Microtechnology Changing the World Little by Little

22 | Northwest Science & Technology | Winter 2004 TECHNOLOGY

Microtechnology Changing the world little by little

n 1959, theoretical physicist Richard Feynman “microtechnology” or “nanotechnology” in his talk, was the first to explain the potential of small- they are the small-scale technologies of which he scale technology. spoke. I “I would like to describe a field, in which The idea of nanotechnology—engineering de- little has been done, but in which an enormous vices on the scale of atoms and molecules— has cap- amount can be done in principle,” said the Caltech tured the imagination of scientists, engineers, and professor in a now famous talk entitled “There’s the public. Plenty of Room at the Bottom.” But for all of its high-tech promise, nanotech- The Nomad System allows “What I want to talk about is the problem of nology is still far from practical implementation. its user to view plans, manipulating and controlling things on a small Rather, it is microtechnology that is having an im- scale,” he said to members of the American Physical mediate effect on our lives through new products diagrams, and procedures Society. “In the year 2000, when they look back at and processes, from air bag sensors to computers. while keeping hands this age, they will wonder why it was not until the Researchers throughout the Northwest at uni- year 1960 that anybody began seriously to move in versities, government labs, and companies are ac- completely free to this direction.” tively involved in developing new micro- Fast-forward to 2004, and devices dependent technologies and pushing back the frontiers of the manipulate tools. on small-scale technologies are firmly embedded in field. And they are exploring the interface where Photo: Microvision our lives. Though Feynman didn’t use the terms micro meets nano.

by Jeff Wolfe

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ton (UW) campus. Its tory has been used by a number of compa- mission is to stimulate nies conducting microtechnology research. growth in the state by One such company is Neah Power Systems helping Washington of Bothell, Wash. companies develop An emerging leader in micro fuel cell commercially viable technology, Neah Power is developing a sili- technology. The cen- con-based micro fuel cell that is nearing the ter provides compa- marketplace and has the potential to replace nies with access to the batteries used in consumer devices such technical expertise, as laptops and cell phones. Because of this funding for company potential, the company received a $2-mil- projects jointly with lion grant from the Advanced Technology universities, and access Program of the National Institute of Stan- to microfabrication fa- dards and Technology in September of 2003 cilities, among other to further the development of the fuel cell. services. Using techniques developed in the semi- The most com- conductor industry, researchers at Neah mon examples of Power etch millions of microscopic pores microtechnology can into a piece of silicon 400 microns thick. It be found in micro- is in these millions of pores where the chemi- electronics, which in- cal reaction between oxygen and a hydro- clude computer chips gen-based fuel, such as methanol, takes place and most modern to generate electricity. electronic compo- Neah Power officials believe the micro nents. However, a fuel cell will be able to provide more energy type of microtech- for longer periods of time than conventional nology that combines batteries while taking up the equivalent micron- sized electrical space. And while batteries take time to re-

Two Microvision researchers use equipment in the WTC’s and mechanical parts charge, Neah Power’s fuel cell can be in- Microfabrication Laboratory to develop a MEMS device. Photo: WTC is now experiencing stantly “recharged” by simply replenishing growing commercial the fuel cartridge. Microtechnology involves the use of use. Called microelectromechanical systems Another WTC client is Microvision, a objects at the micron level, or one-millionth (MEMS), they have already enjoyed success leader in the photonics industry that is also of a meter. Nanotechnology entails the use as air bag sensors, inkjet print heads, and based in Bothell, Wash. [NWS&T, Autumn of objects a thousand times smaller, or one- the read/write heads of hard drives over the 2003, p.20]. Microvision’s patented MEMS billionth of a meter. While microns are used last ten years, says Ritala. devices, in which optical surfaces and small to measure biological cells, like red blood A MEMS accelerometer developed by hinges are formed on a silicon chip roughly cells, nanometers are used to measure mol- Albert Leung, engineering professor at one fourth the size of a dime, have enabled ecules. It’s like comparing the distance of a Simon Fraser University (SFU), Burnaby, B. the development of a number of products trip across the country to a trip to the local C., is garnering increasing commercial at- with mobile display and imaging applications. grocery store. tention due to its numerous applications and Microtechnologies are built using a top- low production cost. The thumbnail-sized down approach that uses techniques devel- accelerometer is said to be more robust than oped mostly in the semiconductor industry, competitive devices and can be manufac- explains Keith Ritala, manager of laborato- tured cheaply using techniques developed in ries and new technologies at the Washing- the semiconductor industry. Currently, ton Technology Center. MEMSIC, Inc. of Andover, Mass., is com- “It’s called a top-down approach be- mercializing Leung’s invention and has built cause a solid block of something, usually sili- a facility in China capable of producing 20 con, is selectively etched or built up into the million accelerometers per month. Leung needed structures,” says Ritala. “The pro- says the accelerometer could be used in a cess goes from large to small.” variety of products, such as car alarms, earth- The Washington Technology Center quake monitors, vehicle rollover sensors, and (WTC) is a science and technology organi- toys. A Harry Potter wand that utilizes the Less than 10 microns wide, this pore and the millions around it enclose the chemical reaction that zation funded by the State of Washington and accelerometer is expected to hit stores in 2004. generates electricity in Neah Power’s silicon-based headquartered on the University of Washing- The WTC’s Microfabrication Labora- micro fuel cell. Photo: Neah Power

24 | Northwest Science & Technology | Winter 2004 Microvision’s Nomad Augmented Vi- sion System is able to project an image from a source, such as a computer or video cam- era, through the viewer’s pupil onto the retina. The image is created as the MEMS device paints as many as 30 million pixels per second onto the retina using a low-in- tensity light beam. In this way, the Nomad System superimposes high-contrast, high- resolution images on its user’s view of the surrounding environment. In October of 2003, the American Honda Motor Company announced plans to supply their dealers and technicians with Nomad Systems as early as 2004. Because the system can overlay automobile diagnos- tics and repair instructions directly on a technician’s vision, Honda believes it will increase the efficiency and accuracy of technicians performing complex repairs. Other applications reported by Microvision for the Nomad Augmented Vi- sion System include the positioning and alignment of surgical tools for surgeons, navigation and mapping for security person- nel and military troops, and wearable displays for pilots.

Microtechnology’s alphabet soup: MEMS, MICROCATS, and MECS A considerable portion of the work in microtechnology is aimed at computers or MEMS devices, says Kevin Drost, associate The 18-ounce Nomad System uses a MEMS device to superimpose high-contrast, high-resolution images professor at Oregon State University (OSU), on its user’s view of the surrounding environment. Photo: Microvision Corvallis. Many of these devices are sensors, one way or another collecting and process- about it,” says Drost. “The idea of MECS intermetallics, and metals such as aluminum ing information, says Drost. and MICROCATS is to extend microscale and stainless steel are used to manufacture In contrast, two other applications of devices out of the electronics world.” MECS and MICROCATS. But because the microtechnology, abbreviated MECS and The extension of microtechnology into fabrication technologies for these materials MICROCATS, process mass and energy. haven’t been around as long as those for sili- These devices may be used, for example, as processing mass and energy has required con, they are not as well developed. “Con- biosensors, chemical reactors, fuel processors, some fundamental changes in the way or cooling systems. microtechnologies are manufactured. Ever In January 2003, the Pacific Northwest since the semiconductor industry started National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, using silicon instead of germanium 50 years Wash., and OSU teamed up to create the ago, silicon has been the foundation on Microproducts Breakthrough Institute which most microtechnologies are built. (MBI), of which Drost serves as co-director. However, because energy and chemical The Institute combines PNNL’s re- systems can have potentially high tempera- search in microchemical and thermal systems tures or chemically aggressive environments, (MICROCATS) with OSU’s micro energy silicon often can’t be used, says Landis chemical and biological systems (MECS) Kannberg, co-director of the MBI and se- research. nior program manager at PNNL. Because they produce very high rates of heat and “What we’re trying to do at the MBI is “Silicon is just too brittle and cracks too mass transfer, microchannels 10-100 microns thick are the key to a number of technologies being de- process mass and energy in large enough easily,” says Drost. veloped by the Microproducts Breakthrough Insti- volumes that we in the macro world care As a result, plastics, ceramics, glasses, tute. Photo: PNNL

Northwest Science & Technology | Winter 2004 | 25 TECHNOLOGY sequently, the costs are relatively high for • Chemical reactors being created for new “Nanotechnology really started getting some of these devices right now,” says environmental applications, such as pen- people’s attention with President Clinton’s Kannberg. However, he believes manufac- sized reactors capable of cleaning up un- National Nanotechnology Initiative,” says derground toxic waste onsite by turing costs will lower with continued re- converting it into inert components; Charles Campbell, professor and director of search and economies of scale. the Center for Nanotechnology at the UW. “The MBI will be undoubtedly the na- •Water-cooled micro-chips with tiny “It seemed like once the initiative was an- tional leader in the U.S. in the development “veins” etched into the surface to trans- nounced, nanotechnology received much of this class of devices,” says Drost. “We will fer heat and allow for even faster computer chips; more media attention.” In the Northwest, the WTC is working •Microprocessing fuel plants sent to Mars to foster the development of a nanotech- to provide astronauts the necessary fuel nology industry through its Washington for a return trip to Earth; and Nanotechnology Initiative. By inventorying • Small systems to produce hydrogen for the state’s technological assets, identifying fuel cells in automobiles, changing a market applications for nanotechnology, and power plant that now fills the back of a forming a communication network of pickup truck into a unit the size of a briefcase. nanotechnology professionals, the initiative aims to develop a strategy to strengthen “The MBI’s focus is to accelerate the Washington state’s national position in development of the science and fundamen- nanotechnology. tal understanding of micro chemical and And in Oregon, the state legislature al- physical systems in order to translate that located $21 million in September 2003 to into viable products,” says Kannberg. build the National Center for Multiscale “Some of the research we’re doing is Materials and Devices (MMD) in Corvallis. This prototype of a compact personal cooling sys- between a year or two from being commer- The MMD combines OSU’s micro- tem developed by the Microproducts Breakthrough cialized,” says Drost. “Some of our stuff is technology research and the University of Institute will weigh 3 or 4 pounds and cool an individual up to four hours. Image: PNNL probably ten years away, but I truly believe Oregon’s nanotechnology research with the we are just barely scratching the surface of semiconductor manufacturing capabilities of what MECS can do.” Intel and the printer technologies of have some competition from Germany, but Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Xerox, all of there isn’t anything else in the U.S. that Small in the spotlight which are largely based in Oregon. would even come close to the capabilities While microtechnologies are built us- The MMD represents the best possible that we will have.” ing a top-down approach developed mostly overlap of research and industry capability A recent product that has resulted from by the semiconductor industry, says Ritala, PNNL’s and OSU’s collaboration in the MBI in the state, says Skip Rung, a consultant is a compact personal cooling system. nanotechnologies are built quite differently. and former research and development execu- Funded by a three-year, $7 million, Depart- “At the nano level,” he explains, “single tive with HP who co-authored the MMD’s ment of Defense grant, the portable cooling atoms can be manipulated to build complex business plan. system could be used by soldiers wearing structures one atom or molecule at a time. “Together they make a very comple- chemical and biological warfare gear in combat. They’re grown from the bottom-up to form mentary research program,” says Rung, “The “We think we can produce a cooling complex structures.” MMD will hatch all kinds of interesting system about the size of a paperback book In the process, the properties of nano- ideas that will create jobs and attract federal that weighs 3 or 4 pounds,” says Drost. “The sized structures could be controlled to make funding to Oregon.” next best system would weigh 11 or 12 lighter but stronger materials for aircraft, pounds, and when you’re already carrying smaller yet faster computer chips, or more Microtechnology advancing 100 pounds of gear, which soldiers can do, effective therapeutic drugs. nanotechnology that makes an enormous difference.” The promise of nanotechnology has Microtechnologies are playing a role in Capable of cooling an individual for up captured attention nationally and in North- nanotechnology by providing an enabling to four hours, the cooling system might also west states, which have launched new ini- technology for what’s being done at the be invaluable to firefighters or other profes- tiatives recently. molecular level, says Ritala. “Most sionals who have to do critical work in ex- In 2000, President Clinton created the nanotechnology research begins by first fab- traordinarily hot conditions. National Nanotechnology Initiative and ricating a platform or structure at the mi- Other projects either under way, or be- nearly doubled the federal funding of cron scale.” Many of the researchers working ing considered by the MBI include: nanotechnology research to almost $500 in nanotechnology come to the WTC to fab- •A biosensor the size of a lapel pin cur- million. In 2003, President Bush requested ricate features on the micron scale, which rently under development to detect that nearly $900 million be spent on become enabling technologies for their chemical and biological warfare agents; nanotechnology research. nanotechnology research, he says.

26 | Northwest Science & Technology | Winter 2004 Two companies that are us- UI Chip Goes into Space ing microtechnology to advance nanotechnology are CombiMatrix with NASA and MicroEnergy Technologies, NASA has approved for use in space a both of which conducted much of microchip designed by researchers at their initial research at the WTC. the University of Idaho’s (UI) Center for At CombiMatrix, based in Advanced Microelectronics and Bio- Mukilteo, Wash., microtechno- molecular Research (CAMBR). logy is being used to create Consuming less than 15 milliwatts nano-structured materials. At of power, UI’s Reed-Solomon microchip the heart of this effort is uses 100 times less energy than chips CombiMatrix’s lab-on-a-chip currently used by NASA and is more than technology. By using thousands twice as fast. The chip uses so little en- of microelectrodes patterned on ergy than it is eight years ahead of the an integrated circuit and capable commercial semiconductor industry’s A small section of a lab-on-a-chip is shown above. Each nano- of controlling chemical reac- structured material is a different color and is synthesized at a roadmap for operating voltage. microelectrode with a diameter of 92 microns. The underlying However, the primary difference be- tions, researchers are able to si- circuitry and the underlying microelectrodes (the larger circles tween the microchips used in space and multaneously mix and match of uniform color) are also visible. Photo: CombiMatrix the microchips used in your home com- different chemicals side by side. puter is the need to operate in a radia- Because CombiMatrix’s chip designs MicroEnergy Technologies of Vancouver, tion-filled environment, says Jody can exceed 500,000 microelectrodes per Wash. has developed a device capable of sort- Gambles, associate director of CAMBR. square centimeter, hundreds or thou- ing large quantities of nanoparticles into dif- In space, radiation belts, galactic cosmic sands of different nano-structured mate- ferent sizes, ranging from tens of microns to rays, and super-charged solar particles rials with varying properties can be created several nanometers in diameter. can damage chips unless they are radia- on a single chip. Currently, nano-sized particles have tion-tolerant. The Reed-Solomon chip is “Our initial commercial products are many emerging applications in microbiol- designed to be both radiation-tolerant based on microtechnology,” says Sho Fuji, ogy, medicine, and aerospace. In these ap- and low-power. CombiMatrix’s director of microarray tech- plications, however, it has been shown that “The ability to perform complex nology, “but we see tremendous opportu- a nanoparticle’s size can greatly affect its tasks using only small amounts of power nity to utilize our technology platform in properties. Consequently, many of these ap- is critical in space,” says Gambles. the area of nanomaterials discovery.” plications require nanoparticles to be very “It creates a domino effect.” If a sat- The lab-on-a-chip process is valuable uniform in size, not varying by more than a ellite uses less power, he explains, the size because it drastically reduces the cost and few nanometers. of the satellite’s batteries and solar pan- time of synthesizing a large number of MicroEnergy’s method of providing els can be reduced, which reduces the to- nano-structured materials. The chip also al- nanoparticles of consistent size has the pos- tal size of the satellite. And if satellites can lows each material to be tested for proper- sibility of creating new applications for become smaller, more can be launched ties useful for applications in electronics, nanoparticles, including coatings, polymer into space on a single launch vehicle. additives, and suntan lotions. CAMBR’s chips will be used in video displays, and energy storage, among NASA’s New Millennium Program’s others. The use of nanoparticles as additives Space Technology 5 Project (ST5), which or coatings are viable applications of is scheduled for launch in 2004. Com- nanotechnology, says Mehdy Khotan, vice posed of three satellites, each weighing president of business development at less than 50 pounds, ST5 will test the MicroEnergy. “To achieve commercial suc- satellites’ innovative concepts and tech- cess for these applications, high volumes, nologies in the harsh environment of quality control, and low cost are necessary space while measuring charged particles requirements,” he says. “MicroEnergy’s in the Earth’s magnetosphere. technology adds quality control to some CAMBR is located at the UI’s technol- of the low cost nanoparticle production ogy park in Post Falls. CAMBR’s core research processes.” ■ team, including the center’s director, Gary Maki, moved to CAMBR from the University of New Mexico (UNM) in June of 2002. While Jeff Wolfe received a B.A. in communication at UNM, the research team developed chips Aligned in series, MicroEnergy’s nanoparticle sorter from Washington State University in May used in the Hubble SpaceT elescope, Landsat (8 x 6 x 5 cm) can precisely sort large quantities of 2003. Currently, he is pursuing a master’s 7, and the Mars Odyssey. nanoparticles into different sizes, ranging from tens of microns to several nanometers in diameter. degree in technical communication at the Photo: MicroEnergy University of Washington.

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