Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English en
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Precise X-Y-Z Readout with a micro-Magnetometer Inverted-pyramid Design

Project description

New, compact device to measure magnetic fields in all directions

Magnetometers are critical for detecting magnetic fields in applications such as navigation, biomedical devices and satellites. Current chip-scale magnetometers can only detect 1D fields, struggle with accuracy in certain directions and fail to work in extreme temperatures. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the PYRAMID project plans to develop a compact 3D magnetometer that is three to 10 times more accurate and uses just 10 % of the space of existing solutions. By leveraging advanced micromachining techniques and integrating GaN and graphene, PYRAMID will create a single-chip solution for precise 3D navigation, even in extreme environments. The proposed solution will offer new possibilities for biomedical implants, power systems and nanosatellites.

Objective

"Chip-scale magnetometers come in several flavors, the most common being silicon Hall-effect plates that integrate easily with electronics. However, these devices only detect 1D fields, are asymmetric between X-Y and Z directions, and cannot work in extreme temperatures. My goal is to leverage my expertise in micromachining and wide-bandgap semiconductor Hall-plates to realize magnetometers with a unique ""3D"" microstructure that uses 10% of the space of existing ""3x1D"" sensors, and is 3-10x more accurate. This enables new products for 3D navigation in autonomous microsystems such as biomedical implants, power monitoring, and nanosatellites.

This proposal will involve the development of the inverted pyramid device through crystallographic etching of <100> CMOS silicon to expose the <111> crystal plane at 54.7°. This enables higher angular accuracy and avoids fabrication misalignment or packaging errors. The <111> also supports direct GaN and other 3D Material integration with CMOS chips. In parallel, the host group, the Electronics Instrumentation(EI) laboratory at TU Delft, will develop the CMOS integrated circuit for front-end amplification and switching scheme of the sensor to detect all three components of the field from a singular device. The EI lab is top-ranked in circuits design and complements my sensor development activities seamlessly.

The final year of the project will focus on testing these chips packaged together and development of a integrated single chip with both sensor and circuit to reveal improved performance with the use of graphene as the device layer. This project will open up future work with (ultra) wide-bandgap material integration using GaN and/or Diamond to enable extreme-environment navigation sensors with exotic applications in high temperature environments.

The project will improve my career prospects as a tenure-track professor with training in circuits, teaching and tenure-track professional development at TU Delft."

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT DELFT
Net EU contribution
€ 203 464,32
Total cost
No data