The MEMS Applied Sensors group at the Department of Micro- and Nanotechnology works on the development of all kind of mechanical sensors based on silicon technologies. This includes theory, design, fabrication, materials, packaging, tests and applications. Our main area of focus is multi sensor systems, biomedical sensing technologies and related materials science.

Multi-sensors are miniaturised sensors capable of measuring several parameters using a single silicon chip. One example of such a device is the sensor used in the Fish & Chips project: This sensor is based on a 3.9 × 7.3 × 1.2 mm3 small silicon chip that provides a pressure sensor, a light intensity sensor, a temperature sensor and a set of electrodes. The sensor allows for measuring the conductivity of the saline sea water. 

The Fish & Chips sensor is designed to measure essential parameters used to monitor fish behaviour in fisheries research. For this purpose the sensor is optimized for low power operation and designed to operate in harsh saline water.

An emerging research topic is within biomedical technologies, where we in particular investigate ways of making implantable devices such as pressure sensors for bladder control or sensors incorporated in an electronic patch for non-invasive monitoring of various physiological parameters e.g. heart beat rate or oxygen saturation in the human body. 

In the Electronic Patch project a custom made photodiode is integrated with an autonomous electronic system with the purpose of wireless health care monitoring.

More fundamental research is carried out in the fields of strained epitaxial films of silicon and SiGe as well as in silicon nano-wires. Piezo-electric materials and ways to exploit these materials in new functional sensors are also investigated.

All sensors are made using silicon technologies in the DTU clean room facility Danchip, and many projects are carried out in close collaboration with the industry.

On these pages you can read about our research, and educational effort, download publications and look for available master and bachelor projects for students.