Nanoimprinting and backside ultraviolet lithography for fabricating metal nanostructures with higher aspect ratio.

This paper introduces an innovative approach to increasing the aspect ratio of metal nanostructures fabricated using nanoimprint lithography (NIL). Although conventional NIL and metal lift-off processes can fabricate metal nanostructures, the achievable aspect ratio is often limited by the inherent constraints of NIL. In this study, we demonstrate that for an ultraviolet (UV) transparent substrate, metal nanostructures patterned via NIL can serve as a photomask. A negative-tone photoresist (PR) layer was then deposited on top of the patterned metal nanostructures. By illuminating the substrate from the backside with UV light and subsequently developing the PR, PR structures complementary and self-aligned to the metal layer were obtained. This enabled a second round of metal deposition and lift-off, thereby increasing the height of the metal structures and enhancing the aspect ratio. Experimentally, we demonstrated that this method can improve the aspect ratio from less than 1.0 to as high as 2.1. This paper also addresses the further developments and potential applications of this technique.

Maskless lithography for large area patterning of three-dimensional microstructures with application on a light guiding plate.

This paper presents a maskless lithography system that can perform three-dimensional (3D) ultraviolet (UV) patterning on a photoresist (PR) layer. After PR developing processes, patterned 3D PR microstructures over a large area are obtained. This maskless lithography system utilizes an UV light source, a digital micromirror device (DMD), and an image projection lens to project a digital UV image on the PR layer. The projected UV image is then mechanically scanned over the PR layer. An UV patterning scheme based on the idea of obliquely scanning and step strobe lighting (OS3L) is developed to precisely control the spatial distribution of projected UV dose, such that desired 3D PR microstructures can be obtained after PR development. Two types of concave microstructures with truncated conical and nuzzle-shaped cross-sectional profiles are experimentally obtained over a patterning area of 160 ×115 mm2. These patterned microstructures are then used for replicating nickel molds and for mass-production of light-guiding plates used in back-lighting and display industry. Potential improvements and advancements of the proposed 3D maskless lithography technique for future applications will be addressed.

Bi-Layer nanoimprinting lithography for metal-assisted chemical etching with application on silicon mold replication.

This paper reports a new type of nanoimprinting method called Bi-layer nanoimprinting lithography (BL-NIL), which can work along with metal-assisted chemical etching (MaCE) for fabricating nanostructures on silicon. In contrast to conventional nanoimprinting techniques, BL-NIL adds an interposing layer between the imprinting resist layer and silicon substrate. After the standard imprinting process, dry etching was used to etch away the residual imprinting layer and part of the interposing layer. Finally, the remaining interposing layer was wet-etched using its remover. This innovative approach can ensure cleanliness at the metal/silicon interface after metal lift-off processes, and therefore guarantees the success of MaCE. By combining BL-NIL and MaCE, expensive silicon molds with sub-micrometer/nanometer-scale feature sizes can be easily replicated and preserved. This is important for the application of nanoimprinting technologies in industrial manufacturing.

Ultrasonic Touch Sensing System Based on Lamb Waves and Convolutional Neural Network.

A tactile position sensing system based on the sensing of acoustic waves and analyzing with artificial intelligence is proposed. The system comprises a thin steel plate with multiple piezoelectric transducers attached to the underside, to excite and detect Lamb waves (or plate waves). A data acquisition and control system synchronizes the wave excitation and detection and records the transducer signals. When the steel plate is touched by a finger, the waveform signals are perturbed by wave absorption and diffraction effects, and the corresponding changes in the output signal waveforms are sent to a convolutional neural network (CNN) model to predict the x- and y-coordinates of the finger contact position on the sensing surface. The CNN model is trained by using the experimental waveform data collected using an artificial finger carried by a three-axis motorized stage. The trained model is then used in a series of tactile sensing experiments performed using a human finger. The experimental results show that the proposed touch sensing system has an accuracy of more than 95%, a spatial resolution of 1 × 1 cm2, and a response time of 60 ms.

Waveguide Plasmon Resonance of Arrayed Metallic Nanostructures Patterned on a Soft Substrate by Direct Contact Printing Lithography.

This paper presents a direct contact printing method to obtain arrayed metallic nanostructures on a soft polymer substrate. It utilizes a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) mold replicated from silicon molds to transfer metallic nanopatterns onto a polymer substrate based on differences in interfacial bonding energy. Arrayed metallic nanodisks with a disk diameter down to 180 nm and a center-to-center pitch around 400 nm are experimentally patterned on a PET substrate. The patterned metallic nanostructures are then spin-coated with a polymer layer; which mechanically secures the patterned nanostructures and optically allows waveguide plasmon resonance being excited by incident EM waves. Both experimental works and theoretical modeling are given to illustrate the behaviors of different types of plasmon resonance. These arrayed metallic nanostructures patterned on a soft polymer substrate and their tunable optical characteristics open up many possibilities in future engineering applications.

Contact photolithography using a carbon-black embedded soft photomask and ultraviolet light emitting diodes with application on patterned sapphire substrates.

This paper presents a contact photolithography method for large-area ultraviolet (UV) patterning using a soft polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) photomask and a planar light source consisting of arrayed light-emitting diodes (LEDs). With simple design and construction, the UV light source can achieve uniformly distributed UV light intensity over an area of 4" in diameter but its divergent angle is 15°. To overcome this large divergent angle, a PDMS soft mold embedded with carbon-black inserts as the UV light blocking materials is applied. It is demonstrated that, when increasing the aspect ratio of the carbon-black inserts, one can achieve excellent UV patterning results. Both experimental data and simulation results are presented. This contact photolithography system has been successfully used for manufacturing patterned sapphire substrates (PSSs) in LED industry. The advantages and potential applications of the proposed method will be addresses.

Beam pen lithography based on focused laser diode beam with single microlens fabricated by excimer laser.

A method is proposed to minimize the focused spot size of an elliptically-diverging laser diode beam by means of a circular aperture and a single plano-convex aspherical microlens. The proposed microlens is fabricated using an excimer laser dragging method and has two different profiles in the x- and y-axis directions. The focused spot size of the beam is examined both numerically and experimentally. The feasibility of the proposed approach for beam pen lithography applications is demonstrated by patterning dotted, straight-line and spiral features on a photo resist layer followed by thin gold layer deposition and metal lift-off. The minimum feature size for dotted pattern is around 2.57 µm, while the minimum line-widths for straight-line and spiral pattern are 3.05 µm and 4.35 µm, respectively. Thus, the technique can be applied to write any arbitrary pattern for high-resolution lithography.

Measurement of circumferential Lamb waves using a line-focus poly(vinylidene fluoride) transducer and cross correlation waveform analysis.

This paper presents a method for measuring circumferential Lamb waves propagating on a cylindrically curved thin plate. The measurement is carried out using a wideband and line-focused poly(vinylidene fluoride) transducer along with a defocusing waveform measurement method. After synthesizing the acquired waveforms, interference patterns can be obtained and a cross correlation method is developed to accurately extract the wave velocity as a function of wave frequency. Using three stainless steel thin plates of different thicknesses (100, 150, and 300 µm) and a radius of curvature of 10 mm, dispersion curves for several fundamental and higher order modes of circumferential Lamb waves are simultaneously determined. Theoretical dispersion curves are also calculated and compared with their experimental counterparts. Very good agreements are observed, which concludes the measurement accuracy of this measurement method.

Apertureless beam pen lithography based on fully metal-coated polyurethane-acrylate (PUA) pyramidal microstructure array.

This work demonstrates a form of arrayed transmitting apertureless near-field photolithography, called apertureless beam pen lithography. An array of fully chromium-coated polyurethane acrylate (PUA) pyramidal microstructures was illuminated by a traditional Ultraviolet (UV) lamp to generate an array of massive UV beam pens for realizing apertureless beam pen lithography. Experimental results reveal that significant UV energy can pass through the apex of a fully metal-coated PUA pyramid even though the thickness of the metallic coating exceeded the penetration depth. The patterned photoresist profiles were 117 nm deep and the full-width-at-half-magnitude (FWHM) was 180 nm when the exposure dosage was 54 mJ/cm(2) and the wavelength was 365 nm. Both depth and FWHM increased with exposure dosage, implying that the profiles depended on exposure dosage rather than on physical imprinting. With the adjustment of the thickness of the photoresist layer and the exposure parameters, the lift-off process yields arrayed metal dots with a diameter of 300 nm. Finite-element simulation of the intensity distribution near the apex of the pyramid and within the photoresist layer was carried out to reveal that the energy concentration within the pyramids is increased by approximately an order of magnitude, significantly enhancing the UV energy that passes through the fully metal-coated apex. The contrast curve model of the photoresist was used to calculate the patterned photoresist profiles for various energies. Experimental results, theoretical analysis and potential improvements of the method are presented.

Photolithographic patterning at sub-micrometer scale using a three-dimensional soft photo-mask with application on localized surface plasma resonance.

This paper presents a new method for fabricating arrayed metallic nano-structures with sub-micrometer line-widths over large patterning area sizes. It utilizes a soft mold containing arrayed surface micro-pyramids. A carbon-black photo-resist (PR) coating method is developed which can convert the soft mold into a photo-mask. This three-dimensional photo-mask is then applied for photolithographic ultraviolet (UV) patterning. In conjunction with standard metal lift-off process, arrayed metallic nano-structures are formed on glass substrates. A finite element simulation software is used to analyze the underlying mechanism of UV patterning using this new type of 3D photo-mask. The localized surface plasma resonance (LSPR) effects of the fabricated nano-structures are investigated both experimentally and theoretically. Good agreements are observed.

Detachable acoustofluidic droplet-sorter.

BACKGROUND: Cell sorting is crucial in isolating specific cell populations. It enables detailed analysis of their functions and characteristics and plays a vital role in disease diagnosis, drug discovery, and regenerative medicine. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) is considered the gold standard for high-speed single-cell sorting. However, its high cost, complex instrumentation, and lack of portability are significant limitations. Additionally, the high pressure and electric fields used in FACS can harm cell integrity. In this work, an acoustofluidic device was developed in combination with surface acoustic wave (SAW) and droplet microfluidics to isolate single-cell droplets with high purity while maintaining high cell viability. RESULT: Human embryonic kidney cells, transfected with fluorescent reporter plasmids, were used to demonstrate the targeted droplet sorting containing single cells. The acoustofluidic sorter achieved a recovery rate of 81 % and an accuracy rate higher than 97 %. The device maintained a cell viability rate of 95 % and demonstrated repeatability over 20 consecutive trials without compromising efficiency, thus underscoring its reliability. Thermal image analysis revealed that the temperature of the interdigital transducer (IDT) during SAW operation remained within the permissible range for maintaining cell viability. SIGNIFICANCE: The findings highlighted the sensitivity and effectiveness of the developed acoustofluidic device as a tool for single-cell sorting. The detachable microfluidic chip design enables the reusability of the expensive IDT, making it cost-effective and reducing the risk of cross-contamination between different biological samples. The results underscore its capability to accurately isolate individual cells on the basis of specific criteria, showcasing its potential to advance research and clinical applications requiring precise cell sorting methodologies.

Rapid tear screening of diabetic retinopathy by a detachable surface acoustic wave enabled immunosensor.

BACKGROUND: Diabetic retinopathy (DR), a chronic and progressive microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus, substantially threatens vision and is a leading cause of blindness among working-age individuals worldwide. Traditional diagnostic methods, such as ophthalmoscopy and fluorescein angiography are nonquantitative, invasive, and time consuming. Analysis of protein biomarkers in tear fluid offers noninvasive insights into ocular and systemic health, aiding in early DR detection. This study introduces a surface acoustic wave (SAW) microchip that rapidly enhances fluorescence in bead-based immunoassays for the sensitive and noninvasive DR detection from human tear samples. RESULTS: The device facilitated particle mixing for immunoassay formation and particle concentration in the droplet, resulting in an enhanced immunofluorescence signal. This detachable SAW microchip allows the disposal of the cover glass after every use, thereby improving the reusability of the interdigital transducer and minimizing potential cross-contamination. A preliminary clinical test was conducted on a cohort of 10 volunteers, including DR patients and healthy individuals. The results demonstrated strong agreement with ELISA studies, validating the high accuracy rate of the SAW microchip. SIGNIFICANCE: This comprehensive study offers significant insights into the potential application of a novel SAW microchip for the early detection of DR in individuals with diabetes. By utilizing protein biomarkers found in tear fluid, the device facilitates noninvasive, rapid, and sensitive detection, potentially revolutionizing DR diagnostics and improving patient outcomes through timely intervention and management of this vision-threatening condition.

Fabrication of arrayed metallic nano-particles on a flexible substrate for inducing localized surface plasmon resonance.

This paper presents a new method for fabricating periodic arrays of metallic nano-particles on flexible substrates. This method is based on metallic film contact transfer method and high-power pulsed laser annealing. Experiments have been carried out to produce arrayed metallic nano-particles oriented in a hexagonal pattern. The nano-particle size is 70 nm in diameter and the center-to-center pitch of the hexagonal array is 400 nm. Large-area patterning and fabrication of these arrayed nano-particles can be easily achieved up to an area size of few cm(2). Besides, composite or compounded metallic nano-particle arrays can also be produced using different metal materials. The localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effects induced by the fabricated arrays of nano-particles are experimentally observed and quantitatively measured. Numerical simulation on these LPSR effects is performed and the simulation results are in good agreement with experimental data.

Influenza vaccine effectiveness against hospitalized SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Background: Some studies conducted before the Delta and Omicron variant-dominant periods have indicated that influenza vaccination provided protection against COVID-19 infection or hospitalization, but these results were limited by small study cohorts and a lack of comprehensive data on patient characteristics. No studies have examined this question during the Delta and Omicron periods (08/01/2021 to 2/22/2022). Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of influenza-vaccinated and unvaccinated patients in the Corewell Health East(CHE, formerly known as Beaumont Health), Corewell Health West(CHW, formerly known as Spectrum Health) and Michigan Medicine (MM) healthcare system during the Delta-dominant and Omicron-dominant periods. We used a test-negative, case-control analysis to assess the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine against hospitalized SARS-CoV-2 outcome in adults, while controlling for individual characteristics as well as pandameic severity and waning immunity of COVID-19 vaccine. Results: The influenza vaccination has shown to provided some protection against SARS-CoV-2 hospitalized outcome across three main healthcare systems. CHE site (odds ratio [OR]=0.73, vaccine effectiveness [VE]=27%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: [18-35], p<0.001), CHW site (OR=0.85, VE=15%, 95% CI: [6-24], p<0.001), MM (OR=0.50, VE=50%, 95% CI: [40-58], p <0.001) and overall (OR=0.75, VE=25%, 95% CI: [20-30], p <0.001). Conclusion: The influenza vaccine provides a small degree of protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection across our study sites.

Excimer laser micromachining of aspheric microlens arrays based on optimal contour mask design and laser dragging method.

This paper presents an improved excimer laser micromachining method for fabricating arrayed microstructures with a predesigned surface profile. The proposed method is developed from a conventional biaxial laser dragging method, but numerical analysis and optimal pattern design on the contour mask are introduced so that the machined surface profiles can be well controlled and matched to the designed profiles. To demonstrate the capability of this new approach, an array of aspheric microlenses that have analog surfaces for minimizing the focal spot sizes of the lenses is designed and fabricated. An array of 10×10 microlenses with an aperture size of 100 µm and a designed aspheric profile are obtained experimentally. The machined surface profiles are closely matched to their designed ones, with a profile deviation of less than 1 µm. Furthermore, the machined surfaces are smooth, with an average surface roughness of around 2 nm. Optical measurements on these machined aspheric microlenses show minimized focal spot sizes approaching their optical diffraction limits.

Laser ultrasonic surface wave dispersion technique for non-destructive evaluation of human dental enamel.

This paper describes a novel optical system for clinical diagnosis of dental enamel based on its elasticity. Current examination techniques are typically destructive, and frequently impractical for in-vivo inspection. This paper describes the first application of a laser ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation (NDE) method for clinical dental diagnosis. It performs remote elasticity evaluation on small dimension samples. A focused laser line-source generates broadband surface acoustic wave (SAW) impulses which are detected with a simplified optical fibre interferometer. The measured SAW velocity dispersion spectrum was in turn used to characterise the elasticity of the specimen. Different metal structures were measured to verify the system performance. The results agree well with theoretical values and confirm the reliability and accuracy of the laser NDE system. This technique was then applied to evaluate the surface of sound natural human dental enamel. The measured dispersion spectra match theoretical expectations and the influences of both the enamel and the underlying dentin on the surface wave propagation were observed. This is the first time, to the best of our knowledge, that a laser based SAW velocity dispersion technique has been successfully applied on human dental enamel. As a remote, non-destructive technique it is applicable in-vivo and opens the way for early diagnosis of dental caries.

Simple, all-optical, noncontact, depth-selective, narrowband surface acoustic wave measurement system for evaluating the Rayleigh velocity of small samples or areas.

In this paper a new ultrasonic testing system is described that utilizes noncontact optical methods to generate and detect surface acoustic waves (SAWs) and has significant applications in the nondestructive evaluation of surface material. A narrowband SAW is generated with a new and straightforward grating mask image projection method that provides fast switching and a controllable frequency band, and hence control of the penetration depth of the ultrasonic wave. A narrowband SAW with center frequency above 30 MHz, and hence better depth resolution, is generated. The detection of the SAW is performed with a simplified design of an optical fiber interferometer that has good sensitivity and manoeuvrability without requiring additional auxiliary components. The novel combination of these two optical techniques permits the measurement of small samples that are otherwise difficult to measure, especially nondestructively. A model was constructed to simulate the temporal characteristics of the generated narrowband SAW and showed good agreement with experiment. Measurements on an aluminum sample and an extracted human incisor demonstrate the system's performance.

Contact Photolithography at Sub-Micrometer Scale Using a Soft Photomask.

This paper proposes a method for improving the patterning resolution of conventional contact photolithography from the micrometer, down to the sub-micrometer scale. The key element is a soft polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) photomask, which is first replicated from a silicon mold and then patterned with a black photoresist (PR) layer to selectively block ultraviolet (UV) light. This soft PDMS photomask can easily form an intimate and conformable contact with a PR-coated substrate and hence can perform contact photolithography with high pattern resolution. The fabrication processes of this black-PR/PDMS soft photomask are experimentally carried out. Using the fabricated soft photomask, UV patterning by contact photolithography with the smallest line-width of 170 nm over a 4" wafer area was successfully achieved. The advantages and potentials of this new type of contact photolithography will be addressed.

Simple In-House Fabrication of Microwells for Generating Uniform Hepatic Multicellular Cancer Aggregates and Discovering Novel Therapeutics.

Three-dimensional (3D) cell culture models have become powerful tools because they better simulate the in vivo pathophysiological microenvironment than traditional two-dimensional (2D) monolayer cultures. Tumor cells cultured in a 3D system as multicellular cancer aggregates (MCAs) recapitulate several critical in vivo characteristics that enable the study of biological functions and drug discovery. The microwell, in particular, has emerged as a revolutionary technology in the generation of MCAs as it provides geometrically defined microstructures for culturing size-controlled MCAs amenable for various downstream functional assays. This paper presents a simple and economical microwell fabrication methodology that can be conveniently incorporated into a conventional laboratory setting and used for the discovery of therapeutic interventions for liver cancer. The microwells were 400-700 µm in diameter, and hepatic MCAs (Huh-7 cells) were cultured in them for up to 5 days, over which time they grew to 250-520 µm with good viability and shape. The integrability of the microwell fabrication with a high-throughput workflow was demonstrated using a standard 96-well plate for proof-of-concept drug screening. The IC50 of doxorubicin was determined to be 9.3 µM under 2D conditions and 42.8 µM under 3D conditions. The application of photothermal treatment was demonstrated by optimizing concanavalin A-FITC conjugated silica-carbon hollow spheres (SCHSs) at a concentration of 500:200 µg/mL after a 2 h incubation to best bind with MCAs. Based on this concentration, which was appropriate for further photothermal treatment, the relative cell viability was assessed through exposure to a 3 W/cm2 near-infrared laser for 20 min. The relative fluorescence intensity showed an eight-fold reduction in cell viability, confirming the feasibility of using photothermal treatment as a potential therapeutic intervention. The proposed microwell integration is envisioned to serve as a simple in-house technique for the generation of MCAs useful for discovering therapeutic modalities for liver cancer treatment.

Leaky lamb waves of a piezoelectric plate subjected to conductive fluid loading: an experimental study.

This paper proposes a novel experimental method for measuring the propagating characteristics of leaky Lamb waves in a piezoelectric plate surrounded by a fluid. It is a differential type of measurement and is very sensitive to the velocity change and wave attenuation of leaky Lamb waves induced by fluid-loading effects. Experimental measurements on an X-cut LiNbO3 plate immersed in a dielectric and conductive fluid have been carried out. The velocity change and wave attenuation of the leaky Lamb waves caused by dielectric and conductive loadings of the fluid have been experimentally determined. The measured data have been compared with the theoretical ones that are calculated from a partial wave analysis. For the wave velocity, very good agreements between the experimental and theoretical results are observed. For the wave attenuation, there are some discrepancies, but an important characteristic in the relationship between wave attenuation and fluid conductivity as predicted by the theory have been verified experimentally.