Multifunctional materials

Many applications benefit from sensing of several physical quantities. This is often done by integrating different sensing units or by designing material composites where each material responds to a distinct physical input stimuli. New research trends can be observed in the direction of exploring novel materials that respond to various input signals. These materials can be utilized for multi-modal sensing or for serving different functions in a sensor system such as sensing and storing. This holds particular significance with regard to enhancing the device simplicity and reducing the associated fabrication costs. This thesis explores the versatile properties of bismuth selenide for thermoelectric and thermoresistive sensing in combination with memristive storage. Bismuth selenide was synthesized by means of electrochemical deposition. Here, Bi2Se3 micropillars were achieved for the first time, which are tens of micrometers thick.