Join us for a welcome seminar with Professor Aravind Vijayaraghavan. He will present a seminar on his group’s development of two kinds of electromechanical sensors based on graphene composites.
Abstract
NEMS pressure sensor: Graphene is an ideal membrane material for nano-electro-mechanical systems, combining low mass, high stiffness, high elasticity, and high electrical conductivity. However, large-scale fabrication of suspended graphene membranes is challenging due to defects and wrinkles that occur during growth and transfer. We have developed a novel graphene-polymer heterostructure membrane (GPHM) which retains much of the advantages of graphene in NEMS, while providing 100% yield during fabrication processes, resulting in high performance and reliable devices. I will demonstrate pressure and touch sensors based on this GPHM technology which outperforms the current state of the art. We have recently demonstrated a route to integrating the GPMH with industry-standard process MEMS fabrication. I will also discuss a new finite element modelling package we have developed for the GPMH MEMS devices.
Biosensors: We have developed a graphene-enhanced quartz-crystal microbalance (G-QCM) chip for biosensor applications. This G-QCM chip is coupled with an in-house open source QCM platform, resulting in a low-cost, easy to use, high performance point of care diagnostic platform. We have demonstrated various immunoassay applications for this platform. In one approach, we immobilise antigens on the graphene surface to detect antibodies, in particular for membranous nephropathy, a kidney disease. In another approach, we have immobilised nanobodies on the graphene surface to detect proteins such as lysozyme. In both applications, the G-QCM sensor shows excellent sensitivity and selectivity compared to industry standard techniques.
About the speaker
Professor Vijayaraghavan is Professor of Nanomaterials in the Department of Materials and the National Graphene Institute at the University of Manchester. His research involves the science and technology of graphene and 2-dimensional materials, particularly for applications in composites, electronics, sensors, and biotechnology. He was previously a senior post-doctoral research associate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA and an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany. He received his MEng (2002) and PhD (2006) from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA and his BTech (2000) from the Indian Institute of Technology - Madras, India. He has published over 100 papers in international peer-reviewed journals and has delivered over 100 presentations at international conferences.