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AGS-ENGINEERING
Email: projects@ags-engineering.com
Phone: 505-550-6501 / 505-565-5102 (USA)
Skype: agstech1
SMS Messaging: 505-796-8791 (USA)
Fax: 505-814-5778 (USA)
WhatsApp: (505) 550-6501
We use advanced tools like Tanner MEMS Design Flow from Mentor, MEMS+, CoventorWare, SEMulator3D from Coventor....etc.
MEMS & MICROFLUIDICS DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT
MEMS
MEMS, standing for MicroElectroMechanical Systems are tiny chip scale micromachines made up of components between 1 to 100 micrometers in size (a micrometer is one millionth of a meter) and MEMS devices generally range in size from 20 micrometers (20 millionths of a meter) to a millimeter. Most MEMS devices are a few hundred microns across.They usually consist of a central unit that processes data, the microprocessor and several components that interact with the outside such as microsensors. At such small size scales, the rules of classical physics are not always useful. Due to MEMS' large surface area to volume ratio, surface effects such as electrostatics and wetting dominate volume effects such as inertia or thermal mass. Therefore, MEMS design and development does require specific experience in the field as well as specific software that take these non-classical physics rules into account.
MEMS became practical especially during the last few decades after they could be fabricated using modified semiconductor device fabrication technologies, which were normally used to make electronics. These include molding and plating, wet etching (KOH, TMAH) and dry etching (RIE and DRIE), electric discharge machining (EDM), thin film deposition and other technologies capable of manufacturing very small devices.
If you have a new MEMS concept but don’t possess the specialized design tools and/or the right expertise, we can help you. After design, development and fabrication we can develop customized test hardware and software for your MEMS product. We work with a number of established foundries specialized in MEMS fabrication. Both 150mm and 200mm wafers are processed under ISO/TS 16949 and ISO 14001 registered and RoHS compliant environments. We are capable of performing leading edge research, design, development, testing, qualification, prototyping as well as high volume commercial production. Some popular MEMS devices our engineers have experience in include:
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Gyroscopes / Gyros
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Optical MEMS (such as digital projectors, all optical fiber optic switch)
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MEMS Actuators and Sensors (such as motion sensor, pressure sensor)
Tiny MEMS sensors and actuators have enabled new functionality in smart phones, tablets, cars, projectors…etc. and are critical to the Internet of Things (IoT). On the other hand, MEMS presents specialized engineering challenges, including non-standard fabrication processes, multi-physics interactions, integration with ICs, and custom hermetic packaging requirements. Without a MEMS-specific design platform, it often takes many years to bring a MEMS product to market. We use advanced tools designing and developing MEMS. Tanner MEMS Design enables us 3D MEMS design and fabrication support in one unified environment, and makes it easy to integrate MEMS devices with analog/mixed-signal processing circuitry on the same IC. It enhances the manufacturability of MEMS devices via mechanical, thermal, acoustic, electrical, electrostatic, magnetic and fluid analyses. Other software tools from Coventor offer us powerful platforms for MEMS design, simulation, verification and process modeling. Coventor’s platform addresses MEMS-specific engineering challenges such as multi-physics interactions, process variations, MEMS+IC integration, MEMS+package interaction. Our MEMS engineers are able to model and simulate device behavior and interactions before committing to actual fabrication, and in hours or days, they can model or simulate effects that would have normally taken months of building and testing in the fab. Some of the advanced tools our MEMS designers use are the following.
For simulations:
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Tanner MEMS Design Flow from Mentor
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MEMS+, CoventorWare, SEMulator3D from Coventor
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IntelliSense
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Comsol MEMS Module
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ANSYS
For drawing masks:
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AutoCAD
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Vectorworks
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Layout Editor
For modeling:
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Solidworks
For calculations, analytical, numerical analysis:
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Matlab
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MathCAD
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Mathematica
The following is a brief list of the MEMS design & development work we perform:
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Create a MEMS 3D model from layout
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Design rule checking for MEMS manufacturability
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System-level simulation of MEMS devices and IC design
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Complete layer & design geometry visualization
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Automatic layout generation with parameterized cells
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Generation of behavioral models of your MEMS devices
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Advanced mask layout and verification flow
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Export of DXF files
MICROFLUIDICS
Our microfluidics device design and development operations are aimed at fabrication of devices and systems in which small volumes of fluids are handled. We have the capability to design microfluidic devices for you and offer prototyping & micromanufacturing custom tailored for your applications. Examples of microfluidic devices are micro-propulsion devices, lab-on-a-chip systems, micro-thermal devices, inkjet printheads and more. In microfluidics we have to deal with the precise control and manipulation of fluids constrained to sub-milimeter regions. Fluids are moved, mixed, separated and processed. In microfluidic systems fluids are moved and controlled either actively using tiny micropumps and microvalves and the like or passively taking advantage of capillary forces. With lab-on-a-chip systems, processes which are normally carried out in a lab are miniaturized on a single chip in order to enhance efficiency and mobility as well as reduce sample and reagent volumes.
Some major applications of microfluidic devices and systems are:
- Laboratories on a chip
- Drug screening
- Glucose tests
- Chemical microreactor
- Microprocessor cooling
- Micro fuel cells
- Protein crystallization
- Rapid drugs change, manipulation of single cells
- Single cell studies
- Tunable optofluidic microlens arrays
- Microhydraulic & micropneumatic systems (liquid pumps,
gas valves, mixing systems…etc)
- Biochip early warning systems
- Detection of chemical species
- Bioanalytical applications
- On-chip DNA and protein analysis
- Nozzle spray devices
- Quartz flow cells for detection of bacteria
- Dual or multiple droplet generation chips
AGS-Engineering also offers consulting, design and product development in gaseous and liquid systems and products, at small scales. We employ advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools as well as laboratory testing to understand and visualize complex flow behavior. Our microfluidics engineers have used CFD tools and microscopy to characterize the microscale liquid transport phenomena in porous media. We also have close cooperation with foundries to research, design. Develop and supply microfluidic & bioMEMS components. We can help you design & fabricate your own microfluidic chips. Our experienced chip designing team can help you through the design, prototyping and fabrication of small lots and volume quantities of microfluidic chips for your specific application. Starting with devices on plastics is recommended for quick trials as it takes less time and cost for fabrication compared to devices on PDMS. We can fabricate Microfluidic patterns on plastics such as PMMA, COC. We can do photolithography followed by soft lithography to create microfluidic patterns on PDMS. We produce metal masters, we are by milling patterns on Brass and Aluminum. The device fabrication on PDMS and making patterns on plastics and metals can be completed within a few weeks. We can provide connectors for patterns fabricated on plastics upon request such as a port connectors compatible for 1mm port size along with fitting to connect 360 micron PEEK capillary tubes. Male mini luer with metal pin assembly can be supplied to connect tygon tube of 0.5 mm inner diameter between fluid ports and syringe pump. Liquid storage reservoirs of capacity 100 μl. can also be provided. If you already have a design, you can submit in Autocad, .dwg or .dxf formats.