A system for performing fluid level measurements on a biological subject, the system including at least one substrate including a plurality of microstructures configured to breach a stratum corneum of the subject, at least some microstructures including an electrode, a signal generator operatively connected to at least one microstructure to apply an electrical stimulatory signal to the at least one microstructure and at least one sensor operatively connected to at least one microstructure, the at least one sensor being configured to measure electrical response signals from at least one microstructure. The system also includes one or more electronic processing devices that determine measured response signals, the response signals being at least partially indicative of a bioimpedance and perform an analysis at least in part using the measured response signals to determine at least one indicator at least partially indicative of fluid levels in the subject.

A method for manufacturing a MEMS structure is provided. The method includes providing a MEMS substrate having a first surface, forming a first buffer layer on the first surface of the MEMS substrate, and forming a first roughening layer on the first buffer layer. Also, a MEMS structure is provided. The MEMS structure includes a MEMS substrate, a first buffer layer, a first roughening layer, and a CMOS substrate. The MEMS substrate has a first surface and a pillar is on the first surface. The first buffer layer is on the first surface. The first roughening layer is on the first buffer layer. The CMOS substrate has a second surface and is bonded to the MEMS substrate via the pillar. Moreover, an air gap is between the first roughening layer and the second surface of the CMOS substrate.

One example is an antenna structure with a metamaterial having a flexible metamaterial layer, a two-dimensional antenna layer and a spacer layer. The flexible metamaterial layer has a metamaterial thickness allowing the metamaterial layer to be attached to a curved conducting surface of a vehicle. The metamaterial layer is formed with a two-dimensional array of elements having a passive magnetic property with the array of elements formed with elongated individual elements each having a top end and a bottom end. The elongated individual elements have curved outer surfaces between the top end and the bottom end. The two-dimensional antenna layer receives electromagnetic signals. The spacer layer is located between the metamaterial layer and the antenna layer separating the metamaterial layer and the antenna layer.

A method of manufacturing a MEMS device comprising a main body and a protrusion. To provide a generic method of manufacturing a protrusion with reduced vulnerability, the method includes creating a recess in a wafer substrate, said recess having an upper recess section and a lower recess section. The upper recess section is created using anisotropic etching and the lower recess section is formed using corner lithography followed by directional etching. Finally, a filler material is introduced in the recess and at least part of the wafer substrate material is removed so as to expose the filler material introduced in the recess. Additionally, the method allows for the batch-wise production of protrusions having oblique ends.

A nanostructure transfer method is provided. The method includes providing a first substrate (10) having thereon a plurality of nanostructures (12), the nanostructures (12) extending away from the first substrate (10). A solder material (14) is deposited on distal ends of the nanostructures (12). A second substrate (18) having thereon a first metal layer (20) is provided. The solder material (14) is bonded to the first metal layer (20), thereby attaching the nanostructures (12) to the second substrate (18). The attached nanostructures (12) are then released from the first substrate (10).

A microfluidic device, including a controllable shape-changing micropillar where a shape of the shape-changing micropillar is changed by a fluid.

Disclosed herein is a microelectrode platform that may be used for multiple biosystem applications including cell culturing techniques and biosensing. Also disclosed are microfabrication techniques for inexpensively producing microelectrode platforms.

Provided is a method of producing a microneedle array unit which is capable of suppressing damage to a microneedle array. The method of producing a microneedle array unit, including an array preparing step of preparing a microneedle array which includes a sheet and a plurality of needles arranged on one surface of the sheet; a container preparing step of preparing a container which includes an accommodating portion defining an opening and a space for accommodating the microneedle array, and a deformable portion disposed on a side opposite to the opening and integrated with the accommodating portion; an accommodating step of accommodating the microneedle array in the accommodating portion of the container by allowing the other surface of the sheet of the microneedle array and the deformable portion of the container to oppose each other; and a deforming step of deforming an outer surface of the accommodating portion inward, which is positioned between the one surface of the sheet of the microneedle array and the opening of the accommodating portion, to form a protrusion that reduces an area of the opening.

A method is for manufacturing a plurality of silicon microneedles which have a bevelled tip. The method includes providing a silicon substrate having a front face and a rear face, forming a first mask arrangement on the front face of the substrate, the first mask arrangement defining one or more gaps, and performing a SF.sub.6 based plasma etch of the front face through the gaps in the first mask arrangement to provide one or more etch features having a sloping face. The SF.sub.6 based plasma etch undercuts the first mask arrangement with an undercut that is at least 10% of the depth of a corresponding etch feature. The method further includes forming a second mask arrangement on the etch features to define locations of the microneedles, in which the second mask arrangement is located entirely on sloping faces of the etch features, and performing a DRIE (deep reactive ion etch) anisotropic plasma etch of the etched front face of the substrate to form a plurality of microneedles which have a bevelled tip, where the sloping faces of the etch features at least in part give rise to the bevelled tips of the microneedles.

Technologies are described for methods and systems effective for etching nanostructures in a substrate. The methods may comprise depositing a patterned block copolymer on the substrate. The patterned block copolymer may include first and second polymer block domains. The methods may comprise applying a precursor to the patterned block copolymer to generate an infiltrated block copolymer. The precursor may infiltrate into the first polymer block domain and generate a material in the first polymer block domain. The methods may comprise applying a removal agent to the infiltrated block copolymer to generate a patterned material. The removal agent may be effective to remove the first and second polymer block domains from the substrate. The methods may comprise etching the substrate. The patterned material on the substrate may mask the substrate to pattern the etching. The etching may be performed under conditions to produce nanostructures in the substrate.