Table of contents

We report a tunable plasmonic color filter consisting of a metamaterial periodic grating and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) actuator. An aluminum subwavelength grating is integrated with electrostatic comb-drive actuators to expand the metal subwavelength period, which allows continuous control of the excitation wavelength of surface plasmons (SPs). We develop a batch fabrication process by employing a liftoff technique using an electron beam resist altered by the electron dose depending on different aspect ratios (length/width) for various components such as the subwavelength grating, nanohinge flexural suspensions, and comb fingers. We successfully demonstrate a continuous shift in the excitation wavelength over the 514–635 nm range by nanopitch expansion. The design margin of the grating period for SP excitation is evaluated by comparing the experimental pitch variation and theoretically calculated values. The resonance frequency of the tunable filter is optically measured to be approximately 10 kHz. The optically and mechanically obtained values agree well with the theory of electrostatic actuation and finite-difference time-domain simulation.

The effects of surface asperities on the up- and down-state capacitances of the capacitive radio frequency (RF) micro electromechanical system (MEMS) switches were studied in this paper based on the single asperity model and statics. The research results demonstrated that surface asperities effects on the up-state capacitance could be neglected, whereas surface asperities must be taken into consideration at the down-state position in the RF MEMS switches because the surface asperities significantly affected the down-state capacitance. The down-state capacitance typically decreased as the root mean square (RMS) roughness and asperity radius increased. The down-state capacitance was approximately 26% of the theoretical value when the RMS roughness was 20 nm, and 32% of the theoretical value when the asperity radius was 100 nm. The experimental results were in good agreement with the simulation results.

This paper reports on aluminum nitride (AlN) cross-sectional Lamé mode resonators (CLMRs) showing high electromechanical coupling coefficient ($k_{t}^{{2}}$) in excess of 4% in a lithographically defined 307 MHz frequency range around 920 MHz. In addition, we report the performance of a CLMR showing a figure of merit (FoM, defined as the product of quality factor, Q, and $k_{t}^{{2}}$) in excess of 85. To the best of the authors' knowledge, such FoM value is the highest reported for AlN resonators using interdigitated metal electrodes (IDTs).

This paper presents the lumped equivalent circuit model and its verification of both transmission and reception properties of a single cell capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (cMUT), which is operating in a non-collapse small signal region. The derivation of this equivalent circuit model is based on the modal analysis techniques, harmonic modes are included by using the mode superposition method; and thus a wide frequency range response of the cMUT cell can be simulated by our equivalent circuit model. The importance of the cross modal coupling between different eigenmodes of a cMUT cell is discussed by us for the first time. In this paper the development of this model is only illustrated by a single circular cMUT cell under a uniform excitation. Extension of this model and corresponding results under a more generalized excitation will be presented in our upcoming publication (Mao et al 2016 Proc. IEEE Int. Ultrasonics Symp.). This model is verified by both finite element method (FEM) simulation and experimental characterizations. Results predicted by our model are in a good agreement with the FEM simulation results, and this works for a single cMUT cell operated in either transmission or reception. Results obtained from the model also rather match the experimental results of the cMUT cell. This equivalent circuit model provides an easy and precise way to rapidly predict the behaviors of cMUT cells.

A novel electrostatic field sensor with compact structure and a simple signal processing circuit is proposed in this paper. The sensor is based on a piezoresistive force meter and a lathy polyethylene terephthalate (PET) lever for electrostatic force generation and transformation. The force meter with a rectangular membrane supported by four beams was fabricated and one end of the PET lever was attached to the center of the membrane surface. The other end of the lever was free for electrostatic force generation. Only a low voltage DC source was required for the whole sensor, rather than sophisticated driving circuits. The lever magnified the electrostatic force effecting upon the force meter, and thus the output of the sensor was large enough for a simple processing circuit to be sufficient, rather than requiring complicated instruments. Characteristics of the sensor formation make it appropriate to adopt this sensor in various applications, in particular in high voltage power systems monitoring and meteorology measurements. The experiment results showed agreement with simulation results of the sensor. Sensitivity of the prototype of this sensor was 0.06  √mV (kV · m⁻¹)⁻¹ which can be greatly promoted by design optimization and fabrication improvement.

There is an urgent need for a cost-effective, precise, and portable device for rapid and in situ measurement of the critical properties of an emulsion. Here, we report the development of such an optofluidic device for the measurement of mean droplet size (${{d}_{\text{Mean}}}$) and droplet size distribution (DSD) of a water-in-oil emulsion. We formulated and detected water-in-oil droplets of much smaller dimensions ($15\,\mu \text{m}$) compared to the detection of larger droplets or plugs ($100\,\mu \text{m}$ to $300\,\mu \text{m}$) reported in the literature, employing a cost effective and portable in-house built optical detection system. Use of the device for the measurement of the frequency of droplets from an on-chip droplet generator is demonstrated and validated using microscopy with excellent accuracy (2%). In addition, we provide some insight into the relatively high uncertainty in the collected signal in case of smaller droplets. The droplet size ${{d}_{\text{D}}}$ is characterized in terms of forward scatter signal ${{v}_{\text{FSC}}}$ and residence time $\tau$. We further argue that normalized residence time $\tau$ of droplets in the detection zone which correlates linearly with droplet size ${{d}_{\text{D}}}$ is a better parameter to measure droplet size ${{d}_{\text{D}}}$, compared to the forward scatter signal ${{v}_{\text{FSC}}}$ which correlates nonlinearly with ${{d}_{\text{D}}}$. Finally, the device is used to count the number of droplets of different size to predict ${{d}_{\text{Mean}}}$ and DSD of emulsions. The results were compared with that obtained from traditional microscopy and a very good match (10–13%) was found, in contrast to previously reported non-portable off-chip methods that are 20–44% accurate. Thus, the reported device possesses high potential for accurate measurement of ${{d}_{\text{Mean}}}$ and DSD of emulsions in practical applications.

Ideally, a modular microfluidics platform should be simple to assemble and support 3D configurations for increased versatility. The modular building blocks should also be mass producible like electrical components. These are fundamental features of world-renowned Legos^® and why Legos^® inspire many existing modular microfluidics platforms. In this paper, a truly Lego^®-like microfluidics platform is introduced, and its basic feasibility is demonstrated. Here, PDMS building blocks resembling 2  ×  2 Lego^® bricks are cast from 3D-printed master molds. The blocks are pegged and stacked on a traditional Lego^® plate to create simple, 3D microfluidic networks, such as a single basket weave. Characteristics of the platform, including reversible sealing and automatic alignment of channels, are also analyzed and discussed in detail.

This paper presents an integrated ring extractor design in electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing, which can overcome the standoff height limitation in the EHD printing process, and improve printing capability for 3D structures. Standoff height in the EHD printing will affect printing processes and limit the height of the printed structure when the ground electrode is placed under the substrate. In this work, we designed and integrated a ring electrode with the printing nozzle to achieve a self-working printer head, which can start and maintain the printing process without the involvement of the substrate. We applied a FEA method to model the electric field potential distribution and strength to direct the ring extractor design, which provides a similar printing capability with the system using substrate as the ground electrode. We verified the ring electrode design by experiments, and those results from the experiments demonstrated a good match with results from the FEA simulation. We have characterized the printing processes using the integrated ring extractor, and successfully applied this newly designed ring extractor to print polycaprolactone (PCL) 3D structures.

Optical detection back-action in cantilever resonant or static detection presents a challenge when striving for state-of-the-art performance. The origin and possible routes for minimizing optical back-action have received little attention in literature. Here, we investigate the position and mode dependent optical back-action on cantilever beam resonators. A high power heating laser (100 µW) is scanned across a silicon nitride cantilever while its effect on the first three resonance modes is detected via a low-power readout laser (1 µW) positioned at the cantilever tip. We find that the measured effect of back-action is not only dependent on position but also the shape of the resonance mode. Relevant silicon nitride material parameters are extracted by fitting finite element (FE) simulations to the temperature-dependent frequency response of the first three modes. In a second round of simulations, using the extracted parameters, we successfully fit the FEM results with the measured mode and position dependent back-action. From the simulations, we can conclude that the observed frequency tuning is due to temperature induced changes in stress. Effects of changes in material properties and dimensions are negligible. Finally, different routes for minimizing the effect of this optical detection back-action are described, allowing further improvements of cantilever-based sensing in general.

Traditional planar electrodes for single-particle impedance measurement have difficulty in trapping and positioning particles. This paper proposes a microfluidic device for single-particle trapping and impedance measurement with a microcavity configuration. A carbon dioxide (CO₂) laser technique was used to fabricate the microcavity structure, which can capture 15 µm diameter particles without requiring additional trapping structures. The measurement electrodes on both sides of the microcavity were fabricated using electroplating and deposition techniques. The advantages of the microcavity structure and electrodes are discussed. The bottom electrode spreads into the microcavity to increase measurement sensitivity and shrink the exit aperture to around 10 µm for particle trapping. The experimental results show that the device successfully captured particles and distinguished the impedance of a particle from that of phosphate-buffered saline solution.

A fabrication approach for ultra-miniature ultra-compliant neural probes with parylene-C insulation that are embedded in biodissolvable insertion needles was previously established by the authors. However, that approach required application of a peeling process to release the probe-needle assembly from its handle wafer. The use of thermal annealing in vacuum to improve encapsulation properties of parylene-C results in increased adhesion to the substrate that undermines the peeling process. In this paper, we introduce a transfer process step that eliminates the peeling process and allows the potential use of a wide range of sacrificial release materials. The transfer step increases the versatility of the overall fabrication approach since it allows the integration of insertion needle and sacrificial release materials that otherwise would not have been compatible with the high-temperature annealing. Several sacrificial release materials, including photoresist, polydimethylsiloxane, mounting adhesive, and liquid wax, are investigated and characterized for suitability in the transfer process. Considering compatibility with the biodissolvable needle attachment, a liquid wax is identified to be an effective material because of its strong adhesion to relevant surfaces, its ability to be spin coated, and its dissolvability in isopropyl alcohol.

We demonstrated the fabrication of terahertz metamaterial sensor for the accurate and on-site detection of yeast using electrohydrodynamic jet printing, which is inexpensive, simple, and environmentally friendly. The very small sized pattern up to 5 µm-width of electrical split ring resonator unit structures could be printed on a large area on both a rigid substrate and flexible substrate, i.e. silicon wafer and polyimide film using the drop on demand technique to eject liquid ink containing silver nanoparticles. Experimental characterization and simulation were performed to study their performances in detecting yeast of different weights. It was shown that the metamaterial sensor fabricated on a flexible polyimide film had higher sensitivity by more than six times than the metamaterial sensor fabricated on a silicon wafer, due to the low refractive index of the PI substrate and due to the extremely thin substrate thickness which lowers the effective index further. The resonance frequency shift saturated when the yeast weights were 145 µg and 215 µg for metamaterial structures with gap size 6.5 µm fabricated on the silicon substrate and on the polyimide substrate, respectively.

Carbon doped PDMS (cPDMS), has been used as a conductive polymer for stretchable electronics. Compared to liquid metals, cPDMS is low cost and is easier to process or to print with an additive manufacturing process. However, changes on the conductance of the carbon based conductive PDMS (cPDMS) were observed over time, in particular after integration of cPDMS and the insulating polymer. In this article we investigate the process parameters that lead to improved stability over conductance of the cPDMS over time. Slight modifications to the fabrication process parameters were conducted and changes on the conductance of the samples for each method were monitored. Results suggested that change of the conductance happens mostly after integration of a pre-polymer over a cured cPDMS, and not after integration of the cPDMS over a cured insulating polymer. We show that such changes can be eliminated by adjusting the integration priority between the conductive and insulating polymers, by selecting the right curing temperature, changing the concentration of the carbon particles and the thickness of the conductive traces, and when possible by changing the insulating polymer material. In this way, we obtained important conclusions regarding the effect of these parameters on the change of the conductance over time, that should be considered for additive manufacturing of soft electronics. Also, we show that these changes can be possibly due to the diffusion from PDMS into cPDMS.

This paper presents a flexible thermoelectric generator (TEG) with heat path films, which efficiently convert vertical temperature difference (ΔT) into lateral ΔT for thermocouple (TC). The heat path film consists of copper-filled-vias with low thermal resistance and polymer films with high thermal resistance. They were made in two fabrication steps. The first used a flexible printed circuit board with high density copper-filled-vias, while the second saw the deposition of thin film TCs. The combination offers flexibility of application due to its thinness, mass production potential, and low energy heat loss in the device. We demonstrated 54 TCs cm⁻² in a 25 cm² flexible TEG using Bi₂Te₃- and Nickel-based TCs respectively. The experimental data were in good accordance with a model which was calculated using the finite element method. The prototype flexible TEGs indicated that the proposed structure converted 84% heat flow from vertical into lateral ΔT in each TC, which was two times higher than the non-heat path film. They produced voltage of 11 mV/K/cm² and power output of 0.1 µW/K/cm² respectively. These flexible TEGs are ideally suited for harvesting from waste heat emitted from objects with large wavy areas because of their low weight, low cost and high efficiency conversion with flexibility.

In this study, a simple process for fabricating a novel micromachined preconcentrator (μPCT) and a gas chromatographic separation column (μSC) for use in a micro gas chromatograph (μGC) using one photomask is described. By electroless gold plating, a high-surface-area gold layer was deposited on the surface of channels inside the μPCT and μSC. For this process, (3-aminopropyl) trimethoxysilane (APTMS) was used as a promoter for attaching gold nanoparticles on a silicon substrate to create a seed layer. For this purpose, a gold sodium sulfite solution was used as reagent for depositing gold to form heating structures. The microchannels of the μPCT and μSC were coated with the adsorbent and stationary phase, Tenax-TA and polydimethylsiloxane (DB-1), respectively. μPCTs were heated at temperatures greater than 280 °C under an applied electrical power of 24 W and a heating rate of 75 °C s⁻¹. Repeatable thermal heating responses for μPCTs were achieved; good linearity (R²  >  0.9997) was attained at three heating rates for the temperature programme for the μSC (0.2, 0.5 and 1 °C s⁻¹). The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) toluene and m-xylene were concentrated over the μPCT by rapid thermal desorption (peak width of half height (PWHH)  <1.5 s); preconcentration factors for both VOCs are  >7900. The VOCs acetone, benzene, toluene, m-xylene and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene were also separated on the μSC as evidenced by their different retention times (47–184 s).

Facile surfactant-free microfluidic synthesis of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures with varying morphology (spindles, sheets and spheres) has been achieved using polydimethylsiloxane microreactors having different channel geometry. Synthesized ZnO nanostructures show excellent photocatalytic dye degradation efficiency (>80%) when investigated using fixed bed photocatalytic microreactors under UV radiation.

In vitro microvessel models exploiting microfluidic channels have been developed to replicate cardiovascular flow conditions and to more closely mimic the blood vessels by traditionally using plasma or solvent evaporation bonding methods. The drawback of these methods is represented by an irreversible sealing which prevents internal accessibility as well as the reuse of the device. This paper presents a novel, simple, and low cost procedure to fabricate a modular and reusable chip with endotheliazed microvessels in a hybrid configuration based on poly(methyl methacrylate) and polydimethylsiloxane presenting a temporary magnetic bonding. In details, small magnets are embedded in the two poly(methyl methacrylate) substrates each of them carrying a thin polydimethylsiloxane layer which provides enhanced sealing during flow conditions as compared to conventional procedures and makes the microchannels circular as preferred in cell culture. Finally, an endothelial cell layer is formed by culturing brain endothelial bEnd.3 cells inside the proposed microchannels and characterized upon microchannel aperture, demonstrating the preservation of the cell layer.

Digital maskless lithography is considered to be a high-efficiency and low-cost approach for the fabrication of microstructures, but is limited by the gray scale capability of spatial light modulators. In this work, a novel method of double gray-scale digital maskless lithography is presented for forming a curved microlens array. The target exposure dose profile of the curved microlens array is first split into two individual 3D energy profiles, and then each 3D energy profile can be respectively realized by a single gray-scale digital lithography. Two gray-scale digital masks obtained by projection calculation are superposed on the substrate so as to realize the exposure dose profile of the curved microlens array. Thus, the effective steps that are achieved through the photoresist response to the modulated UV exposure are doubled, so a smoother profile with a steep gradient can be formed by the precise modulation of double gray-scale masks. As a result of the double gray-scale method, a curved microlens array with 183 micro lenslets on a 1024 µm  ×  768 µm spherical surface has been successfully fabricated.

In microsystem technology, the lithographical processing of substrates with a topography is very important. Interconnecting lines, which are routed over sloped topography sidewalls from the top of the protecting wafer to the contact pads of the device wafer, are one example of patterning over a topography. For structuring such circuit paths, a photolithography process, and therefore a process for homogeneous photoresist coating, is required. The most flexible and advantageous way of depositing a homogeneous photoresist film over structures with high topography steps is spray-coating. As a pattern transfer process for circuit paths in cavities, the lift-off process is widely used. A negative resist, like ma-N (MRT) or AZnLOF (AZ) is favoured for lift-off processes due to the existing negative angle of the sidewalls. Only a few sprayable negative photoresists are commercially available. In this paper, the development of a novel negative resist spray-coating based on a commercially available single-layer lift-off resist for spin-coating, especially for the patterning of structures inside the cavity and on the cavity wall, is presented.

A variety of parameters influences the spray-coating process, and therefore the patterning results. Besides the spray-coating tool and the parameters, the composition of the resist solution itself also influences the coating results. For homogeneous resist coverage over the topography of the substrate, different solvent combinations for diluting the resist solution, different chuck temperatures during the coating process, and also the softbake conditions, are all investigated. The solvent formulations and the process conditions are optimized with respect to the homogeneity of the resist coverage on the top edge of the cavities. Finally, the developed spray-coating process, the resist material and the process stability are demonstrated by the following applications: (i) lift-off, (ii) electroplating, (iii) the wet and (iv) the dry chemical etching of metals on substrates with topographies.

A microfluidic channel was designed and fabricated for the investigation of behaviors of normal and cancer cells in a narrow channel. A specific question addressed in this study was whether it is possible to distinguish normal versus cancer cells by detecting their stationary and passing behaviors through a narrow channel. We hypothesized that due to higher deformability, softer cancer cells will pass through the channel further and quicker than normal cells. Two cell lines, employed herein, were non-tumor breast epithelial cells (MCF-10A; 11.2  ±  2.4 µm in diameter) and triple negative breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231; 12.4  ±  2.1 µm in diameter). The microfluidic channel was 300 µm long and linearly tapered with a width of 30 µm at an inlet to 5 µm at an outlet. The result revealed that MDA-MB-231 cells entered and stuck further toward the outlet than MCF-10A cells in response to a slow flow (2 µl min⁻¹). Further, in response to a fast flow (5 µl min⁻¹), the passage time (mean  ±  s.d.) was 26.6  ±  43.9 s for normal cells (N  =  158), and 1.9  ±  1.4 s for cancer cells (N  =  128). The measurement of stiffness by atomic force microscopy as well as model-based predictions pointed out that MDA-MB-231 cells are significantly softer than MCF-10A cells. Collectively, the result in this study suggests that analysis of an individual cell's behavior through a narrow channel can characterize deformable cancer cells from normal ones, supporting the possibility of enriching circulating tumor cells using novel microfluidics-based analysis.

A 3D-printed microfluidic device was designed and manufactured using a low cost ($2000) consumer grade fusion deposition modelling (FDM) 3D printer. FDM printers are not typically used, or are capable, of producing the fine detailed structures required for microfluidic fabrication. However, in this work, the optical transparency of the device was improved through manufacture optimisation to such a point that optical colorimetric assays can be performed in a 50 µl device. A colorimetric enzymatic cascade assay was optimised using glucose oxidase and horseradish peroxidase for the oxidative coupling of aminoantipyrine and chromotropic acid to produce a blue quinoneimine dye with a broad absorbance peaking at 590 nm for the quantification of glucose in solution. For comparison the assay was run in standard 96 well plates with a commercial plate reader. The results show the accurate and reproducible quantification of 0–10 mM glucose solution using a 3D-printed microfluidic optical device with performance comparable to that of a plate reader assay.