Metasurfaces for Advanced Sensing and Diagnostics

Dielectric metasurface-assisted terahertz sensing: mechanism, fabrication, and multiscenario applications

Terahertz (THz) technology has attracted significant global interest, particularly in sensing applications, due to its nonionizing feature and sensitivity to weak interactions. Recently, owing to the advantages of low optical loss and the capability to support both electric and magnetic high-quality factor (high-Q) resonances, dielectric metasurfaces have emerged as a powerful platform for multiscenario terahertz sensing applications. This review summarizes recent advancements in dielectric metasurface-assisted THz sensing. We begin with an overview of the mechanisms and properties of dielectric metasurfaces with high-Q factors. Next, we discuss typical fabrication techniques for these terahertz dielectric metasurfaces. We then explore the diverse terahertz sensing applications across various scenarios, including biomolecule sensing, biomedical detection, environmental monitoring, and chiral sensing. Finally, we provide perspectives on the future development of this promising research field.

Real-Time Plasmonic Strain Sensors Based on Surface Relief Diffraction Gratings

Large-scale diffraction gratings were fabricated in surface relief on azobenzene thin films and transferred to flexible PDMS substrates using soft lift-off lithography. The PDMS gratings were strained along the grating vector axis and the resulting surface topography was analyzed using diffraction angle measurements, AFM imagery and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectra. All measurement methods exhibited a linear response in strain indicating the useability of these sensors in real-world applications. For SPR-based strain sensing, an increasing pitch and a decreasing modulation depth were observed with increasing strain. The SPR peak shifted by ~1.0 nm wavelength and the SPR intensity decreased by ~0.3 a.u. per percentage of applied strain. The tested PDMS samples retained their integrity even after multiple cycles of stretching and relaxation, making them a suitable strain sensor.

Advances in Point-of-Care Testing of microRNAs Based on Portable Instruments and Visual Detection

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small noncoding RNAs that are approximately 22 nt in length and regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally. miRNAs play a vital role in both physiological and pathological processes and are regarded as promising biomarkers for cancer, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and so on. Accurate detection of miRNA expression level in clinical samples is important for miRNA-guided diagnostics. However, the common miRNA detection approaches like RNA sequencing, qRT-PCR, and miRNA microarray are performed in a professional laboratory with complex intermediate steps and are time-consuming and costly, challenging the miRNA-guided diagnostics. Hence, sensitive, highly specific, rapid, and easy-to-use detection of miRNAs is crucial for clinical diagnosis based on miRNAs. With the advantages of being specific, sensitive, efficient, cost-saving, and easy to operate, point-of-care testing (POCT) has been widely used in the detection of miRNAs. For the first time, we mainly focus on summarizing the research progress in POCT of miRNAs based on portable instruments and visual readout methods. As widely available pocket-size portable instruments and visual detection play important roles in POCT, we provide an all-sided discussion of the principles of these methods and their main limitations and challenges, in order to provide a guide for the development of more accurate, specific, and sensitive POCT methods for miRNA detection.

Impact and Assessment of Suspension Stiffness on Vibration Propagation into Vehicle

The impact of transport-induced vibrations on people is a particularly important problem. Sudden or intensifying vibration phenomena of a local nature may compromise safety, especially in transport. The paper addresses the results of research on the impact of spring stiffness parameters on the propagation of vibrations in the vehicle structure using simple amplitude and frequency measures. The use of the developed method of selective multi-criteria analysis of frequency bands made it possible to compare the vibrations recorded in the vehicle with a new or worn coil spring. The results of the present study allow the development of a large data base in which all signals are classified by the exploitation parameters and location of the propagation of vibration in the vehicle. The most important findings and achievements of the presented study are the testing of actual suspension components with real damage under controlled conditions, the identification of the vibration propagation path from the wheel to the driver and passenger feet, the quantitative comparison of vibrations affecting humans in the vehicle (through the feet), and the frequency decomposition of vibration for selected bands. These findings improve the proper interpretation of the developed measures and, as a result, the difficulties in using this knowledge at the engineering level, for example, in the design and construction improvement stage. Therefore, innovation points and engineering significances are a method of selective multi-criteria analysis of frequency bands and have potential applications in diagnostics and the design of suspension systems and in terms of passengers' comfort.

Terahertz metamaterial biosensor for diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma at early stage

We propose a method for diagnosis of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by using a terahertz (THz) metamaterial (MM) biosensor. The biosensor has a resonance frequency at about 0.801 THz and can measure the concentration of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in serum. The sensitivity of the sensor is 124 GHz/refractive index unit (RIU), and the quality-factor (Q) is 6.913, respectively. When the surface of the biosensor is covered with healthy serum (AFP≤7ng/mL), the maximum resonance frequency shift is 50 GHz. However, when it is covered with serum from patients with cirrhosis and early HCC (AFP>7ng/mL), the resonance frequency shift is more than 59 GHz. Positive correlation exists between the frequency shift of the biosensor and serum levels of the AFP in the HCC patients. This study provides a method for quick diagnosis and prediction of cirrhosis and HCC.

Sensing enhancement of a Fabry-Perot THz cavity using switchable VO2 mirrors

We experimentally investigate the sensing properties of an open cavity operating in the THz regime and realized by employing as mirrors two thin vanadium dioxide (VO₂) films grown on silicon parallel plates and separated by a variable length. The phase transition of VO₂ is used to control the behavior of the system between two different responses: a high transmission mode to the incident radiation (VO₂ in the insulating state) and a high sensitivity to tiny changes in the cavity refractive index (VO₂ in the conducting state). In the first state, the low loss regime enables to adjust the cavity length and easily optimize the resonances due to the Fabry-Perot (FP) effect in the Si plates and in the cavity volume. The activation of the metallic-like state instead, by damping the FP oscillations in the plates, promotes the onset of a comb-like spectrum that can be exploited as a versatile tool for accurate sensing applications. Using both an analytical model and full-wave simulations, we estimate the device response to variation in the refractive index of the cavity volume, showing that the proposed structure can achieve sensitivity values among the highest reported for THz sensors.

Analysis of Asymmetry in Active Split-Ring Resonators to Design Circulating-Current Eigenmode: Demonstration of Beamsteering and Focal-Length Control toward Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface

In this work, toward an intelligent radio environment for 5G/6G, design methodologies of active split-ring resonators (SRRs) for more efficient dynamic control of metasurfaces are investigated. The relationship between the excitation of circulating-current eigenmode and the asymmetric structure of SRRs is numerically analyzed, and it is clarified that the excitation of the circulating-current mode is difficult when the level of asymmetry of the current path is decreased by the addition of large capacitance such as from semiconductor-based devices. To avoid change in the asymmetry, we incorporated an additional gap (slit) in the SRRs, which enabled us to excite the circulating-current mode even when a large capacitance was implemented. Prototype devices were fabricated according to this design methodology, and by the control of the intensity/phase distribution, the variable focal-length and beamsteering capabilities of the transmitted waves were demonstrated, indicating the high effectiveness of the design. The presented design methodology can be applied not only to the demonstrated case of discrete varactors, but also to various other active metamaterials, such as semiconductor-integrated types for operating in the millimeter and submillimeter frequency bands as potential candidates for future 6G systems.

Silicon Metalens Fabrication from Electron Beam to UV-Nanoimprint Lithography

This study presents the design and manufacture of metasurface lenses optimized for focusing light with 1.55 µm wavelength. The lenses are fabricated on silicon substrates using electron beam lithography, ultraviolet-nanoimprint lithography and cryogenic deep reactive-ion etching techniques. The designed metasurface makes use of the geometrical phase principle and consists of rectangular pillars with target dimensions of height h = 1200 nm, width w = 230 nm, length l = 354 nm and periodicity p = 835 nm. The simulated efficiency of the lens is 60%, while the master lenses obtained by using electron beam lithography are found to have an efficiency of 45%. The lenses subsequently fabricated via nanoimprint are characterized by an efficiency of 6%; the low efficiency is mainly attributed to the rounding of the rectangular nanostructures during the pattern transfer processes from the resist to silicon due to the presence of a thicker residual layer.

Non-Layered Gold-Silicon and All-Silicon Frequency-Selective Metasurfaces for Potential Mid-Infrared Sensing Applications

We report simulations on the spectral behavior of non-layered gold-silicon and all-silicon frequency-selective metasurfaces in an asymmetric element configuration in the mid-infrared spectral window of 5-5.8 μm. The non-layered layout is experimentally feasible due to recent technological advances such as nano-imprint and nano-stencil lithography, and the spectral window was chosen due to the multitude of applications in sensing and imaging. The architecture exhibits significant resonance in the window of interest as well as extended tunability by means of variation of cell element sizes and relative coordinates. The results indicate that the proposed metasurface architecture is a viable candidate for mid-infrared absorbers, sensors and imaging systems.

Simultaneous Measurements of Refractive Index and Methane Concentration through Electromagnetic Fano Resonance Coupling in All-Dielectric Metasurface

Dual-parameter measurements of refractive index and methane concentration based on electromagnetic Fano resonance are proposed. Two independent Fano resonances can be produced through electric dipole and toroidal dipole resonance in an all-dielectric metasurface separately. The linear relationship between the spectral peak-shifts and the parameters to be measured will be obtained directly. The refractive index (RI) sensitivity and gas sensitivity are 1305.6 nm/refractive index unit (RIU), −0.295 nm/% for one resonance peak (dip1), and 456.6 nm/RIU, −0.61 nm/% for another resonance peak (dip2). Such a metasurface has simpler structure and higher sensitivity, which is beneficial for environmental gas monitoring or multi-parameter measurements.

All-metal wideband metasurface for near-field transformation of medium-to-high gain electromagnetic sources

Electromagnetic (EM) metasurfaces are essential in a wide range of EM engineering applications, from incorporated into antenna designs to separate devices like radome. Near-field manipulators are a class of metasurfaces engineered to tailor an EM source's radiation patterns by manipulating its near-field components. They can be made of all-dielectric, hybrid, or all-metal materials; however, simultaneously delivering a set of desired specifications by an all-metal structure is more challenging due to limitations of a substrate-less configuration. The existing near-field phase manipulators have at least one of the following limitations; expensive dielectric-based prototyping, subject to ray tracing approximation and conditions, narrowband performance, costly manufacturing, and polarization dependence. In contrast, we propose an all-metal wideband phase correcting structure (AWPCS) with none of these limitations and is designed based on the relative phase error extracted by post-processing the actual near-field distributions of any EM sources. Hence, it is applicable to any antennas, including those that cannot be accurately analyzed with ray-tracing, particularly for near-field analysis. To experimentally verify the wideband performance of the AWPCS, a shortened horn antenna with a large apex angle and a non-uniform near-field phase distribution is used as an EM source for the AWPCS. The measured results verify a significant improvement in the antenna's aperture phase distribution in a large frequency band of 25%.

Magnetically tunable metasurface comprising InAs and InSb pixels for absorbing terahertz radiation

A magnetically tunable metasurface comprising meta-atoms with InSb-patched, InAs-patched, and unpatched pixels was simulated using commercial software to maximize the absorption of normally incident radiation in the terahertz spectral regime, with the patches decorating the illuminated face of a gold-backed polyimide substrate. Maximum absorptance of 0.99 and minimum absorptance of 0.95 can be obtained in 0.14-0.23-THz-wide bands in the 2-4-THz spectral regime, with an average tuning rate of 0.3THzT^-1 and 0.24-THz dynamic range when the controlling magnetostatic field is aligned parallel to the incident electric field. The use of both InSb and InAs patches is much superior to the use of patches of only one of those materials. The design can be adapted for neighboring spectral regimes by exploiting the scale invariance of the Maxwell equations.

Dynamic Focusing with High-Quality-Factor Metalenses

Metasurface lenses provide an ultrathin platform in which to focus light, but weak light-matter interactions limit their dynamic tunability. Here we design submicron-thick, ultrahigh quality factor (high-Q) metalenses that enable dynamic modulation of the focal length and intensity. Using full-field simulations, we show that quality factors exceeding 5000 can be generated by including subtle, periodic perturbations within the constituent Si nanoantennas. Such high-Q resonances enable lens modulation based on the nonlinear Kerr effect, with focal lengths varying from 4 to 6.5 μm and focal intensities decreasing by half as input intensity increases from 0.1 to 1 mW/μm². We also show how multiple high-Q resonances can be embedded in the lens response through judicious placement of the perturbations. Our high-Q lens design, with quality factors 2 orders of magnitude higher than existing lens designs, provides a foundation for reconfigurable, multiplexed, and hyperspectral metasurface imaging platforms.

3D Numerical Modeling of Induced-Polarization Grounded Electrical-Source Airborne Transient Electromagnetic Response Based on the Fictitious Wave Field Methods

The grounded electrical-source airborne transient electromagnetic (GREATEM) system is widely used in mineral exploration. Meanwhile, the induced polarization (IP) effect, which indicates the polarizability of the earth, is often found. In this paper, the Maxwell equations in the frequency domain are transformed into fictitious wave domain, where Maxwell equations are solved by the time domain finite difference method. Then, an integral transformation method is used to convert the calculation results back to the time domain. A three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulation in a polarizable medium is presented. The accuracy of this method is proven by comparing it with the analytical solution and the existing method, and the calculation efficiency is increased five-fold. The simulation results show that the GREATEM system has a higher response amplitude in the conductive region, while IP effects cannot be identified in the conductive area. The GREATEM system has a higher response amplitude in the low-resistance region, but IP effects cannot be identified in the low-resistance area, and the detection of IP effects is more suitable for the high-resistance area. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the detection ability of the GREATEM system in the low-resistance area.

Plasmonic metaresonances: harnessing nonlocal effects for prospective biomedical applications

Metal nanoparticles (MNPs) possess optical concentration capabilities that can amplify and localize electromagnetic fields into nanometer length scales. The near-fields of MNPs can be used to tailor optical response of luminescent semiconductor quantum dots (QDs), resulting in fascinating optical phenomena. Plasmonic metaresonances (PMRs) form a class of such optical events gaining increasing popularity due to their promising prospects in sensing and switching applications. Unlike the basic excitonic and plasmonic resonances in MNP-QD nanohybrids, PMRs occur in the space/time domain. A nanohybrid experiences PMR when system parameters such as QD dipole moment, MNP-QD centre separation or submerging medium permittivity reach critical values, resulting in the plasmonically induced time delay of the effective Rabi frequency experienced by the QD asymptotically tending to infinity. Theoretical analyses of PMRs available in the literature utilize the local response approximation (LRA) which does not account for the nonlocal effects of the MNP, and neglect the MNP dependence of the QD decay and dephasing rates which hinder their applicability to QDs in the close vicinity of small MNPs. Here, we address these limitations using an approach based on the generalized nonlocal optical response (GNOR) theory which has proven to yield successful theoretical explanations of experimentally observed plasmonic phenomena. Our results indicate that, omission of the MNP nonlocal response and the associated decay/dephasing rate modifications of the QD tend to raise implications such as significant over-estimation of the QD dipole moment required to achieve PMR, under-estimation of the critical centre separation and prediction of significantly lower near-PMR QD absorption rates, in comparison to the improved GNOR based predictions. In light of our observations, we finally suggest two prospective applications of PMR based nanoswitches, namely, aptamer based in vitro cancer screening and thermoresponsive polymer based temperature sensing. To demonstrate the latter application, we develop and utilize a proof of concept (two dimensional) skin tumor model homogeneously populated by MNP-QD nanohybrids. Our simulations reveal a novel near-PMR physical phenomenon observable under perpendicular illumination, which we like to call the margin pattern reversal, where the spatial absorption pattern reverses when the near-PMR QDs switch from the bright to dark state.

Polarization independent dielectric metasurface for infrared beam steering applications

Over the past years, metasurfaces have been of great interest due to their ability manipulate optical wavefront by introducing a phase gradient across the transverse directions of the wave. This phase gradient was usually realized using plasmonic resonators which had high intrinsic losses. Here, we demonstrate, numerically, a proof of principle of an all-dielectric silicon based metasurface at the infrared (IR) range that manipulates the wave front and achieves beam steering with significantly high transmission. The proposed cross-shaped unit cell design shows high transmission with the ability to fully control the phase of the transmitted wave from 0 to 2π. The metasurface is made of silicon cross resonators, arranged to have a linear phase gradient, on SiO₂ substrate which makes the device compatible with most standard semiconductor fabrication techniques.

Adaptive Method for Quantitative Estimation of Glucose and Fructose Concentrations in Aqueous Solutions Based on Infrared Nanoantenna Optics

In life science and health research one observes a continuous need for new concepts and methods to detect and quantify the presence and concentration of certain biomolecules-preferably even in vivo or aqueous solutions. One prominent example, among many others, is the blood glucose level, which is highly important in the treatment of, e.g., diabetes mellitus. Detecting and, in particular, quantifying the amount of such molecular species in a complex sensing environment, such as human body fluids, constitutes a significant challenge. Surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) spectroscopy has proven to be uniquely able to differentiate even very similar molecular species in very small concentrations. We are thus employing SEIRA to gather the vibrational response of aqueous glucose and fructose solutions in the mid-infrared spectral range with varying concentration levels down to 10 g/l. In contrast to previous work, we further demonstrate that it is possible to not only extract the presence of the analyte molecules but to determine the quantitative concentrations in a reliable and automated way. For this, a baseline correction method is applied to pre-process the measurement data in order to extract the characteristic vibrational information. Afterwards, a set of basis functions is fitted to capture the characteristic features of the two examined monosaccharides and a potential contribution of the solvent itself. The reconstruction of the actual concentration levels is then performed by superposition of the different basis functions to approximate the measured data. This software-based enhancement of the employed optical sensors leads to an accurate quantitative estimate of glucose and fructose concentrations in aqueous solutions.

Metamaterial Lensing Devices

In recent years, the development of metamaterials and metasurfaces has drawn great attention, enabling many important practical applications. Focusing and lensing components are of extreme importance because of their significant potential practical applications in biological imaging, display, and nanolithography fabrication. Metafocusing devices using ultrathin structures (also known as metasurfaces) with superlensing performance are key building blocks for developing integrated optical components with ultrasmall dimensions. In this article, we review the metamaterial superlensing devices working in transmission mode from the perfect lens to two-dimensional metasurfaces and present their working principles. Then we summarize important practical applications of metasurfaces, such as plasmonic lithography, holography, and imaging. Different typical designs and their focusing performance are also discussed in detail.

Periodic Metallo-Dielectric Structures: Electromagnetic Absorption and its Related Developed Temperatures

Multi-layer, metallo-dielectric structures (screens) have long been employed as electromagnetic band filters, either in transmission or in reflection modes. Here we study the radiation energy not transmitted or reflected by these structures (trapped radiation, which is denoted-absorption). The trapped radiation leads to hot surfaces. In these bi-layer screens, the top (front) screen is made of metallic hole-array and the bottom (back) screen is made of metallic disk-array. The gap between them is filled with an array of dielectric spheres. The spheres are embedded in a dielectric host material, which is made of either a heat-insulating (air, polyimide) or heat-conducting (MgO) layer. Electromagnetic intensity trapping of 97% is obtained when a 0.15 micron gap is filled with MgO and Si spheres, which are treated as pure dielectrics (namely, with no added absorption loss). Envisioned applications are anti-fogging surfaces, electromagnetic shields, and energy harvesting structures.

Ultra-Broadband Absorption from 750.0 nm to 5351.6 nm in a Novel Grating Based on SiO2-Fe-Sandwich Substrate

In this paper, we design a three-part-period grating based on alternating Fe/SiO2 sandwich structure, which can achieve an ultra-broadband absorption from 750.0 nm to 5351.6 nm. In particular, the absorbing efficiency can reach to more than 95% within 2158.8 nm, which is due to the well impedance matching of Fe with the free space, as well as due to the excitation of localized surface plasmon resonance and surface propagation plasmon resonance in the proposed structure. Furthermore, multiple period gratings are also discussed to broaden the absorption band. These results are very promising for applications in high-performance photovoltaics, nonlinear optics devices and protective equipment for laser weapons.

Encoded-Enhancement of THz Metasurface Figure of Merit for Label-Free Sensing

We describe an experimental strategy for the use of Terahertz (THz) metasurfaces as a platform for label-free wide range detection of the dielectric function in biological fluids. Specifically, we propose a metagrid (MG), opportunely infiltrated with a fluid and then capped, as the reference structure for sensing experiments with a high reproducibility character. By combining experiments and full-wave simulations of the transmission T of such a structure, we introduce a reliable set up where the volume of the involved analyte in each unit cell is precisely determined. The unavoidable decrease in the quality factor of the intrinsic resonances due to the lossy fluid and cap layer is circumvented using an appropriate transformation of T that amplifies the change in the MG intrinsic resonances, improving in such a way the sensor sensitivity to values close to the experimental limits. The transformed signal features delta-like peaks enabling an easy readout of frequency positions at resonances.

Microcontroller Implementation of Support Vector Machine for Detecting Blood Glucose Levels Using Breath Volatile Organic Compounds

This paper presents an embedded system-based solution for sensor arrays to estimate blood glucose levels from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in a patient's breath. Support vector machine (SVM) was trained on a general-purpose computer using an existing SVM library. A training model, optimized to achieve the most accurate results, was implemented in a microcontroller with an ATMega microprocessor. Training and testing was conducted using artificial breath that mimics known VOC footprints of high and low blood glucose levels. The embedded solution was able to correctly categorize the corresponding glucose levels of the artificial breath samples with 97.1% accuracy. The presented results make a significant contribution toward the development of a portable device for detecting blood glucose levels from a patient's breath.

Experimental Verification of Isotropic and Anisotropic Anhysteretic Magnetization Models

The anhysteretic magnetization curve is the key element of modeling magnetic hysteresis loops. Despite the fact that it is intensively exploited, known models of anhysteretic curve have not been verified experimentally. This paper presents the validation of four anhysteretic curve models considering four different materials, including isotropic, such as Mn-Zn soft ferrite, as well as anisotropic amorphous and nanocrystalline alloys. The presented results indicate that only the model that considers anisotropic energy is valid for a wide set of modern magnetic materials. The most suitable of the verified models is the anisotropic extension function-based model, which considers uniaxial anisotropy.

High Performance Asymmetric Coupled Line Balun at Sub-THz Frequency

In this paper, we report a high-performance balun with characteristics suitable for future broadband sub-THz differential circuits. The idea of the balun is based on three asymmetric coupled lines, which enhance the odd mode capacitances to equalize the even/odd mode phase velocities. The inner line of the three asymmetric coupled lines is configured to form the open stub ( λ /2), while the outer lines form short stubs ( λ /4). To further reduce the phase imbalance, the short stubs in one of the arms of the balun are connected with vias and a lower metal layer. The balun is developed using the standard 130-nm SiGe BiCMOSback-end process and EM simulated with ADS momentum and Sonnet. The −10-dB reflection coefficient (S 11 ) bandwidth of the balun is 136 GHz (88–224 GHz). It shows insertion loss (including RF pads) <1.5 dB, phase imbalance <7 degrees, and amplitude imbalance <1 dB at 94–177 GHz. Furthermore, a scaled-down version of the balun operates on the WR-6, WR-5, and WR-4 frequency bands without significant degradation in its performance. Such characteristics of the balun make it an ideal candidate for various broadband differential circuits.

Transmit-Array, Metasurface-Based Tunable Polarizer and High-Performance Biosensor in the Visible Regime

There are two types of metasurfaces, reflect-array and transmit-array,—which are classified on the basis of structural features. In this paper, we design a transmit-array metasurface for y-polarized incidence which is characterized by having a transmission spectrum with a narrow dip (i.e., less than 3 nm). Furthermore, a tunable polarizer is achieved using linear geometric configurations, realizing a transmittivity ratio between x- and y-polarized incidence ranging from 0.031% to 1%. Based on the narrow-band polarization sensitivity of our polarizer, a biosensor was designed to detect an environmental refractive index ranging from 1.30 to 1.39, with a factor of sensitivity S = 192 nm/RIU and figure of merit (FOM) = 64/RIU. In the case of a narrow-band feature and dips in transmission spectrums close to zero, FOM* can have a value as large as 92,333/RIU. This unique feature makes the novel transmit-array metasurface a potential market candidate in the field of biosensors. Moreover, transmit-array metasurfaces with lossless materials offer great convenience by means of detecting either the reflectance spectrum or the transmission spectrum.

Theoretical Investigation of a Simple Design of Triple-Band Terahertz Metamaterial Absorber for High-Q Sensing

This paper presents a simple metamaterial design to achieve the triple-band near-perfect absorption response that can be used in the area of sensor application. The introduced absorber consists of an array of Au strip and a bulk flat Au film separated by an insulator dielectric layer. Three narrow-band resonance absorption peaks are obtained by superposing three different modes (a fundamental mode resonance and two high-order responses) of the Au strip. These resonance modes (in particular of the last two modes) have large sensitivity to the changes of the surrounding index, overlayer thickness and the refractive index of the overlayer.

Effect of Poly-l-Lysine Polycation on the Glucose Oxidase/Ferricyanide Composite-Based Second-Generation Blood Glucose Sensors

Second-generation glucose biosensors are presently the mainstream commercial solution for blood glucose measurement of diabetic patients. Screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs) are the most-used substrate for glucose testing strips. This study adopted hydrophilic and positively charged α-poly-l-lysine (αPLL) as the entrapment matrix for the immobilization of negatively charged glucose oxidase (GOx) and ferricyanide (FIC) on SPCEs to construct a disposable second-generation glucose biosensor. The αPLL modification is shown to facilitate the redox kinetics of FIC and ferrocyanide on the SPCEs. The SPCEs coated with 0.5 mM GOx, 99.5 mM FIC, and 5 mM αPLL had better sensitivity for glucose detection due to the appreciable effect of protonated αPLL on the promotion of electron transfer between GOx and FIC. Moreover, the SPCEs coated with 0.5 mM GOx, 99.5 mM FIC, and 5 mM αPLL were packaged as blood glucose testing strips for the measurement of glucose-containing human serum samples. The glucose testing strips had good linearity from 2.8 mM to 27.5 mM and a detection limit of 2.3 mM. Moreover, the 5 mM αPLL-based glucose testing strips had good long-term stability to maintain GOx activity in aging tests at 50 °C.

Review of Substrate Integrated Waveguide Circuits for Beam-Forming Networks Working in X-Band

A review of substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) components designed for the use in beam-forming networks working in X-Band is presented. The proposed devices are four-port and six-port couplers and magic tees for the network. The devices take full advantage of the use of SIW technology in order to reduce size, weight, and cost. The design processes of all devices are exposed, and the experimental results of prototypes show the feasibility of these solutions.