A model for an extensional mode resonator used as a frequency-adjustable vibration energy harvester

In an effort to identify techniques for harvesting energy from ambient vibrations, a prototype device that utilizes stretching piezoelectric film to support a proof mass, with an adjustable support that allows the resonant frequency of the device to be easily altered, has been developed. This extensional mode resonator (XMR) device is described by a model developed in this paper that predicts the power that is harvested as a function of the frequency and amplitude of the external vibration, the elastic and piezoelectric materials properties, and the device geometry. The model provides design guidelines for the effects of device geometry and applied tension through an adjustable support that suggest a strong dependence on mechanical damping and a weak dependence on frequency, as opposed to a bending cantilever device. The model predictions are compared to experimental measures from a prototype device for frequencies between 120 and 180 Hz, and at accelerations between 0.1 and 10 m/s². Up to 9 mW is generated from a device with a mass of ∼82 g, and over the range of frequencies tested the power harvested at 4 m/s² is between 3 and 4 mW.     

Graphene/LiNbO3 surface acoustic wave device based relative humidity sensor

This study described relative humidity (RH) sensing using a graphene/128° YX LiNbO₃ surface acoustic wave (SAW) device. The resonant frequency of the device decreased in a two-stage manner as the RH increased. For a low RH range (RH < 50%), a frequency downshift of 1.38 kHz per 1% RH change was observed. This was attributed to mass loading of the SAW propagation surface due to the adsorption of water molecules by the graphene surface. For a high RH range (RH > 50%), a frequency downshift of 2.6 kHz per 1% RH change was obtained, which was due to the change in elastic grapheme properties. The mass loading effect of the water layer was less effective at high temperature, resulting in a lower temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (TCF).     

Apparent mass of the human body in the vertical direction: Inter-subject variability

The biodynamic responses of the seated human body to whole-body vibration vary considerably between people, but the reasons for the variability are not well understood. This study was designed to determine how the physical characteristics of people affect their apparent mass and whether inter-subject variability is influenced by the magnitude of vibration and the support of a seat backrest. The vertical apparent masses of 80 seated adults (41 males and 39 females aged 18-65) were measured at frequencies between 0.6 and 20 Hz with four backrest conditions (no backrest, upright rigid backrest, reclined rigid backrest, reclined foam backrest) and with three magnitudes of random vibration (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 m s^-2 rms). Relationships between subject physical characteristics (age, gender, weight, and anthropometry) and subject apparent mass were investigated with multiple regression models. The strongest predictor of the modulus of the vertical apparent mass at 0.6 Hz, at resonance, and at 12 Hz was body weight, with other factors having only a marginal effect. After correction for other variables, the principal resonance frequency was most consistently associated with age and body mass index. As age increased from 18 to 65 years, the resonance frequency increased by up to 1.7 Hz, and when the body mass index was increased from 18 to 34 kg m⁻² the resonance frequency decreased by up to 1.7 Hz. These changes were greater than the 0.9-Hz increase in resonance frequency between sitting without a backrest and sitting with a reclined rigid backrest, and greater than the 1.0-Hz reduction in resonance frequency when the magnitude of vibration increased from 0.5 to 1.5 m s⁻² rms. It is concluded that the effects of age, body mass index, posture, vibration magnitude, and weight should be taken into account when defining the vertical apparent mass of the seated human body.     

The effect of magnetic stress and stiffness modulus on resonant characteristics of Ni-Mn-Ga ferromagnetic shape memory alloy actuators

The prospect of using ferromagnetic shape memory alloys (FSMAs) is promising for a resonant actuator that requires large strain output and a drive frequency below 1 kHz. In this investigation, three FSMA actuators, equipped with tetragonal off-stoichiometric Ni₂MnGa single crystals, were developed to study their frequency response and resonant characteristics. The first actuator, labeled as A1, was constructed with low-k bias springs and one Ni-Mn-Ga single crystal. The second actuator, labeled as A2, was constructed with high-k bias springs and one Ni-Mn-Ga crystal. The third actuator, labeled as A3, was constructed with high-k bias springs and two Ni-Mn-Ga crystals connected in parallel. The three actuators were magnetically driven over the frequency range of 10 Hz-1 kHz under 2 and 3.5 kOe magnetic-field amplitudes. The field amplitude of 2 kOe is insufficient to generate significant strain output from all three actuators; the maximum magnetic-field-induced strain (MFIS) at resonance is 2%. The resonant MFIS output improves to 5% under 3.5-kOe amplitude. The frequency responses of all three actuators show a strong effect of the spring k constant and the Ni-Mn-Ga modulus stiffness on the resonant frequencies. The resonant frequency of the Ni-Mn-Ga actuator was raised from 450 to 650 Hz by increasing bias spring k constant and/or the number of Ni-Mn-Ga crystals. The higher number of the Ni-Mn-Ga crystals not only increases the magnetic force output but also raises the total stiffness of the actuator resulting in a higher resonant frequency. The effective modulus of the Ni-Mn-Ga is calculated from the measured resonant frequencies using the mass-spring equation; the calculated modulus values for the three actuators fall in the range of 50-60 MPa. The calculated effective modulus appears to be close to the average modulus value between the low twinning modulus and high elastic modulus of the untwined Ni-Mn-Ga crystal.     

Fabrication and analysis of ZnO thin film bulk acoustic resonators

This study employs RF magnetron sputter technique to deposit high C-axis preferred orientation ZnO thin film on silicon substrate, which is then used as the piezoelectric thin film for a thin film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR). Electrical properties of the FBAR component were investigated by sputtering a ZnO thin film on various bottom electrode materials, as well as varying sputter power, sputter pressure, substrate temperature, argon and oxygen flow rate ratio, so that structural parameters of each layer were changed. The experimental results show that when sputter power is 200 W, sputter pressure is 10 mTorr, substrate temperature is 300 °C, and argon to oxygen ratio is 4:6, the ZnO thin film has high C-axis preferred orientation. The FBAR component made in this experiment show that different bottom electrode materials have great impact on components. In the experiment, the Pt bottom electrode resonant frequency was clearly lower than the Mo bottom electrode resonant frequency, because Pt has higher mass density and lower acoustic wave rate. The component resonant frequency will decrease as ZnO thin film thickness increases; when top electrode thickness is higher, its resonant frequency also drops, due to top electrode mass loading effect and increased acoustic wave path. Therefore, ZnO thin film and top/bottom electrode thickness can be fine-tuned according to the required resonant frequency.     

Seated occupant interactions with seat backrest and pan, and biodynamic responses under vertical vibration

The relative interactions of the seated occupants with an inclined backrest were investigated in terms of apparent mass (APMS) responses at the two driving-points formed by the buttock-seat pan and the upper body-backrest under exposure to broad-band and road-measured vertical vibration. The measurements were performed using 24 adult subjects seated with full contact with the back support and two different positions of the hands (in lap and on steering wheel), while exposed to three different levels of broad band (0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 m/s² rms acceleration) vibration in the 0.5-40 Hz frequency range, and a track-measured vibration spectrum (1.07 m/s² rms acceleration). The forces developed on the seat pan and the backrest in directions normal to the supporting surfaces were measured to derive the APMS responses at both the driving-points. The results showed significant interactions of the upper body with the back support in a direction normal to the backrest, even though the vibration is applied along the vertical axis. At low frequencies, the backrest APMS magnitude was smaller than that measured at the seat pan, but it either exceeded or approached that of the seat pan APMS in the vicinity of the primary resonant frequencies. The results also suggested considerable effect of the hands position on the APMS magnitudes measured at both the driving-points. The effects of variations in the excitation type and magnitude, considered in this study, were observed to be small compared to those caused by the hands position and individual body masses. Owing to the strong effects of the body mass on the measured APMS responses at both driving-points, a total of 8 target data sets were identified corresponding to four mass groups (<60, 60.6-70, 70.5-80 and >80 kg) and two hands positions for formulating mechanical equivalent models. The model parameters identified for the target functions suggested that the models mass, stiffness and damping parameters increase with increasing body mass. The observed variations in the identified parameters could be applied for predicting the APMS responses reflected on the pan as well as backrest of the human occupants with specific body mass.     

Design and characterization of TlInSe2 varactor devices

TlInSe₂ single crystal has been successfully prepared by the Bridgman crystal growth technique. The crystal, which exhibits compositional atomic percentages of 25.4%, 25.2% and 49.4% for Tl, In and Se, respectively, is found to be of tetragonal structure with lattice parameters of a=0.8035 and c=0.6883 nm. The crystals were used to design radio frequency sensitive varactor device. The temperature dependence of the current-voltage characteristics of the device allowed the calculation of the room temperature barrier height and ideality factor as 0.87 eV and as 3.2, respectively. Rising the device temperature increased the barrier height and decreased the ideality factor. This behavior was attributed to the current transport across the metal-semiconductor interface. The capacitance of the device is observed to increase with increasing voltage and increasing temperature as well. The temperature activation of the capacitance starts above 82 °C with a temperature coefficient of capacitance being 1.08×10⁻³ K⁻¹. Furthermore, the capacitance of the device was observed to increase with increasing frequency up to a maximum critical frequency of 4.0 kHz, after which the capacitance decreased with increasing frequency. The behavior reflected the ability of maximum amount of charge holding being at a 4.0 kHz. The analysis of the capacitance-voltage characteristics at fixed frequencies reflected a frequency dependent barrier height and acceptors density. The decrease in the barrier height and acceptors density with increasing frequency is mainly due to the inability of the free charge to follow the ac signal.     

Study of ultrasound stiffness imaging methods using tissue mimicking phantoms

A pilot study was carried out to investigate the performance of ultrasound stiffness imaging methods namely Ultrasound Elastography Imaging (UEI) and Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) Imaging. Specifically their potential for characterizing different classes of solid mass lesions was analyzed using agar based tissue mimicking phantoms. Composite tissue mimicking phantom was prepared with embedded inclusions of varying stiffness from 50 kPa to 450 kPa to represent different stages of cancer. Acoustic properties such as sound speed, attenuation coefficient and acoustic impedance were characterized by pulse echo ultrasound test at 5 MHz frequency and they are ranged from (1564 ± 88 to 1671 ± 124 m/s), (0.6915 ± 0.123 to 0.8268 ± 0.755 db cm^-1 MHz^-1) and (1.61×10⁶ ± 0.127 to 1.76 × 10⁶ ± 0.045 kg m^-2 s^-1) respectively. The elastic property Young’s Modulus of the prepared samples was measured by conducting quasi static uni axial compression test under a strain rate of 0.5 mm/min upto 10 % strain, and the values are from 50 kPa to 450 kPa for a variation of agar concentration from 1.7% to 6.6% by weight. The composite phantoms were imaged by Siemens Acuson S2000 (Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) machine using linear array transducer 9L4 at 8 MHz frequency; strain and displacement images were collected by UEI and ARFI. Shear wave velocity 4.43 ± 0.35 m/s was also measured for high modulus contrast (18 dB) inclusion and X.XX m/s was found for all other inclusions. The images were pre processed and parameters such as Contrast Transfer Efficiency and lateral image profile were computed and reported. The results indicate that both ARFI and UEI represent the abnormalities better than conventional US B mode imaging whereas UEI enhances the underlying modulus contrast into improved strain contrast. The results are corroborated with literature and also with clinical patient images.     

The horizontal apparent mass of the standing human body

The driving-point dynamic responses of standing people (e.g. their mechanical impedance or apparent mass) influence their dynamic interactions with structures on which they are supported. The apparent mass of the standing body has been reported previously for vertical excitation but not for lateral or fore-and-aft excitation. Twelve standing male subjects were exposed to fore-and-aft and lateral random vibration over the frequency range 0.1-5.0 Hz for 180 s at four vibration magnitudes: 0.016, 0.0315, 0.063, and 0.125 m s⁻² rms. With lateral excitation at 0.063 m s⁻² rms, subjects also stood with three separations of the feet. The dynamic forces measured at the driving-point in each of the three translational axes (i.e. fore-and-aft, lateral and vertical) showed components not linearly related to the input vibration, and not seen in previous studies with standing subjects exposed to vertical vibration or seated subjects exposed to vertical or horizontal vibration. A principal peak in the lateral apparent mass around 0.5 Hz tended to decrease in both frequency and magnitude with increasing magnitude of vibration and increase with increasing separation of the feet. The fore-and-aft apparent mass appeared to peak at a frequency lower than the lowest frequency used in the study.     

Tunable VUV light generation for resonance ionization mass spectrometry of Krypton

Tunable coherent VUV radiation from 115.8 to 116.9 nm has been produced by non-linear four-wave sum frequency mixing in a xenon-argon mixture. 116.5 nm light generated by this means has been used as the first step in a three color, doubly resonant ionization scheme for Kr. In the process of validating the system the xenon refractive index per atom (STP) at 116.5 nm has been determined to be (n_(Xe) − 1)/N_Xe = −6.8(±0.8) × 10⁻²³ cm³.     

Measurements of sound transmission through panels of locally resonant materials between impedance tubes

We present a method for the measurements of complex transmission coefficient through high transmission loss samples using three-sensors, two impedance tubes, monotonic wave excitation, and phase sensitive detection. Having demonstrated the effectiveness of the method on perforated plates measurements have been made on locally resonant sonic materials (LRSMs). The transmission losses of perforated plates are found to decrease with decreasing frequency down to 120 Hz, following the mass law. For the LRSM’s panels with the same area mass density but different compositions, the local resonance frequency (at which the transmission loss is maximum) is found to vary according to the predesigned value. Transmission losses as high as 96.5 dB at 630 Hz and 87 dB at 250 Hz can be measured with good accuracy, with corresponding phase spectra that match the theoretical prediction of LRSMs, confirming the reliability of the transmission data.     

Tunable resonance frequency of FeNi films by oblique sputtering

FeNi thin films were fabricated by radio frequency magnetron sputtering on Si(1 1 1). Dynamic properties at remanence of the films were systematically investigated in a wide frequency range from 100 MHz to 5 GHz. The results show that both thickness of FeNi films and oblique angle have important effects on the magnetic properties of the films, the magnetic resonant frequency of the films can also be adjusted by the two factors. The in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy field can be adjusted from 82 Oe to 220 Oe by increasing the oblique angle. As a consequence, the magnetic resonant frequency of the films increased from 2.7 GHz to 4.2 GHz.     

The transmission of vertical vibration through seats: Influence of the characteristics of the human body

The transmission of vibration through a seat depends on the impedance of the seat and the apparent mass of the seat occupant. This study was designed to determine how factors affecting the apparent mass of the body (age, gender, physical characteristics, backrest contact, and magnitude of vibration) affect seat transmissibility. The transmission of vertical vibration through a car seat was measured with 80 adults (41 males and 39 females aged 18-65) at frequencies between 0.6 and 20 Hz with two backrest conditions (no backrest and backrest), and with three magnitudes of random vibration (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 m s^-2 rms). Linear regression models were used to study the effects of subject physical characteristics (age, gender, and anthropometry) and features of their apparent mass (resonance frequency, apparent mass at resonance and at 12 Hz) on the measured seat transmissibility. The strongest predictor of both the frequency of the principal resonance in seat transmissibility and the seat transmissibility at resonance was subject age, with other factors having only marginal effects. The transmissibility of the seat at 12 Hz depended on subject age, body mass index, and gender. Although subject weight was strongly associated with apparent mass, weight was not strongly associated with seat transmissibility. The resonance frequency of the seat decreased with increases in the magnitude of the vibration excitation and increased when subjects made contact with the backrest. Inter-subject variability in the resonance frequency and transmissibility at resonance was less with greater vibration excitation, but was largely unaffected by backrest contact. A lumped parameter seat-person model showed that changes in seat transmissibility with age can be predicted from changes in apparent mass with age, and that the dynamic stiffness of the seat appeared to increase with increased loading so as to compensate for increases in subject apparent mass associated with increased sitting weight.     

Ultra-high detectivity room temperature THZ-IR photodetector based on resonant tunneling spherical centered defect quantum dot (RT-SCDQD)

In this paper, a novel structure for THZ-IR photodetector based on resonant tunneling spherical centered defect quantum dot (RT-SCDQD) operating at room temperature is proposed. The proposed structure includes a quantum dot with centered defect following a resonant tunneling double barrier. It is shown that inserting a centered defect leads to considerable enhancement in absorption coefficient at long wavelength in small dot size (1.05 × 10⁶-7.33 × 10⁶ m⁻¹ at 83 μm). This effect guarantees large responsivity of the proposed system for THZ-IR photodetector. In this proposal, intersublevel transitions in related states positioned at mid energies of large conduction-band-offset materials (GaN/AlGaN) are used to depress the thermal effect in dark current. Adding the resonant tunneling double barrier to the quantum dot resolves the basic problem of collecting electrons from deep excited state without applying large bias voltage. Also, employing the RT double barrier reduces the ground state dark current term. Reduction of the dark current and increasing the responsivity yields ultra-high detectivity, 5 × 10¹⁶ and 2.25 × 10⁹ cm Hz^1/2/W at 83 μm, at 83 and 300 K, respectively. Analysis of the proposed structure is done analytically.     

Extremely wide band Rayleigh resonant reflector with sharp angular spectra in near infrared wavelength band

In this paper, we propose an extremely broadband Rayleigh resonant reflector with sharp angular spectra operating in near infrared wavelength band, this device consisting of a single germanium resonant grating layer is designed and analyzed by using with the rigorous vector diffraction theory. At the Rayleigh angle, the first diffracted order can be appear from evanescent to a propagating one, thus, a very sharp angular spectrum characteristics can be presented in the device. Based on the guided mode resonant effect, high index material such as silicon and germanium can be designed as wide band reflector, beam splitter and polarizer in near infrared wavelength region. Through connecting Rayleigh phenomena and guided mode resonant effect, we can design a new kind of optical devices with versatile characteristics such as sharp angular spectra and extremely wide reflection band. In this paper, we present a Rayleigh resonant reflector with extremely high reflection (R > 99.5%) for TE polarization light over ∼600 nm wavelength range and sharp angular spectral distribution. In addition, it is shown from our calculations that the high-index nano-layer located adjacent to the substrate is seen to critically affect the resulting spectra of Rayleigh resonant reflector.     

Raman study of BiFeO3 with different excitation wavelengths

Raman spectra of bismuth ferrite (BiFeO₃) over the frequency range of 100-1500 cm⁻¹ have been systematically investigated with different excitation wavelengths. The intensities of the two-phonon modes are enhanced obviously under the excitation of 532 nm wavelength. This is attributed to the resonant behavior when incident laser energy closes to the intrinsic bandgap of BiFeO₃. The Raman spectra of BiFeO₃ excited at 532 nm were measured over the temperature range from 77 to 678 K. Besides the abnormal changes of the peak position and the linewidth of the A₁ mode at 139 cm⁻¹, the prominent frequency shift, the line broadening and the decrease of the intensity for the two-phonon mode at 1250 cm⁻¹ were observed as the temperature increased to Néel temperature (T_N). All these results indicate the existence of strong spin-phonon coupling in BiFeO₃.     

Effect of SiO2/Si3N4 dielectric distributed Bragg reflectors (DDBRs) for Alq3/NPB thin-film resonant cavity organic light emitting diodes

In this article, we report on the effect of SiO₂/Si₃N₄ dielectric distributed Bragg reflectors (DDBRs) for Alq₃/NPB thin-film resonant cavity organic light emitting diode (RCOLED) in increasing the light output intensity and reducing the linewidth of spontaneous emission spectrum. The optimum DDBR number is found as 3 pairs. The device performance will be bad by further increasing or decreasing the number of DDBR. As compared to the conventional Alq₃/NPB thin-film organic light emitting diode (OLED), the Alq₃/NPB thin-film RCOLED with 3-pair DDBRs has the superior electrical and optical characteristics including a forward voltage of 6 V, a current efficiency of 3.4 cd/A, a luminance of 2715 cd/m² under the injection current density of 1000 A/m², and a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 12 nm for emission spectrum over the 5-9 V bias range. These results represent that the Alq₃/NPB thin-film OLED with DDBRs shows a potential as the light source for plastic optical fiber (POF) communication system.     

Top-emitting organic light-emitting device with weak viewing angle-dependence

In this study, a top-emitting organic light-emitting device (TEOLED) with high efficiency and near angle-independence was fabricated on silicon substrate. The blue-shift of the resonant wavelength (RW) with increasing view angles was nearly negligible. The theoretical simulation was described by a model based on the Fabry-Perot microcavity structure. The maximum current efficiency of the fabricated device is 11.5 cd/A at 12 V.     

Improved performances of red organic light-emitting devices by co-doping a rubrene derivative and DCJTB into tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum host

Performances of red organic light-emitting device were improved by co-doping 2-formyl-5,6,11,12-tetraphenylnaphthacene (2FRb) and 4-(dicyanomethylene)-2-t-butyl-6-(1,1,7,7-tetra-methyljulolidyl-9-enyl)-4H-pyran (DCJTB) in tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq₃) host as the emitting layer. The device with 1 wt% DCJTB and 2.4 w% 2FRb in Alq₃ host gave a saturated red emission with CIE chromaticity coordinates of (0.65, 0.35) and a maximum current efficiency as high as 6.45 cd/A, which are 2 and 2.4 fold larger than that of the device with 1 wt% DCJTB (3.28 cd/A) in Alq₃ host and the device with 2.4 wt% 2FRb (2.72 cd/A) in Alq₃ host at the current density of 20 mA/cm², respectively. The improvement could be attributed to the effective utilization of host energy by both energy transfer and trapping in the electroluminescence process and the depression of concentration quenching between the dopants molecules.     

Apparent mass of the human body in the vertical direction: Effect of a footrest and a steering wheel

The apparent mass of the seated human body influences the vibration transmitted through a car seat. The apparent mass of the body is known to be influenced by sitting posture but the influence of the position of the hands and the feet is not well understood. This study was designed to quantify the influence of steering wheel location and the position of a footrest on the vertical apparent mass of the human body. The influences of the forces applied by the hands to a steering wheel and by the feet to a footrest were also investigated. Twelve subjects were exposed to whole-body vertical random vibration (1.0 m s⁻² rms over the frequency range 0.13-40.0 Hz) while supported by a rigid seat with a backrest reclined to 15°. The apparent mass of the body was measured with five horizontal positions and three vertical positions of a steering wheel and also with hands in the lap, and with five horizontal positions of a footrest. The influence of five forward forces (0, 50, 100, 150, 200 N) applied separately to the ‘steering wheel’ and the footrest were also investigated as well as a ‘no backrest’ condition. With their hands in their laps, subjects exhibited a resonance around 6.7 Hz, compared to 4.8 Hz when sitting upright with no backrest. In the same posture holding a steering wheel, the mass supported on the seat surface decreased and there was an additional resonance at 4 Hz. Moving the steering wheel away from the body reduced the apparent mass at the primary resonance frequency and increased the apparent mass around the 4 Hz resonance. As the feet moved forward, the mass supported on the seat surface decreased, indicating that the backrest and footrest supported a greater proportion of the subject weight. Applying force to either the steering wheel or the footrest reduced the apparent mass at resonance and decreased the mass supported on the seat surface. It is concluded that the positions and contact conditions of the hands and the feet affect the biodynamic response of the body in a car driving posture. As the biodynamic response influences the vibration transmitted through seats, these factors should be considered in dynamic models of vehicle seating.