Micromechanical devices and systems are most beneficially applied in a large range of different fields of application, such as automotive, bio-medical or consumer electronics, and hence, represent a key component in many advanced technical systems. Based on the Bachelor lecture Sensor technology and sensor systems, current trends in research on selected sensor and actuator devices as well as the corresponding systems are presented and discussed. After a compact introduction the first part of the lecture focuses on advanced sensor devices, such as micromachined gyroscopes, microphones and pressure sensors for harsh environments including operation temperatures above 600°C. The second part deals with microactuators based on conventional principals (e.g. piezoelectric or electrostatic) and unconventional approaches (e.g. thermal or magnetic shape memory alloys). In the last part different concepts and devices for local energy harvesting are presented for the realisation of autonomous sensor networks needed e.g. in aircrafts for structural health monitoring purposes.
