Apparatus and methods for making metal-connected particle articles. A metal containing fluid is selectively applied to a layer of particles. The metal in the fluid is used to form metal connections between particles. The metal connections are formed at temperatures below the sintering temperature of the particles in the layer of particles.

Systems, methods, and devices are disclosed for producing quantum particles (e.g., quantum dots) having a uniform size by vaporization of molten precursor droplets. More particularly, the present technology produces quantum dots by melting or liquefying solid and substantially pure precursor materials followed by production of uniformly sized droplets of molten precursor by use of a droplet maker into a microwave generated plasma torch.

An aligned film having first and second faces opposed to each other, the aligned film having (a) a plurality of layers aligned non-parallel to the first and second faces between the faces of the aligned film, each layer having a crystal lattice represented by: M.sub.n+1X.sub.n (wherein M is at least one metal of Group 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7; X is a carbon atom, a nitrogen atom, or a combination thereof; and n is 1, 2, or 3), each X is positioned within an octahedral array of M, and at least one of two opposing surfaces of each said layer have at least one modifier or terminal T selected from a hydroxy group, a fluorine atom, an oxygen atom, and a hydrogen atom; and (b) magnetic nanoparticles carried on a layer surface and/or between two adjacent layers of the plurality of layers.

A Raman spectroscopy apparatus using a nano printing device is provided to perform Raman spectroscopy on nanoscale nanostructures printed from the nano printing device. The Raman spectroscopy apparatus includes a laser light source configured to generate and emit a laser light to the nanostructures, and a Raman detector configured to collect spectroscopic information from the light scattered by the nanostructures.

The invention relates to a novel method of producing hetero-oligomeric pores. The invention also relates to hetero-oligomeric pores produced using the method and polynucleotide characterisation using the hetero-oligomeric pores.

Disclosed is a flexible hydrogen sensor with ultra-high sensitivity and a wide range and a fabrication method therefor. The sensor includes a conductive electrode layer (4), a sensing layer and a flexible substrate layer (1) in sequence from top to bottom. The sensing layer includes a MO.sub.xfilm (2) and Pd nanoparticles (NPs) (3), and the Pd NPs (3) are covered on the MO.sub.x film (2). A traditional metal oxide type hydrogen sensor and a quantum conductance-based hydrogen sensor are combined on a flexible polymer substrate by means of an atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology and a cluster beam deposition (CBD) technology, so as to obtain a flexible hydrogen sensor with ultra-high sensitivity, a wide range and excellent selectivity and lower working temperature.

A method for preparing a magnetic chain structure is provided. The method comprises providing a plurality of magnetic particles; dispersing the plurality of magnetic particles in a solution comprising a dopamine-based material to form a reaction mixture; applying a magnetic field across the reaction mixture to align the magnetic particles in the reaction mixture; and polymerizing the dopamine-based material on the aligned magnetic particles to obtain the magnetic chain structure. A magnetic chain structure prepared by the method is also provided.

A method for manufacturing an electromechanical actuator includes providing a primary stack of layers comprising a monocrystalline layer, providing a secondary stack of layers, and forming, in the etching layer, at least three pads. The method further includes encapsulating the three pads by a first encapsulation layer, assembling the primary stack of layers with the secondary stack of layers, removing the first substrate, and forming a movable electrode in the monocrystalline layer.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide nanopore devices, such as nanopore sensors and/or other nanofluidic devices. In one or more embodiments, a nanopore device contains a substrate, an optional lower protective oxide layer disposed on the substrate, a membrane disposed on the lower protective oxide layer, and an optional upper protective oxide layer disposed on the membrane. The membrane has a pore and contains silicon nitride. The silicon nitride has a nitrogen to silicon ratio of about 0.98 to about 1.02 and the membrane has an intrinsic stress value of about −1,000 MPa to about 1,000 MPa. The nanopore device also contains a channel extending through at least the substrate, the lower protective oxide layer, the membrane, the upper protective oxide layer, and the upper protective silicon nitride layer.

The present invention relates to a prefunctionalized metallic nanoparticle (10) as a standardized basic building block of biofunctionalized nanoparticles (40), having a thiol-reactive metallic nanoparticle (12) that is prefunctionalized by a bifunctional molecule (20) that consists of an anchor component (22) and a short further-functionalization stub (24). Here, it is provided that the anchor component (22) comprises one or more dithiophosphate groups, and the short further-functionalization stub (24) is adapted for the attachment of a desired biofunctionalization (30) and is selected from the group consisting of i) an unmodified standardized oligonucleotide strand (26) having 2 to 18 bases for further-functionalization with biomolecules (30) having a terminal complementary strand (36) of the standardized oligonucleotide strand (26), and ii) a 2- to 18-base-long oligonucleotide strand (50; 60) that is modified with a terminal reactive group (52; 62) for biomolecules.