Biomacromolecules have transformed our capacity to effectively treat diseases; however, their rapid degradation and poor absorption in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract generally limit their administration to parenteral routes. An oral biologic delivery system must aid in both localization and permeation to achieve systemic drug uptake. Inspired by the leopard tortoise's ability to passively reorient, we developed an ingestible self-orienting millimeter-scale applicator (SOMA) that autonomously positions itself to engage with GI tissue. It then deploys milliposts fabricated from active pharmaceutical ingredients directly through the gastric mucosa while avoiding perforation. We conducted in vivo studies in rats and swine that support the applicator's safety and, using insulin as a model drug, demonstrated that the SOMA delivers active pharmaceutical ingredient plasma levels comparable to those achieved with subcutaneous millipost administration.
Insulin and other injectable biologic drugs have transformed the treatment of patients suffering from diabetes(1,2), yet patients and healthcare providers often prefer to use and prescribe less effective orally dosed medications(3-5). Compared with subcutaneously administered drugs, oral formulations create less patient discomfort(4), show greater chemical stability at high temperatures(6), and do not generate biohazardous needle waste(7). An oral dosage form for biologic medications is ideal; however, macromolecule drugs are not readily absorbed into the bloodstream through the gastrointestinal tract(8). We developed an ingestible capsule, termed the luminal unfolding microneedle injector, which allows for the oral delivery of biologic drugs by rapidly propelling dissolvable drug-loaded microneedles into intestinal tissue using a set of unfolding arms. During ex vivo human and in vivo swine studies, the device consistently delivered the microneedles to the tissue without causing complete thickness perforations. Using insulin as a model drug, we showed that, when actuated, the luminal unfolding microneedle injector provided a faster pharmacokinetic uptake profile and a systemic uptake > 10% of that of a subcutaneous injection over a 4-h sampling period. With the ability to load a multitude of microneedle formulations, the device can serve as a platform to orally deliver therapeutic doses of macromolecule drugs.
Ingestible electronic devices enable noninvasive evaluation and diagnosis of pathologies in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract but generally cannot therapeutically interact with the tissue wall. Here, we report the development of an orally administered electrical stimulation device characterized in ex vivo human tissue and in in vivo swine models, which transiently anchored itself to the stomach by autonomously inserting electrically conductive, hooked probes. The probes provided stimulation to the tissue via timed electrical pulses that could be used as a treatment for gastric motility disorders. To demonstrate interaction with stomach muscle tissue, we used the electrical stimulation to induce acute muscular contractions. Pulses conductively signaled the probes' successful anchoring and detachment events to a parenterally placed device. The ability to anchor into and electrically interact with targeted GI tissues controlled by the enteric nervous system introduces opportunities to treat a multitude of associated pathologies.
Oral administration provides a simple and non-invasive approach for drug delivery. However, due to poor absorption and swift enzymatic degradation in the gastrointestinal tract, a wide range of molecules must be parenterally injected to attain required doses and pharmacokinetics. Here we present an orally dosed liquid auto-injector capable of delivering up to 4-mg doses of a bioavailable drug with the rapid pharmacokinetics of an injection, reaching an absolute bioavailability of up to 80% and a maximum plasma drug concentration within 30 min after dosing. This approach improves dosing efficiencies and pharmacokinetics an order of magnitude over our previously designed injector capsules and up to two orders of magnitude over clinically available and preclinical chemical permeation enhancement technologies. We administered the capsules to swine for delivery of clinically relevant doses of four commonly injected medications, including adalimumab, a GLP-1 analog, recombinant human insulin and epinephrine. These multi-day dosing experiments and oral administration in awake animal models support the translational potential of the system.
This paper reports a novel room-temperature hermetic liquid sealing process where the access ports of liquid-filled cavities are sealed with wire-bonded stud bumps. This process enables liquids to be integrated at the fabrication stage. Evaluation cavities were manufactured and used to investigate the mechanical and hermetic properties of the seals. Measurements on the successfully sealed structures show a helium leak rate of better than 10 (10) mbarL s (1), in addition to a zero liquid loss over two months during storage near boiling temperature. The bond strength of the plugs was similar to standard wire bonds on flat surfaces.
This paper reports on the investigation of a novel room-temperature vacuum sealing method based on compressing wire bonded gold bumps which are placed to partially overlap the access ports into the cavity. The bump compression, which is done under vacuum, causes a material flow into the access ports, thereby hermetically sealing a vacuum inside the cavities. The sealed cavity pressure was measured by residual gas analysis to 8x10(-4) mbar two weeks after sealing. The residual gas content was found to be mainly argon, which indicates the source as outgassing inside the cavity and no measurable external leak. The seals are found to be mechanically robust and easily implemented by the use of standard commercial tools and processes.
This paper reports a novel room temperature hermetic liquid sealing process based on wire bonded "plugs" over the access ports of liquid-filled cavities. The method enables liquids to be integrated already at the fabrication stage. Test vehicles were manufactured and used to investigate the mechanical and hermetic properties of the seals. A helium leak rate of better than 1E-10 mbarL/s was measured on the successfully sealed structures. The bond strength of the "plugs" were similar to standard wire bonds on flat surfaces.
This paper reports experimental results of a novel room temperature vacuum sealing process based on compressing wire bonded gold “bumps”, causing a material flow into the access ports of vacuum-cavities. The leak rate out of manufactured cavities was measured over 5 days and evaluated to less than the detection limit, 6×10-12 mbarL/s, per sealed port. The cavities have been sealed at a vacuum level below 10 mbar. The method enables sealing of vacuum cavities at room temperature using standard commercial tools and processes.
We present a compact system consisting of a miniaturized fluid dispenser, delivering liquid laser dye to a micro-chip dye laser. This demonstrates the elimination of bulk fluid pumps for a microfluidic system by using a miniaturized, electrically and chemically inert dispenser, capable of delivering very low flow for extended periods of time.
In this paper, we demonstrate a novel manufacturing technology for high-aspect-ratio vertical interconnects for high-frequency applications. This novel approach is based on magnetic self-assembly of prefabricated nickel wires that are subsequently insulated with a thermosetting polymer. The high-frequency performance of the through silicon vias (TSVs) is enhanced by depositing a gold layer on the outer surface of the nickel wires and by reducing capacitive parasitics through a low-k polymer liner. As compared with conventional TSV designs, this novel concept offers a more compact design and a simpler, potentially more cost-effective manufacturing process. Moreover, this fabrication concept is very versatile and adaptable to many different applications, such as interposer, micro electromechanical systems, or millimeter wave applications. For evaluation purposes, coplanar waveguides with incorporated TSV interconnections were fabricated and characterized. The experimental results reveal a high bandwidth from dc to 86 GHz and an insertion loss of <0.53 dB per single TSV interconnection for frequencies up to 75 GHz.
Alternative means for drug delivery are needed to facilitate drug adherence and administration. Microneedles (MNs) have been previously investigated transdermally for drug delivery. To date, drug loading into MNs has been limited by drug solubility in the polymeric blend. We designed a highly drug-loaded MN patch to deliver macromolecules and applied it to the buccal area, which allows for faster delivery than the skin. We successfully delivered 1-mg payloads of human insulin and human growth hormone to the buccal cavity of swine within 30 s. In addition, we conducted a trial in 100 healthy volunteers to assess potential discomfort associated with MNs when applied in the oral cavity, identifying the hard palate as the preferred application site. We envisage that MN patches applied on buccal surfaces could increase medication adherence and facilitate the painless delivery of biologics and other drugs to many, especially for the pediatric and elderly populations.
Background: Performing complete blood counts (CBC) from patients´ homes could have atransformative impact on e-based healthcare. Blood microsampling and sample drying are enablingelements for patient-centric healthcare. The aim of this study is to investigate the potential of dry bloodsamples for image-based cell quantification of red and white blood cells. Methods: A manual samplepreparation method is developed and tested for image-based red and white blood cell counting. Resultsand Conclusion: Dry blood samples enable image-based cell counting of red and white blood cells with agood correlation to gold standard hematology analyzer data (avg. CV < 6.5%, R2 > 0.8), and resolve thebasic morphology of white blood cell nuclei. The presented proof-of-principle study is a first step towardpatient-centric CBCs.
We present the first fully integrated device for one-step Dried Blood Spot (DBS) sampling. We maximize the sample aspiration efficiency by combining the function of skin lancing and sample aspiration in one component, thus minimizing the required incision size and the related pain. Our volunteer study shows reliable collection of 1 µL of blood in under one minute, while significantly lowering the related pain and discomfort, compared to finger-prick sample collection. The collected samples show quality on par with finger-prick capillary blood samples.
Most of today's commercial solutions for un-cooled IR imaging sensors are based on resistive bolometers using either Vanadium oxide (VOx) or amorphous Silicon (a-Si) as the thermistor material. Despite the long history for both concepts, market penetration outside high-end applications is still limited. By allowing actors in adjacent fields, such as those from the MEMS industry, to enter the market, this situation could change. This requires, however, that technologies fitting their tools and processes are developed. Heterogeneous integration of Si/SiGe quantum well bolometers on standard CMOS read out circuits is one approach that could easily be adopted by the MEMS industry. Due to its mono crystalline nature, the Si/SiGe thermistor material has excellent noise properties that result in a state-ofthe- art signal-to-noise ratio. The material is also stable at temperatures well above 450°C which offers great flexibility for both sensor integration and novel vacuum packaging concepts. We have previously reported on heterogeneous integration of Si/SiGe quantum well bolometers with pitches of 40μm x 40μm and 25μm x 25μm. The technology scales well to smaller pixel pitches and in this paper, we will report on our work on developing heterogeneous integration for Si/SiGe QW bolometers with a pixel pitch of 17μm x 17μm.
Through-silicon via (TSV) technology enables 3D-integrated devices with higher performance and lower cost as compared to 2D-integrated systems. This is mainly due to smaller dimensions of the package and shorter internal signal lengths with lower capacitive, resistive and inductive parasitics. This paper presents a novel low-cost fabrication technique for metal-filled TSVs with very high aspect ratios (>20). Nickel wires are placed in via holes of a silicon wafer by an automated magnetic assembly process and are used as a conductive path of the TSV. This metal filling technique enables the reliable fabrication of through-wafer vias with very high aspect ratios and potentially eliminates characteristic cost drivers in the TSV production such as advanced metallization processes, wafer thinning and general issues associated with thin-wafer handling.
Three-dimensional (3D) integration is an emerging technologythat vertically interconnects stacked dies of electronics and/orMEMS-based transducers using through silicon vias (TSVs).TSVs enable the realization of devices with shorter signal lengths,smaller packages and lower parasitic capacitances, which can resultin higher performance and lower costs of the system. Inthis paper we demonstrate a new manufacturing technology forhigh-aspect ratio (> 8) through silicon metal vias using magneticself-assembly of gold-coated nickel rods inside etched throughsilicon-via holes. The presented TSV fabrication technique enablesthrough-wafer vias with high aspect ratios and superior electricalcharacteristics. This technique eliminates common issues inTSV fabrication using conventional approaches, such as the metaldeposition and via insulation and hence it has the potential to reducesignificantly the production costs of high-aspect ratio stateof-the-art TSVs for e.g. interposer, MEMS and RF applications.
The majority of microelectromechanical system (MEMS) devices must be combined with integrated circuits (ICs) for operation in larger electronic systems. While MEMS transducers sense or control physical, optical or chemical quantities, ICs typically provide functionalities related to the signals of these transducers, such as analog-to-digital conversion, amplification, filtering and information processing as well as communication between the MEMS transducer and the outside world. Thus, the vast majority of commercial MEMS products, such as accelerometers, gyroscopes and micro-mirror arrays, are integrated and packaged together with ICs. There are a variety of possible methods of integrating and packaging MEMS and IC components, and the technology of choice strongly depends on the device, the field of application and the commercial requirements. In this review paper, traditional as well as innovative and emerging approaches to MEMS and IC integration are reviewed. These include approaches based on the hybrid integration of multiple chips (multi-chip solutions) as well as system-on-chip solutions based on wafer-level monolithic integration and heterogeneous integration techniques. These are important technological building blocks for the ‘More-Than-Moore’ paradigm described in the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors. In this paper, the various approaches are categorized in a coherent manner, their merits are discussed, and suitable application areas and implementations are critically investigated. The implications of the different MEMS and IC integration approaches for packaging, testing and final system costs are reviewed.
In this paper we present different large-scale heterogeneous integration technologies for optical MEMS that enable the integration of optical MEMS with standard CMOS-based ICs. Examples that are presented include various monocrystalline silicon micro-mirror arrays and infrared bolometer arrays.
Three-dimensional integration of electronics and/or MEMS-based transducers is an emerging technology that vertically interconnects stacked dies with through-silicon vias (TSVs). They enable the realization of circuits with shorter signal path lengths, smaller packages and lower parasitic capacitances, which results in higher performance and lower costs. This paper presents a novel technique for fabricating TSVs from bonded gold wires. The wires are embedded in a polymer, which acts both as an electrical insulator, resulting in low capacitive coupling toward the substrate and as a buffer for thermo-mechanical stress.
Automatic wire bonding is a highly mature, cost-efficient and broadly available back-endprocess, intended to create electrical interconnections in semiconductor chip packaging. Modern production wire-bonding tools can bond wires with speeds of up to 30 bonds per second with placement accuracies of better than 2 mu m, and the ability to form each wire individually into a desired shape. These features render wire bonding a versatile tool also for integrating wires in applications other than electrical interconnections. Wire bonding has been adapted and used to implement a variety of innovative microstructures. This paper reviews unconventional uses and applications of wire bonding that have been reported in the literature. The used wire-bonding techniques and materials are discussed, and the implemented applications are presented. They include the realization and integration of coils, transformers, inductors, antennas, electrodes, through silicon vias, plugs, liquid and vacuum seals, plastic fibers, shape memory alloy actuators, energy harvesters and sensors.
This paper presents a novel technique to selectively deposit nickel by electroless plating on gold seed layers using an oxygen-plasma-activation step. No prior wet surface pre- treatments or metal oxide etches are required. This enables the manufacturing of low-resistance vias for heterogeneous three-dimensional (3D) integration of MEMS but it is also a suitable technique for the fabrication of arbitrary shaped nickel-microstructures using chemically stable and cost-effective electroless nickel plating baths.
Three-dimensional (3D) integration of electronics and/or MEMS-based transducers is an emerging technology that vertically interconnects stacked dies using through silicon vias (TSVs). They enable the realization of devices with shorter signal lengths, smaller packages and lower parasitic capacitances, which can result in higher performance and lower costs of the system. This paper presents a novel low-cost fabrication technique for solid metal-filled TSVs using nickel wires as conductive path. The wires are placed in the via hole of a silicon wafer by magnetic self-assembly. This metal filling technique enables through-wafer vias with high aspect ratios and potentially eliminates characteristic cost drivers of the TSV production such as metallization processes, wafer thinning and general issues associated with thin-wafer handling.
A method for at least partially inserting a plug into a hole, said method comprising the steps of a) providing a at least one substrate with at least one hole wherein said at least one hole has a largest dimension of from 1 μm to 300 μm, b) providing a piece of material, wherein said piece of material has a larger dimension than said at least one hole, c) pressing said piece of material against the hole with a tool so that a plug is formed, wherein at least a part of said piece of material is pressed into said hole, d) removing the tool from the piece of material. There is further disclosed a plugged hole manufactured with the method. One advantage of an embodiment is that an industrially available wire bonding technology can be used to seal various cavities. The existing wire bonding technology makes the plugging fast and cheap.
The three-dimensional (3D) integration of electronics and/or MEMS-based transducers is an emerging technology that vertically interconnects stacked dies using through silicon vias (TSVs). They enable the realization of devices with shorter signal lengths, smaller packages and lower parasitic capacitances, which can result in higher performance and lower costs. This paper presents a novel low-cost fabrication technique for metal-filled TSVs using bonded gold-wires as conductive path. In this concept the wires are surrounded by polymer, which acts both as an electrical insulator causing low capacitive coupling towards the substrate and as a buffer for thermo-mechanical stress.
This paper reports on the realization of 17 mu m x 17 mu m pitch bolometer arrays for uncooled infrared imagers. Microbolometer arrays have been available in primarily defense applications since the mid-1980s and are typically based on deposited thin films on top of CMOS wafers that are surface-machined into sensor pixels. This paper instead focuses on the heterogeneous integration of monocrystalline Si/SiGe quantum-well-based thermistor material in a CMOS-compliant process using adhesive wafer bonding. The high-quality monocrystalline thermistor material opens up for potentially lower noise compared to commercially available uncooled microbolometer arrays together with a competitive temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR). Characterized bolometers had a TCR of -2.9% K-1 in vacuum, measured thermal conductances around 5 x 10(-8) WK-1 and thermal time constants between 4.9 and 8.5 ms, depending on the design. Complications in the fabrication of stress-free bolometer legs and low-noise contacts are discussed and analyzed.
This paper reports on the implementation and characterization of arrays of uncooled infrared bolometers containing mono-crystalline Si/SiGe quantum well (QW) thermistors. The bolometer arrays are integrated on silicon fan-out wafers using very-large scale heterogeneous integration that is compatible with standard CMOS wafers. Infrared bolometer arrays with 320x240 pixels and pixel pitches of 25 mu m x 25 mu m and 17 mu m x 17 mu m have been implemented, respectively.
We demonstrate infrared focal plane arrays utilizing monocrystalline silicon/silicon-germanium (Si/SiGe) quantum-well microbolometers that are heterogeneously integrated on top of CMOS-based electronic read-out integrated circuit substrates. The microbolometers are designed to detect light in the long wavelength infrared (LWIR) range from 8 to 14 mu m and are arranged in focal plane arrays consisting of 384 x 288 microbolometer pixels with a pixel pitch of 25 mu m x 25 mu m. Focal plane arrays with two different microbolometer designs have been implemented. The first is a conventional single-layer microbolometer design and the second is an umbrella design in which the microbolometer legs are placed underneath the microbolometer membrane to achieve an improved pixel fill-factor. The infrared focal plane arrays are vacuum packaged using a CMOS compatible wafer bonding and sealing process. The demonstrated heterogeneous 3-D integration and packaging processes are implemented atwafer-level and enable independent optimization of the CMOS-based integrated circuits and the microbolometer materials. All manufacturing is done using standard semiconductor and MEMS processes, thus offering a generic approach for integrating CMOS-electronics with complex miniaturized transducer elements.
We present a novel and highly efficient wafer-level batch transfer process for populating silicon (Si) wafers with distributed islands of thin single-crystalline germanium (Ge) layers. This is achieved by transferring Ge from a Si wafer containing thick Ge dies to a Si target wafer by adhesive wafer-bonding and subsequent low-temperature Ge exfoliation.
This paper reports on the realization and characterization of the very first quantum-well (QW) mono-crystalline Si/SiGe 18x18 pixel infrared bolometer arrays that are manufactured using IC compatible heterogeneous 3D integration on fan-out wafers. This integration process enables bolometer materials on top of CMOS-based integrated circuits that can not be integrated with conventional monolithic deposition techniques. The manufactured bolometer arrays have a negative temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) of 2.8%/K. Measurements of the 1/f noise showed a higher value than expected for the bolometers. This result can be compared to lower values of noise achieved for samples of the thermistor material and is believed to result from imperfect metal contacts.
Imaging in the long wavelength infrared (LWIR) range from 8 to 14 μm is an extremely useful tool for non-contact measurement and imaging of temperature in many industrial, automotive and security applications. However, the cost of the infrared (IR) imaging components has to be significantly reduced to make IR imaging a viable technology for many cost-sensitive applications. This paper demonstrates new and improved fabrication and packaging technologies for next-generation IR imaging detectors based on uncooled IR bolometer focal plane arrays. The proposed technologies include very large scale heterogeneous integration for combining high-performance, SiGe quantum-well bolometers with electronic integrated read-out circuits and CMOS compatible wafer-level vacuum packing. The fabrication and characterization of bolometers with a pitch of 25 μm × 25 μm that are arranged on read-out-wafers in arrays with 320 × 240 pixels are presented. The bolometers contain a multi-layer quantum well SiGe thermistor with a temperature coefficient of resistance of −3.0%/K. The proposed CMOS compatible wafer-level vacuum packaging technology uses Cu–Sn solid–liquid interdiffusion (SLID) bonding. The presented technologies are suitable for implementation in cost-efficient fabless business models with the potential to bring about the cost reduction needed to enable low-cost IR imaging products for industrial, security and automotive applications.
This paper reports on the realization of a novel method for batch transfer of multiple separate dies from a smaller substrate onto a larger wafer substrate by using a standard matrix expander in combination with an elastic dicing tape and adhesive wafer bonding. We demonstrate the expansion and transfer of about 30 000 dies from a 100-mm wafer format to a 200-mm wafer. Furthermore, multiple expansions of 100-mm wafers diced into 60 000 dies are evaluated to determine the position accuracy between different expansions. Fabrication, evaluation method, and results are presented.
This paper reports on the realization of a novel method for batch transfer of multiple separate dies from a smallersubstrate onto a larger wafer substrate by using a standard matrix expander in combination with adhesive waferbonding and an elastic dice tape. We demonstrate the expansion and transfer of about 30000 chips from a 100mm wafer to a 200 mm wafer with a 22 μm standard deviation of positioning accuracy.
This paper reports on the realization of a novel method for batch transfer of multiple separate dies from a smaller substrate onto a larger wafer substrate by using a standard matrix expander in combination with adhesive wafer bonding and an elastic dice tape. We demonstrate the expansion and transfer of about 30000 chips from a 100 mm wafer to a 200 mm wafer with a 22 mu m standard deviation of positioning accuracy. Fabrication, evaluation method and results are presented.
Adhesion energies are determined for three different polymers currently used in adhesive wafer bonding of silicon wafers. The adhesion energies of the polymer off-stoichiometry thiol-ene-epoxy OSTE+ and the nano-imprint resist mr-I 9150XP are determined. The results are compared to the adhesion energies of wafers bonded with benzocyclobutene, both with and without adhesion promoter. The adhesion energies of the bonds are studied by blister tests, consisting of delaminating silicon lids bonded to silicon dies with etched circular cavities, using compressed nitrogen gas. The critical pressure needed for delamination is converted into an estimate of the bond adhesion energy. The fabrication of test dies and the evaluation method are described in detail. The mean bond energies of OSTE+ were determined to be 2.1 and 20 J m(-2) depending on the choice of the epoxy used. A mean bond energy of 1.5 J m(-2) was measured for mr-I 9150XP.
We demonstrate, for the first time, the use of off stoichiometry thiolene-epoxy, OSTE(+) for adhesive wafer bonding. The dual cure system, with an initial UV-curing step followed by a second thermal cure, allows for high bond strength and potentially high quality material interfaces. We show that cured OSTE(+) is easily removed in oxygen plasma and that the characteristics of OSTE(+) make it a potential candidate for use in heterogeneous 3D MEMS integration. Furthermore, we show how the bond energies of wafers bonded with OSTE(+) adhesive compares with the bond energies of wafers bonded with Cyclotene 3022-46 (BCB) and mr-I 9150XP nanoimprint resist.
This paper gives an in-depth description of two recent projects at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) which utilize MEMS and microsystem technology for realization of components intended for specific applications in medical technology and diagnostic instrumentation. By novel use of the DRIE fabrication technology we have developed side-opened out-of-plane silicon microneedles intended for use in transdermal drug delivery applications. The side opening reduces clogging probability during penetration into the skin and increases the up-take area of the liquid in the tissue. These microneedles offer about 200 mu m deep and pain-free skin penetration. We have been able to combine the microneedle chip with an electrically and heat controlled liquid actuator device where expandable microspheres are used to push doses of drug liquids into the skin. The entire unit is made of low cost materials in the form of a square one cm-sized patch. Finally, the design, fabrication and evaluation of an integrated miniaturized Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) based "electronic nose" microsystem for detection of narcotics is described. The work integrates a novel environment-to-chip sample interface with the sensor element. The choice of multifunctional materials and the geometric features of a four-component microsystem allow a functional integration of a QCM crystal, electrical contacts, fluidic contacts and a sample interface in a single system with minimal assembly effort, a potential for low-cost manufacturing, and a few orders of magnitude reduced in system size (12*12*4 mm) and weight compared to commercially available instruments. The sensor chip was successfully used it for the detection of 200 ng of narcotics sample.
New challenges such as climate change and sustainability arise in society influencing not only environmental issues but human's health directly. To face these new challenges IT technologies and their application to environmental intelligent monitoring become into a powerful tool to set new policies and blueprints to contribute to social good. In the new H2020 project, WatchPlant will provide new tools for environmental intelligence monitoring by the use of plants as "well-being"sensors of the environment they inhabit. This will be possible by equipping plants with a net of communicated wireless self-powered sensors, coupled with artificial intelligence (AI) to become plants into "biohybrid organisms"to test exposure-effects links between plant and the environment. It will become plants into a new tool to be aware of the environment status in a very early stage towards in-situ monitoring. Additionally, the system is devoted to be sustainable and energy-efficient thanks to the use of clean energy sources such as solar cells and a enzymatic biofuel cell (BFC) together with its self-deployment, self-awareness, adaptation, artificial evolution and the AI capabilities. In this concept paper, WatchPlant will envision how to face this challenge by joining interdisciplinary efforts to access the plant sap for energy harvesting and sensing purposes and become plants into "biohybrid organisms"to benefit social good in terms of environmental monitoring in urban scenarios.
A MEMS-based amperometric nitric oxide (NO) gas sensor is reported in this paper. The sensor is designed to detect NO gas for the purpose of asthma monitoring. The unique property of this sensor lies in the combination of a microporous high-surface area electrode that is coated with Nafion (TM), together with a liquid electrolyte. The sensor is able to detect gas concentrations of the order of parts-per-billion (ppb) and has a measured NO sensitivity of 0.045 nA/ppb and an operating range between 25 and 65% relative humidity. The settling time of the sensor is measured to 8s. The selectivity to interfering gases such as ammonia (NH3) and carbon monoxide (CO) was high when placing an activated carbon fiber filter above the sensor. The ppb-level detection capability of this sensor combined with its relatively fast response, high selectivity to CO and NH3 makes the sensor potentially applicable in gas monitoring for asthma detection.
Thin wafer handling is an important issue in 3D integration technologies. This paper reports on an efficient method for bonding a thin wafer and debonding it at room temperature from a carrier wafer. This method addresses the major problem of fragility and flexibility in handling of thin wafers used in TSV fabrication. In the presented method the carrier wafer is spin coated with an electrochemically active polymer adhesive. It is then bonded to a device wafer. The wafer stack is thinned and finally released from the carrier wafer by applying a voltage.
The use of thin silicon wafers is an enabling technology for 3D integration in the semiconductor industry. However, thin silicon wafers are fragile to handle and reliable solutions are required for thin wafer handling. This paper reports a novel method of bonding and debonding a thin wafer (< 50 mu m) using an electrochemically active polymer adhesive. In the presented method the carrier wafer is first spin coated with the adhesive and then bonded to the device wafer by applying force and temperature. Debonding of the wafer is realized at room temperature by applying a voltage between the carrier and the device wafer, which substantially reduces the bond strength. The bonding and debonding properties of the adhesive show that temporary wafer bonding using electrochemically active adhesives has the potential to be an attractive approach for temporary wafer bonding for thin wafer handling in 3D integration processes.
A miniaturized amperometric nitric oxide (NO) gas sensor based on wafer-level fabrication of electrodes and a liquid electrolyte chamber is reported in this paper. The sensor is able to detect NO gas concentrations of the order of parts per billion (ppb) levels and has a measured sensitivity of 0.04 nA ppb−1 with a response time of approximately 12 s. A sufficiently high selectivity of the sensor to interfering gases such as carbon monoxide (CO) and to ammonia (NH3) makes it potentially relevant for monitoring of asthma. In addition, the sensor was characterized for electrolyte evaporation which indicated a sensor operation lifetime allowing approximately 200 measurements.
Bad breath or halitosis affects a majority of the population from time to time, causing personal discomfort and social embarrassment. Here, we report on a miniaturized, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based, amperometric hydrogen sulfide (H2S) sensor that potentially allows bad breath quantification through a small handheld device. The sensor is designed to detect H2S gas in the order of parts-per-billion (ppb) and has a measured sensitivity of 0.65 nA/ppb with a response time of 21 s. The sensor was found to be selective to NO and NH3 gases, which are normally present in the oral breath of adults. The ppb-level detection capability of the integrated sensor, combined with its relatively fast response and high sensitivity to H2S, makes the sensor potentially applicable for oral breath monitoring.
This paper reports on a novel miniaturized MEMS-based amperometric nitric oxide sensor that is suitable for a point of care testing device for asthma. The novelty lies in the combination of a high surface area microporous structured electrode, nano-structured Nafion that is coated on the side walls of the micropores, and liquid electrolyte. This combination allows detection of very low concentration (parts-per-billion) gas, has a high sensitivity of 4 mu A/ppm/cm(2) and has both a response and a recovery time of 6 s. The sensor is integrated with a PCB potentiostat to form a complete measuring module. The limit of detection of this sensor was estimated to be 0.3 ppb.
A miniaturized amperometric nitric oxide (NO) gas sensor based on wafer-level fabrication of electrodes and a liquid electrolyte chamber is reported in this paper. The sensor is able to detect NO gas concentrations of the order of parts per billion (ppb) levels and has a measured sensitivity of 0.04 nA ppb(-1) with a response time of approximately 12 s. A sufficiently high selectivity of the sensor to interfering gases such as carbon monoxide (CO) and to ammonia (NH3) makes it potentially relevant for monitoring of asthma. In addition, the sensor was characterized for electrolyte evaporation which indicated a sensor operation lifetime allowing approximately 200 measurements.