• Advanced Composite Materials
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.41-56
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• 2008

In this research, optical fiber sensors and shape memory alloys (SMA) were incorporated into sandwich panels for development of a smart honeycomb sandwich structure with damage detection and shape recovery functions. First, small-diameter fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors were embedded in the adhesive layer between a CFRP face-sheet and an aluminum honeycomb core. From the change in the reflection spectrum of the FBG sensors, the debonding between the face-sheet and the core and the deformation of the face-sheet due to impact loading could be well detected. Then, the authors developed the SMA honeycomb core and bonded CFRP face-sheets to the core. When an impact load was applied to the panel, the cell walls of the core were buckled and the face-sheet was bent. However, after the panel was heated over the reverse transformation finish temperature of the SMA, the core buckling disappeared and the deflection of the face-sheet was relieved. Hence the bending stiffness of the panel could be recovered.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.173-177
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• 2016

Tape casting ceramics technology has been adopted for the fabrication of solid state electrochemical $CO_2$ sensors and the packaging substrates. The fabricated $CO_2$ sensors exhibit a fast response and a good recovery with the almost theoretical sensitivity of 37 mV/decade, corresponding to a sensor operating temperature of 373 K. The two packaging methods, the wire bonding package and the surface- mounted on the ceramic package, were compared with respect to their power consumption and mass production feasibility. In terms of the ease of fabrication, the surface mount packaging technology is superior to the wire bonding technology but its power consumption is approximately twice that of the wired package.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.228-234
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• 2017

Gas sensors based on metal-oxide-semiconductors are predominantly used in numerous applications including monitoring indoor air quality and detecting harmful substances such as volatile organic compounds. Nanostructures, e.g., nanoparticles, nanotubes, nanodomes, or nanofibers, have been widely utilized to improve the gas sensing properties of metal-oxide-semiconductors by increasing the effective surface area participating in the surface reaction with target gas molecules. Recently, 1-dimensional (1D) metal oxide nanostructures fabricated using glancing angle deposition (GAD) method with e-beam evaporation have been widely employed to increase the surface-to-volume ratio significantly with large-area uniformity and reproducibility, leading to promising gas sensing properties. Herein, we provide a brief overview of 1D metal oxide nanostructures fabricated using GAD and their gas sensing properties in terms of fabrication methods, morphologies, and additives. Moreover, the gas sensing mechanisms and perspectives are presented.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.293-300
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• 2022

Flexible, wearable, and implantable electronic sensors have started to gain popularity in improving the quality of life of sick and healthy people, shifting the future paradigm with high sensitivity. However, conventional technologies with a limited lifespan occasionally limit their continued usage, resulting in a high cost. In addition, traditional battery technologies with a short lifespan frequently limit operation, resulting in a substantial challenge to their growth. Subsequently, utilizing human biomechanical energy is extensively preferred motion for biologically integrated, self-powered, functioning devices. Ideally suited for this purpose are piezoelectric energy harvesters. To convert mechanical energy into electrical energy, devices must be mechanically flexible and stretchable to implant or attach to the highly deformable tissues of the body. A systematic analysis of piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs) for personalized healthcare is provided in this article. This article briefly overviews PENGs as self-powered sensor devices for energy harvesting, sensing, physiological motion, and healthcare.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.307-311
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• 2022

With the development of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, numerous people worldwide connect with various electronic devices via Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs). Considering that HMIs are a new concept of dynamic interactions, wearable electronics have been highlighted owing to their lightweight, flexibility, stretchability, and attachability. In particular, wearable strain sensors have been applied to a multitude of practical applications (e.g., fitness and healthcare) by conformally attaching such devices to the human skin. However, the stretchable elastomer in a wearable sensor has an intrinsic stretching limitation; therefore, structural advances of wearable sensors are required to develop practical applications of wearable sensors. In this study, we demonstrated a 3-dimensional (3D), porous, and piezoelectric strain sensor for sensing body movements. More specifically, the device was fabricated by mixing polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and polyvinylidene fluoride nanoparticles (PVDF NPs) as the matrix and piezoelectric materials of the strain sensor. The porous structure of the strain sensor was formed by a sugar cube-based 3D template. Additionally, mixing methods of PVDF piezoelectric NPs were optimized to enhance the device sensitivity. Finally, it is verified that the developed strain sensor could be directly attached onto the finger joint to sense its movements.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.290-294
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• 2023

Among various types of harmful gases, hydrogen sulfide is a strong toxic gas that is mainly generated during spillage and wastewater treatment at industrial sites. Hydrogen sulfide can irritate the conjunctiva even at low concentrations of less than 10 ppm, cause coughing, paralysis of smell and respiratory failure at a concentration of 100 ppm, and coma and permanent brain loss at concentrations above 1000 ppm. Therefore, rapid detection of hydrogen sulfide among harmful gases is extremely important for our safety, health, and comfortable living environment. Most hydrogen sulfide gas sensors that have been reported are electrical resistive metal oxide-based semiconductor gas sensors that are easy to manufacture and mass-produce and have the advantage of high sensitivity; however, they have low gas selectivity. In contrast, the electrochemical sensor measures the concentration of hydrogen sulfide using an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen sulfide, an electrode, and an electrolyte. Electrochemical sensors have various advantages, including sensitivity, selectivity, fast response time, and the ability to measure room temperature. However, most electrochemical hydrogen sulfide gas sensors depend on imports. Although domestic technologies and products exist, more research is required on their long-term stability and reliability. Therefore, this study includes the processes from electrode material synthesis to sensor fabrication and characteristic evaluation, and introduces the sensor structure design and material selection to improve the sensitivity and selectivity of the sensor. A sensor case was fabricated using a 3D printer, and an Ag reference electrode, and a Pt counter electrode were deposited and applied to a Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) filter using PVD. The working electrode was also deposited on a PTFE filter using vacuum filtration, and an electrochemical hydrogen sulfide gas sensor capable of measuring concentrations as low as 0.6 ppm was developed.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.12 no.3_4
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• pp.465-482
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• 2013

Recently, a novel stress sensor, which utilizes the elasto-magnetic (EM) effect of ferromagnetic materials, has been developed to measure stress in steel cables and wires. In this study, the effectiveness of this EM based stress sensors for monitoring of the cable tension force of a real scale cable-stayed bridge was investigated. Two EM stress sensors were installed on two selected multi-strand cables in Hwa-Myung Bridge, Busan, South Korea. Conventional lift-off test was conducted to obtain reference cable tension forces of two test cables. The reference forces were used to calibrate and validate cable tension force measurements from the EM sensors. Tension force variations of two test cables during the second tensioning work on Hwa-Myung Bridge were monitored using the EM sensors. Numerical simulations were conducted to compare and verify the monitoring results. Based on the results, the effectiveness of EM sensors for accurate field monitoring of the cable tension force of cable-stayed bridge is discussed.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.171-176
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• 2015

We present the detection characteristics of nitrogen monoxide(NO) gas using p-type copper oxide(CuO) thin film gas sensors. The CuO thin films were fabricated on glass substrates by a sol-gel spin coating method using copper acetate hydrate and diethanolamine as precursors. Structural characterizations revealed that we prepared the pure CuO thin films having a monoclinic crystalline structure without any obvious formation of secondary phase. It was found from the NO gas sensing measurements that the p-type CuO thin film gas sensors exhibited a maximum sensitivity to NO gas in dry air at an operating temperature as low as $100^{\circ}C$. Additionally, these CuO thin film gas sensors were found to show reversible and reliable electrical response to NO gas in a range of operating temperatures from $60^{\circ}C$ to $200^{\circ}C$. It is supposed from these results that the p-type oxide semiconductor CuO thin film could have significant potential for use in future gas sensors and other oxide electronics applications using oxide p-n heterojunction structures.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.223-228
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• 2016

In this work, we prepared porous WO3 nanofibers (NFs) functionalized by bio-inspired catalytic $Cr_2O_3$ and $Co_3O_4$ nanoparticles as highly sensitive and selective $H_2S$ gas sensing layers. Highly porous 3-dimensional (3D) NFs networks decorated by well-dispersed catalyst NPs exhibited superior $H_2S$ gas response ($R_{air}/R_{gas}$ = 46 at 5 ppm) in high humidity environment (95 %RH). In particular, the sensors showed outstanding $H_2S$ selectivity against other interfering analytes (such as acetone, toluene, CO, $H_2$, ethanol). Exhaled breath sensors using $Cr_2O_3$ and $Co_3O_4$ catalysts-loaded $WO_3$ NFs are highly promising for the accurate detection of halitosis.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.23 no.9
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• pp.477-482
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• 2013

We investigated the detection properties of nitrogen monoxide (NO) gas using transparent p-type $CuAlO_2$ thin film gas sensors. The $CuAlO_2$ film was fabricated on an indium tin oxide (ITO)/glass substrate by pulsed laser deposition (PLD), and then the transparent p-type $CuAlO_2$ active layer was formed by annealing. Structural and optical characterizations revealed that the transparent p-type $CuAlO_2$ layer with a thickness of around 200 nm had a non-crystalline structure, showing a quite flat surface and a high transparency above 65 % in the range of visible light. From the NO gas sensing measurements, it was found that the transparent p-type $CuAlO_2$ thin film gas sensors exhibited the maximum sensitivity to NO gas in dry air at an operating temperature of $180^{\circ}C$. We also found that these $CuAlO_2$ thin film gas sensors showed reversible and reliable electrical resistance-response to NO gas in the operating temperature range. These results indicate that the transparent p-type semiconductor $CuAlO_2$ thin films are very promising for application as sensing materials for gas sensors, in particular, various types of transparent p-n junction gas sensors. Also, these transparent p-type semiconductor $CuAlO_2$ thin films could be combined with an n-type oxide semiconductor to fabricate p-n heterojunction oxide semiconductor gas sensors.