Rotary machines are commonly used in the macro-world for a wide variety of applications and include different types of turbines, fans or propellers, with dimensions and rotation speeds spanning several orders of magnitude: from various drilling machines, to computer cooling fans, jet propellers, train wheels or wind mills. In many situations, different operating or environmental parameters (e.g., material parameters such as cracks or fatigue, local temperature variations and many more) need to be monitored using control devices that must be mounted on the rotating parts. It is however a challenge to interrogate and control a device that is mounted on a spinning object due to the fact that it is almost impossible to connect to it via tethered wires. Therefore, the communication with the world outside the spinning object must be ensure via a wireless protocol. This task becomes even more challenging when the spinning turbine is miniaturized, which means that the available space is limited.

The specific engineering task of the candidate selected for the present project consists in mounting a microcontroller on a miniaturized rotary turbo-machine and ensure successful communication with the microcontroller under spinning conditions.

• We are employing enthusiastic students who would like to work on the challenging and novel topic to addressing the following tasks:
• Choose the appropriate microcontroller for this application.
• Install the microcontroller on the turbine and establish wireless communication while spinning the turbine.
• Design and implement a proof of concept experiment to demonstrate the success of the concept.

You will be integrated in the larger team of the Spin & Photon Applications (SPA-) Laboratory. Within this project, you will use the infrastructure existent at the Institute of Microstructure Technology (IMT), i.e., RF and electronics laboratory, testing equipment, micro-fabrication facilities. This is a complete project, offering the possibility to design, implement and test the concept, giving the student the opportunity to co-author conference and/or journal publications.

• Field of Study: Electronics and electrical engineering, mechatronics, mechanical engineering
• good academic record (marks); curious about various aspects of science;
• enthusiastic to work in a multidisciplinary environment;
• independent thinker and team player;
• in particular: strong interest in mechanical engineering and microsystems technologies;
• knowledge in microsystems/microfabrication is desirable.