Company News

        As the end of 2018 approaches, YIDU Instrument has received good news. Its independently developed series of universal laminar flow mass flow meters have passed the type evaluation test of measuring instruments by the Chinese Academy of Metrology, the highest national metrology testing institution, and obtained China's first laminar flow mass flow meter measuring instrument type approval qualification certificate (referred to as CPA certificate). The product accuracy has reached the highest level of 1.0 approved by the country, with a repeatability of 0.1% and a response time of 0.01 seconds. Multiple technical parameter indicators are at the international leading level.

        For a long time, the precise measurement and control of the flow rate of small and micro gases and liquids have been monopolized by developed Western countries. This technology is an important core technology in many high-end manufacturing fields, including semiconductors, biopharmaceuticals, new materials, etc. The development and birth of the laminar flow mass flowmeter of YIDU Instrument is the result of a high-quality entrepreneurial backbone composed of doctors and masters from the company, as well as a research and development team composed of experts and scholars from top domestic universities. In the face of foreign technology blockade, YIDU Instrument has adhered to the field of fluid measurement and control, independent innovation, and unremitting efforts since 2011.

Hard work and dedication: Seven years of research and development, challenging the world level

        In 2011, this R&D team led by the "80s generation" began to challenge advanced foreign technologies. At that time, imported equipment from abroad dominated the world, and related technologies were monopolized by developed Western countries. Only a few domestic manufacturers could produce some analog products with low accuracy and poor repeatability, which could not be considered high-precision and could only be used in low-end industries. Due to the lack of core sensor technology, even if foreign equipment was disassembled, it would be difficult to break through due to a lack of understanding of the principles. Numerous facts have shown that attempting to imitate advanced foreign products is not feasible. From the beginning of research and development, the YIDU team has been keenly aware that high-end precision instruments belong to technology intensive products. Only through independent innovation and following the technical route of "concept demonstration" - "key technology verification" - "scheme verification" - "principle prototype" - "engineering prototype" - "product prototype" - "product" can we truly master the technology and develop high-precision and cutting-edge products.

        This technological route is time-consuming, costly, and risky, which is incompatible with the current impetuous society. Many of them have given up high paying jobs and comfortable lives, with some being misunderstood by their families and others ridiculed by those around them. At that time, there were two technical directions in front of the R&D team in the field of microfluidics measurement: one was the thermal mass flowmeter based on the principle of heat transfer, which was mainly dominated by six or seven companies from Europe, America, and Japan, occupying the vast majority of the global market and being the mainstream technology with high technological maturity. However, the core technology of thermal sensors has not been mastered domestically; The other one is a laminar mass flowmeter based on the "Hagenbauer theorem", which; The research and development of laminar flow sensors in the central core has made it more difficult for international top manufacturers producing thermal mass flow meters due to their higher technical difficulty and complex manufacturing processes. For decades, only one American company has achieved significant breakthroughs in laminar flow technology globally, but there is still a considerable distance to go before achieving large-scale commercial applications.  

Independence and self-reliance: conquering the core and achieving China's first place

     It is not an exaggeration to say that the level of microfluidic measurement and control in a country determines the level of its high-end manufacturing industry. In the field of small and micro flow measurement and control, the measurement range is usually between 0.0001ml/s and 100000ml/s, with a span of more than 9 orders of magnitude. This is equivalent to accurate measurement of the volume flowing through the flowmeter in one second, ranging from one-third of a drop of water to one barrel of oil. The time required to complete each accurate measurement should be less than 0.01s, and the relative error between two consecutive measurements should be less than one thousandth. The technical difficulty can be imagined.

     The YIDU team spent seven years of painstaking research, from the birth of the first laminar flow sensor principle verification machine in 2013, to the development of the first generation control board principle verification machine in 2014, the successful development of the first laminar flow mass flowmeter engineering prototype at the end of 2015, until June 2017, when the first generation laminar flow mass flowmeter was launched and successfully passed the type evaluation certification of the National Institute of Metrology. There is no ready-made experience to draw from. All work has to start from scratch, design and experiment time and time again. If it fails, start over, be imperfect, and improve again. The research and development process is painful, but it is worth proud that the YIDU team persevered, gnawed on each hard bone, and mastered this core technology, achieving today's products.

      At present, this technology has obtained two national invention patents and has novelty in global PCT searches. In China, only YIDU Company has mastered the universal laminar flow measurement and control technology, and its products have been verified by the highest authoritative institution in the country, reaching the world's top level.

Endless: Efficient Focus Increases China's Strength

     The laminar flow mass flowmeter and controller successfully developed by YIDU Instrument can not only measure the mass flow rate of gases and liquids, but also achieve precise control. It is the first domestically developed digital product of laminar flow principle. After countless technological improvements, the product is becoming increasingly mature, achieving normal use in environments ranging from -20 ℃ to 70 ℃, with accuracy controlled within 1.0 level, repeatability of 0.1%, and response time of 0.01S.

      Focusing on user process control, over 70% of the more than 300 key semiconductor processes, including photolithography, vapor deposition, and single crystal production, are related to microfluidics measurement; In the production and manufacturing process of new materials such as graphene, the most commonly used method is to enhance plasma chemical vapor deposition, which also requires precise allocation of gases and liquids; As a future direction of aerospace development, plasma engines require precise measurement of the mass flow rate of rare gases less than 1ml/min in production and ground testing processes, which is a key testing process for the stable operation of plasma engines.

      In the past five years, the global business in the field of microfluidics measurement has grown rapidly at a rate of 30% per year. With the rapid development of emerging high-end manufacturing industries represented by chip manufacturing, biomedicine, new materials, 3D printing, and micro nano manufacturing, more refined manufacturing processes have put forward more stringent requirements for microfluidics measurement and control instruments. In the current context of the country's vigorous development of high-end manufacturing industry, YIDU Instrument has the responsibility and confidence to continue to refine its technology, focus on the field of fluid measurement and control, and solve the world's problems in microfluidics measurement and control.