The world's smallest ultrasonic sensor comes out

British researchers said on the 16th that they have produced the world's smallest ultrasonic sensor. It's so tiny that it can line up on a hairline. This result can be widely used to explore the microscopic environment inside the cell.

On the same day, the University of Nottingham of the United Kingdom issued a communique saying that the school’s Applied Optics Research Group has produced this miniature ultrasonic sensor. It is much smaller than the existing ultrasonic sensors, and 500 of these sensors come together to reach the width of one hair. It has both ultrasonic and optical properties. It will deform slightly when it is perceived. This deformation can be detected by the laser that shines on it to obtain the information of the ultrasonic wave; conversely, if it emits a laser pulse, it also Can be stimulated to send out ultrasonic waves to detect the target object.

Researcher Matt Clarke said that the rise of nanotechnology has brought about the need for micro-ultrasonic detectors, and the new equipment they developed has extended ultrasound detection technology to the nanoscale. The ultrasound application that people are familiar with is a medical examination. This new type of device can be used to perform ultrasound examination on the inside of a cell to provide physiological information that was difficult to obtain in the past.

In addition, the ultrasound sensor is also very high resolution, it uses the sound wave frequency beyond the frequency of visible light, so in theory it can obtain a clearer image than the best optical microscope.