All 3D-Printed Flexible ZnO UV Photodetector on an Ultraflat Substrate.

An all three-dimensional (3D)-printed flexible ZnO ultraviolet (UV) photodetector is demonstrated, where the 3D-printing method is used not only for the electrode and photosensitive material but also for creating a substrate. An ultraflat and flexible substrate capable of serving as the backbone layer is developed using a water-dissolvable polymer layer for surface planarization. A two-layered printing followed by surface treatment is demonstrated for the substrate preparation. As mechanical support but flexible, a thick and sparse thermoplastic polyurethane layer is printed. On its surface, a thin and dense poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) is then printed. A precise control of PVA reflow using a microwater droplet results in a flexible and extremely uniform substrate. A Cu-Ag nanowire network is directly 3D printed on the flexible substrate for the conducting layer, followed by ZnO for the photosensitive material. Unlike the planar two-dimensional printing that provides thin films, 3D printing allows the electrode to have a step height, which can be made like a dam to accommodate a thick film of ZnO. Photosensitivity as a function of various ZnO thickness values was investigated to establish an optimal thickness for UV response. The device was also tested in natural sunlight along with stability and reliability.

On-Demand Printing of Wearable Thermotherapy Pad.

Thermotherapy is an effective method for pain relief, recovery from injury, and general healthcare. The ordinary heat pad used for thermotherapy at home is not usually tailored to the individual but supplied in a few different pre-fixed sizes and shapes for mass marketing. A customized wearable heat pad often requires expert support. Herein, an instant, custom-fit, and on-demand heat pad for thermotherapy is demonstrated. The heater is directly printed using silver nanoparticle ink on an off-the-shelf medical grade tape by inkjet technology. By coating the tape with silica nanoparticles as ink-absorbing layer and chloride ions as chemical sintering agent, stable heater patterns are printed without the need for subsequent high temperature sintering process. A 3D scanner is used to acquire body information, and a customized heater is produced using the information. The printed heat pad is attached to the shoulder and the effect of thermotherapy is verified objectively through electroencephalography and subjectively through survey. This printed heat pad produced by simple and low-cost fabrication provides wearable medical devices for personal thermotherapy.

Joule-Heated and Suspended Silicon Nanowire Based Sensor for Low-Power and Stable Hydrogen Detection.

We developed self-heated, suspended, and palladium-decorated silicon nanowires (Pd-SiNWs) for high-performance hydrogen (H2) gas sensing with low power consumption and high stability against diverse environmental noises. To prepare the Pd-SiNWs, SiNWs were fabricated by conventional complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) processes, and Pd nanoparticles were coated on the SiNWs by a physical vapor deposition method. Suspended Pd-SiNWs were simply obtained by etching buried oxide layer and Pd deposition. Joule heating of Pd-SiNW (<1 mW) enables the detection of H2 gas with a faster response and without the reduction of sensitivity unlike other Pd-based H2 gas sensors. We proposed a H2 sensing model using oxygen adsorption on the Pd nanoparticle-coated silicon oxide surface to understand the H2 response of Joule-heated Pd-SiNWs. A suspended Pd-SiNW showed a similar transient sensing response with around four times lower Joule heating power (147 µW) than the substrate-bound Pd-SiNW (613 µW). The effect of interfering gas on the Pd-SiNW was investigated, and it was found that the Joule heating of Pd-SiNW helps to maintain the H2 sensing performance in humid or carbon monoxide environments.

Carbon Nanotube Based γ Ray Detector.

A single walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) based γ ray detector is demonstrated without a conventional scintillation mechanism. The change in the conductance of a two terminal SWCNT resistor in response to γ ray exposure is exploited as a sensing mechanism. Radiation-induced ambient oxygen dissociation and subsequent adsorption of oxygen species on the SWCNT surface alter its electrical properties. The responses to the total dose and dose rate are investigated along with the sensing mechanism. The detector showed good sensitivity to γ ray and a capability to distinguish radiation dose rates ranging from 2.4 to 16.4 R/min.

Electrically-generated memristor based on inkjet printed silver nanoparticles.

A method to electrically induce memristor performance from inkjet-printed silver (Ag) nanoparticles is presented, which is effective on a specifically designed hourglass-shaped Ag metal device. Joule heating-induced oxidation in the bottleneck region, when applying a high current to the device, results in a metal-electrolyte-metal structure produced from just a single metal ink for the memristor operation. This electrically induced memristor shows a nonuniform dispersion of the Ag nanoparticles within the oxide electrolyte layer, depending on the bias polarity adopted during the initial metal rupture process. A versatile and useful range of controllable memristor behaviors, from volatile threshold switching to nonvolatile unipolar as well as bipolar resistive switching, are observed based on the reversible rejuvenation and rupture of the Ag nanofilaments according to the Ag cation migration within the oxide electrolyte. The interplay between the electric field induced redox reaction and thermal diffusion of the Ag nanoparticles constitutes the primary reason for the different switching behaviors, further supported by thermo-field simulation results. The bipolar switching memristor demonstrates reliable endurance even under harsh DC switching conditions with low power consumption compared with its unipolar switching operation. The observed range of controllable switching behavior can be exploited for future low power flexible memory, as a selector in crossbar memory architecture, synaptic learning, and others.

Wearable UV Sensor Based on Carbon Nanotube-Coated Cotton Thread.

A fabric-compatible UV sensor is presented using a cellulose-based thread coated with single-wall carbon nanotube ink. Two-terminal resistive responses of the thread were measured upon exposure to UV, and the effects of intensity, wavelength, and on/off cycling were studied. The sensor was tested in the field under direct sunlight, demonstrating practical usability for a wearable/flexible UV sensor system. The results here confirm the potential for an inexpensive wearable sensor in contrast to the conventional rigid and bulky solid-state detectors.

A Single Input Multiple Output (SIMO) Variation-Tolerant Nanosensor.

Successful transition to commercialization and practical implementation of nanotechnology innovations may very well need device designs that are tolerant to the inherent variations and imperfections in all nanomaterials including carbon nanotubes, graphene, and others. As an example, a single-walled carbon nanotube network based gas sensor is promising for a wide range of applications such as environment, industry, and biomedical and wearable devices due to its high sensitivity, fast response, and low power consumption. However, a long-standing issue has been the production of extremely high purity semiconducting nanotubes, thereby contributing to the delay in the market adoption of those sensors. Inclusion of even less than 0.1% of metallic nanotubes, which is inevitable, is found to result in a significant deterioration of sensor-to-sensor uniformity. Acknowledging the coexistence of metallic and semiconducting nanotubes as well as all other possible imperfections, we herein present a novel variation-tolerant sensor design where the sensor response is defined by a statistical Gaussian measure in contrast to a traditional deterministic approach. The single input and multiple output data are attained using multiport electrodes fabricated over a relatively large area single nanotube ensemble. The data processing protocol discards outlier data points and the origin of the outliers is investigated. Both the experimental demonstration and complementary analytical modeling support the hypothesis that the statistical analysis of the device can strengthen the credibility of the sensor constructed using nanomaterials with any imperfections. The proposed strategy can also be applied to physical, radiation, and biosensors as well as other electronic devices.

Nanoscale Vacuum Channel Transistor.

Vacuum tubes that sparked the electronics era had given way to semiconductor transistors. Despite their faster operation and better immunity to noise and radiation compared to the transistors, the vacuum device technology became extinct due to the high power consumption, integration difficulties, and short lifetime of the vacuum tubes. We combine the best of vacuum tubes and modern silicon nanofabrication technology here. The surround gate nanoscale vacuum channel transistor consists of sharp source and drain electrodes separated by sub-50 nm vacuum channel with a source to gate distance of 10 nm. This transistor performs at a low voltage (<5 V) and provides a high drive current (>3 microamperes). The nanoscale vacuum channel transistor can be a possible alternative to semiconductor transistors beyond Moore's law.

Temperature measurement of Joule heated silicon micro/nanowires using selectively decorated quantum dots.

We developed a novel method to measure local temperature at micro/nano-scale regions using selective deposition of quantum dots (QDs) as a sensitive temperature probe and measured the temperature of Joule heated silicon microwires (SiMWs) and silicon nanowires (SiNWs) by this method. The QDs are selectively coated only on the surface of the SiMWs and SiNWs by a sequential process composed of selective opening of a polymethyl methacrylate layer via Joule heating, covalent bonding of QDs, and lift-off process. The temperatures of the Joule-heated SiMWs and SiNWs can be measured by characterizing the temperature-dependent shift of photoluminescence peak of the selectively deposited QDs even with far-field optics. The validity of the extracted temperature has been also confirmed by comparing with numerical simulation results. The proposed method can potentially provide micro/nanoscale measurement of localized temperatures for a wide range of electrical and optical devices.

Controllable electrical and physical breakdown of poly-crystalline silicon nanowires by thermally assisted electromigration.

The importance of poly-crystalline silicon (poly-Si) in semiconductor manufacturing is rapidly increasing due to its highly controllable conductivity and excellent, uniform deposition quality. With the continuing miniaturization of electronic components, low dimensional structures such as 1-dimensional nanowires (NWs) have attracted a great deal of attention. But such components have a much higher current density than 2- or 3-dimensional films, and high current can degrade device lifetime and lead to breakdown problems. Here, we report on the electrical and thermal characteristics of poly-Si NWs, which can also be used to control electrical and physical breakdown under high current density. This work reports a controllable catastrophic change of poly-Si NWs by thermally-assisted electromigration and underlying mechanisms. It also reports the direct and real time observation of these catastrophic changes of poly-Si nanowires for the first time, using scanning electron microscopy.

Self-heated silicon nanowires for high performance hydrogen gas detection.

Self-heated silicon nanowire sensors for high-performance, ultralow-power hydrogen detection have been developed. A top-down nanofabrication method based on well-established semiconductor manufacturing technology was utilized to fabricate silicon nanowires in wafer scale with high reproducibility and excellent compatibility with electronic readout circuits. Decoration of palladium nanoparticles onto the silicon nanowires enables sensitive and selective detection of hydrogen gas at room temperature. Self-heating of silicon nanowire sensors allows us to enhance response and recovery performances to hydrogen gas, and to reduce the influence of interfering gases such as water vapor and carbon monoxide. A short-pulsed heating during recovery was found to be effective for additional reduction of operation power as well as recovery characteristics. This self-heated silicon nanowire gas sensor will be suitable for ultralow-power applications such as mobile telecommunication devices and wireless sensing nodes.

A mechanical and electrical transistor structure (METS) with a sub-2 nm nanogap for effective voltage scaling.

A mechanical and electrical transistor structure (METS) is proposed for effective voltage scaling. The sub-2 nm nanogap by atomic layer deposition (ALD) without stiction and the application of a dielectric with high-permittivity allowed the pull-in voltage of sub-2 V, showing the strength of the mechanical actuation that is hard to realize in a typical complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) transistor. The results are verified by simulation and interpreted by the numerical equation. Therefore the METS can pave a new way to make a breakthrough to overcome the limits of CMOS technology.

Multiplex electrical detection of avian influenza and human immunodeficiency virus with an underlap-embedded silicon nanowire field-effect transistor.

The label-free electrical detection of the binding of antibodies and antigens of avian influenza (AI) and human immunodeficiency (HIV) viruses is demonstrated through an underlap-embedded silicon (Si) nanowire field-effect transistor. The proposed sensor was fabricated on a silicon bulk wafer by a top-down process. Specifically, a Si nanowire was fabricated by a combined isotropic and anisotropic patterning technique, which is one route plasma etching process. The sensor was fabricated by a self-aligned process to the gate with tilted implantation, and it allows precise control of the underlap region. This was problematic in earlier underlap field-effect transistors fabricated by a conventional gate-last process. As a sensing metric to detect the binding of a targeted antibody, the transfer characteristic change was traced. Before and after differences between the antibody binding results were caused by changes in the channel potential on the underlap region due to the charge effect arising from the biomolecules; this is also supported by a simulation. Furthermore, the multiplex detection of AI and HIV is demonstrated, showing distinctive selectivity in each case. Thus, the proposed device has inherent benefits for the label-free, electrical, and multiplex detection of biomolecules. Moreover, its processes are compatible with commercialized technology presently used to fabricate semiconductor devices. This advantage is attractive for those involved in the construction of a point-of-care testing (POCT) system on a chip involving simple, low-cost and low-risk fabrication processes of novel structures and materials.

Design strategy for a piezoelectric nanogenerator with a well-ordered nanoshell array.

The piezoelectric nanogenerator (PNG) has been spotlighted as a promising candidate for use as a sustainable power source in wireless system applications. For the further development of PNGs, structural optimization is essential, but the structural analysis progress in this area has been scant. In the present study, we proposed a PNG with a well-ordered nanoshell array structure. The nanoshell structure has been considered as an effective core nanostructure for PNGs due to its effective stress confinement effect but has not been experimentally introduced thus far due to the challenging fabrication method required. To produce a controllable nanoshell structure, a top-down silicon nanofabrication technique which involves advanced spacer lithography is introduced. A comprehensive design strategy to enhance the piezoelectric performance is proposed in terms of the nanoshell diameter and shell-to-shell space. Both simulated and measured data confirm that an extremely high density of a structure is not always the best answer to maximize the performance. The highest amount of power can be achieved when the shell diameter and shell-to-shell space are within their proper ranges. The structural design strategy studied in this work provides a guideline for the further structural developments of PNG.

Surface engineering for enhancement of sensitivity in an underlap-FET biosensor by control of wettability.

The present work aims to improve the sensitivity of an electrical biosensor by simply changing a surface property of the passivation layer, which covers the background region except for the sensing site for electrical isolation among adjacent interconnection lines. The hydrophobic passivation layer dramatically enhances the sensitivity of the biosensor when compared with a hydrophilic passivation layer. A revamped metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET), which has a designed underlap region between a gate and a drain, is used as the electrical biosensor. A thin film of CYTOP(TM) and silicon nitride is used as the hydrophobic and hydrophilic passivation layers, respectively. The surface antigen and its specific antibody of the avian influenza virus were employed as the probe and target biomolecule, respectively, to confirm the enhanced sensitivity of the proposed biosensor. By using hydrophobic passivation, the limit of detection of the biosensor was improved up to 100-fold compared with that resulting from hydrophilic passivation. Therefore, a simple surface engineering to control surface wettability can notably improve the sensitivity of a biosensor without additional efforts, such as modifying the sensor structure, optimizing the bio-treatment protocol, or increasing the binding yield between a probe and its target, among other efforts.

Physical observation of a thermo-morphic transition in a silicon nanowire.

A thermo-morphic transition of a silicon nanowire (Si-NW) is investigated in vacuum and air ambients, and notable differences are found under each ambient. In the vacuum ambient, permanent electrical breakdown occurs as a result of the Joule self-heating arising from the applied voltage across both ends of the Si-NW. The resulting current abruptly declines from a maximum value at the breakdown voltage (V(BD)) to zero. In addition, the thermal conductivity of the Si-NW is extracted from the V(BD) values under the vacuum ambient and shows good agreement with previously reported results. While the breakdown of the Si-NW does not exhibit negative differential resistance under the vacuum ambient, it interestingly shows negative differential resistance with multiple resistances in the current-voltage characteristics under the air ambient, similar to the behavior of carbon nanotubes. This behavior is triggered by current-induced oxidation, which leads to the thermo-morphic transition observed by TEM analyses. Additionally, the current-induced oxidation is favorably applied to reduce the size of a Si-NW at a localized and designated point.

Porphyrin-silicon hybrid field-effect transistor with individually addressable top-gate structure.

A conductance-controllable hybrid device that utilizes the photoinduced charge transfer behavior of a porphyrin in a field-effect transistor (FET) with a nanogap is proposed and analyzed. A conventional metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) structure is modified to form a nanogap in which the porphyrin can be embedded. The conductance of an inversion channel is controlled by the negatively charged, optically activated porphyrin molecules. The proposed nanogap-formed MOSFET structure solves the conventional dilemma that a top-gate cannot be used for an organic-inorganic hybrid device because the top-gate blocks an entire area of a channel where organic material should be immobilized. The top-gate structure has much practicality compared with the back-gate structure because each device can be controlled individually. Furthermore, the device is highly compatible with the chip-based integrated system because the fabrication process follows the standard complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The charge transfer mechanisms between silicon and porphyrin are analyzed using devices with different doping polarities and geometrical parameters. The results show that the influence of the negative charge of the porphyrin in the device is reversed when opposite doping polarities are used. The device characteristics can be comprehensively evaluated using the energy band diagram analysis and simulation. The possible application of the proposed device for nonvolatile memory is demonstrated using the optical charging and electrical discharging behavior of the porphyrins.

A polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) sponge for the selective absorption of oil from water.

We present a sugar-templated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) sponge for the selective absorption of oil from water. The process for fabricating the PDMS sponge does not require any intricate synthesis processes or equipment and it is not environmentally hazardous, thus promoting potential in environmental applications. The proposed PDMS sponge can be elastically deformed into any shape, and it can be compressed repeatedly in air or liquids without collapsing. Therefore, absorbed oils and organic solvents can be readily removed and reused by simply squeezing the PDMS sponge, enabling excellent recyclability. Furthermore, through appropriately combining various sugar particles, the absorption capacity of the PDMS sponge is favorably optimized.

Transformable functional nanoscale building blocks with wafer-scale silicon nanowires.

Through the fusion of electrostatics and mechanical dynamics, we demonstrate a transformable silicon nanowire (SiNW) field effect transistor (FET) through a wafer-scale top-down approach. By felicitously taking advantage of the proposed electrostatic SiNW-FET with mechanically movable SiNWs, all essential logic gates, including address decoders, can be monolithically integrated into a single device. The unification of various functional devices, such as pn-diodes, FETs, logic gates, and address decoders, can therefore eliminate the complex fabrication issues associated with nanoscale integration. These results represent a step toward the creation of multifunctional and flexible nanoelectronics.