Feasibility Study of Polymer-based MEMS Low-Frequency Sensing Technology for Health Monitoring of Civil Structures

该提案的目的是评估现有的现成的传感技术，并启动一项探索性研究，这将导致一类新的低成本微机电传感器，特别适合于土木结构的健康监测。这个为期一年的探索性项目将包括两个阶段。在第一阶段，我们将对现有的现成传感器进行全面的文献调查，这些传感器可能用于土木结构的健康监测。将对传感器的成本，灵敏度，漂移，动态范围，尺寸，重量等进行比较。这一阶段的研究将与土木结构健康监测领域的领先专家密切合作和磋商。这项研究的结果将是一份关于土木结构结构健康监测的最新传感器技术的综述论文，该论文将被编写并提交给期刊出版（研究结果也将在相关的NSF研讨会上报告）。在第二阶段，我们将开始初步开发，设计和制造原型MEMS传感器，以满足第一阶段的性能要求。我们的方法将是基于一个全新的微加工技术，利用低杨氏模量聚合物的加工，薄膜电介质涂层的沉积，硅表面微加工，硅体微加工，和Febry-Perot干涉技术的集成。传感器原型的第一个版本将在这个为期一年的探索性项目结束时进行尝试。在这个为期一年的探索性项目中收集的背景材料将作为一个为期三年的提案的基础，该提案旨在开发独特适用于土木工程应用的新型传感器。

The objective of this proposal is to evaluate existing off-the-shelf sensing technologies and launch an exploratory research that will lead to a new class of low-cost micro-electro-mechanical sensors uniquely suited for health monitoring of civil structures. This one year exploratory project will include two phases. In the first phase, we will perform a comprehensive literature survey on the available off-the-shelf sensors that could be potentially used for health monitoring of civil structures. The comparison will be made against sensors' cost, sensitivity, drift, dynamic range, size, weight, etc. This phase of research will be carried out in a close collaboration and consultations with leading experts in the field of health monitoring of civil structures. The result of this study will be a review paper on the state-of-the-art sensor technologies for structural health monitoring of civil structures which will be prepared and submitted to a journal for publication (the results will be also reported at the relevant NSF workshop). In the second phase, we will start preliminary development, design, and fabrication of prototype MEMS sensors that will meet the identified in Phase 1 performance requirements. Our approach will be based on a fundamentally new micro-fabrication technology that utilizes the processing of low Young's Modulus polymers, deposition of thin film dielectric coating, silicon surface micromachining, silicon bulk micromachining, and integration of Febry-Perot interferometeric techniques. The first version of the sensor prototype will be attempted by the end of this one year exploratory project. The background material gathered during this one year exploratory project will be used as a basis for a full three year proposal on development of novel sensors uniquely suited for civil engineering applications.