The department activity focuses on research and development activities related with two major fields: solid state biological and chemical sensors and ultrasonic systems, comprising generation, reception and processing of ultrasonic signals and interaction of ultrasonic energy with matter.
The sensors research activity is focused on the detection of substances with a social and/or environmental impact (like pollutants, biological or chemical warfare agents or for food safety and quality assurance). Main research lines refer to design and development of resistive and surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors. Both are based in the use of thin films, nanostructured and biological materials. Towards this end, technologies like Low Pressure Chemical Vapour Deposition (LPCVD), sputtering, spinning, and electrospinning are used.
The research activity related with ultrasonic systems is focused on the generation, propagation, reception and processing of ultrasonic signals and the interaction of ultrasonic energy with matter. Main applications refer to the assessment of material properties for medical diagnosis, industrial non-destructive testing and materials characterization and for the use of the ultrasonic energy to modify the properties, state or distribution of matter for applications in food processing, aerosol treatment, cells sorting and manipulation, etc.
