This paper presents a long-range displacement measurement method by using a single-multi-single mode (SMS) fiber structure, attached to a flexible plate between two permanent poles and the optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR)-based interrogator. The SMS fiber structure sensors are prepared with two different configurations, i.e. straight and sinusoidal configurations. It is demonstrated that the displacement sensor can perform a displacement measurement with a range from 0 mm to 150 mm with a resolution of 0.159 mm. The sinusoidal configuration provides a better sensitivity than the straight configuration. The proposed sensor offers a low cost, and it can be implemented for quasi-distributed displacement measurement which is suitable for civil structure monitoring.

Nanowire (NW) structures is an alternative candidate for constructing the next generation photoelectrochemical water splitting system, due to the outstanding optical and electrical properties. NW photoelectrodes comparing to traditional semiconductor photoelectrodes shows the comparatively shorter transfer distance of photo-induced carriers and the increase amount of the surface reaction sites, which is beneficial for lowering the recombination probability of charge carriers and improving their photoelectrochemical (PEC) performances. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that super-long Cu₂O NWs, more than 4.5 μm, with highly efficient water splitting performance, were synthesized using a cost-effective anodic alumina oxide (AAO) template method. In comparison with the photocathode with planar Cu₂O films, the photocathode with Cu₂O NWs demonstrates a significant enhancement in photocurrent, from –1.00 to –2.75 mA/cm² at –0.8 V versus Ag/AgCl. After optimization of the photoelectrochemical electrode through depositing Pt NPs with atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology on the Cu₂O NWs, the plateau of photocurrent has been enlarged to –7 mA/cm² with the external quantum yield up to 34% at 410 nm. This study suggests that the photoelectrode based on Cu₂O NWs is a hopeful system for establishing high-efficiency water splitting system under visible light.

The fabrication of a ZnO/Au nanosquare-array electrode was successfully carried out for the detection of glucose concentration in biomedical applications. The fabrication of the ZnO/Au nanosquare array using an ultra-thin alumina mask (UTAM) based on the imprinted anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template and the direct current (DC) sputtering method was able to produce a very well-ordered nanosquare arrangement with a side size of 300 nm and a thickness of 100 nm. Tests were done to evaluate the performance of the electrode by means of cyclic voltammetry (CV) which showed that the addition of glucose oxidase (GOx) increased the sensitivity of the electrode up to 1180 ± 116 μA mM⁻¹cm⁻², compared with its sensitivity prior to the addition of GOx of 188.34 ± 18.70 mA mM⁻¹ cm⁻². A i_ox/i_red ratio equal to ~1 between the peaks of redox reactions was obtained for high (hyperglycemia), normal, and low (hypoglycemia) levels of glucose. The ZnO/Au nanosquare-array electrode was 7.54% more sensitive than the ZnO/Au thin-film electrode. Furthermore, finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations and theoretical calculations of the energy density of the electric and magnetic fields produced by the ZnO/Au electrode were carried out and compared to the results of CV. From the results of CV, FDTD simulation, and theoretical calculations, it was confirmed that the ZnO/Au nanosquare array possessed a significant optical absorption and that the quantum effect from the nanosquare array resulted in a higher sensitivity than the thin film.

The development of silver (Ag) thin films and the fabrication of Ag nanosquare arrays with the use of an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template and leaf extracts were successfully carried out using the DC sputtering and spin coating deposition methods. Ag thin films and Ag nanosquare arrays are developed to monitor cancer prognosis due to the correlation between serum albumin levels and prognostic factors, as well as the binding of serum albumin to the surface of these electrodes. Nanosquare structures were fabricated using AAO templates with varying diameters and a gap distance between adjacent unit cells of 100 nm. The nanosquare array with a diameter of 250 nm and irradiated with electromagnetic waves with a wavelength of around 800 nm possessed the greatest electric field distribution compared to the other variations of diameters and wavelengths. The results of the absorption measurement and simulation showed a greater shift in absorption peak wavelength when carried out using the Ag nanosquare array. The absorption peak wavelengths of the Ag nanosquare array in normal blood and blood with cancer lymphocytes were 700–774 nm and 800–850 nm, respectively. The electrochemical test showed that the sensitivity values of the Ag thin-film electrode deposited using DC sputtering, the Ag thin-film electrode deposited using spin coating, and the Ag nanosquare array in detecting PBS+BSA concentration in the cyclic voltammetry (CV) experiment were 1.308 µA mM⁻¹cm⁻², 0.022 µA mM⁻¹cm⁻², and 39.917 µA mM⁻¹cm⁻², respectively. Meanwhile, the sensitivity values of the Ag thin film and the Ag nanosquare array in detecting the PBS+BSA concentration in the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurement were 6593.76 Ohm·cm²/mM and 69,000 Ohm·cm²/mM, respectively. Thus, our analysis of the optical and electrochemical characteristics of Ag thin films and Ag nanosquare arrays showed that both can be used as an alternative biomedical technology to monitor the prognosis of blood cancer based on the concentration of serum albumin in blood.