Design and optimization of index-guiding photonic crystal fiber gas sensor

Globalization is becoming an important issue for most businesses in the world. Since globalization changes business trends and shortens product life cycles, it requires companies to be more innovative in developing new ideas, products and processes. Clustering is one of ways to promote innovation by facilitating sharing information and ideas between firms, attracting buyers and suppliers, and providing opportunities for joint training. Many researches in developed countries found that the proximity between companies facilitated collaboration and provided a more conducive environment for R&D and knowledge sharing which can develop culture of entrepreneurship and innovation. Then, the success of clusters in developed countries has led many government and companies to establish new clusters.Since products from China have been dominated Indonesia's market share with lower price, it is very difficult for Indonesian Small and Medium Enterprises to compete with lower price also. Therefore, to face the competition, innovation is perhaps as an alternative strategy for Indonesian SMEs. In facts, more than 50% of small and medium enterprises in Indonesia are located in clusters and most of them are located in Java, Bali and Nusa Tenggara. Even though they located in cluster but their innovations still very low and judging from technology perspective, most of them have low level of technologies and still remain in the underdeveloped stage. Therefore, in this research, the author tries to find (1). To what extend do cluster Indonesia promote innovation, (2). To find the reasons why clusters in Indonesia has not been working well in promoting innovation and (3). To investigate what aspects can be improved by Indonesian SMEs to boost their innovation

Photonic Crystal Hydrogels: Simulation, Fabrication & Biomedical Application

Photonic crystal (PhC) hydrogels are a unique class of material that has tremendous promise as biomedical sensors. The underlying crystal structure allows for simple analysis of microstructural properties by assessing the diffraction pattern generated following laser illumination. The hydrogel medium provides elasticity, regenerability, and potential functionalization. Combining these two properties, photonic crystal hydrogels have the potential for sensing physical forces and chemical reagents using a low-cost, reusable platform. The development of biomedical sensors using this material is limited due to the lack of a method to accurately predict the diffraction pattern generated. To overcome this, a computational model was developed specifically for PhCs and validated against existing analytical models and an existing electromagnetic scattering model in the literature. Assessment of its accuracy in comparison to existing analytical equations and a more generalized multiparticle scattering model in the literature, CELES, found clear alignment. Another challenge is the lack of a technique to assess the specific positions of each particle in the crystal structure non-destructively. To overcome this, a novel fabrication approach was created using fluorescent particles, allowing subsequent confocal fluorescence microscopy and analyses to extract per-particle position information. This technique was used to directly compare experimental, computational, and analytical results within a single sample. To demonstrate a novel biomedical application of this material, ultrasound detection was chosen since it would be able to leverage the elastomeric structure of the PhC hydrogel as well as the ability to optically measure small changes in crystal microstructure. The sensitivity, frequency bandwidth, and limit of detection of fabricated PhC hydrogels were assessed using three ultrasound transducers. All transducers created a measurable optical response, with the limit of detection growing steadily with transducer frequency. These results provide evidence that the platform can be utilized across a variety of biomedical disciplines. For biomedical imaging, this platform can be used for all-optical non-contact ultrasound sensing. For cell and tissue engineering, this platform can provide a novel approach for characterizing and monitoring contractile cells, such as cardiomyocytes. Finally, for environmental engineering, this platform can be used as a continuous monitoring solution for dangerous toxins in environmental waterways