We have recently closed an investment in Sorex Sensors for the University of Cambridge Enterprise Fund V.
Sorex Sensors is a spin‐out from the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Cambridge. The company has developed a dual-mode film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR) sensor technology.
The devices, fabricated on a silicon wafer, comprise a thin film of piezoelectric material that is made to resonate. Attachment of mass to the surface changes the resonant frequency and provides an extremely accurate measurement of the amount of mass on the sensing area.
Advantages over existing mass‐sensors include:
- Dual mode – can measure mass and temperature simultaneously
- Small area ( sensing area of ∼ 100 µm x )
- Extremely low power requirements ∼ µW
- Capable of measuring mass down to the femtogram range
- Capable of measuring temperature with a resolution down to 0.2 °C
