Ultrathin Serpentine Insulation Layer Architecture for Ultralow Power Gas Sensor.

Toxic gases have surreptitiously influenced the health and environment of contemporary society with their odorless/colorless characteristics. As a result, a pressing need for reliable and portable gas-sensing devices has continuously increased. However, with their negligence to efficiently microstructure their bulky supportive layer on which the sensing and heating materials are located, previous semiconductor metal-oxide gas sensors have been unable to fully enhance their power efficiency, a critical factor in power-stringent portable devices. Herein, an ultrathin insulation layer with a unique serpentine architecture is proposed for the development of a power-efficient gas sensor, consuming only 2.3 mW with an operating temperature of 300 °C (≈6% of the leading commercial product). Utilizing a mechanically robust serpentine design, this work presents a fully suspended standalone device with a supportive layer thickness of only ≈50 nm. The developed gas sensor shows excellent mechanical durability, operating over 10 000 on/off cycles and ≈2 years of life expectancy under continuous operation. The gas sensor detected carbon monoxide concentrations from 30 to 1 ppm with an average response time of ≈15 s and distinguishable sensitivity to 1 ppm (ΔR/R0 = 5%). The mass-producible fabrication and heating efficiency presented here provide an exemplary platform for diverse power-efficient-related devices.

Realization of Nanolene: A Planar Array of Perfectly Aligned, Air-Suspended Nanowires.

Air suspension and alignment are fundamental requirements to make the best use of nanowires' unique properties; however, satisfying both requirements is very challenging due to the mechanical instability of air-suspended nanowires. Here, a perfectly aligned air-suspended nanowire array called "nanolene" is demonstrated, which has a high mechanical stability owing to a C-channel-shaped cross-section of the nanowires. The excellent mechanical stability is provided through geometrical modeling and finite element method simulations. The C-channel cross-section can be realized by top-down fabrication procedures, resulting in reliable demonstrations of the nanolenes with various materials and geometric parameters. The fabrication process provides large-area uniformity; therefore, nanolene can be considered as a 2D planar platform for 1D nanowire arrays. Thanks to the high mechanical stability of the proposed nanolene, perfectly aligned air-suspended nanowire arrays with an unprecedented length of 1 mm (aspect ratio ≈5100) are demonstrated. Since the nanolene can be used in an energy-efficient nanoheater, two energy-stringent sensors, namely, an air-flow sensor and a carbon monoxide gas sensor, are demonstrated. In particular, the gas sensor achieves sub-10 mW operations, which is a requirement for application in mobile phones. The proposed nanolene will pave the way to accelerate nanowire research and industrialization by providing reliable, high-performance nanowire devices.

Edge-lit LCD backlight unit for 2D local dimming.

Local dimming technology has been highly desired for integration with liquid crystal displays (LCDs) in order to improve their contrast ratios (CRs) as well as to overcome power efficiency bottlenecks. In this paper, we propose and demonstrate a slim (~1 mm) edge-lit LCD backlight unit (BLU) capable of 2D local dimming. We designed a semi-partitioned light guide plate (LGP) patterned with inverse-trapezoidal microstructures, which allows the ultra-slim BLU to function without prism sheets. Since light emitting diodes (LEDs) are placed in the middle of the LGP, the BLU can freely define illuminated areas and the whole BLU can be modularly expanded like a tile canvas. The fabricated BLU achieves uniformity in both local and global luminance distributions, as well as in high local dimming performance. Experimentally, the BLU increases the CR of the display up to two orders of magnitude compared to conventional BLUs.

High-performance hybrid complementary logic inverter through monolithic integration of a MEMS switch and an oxide TFT.

A hybrid complementary logic inverter consisting of a microelectromechanical system switch as a promising alternative for the p-type oxide thin film transistor (TFT) and an n-type oxide TFT is presented for ultralow power integrated circuits. These heterogeneous microdevices are monolithically integrated. The resulting logic device shows a distinctive voltage transfer characteristic curve, very low static leakage, zero-short circuit current, and exceedingly high voltage gain.

Novel buried inverse-trapezoidal micropattern for dual-sided light extracting backlight unit.

We devised a novel buried inverse-trapezoidal (BIT) micropattern that can enable light extracting to both front and back sides of the backlight unit (BLU). The proposed BLU comprised of only a single-sheet light-guide plate (LGP) having the BIT micropatterns only on the top surface of the LGP. The proposed BLU shows normal directional light emitting characteristics to both the front and back sides of the LGP and successfully acts as a planer light source for a dual-sided LCD. The proposed BLU has the potential to dramatically reduce the thickness, weight and cost of the dual-sided LCD thanks to its single-sheet nature.

High throughput ultralong (20 cm) nanowire fabrication using a wafer-scale nanograting template.

Nanowires are being actively explored as promising nanostructured materials for high performance flexible electronics, biochemical sensors, photonic applications, solar cells, and secondary batteries. In particular, ultralong (centimeter-long) nanowires are highly attractive from the perspective of electronic performance, device throughput (or productivity), and the possibility of novel applications. However, most previous works on ultralong nanowires have issues related to limited length, productivity, difficult alignment, and deploying onto the planar substrate complying with well-matured device fabrication technologies. Here, we demonstrate a highly ordered ultralong (up to 20 cm) nanowire array, with a diameter of 50 nm (aspect ratio of up to 4,000,000:1), in an unprecedented large (8 in.) scale (2,000,000 strands on a wafer). We first devised a perfectly connected ultralong nanograting master template on the whole area of an 8 in. substrate using a top-down approach, with a density equivalent to that achieved with e-beam lithography (100 nm). Using this large-area, ultralong, high-density nanograting template, we developed a fast and effective method for fabricating up to 20 cm long nanowire arrays on a plastic substrate, composed of metal, dielectric, oxide, and ferroelectric materials. As a suggestion of practical application, a prototype of a large-area aluminum wire grid polarizer was demonstrated.

Quintic refractive index profile-based funnel-shaped silicon antireflective structures for enhanced photodetector performance.

Antireflection, vital in optoelectronics devices such as solar cells and photodetectors, reduces light reflection and increases absorption. Antireflective structures (ARS), a primary method by which to realize this effect, control the refractive index (RI) profile based on their shape. The antireflection efficiency depends on the refractive index profile, with the quintic RI profile being recognized as ideal for superior antireflection. However, fabricating nano-sized structures with a desired shape, particularly in silicon with a quintic RI profile, has been a challenge. In this study, we introduce a funnel-shaped silicon (Si) ARS with a quintic RI profile. Its antireflective properties are demonstrated through reflectance measurements and by an application to a photodetector surface. Compared to the film Si and cone-shaped ARS types, which are common structures to achieve antireflection, the funnel-shaped ARS showed reflectance of 4.24% at 760 nm, whereas those of the film Si and cone-shaped ARS were 32.8% and 10.6%, respectively. Photodetectors with the funnel-shaped ARS showed responsivity of 0.077 A/W at 950 nm, which is 19.54 times higher than that with the film Si and 2.45 times higher than that with the cone-shaped ARS.

Fast-Response and Low-Power Self-Heating Gas Sensor Using Metal/Metal Oxide/Metal (MMOM) Structured Nanowires.

With the escalating global awareness of air quality management, the need for continuous and reliable monitoring of toxic gases by using low-power operating systems has become increasingly important. One of which, semiconductor metal oxide gas sensors have received great attention due to their high/fast response and simple working mechanism. More specifically, self-heating metal oxide gas sensors, wherein direct thermal activation in the sensing material, have been sought for their low power-consuming characteristics. However, previous works have neglected to address the temperature distribution within the sensing material, resulting in inefficient gas response and prolonged response/recovery times, particularly due to the low-temperature regions. Here, we present a unique metal/metal oxide/metal (MMOM) nanowire architecture that conductively confines heat to the sensing material, achieving high uniformity in the temperature distribution. The proposed structure enables uniform thermal activation within the sensing material, allowing the sensor to efficiently react with the toxic gas. As a result, the proposed MMOM gas sensor showed significantly enhanced gas response (from 6.7 to 20.1% at 30 ppm), response time (from 195 to 17 s at 30 ppm), and limit of detection (∼1 ppm) when compared to those of conventional single-material structures upon exposure to carbon monoxide. Furthermore, the proposed work demonstrated low power consumption (2.36 mW) and high thermal durability (1500 on/off cycles), demonstrating its potential for practical applications in reliable and low-power operating gas sensor systems. These results propose a new paradigm for power-efficient and robust self-heating metal oxide gas sensors with potential implications for other fields requiring thermal engineering.

An experimental and numerical study on adhesion force at the nanoscale.

Adhesion has attracted great interest in science and engineering especially in the field pertaining to nano-science because every form of physical contact is fundamentally a macroscopic observation of interactions between nano-asperities under the adhesion phenomenon. Despite its importance, no practical adhesion prediction model has been developed due to the complexity of examining contact between nano-asperities. Here, we scrutinized the contact phenomenon and developed a contact model, reflecting the physical sequence in which adhesion develops. For the first time ever, our model analyzes the adhesion force and contact properties, such as separation distance, contact location, actual contact area, and the physical deformation of the asperities, between rough surfaces. Through experiments using atomic force microscopy, we demonstrated a low absolute percentage error of 2.8% and 6.55% between the experimental and derived data for Si-Si and Mo-Mo contacts, respectively, and proved the accuracy and practicality of our model in the analysis of the adhesion phenomenon.

Actively transparent display with enhanced legibility based on an organic light-emitting diode and a cholesteric liquid crystal blind panel.

Transparent display is one of the most promising concepts among the next generation information display devices. Nevertheless, conventional transparent displays have two inherent problems: low forward light efficiency due to the light being emitted also in a backward direction; and low legibility due to the visual interruption caused by the light coming from the background. In this work, a cholesteric liquid crystal (Ch-LC) based, actively operational blind panel is combined with transparent organic light-emitting diodes (TR-OLEDs) to recycle the light wasted by backward propagation in transparent displays while blocking the light from behind the display, pursuing both improved forward light efficiency and enhanced image legibility. By tuning the reflectance spectrum of the Ch-LC panel to match the emission spectrum of TR-OLEDs, we achieved luminous efficiency increase by as large as 21% (85%) when the top metal cathode side (the bottom ITO side) of the OLEDs fa'transparent OLED' ces the blind panel. Maximum transmittance of the proposed device reached a high value of 60%, successfully demonstrating a new window-like transparent display concept.

Sub-10 fJ/bit radiation-hard nanoelectromechanical non-volatile memory.

With the exponential growth of the semiconductor industry, radiation-hardness has become an indispensable property of memory devices. However, implementation of radiation-hardened semiconductor memory devices inevitably requires various radiation-hardening technologies from the layout level to the system level, and such technologies incur a significant energy overhead. Thus, there is a growing demand for emerging memory devices that are energy-efficient and intrinsically radiation-hard. Here, we report a nanoelectromechanical non-volatile memory (NEM-NVM) with an ultra-low energy consumption and radiation-hardness. To achieve an ultra-low operating energy of less than 10 [Formula: see text], we introduce an out-of-plane electrode configuration and electrothermal erase operation. These approaches enable the NEM-NVM to be programmed with an ultra-low energy of 2.83 [Formula: see text]. Furthermore, due to its mechanically operating mechanisms and radiation-robust structural material, the NEM-NVM retains its superb characteristics without radiation-induced degradation such as increased leakage current, threshold voltage shift, and unintended bit-flip even after 1 Mrad irradiation.

Ultrafast (∼0.6 s), Robust, and Highly Linear Hydrogen Detection up to 10% Using Fully Suspended Pure Pd Nanowire.

The high explosiveness of hydrogen gas in the air necessitates prompt detection in settings where hydrogen is used. For this reason, hydrogen sensors are required to offer rapid detection and possess superior sensing characteristics in terms of measurement range, linearity, selectivity, lifetime, and environment insensitivity according to the publicized protocol. However, previous approaches have only partially achieved the standardized requirements and have been limited in their capability to develop reliable materials for spatially accessible systems. Here, an electrical hydrogen sensor with an ultrafast response (∼0.6 s) satisfying all demands for hydrogen detection is demonstrated. Tailoring structural engineering based on the reaction kinetics of hydrogen and palladium, an optimized heating architecture that thermally activates fully suspended palladium (Pd) nanowires at a uniform temperature is designed. The developed Pd nanostructure, at a designated temperature distribution, rapidly reacts with hydrogen, enabling a hysteresis-free response from 0.1% to 10% and durable characteristics in mechanical shock and repetitive operation (>10,000 cycles). Moreover, the device selectively detects hydrogen without performance degradation in humid or carbon-based interfering gas circumstances. Finally, to verify spatial accessibility, the wireless hydrogen detection system has been demonstrated, detecting and reporting hydrogen leakage in real-time within just 1 s.

Wireless and Linear Hydrogen Detection up to 4% with High Sensitivity through Phase-Transition-Inhibited Pd Nanowires.

Palladium (Pd) has been drawing increasing attention as a hydrogen (H2) detecting material due to its highly selective sensitivity to H2. However, at H2 concentrations above 2%, Pd undergoes an inevitable phase transition, causing undesirable electrical and mechanical alterations. In particular, nonlinear gas response (ΔR/R0) that accompanies phase transition has been a great bottleneck for detecting H2 in high concentrations, which is especially important as there is a risk of explosion over 4% H2. Here, we propose a phase-transition-inhibited Pd nanowire H2 sensor that can detect up to 4% H2 with high linearity and high sensitivity. Based on the calculation of the change in free energy, we designed Pd nanowires that are highly adhered to the substrate to withstand the stress that leads to phase transition. We theoretically optimized the Pd nanowire dimensions using a finite element method simulation and then experimentally fabricated the proposed sensor by exploiting a developed nanofabrication method. The proposed sensor exhibits a high sensing linearity (98.9%) with high and stable sensitivity (ΔR/R0/[H2] = 875%·bar-1) over a full range of H2 concentrations (0.1-4%). Using the fabricated Pd sensors, we have successfully demonstrated a wireless sensor module that can detect H2 with high linearity, notifying real-time H2 leakage through remote communication. Overall, our work suggests a nanostructuring strategy for detecting H2 with a phase-transition-inhibited pure Pd H2 sensor with rigorous scientific exploration.

Aligned CuO nanowire array for a high performance visible light photodetector.

Recently, copper oxide (CuO) has drawn much attention as a promising material in visible light photodetection with its advantages in ease of nanofabrication. CuO allows a variety of nanostructures to be explored to enhance the optoelectrical performance such as photogenerated carriers scattering and bandgap engineering. However, previous researches neglect in-depth analysis of CuO's light interaction effects, restrictively using random orientation such as randomly arranged nanowires, single nanowires, and dispersed nanoparticles. Here, we demonstrate an ultra-high performance CuO visible light photodetector utilizing perfectly-aligned nanowire array structures. CuO nanowires with 300 nm-width critical dimension suppressed carrier transport in the dark state and enhanced the conversion of photons to carriers; additionally, the aligned arrangement of the nanowires with designed geometry improved the light absorption by means of the constructive interference effect. The proposed nanostructures provide advantages in terms of dark current, photocurrent, and response time, showing unprecedentedly high (state-of-the-art) optoelectronic performance, including high values of sensitivity (S = 172.21%), photo-responsivity (R = 16.03 A/W, λ = 535 nm), photo-detectivity (D* = 7.78 × 1011 Jones), rise/decay time (τr/τd = 0.31 s/1.21 s).

Integration of Gold Nanoparticle-Carbon Nanotube Composite for Enhanced Contact Lifetime of Microelectromechanical Switches with Very Low Contact Resistance.

Electrical circuits require ideal switches with low power consumption for future electronic applications. However, transistors, the most developed electrical switches available currently, have certain fundamental limitations such as increased leakage current and limited subthreshold swing. To overcome these limitations, micromechanical switches have been extensively studied; however, it is challenging to develop micromechanical switches with high endurance and low contact resistance. This study demonstrates highly reliable microelectromechanical switches using nanocomposites. Nanocomposites consisting of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are coated on contact electrodes as contact surfaces through a scalable and solution-based fabrication process. While deformable CNTs in the nanocomposite increase the effective contact area under mechanical loads, highly conductive Au NPs provide current paths with low contact resistance between CNTs. Given these advantages, the switches exhibit robust switching operations over 5 × 106 cycles under hot-switching conditions in air. The switches also show low contact resistance without subthreshold region, an extremely small leakage current, and a high on/off ratio.

Analytical modeling and thermodynamic analysis of robust superhydrophobic surfaces with inverse-trapezoidal microstructures.

A polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer surface with perfectly ordered microstructures having an inverse-trapezoidal cross-sectional profile (simply PDMS trapezoids) showed superhydrophobic and transparent characteristics under visible light as reported in our previous work. The addition of a fluoropolymer (Teflon) coating enhances both features and provides oleophobicity. This paper focuses on the analytical modeling of the fabricated PDMS trapezoids structure and thermodynamic analysis based on the Gibbs free energy analysis. Additionally, the wetting characteristics of the fabricated PDMS trapezoids surface before and after the application of the Teflon coating are analytically explained. The Gibbs free energy analysis reveals that, due to the Teflon coating, the Cassie-Baxter state becomes energetically more favorable than the Wenzel state and the contact angle difference between the Cassie-Baxter state and the Wenzel state decreases. These two findings support the robustness of the superhydrophobicity of the fabricated Teflon-coated PDMS trapezoids. This is then verified via the impinging test of a water droplet at a high speed. The dependencies of the design parameters in the PDMS trapezoids on the hydrophobicity are also comprehensively studied through a thermodynamic analysis. Geometrical dependency on the hydrophobicity shows that overhang microstructures do not have a significant influence on the hydrophobicity. In contrast, the intrinsic contact angle of the structural material is most important in determining the apparent contact angle. On the other hand, the experimental results showed that the side angles of the overhangs are critical not for the hydrophobic but for the oleophobic property with liquids of a low surface tension. Understanding of design parameters in the PDMS trapezoids surface gives more information for implementation of superhydrophobic surfaces.

Electrowetting on a polymer microlens array.

This paper reports on the electrowetting behavior of a flexible poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microlens array. A Cr and Au double-layered electrode was formed on an array of microlenses with diameters of 10 microm and heights of 13 microm. A deposition of parylene and a coating of Teflon were followed for electrical insulation as well as for enhancement of the hydrophobicity. On the nearly superhydrophobic microlens array surface, the electrowetting of a deionized water droplet was observed over the contact angle range of approximately 140 degrees to approximately 58 degrees by applying 0-200 V, respectively. The electrowetting phenomenon was reversible even in air environment with applied voltages of less than 100 V. The electrowetting on the microlens array surface lost its reversibility after the microlens array surface was completely wetted when the water meniscus touched the bottom of the microlens array. Analysis of meniscus shapes and net force direction follows to elucidate the reversibility. The convex curvature of the microlens caused gradual rather than abrupt impalement of water into the gap among the microlenses.

Geometrically Structured Nanomaterials for Nanosensors, NEMS, and Nanosieves.

Recently, geometrically structured nanomaterials have received great attention due to their unique physical and chemical properties, which originate from the geometric variation in such materials. Indeed, the use of various geometrically structured nanomaterials has been actively reported in enhanced-performance devices in a wide range of applications. Recent significant progress in the development of geometrically structured nanomaterials and associated devices is summarized. First, a brief introduction of advanced nanofabrication methods that enable the fabrication of various geometrically structured nanomaterials is given, and then the performance enhancements achieved in devices utilizing these nanomaterials, namely, i) physical and gas nanosensors, ii) nanoelectromechanical devices, and iii) nanosieves are described. For the device applications, a systematic summary of their structures, working mechanisms, fabrication methods, and output performance is provided. Particular focus is given to how device performance can be enhanced through the geometric structures of the nanomaterials. Finally, perspectives on the development of novel nanomaterial structures and associated devices are presented.

Chemo-Mechanically Operating Palladium-Polymer Nanograting Film for a Self-Powered H2 Gas Sensor.

This study proposes a reliable and self-powered hydrogen (H2) gas sensor composed of a chemo-mechanically operating nanostructured film and photovoltaic cell. Specifically, the nanostructured film has a configuration in which an asymmetrically coated palladium (Pd) film is coated on a periodic polyurethane acrylate (PUA) nanograting. The asymmetric Pd nanostructures, optimized by a finite element method simulation, swell upon reacting with H2 and thereby bend the PUA nanograting, changing the amount of transmitted light and the current output of the photovoltaic cell. Since the degree of warping is determined by the concentration of H2 gas, a wide concentration range of H2 (0.1-4.0%) can be detected by measuring the self-generated electrical current of the photovoltaic cell without external power. The normalized output current changes are ∼1.5%, ∼2.8%, ∼3.5%, ∼5.0%, ∼21.5%, and 25.3% when the concentrations of H2 gas are 0.1%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.6%, 2%, and 4%, respectively. Moreover, because Pd is highly chemically reactive to H2 and also because there is no electrical current applied through Pd, the proposed sensor can avoid device failure due to the breakage of the Pd sensing material, resulting in high reliability, and can show high selectivity against various gases such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen dioxide, and water vapor. Finally, using only ambient visible light, the sensor was modularized to produce an alarm in the presence of H2 gas, verifying a potential always-on H2 gas monitoring application.

A conventional route to scalable morphology-controlled regular structures and their superhydrophobic/hydrophilic properties for biochips application.

We use a conventional and straightforward route to fabricate scalable morphology-controlled regular structures. This route is based on the etching of PDMS microlens array in CF4 and CF4/O2 plasma. PDMS microlens array can be changed to regularly isolated microdot structures array in CF4 plasma. Microbowl shaped structures array can be reached in CF4/O2 plasma. Moreover, a set of structures after CF4 plasma treatment display superhydrophobicity, while a set of structures after CF4/O2 plasma treatment present hydrophilicity. DNA molecules can be readily enriched on the hydrophilic surface. We believe that the regular structure array surfaces provide a useful inspiration towards biomolecular detection and transportation in biochips.