@article{5adc36f5e28e4cf7b4d5bacfbfdea747,
title = "Fabrication of IoT force sensor module in five-day program for students as part of nanotechnology platform Japan project",
abstract = "An IoT force sensor module was fabricated and demonstrated in a five-day practical program for students, as part of the Nanotechnology Platform Japan project. The module mainly consists of a silicon-based piezoresistive micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) force sensor and a microcontroller with a WiFi wireless communication function. The MEMS force sensor was fabricated on a 4-inch silicon wafer in four days by each student. The IoT force sensor module was connected to an IoT cloud server via the internet and was successfully monitored by a smartphone. All of the fabrication, implementation, and testing processes were carried out by students at Hands-On-Access Fabrication Facility, Tohoku University.",
keywords = "IoT, MEMS, Piezoresistive sensor, WiFi, Wireless",
author = "Kentaro Totsu and Masaaki Moriyama and Hiraku Watanabe and Toshiyuki Kikuta and Masahiro Hemmi and Masaaki Shoji and Takashi Yoshida and Masataka Tatsuta",
note = "Funding Information: We thank Mr. Masahiro Ohara from Chiba University, Mr. Naoki Hara from Kagawa University, and Mr. Jianlin Chen from Tohoku University for participating in the program and providing the figures. The program for students was fully supported by Nanotechnology Platform Japan, sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). Funding Information: The Nanotechnology Platform Japan project, sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), offers a practical program for students every year.(1) Tohoku University, a member of the Nanotechnology Platform Japan project, produces a five-day program on micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) process technology or sensor fabrication annually. In 2018, the fabrication of a MEMS force sensor module for IoT application was adopted as the task. IoT is a promising application of MEMS technology and its demand and market are now rapidly increasing. To respond to this social demand for IoT and to offer a more practical program for students, we prepared a task combining MEMS sensor fabrication and IoT module implementation. The IoT sensor module mainly consists of a silicon-based piezoresistive MEMS force sensor and a microcontroller with a WiFi wireless communication function for the internet. The principle of the sensor is that the resistance of the piezoresistive element changes with the strain generated by an applied force.(2,3) We consider that the fabrication of such a piezoresistive force sensor is suitable for students because the suggested fabrication process is relatively simpler than that of other major types of sensors, such as capacitive force sensors; capacitive force sensors normally require the bonding of two processed substrates with a certain gap to form a capacitor,(4) which takes a long time. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} MYU K.K.",
year = "2019",
doi = "10.18494/SAM.2019.2390",
language = "English",
volume = "31",
pages = "2555--2563",
journal = "Sensors and Materials",
issn = "0914-4935",
publisher = "M Y U Scientific Publishing Division",
number = "8",
}