Periodic Reporting for period 1 - LockChip (A custom lock chip for compact NMR)
Reporting period: 2017-04-01 to 2018-09-30
The LockChip project proposed to take an NMR microsensor developed within the ERC Project NMCEL (290586), and to adapt it to function as an NMR lock signal detector (a way to accurately monitor the value of the NMR field strength, thereby making it possible to run NMR experiments despite drift in the magnetic field value), and adapt it to be commercially manufacturable at medium volume, before transferring the manufacturing process to the startup company Voxalytic GmbH in Karlsruhe. As such the project was highly successful. The startup company Voxalytic GmbH is currently implementing the manufacturing concept in their own inhouse manufacturing work-flow, and has secured a first OEM customer for the chip, so that the next level of upscaling can be pursued. It is envisioned that a variant of the LockChip will soon ship to the customer, to be built into their devices.