TECHNOLOGY Tiny motion detector carries huge promise

The idea for the device came from a student working on his Ph.D.
SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE
Think you can see something move a distance smaller than the width of an atom?
Sandia National Laboratories scientists can -- with the naked eye.
A motion detector created at the labs emits a visible flash at movement on that scale. With the aid of computers, the device can even detect movement on a scale 10,000 times smaller than an atom, said Dustin Carr, the researcher who invented the technology.
"Sensor technologies, like this one, are very important and can help us monitor and learn about our environment and the world around us," Carr said.
A device sensing such small amounts of motion might sound esoteric, but the work could lead to more inventions -- including advanced earthquake detecting devices and a car navigation system that can tell a driver exactly where he is without the use of satellites, Carr said.
"If we used standard sensors to navigate based just on movement they'd be off by a range of one to 1,000 kilometers after an hour," he said. "For a truck driver, that would be very bad. With this technology, we can make a dime-sized device that costs about $10 and will work in tunnels and deep ravines because it isn't dependent on GPS technology."
GPS technology is expensive and doesn't work in areas without clear reception from a satellite.
A device using Carr's technology is about three years down the road, if a commercial partner chooses to develop it, he said.
Details
The motion detector is a microsystem -- meaning it is a mechanical device with microscopic components. Carr's device -- which uses two gratings and a laser to scatter particles of light -- is smaller than a pencil dot on a piece of paper.
One of the gratings is placed on soft gel bearings, and can move tiny distances. When it moves, it scatters the laser light in distinct ways which can be seen with the naked eye, Carr said.
Sandia is developing the technology for classified military applications, but the labs are also discussing commercial possibilities with several parties, Carr said.
"Really you can use these things in any device that you want to sense motion," said Greg Bogart, an engineer on the project. "Let's say you wanted to have gloves for a video game that could detect small movement in a finger -- just like they show in some movies. With these devices, you could actually make something like that."
Carr, 34, got the initial idea for the device when he was working on his physics Ph.D. at Cornell University. He noticed the properties of light worked differently with gratings in very small scales than it does at normal sizes.
He remained interested in the subject after he graduated in 2000, but didn't have time for it during the three years he spent after that at Bell Labs in New Jersey, he said.
Two years ago Sandia had an opening, and gave him a chance to start working on his dream technology, he added.
"Here at Sandia, I got the resources and framework to look theoretically at what was happening," Carr said. "I couldn't do that on my own. What we're trying to do now is insert the technology into every possible space where it fits and find ways to make the most of it."
Other uses
Another use for the technology could be in a holographic television or video game system. The devices can manipulate wavelengths of light and can fool the eye into seeing three dimensional images, which is how holographs work, Carr said.
In two years, Carr's project has gone from an idea with no funding to a small research department with five people and $2 million in funding from government sources, he said.
His work hasn't gone unnoticed by the larger scientific community. This month, Carr was selected by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Technology Review magazine as one of the top 100 researchers under age 35 in the country.
Don't expect him to take his acclaim and go elsewhere, though. He says he's found his niche at Sandia and in New Mexico.
"Everything I need to develop this technology is right here," Carr said. "Sandia has expertise in microsystems and nanotechnology and has the facilities to make them. I've enjoyed my time in New Mexico."
Over the next year, Carr and his team will transform the device from a lab demonstration model into a hand-held device of some sort that other researchers at the labs can experiment with, he said.