Dr Ajay's current research is focused on design and fabrication of flexible high-performance ZnO-based surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors integrated with zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures as sensing medium. In the past, he has worked on design and micro-fabrication of rigid lithium niobate-based SAW devices using a novel UV-LED photolithography technique, and on-chip integration of self-seeded ZnO nanowires as sensing medium on these devices using thermal evaporation method conducted at above 600 °C. The transition from rigid to flexible SAW sensors integrated with ZnO nanostructures requires the growth of highly piezoelectric ZnO thin film on flexible polymer substrates as medium for SAW propagation and a low-temperature growth method for on-chip integration of ZnO nanostructures. The growth of piezoelectric ZnO thin film on flexible polymer substrates is performed using RF magnetron sputtering in the Micro and Nano Devices Lab at Monash University Malaysia, and low temperature hydrothermal method is adopted for on-chip growth of ZnO nanowires as sensing medium.

Flexible Surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors, on-chip growth of nanostructures as SAW sensing medium

• ECE2071 - Computer Organisation and Programming
• ECE3091 - Engineering Design