This year, 30 research and development teams from Germany and abroad applied for the prestigious AMA Innovation Award. Prize money of 10,000 euros awaits the winners. 

In the special category 'Young Company', companies that have been on the market for less than five years, employ fewer than 50 people and generate annual sales of less than 10 million euros were eligible to apply. The winners of the special award will receive a free booth at SENSOR+TEST 2022. This year, two young companies convinced the jury, so there are two winners in the special category. On the one hand, Ackision GmbH for "FUSE - Femto to microampere fast and low-noise detection" and HCP Sense GmbH for "Sensor bearing without sensor - measuring rolling bearing forces in a space-neutral way". Both applications remain contenders for the AMA Innovation Award 2022. 

Nominated for the AMA Innovation Award 2022 are (in alphabetical order):

FUSE - Acquire femto- to microamperes quickly and with low noise

Dr. Ansgar T. Kirk, Cornelius Wendt, Alexander Bohnhorst, Prof. Dr. Stefan Zimmermann

(Ackision GmbH, Leibniz University of Hannover)

FUSE is a patent-pending current measurement device with a unique combination of highest signal-to-noise ratio, wide bandwidth as well as excellent dynamic range with linearity over more than six orders of magnitude from femto to microamps. It represents an important enabling technology for a leap in sensor performance, enabling new application fields and sensor principles for the next generation of sensors. A prototype of FUSE is already in continuous use at a pilot customer and is currently being brought to series maturity as part of an EXIST research transfer. (Brochure p. 8)

H2MEMS: new H2 sensor with wide measuring range and high selectivity

Maren Lengert, Michael Weidner, Dr. Marion Wienecke (Materion GmbH, Wismar)

The H2MEMS is the realization of a new idea for a sensor based on physical switching Pd-based layer systems in combination with micro-electro-mechanical sensor structures. Unique selling points are the wide measuring range from 100 ppm to 100 % vol hydrogen in varying gas mixtures, a high selectivity, especially the insensitivity to methane, and a short response time. The design of the sensor is considerably miniaturized and compatible with micro-technological manufacturing (Si technology), allowing cost-effective production of large quantities. (brochure p. 9)

Scanning Short Coherent Heterodyne IR Laser Vibrometer MSA-650 IRIS

Dr. Marco Wolfer, Dr. Volker Seyfried, Dr. Marcus Winter, Moritz Giesen, Christian Ehrmann, Stephan Barking, Mike Herberich, Jürgen Glauner, Babak Pourat, Dr. Frank Heimes (Polytec GmbH, Waldbronn)

The Polytec MSA-650 IRIS enables the measurement of component dynamics within encapsulated microsystems. The innovative and patented interferometer design combines a short-coherent SLD light source for effective selection of the active component level with a special IR camera. It is thus the first optical measurement device for high-precision and area-based acquisition of device dynamics on MEMS and microstructures through the intact silicon encapsulation with effective short-coherent suppression of interfering signal contributions - contact-free and without affecting the real dynamics. (brochure p. 10)

Sensor bearings without sensors - measuring rolling bearing forces in a space-neutral manner

Sarah Wicker, Dr. Georg Martin, Dr. Tobias Schirra, Ansgar Thilmann

(HCP Sense GmbH, Darmstadt)

The sensor bearing from HCP Sense offers the possibility to measure acting forces and the lubrication condition in rolling bearings, e.g. for condition monitoring applications. It takes up the same installation space as a corresponding conventional bearing and can therefore be integrated into machines without major design changes, since the bearing itself acts as a sensor and no essential changes are made here. HCP Sense is a spin-off of the TU Darmstadt and has been funded by the EXIST research transfer funding program since 2021. (Brochure p. 8)

Technology platform for highly reliable NDIR gas sensors 

Steffen Biermann, Patrick Sachse, Thomas Bartnitzek (Micro-Hybrid Electronic GmbH, Hermsdorf); Prof. Dr. Thomas Ortlepp (CIS Forschungsinstitut für Mikrosensorik GmbH), Dr. Ralf Koppert (Siegert Thin Film Technology GmbH), Lars Dittrich (5microns GmbH).

An innovative gas sensor system with novel spectral broadband infrared (IR) emitter. The development of Micro-Hybrid Electronic GmbH and its partners combines groundbreaking technologies from MEMS chips to modules for gas sensors with special long-term stability even in extreme environmental conditions. A patented design, the hermetically sealed assembly technology of the IR components and IR emitter chips with micro-nano structures as optical functionalization are the innovation drivers for new cross-industry gas measurement applications. (brochure p. 9)

The winners of the AMA Innovation Award 2022 will be announced on May 10, 2022, at the opening ceremony of SENSOR+TEST 2022 in Nuremberg. 

The overview of all applications for the AMA Innovation Award 2022 at: 

AMA Innovation Award 2022