IISc scientists propose new force sensor

Scientists at the Indian Institute of Scie­n­c­e, Bengaluru have propo­sed a new force sensor that can detect changes in  forces as  small  as 10 nano-Newtons -  that’s 100 millionth of a Newton, the unit of force.

The proposed sensor uses a special crystal with specific resonation characteristics that can sense these tiny forces.

Sensors that detect small forces are used in the fields of chemical sensing, bio-sensing, temperature sensing, humidity sensing, pressure sensing and stress sensing.

An eight-member team from the Department of Electrical Communication Engineering and the Center for Nano Science and Engineering headed by Prof  T Srinivas, associate professor, Department of Electrical Communication Engineering, IISc, is behind this innovation.

“Though not the first of its kind, it is a novel innovation nevertheless. It is better than the existing ones as it has greater sensitivity,” said Prof  Srinivas. With the right additions and refinement, this proposal can be adopted to any field that requires sensing nanoscale forces, said a release from IISc.