ZnO nanostructures were explored as templates for the development of topography-mediated neuronal cultures. Nanostructures of varying features were produced on 4” Si substrates via a rapid, facile and low-cost technique that allows the systematic investigation of nanotopographically-mediated formation of neuronal cultures. The developed ZnO-nanowire based templates were seeded with Neuro-2A mouse neuroblastoma cells and their viability over the course of 1 to 4 days was assessed. Our studies demonstrate that the ZnO-templates can support neuronal cell growth and proliferation suggesting that ZnO substrate can be used for the development of neuronal cell-based platform technologies.
ZnO nanostructures, especially in the form of dense arrays of nanorods or belts have the ability to efficiently convert
mechanical energy to electrical energy. One of the drawbacks though for the exploitation of nanorod technology for
commercial devices is the ability to make the electrical contacts to these nanostructured piezoelectric converting
elements. Although technologies have been developed that provide solutions for electrical contact issues, metal contact
on uniform thin films are much simpler, and can readily be implemented to commercial mass-produced applications. At
the same time it is known that high piezoelectric coefficients ZnO uniform films with columnar grains having their c-axis
perpendicular to the substrate are required.
In this work, we investigate the growth of uniform ZnO films, using a low temperature, low cost hydrothermal process
typically used for the fabrication of ZnO nanorods. Under appropriate conditions coalescence of the nanorods occur
resulting in uniform films with a columnar structure. The study focuses on understanding the role of the growth factors in
order to be able to fully control the proposed process. Moreover, the hydrothermal method is further exploited for the
fabrication of uniform ZnO nanostructures on patterned substrates with Au interdigitated electrodes (IDE) using standard
lithography as a proof-of-concept of the applicability of the method to standard microfabrication techniques. The
piezoelectric films with the IDEs are electrically characterized in order to assess the electrical properties of the grown
films. From this analysis, process conditions have been identified for the growth of uniform nanostructured ZnO films,
suitable for piezoelectric microgenerators.
A low-temperature hydrothermal process for the growth of ZnO nanostructures on patterned Si substrates was
investigated with the aim of their future exploitation as functional cores of nanopiezotronic applications. The study
focused on understanding the role of the growth factors in order to better control the suggested process and to introduce
it as a low-cost, repeatable and reliable method for large-scale ZnO nanorod production. The parameters that were
examined were: (a) the role of the substrate, and (b) the concentration of the metal precursor in conjunction with the
growth temperature and time.
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have found several applications in various fields from homeland security to personalized health care. However, rendering MEMS into autonomous wireless systems operating in any given environment requires the integration of energy harvesters into the MEMS structures, ensuring thus the self-powering of the devices. In this work, we investigated the mechanical and magnetic properties of Samarium Cobalt (SmCo) thin films, with the goal to implement them into electromagnetic energy harvesters. The films were deposited by sputtering on suspended silicon cantilevers fabricated with a front-side micromachining process. The magnetic films, grown under various pressures and thermally annealed at several temperatures and ambient conditions, were studied in terms of their mechanical and magnetic properties. Depending on the fabrication parameters, the stresses that developed in the magnetic material, deposited on top of the cantilevers, are altered from compressive (downward deflection of the cantilevers) to tensile (upward deflection), indicating that it is possible to control not only the magnetic properties of the films, but also the mechanical properties of the complete structure. Our results suggest that SmCo magnetic films are suitable candidates for integration in suspended structures for the development of electromagnetic micro-generators.
In this work, we describe a front-side Si micromachining process for the fabrication of suspended membranes for thermal sensors. Membrane release is achieved by means of lateral isotropic etching of the bulk silicon substrate, the etching being optimized for high rates and high selectivity with respect to the membrane material and the photoresist that is used to protect the device. Lateral Si etch rates of the order of 6-7 micrometers /min have been achieved in a high- density F-based plasma, which permits a reasonable etching time for the release of the membrane and the simultaneous formation of the cavity underneath that ensure thermal isolation of the final device.
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