dCas9-mediated Nanoelectrokinetic Direct Detection of Target Gene for Liquid Biopsy.

The-state-of-the-art bio- and nanotechnology have opened up an avenue to noninvasive liquid biopsy for identifying diseases from biomolecules in bloodstream, especially DNA. In this work, we combined sequence-specific-labeling scheme using mutated clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats associated protein 9 without endonuclease activity (CRISPR/dCas9) and ion concentration polarization (ICP) phenomenon as a mechanism to selectively preconcentrate targeted DNA molecules for rapid and direct detection. Theoretical analysis on ICP phenomenon figured out a critical mobility, elucidating two distinguishable concentrating behaviors near a nanojunction, a stacking and a propagating behavior. Through the modulation of the critical mobility to shift those behaviors, the C-C chemokine receptor type 5 ( CCR5) sequences were optically detected without PCR amplification. Conclusively, the proposed dCas9-mediated genetic detection methodology based on ICP would provide rapid and accurate micro/nanofluidic platform of liquid biopsies for disease diagnostics.

Flexible piezoelectric nanogenerators based on a transferred ZnO nanorod/Si micro-pillar array.

Flexible piezoelectric nanogenerators (PNGs) based on a composite of ZnO nanorods (NRs) and an array of Si micro-pillars (MPs) are demonstrated by a transfer process. The flexible composite structure was fabricated by hydrothermal growth of ZnO NRs on an electrochemically etched Si MP array with various lengths followed by mechanically delaminating the Si MP arrays from the Si substrate after embedding them in a polydimethylsiloxane matrix. Because the Si MP arrays act as a supporter to connect the ZnO NRs electrically and mechanically, verified by capacitance measurement, the output voltage from the flexible PNGs increased systematically with the increased density ZnO NRs depending on the length of the Si MPs. The flexible PNGs showed 3.2 times higher output voltage with a small change in current with increasing Si MP length from 5 to 20 µm. The enhancement of the output voltage is due to the increased number of series-connected ZnO NRs and the beneficial effect of a ZnO NR/Si MP heterojunction on reducing free charge screening effects. The flexible PNGs can be attached on fingers as a wearable electrical power source or motion sensor.

Output power enhancement from ZnO nanorods piezoelectric nanogenerators by Si microhole arrays.

We demonstrate the enhancement of output power from a ZnO nanorod (NR)-based piezoelectric nanogenerator by using Si microhole (Si-µH) arrays. The depth-controlled Si-µH arrays were fabricated by using the deep reactive ion etching method. The ZnO NRs were grown along the Si-µH surface, in holes deeper than 20 µm. The polymer layer, polydimethylsiloxane, which acts a stress diffuser and electrical insulator, was successfully penetrated into the deep Si-µH arrays. Optical investigations show that the crystalline quality of the ZnO NRs on the Si-µH arrays was not degraded, even though they were grown on the deeper Si-µH arrays. As the depth of the Si-µH arrays increase from 0 to 20 µm, the output voltage was enhanced by around 8.1 times while the current did not increase. Finally, an output power enhancement of ten times was obtained. This enhancement of the output power was consistent with the increase in the surface area, and was mainly attributed to the accumulation of the potentials generated by the series-connected ZnO NR-based nanogenerators, whose number increases as the depth of the Si-µH increases.

Dependence of performance of Si nanowire solar cells on geometry of the nanowires.

The dependence of performance of silicon nanowires (SiNWs) solar cells on the growth condition of the SiNWs has been described. Metal-assisted electroless etching (MAE) technique has been used to grow SiNWs array. Different concentration of aqueous solution containing AgNO3 and HF for Ag deposition is used. The diameter and density of SiNWs are found to be dependent on concentration of solution used for Ag deposition. The diameter and density of SiNWs have been used to calculate the filling ratio of the SINWs arrays. The filling ratio is increased with increase in AgNO3 concentration, whereas it is decreased with increase in HF concentration. The minimum reflectance value achieved is ~1% for SiNWs of length of ~1.2 µ m in the wavelength range of 300-1000 nm. The performance and diode parameters strongly depend on the geometry of SiNWs. The maximum short circuit current density achieved is 35.6 mA/cm(2). The conversion efficiency of solar cell is 9.73% for SiNWs with length, diameter, and wire density of ~1.2 µ m, ~75 nm, and 90 µ m(-2), respectively.

Morphological evolution of silver nanoparticles and its effect on metal-induced chemical etching of silicon.

In this report, we have demonstrated the morphological evolution of the silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) by controlling the growth conditions and its effect on morphology of silicon (Si) during metal-induced electroless etching (MICE). Self-organized AgNPs with peculiarly shape were synthesized by an electroless plating method in a conventional aqueous hydrofluoric acid (HF) and silver nitrate (AgNO3) solution. AgNP nuclei were densely created on Si wafer surface, and they had a strong tendency to merge and form continuous metal films with increasing AgNO3 concentrations. Also, we have demonstrated that the fabrication of aligned Si nanowire (SiNW) arrays in large area of p-Si (111) substrates by MICE in a mixture of HF and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) solution. We have found that the morphology of the initial AgNPs and oxidant concentration (H2O2) greatly influence on the shape of the SiNW etching profile. The morphological results showed that AgNP shapes were closely related to the etching direction of SiNWs, that is, the spherical AgNPs preferred to move vertical to the Si substrate, whereas non-spherical AgNPs changed their movement to the [100] directions. In addition, as the etching activity was increased at higher H2O2 concentrations, AgNPs had a tendency to move from the original [111] direction to the energetically preferred [100] direction.

Fabrication and characterization of hybrid Si/ZnO subwavelength structures as efficient antireflection layer.

In this study, we fabricated and characterized three dimensional (3D) silicon (Si)/zinc oxide (ZnO) hybrid subwavelength structures to investigate their antireflective properties. Si nanorods (SiNRs) were fabricated by electrochemical etching, and subsequentially we grew ZnO NRs on SiNR as templates by using hydrothermal synthesis. The morphological and optical properties of hybrid Si/ZnO subwavelength structures were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and ultra violet-visible-near infrared (UV-VIS-NIR) spectrophotometer, respectively. The reflectance on SiNRs is greatly reduced comparing with that on the conventional textured Si surface. Moreover, the hybrid SiNR/ZnO NR structures gave the lowest reflectance (< 3%) throughout the broadband spectrum range. We suggest that the combination of SiNRs and ZnO NRs trap light, leading to suppressing light reflection and increasing light scattering to the hybrid structures.

Surface plasmon-enhanced light-emission mechanism of Ag-coated ZnO/Al2O3 core/shell nanorod structures.

Surface plasmon (SP)-enhanced light emission mechanism has been investigated for the Ag-coated ZnO/Al2O3 core/shell nanorods (NRs). Structural characterizations showed that the ZnO NRs were covered by conformal Al2O3 layer and coated by Ag nanoparticles (NPs). The optical studies by photoluminescence (PL) showed abnormal variation of PL intensity with increasing the thickness of Al2O3. For the Ag NPs-coated ZnO NRs without Al2O3 shell layer, the PL emission quenched due to direct transfer of the photo-excited electrical carriers from ZnO NRs to Ag NPs. With thin Al2O3 layers less than 15 nm, the PL intensity increased with increasing the thickness of Al2O3 layers due to weakening of the Förster-type energy transfer while strong SP-mediated PL emission enhancement. For thicker Al2O3 layers than 15 nm, however, the PL intensity decreased with increasing the thickness of Al2O3 layers due to weakening of SP-mediated PL emission enhancement.

Controlled Growth of WO3 Photoanode under Various pH Conditions for Efficient Photoelectrochemical Performance.

Herein, the effects of the precursor solution's acidity level on the crystal structure, morphology, nucleation, and growth of WO3·nH2O and WO3 nanostructures are reported. Structural investigations on WO3·nH2O using X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy confirm that the quantity of hydrate groups increases due to the interaction between H+ and water molecules with increasing HCl volume. Surface analysis results support our claim that the evolution of grain size, surface roughness, and growth direction on WO3·nH2O and WO3 nanostructures rely on the precursor solution's pH value. Consequently, the photocurrent density of a WO3 photoanode using a HCl-5 mL sample achieves the best results with 0.9 mA/cm2 at 1.23 V vs. a reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). We suggest that the improved photocurrent density of the HCl-5 mL sample is due to the efficient light absorption from the densely grown WO3 nanoplates on a substrate and that its excellent charge transport kinetics originate from the large surface area, low charge transfer resistance, and fast ion diffusion through the photoanode/electrolyte interface.

Characteristics of Al-doped ZnO films grown by atomic layer deposition for silicon nanowire photovoltaic device.

We report the structural, electrical, and optical characteristics of Al-doped ZnO (ZnO:Al) films deposited on glass by atomic layer deposition (ALD) with various Al2O3 film contents for use as transparent electrodes. Unlike films fabricated by a sputtering method, the diffraction peak position of the films deposited by ALD progressively moved to a higher angle with increasing Al2O3 film content. This indicates that Zn sites were effectively replaced by Al, due to layer-by-layer growth mechanism of ALD process which is based on alternate self-limiting surface chemical reactions. By adjusting the Al2O3 film content, a ZnO:Al film with low electrical resistivity (9.84 x 10(-4) Omega cm) was obtained at an Al2O3 film content of 3.17%, where the Al concentration, carrier mobility, optical transmittance, and bandgap energy were 2.8 wt%, 11.20 cm2 V(-1) s(-1), 94.23%, and 3.6 eV, respectively. Moreover, the estimated figure of merit value of our best sample was 8.2 m7Omega(-1). These results suggest that ZnO:Al films deposited by ALD could be useful for electronic devices in which especially require 3-dimensional conformal deposition of the transparent electrode and surface passivation.

Polarization-insensitive broadband omni-directional anti-reflection in ZnO nanoneedle array for efficient solar energy harvesting.

Broadband omni-directional anti-reflection characteristics have been an important issue because they can maximize the optical absorption in photovoltaic devices. Here, we investigate the optical properties of ZnO nanoneedle arrays to demonstrate broadband anti-reflection, omni-directionality, and polarization insensitivity using optical simulations and experimental approaches. The results of this work clarify that the ZnO nanoneedle array plays an important role as a broadband anti-reflection layer due to its spatially graded refractive index, omni-directionality and polarization insensitivity. To take advantage of these structures, we prepared a ZnO nanoneedle array on the surface of conventional SiN x /planar Si solar cells to prove the broadband omni-directional anti-reflection for solar energy harvesting. Current density-voltage results show that SiN x /planar Si solar cells with ZnO nanoneedle arrays lead to a nearly 20% increase in power conversion efficiency compared to SiN x /planar Si solar cells, and a 9.3% enhancement in external quantum efficiency is obtained under identical conditions. Moreover, the photocurrent results of SiN x /planar Si solar cells with ZnO nanoneedle arrays clearly demonstrate the incident angle- and polarization-insensitive characteristics compared to those of typical SiN x /planar Si solar cells. Our results demonstrate the optical multi-functionality of ZnO nanoneedle arrays and pave the way for high-performance optoelectronic devices that require broadband omni-directional anti-reflection and polarization insensitivity.

Dynamics of driftless preconcentration using ion concentration polarization leveraged by convection and diffusion.

Over the past several decades, separation and preconcentration methods of (bio)molecules have been actively developed for various biomedical and chemical processes such as disease diagnostics, point of care test and environmental monitoring. Among the great developments of the electrokinetic method in a micro/nanofluidic platform is the ion concentration polarization (ICP) phenomenon, in which a target molecule is accumulated near a permselective nanoporous membrane under an applied electric field. ICP method has been actively studied due to its easy implementation and high preconcentration/separation efficiency. However, the dynamic behavior of preconcentrated analytes has not yet been fully studied, especially driftless migration, where the applied electric field is orthogonal to the direction of the drift migration. Here, we demonstrate anomalous shapes of preconcentrated analytes (either plug or dumbbell shape) and the morphologies were analytically modeled by the leverage of convection and diffusion migration. This model was experimentally verified with various lengths of DNA and the limiting cases (convection-free environment in paper-based microfluidic device and extremely low diffusivity of red blood cells) were also shown to confirm the model. Thus, this study not only provides an insight into the fundamental electrokinetic dynamics of molecules in an ICP platform but also plays a guiding role for the design of a nanofluidic preconcentrator for a lab on a chip application.

Investigation of the surface passivation mechanism through an Ag-doped Al-rich film using a solution process.

Electronic recombination loss is an important issue for photovoltaic (PV) devices. While it can be reduced by using a passivating layer, most of the techniques used to prepare passivating layers are either not cost effective or not applicable for device applications. Previously, it was reported that a low cost sol-gel derived Al-rich zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) film serves as an effective passivating layer for p-type silicon but is not effective for n-type silicon. Herein, we studied the elemental composition of the film and the interfacial structure of ZnO:Al:Ag/n-Si using TEM, XPS, FTIR, and SIMS analyses. The XPS analysis revealed that Ag-rich zones randomly formed in the film near the ZnO:Al:Ag//n-Si interface, which induced a positive charge at the interface. The maximal value of the effective minority carrier lifetime (τeff ≈ 1581 µs) is obtained for a wafer using the ZnO:Al:Ag passivating layer with RAg/Zn = 2%. The corresponding limiting surface recombination velocity is ∼16 cm s(-1). The FTIR absorption area of Si-H bonds is used to calculate the hydrogen content in the film. The hydrogen content is increased with increasing Ag content up to RAg/Zn = 2% to a maximal value of 3.89 × 10(22) atoms per cm(3) from 3.03 × 10(22) atoms per cm(3) for RAg/Zn = 0%. The positive charge induced at the interface may cause band bending, which would produce an electric field that repels the minority charge carriers from the interface to the bulk of n-Si. Two basic phenomena, chemical passivation due to Si-H bonding and field effect passivation due to the charge induced at the interface, have been observed for effective passivation of the n-Si surface. An implied Voc of 688.1 mV is obtained at an illumination intensity of 1 sun.

Periodically Diameter-Modulated Semiconductor Nanowires for Enhanced Optical Absorption.

A diameter-modulated silicon nanowire array to enhance the optical absorption across broad spectral range is presented. Periodic shape engineering is achieved using conventional semiconductor processes and the unique optical properties are analyzed. The periodicity in the diameter of the silicon nanowires enables stronger and more closely spaced optical resonances, leading to broadband absorption enhancement.

Paraboloid Structured Silicon Surface for Enhanced Light Absorption: Experimental and Simulative Investigations.

In this paper, we present an optical model that simulates the light trapping and scattering effects of a paraboloid texture surface first time. This model was experimentally verified by measuring the reflectance values of the periodically textured silicon (Si) surface with the shape of a paraboloid under different conditions. A paraboloid texture surface was obtained by electrochemical etching Si in the solution of hydrofluoric acid, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), and deionized (DI) water. The paraboloid texture surface has the advantage of giving a lower reflectance value than the hemispherical, random pyramidal, and regular pyramidal texture surfaces. In the case of parabola, the light can be concentrated in the direction of the Si surface compared to the hemispherical, random pyramidal, and regular pyramidal textured surfaces. Furthermore, in a paraboloid textured surface, there can be a maximum value of 4 or even more by anisotropic etching duration compared to the hemispherical or pyramidal textured surfaces which have a maximum h/D (depth and diameter of the texture) value of 0.5. The reflectance values were found to be strongly dependent on the h/D ratio of the texture surface. The measured reflectance values were well matched with the simulated ones. The minimum reflectance value of ~4 % was obtained at a wavelength of 600 nm for an h/D ratio of 3.75. The simulation results showed that the reflectance value for the h/D ratio can be reduced to ~0.5 % by reducing the separations among the textures. This periodic paraboloidal structure can be applied to the surface texturing technique by substituting with a conventional pyramid textured surface or moth-eye antireflection coating.

Hierarchical ZnO nanorods on Si micropillar arrays for performance enhancement of piezoelectric nanogenerators.

Enhanced output power from a ZnO nanorod (NR)-based piezoelectric nanogenerator (PNG) is demonstrated by forming a heterojunction with Si micropillar (MP) array. The length of the SiMP array, which was fabricated by electrochemical etching, was increased systematically from 5 to 20 µm by controlling the etching time. Our structural and optical investigations showed that the ZnO NRs were grown hierarchically on the SiMPs, and their crystalline quality was similar regardless of the length of the underlying SiMPs. The peak output voltage from the ZnO NR-based PNG was greatly increased by ∼5.7 times, from 0.7 to 4.0 V, as the length of the SiMP arrays increased from 0 (flat substrate) to 20 µm. The enhancement mechanism was explained based on the series connection of the ZnO NRs regarded as a single source of piezoelectric potential by creating a heterojunction onto the SiMP arrays.

A flexible and transparent graphene/ZnO nanorod hybrid structure fabricated by exfoliating a graphite substrate.

We demonstrate the fabrication of a graphene/ZnO nanorod (NR) hybrid structure by mechanical exfoliation of ZnO NRs grown on a graphite substrate. We confirmed the existence of graphene sheets on the hybrid structure by analyzing the Raman spectra and current-voltage (I-V) characteristics. The Raman spectra of the exfoliated graphene/ZnO NR hybrid structure show G and 2D band peaks that are shifted to lower wavenumbers, indicating that the exfoliated graphene layer exists under a significant amount of strain. The I-V characteristics of the graphene/ZnO NR hybrid structure show current flow through the graphene layer, while no current flow is observed on the ZnO NR/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composite without graphene, thereby indicating that the few-layer graphene was successfully transferred onto the hybrid structure. A piezoelectric nanogenerator is demonstrated by using the fabricated graphene/ZnO NR hybrid structure. The nanogenerator exhibits stable output voltage up to 3.04 V with alternating current output characteristics.

A low temperature process for phosphorous doped ZnO nanorods via a combination of hydrothermal and spin-on dopant methods.

We demonstrate the fabrication of solution based low temperature-processed p-type ZnO NRs doped with phosphorous by using a spin-on-dopant method coupled with a hydrothermal process. We confirmed the incorporation of phosphorous dopants into a ZnO crystal by analyzing SIMS profiles, together with the evolution of the photoluminescence spectra. It is further revealed that the electrical properties of the p-type ZnO/n-type Si heterojunction diode exhibited good rectifying behavior, confirming that p-type ZnO NRs were successfully formed. In addition, we demonstrate that a piezoelectric nanogenerator with p-type ZnO NRs made on a glass substrate shows large enough power to drive polymer dispersed liquid crystal displays.

Petroleum hydrocarbon contaminations in the intertidal seawater after the Hebei Spirit oil spill--effect of tidal cycle on the TPH concentrations and the chromatographic characterization of seawater extracts.

In December 2007, the oil tanker Hebei Spirit released approximately 12,547,000 L of crude oil off the west coast of Korea, impacting more than 375 km of coastline. The seawater TPH concentrations immediately after the spill ranged from 1.5 to 7310 µg L⁻¹, with an average of 732 µg L⁻¹. The concentrations appeared to decrease drastically to 2.0-224 µg L⁻¹ in one month after the spill. The TPH concentrations in seawater fluctuated with time thereafter because of the remobilization of oil by continuing shoreline cleanup activities and subsequent wave/tidal actions. Seawater TPH concentrations were much higher during high tide than during low tide due to the resuspension of stranded oil. The variation of TPH levels in seawater also matched the spring-neap tidal cycle in the study areas for the first three weeks of the study. Comparisons of the gas chromatograms of the seawater with the water accommodated fraction and the cargo oil indicated that seawater samples were contaminated mainly by the dispersed droplets of spilled oil. One year of monitoring revealed that the oil content in seawater had clearly decreased at most sites, although some regional fluctuations of oil contamination were noted until June 2008.

Fabrication and characterization of silicon wire solar cells having ZnO nanorod antireflection coating on Al-doped ZnO seed layer.

In this study, we have fabricated and characterized the silicon [Si] wire solar cells with conformal ZnO nanorod antireflection coating [ARC] grown on a Al-doped ZnO [AZO] seed layer. Vertically aligned Si wire arrays were fabricated by electrochemical etching and, the p-n junction was prepared by spin-on dopant diffusion method. Hydrothermal growth of the ZnO nanorods was followed by AZO film deposition on high aspect ratio Si microwire arrays by atomic layer deposition [ALD]. The introduction of an ALD-deposited AZO film on Si wire arrays not only helps to create the ZnO nanorod arrays, but also has a strong impact on the reduction of surface recombination. The reflectance spectra show that ZnO nanorods were used as an efficient ARC to enhance light absorption by multiple scattering. Also, from the current-voltage results, we found that the combination of the AZO film and ZnO nanorods on Si wire solar cells leads to an increased power conversion efficiency by more than 27% compared to the cells without it.

Visible emission from Ce-doped ZnO nanorods grown by hydrothermal method without a post thermal annealing process.

Visible light-emitting Ce-doped ZnO nanorods [NRs] without a post thermal annealing process were grown by hydrothermal method on a Si (100) substrate at a low temperature of 90°C. The structural investigations of Ce-doped ZnO NRs showed that the Ce3+ ions were successfully incorporated into the ZnO lattice sites without forming unwanted Ce-related compounds or precipitates. The optical investigation by photoluminescence spectra shows that the doped Ce3+ ions in the ZnO NRs act as an efficient luminescence center at 540 nm which corresponds to the optical transition of 5d → 4f orbitals in the Ce3+ ions. The photoluminescence intensity of the Ce-doped ZnO NRs increased with the increasing content of the Ce-doping agent because the energy transfer of the excited electrons in ZnO to the Ce3+ ions would be enhanced by increased Ce3+ ions.