Novel CMOS image sensor pixel to improve charge transfer speed and efficiency by overlapping gate and temporary storage diffusing node

A novel CMOS image sensor(CIS) pinned photodiode(PPD) pixel, named as O-T pixel, is proposed and investigated by TCAD simulations. Compared with the conventional PPD pixel, the proposed pixel features the overlapping gate(OG)and the temporary storage diffusing(TSD) region, based on which the several-nanosecond-level charge transfer could be achieved and the complete charge transfer from the PPD to the floating node(FD) could be realized. And systematic analyses of the influence of the doping conditions of the proposed processes, the OG length, and the photodiode length on the transfer performances of the proposed pixel are conducted. Optimized simulation results show that the total charge transfer time could reach about 5.862 ns from the photodiode to the sensed node and the corresponding charge transfer efficiency could reach as high as 99.995% in the proposed pixel with 10 μm long photodiode and 2.22 μm long OG. These results demonstrate a great potential of the proposed pixel in high-speed applications.

Surface-charge-governed electrolyte transport in carbon nanotubes

The transport behavior of pressure-driven aqueous electrolyte solution through charged carbon nanotubes(CNTs) is studied by using molecular dynamics simulations. The results reveal that the presence of charges around the nanotube can remarkably reduce the flow velocity as well as the slip length of the aqueous solution, and the decreasing of magnitude depends on the number of surface charges and distribution. With 1-M KCl solution inside the carbon nanotube, the slip length decreases from 110 nm to only 14 nm when the number of surface charges increases from 0 to 12 e. This phenomenon is attributed to the increase of the solid–liquid friction force due to the electrostatic interaction between the charges and the electrolyte particles, which can impede the transports of water molecules and electrolyte ions. With the simulation results,we estimate the energy conversion efficiency of nanofluidic battery based on CNTs, and find that the highest efficiency is only around 30% but not 60% as expected in previous work.

Influence of sub-bandgap illumination on space charge distribution in CdZnTe detector

The space charge accumulation in CdZnTe crystals seriously affects the performance of high-flux pulse detectors.The influence of sub-bandgap illumination on the space charge distribution and device performance in CdZnTe crystals were studied theoretically by Silvaco TCAD software simulation.The sub-bandgap illumination with a wavelength of 890 nm and intensity of 8×10−8 W/cm2 were used in the simulation to explore the space charge distribution and internal electric field distribution in CdZnTe crystals.The simulation results show that the deep level occupation faction is manipulated by the sub-bandgap illumination,thus space charge concentration can be reduced under the bias voltage of 500 V.A flat electric field distribution is obtained,which significantly improves the charge collection efficiency of the CdZnTe detector.Meanwhile,premised on the high resistivity of CdZnTe crystal,the space charge concentration in the crystal can be further reduced with the wavelength of 850 nm and intensity of 1×10−7 W/cm2 illumination.The electric field distribution is flatter and the carrier collection efficiency of the device can be improved more effectively.

A molecular cobaloxime cocatalyst and ultrathin FeOOH nanolayers co-modifiedBiVO_(4) photoanode for efficient photoelectrochemical water oxidation

BiVO_(4) has been attracting a lot of interest in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water oxidation due to its efficient solar absorption and appropriate band positions.So far,sluggish water oxidation kinetics and fast photogenerated charge recombination still hinder the PEC performance ofBiVO_(4) .In this study,a novel PEC photoanode was designed by depositing ultrathin FeOOH nanolayers on the surface of nanoporousBiVO_(4) electrode,followed by modification with a cobaloxime (Co(dmgH)_(2)(4-COOH-py)Cl) molecular cocatalyst.Under irradiation of a 100 mW cm^(-2)(AM 1.5G) Xe lamp,the photocurrent density of the cobaloxime/FeOOH/BiVO_(4) composite photoanode reached 5.1 mA cm^(-2)at 1.23 V vs.RHE in 1.0 M potassium borate buffer solution (pH=9.0).The onset potential of the optimal cobaloxime/FeOOH/BiVO_(4) photoanode exhibited a 460 m V cathodic shift relative to bareBiVO_(4) .In addition,the surface charge injection efficiency of the composite photoanode reached~80%at 1.23 V vs.RHE and the incident photon-to-current efficiency (IPCE) reached~88%at 420 nm.

Charge transfer efficiency improvement of a 4-T pixel by the optimization of electrical potential distribution under the transfer gate

The charge transfer efficiency improvement method is introduced by optimizing the electrical potential distribution under the transfer gate along the charge transfer path. A non-uniform doped transfer transistor chan- nel is introduced to provide an ascending electrical potential gradient in the transfer transistor channel. With the adjustments to the overlap length between the R1 region and the transfer gate, the doping dose of the R1 region, and the overlap length between the anti-punch-through （APT） implantations and transfer gate, the potential barrier and potential pocket in the connecting region of transfer transistor channel and the pinned photodiode （PPD） are reduced to improve the electrical potential connection. The simulation results show that the percentage of residual charges to total charges drops from 1/10^4 to 1/10^7, and the transfer time is reduced from 500 to 110 ns. This means the charge transfer efficiency is improved.

Photoelectrochemical evaluation of SILAR-deposited nanoporous BiVO4 photoanodes for solar-driven water splitting

We report a photoelectrochemical investigation of BiVO4 photoanodes prepared by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction(SILAR),a facile method that yields uniform nanoporous films.After characterization of the phase,morphology,composition,and optical properties of the prepared films,the efficiencies of charge separation(ηsep)and water oxidation(ηox)in solar water splitting cells employing these photoanodes were estimated following a previously reported procedure.Unexpected wavelength and illumination direction dependencies were discovered in the derived efficiencies,casting doubt on the validity of the analysis.An alternative approach using a diffusion–reaction model that explicitly considers the efficiency of electron collection resolved the discrepancies and explained the illumination direction dependence of the photocurrent.Electron diffusion lengths(Ln)of 0.45μm and 0.55μm were derived for pristine and cobalt phosphate(Co-Pi)modified BiVO4,respectively,which are much shorter than the film thickness of^2.1μm.The Co-Pi treatment also increasedηoxfrom 0.86 to^1,which is the main reason for the overall performance enhancement caused by adding Co-Pi.These findings suggest that there is little scope for improving the performance of SILAR-deposited BiVO4 photoanodes by further catalyzing water oxidation,but enhanced performance is achievable if electron transport can be improved.

Progress in hole-transporting materials for perovskite solar cells

In recent years the photovoltaic community has witnessed the unprecedented development of perovskite solar cells（PSCs） as they have taken the lead in emergent photovoltaic technologies. The power conversion efficiency of this new class of solar cells has been increased to a point where they are beginning to compete with more established technologies. Although PSCs have evolved a variety of structures, the use of hole-transporting materials（HTMs） remains indispensable. Here, an overview of the various types of available HTMs is presented. This includes organic and inorganic HTMs and is presented alongside recent progress in associated aspects of PSCs, including device architectures and fabrication techniques to produce high-quality perovskite films. The structure, electrochemistry, and physical properties of a variety of HTMs are discussed, highlighting considerations for those designing new HTMs. Finally, an outlook is presented to provide more concrete direction for the development and optimization of HTMs for highefficiency PSCs.

Layered-stacking of titania films for solar energy conversion:Toward tailored optical,electronic and photovoltaic performance

Nanostructured TiO2 with differentiate morphologies has attracted tremendous attention due to its wide band-gap nature as well as outstanding optical and electric properties for solar-driven light-toelectricity conversion application. Layered-stacking TiO2 film such as double-layer, tri-layer, quadrupleor quintuplicate-layer, is highly desirable to the design of high-performance semiconductor material photoanodes and the development of advanced photovoltaic devices. In this minireview, we will summarize the recent progress and achievements on proof-of-concept of layered-stacking TiO2 films（LTFs） for solar cells with emphasis on the tailored properties and synergistic functionalization of LTFs, such as optimized sensitizer adsorption, broadened light confinement as well as facilitated electron transport characteristics.Various demonstrations of LTFs photovoltaic systems provide lots of possibilities and flexibilities for more efficient solar energy utilization that a wide variety of TiO2 with distinguished morphologies can be integrated into differently structured photoanodes with synergistic and complementary advantages. This key structure engineering technology will also pave the way for the development of next generation state-ofthe-art electronics and optoelectronics. Finally, from our point of view, we conclude the future research interest and efforts for constructing more efficient LTFs as photoelectrode, which will be highly warranted to advance the solar energy conversion process.

Charged ultrafine particle filtration through vehicular cabin air filters

Understanding the effectiveness of cabin air filters is important for assessing human exposure to ultra- fine particles （UFPs） of vehicular origin. The filtration efficiency of vehicular UFPs with electric charges was investigated for different electric charge characteristics （charge state, charge polarity）. The average filtration efficiency increased ~10% as the electric charge state on the particles changed in distribution from lightly charged to highly charged. The enhancement of filtration efficiency due to electric charge was different at various filter-face air velocities. As electric charges increased, the filtration efficiency increased 12% and 9% at low air velocity （0.1 m/s） and high air velocity （0.S m/s）, respectively. The filter fiber material poses somewhat effect on the filtration efficiency change due to the electric charge. The effects of filter usage and charge polarity on filtration efficiency due to the electric charge were negligi- ble. A coefficient was empirically derived and successfully accounts for the electric charge effect on UFP filtratinn efficiency.

Experimental realization to efficiently sort vector beams by polarization topological charge via Pancharatnam–Berry phase modulation

This paper reports the experimental realization of efficiently sorting vector beams by polarization topological charge(PTC). The PTC of a vector beam can be defined as the repetition number of polarization state change along the azimuthal axis, while its sign stands for the rotating direction of the polarization. Here, a couple of liquid crystal Pancharatnam–Berry optical elements(PBOEs) have been used to introduce conjugated spatial phase modulations for two orthogonal circular polarization states. Applying these PBOEs in a 4-f optical system,our experiments show the setup can work for PTC sorting with a separation efficiency of more than 58%. This work provides an effective way to decode information from different PTCs, which may be interesting in many fields, especially in optical communication.

High voltage generator circuit with low power and high efficiency applied in EEPROM

This paper presents a low power and high efficiency high voltage generator circuit embedded in electrically erasable programmable read-only memory（EEPROM）.The low power is minimized by a capacitance divider circuit and a regulator circuit using the controlling clock switch technique.The high efficiency is dependent on the zero threshold voltage（V_（th）） MOSFET and the charge transfer switch（CTS） charge pump.The proposed high voltage generator circuit has been implemented in a 0.35μm EEPROM CMOS process.Measured results show that the proposed high voltage generator circuit has a low power consumption of about 150.48μW and a higher pumping efficiency（83.3%） than previously reported circuits.This high voltage generator circuit can also be widely used in low-power flash devices due to its high efficiency and low power dissipation.

Influence of Extraction Barrier on the Loss Process of Photogenerated Charge Carrier in Polymer Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells

Based on a full device model adopting three-dimensional Pauli master equation approach, the charge carrier loss process due to poor extraction channels between electrode and active layer in polymer bulk heterojunction（BHJ） solar cells was studied. The influence of barrier height on device performance was simulated to reveal the importance of electrode improvement. It was found that relatively large extraction barrier height（over 0.40 eV） can lead to the significant diminishing of the overall charge collection efficiency, since bimolecular recombination rate would increase to a high level due to enhanced space charge accumulation effect near electrodes. In contrast, the percentage of charge carrier annihilated due to geminate recombination did not change significantly with barrier height variation. Our simulation results may provide the basis for a more accurate model and potential direction of polymer BHJ solar cells improvement.

D-A structured high efficiency solid luminogens with tunable emissions： Molecular design and photophysical properties

Fabrication of efficient solid luminogens with tunable emission is both fundamentally significant and technically important. Herein, based on our previous strategy for the construction of efficient and multifunctional solid luminogens through the combination of diverse aggregation-induced emission （ALE） units with other functional moieties, a group of luminophores with electron donor-acceptor （D-A） structure and typical intramolecular charge transfer （ICT） characteristics, namely CZ-DCDPP, DPA-DCDPP and DBPA-DCDPP were synthesized and investigated. The presence of twisting and AlE-active 2,3- dicyano-S,6-diphenylpyrazine （DCDPP） moiety endows them highly emissive in the solid states, whereas the introduction of arylamines with varied electron-donating capacity and different conjugation render them with tunable solid emissions from green to red. While CZ-DCDPP and DPA-DCDPP solids exhibit distinct mechanochromism, both DPA-DCDPP and DBPA-DCDPP solids can generate efficient red emission. Owing to their high efficiency, remarkable thermal and morphological stabilities and moreover red emission, they are promising for diverse optoelectronic and biological applications.

Energy Management Strategy for Hybrid Electric Vehicle Based on System Efficiency and Battery Life Optimization

A novel method to calculate fuel-electric conversion factor for full hybrid electric vehicle（HEV）equipped with continuously variable transmission（CVT）is proposed.Based on consideration of the efficiency of pivotal components,electric motor,system efficiency optimization models are developed.According to the target of instantaneous optimization of system efficiency,operating ranges of each mode of power-train are determined,and the corresponding energy management strategies are established.The simulation results demonstrate that the energy management strategy proposed can substantially improve the vehicle fuel economy,and keep battery state of charge（SOC）change in a reasonable variation range.

An ultrafast carrier dynamics system from oxygen vacancies modified SnO_(2)QDs and Zn_(2)SnO_(4)heterojunction for deeply photocatalytic oxidation of NO

Deeply photocatalytic oxidation of NO-to-NO_(3)holds great promise for alleviating NO_(x) pollution.The major challenge of NO photo-oxidation is the highly in-situ generated NO_(2) concentration,and the formation of unstable nitrate species causes desorption to release NO_(2).In this study,SnO_(2) quantum dots and oxygen vacancies co-modified Zn_(2)SnO_(4)(ZSO-SnO_(2)-OVs)were prepared by a one-step hydrothermal procedure,the NO photo-oxidation was investigated by a combination of solid experimental and theoretical support.Impressively,spectroscopic measurements indicate that fast carrier dynamics can be achieved due to the electron transfer efficiency of ZSO-SnO_(2)-OVs reaching 99.99%,far outperforming the counterpart and previously reported photocatalysts.During NO oxidation,molecular NO/O_(2) and H2O are efficiently adsorbed/activated around OVs and SnO_(2) QDs,respectively.In-situ infrared measurements and calculated electron localized function disclose two main findings:(1)richly electrons enable NO promptly form NOinstead of toxic NO_(2) or NO^(+);(2)the generation of stable and undecomposed bidentate NO_(3)rather than bridging or monodentate one benefits the deep oxidation of NO via shifting reaction sites from O terminals for original ZSO to Sn ones for ZSO-SnO_(2)-OVs.The synergistic action of SnO_(2) QDs and OVs positively contributes to the NO oxidation performance enhancement(60.6%,0.1 g of sample)and high selectivity of NO to NO_(3)(99.2%).Results from this study advance the mechanistic understanding of NO photooxidation and its selectivity to NO_(3)over photocatalysts.

Estimation and feedback control of air-fuel ratio for gasoline engines

In 4-stroke internal combustion engines, air-fuel ratio control is a challenging task due to the rapid changes of engine throttle,especially during transient operation. To improve the transient performance, managing the cycle-to-cycle transient behavior of the mass of the air, the fuel and the burnt gas is a key issue due to the imbalance of cyclic combustion process. This paper address the model-based estimation and control problem for cyclic air-fuel ratio of spark-ignition engines. A discrete-time model of air-fuel ratio is proposed, which represents the cycle-to-cycle transient behavior of in-cylinder state variables under the assumptions of cyclic measurability of the total in-cylinder charge mass, combustion efficiency and the residual gas fraction. With the model,a Kalman filter-based air-fuel ratio estimation algorithm is proposed that enable us to perform a feedback control of air-fuel ratio without using lambda sensor. Finally, experimental validation result is demonstrated to show the effectiveness of proposed estimation and control scheme that is conducted on a full-scaled gasoline engine test bench.