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Piezoelectric Nano Structures for Sensor and Applications

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanosensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2021) | Viewed by 10240

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, ORISE Science, Technology and Policy Fellow
Interests: micro-nano engineering; solar energy storage; thermal-fluid science

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Guest Editor
Bendable Electronics and Sensing Technologies (BEST) group, James Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
Interests: metal oxide nanostructures; piezoelectric nanomaterials; nanofabrication; printed electronics; nanoscale field-effect transistors; gas and strain sensors; and mechanical energy harvesting
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Guest Editor
Associate Professor (CNRS Researcher), GREMAN Laboratory from CNRS, University of Tours and INSA-CVL, Tours, France
Interests: piezoelectric nano-materials and ceramics for energy harvesting; sensors and actuators
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Innovation Fellow, The Open University, United Kingdom
Interests: semiconductor device physics; nanoelectronics; thin films and nanotechnology; material characterization; thin film technology; nanofabrication; nanoscience; SEM Analysis; energy and sensor material

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sensors have become ubiquitous in daily human life. Furthermore, piezoelectric materials are critical to the operation of many types of these sensors. For almost a century, bulk piezoelectric materials, such as thick films of quartz, lead zirconate titanate (PZT) etc., have been widely used in actuators. Beyond these state-of-the-art materials, with the advancement and widespread use of micro- and nano-scale manufacturing, assembly, and packaging technologies, the synthesis and incorporation of piezoelectric nanomaterials has become key. A variety of piezoelectric nanomaterials, including ZnO nanowires, PZT nanofibers, barium titanate nanoparticles, etc., have been explored to develop the next generation of applications, such as soft robotics and the Internet of Things. Moreover, piezoelectric based flexible and stretchable strain sensors show great potential for the real-time recording of physiological conditions and body motions, contributing to the development of mobile healthcare.

This Special Issue on piezoelectric nano structures for sensor applications intends to highlight recent advancements in the nanomaterial synthesis of different piezoelectric materials, including inorganic, organic, and hybrid inorganic/organic nanocomposites for sensing applications. We encourage researchers to share their state-of-the-art theoretical and experimental studies on piezoelectric nanomaterials and structures and how they are applied to sensor technology. Examples of important fields of application include structural health monitoring (physical and chemical), biological sensors, renewable energy, energy conversion, communications, N/MEMS, robotics, aerospace, etc.

Dr. Christopher Oshman
Dr. Abhishek Singh Dahiya
Prof. Guylaine Poulin-Vittrant
Dr. Charles Opoku
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Nanostructures
  • Piezoelectric
  • Sensor
  • Energy
  • Materials

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 1807 KiB  
Article
ZnO Thin Films Growth Optimization for Piezoelectric Application
by Vincent Polewczyk, Riccardo Magrin Maffei, Giovanni Vinai, Matteo Lo Cicero, Stefano Prato, Pietro Capaldo, Simone Dal Zilio, Alessandro di Bona, Guido Paolicelli, Andrea Mescola, Sergio D’Addato, Piero Torelli and Stefania Benedetti
Sensors 2021, 21(18), 6114; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21186114 - 12 Sep 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3980
Abstract
The piezoelectric response of ZnO thin films in heterostructure-based devices is strictly related to their structure and morphology. We optimize the fabrication of piezoelectric ZnO to reduce its surface roughness, improving the crystalline quality, taking into consideration the role of the metal electrode [...] Read more.
The piezoelectric response of ZnO thin films in heterostructure-based devices is strictly related to their structure and morphology. We optimize the fabrication of piezoelectric ZnO to reduce its surface roughness, improving the crystalline quality, taking into consideration the role of the metal electrode underneath. The role of thermal treatments, as well as sputtering gas composition, is investigated by means of atomic force microscopy and x-ray diffraction. The results show an optimal reduction in surface roughness and at the same time a good crystalline quality when 75% O2 is introduced in the sputtering gas and deposition is performed between room temperature and 573 K. Subsequent annealing at 773 K further improves the film quality. The introduction of Ti or Pt as bottom electrode maintains a good surface and crystalline quality. By means of piezoelectric force microscope, we prove a piezoelectric response of the film in accordance with the literature, in spite of the low ZnO thickness and the reduced grain size, with a unipolar orientation and homogenous displacement when deposited on Ti electrode. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Piezoelectric Nano Structures for Sensor and Applications)
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15 pages, 4127 KiB  
Communication
Towards a Highly Sensitive Piezoelectric Nano-Mass Detection—A Model-Based Concept Study
by Jens Twiefel, Anatoly Glukhovkoy, Sascha de Wall, Marc Christopher Wurz, Merle Sehlmeyer, Moritz Hitzemann and Stefan Zimmermann
Sensors 2021, 21(7), 2533; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21072533 - 4 Apr 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2222
Abstract
The detection of exceedingly small masses still presents a large challenge, and even though very high sensitivities have been archived, the fabrication of those setups is still difficult. In this paper, a novel approach for a co-resonant mass detector is theoretically presented, where [...] Read more.
The detection of exceedingly small masses still presents a large challenge, and even though very high sensitivities have been archived, the fabrication of those setups is still difficult. In this paper, a novel approach for a co-resonant mass detector is theoretically presented, where simple fabrication is addressed in this early concept phase. To simplify the setup, longitudinal and bending vibrations were combined for the first time. The direct integration of an aluminum nitride (AlN) piezoelectric element for simultaneous excitation and sensing further simplified the setup. The feasibility of this concept is shown by a model-based approach, and the underlying parameter dependencies are presented with an equivalent model. To include the geometrical and material aspects, a finite element model that supports the concept as a very promising approach for future nano-mass detectors is established. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Piezoelectric Nano Structures for Sensor and Applications)
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13 pages, 3603 KiB  
Article
Geometric Nonlinear Model for Prediction of Frequency–Temperature Behavior of SAW Devices for Nanosensor Applications
by Zhenglin Chen, Qiaozhen Zhang, Congcong Li, Sulei Fu, Xiaojun Qiu, Xiaoyu Wang and Haodong Wu
Sensors 2020, 20(15), 4237; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20154237 - 29 Jul 2020
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2781
Abstract
Surface acoustic wave (SAW)-based sensors have become highly valued for their use as nanosensors in industrial applications. Accurate prediction of the thermal stability is a key problem for sensor design. In this work, a numerical tool based on the finite element method combined [...] Read more.
Surface acoustic wave (SAW)-based sensors have become highly valued for their use as nanosensors in industrial applications. Accurate prediction of the thermal stability is a key problem for sensor design. In this work, a numerical tool based on the finite element method combined with piezoelectric Lagrangian equations has been developed to accurately predict the thermal sensitivity characteristics of surface acoustic wave devices. Theoretical analysis for the geometric nonlinearity contributing to the frequency–temperature characteristic and material constants’ dependency on temperature were taken into consideration. The thermomechanical equilibrium equation built on the three-dimensional finite element method (3D-FEM) mesh node took mesh movement into account because thermal expansion was employed. The frequency–temperature characteristics of different SAW modes, including Rayleigh waves and leaky waves excited on a piezoelectric substrate of quartz or lithium tantalate, respectively, were calculated. The theoretical accuracy of the proposed numerical tool was verified by experiments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Piezoelectric Nano Structures for Sensor and Applications)
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