Electronics Technology

Whether it is deep on the sea floor or at temperatures far below freezing point, scientists want to be able to measure everything everywhere. This requires electronics; because scientists are highly demanding, engineers need to come up with some pretty clever solutions. Finding these solutions is the task of the Electronics Technology Department.

In the field of signal production, newer and smarter sensors are being developed all the time. At the level of signal transmission, the speed is constantly increasing and new technologies are being deployed. Optoelectronics has made its entry and the boundaries between electronic and optical data processing are becoming vaguer. Another trend is the increasing integration of functions. This is associated with greater speed and data density but with a lower capacity density as well.

Environmental requirements (such as international regulations). failure requirements  and environmental factors (such as vacuum, a location 2500 metres below the sea or radioactive radiation) play an important role in the design stage. Although the maxim physics = measure = electronics applies, the disciplines of mechanical engineering and computer technology are essential for the development of a complete detector for a physics experiment.
The task of the Electronics Technology Department is to provide electronics support for experiments in subatomic physics.

This is realised by providing advice on and/or purchasing existing equipment, and by constructing or commissioning the construction of equipment that does not yet exist. The department currently employs 29 people (25 fte) who can realise the wishes of physicists by using high-end tools and software.