SBIR Phase I: Development of Particulate Mass and Count Monitoring Instruments Using Micro-Electro-Mechanical Resonant Balances

SBIR 第一阶段：使用微机电谐振天平开发颗粒质量和计数监测仪器

• 批准号: 1215249
• 负责人: Paul Neilson
• 金额: $ 15万
• 依托单位: FemtoScale Inc.
• 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=1215249&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Development; Particulate; Mass

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop low-cost light-weight miniaturized instruments, based on micro-electro-mechanical resonant nanobalances, for real-time monitoring of concentration, and size distribution of airborne micro/nano-particles. Aerosol particles in the diameter range from nanometers to microns play important roles in air quality, human health, visibility in the atmosphere, the radiation balance of the earth (climate change), and stratospheric ozone depletion. Aerosol contaminants in industrial cleanrooms can limit the size and quality of integrated circuit elements. There has not been enough progress in light weight and low-cost aerosol particle monitoring technologies over the past decades and the existing technologies cannot address all the existing needs (e.g. in semiconductor industry). The innovative approach proposed here integrates micro/nanoscale electromechanical resonant balances within miniaturized micro-orifice cascade impactors. Cascade impactors separate particles in the air flow based on their size and deposit them on designated micro/nanoscale electromechanical resonant mass balances performing real time mass measurement. The proposed instrument can sample the surrounding air, separate airborne particles into several size ranges, and measure the individual and/or cumulative mass of particles in each size range.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is development of a more capable and cost effective category of airborne particulate monitors. Currently available particulate monitoring systems can be divided into two major categories: 1. Laser-based counters, and 2. Inertial impactors. Other than being relatively costly and bulky and their need for frequent calibration, lower cost laser-based counters can only detect particles with diameters as small as 0.3µm. Inertial impactors on the other hand can collect particles with diameters as small as a few nanometers, but such systems generally offer no automated or real time processing capability. Collected particulate matter in such systems is manually weighed after sampling a large enough volume of air. Successful development of the proposed technology allows real time monitoring of nanoscale airborne particles down to a few nanometers size range using low cost, light weight instruments. The target market for the proposed instruments can be divided into two major sections: a) Cleanroom/controlled environment monitoring. This includes semiconductor/micro-manufacturing and pharmaceutical cleanrooms, operating rooms, etc.; b) Personal particulate mass exposure monitors for work place safety in industrial environments prone to excessive micro/nanoparticulate generation and dispersion. This includes Nanomaterials processing plants, mines (e.g. coal mines), metal processing plants, etc.

该小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目旨在开发基于微机电谐振纳米天平的低成本轻型小型化仪器，用于实时监测空气中微米/纳米颗粒的浓度和尺寸分布。直径范围从纳米到微米的气溶胶颗粒在空气质量、人类健康、大气能见度、地球辐射平衡（气候变化）和平流层臭氧消耗方面发挥着重要作用。工业洁净室中的气溶胶污染物会限制集成电路元件的尺寸和质量。过去几十年来，在轻质和低成本的气溶胶颗粒监测技术方面没有取得足够的进展，现有技术无法满足所有现有需求（例如，在半导体工业中）。这里提出的创新方法集成了微型微孔级联冲击器内的微/纳米机电谐振平衡。级联冲击器基于颗粒的尺寸分离空气流中的颗粒，并将它们存款在指定的微/纳米机电谐振质量天平上，执行真实的时间质量测量。拟议的仪器可以对周围的空气进行采样，将空气中的颗粒物分成几个尺寸范围，并测量每个尺寸范围内的颗粒物的单个和/或累积质量。该项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种更有能力和成本效益的空气中颗粒物监测器。目前可用的颗粒物监测系统可分为两大类：1.基于激光的计数器，以及2.惯性撞击器。除了相对昂贵和笨重以及需要频繁校准之外，成本较低的激光计数器只能检测直径小至0.3µm的颗粒。另一方面，惯性冲击器可以收集直径小至几纳米的颗粒，但是这种系统通常不提供自动化或真实的时间处理能力。在对足够大体积的空气进行采样之后，对这种系统中收集的颗粒物质进行手动称重。所提出的技术的成功开发允许使用低成本、重量轻的仪器对低至几纳米尺寸范围的纳米级空气传播颗粒进行真实的时间监测。申报仪器的目标市场可分为两大部分：a）洁净室/受控环境监测。这包括半导体/微型制造和制药洁净室、手术室等; B）个人颗粒质量暴露监测器，用于易于产生和分散过量微/纳米颗粒的工业环境中的工作场所安全。这包括纳米材料加工厂、矿山（如煤矿）、金属加工厂等。