Surface Acoustic Wave Resonators for Wireless Sensor Network Applications in the 433.92 MHz ISM Band.

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators are low cost devices that can operate wirelessly on a received radio frequency (RF) signal with no requirement for an additional power source. Multiple SAW resonators operating as transponders that form a wireless sensor network (WSN), often need to operate at tightly spaced, different frequencies inside the industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) bands. This requires nanometer precision in the design and fabrication processes.

Amorphous SiC/c-ZnO-Based Quasi-Lamb Mode Sensor for Liquid Environments.

The propagation of the quasi-Lamb modes along a-SiC/ZnO thin composite plates was modeled and analysed with the aim to design a sensor able to detect the changes in parameters of a liquid environment, such as added mass and viscosity changes. The modes propagation was modeled by numerically solving the system of coupled electro-mechanical field equations in three media. The mode shape, the power flow, the phase velocity, and the electroacoustic coupling efficiency (K²) of the modes were calculated, specifically addressing the design of enhanced-coupling, microwave frequency sensors for applications in probing the solid/liquid interface.

A Theoretical Study of Love Wave Sensors Based on ZnO-Glass Layered Structures for Application to Liquid Environments.

The propagation of surface acoustic Love modes along ZnO/glass-based structures was modeled and analysed with the goal of designing a sensor able to detect changes in the environmental parameters, such as liquid viscosity changes and minute amounts of mass supported in the viscous liquid medium. Love mode propagation was modeled by numerically solving the system of coupled electro-mechanical field equations and Navier-Stokes equations. The phase and group velocities and the attenuation of the acoustic wave propagating along the 30° tilted c-axis ZnO/glass structure contacting a viscous non-conductive liquid were calculated for different ZnO guiding layer thicknesses, added mass thicknesses, and liquid viscosity and density.

CMOS-Compatible Silicon-Nanowire-Based Coulter Counter for Cell Enumeration.

A silicon-nanowire-based Coulter counter has been designed and fabricated for particle/cell enumeration. The silicon nanowire was fabricated in a fully complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible process and used as a field effect transistor (FET) device. The Coulter counter device worked on the principle of potential change detection introduced by the passing of microparticles/cells through a sensing channel.