MICRO AND NANO SENSORS

The goal of this class consists in providing to students basic and advanced concepts regarding sensors, transducers, design methodologies and fabrication technologies. In particular micro and nano fabrication technologies will be studied. Moreover conditioning signal processing methods and design methodologies for circuits will be studied. 

Concepts and knowledge gained in this class will allow future engineers to properly face sensor developments and design problem, to perform device design, to identify the most appropriate fabrication technologies, Finally sensor calibration methods will be studied.

Knowledge and understanding

Students will gain knowledge about methods for designing sensors and transducers, for developing the full measurement and transduction chain. Attention will be posed over identification and compensation of interferying and modifying inputs. Finally fabrication precess issues will be considered with respect to their influence on the sensor design and on the device performances.

Applications to sensors for measuring both electrical and non electrical quantities will be considered.

Applying knowledge and understanding

At the end of this class students will have enough competences and knowledge to effectively analyze a measurement system, to identify main functioinalities of measurement systems together with interferying and modifying inputs and appropriate compensating methods. Moreover students will be able to design MEMS and microsensors together with the correspondent signal conditioning circuits.

Making judgements

At the end of this class students will gain adequate maturity level and autonomy for operating as engineers expert in measurement systems and specifically in micro and nano sensors. These skills will be enforced through an intense experimental  activity in laboratory.  

Communication skills

Students will gain adequate communication skills thanks to the knowledege of technical languages in the field of metrology and measurements. Team working skills will be enforced through laboratory activities organized in small groups. 

Learning skills

Students will be able to autonomously expand his/her knowledges in the specific field of instrumentation and measurements and micro and nano sensors through the study of specialized books suggested during the lectures, scientific journals and seminars given by experts in the field. 

This class (for a total of 87 hours, 9 CFU) on Micro and Nano sensors includes both lectures and experimental laboratory activities (about 50% of total hours). Whenever possible highly specialized seminars will be organized with highly qualified national and international speakers from industry and academia.

Should teaching be carried out in mixed mode or remotely, it may be necessary to introduce changes with respect to previous statements, in line with the programme planned and outlined in the syllabus.

Basic knowledge of physics, electronic and electrical science

REQUIRED even if not mandatory

This course is aimed to provide basic and some advance knowledege on sensors, microsensors, MEMS and related fabrication technologies.

Nanotechnologies will be also addressed together with some information on instrumentation for devices analysis and fabrication.

Microsensors design methodologies will be presented together with CAD tools.

Several different transduction methodologies will be presented together with sensors and transducers at micro and nano scale.

Extensive laboratory activities are planned, students wil be involved in the running laboratory activities and will be challenged to develop experimental activities at several different stages of the sensor development. 

Laboratory activity will be a fundamental part of the final exam.

Content

Introduction to microsystems. (about 2% of total hours) 

Scaling in integrated devices  (about 3% of total hours) 

Fabrication processes for microsystems (about 10% of total hours) 

Materials, Silicon based processes, "bulk" and "surface" processes, deposition and etching, thin film deposition, “Sacrificial processes” and “stiction”.  

Integrated electro-mechanical transducers  (about 10% of total hours) 

Basi concept of elastic bodies machanics, elasticity, Young modulus, stress & strain, bending moment, inertia, Castigliano theorems, multilayer structures, series and parallel structures.

Cantilver as basic building block in MEMS devices. U-shaped cantilever, Suspended mass, integrated springs, interdigited capacitive transducers  

Simulation tool for microsystems  (about 5% of total hours) 

Il CAD (MEMSPRO or equivalent), design of layout, numerical simulations, design examples of integrated devices.

Instruments for device characterization (about 5% of total hours)

MEMS examples (about 10% of total hours) 

Standard and dedicated fabrication technologies. Piezo-resistive devices, electrostatic, thermal, piezo electric, magnetic (Lorenz force)  transducers.

Strain gages, accelerometers gyroscopes, pressure sensors, Hall effect sensors.

Microfluidic systems

Non conventional sensors and transducers: ferrofluid, ferroelectric based transducers. Methods and devices for energy harvesting.

Nanotechnologies and nanosensors (about 5% of total hours) 

Nano lithografia, Scanning Electron microscope, Focused Ion Beam, nano sensors.  

Laboratory  (about 50% of total hours) 

Experimental activity will be discussed and assigned to each student or small group of students, being a fundamental part of the final exam

- Individual notes taken in class

- slides provided by the Professor

- Books:

• Webster, Pallas-Areny, “Sensors and signal conditioning”, Wiley, 2002
• G. T. A. Kovacs, “Micromachined transducers sourcebook”, Mc-Graw Hill, 1998
• M. Madou, Fundamentals of microfabrication, CRC Press
• E. O. Doebelin, Strumenti e Metodi Di Misura - MCGRAW-HILL - Ed 2008

Oral interview

Estimated total duration 30 minutes.

The content of the lab activity report will be first discussed (it will determine approximately 50% of the final evaluation) 

Then technical questions will follow on working principles of integrated sensors and transducers (e.g. "integrated accelerometers", "integrated temperature sensors"). Evaluation criteria will be based on the capacity of demonstrate the knowledge of the complete design flow.

Learning assessment may also be carried out on line, should the conditions require it.

To guarantee equal opportunities and in compliance with current laws, interested students can request a personal meeting to plan any compensatory and/or dispensatory measures based on learning objectives and specific needs. Students can also contact the designated CInAP (Center for Active and Participated Integration - Services for Disabilities and/or SLD) professor for their Department.