David J. Baek

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.

Atomically precise interfaces from non-stoichiometric deposition

Complex oxide heterostructures display some of the most chemically abrupt, atomically precise interfaces, which is advantageous when constructing new interface phases with emergent properties by juxtaposing incompatible ground states. One might assume that atomically precise interfaces result from stoichiometric growth. Here we show that the most precise control is, however, obtained by using deliberate and specific non-stoichiometric growth conditions. For the precise growth of Sr(n+1)Ti(n)O(n+1) Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) phases, stoichiometric deposition leads to the loss of the first RP rock-salt double layer, but growing with a strontium-rich surface layer restores the bulk stoichiometry and ordering of the subsurface RP structure. Our results dramatically expand the materials that can be prepared in epitaxial heterostructures with precise interface control--from just the n = ∞ end members (perovskites) to the entire RP homologous series--enabling the exploration of novel quantum phenomena at a richer variety of oxide interfaces.

A nanoforest structure for practical surface-enhanced Raman scattering substrates.

A nanoforest structure for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) active substrates is fabricated and analyzed. The detailed morphology of the resulting structure can be easily controlled by modifying the process parameters such as initial gold layer thickness and etching time. The applicability of the nanoforest substrate as a label-free SERS immunosensor is demonstrated using influenza A virus subtype H1N1. Selective binding of the H1N1 surface antigen and the anti-H1 antibody is directly detected by the SERS signal differences. Simple fabrication and high throughput with strong in-plane hot-spots imply that the nanoforest structure can be a practical sensing component of a chip-based SERS sensing system.

A transistor-based biosensor for the extraction of physical properties from biomolecules

An analytical technique is proposed that uses an asymmetric double-gate field-effect transistor (FET) structure to characterize the electrical properties of biomolecules, including their permittivity and charge density. Using a simple measurement with the proposed FET structure, we are able to extract the physical properties (i.e., permittivity and charge density) of biomolecules. A reliable analytical tool for the characterization of biomolecules can be provided by the proposed FET structure without a complex measurement system. It is expected that the proposed method will be expanded into a universal analysis technique for the electrical evaluation of biomolecules in applications beyond biosensing.

A pH sensor with a double-gate silicon nanowire field-effect transistor

A pH sensor composed of a double-gate silicon nanowire field-effect transistor (DG Si-NW FET) is demonstrated. The proposed DG Si-NW FET allows the independent addressing of the gate voltage and hence improves the sensing capability through an application of asymmetric gate voltage between the two gates. One gate is a driving gate which controls the current flow, and the other is a supporting gate which amplifies the shift of the threshold voltage, which is a sensing metric, and which arises from changes in the pH. The pH signal is also amplified through modulation of the gate oxide thickness.

Accumulation mode field-effect transistors for improved sensitivity in nanowire-based biosensors

In this work, nanowire field-effect transistors (NW-FETs) constructed from a top-down approach has been utilized for the detection of biomolecules. Here, we demonstrate that the sensitivity of NW-FET sensors can be greatly enhanced when the same dopant type is used for both channel region and source and drain. This type of FET, known as accumulation mode field-effect transistors (AM-FETs), functions under different operating principle compared with conventional inversion mode FETs. The improved sensitivity is attributed to the different conduction mechanism and current components of AM devices. The results have been verified through a direct comparison with a conventional FET.

Nonvolatile memory with graphene oxide as a charge storage node in nanowire field-effect transistors

Through the structural modification of a three-dimensional silicon nanowire field-effect transistor, i.e., a double-gate FinFET, a structural platform was developed which allowed for us to utilize graphene oxide (GO) as a charge trapping layer in a nonvolatile memory device. By creating a nanogap between the gate and the channel, GO was embedded after the complete device fabrication. By applying a proper gate voltage, charge trapping, and de-trapping within the GO was enabled and resulted in large threshold voltage shifts. The employment of GO with FinFET in our work suggests that graphitic materials can potentially play a significant role for future nanoelectronic applications.

Addressable Nanowire Field-Effect-Transistor Biosensors With Local Backgates

Direct electrical detection of the binding of antibody and antigen of avian influenza virus was demonstrated through a biosensor derived from a double-gate FinFET. A simple detection method was employed in which the charge effect coming from the biomolecules was observed through the threshold voltage

Synthesis science of SrRuO3 and CaRuO3 epitaxial films with high residual resistivity ratios

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Ultrathin Epitaxial Barrier Layer to Avoid Thermally Induced Phase Transformation in Oxide Heterostructures

shift. Due to the presence of a local backgate, the proposed device is individually addressable and the operating voltage is markedly low compared with similar nanowire-type biosensors. Furthermore, its unique structure allows for the channel to be immune to the noise from the biomolecules, which can be problematic for nanogap field-effect-transistor biosensors. The proposed device is complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor compatible and highly reproducible, and monolithic integration with the readout circuits is achievable. Hence, this approach provides a step toward the large-scale development of sensor chips for their potential use in medicine and biotechnology.