University of Newcastle - Equipment Account

Lead Research Organisation: Newcastle University
Department Name: Sch of Natural & Environmental Sciences

Abstract

The past decade has seen an explosion in the number of high frequency micro-manufactured devices being developed. Well-known examples include RF-Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (RF-MEMS), Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) devices for applications in biosensing, SAW devices for applications in digital signal processing (DSP), ultrasound transducers for applications in medical imaging and finally micromachined sonotrodes used in ultrasonic welding technology. This growth will continue as Nano-Electro-Mechanical (NEMS) become more prevalent due to developments in fabrication techniques and materials. For example, the unique electrical and mechanical properties offered by graphene will see devices developed with ever increasing resonant frequencies. An essential part in the development of high frequency devices is the measurement of their dynamic behaviour. This includes natural frequencies, modeshapes, displacement fields and support loss mechanisms. This is critical for design optimisation, optimising process steps and validating any model or simulation. The measurement options available for high frequency systems where displacements may be of the order of picometres are extremely limited and only a few options exist. Contacting characterisation techniques e.g. AFM, load the device and therefore prevent a true accurate measurement of its dynamics. High frequency laser vibrometry presents the only non-invasive measurement option.

We aim to purchase a ultra-high frequency laser vibrometer to enable dynamic characterisation of high frequency microsystems. This equipment will allow the displacement or velocity field of any structure will greater than 4% reflectivity to be measured with picometre resolution and up to a frequency of 1.2 GHz. It will therefore be ideal for characterising SAW devices, high frequency N/MEMS sensors and RF MEMS.

Planned Impact

There has been substantial growth in the number of high frequency devices and sensors for applications in RF communications, biological diagnostics, inertial sensing and signal processing. Characterising the dynamic behaviour of these devices is always an essential step in the development process and currently the UHF-120 represents the best solution for frequencies in excess of 20MHz. Since the trend is towards continually higher frequency it is imperative that the measurement capability keeps apace with developments in fabrication technology and material science that enable this trend to continue. The measurement range of the UHF-120 is from 0 to 1.2 GHz and with picometre resolution. This will therefore meet the measurement needs for both current and future NEMS/MEMS, SAW devices and other high frequency devices.

Publications

10 25 50
 
Title Paintings 
Description Paintings. 
Type Of Art Artwork 
Year Produced 2015 
Impact Understanding of pigment chemistry and degradation 
URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169433215031670
 
Description characterisation of surface acoustic waves via LASER vibrometry. The picometre detection resolution allows for characterisation of inplane vibrating devices through parasitic out of plane motion.
Exploitation Route This is a piece of characterisation equipment. Others may used it.
Sectors Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Agriculture, Food and Drink,Chemicals,Communities and Social Services/Policy,Construction,Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Electronics,Energy,Environment,Financial Services, and Management Consultancy,Healthcare,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Government, Democracy and Justice,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology,Retail

 
Description CASE PhD Award
Amount £90,207 (GBP)
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 10/2017 
End 09/2021
 
Description Detecting the impact of vessels on air quality using emissions monitoring systems
Amount £29,000 (GBP)
Organisation Department of Transport 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2018 
End 03/2019
 
Description Energy Systems Catapult CDT
Amount £44,723 (GBP)
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 10/2017 
End 09/2020
 
Description Flood-Prepared: Predicting Rainfall Events by Physical Analytics of REaltime Data
Amount £1,500,000 (GBP)
Funding ID NE/P017134/1 
Organisation Natural Environment Research Council 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 09/2017 
End 09/2021
 
Description HEIF Urban Flows
Amount £67,113 (GBP)
Organisation Higher Education Funding Council for England 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 12/2017 
End 03/2018
 
Description Newton Fund
Amount £188,294 (GBP)
Funding ID EP/P01531X/1 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 02/2017 
End 11/2019
 
Description Novel low-cost methods for marine mammal and environmental monitoring
Amount £450,000 (GBP)
Funding ID NE/R014884/1 
Organisation Natural Environment Research Council 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2018 
End 04/2020
 
Description The science of carbon capture: creating a carbon capture garden at Newcastle Science Central for people and nature
Amount £17,000 (GBP)
Organisation Natural Environment Research Council 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2017 
End 01/2018
 
Description UKCRIC - PLEXUS - Priming Laboratory EXperiments on infrastructure and Urban Systems
Amount £1,013,092 (GBP)
Funding ID EP/R013535/1 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 10/2017 
End 09/2019
 
Title Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToFSIMS) and Helium Ion Microscopy (HIM) 
Description https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_ion_mass_spectrometry 
Type Of Material Technology assay or reagent 
Year Produced 2014 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact Many users, some industrial, necessary for generating excellent research 
URL http://www.ncl.ac.uk/nexus
 
Title Principal Component Analysis of Massive Datasets (100GB to 1Tb) 
Description PCA is used for spatial chemical analysis: Tomography+omics = Tomomics 
Type Of Material Data analysis technique 
Year Produced 2016 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact First 3D chemical tomographic multivariate analysis 
URL http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/sia.5800/epdf
 
Title UO Main DB 
Description UO Environmental sensor DB; main DB for UO records 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2016 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact Citations, many student projects, teaching, research proposals 
URL http://uoweb1.ncl.ac.uk
 
Title UO Radar DB 
Description UO Radar data; Radar DB and data lake 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2017 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact NERC Flood prepared 
URL http://uoweb1.ncl.ac.uk/radar
 
Title USB data 
Description USB sensor data; USB Sensor data 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2017 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact Further research grants, teaching 
URL https://api.usb.urbanobservatory.ac.uk/
 
Description Analysis and related analytical characterization 
Organisation Pfizer Global R & D
Country United States 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Analysis and related analytical characterization
Collaborator Contribution Analysis and related analytical characterization
Impact Analysis and related analytical characterization
Start Year 2015
 
Description CH2M/UoB 
Organisation CH2M HILL
Country United States 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Leveraging on NPIF studentship funding and industrial sponsorship
Collaborator Contribution Cash contribution to stipend, other in kind
Impact PhD Studentship
Start Year 2017
 
Description Google span 
Organisation Google
Country United States 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Development of data visualisations
Collaborator Contribution Co-creation of visuals and soundscapes
Impact Google Span
Start Year 2017
 
Description Proctor and Gamble 
Organisation Procter & Gamble
Country United States 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Analytical Collaboration.
Collaborator Contribution Samples, some funding.
Impact None yet
Start Year 2015
 
Description Siemens Mindsphere Hub 
Organisation Siemens AG
Country Germany 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Co-development of tools
Collaborator Contribution Expertise in software
Impact Siemens Mindsphere Hub
Start Year 2017
 
Description Validation of numerical models for climate driven ratcheting of slope deformations 
Organisation Queen's University
Country Canada 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Development of an advanced numerical model to assess the behaviour of clay slopes under seasonal weather cycles.
Collaborator Contribution The collaborator at Queen's has conducted unique centrifuge model tests that have generated measured behaviour that can be used to validate the numerical model developed for assessing the behaviour of clay slopes under seasonal cycles of weather.
Impact Postill, H., Dixon, N., Fowmes, G., El-Hamalawi, A. and Take, A. (2018). Modelling Seasonal Ratcheting and Progressive Failure in Clay Slopes: A Validation. Geotechnique (submitted and under review)
Start Year 2017
 
Description WSP / UoB 
Organisation World Bank Group
Department Water and Sanitation Program
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Leveraging on NPIF studentship funding and industrial sponsorship
Collaborator Contribution Cash contribution to stipend, other in kind
Impact PhD Studentship
Start Year 2017
 
Description XPS Analysis Work 
Organisation Big Solar Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution XPS analysis work
Collaborator Contribution XPS analysis work
Impact XPS data
Start Year 2017
 
Description XPS Facility Use 
Organisation Procter & Gamble
Country United States 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution XPS analysis
Collaborator Contribution XPS Facility Use
Impact XPS Facility Use
Start Year 2014
 
Title New device for deposition of layers 
Description New device for deposition of layers 
Type Of Technology New/Improved Technique/Technology 
Year Produced 2016 
Impact Likely to be made into a product by a UK manufacturer 
URL http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/sia.6045/pdf
 
Title XPS and ToFSIMS Facility 
Description Surface Engineering and Analysis Laboratory: SEAL, NEXUS 
Type Of Technology Systems, Materials & Instrumental Engineering 
Year Produced 2014 
Impact Very many. We have had >800 projects in collaboration with 39 UK universities since 2011 
URL http://www.ncl.ac.uk/nexus
 
Description Air Quality Workshop 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Study participants or study members
Results and Impact Workshop with participants in the research to form future partnerships
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Article for The Conversation 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact ToFSIMS of mars meteorites
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015,2016
URL https://theconversation.com/how-our-discovery-of-microbe-traces-in-ancient-rocks-on-earth-could-help...
 
Description Briefing to HKU on Cities Research at Newcastle 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation and discussion on Cities Research at Newcastle to form future partnerships.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Briefing to HKUST on Cities Research at Newcastle 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation and discussion to HKUST to form future partnerships.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Briefing to Xiamen on Cities Research at Newcastle 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation and discussion to Xiamen on Cities Research at Newcastle to form future partnerships.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Digital Twin Workshop 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Took part at the Digital Twin Workshop to form future partnerships
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Future Cities Catapult, Newcastle, 17/07/2017 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation and discussion about the project with 25 attendees of the workshop.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description GISRUK 2017, Manchester, April 18-21, 2017 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation and discussion about the project to 300 academics in order to inform them about the project.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Google Span Newcastle/Gateshead 05/10/2017, Newcastle 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Delivered a workshop and activities at the Google Span Newcastle/Gateshead event to showcase results to 400 members of the general public.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Habits workshop Jan 2018 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Habits workshop between academics and the public to discuss the outputs for the project.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Invited presentation at Euroscience open forum 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Participation in a debate and presentation at the Euroscience open forum amongst fellow academics.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Invited presentation to Environmental Association for Universities & Colleges (EAUC) Living Labs event 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Invited presentation to Environmental Association for Universities & Colleges (EAUC) Living Labs event to inform fellow academics.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Invited talk at BCS Southwest 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Theo Tryfonas delivered an invited talk at monthly chapter event for the BCS to raise awareness of the UO and UKCRIC in general and for networking.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Newcastle Bee monitoring Launch Event, Newcastle, 09/06/2017 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Delivering an introduction to monitoring activities to 25 members of the general public about the project.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Northumbria Water Innovation Week, 10 ~14 July 2017, Newcastle race course 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation and discussion at Northumbrian Water's Innovation Week. Presentation was made to an audience of 50 attendees to inform and to discuss partnerships.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Optimistic workshop - Chengdu China sept 2016 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Attendance at the optimistic workshop in Chengdu to discuss future partnerships amongst academics.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Pint of Science - how do you turn a city into a lab? 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Evening talk to public audience to inform and entertain
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Roadmaps for Energy event, Newcastle, 11/05/2017 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact A presentation and discussion about the project with a mixed international audience.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Science of public event at Core- 28th sept 2017 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Presentation to inform the general public.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Sheffield City Council Workshop 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Workshop with Sheffield Local Council to inform the sensor build competition topics.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Sheffield Digital Conference 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation and debate at the Sheffield Digital Conference.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Showcasing Bristol's region work in Brussels (Theo Tryfonas) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Theo Tryfonas promoted the Bristol research outcomes to the European Commission, MEPs, Project Partners and NGOs in order to raise the profile of the project and to network with potential grant application partners
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Success project workshop 28th Sept 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Discussion of outputs at the Success project workshop.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Tees Valley Environmental Protection Group Jan 2018 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Presentation and discussion about the project to inform the general public.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Transport Systems Catapult Meeting, Milton Keynes, 07/10/2017 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Delivered a presentation and took part in a discussion at the Transport Systems Catapult Meeting in Milton Keynes to form future partnerships
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Urban Flows City Council Briefing 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Presentation to Sheffield Local Council to form future partnerships.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Wuthering Bytes, Hebden Bridge, 04/09/2017 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation about the project to a mixed audience of 75 attendees to inform and discuss partnerships.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description briefing to the Adaptation Sub Committee of the Committee on Climate Change on Climate Change Risk Assessment and Infrastructure Interdependencies 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Richard Dawson gave a briefing to the Adaptation Sub Committee of the Committee on Climate Change on Climate Change Risk Assessment and Infrastructure Interdependencies
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description n8 green cities workshop 25th May 2017 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation and discussion at the N8 green cities workshop to inform different audiences about the Urban Observatories,
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017