Engineers in Sweden have developed the world's smallest accelerometer using graphene. The accelerometer could be used to create new wearable technologies for use in medicine, fitness and gaming.

"Based on the surveys and comparisons we have made, we can say that this is the smallest reported electromechanical accelerometer in the world," Xuge Fan, a researcher at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, said in a news release.

"We can scale down components because of the material's atomic-scale thickness, and it has great electrical and mechanical properties," Fan said.

The researchers described the new nano-electromechanical system, or NEM, this week in the journal Nature Electronics.

To develop the tiny actuator, scientists needed to create an ultra-small, sensitive transducer. Researchers built the transducer by embedding double-layer graphene ribbons in silicon. The transducer utilizes graphene's conductive properties to convert energy from one type to another.

Graphene's benefits are well-documented. The atomically thin carbon sheets are exceptionally strong, flexible and conductive.

"We can scale down components because of the material's atomic-scale thickness, and it has great electrical and mechanical properties," Fan said. "We created a piezoresistive NEMS accelerometer that is dramatically smaller than any MEMS accelerometers available today, but retains the sensitivity these systems require."

The new technology could be used in mobile phones for navigation, mobile games and pedometers. The device could also inspire new types of monitoring systems for heart disease and motion-capture wearables. Scientists suggest the nano-scale transducer could also be used to create sensors and actuators for resonators, gyroscopes and microphones.

Related Links
Computer Chip Architecture, Technology and Manufacture
Nano Technology News From SpaceMart.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Newfound superconductor material could be the 'silicon of quantum computers'
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 17, 2019
A potentially useful material for building quantum computers has been unearthed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), whose scientists have found a superconductor that could sidestep one of the primary obstacles standing in the way of effective quantum logic circuits. Newly discovered properties in the compound uranium ditelluride, or UTe2, show that it could prove highly resistant to one of the nemeses of quantum computer development - the difficulty with making such a com ... read more