If someone were told that “MEMS” stood for an important new technological innovation, that individual might think that “MEMS” had something to do with memory. In fact, it refers to the technology in the alcohol breath analyzer. More precisely, it refers to the sensors within the standard alcohol breath analyzer. Those sensors were created by researchers at a California University. Those researchers did not realize that their sensors would assist many members of the California Highway Patrol (CHPS). They would help CHPS to stop and then identify many drunk drivers.
The alcohol breath analyzer offers law enforcement officers a wonderful pairing of modern convenience and modern technology. The typical alcohol breath analyzer allows its user to obtain a reading within 10 seconds. Moreover, the user of the analyzer can expect to obtain about 500 readings from just one pair of batteries.
If the user of an alcohol breath analyzer finds that the batteries on the analyzer have been drained of energy, then that individual does not need to abandon hope of identifying another drunk driver. That individual can just plug the analyzer into the 12 V energy source that is available in a motor vehicle. Those 12 volts will re-energize the analyzer. Those 12 volts will allow the microelectronic mechanical systems (MEMS) in the typical alcohol breath analyzer to regain their sensitivity.
The MEMS in the present-day analyzer feature tiny silicon sensors. Those sensors are so tiny that they have been called “smart dust.” Those gas sensors have the ability to pick-up the specific signals from alcohol in exhaled air. Literature on the alcohol breath analyzer indicates that the specificity of the sensors can, however, be compromised.
Those sensors fail to work properly when the air to be analyzed contains a substantial amount of cigarette smoke. For that reason, the user of the alcohol breath analyzer should not smoke within the 10 minutes prior to the analysis. That, obviously, could put some constraints on effective use of the analyzer by law enforcement officers. For example, someone accused of driving while intoxicated could claim in court that he or she had been smoking in the vehicle just prior to interrogation by an officer of the law.
That fact shows how even the smartest “dust” could encounter difficulties, if used to make a case against a smart and clever individual who wanted to be able to drink and drive. In fact, the greatest benefit of the “smart dust” is its size. The small sensors can be packed into a very small device, one that a law enforcement officer would have no trouble carrying in a car, or on his person.
Present-day analyzers also offer the law enforcement officer an easier way to interpret their readings. Many analyzers sound an alarm when the reading falls above a certain level. Some analyzers also provide two types of measurements. Some give authorities both the subject’s blood alcohol content (BAC) and the amount of alcohol vapor in a liter of exhaled air.
Those features not only help the officer on patrol, they also aid the attorney who needs to prosecute against a drunk driver. They provide authorities with further proof that the man or woman behind the wheel had chosen to drive while still in an intoxicated state.