The Enhanced Performance of Oxide Thin-Film Transistors Fabricated by a Two-Step Deposition Pressure Process.

It is usually difficult to realize high mobility together with a low threshold voltage and good stability for amorphous oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs). In addition, a low fabrication temperature is preferred in terms of enhancing compatibility with the back end of line of the device. In this study, α-IGZO TFTs were prepared by high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) at room temperature. The channel was prepared under a two-step deposition pressure process to modulate its electrical properties. X-ray photoelectron spectra revealed that the front-channel has a lower Ga content and a higher oxygen vacancy concentration than the back-channel. This process has the advantage of balancing high mobility and a low threshold voltage of the TFT when compared with a conventional homogeneous channel. It also has a simpler fabrication process than that of a dual active layer comprising heterogeneous materials. The HiPIMS process has the advantage of being a low temperature process for oxide TFTs.

Effects of an ice roller on chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus in patients receiving haemodialysis.

BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus is a distressing symptom and has a far-reaching impact on patients' sleep and quality of life for most patients receiving haemodialysis. Traditional therapies have limited effectiveness. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to invent a self-operated ice roller and evaluate its efficacy in relieving pruritus, sleep quality, and quality of life. DESIGN: This study was experimental with a two-arm parallel group design. PARTICIPANTS: A convenient sampling method was used to recruit 60 patients receiving haemodialysis who reported pruritus (5D-Itch Scale score >5) lasting over 4 weeks in Taiwan. The participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: the intervention group used an ice roller for 7 days, while the control group received no anti-pruritus treatment. MEASUREMENTS: This study was experimental with a two-arm parallel group design. The measurement instruments included the 5D-Itch Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and WHOQOL-BREF-Taiwan Version. The analysis of covariance, chi-square, Independent t tests, and partial Eta2 (η2 p) were used to analyse the data. RESULTS: The participants' mean age was 62.77 years. Application of the ice roller significantly decreased overall pruritus (p < .05; η2 p = .09) and distribution of pruritus-associated bodily parts (p = .03; η2 p = .08). There were no statistically significant differences in sleep quality and related indicators between the experimental and control groups at the study endpoint. Regarding quality of life, only the social relationship domain significantly differed between the two groups (p = .02; η2 p = .08). CONCLUSIONS: The ice roller can decrease pruritus and its distribution in patients receiving haemodialysis, serving as an adjunct therapy alongside conventional anti-pruritus treatments.

Internal moisture barrier layer for improving high-humidity reliability of miniature light emitting diode die without encapsulation.

Atomic layer deposited Al2O3 films are incorporated into miniature light emitting diodes (mini-LEDs) as an internal moisture barrier layer. The experimental results show that the water vapor transmission rate reaches ≤10-4 g/m2/day when the Al2O3 thickness is ≥40 nm. The mini-LED with a 40 nm-thick Al2O3 layer shows negligible degradation after 1000 h of 85°C/85% relative humidity testing, whereas the device without an Al2O3 layer fails after only 500 h due to delamination occurring at the GaN surface. Current-voltage characteristics of the device without an Al2O3 moisture barrier layer indicate an increase in series resistance and ideality factor. This study provides a simple, light-weighting method to have a satisfactory encapsulation function for miniature LEDs.

Recording Characteristics, Microstructure, and Crystallization Kinetics of Ge/GeCu Recording Film Used for Write-Once Blu-Ray Disc.

A Ge67Cu33 (16 nm) layer and a Ge (3 nm)/Ge67Cu33 (16 nm) bilayer were grown by sputtering at room temperature and used as the recording films for write-once blue laser media. In comparison to the crystallization temperature of Ge in a GeCu film (380.7 °C-405.1 °C), the crystallization temperature of Ge in a Ge/GeCu bilayer could be further decreased to 333.7 °C-382.8 °C. The activation energies of Ge crystallization were 3.51 eV ± 0.05 eV and 1.50 eV ± 0.04 eV for the GeCu and the Ge/GeCu films, respectively, indicating that the Ge/GeCu bilayer possesses a higher feasibility in high-speed optical recording applications. Moreover, the lower activation energy would lead to a larger grain size of Ge crystallization in the Ge/GeCu bilayer after the annealing process. Between the as-deposited and the annealed states, the optical contrasts (@ 405 nm) of the GeCu and the Ge/GeCu films were 26.0% and 47.5%, respectively. This reveals that the Ge/GeCu bilayer is more suitable for the recording film of a write-once blu-ray disc (BD-R) in comparison with the GeCu film. Based on the dynamic tests performed for 2× and 4× recording speeds, the optimum jitter values of the BD-R with the Ge/GeCu recording film were 7.4% at 6.3 mW and 7.6% at 8.6 mW, respectively.