Silicon-on-insulator based nanopore cavity arrays for lipid membrane investigation

We present the fabrication and characterization of nanopore microcavities for the investigation of transport processes in suspended lipid membranes. The cavities are situated below the surface of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates. Single cavities and large area arrays were prepared using high resolution electron-beam lithography in combination with reactive ion etching (RIE) and wet chemical sacrificial underetching. The locally separated compartments have a circular shape and allow the enclosure of picoliter volume aqueous solutions. They are sealed at their top by a 250?nm thin Si membrane featuring pores with diameters from 2?μm down to 220?nm. The Si surface exhibits excellent smoothness and homogeneity as verified by AFM analysis. As biophysical test system we deposited lipid membranes by vesicle fusion, and demonstrated their fluid-like properties by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching. As clearly indicated by AFM measurements in aqueous buffer solution, intact lipid membranes successfully spanned the pores. The nanopore cavity arrays have potential applications in diagnostics and pharmaceutical research on transmembrane proteins.     

Measurement of electromagnetic parameters of materials at radio and microwave frequencies

Translated from Izmeritel'naya Tekhnika, No. 9, p. 11, September, 1994.     

Silicon-on-insulator for high-temperature applications

The silicon-on-insulator (SOI) CMOS technology is one of the best candidates for high- temperature applications due to its low leakage current, steep subthreshold slope, absence of latch-up phenomenon and temperature-resistant threshold voltage. However, the most critical elements for high temperature applications are transmission lines, especially thin-film microstrip lines. In the paper, the impact of high-temperature operation on the RF performance of some SOI circuits is analysed up to 250degC.     

Permittivity of ice at radio frequencies: Part I. Coaxial transmission line cell

At radio-frequencies, measurements of the permittivity of ice are sparse and with unknown or large uncertainty. Coaxial transmission lines have been established for frequency-dependent permittivity determination for a broad variety of materials. Here we present a coaxial transmission line setup originally designed for soil samples, now adapted for measuring ice samples between 10 MHz and 1.5 GHz. Measured scattering parameters are assessed for artifacts against a forward calculation based on transmission line theory. A Debye-type relaxation function for the complex permittivity is assumed to obtain the permittivity of ice from the measured full set of four scattering parameters by means of a genetic optimization algorithm. The algorithm is successfully validated against quasi-analytical and iterative computation techniques with reference measurements of a low-loss Teflon standard. Based on the forward calculation and the Teflon standard, the total uncertainty for measuring the real part of the permittivity is estimated to be around 1%. Additional measurements of reference materials air, water, ethanol and methanol are used for validation. The real part of the permittivity of eight artificial pure ice samples is found frequency-independent between 10 MHz and 1.5 GHz at − 20 °C, with a mean value of 3.18 ± 0.01.     

Eddy-current testing of mechanical characteristics of pressure vessel metals at high frequencies

The dependence of the changes in specific electric conductivity on mechanical stresses in nonmagnetic metals was investigated by the eddy-current method. For this purpose, we used an eddy-current transducer with a frequency of 400 MHz, which allows one to perform local tests of the surface layers of materials. We established that the specific electric conductivity of nonmagnetic metals of pressure vessels linearly depends on equivalent stresses. We also suggest an approach to the prediction of limiting states of pressure vessels on the basis of the results of eddy-current tests.Karpenko Physicomechanical Institute, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, L'viv. Translated from Fiziko-Khimicheskaya Mekhanika Materialov, Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 104–108, March–April, 1994.     

Air motion sensing hairs of arthropods detect high frequencies at near-maximal mechanical efficiency

Using measurements based on particle image velocimetry in combination with a novel compact theoretical framework to describe hair mechanics, we found that spider and cricket air motion sensing hairs work close to the physical limit of sensitivity and energy transmission in a broad range of relatively high frequencies. In this range, the hairs closely follow the motion of the incoming flow because a minimum of energy is dissipated by forces acting in their basal articulation. This frequency band is located beyond the frequency at which the angular displacement of the hair is maximum which is between about 40 and 600 Hz, depending on hair length (Barth et al. [1] Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 340, 445–461 (doi:10.1098/rstb.1993.0084)). Given that the magnitude of natural airborne signals is known to decrease with frequency, our results point towards the possible existence of spectral signatures in the higher frequency range that may be weak but of biological significance.     

Molecular dynamics investigation of mechanical mixing in mechanical alloying

Molecular dynamic simulation is exploited to obtain a deep insight of atomic scale mixing and amorphization mechanisms happening during mechanical mixing. Impact–relaxation cycles are performed to simulate the mechanical alloying process. The results obtained by structural analysis shows that the final structure obtained through simulation of mechanical alloying is in an amorphous state. This analysis reveals that amorphization occurs concurrently with the attainment of a perfectly mixed alloy. The results indicate diffusion and deformation are two important mechanisms for mixing during mechanical alloying. The rate of diffusion is controlled by the temperature and by the density of defects in the structure. Deformation enhances mixing directly by sliding atomic layers on each other and increases the number of defects in the structure. The results agree with mechanical alloying experiments described in the literature.     

Negative-index metamaterial at visible frequencies based on high order plasmon resonance

A type of negative-index metamaterial composed of periodic arrays of SRRs is proposed and numerically investigated in the visible frequencies. Employing the high order magnetic resonance to induce negative permeability, negative refractive index is obtained between 395 THz and 430 THz with the maximum FOM=4.59. The effective permeability exhibits a rapid convergence with increasing number of metamaterial layers. Different responses from the electric and magnetic resonances to the changing geometric parameters are compared and analyzed in terms of the field distribution. Simulation results show that the high order magnetic resonance can be greatly enhanced at visible frequencies as well as effectively tuned over a wide spectral range without notably altering the coupling between unit cells.     

Applicability of LiNbO3, langasite and GaPO4 in high temperature SAW sensors operating at radio frequencies

The applicability of LiNbO3, langasite and GaPO4 for use as crystal substrates in high temperature surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors operating at radio frequencies was investigated. Material properties were determined by the use of SAW test devices processed with conventional lithography. On GaPO4, predominantly surface defects limit the accessible frequencies to values of 1 GHz. Langasite SAW devices could be operated up to 3 GHz; however, high acoustic losses of 20 dB/micros were observed. On LiNbO3, the acoustic losses measured up to 3.5 GHz are one order of magnitude less. Hence, SAW sensors capable of wireless interrogation were designed and processed on YZ-cut LiNbO3. The devices could be successfully operated in the industrial-scientific-medical (ISM) band from 2.40 to 2.4835 GHz up to 400 degrees C.