Christoph Reinhardt and Hossein Masalehdan receive DESY Innovation Award 2023The particle physics team has developed a sensor that enables calibration-free measurement of the pressure and particle mass of a gas over wide pressure and temperature ranges.

1 November 2023

Photo: DESY

The two prizewinners Christoph Reinhardt and Hossein Masalehdan.

This year's DESY Innovation Award goes to Christoph Reinhardt (DESY, Department FH-ALPS) and Hossein Masalehdan (Universität Hamburg, Exzellenzcluster Quantum Universe, Institute for Quantum Physics). Their membrane-based pressure sensor enables calibration-free measurements over an extremely wide range. Until now, this range could only be covered by typically three different sensors, which also had to be calibrated and aligned with each other at great expense. In addition, the new sensor also works under extreme conditions such as low temperatures and strong magnetic fields.

The new pressure sensor is intended for use in industry and research for monitoring pressures, insulation vacuums and the composition of gases. A concrete application of the technology is possible in the aerospace industry as well as in safety-relevant industrial plants.

The research team's development was initially born out of necessity. "Initially, we were actually interested in seeing how gravitational wave detectors could be made even more sensitive. We realized that there is no commercial solution yet to simply buy a measuring device that tells us the pressure," says Christoph Reinhardt.

The new pressure sensor is intended for use in industry and research for monitoring pressures, insulation vacuums and the composition of gases. A concrete application of the technology is possible in the aerospace industry as well as in safety-relevant industrial plants.

The jury of the DESY Innovation Award sees the research team's development as a prime example of the innovative potential of basic research. "The pressure sensor is such an interesting development because it can be transferred directly from basic research to many areas of application," says Arik Willner, Chief Technology Officer at DESY and chairman of the jury. "This is a wonderful example of innovation activity at DESY. And that is what makes this project so unique and, of course, the innovators behind it. I congratulate them wholeheartedly, because it really is very well deserved."

Every year, the DESY Innovation Award honors technology solutions or process optimizations by DESY employees that have high innovation and market potential. The award ceremony takes place during DESY DAY in November. The award committee is made up of five jury members, including representatives from science, industry, venture capital providers and the innovation ecosystem in Hamburg. More information about the DESY Innovation Award here.