Sven Achenbach Professor

College of Engineering & Canadian Light Source, SyLMAND

Background

Sven was the Canada Research Chair in Micro and Nano Device Fabrication (2005-2015), he spearheaded the development, funding, construction, commissioning, and now scientific operation of Canada's X-ray lithography laboratory SyLMAND, the Synchrotron Laboratory for Micro and Devices, at the Canadian Light Source (CLS). SyLMAND specializes in process technologies to process high aspect ratio micro components (i.e. devices with large structure height at small lateral dimensions) made primarily of non-silicon materials (polymers and metals). This allows new architectural approaches complementing common planar MEMS layouts, with potential advantages such as higher sensor sensitivites or higher throughput, and a wider materials selection for, e.g., biocampatible or functional applications. These could prove to be very useful in water research. Applications areas of preeminence at SyLMAND include micro- and nano fluidics, radio-frequency MEMS, and optics. Combined, they could substantially contribute to miniaturized sensors and systems for water evaluation, particulary also overcoming clogging issues with internal filtering. Some micro fabrication capabilities at SyLMAND are inquie in the world, many more are unqiue in Canada.

Research Keywords

  • Micro and Nanotechnology
  • Sensor Fabrication
  • Polymer Based MEMS
  • Micro and Nano Fluidics
  • IR-Transparent Fluid Cells
  • Nano Pore Based Sensing