3D printing enables efficient fabrication of nanosensors – researchers

Micro-electromechanical devices (MEMS), made up of tiny electrical and mechanical components, are commonly found in smartphones, in which they sense orientation, movement, sound, and other stimuli. Even smaller versions of these devices called nano-electromechanical devices (NEMS) use sensors so insightful that they can detect inputs at the molecular level, but are expensive to produce.

This complex technology, however, can be inexpensively manufactured using 3D printers, according to an article published by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Department of Applied Science and Technology (DISAT) at Politecnico. di Torino in the peer-reviewed journal. newspaper Nature Communication in October.

Using 3D printers also allows multiple NEMS to be produced faster and more efficiently.

“The NEMS that we have manufactured and characterized have mechanical performance in line with current silicon devices, but they are achieved through a simpler, faster and more versatile process, thanks to which it is also possible to add new ones. physico-chemical functionalities. DISAT said researcher Stefano Stassi.

View of the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University, November 7, 2011. (credit: MIRIAM ALSTER / FLASH90)

The low-mass resonators that allow NEMS to detect various stimuli can be imprinted through a process called two-photon polymerization, or TPP, in which a liquid ink based on metal salts is used to create intricate and tiny ceramic components.

“With our 3D printing approach, which is based on converting a flexible hybrid structure into a rigid constituent material with high quality factor and low loss factor, we can outperform common devices manufactured with alternative techniques, ”he added. Nature Communication article read.

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