A Planar CMOS Field-Emission Vacuum Magnetic Sensor
We have fabricated a CMOS vacuum magnetic sensor that exploits the deflection of an electron beam produced by field emission by a perpendicular magnetic field. The device is planar and fabricated by conventional lithography and etching processes. An extremely high magnetic field sensitivity of 4times103%/T is reported.
A Novel, Hybrid-Integrated, High-Precision, Vacuum Microelectronic Accelerometer with Nano-Field Emission Tips
In this paper, a novel, hybrid-integrated, high-precision, vacuum microelectronic accelerometer is put forward, based on the theory of field emission; the accelerometer consists of a sensitive structure and an ASIC interface (application-specific integrated circuit). The sensitive structure has a cathode cone tip array, a folded beam, an emitter electrode, and a feedback electrode. The sensor is fabricated on a double-sided polished (1 0 0) N-type silicon wafer; the tip array of the cathode is shaped by wet etching with HNA (HNO3, HF, and CH3COOH) and metalized by TiW/Au thin film. The structure of the sensor is finally released by the ICP (inductively coupled plasma) process. The ASIC interface was designed and fabricated based on the P-JFET (Positive-Junction Field Effect Transistor) high-voltage bipolar process. The accelerometer was tested through a static field rollover test, and the test results show that the hybrid-integrated vacuum microelectronic accelerometer has good performance, with a sensitivity of 3.081 V/g, the non-linearity is 0.84% in the measuring range of −1 g~1 g, the average noise spectrum density value is 36.7 μV/Hz in the frequency range of 0–200 Hz, the resolution of the vacuum microelectronic accelerometer can reach 1.1 × 10−5 g, and the zero stability reaches 0.18 mg in 24 h.
Enucleation of vagal nerve schwannoma using intraoperative nerve monitoring
Vagal nerve schwannomas are rare, benign, neural sheath tumors. The treatment of enlarging or symptomatic vagal nerve schwannomas is surgical resection. Transecting the vagus nerve results in significant morbidity, and attempts at nerve preservation should be made whenever possible. We introduce a nerve‐sparing technique using meticulous microsurgical dissection and intraoperative nerve monitoring for vagal schwannomas. A 61‐year old patient presented with an enlarging 2‐cm right vagal nerve schwannoma. She underwent resection via a transcervical approach. The patient was intubated with an electromyographic (EMG) endotracheal tube that allowed for monitoring of the recurrent laryngeal nerve intraoperatively. A microsurgical subcapsular dissection was performed after branches of the vagus nerve were identified using a nerve probe and preserved. At the conclusion of the resection the nerve was intact and stimulated along its entire course. Postoperatively, the patient had normal vagal nerve function. We introduced the role of intraoperative nerve monitoring using an EMG endotracheal tube for successful enucleation of vagal schwannomas. In conjunction with meticulous microsurgical dissection, nerve monitoring allows for successful preservation of the vagus nerve and decreased postoperative morbidity. Laryngoscope, 2012