微機(jī)電系統(tǒng)(MEMS)的下一步目標(biāo)在于縮小可用于分析氣味的電子儀器，如質(zhì)譜儀以及幾乎能嗅出任何物質(zhì)的電子鼻。透過(guò)Honeywell公司開(kāi)發(fā)出的首款微型 MEMS 真空泵，其尺寸小到足以塞進(jìn)一支手機(jī)中，可望讓下一代智能手機(jī)等移動(dòng)裝置也能擁有“嗅覺(jué)”。 Honeywell最初開(kāi)發(fā)這款微型 MEMS 真空泵主要針對(duì)軍用的微型無(wú)人偵察機(jī)，使其得以用于偵測(cè)化學(xué)與生物制劑。如今，這款僅1美分錢幣大小的MEMS傳感器正著眼于擴(kuò)展應(yīng)用領(lǐng)域至工業(yè)、醫(yī)療與消費(fèi)市場(chǎng)。

Honeywell的微型MEMS真空幫浦利用像渦輪的葉片實(shí)現(xiàn)手持式分析儀
Source：HoneywellQ1aesmc

“我 們已經(jīng)開(kāi)發(fā)出世界上最小的真空泵，這是一款能實(shí)現(xiàn)電子分析儀新型態(tài)的獨(dú)特技術(shù)，”Honeywell公司ACS Labs業(yè)務(wù)單位首席研究科學(xué)家Wei Yang指出，“近年來(lái)有很多人都試圖縮小電子分析儀，但這種真空泵是最近的一項(xiàng)突破。先前最小的模型約為磚塊大小，功耗為100W，如今，我們開(kāi)發(fā)出的 這款真空泵只有1美分硬幣大小，功耗還不到1W。” 這款組件原先是依據(jù)與美國(guó)DARPA的合約而開(kāi)發(fā)的，主要安裝于微型無(wú)人 機(jī)上明。如今，Honeywell期望使該組件商用化，讓這款微型真空泵可應(yīng)用在各種移動(dòng)裝置上──從能夠確定任何物質(zhì)組成的質(zhì)譜儀，到可提供超精確導(dǎo)航 服務(wù)的原子鐘──讓手機(jī)與移動(dòng)裝置在擁有聽(tīng)覺(jué)(語(yǔ)音)、視覺(jué)(視頻)與觸覺(jué)(觸控)以外，現(xiàn)在還有了嗅覺(jué)。 Wei Yang強(qiáng)調(diào)，“最讓我們感到興奮之處在于它也能內(nèi)建于智能手機(jī)中，讓手機(jī)能真的擁有嗅覺(jué)，可以聞出有毒化學(xué)品、花粉與一般空氣品質(zhì)等任何物質(zhì)與氣味。它還能為用戶持續(xù)累積暴露記錄，提醒用戶暴露于某個(gè)環(huán)境的時(shí)間與地點(diǎn)?！? 由 于目前的傳感器主要依據(jù)化學(xué)反應(yīng)，使其受限于特定的幾種毒素偵測(cè)。事實(shí)上，針對(duì)每一種化學(xué)物質(zhì)都必須采用不同的傳感器來(lái)偵測(cè)，使其僅適用于特定目的(如一 氧化碳或煙霧偵測(cè)器)，而無(wú)法作為一種通用的嗅探器。然而，可內(nèi)建于手機(jī)中的這種質(zhì)譜儀能夠偵測(cè)樣本中的元素、各種儲(chǔ)存于數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)中已知毒物的化學(xué)特性，以 及同步搜尋比對(duì)最可能組合。 DARPA以及其它單位過(guò)去也曾經(jīng)試圖縮小質(zhì)譜儀等電子分析儀。遺憾的是，這些芯片級(jí)的儀器僅在真空狀態(tài)下才能有效隔離與分析樣本。因此，Honeywell藉由縮小真空泵的方式，可說(shuō)是突破了最后一道障礙，并為能嗅出幾乎任何化學(xué)物質(zhì)的手持式嗅探器應(yīng)用開(kāi)啟了大門。 Wei Yang預(yù)期“在未來(lái)的十年，這一創(chuàng)新將為手持式移動(dòng)裝置迎來(lái)各種先進(jìn)復(fù)雜的電子分析儀。” Honeywell 得以成功實(shí)現(xiàn)這款號(hào)稱全球最小真空泵的關(guān)鍵是在1公分大小的磁盤上制造出10萬(wàn)個(gè)微小渦輪葉片。Honeywell已經(jīng)擁有可開(kāi)發(fā)出微米級(jí)渦輪葉片的 MEMS技術(shù)，還能在與其MEMS設(shè)備相同的設(shè)備上進(jìn)行制造。每一個(gè)8 寸晶圓上大約可制造出幾百個(gè)搭載這種渦輪葉片的磁盤。 “我們的MEMS真空泵延續(xù)Honeywell在MEMS技術(shù)上的長(zhǎng)期發(fā)展經(jīng)驗(yàn)。事實(shí)上，我們?cè)谥圃爝@款真空泵時(shí)，采用的就是我們生產(chǎn)MEMS陀螺儀與流量傳感器所用的相同光學(xué)微影制程與相同設(shè)備，”Wei Yang表示。 每個(gè)真空泵中包含兩個(gè)磁盤──一個(gè)固定磁盤以及一個(gè)旋轉(zhuǎn)磁盤，其上覆以10微米大小、類似渦輪的葉片。每一組葉片彼此相對(duì)，從而形成強(qiáng)大的吸附效果，以便在小型樣本導(dǎo)入測(cè)試前先行清空測(cè)試腔。 DARPA已經(jīng)將Honeywell的真空泵安裝在微型無(wú)人 機(jī)的移動(dòng)分析儀了。Honeywell目前正致力于擴(kuò)大其傳感器網(wǎng)絡(luò)，并提供內(nèi)建手持單元的首款轉(zhuǎn)發(fā)器。不過(guò)，據(jù)Wei Yang表示，最大的好處就是整合于智能手機(jī)等消費(fèi)移動(dòng)設(shè)備中。 “當(dāng)每個(gè)人的手機(jī)中都安裝了這種組件，可望實(shí)現(xiàn)追蹤一切物質(zhì)化學(xué)組成的未來(lái)──從空氣品質(zhì)到疾病控制，甚至化學(xué)藥品。同時(shí)還能實(shí)時(shí)動(dòng)態(tài)追蹤任何化學(xué)物種，并在地圖上觀察其實(shí)時(shí)移動(dòng)情形?！? 本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載 編譯：Susan Hong 參考英文原文：MEMS-Enabled Electronic Nose Is Nothing to Sneeze At，by R. Colin Johnson

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{pagination} MEMS-Enabled Electronic Nose Is Nothing to Sneeze At R. Colin Johnson PORTLAND, Ore. — Next on the frontier for micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) is the downsizing of analytic instruments like mass spectrometers -- essentially electronic noses that can sniff out nearly any substance. The enabling technology is the world's first MEMS vacuum pump small enough to fit inside a mobile device. Invented at Honeywell to enable military micro-drones to detect chemical and biological agents, these penny-sized MEMS vacuum pumps are now poised to enter the industrial, medical and consumer markets. Honeywell's penny-sized vacuum pump (upper right) enables handheld analytic instruments by virtue of MEMS turbine-like blades. (Source: Honeywell) "What we have done is create the world's smallest vacuum pump -- a unique enabler for a whole new class of analytic instruments," Wei Yang, principal research scientist with Honeywell's ACS Labs business unit, told us. "Many people have tried to downsize analytical instruments in recent years, but the vacuum pump was the last obstacle. Previously the smallest models were brick sized and consumed 100 watts, but ours is now penny sized and uses less than one watt." The device was invented under a contract with the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) for installation on micro-drones. Honeywell is hoping to market these vacuum pumps as an "add-on sense of smell" for all sorts of mobile devices -- from mass spectrometers that can determine the composition of any substance to atomic clocks that provide ultra-precise navigation services. "One thing we are very excited about is putting these into smartphones, essentially adding a sense of smell that can sense everything from toxic chemicals to pollen to general air quality," Yang said. "They could keep a cumulative record of exposure for every person carrying one, noting when and where a user was exposed." Today sensors are restricted to specific toxins, because they are based on chemical reactions. In fact, a different sensor is needed for each type of chemical to be sensed, making them useful for specific purposes (such as carbon monoxide or smoke detectors) but useless as general-purpose sniffers. But with a mobile mass spectrometer that detects the elements in a sample, the chemical signatures of all known toxic substances could be stored in a database and searched in real-time for the most likely match. DARPA and others had previously downsized the components for analytic instruments like mass spectrometers. Unfortunately, these chip-sized instruments work only in a vacuum, where the sample can be isolated for analysis. By downsizing a vacuum pump to chip size, Honeywell has removed the last obstacle, opening the door to handheld sniffers that can sense almost any chemical species. "In the coming decade, this innovation is going to usher in all types of very sophisticated instrumentation for handheld mobile platforms," Yang said. Key to the success of the world's smallest vacuum pump was the fabrication of more than 100,000 tiny turbine blades on a centimeter-sized disk. Honeywell already had the MEMS technology to create the micron-size, turbine-like blades. In fact, it fabricates them on the same equipment as its other MEMS devices. Hundreds of such bladed disks can be manufactured on each eight-inch silicon wafer. "Our MEMS vacuum pump follows a long legacy of Honeywell MEMS developments," Yang said. "In fact, the vacuum pump is made from silicon monolithically with the same photolithographic processes and same equipment that we use to produce our MEMS gyroscopes and flow sensors." Each vacuum pump houses two disks -- one stationary and one rotating -- covered with 10 micron-sized, turbine-like blades (shown above). The pairs of blades face each other to create the strong suction effect necessary to evacuate a test chamber before a small sample is bled in for testing. DARPA is already working to install Honeywell's vacuum pumps into mobile analytic instruments on micro-drones. Homeland security contractors are working to expand their sensor networks with these devices and provide first responders with handheld units. But the biggest benefit, according to Yang, will come from integrating them with consumer mobile devices like smartphones. "With these installed in everybody's smartphones, the tracking of the chemical constituents for everything from air quality to disease control to chemical spills is possible," Yang said. "You could have instant real-time dynamic tracking of any kind of chemical species and watch it moving in real-time on a map."