WHAT DID I DO THIS SUMMER
RET 2014
Gloria Alonso
WHAT IS RET
RET stands for Research Experiences for Teachers that provides teacher
professional development experiences involving hands-on research in a
university, government lab or company.
National Science Foundation is the largest funder of RETs via the Directorates
for Engineering, Geosciences, Biological Sciences, Materials Research Science
and Engineering Centers and others.
The goal of NSF’s programs is to help build long-term collaborative
partnerships between K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
teachers, community college faculty, and the NSF university research community
by involving teachers in research and helping them translate their research
experiences and new knowledge into classroom activities.
FIU RET PROGRAM 2014
Even though I’m familiar with FIU, I had no idea of
the incredible research that it’s being done by the
professors at FIU.
There are so many different departments working
together in order to reach a common goal. It’s a big
scientific community contributing on each other’s
research in order to better serve this community.
This program is a great opportunity that is presented
to teachers to open their eyes into improving their
own curriculum and to incorporate technology,
engineering and many other areas of science into
their classrooms.
THE PROGRAM
This is a 6 week program in
which teachers get to partner
with a college professor, who
becomes our mentor, and we
are able to work together and
learn from their research.
We also had the opportunity to
attend seminars and to work with
professionals to develop protocols
and lesson plans to incorporate
what we learned into our
classrooms.
We were also exposed to the
processes needed to create a
MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical
system) pressure sensor and the use
of the clean lab room and its
equipment.
RESEARCH WITH MENTOR
I had the opportunity of working under
Dr. Bhansali, and with his PhD prospect
Patrick Roman.
As part of our work, we learned about
the research that they are developing,
from the sensor used in the measurement
of cortisol to the development of a small
scale mass spectrometer.
I created two posters about MEMS and
Pressure Sensors. I am including them in
the next two slides.
Shekhar Bhansali, Ph.D.
Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS)
RET Program 2014
Gloria Alonso
Introduction
Aerospace
Smart-Phones
Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) Applications
Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) consists of mechanical elements, sensors, actuators, and electrical and electronics devices on a
common silicon substrate. The most popular material used for MEMS is Silicon for it's semiconductor, physical and commercial properties. The size
of MEMS sub-components is in the range of 1 to 100 micrometers and the size of MEMS device itself measure in the range of 20 micrometers to a
millimeter. The sensors in MEMS gather information from the environment through measuring mechanical, thermal, biological, chemical, optical, and
magnetic phenomena. The electronics then process the information derived from the sensors and through some decision making capability direct the
actuators to respond by moving, positioning, regulating, pumping, and filtering, thereby controlling the environment for some desired outcome or
purpose.
Medicine
Since the invention of the transistor in 1947,
scientists have been trying to improve and
develop
new
micro-electro-mechanical
systems. MEMS devices have been used in
many commercial products throughout the
years. New applications and better technologies
are emerging every day. The first MEMS
devices measured such things as pressure in
engines and motion in cars. Today, MEMS
elements are controlling our communications
networks. They are saving lives by inflating
automobile air bags. They are also placed on
the human body to monitor blood pressure and
used to administer drugs more precisely.
Microsystems will continue to get smaller,
creating new technology. The applications and
growth for MEMS are endless and will continue
to find their way into so many aspects of our
everyday lives.
Automobiles
MEMS History
© Ritsumeikan Univ. All rights
reserved.
As seen on the above diagram, MEMS devices can be used in many different fields. In the communications
field, Smart MEMS could be used to connect optical fiber networks, and control radio frequency circuits and
mobile phone antennas. The same Smart MEMS chip could be used in a different way in an automobile, in
the sensors for engine and driving controls. In the field of transportation, the chips could be used to keep a
record of the changing environmental and storage conditions of foods, organic, or other sensitive materials for
the entire duration of their transportation. In the medical field, Smart MEMS could be used to monitor a
patient’s pulse, blood pressure, and other biological data including their state of motion. This information
could then be relayed any distance, even if the patient’s doctor was on the other side of the world, it would
still be possible to monitor a patient’s activity and physical condition.
MEMS Manufacturers
MEMS may still be an industry with a
multitude of diverse products, but it’s
also increasingly an industry dominated
by a limited number of big suppliers.
According to market research firm Yole
Developpement, in 2010 the largest four
MEMS
manufacturers-–Texas
Instruments, Hewlett Packard, Robert
Bosch
and
STMicroelectronics—increased their combined MEMS sales
by some 37 percent, to ~$2.9 billion.
MEMS Market
"Consumer applications are transforming the MEMS
industry," according to Laurent Robin, activity leader for
Inertial MEMS Devices and Technologies at Yole
Developpement in France, who predicted compound
annual growth of 13 percent for the next five years.
The Yole analyst said that ST Microelectronics, the
consumer MEMS supplier to Apple and Samsung, is the
top MEMS chipmaker today, followed by Bosch (for
automotive), Texas Instruments (for digital light
processors), and Hewlett Packard (for inkjet printer
cartridges). MEMS for mobile, Robin claimed, is the
driver for future growth, noting that smartphones have
as many as 12 MEMS chips today, growing to as many
as 20 in the near future.
References
http://www.i-micronews.com; www.memscentral.com; www.yoledeveloppement.com; www.wtc-consult.de; www.abdulkalam.com;
www.iopscience.iop.org
Acknowledgement: A special thank you to Patrick Roman, Dr. Nezih Pala, Dr. Masoud Milani, Neal Ricks, Phani Kiran Vabbina and the
RET Program faculty mentors with funding from NSF.
Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) Pressure Sensors
RET Program 2014
Gloria Alonso
Introduction
MEMS Pressure Sensor Batch Processing
Micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) pressure sensors have changed the way that system designers and application
engineers measure pressure. The simplicity of use, small size, low cost and ruggedness allow these sensors to address
applications in automobiles and industrial process control as well as medical and handheld portable products. MEMS
pressure sensors typically measure the pressure difference across a silicon diaphragm.
Source:
cleanroom.soe.ucsc.edu
Deposition by
Evaporation
Types of Pressure Measurements
Pressure sensors can be classified in terms of the pressure ranges they measure, temperature ranges of operation, and most importantly the type
of pressure they measure. Pressure sensors are variously named according to their purpose, but the same technology may be used under
different names.
a) Gauge pressure sensor: This sensor measures the pressure relative to atmospheric pressure. A tire pressure gauge is an example of gauge
pressure measurement; when it indicates zero, then the pressure it is measuring is the same as the ambient pressure.
b) Absolute pressure sensor: This sensor measures the pressure relative to perfect vacuum.
c) Differential pressure sensor: This sensor measures the difference between two pressures, one connected to each side of the sensor.
Differential pressure sensors are used to measure many properties, such as pressure drops across oil filters or air filters, fluid levels (by
comparing the pressure above and below the liquid) or flow rates (by measuring the change in pressure across a restriction).
Source:
http://www.tazmo.co.jp
Wet
Etching
3-D View of a Pressure
Sensor
www.cy
mer.com
Application of
Photoresist
Alignment of
wafer with mask
UV Light
Exposure
www.intechop
en.com
Source:
panasonic.com
Source:
www.allsensors.co
Figure 1. Gage, absolute and differential pressure measurements have different mtypes of
pressure on each side of the diaphragm.
Figure 2. Pressure sensors in
their respective packaging. The
elongated side shows the area
that will be capturing pressure
changes.
Pressure sensors will become the leading micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) device by 2014 thanks to
their relatively high prices and expanding use in a host
of automotive, medical and industrial applications,
according to an IHS iSuppli MEMS & Sensors Market
tracker. Driven by a strong automotive industry
recovery after the recession, pressure sensors
generated $1.22 billion in revenue in 2010, up 26
percent from 2009, to reach second place in terms of
revenue among all MEMS devices. Growth, even though
more modest at 6.6 percent in 2011, increased with a
double-digit expansion in 2012. By 2014, revenue for
MEMS pressure sensors will amount to $1.85 billion.
Microfabrication Processing
The microfabrication process is usually a structured sequence of three basic
processes:
1. Lithography
Lithography in the MEMS context is the transfer of a pattern to a photosensitive
material by selective exposure to a radiation source such as light. When a
photosensitive material is selectively exposed to radiation, the radiation pattern on the
material is transferred to the material exposed.
2. Deposition
Deposition is a key building block in that it is the ability to deposit thin films of material.
MEMS deposition technology is classified in two groups:
• Depositions resulting from chemical reactions
• Depositions resulting from physical reaction
3. Etching
In order to form a functional MEMS structure on a substrate it is necessary to etch the
thin films previously deposited and/or the substrate itself. In general, there are two
classes of etching processes:
• Wet etching
• Dry etching
MEMS Pressure Sensor Economic Impact
References
www.essex.ac.uk
http://www.i-micronews.com; www.memscentral.com; www.yoledeveloppement.com; www.wtc-consult.de; www.abdulkalam.com;
www.iopscience.iop.org; https://technology.ihs.com; http://electroiq.com; http://www.allaboutmems.com;
http://www.intechopen.com
Acknowledgement: A special thank you to Patrick Roman, Dr. Nezih Pala, Dr. Masoud Milani, Neal Ricks, Phani Kiran Vabbina and the
RET Program faculty mentors with funding from NSF.
LAB TUESDAYS
On Tuesdays we worked with Dr. N. Pala and his
TA’s (Kiran and Ata) in order to acquire the
knowledge needed to understand the
microfabrication process of a pressure sensor, from
starting to finish.
This included the visualization of pressure sensor
diagrams to the understanding of each of the
steps.
Later, we moved to the clean lab room, in order
to practice what was learned in the lecture. We
worked with Neal Ricks, which took the time to
explain every step in detail.
MORE PICTURES
MORE PICTURES
WEDNESDAY SEMINARS
On Wednesday, we had the
opportunity to meet as a group and
listen to a seminar or a presentation
related the latest research being
done not only at FIU Engineering
School but also at North Carolina
State University (NCU).
Some of the presenters were Dr.
Nezih Pala, Dr. Sakhrat Khizroev and
other faculty members from NCU.
Sakhrat Khizroev, Ph.D.
Nezih Pala, Ph.D.
CURRICULUM FRIDAYS
On Friday, we met as a group in
order to share experiences and
learn new teaching protocols on
how to implement what was
learned into our curriculum.
We developed lesson plans that
we will be using in the upcoming
school year.
WRAP UP
This has been an incredible experience. It has
given me the opportunity to open my eyes to the use
of technology and to the latest research.
I will certainly be applying what I have learned
into my curriculum and I will encourage my students
to pursue careers in Engineering which is the
profession of today and the future.
I will like to thank Dr. Masoud Milani for taking the
time to write a grant that has made it possible for us
to be part of this program.
Thank you!!