Multi-layer graphene Pirani pressure sensors

The operating principle of Pirani pressure sensors is based on the pressure dependence of a suspended strip's electrical conductivity, caused by the thermal conductance of the surrounding gas which changes the Joule heating of the strip. To realize such sensors, not only materials with high temperature dependent electrical conductivity are...

Characterization of Integrated Optical Strain Sensors Based on Silicon Waveguides

Microscale strain gauges are widely used in micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) to measure strains such as those induced by force, acceleration, pressure or sound. We propose all-optical strain sensors based on micro-ring resonators to be integrated with MEMS. We characterized the strain-induced shift of the resonances of such devices....

Operation of a titanium nitride superconducting microresonator detector in the nonlinear regime

If driven sufficiently strongly, superconducting microresonators exhibit nonlinear behavior including response bifurcation. This behavior can arise from a variety of physical mechanisms including heating effects, grain boundaries or weak links, vortex penetration, or through the intrinsic nonlinearity of the kinetic inductance. Although...

An energy-efficient readout circuit for resonant sensors based on ring-down measurement

This paper presents an energy-efficient readout circuit for resonant sensors that operates based on a transient measurement method. The resonant sensor is driven at a frequency close to its resonance frequency by an excitation source that can be intermittently disconnected, causing the sensor to oscillate at its resonance frequency with...

A piezo-thermal probe for thermomechanical analysis

Thermomechanical analysis (TMA) is widely used to characterize materials and determine transition temperatures and thermal expansion coefficients. Atomic-force microscopy (AFM) microcantilevers have been used for TMA. We have developed a micromachined probe that includes two embedded sensors: one for measuring the mechanical movement of the...

Magnetovibrational coupling in small cantilevers

A nanomagnetomechanical system consisting of a cantilever and a thin magnetic film is predicted to display magnetovibrational modes, which should enable applications for sensors and actuators. The “polaritonic” modes can be detected by line splittings in ferromagnetic resonance spectra.