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Advanced Sensors in MEMS: 2nd Edition
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Advanced Sensors in MEMS: 2nd Edition

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Electronic Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2025 | Viewed by 8041

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Edmond Cretu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
Interests: MEMS; inertial sensors; microsystems; signal processing and control; microtechnologies; ultrasound; CMUT
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Chang Ge

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
Interests: MEMS; polymer MEMS; laser micromachining; additive manufacturing; polymer micromachining; tactile sensors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are microstructures able to couple the mechanical and electrical energy domains at micro- or nanoscales, often involving other energy domains in these interactions. Their micrometre-scale dimensions generate both specific advantages (e.g., electromechanical feedback control, fast time response and better efficiency for some specific sensing mechanisms) and challenges (e.g., lower energy generation yield for thermal micromachines), allowing researchers to rethink the design and analysis methods for customized macroengineering at microscale solutions. Technological advances in MEMS initially took advantage of the existing microelectronics industry, and they have gradually spurred specific microfabrication methods, moving beyond silicon. In this context, an increasing amount of research and number of applications have emerged for MEMS transducers.

This Special Issue will encompass high-quality research contributions focusing on the advances in MEMS sensors. Topics to be covered include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Suitable mechanisms for enhanced sensing in microsystems: weakly coupled resonators, stochastic resonance, parametric amplification, operation on the stability border, etc.;
  • Modern techniques for interfacing transducers to electronic systems for advanced signal processing and data fusion (sigma-delta, sliding mode control, etc.), including hybrid integration techniques between MEMS devices and electronic subsystems;
  • Modern trends, e.g., polymer CMUT transducer arrays for ultrasound imaging (from Si to alternative technologies);
  • Sensor arrays and sensor networks, including data fusion aspects;
  • The stimulated coupling between clusters of MEMS sensors and present advances in intelligent signal processing, including machine learning aspects integrated with high-performance sensing.

Prof. Dr. Edmond Cretu
Dr. Chang Ge
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sensors is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • microsystems
  • MEMS
  • microsensors
  • microfabrication
  • sensor networks
  • intelligent sensors

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 3331 KiB  
Article
Piezo-VFETs: Vacuum Field Emission Transistors Controlled by Piezoelectric MEMS Sensors as an Artificial Mechanoreceptor with High Sensitivity and Low Power Consumption
by Chang Ge, Yuezhong Chen, Daolong Yu, Zhixia Liu and Ji Xu
Sensors 2024, 24(20), 6764; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24206764 - 21 Oct 2024
Viewed by 3393
Abstract
As one of the most promising electronic devices in the post-Moore era, nanoscale vacuum field emission transistors (VFETs) have garnered significant attention due to their unique electron transport mechanism featuring ballistic transport within vacuum channels. Existing research on these nanoscale vacuum channel devices [...] Read more.
As one of the most promising electronic devices in the post-Moore era, nanoscale vacuum field emission transistors (VFETs) have garnered significant attention due to their unique electron transport mechanism featuring ballistic transport within vacuum channels. Existing research on these nanoscale vacuum channel devices has primarily focused on structural design for logic circuits. Studies exploring their application potential in other vital fields, such as sensors based on VFET, are more limited. In this study, for the first time, the design of a vacuum field emission transistor (VFET) coupled with a piezoelectric microelectromechanical (MEMS) sensing unit is proposed as the artificial mechanoreceptor for sensing purposes. With a negative threshold voltage similar to an N-channel depletion-mode metal oxide silicon field effect transistor, the proposed VFET has its continuous current tuned by the piezoelectric potential generated by the sensing unit, amplifying the magnitude of signals resulting from electromechanical coupling. Simulations have been conducted to validate the feasibility of such a configuration. As indictable from the simulation results, the proposed piezoelectric VFET exhibits high sensitivity and an electrically adjustable measurement range. Compared to the traditional combination of piezoelectric MEMS sensors and solid-state field effect transistors (FETs), the piezoelectric VFET design has a significantly reduced power consumption thanks to its continuous current that is orders of magnitude smaller. These findings reveal the immense potential of piezoelectric VFET in sensing applications, building up the basis for using VFETs for simple, effective, and low-power pre-amplification of piezoelectric MEMS sensors and broadening the application scope of VFET in general. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Sensors in MEMS: 2nd Edition)
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17 pages, 7194 KiB  
Article
Development of a MEMS Piezoresistive High-g Accelerometer with a Cross-Center Block Structure and Reliable Electrode
by Cun Li, Ran Zhang, Le Hao and Yulong Zhao
Sensors 2024, 24(17), 5540; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24175540 - 27 Aug 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 4323
Abstract
A MEMS piezoresistive sensor for measuring accelerations greater than 100,000 g (about 106 m/s2) is described in this work. To enhance the performance of the sensor, specifically widening its measurement range and natural frequency, a cross-beam construction with a center [...] Read more.
A MEMS piezoresistive sensor for measuring accelerations greater than 100,000 g (about 106 m/s2) is described in this work. To enhance the performance of the sensor, specifically widening its measurement range and natural frequency, a cross-beam construction with a center block was devised, and a Wheatstone bridge was formed by placing four piezoresistors at the ends of the fixed beams to convert acceleration into electricity. The location of the varistor was determined using the finite element approach, which yielded the optimal sensitivity. Additionally, a reliable Pt-Ti-Pt-Au electrode was designed to solve the issue of the electrode failing under high impact and enhancing the stability of the ohmic contact. The accelerometer was fabricated using MEMS technology, and the experiment with a Hopkinson pressure bar and hammering was conducted, and the bias stability was measured. It had a sensitivity of 1.06 μV/g with good linearity. The simulated natural frequency was 633 kHz The test result revealed that the accelerometer can successfully measure an acceleration of 100,000 g. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Sensors in MEMS: 2nd Edition)
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