A low-cost picowatt calorimeter using a flexible printed circuit board

Hanliang Zhu, Yue Zhang, Lan Wang, Jan Brodský, Imrich Gablech, Jianguo Feng, Qi-Long Yan, Shujie Yang, Luke P. Lee () and Pavel Neuzil ()
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Hanliang Zhu: Northwestern Polytechnical University
Yue Zhang: Northwestern Polytechnical University
Lan Wang: Northwestern Polytechnical University
Jan Brodský: Brno University of Technology
Imrich Gablech: Brno University of Technology
Jianguo Feng: Hefei University of Technology
Qi-Long Yan: Northwestern Polytechnical University
Shujie Yang: Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Luke P. Lee: Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Pavel Neuzil: Northwestern Polytechnical University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Calorimetry is crucial in biology, chemistry, physics, and pharmaceutical research, enabling the detection of heat changes at nanowatt and picowatt levels. However, traditional calorimetry systems are often limited by high costs and complex fabrication processes. Here, we reduce the cost and fabrication complexity of microcalorimeters by utilizing widely available flexible printed circuit manufacturing processes. This device achieves temperature and power resolutions of ≈ 6 μK and ≈ 654 pW in vacuum. Its feasibility is validated across a wide range of measurements, including salt crystallization, protein crystallization, and cellular metabolism. Our concept enhances the accessibility of microcalorimeters for high-resolution thermal analysis, which is challenging for conventional calorimeters.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58025-9

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