Compact, Low Cost, MEMS Hotplate Sensors for Battery Offgassing Analysis Navy SBIR FY2010.1 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2010.1 Topic No.: N101-056 Topic Title: Compact, Low Cost, MEMS Hotplate Sensors for Battery Offgassing Analysis Proposal No.: N101-056-1360 Firm: AlphaSense, Inc. 470 Century Blvd. Wilmington, Delaware 19808 Contact: Pengcheng Lv Phone: (302) 998-1116 Web Site: www.alphasense.net Abstract: In this proposal, Alphasense Inc. and the Institute for MEMS and VLSI technologies at the George Washington University detail the development of compact, low cost MEMS microhotplate sensors for battery offgassing analysis. Key innovations of the proposed sensor include: a) the application of metal oxide coated microhotplates to ensure high sensitivity and stability, b) the application of a bi-layer structure and temperature modulation to enhance the sensor selectivity, c) the sol-gel sensor film fabrication process to substantially lower the manufacturing cost of a large sensor array; and d) the application of Principal Component Analysis(PCA) and Back Propagation Network (BPN) algorithms for pattern recognition and accurate determination of individual gas concentration. With these innovations, the proposed sensor will have the following merits: a) superior sensitivity and selectivity, b) capable of detecting a wide range of gas species of interest, c) compact and low cost, d) very low power consumption, e) standalone system, and f) robust and reliable in relatively harsh environment. Benefits: The outcome of this research is coupled to a very clear commercialization path with the most straightforward application being the battery health monitoring. Lithium ion batteries are increasingly used in many military applications, including communication equipments(SINCGARS), emergency radios (CSEL), battlefield planning device (AN/PSC-2), night vision goggles, hybrid vehicles and laptops. The proposed sensor can be used to monitor the gas environment around the battery unit of those equipments. Consequently, battery breakage, leakage and degradation by other means can be readily detected and a warning signal can be sent before a catastrophic equipment failure occurs. The risk of having the operating personnel exposed to the toxic battery offgassing species can also be eliminated. If successful, the proposed sensor can be integrated into the Navy''s Lithium Battery Safety program and the special operations force mobility program (PMS399). Other than the military market sector, the proposed sensor can also find the following civilian applications, including homeland security, law enforcement, medical diagnostics, personal hygiene, food and beverage quality assurance, chemical process control, and environmental monitoring. Return