An international journal devoted to research and development of physical transducers
Guide for Authors
Guide for Authors Sensors and Actuators A
Sensors and Actuators A brings together
multidisciplinary interest in one journal entirely devoted to disseminating information on all aspects of research and development of
solid-state devices for transducing physical signals. Sensors and Actuators A regularly publishes original papers, letters to the Editors
and from time to time invited review articles within the following device areas: Fundamentals and Physics such as: classification
of effects, physical effects, measurement theory, modelling of sensors, measurement standards, measurement errors, units and constants,
time and frequency measurement. Materials and their Processing such as: piezoelectric materials, polymers, metal oxides, III
Vand II VI semiconductors, thick and thin films, optical glass fibres, amorphous, polycrystalline and monocrystalline silicon. Optoelectronic
sensors such as: photovoltaic diodes, photoconductors, photo-diodes, phototransistors, position-sensitive photodetectors, optoisolators,
photo-diodearrays, charge-coupled devices, light-emitting diodes, injection lasers and liquidcrystal displays. Mechanical sensors
such as: metallic, thin-film and semiconductor strain gauges, diffused silicon pressure sensors, silicon accelerometers, solid-state
displacement transducers, piezo junction devices, piezoelectric field-effect transducers (PiFETs), tunnel-diode strain sensors, surface
acoustic wave devices, silicon micromechanical switches, solid-state flow meters and electronic flow controllers. Thermal sensors
such as: platinum resistors, thermistors, diode temperature sensors, silicon transistor thermometers, integrated temperature transducers,
PTAT circuits, thermocouples, thermopiles, pyroelectric thermometers, quartz thermometers, power transistors and thick-film thermal print
heads. Magnetic sensors such as: magnetoresistors, Corbino disks, magnetodiodes, Hall-effect devices, integrated Hall devices,
silicon depletion-layer magnetometers, magneto-injection transistors, magnistors, lateral magnetotransistors, carrier-domain magnetometers,
MOS magnetic-field sensors, solid-state read and write heads. Micromechanics such as: research papers on actuators, structures,
integrated sensors actuators, microsystems, and other devices or subdevices ranging in size from millimetres to sub-microns; micromechatronics;
microelectromechanical systems; microrobots silicon and non-silicon fabrication techniques; basic studies of physical phenomena of interest
to micromechanics; analysis of microsystems; exploration of new topics related to micromechanics; microsystem-related problems like power
supplies and signal transmission; microsystem-related simulation tools; other topics of interest to micromechanics. Interface
electronics: electronic circuits which are designed to interface directly with the above transducers and which are used for improving
or complementing the characteristics of these devices, such as linearization, A/D conversion, temperature compensation, light-intensity
compensation, current/frequency conversion and microcomputer interfacing. Sensor Systems and Applications such as: sensor
buses, multiple-sensor systems, sensor networks, voting systems, telemetering, sensor arrays, and automotive, environmental, monitoring
and control, consumer, medical, alarm and security, robotic, nautical, aeronautical and space measurement systems.
Contributions
are accepted on the understanding that the authors have obtained the necessary authority for publication. Submission of an article must
be accompanied by a statement that the article is original and unpublished and is not being considered for publication elsewhere. Upon
acceptance of an article by the journal, the author(s) will be asked to transfer the copyright of the article to the publisher. This
transfer will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information.
Preparation of papers
General
All
papers should be concisely written. The length of original contributions should not in general exceed 5000 words or about 12 printed
pages including tables and diagrams. Letters to the Editor intended for more speedy publication are also welcomed. These should not exceed
2000 words or 4 printed pages. Papers should be written in English (American or British spelling but with use of only one form in the
same paper). The author should remember that the journal is international and read widely by those whose first language may be other
than that in which the paper is written. Clarity and precision are best achieved by the use of short words and simple sentences. Papers
which do not satisfy the English language requirements will not be accepted.
Papers
(except papers originating from North and South America or Japan or those for the Micromechanics Section) should be submitted to one
of the Editors:
Editor-in-Chief:
Prof. P.J. French
Electronic Instrumentation Laboratory, Delft University of Technology,
Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science, Dept. of Microelectronics, Mekelweg 4, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands
Editor for N. & S. America:
Prof. Liwei Lin
Mechanical Engineering, 5126 Etchverry Hall, University of California,
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740, USA
Editor for Japan:
Prof. S. Yokota
Precision an Intelligence Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of
Technology, R2-41, 4259, Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8503, Japan
Micromechanics Section:
Prof. J.E. Wood (coordinating
Editor)
University of New Mexico, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
Online Submission of
Papers
Submission to this journal proceeds totally online. Use the following guidelines to prepare your article. Via the "Author
Gateway" page of this journal (http://authors.elsevier.com/) you will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading
of the various files. The system automatically converts source files to a single Adobe Acrobat PDF version of the article, which is used
in the peer-review process. Please note that even though manuscript source files are converted to PDF at submission for the review process,
these source files are needed for further processing after acceptance. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor's decision
and requests for revision, takes place by e-mail and via the author's homepage, removing the need for a hard-copy paper trail.
The
above represents a very brief outline of this form of submission. It can be advantageous to print this "Guide for Author" section
from the site for reference in the subsequent stages of article preparation.
Preparation of your article
Some flexibility
of presentation will be allowed, but authors are urged to arrange the subject matter clearly and logically under such headings as Introduction,
Experimental, Results, Discussion, etc.
Title
Papers should be headed by a concise but informative title. This should
be followed by the names of the authors and by the name and address of the laboratory in which the work was performed. If the address
of the author at the time when the paper will appear will be other than that where the work was carried out, this may be stated in a
footnote. Acknowledgments for financial support should not be made by a footnote to the title or name of the author but should be included
in Acknowledgments at the end of the paper.
Abstract
All papers should have an Abstract on a separate sheet. The abstract
(preferably 50 200 words) should comprise a brief and factual account of the contents and conclusions of the paper as well as an indication
of any new information presented and its relevance. Complete sentences should be used, without unfamiliar abbreviations or jargon. The
use of the present tense is customary.
Key words
Authors are requested to provide 4-6 key words. These should follow
the Abstract.
Introduction
All papers should have a short Introduction. This should state the reasons for the work, with
brief reference to previous work on the subject.
References
The references should be numbered consecutively throughout
the text and should be collected together in a reference list (headed References) at the end of the paper. The list of references should
be given on a separate sheet of the manuscript. Footnotes and legends should not include bibliographic material, and reference lists
should not include material that could more appropriately appear as a footnote. Authors should ensure that every reference appearing
in the text is in the list of references and vice versa. Numerals for references are enclosed in square brackets in the text, e.g., [1];
numerals referring to equations are enclosed in parentheses. The abbreviated titles of periodicals should conform to standard abbreviations
such as those given in the INSPEC Science Abstracts Lists of Journals, regularly appearing in Electrical and Electronics Abstracts.
The following system of giving references is required:
Journals:
Reference number (on the line without a full stop) authors'
names (preceded by initials and in upper and lower case) comma title of article comma abbreviated title of the periodical comma volume
number year (in parentheses) page numbers full stop.
Example:
1 D. A. Antoniadis and R.W. Dutton, Models for computer simulation
of complete IC fabrication process, IEEE Trans. Electron Devices, ED-26 (1979) 490 500.
Books:
(1) Monographs: reference number (on
the line without a full stop) authors' names (preceded by initials and in upper and lower case) comma title of book comma part or volume
(abbreviated to Vol.) number comma publisher's name comma city of publication comma no. of edition (edn.) comma year of publication comma
page number(s) (preceded by p. or pp.) full stop.
Example:
2 A. Nadai, Theory of Flow and Fracture of Solids, Vol. 1, McGraw-Hill,
New York, 2nd edn., 1950, p. 350.
(2) Multi-author volumes: reference number (on the line without a full stop) authors' names (precede
by initials and in upper and lower case) comma in editor's name (preceded by initials, in upper and lower case and followed by (ed.))
comma title of book comma part or volume (abbreviated to Vol.) number comma publisher's name comma city of publication comma no. of edition
(edn.) comma year of publication comma chapter (abbreviated to Ch.) number comma page number(s) (preceded by p. or pp.) full stop.
Example:
3 B. Danielsson and K. Mosbach, in K. Mosbach (ed.), Methods in Enzymology, Vol. 137, Academic Press, NewYork, 1988, Ch.
16, pp. 181-197.
Conference Proceedings:
Reference number (on the line without a full stop) authors' names (preceded by initials
and in upper and lower case) comma title of article comma title of proceedings comma conference location comma conference date comma
page number(s) (preceded by p. or pp.) full stop.
Example:
4 K.E. Petersen, Siliconsensor technologies.Tech.Digest,IEEEInt.ElectronDevicesMeet,Washington,DC,USA,Dec.2-7,1985.
A reference to "to be published in [title of periodical]" or "in press" implies that the paper has already been
accepted, for publication. A name appearing in the text which refers to a person as originator of an unpublished idea is listed in the
References as a "personal communication".
In the text an author's name is given without initials except where it is wished
to avoid confusion with namesakes.
When reference is made to a publication written by more than two authors it is preferable to give
only the first author's name in the text followed by et al. or the name of one of the authors followed by "and coworkers".
In the list of references the names and initials of all authors must be given.
This journal should be cited as Sensors and Actuators
A.
Tables
Number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text. Place footnotes to tables below
the table body and indicate them with superscript lowercase letters. Avoid vertical rules. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure
that the data presented in tables do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article.
Illustrations
Preparation
of electronic illustrations General points • Make sure you use uniform lettering and sizing of your
original artwork. • Save text in illustrations as "graphics" or enclose the font. • Only use the following
fonts in your illustrations: Arial, Courier, Helvetica, Times, Symbol. • Number the illustrations according to their sequence
in the text. • Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files. • Provide all illustrations as separate files
and as hardcopy printouts on separate sheets. • Provide captions to illustrations separately. • Produce images near
to the desired size of the printed version.
You are urged to visit this site; some excerpts from the detailed information are given here.
Formats
Regardless of the application used, when your electronic artwork is finalised, please "save as" or convert the images to one
of the following formats (Note the resolution requirements for line drawings, halftones, and line/halftone combinations given below.):
EPS: Vector drawings. Embed the font or save the text as "graphics".
TIFF: Colour or greyscale photographs (halftones):
always use a minimum of 300 dpi.
TIFF: Bitmapped line drawings: use a minimum of 1000 dpi.
TIFF: Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone
(colour or greyscale): a minimum of 500 dpi is required.
DOC, XLS or PPT: If your electronic artwork is created in any of these Microsoft
Office applications please supply "as is".
Please do not: • Supply embedded graphics in your wordprocessor
(spreadsheet, presentation) document; • Supply files that are optimised for screen use (like GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); the resolution
is too low; • Supply files that are too low in resolution;
Submit graphics that are disproportionately large for the content.
Colour illustrations
* Please make sure that artwork files are in an acceptable format (TIFF, EPS or MS Office
files) and with the correct resolution. If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable colour figures then Elsevier will
ensure, at no additional charge, that these figures will appear in colour on the Web (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) regardless
of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. For colour reproduction in print, you will receive
information regarding the costs from Elsevier after receipt of your accepted article. Please indicate your preference for colour in print
or on the Web only. For further information on the preparation of electronic artwork, please see http://authors.elsevier.com/artwork.
Please note: Because of technical complications which can arise by converting colour figures to "grey scale" (for the
printed version should you not opt for colour in print) please submit in addition usable black and white versions of all the colour illustrations.
Biography
A short biography of the author(s) should follow the references. It should cover such information as the author
(s) degree(s), where and in what year they were obtained, present employment, and current fields of interest. Photographs are not required.
General points
We accept most wordprocessing formats, but Word, WordPerfect or LaTeX is preferred. Always keep a backup
copy of the electronic file for reference and safety. Save your files using the default extension of the program used.
Wordprocessor
documents
It is important that the file be saved in the native format of the wordprocessor used. The text should be in single-column
format. Keep the layout of the text as simple as possible. Most formatting codes will be removed and replaced on processing the article.
In particular, do not use the wordprocessor's options to justify text or to hyphenate words. However, do use bold face, italics, subscripts,
super-scripts etc. Do not embed "graphically designed" equations or tables, but prepare these using the wordprocessor's facility.
When preparing tables, if you are using a table grid, use only one grid for each individual table and not a grid for each row. If no
grid is used, use tabs, not spaces, to align columns. The electronic text should be prepared in a way very similar to that of conventional
manuscripts (see also the Author Gateway's Guide to Publishing with Elsevier: http://authors.elsevier.com). Do not import
the figures into the text file but, instead, indicate their approximate locations directly in the electronic text and on the manuscript.
See also the section on Preparation of electronic illustrations.
To avoid unnecessary errors you are strongly advised to use
the "spellchecker" function of your wordprocessor.
Proofs
One set of page proofs in PDF format will be sent
by e-mail to the corresponding author (if we do not have an e-mail address then paper proofs will be sent by post). Elsevier now sends
PDF proofs which can be annotated; for this you will need to download Adobe Reader version 7 available free from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.
Instructions on how to annotate PDF files will accompany the proofs. The exact system requirements are given at the Adobe site: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/acrrsystemreqs.html#70win.
If you do not wish to use the PDF annotations function, you may list the corrections (including replies to the Query Form)
and return to Elsevier in an e-mail. Please list your corrections quoting line number. If, for any reason, this is not possible, then
mark the corrections and any other comments (including replies to the Query Form) on a printout of your proof and return by fax, or scan
the pages and e-mail, or by post.
Please use this proof only for checking the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness
of the text, tables and figures. Significant changes to the article as accepted for publication will only be considered at this stage
with permission from the Editor. We will do everything possible to get your article published quickly and accurately. Therefore, it is
important to ensure that all of your corrections are sent back to us in one communication: please check carefully before replying, as
inclusion of any subsequent corrections cannot be guaranteed. Proofreading is solely your responsibility. Note that Elsevier may proceed
with the publication of your article if no response is received.
The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with a PDF
file of the article via e-mail or, alternatively, 25 free paper offprints. The PDF file is a watermarked version of the published
article and includes a cover sheet with the journal cover image and a disclaimer outlining the terms and conditions of use.
There
are no page charges.
Symbols, formulae and equations
Symbols, formulae and equations should be written with great care, capitals
and lower case letters being distinguished where necessary. Also a clear distinction in typewritten text should be made between the figure
1 (one) and the lower case l (ell), the letters "o" and zero, "k" and kappa, "u" and mu, "v"
and nu, and "n" and eta. Particular care should be taken in writing mathematical expressions containing superscripts and subscripts.
The solidus / maybe used in equations to economize vertical space but its use should be consistent. For example:"
A/b = x 2/(u
+ v)1/2
but it is pointless to write
A/b = x 2
(u +v)1/2.
It is recommended that natural
logarithms should be denoted by ln while decade logarithms should be denoted by lg. Exponentials are better written as exp(a) than ea.
The multiplication sign should be used in floating point numbers to avoid confusion, i.e., 4.25 x105, not 4.25.105.
The decimal point should always be denoted by a full stop.
To avoid the confusion that results from the differing uses of the comma
and full stop, we recommend separating the digits by a space into groups of three, counting left or right from the decimal sign (not
necessary with a four-digit number).
For example: 16 132 4372 8.2487 1.232 843
Abstracting Services
This journal is cited
by the following Abstracting Services: The American Ceramic Society, Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts, Compendex, Computer
and Control Abstracts, Current Contents, EIC/Intelligence, Electrical and
Electronic Abstracts, Engineered Materials Abstracts, FIZ Karlsruhe,
Metals Abstracts, PASCAL/CNRS, Physics Abstracts, Science Citation Index, The Engineering Index Annual, The Engineering Index Monthly.
Spellings used for some common words
aging
antireflection
artifact
band bending
bandgap
bandwidth
co-evaporate
cross section
cross-sectional
crosstalk
feedback (adj.)
flat-band (adj.)
Gaussian
Kirchhoff
lifetime
linewidth
microelectronics
micromechanics midpoint
multilayer
multi-target
non-crystalline
n-type (adj.)
open-circuit (adj.)
photoemission
photogenerate
photoresist
p-type (adj.)
printout
readout
reverse-bias (adj.)
rod-like (adj.)
semicontinuous
short-circuit (adj.)
single-crystal (adj.)
stepwise
submicron
thermoelectric
ultrahigh
waveband
waveform
wavelength
wavenumber
