Quantum Tunneling Devices and Sensors

Dear Colleagues,

We announce a Special Issue of the Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X) journal focused on quantum tunneling MEMS/NEMS devices and sensors.

This Special Issue aims to explore the advancements, applications, and emerging frontiers in the field of NEMS sensors utilizing quantum tunneling phenomena.

The invention and creation of the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) by G. Binning and H. Rohrer in the early 1980s, which earned them a Nobel prize in Physics, is attributed to the development and flourishing of nanotechnology. Soon after, the whole range of scientific instruments and techniques were derived from STM, such as scanning tunneling spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and others. Another direction that originated from STM developments was early designs and prototypes of quantum tunneling sensors. From 1990 to 1998, T. Kenny, J. Kaiser, R. Kubena, and others produced a series of papers and patents describing quantum tunneling accelerometers and other sensors. In the 2000s there appear a sparse stream of further reports on quantum tunneling sensors but there were no attempts to consolidate the prior and current efforts and successes in this area.

Quantum tunneling is a fascinating phenomenon which promises unprecedented sensitivity and ultra-small size of new devices but this field has still not reached its full potential. The editor of this Special Issue and the editorial staff of Micromachines are convinced that now is an opportune time to summarize all previous advancements and results and bring together reports on current research efforts around the globe. This Special Issue seeks to gather high-quality research papers, reviews, and perspectives that showcase the past and latest breakthroughs, experimental techniques, and theoretical models in the realm of quantum tunneling MEMS/NEMS.

Topics of interest for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to:

1. Development of novel NEMS devices exploiting quantum tunneling for sensing applications.
2. Quantum tunneling phenomena in NEMS systems and their characterization.
3. Interfacing quantum tunneling NEMS sensors with macroscopic instruments.
4. Applications of quantum tunneling NEMS in any field of science, engineering, medicine, or others.
5. Integration of quantum tunneling NEMS with other quantum science and nanotechnology.

We invite researchers and experts from diverse disciplines to contribute reviews of their research programs and their original work to this Special Issue. We welcome both experimental and theoretical studies that shed light on the fundamental principles, design strategies, and practical applications of quantum tunneling MEMS/NEMS.

We look forward to receiving your valuable contributions, which will play an essential role in shaping the future of quantum tunneling MEMS and NEMS research.

Dr. Marek Michalewicz
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Micromachines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• quantum tunneling
• MEMS
• NEMS
• quantum sensors
• quantum sensor applications
• quantum tunneling transduction