Sensors are now present in almost all aspects of daily life, from biometric sensors on mobile phones, to pressure sensors in airplanes that track altitude. They convert physical or chemical quantities into electrical signals that can be read and processed by electronic devices.
The electronic sensors industry is a global market that designs, manufactures, and sells electronic devices that detect and measure physical phenomena, such as temperature, pressure, motion, light, and sound. It is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, driven by the increasing demand for sensors in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and the Internet of Things (IoT). New sensor technologies are being developed all the time, with researchers and manufacturers working to create sensors that are more sensitive, accurate, and efficient. This is leading to new and innovative applications for sensors in a wide range of industries, including wearable technology, security, medical devices, energy supply, manufacturing, safety, quality control and smart homes.
PI-KEM is proud to work with many researchers and developers within the sensors industry supplying them with a wide range of materials including substrates, wafers, precious metals, graphene, and sputter targets as well as material processing and depositing equipment.
Industry Insights
Key trends driving the growth of the electronic sensors industry include:
- Demands for smart and connected devices in all walks of life
- Use of artificial intelligence and robotics in industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, and transportation
- Development of new sensor technologies, such as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and nano-sensors
Innovation Trends
The range of industrial applications of sensors is vast but examples include:
- Consumer electronics: Smartphones, tablets, wearable devices, and smart home appliances to measure things like motion, orientation, proximity, light, and temperature
- Automotive: To control safety features such as airbags and anti-lock brakes, parking guides, anti-crash technology and legal driving time monitoring. They are also used to improve fuel efficiency and performance
- Healthcare: Sensors are used in medical devices to measure vital signs, blood glucose levels, and brain activity. In addition, they are used to develop new diagnostic tools and treatments
- Industrial automation: Monitoring and controlling production processes, safety alerts and quality management. They are also used to develop new automation technologies and improving the cost and energy efficiency of processes
- Aerospace: Monitoring for example, altitude, speed, pressure, fuel levels, load balance and temperature. For the development of new navigation and guidance technologies
- Data: To improve decision-making, efficiency, and safety. For environmental monitoring of pollution, river levels, emissions etc.
Academic/ Industrial Partnerships
Some of the key areas of sensor industry research include:
- New sensor materials and fabrication methods: Creating sensors that are more sensitive, accurate, and reliable. For example, researchers are developing new nanomaterials and microfabrication techniques to create sensors that can detect smaller and smaller quantities of substances. Researchers in the Quantum Technologies Group at TUM have produced an innovative miniature MRI from diamond which allows investigations to be carried out at the cellular level with significantly improved spatial resolution which could lead to earlier cancer diagnosis. Click here to read article
- Wireless sensors: Allowing communication devices without the need for wires making it possible to deploy sensors in more inaccessible and hazardous environments. University of Cambridge Sensor Systems Group are working with the construction industry and have recently deployed monitoring systems in two railway bridges in Staffordshire to give real-time monitoring of strain and to monitor load responses. Click here to read article
- Smart sensors: Process data and make decisions on their own making it possible to create more intelligent and autonomous systems. Researchers in the Autonomous Agents Research Group, University of Edinburgh, are working with Five AI to develop algorithms to programme sensors enabling them to make safety compliant decisions when operating. Click here to read article
