From 31st March to 4th April 2025, the CiS Forschungsinstitut will be presenting its technology portfolio at HANNOVER MESSE 2025. In Hall 6 at the LEG joint stand of Thuringia (Booth F61), our experts will be presenting silicon-based MEMS and MOEMS sensor concepts for a wide range of applications.
Elastically stable tension sensors for belt tension monitoring (ZugKraftSensor)
In drive technology, timing and transmission belts are used to transmit large forces over long distances. Optimum belt tension is crucial for constant power transmission and therefore the basis for consistent quality in the respective application. Currently, belts are often designed according to blanket catalog values from individual manufacturers without uniform standards. The belt tension is only measured during maintenance and installation; continuous monitoring has been lacking up to now. A research team has developed a tensile force sensor for this purpose. The miniaturized silicon strain sensor (500 µm x 500 µm) can continuously monitor the belt tension. The sensors are integrated directly into timing and transmission belts and enable precise force measurement up to 35 kN. This allows maintenance intervals to be planned precisely, material fatigue to be detected at an early stage and unplanned downtimes to be avoided.
The research and development work described was funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) as part of the “Sensors for belt tension monitoring” (ZugKraftSensor) research project. Funding code: 49MF210167
Palladium-coated MEMS structures (H2MEMS)
The use of green hydrogen requires specific sensors for measuring the hydrogen content in the natural gas network. To this end, the CiS Research Institute, together with two other partners, has developed palladium-coated MEMS structures that are very similar to Si-MEMS pressure sensors. Palladium can absorb 900 times its own volume of hydrogen at room temperature. A highly sensitive piezoresistive measuring bridge detects these stresses and thus the hydrogen content in the palladium.
The project on which this article is based was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research under grant number 03ZZ0757B.
Further MEMS developments can be discussed at the trade fair stand:
» Infosheet: High-end acceleration sensors (HEB)
» Infosheet: Hybrid silicon strain sensors (SiDMeses)
Fast infrared emitter array (FIRE)
Optical gas sensors offer numerous advantages in process monitoring and medical respiratory gas analysis. For some applications, a fast response time in the range of 10 ms is required, for example to be able to detect and evaluate individual breaths with a sufficiently high time resolution. At the same time, the infrared emitters used must have a high optical output.
A new generation of MEMS emitters consisting of arrays of active surfaces was developed in the Fast Infrared Emitter Array (FIRE) project. The advantages here are high miniaturization, long-term stability, broader emission spectra and higher dynamics up to 100 Hz.
The research and development work described was funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) as part of the “Fast Infrared Emitter Array” (FIRE) research project. Funding code: 49MF220020
» Infosheet: Fast infrared emitter array (FIRE)
New micro-optical particle counter for large volume flows (NewPARZ)
In the NewPARZ project, an optoelectronic particle counter was developed for gas-carrying particles with very low particle concentrations and a high volume throughput > 50 l / min. A special photodiode array with an angle filter changes its transmission at the laser wavelength se over a few angular degrees from almost 100 % to an optical density (OD) of less than six. This allows several measuring points along the laser curtain to be separated and scanned in parallel with the photodiode array.
The project results are also documented in a patent specification published by the CiS Research Institute (DE102022113774A1).
A demonstrator will be presented at our trade fair stand.
The research and development work in the project “New micro-optical particle counter for large volume flows” (NewPARZ) was funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. Funding code: 49MF210049
» Infosheet: New micro-optical particle counter for large volume flows (NewPARZ)
Optical magnetic field sensor with diamond (DiaQuantFab)
A very compact magnetic field sensor was developed in the joint project DiaQuantFab. At its heart is a diamond with magnetic field-sensitive defects. If these defects (NV centers) are excited with green LED light, they emit red fluorescent light. The intensity of the detected fluorescent light indicates the strength of an external magnetic field. The sensor was designed as a hybrid emitter-receiver platform with an integrated LED light source, separation of the excitation and fluorescence signal by a glass long-pass filter and monolithic photodetectors for analyzing the fluorescence signal. A special feature is that this sensor is also suitable for zero-field measurements.
Standardization in the production and processing of quantum materials using the example of NV colour centers in diamond for the realization of a high-precision quantum effect-based diamond amperemeter for electron detection (DiaQuantFab). Funding code: 13N14984 – funded by the BMBF.
» Infosheet: Optical magnetic field sensor with diamond (DiaQuantFab)
Pressure sensors at the FTVT booth
Forschungs- und Technologieverbund Thüringen (FTVT e.V.) is also represented with a stand at the Hannover Messe. There, in Hall 2 at Booth C 64, the CiS Research Institute will be presenting a highly stable, media-resistant barometric pressure sensor manufactured using wafer-level packaging. This pressure sensor has increased chemical resistance as well as improved contact and long-term stability and is suitable for medical applications.
