The development of a nano-IMU using buoyancy-driven convection coupled with chemistry

摘要

A new generation of inertial measurement technology is being developed, enabling a 10-micron particle that is "aware" of its geospatial location and responds to this information. The proposed approach combines an inertially-sensitive nano-structure or nano-fluid/structure system with a micro- or nano- sized chemical reactor that functions as an analog computer. Like conventional MEMS IMUs, this device would use a structural or fluid-structures system that deforms in response to inertial forces. However, the device would replace the electronics computational equipment of a conventional MEMS IMU with a chemical reactor that both integrates the sensed accelerations to derive velocity and position and records these measurements. Originally, a cantilever-controlled valve used to control a first order chemical reaction was proposed. The feasibility of this concept was evaluated with the result of a device with significant size reductions with a comparable gain but lower bandwidth comparable to current accelerometers. New concepts with additional refinements have been investigated. Buoyancy-driven convection coupled with a chemical recording technique is explored as a possible alternative. Using a micro-track containing regions of different temperatures or concentrations of specific chemical units, a range of accelerations can be recorded and the position determined. The result is a device that offers improvement over the original concept.