The smallest pressure sensor in the world!
A pressure sensor for measuring blood pressure in the coronary arteries has been developed in a project between KTH (The Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm), RADI Medical Systems, and Acreo.
The sensor is used in balloon dilatation, for monitoring of theblood pressure in "real time" during the surgery. Dimensions of the chip are 0.1x0.15x1.3 mm. This is now a commercial product. The sensor chips are being produced at Acreo and assembly is done at RADI Medical Systems.
Microstructures for detection and selection of individual molecules
The aim of this project is to develop DNA sequencing to the point where it can be used as a diagnostic tool. As a first step towards this goal, sequencing of the human genome will be realised within a few years, through the HUGO project. When those results are available, a diagnostic tool can be developed.
In this project a method for doingthe sequencing of the nucleotides in a DNA molecule is developed. In addition, a method for selection of single molecules is developed. The techniques are based on a diversity of technologies:
- biochemistry
- optical tweezing
- confocal microscopy
- hydrodynamic flow
- microstructuring
This project is part of the KOFUMA ("Nya komponenter och funktionella material för morgondagens näringsliv")-programme initiated by NUTEK. More information on NUTEK site: http://www.nutek.se/teknik2/fouomr/infotek/kofuma.html.
More information can be found at www.mango.mef.ki.se/kofuma
RF MEMS
The circuits used in telecommunications are made of two types of components. One is the integrated circuit that has continuously been improved together with the evolution of the Si technology. The other type is off-chip components. The latter did not profit from much development and now constitute the bottleneck for further integration of RF integrated circuits.
A way of overcoming this difficulty is to replace those components by a new type of components: RF MEMS. The use of RF MEMS could lead to the fabrication of a complete RF circuit on one chip.
In the coming years, RF MEMS will become an important part of the MEMS market. Until now, most of the development of RF components has been carried out in theUSA and in Asia.However, as it becomes more obvious that these components will be an important part of the future RF integrated circuits, Europe has also started research on the subject. The development of those new components demands a good knowledge in microwave technology. Aspects such as impedance matching must be taken into account to be able to mount the component in the microwave circuit.
The RF components that can be fabricated with MEMS technology are mainly the resonator (oscillator, filter), capacitor, inductor, switch, transmission lines and antennas.
At Acreo, we have recently started a project on making a demonstrator RF switch based on electrostatic actuation. The goal is to show the scientific community our ability to develop RF MEMS components and initiate further work in collaboration with industry or university partners.