Graphene Electrode Enabling Electrochromic Approaches for Daylight-Dimming Applications.

For environmental reason, buildings increasingly install smart windows, which can dim incoming daylight based on active electrochromic devices (ECDs). In this work, multi-layered graphene (MLG) was investigated as an ECD window electrode, to minimize carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by decreasing the electricity consumption for building space cooling and heating and as an alternative to the transparent conductor tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) in order to decrease dependence on it. Various MLG electrodes with different numbers of graphene layers were prepared with environmentally friendly poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene-sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) to produce ECD cells. Tests demonstrated the reproducibility and uniformity in optical performance, as well as the flexibility of the ECD fabrication. With the optimized MLG electrode, the ECD cells exhibited a very fast switching response for optical changes from transparent to dark states of a few hundred msec.

Holographic image generation with a thin-film resonance caused by chalcogenide phase-change material.

The development of digital holography is anticipated for the viewing of 3D images by reconstructing both the amplitude and phase information of the object. Compared to analog holograms written by a laser interference, digital hologram technology has the potential to realize a moving 3D image using a spatial light modulator. However, to ensure a high-resolution 3D image with a large viewing angle, the hologram panel requires a near-wavelength scale pixel pitch with a sufficient large numbers of pixels. In this manuscript, we demonstrate a digital hologram panel based on a chalcogenide phase-change material (PCM) which has a pixel pitch of 1 µm and a panel size of 1.6 × 1.6 cm2. A thin film of PCM encapsulated by dielectric layers can be used for the hologram panel by means of excimer laser lithography. By tuning the thicknesses of upper and lower dielectric layers, a color-selective diffraction panel is demonstrated since a thin film resonance caused by dielectric can affect to the absorption and diffraction spectrum of the proposed hologram panel. We also show reflection color of a small active region (1 µm × 4 µm) made by ultra-thin PCM layer can be electrically changed.

Design and Fabrication of Integrated Fabry-Perot Type Color Reflector for Reflective Displays.

A Fabry-Perot type integrated color reflector, with red/blue/green colors as subpixels, was designed and fabricated with Si substrate. Ag films were used as reflective mirror layers, SiO2 films were used as Fabry-Perot cavity layers and W films were used as partially reflective layers for the cavity. To minimize the effects of the thickness variation of the oxide cavity layers, the structure of the color reflector was optimized, and the differential deposition scheme was devised and applied in the fabrication process. The integrated color reflector was successfully fabricated with the proposed fabrication scheme. The measured white reflectance was > 45% in the visible spectrum range and -49% at 550 nm wavelength. The fabricated reflector had moderate color gamut of 17% of the National Television System Committee (NTSC) standard and it showed very high white reflectivity. The fabricated color reflector is expected to be applicable to reflective displays.

Origin of degradation phenomenon under drain bias stress for oxide thin film transistors using IGZO and IGO channel layers.

Top-gate structured thin film transistors (TFTs) using In-Ga-Zn-O (IGZO) and In-Ga-O (IGO) channel compositions were investigated to reveal a feasible origin for degradation phenomenon under drain bias stress (DBS). DBS-driven instability in terms of V(TH) shift, deviation of the SS value, and increase in the on-state current were detected only for the IGZO-TFT, in contrast to the IGO-TFT, which did not demonstrate V(TH) shift. These behaviors were visually confirmed via nanoscale transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy observations. To understand the degradation mechanism, we performed ab initio molecular dynamic simulations on the liquid phases of IGZO and IGO. The diffusivities of Ga and In atoms were enhanced in IGZO, confirming the degradation mechanism to be increased atomic diffusion.

Investigation of the effect of calcination temperature on HMDS-treated ordered mesoporous silica film.

To reduce signal delay in ultra-large-scale integrated circuits, an intermetal dielectric with low dielectric constant is required. Ordered mesoporous silica film is appropriate for use as an intermetal dielectric due to its low dielectric constant and superior mechanical properties. To reduce the dielectric constant, an ordered mesoporous silica film prepared by a tetraethoxysilane/methyltriethoxysilane silica precursor and Brij-76 block copolymer was surface-modified by hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) treatment. HMDS treatment substituted OH with Si(CH(3))(3) groups on the silica surface. After treatment, ordered mesoporous silica films were calcined at various calcination temperatures, and the calcination temperature to obtain optimal structural, electrical, and mechanical properties was determined to be approximately 300 degrees C.

Holographic polarization-selective module based on a small dove prism coupler for magneto-optical pickup heads.

A new structure for polarization-selective elements, consisting of two holographic gratings and a Dove prism coupler, is proposed. The absence of a multistage waveguide and the benefits of compact size and lightweight volume are the outstanding features of the new structure. Based on the coupled-wave theory, the analysis and design of the structure are discussed in detail to calculate the required index modulation. Several parameters, such as the recording intensity, the exposure time, and the recording angles for the fabrication of the proposed element, are determined. Under these conditions, the element is fabricated in Dupont photopolymer HRF-150-38 material and with an operating wavelength of 532 nm. A simplified pickup head is constructed to evaluate the performance of the fabricated element.