Smart sensors: Physics, technology and applications

The semiconductor technology has advanced a rapid progress in the sensors which are heart of instrumentation systems. These days, most of the sensors are ‘smart’ in nature. In such sensors, the sensing elements and associated electronics are integrated on the same chip. Generally, silicon is preferred as sensor material because it can give a suitable physical conversion effect and can give suitable signal processing circuit, with integration of the sensing element and electronic circuits on the chip, by using standard planar technology. The smart sensors have main advantages of fast signal conditioning, higher signal-to-noise ratio, self testing, auto calibration, small physical size, high reliability, failure prevention and detection. In the present paper, recent advances in smart sensors along with their design and fabrication aspects, are discussed. The smart sensors developed in this Laboratory, mainly smart pressure sensors and smart lithotripsy sensor, are presented, besides smart sensors used in industrial controls, automotive and biomedical fields. Biochips and biosensors are also cited for some of the specific applications.