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A miniaturized fiber-optic pressure sensor 125μm in diameter has been developed for the measurement in human body [1]. The sensing element is fabricated by micromachining, and attached to the end of an optical fiber using polyimide adhesive layer. A Fabry-Perot interferometer is constituted of a half-mirror at the fiber end and a reflection mirror on the movable thin diaphragm. The intensity of the light reflected at the interferometer is modulated by the pressure, because the optical path difference between the two mirrors of the interferometer varies with the displacement of the diaphragm in dependence on the pressure.

We developed a small InSb mid-infrared (2–7 µm wavelength range) photon detector that operates at room temperature. The photodiode was made from (hetero epitaxial) InSb layers that were grown on a semi-insulating GaAs substrate by molecular beam epitaxy. To suppress the effects of the diffusion current of the p–i–n photodiode, we used an AlInSb barrier layer that raises the resistance of the photodiode. We also optimized the device's doping concentration and the infrared incidence window structure. These optimization steps realized high photoelectric current output in a room-temperature environment. We also increased the signal-to-noise ratio of the detector by connecting multiple photodiodes in series. The size of this detector is 1.9×2.7×0.4 mm3 and the detectivity is 2.8×108 cm Hz1/2/W at 300 K. This is a practical IR detector that can be used in general signal amplification ICs.

Carbon nanocoils (CNCs) were synthesized by the catalytic pyrolysis of acetylene over a mixture of Fe and SnO2 particles in a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) apparatus. The effects of reaction temperature, the composition of Fe and SnO2 in the catalyst, and the ratio of acetylene (C2H2) to helium (He) gas were examined. An optimum output was obtained when the Fe/SnO2 ratio was 2/1, the flow rates of C2H2 and He gases were 150 and 700 sccm, respectively, and the reaction temperature was 700°C. Under these conditions, the CNCs were of 80% purity, with average coil diameters of 750 nm, fiber diameters of 300 nm and pitches of approximately 750 nm. The CNC yield weighed up to 60 times that of the catalyst in 10 min.

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