Thermal sensors and actuators

The research expertise of DISS comprises "intelligent" thermal sensors and actuators. This includes thermal conductivity sensors, thermal flow sensors, and thermal radiation sensors (bolometer). Research is accompanied by extensive analytical modeling and computer numerical simulations, micro- and nanotechnological sensor fabrication, custom-tailored signal conditioning and optimized measurement data evaluation, as well as verification and characterization of the final sensor elements.

The developed sensors are often embedded in customized electronic control loops in order to achieve smart functionality. This includes, for example, the evaluation of the device status including initialization and health check, but also the adaptation to changes in environmental conditions by automatic switching of the measuring range as well as the autonomous recalibration when the medium under investigation is changed. As a result, modern, integrated, high-resolution and precise thermal sensor and actuator devices with extended, safety-relevant functions can be implemented, which are ideally suited for versatile use in distributed sensor systems required in applications such as online-condition monitoring in Industry 4.0.