Optoelectronics and Measurement Technologies Unit
Optoelectronics and Measurement Techniques (OPEM) research unit is specialized in demanding application within the fields of biophotonics, printed intelligence, biomedical sensors and measurement systems as well as industrial measurements.
Measurement technology is one of the cornerstones of scientific research.
It offers tools for the collection of information on things and phenomena whose actions and effects on surroundings are yet to be known. Nanotechnology, for example, originated from the development of measurement technology, as its development enabled researchers to observe things at an atomic level. The possibilities of measurement are however not limited to just science, but all of modern society benefits from measured data as one of its basic pillars, when making decisions about the future or looking for solutions to different issues both on a societal and individual level.
Understanding climate change, forecasting the weather, artificial intelligence, efficient and safe industrial processes, diagnosing illnesses, searching for missing people in the wilderness and smart clothing are all practical examples of the myriad of applications that are all based on measurement technology and the collecting of data that it enables. In order for certain analyzes and conclusions to be in the right direction, the information they are based on must be good and reliable. The manufacture of high-grade measurement technology and the production of reliable data are areas of technology that require multidisciplinary expertise and are believed to only grow in significance as technology advances and spreads.
When misused, any measurement device will provide inaccurate or completely invalid data. Even if the measuring itself was done completely correctly, uncertainty will still be a factor. In addition, the measurement technologies used to study many phenomena are still very limited and incomplete. That is why we, for example, don’t know or understand the specifics of certain brain functions very well. Measuring and its development require high quality and in-depth know-how with a combination of expertise in natural sciences and technical sciences, from material technology to data processing algorithms.
Optoelectronics and Measurement Technologies unit (OPEM)
Key enablers and scientific breakthroughs
Through theoretical modeling and simulation, we have discovered new efficient materials in the THz region, whose responses are easily and dynamically adjustable to different wavelengths.
We are able to manufacture quantum dot based heat detectors using printing techniques, which has decreased their manufacturing costs. Our unit has the ability to design and manufacture a variety of different sensor and detector elements, thus enabling the construction of key new types of measurement systems.
The measurement technique is based on the analysis of plasma generated by electric discharge. The technology enables online measurement of water quality, and has been commercialized by the unit’s researchers (Sensmet Oy).
We were the first in the world to measure both blood pressure and signals of the heart and circulatory system simultaneously in a brain imaging environment. Multimodal measurement is based on the utilization of magnetoencephalography, magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance encephalography.
A diagnostic tool for detecting early-stage changes in the peripheral circulation of humans as a result of diabetes. The collagen structure of the skin changes due to the effects of diabetes, and it can be observed as a change in the polarization index when the skin is imaged over a wide wavelength range.
An innovation made by our unit; a quality control method based on electrical induction and thermal imaging, which is able to measure, for example, the uniformity of electronic materials, and thus provide important information about the electronics manufacturing process. The same method can also be used to identify, for example, the location of a fault in a solar panel. Work on the commercialization of this technology is underway.
Prof. Tapio Fabritius
Unit manager
Optoelectronics & Measurement technologies
