Distinguished Seminar – David Horsley

“Systems Based on Ultrasonic MEMS: Commercialization and Future Directions “

David Horsley 

Professor, University of California, Davis Adjunct Professor, University of California, Berkeley 

Abstract

The increasing maturity of thin-film piezoelectric materials and the MEMS manufacturing ecosystem has enabled the rapid development of sensor systems based on piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers (PMUTs). In this talk, I will describe work by my research group over the last decade to develop and commercialize PMUT-based systems for consumer electronics applications, starting with air-coupled PMUTs used for time-of-flight (ToF) range-finding and human presence sensing. These ToF sensors were commercialized by my startup, Chirp Microsystems (now part of TDK), and are used today in various products such as smart-locks, robot vacuum cleaners, and laptops. We subsequently developed an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor based on the monolithic integration of PMUTs with CMOS that is used for biometric authentication in consumer products today. A common feature of the ToF sensor and the fingerprint sensor is that they are systems that combine MEMS, integrated circuits, and algorithms. The ability to realize a complete ultrasonic system on chip (SoC) opens new research opportunities in areas such as portable medical imaging systems for point-of care ultrasound (POCUS) as well as wearable ultrasonic devices.

Biography

David A. Horsley received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1998. He is a Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Davis, and an Adjunct Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, where he is co-director of the Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center (BSAC). He is also co-founder and CTO of Chirp Microsystems Inc. (a TDK Group Company), a manufacturer of ultrasonic sensors using MEMS technology. Dr. Horsley was Co-Chair of the 2016 IEEE Sensors Conference, Co-Chair of the 2017 Transducers Research Foundation Napa Microsystems Workshop, and Co-Chair of the 2020 IEEE MEMS Conference. Dr. Horsley is an IEEE Fellow, a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, is a recipient of the National Science Foundation’s CAREER Award, the UC Davis Outstanding Junior Faculty Award, the 2016 NSF I/UCRC Association’s Schwarzkopf Award for Technological Innovation, and the 2018 East Bay Innovation Award. He has authored or co-authored over 200 scientific papers and holds over 30 patents.