Advanced sensors technology survey

This project assesses the state-of-the-art in advanced or 'smart' sensors technology for NASA Life Sciences research applications with an emphasis on those sensors with potential applications on the space station freedom (SSF). The objectives are: (1) to conduct literature reviews on relevant advanced sensor technology; (2) to interview various scientists and engineers in industry, academia, and government who are knowledgeable on this topic; (3) to provide viewpoints and opinions regarding the potential applications of this technology on the SSF; and (4) to provide summary charts of relevant technologies and centers where these technologies are being developed

The NASA SBIR product catalog

The purpose of this catalog is to assist small business firms in making the community aware of products emerging from their efforts in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. It contains descriptions of some products that have advanced into Phase 3 and others that are identified as prospective products. Both lists of products in this catalog are based on information supplied by NASA SBIR contractors in responding to an invitation to be represented in this document. Generally, all products suggested by the small firms were included in order to meet the goals of information exchange for SBIR results. Of the 444 SBIR contractors NASA queried, 137 provided information on 219 products. The catalog presents the product information in the technology areas listed in the table of contents. Within each area, the products are listed in alphabetical order by product name and are given identifying numbers. Also included is an alphabetical listing of the companies that have products described. This listing cross-references the product list and provides information on the business activity of each firm. In addition, there are three indexes: one a list of firms by states, one that lists the products according to NASA Centers that managed the SBIR projects, and one that lists the products by the relevant Technical Topics utilized in NASA's annual program solicitation under which each SBIR project was selected

NASA SBIR abstracts of 1990 phase 1 projects

The research objectives of the 280 projects placed under contract in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 1990 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1 program are described. The basic document consists of edited, non-proprietary abstracts of the winning proposals submitted by small businesses in response to NASA's 1990 SBIR Phase 1 Program Solicitation. The abstracts are presented under the 15 technical topics within which Phase 1 proposals were solicited. Each project was assigned a sequential identifying number from 001 to 280, in order of its appearance in the body of the report. The document also includes Appendixes to provide additional information about the SBIR program and permit cross-reference in the 1990 Phase 1 projects by company name, location by state, principal investigator, NASA field center responsible for management of each project, and NASA contract number

NASA SBIR abstracts of 1991 phase 1 projects

The objectives of 301 projects placed under contract by the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are described. These projects were selected competitively from among proposals submitted to NASA in response to the 1991 SBIR Program Solicitation. The basic document consists of edited, non-proprietary abstracts of the winning proposals submitted by small businesses. The abstracts are presented under the 15 technical topics within which Phase 1 proposals were solicited. Each project was assigned a sequential identifying number from 001 to 301, in order of its appearance in the body of the report. Appendixes to provide additional information about the SBIR program and permit cross-reference of the 1991 Phase 1 projects by company name, location by state, principal investigator, NASA Field Center responsible for management of each project, and NASA contract number are included

NASA SBIR product catalog, 1991

This catalog is a partial list of products of NASA SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) projects that have advanced to some degree into Phase 3. While most of the products evolved from work conducted during SBIR Phase 1 and 2, a few advanced to commercial status solely from Phase 1 activities. The catalog presents information provided to NASA by SBIR contractors who wished to have their products exhibited at Technology 2001, a NASA-sponsored technology transfer conference held in San Jose, California, on December 4, 5, and 6, 1991. The catalog presents the product information in the following technology areas: computer and communication systems; information processing and AI; robotics and automation; signal and image processing; microelectronics; electronic devices and equipment; microwave electronic devices; optical devices and lasers; advanced materials; materials processing; materials testing and NDE; materials instrumentation; aerodynamics and aircraft; fluid mechanics and measurement; heat transfer devices; refrigeration and cryogenics; energy conversion devices; oceanographic instruments; atmosphere monitoring devices; water management; life science instruments; and spacecraft electromechanical systems

NASA SBIR abstracts of 1992, phase 1 projects

The objectives of 346 projects placed under contract by the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are described. These projects were selected competitively from among proposals submitted to NASA in response to the 1992 SBIR Program Solicitation. The basic document consists of edited, non-proprietary abstracts of the winning proposals submitted by small businesses. The abstracts are presented under the 15 technical topics within which Phase 1 proposals were solicited. Each project was assigned a sequential identifying number from 001 to 346, in order of its appearance in the body of the report. Appendixes to provide additional information about the SBIR program and permit cross-reference of the 1992 Phase 1 projects by company name, location by state, principal investigator, NASA Field Center responsible for management of each project, and NASA contract number are included

A three-axis accelerometer for measuring heart wall motion

This thesis presents the work carried out in the design, simulation, fabrication and testing of miniaturised three-axis accelerometers. The work was carried out at the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Vestfold University College (Tønsberg, Norway), the MIcroSystems Engineering Centre (MISEC) at Heriot-Watt University and in collaboration with the Interventional Centre at Rikshospitalet University Hospital (Oslo, Norway). The accelerometers presented in this thesis were produced to be stitched to the surface of human hearts. In doing so they are used to measure the heart wall motion of patients that have just undergone heart bypass surgery. Results from studies carried out are presented and prove the concept of using such sensors for the detection of problems that can lead to the failure of heart bypasses. These studies were made possible using commercially available MEMS (MicroElectroMechanical Systems) three-axis accelerometers. However, the overall size of these sensors does not meet the requirements deemed necessary by the medical team (2(W) 2(H) 5(L) mm3) and fabrication activities were necessary to produce custom-made sensors. Design verification and performance modelling were carried out using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and these results are presented alongside relevant analytical calculations. For fabrication, accelerometer designs were submitted to three foundry processes during the course of the work. The designs utilise the piezoresistive effect for the acceleration sensing and fabrication was carried out by bulk micromachining. Results of the characterisaton of the sensors are presente

Fabrication of SOI micromechanical devices

This work reports on studies and the fabrication process development of micromechanical silicon-on-insulator (SOI) devices. SOI is a promising starting material for fabrication of single crystal silicon micromechanical devices and basis for monolithic integration of sensors and integrated circuits. The buried oxide layer of an SOI wafer offers an excellent etch stop layer for silicon etching and sacrificial layer for fabrication of capacitive sensors. Deep silicon etching is studied and the aspect ratio dependency of the etch rate and loading effects are described and modeled. The etch rate of the deep silicon etching process is modeled with a simple flow conductance model, which takes into account only the initial etch rate and reaction probability and flow resistance of the etched feature. The used model predicts qualitatively the aspect-ratio-dependent etch rate for varying trench widths and rectangular shapes. The design related loading can be modeled and the effects of the loading can be minimized with proper etch mask design. The basic SOI micromechanics process is described and the drawbacks and limitations of the process are discussed. Improvements to the process are introduced as well as IR microscopy as a new method to inspect the sacrificial etch length of the SOI structure. A new fabrication process for SOI micromechanics has been developed that alleviates metallization problems during the wet etching of the sacrificial layer. The process is based on forming closed cavities under the structure layer of SOI with the help of a semi-permeable polysilicon film. Prototype SOI device fabrication results are presented. High Q single crystal silicon micro resonators have potential for replacing bulky quartz resonators in clock circuits. Monolithic integration of micromechanical devices and an integrated circuit has been demonstrated with the developed process using the embedded vacuum cavities.reviewe

National MEMS Technology Roadmap - Markets, Applications and Devices

MEMS teknologiaa on jo pitkään käytetty lukuisien eri laitteiden valmistamiseen. Osa näistä laitteista on ollut markkinoilla jo useita vuosia, kun taas osa on vasta kehitysvaiheessa. Jotta tutkimus ja kehitystyötä osattaisiin jatkossa kohdistaa oikeille painopistealueille, on tärkeää tietää mihin suuntaan kehitys on menossa. Tämä työ on osa kansallista MEMS teknologioiden tiekartta -projektia ja sen tavoitteena oli selvittää MEMS laitteiden kehityksen suuntaa. Työ toteutettiin laajana kirjallisuustutkimuksena. Lisäksi tulosten tueksi haastateltiin asiantuntijoita Suomen MEMS teollisuudesta. Työssä tarkasteltiin lukuisia jo markkinoilta löytyviä ja vasta kehitteillä olevia MEMS laitteita ja analysoitiin niitä sekä teknisestä että kaupallisesta näkökulmasta. Tutkimuksen perusteella kävi ilmi, että MEMS markkinat ovat pitkään muodostuneet vakiintuneista laitteista kuten mustesuihkupäistä, kiihtyvyysantureista, paineantureista sekä RF suotimista. Lisäksi mikrofonit, gyroskoopit ja optiset laitteet ovat olleet kaupallisesti saatavilla jo pitkään. Markkinat ovat hiljattain alkaneet tehdä tilaa myös uusille MEMS laitteille, joita tulee ulos nopeaa vauhtia. Viimeisimpänä markkinoille tulleita laitteita ovat erilaiset mikrofluidistiikka laitteet, mikrobolometrit sekä yhdistelmäanturit. Pian kaupallisesti saatavia laitteita ovat magnetometrit, automaattitarkennuslaitteet sekä MEMS oskillaattorit. Näiden laitteiden lisäksi kehitteillä on monia uusia MEMS laitteita, jotka saattavat tarjota merkittäviä mahdollisuuksia tulevaisuudessa. Kehitteillä olevia laitteita ovat erilaiset lääketieteelliset laitteet, atomikellot, mikrojäähdyttimet, mikrokaiuttimet, energiantuottolaitteet sekä RFID-laitteet. Kaikki kehitteillä olevista laitteista eivät välttämättä tule menestymään kaupallisesti, mutta jatkuva tutkimustyö osoittaa, että monilla MEMS laitteilla on potentiaalia useissa eri sovelluksissa. Markkinanäkökulmasta tarkasteltuna suurin potentiaali piilee kuluttajaelektroniikka markkinoilla. Muita tulevaisuuden kannalta potentiaalisia markkinoita ovat lääketieteelliset ja teollisuusmarkkinat. Tutkimus osoitti että MEMS laitteiden tutkimukseen ja kehitykseen liittyy monia potentiaalisia painopistealueita tulevaisuudessa. Käyttömahdollisuuksien parantamiseksi monet jo vakiintuneet laitteet kaipaavat vielä parannuksia. Toisaalta, jo olemassa olevia laitteita voidaan hyödyntää uusissa sovelluksissa. Lisäksi monet uusista ja kehitteillä olevista MEMS laitteista vaativat vielä kehitystyötä.MEMS technology has long been applied to the fabrication of various devices from which some have already been in use for several years, whereas others are still under development. In order to find future focus areas in research and development activities in the industry, it is important to know where the development is going. This thesis was conducted as a part of National MEMS technology roadmap, and it aimed for determining the evolution of MEMS devices. The work was conducted as an extensive literature review. In addition, experts from the Finnish MEMS industry were interviewed in order obtain a broader insight to the results. In this thesis various existing and emerging MEMS devices were reviewed and analyzed from technological and commercial perspectives. The study showed that the MEMS market has long been composed of established devices, such as inkjet print-heads, pressure sensors, accelerometers and RF filters. Also gyroscopes, microphones and optical MEMS devices have already been on the market for a long time. Lately, many new devices have started to find their place in the markets. The most recently introduced commercial devices include microfluidic devices, micro bolometers, and combo sensors. There are also a few devices including magnetometers, MEMS oscillators, and auto-focus devices that are currently crossing the gap from R&D to commercialization. In addition to the already available devices, many new MEMS devices are under development, and might offer significant opportunities in the future. These emerging devices include various bioMEMS devices, atomic clocks, micro-coolers, micro speakers, power MEMS devices, and RFID devices. All of the emerging devices might not find commercial success, but the constant stream shows, that there are numerous applications, where MEMS devices could be applied in. From a market point of view, the greatest potential in the future lies in consumer electronics market. Other highly potential markets include medical and industrial markets. The results of the thesis indicate that there are many potential focus areas in the future related to MEMS devices, including improvements of the existing devices in order to gain better utilization, application of the existing devices in new areas, and development work among the emerging devices