A membrane based microelectronic device (200) can include a printed circuit board (202), a polymer film (210) laminated onto the circuit board, and one or more microelectromechanical components (208) integrated into the printed circuit board (202). At least a portion of the polymer film (210) forms a membrane element of the one or more microelectromechanical components (208).

A MEMS sensing device for sensing microparticles in an environment external to the MEMS sensing device is provided. The MEMS sensing device comprises a semiconductor body integrating a sensor and a pump unit, the sensor including a sensor cavity, a membrane suspended over the sensor cavity, and a piezoelectric element over the membrane and configured to cause the membrane to oscillate, about an equilibrium position, at a corresponding resonance frequency when sensing electric signals are applied to the piezoelectric element during a first operative phase of the MEMS sensing device, the resonance frequency depending on an amount of microparticles located on the membrane, the membrane having a plurality of through holes for establishing a fluid communication between the sensor cavity and the environment; the pump is configured to cause air pressure in the sensor cavity to be reduced with respect to the air pressure of the environment during the first operative phase, so that microparticles are caused to adhere onto the membrane by a suction force through the plurality of through holes.

A sensor is achieved by applying a layer of a mixture that contains polymer and conductive particles over a substrate or first surface, when the mixture has a first viscosity that allows the conductive particles to rearrange within the material. An electric field is applied over the layer, so that a number of the conductive particles are assembled into one or more chain-like conductive pathways with the field and thereafter the viscosity of the layer is changed to a second, higher viscosity, in order to mechanically stabilise the material. The conductivity of the pathway is highly sensitive to the deformations and it can therefore act as deformation sensor. The pathways can be transparent and is thus suited for conductive and resistive touch screens. Other sensors such as strain gauge and vapour sensor can also be achieved.

A package structure and its manufacturing method are provided. The package structure includes a substrate with a recess, and a first MEMS chip, a first intermediate chip, a second MEMS chip and a first capping plate sequentially formed on the substrate. The lower surface of the first MEMS chip has a first sensor or a microactuator. The upper surface of the second MEMS chip has a second sensor or a microactuator. The first intermediate chip has a through-substrate via, and includes a signal conversion unit, a logic operation unit, a control unit, or a combination thereof. The package structure includes at least one of the first sensor and the second sensor.

A sensor system includes an assay chamber configured to receive a fluid sample. Dispense chemistry disposed within the assay chamber. A first electrode structure includes at least one conductive element and a second electrode structure proximate to the first electrode structure is configured to transmit an electrical signal through the fluid sample. The first electrode structure is configured to receive the electrical signal transmitted through the fluid sample and responsively generate a sense signal. The sense signal being indicative of an interaction of the fluid sample with the dispense chemistry. A controller is electrically coupled to the first electrode structure and configured to identify at least one analyte in the fluid sample based on at least the sense signal generated by the first electrode structure. The first electrode structure is embedded within a base substrate and the second electrode structure is embedded within a microfluidic cap that is coupled to the base substrate.

A semiconductor device includes: a substrate; a transduction microstructure integrated in the substrate; a cap joined to the substrate and having a first face adjacent to the substrate and a second, outer, face; and a channel extending through the cap from the second face to the first face and communicating with the transduction microstructure. A protective membrane made of porous polycrystalline silicon permeable to aeriform substances is set across the channel.

A semiconductor sensor, comprising a gas-sensing device and an integrated circuit is provided. The gas-sensing device includes a substrate having a sensing area and an interconnection area in the vicinity of the sensing area, an inter-metal dielectric (IMD) layer formed above the substrate in the sensing area and in the interconnection area, and an interconnect structure formed in the interconnection area; further includes a sensing electrode, a second TiO.sub.2-patterned portion, and a second Pt-patterned portion on the second TiO.sub.2-patterned portion in the sensing area. The interconnect structure includes a tungsten layer buried in the IMD layer, wherein part of a top surface of the tungsten layer is exposed by at least a via. The interconnect structure further includes a platinum layer formed in said at least the via, a TiO.sub.2 layer formed on the IMD layer, a first TiO.sub.2-patterned portion and a first Pt-patterned portion.

A sensor including one or more transistors; and one or more sensing elements, wherein an edge behaves as moving gate of said one or more transistors, an electric field is applied to said edge, said one or more transistors is/are biased, said one or more sensing elements is/are flexible, source and drain wells of said one or more transistors can be coplanar or stacked, said edge can move in a lateral or a parallel direction with respect to a transistor current, said edge can move in a vertical or a perpendicular direction with respect to said transistor current, and the magnitude of the change in said drain current determines the sensitivity.

Nanopore flow cells and methods of manufacturing thereof are provided herein. In one embodiment a method of forming a flow cell includes forming a multilayer stack on a first substrate, e.g., a monocrystalline silicon substrate, before transferring the multilayer stack to a second substrate, e.g., a glass substrate. Here, the multilayer stack features a membrane layer, having a first opening formed therethrough, where the membrane layer is disposed on the first substrate, and a material layer is disposed on the membrane layer. The method further includes patterning the second substrate to form a second opening therein and bonding the patterned surface of the second substrate to a surface of the multilayer stack. The method further includes thinning the first substrate and thinning the second substrate. Here, the second substrate is thinned to where the second opening is disposed therethrough. The method further includes removing the thinned first substrate and at least portions of the material layer to expose opposite surfaces of the membrane layer.

A fluidic device includes a fluidic layer, a capture material, and an electronics layer, the fluidic layer includes a main channel and a pair of sample channels fluidly coupled to the main channel. The pair of sample channels is configured to receive and introduce a sample material into the device. The sample material includes an analyte. The capture material is positioned in a portion of the main channel that is spaced from the pair of sample channels. The capture material has a three-dimensional matrix of receptors therein configured to bond with the analyte. The capture material has a length that is associated with a dynamic range of the fluidic device and a cross-sectional area that is associated with a sensitivity of the fluidic device. The electronics layer includes electrodes configured to measure an electrical resistance through a portion of the capture material.