• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.184-188
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• 2006

This work describes efforts in the fabrication and testing of robust microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Robustness is typically achieved by investigating non-silicon substrates and materials for MEMS fabrication. Some of the traditional MEMS fabrication techniques are applicable to robust MEMS, while other techniques are drawn from other technology areas, such as electronic packaging. The fabrication technologies appropriate for robust MEMS are illustrated through laminated polymer membrane based pressure sensor arrays. Each array uses a stainless steel substrate, a laminated polymer film as a suspended movable plate, and a fixed, surface micromachined back electrode of electroplated nickel. Over an applied pressure range from 0 to 34 kPa, the net capacitance change was approximately 0.14 pF. An important attribute of this design is that only the steel substrate and the pressure sensor inlet is exposed to the flow; i.e., the sensor is self-packaged.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.15 no.10
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• pp.3554-3570
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• 2021

With the rapid development of the Chinese water project, the safety monitoring of dams is urgently needed. Many drawbacks exist in dams, such as high monitoring costs, a limited equipment service life, long-term monitoring difficulties. MEMS sensors have the advantages of low cost, high precision, easy installation, and simplicity, so they have broad application prospects in engineering measurements. This paper designs intelligent monitoring based on the collaborative measurement of dual MEMS sensors. The system first determines the endpoint coordinates of the sensor array by the coordinate transformation relationship in the monitoring system and then obtains the dam settlement according to the endpoint coordinates. Next, this paper proposes a dual-MEMS sensor collaborative measurement algorithm that builds a mathematical model of the dual-sensor measurement. The monitoring system realizes mutual compensation between sensor measurement data by calculating the motion constraint matrix between the two sensors. Compared with the single-sensor measurement, the dual-sensor measurement algorithm is more accurate and can improve the reliability of long-term monitoring data. Finally, the experimental results show that the dam subsidence monitoring system proposed in this paper fully meets the engineering monitoring accuracy needs, and the dual-sensor collaborative measurement system is more stable than the single-sensor monitoring system.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.128-133
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• 2013

Si Nanowire (Si-NW) arrays were fabricated by top-down method. A relatively simple method is suggested to fabricate suspended silicon nanowire arrays. This method allows for the production of suspended silicon nanowire arrays using anisotropic wet etching and conventional MEMS method of SOI (Silicon-On-Insulator) wafer. The dimensions of the fabricated nanowire arrays with the proposed method were evaluated and their effects on the Field Effect Transistor (FET) characteristics were discussed. Current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the device with nanowire arrays were measured using a probe station and a semiconductor analyzer. The electrical properties of the device were characterized through leakage current, dielectric property, and threshold voltage. The results implied that the electrical characteristics of the fabricated device show the potential of being ion-selective field effect transistors (ISFETs) sensors.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.5 no.6
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• pp.663-679
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• 2009

The use of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) accelerometers in geotechnical instrumentation is relatively new but on the rise. This paper describes a new MEMS-based system for in situ deformation and vibration monitoring. The system has been developed in an effort to combine recent advances in the miniaturization of sensors and electronics with an established wireless infrastructure for on-line geotechnical monitoring. The concept is based on triaxial MEMS accelerometer measurements of static acceleration (angles relative to gravity) and dynamic accelerations. The dynamic acceleration sensitivity range provides signals proportional to vibration during earthquakes or construction activities. This MEMS-based in-place inclinometer system utilizes the measurements to obtain three-dimensional (3D) ground acceleration and permanent deformation profiles up to a depth of one hundred meters. Each sensor array or group of arrays can be connected to a wireless earth station to enable real-time monitoring as well as remote sensor configuration. This paper provides a technical assessment of MEMS-based in-place inclinometer systems for geotechnical instrumentation applications by reviewing the sensor characteristics and providing small- and full-scale laboratory calibration tests. A description and validation of recorded field data from an instrumented unstable slope in California is also presented.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.462-468
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• 2010

A low power gas sensor with microheater was fabricated by MEMS technology. In order to heat up the gas sensing material to a operating temperature, a platinum(Pt) micro heater was built on to the micromachined Si substrate. The width and gap of microheater were $20\;{\mu}m$ and $4.5\;{\mu}m$, respectively. ZnO nanowhisker arrays were fabricated on a sensor device by hydrothermal method. The sensor device was deposited with ZnO seeds using PLD systems. A 200 ml aqueous solution of 0.1 mol zinc nitrate hexahydrate, 0.1 mol hexamethylenetetramine, and 0.02 mol polyethylenimine was used for growthing ZnO nanowhiskers. The power consumption to heat up the gas sensor to a operating temperature was measured and temperature distribution of sensor was analyzed by a Infrared Thermal Camera. The optimum temperature for highest sensitivity was found to be $250^{\circ}C$ although relatively high(64 %) sensitivity was obtained even at as low as $150^{\circ}C$. The power consumption was 72 mW at $250^{\circ}C$ and was only 25 mW at $150^{\circ}C$.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.195-204
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• 2023

Micro-electronic gas sensor devices were developed for the detection of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NO_x), ammonia (NH₃), and formaldehyde (HCHO), as well as binary mixed-gas systems. Four gas sensing materials for different target gases, Pd-SnO₂ for CO, In₂O₃ for NO_x, Ru-WO₃ for NH₃, and SnO₂-ZnO for HCHO, were synthesized using a sol-gel method, and sensor devices were then fabricated using a micro sensor platform. The gas sensing behavior and sensor response to the gas mixture were examined for six mixed gas systems using the experimental data in MEMS gas sensor arrays in sole gases and their mixtures. The gas sensing behavior with the mixed gas system suggests that specific adsorption and selective activation of the adsorption sites might occur in gas mixtures, and allow selectivity for the adsorption of a particular gas. The careful pattern recognition of sensing data obtained by the sensor array made it possible to distinguish a gas species from a gas mixture and to measure its concentration.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.106-109
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• 2012

A low power methane gas sensor with microheater was fabricated by silicon bulk micromachining technology. In order to heat up the sensing layer to operating temperature, a platinum (Pt) micro heater was embedded in the gas sensor. The line width and gap of the microheater was 20 ${\mu}m$ and 4.5 ${\mu}m$, respectively. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowhisker arrays were grown on a sensor from a ZnO seed layer using a hydrothermal method. A 200 ml aqueous solution of 0.1 mol zinc nitrate hexahydrate, 0.1 mol hexamethylenetetramine, and 0.02 mol polyethylenimine was used for growing ZnO nanowhiskers. Temperature distribution of the sensor was analyzed by infrared thermal camera. The optimum temperature for highest sensitivity was found to be $250^{\circ}C$ although relatively high (64%) sensitivity was obtained even at as low a temperature as $150^{\circ}C$. The power consumption was 72 mW at $250^{\circ}C$, and only 25 mW at $150^{\circ}C$.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2011.04a
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• pp.816-820
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• 2011

A method for increasing the difference of side-lobe level in spherical microphone array is presented. In array signal processing, it is known that narrow interval between sensors can increase the difference between main lobe and side-lobe of array response which eventually increase the source recognition capability. Recent commercial array being used, however, have shown certain limitation in using the number of sensors due to its costs and geometrical size of array. To overcome this problem, we have adapted MEMS sensors into spherical microphone array. To check out the improvement, two different types of spherical microphone array were designed. One array is composed with 32 regular instrument microphones and the other one is 85 MEMS sensors. Simulation and experiments were conducted on a sinusoidal noise source with two arrays. The time history data were analyzed with spherical harmonic decomposition and beamforming technique. 85 MEMS sensors array showed the improved side-lobe level suppression by more than 4 dB above the frequency content of 2 kHz compared to 32-sensor array.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.235-241
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• 2024

Gas identification techniques using pattern recognition methods were developed from four micro-electronic gas sensors for noxious gas mixture analysis. The target gases for the air quality monitoring inside vehicles were two exhaust gases, carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxides (NO_x), and two odor gases, ammonia (NH₃) and formaldehyde (HCHO). Four MEMS gas sensors with sensing materials of Pd-SnO₂ for CO, In₂O₃ for NO_X, Ru-WO₃ for NH₃, and hybridized SnO₂-ZnO material for HCHO were fabricated. In six binary mixed gas systems with oxidizing and reducing gases, the gas sensing behaviors and the sensor responses of these methods were examined for the discrimination of gas species. The gas sensitivity data was extracted and their patterns were determined using principal component analysis (PCA) techniques. The PCA plot results showed good separation among the mixed gas systems, suggesting that the gas mixture tests for noxious gases and their mixtures could be well classified and discriminated changes.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.4 no.6
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• pp.727-740
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• 2008

A down hole vertical seismic array is a sequence of instruments installed at various depths in the earth to record the ground motion at multiple points during an earthquake. Numerous studies demonstrate the unique utility of vertical seismic arrays for studying in situ site response and soil behavior. Examples are given of analyses made at two sites to show the value of data from vertical seismic arrays. The sites examined are the Lotung, Taiwan SMART1 array and a new site installed at Jingliao, Taiwan. Details of the installation of the Jingliao array are given. ARX models are theoretically the correct process models for vertical wave propagation in the layered earth, and are used to linearly map deeper sensor input signals to shallower sensor output signals. An example of Event 16 at the Lotung array is given. This same data, when examined in detail with a Bayesian inference model, can also be explained by nonlinear filters yielding commonly accepted soil degradation curves. Results from applying an ARMAX model to data from the Jingliao vertical seismic array are presented. Estimates of inter-transducer soil increment resonant frequency, shear modulus, and damping ratio are presented. The shear modulus varied from 50 to 150 MPa, and damping ratio between 8% and 15%. A new hardware monitoring system - TerraScope - is an affordable 4-D down-hole seismic monitoring system based on independent, microprocessor-controlled sensor Pods. The Pods are nominally 50 mm in diameter, and about 120 mm long. An internal 16-bit micro-controller oversees all aspects of instrumentation, eight programmable gain amplifiers, and local signal storage.