Project 9
Attaching Microdevices to Fibers for FLOW-Through Electronics
(Prof. Cindy harnett, ECE)
Above: Springy MEMS pop-ups released under a woven fabric grip onto fiber bundles (bundle diameter: 100 microns).
This REU student will work at the boundary of microfabrication and textile engineering toward electronics on soft surfaces. It’s not only about putting wearable displays on your shirt! Breathable circuit boards will put electronics in new places: soft robotics, air handlers, coolant-flushed systems, and other locations where fluids need to flow through and around sensors. Our previous REUs successfully attached microelectromechanical grippers to conductive fibers [1-3] and powered devices across a seam [4]. Recently, we created thermal transfer methods that allow close-up observation of the attachment process for fine tuning [5,6].
The specific goal for this summer is for the REU to extract information from a fiber-bound electronic sensor. Examples include magnetic fields for orientation measurement, and temperature pulses for local airflow measurement. Beyond technical experience, the REU students on this project will gain professional experience as they work alongside other research staff and students in the cleanroom and the Harnett lab (www.harnettlab.org). Each IMPACT-NG REU in the lab has co-authored a research paper, conference presentation and/or patent application.
Three grippers in parallel, powering light-emitting diodes from wires. Both examples were fabricated by previous REU students on this project.
PDFs of relevant publications may be downloaded here: https://paperpile.com/shared/sJc_905SbQiek5ExdyJPQmg
References with IMPACT-NG REU students highlighted
[1] S. Challa, C. Ternival, S. Islam, J. Beharic, C. Harnett, Transferring Microelectromechanical Devices to Breathable Fabric Carriers with Strain-Engineered Grippers, MRS Advances 4 (2019) 1327–1334. https://doi.org/10.1557/adv.2019.6.
[2] M.S. Islam, S. Challa, M.H. Yacin, S.S. Vankayala, N. Song, D. Wei, J. Beharic, C.K. Harnett, Thermally driven MEMS fiber-grippers, Journal of Micro and Bio Robotics (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12213-023-00161-w.
[3] N. Song, D. Wei, C.K. Harnett, Powering Wire-Mesh Circuits through MEMS Fiber-Grippers, in: 2023 IEEE International Conference on Flexible and Printable Sensors and Systems (FLEPS), 2023: pp. 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1109/FLEPS57599.2023.10220225.
[4] S. Musante and C. K. Harnett, 2023. “Materials for Cut-And-Seam Fabrication of Soft Functional Interfaces,” presentation SB05.14.02 at the Materials Research Society Fall Meeting, Boston, MA USA December 1.
[5] O. Atikekeresola, C.K. Harnett, Heat-Depolymerizable Tethers for Microelectromechanical System Assembly, J. Microelectromech. Syst. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1109/jmems.2024.3511476.
[6] J. Beharic, C. Harnett, Thermally switchable tethers for rapid release of strained microstructures, J. Microbio Robot. 21 (2025) 3. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12213-025-00183-6.
