Nanosensor for force sensing, and associated methods
AssigneeThe Regents of the University of Colorado
InventorWounjhang Park
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A nanosensor for detecting a force includes a metal layer, a flexible-material layer, and a photoluminescent material. The flexible-material layer is deposited on a top surface of the metal layer. The photoluminescent material is attached to, or at least partially embedded in the flexible-material layer and configured to emit first photoluminescence when optically excited at an excitation wavelength. The first photoluminescence has a first wavelength different from the excitation wavelength. The first intensity of the first photoluminescence changes with a distance between the photoluminescent material and the metal layer, where the distance changes in response to the force acting on the flexible-material layer.
Claims19
A nanosensor for detecting a force, comprising:
- a metal layer having a top surface and exhibits a surface plasmon resonance in response to incident light at an excitation wavelength;
- a flexible-material layer deposited on the top surface;
- and
- a photoluminescent material attached to or at least partially embedded in the flexible-material layer and configured to emit, at a first intensity enhanced by the surface plasmon resonance, first photoluminescence when optically excited at the excitation wavelength, the first photoluminescence having a first wavelength different from the excitation wavelength;
- wherein the first intensity is a function of a distance between the photoluminescent material and the metal layer, the distance changing in response to the force acting on the flexible-material layer.
A force-sensing method, comprising:
- optically exciting, with excitation light at an excitation wavelength, (i) a surface plasmon resonance at a top surface of a metal layer and (ii) a photoluminescent material attached to or at least partially embedded in a flexible-material layer that is deposited on the top surface;
- measuring a first intensity of first photoluminescence emitted by the photoluminescent material at a first wavelength different from the excitation wavelength;
- and
- determining, based on the first intensity and an elasticity of the flexible-material layer, a force exerted on the flexible-material layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.