Miniature Footprint Research Articles

Sub-surface thermal measurement in additive manufacturing via machine learning-enabled high-resolution fiber optic sensing

Microstructures of additively manufactured metal parts are crucial since they determine the mechanical properties. The evolution of the microstructures during layer-wise printing is complex due to continuous re-melting and reheating effects. The current approach to studying this phenomenon relies on time-consuming numerical models such as finite element analysis due to the lack of effective sub-surface temperature measurement techniques. Attributed to the miniature footprint, chirped-fiber Bragg grating, a unique type of fiber optical sensor, has great potential to achieve this goal. However, using the traditional demodulation methods, its spatial resolution is limited to the millimeter level. In addition, embedding it during laser additive manufacturing is challenging since the sensor is fragile. This paper implements a machine learning-assisted approach to demodulate the optical signal to thermal distribution and significantly improve spatial resolution to 28.8 µm from the original millimeter level. A sensor embedding technique is also developed to minimize damage to the sensor and part while ensuring close contact. The case study demonstrates the excellent performance of the proposed sensor in measuring sharp thermal gradients and fast cooling rates during the laser powder bed fusion. The developed sensor has a promising potential to study the fundamental physics of metal additive manufacturing processes.

Multifunctional microelectronic fibers enable wireless modulation of gut and brain neural circuits

Progress in understanding brain–viscera interoceptive signaling is hindered by a dearth of implantable devices suitable for probing both brain and peripheral organ neurophysiology during behavior. Here we describe multifunctional neural interfaces that combine the scalability and mechanical versatility of thermally drawn polymer-based fibers with the sophistication of microelectronic chips for organs as diverse as the brain and the gut. Our approach uses meters-long continuous fibers that can integrate light sources, electrodes, thermal sensors and microfluidic channels in a miniature footprint. Paired with custom-fabricated control modules, the fibers wirelessly deliver light for optogenetics and transfer data for physiological recording. We validate this technology by modulating the mesolimbic reward pathway in the mouse brain. We then apply the fibers in the anatomically challenging intestinal lumen and demonstrate wireless control of sensory epithelial cells that guide feeding behaviors. Finally, we show that optogenetic stimulation of vagal afferents from the intestinal lumen is sufficient to evoke a reward phenotype in untethered mice.

Highly Miniaturized, Low-Power CMOS ASIC Chip for Long-Term Continuous Glucose Monitoring.

The objective of this work is to develop a highly miniaturized, low-power, biosensing platform for continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). This platform is based on an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chip that interfaces with an amperometric glucose-sensing element. To reduce both size and power requirements, this custom ASIC chip was implemented using 65-nm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology node. Interfacing this chip to a frequency-counting microprocessor with storage capabilities, a miniaturized transcutaneous CGM system can be constructed for small laboratory animals, with long battery life. A 0.45 mm × 1.12 mm custom ASIC chip was first designed and implemented using the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) 65-nm CMOS technology node. This ASIC chip was then interfaced with a multi-layer amperometric glucose-sensing element and a frequency-counting microprocessor with storage capabilities. Variation in glucose levels generates a linear increase in frequency response of this ASIC chip. In vivo experiments were conducted in healthy Sprague Dawley rats. This highly miniaturized, 65-nm custom ASIC chip has an overall power consumption of circa 36 µW. In vitro testing shows that this ASIC chip produces a linear (R2 = 99.5) frequency response to varying glucose levels (from 2 to 25 mM), with a sensitivity of 1278 Hz/mM. In vivo testing in unrestrained healthy rats demonstrated long-term CGM (six days/per charge) with rapid glucose response to glycemic variations induced by isoflurane anesthesia and tail vein injection. The miniature footprint of the biosensor platform, together with its low-power consumption, renders this CMOS ASIC chip a versatile platform for a variety of highly miniaturized devices, intended to improve the quality of life of patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Operando monitoring transition dynamics of responsive polymer using optofluidic microcavities

Optical microcavities have become an attractive platform for precision measurement with merits of ultrahigh sensitivity, miniature footprint and fast response. Despite the achievements of ultrasensitive detection, optical microcavities still face significant challenges in the measurement of biochemical and physical processes with complex dynamics, especially when multiple effects are present. Here we demonstrate operando monitoring of the transition dynamics of a phase-change material via a self-referencing optofluidic microcavity. We use a pair of cavity modes to precisely decouple the refractive index and temperature information of the analyte during the phase-transition process. Through real-time measurements, we reveal the detailed hysteresis behaviors of refractive index during the irreversible phase transitions between hydrophilic and hydrophobic states. We further extract the phase-transition threshold by analyzing the steady-state refractive index change at various power levels. Our technology could be further extended to other materials and provide great opportunities for exploring on-demand dynamic biochemical processes.

Sub-kelvin thermometer for on-chip measurements of microwave devices utilizing two-level systems in superconducting microresonators

We present a superconducting microresonator thermometer based on two-level systems (TLSs), which is drop-in compatible with cryogenic microwave systems. The operational temperature range is 50–1000 mK (which may be extended to 5 mK), and the sensitivity (50–75 μK/Hz) is relatively uniform across this range. The miniature footprint that conveniently attaches to the feedline of a cryogenic microwave device facilitates the measurement of on-chip device temperature and requires no additional thermometry wiring or readout electronics. We demonstrate the practical use of these TLS thermometers to investigate static and transient chip heating in a kinetic inductance traveling-wave parametric amplifier operated with a strong pump tone. TLS thermometry may find broad application in cryogenic microwave devices such as superconducting qubits and detectors.

Miniature Dual-Band Substrate Integrated Waveguide Slotted Antenna Array for Millimeter-Wave 5G Applications

A compact substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) antenna array that operates at 28 GHz and 38 GHz is proposed for fifth generation (5G) applications. The proposed array consists of four SIW cavities fabricated on one single layer of substrate. Each cavity implements a rhombic slot and a triangular-split-ring slot, resonating on TE101 and TE102 modes at 28 GHz and 38 GHz, respectively. In comparison with dual-band SIW antennas in the literature, the proposed configuration depicts a miniature footprint (28.7 × 30.8 mm2) without stacking substrates. To excite the four cavities with equal power, a broadband power divider that supports the propagation of TE10 mode is designed. Accordingly, the impedance bandwidths are 26.6–28.3 GHz and 36.8–38.9 GHz. The measured realized peak gain over the lower and higher bands is 9.3–10.9 dBi and 8.7–12.1 dBi, respectively. The measured half-power beam widths (HPBWs) at 28 GHz and 38 GHz are 20.7° and 15.0°, respectively. Considering these characteristics, including dual bands, high gain, narrow beam widths, miniaturization, and single layer, the proposed antenna array is a suitable candidate for millimeter-wave 5G communication systems with the flexibility in switching operating frequency bands against channel quality variations.

Robust Impact-Ionization Field-Effect Transistor Based on Nanoscale Vertical Graphene/Black Phosphorus/Indium Selenide Heterostructures.

Maintaining the rapid development of information technology by scaling down a metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor faces two serious challenges. First, the gate field loses control of the channel as it continuously decreases. Second, the fundamental thermionic limit restricts the reduction in supply voltage. Thus, further scaling down necessitates alternative device structures and different switching mechanisms. Here, we report impact-ionization transistors (IITs) based on nanoscale (∼30 nm) vertical graphene/black phosphorus (BP)/indium selenide (InSe) heterostructures. By facilitating the carrier multiplication of the ballistic impact-ionization process as the internal gain mechanism in sub-mean-free-path (sub-MFP) channels, the IITs exhibit a low average subthreshold swing (SS < 1 mV/dec) over five current levels. High stability (>10 000 cycles) and small hysteresis (<1%) switching properties are also obtained. The experimental demonstration of such transistor combining steep SS, high ON-state current density, reliable robustness, miniature footprint, and low bias voltage approaches fulfillments of targets for next-generation devices in the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors.

Ultra-fast silicon electro-optic modulator based on ITO-integrated directional coupler

An optical modulator is a very essential component in optoelectronic communication system as it generates an optical data stream out of an applied electric signal. Designing devices with subwavelength dimensions turned out to be a challenge constrained by the ‘diffraction limit’. Plasmonic-based devices had overcome this issue, reaching miniature footprint but introducing high propagation losses. Alternative materials such as conducting transparent oxides (TCOs) act as an optical dielectric material with an excess of free carriers. By adjusting the gating potential on such materials, an epsilon-near-zero state can be reached and the material exhibits a metal-like behavior, in terms of the optical losses. A very popular TCO material is indium tin oxide (ITO). In this work, ITO is utilized in electro-optic modulator design based on a directional coupler device with a slot waveguide platform. The design introduces an ITO/HfO2 combination in the coupler section waveguide. An extinction ratio more than 9 dB and an insertion loss less than 0.9 dB are achieved at a telecommunication standard wavelength of 1.55 μm. Additionally, an average energy per bit (E) of 4.355 fJ/bit as well as an operating bandwidth up to 1 THz, under optimal conditions, are attained.

LoRa-Based Precision Wireless Structural Health Monitoring System for Bolted Joints in a Smart City Environment

Smart City is a cutting edge technology driven city aimed at making our everyday lives safer and more convenient. Like every city it is comprised of structures. To uphold their safety these structures have to undergo periodical maintenance checks. However, checks are done manually, thus consume a significant amount of time and financial resources. Remote Structural Health Monitoring (RSHM) is a perfect solution for a Smart City, however limited research is done in applying Internet of Things (IoT) sensor nodes for permanent RSHM in applications that use bolted joints as a main fastening method. Most of the proposed solutions are not suitable, since either additional structural modifications are required, they violate standards, provide poor wireless communication range or still require human intervention. Therefore, this paper proposes an IoT sensor node named TenSense M30, which leverages Long Range (LoRa) communication technology to enable wide communication coverage and long life for monitoring the health of bolted joints in a Smart City environment. TenSense M30 has a miniature footprint and can be used as an add-on to current structures. Mechanical, hardware and embedded designs are presented and evaluated by means of simulation and practical tests. Results show that TenSense M30 is capable of precisely monitoring the pre-tension load of bolted joints, has a secured non-line of sight communication channel with a distance of 800 meters, has an expected lifetime of greater than 5 years powered by a number of coin cell batteries, and is safe under the pre-tension load.

Polymer Composite with Carbon Nanofibers Aligned during Thermal Drawing as a Microelectrode for Chronic Neural Interfaces.

Microelectrodes provide a direct pathway to investigate brain activities electrically from the external world, which has advanced our fundamental understanding of brain functions and has been utilized for rehabilitative applications as brain-machine interfaces. However, minimizing the tissue response and prolonging the functional durations of these devices remain challenging. Therefore, the development of next-generation microelectrodes as neural interfaces is actively progressing from traditional inorganic materials toward biocompatible and functional organic materials with a miniature footprint, good flexibility, and reasonable robustness. In this study, we developed a miniaturized all polymer-based neural probe with carbon nanofiber (CNF) composites as recording electrodes via the scalable thermal drawing process. We demonstrated that in situ CNF unidirectional alignment can be achieved during the thermal drawing, which contributes to a drastic improvement of electrical conductivity by 2 orders of magnitude compared to a conventional polymer electrode, while still maintaining the mechanical compliance with brain tissues. The resulting neural probe has a miniature footprint, including a recording site with a reduced size comparable to a single neuron and maintained impedance that was able to capture neural activities. Its stable functionality as a chronic implant has been demonstrated with the long-term reliable electrophysiological recording with single-spike resolution and the minimal tissue response over the extended period of implantation in wild-type mice. Technology developed here can be applied to basic chronic electrophysiological studies as well as clinical implementation for neuro-rehabilitative applications.

One-step optogenetics with multifunctional flexible polymer fibers.

Optogenetic interrogation of neural pathways relies on delivery of light-sensitive opsins into tissue and subsequent optical illumination and electrical recording from the regions of interest. Despite the recent development of multifunctional neural probes, integration of these modalities within a single biocompatible platform remains a challenge. Here, we introduce a device composed of an optical waveguide, six electrodes, and two microfluidic channels produced via fiber drawing. Our probes facilitated injections of viral vectors carrying opsin genes, while providing collocated neural recording and optical stimulation. The miniature (< 200 μm) footprint and modest weight (<0.5 g) of these probes allowed for multiple implantations into the mouse brain, which enabled opto-electrophysiological investigation of projections from the basolateral amygdala to the medial prefrontal cortex and ventral hippocampus during behavioral experiments. Fabricated solely from polymers and polymer composites, these flexible probes minimized tissue response to achieve chronic multimodal interrogation of brain circuits with high fidelity.

Deep tissue photoacoustic computed tomography with a fast and compact laser system.

Photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT) holds great promise for biomedical imaging, but wide-spread implementation is impeded by the bulkiness of flash-lamp-pumped laser systems, which typically weigh between 50 - 200 kg, require continuous water cooling, and operate at a low repetition rate. Here, we demonstrate that compact lasers based on emerging diode technologies are well-suited for preclinical and clinical PACT. The diode-pumped laser used in this study had a miniature footprint (13 × 14 × 7 cm3), weighed only 1.6 kg, and outputted up to 80 mJ per pulse at 1064 nm. In vitro, the laser system readily provided over 4 cm PACT depth in chicken breast tissue. In vivo, in addition to high resolution, non-invasive brain imaging in living mice, the system can operate at 50 Hz, which enabled high-speed cross-sectional imaging of murine cardiac and respiratory function. The system also provided high quality, high-frame rate, and non-invasive three-dimensional mapping of arm, palm, and breast vasculature at multi centimeter depths in living human subjects, demonstrating the clinical viability of compact lasers for PACT.

A Highly Miniaturized Low-Power CMOS-Based pH Monitoring Platform

This paper presents the design and fabrication of a wireless, highly miniaturized, low-power electrochemical pH sensing system employing complementary metal-oxide- semiconductor (CMOS) electronics. Since plasma pH readings directly correlate to carbon dioxide levels present in the human body, this paper holds great promise for continuous monitoring of carbon dioxide in totally implantable device applications. In this paper, we have integrated a CMOS voltage controlled oscillator, which consumes only 120 μW of power and occupies an area of 0.045 mm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> , together with a miniature electrochemical pH sensor which detects real-time changes in pH levels. The fabricated sensor employs an electropolymerized poly(o-phenylenediamine) layer atop a platinum working electrode which yields linear operation well above and below the physiological pH range of 7.38-7.42, with sensitivities as high as 56 mV/pH. In turn, the fabricated CMOS electronics convert the voltage generated by the sensor to output frequency pulses in a linear fashion. Furthermore, a wireless transmission link was designed which broadcasts the resulting sensor data to a computer which displays real-time continuous pH readings. The miniature footprint of both the sensor and electronics, together with its low power consumption, renders this a versatile platform for facile carbon dioxide monitoring and other metabolic sensing systems.

First starlight spectrum captured using an integrated photonic micro-spectrograph

Photonic technologies have received growing consideration for incorporation into next-generation astronomical instrumentation, owing to their miniature footprint and inherent robustness. In this paper we present results from the first on-telescope demonstration of a miniature photonic spectrograph for astronomy, by obtaining spectra spanning the entire H-band from several stellar targets. The prototype was tested on the 3.9 m Anglo-Australian telescope. In particular, we present a spectrum of the variable star Pi 01 Gru, with observed CO molecular absorption bands, at a resolving power R = 2500 at 1600 nm. Furthermore, we successfully demonstrate the simultaneous acquisition of multiple spectra with a single spectrograph chip by using multiple fibre inputs.

Small Wideband Double-Loop Antennas Using Lumped Inductors and Coupling Capacitors

Miniature footprint double-loop antennas, loaded with lumped inductors and coupling capacitors, are introduced. Through band diagram analysis, it is shown that frequency separation between the two radiating modes can be controlled to achieve wider bandwidth. For verification, three wideband antennas are designed by adjusting the inductive and capacitive loadings to create resonances at two closely spaced frequencies around 2.45 GHz. The first antenna is fabricated on a 125-mil-thick Rogers TMM10i substrate and has 2.1% |S11| ;1.2 dB gain using a λ0/9.8 × λ0/9.8 × λ0/39.4 footprint. It is shown that the antenna has 49% smaller footprint area than a standard patch and exhibits the same bandwidth performance at the expense of lower gain. The second antenna is fabricated on a reduced-size substrate comparable to its footprint size. This antenna still exhibits the same bandwidth performance as the standard patch. The third antenna is on a 250-mil-thick substrate and exhibits 14.7% bandwidth and 4.34 dB gain with λ0/9.8 × λ0/9.8 × λ0/19.7 footprint.