Center for Intelligent Sensor and MEMS

Prof James Goh

Welcome to Center for Intelligent Sensor and MEMS (CISM) at National University of Singapore. Under the “Smart Nation” vision indicated in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's speech at Smart Nation launch on 24 November 2014, by harnessing ICT, networks, sensors and data, the Smart Nation vision to establish better living environment and intelligent city. Intelligent Sensors and MEMS are the keys for enabling the Smart Nation framework and service. The CISM is formed to be the translational research hub to service local industry and multi-national corporations for advanced sensing and micro/nanotechnology aiming at diversified applications in Smart Nation.

 

Director’s Message

In 2015, the Center for Intelligent Sensors and MEMS (CISM) was founded to response the strong commercialization activities in Sensors, Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS), Microfluidics, Soft Actuators and Robotics, Energy Harvesting Technology, Low-power Electronics, Flexible and Stretchable Electronics, 2D materials, wafer-level packaging, 3D-ICs, Advanced Photonics and Micro/nanotechnologies for fast growing market in applications such as internet of things (IoT), ubiquitous sensing for smart and aware environment, energy saving and harvesting, environment and greenhouse gas monitoring, harsh environment, healthcare, electronic medicine, nanomedicine, biomedical implants, prosthetics, man-machine interface, drone, and driverless car, etc.

Having 10+ principal investigators (PIs) with diversified expertise and research area, CISM targets at translational research by assembling an interdisciplinary team to tackle the un-solved problems and unfulfilled markets with partner enterprises. While innovation comes from out-of-box solution, top-notch research staff and PIs of well-established scientific fundamentals are the origins of innovation. Strong and competitive intellectual property (IP) and patent portfolio created in R&D process will be licenced to partners and companies with guidance and management under the the Industry Liaison Office (ILO) and NUS Enterprise. Companies with market demands and channels can come to CISM and look for innovative solutions. Companies with their own IPs are also welcome to develop their prototypes at CISM through joint R&D projects. By leveraging momentum of research activities and world-class engineering capabilities we have in various labs at NUS, we may provide wide-range service under the same roof to companies including development of new materials, feasibility study, investigation of cross-disciplinary problem, patent mapping and analysis, bringing idea into a tangible technology with patent protection, prototyping, and human capital training.

I have co-founded Asia Pacific Microsystems with venture capital funding of more than 65M USD in 2001. With 10 years industry working experience, I knew the gap between academic research and commercial R&D activities. By coordinating professors and research fellows of diversified research expertise, we position ourselves as a team of total solution with technologies of wide bandwidth to commercialize sensors and MEMS for our partners. The public investment in research and innovation has grown over the last 25 years in Singapore. Under the new five-year Research over 2016 to 2020, the Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2020 Plan, committed by National Research Foundation (NRF), government will invest $19 billion to establish Singapore as the leading global research and development (R&D) hub. Rich resource and sizable translational research funding from government is accessible to CISM when we team up with enterprise partners. Along the commercialization journey of high-tech products in micro/nanotechnologies, we will be your best partner in Singapore as well as in Asia. Do not hesitate to contact us.

Vision, Mission and Values

Vision

  • Together with strong support from National Research Foundation (NRF) and Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), we are the leader of translational research in micro/nanotechnology.

Mission

  • Contribute to our customers and world community with our advanced micro/nanotechnology through commercialization.
  • Be the A+ research hub of sensors and MEMS technology in the world
  • Be the benchmark for colleagues in research community in terms of commercialization of university technology

Value

  • Teamwork
  • Value-added to customers
  • Synergy
  • Total-solution
  • Passion
  • Commitment of being A+

Principal Investigators:

Research Areas:

Photonics ICs, Sensors and Optical MEMS/NEMS
PIs – C. Lee, G. Zhou and K. W Ang

Optical MEMS & Infrared MEMS for IoT, Consumer Electronics and Environment Monitoring

  1. Micro-mirror for heads-up display, pico-projection
  2. IR microscale radiation source and thermopile array for NDIR gas-sensing systems
  3. MEMS based tunable Fabry-Perot Filters
  4. Self-powered air flow sensors
  5. Sensors for measuring liquid density and viscosity

MEMS for Optical Communication and Telecom

  1. VOA and optical switches, and their array for advanced optical network, driven by electrostatic, piezoelectric, electromagnetic and electrothermal actuation mechanisms

Nanophotonics

  1. Photonic crystals (PCs) and optical waveguides for lasers, waveguides, filters, modulators and sensors
  2. NEMS based tunable photonics in Near IR and Mid IR regime
  3. Plasmonic sensors

THz MEMS

  1. Geometrically changing the metamaterial unit cells by using MEMS actuators
  2. Tunable THz metamaterials for wireless communications, sensing and spectroscopy
  3. Microscale THz light sources and detectors

Low Power IC and Energy Harvesters
PIs – C. Lee, M. Alioto and C. H. Heng

Energy-Centric Circuit/System Design and Green Integrated Circuits

  1. Energy-autonomous systems and wireless sensors with nearly perpetual operation (ultra-low power analog interfaces, digital processing, power management), for biomedical applications, smart cities, structural monitoring, and smart cameras
  2. Error-resilient near-threshold VLSI circuits and systems for 10X improvement in energy efficiency for mobile applications (both error-free and error-aware computing are of interest)
  3. Circuit- to system-level techniques to enhance the energy efficiency of high-speed VLSI circuits to enable continued performance enhancements under a tight power budget
  4. Circuit and system integration with emerging and post-CMOS technologies for green computing

Thermoelectric Power Generators

  1. Flexible energy harvesters for wearable applications to capture energy from body temperature
  2. Thermoelectric generators using High-ZT thermoelectric materials (e.g., Bi/Te; Si; Si/Ge, etc)
  3. Integration of thermoelectric generators with mechanical energy harvesters

Vibration-based Energy Harvesters

  1. MEMS based energy using electromagnetic, piezoelectric, electrostatic and triboelectric mechanism
  2. Broadband energy harvesting to improve the working range of vibration based energy harvesters
  3. Low frequency energy harvesting to capture energy available in the day-to-day environment

Triboelectric Nanogenerators

  1. Self-powered and high density physical sensors e.g. temperature and pressure sensing
  2. Energy harvesting devices for wearable and implanted applications to capture biomechanical energy
  3. Large scale processing and fabrication of energy harvesting devices using roll-to-roll fabrication

 

Healthcare Technology
PIs – C. Lee, C. H. Heng, V. Ng, A. Tay, S-C Yen, A. Liang, C. Zhu, G. Pastorin, C-H Chen, and H. Yu

Biomedical MEMS & NEMS Sensors for Implantable Applications

  1. Piezoresistive silicon nanowire based pressure sensor, tactile sensor and flow sensor
  2. Piezoelectric ultrasound sensors

Microfluidics and Lab-on-chips (LoC)

  1. Continuous flow, highly sensitive separation and detection of circulating tumor cells (CTC)
  2. Detection of target cells, proteins and DNAs
  3. Microfluidics for drug delivery applications

Micro/Nanotechnology for Enabling Transdermal Drug Delivery

  1. Bendable micro/nano-needles to penetrate the skin and deliver vaccines painlessly
  2. Integrated nanofilters with microfluidics for selective delivery of vaccine molecules
  3. Capsulated molecules and carbon nanotubes (CNTS) for drug delivery
  4. Nanoparticles and nanomedicine

Devices and Instruments for Neural Interface

  1. Neuroprosthetic devices
  2. Optogenetics
  3. Advancing neural stimulation and recording techniques
  4. Man-machine interfaces
  5. Robotic control via neural interfaces

Wearable Electronics and Sensors

  1. Flexible and Stretchable temperature sensor, strain sensor and tactile sensor
  2. Wearable ECG and EMG sensors
  3. Gesture sensors
  4. Finger motion sensors
  5. Self-powered accelerometers
  6. Wearable energy harvesters
  7. Wearable thermoelectric power generators

2D Materials for Low Power Sensors and Flexible Electronics

  1. MoS2 based moisture and strain sensors
  2. Black phosphorous sensors
  3. Graphene based flexible sensors

Self-powered transdermal drug delivery skin patch with microneedles

  1. Finger-Driven Drug Loading and Delivery Functions
  2. Triboelectric based liquid volume sensor
  3. Bendable microneedle to avoid needle breakage
  4. Dry adhesives for fixation upon skin

 

Advanced MEMS/NEMS: Monolithic Integration of IC and Sensors
PIs – C. Lee, M. Alioto and C. H. Heng

CMOS MEMS & 3D IC Packaging

  1. CMOS MEMS (mirrors, accelerometers, resonators, gas sensors and chemical sensors)
  2. Low temperature wafer bonding techniques
  3. Wafer-level thin film encapsulation for hermetic sealing and vacuum packaging
  4. Through substrate vias (TSVs)
  5. 3D ICs and 3D transistors

High-density Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers (MUT)

  1. Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers (pMUT) of optimized sensitivity
  2. Acoustic MEMS devices, e.g. SAW sensors, Lamb wave sensors
  3. Implantable pMUT array device

Energy-Centric Circuit/System Design and Green Integrated Circuits

  1. Energy-autonomous systems and wireless sensors with nearly perpetual operation (ultra-low power analog interfaces, digital processing, power management), for biomedical applications, smart cities, structural monitoring, and smart cameras
  2. Error-resilient near-threshold VLSI circuits and systems for 10X improvement in energy efficiency for mobile applications (both error-free and error-aware computing are of interest)
  3. Circuit- to system-level techniques to enhance the energy efficiency of high-speed VLSI circuits to enable continued performance enhancements under a tight power budget
  4. Circuit and system integration with emerging and post-CMOS technologies for green computing

NEMS

  1. NEMS switch for next generation IC for harsh environment /li>
  2. NEMS switch as logic ICs and memory devices
  3. NEMS devices for quantum computing

Wireless communication ICs, RF Front-end modules and RF MEMS

  1. Low power RF ICs
  2. Integration of AlN FBAR with RF Front-end ICs
  3. RF MEMS switches
  4. Microwave MEMS
  5. Wafer level packaging for RF ICs

Contact Us:

Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Center For Intelligent Sensor and MEMS
E2 #03-29, 2 Engineering Drive 3
Singapore 117581
Tel: (+65) 6516 5865
Email: elelc@nus.edu.sg