Paper-like flexible optically isotropic liquid crystal film for tunable diffractive devices.

We have demonstrated a paper-like diffractive film in which nano-structured liquid crystal droplets are embedded in elastomeric monomer incorporated polymer matrix by polymerization induced phase-separation. The film with voltage-tunable phase grating exhibits an optically isotropic phase with high transparency and an effective chromatic diffraction for an incident white light with sub-millisecond switching time. In addition, the proposed diffractive film is exhibiting excellent chemical stability against organic and inorganic solvents. In this paper, the diffraction properties of test films depending on incident polarization direction, wavelength, and spatial dispersion are characterized. Easy processing and optically isotropic nature of the film imparts potential applications to flexible electro-optic devices that can be widely implemented in wearable photonics.

Fast switching, high contrast and high resolution liquid crystal device for virtual reality display.

Virtual reality-head mounted displays require a display with high resolution over 2000 ppi, super-fast response time and high contrast ratio for realizing super image quality at near-eyes. Several liquid crystal devices utilizing fringe-field switching (FFS) mode, having response times less than of half of conventional FFS mode, were proposed for this purpose. However, its contrast ratio is still less than 2000:1 because of intrinsic electro-optic characteristics of homogenous alignment mode and also realizing high resolution like 2000 ppi has some difficulty because twist deformation of liquid crystals can easily affect liquid crystal orientation near pixels. In this paper, we propose a vertically aligned liquid crystal device in which bend deformation occurs in a confined area by an oblique electric field, exhibiting 4 times faster decay response time than that of conventional FFS mode, higher contrast ratio over 5000:1, and pixel pitch less than 4 µm. The proposed liquid crystal device has a strong potential to be the main display for high-resolution virtual reality over 2000 ppi.

Improved UV response of ZnO nanotubes by resonant coupling of anchored plasmonic silver nanoparticles.

In this study, plasmonic silver (Ag) nanoparticle-(NP) anchored ZnO nanorods (NRs) and nanotube-(NT) based UV photodetectors are demonstrated. Here, Ag NPs are synthesized and anchored by using a room-temperature photochemical method by exposing the precursor solution in UV radiation. In order to achieve a stronger surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and minimum agglomeration, the photochemical method is optimized with a precursor concentration of 5 mmol, a UV intensity of 0.4 mW · cm-2, and an exposure time of 30 min. An asymmetry around 380 nm in the absorption spectra of the NP solution indicates the presence of plasmonic resonance in that region. Upon anchoring the Ag NPs, ZnO NRs show enhanced band edge emission (380-400 nm) and the emission is further significantly increased in Ag NP-anchored ZnO NTs. The on/off ratio and photoresponse properties of the UV photodetectors are enhanced significantly after anchoring Ag NPs on the ZnO nanostructures. It is believed that the near-field coupling of SPR causes an optical enhancement of ZnO, whereas the bridging effect and hot-electron transfer to the conduction band of ZnO by plasmonic Ag NPs, anchored in close proximity, gives rise to a faster response of the photodetectors.

Inorganic Nano Light-Emitting Transistor: p-Type Porous Silicon Nanowire/n-Type ZnO Nanofilm.

An inorganic nano light-emitting transistor (INLET) consisting of p-type porous Si nanowires (PoSiNWs) and an n-type ZnO nanofilm was integrated on a heavily doped p-type Si substrate with a thermally grown SiO2 layer. To verify that modulation of the Fermi level of the PoSiNWs is key for switchable light emitting, I-V and electroluminescent characteristics of the INLET are investigated as a function of gate bias (V g ). As the V g is changed from 0 V to -20 V, the current level and light-emission intensity in the orange-red range increase by three and two times, respectively, with a forward bias of 20 V in the p-n junction, compared to those at a V g of 0 V. On the other hand, as the V g approaches 10 V, the current level decreases and the emission intensity is reduced and then finally switched off. This result arises from the modulation of the Fermi level of the PoSiNWs and the built-in potential at the p-n junction by the applied gate electric field.

Playing with dimensions: rational design for heteroepitaxial p-n junctions.

A design for a heteroepitaxial junction by the way of one-dimensional wurzite on a two-dimensional spinel structure in a low-temperature solution process was introduced, and it's capability was confirmed by successful fabrication of a diode consisting of p-type cobalt oxide (Co(3)O(4)) nanoplate/n-type zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods, showing reasonable electrical performance. During thermal decomposition, the 30° rotated lattice orientation of Co(3)O(4) nanoplates from the orientation of ß-Co(OH)(2) nanoplates was directly observed using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The epitaxial relations and the surface stress-induced ZnO nanowire growth on Co(3)O(4) were well supported using the first-principles calculations. Over the large area, (0001) preferred oriented ZnO nanorods epitaxially grown on the (111) plane of Co(3)O(4) nanoplates were experimentally obtained. Using this epitaxial p-n junction, a diode was fabricated. The ideality factor, turn-on voltage, and rectifying ratio of the diode were measured to be 2.38, 2.5 V and 10(4), respectively.

Super-Bright Green Perovskite Light-Emitting Diodes Using Ionic Liquid Additives.

Halide perovskites have potential for use in next-generation low-cost, high-efficiency, and highly color-pure light-emitting diodes (LED) that can be used in various applications, such as flat and flexible displays and solid-state lighting. However, they still lag behind other mature technologies, such as organic LEDs and inorganic LEDs, in terms of performance, particularly brightness. This lag is partly due to the insulating nature of the long-chain organic ligands used to control the perovskite-film morphology. Herein, a 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ionic liquid (IL) is incorporated as a potential additive with CsPbBr3 perovskite precursors, which results in a super-bright green perovskite light emitting diode (PeLED) achieving a peak luminance of 3.28 × 105  cd m-2 only at a bias voltage of 6 V, with a peak external quantum efficiency of 13.75%. This achievement is the outcome of multirole support from IL that simultaneously enables superior control over the perovskite-film morphology, passivates defects, modifies the band energy levels, and prevents ion migration. Hence, this work demonstrates IL as a novel alternative additive with the potential to outperform conventional long-chain ligands in high-performance PeLED device fabrication.

Three-Dimensional Touch Device with Two Terminals.

A crossbar array is an essential element that determines the operating position and simplifies the structure of devices. However, in the crossbar array, wiring numerous electrodes to address many positions poses significant challenges. In this study, a method is proposed that utilizes only two electrodes to determine multiple positions. The method significantly simplifies the wiring and device fabrication process. Instead of defining the node location of the crossbar, it is experimentally demonstrated that the x-y-z coordinates can be determined from i) the resistance change as a function of distance, ii) the resistance variation influenced by the electrode composition, and iii) capacitance fluctuation resulting from changes in the dielectric thickness. By employing two-terminal transparent electrodes, a fully functional 3D touch device is successfully fabricated, introducing a groundbreaking approach to simplify input device architectures.

Ultrathin Metal Film on Graphene for Percolation-Threshold-Limited Thermal Emissivity Control.

Translucent Au/graphene hybrid films are shown to be effective in reducing thermal emission from the underlying surfaces when the deposition thickness of Au is close to the percolation threshold. The critical Au deposition thickness for an abrupt change in emissivity is reduced from 15 nm (Si substrate) to a percolation-threshold-limited thickness of 8.5 nm (graphene/Si substrate) because of the chemical inertness of graphene leading to the deposited Au atoms forming a thin, crystalline layer. The effect of the graphene layer on the optical properties of the hybrid film is highlighted by a drastic increase in infrared absorptivity, whereas the visible absorptivity is marginally affected by the presence of a graphene layer. The level of thermal emission from the Au/graphene hybrid films with the percolation-threshold-limited Au thickness is stable even with high background temperatures of up to 300 °C and mechanical strains of ≈4%. As an example of a thermal management application, an anti-counterfeiting device is demonstrated; thermal-camouflage-masked text fabricated with an Au/graphene hybrid film is discernible only using a thermographic camera. Ultrathin metal film assisted by a graphene layer will provide a facile platform for thermal management with semi-transparency, flexibility, and transferability to arbitrary surfaces.

Enhancing Efficiency and Stability of Tin Halide Perovskite Light-Emitting Diodes via Engineered Alkali/Multivalent Metal Salts.

Sn-based perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) have emerged as promising alternatives to Pb-based PeLEDs with their rapid increase in performance owing to the various research studies on inhibiting Sn oxidation. However, the absence of defect passivation strategies for Sn-based perovskite LEDs necessitates further research in this field. We performed systematic studies to investigate the design rules for defect passivation agents for Sn-based perovskites by incorporating alkali/multivalent metal salts with various cations and anions. From the computational and experimental analyses, sodium trifluoromethanesulfonate (NaTFMS) was found to be the most effective passivation agent for PEA2SnI4 films among the explored candidate agents owing to favorable reaction energetics to passivate iodide Frenkel defects. Consequently, the incorporation of NaTFMS facilitates the formation of uniform films with relatively large crystals and reduced Sn4+. The NaTFMS-containing PEA2SnI4 PeLEDs demonstrate an improved luminance of 138.9 cd/m2 and external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 0.39% with an improved half-lifetime of more than threefold. This work provides important insight into the design of defect passivation agents for Sn-based perovskites.

Direct gravure printing of silicon nanowires using entropic attraction forces.

The development of a method for large-scale printing of nanowire (NW) arrays onto a desired substrate is crucial for fabricating high-performance NW-based electronics. Here, the alignment of highly ordered and dense silicon (Si) NW arrays at anisotropically etched micro-engraved structures is demonstrated using a simple evaporation process. During evaporation, entropic attraction combined with the internal flow of the NW solution induced the alignment of NWs at the corners of pre-defined structures, and the assembly characteristics of the NWs were highly dependent on the polarity of the NW solutions. After complete evaporation, the aligned NW arrays are subsequently transferred onto a flexible substrate with 95% selectivity using a direct gravure printing technique. As a proof-of-concept, flexible back-gated NW field-effect transistors (FETs) are fabricated. The fabricated FETs have an effective hole mobility of 17.1 cm(2) ·V(-1) ·s(-1) and an on/off ratio of ~2.6 × 10(5) .

Coating on a cold substrate largely enhances power conversion efficiency of the bulk heterojunction solar cell.

Spin-coating a mixture solution of P3HT and PCBM on a cold substrate largely enhanced the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells. This concept was based on the abrupt decrease in the solubility of P3HT as solution temperature decreased. The selective precipitation of P3HT on the PEDOT:PSS-coated cold substrate facilitated a desirable rich composition of P3HT at the interface with the PEDOT:PSS layer. The high crystallinity of P3HT suppressed the movement of PCBM during thermal annealing, preventing aggregation of PCBM. The morphological excellence of the pristine film gave a comparable PCE to that made by the conventional fabrication process. After thermal annealing, the device made via coating on a cold substrate showed above 30% increase in PCE from the BHJ solar cells made by the conventional method.

Fabrication and characterization of vertically aligned long ZnO nanorods on transparent substrate.

Vertically aligned long ZnO nanorods (NRs) were grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technique. Prior to the NRs growth Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) film was deposited by DC sputtering technique on glass substrates. The length and width of the NRs were 25 microm and 450-500 nm, respectively. Structural and optical properties of the NRs were investigated after the growth. The NRs were single crystalline in nature with the preferred growth along c-axis. The diffusion of Ga atoms in the bottom of the NRs during the growth is detected. A prominent near band edge emission of NRs was observed from room-temperature photoluminescence study. Electrical characteristics across the NRs-thin film hybrid structure were measured with UV exposure, where the rise and fall of the photocurrent was exponential in nature due to the desorption and adsorption of oxygen in the surface.

Programmable direct-printing nanowire electronic components.

In order for recently developed advanced nanowire (NW) devices(1-5) to be produced on a large scale, high integration of the separately fabricated nanoscale devices into intentionally organized systems is indispensible. We suggest a unique fabrication route for semiconductor NW electronics. This route provides a high yield and a large degree of freedom positioning the device on the substrate. Hence, we can achieve not only a uniform performance of Si NW devices with high fabrication yields, suppressing device-to-device variation, but also programmable integration of the NWs. Here, keeping pace with recent progress of direct-writing circuitry,(6-8) we show the flexibility of our approach through the individual integrating, along with the three predesigned N-shaped sites. On each predesigned site, nine bottom gate p-type Si NW field-effect transistors classified according to their on-current level are programmably integrated.

Electrical contact tunable direct printing route for a ZnO nanowire Schottky diode.

Although writing was the first human process for communication, it may now become the main process in the electronics industry, because in the industry the programmability as an inherent property is a necessary requirement for next-generation electronics. As an effort to open the era of writing electronics, here we show the feasibility of the direct printing of a high-performance inorganic single crystalline semiconductor nanowire (NW) Schottky diode (SD), including Schottky and Ohmic contacts in series, using premetallization and wrapping with metallic nanofoil. To verify the feasibility of our process, SDs made of Al-premetalized ZnO NWs and plain ZnO NWs were compared with each other. Even with cold direct printing, the Al-premetalized ZnO NW SD showed higher performance, specifically 1.52 in the ideality factor and 1.58 x 10(5) in its rectification ratio.

Sensing with MXenes: Progress and Prospects.

Various fields of study consider MXene a revolutionary 2D material. Particularly in the field of sensors, the metal-like high electrical conductivity and large surface area of MXenes are desirable characteristics as an alternative sensor material that can transcend the boundaries of existing sensor technology. This critical review provides a comprehensive overview of recent advances in MXene-based sensor technology and a roadmap for commercializing MXene-based sensors. The existing sensors are systematically categorized as chemical, biological, and physical sensors. Each category is then classified into various subcategories depending on the electrical, electrochemical, structural, or optical sensing mechanism, which are the four fundamental working mechanisms of sensors. Representative structural and electrical approaches for boosting the performance of each category are presented. Finally, factors that hinder commercializing MXene-based sensors are discussed, and several breakthroughs in realizing commercially available MXene-based sensors are suggested. This review provides broad insights pertaining to previous and existing MXene-based sensor technology and perspectives on the future generation of low-cost, high-performance, and multimodal sensors for soft-electronics applications.

Wearable and Semitransparent Pressure-Sensitive Light-Emitting Sensor Based on Electrochemiluminescence.

Tactile sensors are being researched as a key technology for developing an electronic skin and a wearable display, which have recently been attracting much attention. However, to develop a next-generation wearable tactile sensor, it is necessary to implement an interactive display that responds immediately to external stimuli. Herein, a wearable and semitransparent pressure-sensitive light-emitting sensor (PLS) based on electrochemiluminescence (ECL) is successfully implemented with visual alarm functions to prevent damage to the human body from external stimuli. The PLS is fabricated with a very simple structure using the ECL gel as the light-emitting layer and a carbon nanotube embedded polydimethylsiloxane as the electrode. The ECL light-emitting layer using a redox reaction is advantageous for the fabrication of next-generation wearable devices due to the advantages of a simple structure and the use of electrodes without work function limitation. The PLS can display various external stimuli immediately and operate at a high luminance, making it safe to use as a wearable sensor. Therefore, the PLS using ECL can be a simple and meaningful solution for next-generation wearable tactile sensors.

High-Performance Green Light-Emitting Diodes Based on MAPbBr3 with π-Conjugated Ligand.

The morphology, crystal size, and trap density of perovskite films significantly affect the luminescent properties of perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs). Recently, numerous studies have been conducted on ligands that surround the surface of perovskite crystals and passivate the trap sites to improve the performance of PeLEDs. In this study, a 4-aminobenzonitrile (ABN) ligand improved the performance of methylammonium lead bromide (MAPbBr3)-based PeLEDs by reducing the MAPbBr3 crystal size to the nanoscale and reducing the trap density. Moreover, the properties of PeLEDs with ABN were further improved using a surface-modified hole-transport layer (HTL) with a hydrophilic polymer. Finally, a bright green PeLED was fabricated, which exhibited the maximum luminance of 3350 cd/m2 with an external quantum efficiency of 8.85%. Therefore, it is believed that the use of proper ligands for the perovskite layer and the optimization of the charge-transport layer have great potential for the development of high-performance PeLEDs.

Violet Light-Emitting Diodes Based on p-CuI Thin Film/n-MgZnO Quantum Dot Heterojunction.

As the lighting technology evolves, the need for violet light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is growing for high color rendering index lighting. The present technology for violet LEDs is based on the high-cost GaN materials and metal-organic chemical vapor deposition process; therefore, there have recently been intensive studies on developing low-cost alternative materials and processes. In this study, for the first time, we demonstrated violet LEDs based on low-cost materials and processes using a p-CuI thin film/n-MgZnO quantum dot (QD) heterojunction. The p-CuI thin film layer was prepared by an iodination process of Cu films, and the n-MgZnO layer was deposited by spin-coating presynthesized n-MgZnO QDs. To maximize the performance of the violet LED, an optimizing process was performed for each layer of p- and n-type materials. The optimized LED with 1 × 1 mm2-area pixel fabricated using the p-CuI thin film at the iodination temperature of 15 °C and the n-MgZnO QDs at the Mg alloying concentration of 2.7 at. % exhibited the strongest violet emissions at 6 V.

Residual Image Suppression Through Annealing Process of Amorphous Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide Thin Film Transistor for Plastic Organic Light-Emitting Diode Display.

For the evaluation of the residual image suppression, the amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide thin film transistor was manufactured with electric field shield metal on silicon oxide multi-buffer layer, without the need for a silicon crystallization process through the excimer laser process, and is advantageous for the manufacture of large-scale plastic organic light-emitting display. We conducted a study on the propensity to suppress a residual image according to the temperature of the annealing process in amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide. The evaluation divided by the ambient process temperature conditions to measure the change and restoration tendency of the gray current by the black/white current of thin film transistors, and for precise measurement of the current change intervals, the current was analyzed in 0.004 seconds per point. Through the study, residual image of amorphous Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide transistor was found to be suppressed as the temperature of the annealing crystallization increased from 250°C to 325°C, and there was no improvement effect on the 325°C or higher. The trend of threshold voltage shift of thin film transistors according to the two process temperature conditions, 250°C and 325°C, was analyzed by Two sample T analysis method, and the analysis confirmed that the trend of current deterioration is different through p-value 0.007.

Minimizing Residual Images of Amorphous Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide Thin-Film Transistor-Based Flexible Organic Light-Emitting Diode Displays by Controlling Oxygen Partial Pressure.

Plastic organic light emitting diode displays suffer from residual image, which is closely connected with the hysteresis of the driving thin-film transistor in the pixels. Therefore, in researching paper, we manufactured an OLED display comprise a polyimide substrate and an amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide thin film transistor active layer. Paper proposed a solution for reducing hysteresis through oxygen partial pressure control and evaluated it using hysteresis analysis. The results showed that hysteresis is strongly dependent on the threshold voltage is settled by the oxygen partial pressure while active layer deposition of the TFT. Moreover, hysteresis decreases with increasing temperature.