Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Food waste reduction (High-Tech development of game-changing innovation for food waste reduction)
Reporting period: 2020-09-16 to 2021-09-15
The SME Innovation Associate has during the period followed intense training in especially high-tech equipment and clean room use. The Innovation Associate has from this gained insight into characterisation and fabrication methods of nano and micro semiconductor systems (especially micro cantilevers) and from this gained knowledge and expertise, developed a optimized the surface properties and structure and invented a new and patentable solution for reproducible and stable binding of the critical chemical component on the cantilever surface. The Innovation Associate has become skilled in fabrication equipment and techniques and is has developed promising candidates for our next generation cantilevers. One paper has been published during the course of this study and a patent on the findings and improvements is expected to be filled by spring 2022.
The Associate has attended core and Tailored training. Tailored training comprised 6 elements:
A: Instruction to the company
B: Introduction to readily available facilities, equipment and methodologies
C: Introduction to the device and state of play
D: State-of-the-art review
E: Training in use of high-tech equipment, facilities and methods
F: Training in cantilever fabrication techniques
The training has equipped the Innovation Associate with skills to investigate and further develop our semiconductor micro-sensor unit (cantilever). This has incluede the follwing tasks:
1. Reproducible functionalization: Investigate and develop methods to enable reproducible deposition of the binder on the cantilever surfaces
2. Surface properties: Investigations into the interaction of binder with specific materials and ways to improve the surface material to improve adhesion between binder and cantilever surface.
3. Cantilever dimensioning: Investigations into altering the physical design and materials of the cantilever bulk.
4. Cantilever fabrication: Develop a method for fabricating cantilevers in the clean room facility.
A: Instruction to the company
B: Introduction to readily available facilities, equipment and methodologies
C: Introduction to the device and state of play
D: State-of-the-art review
E: Training in use of high-tech equipment, facilities and methods
F: Training in cantilever fabrication techniques
The training has equipped the Innovation Associate with skills to investigate and further develop our semiconductor micro-sensor unit (cantilever). This has incluede the follwing tasks:
1. Reproducible functionalization: Investigate and develop methods to enable reproducible deposition of the binder on the cantilever surfaces
2. Surface properties: Investigations into the interaction of binder with specific materials and ways to improve the surface material to improve adhesion between binder and cantilever surface.
3. Cantilever dimensioning: Investigations into altering the physical design and materials of the cantilever bulk.
4. Cantilever fabrication: Develop a method for fabricating cantilevers in the clean room facility.
Progress beyond the state of the art from the action can be summarised as follows:
1. Reproducible functionalization:
Result: A more suitable surface material was found which also supported changes in morphology, like physical barriers constraining the binder droplet.
Added value to the company: The new cantilever surface properties (both material, and morphology) will provide a cheap and simple solution to a critical problem. This improvement can be fully implemented into the new cantilever system in the spring 2022. This improvement will stabilize the binder and ensure reproducible functionalization which in turn can be translated to reliability of the sensor device. The solution is patentable to be filled in the spring 2022 increasing the company’s market positioning and competitiveness.
2. Surface properties
Result: An alternative material for the cantilever surface was found. This material also enables production of physical features which increases adhesion of the binder.
Added value to the company: Stability of the binder is critical to reliability and reproducibility of measurements with the device. The new material and morphology is patentable and an application will be filled by spring 2022.
3. Cantilever dimensioning
Result: Dimensioning of the existing cantilevers was performed and it was found that a dedicated control of material-layer thicknesses is crucial to arriving at an optimum resonance frequency. A new material for the cantilevers was investigated and is expected to have a superior performance to the current cantilevers.
Added value to the company: This will result in an entirely new cantilever with distinctly different characteristics and can readily be tailored for the desired high resonance frequency which gives the device the high sensitivity and can reduce measuring time significantly.
4. Cantilever fabrication
Result: A protocol for the different sequences of the fabrication process was established i.e. layer depositioning, mask alignment, etching etc. This method is applicable for any cantilever production regardless of material and can thus be applied for fabrication of the new and improved cantilevers.
Added value to the company: In-house knowledge about cantilever fabrication is crucial to keep costs low and increase Gross Margin of the product.
In summary the worked performed by the Innovation Associate will strengthen the competitiveness of the company with an additional patent. The improvements and novel cantilever developed in the project will be implemented during the autumn 2021 and spring 2022, and will significantly improve the reliability of the signal from our freshness and expiration date sensor and decrease both the measurement time and cost. This will enable a more wide spread use and thus potentially higher market share. A 40% market share in our prime segments (meat and fish handling business) will potentially reduce the carbon footprint from food waste by 7%.
1. Reproducible functionalization:
Result: A more suitable surface material was found which also supported changes in morphology, like physical barriers constraining the binder droplet.
Added value to the company: The new cantilever surface properties (both material, and morphology) will provide a cheap and simple solution to a critical problem. This improvement can be fully implemented into the new cantilever system in the spring 2022. This improvement will stabilize the binder and ensure reproducible functionalization which in turn can be translated to reliability of the sensor device. The solution is patentable to be filled in the spring 2022 increasing the company’s market positioning and competitiveness.
2. Surface properties
Result: An alternative material for the cantilever surface was found. This material also enables production of physical features which increases adhesion of the binder.
Added value to the company: Stability of the binder is critical to reliability and reproducibility of measurements with the device. The new material and morphology is patentable and an application will be filled by spring 2022.
3. Cantilever dimensioning
Result: Dimensioning of the existing cantilevers was performed and it was found that a dedicated control of material-layer thicknesses is crucial to arriving at an optimum resonance frequency. A new material for the cantilevers was investigated and is expected to have a superior performance to the current cantilevers.
Added value to the company: This will result in an entirely new cantilever with distinctly different characteristics and can readily be tailored for the desired high resonance frequency which gives the device the high sensitivity and can reduce measuring time significantly.
4. Cantilever fabrication
Result: A protocol for the different sequences of the fabrication process was established i.e. layer depositioning, mask alignment, etching etc. This method is applicable for any cantilever production regardless of material and can thus be applied for fabrication of the new and improved cantilevers.
Added value to the company: In-house knowledge about cantilever fabrication is crucial to keep costs low and increase Gross Margin of the product.
In summary the worked performed by the Innovation Associate will strengthen the competitiveness of the company with an additional patent. The improvements and novel cantilever developed in the project will be implemented during the autumn 2021 and spring 2022, and will significantly improve the reliability of the signal from our freshness and expiration date sensor and decrease both the measurement time and cost. This will enable a more wide spread use and thus potentially higher market share. A 40% market share in our prime segments (meat and fish handling business) will potentially reduce the carbon footprint from food waste by 7%.