Electron Quantum Tunneling Sensors

TL;DR

This review discusses the principles, development, and potential of quantum tunneling sensors, highlighting their high sensitivity, challenges, and recent resurgence in various applications.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of quantum tunneling sensors, including their design, history, current status, advantages, and limitations, with insights into future prospects.

Findings

Quantum tunneling sensors exhibit high sensitivity and miniaturization.

Recent resurgence driven by technological advances and new applications.

Challenges include drawbacks related to quantum tunneling principles.

Abstract

Quantum tunneling sensors are typically ultra-sensitive devices which have been specifically designed to convert a stimulus into an electronic signal using the wondrous principles of quantum mechanical tunneling. In the early 1990s, William Kaiser developed one of the first micromachined quantum tunneling sensors as part of his work with the Nasa Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Since then, there have been scattered attempts at utilizing this phenomenon for the development of a variety of physical and chemical sensors. Although these devices demonstrate unique characteristics such as high sensitivity, the principle of quantum tunneling often acts as a double-edged sword and is responsible for certain drawbacks of this sensor family. In this review, we briefly explain the underlying working principles of quantum tunneling and how they are used to design miniaturized quantum tunneling sensors. We then proceed to describe an overview of the various attempts at developing such sensors. Next, we discuss their current need and recent resurgence. Finally, we describe various advantages and shortcomings of these sensors and end this review with an insight into the potential of this technology and prospects.