Flexible Surface Acoustic Wave Research Articles

Conformable surface acoustic wave biosensor for E-coli fabricated on PEN plastic film

Over the last decades, great effort has gone into developing new biosensor technologies for applications in different fields such as disease diagnosis and detection of pollutants in water and food. Global developments in robotic, IoT technologies and in healthcare sensors require new flexible sensor technologies that are low cost and built from sustainable and reusable or recyclable materials. One of the most promising technologies is based on the development of surface acoustic wave (SAW) flexible biosensors, which are highly reproducible, reliable and wirelessly controllable. This work presents for the first time a novel aluminum nitride (AlN)-based conformable SAW immunosensor fabricated on recyclable polyethylene naphthalate. We apply it to the detection of E.Coli using a faster and innovative functionalization method that exploit Protein-A/antibody affinity. A higher sensitivity (Limit of detection-LoD, 6.54*105 CFU/ml) of the Lamb wave traveling on the polymeric device has been obtained in comparison with SAWs traveling on AlN on silicon substrate (LoD, 1.04*106 CFU/ml). Implementation of a finite element method allowed for the estimation of the single E.Coli mass of approximately 9*10−13 g. This work demonstrates the high biosensing potential of flexible polymeric SAW devices for bacteria contamination control in food chain, water and smart packaging.

Three-Dimensional Tetrapodal ZnO Microstructured Network Based Flexible Surface Acoustic Wave Device for Ultraviolet and Respiration Monitoring Applications

Sensitivity of flexible surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors to ultraviolet (UV) light is enhanced by the application of ZnO micro- and nanostructured networks as sensing layers. In this study, the ...

Flexible and Transparent Aluminum‐Nitride‐Based Surface‐Acoustic‐Wave Device on Polymeric Polyethylene Naphthalate

AbstractThe development of wearable technology increasingly requires bendable sensing devices operating across multiple domains for opto‐electro‐mechanical and biochemical transduction. Piezoelectric materials integrated into flexible and transparent device architectures can enable multiple‐sensing platforms. It is shown that flexible and compliant surface‐acoustic‐wave (SAW) piezoelectric devices include all these features and can be applied to the human body. A flexible and transparent aluminum‐nitride‐(AlN)‐based SAW device on a thermoplastic polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) substrate, fabricated by low‐temperature sputtering deposition of a multilayered AlN‐based stack, is reported for the first time. Two resonant modes, corresponding to Rayleigh and Lamb wave propagation, are shown and compared with a control SAW device on a silicon substrate. A large transmission‐signal amplitude, up to 20 dB, is achieved for the Lamb resonance mode around 500 MHz at an acoustic velocity of 10 500 m s−1. The technology is applied to the fabrication of a wearable temperature sensor. Compared to the same piezoelectric stack and SAW technology onto silicon substrates, the AlN/PEN SAW shows better performance and a temperature coefficient frequency as high as ≈810 ppm °C−1. The potential of this flexible SAW device as a wearable temperature sensor based on Rayleigh modes is demonstrated.

Flexible dual-mode surface acoustic wave strain sensor based on crystalline LiNbO3 thin film

This work presents the development of flexible dual-mode surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor based on single crystalline thin film lithium niobate (TF-LN). Numerical modeling is conducted to investigate the SAW propagation and the effects on strain sensitivity. The dependence of strain sensitivity on angles between the applied strain and SAW propagation direction is analyzed numerically and experimentally, showing that the maximum strain sensitivity is at 45° rather than longitudinal direction. 128° Y-cut TF-LN (~50 µm), obtained by micromachining technique, is utilized as the piezoelectric substrate to fabricate the SAW strain sensors with dual-mode, namely Rayleigh mode and thickness shear mode. The sensor has excellent flexibility and demonstrates remarkable capability for an ultra-wide range strain measurement up to ±3000 . Temperature effects on resonant frequency and strain sensitivity are investigated in the range of 25 °C–100 °C, and similar temperature characteristics are observed for the dual modes. A method of beat frequency between the dual modes is introduced which is able to eliminate the temperature effect on strain sensing, an on-chip temperature influence removing capability. All the results clearly show that this sensor exhibits great potential for applications in flexible electronics and microsystems.

Design of zinc oxide-based surface acoustic wave sensors using a graphene electrode

Continuous monitoring of skin moisture by using a wearable moisture sensor consisting of the materials that have no risk of skin sensitization, such as zinc oxide (ZnO), is essential to optimize the healing process in wound care. Here we tackled the investigation of the optimum electrode for ZnO-based surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors to achieve this goal. Al and Au electrodes commonly used were compared with a graphene electrode by simulation in terms of the frequency characteristics of the SAW device. Graphene and Al showed the same tendency in frequency characteristics as the 0 thickness electrode (ideal electrode). Since graphene is suitable for flexible devices due to its stretchability and for the long-term stability due to its chemical innerness, it was concluded that graphene is more suitable than the conventional Al and Au electrodes for flexible SAW sensor devices.

Bimorph material/structure designs for high sensitivity flexible surface acoustic wave temperature sensors

A fundamental challenge for surface acoustic wave (SAW) temperature sensors is the detection of small temperature changes on non-planar, often curved, surfaces. In this work, we present a new design methodology for SAW devices based on flexible substrate and bimorph material/structures, which can maximize the temperature coefficient of frequency (TCF). We performed finite element analysis simulations and obtained theoretical TCF values for SAW sensors made of ZnO thin films (~5 μm thick) coated aluminum (Al) foil and Al plate substrates with thicknesses varied from 1 to 1600 μm. Based on the simulation results, SAW devices with selected Al foil or plate thicknesses were fabricated. The experimentally measured TCF values were in excellent agreements with the simulation results. A normalized wavelength parameter (e.g., the ratio between wavelength and sample thickness, λ/h) was applied to successfully describe changes in the TCF values, and the TCF readings of the ZnO/Al SAW devices showed dramatic increases when the normalized wavelength λ/h was larger than 1. Using this design approach, we obtained the highest reported TCF value of −760 ppm/K for a SAW device made of ZnO thin film coated on Al foils (50 μm thick), thereby enabling low cost temperature sensor applications to be realized on flexible substrates.

Flexible surface acoustic wave strain sensor based on single crystalline LiNbO3 thin film

A flexible surface acoustic wave (SAW) strain sensor in the frequency range of 162–325 MHz was developed based on a single crystalline LiNbO3 thin film with dual resonance modes, namely, the Rayleigh mode and the thickness shear mode (TSM). This SAW sensor could handle a wide strain range up to ±3500 με owing to its excellent flexibility, which is nearly six times the detecting range of bulk piezoelectric substrate based SAW strain sensors. The sensor exhibited a high sensitivity of 193 Hz/με with a maximum hysteresis less than 1.5%. The temperature coefficients of frequency, for Rayleigh and TSM modes, were −85 and −59 ppm/°C, respectively. No visible deterioration was observed after cyclic bending for hundreds of times, showing its desirable stability and reliability. By utilizing the dual modes, the strain sensor with a self-temperature calibrated capability can be achieved. The results demonstrate that the sensor is an excellent candidate for strain sensing.

Non-leaky modes and bandgaps of surface acoustic waves in wrinkled stiff-film/compliant-substrate bilayers

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices have found a wide variety of technical applications, including SAW filters, SAW resonators, microfluidic actuators, biosensors, flow measurement devices, and seismic wave shields. Stretchable/flexible electronic devices, such as sensory skins for robotics, structural health monitors, and wearable communication devices, have received considerable attention across different disciplines. Flexible SAW devices are essential building blocks for these applications, wherein piezoelectric films may need to be integrated with the compliant substrates. When piezoelectric films are much stiffer than soft substrates, SAWs are usually leaky and the devices incorporating them suffer from acoustic losses. In this study, the propagation of SAWs in a wrinkled bilayer system is investigated, and our analysis shows that non-leaky modes can be achieved by engineering stress patterns through surface wrinkles in the system. Our analysis also uncovers intriguing bandgaps (BGs) related to the SAWs in a wrinkled bilayer system; these are caused by periodic deformation patterns, which indicate that diverse wrinkling patterns could be used as metasurfaces for controlling the propagation of SAWs.

Flexible surface acoustic wave respiration sensor for monitoring obstructive sleep apnea syndrome

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) has received much attention in recent years due to its significant harm to human health and high morbidity rate. A respiration monitoring system is needed to detect OSAS, so that the patient can receive treatment in a timely manner. Wired and wireless OSAS monitoring systems have been developed, but they require a wire connection and batteries to operate, and they are bulky, heavy and not user-friendly. In this paper, we propose the use of a flexible surface acoustic wave (SAW) microsensor to detect and monitor OSAS by measuring the humidity change associated with the respiration of a person. SAW sensors on rigid 128° YX LiNbO3 substrate are also characterized for this application. Results show both types of SAW sensors are suitable for OSAS monitoring with good sensitivity, repeatability and reliability, and the response time and recovery time for the flexible SAW sensors are 1.125 and 0.75 s, respectively. Our work demonstrates the potential for an innovative flexible microsensor for the detection and monitoring of OSAS.

Effects of Sputtering Parameters on AlN Film Growth on Flexible Hastelloy Tapes by Two-Step Deposition Technique.

AlN thin films were deposited on flexible Hastelloy tapes and Si (100) substrate by middle-frequency magnetron sputtering. A layer of Y2O3 films was used as a buffer layer for the Hastelloy tapes. A two-step deposition technique was used to prepare the AlN films. The effects of deposition parameters such as sputtering power, N2/Ar flow rate and sputtering pressure on the microstructure of the AlN thin films were systematically investigated. The results show that the dependency of the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of AlN/Y2O3/Hastelloy on the sputtering parameters is similar to that of AlN/Si (100). The FWHM of the AlN (002) peak of the prepared AlN films decreases with increasing sputtering power. The FWHM decreases with the increase of the N2/Ar flow rate or sputtering pressure, and increases with the further increase of the N2/Ar flow rate or sputtering pressure. The FWHM of the AlN/Y2O3/Hastelloy prepared under optimized parameters is only 3.7° and its root mean square (RMS) roughness is 5.46 nm. Based on the experimental results, the growth mechanism of AlN thin films prepared by the two-step deposition process was explored. This work would assist us in understanding the AlN film’s growth mechanism of the two-step deposition process, preparing highly c-axis–oriented AlN films on flexible metal tapes and developing flexible surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors from an application perspective.

Growth and Characterization of Polyimide-Supported AlN Films for Flexible Surface Acoustic Wave Devices

Highly c-axis oriented aluminum nitride (AlN) films, which can be used in flexible surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices, were successfully deposited on polyimide (PI) substrates by direct current reactive magnetron sputtering without heating. The sputtering power, film thickness, and deposition pressure were optimized. The characterization studies show that at the optimized conditions, the deposited AlN films are composed of columnar grains, which penetrate through the entire film thickness (~2 μm) and exhibit an excellent (0002) texture with a full width at half maximum value of the rocking curve equal to 2.96°. The film surface is smooth with a root mean square value of roughness of 3.79 nm. SAW prototype devices with a center frequency of about 520 MHz and a phase velocity of Rayleigh wave of about 4160 m/s were successfully fabricated using the AlN/PI composite structure. The obtained results demonstrate that the highly c-axis oriented AlN films with a smooth surface and low stress can be produced on relatively rough, flexible substrates, and this composite structure can be possibly used in flexible SAW devices.

Flexible surface acoustic wave broadband strain sensors based on ultra-thin flexible glass substrate

ABSTRACTFlexible SAW devices based on ZnO piezoelectric thin film deposited on ultra-thin flexible glass were fabricated and their performances as a strain sensor have been investigated. The XRD and AFM characterizations showed that the ZnO layers have good crystal quality and smooth surface. The flexible SAW devices show excellent strain sensitivity which increases from ∼87 to ∼137 Hz/με with the increasing ZnO thickness, and the sensors can withstand strains up to ∼3000 με, 4∼6 times larger than those of SAW strain sensors on rigid substrates. The sensors exhibited remarkable stability up to hundreds of times bending under large strains. The effects of environmental variables (temperature, humidity, UV light) on the sensor performance have been investigated. The temperature has a significant effect on the performance of the SAW strain sensor, while humidity and light have limited effect.

The Innovated Flexible Surface Acoustic Wave Devices on Fully InkJet Printing Technology

An innovated fabricated process of the flexible surface acoustic wave (SAW) device is proposed in this study. Fully inkjet printing and sol-gel technology are used in this fabricated process. The flexible SAW device is composed of a ZnO layer sandwiched in between a flexible polyimide plastic sheet and two sets of interdigital transducers layer. The material of the top interdigital transducer layer is nano silver. The ZnO solution is prepared by sol-gel technology. Both the ZnO and top interdigital transducer layers are deposited by inkjet printing. The fully inkjet printing process possesses the advantages of direct patterning and low-cost. It does not require photolithography and etching processes since the pattern is directly printed on the flexible sheet. The center frequency of this prototype is matched with the design frequency. The prototype demonstrates that the presented flexible SAW device is available for the possible application in future. It may be applied to the sensing on curve surface.

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Development of flexible ZnO thin film surface acoustic wave strain sensors on ultrathin glass substrates

Flexible surface acoustic wave (SAW) strain sensors made on ZnO/ultrathin glass (100 μm) substrates have been developed. The sensitivity of the SAW strain sensors under different strain angles and annealing temperatures, as well as the mechanical stability, are investigated. It was shown that the thickness of ZnO has a strong effect on the sensitivity of the strain sensors, and thicker ZnO makes sensors with better performance. Thermal annealing at a temperature up to 200 °C also improves the sensitivity of the strain sensor significantly. The temperature coefficient of frequency remains unchanged under different strains, showing good thermal stability. A cyclic bending test with the strain varied between zero and 2000 με exhibits good mechanical stability and reliability of SAW strain sensors. All the results demonstrate the great potential of flexible SAW strain sensors for flexible electronic applications.

Flexible Surface Acoustic Wave Humidity Sensor with on Chip Temperature Compensation

This paper reports the development of flexible surface acoustic wave (SAW) based humidity sensors on polyimide substrate. The SAW devices have two resonant peaks, named the A0 and S0 Lamb modes, which have different temperature coefficients of frequency. Graphene oxide (GO) is used as the sensing layer owing to its large surface area and hydrophilcity to water. The sensors show high sensitivity up to 145.83ppm/%RH, comparable to those on rigid substrates, and fast response time of 4.4s. The sensitivity increases with the increase of GO thickness and resonant frequency. By utilizing the S0 mode as the temperature reference, a SAW Humidity-sensor with an on chip temperature compensation capability is demonstrated. The humidity sensors also show the ability to work under severe bending condition, demonstrated its great potential for flexible/wearable applications.

Flexible and Transparent Surface Acoustic Wave Microsensors and Microfluidics

This paper reports the development of flexible and transparent (FT) surface acoustic wave (SAW) technology, and FT-SAW based various sensors (temperature, humidity, UV-light and strain) and microfluidics on polymer and glass. The devices on polymers have the Rayleigh and Lamb resonances, while those on glass have the Rayleigh mode only. All the modes have large signal amplitudes. FT-SAW based sensors show excellent sensitivities, comparable to or better than those on rigid substrates. The temperature sensitivity of the sensors on PI is more than one order of magnitude larger than those on rigid substrates. The humidity sensitivity can be further increased significantly by using a graphene oxide (GO) sensing layer. All types of the sensors have excellent stability and reliability. FT-SAW also demonstrated very good capability to deliver microfluidic functions such as acoustic streaming and particle concentration etc. The results demonstrated the FT-SAW have great potential for applications.

High performance dual-wave mode flexible surface acoustic wave resonators for UV light sensing

Dual-mode flexible ZnO/polyimide surface acoustic wave (SAW)-based ultraviolet (UV) light sensors were fabricated and their performance was investigated. UV light sensing measurements showed that the responses of the dual wave modes of the sensors increase with the increase of light intensity and the frequency changes linearly with the change of light intensity. Under a 4.5 mW cm−2 UV light illumination, the resonant frequency of the Rayleigh wave decreased up to ∼43 kHz, while that of the Lamb wave was approximately 76 kHz. The UV light sensitivities for the two resonant modes are 111.3 and 55.8 ppm (mW cm−2)–1, respectively. The resonant frequency, phase angle and amplitude of the two resonant modes exhibited a good repeatability in responding to cyclic change of the UV light, and an excellent stability up to a long duration of UV light exposure. The dual-mode flexible SAW resonators are simple in structure, more accurate in detection, and can be fabricated at low cost are, therefore, very promising for application in flexible sensors and electronics.

Flexible surface acoustic wave devices and its applications in microfluidics

Abstract:Flexible electronics and microsystems are an emerging technology with a tremedous impact to the future electronics and information technology and widespread applications. Various devices and microsystems have been developed. Surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices are a type of essential device for electronics, microsensors and microsystems; however there is no activity on the development of flexible SAW devices yet. This paper reports the development of flexible SAW devices on cheap, bendable and disposable plastic films. Flexible SAW devices with resonant frequency of 198.1 MHz and 447 MHz for the Rayleigh and Lamb waves respectively have been obtained with a large transmission signal up to 18dB. The flexible SAW devices have also demonstrated their ability for acoustic streaming with a velocity up to 3.4 cm/s and for particle concentration. The results have clearly demonstrated that the flexible SAW devices have great potential for applications in electronics and microsystems.

Flexible Surface Acoustic Wave Based Temperature and Humidity Sensors

ABSTRACTFlexible surface acoustic wave (SAW) based temperature and humidity sensors were fabricated and characterized. ZnO piezoelectric films were deposited on polyimide substrates by DC magnetron sputtering. ZnO films possess (0002) crystal orientation with large grain sizes of 50∼70 nm. SAW devices showed two wave modes, namely the Rayleigh and Lamb modes, with the frequencies at fR ∼132MHz and fL∼427MHz respectively for a wavelength of 12 μm device. The two resonant frequencies have a temperature coefficient of frequency (TCF) of −423ppm/K and −258ppm/K for the Rayleigh and Lamb waves, respectively. The SAW sensors exhibited a good repeatability in responding to cyclic change of humidity. The responses of the sensors increase with the increase in humidity, and the sensitivity increases with the decrease in wavelength. A high sensitivity of 34.7 kHz/10%RH has been obtained from a SAW device without any surface treatment, demonstrated that the flexible SAW humidity sensors are very promising for application in flexible sensors and microsystems.