BUSCADOR RECOLECTA

UPNa. Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica. Laboratorio de Dispositivos Ópticos Nanoestructurados, In the present study, we show that silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with different shape, aggregation state and color (violet, green, orange) have been successfully incorporated into polyelectrolyte multilayer thin films using the layerby- layer (LbL) assembly. In order to obtain colored thin films based on AgNPs is necessary to maintain the aggregation state of the nanoparticles, a non-trivial aspect in which this work is focused on. The use of Poly(acrylic acid, sodium salt) (PAA) as a protective agent of the AgNPs is the key element to preserve the aggregation state and makes possible the presence of similar aggregates (shape and size) within the LbLcolored films. This approach based on electrostatic interactions of the polymeric chains and the immobilization of AgNPs with different shape and size into the thin films opens up a new interesting perspective to fabricate multicolornanocomposites based on AgNPs., This work was supported in part by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness CICYT FEDER TEC2010-17805 research grant.

UPNa. Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica. Laboratorio de Dispositivos Ópticos Nanoestructurados, In this paper, the influence of variable molar ratios between reducing and loading agents (1:100, 1:50, 1:20, 1:10, 1:5, 1:2, 1:1, 2:1) and between protective and loading agents (0.3:1, 0.75:1, 1.5:1, 3:1, 7.5:1, 30:1, 75:1) in the synthesis of silver nanoparticles by chemical reduction has been evaluated to obtain multicolor nanoparticles with a high stability in time. The protective agent poly(acrylic acid, sodium salt) (PAA) and reducing agent dimethylaminoborane (DMAB) play a key role in the formation of the resultant color. Evolution of the optical absorption bands of the silver nanoparticles as a function of PAA and DMAB molar ratios made it possible to confirm the presence of silver nanoparticles or clusters with a specific shape. The results reveal that a wide range of colors (violet, blue, green, brown, yellow, red, orange), sizes (from nanometer to micrometer), and shapes (cubic, rod, triangle, hexagonal, spherical) can be perfectly tuned by means of a fine control of the PAA and DMAB molar concentrations., This work was supported in part by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science CICYT FEDER TEC2010-17805 research grant.

La contaminación ambiental es la presencia de agentes físicos, químicos o biológicos presentes en el agua, suelo y aire; siendo perjudiciales para la salud de las personas, así como para la vida vegetal y animal. Las actividades económicas son esenciales para el desarrollo de la sociedad, sin embargo, muchas de estas actividades son una fuente de contaminación constante. Por ejemplo, la fuga de fluidos y gases en plantas industriales afectan negativamente a la salud e higiene para la elaboración de alimentos, bebidas, aditivos y materias primas causando un impacto ambiental y económico negativo en la industria. La búsqueda continua de métodos para el desarrollo de sistemas de medición es una característica de la evolución tecnológica de la humanidad. Las fibras ópticas presentan varias ventajas para ser empleadas en sistemas sensores; tales ventajas son: inmunidad a la interferencia electromagnética, dimensiones reducidas, ligeras, bajas pérdidas, fácil multiplexación y resistencias a la corrosión, entre otras. En general, podemos encontrar una amplia gama de aplicaciones en la industria para el desarrollo de sensores en fibra óptica. Sin embargo, en esta tesis se han seleccionado tres aplicaciones industriales de interés relevante: detección de gas amoniaco a bajas concentraciones, detección de adulteración en bebidas alcohólicas y detección de adulteración de combustibles. Se caracterizan los parámetros de los sensores desarrollados tales como la sensitividad, reversibilidad, reproducibilidad y precisión para la medición de cada tipo de sensor. Los resultados obtenidos en esta tesis serán útiles en el estudio de nuevos materiales aplicables a sensores ópticos, permitiendo la apertura a nuevas vías de investigación en el campo de los sensores en fibra óptica para aplicaciones industriales., Environmental pollution is the presence of physical, chemical or biological agents in water, soil and air which are harmful to our health, safety and welfare of the people as well as plant and animal life. Economic activities are essential to the development of society; however, many of these activities are a constant source of contamination. For example, leakage of fluids and gases in industrial plants adversely affect the health and hygiene for food processing, beverages, additives and raw materials causing serious environmental and economic impact on the general industry. The continual search for methods for developing measurement systems is a feature in the technological evolution of humankind. Optical fibers exhibit several advantages such as being immune to electromagnetic interferences, reduced dimensions, lightweight, low losses, easy multiplexation and resistant to corrosion for the development of optical fibers sensors. However, we selected three applications were the principle of operation of our sensor provides an advantage over other reported sensors: gaseous ammonia detection for low concentrations, adulteration of alcoholic beverages detection and combustibles quality control. The overall objective of this research is to design, fabricate, deploy and verify the correct operation of optical fiber structures for the identification of interesting liquid and gaseous environmental pollutants. The sensors parameters such as its sensitivity, reversibility, reproducibility and accuracy of measurement for each type of sensor are also characterized. These results obtained from this thesis would be a useful work in the study of new materials applicable to optical sensors, while opening new avenues of research in the field of optical fiber sensors for industrial applications., La realización de esta tesis ha sido posible gracias al apoyo recibido por parte del Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT) bajo el contrato CB-2010/157866 y CB-2010/156529, así como de la Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología a través de la financiación de los proyectos CICYT fondos FEDER TEC2010-17805., Programa Oficial de Doctorado en Tecnologías de las Comunicaciones (RD 1393/2007), Komunikazioen Teknologietako Doktoretza Programa Ofiziala (ED 1393/2007)

A lo largo de esta tesis se presenta el estudio y diseño de varias plataformas de guía-ondas ópticas, con el fin de ver su viabilidad a la hora de usarlas como biosensores sobre fibra óptica u otros sustratos fotónicos. En este trabajo se depositan estructuras ópticas como una fibra monomodo desnuda, un estrechamiento en fibra óptica o una fusión de fibras mono – multi – monomodo (SMS) con películas delgadas de materiales usando técnicas nanotecnológicas como el ensamblado capa a capa (LbL-assembly) o el sputtering. Además, se dedica un capítulo al estudio de microresonadores toroidales depositados por rotación (spin-coating). El objetivo es generar o mejorar las prestaciones en resolución y sensibilidad de los fenómenos resonantes que se pueden obtener en estas estructuras ópticas, para luego detectar reacciones biológicas que den lugar a un futuro diagnóstico precoz de enfermedades., Along this thesis, the study and design of several optical waveguide platforms is presented, in order to check their viability when used as biosensors based on either optical fiber or other photonic substrates. In this work, some fiber-optic-based structures such as cladding removed multimode structures, tapered single-mode fibers and single-mode – multimode – single-mode fibers are deposited with thin-films of materials, using nanotechnology-based methods such as layer-by-layer assembly (LbL-assembly) or sputtering. Moreover, a brief chapter is focused on the study of toroidal microring resonators deposited by spin-coating. The final objective is to generate or enhance the parameters of the resonant phenomena obtained in these structures, in terms of resolution and sensitivity. Then, a biological detection is addressed and characterized, to see if they are able to perform a future early diagnosis for illnesses., La realización de este trabajo ha sido posible gracias a las aportaciones económicas recibidas por parte de la Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA), así como del patrocinio de la UPNA y del Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, a través de los proyectos CICYT fondos FEDER TEC2010-17805, TEC2013-43679-R e IPT-2011-1212-920000 (PMEL)., Programa Oficial de Doctorado en Ingeniería y Arquitectura (RD 1393/2007), Ingeniaritzako eta Arkitekturako Doktoretza Programa Ofiziala (ED 1393/2007)

Esta tesis se centra en la síntesis de nanopartículas de plata (AgNPs) y su posterior incorporación en recubrimientos delgados usando dos métodos alternativos: el proceso de síntesis in situ (ISS) de AgNPs y la técnica de embebido capa a capa (LbL-E) de AgNPs. Un preciso control de varios parámetros tales como la forma, tamaño, estado de agregación o la distribución de las nanopartículas de plata en los recubrimientos tiene una gran influencia en la posición final de la longitud de onda de la resonancia localizada de plasmones superficiales (LSPR). Además, estas películas que incorporan nanopartículas de plata han sido estudiadas para dos aplicaciones diferentes. La primera aplicación es la fabricación de recubrimientos antibacterianos eficientes. La segunda aplicación es la fabricación de un nuevo tipo de sensores de fibra óptica basados en la incorporación de nanopartículas de plata en películas nanoestructuradas, que hace posible obtener y observar dos resonancias ópticas diferentes, (LSPR) y resonancias de modos con pérdidas (LMR), en un mismo dispositivo, This thesis is focused on the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and their further incorporation into thin films using two alternative methods, the In Situ Synthesis (ISS) process and the Layer-by-Layer Embedding (LbL-E) deposition technique. A precise control of several parameters such as the shape, size, aggregation state or distribution of the AgNPs into the films has a great influence in the wavelength position of the Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR) of the AgNPs. With this aim, two deposition methods such as sol-gel process and Layer-by-Layer (LbL) assembly have been studied and applied in order to deposit different nanocoatings based on AgNPs onto glass slides and optical fibers. In addition, these thin films that incorporate AgNPs have been studied for two different applications. The first application is the fabrication of efficient antibacterial surfaces. The second application is the implementation of new optical fiber sensors based on the incorporation of these AgNPs in nanostructured films, making possible to obtain and display two optical resonances, (LSPR) and Lossy Mode Resonances (LMR), in the same device, La realización de este tesis ha sido posible gracias a la obtención de una beca predoctoral de la Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA) y a las aportaciones económicas recibidas por parte del Gobierno de Navarra mediante sus programas de apoyo a la investigación, además de la colaboración de la Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología a través de la financiación de los proyectos CICYT fondos FEDER TEC2010-17805, Programa Oficial de Doctorado en Ingeniería de Materiales y Fabricación (RD 1393/2007), Materialen eta Fabrikazioaren Ingeniaritzako Doktoretza Programa Ofiziala (ED 1393/2007)

UPNa. Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica. Laboratorio de Dispositivos Ópticos Nanoestructurados, In this work, a comparative study about the incorporation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) into thin films is presented
using two alternative methods, the in situ synthesis process and the layer-by-layer embedding deposition technique.
The influence of several parameters such as color of the films, thickness evolution, thermal post-treatment, or
distribution of the AgNPs along the coatings has been studied. Thermal post-treatment was used to induce the
formation of hydrogel-like AgNPs-loaded thin films. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy micrographs,
atomic force microscopy images, and UV-vis spectra reveal significant differences in the size and distribution of the
AgNPs into the films as well as the maximal absorbance and wavelength position of the localized surface plasmon
resonance absorption bands before and after thermal post-treatment. This work contributes for, This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and
Competitiveness through TEC2010-17805 Research Project, Innocampus
Program and Public University of Navarra (UPNA) research grants.

UPNa. Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica. Laboratorio de Dispositivos Ópticos Nanoestructurados, An inorganic short chain polymer, poly(sodium phosphate), PSP, together with poly(allylamine hydrochloride), PAH,
is used to fabricate layer-by-layer (LbL) films. The thickness, roughness, contact angle, and optical transmittance of
these films are studied depending on three parameters: the precursor solution concentrations (10−3 and 10−4 M),
the number of bilayers deposited (20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 bilayers), and the specific technique used for the LbL
fabrication (dipping or spraying). In most cases of this experimental study, the roughness of the nanofilms increases
with the number of bilayers. This contradicts the basic observations made in standard LbL assemblies where the
roughness decreases for thicker coatings. In fact, a wide range of thickness and roughness was achieved by means
of adjusting the three parameters mentioned above. For instance, a roughness of 1.23 or 205 nm root mean square
was measured for 100 bilayer coatings. Contact angles close to 0 were observed. Moreover, high optical transmittance
is also reported, above 90%, for 80 bilayer films fabricated with the 10−4 M solutions. Therefore, these multilayer
structures can be used to obtain transparent superhydrophilic surfaces., This work was supported by the Spanish Economy and Competitiveness
Ministry-FEDER TEC2010-17805.

El desarrollo de nuevos materiales y métodos de deposición a escala nanométrica ha supuesto una auténtica revolución en muchas disciplinas de la investigación. En particular, en el campo de los sensores de fibra óptica, los recubrimientos nanoestructurados permiten generar efectos ópticos que no son apreciables mediante la utilización de materiales convencionales. El principal objetivo de esta tesis es la fabricación de nuevos sensores de humedad de fibra óptica basados en nanofibras y películas nanoestructuradas que posean propiedades antibacterianas para aplicaciones que operan en entornos de alta humedad y probacterianos. Para ello, el estudio y síntesis de nanopartículas de plata, y su posterior inclusión en los procesos de fabricación de recubrimientos como electrospinning y Layer-by-Layer han sido analizados para la fabricación de películas antibacterianas sobre fibra óptica. De esta forma, se han estudiado y desarrollado en este trabajo diferentes arquitecturas sensoras basadas en campo evanescente, resonancias basadas en plasmones superficiales localizados y modos de pérdidas, y fibras tipo Long period gratings., The development of novel materials and deposition methods on the nanometric scale has meant an important breakthrough in diverse fields. More specifically, in the field of optical fiber sensors, nanostructured coatings allow the generation of optical effects which are not appreciable with the utilization of thick films. This thesis aims to contribute to the development of optical fiber humidity sensors based on nanostructured coatings with antibacterial properties for pro-bacterial and high humidity environments. With this goal, the synthesis of silver nanoparticles and their posterior incorporation in the sensing coatings by means of techniques such as deposition methods as electrospinning and Layer-by-Layer assembly have been analyzed and studied for the fabrication of antibacterial nanocoatings onto optical fibers. Different sensing setups based on evanescent field, lossy mode resonances, localized surface plasmon resonances, and Long-Period gratings have been researched along this work to fulfill the development of such sensors., La realización de este trabajo ha sido posible gracias a la obtención de una beca predoctoral de la Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA), a las ayudas de movilidad de la UPNA, y a las aportaciones económicas recibidas por parte del Gobierno de Navarra mediante sus programas de apoyo a la investigación, además de la colaboración de la Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología a través de la financiación de los proyectos CICYT fondos FEDER TEC2010-17805, TEC2013-43679-R., Programa Oficial de Doctorado en Tecnologías de las Comunicaciones (RD 1393/2007), Komunikazioen Teknologietako Doktoretza Programa Ofiziala (ED 1393/2007)

The use of Vehicular Ad-Hoc Networks (VANETs) is growing nowadays and it includes both roadside-to-vehicle communication (RVC) and inter-vehicle communication (IVC). The purpose of VANETs is to exchange useful information between vehicles and the roadside infrastructures for making an intelligent use of them. There are several possible applications for this technology like: emergency warning system for vehicles, cooperative adaptive cruise control or collision avoidance, among others. The objective of this work is to develop a VANET prototype system for urban environments using IEEE 802.15.4 compliant devices. Simulation-based values of the estimated signal strength and radio link quality values are obtained and compared with measurements in outdoor conditions to validate an implemented VANET system. The results confirm the possibility of implementing low cost vehicular communication networks operating at moderate vehicular speeds., This work has been supported by following projects Ref. IIM010566. RI1 from the Government of Navarre, Industry Department and the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain through project TEC2010-17805.

The current digital revolution has ignited the evolution of communications grids and the development of new schemes for productive systems. Traditional technologic scenarios have been challenged, and Smart Cities have become the basis for urban competitiveness. The citizen is the one who has the power to set new scenarios, and that is why a definition of the way people interact with their cities is needed, as is commented in the first part of the article. At the same time, a lack of clarity has been detected in the way of describing what Smart Cities are, and the second part will try to set the basis for that. For all before, the information and communication technologies that manage and transform 21st century cities must be reviewed, analyzing their impact on new social behaviors that shape the spaces and means of communication, as is posed in the experimental section, setting the basis for an analysis matrix to score the different elements that affect a Smart City environment. So, as the better way to evaluate what a Smart City is, there is a need for a tool to score the different technologies on the basis of their usefulness and consequences, considering the impact of each application. For all of that, the final section describes the main objective of this article in practical scenarios, considering how the technologies are used by citizens, who must be the main concern of all urban development., This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness TEC2010-17805 Research Project.