Developing approaches to effectively induce and control the magnetic states is critical to the use of magnetic nanostructures in quantum information devices but is still challenging. Here MoS2-based nanostructures including atomic defects, nanoholes, nanodots and antidots are characterized with spin-polarized density functional theory. The S-vacancy defect is more likely to form than the Mo-vacancy defect due to the form of Mo-Mo metallic bonds. Among different shaped nanoholes and nanodots, triangle ones associated with ferromagnetic characteristic are most energetically favorable, and exhibit unexpected large spin moments that scale linearly with edged length. In particular, S-terminated triangle nanodots show strong spin anisotropy around the Fermi level with a substantial collective characteristic of spin states at edges, enabling it to a desired spin-filtering structure. However, in the antidot, the net spin, coupled order and stability of spin states can be engineered by controlling type and distance of internal nanoholes. Based on the analysis of the spin coupled mechanism, a specific antidot structure, the only S-terminated antidot, was determined to exhibit a large net spin with long-range ferromagnetic coupling above room temperature. Given the recent achievement of graphene- and BN-based nanohole, nanodot and antidot structures, we believe that our calculated results are suitable for experimental verification and implementation opening a new path to explore MoS2-based magnetic nanostructures.

In this review paper, nine different types of high-temperature piezoelectric crystals and their sensor applications are overviewed. The important materials' properties of these piezoelectric crystals including dielectric constant, elastic coefficients, piezoelectric coefficients, electromechanical coupling coefficients, and mechanical quality factor are discussed in detail. The determination methods of these physical properties are also presented. Moreover, the growth methods, structures, and properties of these piezoelectric crystals are summarized and compared. Of particular interest are langasite and oxyborate crystals, which exhibit no phase transitions prior to their melting points ∼ 1500 °C and possess high electrical resistivity, piezoelectric coefficients, and mechanical quality factor at ultrahigh temperature ( ∼ 1000 °C). Finally, some research results on surface acoustic wave (SAW) and bulk acoustic wave (BAW) sensors developed using this high-temperature piezoelectric crystals are discussed.

Aging not only affects the whole body performance but also alters cellular biological properties, including cell proliferation and differentiation. This study was designed to determine the effect of aging on the mechanical properties of tendon stem cells (TSCs), a newly discovered stem cell type in tendons, using quartz thickness shear mode (TSM) resonators. TSCs were isolated from both old and young rats, and allowed to grow to confluency on the surface of TSM resonators. The admittance spectrums of TSM with TSC monolayer were acquired, and a series of complex shear modulus G′ + jG″ as well as average thickness hTSC were calculated based on a two-layer-loading transmission line model (TLM) for TSM resonator sensor. The results showed an overall increase in G′, G″ and hTSC during aging process. Specifically, the storage modulus G′ of aging TSCs was over ten times than that of young, revealing an important increase in stiffness of aging TSCs. Additionally, through phase-contrast and scanning electronic microscopy, it was shown that aging TSCs were large, flat and heterogeneous in morphologies while young TSCs were uniformly elongated. Increased cell size and irregular cell shape might be associated with the dense cytoskeleton organization, which could lead to an increase in both stiffness and viscosity. These results are in agreement with previously published data using different measurement methods, indicating TSM resonator sensor as a promising tool to measure the mechanical properties of cells.

In this study, quartz thickness-shear mode (TSM) resonator sensors were adopted to monitor the process of platelet activation. Resting platelets adhering to fibrinogen-coated electrodes were activated by different concentrations of thrombin (1, 10, and 100 U/mL), and the corresponding electrical admittance spectra of TSM resonators during this process were recorded. Based on a bilayer-loading transmission line model of TSM resonators, the complex shear modulus (G' + jG″) and the average thickness (hPL) of the platelet monolayer at a series of time points were obtained. Decrease in thrombin concentration from 100 to 1 U/mL shifted all peaks and plateaus in G', G″, and hPL to higher time points, which could be attributed to the partial activation of platelets by low concentrations of thrombin. The peak value of hPL was acquired when platelets presented their typical spherical shape as the first transformation in activation process. The G' peak appeared 10 ∼ 20 min after hPL peak, when some filopods were observed along the periphery of platelets but without obvious cell spreading. As platelet spreading began and continued, G', G″, and hPL decreased, leading to a steady rise of resonance frequency shift of TSM resonator sensors. The results show high reliability and stability of TSM resonator sensors in monitoring the process of platelet activation, revealing an effective method to measure platelet activities in real-time under multiple experimental conditions. The G', G″, and hPL values could provide useful quantitative measures on platelet structure variations in activation process, indicating potential of TSM resonators in characterization of cells during their transformation.

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The Love mode surface acoustic wave biosensor is considered as one of the most promising probing methods in biomedical research and diagnosis, which has been applied to detect the mechano-biological behaviors of cells attached to the surface of the device. Recent studies have reported the structural and functional optimization of Love wave biosensors for reducing propagation loss and improving sensitivity; however, the relevant device performance needs to be analyzed in depth in terms of device structure, electromechanical properties of piezoelectric crystal substrates, viscoelastic properties of wave guiding layers, and the effect of liquid loading. In this study, a 36° YX-LiTaO3 based Love wave sensor with a parylene-C wave guiding layer is considered as a cell-based biosensor. A theoretical model is proposed to describe the Love wave propagation in the wave guiding layer and penetration in the liquid medium. Decay length δ for the Love wave penetration in liquid is found to be in the order of ∼50 nm, which agrees well with experimental observations. In addition, the effects of the viscoelastic wave guiding layer and liquid medium on the effective electromechanical coupling coefficient K2 of the sensor, the propagation loss PL, and sensor response to mass loading (mass sensitivity) are investigated. The numerical results indicate that the maximum propagation velocity is found at h/λ = 0, where h is the thickness of the wave guiding layer and λ is the wavelength; and the optimal coupling coefficient and mass sensitivity can be obtained at h/λ = 0.045 and h/λ = ∼0.06 in a vacuum or ∼0.058 in water, respectively. For a good combination of these device performance parameters, it is suggested that the optimal wave guiding layer thickness in a Love wave biosensor is at the vicinity of h/λ = ∼0.05 in a vacuum and ∼0.048 in liquid (water).

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