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In-Depth Information
8.2.2 Technological Characteristics of Manufacturing
Reaction-Diffusion Devices
Geometric dimensions of a reaction-diffusion device should be determined by the
size of the active elements of the medium (10
1
to 10
2
mm). Therefore, a device
containing 10
6
acting elements may represent the simplest case of a quasi-flat layer
of the reagent with dimensions of 100
10) mm. The micrometer
dimensions of acting elements and relatively low sensitivity of the medium to
foreign matter allows for:
100 mm (10
Dramatically reducing the cost of raw materials for manufacturing the devices
compared with semiconductors devices, because they do not require ultrahigh
purification from impurities
Dramatically simplifying and reducing the cost of the industrial production
technology of the devices, since it does not require an extremely high degree
of purification of both gas and liquid media from dust and micro-inclusions.
Operations performed by such a device are characterized by the specific chem-
ical reactions occurring in the active medium, the spatial structure of the device,
and the control stimuli. Based on past experience, it may be suggested that instead
of a complex miniature system of transistors and interconnections on a chip, a
multilayer reaction-diffusion device will consist of a system of active layers with
linear dimensions on the order of tens of millimeters on a polymer base and with the
size of structural features in a layer of 0.1 mm, separated by a semipermeable
membranes.
Thus, the manufacturing complexity of reaction-diffusion devices should be
significantly lower and the technological equipment much simpler than those
required for manufacturing of advanced semiconductor integrated circuits.
8.2.3 Closer to Nature: An Offensive of Polymeric Materials
The volume and reliability of data that can be obtained from experimental studies of
processes in reaction-diffusion media have multiplied over the past decade, with a
crucial role played by two main directions of development of experimental tech-
niques. One of them—utilization of light-sensitive media—was discussed in detail
above. Let us consider the second, no less important direction—the use of poly-
meric materials for the formation of reaction-diffusion media.
There are various options for the use of polymeric materials for studying the
processes occurring in reaction-diffusion media. Naturally, their use is dictated by
the problem to be solved, by the characteristics of the data input and output, and by
the methods used to control the medium.
Today optical methods are the main method of inputting and outputting infor-
mation when dealing with reaction-diffusion media
.
