Francesco Guido

Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies

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Massimo De Vittorio

Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies

Vincenzo Mastronardi

Innovation Engineering (Italy)

Luciana Algieri

Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies

Antonio Qualtieri

Italian Institute of Technology

Francesco Rizzi

Italian Institute of Technology

Maria Teresa Todaro

Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies

Massimo Mariello

University of Oxford

Simona Petroni

University of Milano-Bicocca

Denis Desmaële

Institut de Microelectrònica de Barcelona

Elisa Scarpa

Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies

Cooperative Institutions

Italian Institute of Technology

Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies

University of Salento

National Research Council

Polytechnic University of Bari

Innovation Engineering (Italy)

Istituto Nanoscienze

Istituto di Nanotecnologia

University of Calcutta

Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Lecce

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AlN-based flexible piezoelectric skin for energy harvesting from human motion

Microelectronic Engineering (2016)

Francesco Guido Antonio Qualtieri Luciana Algieri Enrico Domenico Lemma Massimo De Vittorio

Folding (DSP implementation)

Elastic energy

10.1016/j.mee.2016.03.041

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Citations (66)

Design, fabrication and characterization of piezoelectric cantilever MEMS for underwater application

Micro and Nano Engineering (2020)

Basit Abdul Vincenzo Mastronardi Antonio Qualtieri Francesco Guido Luciana Algieri

This work shows a preliminary microfabrication route for a novel directional hydrophone based on a cross-shaped design of piezoelectric cantilevers. A thin layer of aluminum nitride (AlN) using Molybdenum (Mo) thin film as electrodes will be exploited as piezoelectric functional layer for the microfabrication of a cantilever-based ultrasonic micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) hydrophone. A parameterized simulation based on length of these cantilevers between 100 and 1000 μm allowed to set the first resonant mode between 20 kHz and 200 kHz, the desired underwater ultrasonic acoustic range. The microsystem was designed with cantilevers facing each other in a cross configuration in order to have novel MEMS hydrophone with an omnidirectional response. In order to investigate the first resonance frequency mode and displacement measurements, a Laser Doppler Vibrometer was used and good agreement between simulations and experimental results was achieved. Responsivity and directionality measurements of the piezoelectric MEMS cantilevers were performed in water. Maximum sensitivity up to −153 dB with omnidirectional directivity pattern was achieved by fabricated MEMS sensor.

Hydrophone

Lead zirconate titanate

10.1016/j.mne.2020.100050

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Citations (23)

Tuning the optical response of a dielectric grating using vanadium-dioxide as a phase-change material

Muhammad Fayyaz Kashif T. Stomeo Francesco Guido M. A. Vincenti Irene Vassalini

In this work, we demonstrate the modulation in optical response at visible wavelengths of a dielectric grating structure under a thermal stimulus. The grating structure is coated with a thin layer of vanadium dioxide (VO₂) which undergoes a phase transition from an insulator to a metal at a temperature of ~ 68°C. We report on the design, simulations, and characterization of the proposed structure. Measured optical response through experiments finds a good agreement with the predictions made by numerical simulations.

Vanadium dioxide

10.1117/12.2594682

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Conformal, Ultra‐thin Skin‐Contact‐Actuated Hybrid Piezo/Triboelectric Wearable Sensor Based on AlN and Parylene‐Encapsulated Elastomeric Blend

Advanced Functional Materials (2021)

Massimo Mariello Luca Fachechi Francesco Guido Massimo De Vittorio

Abstract Flexible electronics based on piezoelectric/triboelectric devices is an attractive technology for human sensing. Their hybridization overcomes the limitations of single components, resulting in compliant skin sensors with enhanced performances and applicability. Such hybrid devices are typically based on wide‐area scarcely durable polymers or lead‐containing piezoelectric materials; they are often not biocompatible and poorly skin‐adaptable, lacking in multifunctionality. In this work, a novel compliant, conformal hybrid piezoelectric‐triboelectric ultra‐thin wearable sensor made of biocompatible materials is reported. The device is in contact with skin through an ultra‐soft patch covered on both sides by a thin friction parylene film. Its working principle is unprecedently based on three simultaneous, complementary and mutually enhancing effects: piezoelectric, skin‐contact‐actuation, and piezo‐tribo hybrid contact. The device can detect, with high sensitivity and wide measurement range, both the impulsiveness of sudden motions and the slower micro‐friction phenomena due to skin deformations, ensuring a stable and repeatable identification of bio‐signals typical of body movements. The device multifunctionality is shown for identifying gait walking, distinguishing hand gestures with a 5‐sensor system on the hand back, and monitoring human joints motions (neck, wrist, elbow, knee, ankle). The assessed energy harvesting capabilities demonstrate the suitability for fabrication of more complex self‐powered sensing systems.

Parylene

Nanogenerator

Tactile sensor

Electronic Skin

Stretchable electronics

Contact area

Wearable Technology

10.1002/adfm.202101047

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Citations (87)

2D Dielectric Nanoimprinted PMMA Pillars on Metallo-Dielectric Films

Applied Sciences (2019)

T. Stomeo Armando Casolino Francesco Guido Antonio Qualtieri M. Scalora

In this work, we propose an optimized nanoimprint protocol for the fabrication of a two-dimensional (2D) array of polymethyl-methacrylate (PMMA) nano-pillars deposited on different sputtered configurations (bilayer and multi-layer) of copper (Cu) and aluminum nitride (AlN) slabs supported by a silicon dioxide (SiO2) substrate. Both the Cu/AlN bilayer and multilayer thin films were deposited by a sputtering technique. The sub-micron PMMA pillars were realized by using nanoimprint lithography (NIL). In order to optimize the NIL process, several tests were performed by varying temperature and pressure, allowing us to achieve uniform and high-resolution pillars. The fabricated periodic array enabled the phase-matching of the incident plane wave exciting optical resonances. All the fabricated devices were then optically characterized by means of an ad hoc setup, where the reflected light from the sample was analyzed. The fabricated nano-pillars are mechanically stable, and they could be fully exploited for the realization of novel metallo-dielectric core/shell structures for sensing, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, and light–matter interactions.

Nanoimprint lithography

10.3390/app9183812

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Citations (6)

Nitride-Based Materials for Flexible MEMS Tactile and Flow Sensors in Robotics

Sensors (2017)

Claudio Abels Vincenzo Mastronardi Francesco Guido Tommaso Dattoma Antonio Qualtieri

The response to different force load ranges and actuation at low energies is of considerable interest for applications of compliant and flexible devices undergoing large deformations. We present a review of technological platforms based on nitride materials (aluminum nitride and silicon nitride) for the microfabrication of a class of flexible micro-electro-mechanical systems. The approach exploits the material stress differences among the constituent layers of nitride-based (AlN/Mo, Si x N y /Si and AlN/polyimide) mechanical elements in order to create microstructures, such as upwardly-bent cantilever beams and bowed circular membranes. Piezoresistive properties of nichrome strain gauges and direct piezoelectric properties of aluminum nitride can be exploited for mechanical strain/stress detection. Applications in flow and tactile sensing for robotics are described.

Piezoresistive effect

Strain gauge

Tactile sensor

10.3390/s17051080

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Citations (41)

Conformable AlN Piezoelectric Sensors as a Non-invasive Approach for Swallowing Disorder Assessment

ACS Sensors (2021)

Lara Natta Francesco Guido Luciana Algieri Vincenzo Mastronardi Francesco Rizzi

Deglutition disorders (dysphagia) are common symptoms of a large number of diseases and can lead to severe deterioration of the patient's quality of life. The clinical evaluation of this problem involves an invasive screening, whose results are subjective and do not provide a precise and quantitative assessment. To overcome these issues, alternative possibilities based on wearable technologies have been proposed. We explore the use of ultrathin, compliant, and flexible piezoelectric patches that are able to convert the laryngeal movement into a well-defined electrical signal, with extremely low anatomical obstruction and high strain resolution. The sensor is based on an aluminum nitride thin film, grown on a soft Kapton substrate, integrated with an electrical charge amplifier and low-power, wireless connection to a smartphone. An ad-hoc designed laryngeal motion simulator (LMS), which is able to mimic the motions of the laryngeal prominence, was used to evaluate its performances. The physiological deglutition waveforms were then extrapolated on a healthy volunteer and compared with the sEMG (surface electromyography) of the submental muscles. Finally, different tests were conducted to assess the ability of the sensor to provide clinically relevant information. The reliability of these features permits an unbiased evaluation of the swallowing ability, paving the way to the creation of a system that is able to provide a point-of-care automatic, unobtrusive, and real-time extrapolation of the patient's swallowing quality even during normal behavior.

Strain gauge

10.1021/acssensors.0c02339

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Citations (33)

Compact and flexible meander antenna for Surface Acoustic Wave sensors

Microelectronic Engineering (2020)

Ilaria Marasco Giovanni Niro Leonardo Lamanna L. Piro Francesco Guido

Polyethylene naphthalate

Meander (mathematics)

10.1016/j.mee.2020.111322

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Citations (29)

Flexible and Transparent Aluminum‐Nitride‐Based Surface‐Acoustic‐Wave Device on Polymeric Polyethylene Naphthalate

Advanced Electronic Materials (2021)

Leonardo Lamanna Francesco Rizzi Francesco Guido Luciana Algieri Sergio Marras

Adv. Electron. Mater. 2019, 5, 1900095 https://doi.org/10.1002/aelm.201900095

Polyethylene naphthalate

10.1002/aelm.202100084

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Citations (2)

Sensitivity and Directivity Analysis of Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Cantilever-Based MEMS Hydrophone for Underwater Applications

Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (2020)

Basit Abdul Vincenzo Mastronardi Antonio Qualtieri Luciana Algieri Francesco Guido

In this paper, we report on the characterization of the sensitivity and the directionality of a novel ultrasonic hydrophone fabricated by micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) process, using aluminum nitride (AlN) thin film as piezoelectric functional layer and exploiting a stress-driven design. Hydrophone structure and fabrication consist of four piezoelectric cantilevers in cross configuration, whose first resonant frequency mode in water is designed between 20 kHz and 200 kHz. The MEMS fabricated structures exploit 1 µm and 2 µm thick piezoelectric AlN thin film embedded between two molybdenum electrodes grown by DC magnetron sputtering on silicon (Si) wafer. The 200 nm thick molybdenum electrodes thin layers add a stress-gradient through cantilever thickness, leading to an out-of-plane cantilever bending. A water resistant parylene conformal coating of 1 µm was deposited on each cantilever for waterproof operation. AlN upward bent cantilevers show maximum sensitivity up to −163 dB. The cross configuration of four stress-driven piezoelectric cantilevers, combined with an opportune algorithm for processing all data sensors, permits a finer directionality response of this hydrophone.

Hydrophone

10.3390/jmse8100784

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Citations (16)