Microsensations

It is no exaggeration to say that all industrial processes-and a good many everyday domestic ones-use measurement at some level and a great many use electronic measurement systems. At the heart of any electronic measurement is a sensor-a device that converts a physical or chemical quantity (e.g. pressure, humidity) into an electrical signal. Here, the author describes how silicon fabrication processes are being adapted to produce miniature sensors so cheaply that a revolution is taking place in the field of instrumentation