{"title":"A piezoelectric hybrid-driven manufacturing system for processing micro indentation arrays to regulate the optical reflection characteristics of metal surfaces","authors":"Xin Yang, Zaizhen Lou, Bosen Jia, Yongda Yan, Yanquan Geng","doi":"10.1016/j.sna.2026.117599","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sna.2026.117599","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nanoindentation-based manufacturing has been widely used for the fabrication of complex microstructural arrays, but its application has been constrained by limited processing ranges and unstable indentation depths. In this study, we develop a nanoindentation-based piezoelectric manufacturing system (PMS) to overcome these limitations. The PMS combines a piezoelectric driven two-dimensional micro-positioning stage (2D-MPS) with an indentation manufacturing module (IMM) to achieve a processing range of 30 mm × 30 mm and a maximum indentation depth of 9.25 μm for manufacturing micro indentation arrays. The 2D-MPS integrates laser displacement feedback for large-area, high-precision positioning. The processing strategy of force control takes the normal force of the indentation process as feedback, ensuring that the depth of multiple indentations is uniform over a large range, achieving the manufacturing of transverse (macroscopic to microscopic) planar micro indentation. The machining performance of the PMS under displacement-feedback and force-control modes was systematically characterized. Experimental results show that the system attains a positioning error below 2 % and a depth deviation of less than 200 nm. Furthermore, a pyramid-shaped micro-indentation array with an area of 2 mm × 2 mm was successfully fabricated on an aluminum alloy surface, and its ability to modulate optical reflection characteristics was experimentally verified. These results demonstrate that the proposed PMS provides a promising approach for the fabrication of planar micro-indentation structures with large depths and wide processing areas.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21689,"journal":{"name":"Sensors and Actuators A-physical","volume":"402 ","pages":"Article 117599"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146196843","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Changzheng Li , Ziyuan Liang , Xuyang Liu , Fuyuan He , Ruishi Gan
{"title":"Short-range solid-liquid triboelectric nanogenerator for mechanical energy harvesting and traffic sensing","authors":"Changzheng Li , Ziyuan Liang , Xuyang Liu , Fuyuan He , Ruishi Gan","doi":"10.1016/j.sna.2026.117570","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sna.2026.117570","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) are significant to the development of society, yet distributed sensor networks are highly dependent on the traditional wired power supply mode. This leads to complex power supply wiring and complicated maintenance. Self-powered sensors based on solid-solid triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) are of interest, but their durability is limited by material wear. Herein, we proposed a short-range solid-liquid triboelectric nanogenerator (S-TENG) for harvesting mechanical energy and enabling self-powered sensing in the traffic environment. When liquid within a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tube is subjected to short-range compression by a piston, the S-TENG outputs electricity based on contact electrification and electrostatic effect. The S-TENG can generate an output voltage of 4.1 V in energy harvesting and demonstrates a rapid response time of 0.3 s in sensing applications. Meanwhile, the effects of different critical parameters on output characteristics of the S-TENG were measured, including liquid rise height, electrode width, working medium concentration, tube wall thickness and actuation frequency. Finally, an application scenario based on S-TENG is proposed to harvest mechanical energy and real-time monitor vehicle motion. This work provides a new path for mechanical energy harvesting and self-powered sensing in the field of intelligent transport.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21689,"journal":{"name":"Sensors and Actuators A-physical","volume":"401 ","pages":"Article 117570"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146191969","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Fluid dynamic optimization of the gas chamber in an NDIR CO2 sensor by flow visualization experiment and CFD simulation","authors":"Le Zhao , Xi Chen , Xuejiao Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.sna.2026.117526","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sna.2026.117526","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Optical path underutilization resulting from flow nonuniformity in gas chamber often limits the response speed and measurement accuracy of non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) CO<sub>2</sub> sensors. In this study, we focused on a typical cylindrical gas chamber and designed a simple transparent deflector to optimize the flow field through combined flow visualization experiments and CFD simulations. By redirecting the gas flow and suppressing the large-scale vortex formation, the right-trapezoidal deflector equipped at the inlet region effectively improved both gas diffusion speed and uniformity. As a result, the CO<sub>2</sub> concentration in previously underutilized \"dead volume\" near the inlet increased to a level close to that of the supplied standard gas. The effectiveness of this deflector-based optimization in enhancing CO<sub>2</sub>-IR interaction was experimentally confirmed by comparing the responses of two NDIR CO<sub>2</sub> sensors with and without the deflector. This improvement was particularly pronounced for gas mixtures with lower CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations and higher flow velocities, achieving an approximately 15 % reduction in response time. These findings provide a novel strategy for enhancing the performance and optimizing the structure of NDIR sensors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21689,"journal":{"name":"Sensors and Actuators A-physical","volume":"401 ","pages":"Article 117526"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146192894","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xiongchao Ma , Xianglong Yu , Hongjie Zhang , Mingyu Zhang , Lianzhi Tang , Qichao Li , Zhengjun Liu , Yiping Guo
{"title":"Thermal stability and high-power performance of KNN-based lead-free piezoceramic lightweight ring transducer","authors":"Xiongchao Ma , Xianglong Yu , Hongjie Zhang , Mingyu Zhang , Lianzhi Tang , Qichao Li , Zhengjun Liu , Yiping Guo","doi":"10.1016/j.sna.2026.117572","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sna.2026.117572","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The unmanned development of current marine equipment necessitates that onboard acoustic devices evolve toward high performance and lightweight design. The weight reduction of high-power underwater acoustic transducers is hindered by the limited power capacity of active materials and the requirement for high-power operational stability. Lead-free potassium sodium niobate (KNN, ((K, Na) NbO<sub>3</sub>)) piezoceramics offer a promising alternative to lead zirconate titanate (PZT, (Pb (ZrTiO<sub>3</sub>)) due to their environmental friendliness and lower density, which is conducive to lightweight design. However, their application in high-power transducers has been limited by concerns over inferior thermal stability. This work addresses this challenge by designing and fabricating a lightweight segmented ring transducer using KNN-based ceramics and systematically evaluating its high-power electroacoustic performance and thermal characteristics. Finite element simulations and experimental results demonstrate that the KNN-based transducer achieves a substantial 37.8 % weight reduction compared to its PZT counterpart while delivering comparable transmitting voltage response and electroacoustic efficiency (67 %-75 %). Crucially, the KNN-based transducer exhibits superior thermal management, evidenced by a lower temperature rise per unit electric power. Furthermore, the KNN-based transducer demonstrates robust operational stability under continuous high-power excitation (mass-specific power density attains 1578.05 W/kg) for extended durations, with no significant performance degradation. Our findings validate KNN-based lead-free piezoceramics as a viable active material for lightweight, high-power underwater acoustic transducers, offering an environmentally friendly solution for lightweight high performance underwater transducer design.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21689,"journal":{"name":"Sensors and Actuators A-physical","volume":"401 ","pages":"Article 117572"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146192902","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ulrich Youbi , Sami Hage-Ali , Florian Bartoli , Jaafar Ghanbaja , Eric Frayssinet , Benjamin Damilano , Pierre-Marie Coulon , Demba Ba , Hamid M’Jahed , Michel Vilasi , Thierry Aubert , Maxime Hugues , Omar Elmazria
{"title":"Wireless at 2.45 GHz based on AlN/Sapphire and operable up to 600 °C","authors":"Ulrich Youbi , Sami Hage-Ali , Florian Bartoli , Jaafar Ghanbaja , Eric Frayssinet , Benjamin Damilano , Pierre-Marie Coulon , Demba Ba , Hamid M’Jahed , Michel Vilasi , Thierry Aubert , Maxime Hugues , Omar Elmazria","doi":"10.1016/j.sna.2026.117569","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sna.2026.117569","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study reports significant progress in the field of high temperature wireless surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors in the 2.45 GHz ISM band, using AlN/Sapphire based resonators. AlN thin films with a thickness of 0.6 µm, synthesized on (0001) sapphire substrates by Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD), demonstrated high crystalline quality and nanometric surface roughness, essential properties for SAW applications. Initially, SAW devices operating in the 2.45 GHz ISM band were tested up to 500°C in both wired and wireless configurations using aluminium electrodes. Wireless interrogation was carried out successfully at a distance of 3 m up to 500°C, with a temperature coefficient of frequency (TCF) measured at −58 ppm/°C. Critically, when the NiAl alloy was used for the thin film electrodes, the operating temperature was extended to 600°C while maintaining a TCF of −43 ppm/°C and stable wireless performance at 3 m, with potential up to 10 m. These results exceed the state-of-the-art for high temperature SAW sensors in the wide 2.45 GHz ISM band. A long-duration annealing test has confirmed the self-passivation properties of the NiAl electrodes and the robustness of the NiAl/AlN/Sapphire structure, with a minimal degradation after 176 h at 500°C, thus demonstrating its potential for long term use in extreme environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21689,"journal":{"name":"Sensors and Actuators A-physical","volume":"401 ","pages":"Article 117569"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146192833","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Human internal actuators using bending and twisting deformation of a soft heat storage material driven by ultrasonic heating of shape memory alloy wires","authors":"Satomitsu Imai","doi":"10.1016/j.sna.2026.117535","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sna.2026.117535","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A soft actuator capable of changing the orientation of a human internal medical device was developed. The actuator in this study consists of shape memory alloy (SMA) wires attached to a short cylindrical polyurethane (PU) gel. The SMA wires are remotely heated by ultrasound. The SMA wires induce bending and torsional deformation of the PU gel. By attaching a medical device to the actuator, the orientation and posture of the device can be changed. The PU gel was 20 mm long and 9 mm in diameter. Heat transferred from the PU gel to the SMA wire (coil, diameter 0.56 mm) causes the SMA wire to contract and expand (bidirectional deformation). This system allows the actuator to be very compact, even capable of being swallowed by a person. The heating characteristics of the PU gel and SMA wire were experimentally investigated to identify the optimal structure of the actuator. The bending and torsion angles generated in the actuator were over 30° after approximately 3 min of ultrasonic heating (power: 20 W).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21689,"journal":{"name":"Sensors and Actuators A-physical","volume":"401 ","pages":"Article 117535"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146192899","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bin Song , Fanliang Li , Dengfeng Wu , Jun Yang , Xiaoping Wang , Fulong Zhu , Sheng Liu
{"title":"High-reliability backside absolute piezoresistive pressure sensors for automotive applications","authors":"Bin Song , Fanliang Li , Dengfeng Wu , Jun Yang , Xiaoping Wang , Fulong Zhu , Sheng Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.sna.2026.117573","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sna.2026.117573","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>An air-conditioning pressure sensor is a critical component in the refrigeration system in vehicles. Because of the high pressure within the vehicle environment, the classic front-side microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) piezoresistive pressure sensors typically employ oil-filled isolation packaging, which requires multiple steps to achieve environmental isolation and pressure transmission but impairs the sensor performance and reliability. In this study, a backside absolute piezoresistive pressure sensor was conceived and fabricated using double-sided low-temperature wafer direct bonding to simplify the packaging structure and improve the overall reliability. The effects of the dimensions and positioning of the piezoresistors on sensitivity and nonlinearity were evaluated to increase sensitivity and stability. Packaging stress induced by the die-attach process was modeled to predict the impact of residual stress in epoxy resin on pressure sensor performance. The designed pressure sensor operates over 0–3.5 MPa, with a sensitivity of 4.78 mV/V/MPa and a nonlinearity of 0.1 % full-scale output (FSO). The long-term stability of the pressure sensor improved from 1.1 %FSO to 0.1 %FSO when the anodic bonding technique was applied to isolate thermal stress.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21689,"journal":{"name":"Sensors and Actuators A-physical","volume":"401 ","pages":"Article 117573"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146192901","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jing-sheng Xia , Yuan-zhi Wang , Hong-ye Sun , Mitra Rahul , Ye Zhang , Chen Yao
{"title":"Silver-nanowire-enhanced conductive hydrogels with high toughness and super sensitivity for character-recognizable writing screens and human motion monitoring","authors":"Jing-sheng Xia , Yuan-zhi Wang , Hong-ye Sun , Mitra Rahul , Ye Zhang , Chen Yao","doi":"10.1016/j.sna.2026.117581","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sna.2026.117581","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Flexible hydrogels have garnered extensive research interest due to the synergy of toughness, rapid response and strain sensitivity. However, their applications have been largely confined to conventional strain sensing for human motion monitoring, leaving broader interactive functionalities underexplored. Herein, flexible sensing material based on a nanocomposite (NC) hydrogel synthesized via a one-pot polymerization of nano-clay (Laponite XLS) and N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM). The incorporation of silver nanowires (AgNWs) as conductive additives leads to a significant enhancement in the hydrogel’s electrical conductivity. The optimized NC‑AgNWs hydrogel exhibits remarkable synergistic properties: a tensile strength of 12.95 MPa paired with an ultrahigh elongation at break of 1977 %, a compressive strength of 86.38 kPa at 80 % strain, and an electrical conductivity of ∼2.42 mS·cm⁻¹ . The material also demonstrates excellent cyclic durability and millisecond-scale response times (350 ms and 80 ms under 10 % tensile and 2 % compressive loading, respectively). Capitalizing on its strain-sensitive resistive behavior, we further engineered a flexible writing screen that converts machine-written characters into distinguishable resistance waveforms. Additionally, the hydrogel serves as a highly responsive strain sensor for monitoring human movements. This work not only advances the design of multifunctional conductive hydrogels but also highlights their potential as a dynamic human-computer interface to address growing information security challenges.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21689,"journal":{"name":"Sensors and Actuators A-physical","volume":"401 ","pages":"Article 117581"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146192896","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Localized electrochemical deposition manufacturing of microcantilevers with various tilt angles and simulation analysis","authors":"Dengguo Xu, Chuntao Meng, Ting Zhu, Qixin Qing","doi":"10.1016/j.sna.2026.117565","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sna.2026.117565","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study proposes a manufacturing method for microcantilevers using localized electrochemical deposition (LECD). LECD enables high-precision fabrication of microstructures through high-resolution, non-thermal processing. Microcantilevers with various tilt angles were deposited via LECD employing a microanode with a diameter of 20 μm. The diameter of the microcantilever initially decreases and subsequently increases with an increase in the tilt angle. The microcantilever deposited at a 45° tilt angle exhibits a minimum diameter of merely 6.7 μm. Simulations conducted with COMSOL software revealed that the tilt angle influenced the microcantilever diameter by altering the asymmetric distribution of the electric field and current density. Since current density is directly proportional to the electric field intensity, the short-circuit contact position at different voltages can be determined by analyzing the variations in current density offset. The fabrication of X-shaped and inverted h-shaped microstructures, composed of microcantilevers, was achieved using this manufacturing method. The tilt angle control electric field mode provides a method for LECD to modulate the distribution and intensity of the electric field, thereby enabling a reduction in the diameter of the microstructure. This research is highly significant for microscale three-dimensional manufacturing using LECD technology and holds great potential for future applications in microprobe detection, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and related fields.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21689,"journal":{"name":"Sensors and Actuators A-physical","volume":"401 ","pages":"Article 117565"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146192898","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Myung Ho Lee, Jintaek Im, Gichan Cho, Yeonhee Chang, Cheol Song
{"title":"Lissajous multi-modal endomicroscopy with optical coherence tomography and confocal fluorescence microscopy","authors":"Myung Ho Lee, Jintaek Im, Gichan Cho, Yeonhee Chang, Cheol Song","doi":"10.1016/j.sna.2026.117547","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sna.2026.117547","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We present a multi-modal endomicroscopic system integrating confocal fluorescence microscopy (CFM) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) into a compact, resonant fiber scanner. The probe employs an asymmetric double D-shaped fiber cantilever to achieve axis-dependent frequency separation, enabling Lissajous scanning. An analytical model was formulated to predict tip displacement by combining geometric amplification, quality factor enhancement, and frequency-dependent transfer functions. This model captured axis-specific dynamics and guided cantilever-holder optimization via simulation. The probe achieved lateral and axial resolutions of 2.19 µm and 23.66 µm in CFM mode, and 24.77 µm and 6.98 µm in OCT mode. Ex vivo fluorescein-stained porcine stomach imaging confirmed simultaneous acquisition of en-face fluorescence and depth-resolved OCT images. These results validate the system’s ability to deliver complementary contrast and spatially correlated structural information in a compact platform. This multi-modal approach promises real-time surgical guidance and label-assisted diagnostics in clinical settings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21689,"journal":{"name":"Sensors and Actuators A-physical","volume":"401 ","pages":"Article 117547"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146192893","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}