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University of the West of Scotland


Microscale Sensors Group
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Commercialisation team

MSS values collaborations with companies and aims at staying close to the needs of industry by providing them with the lattest technology. MSS experts are available to carry out theoretical and experimental studies in areas related to piezoelectric devices and ultrasound. We have been involved in project in many different application fields including 3D and 4D ultrasonic imaging, biomedical ultrasound, NDT, sonar, pharmaceutical, flow metering, food industry, astronomy and civil engineering (see projects outline below).

Typical contracts we have been working on involve SMEs which were specialised in the field of ultrasound, but who needed extra resources for research and innovation. We have been very successful at obtaining money from the various funding schemes available to enable these collaborations – TTOM, EDTC, SCORE, KTP, etc. We have also been invovled in carrying out concept studies for large companies who did not have expertise in ultrasound.

 

The team

Dr David Hutson –Commercilization Leader

Dr Erman Uzgur – Consulting application engineer

 

Consulting activity

  • Customised ultrasonic transducer design
  • Simulation
  • Piezoelectricity
  • Piezoelectric Actuators (design, characterization)
  • Micromachining (dicing, polishing, surface profiling)
  • Characterisation
    • Materials (acoustic electro-mechanical)
    • Transducers (acoustic electro-mechanical)
    • Scanning (beam profiling, inspection)
    • Laser vibrometry
    • Access to SEM, XRD instrument
    • Thin Film manufacturing ( reactive RF sputtering)

Projects outline

General activity

  • Modular size arrays with integrated electronics: in charge of the design and fabrication of 1D and 2D phased arrays (frequencies ranging from 200kHz to 1MHz), the signal processing using coded excitation waveforms, and the image processing code.
  • Design and testing of a high power transducer for acoustic cavitation + study of sensor for monitoring acoustic cavitation.
  • Analysis of the acoustic emissions from flowing powders.
  • Ultrasonic device for sensing the deformation of mirrors in extra-large telescopes.
  • Simulation of ultrasonic blazed arrays.
  • Study of materials having the same acoustic properties as water (part of a device for testing and calibrating medical ultrasonic transducer arrays).
  • Clamp on transducer for non-invasive ultrasonic flow measurement on water and gas pipes.
  • Portable acoustic device for detecting underground services (gas pipes /water pipes /electricity and telecom cables …).
  • Study of ultra-broadband ultrasonic transducer.
  • High frequency piezocomposite transducers

Piezoelectric thin film activity

  • Design, Manufacturing and test of piezo electric thin film transducers. Download the thin film Factsheet here.
  • Instrumentation of mechanical parts.
  • Monitoring of the lubricant layer in bearings and seals using ultrasound.
  • High temperature NDT (>400 degree C).
  • Acoustic emission sensors.
  • Simulation and modelling of thin film transducers.