The ambition of the NAMEC centre is to be world leading within design and fabrication of nanomechanical sensors and actuators. Our sensor development will focus on so-called cantilever sensors, which can be imagined as miniaturised diving boards. A cantilever sensor can be used to monitor changes in surface stress, temperature and mass, as a result from reactions occurring on its surface.
Within medical science and pharmaceutical research there is a great need for new types of sensors that can give fast and reliable data and which have the possibility of analyzing several different small volume samples simultaneously. If such sensors were available it would be possible to perform rapid and more accurate diagnostics and it would be possible to develop and test new therapeutics much faster. Moreover, one could develop a more personalized medicine where medication is adjusted according to the need of patients.
These applications require technologies, which are not available today and which put high demands on all the fundamental research areas. The centre has the following overall goals:
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Investigate and understand the basic physical properties of our cantilever-based sensors. More knowledge on this type of nanomechanical systems is needed before the fundamental limit for mass, temperature and surface stress measurements can be achieved.
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Develop new materials, new topology optimization methods, new surface chemistries and new measurement methods so that new optimized sensors with superior sensitivity, reliability and reproducibility can be designed, fabricated and applied within pharmacology.
The research on sensors is divided into three work packages in the NAMEC Centre; SENS 1 – Temperature, SENS 2 – Surface stress and SENS 3 – Mass sensing. Each work package is supported by the TECH 2 – Topology optimization and the TECH 3 – Material science work packages. There is also a large synergy between the three SENS research project with respect to fabrication challenges and joint applications of the developed sensors.
Contact:
Anja Boisen, project coordinator of workpackage
office:
room 152, bldg. 345 East
tel:
+45 4525 5727
email:
anja.boisen@nanotech.dtu.dk