Passive sensors for the Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) was envisioned a few years ago as a new paradigm in which autonomous sensors are located everywhere to provide continuous information about their environment. An important hurdle before the IoT becomes a reality is the need for power of existing sensors, both to realize sensing functions and to communicate with the rest of the world. In this project, a new approach will be explored to overcome this power bottleneck: the realization of fully passive sensors for physical magnitudes (temperature, humidity). These sensors work by backscattering: their communication capability is based on how they reflect an RF signal received from a powered base station (like a wifi router), so they don't need any DC power to work.

[1] Hallil, Hamida, et al. "Passive resonant sensors: trends and future prospects." IEEE Sensors Journal 21.11 (2021): 12618-12632.

Assignment

• Perform a literature review on backscattering sensors and acoustic devices for such purpose.
• Design a temperature or sensor based on this principle, using FEM simulations with Comsol.
• Fabricate the designed device in EKL cleanroom.
• Test the device with impedance and RF measurements.

Requirements

You must be motivated to work in cleanroom.

Contact

Last modified: 2024-02-08