Device design principles and bioelectronic applications for flexible organic electrochemical transistors

Organic electrochemical transistors(OECTs) exhibit significant potential for applications in healthcare and human-machine interfaces, due to their tunable synthesis, facile deposition, and excellent biocompatibility. Expanding OECTs to the fexible devices will significantly facilitate stable contact with the skin and enable more possible bioelectronic applications. In this work,we summarize the device physics of fexible OECTs, aiming to offer a foundational understanding and guidelines for material selection and device architecture. Particular attention is paid to the advanced manufacturing approaches, including photolithography and printing techniques, which establish a robust foundation for the commercialization and large-scale fabrication. And abundantly demonstrated examples ranging from biosensors, artificial synapses/neurons, to bioinspired nervous systems are summarized to highlight the considerable prospects of smart healthcare. In the end, the challenges and opportunities are proposed for fexible OECTs. The purpose of this review is not only to elaborate on the basic design principles of fexible OECTs, but also to act as a roadmap for further exploration of wearable OECTs in advanced bio-applications.

Enhancement of electroluminescent properties of organic optoelectronic integrated device by doping phosphorescent dye

Organic optoelectronic integrated devices（OIDs） with ultraviolet（UV） photodetectivity and different color emitting were constructed by using a thermally activated delayed fluorescence（TADF） material 4, 5-bis（carbazol-9-yl）-1, 2-dicyanobenzene（2 CzPN） as host. The OIDs doping with typical red phosphorescent dye [tris（1-phenylisoquinoline）iridium（Ⅲ）, Ir（piq）3], orange phosphorescent dye {bis[2-（4-tertbutylphenyl）benzothiazolato-N,C-（2＇）]iridium（acetylacetonate）,（tbt）2 Ir（acac）}, and blue phosphorescent dye [bis（2, 4-di-fluorophenylpyridinato）-tetrakis（1-pyrazolyl）borate iridium（Ⅲ）, FIr6] were investigated and compared. The（tbt）2 Ir（acac）-doped orange device showed better performance than those of red and blue devices, which was ascribed to more effective energy transfer. Meanwhile, at a low dopant concentration of 3 wt.%, the（tbt）2 Ir（acac）-doped OIDs showed the maximum luminance, current efficiency, power efficiency of 70786 cd/m^2, 39.55 cd/A, and 23.92 lm/W, respectively, and a decent detectivity of 1.07 × 10^11 Jones at a bias of -2 V under the UV-350 nm illumination. This work may arouse widespread interest in constructing high efficiency and luminance OIDs based on doping phosphorescent dye.

NEXT GENERATION WIRELESS NETWORKS–ESPECIALLY THE USE OF MILLI-MICROWAVE BANDS

The global bandwidth shortage of wireless communications has motivated the exploration of the millimeter wave(mm-wave)frequency spectrum for the next generation wireless communications.Recent advances in RF CMOS technology and high speed baseband signal processing technologies have enabled the extensive research and development of mm-wave wireless communications.The multi gigabit per second data rate of mm-wave system will lead to applications in many important scenarios,such as WPAN,WLAN,back-haul for cellular system.And the frequency

Boosting efficiency and stability of 2D alternating cation perovskite solar cells via rational surface-modification: Marked passivation efficacy of anion

Two-dimensional(2D) alternating cation(ACI) perovskite surface defects,especially dominant iodine vacancies(V_Ⅰ) and undercoordinated Pb^(2+),limit the performance of perovskite solar cells(PVSCs).To address the issue,1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoro-methane-sulfonate(BMIMOTF) and its iodide counterpart(BMIMI) are utilized to modify the perovskite surface respectively.We find that BMIMI can change the perovskite surface,whereas BMIMOTF shows a nondestructive and more effective defect passivation,giving significantly reduced defect density and suppressed charge-carrier nonradiative recombination.This mainly attributes to the marked passivation efficacy of OTF-anion on V_Ⅰ and undercoordinated Pb^(2+),rather than BMIMI^(+) cation.Benefiting from the rational surface-modification of BMMIMOTF,the films exhibit an optimized energy level alignment,enhanced hydrophobicity and suppressed ion migration.Consequently,the BMIMOTF-modified devices achieve an impressive efficiency of 21.38% with a record open-circuit voltage of 1.195 V,which is among the best efficiencies reported for 2D PVSCs,and display greatly enhanced humidity and thermal stability.

Improving efficiency of inverted perovskite solar cells via ethanolamine-doped PEDOT:PSS as hole transport layer

In order to fabricate high-performance inverted perovskite solar cells(Pe SCs), an appropriate hole transport layer(HTL) is essential since it will affect the hole extraction at perovskite/HTL interface and determine the crystallization quality of the subsequent perovskite films. Herein, a facile and simple method is developed by adding ethanolamine(ETA)into poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate)(PEDOT:PSS) as HTL. The doping of a low-concentration ETA can efficiently modify the electrical properties of the PEDOT:PSS film and lower the highest occupied molecular orbital(HOMO) level, which is more suitable for the hole extraction from the perovskite to HTL. Besides, ETA-doped PEDOT:PSS will create a perovskite film with larger grain size and higher crystallinity. Hence, the results show that the open-circuit voltage of the device increases from 0.99 V to 1.06 V, and the corresponding power conversion efficiency(PCE)increases from 14.68% to 19.16%. The alkaline nature of ethanolamine greatly neutralizes the acidity of PEDOT:PSS, and plays a role in protecting the anode, leading the stability of the devices to be improved significantly. After being stored for2000 h, the PCE of ETA-doped PEDOT:PSS devices can maintain 84.2% of the initial value, which is much higher than67.1% of undoped devices.

A Universal Atomic Substitution Conversion Strategy Towards Synthesis of Large‑Size Ultrathin Nonlayered Two‑Dimensional Materials

Nonlayered two-dimensional(2D)materials have attracted increasing attention,due to novel physical properties,unique surface structure,and high compatibility with microfabrication technique.However,owing to the inherent strong covalent bonds,the direct synthesis of 2D planar structure from nonlayered materials,especially for the realization of large-size ultrathin 2D nonlayered materials,is still a huge challenge.Here,a general atomic substitution conversion strategy is proposed to synthesize large-size,ultrathin nonlayered 2D materials.Taking nonlayered CdS as a typical example,large-size ultrathin nonlayered CdS single-crystalline flakes are successfully achieved via a facile low-temperature chemical sulfurization method,where pre-grown layered CdI2 flakes are employed as the precursor via a simple hot plate assisted vertical vapor deposition method.The size and thickness of CdS flakes can be controlled by the CdI2 precursor.The growth mechanism is ascribed to the chemical substitution reaction from I to S atoms between CdI2 and CdS,which has been evidenced by experiments and theoretical calculations.The atomic substitution conversion strategy demonstrates that the existing 2D layered materials can serve as the precursor for difficult-to-synthesize nonlayered 2D materials,providing a bridge between layered and nonlayered materials,meanwhile realizing the fabrication of large-size ultrathin nonlayered 2D materials.

Modeling of a triple reduced surface field silicon-on-insulator lateral double-diffused metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor with low on-state resistance

An analytical model for a novel triple reduced surface field（RESURF） silicon-on-insulator（SOI） lateral doublediffused metal–oxide–semiconductor（LDMOS） field effect transistor with n-type top（N-top） layer, which can obtain a low on-state resistance, is proposed in this paper. The analytical model for surface potential and electric field distributions of the novel triple RESURF SOI LDMOS is presented by solving the two-dimensional（2D） Poisson＇s equation, which can also be applied to single, double and conventional triple RESURF SOI structures. The breakdown voltage（BV） is formulized to quantify the breakdown characteristic. Besides, the optimal integrated charge of N-top layer（Q_（ntop）） is derived, which can give guidance for doping the N-top layer. All the analytical results are well verified by numerical simulation results,showing the validity of the presented model. Hence, the proposed model can be a good tool for the device designers to provide accurate first-order design schemes and physical insights into the high voltage triple RESURF SOI device with N-top layer.

Enhancement of Frster energy transfer from thermally activated delayed fluorophores layer to ultrathin phosphor layer for high color stability in non-doped hybrid white organic light-emitting devices

Fluorescence/phosphorescence hybrid white organic light-emitting devices（WOLEDs） based on double emitting layers（EMLs） with high color stability are fabricated.The simplified EMLs consist of a non-doped blue thermally activated delayed fluorescence（TADF） layer using 9,9-dimethyl-9,10-dihydroacridine-diphenylsulfone（DMAC-DPS） and an ultrathin non-doped yellow phosphorescence layer employing bis[2-（4-tertbutylphenyl）benzothiazolato-N,C2＇]iridium（acetylacetonate）（（tbt）_2Ir（acac））.Two kinds of materials of 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline（Bphen） and 1,3,5-tris（2-Nphenylbenzimidazolyl） benzene（TPBi） are selected as the electron transporting layer（ETL）,and the thickness of yellow EML is adjusted to optimize device performance.The device based on a 0.3-nm-thick yellow EML and Bphen exhibits high color stability with a slight Commission International de l＇Eclairage（CIE） coordinates variation of（0.017,0.009） at a luminance ranging from 52 cd/m^2 to 6998 cd/m^2.The TPBi-based device yields a high efficiency with a maximum external quantum efficiency（EQE）,current efficiency,and power efficiency of 10%,21.1 cd/A,and 21.3 lm/W,respectively.The ultrathin yellow EML suppresses hole trapping and short-radius Dexter energy transfer,so that Forster energy transfer（FRET）from DMAC-DPS to（tbt）_2Ir（acac） is dominant,which is beneficial to keep the color stable.The employment of TPBi with higher triplet excited state effectively alleviates the triplet exciton quenching by ETL to improve device efficiency.

Numerical model of multilayer organic light-emitting devices

A numerical model of multilayer organic light-emitting devices is presented in this article. This model is based on the drift-diffusion equations which include charge injection, transport, space charge effects, trapping, heterojunction interface and recombination process. The device structure in the simulation is ITO/CuPc （20 nm）/NPD （40 nm）/Alq3 （60 nm）/LiF/Al. There are two heterojunctions which should be dealt with in the simulation. The I-V characteristics, carrier distribution and recombination rate of a device are calculated. The simulation results and measured data are in good agreement.

Detailed analysis of ultrathin fluorescent red dye interlayer for organic photovoltaic cells

The influence of an ultrathin 4-（dicyanomethylene）-2-t-butyl-6-（1,1,7,7-tetramethyljulolidyl-9-enyl）-4H-pyran （DCJTB） fluorescent dye layer at donor/acceptor heterojunction on the performance of small-molecule organic photovoltaic （OPV） cell is studied. The structure of OPV cell is of indium-tin oxide （ITO）/copper phthalocyanine （CuPc）/DCJTB/fullerene （C60）/bathophenantbroline （Bphen）/Ag. The results show that open circuit voltage （Voc） increases to 0.57 V as the film thickness of DCJTB layer increases from 0.2 to 2.0 nm. By using an equivalent circuit model, the enhancement of VOC is found to be attributed to the reduced reverse saturation current density （Js） which is due to the lower highest occupied molecular orbital （HOMO） level in DCJTB than that in CuPc. Also, the short circuit current density （JSC） is affected when the DCJTB layer becomes thicker, resulting from the high series resistance RsA due to the low charge carrier mobility of fluorescent red dye.

Photocurrent analysis of organic photovoltaic cells based on CuPc/C_(60) with Alq_3 as a buffer layer

The performance of an organic photovoltaic （OPV） cell based on copper phthatocyanine CuPc/C60 with a tris- （8-hydroxyquinolinato） aluminum （Alq3） buffer layer has been investigated. It was found that the power conversion efficiency of the device was 1.51% under illumination with an intensity of 100 mW/cm^2, which was limited by a squareroot dependence of the photocurrent on voltage. The photocurrent optical power density characteristics showed that the OPV cell had a significant space-charge limited photocurrent with a varied saturation voltage and a three quarters power dependence on optical power density. Also, the absorption spectrum was measured by a spectrophotometer, and the results showed that the additional Alq3 layer has a minor effect on photocurrent generation.

Introduction of F_4-TCNQ/MoO_3 layers for thermoelectric devices based on pentacene

We introduced a dual electron accepting layer composed of tetrafluoro-tetracyanoquinodimethane （F4-TCNQ） and MoO3 for thermoelectric devices based on a pentacene layer. We found that the power factor is enhanced by placing an F4-TCNQ layer directly in contact with the pentacene layer and it is also enhanced by placing a MoO3 layer between the F4-TCNQ layer and the Au electrode. By examining the contact resistance using a field effect transistor and a hole-only diode, we confirmed that the hole injection is improved due to the reduction of contact resistance at the interface between the MoO3 layer and the Au electrode.

Modeling the reactive sputter deposition of Ti-doped VO_x thin films

In this paper an original numerical model, based on the standard Berg model, is used to simulate the growth mechanism of Ti-doped VOx deposited with changing oxygen flow during reactive sputtering deposition. Ti-doped VOx thin films are deposited using a V target with Ti inserts. The effects of titanium inserts on the discharge voltage, deposition rate, and the ratio of V/Ti are investigated. By doping titanium in the vanadium target, the average sputtering yield decreases. In this case, the sputter erosion reduces, which is accompanied by a reduction in the deposition rate. The ratio between V content and Ti content in the film is measured using energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy （EDX）. A decrease in the vanadium concentration with the increasing of the oxygen flow rate is detected using EDX. Results show a reasonable agreement between numerical and experimental data.

Reliability of transparent conductive oxide in ambient acid and implications for silicon solar cells

Transparent conductive oxide(TCO)films,known for their role as carrier transport layers in solar cells,can be adversely affected by hydrolysis products from encapsulants.In this study,we explored the morphology,optical-electrical properties,and deterioration mechanisms of In2O3-based TCO films under acetic acid stress.A reduction in film thickness and carrier concentration due to acid-induced corrosion was observed.X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry analyses revealed that TCOs doped with less-reactive metals exhibited enhanced corrosion resistance.The efficiency of silicon heterojunction(SHJ)solar cells with tin-doped indium oxide,titanium-doped indium oxide,and zinc-doped indium oxide films decreased by 10%,26%,and 100%,respectively,after 200h of corrosion.We also found that tungsten-doped indium oxide could effectively safeguard SHJ solar cells against acetic acid corrosion,which offers a potential option for achieving long-term stability and lower levelized cost of solar cell systems.This research provides essential insights into selecting TCO films for solar cells and highlights the implications of ethylene-vinyl acetate hydrolysis for photovoltaic modules.

Multi-timescale Modeling and Dynamic Stability Analysis for Sustainable Microgrids:State-of-the-art and Perspectives

The increasing trend for integrating renewable energy sources into the grid to achieve a cleaner energy system is one of the main reasons for the development of sustainable microgrid(MG)technologies.As typical power-electronized power systems,MGs make extensive use of power electronics converters,which are highly controllable and flexible but lead to a profound impact on the dynamic performance of the whole system.Compared with traditional large-capacity power systems,MGs are less resistant to perturbations,and various dynamic variables are coupled with each other on multiple timescales,resulting in a more complex system instability mechanism.To meet the technical and economic challenges,such as active and reactive power-sharing,voltage,and frequency deviations,and imbalances between power supply and demand,the concept of hierarchical control has been introduced into MGs,allowing systems to control and manage the high capacity of renewable energy sources and loads.However,as the capacity and scale of the MG system increase,along with a multi-timescale control loop design,the multi-timescale interactions in the system may become more significant,posing a serious threat to its safe and stable operation.To investigate the multi-timescale behaviors and instability mechanisms under dynamic inter-actions for AC MGs,existing coordinated control strategies are discussed,and the dynamic stability of the system is defined and classified in this paper.Then,the modeling and assessment methods for the stability analysis of multi-timescale systems are also summarized.Finally,an outlook and discussion of future research directions for AC MGs are also presented.

A Throughput-Aware Joint Vehicle Route and Access Network Selection Approach Based on SMDP

In intelligent transportation system(ITS), the interworking of vehicular networks(VN) and cellular networks(CN) is proposed to provide high-data-rate services to vehicles. As the network access quality for CN and VN is location related, mobile data offloading(MDO), which dynamically selects access networks for vehicles, should be considered with vehicle route planning to further improve the wireless data throughput of individual vehicles and to enhance the performance of the entire ITS. In this paper, we investigate joint MDO and route selection for an individual vehicle in a metropolitan scenario. We aim to improve the throughput of the target vehicle while guaranteeing its transportation efficiency requirements in terms of traveling time and distance. To achieve this objective, we first formulate the joint route and access network selection problem as a semi-Markov decision process(SMDP). Then we propose an optimal algorithm to calculate its optimal policy. To further reduce the computation complexity, we derive a suboptimal algorithm which reduces the action space. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed optimal algorithm significantly outperforms the existing work in total throughput and the late arrival ratio.Moreover, the heuristic algorithm is able to substantially reduce the computation time with only slight performance degradation.

A Fantasy Land

Studying in China gives an opportunity to gain first-hand insights about the country I have been a doctoral student in the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China(UESTC) since 2017.My study in China gives me the opportunity to explore a China different than the one I’ve learned from TV and books.What happens in the university and in the larger society has always been interesting to me.

Preparation,Characterization and Comparative NH_3-sensing Characteristic Studies of PANI/inorganic Oxides Nanocomposite Thin Films

Polyaniline （PANI）, polyaniline/titanium dioxide （PANI/TiO2）, polyaniline/tin oxide （PANI/SnO2） and polyaniline/indium oxide （PANI/In203） thin films were developed by using an in-situ self-assembly method at -10℃. Chemical structure, optical property and morphology of all the thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, Fourier transform infrared （FTIR） spectroscopy, UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. NH3 gas-sensing properties of PANI and PANI nanocomposite thin films were examined at ambient temperature. The results showed that all the sensors composed of PANI nanocomposite thin films had faster response/recovery rate with better reproducibility, selectivity and long-term stability to NH3 than PANI,thiS film sensor, and PANI/TiO2 nanocomposite thin film sensor showed optimum NH3 gas-sensing characteristics. The effect of humidity on the responses of all the sensors was also investigated.

Synthesis and characterization of YAG:Ce^(3+) fluorescence powders by co-precipitation method

YAG:Ce3+(Yttrium aluminum garnet) fluorescence powders were successfully prepared by co-precipitation method using aluminum nitrate,yttrium nitrate,cerous nitrate as the starting materials and ammonium carbonate as precipitant.The products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction,luminescence spectrometer,transmission electron microscope(TEM).The XRD results showed that the obtained YAG:Ce3+ fluorescence powders had the crystalline structures of YAG at calcinations temperature of 900 oC and the TEM results showed that the grain diameters were about 100 nm.The YAG:Ce3+ fluorescence powders,synthesized by co-precipitation method,had the best luminescence property when the Ce doping amount was x=0.06 in the molecular formula of Y3-xCexAl5O12,the calcinations time was 2 h and the calcinations temperature was 1000 °C.

The fabrication and optimization of OTFT formaldehyde sensors based on Poly(3-hexythiophene)/ZnO composite films

Formaldehyde(HCHO),a colorless and pungent-smelling gas,is confirmed be a huge threat to human health.The detection of formaldehyde is necessary and important.The Poly(3-hexythiophene)(P3HT)/ZnO organic-inorganic composite thin film was fabricated and used as the sensitive layer of organic thin film transistors(OTFT) by spray-deposited method to detect HCHO at room temperature.The process parameters such as P3HT/ZnO weight ratios and airbrushed masses were optimized.The results showed that P3HT/ZnO OTFT exhibited good sensing response to HCHO.Airbrushed mass of 1ml was the optimal mass,and the 1:1 and 1:5 weight ratios of P3HT/ZnO exhibited better sensing properties compared with others.OTFT gas sensors based on P3HT/ZnO composite film provides a novel promising approach to the detection of HCHO.