I-Corps: High Performance Lithographically Defined Filters

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Consumers around the globe are becoming more aware of the risks of contamination in water, whether it be freestanding or plumbed. As a result, there is growing consumer demand for systems to treat water nearer the point-of-use. This push for point-of-use water filtration is yielding a growing demand for systems that are small, economical, and capable of supporting real-time demand at fairly low volumes. Small scale point of use systems are marketed today to backpackers/hikers, emergency response personnel, and humanitarian workers, and to the general public as countertop filtration units. Increased filter performance and the resultant reductions in size and cost would be significant for many of these markets. Perhaps even more significant would be resistance to clogging (filter fouling) or self-cleaning point-of-use systems which would significantly lower the maintenance barrier to use. To improve on flow and filter lifetime in water filtration, the team proposes a precision fabricated membrane for backwash pre-filters.The proposed carbon nanotube template microfabricated (CNT-M) membranes will have a much higher pore density and increased self-cleaning performance than commercially available membrane filters allowing for reduced system size and cost and reduced maintenance requirements. The CNT-M process results in a membrane with a planar top surface and vertical uniform pore profiles. These pores facilitate high flow rates and should have significantly improved backwash efficiency. Industrial implementation of the carbon nanotube templated microfabrication (CNT-M) process will pave the way for its implementation in other promising applications areas including: high performance inertial microsensors, x-ray beam technology, medical microdevices, and chromatographic separations media.