Quarter-Annulus Si-Photodetector with Equal Inner and Outer Radii of Curvature for Reflective Photoplethysmography Sensors.

Reflection-type photoplethysmography (PPG) pulse sensors used in wearable smart watches, true wireless stereo, etc., have been recently considered a key component for monitoring biological signals such as heart rate, SPO3, and blood pressure. Typically, the optical front end (OFE) of these PPG sensors is heterogeneously configured and packaged with light sources and receiver chips. In this paper, a novel quarter-annulus photodetector (NQAPD) with identical inner and outer radii of curvature has been developed using a plasma dicing process to realize a ring-type OFE receiver, which maximizes manufacturing efficiency and increases the detector collection area by 36.7% compared to the rectangular PD. The fabricated NQAPD exhibits a high quantum efficiency of over 90% in the wavelength of 500 nm to 740 nm and the highest quantum efficiency of 95% with a responsivity of 0.41 A/W at the wavelength of 530 nm. Also, the NQAPD is shown to increase the SNR of the PPG signal by 5 to 7.6 dB compared to the eight rectangular PDs. Thus, reflective PPG sensors constructed with NQAPD can be applied to various wearable devices requiring low power consumption, high performance, and cost-effectiveness.

300 mm Large Area Wire Grid Polarizers with 50 nm Half-Pitch by ArF Immersion Lithography.

The large area wire grid polarizers (LA-WGPs) with 50 nm half-pitch were fabricated using ArF immersion lithography overcoming the limit of the shot field size. To realize the 50 nm line and space patterns on a 300 mm wafer, a zero-distance stitching process that connects the shot fields is suggested. To compensate for mutual interference between the shot fields which is called the local flare effect (LFE), the shot field arrangement is changed with optical proximity correction (OPC). Using a master wafer produced by the suggested method, 300 mm large-area WGPs were fabricated by the nano-imprint process. The WGPs have more than 80% transmittance in the visible light region, and the possibility of performance improvement can be confirmed depending on the number and method of the etch process.

Broadband responsivity enhancement of Si photodiodes by a plasmonic antireflection bilayer.

Randomly distributed plasmonic Ag nanoparticles (NPs) with various sizes were fabricated by a reflow process to an island-shaped Ag thin-film deposited on a Si photodiode. These NPs conformally enclosed by an antireflective (AR)-type SiNx/SiO2 bilayer reveal significantly diminished reflectance in a broad wavelength (500 nm - 1100 nm) as compared to the cases of Ag NPs or SiO2 layer enclosing Ag NPs on the Si substrate. Accordingly, the forward scattering and the total reflection along with wide-angle interference in between the dielectric bilayer incorporating the Ag NPs induce highly increased light absorption in the Si substrate. The fabricated Si photodiode adopting the plasmonic AR bilayer shows the responsivity peak value of 0.72 A/W at 835 nm wavelength and significant responsivity enhancement up to 40% relative to a bare Si photodiode in a wavelength range of 500 nm to 1000 nm.

Investigation of Integrated Reactive Multilayer Systems for Bonding in Microsystem Technology.

For the integration of a reactive multilayer system (iRMS) with a high exothermic reaction enthalpy as a heat source on silicon wafers for low-temperature bonding in the 3D integration and packaging of microsystems, two main conflicting issues should be overcome: heat accumulation arising from the layer interface pre-intermixing, which causes spontaneous self-ignition during the deposition of the system layers, and conductive heat loss through the substrate, which leads to reaction propagation quenching. In this work, using electron beam evaporation, we investigated the growth of a high exothermic metallic Pd/Al reactive multilayer system (RMS) on different Si-wafer substrates with different thermal conduction, specifically a bare Si-wafer, a RuOx or PdOx layer buffering Si-wafer, and a SiO2-coated Si-wafer. With the exception of the bare silicon wafer, the RMS grown on all other coated wafers underwent systematic spontaneous self-ignition surging during the deposition process once it reached a thickness of around 1 µm. This issue was surmounted by investigating a solution based on tuning the output energy by stacking alternating sections of metallic reactive multilayer Pd/Al and Ni/Al systems that have a high and medium enthalpy of exothermic reactions, respectively. This heterostructure with a bilayer thickness of 100 nm was successfully grown on a SiO2-coated Si-wafer to a total thickness of 3 µm without any spontaneous upsurge of self-ignition; it could be electrically ignited at room temperature, enabling a self-sustained propagating exothermic reaction along the reactive patterned track without undergoing quenching. The results of this study will promote the growth of reactive multilayer systems by electron beam evaporation processing and their potential integration as local heat sources on Si-wafer substrates for bonding applications in microelectronics and microsystems technology.

A Flash-Induced Robust Cu Electrode on Glass Substrates and Its Application for Thin-Film µLEDs.

A robust Cu conductor on a glass substrate for thin-film µLEDs using the flash-induced chemical/physical interlocking between Cu and glass is reported. During millisecond light irradiation, CuO nanoparticles (NPs) on the display substrate are transformed into a conductive Cu film by reduction and sintering. At the same time, intensive heating at the boundary of CuO NPs and glass chemically induces the formation of an ultrathin Cu2 O interlayer within the Cu/glass interface for strong adhesion. Cu nanointerlocking occurs by transient glass softening and interface fluctuation to increase the contact area. Owing to these flash-induced interfacial interactions, the flash-activated Cu electrode exhibits an adhesion energy of 10 J m-2 , which is five times higher than that of vacuum-deposited Cu. An AlGaInP thin-film vertical µLED (VLED) forms an electrical interconnection with the flash-induced Cu electrode via an ACF bonding process, resulting in a high optical power density of 41 mW mm-2 . The Cu conductor enables reliable VLED operation regardless of harsh thermal stress and moisture infiltration under a high-temperature storage test, temperature humidity test, and thermal shock test. 50 × 50 VLED arrays transferred onto the flash-induced robust Cu electrode show high illumination yield and uniform distribution of forward voltage, peak wavelength, and device temperature.

Highly Fast Response of Pd/Ta2O5/SiC and Pd/Ta2O5/Si Schottky Diode-Based Hydrogen Sensors.

Herein, the fabrication of a novel highly sensitive and fast hydrogen (H2) gas sensor, based on the Ta2O5 Schottky diode, is described. First, Ta2O5 thin films are deposited on silicon carbide (SiC) and silicon (Si) substrates via a radio frequency (RF) sputtering method. Then, Pd and Ni are respectively deposited on the front and back of the device. The deposited Pd serves as a H2 catalyst, while the Ni functions as an Ohmic contact. The devices are then tested under various concentrations of H2 gas at operating temperatures of 300, 500, and 700 °C. The results indicate that the Pd/Ta2O5 Schottky diode on the SiC substrate exhibits larger concentration and temperature sensitivities than those of the device based on the Si substrate. In addition, the optimum operating temperature of the Pd/Ta2O5 Schottky diode for use in H2 sensing is shown to be about 300 °C. At this optimum temperature, the dynamic responses of the sensors towards various concentrations of H2 gas are then examined under a constant bias current of 1 mA. The results indicate a fast rise time of 7.1 s, and a decay of 18 s, for the sensor based on the SiC substrate.

Expandable and implantable bioelectronic complex for analyzing and regulating real-time activity of the urinary bladder.

Underactive bladder or detrusor underactivity (DUA), that is, not being able to micturate, has received less attention with little research and remains unknown or limited on pathological causes and treatments as opposed to overactive bladder, although the syndrome may pose a risk of urinary infections or life-threatening kidney damage. Here, we present an integrated expandable electronic and optoelectronic complex that behaves as a single body with the elastic, time-dynamic urinary bladder with substantial volume changes up to ~300%. The system configuration of the electronics validated by the theoretical model allows conformal, seamless integration onto the urinary bladder without a glue or suture, enabling precise monitoring with various electrical components for real-time status and efficient optogenetic manipulation for urination at the desired time. In vivo experiments using diabetic DUA models demonstrate the possibility for practical uses of high-fidelity electronics in clinical trials associated with the bladder and other elastic organs.

Antireflective Transparent Conductive Oxide Film Based on a Tapered Porous Nanostructure.

A new architecture for antireflection (AR) has been developed to break the trade-off between the optical transmittance and the electrical conduction impeding the performance of transparent conductive oxide (TCO) films. The tapered porous nanostructure with a complex continuous refractive index effectively eliminates reflections from the interfaces between air and the TCO and TCO and the substrate. Compared to the conventional TCO film, the AR TCO film exhibited the same electrical conduction, with an average transmittance of 88.7% in the 400-800 nm range, a 10.3% increase. The new AR TCO film is expected to improve the performance of various optoelectronic devices.

Multi-Asymmetric Ion-Diode Membranes with Superior Selectivity and Zero Concentration Polarization Effect.

Biological ion channels exhibiting selective and rectified ion transport properties feature nanoscale asymmetries in their physical structure, chemical composition, and charge distribution. Inspired by this, a multi-asymmetric ion-diode membrane (IDM) having a heterojunction between a positively charged anodic aluminum oxide membrane with conical macropores and a negatively charged Nafion membrane with very narrow mesopores was designed and practically fabricated in this study. Experiments and theoretical calculations demonstrated that the proposed membrane has the highest selectivity among IDMs and provides complete suppression of the concentration polarization (CP) effect limiting the current density in ion-exchange membrane electrodialysis. These findings present direct evidence that the physical and chemical design of the channel structure can provide both superior selectivity and a zero CP effect to IDMs and practical fabrication methods of IDMs for diverse, promising membrane applications.

Enhanced Light Harvesting in Photovoltaic Devices Using an Edge-Located One-Dimensional Grating Polydimethylsiloxane Membrane.

In streamlined multipurpose applications for light management and protection, encapsulants are merged with photonic crystal structures into solar modules. We present an edge-located 1D grating, attachable polymer on the top of a photovoltaic module to provide a strategy for capturing solar light and improving cell efficiency. Large-area solar arrays suffer from space utilization problems due to nonactive area. The introduction of periodically patterned gratings with specific geometric range is highly preferred to redirect the light toward photovoltaic active areas. To realize optimized broadband light diffraction for solar devices, the theoretical analysis of one-dimensional line patterned diffraction gratings was performed through wave-optic-based simulation. Based on the experimental results, the replica molding-based patterning method was adopted to fabricate the grating polymer for low-cost thin-film production. Also, we demonstrated enhanced light collection by grating patterned encapsulants with improved current density in comparison to the performance of a flat surface.

Reflective color filter with precise control of the color coordinate achieved by stacking silicon nanowire arrays onto ultrathin optical coatings.

The engineering of structural colors is currently a promising, rapidly emerging research field because structural colors of outstanding spatial resolution and durability can be generated using a sustainable production method. However, the restricted and saturated color range in micro/nano-fabricated structural 'pigments' has hindered the dissemination of structural color printing. Here, this article presents a spectral mixing color filter (SMCF), which is the concept of fine-tunable color systems, capable of addressing the current issues in structural color engineering, by stacking a vertical silicon nanowire array embedded in a transparent polymer onto ultrathin optical coating layers. These two photonic structures enable independent tuning the optical resonance of each structure, depending on geometrical parameters, such as the diameter of nanowires and thickness of absorbing medium. Hence, the SMCF facilitates the linear combination of two resonant spectra, thereby enabling fine-tuning and widening of the color gamut. Theoretical studies and experimental results reveal the detailed working mechanisms and extraordinary mechanical feature of the SMCF. Based on the analyses, the concept of flexible optical device, e.g., a reflective anti-counterfeiting sticker, is demonstrated. Successful characterization demonstrates that the proposed strategy can promote the color controllability/purity of structural color and the applicability as flexible optical device.

Enlarged Color Gamut Representation Enabled by Transferable Silicon Nanowire Arrays on Metal-Insulator-Metal Films.

Artificial structural colors arising from nanosized materials have drawn much attention because of ultrahigh resolution, durability, and versatile utilizations compared to conventional pigments and dyes. However, the limited color range with current approaches has interrupted the supply for upcoming structural colorimetric applications. Here, we suggest a strategy for the widening of the color gamut by linear combination of two different resonance modes originating from silicon nanowire arrays (Si NWAs) and metal-insulator-metal nanoresonators. The enlarged color gamut representations are simply demonstrated by transferring Si NWAs embedded in a flexible polymer layer without additional treatment/fabrication. Optical simulation is used to verify the additive creation of a new resonance dip, without disturbing the original mode, and provides "predictable" color reproduction. Furthermore, we prove that the proposed structures are applicable to well-known semiconductor materials for various flexible optical devices and other colorant applications.

Nanofluidic chip for liquid TEM cell fabricated by parylene and silicon nitride direct bonding.

Despite the importance of nanofluidic transmission electron microscope (TEM) chips, a simple fabrication method has yet to be developed due to the difficulty of wafer bonding techniques using a nanoscale thick bonding layer. We present a simple and robust wafer scale bonding technique using parylene as a bonding layer. A nanoscale thick parylene layer was deposited on a silicon nitride (SiN) wafer and patterned to construct nanofluidic channels. The patterned parylene layer was directly bonded to another SiN wafer by thermal surface activation and bonding, with a bonding strength of ∼3 MPa. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed that carbon-oxygen bonds were generated by thermal activation. We demonstrated TEM imaging of gold nanoparticles suspended in liquid using the fabricated nanofluidic chip.

Accurate and Precise Determination of Mechanical Properties of Silicon Nitride Beam Nanoelectromechanical Devices.

Accurate and precise determination of mechanical properties of nanoscale materials is mandatory since device performances of nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) are closely related to the flexural properties of the materials. In this study, the intrinsic mechanical properties of highly stressed silicon nitride (SiN) beams of varying lengths are investigated using two different techniques: Dynamic flexural measurement using optical interferometry and quasi-static flexural measurement using atomic force microscopy. The resonance frequencies of the doubly clamped, highly stressed beams are found to be inversely proportional to their length, which is not usually observed from a beam but is expected from a string-like structure. The mass density of the SiN beams can be precisely determined from the dynamic flexural measurements by using the values for internal stress and Young's modulus determined from the quasi-static measurements. As a result, the mass resolution of the SiN beam resonators was predicted to be a few attograms, which was found to be in excellent agreement with the experimental results. This work suggests that accurate and precise determination of mechanical properties can be achieved through combined flexural measurement techniques, which is a crucial key for designing practical NEMS applications such as biomolecular sensors and gas detectors.

Direct transfer of multilayer graphene grown on a rough metal surface using PDMS adhesion engineering.

The direct transfer of graphene using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamping has advantages such as a 'pick-and-place' capability and no chemical residue problems. However, it is not easy to apply direct PDMS stamping to graphene grown via chemical vapor deposition on rough, grainy metal surfaces due to poor contact between the PDMS and graphene. In this study, graphene consisting of a mixture of monolayers and multiple layers grown on a rough Ni surface was directly transferred without the use of an adhesive layer. Liquid PDMS was cured on graphene to effect a conformal contact with the graphene. A fast release of graphene from substrate was achieved by carrying out wet-etching-assisted mechanical peeling. We also carried out a thermal post-curing of PDMS to control the level of adhesion between PDMS and graphene and hence facilitate a damage-free release of the graphene. Characterization of the transferred graphene by micro-Raman spectroscopy, SEM/EDS and optical microscopy showed neither cracks nor contamination from the transfer. This technique allows a fast and simple transfer of graphene, even for multilayer graphene grown on a rough surface.

Single nanowire on graphene (SNOG) as an efficient, reproducible, and stable SERS-active platform.

Developing a well-defined nanostructure that can provide strong, reproducible, and stable SERS signals is quite important for the practical application of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensors. We report here a novel single nanowire (NW) on graphene (SNOG) structure as an efficient, reproducible, and stable SERS-active platform. Au NWs having a well-defined single-crystal geometry on a monolayer graphene-coated metal film can form a well-defined, continuous nanogap structure that provides extremely reproducible and stable SERS signals. The in-NW reproducibility was verified by 2-dimensional Raman mapping, and the NW-to-NW reproducibility was verified by the cumulative curves of 32 SERS spectra. The simulation also indicated that a highly regular, line-shaped hot spot formed between the Au NW and graphene. Furthermore, SNOG platforms showed improved photostability and long-term oxidation immunity. We anticipate that SNOG platforms will be appropriate for practical biological and chemical sensor applications that demand reproducible, stable, and strong signal production.

Low-temperature growth of layered molybdenum disulphide with controlled clusters.

Layered molybdenum disulphide was grown at a low-temperature of 350 °C using chemical vapour deposition by elaborately controlling the cluster size. The molybdenum disulphide grown under various sulphur-reaction-gas to molybdenum-precursor partial-pressure ratios were examined. Using spectroscopy and microscopy, the effect of the cluster size on the layered growth was investigated in terms of the morphology, grain size, and impurity incorporation. Triangular single-crystal domains were grown at an optimized sulphur-reaction-gas to molybdenum-precursor partial-pressure ratio. Furthermore, it is proved that the nucleation sites on the silicon-dioxide substrate were related with the grain size. A polycrystalline monolayer with the 100-nm grain size was grown on a nucleation site confined substrate by high-vacuum annealing. In addition, a field-effect transistor was fabricated with a MoS2 monolayer and exhibited a mobility and on/off ratio of 0.15 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) and 10(5), respectively.

Extraordinary Strong Fluorescence Evolution in Phosphor on Graphene.

Optical transition between singlet and triplet is observed in phosphorescent platinum octaethylporphyrin (PtOEP), on a graphene substrate. PtOEP on single layer of graphene not only modulates the dominant emission wavelength but also enhances the emission intensity. This result addresses new light-matter interactions of the hybrid structure of graphene and a single molecule.

Large-area single-layer MoSe2 and its van der Waals heterostructures.

Layered structures of transition metal dichalcogenides stacked by van der Waals interactions are now attracting the attention of many researchers because they have fascinating electronic, optical, thermoelectric, and catalytic properties emerging at the monolayer limit. However, the commonly used methods for preparing monolayers have limitations of low yield and poor extendibility into large-area applications. Herein, we demonstrate the synthesis of large-area MoSe2 with high quality and uniformity by selenization of MoO3 via chemical vapor deposition on arbitrary substrates such as SiO2 and sapphire. The resultant monolayer was intrinsically doped, as evidenced by the formation of charged excitons under low-temperature photoluminescence analysis. A van der Waals heterostructure of MoSe2 on graphene was also demonstrated. Interestingly, the MoSe2/graphene heterostructures show strong quenching of the characteristic photoluminescence from MoSe2, indicating the rapid transfer of photogenerated charge carriers between MoSe2 and graphene. The development of highly controlled heterostructures of two-dimensional materials will further promote advances in the physics and chemistry of reduced dimensional systems and will provide novel applications in electronics and optoelectronics.

Identification of metalloporphyrins with high sensitivity using graphene-enhanced resonance Raman scattering.

Graphene-enhanced resonance Raman scattering (GERRS) was performed for the detection of three different metallo-octaethylporphyrins (M-OEPs; M = 2H, FeCl, and Pt) homogeneously thermal vapor deposited on a graphene surface. GERRS of M-OEPs were measured using three different excitation wavelengths, λ(ex) = 405, 532, and 633 nm, and characterized detail vibrational bands for the identification of M-OEPs. The GERRS spectra of Pt-OEP at λ(ex) = 532 nm showed ~29 and ~162 times signal enhancement ratio on graphene and on graphene with Ag nanoclusters, respectively, compared to the spectra from bare SiO2 substrate. This enhancement ratio, however, was varied with M-OEPs and excitation wavelengths. The characteristic peaks and band shapes of GERRS for each M-OEP were measured with high sensitivity (100 pmol of thermal vapor deposited Pt-OEP), and these facilitate the selectively recognition of molecules. Also, the peaks shift and broadening provide the evidence of the interaction between graphene and M-OEPs through the charge transfer and π-orbital interaction. The increase of graphene layer induced the decrease of signal intensity and GERRS effect was almost not observed on the thick graphite flakes. Further experiments with various substrates demonstrated that the interaction of single layer of graphene with molecule is the origin of the Raman signal enhancement of M-OEPs. In this experiment, we proved the graphene is a good alternative substrate of Raman spectroscopy for the selective detection of various metalloporphyrins with high sensitivity.