Abstract: A method for manufacturing a planar sensor, comprises disposing a film of a material on a substrate, wherein the material is selected from the group consisting of platinum, rhodium, palladium and mixtures and alloys comprising at least one of the foregoing materials; annealing the material; measuring a resistance value of the material; laser trimming the annealed material; heat treating the laser trimmed material; and laser trimming the heat treated material to form the sensor.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a sensing element comprising: an electrochemical cell; wherein the sensing element comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of Pd and alloys and combinations comprising at least one of the foregoing; and wherein the electrically conductive element is thermally stable at temperatures of greater than or equal to about 1,200° C.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a coated article comprises a substrate with a coating comprising diamond like carbon layer, wherein the diamond like carbon layer comprising carbon and sulfur as terminal sulfur functional groups, wherein greater than or equal to about 70 wt % of the carbon present in the diamond like carbon layer comprises a sp3 carbon-to-carbon bond. The diamond like carbon layer has a concentration gradient such that the diamond like carbon layer on a side toward the substrate comprises a lower concentration of sulfur than a surface of the diamond like carbon layer disposed on a side of the layer opposite the substrate. The surface comprises about 0.1 at % to about 15 at % sulfur.

Abstract: An actuator includes a piezoelectric stack within a housing that applies a compressive load to the stack. The housing may include a cylindrical tube closed at one end and may seal the stack against fluid pressure. The housing may be shorter than the length of the piezoelectric stack and may include resilient means for inducing elastic strain in the stack. The resilient means may include one or more slots extending around the circumference of the housing and/or a corrugated region of the housing to form a tension spring at a lower end of the housing. The tension spring may then serve to draw the stack into compression. The stack may include a plurality of layers of piezoelectric or piezoceramic material interspersed with a plurality of layers of electrically conductive material and connecting means for connecting the layers to a source of electrical power.

Abstract: A method for forming an electrode comprises: combining a platinum precursor with a gold precursor to form an electrode ink; forming the electrode ink into an electrode precursor; firing the electrode precursor to form the electrode; treating the electrode in an environment having an oxygen partial pressure of less than or equal to 500 ppm oxygen for a period of time sufficient produce an electrode with an exposed surface gold concentration of greater than or equal to about 6 times a bulk gold concentration in the electrode.