Advanced intelligent mechanical sensors (AIMS)

A system of integrated, intelligent mechanical transducers, based on the microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) approach, is being developed. The FET-based detectors coexist in the silicon chip with other circuit elements which can amplify, digitize, and multiplex signals produced by detector/emitter interactions. Two transducer types being developed are used as examples: the rotary displacement transducer (RDT) and the uniaxial strain transducer (UAST). By appropriate arrangement of emitter and detector arrays, transducers are being designed to achieve desired tradeoffs between resolution, dynamic range, bandwidth, sensor population size, and other features. With detector and associated circuitry on the same chip, transducers are being designed to implement local intelligence necessary for functions such as self-calibration, correction for subsystems failure, and interaction with adjacent sensors.<>