Micromachined Particles for Detecting Metal-Ion Concentration in Fluids

A remote microfluidic metal-ion sensor is developed using an electrochemical system integrated with a compact photovoltaic cell power supply. The sensor is designed to detect the sum of metal ions in a remote environment. The sensor uses electrodeposition to remove ions from the fluid around the sen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of microelectromechanical systems 2006-10, Vol.15 (5), p.1299-1307
Main Authors: Supino, R., Talghader, J.J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied fluid mechanics
Devices
Electric power generation
Electrochemical
Electrodes
Exact sciences and technology
Fluid dynamics
Fluid flow
Fluidics
Fluids
Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications)
Instruments, apparatus, components and techniques common to several branches of physics and astronomy
Laser excitation
Mechanical instruments, equipment and techniques
MEMS power supply
Microfluidics
Micromechanical devices and systems
Photovoltaic cells
Physics
Power lasers
power scavenging
Power supplies
remote sensor
Resonant frequency
Sensor systems
Sensors
Solar cells
Voltage
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Description
Summary:A remote microfluidic metal-ion sensor is developed using an electrochemical system integrated with a compact photovoltaic cell power supply. The sensor is designed to detect the sum of metal ions in a remote environment. The sensor uses electrodeposition to remove ions from the fluid around the sensor and deposit them on an electrode at the tip of a cantilever. The electrodeposited mass changes the resonant frequency of the cantilever, which can be determined upon read-out. The sensor is designed to be dropped in liquids or flow through microfluidic systems and can be used in parallel with many other similar sensors. The photovoltaic cells are directly integrated on the device and are capable of producing tens of microwatts of power at about 15% efficiency with laser excitation. However, the sensor operates at power levels of 50 nW with small voltages and currents using only scavenged daylight or room light. The complete device is integrated into a total volume below 0.046 mm 3 , which is more than two orders of magnitude smaller than other remote electrically-powered sensors reported to date. Although it is expected that multiple devices will be used in parallel to gain statistical data, individual particles detect metal-ion concentration within 24% of the actual concentration, making them suitable for safety testing and endpoint monitoring among other applications
ISSN:1057-7157
1941-0158
DOI:10.1109/JMEMS.2006.880246