M. Saleem

Characterization of vanadyl phthalocyanine based surface-type capacitive humidity sensors

This study presents the fabrication and characterization of novel surface-type capacitive humidity sensors using vanadyl phthalocyanine (VOPc) as the active material. The devices, which comprise three different thicknesses, have been fabricated using the thermal evaporation technique. A thin film of VOPc is deposited on thoroughly cleaned glass substrates with pre-patterned Ag electrodes. The capacitive effect of the samples under humidity has been investigated. Comparison of the samples with different thicknesses shows that the thinnest device seems more sensitive towards humidity. The humidity dependent capacitance properties of the sensor make it beneficial for use in commercial hygrometers.

Ag/PEPC/NiPc/ZnO/Ag thin film capacitive and resistive humidity sensors

A thin film of blended poly-N-epoxypropylcarbazole (PEPC) (25 wt.%), nickel phthalocyanine (NiPc) (50 wt.%) and ZnO nano-powder (25 wt.%) in benzene (5 wt.%) was spin-coated on a glass substrate with silver electrodes to produce a surface-type Ag/PEPC/NiPc/ZnO/Ag capacitive and resistive sensor. Sensors with two different PEPC/NiPc/ZnO film thicknesses (330 and 400 nm) were fabricated and compared. The effects of humidity on capacitance and resistance of the Ag/PEPC/NiPc/ZnO/Ag sensors were investigated at two frequencies of the applied voltage: 120 Hz and 1 kHz. It was observed that at 120 Hz under humidity of up to 95% RH the capacitance of the sensors increased by 540 times and resistance decreased by 450 times with respect to humidity conditions of 50% RH. It was found that the sensor with a thinner semiconducting film (330 nm) was more sensitive than the sensor with a thicker film (400 nm). The sensitivity was improved when the sensor was used at a lower frequency as compared with a high frequency. It is assumed that the humidity response of the sensors is associated with absorption of water vapors and doping of water molecules in the semiconductor blend layer. This had been proven by simulation of the capacitance–humidity relationship.

Raman spectroscopy based discrimination of NS1 positive and negative dengue virus infected serum

This study is intended to develop a multivariate statistical model for the prediction of nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) in dengue virus (DENV) infected blood serum in humans. The model has been developed on the basis of partial least squares regression using the Raman spectra of NS1 positive and NS1 negative samples. Human blood sera of 218 subjects is included in this study, of which 95 were NS1 positive and 123 were NS1 negative, which was confirmed with the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay method. For model development, 80 NS1 positive and 98 NS1 negative samples were used, while 40 DENV suspected samples were used for double blind testing of the model. This selection of samples was performed by the code in an automatic manner to avoid biasing. A laser at 785 nm was used as the excitation source to acquire Raman spectra of samples with an integration time of 15 s. The multivariate model yields coefficients of regression at corresponding Raman shifts. These coefficients represent changes in the molecular structures associated with NS1 positive and negative samples. The analysis of the regression coefficients which differentiate NS1 positive and NS1 negative groups shows an increasing trend for phosphatidylinositol, ceramide, and amide-III, and a decreasing trend for thiocyanate in the DENV infected serum. The R-squared value of the model was found to be 0.91, which is clinically acceptable. The blind testing of 40 suspected samples yields an accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of about 100% each.

Surface-type humidity sensor based on cellulose-PEPC for telemetry systems

Au/cellulose-PEPC/Au surface-type humidity sensors were fabricated by drop-casting cellulose and poly-N-epoxypropylcarbazole (PEPC) blend thin films. A blend of 2wt% of each cellulose and PEPC in benzol was used for the deposition of humidity sensing films. Blend films were deposited on glass substrates with preliminary deposited surface-type gold electrodes. Films of different thicknesses of cellulose and PEPC composite were deposited by drop-casting technique. A change in electrical resistance and capacitance of the fabricated devices was observed by increasing the relative humidity in the range of 0–95% RH. It was observed that the capacitances of the sensors increase, while their resistances decrease with increasing the relative humidity. The sensors were connected to op-amp square wave oscillators. It was observed that with increasing the relative humidity, the oscillators frequencies were also increased in the range of 4.2–12.0 kHz for 65 μm thick film sample, 4.1–9.0 kHz for 88 μm thick film sample, and 4.2–9.0 kHz for 210 μm sample. Effects of film thickness on the oscillators frequency with respect to humidity were also investigated. This polymer humidity sensor controlled oscillator can be used for short-range and long-range remote systems at environmental monitoring and assessment of the humidity level.

The resistive and capacitive Cu2O–PEPC composite-based displacement transducer

In this paper, the Ag/Cu2O?PEPC (poly-N-epoxypropylcarbazole)/Al displacement transducer was designed and fabricated by drop-casting the blend Cu2O?PEPC microcomposite thin films consisting of copper oxide (Cu2O) micropowder (3 wt%) and PEPC (2 wt%) in benzol on glass substrates with pre-deposited silver electrodes of thickness 100?nm. The thicknesses of the Cu2O?PEPC films were in the range of 50?60??m. The dc resistance of the transducer decreased 1.56 times as the displacement was changed over the range 0?0.6?mm, and accordingly, the ac capacitance at 120?Hz increased 2.31 times as the displacement was changed over the range 0?1.3?mm. The resistance?displacement and capacitance?displacement relationships were simulated. With respect to initial values, the maximum deviations of simulated resistance?displacement and capacitance?displacement graphs from experimental curves were in the range of 3 and 5%, respectively.

Investigation of rectenna for microwave power conversion

This paper presents the fabrication of organic semiconductor (OS) rectifiers and an investigation of rectifying antenna (rectenna) under the effect of microwave power. As a source of microwaves, a patch antenna fed by a generator was used. The rectenna contains a built-in rectifier. The surface-type Ag/NiPc/Au cell, with organic semiconductor nickel phthalocyanine (NiPc) as the active material, was used as a rectenna. The rectifier was fabricated by thermal deposition of Ag, Au and NiPc thin films on thoroughly cleaned glass substrate. The measured I‐V characteristics of the cell showed rectifying behavior. The rectenna was tested at frequency ranges of 8‐16GHz at different intensities of radiation and vertical and horizontal positions of the rectenna’s axes. Under the effect of microwave power at the output of the rectenna, the output dc voltage and current were detected.

Spectroscopic studies of different brands of cigarettes using laser‐induced breakdown spectroscopy

In this work the technique of laser‐induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been used for the elemental analysis of cigarettes. For this purpose emission spectra have been measured of eleven different kinds of cigarette brands sold and/or produced in Pakistan. Analysis of the spectral peaks observed shows that Na, Mg, Al, K, Ca, Cr, Fe, Sr and Ba are contained in all brands. Exhibiting the LIBS results, the powerful potential of this method for the identification of the elemental content of cigarettes is demonstrated.

Raman spectroscopy-based screening of IgM positive and negative sera for dengue virus infection

A statistical method based on Raman spectroscopy for the screening of immunoglobulin M (IgM) in dengue virus (DENV) infected human sera is presented. In total, 108 sera samples were collected and their antibody indexes (AI) for IgM were determined through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Raman spectra of these samples were acquired using a 785 nm wavelength excitation laser. Seventy-eight Raman spectra were selected randomly and unbiasedly for the development of a statistical model using partial least square (PLS) regression, while the remaining 30 were used for testing the developed model. An R-square (r 2) value of 0.929 was determined using the leave-one-sample-out (LOO) cross validation method, showing the validity of this model. It considers all molecular changes related to IgM concentration, and describes their role in infection. A graphical user interface (GUI) platform has been developed to run a developed multivariate model for the prediction of AI of IgM for blindly tested samples, and an excellent agreement has been found between model predicted and clinically determined values. Parameters like sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and area under receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve for these tested samples are also reported to visualize model performance.

Studying heating effects on desi ghee obtained from buffalo milk using fluorescence spectroscopy

Characterisation and thermal deterioration of desi ghee obtained from buffalo milk is presented for the first time using the potential of Fluorescence spectroscopy. The emission bands in non-heated desi ghee centred at 375 nm is labelled for vitamin D, 390 nm for vitamin K, 440–460 nm for isomers of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), 490 nm for vitamin A and the region 620–700 nm is assigned to chlorophyll contents. Fluorescence emission spectra from all the heated and non-heated ghee samples were recorded using excitation wavelengths at 280, and 410 nm which were found best for getting maximum spectral signatures. Heating of desi ghee affects its molecular composition, however, the temperature range from 140 to 170°C may be defined safe for cooking /frying where it does not lose much of its molecular composition. Further, the rise in temperature induces prominent spectral variations which confirm the deterioration of valuable vitamins, isomers of CLA and chlorophyll contents. Fluorescence emission peak at 552 nm shows oxidation product and an increase in its intensity with the rise in temperature is observed. In order to classify heated samples at different temperatures, principal component analysis (PCA) has been applied on heated and non-heated ghee samples that further elucidated the temperature effects.

Study of Frequency Effect on the Interface Traps Density and Series Resistance on Au/n‐Si/CuPc/Au, Heterostructure

Au/n‐Si/CuPc/Au inorganic‐organic heterostructure has been fabricated by thermal deposition of CuPc film on the n‐Si substrate. The frequency dependent capacitance‐voltage (C‐V) and conductance‐voltage (G‐V) characteristics along with effect of series resistance and interface states of the heterostructure have been investigated. At low frequencies the interface states can follow the AC signal and yield an excess capacitance. In the depletion region, with increasing frequency the values of measured C and G decrease. A significant effect of series resistance on the capacitance is found at higher frequencies. The C‐V and G‐V measurements of the sample were performed in the voltage range 4 V to −4 V and at frequency rang from 1–100 KHz at room temperature. It is found that the value of the series resistance Rs of sample decreases with increasing the frequency. The effect of interface states on the heterostructure decreases with increase in frequency. The conductance technique is used to measure the density of...