Single-layer Array Research Articles

A Biomimetic Chip with Dendrimer-Encapsulated Platinum Nanoparticles for Enhanced Electrochemiluminescence Detection of Cardiac Troponin I

The measurement of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) is of vital importance for the early diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. In this study, an enhanced electrochemiluminescent immunoassay for the highly sensitive and precise determination of cTnI was reported. A biomimetic chip with nepenthes peristome surface microstructures to achieve single-layer microbead arrays and integrated microelectrode arrays (MEAs) for ECL detection was microfabricated. Ru@SiO2 nanoparticles were prepared as signal amplificators labeling immunomagnetic beads. Dendrimer-encapsulated platinum nanoparticles (Pt DENs) were electrochemically modified on ITO MEAs. The resulting Pt DEN-modified ITO MEAs preserved good optical transparency and exhibited an approximately 20-fold ECL signal amplification compared to that obtained from bare ITO. The method made full use of the biomimetic chip with Pt DENs to develop single-layer immunomagnetic bead arrays with increasingly catalyzed electrochemical oxidation of the [Ru(bpy)3]2+–TPA system. Consequently, a limit of detection calculated as 0.38 pg/mL (S/N = 3) was obtained with excellent selectivity, demonstrating significant potential for the detection of cTnI in clinical diagnostics.

Magnetization dynamics in single and trilayer nanowires

We have studied the magnetization dynamics of single Py(t) (t= 20 nm, 50 nm) and trilayer [Py(50)/Pd(tPd)/Py(20)] nanowire arrays fabricated over large areas using deep ultraviolet lithography technique. The dynamic properties are sensitive to the field orientation and magnetic film thicknesses. A single resonant mode corresponding to the excitations at the bulk part of the wire is detected in all the single-layer nanowire arrays. Furthermore, the spacer layer thickness influenced the dynamic properties in trilayer samples due to the different coupling mechanisms. A single resonant mode is observed intPd= 2 nm trilayer nanowires with a sharp frequency jump from 13 GHz to 15 GHz across the reversal regime. This indicates the exchange coupling and the coherence in magnetization precession in the ferromagnetic layers. On the other hand, wires with 10 nm-spacer display two well-resolved modes separated by ∼3 GHz with a gradual change in frequency across the reversal regime from-26mT to-46mT, indicating the presence of long-range dipolar interactions instead of exchange coupling. The spacer layer of the proposed spin-valve-type structure can be tailored for desired microwave splitters or combiners.

Sound absorption estimation of finite porous samples with deep residual learninga).

This work proposes a method to predict the sound absorption coefficient of finite porous absorbers using a residual neural network and a single-layer microphone array. The goal is to mitigate the discrepancies between predicted and measured data due to the finite-size effect for a wide range of rectangular absorbers with varying dimensions and flow resistivity and for various source-receiver locations. Data for training, validation, and testing are generated with a boundary element model consisting of a baffled porous layer on a rigid backing using the Delany-Bazley-Miki model. In effect, the network learns relevant features from the array pressure amplitude to predict the sound absorption as if the porous material were infinite. The method's performance is quantified with the error between the predicted and theoretical sound absorption coefficients and compared with the two-microphone method. For array distances close to the porous sample, the proposed method performs at least as well as the two-microphone method and significantly better than it for frequencies below 400 Hz and small absorber sizes (e.g., 20 × 20 cm2). The significance of the study lies in the possibility of measuring sound absorption on-site in the presence of strong edge diffraction.

Improvement of terahertz beam modulation efficiency for baseless all-dielectric coded gratings

Optical metasurfaces are two-dimensional ultrathin devices based on single-layer or multilayer arrays of subwavelength nanostructures. They can achieve precise control of phase, amplitude, and polarization on the subwavelength scale. In this paper, a substrate-free all-silicon coded grating is designed, which can realize the phase control of the outgoing beam after the y-polarized plane wave is vertically incident on the metasurface at 0.1 THz. Through a single-layer silicon nanoarray structure, a low-reflection anomalous transmission metasurface is realized, and a variety of different beam deflectors are designed based on these encoded gratings. We propose a coded grating addition principle, which adds and subtracts two traditional coded grating sequences to obtain a new coded grating sequence. The encoded supergrating can flexibly control the scattering angle, and the designed substrate-free all-silicon encoded grating can achieve a deflection angle of 48.59°. In order to verify the principle of coded grating addition, we experimented with cascade operation of two coded sequence gratings to obtain the flexible control of the terahertz beam of the composite supergrating. The principle of grating addition provides a new degree of freedom for the flexible regulation of the terahertz wavefront. At the same time, this method can be extended to the optical band or microwave band, opening up new ways for electromagnetic wave manipulation and beam scanning.

Plasmonic gold disk nanoarrays-based surface lattice resonance sensor with high figure of merit and its near-field and far-field coupling characteristics

In the field of localized surface plasmon resonance sensing, narrow linewidth, high-quality factor, and high absorptivity have always been the goals that researchers are committed to achieving. The primary methods for achieving this goal are near-field coupling and far-field coupling. Due to the limitations of nanomanufacturing processes, current research often only focuses on single coupling methods such as far-field coupling or near-field coupling, with few relevant reports combining the two coupling methods. Based on this, this paper proposes a single-layer gold nano-disk array structure, which is simple and easy to manufacture. Through modal field analysis and structural parameter adjustment, some significant results have been achieved. On the one hand, the suggested gold nano-disk array structure yields a resonant peak based on far-field coupling with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of less than 0.05 nm and a figure of merit of more than 15 000 (the quality factor is more than 20 000). On the other hand, it has been successfully accomplished to combine near-field coupling and far-field coupling, leading to a composite coupling peak that incorporates the benefits of both types of coupling. Moreover, this coupling peak has excellent characteristics such as narrow FWHM (less than 3 nm) and high absorptivity (up to 80.5%), which is superior to most reported sensing structures and more in line with practical sensing application requirements. In this paper, the potential of the gold disk array structure as a high-performance sensing structure is further explored, providing reference and new ideas for the design of easy-to-prepare and high-performance electromagnetic resonance devices.

Ultra-broadband and polarization-insensitive terahertz metamaterial absorber based on undoped silicon

Terahertz (THz) absorbers with high absorptivity across a wide frequency band have attracted considerable interest. In this paper, we present the design of an ultra-broadband THz metamaterial absorber with high absorptivity based on a single-layer square silicon array and a silicon film backed with metallic gold. It is numerically demonstrated that the absorption exceeds 90% covering the frequency range of 0.62–8.75 THz (with an effective absorption bandwidth of 8.13 THz) when the conductivity of semiconductor (undoped silicon) is 600 S/m. Diffraction and impedance-matched induce strong absorption and the corresponding broad bandwidth. The proposed ultra-broadband THz absorber is polarization-insensitive at normal incidence. It can operate over a rather wide range of incidence angle up to 60 degrees for transverse magnetic (TM) terahertz wave. This work provides a way to achieving ultra-broadband terahertz absorption, which is very useful in the development of terahertz imaging, high sensitivity sensors and detection.

Triple-Band Surface Plasmon Resonance Metamaterial Absorber Based on Open-Ended Prohibited Sign Type Monolayer Graphene.

This paper introduces a novel metamaterial absorber based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The absorber is capable of triple-mode perfect absorption, polarization independence, incident angle insensitivity, tunability, high sensitivity, and a high figure of merit (FOM). The structure of the absorber consists of a sandwiched stack: a top layer of single-layer graphene array with an open-ended prohibited sign type (OPST) pattern, a middle layer of thicker SiO2, and a bottom layer of the gold metal mirror (Au). The simulation of COMSOL software suggests it achieves perfect absorption at frequencies of fI = 4.04 THz, fII = 6.76 THz, and fIII = 9.40 THz, with absorption peaks of 99.404%, 99.353%, and 99.146%, respectively. These three resonant frequencies and corresponding absorption rates can be regulated by controlling the patterned graphene's geometric parameters or just adjusting the Fermi level (EF). Additionally, when the incident angle changes between 0~50°, the absorption peaks still reach 99% regardless of the kind of polarization. Finally, to test its refractive index sensing performance, this paper calculates the results of the structure under different environments which demonstrate maximum sensitivities in three modes: SI = 0.875 THz/RIU, SII = 1.250 THz/RIU, and SIII = 2.000 THz/RIU. The FOM can reach FOMI = 3.74 RIU-1, FOMII = 6.08 RIU-1, and FOMIII = 9.58 RIU-1. In conclusion, we provide a new approach for designing a tunable multi-band SPR metamaterial absorber with potential applications in photodetectors, active optoelectronic devices, and chemical sensors.

A Single-Layer Compact Wideband Circularly Polarized Patch Array for 5G Communications

This letter presents a single-layer antenna array with wideband circular polarization. The array is formed by 2 × 2 element antennas, each element including two radiators mutually coupled to each other and fed by a sequential feeding network. The antenna array is designed, fabricated, and measured with overall size of 1.49λ × 1.49λ at the center frequency of 28 GHz. The proposed antenna achieves the desired radiation patterns and provides excellent characteristics, including a wide bandwidth (BW) and compact structure. The results show a large BW of 31.32% and a wide axial ratio of 20.2%, which is the largest found in the literature for similarly sized arrays on a single layer. Besides, the peak gain of 13.8 dBi is achieved over the operating frequency range. These merits confirm the proposed antenna design as a suitable choice for 5G communications.

Design of an S/X-Band Single-Layer Shared-Aperture Array Antenna Using a Mutual Complementary Configuration

This paper proposes an S/X-band single-layer shared-aperture array antenna for the multifunction radars of military ships. A unit cell of the proposed antenna consists of one S-band element and four X-band elements. The S- and X-band elements are printed on the same layer to prevent a blockage effect by upper elements in the stacked shared-aperture antenna. Herein, the S-band element has a mutual complementary configuration for the X-band elements. In addition, the unit cell of the proposed antenna is designed in a symmetrical structure, which can be flexibly extended to a full array configuration. To verify the antenna feasibility, antenna performances are measured in a full anechoic chamber. The fractional bandwidths of the S- and X-band elements are 13.6% and 13.4%, respectively. Moreover, in the 2 × 2 array configuration, the S-band array gain in the bore-sight direction varies from 5.4 dBi to 3.5 dBi when the main beam is steered from 0° to 45°. Under the same conditions, the measured X-band array gain in the bore-sight direction decreases from 13.4 dBi to 11.6 dBi.

Rapid and sensitive detection of superoxide dismutase in serum of the cervical cancer by 4-aminothiophenol-functionalized bimetallic Au-Ag nanoboxs array.

Early, efficient and sensitive detection of serum markers in cervical cancer is very important for the treatment and prognosis to cervical cancer patients. In this paper, a SERS platform based on surface enhanced Raman scattering technology was proposed to quantitatively detect superoxide dismutase in serum of cervical cancer patients. Au-Ag nanoboxs array was made by oil-water interface self-assembly method as the trapping substrate. The single-layer Au-AgNBs array was verified by SERS for possessing excellent uniformity, selectivity and reproducibility. 4-aminothiophenol (4-ATP) was used as Raman signal molecule, it will be oxidized to dithiol azobenzene under the surface catalytic reaction with the condition of PH = 9 and laser irradiation. The quantitative detection of SOD could be achieved by calculating the change of characteristic peak ratio. When the concentration was from 10 U mL-1-160 U mL-1, the concentration of SOD could be accurately and quantitatively detected in human serum. The whole test was completed within 20min and the limit of quantitation was 10 U mL-1. In addition, serum samples from the cervical cancer, the cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and healthy people were tested by the platform and the results were consistent with those of ELISA. The platform has great potential as a tool for early clinical screening of cervical cancer in the future.

Highly Compact Integrated Sub-6 GHz and Millimeter-Wave Band Antenna Array for 5G Smartphone Communications

In this article, a dual-band integrated compact phased-antenna array is proposed for fifth-generation (5G) smartphone communication. The proposed single-layered substrate-based antenna array has a dual band, wideband, high gain, and wide beam-steering function. The dual bands were achieved by passive integration of meandered lines and a microstrip patch antenna using a dual-stub-based filter. Owing to the small size of the antenna array (56.65 mm <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\times4.95$ </tex-math></inline-formula> mm <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\times0.508$ </tex-math></inline-formula> mm), it was installed on both the top and side metal frames of a smartphone in a vertical position, allowing a wide beam coverage with a high gain. The proposed antenna provided the −6 dB bandwidths of 250 and 3520 MHz at 3.5 and 28 GHz, and the −10 dB bandwidths of 110 and 1890 MHz were observed at 3.5 and 28 GHz, respectively. The radiation performance with a smartphone model and a hand phantom were analyzed in detail. Furthermore, a safety study on the power density (PD) and specific absorption rate (SAR) of the arrays with frequency-dependent hand and head models was conducted. Finally, we fabricated an antenna array prototype, and compared the measured results with the simulation results, which showed a good agreement.

Surface lattice resonance in three-dimensional plasmonic arrays fabricated via self-assembly of silica-coated gold nanoparticles

HypothesisThree-dimensional plasmonic nanoparticle arrays in which the nanoparticles are assembled with a certain distance apart are expected to exhibit unique optical properties attributed to surface lattice resonances because of the interactions between the nanoparticle layers. ExperimentsMulti-layered gold nanoparticle arrays were created to experimentally prove surface lattice resonances from three-dimensional arrays. Silica-coated gold nanoparticles were employed as building blocks for the array because the distance between the nanoparticles can be tuned by adjusting the thickness of the silica coating. Employing highly monodisperse building blocks enabled to fabricate both single-layered and multi-layered plasmonic arrays via a confined convective assembly method. FindingsMulti-layering of monodisperse building blocks brought about some additional peaks corresponded to Bragg diffraction of gold nanoparticle periodic array and the interactions between layers in a hexagonal close-packed structure of the nanoparticles, respectively. Most importantly, the multi-layered arrays exhibited a distinctive extinction peak at the same wavelength as that observed from the single-layered array, proving the realization of surface lattice resonances from the three-dimensional plasmonic array.

Ka-Band Single-Layer High-Efficiency Circular Aperture Microstrip Array Antenna

Based on microstrip antenna technology, a compact single-layer circular aperture array is proposed in this paper. The proposed method is suitable for designing large-scale and high-efficiency patch array in Ka band. By using the high-impedance characteristic of the coupled microstrip line, a novel multi-stage feeding network that can realize large power division ratio is proposed, and its structure is center-symmetrical and is fed through a coaxial probe at the center. The parallel branch of the multi-stage divider is connected to the row array, and the array elements can obtain uniform excitation through the design of the division ratio of each stage. A 256-element patch array operating at 35 GHz is proposed, the length and width of the antenna unit are 2.74 mm and 3 mm, respectively, the horizontal spacing between the array elements is 0.742λ0, the vertical spacing varies from 0.677λ0 to 0.737λ0, and the radius of the proposed array is 60 mm (7λ0 at 35 GHz). At the end, a prototype is fabricated and measured, the measured results show that the maximum gain is 29.5 dBi at 35 GHz, which correspond to the radiation efficiency and aperture efficiency of 61.66% and 46.07%, respectively, and the results show that the proposed antenna achieves high efficiency in Ka band, which verifies the correctness of the design. The proposed array antenna is compact in structure and only needs single-layer design, which can achieve high efficiency and low in manufacture cost, which is an excellent candidate for millimeter-wave large-scale array application.

A Simple Wide-Angular Scanning Phased Array With Wideband Filtering Response

This article presents a low-profile planar phased array with improved reflection (wideband filtering response) and radiation (wide-angular scan) performance. On one hand, the filtering response with harmonic suppression is integrated into the design of the single-layer array element without extra filtering resonators, such as external filters. As a result, the designed array possesses a reflection bandwidth of 4.6–5.3 GHz and two radiation nulls at either the upper or lower band edge of the reflection curve. On the other hand, inspired by the wide-beam radiation of a circular patch loaded with parasitic monopoles, the proposed array is able to realize its beam scanning coverage of −60°–+60° with low sidelobe levels (SLLs) in its E-plane. The reflection and radiation properties are validated by full-wave simulation and measurement of an eight-element array prototype. The filtering and low-SLL performance benefit for the array to avoid out-of-band interferences and in-band ones from other directions when it scans in a wide-angular area.

Ordered Nanopillar Arrays of Low Dynamic Noise Dry Bioelectrodes for Electrocardiogram Surface Monitoring.

Flexible bioelectric dry electrodes are an important part of long-term medical healthcare monitoring systems. In this study, a new method is proposed for the preparation of dry electrodes with micronanopillar arrays structured by designing dimensionally tunable anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) templates, by which polyaniline/thermoplastic polyurethane single-layer micronanopillar array structured dry electrodes (PANI/TPU-SE) and polyaniline/thermoplastic polyurethane double-layer micronanopillar array structured dry electrodes (PANI/TPU-DE) are prepared. Compared with the planar structure, the micronanopillar array structure can reduce the contact gap between the electrode and skin and increase the contact area, thus exhibiting lower contact impedance and higher signal quality. At 0.1 Hz, the impedances of the wet electrode, PANI/TPU-DE300, PANI/TPU-SE10, and planar structure electrodes are 269.5 kΩ, 375.5 kΩ, 398.1 kΩ, and 2.257 MΩ, respectively, and the impedance value for PANI/TPU-DE300 is smaller than that for PANI/TPU-SE10 and closer to that for the wet electrode. In addition, because the surface of the micronanostructure can conform to the human skin, about 210.7% increase in the peel strength of double-layer structure electrodes compared to flat structure electrodes, it shows a low baseline drift in the dynamic ECG measurement, and the signal-to-noise ratio in the walking state can reach 21.33 ± 5.4775 dB. Therefore, the prepared bioelectric dry electrode has a wide application prospect in the fields of wearable medical monitoring.

Plasma enhanced light emission from the Si+-N+ co-implanted SOI in the violet-blue waveband

Silicon (Si) has been established for a long time as the footing stone of the whole microelectronics industry. This does not come into true in the photonics domain yet, where the limited degrees of freedom in material design and the indirect bandgap are the major constraints. Therefore, making Si as an efficient light-emitting material is an important approach for Si photonics, even for achieving the all-Si-based photoelectronic and microelectronic integration engineering. Here we reported a facile and effective method for enhancing the photoluminescence (PL) from the Si+/N+ ion co-implanted Si film by coating the polystyrene (PS)-sphere@metal complex core-shell structure upon the Si film on insulator (SOI) wafers. The PL enhanced phenomena have been demonstrated in the violet-blue waveband by the three kinds of single-layer PS sphere array capping with different metal films (namely Ag, Au, and Al), respectively. The experiments and theoretic calculation based on the finite difference time domain (FDTD) model indicate that the plasma resonance is responsible for the PL enhancement, and these core-shell structures take advantage of both metal plasma and photonic crystal in the PL enhancing process.

SiO2 Microsphere Array Coated by Ag Nanoparticles as Raman Enhancement Sensor with High Sensitivity and High Stability.

In this paper, a monolayer SiO2 microsphere (MS) array was self-assembled on a silicon substrate, and monolayer dense silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with different particle sizes were transferred onto the single-layer SiO2 MS array using a liquid–liquid interface method. A double monolayer “Ag@SiO2” with high sensitivity and high uniformity was prepared as a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate. The electromagnetic distribution on the Ag@SiO2 substrate was analyzed using the Lumerical FDTD (finite difference time domain) Solutions software and the corresponding theoretical enhancement factors were calculated. The experimental results show that a Ag@SiO2 sample with a AgNPs diameter of 30 nm has the maximal electric field value at the AgNPs gap. The limit of detection (LOD) is 10−16 mol/L for Rhodamine 6G (R6G) analytes and the analytical enhancement factor (AEF) can reach ~2.3 × 1013. Our sample also shows high uniformity, with the calculated relative standard deviation (RSD) of ~5.78%.

A Single-Layer Dual-Band Array at Low-Frequency Ratio With Concurrent Broad Fan Beam and Narrow Pencil Beam

A Single-Layer Dual-Band Array at Low-Frequency Ratio With Concurrent Broad Fan Beam and Narrow Pencil Beam

Transmission and backscattering characteristics of electromagnetic waves in single layer combined plasma array

Manipulation of electromagnetic (EM) waves is essential for various microwave applications. This research studies the modulation of EM waves by using single-layer plasma arrays consisting of discharge tubes. We experimentally investigate the transmission spectra and backscattering attenuation characteristics of the plasma arrays, and numerical simulations further reveal the modulation mechanism and influences of the plasma arrays. The experimental and numerical results show that broadband tunable photonic bandgaps can be achieved in frequency ranges of 4–7.5 GHz and 7–9.5 GHz for the transmission spectrum and the backscattering spectrum, respectively. In addition, the proposed plasma array can achieve different modulation effects to satisfy the corresponding scenario requirements by adjusting the configuration and parameters such as the plasma frequency, spacing of the plasma tubes, and the discharge tube’s excitation or extinction of the plasma array. The wave manipulation of the combined plasma array creates opportunities for developing numerous applications, including large-area spatial filtering, radar stealth, and reconfigurable antennas.

Coolant Wetting Simulation on Simplified Stator Coil Model by the Phase-Field Lattice Boltzmann Method.

Stator coils of automobiles in operation generate heat and are cooled by coolant poured from above. The flow characteristic of the coolant depends on the coil structure, flow condition, solid–fluid interaction, and fluid property, which has not been clarified due to its complexities. Since straight coils are aligned and layered with an angle at the coolant-touchdown region, the coil structure is simplified to a horizontal square rod array referring to an actual coil size. To obtain the flow and wetting characteristics, two-phase fluid flow simulations are conducted by using the phase-field lattice Boltzmann method. First, the flow onto the single-layered rod array is discussed. The wetting area is affected both by the rod gap and the wettability, which is normalized by the gap and the averaged boundary layer thickness. Then, the flow onto the multi-layered rod arrays is investigated with different rod gaps. The top layer wetting becomes longitudinal due to the reduction of the flow advection by the second layer. The wetting area jumps up at the second layer and increases proportionally to the below layers. These become remarkable at the narrow rod gap case, and finally, the dimensionless wetting area is discussed at each layer.