Many novel materials and device designs have been proposed as photonic analogs to electrical diodes over the last four decades. This paper seeks to revisit these materials and designs as advanced technologies may enable experimental realization that was not possible upon conception of several of these designs. The background behind integration challenges, including waveguide birefringence, fabrication tolerances, garnet/semiconductor mismatch, and optimized interfaces will hopefully spark new ideas that will finally enable the realization of integrated optical isolators and circulators.

Tiny hairlike sensors or cilia play a very important role in detection for many biological species, including humans. This research took inspiration from the packaging and transduction processes of the inner ear’s cochlea and cilia to design acoustic sensors. Specifically, this work uses nanowires of magnetostrictive materials as artificial cilia to sense acoustic signals. Anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates with hexagonal spacings were fabricated using a two-step anodization process as well as nanoimprint assisted self-assembly and were characterized using atomic force microscopy. Patterned microelectrodes were also fabricated at the backside of several templates using photolithography. Ni, Co, and Galfenol (Fe1−xGax0.1⩽x⩽0.25at.%) nanowires were fabricated using electrochemical deposition into nanoporous AAO templates where the pores had various geometries and some had large-area ordering as dictated by nanoimprinting. High aspect ratio nanowires with diameters varying from 10 to 200 nm and lengths up to 60μm were fabricated in arrays and were collectively and individually characterized using scanning electron microscopy. Galfenol thin films, fabricated electrochemically using a Hull cell, were characterized using x-ray diffraction and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy to determine the optimum current density for deposition. The magnetic response of millimeter-scale cantilevered beams to dynamic bending loads was also measured and compared to constitutive and free-energy models. A giant magnetoresistive sensor behind the beam measured the magnetic response of mechanical excitation applied to the tip of each rod and validated the models. Potenial applications of these nanowire cilia include sonar arrays, underwater cameras, and medical devices.

The remarkable multimodal functionalities of magnetic nanoparticles, conferred by their size and morphology, are very important in resolving challenges slowing the progression of nanobiotechnology. The rapid and revolutionary expansion of magnetic nanoparticles in nanobiotechnology, especially in nanomedicine and therapeutics, demands an overview of the current state of the art for synthesizing and characterizing magnetic nanoparticles. In this review, we explain the synthesis routes for tailoring the size, morphology, composition, and magnetic properties of the magnetic nanoparticles. The pros and cons of the most popularly used characterization techniques for determining the aforementioned parameters, with particular focus on nanomedicine and biosensing applications, are discussed. Moreover, we provide numerous biomedical applications and highlight their challenges and requirements that must be met using the magnetic nanoparticles to achieve the most effective outcomes. Finally, we conclude this review by providing an insight towards resolving the persisting challenges and the future directions. This review should be an excellent source of information for beginners in this field who are looking for a groundbreaking start but they have been overwhelmed by the volume of literature.

Resistivities of 5.4 μΩ·cm were measured in 10-nm-diameter metallic wires. Low resistance is important for interconnections of the future to prevent heating, electromigration, high power consumption, and long RC time constants. To demonstrate application of these wires, Co/Cu/Co magnetic sensors were synthesized with 20-30 Ω and 19% magnetoresistance. Compared to conventional lithographically produced magnetic tunnel junction sensors, these structures offer facile fabrication and over 2 orders of magnitude lower resistances due to smooth sidewalls from in situ templated chemical growth.

The first experimental TE-mode silicon-on-insulator (SOI) isolators using Faraday Rotation are here realized to fill the ‘missing link’ in source-integrated near infrared photonic circuits. The isolators are simple 1D 2-element waveguides, where garnet claddings and longitudinal magnetic fields produce nonreciprocal mode conversion, the waveguide equivalent of Faraday Rotation (FR). Quasi-phase matched claddings are used to overcome the limitations of birefringence. Current experimental SOI isolators use nonreciprocal phase shift (NRPS) in interferometers or ring resonators, but to date NRPS requires TM-modes, so the TE-modes normally produced by integrated lasers cannot be isolated without many ancillary polarisation controls. The presented FR isolators are made via lithography and sputter deposition, which allows facile upscaling compared to the pulsed laser deposition or wafer bonding used in the fabrication of NRPS devices. Here, isolation ratios and losses of 11 dB and 4 dB were obtained, and future designs are identified capable of isolation ratios >30 dB with losses <6 dB.