Optical micro/nanofiber enabled tactile sensors and soft actuators:A review

As a combination of fiber optics and nanotechnology,optical micro/nanofiber(MNF)is considered as an important multifunctional building block for fabricating various miniaturized photonic devices.With the rapid progress in flexible optoelectronics,MNF has been emerging as a promising candidate for assembling tactile sensors and soft actuators owing to its unique optical and mechanical properties.This review discusses the advances in MNF enabled tactile sensors and soft actuators,specifically,focusing on the latest research results over the past 5 years and the applications in health monitoring,human-machine interfaces,and robotics.Future prospects and challenges in developing flexible MNF devices are also presented.

DISTRIBUTED MICROBEND FIBER-OPTIC STRAIN SENSOR

The distributed strain sensor has significant application in real time measurement of strain status for large and important engineering structures such as aircraft, bridge and dam. In this paper, a quasi distributed optical fiber strain sensor system is set up using optical time domain reflect technique. The local strain sensors based on a novel microbend configuration are designed and applied to measure local strains along the optical fiber. As the result of the experimental research, the microbend sensors show high sensitivity, good linearity and repeatability in certain operation range.

Highly sensitive and fast response strain sensor based on evanescently coupled micro/nanofibers

Flexible strain sensors play an important role in electronic skins,wearable medical devices,and advanced robots.Herein,a highly sensitive and fast response optical strain sensor with two evanescently coupled optical micro/nanofibers(MNFs)embedded in a polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)film is proposed.The strain sensor exhibits a gauge factor as high as 64.5 for strain≤0.5%and a strain resolution of 0.0012%which corresponds to elongation of 120 nm on a 1 cm long device.As a proof-of-concept,highly sensitive fingertip pulse measurement is realized.The properties of fast temporal frequency response up to 30 kHz and a pressure sensitivity of 102 kPa^(−1) enable the sensor for sound detection.Such versatile sensor could be of great use in physiological signal monitoring,voice recognition and micro-displacement detection.

Study on Temperature Modulation Techniques for Micro Gas Sensors

The sensitivity and selectivity of gas sensors are related with not only sensing material,but also their operating temperatures.Applying this property,temperature modulation technique has been proposed to improve the selectivity of gas sensors.With a newly developed alumina based micro gas sensor,the sensitivity to CO and CH_4 at different operating temperatures was investigated.By modulating the temperature of the sensor at pulse and sine wave modes with different frequencies and amplitudes,the dynamic responses of the sensor were measured and processed.Results show that the modulating waveshape plays an important role in the improvement of selectivity,while the influence of frequency is small at the suitable sampling frequency in the range of 25 mHz～200 mHz.

Ultrasensitive skin‐like wearable optical sensors based on glass micro/nanofibers

Electronic skin,a class of wearable electronic sensors that mimic the functionalities of human skin,has made remarkable success in applications including health monitoring,human-machine interaction and electronic-biological interfaces.While electronic skin continues to achieve higher sensitivity and faster response,its ultimate performance is fundamentally limited by the nature of low-frequency AC currents.Herein,highly sensitive skin-like wearable optical sensors are demonstrated by embedding glass micro/nanofibers(MNFs)in thin layers of polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS).Enabled by the transition from guided modes into radiation modes of the waveguiding MNFs upon external stimuli,the skin-like optical sensors show ultrahigh sensitivity(1870 k·Pa^-1),low detection limit(7 mPa)and fast response(10μs)for pressure sensing,significantly exceeding the performance metrics of state-of-the-art electronic skins.Electromagnetic interference(EMI)-free detection of high-frequency vibrations,wrist pulse and human voice are realized.Moreover,a five-sensor optical data glove and a 2×2-MNF tactile sensor are demonstrated.These initial results pave the way toward a new category of optical devices ranging from ultrasensitive wearable sensors to optical skins.

HIGH PERFORMANCE ELECTRIC FIELD MICRO SENSOR WITH COMBINED DIFFERENTIAL STRUCTURE

This paper presents a high performance electric field micro sensor with combined differential structure.The sensor consists of two backward laid micro-machined chips,each packaged by polymer and metal.The novel combined differential structure effectively reduces various environmental affections,such as thermal drift,humidity drift and electrostatic charge accumulation.The sensor is tested in near-ground place as well as balloon-borne sounding.In different weather conditions,the measurement results showed good agreement with those of the commercial electric field mill.

A 2-Dimensional Micro Flow Sensor with Wide Range Flow Sensing Properties

A new silicon micro flow sensor with multiple temperature sensing elements was proposed and numerically simulated in considering wide range flow measuring properties.The micro flow sensor has three pairs of temperature sensing elements with a central heater compared with typical sensor which has only a temperature sensing element on each side of a central heater.A numerical analysis of the micro flow sensor by Finite Difference Formulation for Heat Transfer Equation was performed.The nearest pair of temperature sensor showed very good linear sensitivity between 0 to 0.4m/s flow and saturated from 0.75m/s flow.However the furthest pair of temperature sensor showed some flow sensitivity even though the flow rate of 2.0m/s.Thus,this suggested new micro flow meter with multiple temperature sensing elements could be used as a thermal mass flow sensor which has accuracy sensitivity for very wide flow range.

Micro Gas Sensor Array for Monitoring Highly Toxic Gases

Recently,the possibility of a disaster due to the improper use of highly toxic gases which are known as agents throughout the world has been increased.Therefore,the development of technology for countermeasure against CWA has been highly demanded.In this study,thick film SnO_2-based gas sensing devices were prepared and the sensing properties for the four different kinds of simulants such as dimethyl methyl phosphonate (DMMP),acetonitrile,dichloromethane and dipropylene glycol methyl ether have been investigated.And a micro sensor array consists of six devices was prepared using MEMS technology to provide high selective and reliable sensing system for the detection of chemical warfare agents.The micro gas sensor array prepared showed good sensitivity and selectivity to CWA.

Micro thermal shear stress sensor based on vacuum anodic bonding and bulk-micromachining

This paper describes a micro thermal shear stress sensor with a cavity underneath, based on vacuum anodic bonding and bulk micromachined technology. A Ti/Pt alloy strip, 2μm×100μm, is deposited on the top of a thin silicon nitride diaphragm and functioned as the thermal sensor element. By using vacuum anodic bonding and bulk-si anisotropic wet etching process instead of the sacrificial-layer technique, a cavity, functioned as the adiabatic vacuum chamber, 200μm×200μm×400μm, is placed between the silicon nitride diaphragm and glass （Corning 7740）. This method totally avoid adhesion problem which is a major issue of the sacrificial-layer technique.

COMPACT PHASE GRATING INTERFERENCE SENSOR FOR MICRO-DISPLACEMENT

On the basis of existing techniques, a compact micro-displacement sensor of phase grating interference （PGI） is described, which adopts cylindrical hologram diffraction grating as the calibration standard. The optical principle of the sensor is explained, and the relation between the grating motion displacement and the phase shift of interference stripes is deduced. The improvement of the integral structure and the method of photoelectric signal processing are described in detail. With the software system based on the virtual instrument development platform Labwindows/CVI and other hardwares such as the precision displacement worktable, the surfaces of typical parts are measured and the characterization results are given. The sensor has wide measuring range and high resolution, its sensitivity and resolution being independent of the wavelength of the incident light. The vertical measuring range is 0-6 mm, and the vertical resolution is 0.005μm. The experimental results show that the sensor can be used to measure and characterize the surface topography parameters of the plane and curved surface.

A Micro-Payment Based Isolation ofMisbehavior Secure Routing for Sensor Network

In this paper, we present a Micro-payment based Isolation of Misbehavior(MIM) secure routing protocol. The protocol contains three parts: micro-payment scheme, routingdiscovery and malicious nodes detection The micro-payment scheme proposed in MIM is the firstvirtual currency system that can be suit lor sensor network environment, Based on the micro-paymentscheme, we device an energy aware routing protocol, which forwards packets by auction. Furthermore,the base station can detect and isolate misbehave or non-cooptrare nodes according to the routinginformation.

New low noise interface circuit for detecting weak current of micro-sensors

A new low noise interface circuit for detecting weak current of micro-sensors is designed.By using the transimpedance amplifier to substitute the charge amplifier,the closed-loop circuit can avoid the phase error of the charge amplifier.Therefore,the phase compensation devices will be cancelled,because there is no phase transformation through the transimpedance amplifier.As well as,by using CCCII devices to implement the high value feedback resistor of the impedance amplifier,the noise of the I-V transformation devices is reduced,comparing with the passive resistor.The floating resistor is easy to be integrated into chips,making the integration of the interface circuit of the intelligent sensors increase.Through the simulation,the phase error of the charge amplifier is almost 9°at 2 kHz and it changes with the working frequency of the micro-sensors making the phase compensation not easy.The value of the floating resistor is 250 kΩ where the bias current is 50 μA.The noise of the active resistor is 0.037 fV2/Hz,comparing with the noise of the passive resistor,which is 4.14 fV2/Hz.

Axial Micro-Strain Sensor Based on FM-FBG via Dual-Mode ML-FMF in Sensor Networks

An in-fiber axial micro-strain sensor based on a Few Mode Fiber Bragg Grating (FM-FBG) is proposed and experimentally characterized. This FM-FBG is in inscribed in a multi-layer few-mode fiber (ML-FMF), and could acquire the change of the axial strain along fibers, which depends on the transmission dips. On account of the distinct dual-mode property, a good stability of this sensor is realized. The two transmission dips could have the different sensing behaviors. Both the propagation characteristics and operation principle of such a sensor are demonstrated in detail. High sensitivity of the FM-FBG, ~4 pm/με and ~4.5 pm/με within the range of 0 με - 1456 με, is experimentally achieved. FM-FBGs could be easily scattered along one fiber. So this sensor may have a great potential of being used in sensor networks.

一种MHD角振动传感器动态本底噪声无偏高效测试方法

目前,磁流体动力学(MHD)角振动传感器动态本底噪声测试尚无统一方法,难以有效开展测试。首先,针对双通道和三通道方法系统误差不明确的问题,推导了两种方法的系统误差,指出了方法的适用条件;然后,针对双通道方法存在系统误差、三通道方法系统结构复杂的问题,提出了一种基于最小二乘的传感器动态本底噪声无偏高效测试方法,证明了所提方法不存在系统误差;最后,实验对比了三种方法的测试效果。结果表明,所提方法能够在时域和频域上准确分离传感器的动态本底噪声;相比双通道和三通道方法,所提方法的平均相对误差最小,分别为7.2%和3.7%;测试系统所需资源少、结构简单而且易于实现,满足MHD角振动传感器动态本底噪声的测试需求。

基于IQPSO-EKF的多传感器融合姿态测量方法研究

为解决自动化竖井掘进设备的定位调姿精度对竖井、孔桩挖掘效率与质量的影响,提出了一种基于改进量子粒子群(IQPSO)-扩展卡尔曼滤波(EKF)的姿态测量算法,以提高微机电系统(MEMS)传感器测量精度。首先,对MEMS传感器数据进行了预处理(除噪、滤波、校准等);然后,参考现有飞行器的坐标系,建立了姿态解算模型,通过姿态角数学模型及运动学分析,构建了EFK状态方程,针对EKF方法参数估计不准确的问题,以分段混沌映射优化初始种群,引入平均位置最优值来避免陷入局部最优的IQPSO-EFK算法,优化EKF的系统、测量噪声的协方差参数;最后,对改进算法和三组姿态误差估计进行了对比实验。研究结果表明:对比三种典型目标函数,IQPSO-EFK相较于普通粒子群算法(QPSO-EFK)具有更强的寻优能力与收敛精度;对比三组旋转速度姿态测量误差,基于IQPSO-EKF算法的姿态测量方法在测量误差时比真实测量误差减少了约86.3%,比扩展卡尔曼滤波减少了约68.7%,比普通粒子群算法减少了约28.2%,证明该算法有效地提高了MEMS传感器测量精度。

基于二硫化钼的电容式土壤湿度传感器

[目的/意义]土壤中含水率直接影响农作物生长状态和产量。开发出一种可靠、高效的土壤湿度传感器对实施农田科学灌溉具有重要指导意义。[方法]本研究提出一种基于微加工工艺制备的二硫化钼电容式土壤湿度传感器,通过叉指电极上同一平面上的金电极阵列实现数个电容并联,表面修饰二硫化钼作为敏感层实现对土壤湿度的测量。通过计算及使用COMSOL Multiphysics多物理场仿真软件研究电极参数对电容敏感度的影响,最终确定电极参数使用10μm间距、75对叉指。[结果和讨论]在保证测量精度的前提下,大大缩小了传感器的体积,可以实现土壤湿度的原位动态监测。在室温下相对湿度值从11%变化到96%时,电容式土壤湿度传感器在200 Hz频率下的电容输出为12.13 pf~187.42 nF;当土壤含水量由8.66%增加到42.75%时,传感器的电容输出在200 Hz频率下由119.51 nF增长到377.98 nF,显示出较高的湿度灵敏度及较宽的敏感范围。[结论]本研究提出的土壤水分传感器有望实现原位长期监测电容式土壤传感器的电容变化,从而监测土壤湿度的变化。

金属氧化物半导体MEMS气体传感器研究进展

随着物联网的快速发展,各领域对气体监测的需求越来越大,基于先进微机电系统(Micro-electro-mechanical systems, MEMS)技术的金属氧化物半导体(Metal oxide semiconductor, MOS)气体传感器在过去几十年里取得了很大发展。MEMS微热板的多样化设计、MOSs纳米结构的多样化以及机器学习算法的出现为MEMS的传感性能以及智能传感系统的构建提供了很大助力。本文从MEMS气体传感器的分类、制备和应用以及传感器阵列的构建等方面综述了金属氧化物半导体MEMS气体传感器的最新研究进展,并对MEMS基气体传感器的发展前景进行了总结和展望。

A Monolithic Integrated CMOS Thermal Vacuum Sensor

The monolithic integrated micro sensor is an important direction in the fields of integrated circuits and micro sensors. In this paper,a monolithic thermal vacuum sensor based on a micro-hotplate （MHP） and operating under constant bias voltage conditions was designed. A new monolithic integrating mode was proposed,in which the dielectric and passiva- tion layers in standard CMOS processes were used as sensor structure layers,gate polysilicon as the sacrificial layer,and the second polysilicon layer as the sensor heating resistor. Then, the fabricating processes were designed and the monolithic thermal vacuum sensor was fabricated with a 0. 6μm mixed signal CMOS process followed by sacrificial layer etching technology. The measurement results show that the fabricated monolithic vacuum sensor can measure the pressure range of 2- 10^5 Pa and the output voltage is adjustable.

导电微纳纤维复合纱的制备及其气敏特性

为开发高质量的气敏传感器,利用水浴静电纺丝法制备以涤纶(PET)为芯纱,聚酰胺6(PA6)纳米纤维为包覆层的微纳纤维复合纱(MNY),基于原位聚合方法对MNY进行连续导电处理,制备微纳米纤维复合纱/聚苯胺(MNY/PANI)复合导电纱,以此作为气敏元件,同时将相同参数下制备的PET/PANI复合导电纱也作为气敏元件进行对照,探究不同结构纱线之间气敏效果的差异。研究结果表明:MNY具备良好的皮芯结构,经导电处理后MNY表面均匀分布了聚苯胺颗粒,MNY/PANI的电导率最高可达7.53 S/cm;相比于PET/PANI气敏元件,MNY/PANI气敏元件因其纳米结构的高比表面积对NH 3的灵敏度更高,能表现出更好的响应-恢复效果,重复性和稳定性更好,已初步具备了作为优良气敏元件的条件。

面向高压设备数字孪生的虚拟传感器设计与应用技术

针对高压设备数字孪生的模型构建、信息交互、动态仿真等需求,对虚拟传感器的设计与应用技术进行了分析,虚拟传感器是具有传感器行为的计算机仿真系统,能够基于功能、结构和服务要求对复杂数字孪生系统进行解耦,降低工程应用的复杂性。文中提出虚拟传感器在高压设备数字孪生工程应用上的设计要求,给出了观测虚拟传感器、参量计算虚拟传感器和预测告警传感器的设计方法及其应用方式。研究结果表明:虚拟传感器具备组件化、服务化、易重构、可进化等优点,可作为数字孪生单元级功能组件的设计手段,解决目前工程应用中数据获取和融合困难、仿真预测算法耦合复杂等问题,支撑设备状态全面感知、趋势精准预测、风险提前预警和设备全寿命精益管理等应用。