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SENSORS, TEST & MEASUREMENT | FLOW MEASUREMENT
LIFE IN THE
FLOW LANE A tiny new sensor from Cambridge spinout Flusso
It’s often said that good things come
in small packages. Measuring just
3.5 x 3.5 mm, Flusso’s new ow
sensor certainly conforms to the
latter half of that cliché. It is claimed
to be the smallest sensor of its type
in the world, and with applications
ranging from consumer appliances
to medical equipment and HVAC
systems, the FFLS110 also promises to
deliver the goods.
Founded by Dr Andrea De Luca
in 2016, Flusso is a Cambridge
spinout that emerged from the
High Voltage Microelectronics and
Sensors group at the university’s
Electrical Engineering Department.
While lockdowns across the world
were putting a squeeze on the
global economy earlier this year,
the company completed a series A
funding round that raised around
£4.5m. Despite its diminutive size,
the company’s launch product comes
with big expectations.
“Before the FLS110 was launched,
the smallest mass ow sensor was 8
x 5 mm, whereas the FLS110 is 70%
smaller than that,” Dr De Luca told
Eureka.
According to Flusso, this dramatic
leap forward in miniaturisation was
achieved largely by separating the
FLS110’s semiconductor and MEMS
(micro-electromechanical system)
promises to bring ow measurement to a whole
new range of applications.
sensing element from the circuitry.
However, this approach brought
unique design challenges around the
sensor’s architecture.
“The size reduction hasn’t been
a trivial exercise as the company
needed to devise new ways to enable
packaging miniaturisation, while
maintaining suitable uidic and
mechanical performance,” said De
Luca.
“To help with this, the design team
has used fences within the package
to control the vortices arising from
the 90-degree bend between the
vertical inlet and horizontal sensor
channel. It’s a concept rst suggested
and deployed over 50 years ago
to obstruct spanwise air ow along
aircraft wings.”
This innovative work on MEMS
sensors - which underpins the
FLS110 – saw De Luca named a
RAEng Young Engineer of the Year
in September 2020. He studied for
his electrical engineering master’s
at the University of Naples Federico
II before moving to Cambridge,
where he went on to obtain his PhD
and co-found Flusso alongside
Cambridge Professor and RAEng
Fellow, Florin Udrea. According to
CEO De Luca, the company’s rst
sensor has the potential to open
up ow measurement to a wide
range of uses beyond its traditional
applications.
“Flow measurement is already
available in less price-sensitive
markets, such as hospital medical
equipment, but until now there hasn’t
been a complete solution available
for lower-cost applications needing a
fast time to market,” he said.
DECEMBER 2020 | WWW.EUREKAMAGAZINE.CO.UK 17
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