Micro Sensors
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announced on Feb. 24 that mechanical engineering professor Park In-kyu and his research team succeeded in developing a novel and energy-saving technique for microscopic sensors of air pollution measurement that can be used in mobile devices such as smartphones.
The team used a micro temperature field control technique for local and micrometer-level heating to easily and quickly integrate various types of functional nanomaterials onto a single electronic chip. With this technique, nanomaterials for different types of sensors can be produced at the same time, and thus tiny gas sensors capable of saving energy can be made for use in mobile devices.
The technique could also be used in large-scale electronic circuits, biosensors, and energy generation devices. In particular, it is expected to bring innovation to the field of portable gas sensors, which have faced difficulties in size and energy consumption reduction.
The details of the research are available at the Jan. 30 online edition of Scientific Reports.