{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/28345"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/28345","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Capacitive displacement sensing for the Nanogate","abstract":"The Nanogate is a micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) device that uses a cantilever structure to control the separation between two extremely flat surfaces. It has been proposed that the Nanogate be used as part of a nanoscale instrument for studying the behavior of fluids at the molecular scale. This thesis describes the development of an integrated capacitive displacement sensor which enables nanometer precision measurement of the separation of the surfaces of the Nanogate. The work in this thesis can be divided into two parts: fabrication of a new version of the Nanogate and the development of electronics for the capacitive sensor. The fabrication part involved redesigning the Nanogate package and fabrication process to integrate the capacitive sensing electrodes, as well as to improve the process yield. The development of capacitive sensing electronics for the Nanogate involved the design of an analog front-end to convert capacitance to voltage and a custom high precision data acquisition system to digitize the output. The measured capacitance is converted back to absolute displacement by calibration with a Michelson interferometer-based displacement sensor. The results show a resolution better than 0.1 nm and the long term drift error is less than 1 nm.","abstract_html":"The Nanogate is a micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) device that uses a cantilever structure to control the separation between two extremely flat surfaces. It has been proposed that the Nanogate be used as part of a nanoscale instrument for studying the behavior of fluids at the molecular scale. This thesis describes the development of an integrated capacitive displacement sensor which enables nanometer precision measurement of the separation of the surfaces of the Nanogate. The work in this thesis can be divided into two parts: fabrication of a new version of the Nanogate and the development of electronics for the capacitive sensor. The fabrication part involved redesigning the Nanogate package and fabrication process to integrate the capacitive sensing electrodes, as well as to improve the process yield. The development of capacitive sensing electronics for the Nanogate involved the design of an analog front-end to convert capacitance to voltage and a custom high precision data acquisition system to digitize the output. The measured capacitance is converted back to absolute displacement by calibration with a Michelson interferometer-based displacement sensor. The results show a resolution better than 0.1 nm and the long term drift error is less than 1 nm.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ma, Hongshen, 1978-"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Program in Media Arts and Sciences.","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Joseph A. Paradiso."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2004,"date_issued":"2004","date_published":"2004","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:35Z","subjects":["Architecture. Program in Media Arts and Sciences."],"languages":["en_US"],"rights":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission."],"rights_urls":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/28345","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Joseph A. Paradiso."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Program in Media Arts and Sciences."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.other","label":"Dc Contributor Other","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Program in Media Arts and Sciences."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ma, Hongshen, 1978-"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2005-09-26T19:55:15Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2005-09-26T19:55:15Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2004"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Architecture. Program in Media Arts and Sciences."]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en_US"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission."]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/28345"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2004.","Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-64)."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The Nanogate is a micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) device that uses a cantilever structure to control the separation between two extremely flat surfaces. It has been proposed that the Nanogate be used as part of a nanoscale instrument for studying the behavior of fluids at the molecular scale. This thesis describes the development of an integrated capacitive displacement sensor which enables nanometer precision measurement of the separation of the surfaces of the Nanogate. The work in this thesis can be divided into two parts: fabrication of a new version of the Nanogate and the development of electronics for the capacitive sensor. The fabrication part involved redesigning the Nanogate package and fabrication process to integrate the capacitive sensing electrodes, as well as to improve the process yield. The development of capacitive sensing electronics for the Nanogate involved the design of an analog front-end to convert capacitance to voltage and a custom high precision data acquisition system to digitize the output. The measured capacitance is converted back to absolute displacement by calibration with a Michelson interferometer-based displacement sensor. The results show a resolution better than 0.1 nm and the long term drift error is less than 1 nm."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["S.M."]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Capacitive displacement sensing for the Nanogate"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Joseph A. Paradiso."],"dc:contributor.department":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Program in Media Arts and Sciences."],"dc:contributor.other":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Program in Media Arts and Sciences."],"dc:creator":["Ma, Hongshen, 1978-"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2005-09-26T19:55:15Z"],"dc:date.available":["2005-09-26T19:55:15Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2004"],"dc:description":["Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2004.","Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-64)."],"dc:description.abstract":["The Nanogate is a micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) device that uses a cantilever structure to control the separation between two extremely flat surfaces. It has been proposed that the Nanogate be used as part of a nanoscale instrument for studying the behavior of fluids at the molecular scale. This thesis describes the development of an integrated capacitive displacement sensor which enables nanometer precision measurement of the separation of the surfaces of the Nanogate. The work in this thesis can be divided into two parts: fabrication of a new version of the Nanogate and the development of electronics for the capacitive sensor. The fabrication part involved redesigning the Nanogate package and fabrication process to integrate the capacitive sensing electrodes, as well as to improve the process yield. The development of capacitive sensing electronics for the Nanogate involved the design of an analog front-end to convert capacitance to voltage and a custom high precision data acquisition system to digitize the output. The measured capacitance is converted back to absolute displacement by calibration with a Michelson interferometer-based displacement sensor. The results show a resolution better than 0.1 nm and the long term drift error is less than 1 nm."],"dc:description.degree":["S.M."],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/28345"],"dc:language.iso":["en_US"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"dc:rights":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission."],"dc:rights.uri":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"dc:subject":["Architecture. Program in Media Arts and Sciences."],"dc:title":["Capacitive displacement sensing for the Nanogate"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:35Z"}