Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
  • Publication
    Hydrothermal growth of titania nanowires for SAW device sensing area
    Synthesis of titania or titanium dioxide (TiO 2) is attracted to energy and environmental applications. Here, the growth of nanostructure TiO 2 nanowires on Si (100) substrates by using the two-step method. Different seed layers of TiO 2 were deposited by spin coating and annealing, followed by the growth of TiO 2 nanowires by using the hydrothermal method. The sol-gel technique was used in preparing the TiO 2 solution for the thin film deposition purpose. Acetic acid, hydrochloric acid and tris (2-aminoethyl) amine were used as a stabilizer to synthesize three different TiO 2 seed layers. The aim of this study was to understand the role of polycrystalline size on thin film towards the diameter of nanowires grown as a sensing area in Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) Biosensor. The morphology and structure of the thin film and TiO 2 nanowires were characterized using X-Ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM).
  • Publication
    Characterization of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) piezoelectric properties for Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) device
    In fabricating Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) biosensors device, the substrate is one of important factors that affected to performance device. there are many types of piezoelectric substrate in the markets and the cheapest is zinc Oxide substrate. Zinc Oxide (ZnO) with its unique properties can be used as piezoelectric substrate along with SAW devices for detection of DNA in this research. In this project, ZnO thin film is deposited onto silicon oxide substrate using electron beam evaporation (E-beam) and Sol-Gel technique. Different material structure is used to compare the roughness and best piezoelectric substrate of ZnO thin film. Two different structures of ZnO target which are pellet and granular are used for e-beam deposition and one sol-gel liquid were synthesize and compared. Parameter for thickness of ZnO e-beam deposition is fixed to a 0.1kÅ for both materials structure and sol-gel was coat using spin coat technique. After the process is done, samples are annealed at temperature of 500°C for 2 hours. The structural properties of effect of post annealing using different material structure of ZnO are studied using Atomic Force Microscopic (AFM) for surface morphology and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) for phase structure.
  • Publication
    Production of low temperature synthetic graphite
    ( 2023-04)
    Anis Syafiqa Rosman
    ;
    Ranjitha Navalan
    ;
    ; ; ; ; ;
    Nurul Huda Osman
    Synthetic graphite is a material consisting of graphitic carbon which has been obtained by graphitizing a non-graphitic carbon. The growth in demand, particularly in customizing properties for certain usage has brought about research on viable alternative, low-cost, and environmentally pleasant synthetic graphite production. Biomass wastes are amongst appealing carbon precursors which have been broadly checked out as replacement carbon for graphite production. This research aimed to synthesize synthetic graphite from oil palm trunks at low temperatures (500 °C, 400 °C and 300 °C) under controlled conditions to determine the physical properties and properties of the graphite obtained. After the heat treatment process, the obtained samples were then characterized by using XRD, SEM and RAMAN characterizations. Based on SEM and RAMAN characterization, it can be seen that graphite that undergoes a 500 °C pyrolysis process shows the best results compare to graphite that undergoes a pyrolysis process at the temperatures of 300 °C and 400 °C. The graphite flakes and the peaks obtained for 500 °C graphite are obviously present. For XRD characterization, the best samples at 500 °C were chosen to be characterized. From the results, the sample shows slight behavior imitating the commercialized graphite. Hence, from the characterizations of the samples, it can be concluded that the best synthetic graphite produced was from the oil palm trunks heated at 500 ° C
  • Publication
    Simulation and analysis of Piezoresistive microcantilever
    ( 2023-12) ;
    Catherine Lim Ee Chen
    ;
    ; ;
    Siti Noorjannah Ibrahim
    Currently, most piezoresistive microcantilever sensors are configured with a dual-layer design that includes a piezoresistor integrated onto the upper surface of a microcantilever. The dual-layer design effectively enhances sensitivity and the piezoresistance effect. However, integrating the piezoresistor onto the microcantilever in the fabrication process necessitates additional steps, leading to extended manufacturing times and increased production costs. In this paper, the mechanical behavior of a single-layer piezoresistive microcantilever, namely displacement, stress, and strain, is investigated and analyzed using ANSYS Multiphysics. The contributing factors expected to affect the device's performance are its geometrical dimensions, and the materials used. Regarding the device dimensions, the length, thickness, and width of the cantilever were varied. It was found that the performance of the piezoresistive microcantilever can be improved by increasing the length and decreasing the thickness. The displacement of the microcantilevers increased by about 230%, from 75.76μm to 250.12μm, when the length was increased from 225μm to 350μm. The applied force ranged from 2uN to 12uN. Similarly, the stress and strain produced on the microcantilevers also increased by about 60.83% and 57.22%, respectively. From the material point of view, the microcantilever made with silicon always had the highest displacement value compared to silicon nitride, silicon dioxide, and polysilicon. This is due to the Young's modulus value, where materials with lower Young's modulus will have higher displacement and stress.
  • Publication
    Visible Light-Assisted Charge Extraction in High-Band-Gap SrTiO3 through the Integration of a Triplet Sensitizer-Emitter Thin Film
    ( 2024-01-22)
    Jie K.V.Y.
    ;
    ;
    Mohmad A.R.
    ;
    Ismail A.M.
    ;
    ;
    Ramli M.M.
    ;
    ;
    Sulaiman Y.
    ;
    ;
    A challenge in PV designs, including those with an electron transport layer (ETL), is the presence of ‘parasitic absorbers’. These are layers that absorb light without significantly converting it to electrical current, impacting the total external quantum efficiency (EQE). Strontium titanate (STO), a high-band-gap (3.20 eV) perovskite metal oxide, holds promise as an electron transport layer (ETL) for solar energy harvesting. Despite STO’s potential, it primarily operates in the UV spectrum, not fully utilizing the broader light range, and hence can be the source of parasitic absorbers. In this study, we report a significant enhancement in the EQE of STO through the integration of a triplet sensitizer-emitter (TSE) system, designed to upconvert the visible spectrum into UV light and improve the charge extraction from STO. The TSE system uses carbazolyl dicyanobenzene (4CzIPN) as a sensitizer and p-terphenyl (TP) as an emitter. To investigate the EQE of such a system, we fabricate STO as a PV cell. The revised PV cell architecture (ITO/TiO2/STO/TSE/PEDOT:PSS/Al) is a modification of the conventional configurations (ITO/TiO2/STO/PEDOT:PSS/Al). With the TSE thin film, the modified STO PV cell shows better charge extraction under sunlight compared to the standard STO PV cell, indicating that the upconversion process can enhance the hole conductions from STO to PEDOT:PSS through the TSE system. We noted an EQE increase with intense light of λ > 345 nm in thicker TSE layers and a decrease in the EQE under similar light intensity in thinner TSE layers. The Kelvin probe force measurement (KPFM) data showed that the TSE layer receives holes from STO under illumination. Additionally, time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) experiments showed that the TSE/STO thin film is able to produce UV emission after irradiation with lower energy light. Then, the EQE variation in thicker TSE layers under intense irradiation can be attributed to the solid-state upconversion, indicating its thickness-dependent performance. These findings underline the strategies for maximizing the utilization of the solar spectrum in PV applications.
  • Publication
    Numerical Simulation of Transdermal Iontophoretic Drug Delivery System
    Transdermal Iontophoretic Drug Delivery System (TIDDS) is a non-invasive method of systemic drug delivery that involves by applying a drug formulation to the skin. The drug penetrates through the stratum corneum, epidermis and dermis layers. Once the drug reaches the dermal layer, it is available for systemic absorption via dermal microcirculation. However, clinical testing of new drug developed for the iontophoretic system is a long and complex process. Recently, most of those major pharmaceutical companies have attempted to consider computer-based bio-simulation strategies as a means of generating the data necessary to help make a better decision. In this work, we used computational modelling to investigate the TIDDS behaviour. Our interest is to study the efficacy of drug diffusion through transdermal delivery, including the thermal effect on the skin. We found that drug will be delivered more efficiently if the electrical potential and the position of electrodes are optimum. We analysed the drug diffusion time of the system using 1,3 and 5 mA DC source. In addition, we also modify the electrode distance from 10 mm to 30 mm long and analysed the effect of delivery time and d effect to the skin thermal. We conclude that, a high electrical current, as instance, a 5 mA DC, delivered the drug faster into the skin but increased the skin temperature because of skin joule heating effect. However, a 30 mm electrodes distance setting decreased the skin temperature significantly than the 10 mm distance with more than 9.7 °C under 5 mA DC and 60 minutes of operation. TIDDS enhanced drug delivery compared to oral consumption and might be suitable used for localizing treatments such as chronic disease. This work provides great potential and is useful to efficiently design of iontophoretic drug delivery system including new drugs delivery applications.
  • Publication
    A comprehensive review of the recent developments in wearable Sweat-Sensing Devices
    ( 2022-10-01)
    Nur Fatin Adini Ibrahim
    ;
    ; ;
    Asrulnizam Abd Manaf
    ;
    Asnida Abdul Wahab
    ;
    ;
    Sweat analysis offers non-invasive real-time on-body measurement for wearable sensors. However, there are still gaps in current developed sweat-sensing devices (SSDs) regarding the concerns of mixing fresh and old sweat and real-time measurement, which are the requirements to ensure accurate the measurement of wearable devices. This review paper discusses these limitations by aiding model designs, features, performance, and the device operation for exploring the SSDs used in different sweat collection tools, focusing on continuous and non-continuous flow sweat analysis. In addition, the paper also comprehensively presents various sweat biomarkers that have been explored by earlier works in order to broaden the use of non-invasive sweat samples in healthcare and related applications. This work also discusses the target analyte’s response mechanism for different sweat compositions, categories of sweat collection devices, and recent advances in SSDs regarding optimal design, functionality, and performance.
  • Publication
    Simulation of piezoelectric transducer microphone diaphragm based on different materials
    ( 2024-06) ;
    Wen Jie Koh
    ;
    ; ;
    Siti Noorjannah Ibrahim
    Piezoelectric microphone which utilizes MEMS technology is a type of transducer that converts an input acoustic signal into an output electrical signal. The characteristics of the microphone diaphragm such as the diaphragm design features and the type of piezoelectric materials used will affect the performance of the microphone in terms of sensitivity. It is hard to control the stress of the diaphragm used in the MEMS transducer microphone. A modification of the diaphragm is done in this project to reduce the residual stress of the piezoelectric transducer. In addition, finite element analysis namely structural, modal and harmonic were carried out using Ansys 15.0 to simulate the mechanical and dynamic behaviour of the microphone diaphragm. Two types of diaphragm structure were designed, namely square and circular, while three types of piezoelectric material which are AlN, PZT and ZnO were used as the diaphragm material. The structural analysis findings of the diaphragm subjected to 1 Pa pressure revealed that the circular diaphragm made of AlN material exhibited the highest stress, reaching 43.05 GPa, surpassing the stresses observed in the other two materials. On the contrary, the square diaphragm composed of PZT material demonstrated the lowest stress, with only 1.55 GPa. In terms of resonance frequency, the circular AlN diaphragm achieved the highest resonant frequency, reaching 449.84 kHz, whereas the square PZT diaphragm exhibited the lowest frequency at 200.25 kHz. In general, the circular diaphragm design consistently yielded higher first resonant frequencies compared to the square design.The results show that the circular diaphragm with AlN piezoelectric materials is the ideal diaphragm in the microphone because of the highest stress generated and the first resonant frequency. The stress is related to the sensitivity of a microphone while the high resonant frequency can lead to the better optimization of signal to noise ratio control.