SQUID Sensors: "The Heart" of Biomagnetism

Daniela Carrillo, Research Analyst, Frost & Sullivan Superconducting magnets (or SQUID sensors as they are known in the magnetic sensors industry) have been considered "the heart" of the biomedical arena, especially in equipment use in Magneto-encephalography (MEG) in the innovative Fetal magneto-cardiography (FMCG) and FMEG. This has been apparent since these technologies were upgraded and started to have a significant recognition in the medical market. Besides in the biomagnetic market there are other interesting areas where SQUID sensors play an important role, for example in the industrial field, as a component of the innovative magneticlevitation train called the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line. SQUID Sensors Some of you may be asking yourselves what exactly is a SQUID sensor? How does it work? Why is so important for the biomagnetic and industrial market? Let me start first by briefly define what a SQUID sensor is. It is a Superconducting Quantum Interference Device highly sensitive and use for detecting magnetic flux or magnetic fields. They are also called cryogenic or superconducting magnetometer. These sensors are made of a superconducting ring, which have one or two weak switching points (known as Josephson Junctions or fragile links) attached. These sensors are amazingly versatile as they can measure any physical quantity, which can be converted into a magnetic flux such as magnetic fields, electric currents and voltages or magnetic susceptibility. There are two type of SQUID sensors: Low-Temperature (LTS) SQUID and High-Temperature (HTS) SQUID sensors. These sensors need a cryogenic environment, so LTS SQUID sensors become superconducting at temperatures of reach temperatures of -459 degrees (F) Fahrenheit or -2 degrees (C) Celsius, which according to present-day physics, is known as absolute zero. On the other hand, HTS SQUIDs reach higher temperatures of approximately 280 degrees F. Since the SQUID sensor is the only magnetic sensor able to detect the most diminutive magnetic signal it is an essential part in any type of biomagnetic device. The following are the basic components of a SQUID system: Source: Tristan Technologies, Inc Even though, the SQUID sensor market is the smallest section (close to 1%) of the total world magnetic sensor industry these sensors are considered to be a

significant component in biomedical devices and in several research and industrial applications. Most SQUID sensor manufacturers are beginning to move toward the production of complete SQUID systems, instead of selling just the sensors. This would definitely help them expand their sales in the medical and research fields, which are hesitant in accepting and adopting new technology. Click here to view chart. Figure 1-A gives the percentage revenue breakdown of the total market by the three main product types and forecasts it for the period 2003-2006. Biomagnetism First of all, let me describe the MCG it refers to the detection of the heart''s electromagnetical activity and provides a new method to monitor fetal cardiac activity. In addition, MEG can be defined as the measurement of the weak magnetic fields generated by neuronal activity in the human brain. Due to its highly sensitive structure, SQUID magnetometers are able to detect the flow of an electrical current that creates a corresponding magnetic field. Thus, bioelectric activity will generate biomagnetic fields. Systems such as MCG and MEG are able to diagnose any type of brain or heart diseases, as well as measure muscle activity. There is no corresponding electrical technique and biomagnetic measurements offer unique measurement capabilities and are able to detect tiny magnetic fields produced by brain activity. Unlike CT or MRI imaging which yield structural information, biomagnetic measurements offer the potential of real-time functional imaging. Fetal MEG System Currently, the SQUID sensor technology has developed more rapidly in the medical arena, especially with the introduction to the market of the fetal MEG/MCG system to the market. This system is a non-invasive instrument that examines fetal development in a very premature stage a factor that is impossible when using other MEG system. Industry leaders believe the future of this technology will increase the demand for SQUID sensors. Fetal magnetocardiography (FMCG) has promising potential as an alternative method of fetal supervision. Moreover, due to its high temporal resolution, the FMCG allows a more accurate beat to beat representation of fetal heart rate than rely on the Cardiotocography, which is based on the registration and evaluation of ultrasound pulses. The FMCG may be used to examine signal morphology, cardiac conduction system, arhythmias, cardiac congenital defects, growth, development of the autonomic nervous system and fetal stress. The medicine market is increasing at a very fast pace as new technology is introduced and medical and biomedical devices are being upgraded. As a result clinics or hospitals are able to offer patients safer and higher quality devices. Fetal MEG is considered to be more important than a system use for pediatric or adult use. This is due to the fact that the fetus is very sensitive; therefore any injections, radioisotopes need to be avoided. There are approximately 151 SQUID sensors in a MEG system the quantity of SQUID

sensors in a system depends mainly on the number of channels in each system. This provides a better coverage of the mother''s anterior abdominal surface, especially in late gestation. CTF Systems, Inc., along with the University of Arkansas for Medical Science (UAMS, Little Rock, AR, USA) and the US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke), was the first company to built, the first dedicated fetal MEG system, known as SARA (SQUID Array for Reproductive Assessment). This innovative system is not yet fully developed in the biomedical market. It is still in its infancy stage due to the markets'' conservatism when it comes to adopting new technology. But, according to industry participants, it is expected to be a promising market because of its non-invasiveness properties. Until now, the only sensors used in the MEG systems were the LTS SQUIDs, because unlike the HTS SQUIDs, they have the required sensitivity. Although, SQUID manufacturers are working on the development of a HTS SQUID gradiometer able of operating in routine fetal and adult heart monitoring. In addition, they accomplish this by utilizing an inexpensive, non-metal shielded environment that does not contain low frequency magnetic shielding. This is a good opportunity for HTS SQUID sensors to begin penetrating into a significantly promising industry, the biomedical market; moreover, this would translate into higher revenues. According to the forecast for the Frost & Sullivan world report on magnetic sensors (7729-32) HTS SQUID sensor is the smallest market of the total SQUID sensor market. The following figure highlights the unit shipments, the total revenues and the revenue growth rates for the world HTS SQUID sensors market. As it is shown below by 2006 sale revenues are expected to reach about $3.5 million at a compounded annual growth rate of 6.1 %. Figure 1-BTotal HTS SQUID Sensors Market: Unit Shipments, Revenues and Revenue Growth Rates (World), 2000-2006 Click here to view chart. Magnetic-Levitation There is a new application, which relies on superconductive devices in order to operate, it is the magnetic-levitation train or most commonly known as (the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line). Maglev is a combination of superconducting magnets and linear motor technology that realizes super high-speed running, safety, reliability, low environmental impact and minimum maintenance. This super high-speed transport system (which runs approximately 500 km/hr) with non-adhesive drive system independent of wheel-and-rail frictional forces has been a longstanding dream project of railway engineers. Maglev, is a system in which the train runs levitated from the guideway (corresponding to the rail tracks of conventional railways) by using electromagnetic forces between superconducting magnets on board, the vehicle and coils located on the ground. Due to the SQUID sensor sensitivity and its ability to detect the smallest magnetic field allows it to be utilize in innovative highly advanced applications.

In conclusion, although the SQUID sensor market is expected to continue representing the smallest portion of the total world magnetic sensor market, the fast pace of Research and Development activity in the biomedical, research and industrial market is going to open a lot of door for these high-tech sensors. As these markets keep demanding high sensitivity and high accuracy instruments, both LTS and HTS SQUID sensors are expected to grow in sales, having greater revenue growth rates.

MEMS (Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems) Technology

In less than 20 years, MEMS (micro electro-mechanical systems) technology has gone from an interesting academic exercise to an integral part of many common products. But as with

most new technologies, the practical implementation of MEMS technology has taken a while to happen. The design challenges involved in designing a successful MEMS product (the ADXL2O2E) are described in this article by Harvey Weinberg from Analog Devices. In early MEMS systems a multi-chip approach with the sensing element (MEMS structure) on one chip, and the signal conditioning electronics on another chip was used. While this approach is simpler from a process standpoint, it has many disadvantages:

* The overall silicon area is generally larger. * Multi chip modules require additional assembly steps. * Yield is generally lower for multi chip modules. * Larger signals from the sensor are required to overcome the stray capacitance of the chip to chip interconnections, and stray fields necessitating a larger sensor structure. * Larger packages are generally required to house the two-chip structure

Microelectromechanical systems
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) (also written as micro-electro-mechanical, MicroElectroMechanical or microelectronic and microelectromechanical systems) is the technology of very small mechanical devices driven by electricity; it merges at the nano-scale into nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) and nanotechnology. MEMS are also referred to as micromachines (in Japan), or micro systems technology MST (in Europe). MEMS are separate and distinct from the hypothetical vision of molecular nanotechnology or molecular electronics. MEMS are made up of components between 1 to 100 micrometres in size (i.e. 0.001 to 0.1 mm) and MEMS devices generally range in size from 20 micrometres (20 millionths of a metre) to a millimetre. They usually consist of a central unit that processes data, the microprocessor and several components that interact with the outside such as microsensors.[1] At these size scales, the standard constructs of classical physics are not always useful. Because of the large surface area to volume ratio of MEMS, surface effects such as electrostatics and wetting dominate volume effects such as inertia or thermal mass. The potential of very small machines was appreciated before the technology existed that could make themsee, for example, Richard Feynman's famous 1959 lecture There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom. MEMS became practical once they could be fabricated using modified semiconductor device fabrication technologies, normally used to make electronics. These include molding and plating, wet etching (KOH, TMAH) and dry etching (RIE and DRIE), electro discharge machining (EDM), and other technologies capable of manufacturing small devices. An early example of a MEMS device is the resonistor an electromechanical monolithic resonator.[

Applications

microelectromechanical systems chip, sometimes called "lab on a chip"

In one viewpoint MEMS application is categorized by type of use.

Sensor Actuator Structure

In another view point MEMS applications are categorized by the field of application (commercial applications include):

Inkjet printers, which use piezoelectrics or thermal bubble ejection to deposit ink on paper. Accelerometers in modern cars for a large number of purposes including airbag deployment in collisions. Accelerometers in consumer electronics devices such as game controllers (Nintendo Wii), personal media players / cell phones (Apple iPhone, various Nokia mobile phone models, various HTC PDA models)[15] and a number of Digital Cameras (various Canon Digital IXUS models). Also used in PCs to park the hard disk head when free-fall is detected, to prevent damage and data loss. MEMS gyroscopes used in modern cars and other applications to detect yaw; e.g., to deploy a roll over bar or trigger dynamic stability control[16] MEMS microphones in portable devices, e.g., mobile phones, head sets and laptops. Silicon pressure sensors e.g., car tire pressure sensors, and disposable blood pressure sensors Displays e.g., the DMD chip in a projector based on DLP technology, which has a surface with several hundred thousand micromirrors or single micro-scanning-mirrors also called microscanners Optical switching technology, which is used for switching technology and alignment for data communications Bio-MEMS applications in medical and health related technologies from Lab-On-Chip to MicroTotalAnalysis (biosensor, chemosensor) Interferometric modulator display (IMOD) applications in consumer electronics (primarily displays for mobile devices), used to create interferometric modulation reflective display technology as found in mirasol displays

Fluid acceleration such as for micro-cooling

Companies with strong MEMS programs come in many sizes. The larger firms specialize in manufacturing high volume inexpensive components or packaged solutions for end markets such as automobiles, biomedical, and electronics. The successful small firms provide value in innovative solutions and absorb the expense of custom fabrication with high sales margins. In addition, both large and small companies work in R&D to explore MEMS technology.

[edit] Industry structure

The global market for micro-electromechanical systems, which includes products such as automobile airbag systems, display systems and inkjet cartridges totaled $40 billion in 2006 according to Global MEMS/Microsystems Markets and Opportunities, a research report from SEMI and Yole Developpement and is forecasted to reach $72 billion by 2011.[17] MEMS devices are defined as die-level components of first-level packaging, and include pressure sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, microphones, digital mirror displays, micro fluidic devices, etc. The materials and equipment used to manufacture MEMS devices topped $1 billion worldwide in 2006. Materials demand is driven by substrates, making up over 70 percent of the market, packaging coatings and increasing use of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP). While MEMS manufacturing continues to be dominated by used semiconductor equipment, there is a migration to 200 mm lines and select new tools, including etch and bonding for certain MEMS applications.

SQUID
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search For other uses, see Squid (disambiguation).

Sensing element of the SQUID A SQUID (for superconducting quantum interference device) is a very sensitive magnetometer used to measure extremely weak magnetic fields, based on superconducting loops containing Josephson junctions. SQUIDs are sensitive enough to measure fields as low as 5 aT (51018 T) within a few days of averaged measurements.[1] Their noise levels are as low as 3 fTHz-.[2] For comparison, a typical refrigerator magnet produces 0.01 tesla (102 T), and some processes in animals produce very small magnetic fields between 109 T and 106 T. Recently invented SERF atomic magnetometers are potentially more sensitive and do not require cryogenic refrigeration but are orders of magnitude larger in size (~1 cm3) and must be operated in a near-zero magnetic field.

Uses

The inner workings of an early SQUID

The extreme sensitivity of SQUIDs makes them ideal for studies in biology. Magnetoencephalography (MEG), for example, uses measurements from an array of SQUIDs to make inferences about neural activity inside brains. Because SQUIDs can operate at acquisition

rates much higher than the highest temporal frequency of interest in the signals emitted by the brain (kHz), MEG achieves good temporal resolution. Another area where SQUIDs are used is magnetogastrography, which is concerned with recording the weak magnetic fields of the stomach. A novel application of SQUIDs is the magnetic marker monitoring method, which is used to trace the path of orally applied drugs. In the clinical environment SQUIDs are used in cardiology for magnetic field imaging (MFI), which detects the magnetic field of the heart for diagnosis and risk stratification. Probably the most common commercial use of SQUIDs is in magnetic property measurement systems (MPMS). These are turn-key systems, made by several manufacturers, that measure the magnetic properties of a material sample. This is typically done over a temperature range from that of 4 K to roughly 190 K, though higher temperatures mean less precision.[10] For example, SQUIDs are being used as detectors to perform magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). While high field MRI uses precession fields of one to several teslas, SQUID-detected MRI uses measurement fields that lie in the microtesla regime. Since the MRI signal drops off as the square of the magnetic field, a SQUID is used as the detector because of its extreme sensitivity. The SQUID, coupled to a second-order gradiometer and input circuit, along with the application of gradients, are the fundamental entities which allow a research group to retrieve noninvasive images. SQUID-detected MRI has advantages over high field MRI systems, such as the low cost required to build such a system, and its compactness. The principle has been demonstrated by imaging human extremities, and its future application may include tumor screening.[11] Another application is the scanning SQUID microscope, which uses a SQUID immersed in liquid helium as the probe. The use of SQUIDs in oil prospecting, mineral exploration, earthquake prediction and geothermal energy surveying is becoming more widespread as superconductor technology develops; they are also used as precision movement sensors in a variety of scientific applications, such as the detection of gravitational waves.[12] A SQUID is the sensor in each of the four gyroscopes employed on Gravity Probe B in order to test the limits of the theory of general relativity.[1] It has also been suggested that they might be implemented in a quantum computer.[13] These are the only macroscopic devices that have been cited as possible qubits in this context.