Firat Güder

Integrating Electronics and Microfluidics on Paper

Paper microfluidics and printed electronics have developed independently, and are incompatible in many aspects. Monolithic integration of microfluidics and electronics on paper is demonstrated. This integration makes it possible to print 2D and 3D fluidic, electrofluidic, and electrical components on paper, and to fabricate devices using them.

Paper-Based Electrical Respiration Sensor

Current methods of monitoring breathing require cumbersome, inconvenient, and often expensive devices; this requirement sets practical limitations on the frequency and duration of measurements. This article describes a paper-based moisture sensor that uses the hygroscopic character of paper (i.e. the ability of paper to adsorb water reversibly from the surrounding environment) to measure patterns and rate of respiration by converting the changes in humidity caused by cycles of inhalation and exhalation to electrical signals. The changing level of humidity that occurs in a cycle causes a corresponding change in the ionic conductivity of the sensor, which can be measured electrically. By combining the paper sensor with conventional electronics, data concerning respiration can be transmitted to a nearby smartphone or tablet computer for post-processing, and subsequently to a cloud server. This means of sensing provides a new, practical method of recording and analyzing patterns of breathing.

Homoepitaxial branching: an unusual polymorph of zinc oxide derived from seeded solution growth

The development of hydrothermal synthesis has greatly promoted bottom-up nanoscience for the rational growth of diverse zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures. In comparison with normal ZnO nanowires, ZnO nanostructures with a larger surface area, for instance, branched nanowires, are more attractive in the application fields of catalysis, sensing, dye-sensitized solar cells etc. So far the ZnO branched nanowires achieved by either one-step or multistep growth always present a boundary-governed nonepitaxial branch/stem interface. In this report, seeded growth of single-crystalline ZnO hexabranched nanostructures was achieved by selecting polyethylene glycol (PEG) as capping agent based on a low-temperature, laterally epitaxial solution growth strategy. We investigated the generality of this PEG-assisted growth process using different ZnO seed layers including continuous film, patterned dots, and vertically aligned nanowire arrays. It was revealed that PEG is a distinctive c-direction inhibitor responsible for the lateral growth and subsequent branching of ZnO due to its nonionic and nonacidic feature and weak reactivity in the solution system. All the obtained branched nanostructures are of single crystallinity in nature, which is methodologically determined by the homoepitaxial growth mode. This PEG-assisted process is versatile for diameter tuning and branch formation of ZnO nanowires by secondary growth. Our proof-of-concept experiments demonstrated that the ZnO hexabranched nanostructures presented superior photocatalytic efficiency for dye degradation relative to the normal ZnO nanowires.

Analytical Devices Based on Direct Synthesis of DNA on Paper

This paper addresses a growing need in clinical diagnostics for parallel, multiplex analysis of biomarkers from small biological samples. It describes a new procedure for assembling arrays of ssDNA and proteins on paper. This method starts with the synthesis of DNA oligonucleotides covalently linked to paper and proceeds to assemble microzones of DNA-conjugated paper into arrays capable of simultaneously capturing DNA, DNA-conjugated protein antigens, and DNA-conjugated antibodies. The synthesis of ssDNA oligonucleotides on paper is convenient and effective with 32% of the oligonucleotides cleaved and eluted from the paper substrate being full-length by HPLC for a 32-mer. These ssDNA arrays can be used to detect fluorophore-linked DNA oligonucleotides in solution, and as the basis for DNA-directed assembly of arrays of DNA-conjugated capture antibodies on paper, detect protein antigens by sandwich ELISAs. Paper-anchored ssDNA arrays with different sequences can be used to assemble paper-based devices capable of detecting DNA and antibodies in the same device and enable simple microfluidic paper-based devices.

Tracing the migration history of metal catalysts in metal-assisted chemically etched silicon.

Three-dimensional (3D) visualization of complex embedded nanopore networks in silicon requires expensive machinery and tedious sample preparation procedures such as electron tomography, also known as 3D transmission electron microscopy. In this article, we report a new, fast, powerful, and low-cost three-dimensional imaging technique with sub-5 nm resolution. This new imaging method is applied to metal-assisted chemically etched monocrystalline Si to demonstrate its capabilities. The AFEI (atomic layer deposition-fill-etch-imaging) technique consists of three simple process steps that are available in most material research settings. First the porous substrate is conformally coated with an atomic layer deposition (ALD) metal oxide layer. ALD is able to penetrate deep into complex, high aspect ratio pores, as it is a sequential gas-phase deposition process. Next, the cross-section of the ALD-filled porous Si substrate is etched with high-density fluorine-based plasma processing, which yields very high selectivity toward Si (e.g., >400:1 for Si:ZnO). This step removes the bulk Si and exposes the metal oxide structures grown inside the pores. In the last step, the sample cross-section is examined using a standard scanning electron microscope at various angles, which allows precise imaging of hidden features and reconstruction of a 3D model of the embedded pore network.

Antisolvent Crystallization Approach to Construction of CuI Superstructures with Defined Geometries

A facile high-yield production of cuprous iodide (CuI) superstructures is reported by antisolvent crystallization using acetonitrile/water as a solvent/antisolvent couple under ambient conditions. In the presence of trace water, the metastable water droplets act as templates to induce the precipitation of hollow spherical CuI superstructures consisting of orderly aligned building blocks after drop coating. With water in excess in the mixed solution, an instant precipitation of CuI random aggregates takes place due to rapid crystal growth via ion-by-ion attachment induced by a strong antisolvent effect. However, this uncontrolled process can be modified by adding polymer polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) in water to restrict the size of initially formed CuI crystal nuclei through the effective coordination effect of PVP. As a result, CuI superstructures with a cuboid geometry are constructed by gradual self-assembly of the small CuI crystals via oriented attachment. The precipitated CuI superstructures have been used as competent adsorbents to remove organic dyes from the water due to their mesocrystal feature. Besides, the CuI superstructures have been applied either as a self-sacrificial template or only as a structuring template for the flexible design of other porous materials such as CuO and TiO2. This system provides an ideal platform to simultaneously investigate the superstructure formation enforced by antisolvent crystallization with and without organic additives.

Atomic layer deposition on phase-shift lithography generated photoresist patterns for 1D nanochannel fabrication.

A versatile, low-cost, and flexible approach is presented for the fabrication of millimeter-long, sub-100 nm wide 1D nanochannels with tunable wall properties (wall thickness and material) over wafer-scale areas on glass, alumina, and silicon surfaces. This approach includes three fabrication steps. First, sub-100 nm photoresist line patterns were generated by near-field contact phase-shift lithography (NFC-PSL) using an inexpensive homemade borosilicate mask (NFC-PSM). Second, various metal oxides were directly coated on the resist patterns with low-temperature atomic layer deposition (ALD). Finally, the remaining photoresist was removed via an acetone dip, and then planar nanochannel arrays were formed on the substrate. In contrast to all the previous fabrication routes, the sub-100 nm photoresist line patterns produced by NFC-PSL are directly employed as a sacrificial layer for the creation of nanochannels. Because both the NFC-PSL and the ALD deposition are highly reproducible processes, the strategy proposed here can be regarded as a general route for nanochannel fabrication in a simplified and reliable manner. In addition, the fabricated nanochannels were used as templates to synthesize various organic and inorganic 1D nanostructures on the substrate surface.

Electrical Textile Valves for Paper Microfluidics

This paper describes electrically-activated fluidic valves that operate based on electrowetting through textiles. The valves are fabricated from electrically conductive, insulated, hydrophobic textiles, but the concept can be extended to other porous materials. When the valve is closed, the liquid cannot pass through the hydrophobic textile. Upon application of a potential (in the range of 100-1000 V) between the textile and the liquid, the valve opens and the liquid penetrates the textile. These valves actuate in less than 1 s, require low energy (≈27 µJ per actuation), and work with a variety of aqueous solutions, including those with low surface tension and those containing bioanalytes. They are bistable in function, and are, in a sense, the electrofluidic analog of thyristors. They can be integrated into paper microfluidic devices to make circuits that are capable of controlling liquid, including autonomous fluidic timers and fluidic logic.

Bringing order to the world of nanowire devices by phase shift lithography.

Semiconductor nanowire devices have several properties which match future requirements of scaling down the size of electronics. In typical microelectronics production, a number of microstructures are aligned precisely on top of each other during the fabrication process. In the case of nanowires, this mandatory condition is still hard to achieve. A technological breakthrough is needed to accurately place nanowires at any specific position and then form devices in mass production. In this article, an upscalable process combining conventional micromachining with phase shift lithography will be demonstrated as a suitable tool for nanowire device technology. Vertical Si and ZnO nanowires are demonstrated on very large (several cm(2)) areas. We demonstrate how the nanowire positions can be controlled, and the resulting nanowires are used for device fabrication. As an example Si/ZnO heterojunction diode arrays are fabricated. The electrical characterization of the produced devices has also been performed to confirm the functionality of the fabricated diodes.

Electronic nose for toxic gas detection based on photostimulated core–shell nanowires

A novel fabrication of microelectronic nose based on ZnO nanowires and ZnO surface modifications including ZnO–ZnAl2O4 core–shell nanowires and ZnO–Zn2TiO4 core–shell nanowires gas-sensing elements operated at room temperature is reported. By combining vapor-phase transport processes and atomic layer deposition techniques, highly homogeneous core–shell nanowires structures can be successfully obtained on large scale areas. Under ultraviolet illumination of the specific oxide surfaces, photo-stimulated oxygen species (O2−(ads)) respond to and dominate the gas sensing mechanism of the core–shell nanowires at room temperature. Principal component analysis results show the perfect discrimination of gases including toxic gases and non-toxic gases. This novel device can be used to identify both gas types with concentrations in the ppb level at room temperature.