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The development of advanced piezoelectric quartz MEMS for sensing and precise frequency control applications requires the nanostructuration and on chip integration on silicon of this material. However, the current quartz manufacturing methods are based on bonding bulk micromachined crystals on silicon, which limits the size, the performance, the integration cost and the scalability of quartz micro devices. Here, we combine chemical solution deposition, soft nanoimprint lithography and top down microfabrication processes to develop the first nanostructured epitaxial 100 quartz 100 Si piezoelectric cantilevers. The coherent Si quartz interface and film thinness combined with a controlled nanostructuration on silicon insulator silicon technology substrates provides high force and mass sensitivity while preserving the mechanical quality factor of the microelectromechanical systems. This work proves that biocompatible nanostructured epitaxial piezoelectric quartz based MEMS on silicon can be engineered at low cost by combining soft chemistry and top down lithographic techniques.

In this paper, we present a simple yet sensitive method for glucose sensing using carbon nanotube field-effect transistor (CNTFET) based biosensor. The CNTs were well-dispersed to form CNT networks and maintain functional connectivity among CNTs, which increases the electron transfer through the network and thus, the electronic readout. Moreover, glucose oxidase (GOx) molecules are immobilized by CNT functionalization to form effective and sensitive CNT networks as FET channel. The CNTs are functionalized with linkers (1-pyrenebutanoic acid succinimidyl ester) to immobilize GOx on CNTs, where GOx serves as a mediator between CNTs and glucose for electron transfer. The liquid analyte glucose is adsorbed on CNTs via GOx and linkers by releasing additional electrons in the CNTFET channel and thus, increasing the CNTFET readout current. The binding of the target glucose molecules and GOx emulates the gate potential of FET channel and the electronic response of the sensor is recorded in real-time. Moreover, the variations in electronic readout of CNTFET biosensor are observed and is stipulated due to variation in CNT dispersion on each device. Overall, this work presents a simple, fast, sensitive, low-cost, and low concentration (0.01 mM) detection of glucose using CNTFET sensors.

Sub-nm resolution images can be achieved by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) on samples that are deposited on hard substrates. However, it is still extremely challenging to image soft interfaces, such as biological membranes, due to the deformations induced by the tip. Photonic Force Microscopy (PhFM), based on optical tweezers (OT), represents an interesting alternative for soft scanning-probe microscopy. Using light instead of a physical cantilever to hold the scanning probe results in a stiffness ($k_{OT}\sim0.1-0.001$ pN/nm) which can be 2-3 orders of magnitude lower than that of standard cantilevers ($k_{AFM}\sim 10$ pN/nm). Combined with nm resolution of displacement measurements of the trapped probe, this allows for imaging soft materials without force-induced artefacts. However, the size of the optically trapped probe, often chosen as a $\sim \mu$m-size sphere, has so far limited the resolution of PhFM. Here we show a novel and simple nanofabrication protocol to massively produce optically trappable quartz particles which mimic the sharp tips of AFM. We demonstrate and quantify the stable trapping of particles with tips as sharp as 35 nm, the smallest used in PhFM to date. Raster scan images of rigid nanostructures with features smaller than 80 nm obtained with our tips compare well with AFM images of the same samples. Imaging the membrane of living malaria-infected red blood cells produces no visible artefacts and reveals the sub-micron structural features termed knobs, related to the parasite activity within the cell. The use of nano-engineered particles in PhFM opens the way to imaging soft and biological samples at high resolution.

Energy Autonomous Wearable Sensors (EAWS) have attracted a large interest due to their potential to provide reliable measurements and continuous bioelectric signals, which help to reduce health risk factors early on, ongoing assessment for disease prevention, and maintaining optimum, lifelong health quality. This review paper presents recent developments and state-of-the-art research related to three critical elements that enable an EAWS. The first element is wearable sensors, which monitor human body physiological signals and activities. Emphasis is given on explaining different types of transduction mechanisms presented, and emerging materials and fabrication techniques. The second element is the flexible and wearable energy storage device to drive low-power electronics and the software needed for automatic detection of unstable physiological parameters. The third is the flexible and stretchable energy harvesting module to recharge batteries for continuous operation of wearable sensors. We conclude by discussing some of the technical challenges in realizing energy-autonomous wearable sensing technologies and possible solutions for overcoming them.