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Micro- and Nano-Technologies for Sensing: From Device Fabrication to Applications
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Micro- and Nano-Technologies for Sensing: From Device Fabrication to Applications

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanosensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 October 2024 | Viewed by 3138

Special Issue Editor

Dr. **aoli Zhu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
Interests: nanofabrication; electron beam lithography; dry etch; electrochemical deposition; integration technologies of micro and nano devices

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In a wide range of applications, sensors involve micro- and nanofabrication technologies, material/structure characterization methods, and interactions between functional structures and detected targets. The rapid miniaturization and multifunctionality of sensors have triggered research in both “top-down” fabrication techniques and “bottom-up” approaches, including diverse lithographic methods, pattern transfer, molecule assembly, functional film growth, and surface modification. To achieve specific functionalities and applications, these commonly used technologies need to be aligned and integrated with others. This ultimately leads to the emergence of new processes and novel sensors, accelerating the pace of the sensor-related industrial revolution.

The aim of this Special Issue is to highlight the latest developments in device fabrication, sensing principles, and sensor applications in diverse engineering and scientific fields. It brings together original research articles and reviews that cover a wide range of topics related to micro- and nanotechnologies for sensing. We sincerely invite you to submit original unpublished work.

Topics of interest of this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Micro- and nanofabrication;
  • Process integration of sensors;
  • Surface modification and characterization;
  • Sensing principles;
  • Biomedical and chemical sensors;
  • Metamaterial sensors;
  • Flexible and wearable sensors;
  • Multifunctional sensors;
  • Optoelectronic and photonic sensors.

Dr. **aoli Zhu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at mdpi.longhoe.net by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sensors is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • micro- and nanofabrication
  • process integration of sensors
  • surface modification and characterization
  • sensing principles
  • biomedical and chemical sensors
  • metamaterial sensors
  • flexible and wearable sensors
  • multifunctional sensors
  • optoelectronic and photonic sensors

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 7161 KiB  
Article
Development of High-Precision NO2 Gas Sensor Based on Non-Dispersive Infrared Technology
by Yongmin Zhao, Congchun Zhang, Guangteng Ci, **aoguang Zhao, **guang Lv, **gqiu Liang, Anjie Ming, Feng Wei and Changhui Mao
Sensors 2024, 24(13), 4146; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24134146 - 26 Jun 2024
Viewed by 538
Abstract
Increasing concerns about air quality due to fossil fuel combustion, especially nitrogen oxides (NOx) from marine and diesel engines, necessitate advanced monitoring systems due to the significant health and environmental impacts of nitrogen dioxide (NO2). In this study, a [...] Read more.
Increasing concerns about air quality due to fossil fuel combustion, especially nitrogen oxides (NOx) from marine and diesel engines, necessitate advanced monitoring systems due to the significant health and environmental impacts of nitrogen dioxide (NO2). In this study, a gas detection system based on the principle of the non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) technique is proposed. Firstly, the pyroelectric detector was developed by employing an ultra-thin LiTaO3 (LT) layer as the sensitive element, integrated with nanoscale carbon material prepared by wafer-level graphics technology as the infrared absorption layer. Then, the sensor was hermetically sealed using inert gas through energy storage welding technology, exhibiting a high detectivity (D*) value of 4.19 × 108 cm·√Hz/W. Subsequently, a NO2 gas sensor was engineered based on the NDIR principle employing a Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) infrared (IR) emitter, featuring a light path chamber length of 1.5 m, along with integrated signal processing and software calibration algorithms. This gas sensor was capable of detecting NO2 concentrations within the range of 0–500 ppm. Initial tests indicated that the gas sensor exhibited a full-scale relative error of less than 0.46%, a limit of 2.8 ppm, a linearity of −1.09%, a repeatability of 0.47% at a concentration of 500 ppm, and a stability of 2% at a concentration of 500 ppm. The developed gas sensor demonstrated significant potential for application in areas such as industrial monitoring and analytical instrumentation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micro- and Nano-Technologies for Sensing: From Device Fabrication to Applications)
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12 pages, 2129 KiB  
Communication
Splitter-Based Sensors Realized via POFs Coupled by a Micro-Trench Filled with a Molecularly Imprinted Polymer
by Ines Tavoletta, Francesco Arcadio, Luca Pasquale Renzullo, Giuseppe Oliva, Domenico Del Prete, Debora Verolla, Chiara Marzano, Giancarla Alberti, Maria Pesavento, Luigi Zeni and Nunzio Cennamo
Sensors 2024, 24(12), 3928; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24123928 - 17 Jun 2024
Viewed by 312
Abstract
An optical–chemical sensor based on two modified plastic optical fibers (POFs) and a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) is realized and tested for the detection of 2-furaldehyde (2-FAL). The 2-FAL measurement is a scientific topic of great interest in different application fields, such as [...] Read more.
An optical–chemical sensor based on two modified plastic optical fibers (POFs) and a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) is realized and tested for the detection of 2-furaldehyde (2-FAL). The 2-FAL measurement is a scientific topic of great interest in different application fields, such as human health and life status monitoring in power transformers. The proposed sensor is realized by using two POFs as segmented waveguides (SW) coupled through a micro-trench milled between the fibers and then filled with a specific MIP for the 2-FAL detection. The experimental results show that the developed intensity-based sensor system is highly selective and sensitive to 2-FAL detection in aqueous solutions, with a limit of detection of about 0.04 mg L−1. The proposed sensing approach is simple and low-cost, and it shows performance comparable to that of plasmonic MIP-based sensors present in the literature for 2-FAL detection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micro- and Nano-Technologies for Sensing: From Device Fabrication to Applications)
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22 pages, 8481 KiB  
Article
A Surface Electromyography (sEMG) System Applied for Grip Force Monitoring
by Dantong Wu, Peng Tian, Shuai Zhang, Qihang Wang, Kang Yu, Yunfeng Wang, Zhixing Gao, Lin Huang, **angyu Li, **ngchen Zhai, Meng Tian, Chengjun Huang, Haiying Zhang and Jun Zhang
Sensors 2024, 24(12), 3818; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24123818 - 13 Jun 2024
Viewed by 388
Abstract
Muscles play an indispensable role in human life. Surface electromyography (sEMG), as a non-invasive method, is crucial for monitoring muscle status. It is characterized by its real-time, portable nature and is extensively utilized in sports and rehabilitation sciences. This study proposed a wireless [...] Read more.
Muscles play an indispensable role in human life. Surface electromyography (sEMG), as a non-invasive method, is crucial for monitoring muscle status. It is characterized by its real-time, portable nature and is extensively utilized in sports and rehabilitation sciences. This study proposed a wireless acquisition system based on multi-channel sEMG for objective monitoring of grip force. The system consists of an sEMG acquisition module containing four-channel discrete terminals and a host computer receiver module, using Bluetooth wireless transmission. The system is portable, wearable, low-cost, and easy to operate. Leveraging the system, an experiment for grip force prediction was designed, employing the bald eagle search (BES) algorithm to enhance the Random Forest (RF) algorithm. This approach established a grip force prediction model based on dual-channel sEMG signals. As tested, the performance of acquisition terminal proceeded as follows: the gain was up to 1125 times, and the common mode rejection ratio (CMRR) remained high in the sEMG signal band range (96.94 dB (100 Hz), 84.12 dB (500 Hz)), while the performance of the grip force prediction algorithm had an R2 of 0.9215, an MAE of 1.0637, and an MSE of 1.7479. The proposed system demonstrates excellent performance in real-time signal acquisition and grip force prediction, proving to be an effective muscle status monitoring tool for rehabilitation, training, disease condition surveillance and scientific fitness applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micro- and Nano-Technologies for Sensing: From Device Fabrication to Applications)
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23 pages, 7409 KiB  
Article
Cardiac Multi-Frequency Vibration Signal Sensor Module and Feature Extraction Method Based on Vibration Modeling
by Zhixing Gao, Yuqi Wang, Kang Yu, Zhiwei Dai, Tingting Song, Jun Zhang, Chengjun Huang, Haiying Zhang and Hao Yang
Sensors 2024, 24(7), 2235; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24072235 - 30 Mar 2024
Viewed by 925
Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases pose a long-term risk to human health. This study focuses on the rich-spectrum mechanical vibrations generated during cardiac activity. By combining Fourier series theory, we propose a multi-frequency vibration model for the heart, decomposing cardiac vibration into frequency bands and establishing [...] Read more.
Cardiovascular diseases pose a long-term risk to human health. This study focuses on the rich-spectrum mechanical vibrations generated during cardiac activity. By combining Fourier series theory, we propose a multi-frequency vibration model for the heart, decomposing cardiac vibration into frequency bands and establishing a systematic interpretation for detecting multi-frequency cardiac vibrations. Based on this, we develop a small multi-frequency vibration sensor module based on flexible polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) films, which is capable of synchronously collecting ultra-low-frequency seismocardiography (ULF-SCG), seismocardiography (SCG), and phonocardiography (PCG) signals with high sensitivity. Comparative experiments validate the sensor’s performance and we further develop an algorithm framework for feature extraction based on 1D-CNN models, achieving continuous recognition of multiple vibration features. Testing shows that the recognition coefficient of determination (R2), mean absolute error (MAE), and root mean square error (RMSE) of the 8 features are 0.95, 2.18 ms, and 4.89 ms, respectively, with an average prediction speed of 60.18 us/point, meeting the re-quirements for online monitoring while ensuring accuracy in extracting multiple feature points. Finally, integrating the vibration model, sensor, and feature extraction algorithm, we propose a dynamic monitoring system for multi-frequency cardiac vibration, which can be applied to portable monitoring devices for daily dynamic cardiac monitoring, providing a new approach for the early diagnosis and prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micro- and Nano-Technologies for Sensing: From Device Fabrication to Applications)
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12 pages, 3329 KiB  
Article
Fast Fabrication Nanopores on a PMMA Membrane by a Local High Electric Field Controlled Breakdown
by Shaoxi Fang, Delin Zeng, Shixuan He, Yadong Li, Zichen Pang, Yunjiao Wang, Liyuan Liang, Ting Weng, Wanyi **e and Deqiang Wang
Sensors 2024, 24(7), 2109; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24072109 - 26 Mar 2024
Viewed by 661
Abstract
The sensitivity and accuracy of nanopore sensors are severely hindered by the high noise associated with solid-state nanopores. To mitigate this issue, the deposition of organic polymer materials onto silicon nitride (SiNx) membranes has been effective in obtaining [...] Read more.
The sensitivity and accuracy of nanopore sensors are severely hindered by the high noise associated with solid-state nanopores. To mitigate this issue, the deposition of organic polymer materials onto silicon nitride (SiNx) membranes has been effective in obtaining low-noise measurements. Nonetheless, the fabrication of nanopores sub-10 nm on thin polymer membranes remains a significant challenge. This work proposes a method for fabricating nanopores on polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) membrane by the local high electrical field controlled breakdown, exploring the impact of voltage and current on the breakdown of PMMA membranes and discussing the mechanism underlying the breakdown voltage and current during the formation of nanopores. By improving the electric field application method, transient high electric fields that are one–seven times higher than the breakdown electric field can be utilized to fabricate nanopores. A comparative analysis was performed on the current noise levels of nanopores in PMMA-SiNx composite membranes and SiNx nanopores with a 5 nm diameter. The results demonstrated that the fast fabrication of nanopores on PMMA-SiNx membranes exhibited reduced current noise compared to SiNx nanopores. This finding provides evidence supporting the feasibility of utilizing this technology for efficiently fabricating low-noise nanopores on polymer composite membranes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micro- and Nano-Technologies for Sensing: From Device Fabrication to Applications)
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