Manufacturing In The Global Research Clean Room : Blog : GE Global Research

Manufacturing in the Global Research clean room

Hi all, I wanted to introduce you to my colleague at GE Global Research, Stacey Kennerly. Stacey has filmed a video blog entry with an update from the Global Research clean room…. enjoy!

Hi All,

I’m Stacey Kennerly, bringing you another video blog entry from the clean room. In the last video, Ron gave you a little bit of an overview of the size and scope of our clean room (like the fact that we’re working on a scale that is about 160 times smaller than a strand of hair!). I wanted to tell you about one of the projects that we’ve worked on in the clean room.

The little microchip I am holding in the video could be used to evaluate gases like the air around you for its chemical content. For example, this tiny die could be used as part of a sensor system to alert someone if there is a harmful release of a hazardous gas or chemical agent. It looks simple, but this part is made up of six individual layers that are bonded together. It takes over 250 steps to construct this chip! Even though the manufacturing process was complex, we were able to produce an initial prototype in less than 10 months. We’ll be reporting results from this work at this year’s AVS and ASME IMECE conferences.

Check it out!

August 26th, 2009 | Micro & Nano Structures

« Previous

Main

Comments

Wow, 250 steps is a lot to develop in only 10 months! What kind of nanostructure/material are the sensors based on?

Sabarni Palit | 9/08/09, 10:39 PM

The device I am holding preconcentrates the gas using an absorbent called a metal organic framework and separates the components by passing them thru a microcolumn coated with a stationary phase. The gas is then sent to a separate off chip microdetector chosen based on the type of gases we are trying to sense. The detection of very low concentrations (few ppt) of gases is possible because of the preconcentration and the extremely low dead volumes and short travel paths in these microdevices. The citation below is from one of our university collaborators which discusses more about the absorbent material.

Z. Ni, J.P. Jerrell, K.R. Cadwallader and R.I. Masel, “Metal-organic Frameworks as Adsorbents for Trapping and Preconcentration of Organic Phosphonates,” Analytical Chemistry, 79, 1290-1293 (2007).

Stacey Kennerly | 9/09/09, 12:12 PM

Leave a comment

Terms and conditions

We appreciate your interest in our company, and thank you for taking the time to communicate with us. However, you should be aware that we do not wish to receive information in confidence. Accordingly you agree that this submission is not provided to us in confidence, and that it is made gratuitously and without expectation of compensation. In other words GE will be free to consider and use it without any obligation to you. By this agreement you are not, however, granting GE any rights under existing or future patents.

To proceed with your submission you must first accept the foregoing agreement by checking the I ACCEPT box below.

If you are unclear about these conditions we urge you to consult with an attorney before submitting your information to us. Alternatively, if you would like to know more about GE's Submitted Ideas program, you should consult our website at: http://www.ge.com/contact/submit_an_idea/

I accept the terms and conditions (required)

Name*

Email* (We will never share your email address)

Comment