Recently, Chongqing TV's "Chongqing Interview" program talked with Jiang Zhuangde, an academician of the CAE Member and a professor of Xi'an Jiaotong University, to see how they can break the foreign MEMS technology monopoly and lay a good foundation for China's intelligent manufacturing.
Jiang Zhuangde, academician of the CAE Member and professor of Xi'an Jiaotong University: "We have a large number of MEMS sensors in our mobile phones"
How to seize the opportunity and have international competitiveness when new technologies are born? Jiang Zhuangde, an academician of the CAE Member and a professor of Xi'an Jiaotong University, said, "We can do it in a year." What kind of spirit is needed to do scientific research. Jiang Zhuangde said, "We still need to be able to sit on the bench!"
The Chongqing Interview talked to Jiang Zhuangde, an academician of the CAE Member and a professor of Xi'an Jiaotong University, to see how they can break the foreign technology monopoly and lay a solid foundation for China's intelligent manufacturing.. On May 8th, the Chongqing Key Laboratory of Micro Nano Sensing and Intelligent Microsystems was unveiled and established at the Chongqing Microelectronics Research Institute of Beijing Institute of Technology. The laboratory hired Academician Jiang Zhuangde as the Director of the Academic Committee. As a key figure in the field of precision and ultra precision machining in domestic micro and nano manufacturing, Academician Jiang Zhuangde began to delve into MEMS technology research from scratch in the 1990s and was the first to promote it to engineering applications in China. The full name of MEMS technology is Micro Electro Mechanical System, which is a micro electromechanical system composed of sensors, actuators, circuits, and other components.By perceiving and processing external information such as pressure, temperature, and images, mechanical devices can be triggered to make further response actions. For most ordinary viewers, this concept is still very unfamiliar. What are the practical application scenarios of MEMS technology in daily life, including industrial manufacturing?
Jiang Zhuangde: We have a large number of MEMS sensors in our phones, such as pressure, acceleration, displacement, temperature, distance, including gyroscopes; There are also cars. If there is an unexpected situation during driving, the micro accelerometer will trigger the airbag to open, protecting the occupants inside the car; The development of robots is very fast, and there are a large number of sensors in each joint component of robots. So what is the concept of sensors? Just like our eyes, ears, nose, and even skin, he can feel it visually, tactile, and so on. Therefore, the development of MEMS technology has encountered a major strategic opportunity period, especially in big data models, artificial intelligence, robots, and our aerospace industry.
Chongqing Interview: Including the airbag we just mentioned, does MEMS technology work to calculate whether or not I should pop out in milliseconds at the moment of collision?
Jiang Zhuangde: Yes, this is F=ma, with one force, one mass, and one acceleration, so it has parameters set within a safe range. If some parameters change, it will trigger the airbag and issue commands, etc. This is a widely used and ubiquitous application, and its broad prospects have driven its development.
Chongqing interview: You started researching this MEMS technology in the early 1990s. At that time, the world's advanced level was at what stage, and what kind of development situation was China in
Jiang Zhuangde: In the late 1980s, California Institute of Technology (MIT) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States developed electrostatic micromotors with a rotor diameter of 100 micrometers using microelectronics manufacturing technology. Because semiconductors can be mass-produced on a large scale, it caused a major sensation in the technology industry at that time. Countries around the world have arranged and seized this high ground, which is indeed wonderful because semiconductor technology uses traditional mechanical manufacturing to make an involute gear, which is more complex to process, but can be mass-produced using silicon-based materials. I am very interested in mass production of micro mechanical devices.For over 30 years from the 1990s to the present, Academician Jiang Zhuangde led a team to develop a series of microelectromechanical system products with independent intellectual property rights. This not only broke the technological blockade and monopoly abroad, but also successfully achieved industrialization in many projects. But recalling the difficulties in the early stages of research, Academician Jiang still remembers vividly;
Jiang Zhuangde: It was indeed very difficult at that time because I was from the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The important technology in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at that time was silicon-based, including flexible electronics and so on. We were not from the Department of Electronic Engineering and had no conditions. I bought a batch of scrapped equipment from a semiconductor company and spent 8000 yuan on five second-hand equipment, including glue homogenizers, exposure machines, etc. I also converted my office into a darkroom and conducted experiments inside.Initially, an array type sensor was developed, and at the same time, a micro gear with a diameter of 300 micrometers was also made, which is in an involute shape. In the year 2000, we undertook a preliminary research project on high-temperature pressure sensors, which allowed us to produce them within a year. At that time, we used silicon isolation technology to solve high-temperature pressure sensors. After this breakthrough, a series of devices in this environment broke through, and the overall situation and situation began to improve.
Chongqing Interview: Have you never doubted it?
Jiang Zhuangde: No. Because of interest. Scientific research still requires interest, and we need to give each one a try. After trying it out, every time we succeed, we will feel very interesting, and then continue to push forward. This way, the road will become wider and wider. Then, talent cultivation and introduction will gradually accumulate, forming a good cycle.
Chongqing interview: In fact, besides MEMS, you have also conducted in-depth research in many other aspects of precision machining, including micro and nano manufacturing. What direction have you been most concerned about in the past two years?
Jiang Zhuangde: One is to rapidly promote the industrialization, engineering, and market application of MEMS technology, including applications in the aviation field. In addition, I am more concerned about the research of precision and ultra precision machining industrial aircraft. Industrial aircraft are of paramount importance, such as the processing of lenses for ground remote sensing satellites, the processing of X-ray reflectors for deep space exploration, and many key technologies and theories in the aerospace field that require breakthroughs. The key laboratories in Chongqing have a strong foundation in biomedical testing and human health, and can also make some contributions to Chongqing in this regard.MEMS technology has great applications and broad prospects in biomedical engineering and biomedical testing. Human health is also an important research direction. In addition to the Chongqing Key Laboratory of Micro Nano Sensing and Intelligent Microsystems established this time, in fact, in 2018, Jiang Zhuangde and Chongqing University of Commerce jointly established an academician workstation, focusing on scientific research in intelligent micro nano sensor devices, advanced sensing, and
Jiang Zhuangde: We are both located in the western region, and Chongqing is one of the important fulcrums in our country's western region. Chongqing, Chengdu, and Xi'an have developed their industries very quickly, and Chongqing's manufacturing industry has developed rapidly. It can be said that Chongqing is a pole of our country's manufacturing industry. The direction we are engaged in is the combination of machinery and microelectronics. Chongqing has a certain industrial foundation, market size, and talent conditions. These basic elements exist, which are beneficial for promoting technological development and linkage in the western region.
Chongqing interview: When you were conducting research on MEMS technology in the early 1990s, you were a young technology worker under the age of 40.
Jiang Zhuangde: Interest is the driving force of scientific research. In the process of progress, you may encounter some difficulties, or you may be moving faster. You are currently in a bottleneck period, but you still need to persevere. You gradually accumulate and form a good path forward, but if you do research for a period of time and feel like encountering major difficulties or bottlenecks, or when other new hot topics emerge, you shift your research goals and keep changing directions, your accumulation is not enough. Of course, if there are new research tasks coming, you also need to pick them up, so research is about choosing a direction and walking firmly, which is very important!
(Text: Chongqing Radio and Television "First Eye")