Laboratory Using Vacuum Coating to Develop High Sensitivity Parameters Sensor Structures

A prototype of a nanostructured ultra-thin pressure sensor (tensiometer) has been created at the Laboratory of Self-Organized High-Temperature Nanostructures at the Institute of Physics, Nanotechnology and Telecommunications of Russia’s Peter the Great St.Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU).

The scientists used a completely new technology based on vacuum coating, which will cut production costs drastically.

Pavel Gabdullin, head of the laboratory along with Olga Kvashenkina, Deputy Director of the Institute of Physics, Nanotechnologies and Telecommunications SPbPU, and their scientific group has been developing the sensor structures of high sensitivity parameters for more than 10 years.

“Currently the industry is dissatisfied with available sensors because of its size, sensitivity and cost. Our technology for the layered growth of nanofilm is more cost efficient and will be more beneficial for electronic equipment producers,” says Gabdullin.

The researcher added that even if the sensors are made of the most expensive materials like gold or platinum, the prime cost of the sensors with developed technology will be extremely low due to the particular features of vacuum coating technology. According to Gabdullin, the new technology will make the sensors' production 100 cheaper.

“Another advantage of our technology is the sensors’ response,” Kvashenkina says. “The speed of the sensors’ response (the response time) of the existing samples on the market is about 0.5 seconds. Our development works several dozen times faster, its response time is 0.01 seconds. That is why Chinese medical equipment manufacturers expressed an interest in the new technology and plan to use it in electronic installations, where accurate pressure measurement is crucial.”