一种高性能MEMS气体流量传感器设计

使用MEMS技术研制出一种高灵敏度热温差式流量传感器。器件采用热隔离性能良好的衬底挖空结构,且热敏电阻器与热源距离可调,保证了系统的灵敏度和响应速度。同时热敏电阻器、加热电阻器与电桥电阻器集成在传感器片内,提高了系统的稳定性。实验表明:合适的电阻器间距可以获得较高的灵敏度,而在0~20 mL/min的量程范围内系统线性度较好,因此,在生化检测、医疗等领域具有良好的推广前景。     

High sensitivity and small size MEMS capacitive microphone using a novel slotted diaphragm

A novel single-chip microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) capacitive microphone with a slotted diaphragm for sound sensing is developed to minimize the microphone size and improve the sensitivity by decreasing the mechanical stiffness of the diaphragm. The behaviors of the microphones with clamped and slotted diaphragms are analyzed using the finite element method (FEM). According to the results, a clamped microphone with a 2.43 × 2.43 mm² diaphragm and a slotted one with a 1.5 × 1.5 mm² diaphragm have the same mechanical sensitivity, but the size of slotted microphone is at least 1.62 times smaller than clamped structure. The results also yield a sensitivity of 5.33 × 10⁻⁶ pF/Pa for the clamped and 3.87 × 10⁻⁵ pF/Pa for the slotted microphone with a 0.5 × 0.5 mm² diaphragm. The sensitivity of the slotted diaphragm is increased 7.27 times. The pull-in voltage of the clamped microphone is 105 V, and slotted one is 49 V. The pull-in voltage of the slotted microphone is about 53% decreased.     

Localised laser joining of glass to silicon with BCB intermediate layer

The use of a laser to provide localised heating is an ideal solution to the problem of packaging micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS) whilst maintaining a low device temperature to avoid changes in temperature-sensitive materials in the device. In this paper we present localised laser bonding of glass to silicon (normally used as the MEMS substrate) by using a fibre-delivered high power laser diode array to cure an intermediate layer of the thermosetting polymer Benzocyclobutene (BCB). In our experiments, we use two techniques to realise localised heating: one is to use an axicon together with a conventional positive lens to generate a ring focus; the other is to use a scanning focused laser beam. In both cases localised cooling is required to confine the elevated temperatures to the bonding area. Finite Element (FE) simulation indicates that both techniques should keep the temperature in the centre of the package to approximately that of the ambient environment (300 K) during the process. However, experiments show that the temperature in the centre of the package rises to a value of around 500 K, likely due to poor contact between silicon and cooling sink. Experimentally, we confirmed that either technique can be used to obtain excellent bonding of glass to silicon with leak rate at a level of 10⁻¹⁰ mbar l s⁻¹, whilst keeping the centre of device at a lower temperature.     

Digitally-controlled array of solid-state microcoolers for use in surgery

This paper presents an approach for generating a well-defined cooling pattern over an area of tissue. An array of solid-state microcoolers is used, which could be included in a probe that provides local cooling. This medical instrument can be used for removal of scar tissue in the eye or for the rapid stopping of bleeding due to micro-cuts, which makes it a useful tool to medical doctors and could make surgery more secure to the patient. The array of microcoolers is composed of 64 independent thermo-electric elements, each controlled using an integrated circuit designed in CMOS. The independent control allows the flexible programming of the surface temperature profile. This type of control is very suitable in case abrupt temperature steps should be avoided. Cooling by lateral heat flow was selected in order to minimize the influence of heat by dissipation from the electronic circuits. Moreover, a thermo-electric component with lateral heat allows fabrication of the cooling elements using planar thin-film technology, lithography and wet etching on top of the silicon wafer. This approach is potentially CMOS compatible, which would allow for the fabrication of the thermo-electric elements on top of a pre-fabricated CMOS wafer as a post-process step. Each pixel is composed of thin-films of n-type bismuth telluride, Bi₂Te₃ and p-type antimony telluride, Sb₂Te₃, which are electrically interconnected as thermocouple. These materials have excellent thermoelectric characteristics, such as thermoelectric figures-of-merit, ZT, at room temperatures of 0.84 and 0.5, respectively, which is equivalent to power-factors, PF, of 3.62 × 10⁻³ W K⁻¹ m⁻² and 2.81 × 10⁻³ W K⁻¹ m⁻², respectively. The theoretical study presented here demonstrates a cooling capability of 15°C at room temperature (300 K ≈ 27°C). This cooling performance is sufficient to maintain a local tissue temperature at 25°C, which makes it suitable for the intended application. A first prototype was successfully fabricated to demonstrate the concept.     

Microfocusing using the thermal actuation of microbubbles

This paper describes the microfocusing in a microchannel using the thermal actuation of a pair of microbubbles. A microbubble was produced from de-ionized (DI) water with an integrated microheater, and the volume was controlled by applying voltage. The microfocusing was demonstrated with a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) device consisting of two layers. The top layer included a microchannel that was 300 μm wide and 50 μm high. It was flanked by a pair of reservoirs. The bottom layer provided a microheater underneath the reservoir. Upon heating, DI water boiled immediately over the microheater and formed a microbubble that came out of the reservoir in a perpendicular direction toward the fluid. The fluid was focused from 300 to 22 μm, as the distance between the apexes of the arch-shaped microbubbles was shortened due to expansion, which was maintained at a flow velocity up to approximately 17.8 mm s⁻¹. The temperature of the water in the reservoir was estimated to reach the boiling point within 62 or 160 ms, depending on the substrate.     

Research on a large power thermal bubble micro-ejector with induction heating

The present study investigates a large power thermal bubble micro-ejector with induction heating device. The traditional thermal-bubble ejectors adopted resistors as the heating resources, it can only work with lower power and convey liquid with lower flow rate. Induction heating devices are adopted to replace the resistor for heating liquid in this paper. With this heating method, there is no physical contact between the heating core and the external power supply circuit. The liquid in the chamber of micro-ejector is heated by the induction heating device and changes from liquid phase to gas phase, generating vapor bubbles in the micro chamber of the micro ejector. The bubble expands rapidly and ejects droplets through the nozzle. The prototype of the micro-ejector is fabricated and experiments are carried out. Continuous droplets are ejected out from the nozzle as the applied AC current is 0.6–0.65 A with the power frequency of 100 kHz. The total volume of the continuous droplets is ranging from 18.84 to 49.87 nL, and the corresponding flow rate is about 0.52–1.36 μL/min. Furthermore, this new micro-ejector can be adopted in conveying of micro-scale liquid, the injection of trace drugs and the 3D printing.     

Fabrication of microfluidic devices for packaging CMOS MEMS impedance sensors

This work presents a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic device for packaging CMOS MEMS impedance sensors. The wrinkle electrodes are fabricated on PDMS substrates to ensure a connection between the pads of the sensor and the impedance instrument. The PDMS device can tolerate an injection speed of 27.12 ml/h supplied by a pump. The corresponding pressure is 643.35 Pa. The bonding strength of the device is 32.44 g/mm². In order to demonstrate the feasibility of the device, the short circuit test and impedance measurements for air, de-ionized water, phosphate buffered saline (PBS) at four concentrations (1, 2 × 10⁻⁴, 1 × 10⁻⁴, and 6.7 × 10⁻⁵ M) were performed. The experimental results show that the developed device integrated with a sensor can differentiate various samples.     

A new S-shaped MEMS PZT cantilever for energy harvesting from low frequency vibrations below 30 Hz

In this paper, a new S-shaped piezoelectric PZT cantilever is microfabricated for scavenging vibration energy at low frequencies (<30 Hz) and low accelerations (<0.4g). The maximum voltage and normalized power are 42 mV and 0.31 μW g ⁻², respectively, at input acceleration of 0.06g. For acceleration above 0.06g, the vibration of PZT cantilever changes from a linear oscillation to a nonlinear impact oscillation due to the displacement constraint introduced by a mechanical stopper. Based on theoretical modeling and experimental results, the frequency broadening effect of the PZT cantilever is studied with varying stop distances and input accelerations. The operation bandwidth of the piezoelectric PZT cantilever is able to extend from 3.4 to 11.1 Hz as the stop distance reduces from 1.7 to 0.7 mm for an acceleration of 0.3g, at the expense of the voltage and normalized power at resonance decreasing from 40 to 16 mV and from 17.8 to 2.8 nW g⁻², respectively.     

Effect of dispersed phase viscosity on maximum droplet generation frequency in microchannel emulsification using asymmetric straight-through channels

Uniformly sized droplets of soybean oil, MCT (medium-chain fatty acid triglyceride) oil and n-tetradecane with a Sauter mean diameter of d _3,2 = 26–35 μm and a distribution span of 0.21–0.25 have been produced at high throughputs using a 24 × 24 mm silicon microchannel plate consisting of 23,348 asymmetric channels fabricated by photolithography and deep reactive ion etching. Each channel consisted of a 10-μm diameter straight-through micro-hole with a length of 70 μm and a 50 × 10 μm micro-slot with a depth of 30 μm at the outlet of each channel. The maximum dispersed phase flux for monodisperse emulsion generation increased with decreasing dispersed phase viscosity and ranged from over 120 L m⁻² h⁻¹ for soybean oil to 2,700 L m⁻² h⁻¹ for n-tetradecane. The droplet generation frequency showed significant channel to channel variations and increased with decreasing viscosity of the dispersed phase. For n-tetradecane, the maximum mean droplet generation frequency was 250 Hz per single active channel, corresponding to the overall throughput in the device of 3.2 million droplets per second. The proportion of active channels at high throughputs approached 100% for soybean oil and MCT oil, and 50% for n-tetradecane. The agreement between the experimental and CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) results was excellent for soybean oil and the poorest for n-tetradecane.     

Integrated micro Pirani gauge based hermetical package monitoring for uncooled VO x bolometer FPAs

This paper presents the design and fabrication of a micro Pirani gauge using VO _x as the sensitive material for monitoring the pressure inside a hermetical package for micro bolometer focal plane arrays (FPAs). The designed Pirani gauge working in heat dissipating mode was intentionally fabricated using standard MEMS processing which is highly compatible with the FPAs fabrication. The functional layer of the micro Pirani gauge is a VO _x thin film designed as a 100 × 200 μm pixel, suspended 2 μm above the substrate. By modeling of rarefied gas heat conduction using the Extended Fourier’s law, finite element analysis is used to investigate the sensitivity of the pressure gauge. Also the thermal interactions between the micro Pirani gauge and bolometer FPAs are verified. From the fabricated prototype, the measured device TCR is about −0.8% K⁻¹ and the sensitivity about 1.84 × 10⁻³ W K⁻¹ mbar⁻¹.     

Pressure drop of gas–liquid Taylor flow in round micro-capillaries for low to intermediate Reynolds numbers

In this paper, a model is presented that describes the pressure drop of gas–liquid Taylor flow in round capillaries with a channel diameter typically less than 1 mm. The analysis of Bretherton (J Fluid Mech 10:166–188, 1961) for the pressure drop over a single gas bubble for vanishing liquid film thickness is extended to include a non-negligible liquid film thickness using the analysis of Aussillous and Quéré (Phys Fluids 12(10):2367–2371, 2000). This result is combined with the Hagen–Poiseuille equation for liquid flow using a mass balance-based Taylor flow model previously developed by the authors (Warnier et al. in Chem Eng J 135S:S153–S158, 2007). The model presented in this paper includes the effect of the liquid slug length on the pressure drop similar to the model of Kreutzer et al. (AIChE J 51(9):2428–2440, 2005). Additionally, the gas bubble velocity is taken into account, thereby increasing the accuracy of the pressure drop predictions compared to those of the model of Kreutzer et al. Experimental data were obtained for nitrogen–water Taylor flow in a round glass channel with an inner diameter of 250 μm. The capillary number Ca _gl varied between 2.3 × 10⁻³ and 8.8 × 10⁻³ and the Reynolds number Re _gl varied between 41 and 159. The presented model describes the experimental results with an accuracy of ±4% of the measured values.     

Integrated SWCNT sensors in micro-wind tunnel for air-flow shear-stress measurement

We have developed SWCNT sensors for air-flow shear-stress measurement inside a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) “micro-wind tunnel” chip. An array of sensors is fabricated by using dielectrophoretic (DEP) technique to manipulate bundled single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) across the gold microelectrodes on a PMMA substrate. The sensors are then integrated in a PMMA micro-wind tunnel, which is fabricated by SU-8 molding/hot-embossing technique. Since the sensors detect air flow by thermal transfer principle, we have first examined the I–V characteristics of the sensors and confirmed that self-heating effect occurs when the input voltage is above ~1 V. We then performed the flow sensing experiment on the sensors using constant temperature (CT) configuration with input power of ~230 μW. The voltage output of the sensors increases with the increasing flow rate in the micro-wind tunnel and the detectable volumetric flow is in the order of 1 × 10⁻⁵m³/s. We also found that the activation power of the sensors has a linear relation with 1/3 exponential power of the shear stress which is similar to conventional hot-wire and polysilicon types of convection-based shear-stress sensors. Moreover, measurements of sensors with different overheat ratios were compared, and results showed that sensor is more sensitive to the flow with a higher overheat ratio.     

Microfluidic flow reversal at low frequency by AC electrothermal effect

This paper describes a flow reversal phenomenon for fluids with moderate conductivity. Fluids with conductivities of 2 × 10⁻⁴ S/m, 0.02 S/m and up to 0.1 S/m were experimented at frequencies ranging from 1 to 110 kHz. Flow reversal was observed only at ~1 kHz and 5.3 V _rms for σ = 0.02 S/m, and our analysis indicates that AC electrothermal effect could be responsible. Analysis of the system impedance and simulation of power consumption show that the distribution of electric power consumption is dependent on conductivity and AC frequency. At low frequencies, possibly more electric power is consumed at surface/electrolyte interface rather than within the fluid, which consequently changes the location of temperature maximum and the directions of temperature gradients. The direction of AC electrothermal force is reoriented, causing the flow reversal. Numerical simulation is also performed and agrees within the experiments.     

Design and fabrication of implantable pressure sensing resistor sensor for human bladder monitoring system

Many aging people and patients have difficulties in bladder control. Recent methods have been studied for non-invasive measuring for bladder information. It must be improved to a more convenient and real time measurable system for accurately analyzing and controlling individual bladder information. This paper presents the pressure sensor for the invasive bladder monitoring system. The system has the pressure sensing resistor sensor (PSRS) which is set-up inside the bladder. The PSRS consists of a flexible and contactable diaphragm which deforms towards an underlying substrate while a range of pressure is applied. The flexible diaphragm has a thin metal film which acts as a switch and the underlying substrate has interdigitated electrodes which serve as a variable resistor. The PSRS initially exhibits infinite electrical resistance with no external pressure applied since the metal switch is not contact with the interdigitated electrodes. As the applied pressure increases above a threshold, the contact area increases thus the resistance of the PSRS decreases. Based on the finite element analysis, proper ranges for the diaphragm size and gap distance are determined. The sensor, the diaphragm size of which is 2.6 × 2.6 mm², has been fabricated through MEMS technology. The change of the electrical resistance is 0.5 Ω for the range of human bladder pressure (0–10 kPa). This PSRS will be effectively used for reliability and stability of the research for the improvement of bladder management. It can also be utilized for the future application.     

Postural stability when walking: Effect of the frequency and magnitude of lateral oscillatory motion

While walking on an instrumented treadmill, 20 subjects were perturbed by lateral sinusoidal oscillations representative of those encountered in transport: frequencies in the range 0.5–2 Hz and accelerations in the range 0.1–2.0 ms⁻² r.m.s., corresponding to velocities in the range 0.032–0.16 ms⁻¹ r.m.s. Postural stability was assessed from the self-reported probability of losing balance (i.e., perceived risk of falling) and the movements of the centre of pressure beneath the feet. With the same acceleration at all frequencies, the velocities and displacements of the oscillatory perturbations were greater with the lower frequency oscillations, and these caused greater postural instability. With the same velocity at all frequencies, postural instability was almost independent of the frequency of oscillation. Movements of the centre of pressure show that subjects attempted to compensate for the perturbations by increasing their step width and increasing their step rate.     

An electrothermally excited dual beams silicon resonant pressure sensor with temperature compensation

An electrothermally excited dual beams silicon resonant pressure sensor with temperature compensation is proposed in this paper. One beam locates upon the diaphragm, whose resonant frequency changes with the measured pressure; the other beam is on the fixed edge, isolated from the pressure effect but sensitive to the temperature variation. Taking the difference of the dual beams’ resonant frequencies, temperature influence can be corrected. Compensation algorithm with consideration of the fabrication errors is deducted theoretically and implemented by a homemade readout system. Experimental results of the test sample indicates that the maxim pressure measurement residual errors without compensation is up to 53.9 kPa in the working temperature range from −40 to 60°C; while with compensation the maxim residual errors decreased to 1.8 kPa from −40 to 60°C, which is only 3.3% of the uncompensated sensor. The experimental results confirm that the new designed sensor has good temperature compensation ability.     

Design and characterization of MEMS-based flow-rate and flow-direction microsensor

This study designs and characterizes a novel MEMS-based flow-rate micro-sensor consisting of a platinum resistor deposited on a silicon nitride-coated silicon cantilever beam. Due to the difference between the thermal conductivities of the silicon nitride film and the silicon beam, the tip of the cantilever structure bends slightly in the upward direction. As air travels across the upper surface of the sensor, it interferes with the curved tip and displaces the beam in either the upward or the downward direction. The resulting change in the resistor signal is then used to calculate the velocity of the air. A flow-direction micro-sensor is constructed by arranging eight cantilever structures on an octagonal platform. Each cantilever is separated from its neighbors by a tapered baffle plate connected to a central octagonal pillar designed to attenuate the aerodynamic force acting on the cantilever beams. By measuring the resistor signals of each of the cantilever beams, the micro-sensor is capable of measuring both the flow rate and the flow direction of the air passing over the sensor. A numerical investigation is performed to examine the effects of the pillar height and pillar-to-tip gap on the airflow distribution, the pressure distribution, the bending moment acting on each beam, and the sensor sensitivity. The results show that the optimum sensor performance is obtained using a pillar height of 0.75 mm and a pillar-to-tip gap of 5 mm. Moreover, the sensitivity of the octagonal sensing platform is found to be approximately 90% that of a single cantilever beam.     

MEMS-based formaldehyde gas sensor integrated with a micro-hotplate

This paper presents a novel micro-fabricated formaldehyde gas sensor with enhanced sensitivity and detection resolution capabilities. The device comprises a quartz substrate with Pt heaters as a micro-hotplate and deposited formaldehyde-sensing layer on it. A sputtered NiO thin film is used as the formaldehyde-sensing layer. A specific orientation of NiO becomes more apparent as the substrate temperature increases in the sputtering process, which helps the formation of NiO material with a correct stoichiometric ratio. The gas sensor incorporates Pt heating resistors integrated with a micro-hotplate to provide a heating function and utilizes Au inter-digitated electrodes. When formaldehyde is present in the atmosphere, oxydation happens near the sensing layer with a high temperature caused by the micro-hotplate and causes a change in the electrical conductivity of the NiO film. Therefore, the measured resistance between the inter-digitated electrodes changes correspondingly. The application of a voltage to the Pt heaters causes the temperature of the micro-hotplate to increase, which in turn enhances the sensitivity of the sensor. The nanometer scale grain size of the sputtered oxide thin film is conducive to improving the sensitivity of the gas sensor. The experimental results indicate that the developed device has a high stability (0.23%), a low hysteresis value (0.18%), a quick response time (13.0 s), a high degree of sensitivity (0.14 Ω ppm⁻¹), and a detection capability of less than 1.2 ppm.

     

Diffusivity of sub-1,000 Da molecules in 40 nm silicon-based alumina pores

Porous anodic alumina has been of an increasing interest to applications of on-chip biosensors and bioseparations. However, the characteristics of molecular diffusion in alumina nanopores have not been fully explored. Here, we have investigated an ultra-thin freestanding alumina membrane fabricated on a silicon substrate as a new on-chip diffusion system. Sub-1,000 Da molecules such as caffeine were diffused through alumina pores with a pore diameter of 40 nm and a pore length of 1.2 μm. The diffusion dynamics was characterized by modeling the molecular transport as one-dimensional convective Fickian flow. The diffusion coefficients were calculated to be on the order of 10⁻⁸ cm² s⁻¹. The transport rate of coions was enhanced by increasing the ionic strength of diffusion solution. Relative to thick alumina membranes, the thin-film alumina was able to achieve a significantly higher flux rate, making it more favorable for rapid molecular transport. The characterizations we present here have contributed important experimental data to alumina nanofluidics, and are believed to be valuable for applications such as drug deliveries, molecular separations, and membrane biosensors.     

Rapid quantification of bio-particles based on image visualisation in a dielectrophoretic microfluidic chip

We studied an imaging-based technique for the rapid quantification of bio-particles in a dielectrophoretic (DEP) microfluidic chip. Label-free particles could be successively sorted and trapped in a continuous flow manner under the applied alternating current (AC) conditions. Both 2 and 3 μm polystyrene beads at a concentration of 1.0 × 10⁷ particles ml⁻¹ could be rapidly quantified within 5 min in our DEP system. Capturing efficiencies higher than 95% could be 2 μm polystyrene beads with a linear flow speed, applied voltage and frequency of 0.89 mm s⁻¹, 20 V_p-p and 5 MHz. Yeast cells (Candida glabrata and Candida albicans) could also be captured even at a lower concentration of 2.5 × 10⁵ cells ml⁻¹. Images of aggregative particles taken from the designed trapping area were further processed based on the intensity of relative greyscale followed by correction of the particle numbers. The imaging-based quantification method showed higher agreement than that of the conventional counting chamber method and proved the stability and feasibility of our AC DEP system.