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Plasmon mediated spectrally selective and sensitivity-enhanced uncooled near-infrared detector
Abstract
Here, we present a high performance uncooled near-infrared (NIR) detector comprising of a giga hertz (GHz) solidly mounted resonator (SMR) and gold nanorods (GNRs) arrays. By coupling the localized surface plasmon resonances of GNRs, the resonator system exhibits optimized optical response to vis-NIR region. Both simulation and experiments demonstrate the hybrid GNRs-SMR exhibit significantly enhanced optical responsive sensitivity of NIR, the tunable aspect ratios (AR) of GNRs enable resonator respond sensitively to selected light. Specially, taking advantage of the acoustofluidic effect of SMR, the GNRs can be controllably and precisely modified on the microchip surface in an ultra-short time, which addresses one of the most fundamental challenges in the localized functionalization of micro/nano scale surface. The presented work opens new directions in development of novel miniaturized, tunable NIR detector.
... In terms of coating research, to further improve the detection capability of resonant uncooled infrared detectors, metasurfaces have been generally used to improve infrared absorption efficiency, but the large-scale manufacturing process is complex and expensive [13,14]. On the other hand, the method of using absorbing material film can also improve the detection ability of its infrared detector, such as gold nanorod film combined with aluminum nitride [15,16] can greatly enhance the sensitivity up to 598%; carbon nanotube combined with gallium nitride [17] enables noise equivalent temperature difference (NETD) below 5mK at room temperature, silicon nitride film combined with shape memory polymer materials [11] enables NETD to reach 6mK in vacuum; graphene combined with aluminum nitride [7] implement ultrathin (460 nm) piezoelectric nanomechanical resonant structures with improved over 50% electromechanical performance (frequency × Q) and infrared detection capabilities compared with metal-electrode counterparts. ...
The infrared absorption efficiency is essential for an infrared sensor. We propose a quartz bulk acoustic wave (BAW) uncooled infrared sensor coated with MXene quantum dot film. The infrared detection is realized by measuring the resonant frequency of a Y-cut quartz BAW sensitive unit. An infrared sensor is fabricated by MEMS process, then the MXene quantum dot film is coated through the spin coating technology. The mechanism of infrared absorption enhancement is analyzed. Test results show that after coating the film, the responsivity (R) of the sensor increased by nearly 41% at a wavelength of 830nm, from 10.88MHz/W to 15.28 MHz/W. The quartz BAW infrared sensor combined with MXene quantum dots film has the potential of high-performance infrared detection.
Development of a micromodel that recapitulates multiple mechanical properties to mimic the complex mechanical microenvironment is crucial for cell‐based research. Herein, a microsystem combining structure of hydrogel matrix and acoustic streaming (AS) to mimic the cellular microenvironment is proposed, which can realize multiplex cellular mechanical cues, including matrix stiffness, fluid shear stress (FSS) generated by AS, and matrix roughness. The results demonstrate that the cell spreading area enlarges with the increase of matrix stiffness, and cell spreading is encouraged by integrin β1 cluster to polymerize actin when combines the hydrogel matrix with FSS. In addition, FSS has the influence on the roughness of the hydrogel, which further affects the cell morphology and mechanical properties, inducing mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) differentiation into astrocytes rapidly. Meanwhile, cell migration is also enhanced by FSS stimulation, particularly, undifferentiated cells at 22 kPa hydrogel have the fastest migration speed, and change the movement model from contact inhibition to contact stimulation migration. Especially, matrix roughness and stiffness dominantly control of cell spreading and differentiation, whereas FSS affects cell migration. In conclusion, the microsystem in this work shows superior performance in regulating the spreading, differentiation, and migration of MSCs, which provides a new tool for cell‐microenvironment study.
Near-infrared (NIR) detectors with high sensitivity and spectral selectivity are highly desired in various applications. In this work, a photothermal detector with high NIR sensitivity and spectral selectivity was developed by simply modifying a photothermal layer of reduced graphene oxide-Au nanorods (rGO-AuNRs) hybrid on a thermistor, which can convert the light energy into heat and reflect as resistance changes of a thermistor. Owing to the plasmon coupling of the two materials, the obtained rGO-AuNRs hybrid not only has remarkable photothermal conversion efficiency but also exhibits dependence on spectral response. Thus, benefiting from the excellent performance of the hybrid, the fabricated detector is sensitive to illumination in the wavelength range from 700 to 1000 nm with the highest photoresponsivity of 2.50 × 105 Ω·W−1. The photothermal detector presented in this work will provide a simple and inexpensive alternative for NIR detector development.
Surface topography has become a powerful tool to control cell behaviors, however, it's still difficult to monitor cellular microenvironment changes during topography-induced cell responses. Here, a dual-functional platform integrating cell alignment with extracellular pH (pHe) measurement is proposed. The platform is fabricated by assembling gold nanorods (AuNRs) into micro pattern via wettability difference interface method, which provides topographical cues and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect for cell alignment and biochemical detection respectively. Results demonstrate that contact guidance and cell morphology changes are achieved by the AuNRs micro pattern, and pHe are also obtained by the changes of SERS spectra during cell alignment, where the pHe near cytoplasm is lower than nucleus, revealing the heterogeneity of extracellular microenvironment. Moreover, a correlation between lower extracellular pH and higher cell migration ability is revealed, and AuNRs micro pattern can differentiate cells with different migration ability, which may be an inheritable character during cell division. Furthermore, mesenchymal stem cells response dramatically to AuNRs micro pattern, showing different morphology and increased pHe level, offering the potential of impacting stem cell differentiation. This approach provides a new idea for the research of cell regulation and response mechanism.
Over the past few decades, acoustofluidics, one of the branches of microfluidics, has rapidly developed as a multidisciplinary cutting edge research topic, covering many biomedical and bioanalytical applications. Acoustofluidics usually utilizes acoustic pressure and acoustic streaming effects to manipulate liquids and bioparticles. Acoustic manipulation using acoustic radiation force has been widely studied; however, with the recent development of new piezoelectric devices that enable faster acoustic streaming, particle manipulations using drag force induced by acoustic streaming have attracted more attention. Despite many review articles on acoustic radiation force-based acoustophoresis, acoustic streaming is less frequently covered. Here, we review the recent development of microscale acoustic streaming, especially high-frequency transducer-induced high-speed streaming, confinement and programed streaming, and acoustic streaming tweezers, which combine the acoustic radiation force and drag force to tackle the size limitations of conventional acoustic manipulations. A brief review of acoustic streaming theory and its generation is summarized. Recent progress in applying acoustic streaming for fluidic handling and bioparticle manipulations is reviewed. Representative applications of micro acoustic streaming are provided, and the key issues in these applications are analyzed. Finally, the future prospects of micro acoustic streaming in bioanalytical and biomedical applications are discussed.
The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is a structural and functional barrier necessary for brain homeostasis, and it plays an important role in the realization of neural function and in protecting the brain from damage by circulating toxins and pathogens. However, the extremely dense BBB also severely limits the transport of molecules across it, which is a great hindrance to the diagnosis and treatment of central nervous system (CNS) diseases. This paper reports a new method for controllable opening of the BBB, based on the gigahertz acoustic streaming (AS) generated by a bulk acoustic wave resonant device. By adjusting the input power and working distance of the device, AS with tunable flow rate can be generated to disrupt tight junction proteins (TJs) between endothelial cells. The results obtained with this method show that the gigahertz AS promotes the penetration of dextran molecules with different molecular weights across the BBB. This work provides a new platform for studying the mechanical regulation of BBB by fluid shear forces and a new method for improving the efficiency of drug delivery.
The hydrodynamic method mimics the in vivo environment of the mechanical effect on cell stimulation, which not only modulates cell physiology but also shows excellent intracellular delivery ability. Herein, a hydrodynamic intracellular delivery system based on the gigahertz acoustic streaming (AS) effect is proposed, which presents powerful targeted delivery capabilities with high efficiency and universality. Results indicate that the range of cells with AuNR introduction is related to that of AS, enabling a tunable delivery range due to the adjustability of the AS radius. Moreover, with the assistance of AS, the organelle localization delivery of AuNRs with different modifications is enhanced. AuNRs@RGD is inclined to accumulate in the nucleus, while AuNRs@BSA tend to enter the mitochondria and AuNRs@PEGnK tend to accumulate in the lysosome. Finally, the photothermal effect is proved based on the large quantities of AuNRs introduced via AS. The abundant introduction of AuNRs under the action of AS can achieve rapid cell heating with the irradiation of a 785 nm laser, which has great potential in shortening the treatment cycle of photothermal therapy (PTT). Thereby, an efficient hydrodynamic technology in AuNR introduction based on AS has been demonstrated. The outstanding location delivery and organelle targeting of this method provides a new idea for precise medical treatment.
Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite (OIHP) photodetectors that simultaneously achieve an ultrafast response and high sensitivity in the near-infrared (NIR) region are prerequisites for expanding current monitoring, imaging, and optical communication capbilities. Herein, we demonstrate photodetectors constructed by OIHP and an organic bulk heterojunction (BHJ) consisting of a low-bandgap nonfullerene and polymer, which achieve broadband response spectra up to 1 μm with a highest external quantum efficiency of approximately 54% at 850 nm, an ultrafast response speed of 5.6 ns and a linear dynamic range (LDR) of 191 dB. High sensitivity, ultrafast speed and a large LDR are preeminent prerequisites for the practical application of photodetectors. Encouragingly, due to the high-dynamic-range imaging capacity, high-quality visible-NIR actual imaging is achieved by employing the OIHP photodetectors. We believe that state-of-the-art OIHP photodetectors can accelerate the translation of solution-processed photodetector applications from the laboratory to the imaging market.
Uncooled infrared detectors have enabled the rapid growth of thermal imaging applications. These detectors are predominantly bolometers, reading out a pixel’s temperature change due to infrared radiation as a resistance change. Another uncooled sensing method is to transduce the infrared radiation into the frequency shift of a mechanical resonator. We present here highly sensitive resonant infrared sensors, based on thermo-responsive shape memory polymers. By exploiting the phase-change polymer as transduction mechanism, our approach provides 2 orders of magnitude improvement of the temperature coefficient of frequency. Noise equivalent temperature difference of 22 mK in vacuum and 112 mK in air are obtained using f/2 optics. The noise equivalent temperature difference is further improved to 6 mK in vacuum by using high-Q silicon nitride membranes as substrates for the shape memory polymers. This high performance in air eliminates the need for vacuum packaging, paving a path towards flexible non-hermetically sealed infrared sensors.
In this work, a monolithic oscillator chip is heterogeneously integrated by a film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR) and a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) chip using FlexMEMS technology. In the 3D-stacked integrated chip, the thin-film FBAR sits directly over the CMOS chip, between which a 4 μm-thick SU-8 layer provides a robust adhesion and acoustic reflection cavity. The proposed system-on-chip (SoC) integration features a simple fabrication process, small size, and excellent performance. The oscillator outputs 2.024 GHz oscillations of −13.79 dBm and exhibits phase noises of −63, −120, and − 136 dBc/Hz at 1 kHz, 100 kHz, and far-from-carrier offset, respectively. FlexMEMS technology guarantees compact and accurate assembly, process compatibility, and high performance, thereby demonstrating its great potential in SoC hetero-integration applications. Keywords: FlexMEMS, Hetero-integration, Film bulk acoustic resonator, System-on-chip, Oscillator
We present a nanoscale acoustofluidic trap (AFT) which manipulates nanoparticles in a microfluidic system actuated by a gigahertz acoustic resonator. The AFT generates independent standing closed vortices with high-speed rotation. By carefully designing and optimizing the geometric confinements, the AFT is able to effectively capture and enrich sub-100 nm nanoparticles with low power consumption (0.25~5 μW/μm2) and rapid trapping (within 30 s), showing greatly enhanced particle operating ability towards its acoustic and optical counterparts. Using specifically functionalized nanoparticles (SFNPs) to selectively capture target molecules from the sample, the AFT produces a molecular concentration enhancement of ~200 times. We investigated the feasibility of the SFNPs-assisted AFT preconcentration method for biosensing applications, and successfully demonstrated its capability for serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) detection. The AFT is prepared with a fully CMOS-compatible process, and thus can be conveniently integrated on a single chip, with potential for “lab-on-a-chip” or point-of-care (POC) nanoparticle-based biosensing applications.
a r t i c l e i n f o Even as gigahertz (GHz) acoustic streaming has developed into a multi-functional platform technology for biochemical applications, including ultrafast microfluidic mixing, microparticle operations, and cellar or vesicle surgery , its theoretical principles have yet to be established. This is because few studies have been conducted on the use of such high frequency acoustics in microscale fluids. Another difficulty is the lack of velocimetry methods for microscale and nanoscale fluidic streaming. In this work, we focus on the basic aspects of GHz acoustic streaming, including its micro-vortex generation principles, theoretical model, and experimental characterization technologies. We present details of a weak-coupled finite simulation that represents our current understanding of the GHz-acoustic-streaming phenomenon. Both our simulation and experimental results show that the GHz-acoustic-induced interfacial body force plays a determinative role in vortex generation. We carefully studied changes in the formation of GHz acoustic streaming at different acoustic powers and flow rates. In particular, we developed a microfluidic-particle-image velocimetry method that enables the quantification of streaming at the microscale and even nanoscale. This work provides a full map of GHz acoustofluidics and highlights the way to further theoretical study of this topic.
In photoacoustic imaging, the second near-infrared (NIR-II) window is where tissue generates the least background signal. However, the large size of the few available contrast agents in this spectral range impedes their pharmacokinetics and decreases their thermal stability, leading to unreliable photoacoustic imaging. Here, we report the synthesis of miniaturized gold nanorods absorbing in the NIR-II that are 5–11 times smaller than regular-sized gold nanorods with a similar aspect ratio. Under nanosecond pulsed laser illumination, small nanorods are about 3 times more thermally stable and generate 3.5 times stronger photoacoustic signal than their absorption-matched larger counterparts. These unexpected findings are confirmed using theoretical and numerical analysis, showing that photoacoustic signal is not only proportional to the optical absorption of the nanoparticle solution but also to the surface-to-volume ratio of the nanoparticles. In living tumour-bearing mice, these small targeted nanorods display a 30% improvement in efficiency of agent delivery to tumours and generate 4.5 times greater photoacoustic contrast. Miniaturized gold nanorods are reliable NIR-II photoacoustic agents, showing higher photothermal stability, enhanced photoacoustic signal and more efficient agent-to-tumour delivery compared with their larger counterparts.
Hierarchical assemblies of nanomaterial superstructures with controlled orientation affords a multitude of novel properties of plasmonics and broad applications. Yet constructing multi-functional superstructures with nanoparticles positioned in desired locations remains challenging. Herein, gold nanorods (GNRs) assembled in stripe patterns with controlled orientation and structures in millimeter scale for versatile application have been achieved. Applications of patterned GNRs in sensing enhancement and engineering mammalian cells alignment are investigated experimentally. The performance of patterned GNRs in surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and electrical sensing are found in orientational dependence. The SERS signals of vertically arranged GNR arrays exhibit double the folder intensity than those horizontally arranged. In contrast, the horizontally arranged GNRs exhibit twice as much electrical conductivity. The system is further explored to pattern mammalian cells. For the first time, we reveal the nanostructured topography of GNR confined cells to a specific region, and direct the adhesion and extension of living cells, which opens up broad applications in tissue engineering and biosensing.
Bioinspired engineering offers a promising alternative approach in accelerating the development of many man‐made systems. Next‐generation infrared (IR) sensing systems can also benefit from such nature‐inspired approach. The inherent compact and uncooled operation of biological IR sensing systems provides ample inspiration for the engineering of portable and high‐performance artificial IR sensing systems. This review overviews the current understanding of the biological IR sensing systems, most of which are thermal‐based IR sensors that rely on either bolometer‐like or photomechanic sensing mechanism. The existing efforts inspired by the biological IR sensing systems and possible future bioinspired approaches in the development of new IR sensing systems are also discussed in the review. Besides these biological IR sensing systems, other biological systems that do not have IR sensing capabilities but can help advance the development of engineered IR sensing systems are also discussed, and the related engineering efforts are overviewed as well. Further efforts in understanding the biological IR sensing systems, the learning from the integration of multifunction in biological systems, and the reduction of barriers to maximize the multidiscipline collaborations are needed to move this research field forward.
This paper reports an uncooled infrared (IR) detector based on a micromachined piezoelectric resonator operating in resonant and resistive dual-modes. The two sensing modes achieved IR responsivities of 2.5 Hz/nW and 900 μdB/nW, respectively. Compared with the single mode operation, the dual-mode measurement improves the limit of detection by two orders of magnitude and meanwhile maintains high linearity and responsivity in a higher IR intensity range. A combination of the two sensing modes compensates for its own shortcomings and provides a much larger dynamic range, and thus, a wider application field of the proposed detector is realized.
The use of micro-/nanoelectromechanical resonators for the room temperature detection of electromagnetic radiation at infrared frequencies has recently been investigated, showing thermal detection capabilities that could potentially outperform conventional microbolometers. The scaling of the device thickness in the nanometer range and the achievement of high infrared absorption in such a subwavelength thickness, without sacrificing the electromechanical performance, are the two key challenges for the implementation of fast, high-resolution micro-/nanoelectromechanical resonant infrared detectors. In this paper, we show that by using a virtually massless, high-electrical-conductivity, and transparent graphene electrode, floating at the van der Waals separation of a few angstroms from a piezoelectric aluminum nitride nanoplate, it is possible to implement ultrathin (460 nm) piezoelectric nanomechanical resonant structures with improved electromechanical performance (>50% improved frequency×quality factor) and infrared detection capabilities (>100× improved infrared absorptance) compared with metal-electrode counterparts, despite their reduced volumes. The intrinsic infrared absorption capabilities of a submicron thin graphene–aluminum nitride plate backed with a metal electrode are investigated for the first time and exploited for the first experimental demonstration of a piezoelectric nanoelectromechanical resonant thermal detector with enhanced infrared absorptance in a reduced volume. Moreover, the combination of electromagnetic and piezoelectric resonances provided by the same graphene–aluminum nitride-metal stack allows the proposed device to selectively detect short-wavelength infrared radiation (by tailoring the thickness of aluminum nitride) with unprecedented electromechanical performance and thermal capabilities. These attributes potentially lead to the development of uncooled infrared detectors suitable for the implementation of high performance, miniaturized and power-efficient multispectral infrared imaging systems.
Ultrathin plasmonic metasurfaces have proven their ability to control and manipulate light at unprecedented levels, leading to exciting optical functionalities and applications. Although to date metasurfaces have mainly been investigated from an electromagnetic perspective, their ultrathin nature may also provide novel and useful mechanical properties. Here we propose a thin piezoelectric plasmonic metasurface forming the resonant body of a nanomechanical resonator with simultaneously tailored optical and electromechanical properties. We experimentally demonstrate that it is possible to achieve high thermomechanical coupling between electromagnetic and mechanical resonances in a single ultrathin piezoelectric nanoplate. The combination of nanoplasmonic and piezoelectric resonances allows the proposed device to selectively detect long-wavelength infrared radiation with unprecedented electromechanical performance and thermal capabilities. These attributes lead to the demonstration of a fast, high-resolution, uncooled infrared detector with ∼80% absorption for an optimized spectral bandwidth centered around 8.8 μm.
Semiconductor-metal hybrid nanostructures offer a highly controllable platform for light-induced charge separation, with direct relevance for their implementation in photocatalysis. Advances in the synthesis allow for control over the size, shape and morphology, providing tunability of the optical and electronic properties. A critical determining factor of the photocatalytic cycle is the metal domain characteristics and in particular its size, a subject that lacks deep understanding. Here, using a well-defined model system of cadmium sulfide-gold nanorods, we address the effect of the gold tip size on the photocatalytic function, including the charge transfer dynamics and hydrogen production efficiency. A combination of transient absorption, hydrogen evolution kinetics and theoretical modelling reveal a non-monotonic behaviour with size of the gold tip, leading to an optimal metal domain size for the most efficient photocatalysis. We show that this results from the size-dependent interplay of the metal domain charging, the relative band-alignments, and the resulting kinetics.
Gold nanorods (GNRs) with longitudinal surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peaks in second near-infrared (NIR-II) window have attracted a great amount of attention as photothermal transducer because of their inherently excellent photothermal transition efficiency, high biocompatibility and versatile surface functionalization. One key question for the application of these GNRs against tumors in vivo is which size/shape and surface ligand conjugation are promising for circulation and tumor targeting. In this study, we prepared a series of gold nanorods (GNRs) of similar aspect ratio and LSPR peaks, and thus similar photothermal transfer efficiency under irradiation of 980 nm laser, but with tunable size in width and length. The obtained GNRs were subjected to surface modification with PEG and tumor targeting ligand lactoferrin. With these tailor-designed GNRs in hand, we have the chance to study the impact of dimension and surface property of the GNRs on their internalization via tumor cells, photothermal cytotoxicity in vitro, blood circulation and tissue distribution pattern in vivo. As a result, the GNRs with medium size (70 nm in length and 11.5 nm in width) and surface PEG/LF modification (GNR70@PEG-LF) exhibit the fastest cell internalization via HepG2 cells and best photothermal outcome in vitro. The GNR70@PEG-LF also display long circulation time and the highest tumor accumulation in vivo, due to the synergetic effect of surface coating and dimension. Finally, tumor ablation ability of the GNRs under irradiation of 980 nm light were validated on mice xenograft model, suggesting their potential photothermal therapy against cancer in NIR-II window.
An improved architecture for all-Si based photoelectronic detectors has been developed, consisting of a specially designed metasurface as antennas integrated into a Si nanowire array on insulator by an electron beam lithography based self-alignment process. Simulation using Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method was carried out to ensure perfect absorption of light by the detector. Optic measurement shows a 90% absorption at 1.05 µm. Photo-electronic characterization demonstrates the responsivity and detectivity as high as 94.5 mA/W and 4.38×10^11 cm Hz^(1/2) /W, respectively, at 1.15 µm with the bandwidth of 480 nm, which is comparable to that of III-V/II-VI compound detectors. It is understood that the outstanding performances over other reported all-Si based detectors originate from the enhanced quantum efficiency in one-dimensional conduction channels with high density of states which efficiently accommodate the emitted plasmonic hot electrons for high conduction in the Si nanowires, enabling the near infrared detection by all-Si based detectors.
In this letter, we demonstrate an uncooled, sensitivity-enhanced infrared (IR) detector based on a Lamb wave sensor coated with polydopamine (PDA). The real-time resonant frequency responses of the sensors with and without PDA coating were measured as functions of IR intensity. Compared to the traditional Lamb wave sensor, the PDA-coated Lamb sensor exhibits a highly linear relationship between resonance frequency and IR intensity, and the slope representing the sensitivity of IR detection is nearly one order of magnitude higher. The enhanced sensitivity is mainly attributed to the optical-thermal transition of PDA nanoparticles rather than the modulation of the thermal-acoustic effect. This mechanism for achieving highly sensitive uncooled IR detectors holds great promise for application in photo-thermal therapy along with other military and civilian fields.
Here, the very high thermal sensing capability of Er3+,Yb3+ doped LaF3 nanoparticles, where Er3+-to-Yb3+ energy transfer is used, are reported. Also Pr3+,Yb3+ doped LaF3 nanoparticles, with Pr3+-to-Yb3+ energy transfer, showed temperature sensing in the same temperature regime, but with lower performance. The investigated Er3+,Yb3+ doped LaF3 nanoparticles show a remarkably high relative sensitivity Sr up to 6.6092 %K-1 (at 15K) in the near-infrared (NIR), in the cryogenic (15 – 105K) temperature region opening a whole new thermometric system suitable for advanced applications in the very low temperature ranges. Up to date reports on NIR cryogenic sensors are very scarce.
Aqueous solutions of alcohols are used in several applications, from pharmaceutics and biological sciences, to chemical, biofuel, and food industries. Nonetheless, development of a simple, inexpensive, and portable sensing device for the quantification of water in water-ethanol mixtures remains a significant challenge. Photonic crystals (PhCs) operating at very high-order bandgaps (PBGs) offer remarkable opportunities for the realization of chemical sensors with high sensitivity and low detection limit. Nonetheless, high- order PhC structures have been mostly confined to mere theoretical speculations so far, their effective realization requiring microfabrication tools enabling the control of periodic refractive index modulations at the sub-micrometric scale with extremely high both accuracy and precision. Here, we report both experimental and theoretical results on high-sensitivity chemical analysis using vertical, silicon/air 1D-PhCs with spatial period of 10 and 20 μm (namely, over 10 times the operational wavelength) featuring ultra-high-order PBGs in the near-infrared region (namely, up to 50th at 1.1 μm). Fabrication of high-order 1D-PhCs is carried out by electrochemical micromachining (ECM) of silicon, which allows both surface roughness and deviation from verticality of etched structures to be controlled below 5 nm and 0.1%, respectively. Optical characterization of ECM-fabricated 1D-PhCs is carried out by acquiring reflectivity power spectra over the wavelength range 1-1.7 μm, which allows the presence of ultra-high-order PBGs with minor optical losses (i.e. <1 dB in reflectivity) separated by deep reflectivity notches with high Q-factors (i.e. >6000) to be appreciated, in good agreement with theoretical results. Eventually, we investigated the use of high-order 1D-PhCs for the refractometric quantitative detection of trace of water in water-ethanol mixtures, demonstrating that a high sensitivity (namely, either 1000 nm/RIU or ~0.4 nm/% of water), good detection limit (namely, 5 × 10-3 RIU or ~ 10% water), and excellent resolution (namely, either 6 × 10&' RIU or 1.6% of water) is reliably achieved on a detection volume of about 168 fL.
The ability to probe the molecular fundamental or overtones (high harmonics) vibrations is fundamental to modern healthcare monitoring techniques and sensing technologies since it provides an information about the molecular structure. However, since the absorption cross-section of molecular vibrations overtones is much smaller compared to the absorption cross-section of fundamental vibrations, their detection is challenging. Here, a silicon nanostrip rib waveguide structure is proposed for label-free on-chip overtone spectroscopy in near-infrared (NIR). Utilizing the large refractive index contrast (∆n > 2) between the silicon core of the waveguide and the silica substrate, a broadband NIR lightwave can be efficiently guided. We show that the sensitivity for chemical detection is increased by more than 3 orders of magnitude when compared to the evanescent-wave sensing predicted by the numerical model. This spectrometer distinguished several common organic liquids such as N-Methylaniline and Aniline precisely without any surface modification to the waveguide through the waveguide scanning over the absorption dips in the NIR transmission spectra. Planar NIR Si nanostrip waveguide is a compact sensor that can provide a platform for accurate chemical detection. Our NIR Si nanostrip rib waveguide device can enable the development of sensors for remote, on-site monitoring of chemicals.
In this work, gigahertz solidly mounted resonators (SMRs) (2.5 GHz) were designed and fabricated to construct a novel particle-resonator system to achieve the biomolecular stiffness sensing in real time. The positive frequency shift of the system was used to estimate the stiffness of biomolecules connecting between the SMR and attached particles. The working principle was revealed by the mathematical analysis of the general block-spring model of the system. Further interpretations about the mechanism of such elastic interaction from the perspective of acoustic resonant modes of SMRs were given by finite element method. Biotin-streptavidin, antibody and antigen binding system were used as model molecular linkers to study the frequency shift varied with different particle diameters and particle densities. Different linker stiffness was realized by adjusting the concentrations of antigens connected with particles which form specific binding with antibodies immobilized on the SMR. The results fairly agree with the simulation results demonstrating the proposed particle-resonator system as an effective method to realize the real-time biomolecular stiffness detection.
Efficient delivery of genes and therapeutic agents to the interior of the cell is critical for
modern biotechnology. Herein, a new type of chemical-free cell poration method—
hypersonic poration—is developed to improve the cellular uptake, especially the
nucleus uptake. The hypersound (≈GHz) is generated by a designed piezoelectric
nano-electromechanical resonator, which directly induces normal/shear stress and
“molecular bombardment” effects on the bilayer membranes, and creates reversible
temporal nanopores improving the membrane permeability. Both theory analysis
and cellular uptake experiments of exogenous compounds prove the high delivery
efficiency of hypersonic poration. Since target molecules in cells are accumulated with
the treatment, the delivered amount can be controlled by tuning the treatment time.
Furthermore, owing to the intrinsic miniature of the resonator, localized drug delivery
at a confined spatial location and tunable arrays of the resonators that are compatible
with multiwell plate can be achieved. The hypersonic poration method shows great
delivery efficacy combined with advantage of scalability, tunable throughput, and
simplification in operation and provides a potentially powerful strategy in the field of
molecule delivery, cell transfection, and gene therapy.
Gold nanorods (GNRs) are emerging as a promising nanoplatform for cancer theranostics because of their unique optical properties. However, they still suffer from many limitations, such as high cytotoxicity, low thermodynamic and biological stability, and a tedious process for integrating other imaging modalities, for further practical biomedical applications. In this work, a strategy by one-step coating of Gd2O2S around GNRs is reported to address these limitations of GNRs. After the coating of the Gd2O2S shell, the as-fabricated Gd2O2S coated GNRs (GNRs@Gd2O2S) show enhanced biocompatibility and photostability, and tunable localized surface plasmon resonance. The strong absorption in the near-infrared region renders GNRs@Gd2O2S outstanding photoacoustic imaging and photothermal therapy capabilities. Moreover, owing to the T1 shortening ability of Gd2O2S, the GNRs@Gd2O2S also show an excellent T1 MRI contrast performance. The GNRs@Gd2O2S thus can serve as a versatile nanoplatform for cancer theranostics combining dual-modal imaging and photothermal therapy.
A lateral photodetector based on the bilayer composite film of a perovskite and a conjugated polymer is reported. It exhibits significantly enhanced responsivity in the UV-vis region and sensitive photoresponse in the near-IR (NIR) region at a low applied voltage. This broadband photodetector also shows excellent mechanical flexibility and improved environmental stability.
Millimeter-scale 3D superlattice arrays composed of dense, regular, and vertically aligned gold nanorods are fabricated by evaporative self-assembly. The regular organization of the gold nanorods into a macroscopic superlattice enables the production of a plasmonic substrate with excellent sensitivity and reproducibility, as well as reliability in surface-enhanced Raman scattering. The work bridges the gap between nanoscale materials and macroscopic applications.
Gold nanorods (GNRs) have been extensively used in biomedical applications, because of their favourable optical properties. Their longitudinal surface plasmon resonance can be tuned, providing a strong near-infrared (NIR) extinction coefficient peak within the tissue transparency window. However, the modification of the surface of GNRs is essential before they can be used in biomedical applications. The number of GNRs taken up by cells and their biodistribution depend on their surface modification. Here, we review the recent advances in modifying GNR surfaces with polyelectrolytes for biomedical applications. Major polyelectrolytes used to coat GNR surfaces over the past few years and the biocompatibility of polyelectrolyte-coated GNRs are discussed.
At present efforts in infrared detector research are directed towards improving the performance of single element devices, large electronically scanned arrays and higher operating temperature. Another important aim is to make IR detectors cheaper and more convenient to use. All these aspects are discussed in this paper.Investigations of the performance of infrared thermal detectors as compared to photon detectors are presented. Due to fundamental different types of noise, these two classes of detectors have different dependencies of detectivities on wavelength and temperature. Next, an overview of focal plane array architecture is given with emphasise on monolithic and hybrid structures. The objective of the next sections is to present the status of different types of detectors: HgCdTe photodiodes, Schottky-barrier photoemissive devices, silicon and germanium detectors, InSb photodiodes, alternative to HgCdTe III–V and II–VI ternary alloy detectors, monolithic lead chalcogenide photodiodes, quantum well and quantum dot infrared photodetectors.Final part of the paper is devoted to uncooled two-dimensional arrays of thermal detectors. Three most important detection mechanisms, namely, resistive bolometer, pyroelectric detectors and termopile are considered. The development of outstanding technical achievements in uncooled thermal imaging is also presented.
We investigate use of nanomechanical torsional resonators for frequency-shift-based infrared (IR) thermal sensing. Nanoscale torsion rods, ∼1 μm long and 50-100 nm in diameter, provide both extraordinary thermal isolation and excellent angular displacement and torque sensitivities, of order ∼10-7 rad·Hz-1/2 and ∼10-22 (N·m) Hz-1/2, respectively. Furthermore, these nanorods act as linear torsional springs, yielding a maximum angular displacement of 3.6° and a dynamic range of over 100 dB; this exceeds the performance of flexural modes by as much as 5 orders of magnitude. These attributes lead to superior noise performance for torsional-mode sensing. We demonstrate the operational principles of torsional-mode IR detection, attaining an uncooled noise equivalent temperature difference (NETD) of 390 mK. By modeling the fundamental noise processes, we project that further reduction of device size can significantly improve thermal responsivity; a room-temperature NETD below 10 mK appears feasible.
We report a dramatically improved synthesis of colloidal gold nanorods (NRs) using a binary surfactant mixture composed of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium oleate (NaOL). Both thin (diameter < 25 nm) and thicker (diameter > 30 nm) gold NRs with exceptional monodispersity and broadly tunable longitudinal surface plasmon resonance can be synthesized using seeded growth at reduced CTAB concentrations (as low as 0.037 M). The CTAB-NaOL binary surfactant mixture overcomes the difficulty of growing uniform thick gold NRs often associated with the single-component CTAB system and greatly expands the dimensions of gold NRs that are accessible through a one-pot seeded growth process. Gold NRs with large overall dimensions and thus high scattering/absorption ratios are ideal for scattering-based applications such as biolabeling as well as enhancement of optical processes.
Gold nanorods have received much attention due to their unique optical and electronic properties which are dependent on their shape, size, and aspect ratio. This article covers in detail the synthesis, functionalization, self-assembly, and sensing applications of gold nanorods. The synthesis of three major types of rods is discussed: single-crystalline and pentahedrally-twinned rods, which are synthesized by wet chemistry methods, and polycrystalline rods, which are synthesized by templated deposition. Functionalization of these rods is usually necessary for their applications, but can often be problematic due to their surfactant coating. Thus, general strategies are provided for the covalent and noncovalent functionalization of gold nanorods. The review will then examine the significant progress that has been made in controllable assembly of nanorods into various arrangements. This assembly can have a large effect on measurable properties of rods, making it particularly applicable towards sensing of a variety of analytes. Other types of sensing not dependent on nanorod assembly, such as refractive-index based sensing, are also discussed.
Noble metal nanoparticles are capable of confining resonant photons in such a manner as to induce coherent surface plasmon oscillation of their con- duction band electrons, a phenomenon leading to two important properties. Firstly, the confinement of the photon to the nanoparticle's dimensions leads to a large increase in its electromagnetic field and consequently great enhancement ofall the nanoparticle's radiative properties, such as absorption and scattering. Moreover, by confining the photon's wavelength to the nanoparticle's small dimensions, there exists enhanced imaging resolving powers, which extend well below the diffraction limit, a property of con- siderable importance in potential device applications. Secondly, the strongly absorbed light by the nanoparticles is followed by a rapid dephasing of the coherent electron motion in tandem with an equally rapid energy transfer to the lattice, a process integral to the technologically relevant photothermal properties of plasmonic nanoparticles. Of all the possible nanoparticle shapes, gold nanorods are especially intriguing as they offer strong plasmonic fields while exhibiting excellent tunability and biocompatibility. We begin this review of gold nanorods by summarizing their radiative and nonradiative properties. Their various synthetic methods are then outlined with an emphasis on the seed-mediated chemical growth. In particular, we describe nanorod spontaneous self-assembly, chemically driven assembly, and poly- mer-based alignment. The final section details current studies aimed at applications in the biological and biomedical fields.
Localized Surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) sensors based on metal nanoparticles, a mode of signal transduction, and biological LSPR sensors, concerned with label-free detection, are studied. To find the functional form of the LSPR peak wavelength's dependence on the dielectric function of the medium, the analytical, frequency-dependent form from the Drude model of the electronic structure of metals is used. LSPR directly detects the target's refractive index and so it is a label-free sensor, in which the measured signal is due only to the presence of the target molecule. LSPR sensing is used to probe biomolecular interactions including nucleic acid hybridization and protein-carbohydrate, cytochrome-inhibitor, aptamer, protein, and toxinreceptor interactions. A scheme for LSPR-based gas sensing is developed by Karakouz et al., in which evaporated gold island films are coated with the polymers polystyrene sulfonic acid (PSS) and polystyrene (PS).
We designed a thermopile based on a PN doping profile engineered in a suspended film of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). Using estimates of the film local Seebeck coefficients, the SWNT thermopile was optimized in situ through depositions of potassium dopants. The overall performances of the thermopile were found to be comparable to state-of-the-art SWNT bolometers. The device is characterized at room temperature by a time response of 36 ms, typical of thermal detectors, and an optimum spectral detectivity of 2 × 10(6) cm Hz(1/2)/W in the visible and near-infrared. This paper presents the first thermopile made of a suspended SWNT film and paves the way to new applications such as broadband light (including THz) detection and thermoelectric power generation.
Micromachined infrared detectors based on pyroelectric thin films
- Muralt