Project description
Developing sustainable nanosized sensor devices
Piezoelectrics are used in everyday applications ranging from inkjet printers to ultrasound generators. They are the key elements of motion sensors and resonators found in wireless network sensor nodes. Unfortunately, the rising production of piezoelectrics is unsustainable. To solve this problem, the EU-funded SENSiSOFT project aims to develop nanosized piezoelectric devices with an unusual limit for wireless mechanical sensors. It will achieve this through the direct and combined chemical integration of nanostructured quartz, perovskite and hollandite materials on silicon. The project will open the way to the sustainable production of abundant, harmless and cost-effective on-chip piezoelectric oxide-based sensing devices.
Objective
Piezoelectrics are the active elements of many everyday applications, from ink-jet printers to ultrasound generators, representing a billion euro industry. They are the key elements of motion sensors and resonators present in any wireless network sensor (WNS) node. However, an increased production of piezoelectrics in a sustainable way is to-date a milestone. SENSiSOFT proposes to come up with materials that can provide a solution to this problem: piezoelectric materials that are abundant, cheap and harmless. The aim of this project is to produce new piezoelectric devices of nanometer size with an unusual limit for wireless mechanical sensors, using direct and combined chemical integration of quartz, perovskite and hollandites materials as nanostructured epitaxial thin films on silicon. This is a major challenge that demands bridging the gap between soft-chemistry and microfabrication techniques. Three strategies are proposed for this goal:
i) Implement a soft chemistry unified, monolithic process that will allow integrating epitaxial quartz, hollandite and perovskite oxide thin layers on silicon substrate with high piezoelectric response.
ii) Nanostructuration of piezoelectric epitaxial oxide thin films into controllable morphologies or nanostructures, in particular porous structure and 1D nanowires or nanorods, allowing excellent properties of oxides to be exploited to the fullest, mainly by avoiding clamping and improving its sensitivity.
iii) Fabrication of nanostructured SAW resonator-based and a LAMB-WAVE multisensor for monitoring mechanical parameters (mass, forces, pressure…). We will use MEMs technology in order to be able to define resonating structures (plates, membranes, bridges…) by silicon micromachining.
So, SENSiSOFT presents three innovative strategies to develop sensor devices capable to answer the metrology demand, with a detection threshold 10 to 100 times more sensitive resulting from a 1D and 2D configuration of novel piezoelectric oxides.
Fields of science
- engineering and technologymaterials engineeringcoating and films
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsensors
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrymetalloids
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringinformation engineeringtelecommunicationsradio technology
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectrical engineeringpiezoelectrics
Programme(s)
Topic(s)
Funding Scheme
ERC-STG - Starting GrantHost institution
75794 Paris
France