Micro-Power CMOS Mid-infrared spectrometer-on-a-chip
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Engineering
Abstract
This project capitalises on the world-leading expertise and research infrastructure on complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-type devices and technologies available at the University of Cambridge and chemical microsensor technologies available at Warwick University to develop future smart sensors and generate innovative technology platforms by ascertaining UK leadership in gas sensing development.
The mid-infrared (MIR) spectral region is very important for real-life applications because it contains characteristic absorption lines that can be used to identify many organic and inorganic molecules. There is an increasing need to develop new innovative sensing technologies for many applications involving chemical analysis in healthcare, environmental monitoring or industrial process control. In addition, innovation in the consumer electronics segment is expected to grow at the highest rate for MIR sensors integrated into smartphones, tablets, wearable and medical devices, with the vision to deliver health or other services in more efficient ways and with benefits to patients and taxpayers.
Compared to other current technologies, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) recently came up as compact, integrated MIR sources used in a variety of gas sensors proven to be energy efficient. In addition, they are compatible with CMOS processes offering clear advantages in size, weight, and power, and further open the possibility of cost reduction leveraging standard high-volume semiconductor manufacturing processes for applications such as integration with consumer electronics. Various innovative MEMS based sensors and technologies have been pioneered at the University of Cambridge such as filterless gas detection and at the Warwick University such as the smart electronic tongue. These newly developed sensors and technologies have great potential for use in spectroscopy that can be exploited for the design and engineering of, e.g. novel healthcare technologies towards solutions or improvements of unmet clinical needs.
The Cambridge and Warwick research groups have an excellent track record for generating applied scientific research and in transferring technology to industry as world-leaders in CMOS microsensor technologies research to develop innovative solutions for specific unmet needs. The proposal aims to develop, for the first time, CMOS integrated MIR spectroscopic devices for specific applications and draws on several cross-cutting capabilities: a) custom-design MEMS MIR emitters with enhanced emissivity, exploring different nanomaterial integration techniques; b) development of novel filtering and sensing technologies for enabling spectrophotometry; and c) development of spectroscopic technologies through the application areas using relevant markers for well-being and fitness. Strong partnership with industrial and medical partners aims to ensure rapid market translation.
The mid-infrared (MIR) spectral region is very important for real-life applications because it contains characteristic absorption lines that can be used to identify many organic and inorganic molecules. There is an increasing need to develop new innovative sensing technologies for many applications involving chemical analysis in healthcare, environmental monitoring or industrial process control. In addition, innovation in the consumer electronics segment is expected to grow at the highest rate for MIR sensors integrated into smartphones, tablets, wearable and medical devices, with the vision to deliver health or other services in more efficient ways and with benefits to patients and taxpayers.
Compared to other current technologies, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) recently came up as compact, integrated MIR sources used in a variety of gas sensors proven to be energy efficient. In addition, they are compatible with CMOS processes offering clear advantages in size, weight, and power, and further open the possibility of cost reduction leveraging standard high-volume semiconductor manufacturing processes for applications such as integration with consumer electronics. Various innovative MEMS based sensors and technologies have been pioneered at the University of Cambridge such as filterless gas detection and at the Warwick University such as the smart electronic tongue. These newly developed sensors and technologies have great potential for use in spectroscopy that can be exploited for the design and engineering of, e.g. novel healthcare technologies towards solutions or improvements of unmet clinical needs.
The Cambridge and Warwick research groups have an excellent track record for generating applied scientific research and in transferring technology to industry as world-leaders in CMOS microsensor technologies research to develop innovative solutions for specific unmet needs. The proposal aims to develop, for the first time, CMOS integrated MIR spectroscopic devices for specific applications and draws on several cross-cutting capabilities: a) custom-design MEMS MIR emitters with enhanced emissivity, exploring different nanomaterial integration techniques; b) development of novel filtering and sensing technologies for enabling spectrophotometry; and c) development of spectroscopic technologies through the application areas using relevant markers for well-being and fitness. Strong partnership with industrial and medical partners aims to ensure rapid market translation.
Planned Impact
Based on the objectives aimed at in our project and the increasing efforts and interest to develop and exploit integrated sensing technologies in socially-needed application areas, such as healthcare, we will generate significant impact in scientific knowledge, end-user (industrial and clinical) engagement and the broader society.
1. Society. The array of technological developments which this project will lead to will ultimately impact the quality of people's lives in terms of health and well-being. In addition, as the applications of this technology spans across a broad range of industries from environmental sensing to medicine, the benefits will also be economical, hopefully leading to a spin-out company and high-tech job creation which, in turn, will contribute to the future UK prosperity. Impact on the quality of people's lives (health, and well-being) will in time follow the technological innovations and practical applications which this project will facilitate. For example, in medicine reliable and non-invasive diagnostics will have direct and immediate impact on patient's quality of life. Furthermore, using portable spectroscopic tools, as proposed in this project, will lead to improved food quality as well as pharmaceutical products, which will be produced to a higher standard of quality resulting in clear societal and indeed economical benefits.
2. Industry. The development of new electronic materials, sensing devices, and the related assembly and testing methodologies will be of interest to manufacturers of scientific instrumentation. The UK sensors industry could gain an important foothold in fields such as medical applications of spectrometers, which is expected to be a major growth area over the next century, due to aging populations in many of the developed countries. In addition, industry will also benefit from the highly skilled graduates and postgraduates (UK and international) who will undertake student research projects in the area of the proposed research. Potential technological applications include: integrated mid-IR spectrometers in mobile devices such as tablets, smartphones, and wearable medical devices. It is therefore anticipated that in the next three years there will be significant commercial interest in these prototype devices, and opportunities to exploit the technology will be actively pursued with partner organisations. Identifying and patenting the new technologies developed as part of the project will also enable more rapid exploitation by the industrial partners. Furthermore, industry more widely will benefit from the dissemination of our research results through journals, conference proceedings and world-wide-web.
3. Academia. The outcomes of the proposed research can be anticipated to have a wide impact on science and technology. In particular, sustainable technological growth is an important area of concern and the project goes some way to contributing towards the engagement of science and technology for economic and social development. For example, dissemination through journal, international conferences and workshops could contribute to enhanced collaborative opportunities with other academic partners and lead to even broader opportunities for technology transfer and new ventures.
1. Society. The array of technological developments which this project will lead to will ultimately impact the quality of people's lives in terms of health and well-being. In addition, as the applications of this technology spans across a broad range of industries from environmental sensing to medicine, the benefits will also be economical, hopefully leading to a spin-out company and high-tech job creation which, in turn, will contribute to the future UK prosperity. Impact on the quality of people's lives (health, and well-being) will in time follow the technological innovations and practical applications which this project will facilitate. For example, in medicine reliable and non-invasive diagnostics will have direct and immediate impact on patient's quality of life. Furthermore, using portable spectroscopic tools, as proposed in this project, will lead to improved food quality as well as pharmaceutical products, which will be produced to a higher standard of quality resulting in clear societal and indeed economical benefits.
2. Industry. The development of new electronic materials, sensing devices, and the related assembly and testing methodologies will be of interest to manufacturers of scientific instrumentation. The UK sensors industry could gain an important foothold in fields such as medical applications of spectrometers, which is expected to be a major growth area over the next century, due to aging populations in many of the developed countries. In addition, industry will also benefit from the highly skilled graduates and postgraduates (UK and international) who will undertake student research projects in the area of the proposed research. Potential technological applications include: integrated mid-IR spectrometers in mobile devices such as tablets, smartphones, and wearable medical devices. It is therefore anticipated that in the next three years there will be significant commercial interest in these prototype devices, and opportunities to exploit the technology will be actively pursued with partner organisations. Identifying and patenting the new technologies developed as part of the project will also enable more rapid exploitation by the industrial partners. Furthermore, industry more widely will benefit from the dissemination of our research results through journals, conference proceedings and world-wide-web.
3. Academia. The outcomes of the proposed research can be anticipated to have a wide impact on science and technology. In particular, sustainable technological growth is an important area of concern and the project goes some way to contributing towards the engagement of science and technology for economic and social development. For example, dissemination through journal, international conferences and workshops could contribute to enhanced collaborative opportunities with other academic partners and lead to even broader opportunities for technology transfer and new ventures.
Publications
Dai Y
(2022)
Modeling of CMOS Single Membrane Thermopile Detector Arrays
in IEEE Sensors Journal
Dai Y
(2020)
Crosstalk Analysis of a CMOS Single Membrane Thermopile Detector Array.
in Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
Hopper R
(2022)
Miniaturized thermal acoustic gas sensor based on a CMOS microhotplate and MEMS microphone.
in Scientific reports
Popa D
(2021)
A highly stable, nanotube-enhanced, CMOS-MEMS thermal emitter for mid-IR gas sensing.
in Scientific reports
| Description | It has been found that dielectric-encapsulated nanotubes can stand temperatures of up to 900C, or possibly even higher, considering that our experimental setup, not the nanotubes themselves, has been damaged when operating at this temperature. The findings are significant, because: 1. It proves the feasibility of our proposal. We estimated to run stably such devices at around 600C. The findings show that much higher temperatures are possible, thus significantly raising the expectations for our proposal 2. It paves the way to encapsulation techniques for a variety of nanomaterials that can operate stably well above the thermal emission threshold |
| Exploitation Route | One of the main outcomes of this funding is the successful encapsulation of nanomaterials for temperatures above thermal emission. This can enable low-cost (~1£) and highly performant thermal emitters for mid-infrared spectroscopy that can be conveniently applied on the field. We envisage the outcomes of our research to be taken forward by many industries and used for their particular spectroscopic needs |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Chemicals,Construction,Electronics,Energy,Environment,Healthcare,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| Description | University of Warwick |
| Organisation | University of Warwick |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | 1.1 Management strategy defined 1.2 Project update and conclusions 2.1.1 List with analytes to be detected at MIR 2.1.2 List updated with spectrometer feedback 2.2.1 Initial spectrometer specification list 5.3 Simulations for plasmonic structures at MIR |
| Collaborator Contribution | 1.2 Project update and conclusions 2.1.1 List with analytes to be detected at MIR 2.1.2 List updated with spectrometer feedback 2.2.1 Initial spectrometer specification list 5.3 Simulations for plasmonic structures at MIR |
| Impact | The project will bring together three different emerging technologies to create a new generation of IC devices: (i) CMOS microelectronics; (ii) Micromachining (deep reaction ion etching (DRIE) to form thin sensing membranes); and (iii) Nano-materials growth (e.g. CNTs). |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | CUED Bioengineering Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This half-day conference will showcase current collaborations between engineers, scientists and the wider biological and biomedical community, and aims to build bridges between researchers and practitioners in these areas. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |