On-Chip Micro Temperature Controllers Based on Freestanding Thermoelectric Nano Films for Low-Power Electronics

Multidimensional integration and multifunctional com-ponent assembly have been greatly explored in recent years to extend Moore’s Law of modern microelectronics.However,this inevitably exac-erbates the inhomogeneity of temperature distribution in microsystems,making precise temperature control for electronic components extremely challenging.Herein,we report an on-chip micro temperature controller including a pair of thermoelectric legs with a total area of 50×50μm^(2),which are fabricated from dense and flat freestanding Bi2Te3-based ther-moelectric nano films deposited on a newly developed nano graphene oxide membrane substrate.Its tunable equivalent thermal resistance is controlled by electrical currents to achieve energy-efficient temperature control for low-power electronics.A large cooling temperature difference of 44.5 K at 380 K is achieved with a power consumption of only 445μW,resulting in an ultrahigh temperature control capability over 100 K mW^(-1).Moreover,an ultra-fast cooling rate exceeding 2000 K s^(-1) and excellent reliability of up to 1 million cycles are observed.Our proposed on-chip temperature controller is expected to enable further miniaturization and multifunctional integration on a single chip for microelectronics.

Effects of acetic acid on microstructure and electrochemical properties of nano cerium oxide films coated on AA7020-T6 aluminum alloy

Nano cerium oxide films were applied on AA7020-T6 aluminum alloy and the effects of acetic acid concentration on the microstructure and electrochemical properties of the coated samples were investigated by using scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, and potentiodynamic polarization methods. It has been found that by increasing the acetic acid/CeCl3·7H2O molar ratio, high uniform and crack-free films with well-developed grains were obtained and grain sizes of the films decreased. Elimination of cracks and decreasing grain size of the nano cerium oxide films caused corrosion resistance to increase.

Micro–Nano Water Film Enabled High‑Performance Interfacial Solar Evaporation

Interfacial solar evaporation holds great promise to address the freshwater shortage.However,most interfacial solar evaporators are always filled with water throughout the evaporation process,thus bringing unavoidable heat loss.Herein,we propose a novel interfacial evaporation structure based on the micro–nano water film,which demonstrates significantly improved evaporation performance,as experimentally verified by polypyrrole-and polydopamine-coated polydimethylsiloxane sponge.The 2D evaporator based on the as-prepared sponge realizes an enhanced evaporation rate of 2.18 kg m^(−2)h^(−1)under 1 sun by fine-tuning the interfacial micro–nano water film.Then,a homemade device with an enhanced condensation function is engineered for outdoor clean water production.Throughout a continuous test for 40 days,this device demonstrates a high water production rate(WPR)of 15.9–19.4 kg kW^(−1)h^(−1)m^(−2).Based on the outdoor outcomes,we further establish a multi-objective model to assess the global WPR.It is predicted that a 1 m^(2)device can produce at most 7.8 kg of clean water per day,which could meet the daily drinking water needs of 3 people.Finally,this technology could greatly alleviate the current water and energy crisis through further large-scale applications.

Preparation and characterization of nano-crystalline diamond films on glass substrate

Adherent nano diamond films were successfully deposited on glass substrate bymicrowave plasma assisted CVD method in H_2-CH_4 and Ar-CH_4 environment. Raman, AFM (Atomic ForceMicroscope), TEM (Transmission Electron Microscope), FTIR, and Nano Indentation techniques were usedfor characterization of the obtained nano diamond films. It was found that the average grain sizewas less than 100 nm with a surface roughness value as low as 2 nm. The nano diamond films werefound to have excellent transparency in visible and IR spectrum range, and were as hard as naturaldiamond. Experimental results were presented. Mechanisms for nano diamond film deposition werediscussed.

Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering on Self-assembled Nano Silver Film Prepared by Electrolysis Method

We demonstrate surface enhanced Raman scattering （SERS） detection of self-assembled nano silver film using a low-cost electrolysis strategy at a proper voltage and silver nitrate concentration in electrolyte. The concentration dependence of SERS from crystal violet （CV） molecules adsorbed to silver film was systematically studied. Importantly, the SERS surface enhancement factor of such nano silver film was 603, which was measured by a portable Raman spectrometer. The minimum concentration of detectable CV molecules can be as low as 10^-11 mol/L. The nano silver film prepared by this electrolysis method is an active, stable, cost-effective, and reusable SERS substrate.

Pulse Laser Deposition of HfO_(2)Nanoporous-Like Structure,Physical Properties for Device Fabrication

The pulsed laser deposition(PLD)technology was used to effectively create conductive nano and micro hafnium oxide with great purity and transparency for(HfO_(2))nanofilms.In many optoelectronics devices and their applications,the presence of a high dielectric substance like a nano HfO2,between the metal contacts and the substrates was critical.We used the Pulsed Laser Deposition method to fabricate an Al/HfO_(2)/p-Si Schottky barrier diode where the nanostructured HfO2 films as an intermediate layer and varied substrate temperatures.The optical result reveals a high degree of transparency(93%).The optical bandgap of deposited HfO2 films was observed to vary between 4.9 and 5.3 eV,with a value of roughly 5.3 eV at the optimal preparation condition.The morphology of the surface shows a high homogeneous nano structure with the average values of the roughness about(0.3 nm).With regard to substrate temperature,the produced factor ideality for fabricated diode was determined to be lowering and the associated values of the barrier height rose based on I-Vcharacterization.With regard to substrate temperature,the produced factor ideality for fabricated diode was determined to be lowering and the associated values of the barrier height rose based on I-V characterization.The diode manufactured at 600℃,in particular,had a higher ideality factor value(n=3.2).

Micro structure and corrosion behavior of ALD AI2O3 film on AZ31 magnesium alloy with different surface roughness

There remains growing interest in magnesium(Mg)and its alloys,as they are the lightest structural metallic materials and potential metallic biomaterials.In spite of the greatest historical Mg usage at present,the wider use of Mg alloys remains restricted by the poor corrosion resistance.A nano amorphous film,as the composition of Al2O3,had now been deposited on the AZ31 Mg alloy substrate by atomic layer deposition(ALD).Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction(GIXRD),X-ray reflectivity(XRR),X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS),atomic force microscope(AFM)and scanning electron microscopy(SEM)had been employed to identify the chemical compositions,microstructure and Al2O3/Mg interface of specimens firstly.Then corrosion behavior had been evaluated by neutral salt spray test and electrochemical measurement.The results showed that nano amorphous film made a homogeneous cover on Mg alloy.The film could improve the corrosion resistance of Mg alloy greatly,not only with a positive shift in Ecorr and a decrease in icorr,but also with a more uniform corroded mode.Furthermore,the roughness was found to be an important factor for corrosion resistant,in the way that rougher surface was corroded worse,and greater improvement would be in corrosion resistant after nano amorphous film deposition.

Organophosphine ligand derived sandwich-structural electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction

The synchronous construction of metal phosphate and phosphorus-doped carbon structures is of great significance to innovate the design,synthesis,and application of catalysts,as these phosphoruscontaining composite materials have shown a remarkable contribution to electrocatalysts.However,their preparation procedure generally involves using large amounts of excess phosphorus sources for phosphorization,which inevitably release poisonous PH_(3) or dangerous phosphorus vapor.Here,a strategy for in-situ formation of FePO_(4) embedded in P-doped carbon 2D nano film(FePO_(4)/PdC)is developed using a highly integrated precursor,which is a small molecular organophosphine ligand,1,1’bis(diphenylphosphine)ferrocene(DPPF).The multi-source precursor DPPF that contains Fe,P,and C is molecular-vapor-deposited on the nickel foam(NF)supported ZIF-67 nanosheets to obtain the composite catalyst,namely DPPF-500/ZIF-67/NF.FePO_(4)/PdC encapsulated the ZIF-67 derived Co/N-doped carbon matrix(Co NC)to form a sandwich structure FePO_(4)/PdC@CoNC.The constructed catalyst shows good performance for OER,requiring an overpotential of only 297 m V to deliver 600 m A/cm^(2) with a Tafel slope of 42.7 m V dec^(-1).DFT calculations demonstrate that the synergistic effects between the metal active center and P-doped carbon film reduce the energy barriers and improve electron transport.This method of constructing P-containing catalysts overcomes the demand for additional P sources to realize eco-friendly fabrication and yields a unique structure with good catalytic activity.

Role of TbFe on Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy and Giant Magnetoresistance Effect in [Co/Ni]_N-Based Spin Valves

The exchange-coupled [Co/Ni]N/Tb Fe nano-magnetic films can display strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy(PMA) which depends on the Tb:Fe component ratio, Tb Fe layer thickness and the repetition number N of [Co/Ni]Nmultilayer. Perpendicular spin valves in the nano thickness scale, consisting of a [Co/Ni]3free and a [Co/Ni]5/Tb Fe reference multilayer, show high giant magnetoresistance(GMR) signal of 6.5 % and a large switching field difference over3 k Oe. However, unexpected slanting of the free layer magnetization, accompanied by a reduced GMR ratio, was found to be caused by the presence of a thick Fe-rich or even a thin but Tb-rich Tb Fe layer. We attribute this phenomenon to the large magnetostriction effect of Tb Fe which probably induces strong stress acting on the free layer and hence reduces its interfacial PMA.

Boosting daytime radiative cooling performance with nanoporous polyethylene film

Radiative cooling without energy consumption and environmental pollution holds great promise as the next-generation cooling technology.To date,daytime radiative cooling performance is still slightly low,especially in humid areas.In this work,we demonstrated that nanoporous polyethylene(Nano PE)film can improve solar reflectivity from 96%to 99%,thus boosting radiative cooling performance.Moreover,the experimental results in humid areas indicate that Nano PE films can improve radiative cooling performance by∼76%in a clear day and 120%in a day with few clouds.Additionally,compared with ordinary PE films,thin Nano PE films have significantly higher weather fastness and mechanical strength.More importantly,nano PE films can scatter part of visible light,thus suppressing the generation of light pollution in practical applications.Lastly,the modeling results reveal that with Nano PE films,more than 95%of China’s areas can achieve daytime cooling performance.Our work can boost the development of radiative cooling technology with a very low cost.

Preparation and Characterization of Hydrophobic Nano Silver Film on Butterfly Wings as Bio-template

Hydrophobic nano silver films were fabricated on butterfly wings as bio-template. The micrometric/nano structures and hydrophobicity of the surfaces were investigated with the help of scanning electron microscope（SEM） and video-based contact angle meter. The hydrophobic mechanism of silver film was analyzed with the aid of Cas- sie＇s formula. On the nano silver films of various thicknesses（5, 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 nm）, all the contact an- gles（CAs） of water were bigger than 120°. When the silver film was 5 nm, the CAs of water on it on the wing surfa- ces of Mimathyma nycteis and Speyeria aglaja were 143.2° and 139.2°, respectively. Coated with the sliver film of the same thickness, butterfly wing surface exhibited the CA remarkably bigger than glass slide surface, exhibiting its high hydrophobicity. With the increase of silver film thickness on butterfly wing surface, the hydrophobicity kept de- creasing. The micrometric/nano hierarchical structures on butterfly wing surface result in the transition of metal silver from hydrophilicity to hydrophobicity.

Preface: Advanced Thin Film Developments and Nano Structures

In this special issue, we invited a few leading materials researchers to present topics in thin films, coatings, and nano structures. Readers will find most recent developments in topics, including recent advances in hard, tough, and low friction nanocomposite coatings; thin films for coating nanomaterials; electroless plating of silver thin films on porous Al2O3 substrate; CrN/Nano Cr interlayer coatings; nano-structured carbide derived carbon （CDC） films and their tribology; predicting interdiffusion in high-temperature coatings; gallium-catalyzed silica nanowire growth; and corrosion protection properties of organofunctional silanes. Authors are from both national laboratories and academia.