Analatom Inc.

Analatom, Inc was established in 1980 as an independent materials science research facility in Sunnyvale, California. In 1997, Analatom secured some important MEMS technology licenses and began to focus on product development based on these technologies. Analatom is particularly interested in the field of Micro- Electrical- Mechanical- Systems (MEMS) because of the overlap with their core expertise and the proven and potential markets for the technology. The MEMS revolution has been a result of the application of integrated circuit manufacturing technologies to devices that integrate electrical and mechanical systems in micron-scale devices. With light weight, minute dimensions, and low fabrication costs, MEMS are poised to spearhead a new wave of technical innovation in the next decade.

Analatom has licensed basic MEMS chemical sensor technology for the purpose of developing smart corrosion sensors for military and commercial markets. Using MEMS, it is now possible to integrate sensors with associated CMOS control circuitry onto a tiny semiconductor chip. These chips can be added to a structure, forming a "smart material" which can detect corrosion automatically.

The proposed MEMS sensors address the problem of through life non destructive evaluation (NDE) and monitoring of both adhesively bonded structures and the occurrence and rate of corrosion under coated (painted) surfaces. To market these sensors, Analatom is developing the Structural Health Monitoring System (SHEMS). SHEMS is a suite of different MEMS sensors deployed on flexible substrates at critical areas of a structure. The data from the SHEMS sensors is analyzed at regular intervals to determine the overall integrity of the structure.

For MEMS prototype fabrication Analatom, Inc. uses the Stanford University Nanofabrication Facility under the National Science Foundation (NSF) National Nanofabrication Users Network (NNUN). This arrangement is very cost effective and also allows for Analatom, Inc. personnel to have close interaction with an academic environment for further education and training.

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