Improved Electrophoretic Deposition of Vertical Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes with Nanoscopic Electrostatic Lenses.

Under certain conditions, electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) onto metal at the base of nanoscale insulating windows can result in a single SWCNT per window, bonded at one end to the metal. During EPD charge, buildup on the insulator creates electrostatic lenses at the windows that control the trajectory of the SWCNTs. The aim is to develop a reproducible process for deposition of individual vertically oriented SWCNTs into each window to enable novel devices.

Mapping the dispersion of water wave channels.

Large classes of electronic, photonic, and acoustic crystals and quasi-crystals have been predicted to support topological wave-modes. Some of these modes are stabilized by certain symmetries but others occur as pure wave phenomena, hence they can be observed in many other media that support wave propagation. Surface water-waves are mechanical in nature but very different from the elastic waves, hence they can provide a new platform for studying topological wave-modes.

An Angstrom-sensitive, differential MEMS capacitor for monitoring the milliliter dynamics of fluids.

A device, with MEMS sensors at its core, has been fabricated and tested for measuring low fluid pressure and slow flow rates. The motivation was to measure clinically relevant ranges of slow-moving fluids in living systems, such as the cerebrospinal fluid in the brain. For potential clinical utility, the device can be read transcutaneously by inductive coupling to MEMS capacitive sensors in circuits with resonance frequencies in the MHz range.

Evidence of an application of a variable MEMS capacitive sensor for detecting shunt occlusions.

A sensor was tested subdural and in vitro, simulating a supine infant with a ventricular-peritoneal shunt and controlled occlusions. The variable MEMS capacitive device is able to detect and forecast blockages, similar to early detection procedures in cancer patients. For example, with gradual occlusion development over a year, the method forecasts a danger over one month ahead of blockage.

Demonstration that a new flow sensor can operate in the clinical range for cerebrospinal fluid flow.

A flow sensor has been fabricated and tested that is capable of measuring the slow flow characteristic of the cerebrospinal fluid in the range from less than 4 mL/h to above 100 mL/h. This sensor is suitable for long-term implantation because it uses a wireless external spectrometer to measure passive subcutaneous components. The sensors are pressure-sensitive capacitors, in the range of 5 pF with an air gap at atmospheric pressure.

Scalable nano-bioprobes with sub-cellular resolution for cell detection.

Here we present a carbon nanotube based device to noninvasively and quickly detect mobile single cells with the potential to maintain a high degree of spatial resolution. The device utilizes standard complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technologies for fabrication, allowing it to be easily scalable (down to a few nanometers). Nanotubes are deposited using electrophoresis after fabrication in order to maintain CMOS compatibility.