Phys.org December 20, 2024 Although porous structures should favor colonization by microorganisms, they have not yet been exploited as abiotic scaffolds for the development of living materials. Researchers in Switzerland developed porous ceramics that are colonized by bacteria to form an engineered living material with self-regulated and genetically programmable carbon capture and gas-sensing functionalities. The carbon capture capability was achieved using wild-type photosynthetic cyanobacteria, whereas the gas-sensing function was generated utilizing genetically engineered E. coli. Hierarchical porous clay was used as a ceramic scaffold and evaluated in terms of bacterial growth, water uptake, and mechanical properties. Using state-of-the-art chemical analysis […]
Tag Archives: Sensors
Tiny chips promise swift disease diagnosis from a single breath
Phys/org December 16, 2024 Field-effect transistor (FET)-based electronic biosensing platforms are particularly attractive due to their sensitivity, fast turn-around time, potential for parallel detection of multiple pathogens, and compatibility with semiconductor manufacturing. However, scalability multiplexed biofunctionalization, nanoscale precision for immobilizing different types of pathogen-specific bioreceptors, are unmet. An international team of researchers (USA – New York University, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, industry, Italy) proposed a paradigm shift in FET biofunctionalization using thermal scanning probe lithography (tSPL) with a thermochemically sensitive polymer which could be spin-coated on fully fabricated FET chips, making this approach applicable to any FET sensor material […]
Engineers develop gel-based stretchable triboelectric nanogenerators for wearable technology
Phys.org December 9, 2024 Gel-based sensors typically depend on a metal grid connection, which is susceptible to structural deformation under heavy stress applications and necessitates external power. Researchers in South Korea developed gel polymer electrode-based triboelectric nanogenerator (GPE-TENG) that was stretchable, semi-transparent, and durable, designed to enable a self-powered touch panel for intelligent touch perception. The ionic polymer gel encapsulated within the ecoflex ensured robust adhesion of the ionic conductive polymer gel (PEO/LiTFSI) to the ecoflex layers. It demonstrated high durability, enduring stretching of approximately 375 % and sustaining heavy mechanical deformations over a long period without loss of functionality. […]
Researchers reveal quantum advantage that could advance future sensing devices
Phys.org October 16, 2024 Quantum metrology takes advantage of quantum correlations to enhance the sensitivity of sensors and measurement techniques beyond their fundamental classical limit. The use of both temporal and spatial correlations present in quantum states of light can extend quantum-enhanced sensing to a parallel configuration that can simultaneously probe an array of sensors or independently measure multiple parameters. Researchers at the University of Oklahoma used multispatial-mode bright twin beams of light to probe a four-sensor quadrant plasmonic array. They showed that it is possible to independently and simultaneously measure local changes in refractive index for all four sensors […]
Proof-of-concept design shrinks quantum rotation sensor to micron scale
Phys.org October 1, 2024 A team of researchers in the US (University of Michigan, DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory) investigated the possible realization of an ultracold-atom rotation sensor that was based on recently proposed tractor atom interferometry (TAI). They described an experimental design that included the generation of a Laguerre–Gaussian-beam-based “pinwheel” optical lattice and multi-loop interferometric cycles. Numerical simulations of the proposed system demonstrated TAI rotation sensitivity comparable to that of contemporary matter-wave interferometers. They applied quantum optimal control to devise a methodology suitable to address nonadiabaticity which might hinder systems performance. According to the researchers their studies are of interest […]
Researchers create orientation-independent magnetic field-sensing nanotube spin qubits
Phys.org October 2, 2024 Optically addressable spin defects in 3D crystals and 2D van der Waals (vdW) materials are important for nanoscale quantum sensing. However, optically detected magnetic resonance of localized spin defects in a nanotube has not been observed. A team of researchers in the US (Purdue University, Indiana University) found single spin color centers in boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) at room temperature which suggested that BNNT spin defects possess a spin S = 1/2 ground state without an intrinsic quantization axis, leading to orientation-independent magnetic field sensing. Using this unique feature, they observed anisotropic magnetization of a 2D […]
Reconfigurable sensor can detect particles 0.001 times the wavelength of light
Phys.org August 27, 2024 The exceptional point, a spectral singularity widely existing in non-Hermitian systems, provides an indispensable route to enhance the sensitivity of optical detection. However, the exceptional point of the systems is set once the system is built or fabricated, and machining errors make it hard to reach such a state precisely. An international team of researchers (China, Spain, Singapore) developed a highly tunable and reconfigurable exceptional point system, i.e., a single spoof plasmonic resonator suspended above a substrate and coupled with two freestanding Rayleigh scatterers. Their design offered great flexibility to control exceptional point states, enabling them […]
Researchers develop general framework for designing quantum sensors
Phys.org July 30, 2024 Quantum systems of infinite dimension, such as bosonic oscillators, provide vast resources for quantum sensing. A general theory on how to manipulate such bosonic modes for sensing beyond parameter estimation is unknown. A team of researchers in the US (MIT, North Carolina State University) developed a general algorithmic framework, quantum signal processing interferometry (QSPI), for quantum sensing at the fundamental limits of quantum mechanics by generalizing Ramsey-type interferometry. The sensing protocol relied on performing nonlinear polynomial transformations on the oscillator’s quadrature operators by generalizing quantum signal processing (QSP) from qubits to hybrid qubit-oscillator systems. They used […]
Magnetic levitation: New material offers potential for unlocking gravity-free technology
Phys.org April 8, 2024 An international team of researchers (Japan, Taiwan, Mexico, Australia) demonstrated the passive, diamagnetic levitation of a centimeter-sized massive oscillator, which was fabricated ensuring that the material, though highly diamagnetic, was an electrical insulator. By chemically coating a powder of microscopic graphite beads with silica and embedding the coated powder in high-vacuum compatible wax, they formed a centimeter-sized thin square plate which magnetically levitated over a checkerboard magnet array. The insulating coating reduced eddy damping by almost an order of magnitude compared to uncoated graphite with the same particle size. The plates exhibited a different equilibrium orientation […]
Research team realizes magnonic frequency comb
Phys.org April 1, 2024 A direct analog of frequency combs in the magnonic systems has not been demonstrated to date. Researchers in China generated a new magnonic frequency comb in the resonator with giant mechanical oscillations through the magnomechanical interaction. It contained up to 20 comb lines, which were separated by the mechanical frequency of 10.08 MHz. The thermal effect based on the strong pump power induced the cyclic oscillation of the magnon frequency shift, which led to a periodic oscillation of the magnonic frequency comb. They demonstrated the stabilization and control of the frequency spacing of the magnonic frequency […]