SBIR Phase I: Miniaturized, Low-Power Monitor for Particulate Matter

SBIR 第一阶段：小型化、低功耗颗粒物监测仪

• 批准号: 1747353
• 负责人: Justin Black
• 金额: $ 22.5万
• 依托单位: Aerodyne Microsystems Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-01-01 至 2018-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1747353&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Miniaturized; Low; Power

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to improve health and save lives while addressing a market opportunity of over a billion dollars per year. Worldwide particulate matter air pollution is responsible for nearly as many deaths as cancer, and more than malaria and AIDS combined. The goal of the project is an inexpensive, consumer market air pollution sensor that offers performance comparable to laboratory instruments that cost hundreds to thousands of dollars. The proposed technology has important societal benefit as it will help mitigate the negative health effects of air pollution in the environment, home, and workplace. The proposed project contributes to scientific knowledge and understanding by investigating novel particulate matter analysis techniques and enabling a highly-sensitive, portable, and low-cost monitor for studies of air pollution. With the form-factor of a AA-battery, it is the only particulate matter air pollution sensor that can fit in devices like the Amazon Echo or Google Nest. Markets for the sensor include smart homes, smart cities, green buildings, automobile cabin monitoring, air purifiers, industrial hygiene, and others. The proposed project will investigate a novel sensor for monitoring particulate matter air pollution. Existing air pollution monitors are expensive, large, and power hungry. The monitors on the consumer market use optical techniques that provide only a proxy estimate of pollution levels and are unable to detect ultrafine particulates which have diameters smaller than 100 nanometers. These ultrafine particulates pose serious health risks. The sensor of this work employs thermophoretic deposition of airborne particulates from a sample stream onto an acoustic wave resonator, and determines the mass deposited by measuring the frequency shift of a sustaining electronic oscillator circuit. The monitor of this work detects particulates from a few microns in diameter to ultrafine, and provides a true mass concentration measurement of the pollution, which is acknowledged as the industry gold-standard. Key activities of the proposal include the development of innovative techniques to collect and analyze particulates and to improve the sensor stability and lifetime. Anticipated technical results include enhanced monitor longevity, improved level of detection, improved manufacturability, and a significant reduction in power consumption. Coupling the sensor to a cell-phone or other wireless device would enable dense temporal and spatial wireless air quality measurements.

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是改善健康和拯救生命，同时解决每年超过10亿美元的市场机会。在全球范围内，颗粒物空气污染造成的死亡人数几乎与癌症一样多，超过疟疾和艾滋病的总和。该项目的目标是一种廉价的消费市场空气污染传感器，其性能可与数百至数千美元的实验室仪器相媲美。这项技术具有重要的社会效益，因为它将有助于减轻环境、家庭和工作场所空气污染对健康的负面影响。该项目通过研究新型颗粒物分析技术，为空气污染研究提供高灵敏度、便携式和低成本的监测器，从而有助于科学知识和理解。凭借AA电池的外形，它是唯一一款可以安装在Amazon Echo或Google Nest等设备中的颗粒物空气污染传感器。该传感器的市场包括智能家居、智能城市、绿色建筑、汽车驾驶室监控、空气净化器、工业卫生等。拟议项目将研究一种用于监测颗粒物空气污染的新型传感器。现有的空气污染监测器昂贵，庞大，耗电量大。消费者市场上的监测器使用光学技术，只能提供污染水平的代理估计，无法检测直径小于100纳米的超细颗粒。这些超细颗粒物对健康构成严重威胁。这项工作的传感器采用从样品流到声波谐振器上的空气中的颗粒的热泳沉积，并通过测量维持电子振荡器电路的频移来确定沉积的质量。这项工作的监测器可以检测直径从几微米到超细的颗粒物，并提供污染物的真实质量浓度测量，这是公认的行业黄金标准。该提案的主要活动包括开发创新技术，以收集和分析颗粒物，并提高传感器的稳定性和寿命。预期的技术成果包括延长显示器寿命、提高检测水平、改进可制造性以及显著降低功耗。将传感器耦合到手机或其他无线设备将实现密集的时间和空间无线空气质量测量。