Generation and Observation of Long-Lasting and Self-Sustaining Marangoni Flow.

When solute molecules in a liquid evaporate at the surface, concentration gradients can lead to surface tension gradients and provoke fluid convection at the interface, a phenomenon commonly known as the Marangoni effect. Here, we demonstrate that minute quantities of ethanol in concentrated sodium hydroxide solution can induce pronounced and long-lasting Marangoni flow upon evaporation at room temperature. By employing particle image velocimetry and gravimetric analysis, we show that the mean interfacial speed of the evaporating solution sensitively increases with the evaporation rate for ethanol concentrations lower than 0.5 mol %. Placing impermeable objects near the liquid-gas interface enforces steady concentration gradients, thereby promoting the formation of stationary flows. This allows for contact-free control of the flow pattern as well as its modification by altering the objects shape. Analysis of bulk flows reveals that the energy of evaporation in the case of stationary flows is converted to kinetic fluid energy with high efficiency, but reducing the sodium hydroxide concentration drastically suppresses the observed effect to the point where flows become entirely absent. Investigating the properties of concentrated sodium hydroxide solution suggests that ethanol dissolution in the bulk is strongly limited. At the surface, however, the co-solvent is efficiently stored, enabling rapid adsorption or desorption of the alcohol depending on its concentration in the adjacent gas phase. This facilitates the generation of large surface tension gradients and, in combination with the perpetual replenishment of the surface ethanol concentration by bulk convection, to the generation of long-lasting, self-sustaining flows.

Design of a Narrow Band Filter Based on a Photonic Crystal Cavity for CO2 Sensing Application.

This paper investigates the use of a miniaturized filter based on a triangular lattice of holes in a photonic crystal (PhC) slab. The plane wave expansion method (PWE) and finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) techniques were utilized to analyze the dispersion and transmission spectrum, as well as the quality factor and free spectral range (FSR) of the filter. A 3D simulation has demonstrated that for the designed filter, an FSR of more than 550 nm and a quality factor of 873 can be attained by adiabatically coupling light from a slab waveguide into a PhC waveguide. This work designs a filter structure that is implemented into the waveguide and is suitable for a fully integrated sensor. The small size of the device provides a strong potential for the realization of large arrays of independent filters on a single chip. The fully integrated character of this filter has further advantages such as reducing power loss in coupling light from sources to filters and also from filters to waveguides. The ease of fabrication is another benefit of completely integrating the filter.

Design of a High Q-Factor Label-Free Optical Biosensor Based on a Photonic Crystal Coupled Cavity Waveguide.

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in research into silicon-based on-chip sensing. In this paper, a coupled cavity waveguide (CCW) based on a slab photonic crystal structure was designed for use as a label-free biosensor. The photonic crystal consisted of holes arranged in a triangular lattice. The incorporation of defects can be used to design sensor devices, which are highly sensitive to even slight alterations in the refractive index with a small quantity of analyte. The plane wave expansion method (PWE) was used to study the dispersion and profile of the CCW modes, and the finite difference time domain (FDTD) technique was used to study the transmission spectrum, quality factor, and sensitivity. We present an analysis of adiabatically coupling light into a coupled cavity waveguide. The results of the simulation indicated that a sensitivity of 203 nm/RIU and a quality factor of 13,360 could be achieved when the refractive indices were in the range of 1.33 to 1.55.

A zeolite crystallisation model confirmed by in situ observation.

Probing nucleation and growth of porous crystals at a molecular level remains a cumbersome experimental endeavour due to the complexity of the synthesis media involved. In particular, the study of zeolite formation is hindered as these typically form in multiphasic synthesis media, which restricts experimental access to crystallisation processes. Zeolite formation from single phasic hydrated silicate ionic liquids (HSiL) opens new possibilities. In this work, HSiL zeolite crystallisation is investigated in situ using a specifically designed conductivity measurement set-up yielding access to crystallisation kinetics. Based on the conductivity data and final yields, a crystallisation model explaining the results based on a surface growth mechanism was derived. The excellent agreement between experiment and theory indicates zeolite crystallisation from highly ionic media proceeds via a multi-step mechanism, involving an initial reversible surface condensation of a growth unit, followed by incorporation of that unit into the growing crystal. The first step is governed by the liquid phase concentration and surface energy, while the final step shows a correlation to the mobility of the cation involved.

Design of a Slab Tamm Plasmon Resonator Coupled to a Multistrip Array Waveguide for the Mid Infrared.

In this work, we present and analyze a design of an absorber-waveguide system combining a highly sensitive waveguide array concept with a resonant selective absorber. The waveguide part is composed of an array of coupled strip waveguides and is therefore called a coupled strip array (CSA). The CSA is then coupled to the end of a slab Tamm plasmon (STP-) resonator, which is composed of a quasicrystal-like reflector formed by the patterning of a silicon slab and an interfacing tungsten slab. The concept describes an emitter-waveguide or waveguide-detector system featuring selective plasmon-enhanced resonant absorption or emission. These are crucial properties for corresponding optical on-chip integrated devices in context with evanescent field absorption sensing in fluids or gases, for example. Thus, the concept comprises a valuable and more cost-effective alternative to quantum cascade lasers. We designed the lateral dimensions of the STP resonator via a simple quasi-crystal approach and achieved strong narrowband resonances (emittance and Q-factors up to 85% and 88, respectively) for different silicon thicknesses and substrate materials (air and silicon oxide). Moreover, we analyze and discuss the sensitivity of the complete emitter-waveguide system in dependence on the slab thickness. This reveals the crucial correlation between the expected sensitivity assigned to the absorber-waveguide system and field confinement within the silicon.

Design of a Curved Shape Photonic Crystal Taper for Highly Efficient Mode Coupling.

The design and modeling of a curved shape photonic crystal taper consisting of Si rods integrated with a photonic crystal waveguide are presented. The waveguide is composed of a hexagonal lattice of Si rods and optimized for CO2 sensing based on absorption spectroscopy. We investigated two different approaches to design a taper for a photonic crystal waveguide in a hexagonal lattice of silicon rods. For the first approach (type 1), the taper consists of a square lattice taper followed by a lattice composed of a smooth transition from a square to a hexagonal lattice. In the second approach (type 2), the taper consists of a distorted hexagonal lattice. Different shapes, such as convex, concave, and linear, for the curvature of the taper were considered and investigated. The structure of the taper was improved to enhance the coupling efficiency up to 96% at a short taper length of 25 lattice periods. The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique was used to study the transmission spectrum and the group index. The study proves the improvement of coupling using a curved shape taper. Controlling the group index along the taper could be further improved to enhance the coupling efficiency in a wider spectral range.

Designing Mid-Infrared Gold-Based Plasmonic Slot Waveguides for CO2-Sensing Applications.

Plasmonic slot waveguides have attracted much attention due to the possibility of high light confinement, although they suffer from relatively high propagation loss originating from the presence of a metal. Although the tightly confined light in a small gap leads to a high confinement factor, which is crucial for sensing applications, the use of plasmonic guiding at the same time results in a low propagation length. Therefore, the consideration of a trade-off between the confinement factor and the propagation length is essential to optimize the waveguide geometries. Using silicon nitride as a platform as one of the most common material systems, we have investigated free-standing and asymmetric gold-based plasmonic slot waveguides designed for sensing applications. A new figure of merit (FOM) is introduced to optimize the waveguide geometries for a wavelength of 4.26 µm corresponding to the absorption peak of CO2, aiming at the enhancement of the confinement factor and propagation length simultaneously. For the free-standing structure, the achieved FOM is 274.6 corresponding to approximately 42% and 868 µm for confinement factor and propagation length, respectively. The FOM for the asymmetric structure shows a value of 70.1 which corresponds to 36% and 264 µm for confinement factor and propagation length, respectively.

Ultra-Narrow SPP Generation from Ag Grating.

In this study, we investigate the potential of one-dimensional plasmonic grating structures to serve as a platform for, e.g., sensitive refractive index sensing. This is achieved by comparing numerical simulations to experimental results with respect to the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in the mid-infrared region. The samples, silver-coated poly-silicon gratings, cover different grating depths in the range of 50 nm-375 nm. This variation of the depth, at a fixed grating geometry, allows the active tuning of the bandwidth of the SPP resonance according to the requirements of particular applications. The experimental setup employs a tunable quantum cascade laser (QCL) and allows the retrieval of angle-resolved experimental wavelength spectra to characterize the wavelength and angle dependence of the SPP resonance of the specular reflectance. The experimental results are in good agreement with the simulations. As a tendency, shallower gratings reveal narrower SPP resonances in reflection. In particular, we report on 2.9 nm full width at half maximum (FWHM) at a wavelength of 4.12 µm and a signal attenuation of 21%. According to a numerical investigation with respect to a change of the refractive index of the dielectric above the grating structure, a spectral shift of 4122nmRIU can be expected, which translates to a figure of merit (FOM) of about 1421 RIU-1. The fabrication of the suggested structures is performed on eight-inch silicon substrates, entirely accomplished within an industrial fabrication environment using standard microfabrication processes. This in turn represents a decisive step towards plasmonic sensor technologies suitable for semiconductor mass-production.

Higher-Order Models for Resonant Viscosity and Mass-Density Sensors.

Advanced fluid models relating viscosity and density to resonance frequency and quality factor of vibrating structures immersed in fluids are presented. The numerous established models which are ultimately all based on the same approximation are refined, such that the measurement range for viscosity can be extended. Based on the simple case of a vibrating cylinder and dimensional analysis, general models for arbitrary order of approximation are derived. Furthermore, methods for model parameter calibration and the inversion of the models to determine viscosity and/or density from measured resonance parameters are shown. One of the two presented fluid models is a viscosity-only model, where the parameters of it can be calibrated without knowledge of the fluid density. The models are demonstrated for a tuning fork-based commercial instrument, where maximum deviations between measured and reference viscosities of approximately ±0.5% in the viscosity range from 1.3 to 243 mPas could be achieved. It is demonstrated that these results show a clear improvement over the existing models.

Impact of Different Metals on the Performance of Slab Tamm Plasmon Resonators.

We investigate the concept of slab Tamm plasmons (STP) in regard to their properties as resonant absorber or emitter structures in the mid-infrared spectral region. In particular, we compare the selective absorption characteristics resulting from different choices of absorbing material, namely Ag, W, Mo or highly doped Si. We devised a simplified optimization procedure using finite element simulations for the calculation of the absorption together with the application of micro-genetic algorithm (GA) optimization. As characteristic for plasmonic structures, the specific choice of the metallic absorber material strongly determines the achievable quality factor (Q). We show that STP absorbers are able to mitigate the degradation of Q for less reflective metals or even non-metals such as doped silicon as plasmonic absorber material. Moreover, our results strongly indicate that the maximum achievable plasmon-enhanced absorption does not depend on the choice of the plasmonic material presuming an optimized configuration is obtained via the GA process. As a result, absorptances in the order of 50-80% could be achieved for any absorber material depending on the slab thickness (up to 1.1 µm) and a target resonance wavelength of 4.26 µm (CO2 absorption line). The proposed structures are compatible with modern semiconductor mass fabrication processes. At the same time, the optimization procedure allows us to choose the best plasmonic material for the corresponding application of the STP structure. Therefore, we believe that our results represent crucial advances towards corresponding integrated resonant absorber and thermal emitter components.

Fluid Sensing Using Quartz Tuning Forks-Measurement Technology and Applications.

We provide an overview of recent achievements using quartz tuning forks for sensing liquid viscosity and density. The benefits of using quartz crystal tuning forks (QTFs) over other sensors are discussed on the basis of physical arguments and issues arising in real world applications. The path to highly accurate and robust measurement systems is described and a recently devised system considering these findings is presented. The performance of the system is analyzed for applications such as the mixing ratio measurement of fuels, diesel-soot contamination for engine oil condition monitoring, and particle size characterization in suspensions. It is concluded that using properly designed systems enables a variety of applications in industry and research.

Screen-Printed, Pure Carbon-Black Thermocouple Fabrication and Seebeck Coefficients.

Thermocouples classically consist of two metals or semiconductor components that are joined at one end, where temperature is measured. Carbon black is a low-cost semiconductor with a Seebeck coefficient that depends on the structure of the carbon particles. Different carbon black screen-printing inks generally exhibit different Seebeck coefficients, and two can therefore be combined to realize a thermocouple. In this work, we used a set of four different commercially available carbon-black screen-printing inks to print all-carbon-black thermocouples. The outputs of these thermocouples were characterized and their Seebeck coefficients determined. We found that the outputs of pure carbon-black thermocouples are reasonably stable, linear, and quantitatively comparable to those of commercially available R- or S-type thermocouples. It is thus possible to fabricate thermocouples by an easily scalable, cost-efficient process that combines two low-cost materials.

A CMOS Compatible Pyroelectric Mid-Infrared Detector Based on Aluminium Nitride.

The detection of infrared radiation is of great interest for a wide range of applications, such as absorption sensing in the infrared spectral range. In this work, we present a CMOS compatible pyroelectric detector which was devised as a mid-infrared detector, comprising aluminium nitride (AlN) as the pyroelectric material and fabricated using semiconductor mass fabrication processes. To ensure thermal decoupling of the detector, the detectors are realized on a Si3N4/SiO2 membrane. The detectors have been tested at a wavelength close to the CO2 absorption region in the mid-infrared. Devices with various detector and membrane sizes were fabricated and the influence of these dimensions on the performance was investigated. The noise equivalent power of the first demonstrator devices connected to a readout circuit was measured to be as low as 5 . 3 × 10 - 9 W / Hz .

Light curtain for 2D large-area object detection.

Fluorescent foils are used with silicon photodiodes for large-area detection of objects, when combined with lasers forming a light curtain. An object entering the detection area penetrates the light curtain and casts shadows onto the fluorescent foils. Using a simple mathematical algorithm, the position of the object is detected with high speed. The device is suitable for security applications and can be used as a touch input device for computers, gaming and presentations.

An acoustic transmission sensor for the longitudinal viscosity of fluids.

Physical fluid parameters like viscosity, mass density and sound velocity can be determined utilizing ultrasonic sensors. We introduce the concept of a recently devised transmission based sensor utilizing pressure waves to determine the longitudinal viscosity, bulk viscosity, and second coefficient of viscosity of a sample fluid in a test chamber. A model is presented which allows determining these parameters from measurement values by means of a fit. The setup is particularly suited for liquids featuring higher viscosities for which measurement data are scarcely available to date. The setup can also be used to estimate the sound velocity in a simple manner from the phase of the transfer function.

Sensing the characteristic acoustic impedance of a fluid utilizing acoustic pressure waves.

Ultrasonic sensors can be used to determine physical fluid parameters like viscosity, density, and speed of sound. In this contribution, we present the concept for an integrated sensor utilizing pressure waves to sense the characteristic acoustic impedance of a fluid. We note that the basic setup generally allows to determine the longitudinal viscosity and the speed of sound if it is operated in a resonant mode as will be discussed elsewhere. In this contribution, we particularly focus on a modified setup where interferences are suppressed by introducing a wedge reflector. This enables sensing of the liquid's characteristic acoustic impedance, which can serve as parameter in condition monitoring applications. We present a device model, experimental results and their evaluation.

Design, Analysis, and Optimization of a Plasmonic Slot Waveguide for Mid-Infrared Gas Sensing.

In this work, we investigated the optimization of a plasmonic slot waveguide (PSWG) in the mid-IR region particularly for a representative wavelength of 4.26 µm, which is the absorption line of CO2 and thus particularly relevant for applications. We analysed the mode features associated with metal-dielectric-metal (MDM), dielectric-metal-dielectric (DMD), and truncated metal film (TMF) structures with respect to the considered PSWG. Subsequently, the mode features of the PSWG were considered based on what we outlined for MDM, DMD, and TMF structures. Furthermore, as confinement factor and propagation length are two crucial parameters for absorption sensing applications, we optimized the PSWG based on a figure of merit (FOM) defined as the product of the aforementioned quantities. To characterize the propagation length, the imaginary part of the effective mode index of a guided mode was considered, leading to a dimensionless FOM. Finally, we investigated the PSWG also for other wavelengths and identified particularly attractive wavelengths and geometries maximizing the FOM.

Nucleation of Porous Crystals from Ion-Paired Prenucleation Clusters.

Current nucleation models propose manifold options for the formation of crystalline materials. Exploring and distinguishing between different crystallization pathways on the molecular level however remain a challenge, especially for complex porous materials. These usually consist of large unit cells with an ordered framework and pore components and often nucleate in complex, multiphasic synthesis media, restricting in-depth characterization. This work shows how aluminosilicate speciation during crystallization can be documented in detail in monophasic hydrated silicate ionic liquids (HSILs). The observations reveal that zeolites can form via supramolecular organization of ion-paired prenucleation clusters, consisting of aluminosilicate anions, ion-paired to alkali cations, and imply that zeolite crystallization from HSILs can be described within the spectrum of modern nucleation theory.

Utilizing a high fundamental frequency quartz crystal resonator as a biosensor in a digital microfluidic platform.

We demonstrate the operation of a digital microfluidic lab-on-a-chip system utilizing Electro Wetting on Dielectrics (EWOD) as the actuation principle and a High Fundamental Frequency (HFF; 50 MHz) quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) resonator as a mass-sensitive sensor. In a first experiment we have tested the reversible formation of a phosphor-lipid monolayer of phospholipid vesicles out of an aqueous buffer suspension onto a bio-functionalized integrated QCM sensor. A binding of bio-molecules results in an altered mass load of the resonant sensor and a shift of the resonance frequency can be measured. In the second part of the experiment, the formation of a protein multilayer composed of the biomolecule streptavidin and biotinylated immunoglobulin G was monitored. Additionally, the macroscopic contact angle was optically measured in order to verify the bio-specific binding and to test the implications onto the balance of the surface tensions. Using these sample applications, we were able to demonstrate and to verify the feasibility of integrating a mass-sensitive QCM sensor into a digital microfluidic chip.

Design and Analysis of a Slot Photonic Crystal Waveguide for Highly Sensitive Evanescent Field Absorption Sensing in Fluids.

The design and modeling of a highly sensitive sensor based on a slot photonic crystal waveguide (slot-PCWG) is presented. The structure consists of cylindrical air rods drilled in a dielectric slab on a triangular lattice, which are filled with SiO2. The waveguide is formed by removing elements from the regular photonic crystal grid in a row, and embedding a slot in the center position. This concept allows for a vast enhancement of the evanescent field ratio, leading to a strong overlap between the field of the waveguide mode and the analyte. In the present work, we show that the sensitivity at the constant slab thickness of the slot-PCWG modes is greatly enhanced, up to a factor of 7.6 compared with the corresponding PCWG modes or Si-slab WGs. The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique and plane wave expansion (PWE) methods were used to study the dispersion and profile of the PCWG mode. The simulation results show the potential of this design, which will be fabricated and tested in the following steps of the project.