Originally Published EMDM
May/June 2004
Industry News
Volume Production to Begin for Low-Cost Gas SensorNorbert Sparrow
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| Biological MEMS-based devices often require encapsulation to satisfy low-cost assembly requirements. Glass lids were bonded to the pictured biomedical chip, fabricated by Innovative Micro Technology, at the wafer level after the chips were diced. |
A low-cost silicon infrared gas sensor with a small footprint and low power consumption is scheduled to go into production. The SensorChip developed by
Ion Optics (Waltham, MA, USA) will be manufactured by Innovative Micro Technology
(IMT; Santa Barbara, CA, USA). The initial design targets carbon dioxide and combustible-gas sensing.
Ion Optics has developed an optical platform technology that allows the emission and absorption wavelengths of a silicon surface to be tuned. This is accomplished by means of 2-D photonic crystals, which are fabricated using high-volume semiconductor manufacturing techniques.
Optical measurement is the most accurate and reliable method for gas analysis, according to the firm. The instruments, however, tend to be bulky, complex, and expensive. Thinking small, Ion Optics found a way to shrink the sensor onto a silicon chip. The key innovation, adds the firm, lies in the MEMS-based microbridge elements. They function as wavelength-tunable detectors and emitters. Photonic band-gap technology enables the elements to emit and absorb in a narrow waveband centered on the signature wavelength of the target gas.
“We have seen many emerging MEMS technologies with limited high-volume demand,” says IMT CEO John Foster. “Ion Optics’ SensorChips clearly have huge market potential.” The technology, he predicts, will dramatically change the gas-sensor industry. Medical systems will be a key application.
To learn more about SensorChip products, contact Ion Optics, 411 Waverley Oaks Rd., Ste. 144, Waltham, MA 02452, USA; phone: +1 781 7888777; fax: +1 781 7888811; e-mail:
info@ion-optics.com; Internet: www.ion-optics.com.
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