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Carbon nanotube networks were assembled by dielectrophoresis on microelectrodes and their response to temperature was monitored. The stability of the networks was investigated in order to determine their suitability for use as electrical components or sensors. Our results suggest that the networks cannot readily be used for these applications since their behaviour depends greatly on the amount of oxygen adsorbed on their surfaces.

The resonance frequency and the Q-factor of the fundamental and higher order flexural modes of silicon dioxide microcantilevers have been characterized at different pressures and for different thicknesses of gold coating. We present the experimental results and discuss the effect of the gold film on the performance and sensitivity of the cantilevers when used as mass sensors. An almost linear relationship between the Q-factor and the resonance frequency of the uncoated cantilevers is observed, implying that a higher sensitivity can be attained by actuation at higher order resonant modes. We also find that even a thin gold coating may reduce Q-factors by more than an order of magnitude.

The resonance frequency of the fundamental and four higher order modes of a silicon dioxide microcantilever is measured. The effect on these modes of depositing a 400 nm gold coating is investigated theoretically and experimentally. We derive an analytical solution to the eigenmodes of a multi-layered cantilever and verify its validity by comparison to finite-element analysis as well as the experimentally obtained results. The temperature and pressure dependence of the resonance frequencies is investigated experimentally and found to be in good agreement with theoretical models. An experimentally obtained value for the temperature dependence of Young's modulus of elasticity for thermally grown SiO2 is presented.

At certain values of the edge rotational transform ιa, the confinement quality of plasmas in the Wendelstein 7-AS (W7-AS) stellarator is found to react very sensitively to small modifications of the edge rotational transform ιa. As ιa can be reproducibly changed either by external fields or by a small plasma current, these transitions offer a precise way to systematically analyse differences in plasma turbulence between bad and good confinement cases. This paper presents results of the study of electron density fluctuations associated with confinement changes. Wavenumber and frequency spectra and radial profiles are compared. A slow and reproducible transition is induced by a small plasma current and the sequence of events leading to bad confinement is investigated. The laser scattering core plasma density fluctuation measurements are complemented by edge beam emission spectroscopy results and magnetic fluctuation measurements with Mirnov coils. Clear correspondence between plasma fluctuations and confinement degradation is observed: the weight of larger structures increases, fluctuations increase in the plasma core, the poloidal flow velocity decreases and regions of mode-like activity move radially in the plasma. These changes occur gradually and controllably if the magnetic configuration is steered by a small plasma current.

The ever-increasing complexity of the fabrication process of Point-of-care (POC) devices, due to high demand of functional versatility, compact size and ease-of-use, emphasizes the need of multifunctional materials that can be used to simplify this process. Polymers, currently in use for the fabrication of the often needed microfluidic channels, have limitations in terms of their physicochemical properties. Therefore, the use of a multipurpose biocompatible material with better resistance to the chemical, thermal and electrical environment, along with capability of forming closed channel microfluidics is inevitable. This paper demonstrates a novel technique of fabricating microfluidic devices using polyimide (PI) which fulfills the aforementioned properties criteria. A fabrication process to pattern microfluidic channels, using partially cured PI, has been developed by using a dry etching method. The etching parameters are optimized and compared to those used for fully cured PI. Moreover, the formation of closed microfluidic channel on wafer level by bonding two partially cured PI layers or a partially cured PI to glass with high bond strength has been demonstrated. The reproducibility in uniformity of PI is also compared to the most commonly used SU8 polymer, which is a near UV sensitive epoxy resin. The potential applications of PI processing are POC and biosensor devices integrated with microelectronics.

Self-assembled diphenylalanine peptide nanotubes provide a means of achieving nanostructured materials in a very simple and fast way. Recent discoveries have shown that this unique material, in addition to remaining stable under dry conditions, rapidly dissolves in water making it a promising candidate for controlled nanofabrication without organic solvents. The present work demonstrates how this unique structure can be aligned, manipulated and used as both an etching mask in a dry etching procedure and as a lift-off material. As a further demonstration of the potential of this technique, the peptide nanotubes were utilized to fabricate silicon nanowire devices and gold nanoslits in a rapid manner.

More and more diseases find their cause in malfunctioning genes. There is therefore still need for rapid, low-cost and direct methods to accurately perform genetic analysis. Currently the process takes a long time to complete and is very expensive. We are proposing a system that will be able to isolate white blood cells from blood, lyse them in order to extract the chromosomes and then perform chromosome sorting on chip. As the physical properties of the chromosomes, such as size and dielectric properties, are needed for designing the chip, we have measured them using an AFM microscope.