Fabrication and characterization of a wind sensor for integration with a neuron circuit

The first step towards realising a sensor that mimics a cricket is reported. An artificial system consisting of a micro-electro-mechanical cantilever wind sensor and a neuron integrate and fire circuit for the study of cricket behaviour, have been characterised. Microfabrication technology has been employed for the fabrication of the cantilever wind sensor. P-type silicon piezoresistors in a Wheatstone bridge configuration have been integrated with the cantilever beams. When the cantilever sensor is stimulated by wind, the piezoresistors transform the resultant strain into a differential voltage output signal via the Wheatstone bridge circuit. In addition, we show that the neuron chip composed of an instrumentation amplifier and an integrate and fire circuit produces electrical spike trains when an input voltage is present. It is anticipated that the integration of the above artificial experimental system into a robot programmed with neuron computational models would allow the behaviour of crickets to be studied. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.