NanoKTN announces success of Plessey EPIC sensor resulting from TSB funding

12 March 2012

The Nanotechnology Knowledge Transfer Network has announced details of the EPIC sensor developed by UK semiconductor manufacturer Plessey as part of a project co-funded by the Technology Strategy Board.

Through support offered by the NanoKTN and JEMI UK, Plessey Semiconductors has been able to promote its product directly to key audiences and potential end-users, vital in the early stages of the product’s marketing.

The aim of the Precision Passive Component Design and Manufacture in Micro Module Electronics project (PPM2), which was co-funded by the Technology Strategy Board, was to encourage the integration of precision passive components into advanced packaging schemes, enabling improved product performance.

Plessey Semiconductors, one of the UK-based companies that has benefited from the project, used the funding to support the development of its latest product range, the award-winning Electric Potential Integrated Circuit (EPIC) sensor which, optimised for use as an ECG sensor, promises to save money and provide a resolution as good as or better than conventional electrodes.

To promote the product and outcomes from the project, Plessey Semiconductors and JEMI UK, organised a technical visit to its facilities in Plymouth to disseminate outcomes from the PPM2 project and to launch the EPIC sensor which enables ECG monitoring in mobile phone applications. The meeting enabled delegates to discuss opportunities for the UK supply chain and IC manufactures to utilise these techniques in their own devices.

“Building relationships and contacts within relevant industries is vital to companies in the early stages of commercial development, enabling them to build connections and to raise their profile nationally and overseas. We hope that by helping to disseminate outcomes from this project, that UK businesses will come together and look at ways of using the intelligence gathered throughout the programme,” explained Dr Alec Reader, Director at the NanoKTN.

Reader added, “The success of the EPIC Sensor, just one of the products developed during the PPM2 project, is a fantastic story, not only for Plessey Semiconductors, but also for the UK supply chain and the Technology Strategy Board, whose funding has directly resulted in the development of another innovative UK product. Choosing the right call is important for UK companies and at the NanoKTN we are committed to assisting our members in making the best possible decisions to ensure we continue to see inward investment into the UK micro and nanotechnology markets.”