mPhase, Bell Labs Build Magnetometer

LITTLE FALLS, N.J., May 26 -- mPhase Technologies Inc. and Bell Labs, the research and development arm of Lucent Technologies, announced they have produced the first core components of a sensor package, technically referred to as a magnetometer, that is predicted to be up to 1000 times more sensitive than commercially available uncooled sensors used in metal detectors.

The mPhase-Bell Labs collaboration on magnetometers is an outgrowth of a year-old codevelopment agreement centered on a nanotechnology-based power cell that may serve as a power source for the magnetometers and other applications. These components were produced in the silicon fab line operated by the New Jersey Nanotechnology Consortium (NJNC), a subsidiary of Lucent based at and run by Bell Labs in Murray Hill, N.J.

The prototype magnetometer has, at its core, a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device, which is based on fundamental breakthroughs made in the past few years at Bell Labs, using the NJNC facilities. Acting much like a miniature tuning fork or oscillator, with movements only perceptible under a microscope, it is designed to detect changes in magnetic fields and can be used in applications to establish direction of movement of magnetic objects.

Initial applications will focus on national defense and homeland security, and these are under discussion with early adopters, the companies said.

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