MicroMechatronics, Second Edition

Book excerpt: After Uchino’s introduction of a new terminology, ‘Micromechatronics’ in 1979 for describing the application area of ‘piezoelectric actuators’, the rapid advances in semiconductor chip technology have led to a new terminology MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical-system) or even NEMS (nano-electro-mechanicalsystem) to describe mainly thin film sensor/actuator devices, a narrower area of micromechatronics coverage. New technologies, product developments and commercialization are providing the necessity of this major revision. In particular, the progresses in high power transducers, loss mechanisms in smart materials, energy harvesting and computer simulations are significant. New technologies, product developments and commercialization are providing the updating requirement for the book contents, in parallel to the deletion of old contents. Various educational/instructional example problems have been accumulated, which were integrated in the new edition in order to facilitate the self-learning for the students, and the quiz/problem creation for the instructors. Heavily revised topics from the previous edition include: high power transducers, loss mechanisms in smart materials, energy harvesting and computer simulations New technologies, product developments and commercialization helped shape the updated contents of this book where all chapters have been updated and revised. This textbook is intended for graduate students and industrial engineers studying or working in the fields of electronic materials, control system engineering, optical communications, precision machinery, and robotics. The text is designed primarily for a graduate course with the equivalent of thirty 75-minute lectures; however, it is also suitable for self-study by individuals wishing to extend their knowledge in the field.