Electronic Devices and Semiconductor Manufacturing Commons^™

Design, Fabrication And Characterization Of Zero Power Sensor/Harvester For Smart Grid Applications, Zeynel Guler

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

This study presents a flexible sensor/harvester device to be used in both electromagnetic sensing and energy harvesting applications for smart grids. When a current passes through a wire, the sensor detects the magnetic field created by that current. The sensor magnet interacts with the wire magnetic field resulting in a transfer of energy through the piezoelectric cantilever. Piezoelectric, conductive, magnetic, and magnetostrictive composite thin films were prepared to fabricate this device.

Initially, the magnet of the cantilever was optimized considering its shape, thickness, length, taper angle etc. via both simulations and experiments. Peak to peak voltage versus cantilever position graph …

Material Characterization And Comparison Of Sol-Gel Deposited And Rf Magnetron Deposited Lead Zirconate Titanate Thin Films, Katherine Lynne Miles

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) has been a material of interest for sensor, actuator, and transducer applications in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). This is due to their favorable piezoelectric, pyroelectric and ferroelectric properties. While various methods are available to deposit PZT thin films, radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering was selected to provide high quality PZT films with the added capability of batch processing. These sputter deposited PZT films were characterized to determine their internal film stress, Young’s modulus, composition, and structure. After characterization, the sputtered PZT samples were poled using corona poling and direct poling methods. As a means of comparison, commercially …

The Development Of A Motion Sensing Device For Use In A Home Setting, Jaspreet K. Kalsi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disease, with over 10 million individuals diagnosed with PD world-wide. The most common symptom characterized by PD is tremor. Tremor is an involuntary oscillatory motion that most prominently occurs in upper limb, specifically in the hand and wrist that has a measurable frequency and amplitude. This thesis aims to evaluate the usability and functionality of a tremor sensing device designed to collect quantitative data on individuals with PD. The designed device uses 23 commercially-available inertial measuring units (IMUs) located between 21 joints: distal interphalangeal (DIP) joints, proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joints, Interphalangeal …

A Bulk Driven Transimpedance Cmos Amplifier For Sipm Based Detection, Shahram Hatefi Hesari

Masters Theses

The contribution of this work lies in the development of a bulk driven operational
transconducctance amplifier which can be integrated with other analog circuits and
photodetectors in the same chip for compactness, miniaturization and reducing the
power. Silicon photomultipliers, also known as SiPMs, when coupled with scintillator materials are used in many imaging applications including nuclear detection. This thesis discuss the design of a bulk-driven transimpedance amplifier suitable for detectors where the front end is a SiPM. The amplifier was design and fabricated in a standard standard CMOS process and is suitable for integration with CMOS based SiPMs and commercially …

Design And Fabrication Of A Low-Cost, Portable, Battery-Operated Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (Sers) Optical Device, Blessing Adewumi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Raman Spectroscopy is a time-honored, non-invasive method for analyzing and identifying the molecular composition of materials. However, unenhanced Raman Spectroscopy has extremely low sensitivity which limits its sensing capability. SERS brings rough nano-metallic surfaces in contact with the material molecules to enormously enhance the Raman signals.

The sensitivity of SERS can be exploited in probe applications where the spectrometer needs to be brought near the specimen. For example, a long optical fiber coupled to a SERS device can be used to characterize and identify easy-to-reach cancerous tissues in organisms. Unfortunately, background signals in a long fiber can easily mask any …

Aptamer-Based Voltammetric Biosensing For The Detection Of Codeine And Fentanyl In Sweat And Saliva, Rosa Lashantez Cromartie

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the many governmental and medicinal restrictions created to combat the opioid epidemic in the United States, opioid abuse and overdose rates continue to rise. The development of an aptamer-based voltammetric sensor and biosensor is described in this dissertation. The aim was to develop a low-cost, sensitive, and specific aptamer-based sensor for on-site, label-free determination of codeine and fentanyl in biological fluids. To do this, the surfaces of screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCE) were modified with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), followed by the addition of single-stranded DNA aptamers. These were covalently bound to the electrode surface. Operations of the sensors were collected …

Development Of A Wireless Telemetry Load And Displacement Sensor For Orthopaedic Applications, William Anderson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Due to sensor size and supporting circuitry, in vivo load and deformation measurements are currently restricted to applications within larger orthopaedic implants. The objective of this thesis is to repurpose a commercially available low-power, miniature, wireless, telemetric, tire-pressure sensor (FXTH87) to measure load and deformation for future use in biomechanical applications. The capacitive transducer membrane of the FXTH87 was modified, and a relationship was reported between applied compressive deformation and sensor signal value. The sensor package was embedded within a deformable enclosure to illustrate potential applications of the sensor for monitoring load. Finite element analysis was an effective tool to …

Development Of Light Actuated Chemical Delivery Platform On A 2-D Array Of Micropore Structure, Hojjat Rostami Azmand, Hojjat Rostami Azmand

Dissertations and Theses

Localized chemical delivery plays an essential role in the fundamental information transfers within biological systems. Thus, the ability to mimic the natural chemical signal modulation would provide significant contributions to understand the functional signaling pathway of biological cells and develop new prosthetic devices for neurological disorders. In this paper, we demonstrate a light-controlled hydrogel platform that can be used for localized chemical delivery in a high spatial resolution. By utilizing the photothermal behavior of graphene-hydrogel composites confined within micron-sized fluidic channels, patterned light illumination creates the parallel and independent actuation of chemical release in a group of fluidic ports. The …

A Note From The Editor, Daphne Fauber

Ideas: Exhibit Catalog for the Honors College Visiting Scholars Series

This piece is a letter from Daphne Fauber, the editor of this issue of Ideas. In the letter, the editor introduces the work of Dr. Paschalis Gkoupidenis as well as the moment in time in which his Visiting Scholars talk occurs.

Fabrication Of Silicon Microneedles For Dermal Interstitial Fluid Extraction In Human Subjects, Caleb A. Berry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this project is to design and develop a fabrication process for silicon microneedle arrays to extract dermal interstitial fluid (ISF) from human skin. ISF is a cell- free, living tissue medium that is known to contain many of the same, clinical biomarkers of general health, stress response and immune status as in blood. However, a significant barrier to adoption of ISF as a diagnostic matrix is the lack of a rapid, minimally invasive method of access and collection for analysis. Microfabricated chips containing arrays of microneedles that can rapidly and painlessly access and collect dermal ISF for …

Nanoelectronic Applications Of Magnetoelectric Nanostructures, Ping Wang

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The greatly increased interest in magnetoelectric materials over the last decade is due to their potential to enable next-generation multifunctional nanostructures required for revolutionizing applications spanning from energy-efficient information processing to medicine. Magnetoelectric nanomaterials offer a unique way to use a voltage to control the electron spin and, reciprocally, to use remotely controlled magnetic fields to access local intrinsic electric fields. The magnetoelectric coefficient is the most critical indicator for the magnetoelectric coupling in these nanostructures. To realize the immense potential of these materials, it is necessary to maximize the coefficient. Therefore, the goal of this PhD thesis study was …

On-Demand Electrically Induced Decomposition Of Thin-Film Nitrocellulose Membranes For Wearable Or Implantable Biosensor Systems, Benjamin M. Horstmann

Theses and Dissertations

Implantable or subcutaneous biosensors used for continuous health monitoring have a limited functional lifetime requiring frequent replacement and therefore may be highly discomforting to the patient and become costly. One possible solution to this problem is use of biosensor arrays where each individual reserve sensor can be activated on-demand when the previous one becomes inoperative due to biofouling or enzyme degradation. Each reserve biosensor in the array is housed in an individual Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) well and is protected from exposure to bodily fluids such as interstitial fluid ( ISF) by a thin-film nitrocellulose membrane. Controlled activation is achieved by decomposing …

Development Of A Comsol Microdialysis Model, Towards Creation Of Microdialysis On A Chip With Improved Geometries And Recovery, Patrick Pysz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Microdialysis (µD) sampling is a diffusion-limited sampling method that has been widely used in different biomedical fields for greater than 35 years. Device calibration for in vivo studies is difficult for current non-steady state analytes of interest correlated with both inflammatory response and microbial signaling molecules (QS); which exist in low ng/mL to pg/mL with molecular weights over a wide range of 170 Da to 70 kDa. The primary performance metric, relative recovery (RR), relating the collected sample to the extracellular space concentration varies from 10% to 60% per analyte even under controlled bench-top conditions. Innovations in microdialysis device design …

Fabrication And Characterization Of Nanofiber Nylon-6-Mwcnt As An Electrochemical Sensor For Sodium Ions Concentration Detection In Sweat, Kelsey Mills

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Fabrication and characterization nylon-6-MWCNT nanofiber as an electrochemical sensor to detect sodium ion concentrations specifically in sweat. Using contact angle to determine surface morphology and chronoamperometry testing to identify ideal sensor conditions, tests optimized parameters like weight percent of nylon or other polymers, carbon nanotube (CNT) isomer, and solution concentration to determine reproducibility of functional sensors. Utilizing the electric qualities of carbon nanotubes partnered with the sodium ion selectivity of calixarene treatment and polymers unique properties like flexibility and scalability create open an arena for optimizing sodium ion sensors for further development for functional prototypes. Morphology tests showed that the …

Engineering Plasmonic Nanostructures For Light Management And Sensing, Sujan Phani Kumar Kasani

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The two major global problems are to provide health safety and to meet energy demands for ever growing population on a large scale. The study of light interaction with nanostructures has shown a promising solution in improving the fields of bio-sensor and solar energy devices which addresses above mentioned two major global problems. Nanostructures have tunable physicochemical properties such as light absorption, electrical and thermal properties unlike bulk materials, which gives an advantage in applications like bio-sensing and energy harvesting devices. The development of nanofabrication techniques along with the discovery of Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) and Plasmon Enhanced Fluorescence …

Thin Film Based Biosensors For Point Of Care Diagnosis Of Cortisol, Syed Khalid Pasha

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the different ways to create thin film-based biosensors that are capable of rapid and label-free detection of cortisol, a non-specific biomarker closely linked to stress, within the physiological range of 10pM to 10 uM. Increased cortisol levels have been linked to stress-related diseases, such as chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, and post-traumatic stress disorder. It also plays a role in the suppression of the immune system as well. Therefore, accurate measurement of cortisol in saliva, serum, plasma, urine, sweat, and hair, is clinically significance to predict physical and mental diseases.

In this dissertation, thin film-based electrochemical …

Multivariate Analysis For The Quantification Of Transdermal Volatile Organic Compounds In Humans By Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell System, Ahmed Hasnain Jalal

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this research, a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) sensor was investigated for specific detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for point-of-care (POC) diagnosis of the physiological conditions of humans. A PEMFC is an electrochemical transducer that converts chemical energy into electrical energy. A Redox reaction takes place at its electrodes whereas the volatile biomolecules (e.g. ethanol) are oxidized at the anode and ambient oxygen is reduced at the cathode. The compounds which were the focus of this investigation were ethanol (C₂H₅OH) and isoflurane (C₃H₂ClF₅O), but theoretically, the sensor …

Adaptation Of Vt-Dbr Lasers For Lidar, Luke Horowitz

Master's Theses

Vernier Tuned Distributed Bragg Reflector (VT-DBR) lasers have had great success in the field of Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography (SS-OCT) due to their continuous and nearly 40 nm wavelength tuning range in a single longitudinal mode. Fast sweeps allow for real time imaging with micrometer resolution at a distance of a few centimeters. While this laser has proven quite useful as a medical imaging tool via OCT, it has yet to similarly prove itself for general light detection and ranging (LIDAR) applications due to range limitations that arise from a finite laser coherence length. The goal of this thesis is …

Evaluation Of Terahertz Imaging For Breast Cancer Detection Using Image Morphing, Tanny Andrea Chavez Esparza

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis proposes the use of a mesh morphing algorithm for the quantitative evaluation of terahertz (THz) images. This work differs from traditional evaluation methods based on qualitative evaluation because it provides a fair and quantitative measurement of the THz imaging system's performance. The objective of the algorithm is to match the alignment, shape, and resolution of the THz and reference pathology images. Therefore, the proposed morphing method provides a pathology reference for a pixel-by-pixel evaluation of the region classification in the THz image. To achieve this, the morphing algorithm aligns the images using the Pearson's correlation coefficient and reshapes …

Muscle Activity-Driven Green-Oriented Random Number Generation Mechanism To Secure Wbsn Wearable Device Communications, Yuanlong Cao, Guanghe Zhang, Fanghua Liu, Ilsun You, Guanglou Zheng, Oluwarotimi W. Samuel, Shixiong Chen

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Wireless body sensor networks (WBSNs) mostly consist of low-cost sensor nodes and implanted devices which generally have extremely limited capability of computations and energy capabilities. Hence, traditional security protocols and privacy enhancing technologies are not applicable to the WBSNs since their computations and cryptographic primitives are normally exceedingly complicated. Nowadays, mobile wearable and wireless muscle-computer interfaces have been integrated with the WBSN sensors for various applications such as rehabilitation, sports, entertainment, and healthcare. In this paper, we propose MGRNG, a novel muscle activity-driven green-oriented random number generation mechanism which uses the human muscle activity as green energy resource to generate …

An Exact Analysis For Four-Order Acousto-Optic Bragg Diffraction Which Incorporates Both Incident Light Angle And Sound Frequency Dependencies, Adeyinka Sunday Ademola

Electrical Engineering Theses

This thesis extends the prior work which produced an exact solution to the four-order acousto-optic (AO) Bragg cell with assumed fixed center frequency and with exact Bragg angle incident light. The extension predicts the model that incorporates the dependencies of both the input angle of light and the sound frequency. Specifically, a generalized 4^th order linear differential equation (DE), is developed from a simultaneous analysis of four coupled AO system of DEs. Through standard methods, the characteristic roots, which requires solving a quartic equation, is produced. Subsequently, a derived system of homogeneous solutions, which absorbs the roots obtained using …

Development Of A Low Cost Biosensing Platform For Highly Sensitive And Specific On-Site Detection Of Pathogens And Infections, Cheng Cheng

Doctoral Dissertations

A highly sensitive, specific, real time, and field-deployable surveillance tool is critical to the control of pathogens and infections, as well as ecological impact of chemicals exposure. This work investigates the development of a low cost biosensing platform that can be used for viral disease diagnosis and chemical detection. The sensing mechanism is known as AC electrokinetics (ACEK) capacitive sensing. By applying an inhomogeneous AC electric field on sensor electrodes, positive dielectrophoresis is induced to accelerate the travel of analytes. The same applied AC signal also directly measures the capture of target by the probe on sensor surface. The realized …

Development Of An Oxygen Saturation Monitoring System By Embedded Electronics, Manikandan Venkatesan Gomathy

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Measuring Oxygenation of blood (SaO2) plays a vital role in patient’s health monitoring. This is often measured by pulse oximeter, which is standard measure during anesthesia, asthma, operative and post-operative recoveries. Despite all, monitoring Oxygen level is necessary for infants with respiratory problems, old people, and pregnant women and in other critical situations.

This paper discusses the process of calculating the level of oxygen in blood and heart-rate detection using a non-invasive photo plethysmography also called as pulsoximeter using the MSP430FG437 microcontroller (MCU). The probe uses infrared lights to measure and should be in physical contact with any peripheral points …

Toward Improving Electrocardiogram (Ecg) Biometric Verification Using Mobile Sensors: A Two-Stage Classifier Approach, Robin Tan, Marek Perkowski

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals sensed from mobile devices pertain the potential for biometric identity recognition applicable in remote access control systems where enhanced data security is demanding. In this study, we propose a new algorithm that consists of a two-stage classifier combining random forest and wavelet distance measure through a probabilistic threshold schema, to improve the effectiveness and robustness of a biometric recognition system using ECG data acquired from a biosensor integrated into mobile devices. The proposed algorithm is evaluated using a mixed dataset from 184 subjects under different health conditions. The proposed two-stage classifier achieves a total of 99.52% subject …

A Multi-Channel 3d-Printed Bioreactor For Evaluation Of Growth And Production In The Microalga Dunaliella Sp, Cristian A. Cox

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We explored the capabilities of additive manufacturing using a photo-cured jetted material 3D printer to manufacture a milli-microfluidic device with direct application in microalgae Dunaliella sp growth and intracellular compounds biosynthesis tests. A continuous microbioreactor for microalgae culture was CAD designed and successfully built in 1 hour and 49 minutes using black photopolymer cured by UV and a support material. The microreactor was made up of 2 parts including the bioreactor itself and a microchannel network for culture media fluids and microalgae. Both parts were assembled to form a single unit. Additional optical and auxiliar components were added. An external …

Sonochemical Synthesis Of Zinc Oxide Nanostructures For Sensing And Energy Harvesting, Phani Kiran Vabbina

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Semiconductor nanostructures have attracted considerable research interest due to their unique physical and chemical properties at nanoscale which open new frontiers for applications in electronics and sensing. Zinc oxide nanostructures with a wide range of applications, especially in optoelectronic devices and bio sensing, have been the focus of research over the past few decades. However ZnO nanostructures have failed to penetrate the market as they were expected to, a few years ago. The two main reasons widely recognized as bottleneck for ZnO nanostructures are (1) Synthesis technique which is fast, economical, and environmentally benign which would allow the growth on …

Active Charge Balancing For Cardiac Stimulation, Maci Miri

Electrical Engineering

Worldwide, there are about 3 million people who have pacemakers, with 10,000 new implantations of ICD’s each month. [heart.org] Due to the gravity and importance of the function that ICD’s provide, these devices must be extremely reliable and highly effective. However, because of the high tolerances of IC manufacturing, stimulation circuits for pacemakers may be slightly unmatched and over time, may have a net DC charge applied to the tissues in the heart. Extra charge pumped into body tissues is dangerous for the patient’s health; the pH of the tissue can be raised and corrosion of the stimulating electrodes may …

Design And Implementation Of An Integrated Biosensor Platform For Lab-On-A-Chip Diabetic Care Systems, Khandaker Abdullah Al Mamun

Doctoral Dissertations

Recent advances in semiconductor processing and microfabrication techniques allow the implementation of complex microstructures in a single platform or lab on chip. These devices require fewer samples, allow lightweight implementation, and offer high sensitivities. However, the use of these microstructures place stringent performance constraints on sensor readout architecture. In glucose sensing for diabetic patients, portable handheld devices are common, and have demonstrated significant performance improvement over the last decade. Fluctuations in glucose levels with patient physiological conditions are highly unpredictable and glucose monitors often require complex control algorithms along with dynamic physiological data. Recent research has focused on long term …

Numerical And Analytical Modeling To Determine Performance Trade-Offs In Hydrogel-Based Ph Sensors, Piyush Dak, Muhammad Ashraful Alam

Birck and NCN Publications

Hydrogel based pH sensors are promising candidates for implantable sensors due to their low-cost and biocompatibility. Despite their commercial potential and numerous theoretical/experimental reports, the trade-offs between different performance parameters are not well understood, and explicitly stated. In this work, we develop a numerical and analytical framework to show that there is a fundamental trade-off between the performance parameters i.e. sensitivity/dynamic range vs. response-time/response-asymmetry in hydrogel sensors under constrained swelling conditions. Specifically, we consider the effect of the gel parameters, such as the ionizable group density ( N_f) and its dissociation constant ( K_a), on the …

Alternating Current Electrokinetics Based Capacitive Affinity Biosensor: A Point-Of-Care Diagnostic Platform, Haochen Cui

Doctoral Dissertations

Capacitive bioaffinity detection using microelectrodes is considered as a promising label-free method for point-of-care diagnosis, though with challenges in sensitivity, specificity and the time “from sample to result.” This work presents an alternating current (AC)-electrokinetic based capacitive affinity sensing method that is capable of realizing rapid in-situ detection of specific biomolecular interactions such as probe-analyte binding. The capacitive biosensor presented here employs elevated AC potentials at a fixed frequency for impedimetric interrogation of the microelectrodes. Such an AC signal is capable of inducing dielectrophoresis (DEP) and AC electrothermal (ACET) effects, so as to realize in-situ enrichment of macro and even …