SBIR Phase I: A MEMS-based device for counting airborne nano particles

SBIR 第一阶段：一种基于 MEMS 的设备，用于计数空气中的纳米颗粒

• 批准号: 1214594
• 负责人: Fredrick Brechtel
• 金额: $ 15万
• 依托单位: Brechtel Manufacturing Incorporated
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-07-01 至 2013-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1214594&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; MEMS; based; device

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will support the development of a new airborne particle counter to allow rapid observations of ambient nanoparticle size and concentration. The device will be highly sensitive, simple to use, inexpensive, and easily deployed for remote, autonomous operation. The key component of the instrument is a new Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS) sensor that will eliminate the need for expensive, bulky, condensational-growth-based techniques that require consumable working fluids and complex optical detectors. The new technology will largely eliminate the cost, size, weight, and operator-expertise constraints of currently available technologies. Phase I of this project will include development of mechanical designs and computational fluid dynamics models of the various key systems and construction and laboratory testing of prototypes of the aerosol sizer and MEMS sensor. Applications of the new technology include aerosol health effects studies, routine continuous monitoring of ambient ultrafine particle size distributions, studies of rapid aerosol evolution in power-plant and other exhaust plumes, creation of data sets for climate change models, drug development by pharmaceutical firms, and indoor air quality monitoring for silicon wafer processing, green building, and household applications. Broader impact/commercial potential of this project includes satisfying the need for increased spatial and temporal coverage of aerosol data while creating a measurement technique accessible to a more general group of users through its reduced cost and ease of use. Initial customers include air quality researchers at universities and within federal and state governments. As the technique is validated through peer-reviewed publications, the customer base will expand to air quality monitoring network administrators and wafer processing firms. As the device operation is proven in routine monitoring applications, its application will be extended to green-building and household indoor air-monitoring applications. Broader application of the device will serve as an educational tool for students and investigators leading to more widespread understanding of the processes that influence particle size and concentration in ambient, laboratory and industrial settings. Increased understanding of atmospheric aerosol processes will serve as important information for investigators in the areas of global climate change and aerosol health impacts. Industrial applications include remote operation for monitoring of clean room contaminants and evaluation of the dose-delivery of aerosolized pharmaceutical drugs.

该小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将支持开发一种新的空气颗粒计数器，以快速观察环境纳米颗粒的大小和浓度。该设备将是高度敏感的，使用简单，价格低廉，易于部署的远程，自主操作。该仪器的关键部件是一个新的微机电系统（MEMS）传感器，它将消除对昂贵，笨重，基于冷凝生长的技术的需要，这些技术需要消耗性工作流体和复杂的光学检测器。新技术将在很大程度上消除现有技术的成本，尺寸，重量和操作员专业知识的限制。该项目的第一阶段将包括各种关键系统的机械设计和计算流体动力学模型的开发，以及气溶胶粒度分析仪和MEMS传感器原型的建造和实验室测试。这项新技术的应用包括气溶胶对健康的影响研究、对环境超细颗粒尺寸分布的常规连续监测、对发电厂和其他排气羽流中气溶胶快速演变的研究、为气候变化模型创建数据集、制药公司的药物开发、以及对硅晶片加工、绿色建筑和家庭应用的室内空气质量监测。这一项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力包括满足增加气溶胶数据的时空覆盖面的需要，同时创造一种测量技术，通过降低成本和方便使用，使更广大的用户群体能够使用。最初的客户包括大学、联邦和州政府的空气质量研究人员。随着该技术通过同行评审的出版物得到验证，客户群将扩大到空气质量监测网络管理员和晶圆加工公司。由于该设备在常规监测应用中的操作得到了证明，其应用将扩展到绿色建筑和家庭室内空气监测应用。该设备的更广泛应用将作为学生和研究人员的教育工具，从而更广泛地了解影响环境，实验室和工业环境中颗粒大小和浓度的过程。增加对大气气溶胶过程的了解将为全球气候变化和气溶胶健康影响领域的研究人员提供重要信息。工业应用包括用于监测洁净室污染物和评估雾化药物剂量递送的远程操作。