Word: microsensors
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...Using first grape juice and then wine as their test samples, Jonquera-Jiménez and her team attached a series of synthetic membranes to a silicon chip called a microsensor. Each membrane detects a different chemical component of the liquid - components that, when combined, mark the distinct characteristics of each grape varietal. So far, the device can distinguish among four: chardonnay, Aisén, malvasia and macabeu. It can also measure the difference between a 2005 vintage and a 2007. "It should even be able to identify, say, a chardonnay regardless of whether it was grown in France...
...matter. E-noses have other, more practical uses. Osmetech, a British e-nose company, has dedicated itself to the detection of diseases. Its e-nose can sniff out six of the seven types of bacteria responsible for urinary-tract infections. Microsensor Systems of Orlando, Fla., makes a $9,800 portable device equipped with crystal sensors that can sniff out spoiling food and chemical weapons with equal ease. Caltech researchers sent one of their chips on John Glenn's space-shuttle mission last year to keep tabs on the quality of the cabin air. An adventurous Cyranose was even used...
Sensors like those made by Delco were the first to combine microelectronics and micromachines on one chip. The typical microsensor is a thin silicon diaphragm studded with resistors. Because the electrical resistance of silicon crystals changes when they are bent, the slightest stress on the diaphragm can be registered by the resistors and amplified by electronic circuits...
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