TEKNIK ELEKTRONIKA

Plessey Semiconductors and the University of Sussex have unveiled an innovative technology for contactless sensing of electric potentials. Using a device dubbed the electric potential sensor (EPS), this technology is able to sense changes in electric fields in the same way as a magnetometer detects changes in magnetic fields.

 

The new sensor, which does not need any physical or resistive contact to make measurements, will enable innovative new products such as medical scanners that are simply held close to a patient’s chest to obtain a detailed ECG or devices that can sense objects through walls. The initial application areas for EPS will be in medical treatment and sports, since the EPS device can detect voltage changes in muscles and nerves without direct electrical contact.
 
Until recently, electric fields have usually been measured either with relatively insensitive detectors operating in the range of several hundred volts to check for potential electrostatic discharges that might damage sensitive equipment, or with large laboratory electrometers that require frequent recalibration. The University of Sussex has solved the recalibration issue with a patented combination of techniques that prevent the accumulation of electrostatic charge and avoid electrostatic damage, making the new EPS technology intrinsically stable.
 
The EPS device operates at normal room temperatures and acts as highly stable, extremely sensitive and ultra high-impedance contactless electric field strength sensor for measurements down to the millivolt level. Most places on Earth have a vertical electric field strength of around 100 volts per metre. The human body is mostly water and interacts with this electric field. EPS technology is so sensitive that it can detect these changes at a distance, even through a solid wall. For example, in a burning building it could be used to determine whether any people are present in a smoke-filled room before opening the door.
 
Image: Plessey Semiconductors

More info

Plessey Semiconductors website



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