Nanosensors

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Nanosensors Laboratory

Head of Laboratory: Dr. János Volk (volk.janos @ ek.hun-ren.hu)
Website:  www.nems.hu

The mission of the Nanosensors Laboratory is to utilize the emerging results of nanotechnology and materials science for novel physical sensors, particularly for micro- and nanometer sized electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS).

Main research topics as of 2024:

  1. Functional thin films for novel nanoelectronic devices and radiation detectors. Development of semiconductor-compatible deposition methods for the deposition of novel thin films. Such materials include piezoelectric ScAlN; phase-change VO2; and neutron-sensitive 10B and 10B4
  2. Piezoelectric vibration and piezoresistive force sensing MEMS devices  Demonstration of high readiness level (TRL5-7) systems based on in-house developed MEMS devices tailored to specific user needs: micromanipulator-mounted 2D force transducer; medical smart scalpel; vibrating cantilever array directly recording the frequency spectrum
  3. Neuromorphic sensor signal processing . Development of new sensor signal encoding and processing techniques using memristors to perform edge computation. The highly efficient and plastic operation is ensured by the spiking neural network (SNN).
  4. Quantum technology: Coupled quantum dot based hybrid semiconductor/superconductor circuits Demonstration of a chip that generates fault-tolerant quantum bits by combining a controllable transmon qubit with a Kitaev chain. Due to the topological protection, the tolerance to external noise can be significantly increased.

Ongoing research project:

  • Quantum bits with Kitaev Transmons – QuKIT HORIZON-EIC-2022-PATHFINDERCHALLENGES-01-06-101115315 (2023.07.01-2027.09.30 )
  • Atomic layer deposition and applications of functional sulfide nanolayers OTKA FK 139075 (2021.09.01-2025.08.31,)
  • Information Processing with Resisitive Switching Memories OTKA K 143282 (2022.09.01-2026.08.31,)
  • Investigation of luminescence and ionization energy deposition processes in microstructured semiconductors based on neutral and charged particle conversion phenomena OTKA K 143263 (2022.09.01-2026.08.31)
  • Monitoring sensors deployed in emergency situations and in harsh environment  TKP2021-NVA-03 (2022.04.01-2025.09.30, joint programme with Microsystems and Thin Films Departments)
  • Integrated nanocomposites for thermal and kinetic energy harvesting HE 101007429 – INTAKE (2021.12.01-2025.11.30)
  • European Network for Innovative and Advanced Epitaxy COST OC-2020-1-24657 (OPERA)
  • Quantum informatics National Laboratory (subcontractor)

The most important publications from the last 5 years:

  • Khánh, N. Q.; Horváth, Z. E.; Zolnai, Z.; Petrik, P.; Pósa, L.; Volk, J. Effect of Process Parameters on Co-Sputtered Al(1-x)ScxN Layer’s Properties: Morphology, Crystal Structure, Strain, Band Gap, and Piezoelectricity. Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing 2024, 169, 107902.
  • Baji, Z.; Pósa, L.; Molnár, G.; Szabó, Z.; Volom, M.; Surca, A. K.; Drazic, G.; Volk, J. VO2 Layers with High Resistive Switching Ratio by Atomic Layer Deposition. Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing 2023, 162, 107483.
  • Dózsa, T.; Jurdana, V.; Šegota, S.B.; Volk, J.; Radó, J.; Soumelidis, A.; Kovács, P. Road Type Classification Using Time-Frequency Representations of Tire Sensor Signals. IEEE Access 2024, 12, 53361–53372
  • Pósa, L.; Hornung, P.; Török, T. N.; Schmid, S. W.; Arjmandabasi, S.; Molnár, G.; Baji, Z.; Dražić, G.; Halbritter, A.; Volk, J. Interplay of Thermal and Electronic Effects in the Mott Transition of Nanosized VO 2 Phase Change Memory Devices. ACS Appl. Nano Mater. 2023, 6 (11), 9137–9147.
  • Zolnai, Z.; Petrik, P.; Németh, A.; Volk, J.; Bosi, M.; Seravalli, L.; Fornari, R. Atomic Structure and Annealing-Induced Reordering of ε-Ga2O3: A Rutherford Backscattering/Channeling and Spectroscopic Ellipsometry Study. Applied Surface Science 2023, 636, 157869.