Smartflex - Laminated MEMS and Microfluidics

传感器是我们生活的日益互联的环境的关键推动因素，充当物理和网络世界之间的联系。他们正在创造第四次工业革命和物联网（IoT），物联网主要依赖于传感器获取的数据，预计到2020年将有超过300亿个连接对象。这些传感器通常由MEMS（微机电系统）换能器和其他芯片（微处理器、无线电）以及无线电源组成。 然而，由于有线安装或定期更换电池的部署成本很高，电力仍然是创建真正无线和持久分布式传感器的关键障碍。 因此，目前正在开发通过从环境中收集能量来为传感器节点供电的方法，例如将废热转换为电力。虽然计算和传感功能通常可以使用硅晶片制造来实现，但能量收集需要表面积。因此，当使用传统的Si晶片制造来制造收集元件时，不可能是成本有效的。此外，封装芯片、将它们互连以及为无线传感器节点提供外壳的成本通常远远超过半导体芯片的成本。 因此，实现物联网低成本、普适无线传感器愿景的限制因素不一定是MEMS本身，而是封装和电源。需要进行范式转变，将传感器的开发重新集中在电源和封装上，而不是围绕MEMS和微电子芯片进行开发。我们提出了一个传感器制造平台，灵感来自柔性PCB，但其中柔性层集成了能量收集功能以及芯片。该Smartflex平台还将实现层内传感和驱动功能的直接实现，例如用于大面积传感器阵列（智能皮肤）和机器人抓取致动器。 实现该平台的三个主要挑战是：1）在柔性片的分层堆叠内创建释放的结构和柔性互连，以允许可靠的互连和嵌入的具有可变形结构的感测/采集; 2）通过膜沉积、模制和拾取放置来嵌入功能材料，以添加换能机构以及热或电传导路径; 3）形成密封微通道，填充和密封方法用于柔性堆叠中的流体集成。 工作范围包括新材料和工艺，设计，制造到表征，并将在MEMS，先进封装和印刷电子的交叉点培训HQP，为未来做好准备。

Sensors are key enablers for the increasingly connected environment that we live in, acting as the link between the physical and cyber worlds. They are creating the fourth Industrial revolution and the Internet-of-Things (IoT), which rely centrally on data acquired with sensors, with over 30 billion connected objects expected by 2020. These sensors typically consist of MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) transducers packaged with other chips (microprocessor, radio) and a power source to be wireless. Power however remains a key roadblock to create truly wireless and long lasting distributed sensors due to the high cost of deployment for wired installations or regular battery replacements. Approaches to power sensor nodes by harvesting energy from the ambient are therefore currently under development, such as converting waste heat into electricity. Although computing and sensing functions can typically be miniaturised using silicon wafer manufacturing, energy harvesting requires surface area. It is therefore not possible to be cost effective when making the harvesting element using traditional Si wafer manufacturing. In addition, the cost of packaging the chips, interconnecting them and providing an enclosure for the wireless sensor node are typically well beyond the cost of the semiconductor chips. The limiting aspects to realise the vision of low cost, pervasive wireless sensors for IoT is therefore not necessarily the MEMS itself, but the packaging and power. A paradigm shift is required to re-center the sensor development on the power and packaging, instead of building around the MEMS and microelectronic chips. We propose a sensor fabrication platform inspired from flexible PCBs, but where the flex layers integrate the energy harvesting functions, as well as the chips. This Smartflex platform will also enable the direct implementation of sensing and actuation functions within the layers, such as for large area sensor arrays (smart skin) and robotic grasping actuators. The three main challenges to enable this platform are to: 1) create released structures and flexible interconnects within a layered stack of flexible sheets to allow reliable interconnects and embedded sensing/harvesting with deformable structures; 2) Embed functional materials by film deposition, molding and pick-and-place to add transduction mechanisms as well as thermal or electrical conduction paths; 3) Form hermetic microchannels, filling and sealing methods for fluid integration in the flexible stacks. The scope of work covers novel materials and processes, design, fabrication to characterisation, and will train HQP at the intersection of MEMS, advanced packaging and printed electronics, ready to deliver the future.