Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems

Nanotechnology-Enabled
Environmental Monitoring



Willi Mickelson
Executive Director
NSF Grantees Meeting
December 4, 2012
Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems

COINS Vision and Goals

COINS mission is to inspire and realize applications

directed towards sensing of environmental conditions
using nanotechnology.

Three environmental sensing applications guide the

research:
•  Personal Environmental Monitoring
•  Community-based Environmental Monitoring
•  Mobile Environmental Monitoring
Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems

COINS Application Drivers

Personal Environmental Monitoring
 Current personal environmental
monitors are still expensive,
power hungry, run only for hours
at a time, and can measure
limited gases."
Pollution" "
 COINS goal: Develop nano-
enabled sensors that:"
- Are small, sensitive, low-cost, low-
power, and detect multiple analytes"
"
- Interface with smart phones,
State-of-the-Art
eventually becoming embedded in
Smart Phone!
Personal Monitor! the device"
Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems
Community-based Environment Monitoring
San Bruno Gas Explosion, 2010"
"
  COINS goal: Develop novel
Radioactive Waste Leaking from
Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, 2011"
COINS Application Drivers
  Low-power, low-cost chemical sensors will
enable fixed broad area coverage or semi-
portable field monitors to provide real-time
feedback of environmental conditions to:"
•  Detect and locate leaks of explosive gas,
radiation, and harmful pollutants"
•  Monitor pesticide drift in air and chemical
build-up in ground and drinking water"
low-power, low-cost,
selective nanomaterials-
enabled sensing systems
for real-time detection of
explosives, toxicants, and
radiation."
Second-Generation COINS
Sensing System
Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems
Mobile Environmental Monitoring
"
Rescuers search for survivors
after earthquake in Haiti, 2010"
Nuclear Crisis at the Fukushima
Daiichi Plant, Japan, 2011"
COINS Application Drivers
  Expensive and high power, most current
mobile monitoring systems require either fuel
for mobility."
"
  After disasters, collapsed buildings, mine
Deployable Chemical
Detection System" shafts, or damaged plants are dangerous for
response teams making it difficult to monitor
and control situations."
  COINS goal: Create mobile
robots with application-
appropriate detection
capabilities, such as survivor
or hazard location."
"
- Should be self propelled,
communicate wirelessly, and
able to reach confined spaces"
Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems

COINS Technical Thrusts

Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems

Systems Integration

Sensor Arrays (a) (b)

(c)
Nanoparticle
Sensors

Body Gate

Recognition Gate  Oxide

Peptide Sensors Drain Drain Channel
100n
1 2
m
Source Source
1 2
Substrate  insula;ng  
layer
Gate

!
Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems

Exploiting biological systems to develop selective coatings

Wash away
non-specific binders
Biopanning
1011 different
Elution
sequences of
peptides
TNT
Combinatorial
Phage library REPEAT:
Use more difficult
binding conditions
Phage display
TNT No!

x 106
Yes!
Bacterial
Consensus amplification
Identified 12mer peptide sequence?
DNA analysis
Recognition of TNT ! Finding Sequence Information
by identified peptide!
Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems

Phage Display Against TNT & DNT Target

CH3

O 2N NO 2

TNT
NO2

CH3

O2 N

DNT
NO2

Jaworski, Lee, Majumdar Langmuir 9, 24 (2008).

Lee & Majumdar Group

Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems

CNT-FET functionalized with recognition peptide

Lee, Hong & Majumdar Group

Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems

Expansion of the selectivity binding receptors

Expanding well-established sensor coating material development to
environmental toxicants (Lee, Mickelson, Zettl)
PBDE binding peptide sequences
S H W S Y W Y P Q K Y A 22X
W H W T F Y P L T N A A 3X
W H W Q W T P W S I Q P 1X
V H S Y W W S P W Q A Y 1X
H H Y W Y Y Y P Y P S A 1X
Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether (PBDE) Y T S S K N H L T S Q L 1X
Flame retardant accumulating to fat tissue

!
Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems

Bio-inspired “Phage-litmus” colorimetric sensor

Self-assembly

Chung & Lee et al,

Nature (2011)

PBDE Receptor

Engineered phage Sensing

Bio-inspired colorimetric
sensor system
Pattern recognition and decision making
Data analysis & display Pattern analysis
ΔRGDaverage Pattern
iColor reader

Stimuli Phage-litmus
colorimetric
ΔRGD Pattern Intensity Decision sensor
200
100
150
Analysis
0
-100
-150 Chemical exposure
1 2 3 4
induces color change
Lee Lab
Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems

Phage-litmus sensing for PBDE based on pattern recognition

Liquid phase PBDE sensing based on colorimetric pattern recognition

Lee Lab
Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems

iPhone App for Phage-litmus: iColor Sensor

Lee Lab
Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems

Nanoparticle-based Gas Sensor

•  We fabricated WO3 nanoparticle-based H2S
sensor using commercially-available
microhotplate
•  It is able to operate in “heat pulse” mode to
lower power consumption.

Peak Power: ~50 mW @ 300oC

Heat Pulsing: ~8 mW

Exposure to 50 ppm H2S at room temperature Pulsing heater decreases overall power
(blue) and 300oC (red) using microhotplate
consumption without degrading the
sensor response.

Mickelson & Zettl Lab
Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems

Multiplex-arrays of Lower Power Microhotplate Sensors

Au 200 nm

Pt 50 nm

LSN 100 nm

PolySi 100 nm

Si substrate

Thermocouple Sensing gap (for

junction contacting gas
• 72 heaters per chip sensing layer)
• 27 types of heaters
-  Beam widths: 4 - 18 µm
-  Beam lengths: 50 - 110 µm
-  Power: as low as 1.5 mW @ 300oC
•  Multiplexing capabilities compatible with
COINS Sensing System for multi-analyte
detection
• Heater has a dual-use as a back-gate for
use with CNT or graphene-based sensors

Mickelson & Zettl Lab

Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems

Sensor Deposition Methods and H2S Detection

Micromanipulated Shadow Masked Electrodeposition
Microhotplate arrays Solution Deposition Evaporation
are amenable to
multiple sensing
layer deposition
methods enabling
multi-analyte Sensing layer
material

detection
Solution-deposited WO3 nanoparticles for H2S Detection Only 250 µW!
Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems

COINS Accomplishment: Systems Integrations

Second-Generation Stand-Alone COINS Sensing System

Ron Fearing, Ali Javey, Willi Mickelson, and Oren Milgrome

Challenge: Build low power system capable of realizing

COINS environmental monitoring goals
Solution: Second – Generation COINS Sensing
System
Primary Features are:
•  Three Voltage Source-Current Sensing Channels
(One Capable of High Voltage)
•  Multiplexing for up to 12 channels
•  Thermocouple Readout Circuit
•  Dual Wireless Radios (Zigbee and WiFi)
•  Energy Scavenging Input and Li-Po Battery Charging
•  Audio Alarm, LCD Display, USB port Second Generation
COINS Sensing System
(CSS-G2)
Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems

CSS Performance

COINS sensing system Keithley 2602 (benchtop system)

Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems

Pes5cides,  explosives,  
toxicants   Personal  Monitoring  

COINS   WiFi  
Sensor  

COINS Work
Sensor Plug-In
Existing/External Work
Power   Smart
Supply   Phone
(7 W-hr)

Smart
Phone App
Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems

Example Data- H2S

Lab data with calibrated

nanoparticle sensor and
COINS gas delivery system

iPhone app by Ian

Ackerman (UG)
Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems

Pes5cides,  explosives,  
toxicants  
Community-­‐based  Monitoring  
COINS   Interface   COINS Work
Sensor   Electronics  

Ba@ery   Power  
Supply  

Input  for  
Energy  
Harves2ng  
Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems

Toxic  gas,  CO2   Mobile  Monitoring  

Existing Electronics
COINS   Interface  
Sensor   Electronics  

COINS Work
Ba@ery  
Power  
Supply   300  mW   Camera, 802.15.4 radio
40 MIPS CPU, gyros,
Energy   accelerometers
Harves2ng   900  mW  

Motors/actuators  

Gecko   Legs  
Adhesives  
3  N/cm2,  adhesion  coef:  10  
Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems

Mobile Integration

Previous Work:
- CSS measures COINS
sensor

- Communication from CSS

to robot

Current Work:
- COINS H2S sensor integrated with basic sensing electronics

- Communication from robot through the CSS to iPhone application

- iPhone can solicit, gather, and plot data from the robot through CSS
Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems

Thank You

Sensor Arrays (a) (b)

(c)
Nanoparticle
Sensors

Body Gate

Recognition Gate  Oxide

Peptide Sensors Drain Drain Channel
100n
1 2
m
Source Source
1 2
Substrate  insula;ng  
layer
Gate