Dr. Sven Achenbach of University of Saskatchewan

Miniaturized devices, such as micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), lab-on-chip devices, or individual components for, e.g., optical applications, drive societal progress and the economy, are increasingly and quasi-ubiquitously applied, and connected sensor networks are predicted to meaningfully contribute to help solve some of the global challenges. In this context, both, advantages of miniaturization, and various challenges associated with microfabrication, are discussed, leading to a comparison of technological capabilities of UV versus X-ray lithography (XRL). At SyLMAND, the Synchrotron Laboratory for Micro and Nano Device at the Canadian Light Source (CLS) in Saskatoon, both technologies are applied for microfabrication. The presentation explains the use of these techniques as best fit for different devices from a wide range of applications fields serving both, academic interest and needs of industrial partners. Sample systems discussed include diffractive X-ray optics for imaging and spectromicroscopy applications, nanopore-based resistive pulse detectors as the basis of a label-free, transient or permanent signal biomolecule detector, and a mid-infra red sensing platform for lab-on-chip applications using Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FT IR) spectromicroscopy.

Biography:

Sven Achenbach received the Ph.D. degree in ultra deep X-ray lithography from the University of Karlsruhe, Germany, in 2000. Since 1996, he has worked at the national laboratory LURE in Paris and the German national laboratory Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (FZK; now Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, KIT), optimizing microfabrication process technologies. In 2005, he assumed the Canada Research Chair in Micro and Nano Device Fabrication at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, where he also conceptualized, developed, and leads Canada’s first X-Ray Lithography facility (SyLMAND - Synchrotron Laboratory for Micro/Nano Devices) at the Canadian Light Source (CLS). He is Beam Team Leader and Principal Investigator at SyLMAND, and from 2005 to 2014 also worked as an adjunct scientist of TRLabs and TRTech, Canada. He is a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan. His research focuses on various aspects of micro/nano technologies, including research and development of fabrication instrumentation, process technologies, and selected applications using X-ray lithography, direct write UV lithography, electro deposition and vacuum processes. Fostering a wide range of interdisciplinary collaborations, applications of his team’s research projects comprise micro/nanofluidic devices, including nanopore-based biomolecule detectors and vibrational spectroscopy-based lab-on-chip devices, X-ray optical components, and collegially developed high performance active and passive RF MEMS devices. His research is both, driven by academic curiosity and through industrial collaborations, which also facilitated spin-off companies.