Distributed Microsystems Laboratory:

Developing Microsystems that Make Sense Denise Wilson, Associate Professor Department of Electrical Engineering University of Washington Seattle, Washington 98195-2500 Research Assistants (The People who Do Wonderful Work): Ranajit Banerjee, Brian Ferguson, Lisa Hansen, Linda Lee, Susan Soggs, Vaibhav Vaidya July 2006

Distributed Microsystems Laboratory:

Developing Microsystems that Make Sense • Goals: To perform true systems integration for existing or incrementally advanced sensor technologies in such a way as to meet system-level constraints related to: • power consumption • robustness in real-world environments • auto-calibration capability • small size, portable deployment • self-diagnostic capability • multi-stimulus detection • sensitivity limits without sacrificing stimulus recognition capability

Distributed Microsystems Laboratory:

Sensing Modes • • • • • •

Smell Smell/Hear Taste Hear (like a person) Hear (like a bat) RFID

Distributed Microsystems Laboratory:

Funded Research Projects (Recent Past and Present) • • Smell: National Science Foundation (ECS) – – Portable instrument development for chemical sensor arrays Sensor technologies: chemiresistor and ChemFET – – Signal Processing: extensive preprocessing and linear array analysis Inspiration: successful array processing systems; olfaction (biology) Smell/Hear: National Science Foundation (ECS) – – Distributed and Integrated Hear/Smell Sensing Nodes Three chip sensing nodes that employ: • On-chip sound recognition as early warning and wake-up signal and • On-chip smell functionality for three representative applications: – Consumer: redundant breath alcohol analysis – Environmental: pipeline leak monitoring – Military: ground vehicle identification

Distributed Microsystems Laboratory:

Funded Research Projects (Recent Past and Present) • • Taste: collaboration with Arizona State University (Booksh, Chemistry) as part of National Science Foundation grant – – – – – Liquid-Phase SPR-based Sensing Integrated Optical Computation for dual-probe SPR instruments Sensor technology: coated, tapered fiber-optic probes with RI measurement Sensor technology: custom CMOS imagers Signal processing: auto-compensation of reference media by imager Taste: pH sensing (under NIH Center subgrant) – – Development and Characterization of pH sensors within biological range Comparison of materials and configurations for CMOS-based sensors • Materials: silicon nitride, silicon oxide, aluminum oxide • Configurations: ISFET, ChemFET – Feasibility of low-cost sensors fabricated in standard processes

Distributed Microsystems Laboratory:

Funded Research Projects (Recent Past and Present) • • Hear (like a bat) and See: Subcontract to USTLAB DARPA contract – Streamlined acoustic and optical, dual-purpose signal preprocessing and processing for low-power, small-footprint underwater vehicles – Sensor Technologies • • MEMS-based acoustic transducers/receivers CMOS cameras RFID: WA Tech Center, Internal Research Fund (UW) – – Implement Radio Frequency Identification Systems in Precision Forestry Expand Radio Frequency Identification to sensing of forest product parameters • Diameter • Moisture • Defects • Density