On the Temperature Profile of the Thermally Excited Resonant Silicon Micro Structural Pressure Sensor

According to the sensing structure of a practical silicon resonant pressure micro sensor whose preliminary sensing unit is a square silicon diaphragm and the final sensing unit is a silicon beam resonator, its operating mechanism is analyzed. The thermal resistor acts as the excited unit, and the piezoresistive unit acts as the detector, for the above micro sensor. By using the amplitude and phase conditions, the self exciting closed loop system is investigated based on the operating mechanism for the abov...

The light-enhanced NO_2 sensing properties of porous silicon gas sensors at room temperature

The NO2 gas sensing behavior of porous silicon（PS） is studied at room temperature with and without ultraviolet（UV） light radiation.The PS layer is fabricated by electrochemical etching in an HF-based solution on a p ＋-type silicon substrate.Then,Pt electrodes are deposited on the surface of the PS to obtain the PS gas sensor.The NO2 sensing properties of the PS with different porosities are investigated under UV light radiation at room temperature.The measurement results show that the PS gas sensor has a much higher response sensitivity and faster response-recovery characteristics than NO2 under the illumination.The sensitivity of the PS sample with the largest porosity to 1 ppm NO2 is 9.9 with UV light radiation,while it is 2.4 without UV light radiation.We find that the ability to absorb UV light is enhanced with the increase in porosity.The PS sample with the highest porosity has a larger change than the other samples.Therefore,the effect of UV radiation on the NO2 sensing properties of PS is closely related to the porosity.

A novel plasmonic refractive index sensor based on gold/silicon complementary grating structure

A novel complementary grating structure is proposed for plasmonic refractive index sensing due to its strong resonance at near-infrared wavelength.The reflection spectra and the electric field distributions are obtained via the finite-difference time-domain method.Numerical simulation results show that multiple surface plasmon resonance modes can be excited in this novel structure.Subsequently,one of the resonance modes shows appreciable potential in refractive index sensing due to its wide range of action with the environment of the analyte.After optimizing the grating geometric variables of the structure,the designed structure shows the stable sensing performance with a high refractive index sensitivity of 1642 nm per refractive index unit(nm/RIU)and the figure of merit of 409 RIU^(-1).The promising simulation results indicate that such a sensor has a broad application prospect in biochemistry.

Characterization of silicon microstrip sensors for space astronomy

Silicon microstrip detectors are widely used in experiments for space astronomy.Before the detector is assembled,extensive characterization of the silicon microstrip sensors is indispensable and challenging.This work electrically evaluates a series of sensor parameters,including the depletion voltage,bias resistance,metal strip resistance,total leakage current,strip leakage current,coupling capacitance,and interstrip capacitance.Two methods are used to accurately measure the strip leakage current,and the test results match each other well.In measuring the coupling capacitance,we extract the correct value based on a SPICE model and two-port network analysis.In addition,the expression of the measured bias resistance is deduced based on the SPICE model.

Porous Silicon as a Carrier of Sensing Materials in Sensors

Novel potassium ion selective electrodes (K^+ISEs) and cDNA array sensors based on porous silicon (PS) have been developed.The calibration curve for the K^+ISEs is linear within a wide range of pK=2.0～6.0 with the slope of 56 mV per decade,which is near Nernst response.The response time and detection limit are within 31 s and 0.5μmol/L,respectively.The selective coefficient for Na^+ is-3.8,satisfies the requirement for the assay of blood potassium.The response variation is within 2 mV during 2 months.The binding capacity,the dynamic range and the detection limit of the DNA sensors were improved by replacing glass slide with PS substrates.The cDNA array sensors can bear 80℃of high temperature,75% of humidity,3.6 kLx of irradiation and keep stable within 10 days when they are exposed in air.Good performances of the K^+ISE and the cDNA array sensor are attributed to the large internal surface area and the easily modified microstructure of PS.

Fabrication of Congo Red/Oxidized Porous Silicon (CR/OPS) pH-Sensors

The fabrication of nano porous silicon, nPSi, using alkali etching process has been studied and carried out. The surface chemistry of anisotropic etching of n-type Si-wafer is reviewed and the anisotropic chemical etching of silicon in alkaline solution using wetting agents is discussed. Transformation of crystallographic plane of n-Si (211) to nPSi (100) has occurred on using n-propanol as wetting agent. The rate of pore formation was 0.02478 - 0.02827 μm/min, which was heavily dependent upon the concentration of the etchant containing wetting agents, allowing patterned porous silicon formation through selective doping of the substrate. A particle size of 15 nm for porous nano-silicon was calculated from the XRD data. Porosity of PS layers is about 10%. Pore diameter and porous layer thickness are 0.0614 nm and 16 μm, respectively. The energy gap of the produced porous silicon is 3.3 eV. Furthermore, the combination of PS with Congo Red, which are nanostructured due to their deposition within the porous matrix is discussed. Such nano compounds offer broad avenue of new and interesting properties depending on the involved materials as well as on their morphology. Chemical route was utilized as the host material to achieve pores filling. They were impregnated with Congo Red, which gave good results for the porous silicon as a promising pH sensor.

Soil Pressure Mini-sensor Made of Monocrystalline Silicon and the Measurement of Its Sensitivity Coefficient

A calibration test was done in order to measure its sensitivity coefficient by an improved soil test device.The experimental result shows that the soil pressure min-sensor made of the monocrystalline silicon（SPMMS）is proved to be good linear,high precision and less that can fetch precise data in low pressure range even near by O point,which guarantees the reliability of the soil pressure test in geotechnical engineering.

Neuromorphic vision sensors: Principle, progress and perspectives

Conventional frame-based image sensors suffer greatly from high energy consumption and latency.Mimicking neurobiological structures and functionalities of the retina provides a promising way to build a neuromorphic vision sensor with highly efficient image processing.In this review article,we will start with a brief introduction to explain the working mechanism and the challenges of conventional frame-based image sensors,and introduce the structure and functions of biological retina.In the main section,we will overview recent developments in neuromorphic vision sensors,including the silicon retina based on conventional Si CMOS digital technologies,and the neuromorphic vision sensors with the implementation of emerging devices.Finally,we will provide a brief outline of the prospects and outlook for the development of this field.

Temperature sensor based on a single-mode tapered optical fiber

A temperature sensor is demonstrated and fabricated by coating the single-mode tapered optical fiber with temperature-sensitive silicone rubber. It works on the change of the evanescent fields in the tapered optical fiber. Small changes in the refractive index of coating film greatly influence the power of evanescent fields, which modulate the transmission optical power in the waist region. The range of temperature measured is from -20℃ to 70 ℃. The results show that the temperature sensor has high temperature sensitivity （0.012 mW/℃） and good repeatability.

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.

Silicon nanowire formed via shallow anisotropic etching Si-ash-trimming for specific DNA and electrochemical detection

A functionalized silicon nanowire field-effect transistor （SiNW FET） was fabricated to detect single molecules in the pM range to detect disease at the early stage with a sensitive, robust, and inexpensive method with the ability to provide specific and reliable data. The device was designed and fabricated by indented ash trimming via shallow anisotropic etching. The approach is a simple and low-cost technique that is compatible with the current commercial semiconductor standard CMOS process without an expensive deep reactive ion etcher. Specific electric changes were observed for DNA sensing when the nanowire surface was modified with a complementary captured DNA probe and target DNA through an organic linker （--OCH2CH3） using organofunctional alkoxysilanes （3-aminopropyl） triethoxysilane （APTES）. With this surface modification, a single specific target molecule can be detected. The simplicity of the sensing domain makes it feasible to miniaturize it for the development of a cancer detection kit, facilitating its use in both clinical and non-clinical environments to allow non-expert interpretation. With its novel electric response and potential for mass commercial fabrication, this biosensor can be developed to become a portable/point of care biosensor for both field and diagnostic applications.

Vector fiber Bragg gratings accelerometer based on silicone compliant cylinder for low frequency vibration monitoring

Vector accelerometer has attracted much attention for its great application potential in underground seismic signal measurement. We propose and demonstrate a novel vector accelerometer based on the three fiber Bragg gratings(FBGs)embedded in a silicone rubber compliant cylinder at 120° distributed uniformly. The accelerometer is capable of detecting the orientation of vibration with a range of 0°–360° and the acceleration through monitoring the central wavelength shifts of three FBGs simultaneously. The experimental results show that the natural frequency of the accelerometer is about 85 Hz, and the sensitivity is 84.21 pm/g in the flat range of 20 Hz–60 Hz. Through experimental calibration, the designed accelerometer can accurately obtain vibration vector information, including vibration orientation and acceleration. In addition, the range of resonant frequency and sensitivity can be expanded by adjusting the hardness of the silicone rubber materials. Due to the characteristics of small size and orientation recognition, the accelerometer can be applied to low-frequency vibration acceleration vector measurement in narrow spaces.

Isolated Solid-State Packaging Technology of High-Temperature Pressure Sensor

The principle of miniature isolated solid-state encapsulation technology of high-temperature pressure sensor and the structure of packaging are discussed, including static electricity bonding, stainless steel diaphragm selection and rippled design, laser welding, silicon oil infilling, isolation and other techniques used in sensor packaging, which can affect the performance of the sensor. By adopting stainless steel diaphragm and high-temperature silicon oil as isolation materials, not only the encapsulation of the sensor is as small as 15 mm in diameter and under 1 mA drive, its full range output is 72 mV and zero stability is 0.48% F.S/mon, but also the reliability of the sensor is improved and its application is widely broadened.

SiC THz Sensors for Harsh Environment Applications

Gold (Au) and ITO bow-tie antenna sensors built on silicon carbide (SiC) substrates are designed and analyzed using the Comsol Multiphysics program. The study shows that the output electric field across the antenna gap decreases with gap separation but increases with metal thickness. The antenna width does not directly affect the output, but it indirectly increases the output as a result of increased radiation absorption and conductivity. The length does not affect the strength of the output, but it affects the resonant frequency. The output field from ITO antennas is found to be much lower than that from Au antennas, which can be attributed, in part, to the lower conductivity of ITO. Using the bow-tie antenna structure, it is possible to build either narrowband or wideband antenna or sensor arrays, for THz applications.

Total dose radiation effects of pressure sensors fabricated on Unibond-SOI materials

Piezoresistive pressure sensors with a twin-island structure were suc- cessfully fabricated using high quality Unibond-SOI (On Insulator) materials. Since the piezoresistors were structured by the single crystalline silicon overlayer of the SOI wafer and were totally isolated by the buried SiO2. the sensors are radiation-hard. The sensitivity and the linearity of the pressure sensors keep their original values after being irradiated by 60Co γ-rays up to 2.3×104Gy (H2O). However, the offset voltage of the sensor has a slight drift, increasing with the radiation dose. The absolute value of the offset voltage deviation depends on the pressure sensor itself. For comparison, corresponding polysilicon pressure sensors were fabricated using the similar process and irradiated at the same condition.

Humidity Sensitive Properties of a Silicone-containing Polyelectrolyte Material

Resistive-type film humidity sensors were prepared with a silicone-containing polyelectrolyte （Si-PE） and their humidity sensitive properties have been investigated. The sensors so obtained show high sensitivity to humidity variation over a wide range of RH （20-96%）. In addition, they exhibit high reversibility, quick response and well long-term stability.

32×32 Si盖革模式激光焦平面探测器

为了满足350 nm~1100 nm波长范围内远距离及微弱激光3维成像探测的需求,提出了一种规模为32×32的盖革模式硅激光焦平面阵列探测器,它主要由硅雪崩光电二极管阵列、读出电路芯片、微透镜阵列、半导体制冷器、引脚网格阵列壳体等元件组成。硅雪崩光电二极管焦平面阵列采用拉通型N^(+)-Π_(1)-P^(-)-Π_(2)-P^(+)结构,工作在盖革模式下,通过Si片背面抛磨减薄及盲孔刻蚀技术,实现了纤薄光敏区的加工;读出电路采用主动模式淬灭设计,使电路单元的死时间控制在50 ns以内,并利用一种带相移技术的时间数字转换电路优化方案,在满足时间分辨率不大于2 ns的同时,降低了读出电路芯片的功耗。结果表明,在反向过偏电压14 V、工作温度-40℃的条件下,该探测器在850 nm的目标波长可实现20.7%的平均光子探测效率与0.59 kHz的平均暗计数率,时间分辨率为1 ns,有效像元率优于97%。该研究为纤薄型背进光Si基激光焦平面探测器的研制提供了参考。

基于温度传感阵列的TSV内部缺陷检测技术研究

在TSV三维集成领域,由于TSV内部缺陷的微小化和检测的不可接触性,寻找一个无损、灵敏且高效的内部缺陷检测方法尤为重要。针对这一挑战,提出了一种基于温度传感阵列的TSV内部缺陷检测方法。内部缺陷对TSV三维封装芯片的外部温度分布产生了影响,这些温度分布呈现出有规律的变化,每一种缺陷类型都会导致外部温度分布产生不同的偏差。利用温度传感阵列测量这些分布变化对缺陷进行有效的识别与分类。根据工作状态下的芯片产生的热信号以揭示其内部的缺陷信息,设计了基于温度传感阵列的检测系统。通过理论分析与仿真模拟,构建了模拟芯片工作状态下的温度分布和热变化的模型。实验中,以芯片样品的样本制备和测试平台搭建为基础,同时利用分类识别模型成功实现了对内部缺陷的有效分类,准确率高达99.17%。这种检测方法为高密度和微型化芯片的可靠性分析和故障诊断提供了一个经济高效的新途径。

一种基于S型电磁超材料的高温温度传感器设计

针对目前超材料温度传感器存在的量程小且灵敏度较低的问题,设计了一种碳氮化硅基的S型超材料的高温传感器。通过CST电磁仿真软件对超材料温度传感器进行模拟仿真,在其他结构参数一定的情况下,对金属条的长度、宽度、厚度、条间隙及基板厚度等参数进行了设计与优化,确定了传感器结构的最佳尺寸,同时分析了传感器的谐振频率对温度的影响。结果表明,在28℃~1000℃下平均灵敏度可达5.674 MHz/℃。与之前报道的高温传感器相比,灵敏度提高了5倍,这种高灵敏度温度传感器可为航空发动机、武器装备等系统中的高温测试提供一种技术手段。