Mechanical Sensor Technology

We develop CMOS ASICs with the ability to sense mechanical stress, without the need for external sensors. Our CMOS-integrated stress sensors make use of the piezoresistive effect in silicon and can detect in-plane normal stress and differences in in-plane shear stress.

sensor devices (source: own picture)

This sensing principle enables the development of single-chip stress sensors with an area of only a few square millimeters, which do not only contain various stress sensors themselves, but also the electronics required for an autonomous operation of the system, i.e. sensor readout, analog-to-digital conversion, data processing, and wireless power and data transmission.

layout of a readout circuit (source: own picture)

Our research topics in the field of CMOS-integrated stress sensing are the development of faster and more precise analog/mixed-signal readout interfaces, suppression of non-mechanical signal components, and innovative closed-loop architectures.

closed-loop readout architecture (source: own picture)

Application scenarios range from packaging characterization, over predictive maintenance, to smart electronic osteosynthesis implants. Novel applications such as tactile robotics and smart skins are made possible by the latest sensor generation, which can process several ten thousands samples per second.