The Reflectance Characteristics of an Inverse Moth-Eye Structure in a Silicon Substrate Depending on SF6/O2 Plasma Etching Conditions.

The global RE100 campaign is attracting attention worldwide due to climate change caused by global warming, increasingly highlighting the efficiency of renewable energy. Texturing of photovoltaic devices increases the devices' efficiency by reducing light reflectance at their surfaces. This study introduces the change in light reflectance following the process conditions of plasma etching as a texturing process to increase the efficiency of photovoltaic cells. Isotropic etching was induced through plasma using SF6 gas, and the etch profile was modulated by adding O2 gas to reduce light reflectance. A high etch rate produces high surface roughness, which results in low surface reflectance properties. The inverse moth-eye structure was implemented using a square PR pattern arranged diagonally and showed the minimum reflectance in visible light at a tip spacing of 1 µm. This study can be applied to the development of higher-efficiency optical devices.

Pure Spin Currents Driven by Colossal Spin-Orbit Coupling on Two-Dimensional Surface Conducting SrTiO3.

Spin accumulation is generated by passing a charge current through a ferromagnetic layer and sensed by other ferromagnetic layers downstream. Pure spin currents can also be generated in which spin currents flow and are detected as a nonlocal resistance in which the charge current is diverted away from the voltage measurement point. Here, we report nonlocal spin-transport on two-dimensional surface-conducting SrTiO3 (STO) without a ferromagnetic spin-injector via the spin Hall effect (and inverse spin Hall effect). By applying magnetic fields to the Hall bars at different angles to the nonlocal spin-diffusion, we demonstrate an anisotropic spin-signal that is consistent with a Hanle precession of a pure spin current. We extract key transport parameters for surface-conducting STO, including: a spin Hall angle of γ ≈ (0.25 ± 0.05), a spin lifetime of τ ∼ 49 ps, and a spin diffusion length of λs ≈ (1.23 ± 0.7) µm at 2 K.

High-Performance Triboelectric Devices via Dielectric Polarization: A Review.

Energy harvesting devices based on the triboelectric effect have attracted great attention because of their higher output performance compared to other nanogenerators, which have been utilized in various wearable applications. Based on the working mechanism, the triboelectric performance is mainly proportional to the surface charge density of the triboelectric materials. Various approaches, such as modification of the surface functional group and dielectric composition of the triboelectric materials, have been employed to enhance the surface charge density, leading to improvements in triboelectric performances. Notably, tuning the dielectric properties of triboelectric materials can significantly increase the surface charge density because the surface charge is proportional to the relative permittivity of the triboelectric material. The relative dielectric constant is modified by dielectric polarization, such as electronic, vibrational (or atomic), orientation (or dipolar), ionic, and interfacial polarization. Therefore, such polarization represents a critical factor toward improving the dielectric constant and consequent triboelectric performance. In this review, we summarize the recent insights on the improvement of triboelectric performance via enhanced dielectric polarization.

Hexagonal Boron Nitride-Enhanced Optically Transparent Polymer Dielectric Inks for Printable Electronics.

Solution-processable thin-film dielectrics represent an important material family for large-area, fully-printed electronics. Yet, in recent years, it has seen only limited development, and has mostly remained confined to pure polymers. Although it is possible to achieve excellent printability, these polymers have low (≈2-5) dielectric constants (ε r ). There have been recent attempts to use solution-processed 2D hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) as an alternative. However, the deposited h-BN flakes create porous thin-films, compromising their mechanical integrity, substrate adhesion, and susceptibility to moisture. These challenges are addressed by developing a "one-pot" formulation of polyurethane (PU)-based inks with h-BN nano-fillers. The approach enables coating of pinhole-free, flexible PU+h-BN dielectric thin-films. The h-BN dispersion concentration is optimized with respect to exfoliation yield, optical transparency, and thin-film uniformity. A maximum ε r ≈ 7.57 is achieved, a two-fold increase over pure PU, with only 0.7 vol% h-BN in the dielectric thin-film. A high optical transparency of ≈78.0% (≈0.65% variation) is measured across a 25 cm2 area for a 10 µm thick dielectric. The dielectric property of the composite is also consistent, with a measured areal capacitance variation of <8% across 64 printed capacitors. The formulation represents an optically transparent, flexible thin-film, with enhanced dielectric constant for printed electronics.

High-Resolution Filtration Patterning of Silver Nanowire Electrodes for Flexible and Transparent Optoelectronic Devices.

Silver nanowire (AgNW) electrodes attract significant attention in flexible and transparent optoelectronic devices; however, high-resolution patterning of AgNW electrodes remains a considerable challenge. In this study, we have introduced a simple technique for high-resolution solution patterning of AgNW networks, based on simple filtration of AgNW solution on a patterned polyimide shadow mask. This solution process allows the smallest pattern size of AgNW electrodes, down to a width of 3.5 µm. In addition, we have demonstrated the potential of these patterned AgNW electrodes for applications in flexible optoelectronic devices, such as photodetectors. Specifically, for flexible and semitransparent UV photodetectors, AgNW electrodes are embedded in sputtered ZnO films to enhance the photocurrent by light scattering and trapping, which resulted in a significantly enhanced photocurrent (up to 800%) compared to devices based on AgNW electrodes mounted on top of ZnO films. In addition, our photodetector could be operated well under extremely bent conditions (bending radius of approximately 770 µm) and provide excellent durability even after 500 bending cycles.

Gate-Tunable and Programmable n-InGaAs/Black Phosphorus Heterojunction Diodes.

Semiconductor heterostructures have enabled numerous applications in diodes, photodetectors, junction field-effect transistors, and memory devices. Two-dimensional (2D) materials and III-V compound semiconductors are two representative materials providing excellent heterojunction platforms for the fabrication of heterostructure devices. The marriage between these semiconductors with completely different crystal structures may enable a new heterojunction with unprecedented physical properties. In this study, we demonstrate a multifunctional heterostructure device based on 2D black phosphorus and n-InGaAs nanomembrane semiconductors that exhibit gate-tunable, photoresponsive, and programmable diode characteristics. The device exhibits clear rectification with a large gate-tunable forward current, which displays rectification and switching with a maximum rectification ratio of 4600 and an on/off ratio exceeding 105, respectively. The device also offers nonvolatile memory properties, including large hysteresis and stable retention of storage charges. By combining the memory and gate-tunable rectifying properties, the rectification ratio of the device can be controlled and memorized from 0.06 to 400. Moreover, the device can generate three different electrical signals by combining a photoresponsivity of 0.704 A/W with the gate-tunable property, offering potential applications, for example, multiple logic operator. This work presents a heterostructure design based on 2D and III-V compound semiconductors, showing unique physical properties for the development of multifunctional heterostructure devices.

Transparent and conductive nanomembranes with orthogonal silver nanowire arrays for skin-attachable loudspeakers and microphones.

We demonstrate ultrathin, transparent, and conductive hybrid nanomembranes (NMs) with nanoscale thickness, consisting of an orthogonal silver nanowire array embedded in a polymer matrix. Hybrid NMs significantly enhance the electrical and mechanical properties of ultrathin polymer NMs, which can be intimately attached to human skin. As a proof of concept, we present a skin-attachable NM loudspeaker, which exhibits a significant enhancement in thermoacoustic capabilities without any significant heat loss from the substrate. We also present a wearable transparent NM microphone combined with a micropyramid-patterned polydimethylsiloxane film, which provides excellent acoustic sensing capabilities based on a triboelectric voltage signal. Furthermore, the NM microphone can be used to provide a user interface for a personal voice-based security system in that it can accurately recognize a user's voice. This study addressed the NM-based conformal electronics required for acoustic device platforms, which could be further expanded for application to conformal wearable sensors and health care devices.

High-Performance MoS2/CuO Nanosheet-on-One-Dimensional Heterojunction Photodetectors.

van der Waals heterostructures based on stacked two-dimensional (2D) materials provide novel device structures enabling high-performance electronic and optoelectronic devices. While 2D-2D or 2D-bulk heterostructures have been largely explored for fundamental understanding and novel device applications, 2D-one-dimensional (1D) heterostructures have been rarely studied because of the difficulty in achieving high-quality heterojunctions between 2D and 1D structures. In this study, we introduce nanosheet-on-1D van der Waals heterostructure photodetectors based on a wet-transfer printing of a MoS2 nanosheet on top of a CuO nanowire (NW). MoS2/CuO nanosheet-on-1D photodetectors show an excellent photocurrent rectification ratio with an ideality factor of 1.37, which indicates the formation of an atomically sharp interface and a high-quality heterojunction in the MoS2/CuO heterostructure by wet-transfer-enhanced van der Waals bonding. Furthermore, nanosheet-on-1D heterojunction photodetectors exhibit excellent photodetection capabilities with an ultrahigh photoresponsivity (∼157.6 A/W), a high rectification ratio (∼6000 at ±2 V), a low dark current (∼38 fA at -2 V), and a fast photoresponse time (∼34.6 and 51.9 ms of rise and decay time), which cannot be achievable with 1D-on-nanosheet heterojunction photodetectors. The wet-transfer printing of nanosheet-on-1D heterostructures introduced in this study provides a robust platform for the fundamental study of various combinations of 2D-on-1D heterostructures and their applications in novel heterojunction devices.

InGaAs Nanomembrane/Si van der Waals Heterojunction Photodiodes with Broadband and High Photoresponsivity.

Development of broadband photodetectors is of great importance for applications in high-capacity optical communication, night vision, and biomedical imaging systems. While heterostructured photodetectors can expand light detection range, fabrication of heterostructures via epitaxial growth or wafer bonding still faces significant challenges because of problems such as lattice and thermal mismatches. Here, a transfer printing technique is used for the heterogeneous integration of InGaAs nanomembranes on silicon semiconductors and thus the formation of van der Waals heterojunction photodiodes, which can enhance the spectral response and photoresponsivity of Si photodiodes. Transfer-printed InGaAs nanomembrane/Si heterojunction photodiode exhibits a high rectification ratio (7.73 × 104 at ±3 V) and low leakage current (7.44 × 10-5 A/cm2 at -3 V) in a dark state. In particular, the photodiode shows high photoresponsivities (7.52 and 2.2 A W-1 at a reverse bias of -3 V and zero bias, respectively) in the broadband spectral range (400-1250 nm) and fast rise-fall response times (13-16 ms), demonstrating broadband and fast photodetection capabilities. The suggested III-V/Si van der Waals heterostructures can be a robust platform for the fabrication of high-performance on-chip photodetectors compatible with Si integrated optical chips.

Octopus-Inspired Smart Adhesive Pads for Transfer Printing of Semiconducting Nanomembranes.

By mimicking muscle actuation to control cavity-pressure-induced adhesion of octopus suckers, smart adhesive pads are developed in which the thermoresponsive actuation of a hydrogel layer on elastomeric microcavity pads enables excellent switchable adhesion in response to a thermal stimulus (maximum adhesive strength: 94 kPa, adhesion switching ratio: ≈293 for temperature change between 22 and 61 °C).

Vacuum-induced wrinkle arrays of InGaAs semiconductor nanomembranes on polydimethylsiloxane microwell arrays.

Tunable surface morphology in III-V semiconductor nanomembranes provides opportunities to modulate electronic structures and light interactions of semiconductors. Here, we introduce a vacuum-induced wrinkling method for the formation of ordered wrinkles in InGaAs nanomembranes (thickness, 42 nm) on PDMS microwell arrays as a strategy for deterministic and multidirectional wrinkle engineering of semiconductor nanomembranes. In this approach, a vacuum-induced pressure difference between the outer and inner sides of the microwell patterns covered with nanomembranes leads to bulging of the nanomembranes at the predefined microwells, which, in turn, results in stretch-induced wrinkle formation of the nanomembranes between the microwells. The direction and geometry of the nanomembrane wrinkles are well controlled by varying the PDMS modulus, depth, and shape of microwells, and the temperature during the transfer printing of nanomembrane onto heterogeneous substrates. The wrinkling method shown here can be applied to other semiconductor nanomembranes and may create an important platform to realize unconventional electronic devices with tunable electronic properties.

Gate-controlled spin-orbit interaction in inas high-electron mobility transistor layers epitaxially transferred onto Si substrates.

We demonstrate gate-controlled spin-orbit interaction (SOI) in InAs high-electron mobility transistor (HEMT) structures transferred epitaxially onto Si substrates. Successful epitaxial transfer of the multilayered structure after separation from an original substrate ensures that the InAs HEMT maintains a robust bonding interface and crystalline quality with a high electron mobility of 46200 cm(2)/(V s) at 77 K. Furthermore, Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillation analysis reveals that a Rashba SOI parameter (α) can be manipulated using a gate electric field for the purpose of spin field-effect transistor operation. An important finding is that the α value increases by about 30% in the InAs HEMT structure that has been transferred when compared to the as-grown structure. First-principles calculations indicate that the main causes of the large improvement in α are the bonding of the InAs HEMT active layers to a SiO2 insulating layer with a large band gap and the strain relaxation of the InAs channel layer during epitaxial transfer. The experimental results presented in this study offer a technological platform for the integration of III-V heterostructures onto Si substrates, permitting the spintronic devices to merge with standard Si circuitry and technology.