Many clinical laboratories do immunoelectrophoresis for qualitative assessment of proteins in biological fluids. Commercial kits are available that supply some or all of the necessary components, but the nature of these components varies. Seeking a reliable method for most easily preserving the original immunoelectrophoresis pattern as a permanent record, we compared a thick-film agar method to...

This paper details an experimental investigation of the clamping effect associated with thick-film piezoelectric elements printed on a substrate. The clamping effect reduces the measured piezoelectric coefficient, d33, of the film. This reduction is due to the influence of the d31 component in the film when a deformation of the structure occurs, by either the direct or indirect piezoelectric ef...

GdBa2Cu3O7 - δ (GdBCO) films with different thicknesses from 200 to 2,100 nm are deposited on CeO2/yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)/CeO2-buffered Ni-W substrates by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. Both the X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy analyses reveal that the a-axis grains appear at the upper layers of the films when the thickness reaches to 1,030 nm. The X-ray photo...

This paper presents the printed thick film Ag|AgCl|KCl reference electrodes for electrochemical or biosensors application and their electrochemical and analytical performance. The reference electrode exhibits a stable potential against standard glass reference electrode with a potential difference of 5 mV in the deionized water. The anodic and cathodic peak current of the electrode increase wit...

In this work we present a novel thermal bonding method for thermoplastic microfluidic devices. This simple method employs a modified vacuum bagging technique, a concept borrowed from the aerospace industry, to produce conventional thick substrate microfluidic devices, as well as multi-layer film devices. The bonds produced using this method are superior to those obtained using conventional ther...

Control of spin waves in a ferrite thin film via interfacial spin scattering was demonstrated. The experiments used a 4.6  μm-thick yttrium iron garnet (YIG) film strip with a 20-nm thick Pt capping layer. A dc current pulse was applied to the Pt layer and produced a spin current across the Pt thickness. As the spin current scatters off the YIG surface, it can either amplify or attenuate spin-w...

We present a rapid low-cost process for fabrication of screen-printed carbon thick-film strain sensors with 0.012% strain resolution. The sensors are suitable for implantation and designed specifically for strain or fullness measurements of the skin and bladder, respectively. Thick-film carbon paste sensors are screen-printed using an etched brass screen onto polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and enc...

Porous tungsten oxide nanocrystalline thick film sensors are prepared for the sensitive detection of H2S gas. The sensor characteristics are investigated with respect to H2S sensing over a temperature range 100-225 0 C in air. Optimum operating temperature for H2S sensing is found to be 200 0 C. Sensor response is investigated for various concentrations and the lowest measurable concentration i...

A commercial atomic force microscope/magnetic force microscope ~MFM! was modified to cool magnetic samples down to around 100 K under a high vacuum while maintaining its routine imaging functionality. MFM images of a 120 nm thick La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 film on a LaAlO3 substrate at low temperature show the paramagnetic-to-ferromagnetic phase transition. Evolution of magnetic domains and magnetic ripple...

This work presents a high yield wafer scale fabrication of MEMS-based unimorph silicon/PZT thick film vibrational energy harvesters aimed towards vibration sources with peak frequencies in the range of a few hundred Hz. By combining KOH etching with mechanical front side protection, SOI wafer to accurately define the thickness of the silicon part of the harvester and a silicon compatible PZT th...