Microscopic sensors using optical wireless integrated circuits.

We present a platform for parallel production of standalone, untethered electronic sensors that are truly microscopic, i.e., smaller than the resolution of the naked eye. This platform heterogeneously integrates silicon electronics and inorganic microlight emitting diodes (LEDs) into a 100-µm-scale package that is powered by and communicates with light. The devices are fabricated, packaged, and released in parallel using photolithographic techniques, resulting in ∼10,000 individual sensors per square inch. To illustrate their use, we show proof-of-concept measurements recording voltage, temperature, pressure, and conductivity in a variety of environments.

Fabrication of Injectable Micro-Scale Opto-Electronically Transduced Electrodes (MOTEs) for Physiological Monitoring.

In vivo, chronic neural recording is critical to understand the nervous system, while a tetherless, miniaturized recording unit can render such recording minimally invasive. We present a tetherless, injectable micro-scale opto-electronically transduced electrode (MOTE) that is ~60µm × 30µm × 330µm, the smallest neural recording unit to date. The MOTE consists of an AlGaAs micro-scale light emitting diode (µLED) heterogeneously integrated on top of conventional 180nm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) circuit. The MOTE combines the merits of optics (AlGaAs µLED for power and data uplink), and of electronics (CMOS for signal amplification and encoding). The optical powering and communication enable the extreme scaling while the electrical circuits provide a high temporal resolution (<100µs). This paper elaborates on the heterogeneous integration in MOTEs, a topic that has been touted without much demonstration on feasibility or scalability. Based on photolithography, we demonstrate how to build heterogenous systems that are scalable as well as biologically stable - the MOTEs can function in saline water for more than six months, and in a mouse brain for two months (and counting). We also present handling/insertion techniques for users (i.e. biologists) to deploy MOTEs with little or no extra training.

Temperature Dependence of Wavelength Selectable Zero-Phonon Emission from Single Defects in Hexagonal Boron Nitride.

We investigate the distribution and temperature-dependent optical properties of sharp, zero-phonon emission from defect-based single photon sources in multilayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) flakes. We observe sharp emission lines from optically active defects distributed across an energy range that exceeds 500 meV. Spectrally resolved photon-correlation measurements verify single photon emission, even when multiple emission lines are simultaneously excited within the same h-BN flake. We also present a detailed study of the temperature-dependent line width, spectral energy shift, and intensity for two different zero-phonon lines centered at 575 and 682 nm, which reveals a nearly identical temperature dependence despite a large difference in transition energy. Our temperature-dependent results are well described by a lattice vibration model that considers piezoelectric coupling to in-plane phonons. Finally, polarization spectroscopy measurements suggest that whereas the 575 nm emission line is directly excited by 532 nm excitation, the 682 nm line is excited indirectly.

Mechanistic Insight into Etching Chemistry and HF-Assisted Etching of MgO-Al2O3-SiO2 Glass-Ceramic.

The present study focuses on the etching conditions and mechanism of MgO-Al2O3-SiO2 glass-ceramic (MAS) in hydrofluoric acid (HF). The results show that the amorphous phase has 218 times higher etching rate than pure cordierite crystal at room temperature. In addition, the activation energies of cordierite and amorphous phases in the HF solution are 52.5 and 30.6 kJ/mol, respectively. The time (tad) taken for complete dissolution of the amorphous phase depends on the HF concentration (CHF). Based on the etching experiments, a new model is established and refined to assess the tad evolution. In addition, a highly crystalline cordierite phase, with the high specific surface area (59.4 m²·g-1) and mesoporous structure, has been obtained by HF etching. This paper presents novel insights into the etching chemistry and opens up avenues for further research in the area of cordierite-based catalytic ceramics.

Overexpression of FADD and Caspase-8 inhibits proliferation and promotes apoptosis of human glioblastoma cells.

INTRODUCTION: The study aimed at exploring the effects involved in Fas-Associated protein with Death Domain (FADD) expression and cysteine-aspartic acid specific protease-8 (Caspase-8) in relation to the proliferation and apoptosis of human glioblastoma (GBM) cells. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 93 GBM tissues and 64 normal brain tissues were the central mediums used for the investigation of the study. Cultured human GBM SC189 cells were divided into separate groups including the blank negative control (NC), FADD and Caspase-8 groups. The mRNA and protein expressions of FADD and Caspase-8 in tissues and human glioblastoma (GBM) cells were detected using qRT-PCR and Western blotting techniques. Cell proliferation was tested by CCK-8. Flow cytometry was used for the measure of cell cycle and apoptosis rates. RESULTS: The mRNA and protein expressions of FADD and Caspase-8 in GBM tissues were less than the levels of expression displayed in normal brain tissues. Correlations between the expressions of FADD and Caspase-8 in GBM tissues were analyzed as being linked with the clinical grades of GBM patients. Patients in stage III+IV displayed lower expressions of FADD and Caspase-8 than patients in stage I+II. In comparison with the blank group, the FADD and Caspase-8 groups showed decreased proliferation rates of SHG44 cells and lower ratios of cells in the S phase and Bcl-2 expression. Greater ratios of cells in the G0/G1 stage as well as increased cell apoptosis and expressions of Caspase-8 and Bax were exhibited. The expression of FADD in the FADD group was higher than the blank group, however no significant differences in FADD expression was observed between the blank and Caspase-8 groups. CONCLUSION: The data obtained during the study demonstrated that overexpression of FADD and Caspase-8 suppresses proliferation whilst promoting the apoptosis of human GBM cells.

Chemical Vapor Deposition Growth of Large Single-Crystal Mono-, Bi-, Tri-Layer Hexagonal Boron Nitride and Their Interlayer Stacking.

Two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a wide bandgap material which has promising mechanical and optical properties. Here we report the realization of an initial nucleation density of h-BN <1 per mm2 using low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on polycrystalline copper. This enabled wafer-scale CVD growth of single-crystal monolayer h-BN with a lateral size up to ∼300 µm, bilayer h-BN with a lateral size up to ∼60 µm, and trilayer h-BN with a lateral size up to ∼35 µm. Based on the large single-crystal monolayer h-BN domain, the sizes of the as-grown bi- and trilayer h-BN grains are 2 orders of magnitude larger than typical h-BN multilayer domains. In addition, we achieved coalesced h-BN films with an average grain size ∼100 µm. Various flake morphologies and their interlayer stacking configurations of bi- and trilayer h-BN domains were studied. Raman signatures of mono- and multilayer h-BN were investigated side by side in the same film. It was found that the Raman peak intensity can be used as a marker for the number of layers.

Valley carrier dynamics in monolayer molybdenum disulfide from helicity-resolved ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy.

We investigate the valley-related carrier dynamics in monolayer molybdenum disulfide using helicity-resolved nondegenerate ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy at the vicinity of the high-symmetry K point under the temperature down to 78 K. Monolayer molybdenum disulfide shows remarkable transient reflection signals, in stark contrast to bilayer and bulk molybdenum disulfide due to the enhancement of many-body effect at reduced dimensionality. The helicity-resolved ultrafast time-resolved result shows that the valley polarization is preserved for only several picoseconds before the scattering process makes it undistinguishable. We suggest that the dynamical degradation of valley polarization is attributable primarily to the exciton trapping by defect states in the exfoliated molybdenum disulfide samples. Our experiment and a tight-binding model analysis also show that the perfect valley circular dichroism selectivity is fairly robust against disorder at the K point but quickly decays from the high-symmetry point in the momentum space in the presence of disorder.