Power-efficient oscillator-based readout circuit for multichannel resonant volatile sensors.

This work presents a multichannel electronic nose system that enables a range of novel applications owing to high sensitivity, low form factor and low power consumption. Each channel is based on a combination of doubly-clamped piezoelectric MEMS resonators and CMOS oscillator-based readout designed in TSMC 0.25 µm technology. Using "application specific" polymer coatings, the individual resonators can be tuned to detect mixtures of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This system achieves ppm-level theoretical limit of detection for ethanol which paves the way towards a broad range of applications such as personalized health and environment air quality.

Active control of the strong coupling regime between porphyrin excitons and surface plasmon polaritons.

We experimentally demonstrate the active control of the coupling strength between porphyrin dyes and surface plasmon polaritons supported by a thin gold layer. This control is externally exerted by a gas flow and is reversible. The hybridized exciton-polariton branches resulting from the exciton-plasmon coupling display a splitting proportional to the coupling strength of the light-matter interaction. The coupled system changes from the weak (no splitting) to the strong coupling regime (splitting of 130 meV) by controlling the effective oscillator strength in the dye layer, via exposure to nitrogen dioxide. The modification of the coupling strength of the system allows tailoring of the dispersion of the hybridized modes as well as of their group velocity.

Electrochemical sensing of ethylene employing a thin ionic-liquid layer.

We introduce an electrochemical ethylene sensor that employs a thin layer of ionic liquid as electrolyte. Ethylene is oxidized in a potential window starting ∼600 mV before the onset of the gold working electrode oxidation, which inhibits the ethylene oxidation at high applied potential. The current amplitude and sensor response time depend on the ionic-liquid film thickness, relative humidity, and applied potential, in agreement with a theoretical model based on diffusion. A detection limit of 760 ppb and a linear response up to 10 ppm were achieved. As illustrated by the detection of ethylene, ionic liquids could serve as an alternative electrolyte for many electrochemical gas sensors that heretofore relied on a strongly acidic electrolyte.

Plasmonic Au islands on polymer nanopillars.

The refractive index sensitivity of localized surface plasmon resonance sensors can be improved by placing the plasmonic metal particles on pillars instead of on a planar substrate. In this paper, a simple and versatile colloidal lithography method for the fabrication of plasmonic Au islands on top of polymer nanopillars is described. The pillar height is controlled by varying the thickness of the initial polymer film. An increased pillar height results in a blue shift of the absorption spectrum of the Au islands. This is explained by a decreased effective refractive index around the islands. For pillars higher than approximately 40 nm no further blue shift is observed, in agreement with the decay length of the electromagnetic field around the islands. Pillar-supported Au islands were also fabricated on a flexible foil, demonstrating the potential of the method described here for the fabrication of flexible plasmonic substrates. Benefits and limitations of the method and of using polymers as the pillar material are discussed.

Universal scaling of the figure of merit of plasmonic sensors.

We demonstrate an improvement by more than 1 order of magnitude of the figure of merit (FoM) of plasmonic nanoparticle sensors by means of the diffractive coupling of localized surface plasmon resonances. The coupling in arrays of nanoparticles leads to Fano resonances with narrow line widths known as surface lattice resonances, which are very suitable for the sensitive detection of small changes in the refractive index of the surroundings. We focus on the sensitivity to the bulk refractive index and find that the sensor FoM scales solely with the frequency difference between the surface lattice resonance and the diffracted order grazing to the surface of the array. This result, which can be extended to other systems with coupled resonances, enables the design of plasmonic sensors with a high FoM over broad spectral ranges with unprecedented accuracy.

Enhanced sensitivity volatile detection with low power integrated micromechanical resonators.

Very high aspect (length/thickness) ratio doubly clamped beams with integrated piezoelectric transducers are demonstrated for low power sensing of volatiles. The described approach allows for high yield fabrication of a dense array of suspended resonators that can be individually functionalized. Upon polymer coating, the resonators become highly sensitive to absorption of volatile compounds, allowing for detection at ppm-level concentrations of low-molecular weight analytes. The determined sensitivity enhancement is due to the significant contribution of vapor absorption-induced polymer swelling that results in axial stress formation in length restricted high aspect ratio beams.

Gas detection with vertical InAs nanowire arrays.

Nanowire-based devices show great promise for next generation (bio)chemical sensors as evidenced by the large volume of high-quality publications. Here, a nanoscale gas sensing device is presented, based on gold-free grown vertical InAs nanowire arrays. The nanowires are contacted Ohmically in their as-grown locations using an air bridge construction, leaving the nanowire surface free for gas adsorption. Noise measurements were performed to determine the measurement resolution for gas detection. These devices are sensitive to NO(2) concentrations well below 100 ppb at room temperature. NO(2) exposure leads to both a reduction in carrier density and electron mobility.

Conversion of a metastable superhydrophobic surface to an ultraphobic surface.

Superhydrophobic surfaces in Wenzel and metastable wetting state were prepared and the conversion of such surfaces to ultraphobic surfaces was reported by the application of a fine-scale roughness. Silicon nitride substrates with hexagonally arranged pillars were prepared by micromachining. The two-scale roughness was achieved by coating these substrates with 60 nm silica nanoparticles. The surface was made hydrophobic by silanization with octadecytrichlorosilane (OTS). Wettability studies of the silicon nitride flat surface, silicon nitride pillars, and the surfaces with two-scale roughness showed that a two-scale roughness can effectively improve the hydrophobicity of surfaces with a higher apparent contact angle and reduced contact angle hysteresis when the original rough surface was in a metastable or Wenzel state. This study shows the pathway of converting a metastable hydrophobic surface to an ultraphobic surface by the introduction of a fine-scale roughness, which adds to the literature a new aspect of fine-scale roughness effect.

Fabrication and visualization of metal-ion patterns on glass by dip-pen nanolithography.

Fluorescent self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are used as dip-pen nanolithography (DPN) substrates for the fabrication of patterns of Ca(2+) and Cu(2+) ions. The driving force for the transfer of these ions from an atomic force microscopy (AFM) tip to the surface is their complexation to organic ligands on the monolayer. By means of fluorescent surfaces, the patterns can be visualized under a fluorescence microscope. We use a custom-built atomic force fluorescence microscope (AFFM), a combination of atomic force and confocal fluorescence microscopes, to deposit the metal ions onto the sensing SAMs by DPN and to subsequently visualize modulations of fluorescence intensity in a sequential write-read mode.

Fluorescent sensor array in a microfluidic chip.

Miniaturization and automation are highly important issues for the development of high-throughput processes. The area of micro total analysis systems (muTAS) is growing rapidly and the design of new schemes which are suitable for miniaturized analytical devices is of great importance. In this paper we report the immobilization of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) with metal ion sensing properties, on the walls of glass microchannels. The parallel combinatorial synthesis of sensing SAMs in individually addressable microchannels towards the generation of optical sensor arrays and sensing chips has been developed. [figure: see text] The advantages of microfluidic devices, surface chemistry, parallel synthesis, and combinatorial approaches have been merged to integrate a fluorescent chemical sensor array in a microfluidic chip. Specifically, five different fluorescent self-assembled monolayers have been created on the internal walls of glass microchannels confined in a microfluidic chip.

Self-assembling nanoparticles at surfaces and interfaces.

Nanoparticles are the focus of much attention due to their astonishing properties and numerous possibilities for applications in nanotechnology. For realising versatile functions, assembly of nanoparticles in regular patterns on surfaces and at interfaces is required. Assembling nanoparticles generates new nanostructures, which have unforeseen collective, intrinsic physical properties. These properties can be exploited for multipurpose applications in nanoelectronics, spintronics, sensors, etc. This review surveys different techniques, currently employed and being developed, for assembling nanoparticles in to ordered nanostructures. In this endeavour, the principles and methods involved in the development of assemblies are discussed. Subsequently, different possibilities of nanoparticle-based nanostructures, obtained in multi-dimensions, are presented.

Self-organization of gold-containing hydrogen-bonded rosette assemblies on graphite surface.

The self-organization of supramolecular structures, in particular gold-containing hydrogen-bonded rosettes, on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surfaces was investigated by tapping-mode atomic force microscopy (TM-AFM) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). TM-AFM and high-resolution STM results show that these hydrogen-bonded assemblies self-organize to form highly ordered domains on HOPG surfaces. We find that a subtle change in one of the building blocks induces two different orientations of the assembly with respect to the surface. These results provide information on the control over the construction of supramolecular nanoarchitectures in 2D with the potential for the manufacturing of functional materials based on structural manipulation of molecular components.

Gold nanoparticle assemblies through hydrogen-bonded supramolecular mediators.

The synthesis of spherical gold nanoparticle assemblies with multicomponent double rosette molecular boxes as mediators is presented. These nine-component hydrogen-bonded supramolecular structures held together by 36 hydrogen bonds induce gold nanoparticle assembly. The morphologies of the nanoparticle assemblies can be tuned easily by changing the quantity of the building block chemisorbed on the nanoparticle surface.

What do we need for a superhydrophobic surface? A review on the recent progress in the preparation of superhydrophobic surfaces.

Superhydrophobic surfaces have drawn a lot of interest both in academia and in industry because of the self-cleaning properties. This critical review focuses on the recent progress (within the last three years) in the preparation, theoretical modeling, and applications of superhydrophobic surfaces. The preparation approaches are reviewed according to categorized approaches such as bottom-up, top-down, and combination approaches. The advantages and limitations of each strategy are summarized and compared. Progress in theoretical modeling of surface design and wettability behavior focuses on the transition state of superhydrophobic surfaces and the role of the roughness factor. Finally, the problems/obstacles related to applicability of superhydrophobic surfaces in real life are addressed. This review should be of interest to students and scientists interested specifically in superhydrophobic surfaces but also to scientists and industries focused in material chemistry in general.

Design of fluorescent materials for chemical sensing.

There is an enormous demand for chemical sensors for many areas and disciplines. High sensitivity and ease of operation are two main issues for sensor development. Fluorescence techniques can easily fulfill these requirements and therefore fluorescent-based sensors appear as one of the most promising candidates for chemical sensing. However, the development of sensors is not trivial; material science, molecular recognition and device implementation are some of the aspects that play a role in the design of sensors. The development of fluorescent sensing materials is increasingly captivating the attention of the scientists because its implementation as a truly sensory system is straightforward. This critical review shows the use of polymers, sol-gels, mesoporous materials, surfactant aggregates, quantum dots, and glass or gold surfaces, combined with different chemical approaches for the development of fluorescent sensing materials. Representative examples have been selected and they are commented here.

Selective intercalation of six ligand molecules in a self-assembled triple helix.

The addition of a ligand molecule to an artificial self-assembled triple helix leads to the selective intercalation of two hydrogen-bonded trimers in specific binding pockets. Furthermore, the triple helix suffers large conformational rearrangements in order to accommodate the ligand molecules in a highly organized manner.