, M. Ward, R. Al-dadah, B. Choubey and S. Collins “Performance Analysis of a coupled micro resonators array sensor”, Proceedings of the Eurosensors, Dresden, Germany, September, 2008
• B. Choubey, N. Saad, M. Ward and S. Collins “Determining mass changes in coupled micro resonator array sensors by eigenvalue and perturbation analysis”, Proceedings of the Eurosensors, Dresden, Germany, September, 2008

Conference Proceedings – Peer reviewed abstracts

• Guowei Tao and B. Choubey, “IEA Sensing for Corner Coupled Square Plate MEMS Resonators Array”, in Oxford Circuits and Systems Conference, 2017
• M. Kumar, B. Choubey and H. Bhaskaran, “Nonlinearity in graphene-based nanoresonators”, Proc. of the 13th International Workshop on Nanomechanical Sensing 2016, Delft, The Netherlands, June, 2016.