Three-dimensional micromachined on-chip inductors for high frequency applications

Demands for wireless communication are ever-escalating for consumer and military communication applications. The requirements of portability, more functionality and lower cost have been driving forces toward smaller, more sophisticated and flexible wireless devices with lower power consumption. To meet these requirements, monolithically integrated passive inductors with high Q-factors and high self-resonant frequencies are desirable. Q-factor and self-resonant frequency of an inductor are significantly degraded at high frequencies due to conductor ohmic loss, magnetically induced eddy current in the conductive substrate, and lower self-resonant frequency from capacitance between conductive substrate and conductors. In this dissertation, novel three-dimensional arch-like solenoid and dome-shaped spiral inductors are designed, fabricated, and characterized. MEMS-based fabrication techniques such as copper electroplating through voids in thick SU-8 photoresist molds and EAGLE2100 conformal photoresist molds on sacrificial arch-like or dome-shape SJR5740 photoresist mounds are utilized. An air gap between the inductor and the silicon substrate is used to reduce the degradations of inductor performance. According to the Sonnet electromagnetic simulations, 30 μm air-gap suspension over the substrate is an adequate choice for these inductors. Suspended arch-like solenoid copper inductor has flat bottom conductor connected to arch-like top conductor with an air core in between. This design has only 2 contact points per inductor turn to minimize series resistance. Suspended domeshaped spiral copper inductor is fabricated on a sacrificial photoresist dome with the outer end connected to one probe pad, and the inner end connected to the other probe pad through vias and an air-bridge. The sidewalls of spiral turns in this design overlap less with each other thereby reducing inter-turn capacitances. Fabricated inductors are characterized and modeled at high frequencies from Sparameter measurements. ABCD-parameters, derived from the S-parameters are translated into a simplified physical π-model. The resulting arch-like suspended inductors with 2-5 turns have inductances between 0.62 to 0.79 nH, peak Q-factor values between 15.42 to 17 at peak-Q frequencies between 4.7 GHz to 7.0 GHz, and self-resonant frequencies between 47.6 GHz to 88.6 GHz. The 3-turn dome-shaped spiral inductor has inductance of 3.37 nH, peak Q-factor of 35.9 at 1.65 GHz, and self-resonant frequency at 18.74 GHz

Metal-embedded SU-8 Slab Techniques for Low-resistance Micromachined Inductors

This work presents a new fabrication technique for micro power inductors by using metal-embedded SU-8 slab molding techniques. The proposed technique uses X-ray lithography to fabricate high-aspect-ratio LIGA-like microstructures in form of embedded structures in the SU-8 slab. This process was applied to fabricate an inductor’s windings with an aspect ratio of 10, which can provide very low resistance but still preserve a small form factor and low profile. Inductors were designed as pot-core structures with overall heights of 370 μm and embedded with 250-μm-thick windings. From the advantage of metal embedded SU-8 slab techniques, 8 μm-thick permalloy core could be fabricated by electroplating around the winding in a single step that could help simplify the process. Four types of inductors were fabricated with 3, 5, 10, and 16 turns in the area of 1.8 to 9.5 mm2. The measured inductance was in the range of 70 nH to 1.3 μH at 1 MHz and DC resistance of 30–336 mΩ for 3–16 turns, respectively. The DC resistance of fabricated inductor was low, as expected, and showed good result compared with the results in literature

Al Microheater and Ni Temperature Sensor Set based-on Photolithography with Closed-Loop Control

This article proposes the development of a new low-cost microheater and temperature sensor set. It was developed based on Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) which based on photolithography technique and lift-off technique. Thin film of aluminum was utilized as microheater and encompassed nickel temperature sensor inside in order to decrease response time of the desired temperature. To control the various temperatures correctly, closed-loop feedback control based on PI-controller was adapted into control circuit system. Microcontroller was implemented to control and observe the responses of temperature between 40°C and 120°C. Simulation and experimental results are also presented

Effect of Garcinia mangostana on inflammation caused by Propionibacterium acnes

Abstract The present study was aimed to investigate the activity of Thai medicinal plants on inflammation caused by Propionibacterium acnes in terms of free radical scavenging and cytokine reducing properties. P. acnes have been recognized as pus-forming bacteria triggering an inflammation in acne. Antioxidant activity was determined by DPPH scavenging and NBT reduction assay. The result showed that Garcinia mangostana possessed the most significant antioxidant activity and reduced reactive oxygen species production. Houttuynia cordata, Eupatorium odoratum, and Senna alata had a moderate antioxidant effect. In addition, Garcinia mangostana extracts could reduce the TNF-α production as determined by ELISA. Garcinia mangostana was highly effective in scavenging free radicals and was able to suppress the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. This study has identified the promising source of anti-inflammatory agent which could be useful in treatment of acne vulgaris

Synergism and the mechanism of action of the combination of alpha-mangostin isolated from Garcinia mangostana L. and oxacillin against an oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus saprophyticus

Globally, staphylococci have developed resistance to many antibiotics. New approaches to chemotherapy are needed and one such approach could be to use plant derived actives with conventional antibiotics in a synergestic way. The purpose of this study was to isolate α-mangostin from the mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.; GML) and investigate antibacterial activity and mechanisms of action when used singly and when combined with oxacillin against oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus saprophyticus (ORSS) strains. The isolated α-mangostin was confirmed by HPLC chromatogram and NMR spectroscopy. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), checkerboard and killing curve were determined. The modes of action of these compounds were also investigated by enzyme assay, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), confocal microscopic images, and cytoplasmic membrane (CM) permeabilization studies. Results The MICs of isolated α-mangostin and oxacillin against these strains were 8 and 128 μg/ml, respectively. Checkerboard assays showed the synergistic activity of isolated α-mangostin (2 μg/ml) plus oxacillin (16 μg/ml) at a fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) of 0.37. The kill curve assay confirmed that the viability of oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus saprophyticus DMST 27055 (ORSS-27055) was dramatically reduced after exposure to isolated α-mangostin (2 μg/ml) plus oxacillin (16 μg/ml). Enzyme assays demonstrated that isolated α-mangostin had an inhibitory activity against β-lactamase in a dose-dependent manner. TEM results clearly showed that these ORSS-27055 cells treated with this combination caused peptidoglycan and cytoplasmic membrane damage, irregular cell shapes and average cell areas were significantly larger than the control. Clearly, confocal microscopic images confirmed that this combination caused considerable peptidoglycan damage and DNA leakage. In addition, the CM permeability of ORSS-27055 was also increased by this combination of actives. Conclusions These findings provide evidence that isolated α-mangostin alone has not only some activity but also shows the synergistic activity with oxacillin against ORSS-27055. The chromone and isoprenyl structures could play a significant role in its action. This synergistic activity may involve three mechanisms of action. Firstly, potential effects of cytoplasmic membrane disruption and increases permeability. Secondly, inhibit β-lactamase activity. Finally, also damage to the peptidoglycan structure. We proposes the potential to develop a novel adjunct phytopharmaceutical to oxacillin for the treatment of ORSS. Future studies require clinical trials to establish if the synergy reported can be translated to animals and humans

Influences of salt and koji contents on chemical properties of fish sauce from tilapia frames

Influences of salt (5%–20% w/w of digested material) and soybean koji (3%–10% w/w of digested material) on chemical properties of fish sauce from tilapia frame after 4 months’ fermentation using response surface methodology was studied. Results found that the salt content showed quadratic effect on ammonia nitrogen and amino nitrogen while linear effect on formaldehyde nitrogen and NaCl contents of samples were observed (P < 0.05). Estimation response surfaces revealed that the formaldehyde nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen and amino nitrogen contents decreased while NaCl content increased as salt content increased. For the effect of koji, the significant effect of koji content on non-enzymatic browning value of fish sauce samples in linear manner was observed (P < 0.05). The non-enzymatic browning value of sample increased as koji content increased. The both of salt and koji contents showed the linear effect on total acidity value while two-factor interaction terms on total nitrogen of sample was found (P < 0.05). For the consumer acceptability testing, an acceptance score of the incubated fish sauce sample with a values of 6.50–7.43 (like slightly to like moderately) was obtained. The results showed that it is possible to make a good quality fish sauce from tilapia frame by-product