Bipolar Junction Transistor Exhibiting Excellent Output Characteristics with a Prompt Response against the Selective Protein

Bipolar junction transistors (BJTs), the basic building blocks of integrated circuits, are deployed to control switching applications and logic operations. However, as the thickness of a conventional BJT device approaches a few atoms, its performance decreases substantially. The stacking of atomically thin 2D semiconductor materials is advantageous for manufacturing atomically thin BJT devices owing to the high carrier density of electrons and holes. Here, an atomically thin n-p-n BJT device composed of heavily doped molybdenum ditelluride (n-MoTe2) and germanium selenide (p-GeSe) sheets stacked over each other by van der Waals interactions is reported. In a common-emitter configuration, MoTe2/GeSe/MoTe2 BJT devices exhibit a considerably high current gain (beta = I-c /I-b = 29.3) at V-be = 2.5 V. The MoTe2/GeSe/MoTe2 BJT device is employed to detect streptavidin biomolecules as analytes within m. Such vdW BJT devices can trigger the development of state-of-the-art electronic devices that can be used as biosensors to detect the various kinds of target DNA and proteins like spike protein of Covid-19.

Taking Project-Based Learning Online

We present a case study of a university course using project-based learning, collaborative small teams, and the Scrum project management framework. The course was moved entirely online in Fall 2020 due to COVID-19. Students in the course were unable to come to campus and so were distributed widely across time zones with concentrations in North America and Asia. Students had access to a set of tools arranged specifically for the class, including: a WordPress website, the LearnDash learning platform to organize resources and activities, Slack for class and for individual teams to facilitate communications, and Asana for individual teams to track project progress. Students also brought other tools of their choice (e.g., Google docs, WeChat, Notion). None of the tools were institutionally based, with the exception of an institutional Zoom account that was used for six whole class sessions as well as by individual teams for their collaboration meetings. Students were assessed based on team projects, as well as individual short papers. Additional data from Slack and Asana allowed the instructors to follow the progress of each team throughout the semester and to offer guidance along the way. We review the course activity data, examine areas for improvement, and pose suggestions for improving the learning experience. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.