Affinity Biosensors and Innovative Micro Technology have entered into a foundry partnership for volume production of suspended mass resonator MEMS devices for particle analysis in fluidic solutions.
The suspended mass resonator (SMR) MEMS devices are said to enable particle measurement in fluidic solutions with femtogram resolution.
The SMR MEMS devices are the chips that drive Affinity Biosensors's Archimedes particle measurement system.
Originally conceived at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Innovative Micro Technology refined and developed a robust process for volume production, including a key component to this product - sub-mTorr vacuum, wafer-level packaging (WLP) technology.
Archimedes measures a particle as it traverses through a microfluidic channel embedded in a resonating cantilever.
The mass is determined by detecting the change in resonant frequency at the time the particle enters the tip of the cantilever.
Achieving femtogram resolution requires the cantilever to have a very high Q-factor that is only accomplished by encapsulating the cantilever in high-vacuum WLP.
