The field of levitated optomechanics has experienced significant advancements in manipulating the translational and rotational dynamics of optically levitated particles and exploring their sensing applications. The concept of using optically levitated particles as gyroscopes to measure angular motion has long been explored but has not yet been proven either theoretically or experimentally. In this study, we present the first rotor gyroscope based on optically levitated high-speed rotating particles. The gyroscope is composed of a micrometer-size ellipsoidal vaterite particle that is driven to rotate at MHz frequencies in a vacuum environment. When an external angular velocity is input, the optical axis deviates from its initial position, resulting in changes in the frequency and amplitude of the rotational signal. By analyzing these changes, the angular velocity of the input can be accurately detected, making it the smallest rotor gyroscope in the world. The angular rate bias instability of the gyroscope is measured to be 0.08°/s and can be further improved to as low as 10⁻⁹°/h theoretically by cooling the motion and increasing the angular moment of the levitated particle. Our work opens a new application paradigm for levitated optomechanical systems and may pave the way for the development of quantum rotor gyroscopes.

Damping asymmetry is one of the most important factors that determines the performance of Coriolis Vibratory Gyroscope. In this paper, a novel damping tuning method for the resonator with parallel plate capacitors is presented. This damping tuning method is based on resistance heat dissipation and the tuning effect is characterized by the control force in Whole-Angle mode. As the damping tuning and stiffness tuning in the resonator with parallel plate capacitors are coupled with each other, a corresponding tuning system is designed. To verify the tuning effects, experiments are conducted on a hemispherical resonator gyroscope with Whole-Angle mode. The damping tuning theories is demonstrated by the testing results and 87% of the damping asymmetry is reduced by this tuning method with a cost of 3% decaying time. Furthermore, the angle-dependent drift in rate measurement after tuning is only 15.6% of the one without tuning and the scale factor nonlinearity decreases from 5.49 ppm to 2.66 ppm. The method can be further applied on the damping tuning in other resonators with symmetrical structure.

Quality factor is one of the most important parameters for a MEMS resonator. Most MEMS resonators are dominated by thermoelastic dissipation (TED). This paper demonstrates that the TED in a disk resonator that is made of (111) single-crystal silicon is surpassed by clamping loss. The stiffness-mass decoupling design method, combined with reducing the beam width, was used to engineer high Q_TED. Experiments show that Q of the (111) disk resonator have an upper boundary that is determined by the clamping loss caused by the unbalanced out-of-plane displacement. The origin of the out-of-plane displacement is explained by theory and simulation.

Frequency trimming based on mass and stiffness modification is an important post-fabrication process for micro-shell resonators (MSRs). However, the trimming effects on the quality factor are seldom studied, although they may have great influence on the performance of the resonator. This paper presents a study on the quality factor (Q-factor) variation of trimmed micro-shell resonators (MSR). Thermoelastic damping (Q_TED) and anchor loss (Q_anchor) are found to be the dominant energy loss mechanisms resulting in the reduction of the overall Q-factor, according to finite element method (FEM). The effects of different trimming methods on Q_TED and Q_anchor are studied here, respectively. It is found that trimming grooves ablated in the rim of the resonator can cause a ~1–10% reduction of Q_TED, and the length of trimming groove is positively related to the reduction of Q_TED. The reduction of Q_TED caused by the mass adding process is mainly related to the thermal expansion coefficient and density of the additive and contact area between the resonator and additive masses. Besides, the first and second harmonic errors caused by asymmetrical trimming can cause a 10–90% reduction of Q_anchor. Finally, trimming experiments were conducted on different resonators and the results were compared with FEM simulation. The work presented in this paper could help to optimize the trimming process of MSRs.

As an emerging frontier in biomimetic intelligent microsystems, insect-scale flapping-wing micro aerial vehicles (FWMAVs) demonstrate significant application potential due to their exceptional maneuverability and stealth capabilities. This study proposes a novel mechanical self-stabilization architecture validated through systematic engineering design to address the critical challenge of balancing dynamic instability with payload constraints in stable flight control. By integrating a piezoelectric direct-drive actuator to streamline transmission mechanisms with the optimized V-wing configuration, we developed a V-wing FWMAV prototype weighing 204 mg (wingspan: 68 mm) that demonstrates 41.5% enhanced lift performance and 40% reduction in structural asymmetry errors compared to previous iterations. To overcome the inherent limitations of conventional control methods in payload capacity and response latency, we engineered a cylindrically symmetric damping mechanism. Through the symmetrical aerodynamic design of the top layout, this innovation generates 3-dimensional restoring moments through optimized vortex distribution patterns, achieving isotropic damping effects in the vertical axis. Experimental results reveal that the 241-mg Tumbler FWMAV equipped with this damper exhibits breakthrough stabilization performance: Vertical stabilization duration shows 5- and 20-fold improvements over conventional cross-type dampers and undamped systems, respectively, enabling stable untethered hovering flight exceeding 15 s. The established integrated design paradigm combining structural optimization, aerodynamic enhancement, and passive stabilization control provides a new way to the longstanding technical bottleneck between payload capacity and dynamic stability in insect-scale FWMAVs.

Microrobots have a wide range of applications. The rigid–flexible composite stereoscopic technology based on ultraviolet laser cutting technology is primarily researched for the design and manufacture of microrobots and has been used to fabricate microscale motion mechanisms and robots. This paper introduces a monolithic processing technology based on the rigid–flexible composite stereoscopic process. Based on this process, a split-actuator micro flapping-wing air vehicle with a size of 15 mm × 2.5 mm × 30 mm was designed. We proposed a batch manufacturing method capable of processing multiple micro air vehicles at the same time. The main structure of 22 flapping-wing micro air vehicles can be processed at the same time within the processing range of the composite sheet with an area of 80 mm × 80 mm, and the processing effect is good.