Lirong Zheng

Materials capability and device performance in flexible electronics for the Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) has a broad vision of connecting every single object in the world to form one network. Flexible electronic devices, including RFIDs, sensors, memory devices, displays and power sources, are considered to be the technological basis of the IoT. The development of flexible electronic devices has been extremely rapid in the last decade. Many novel applications have been demonstrated, showing a strong potential impact on human life. In this review, we will summarize the recent progress in the research of flexible electronic devices and related flexible material within the framework of the IoT.

Highly photocatalytic TiO2 interconnected porous powder fabricated by sponge-templated atomic layer deposition

A titanium dioxide (TiO2) interconnected porous structure has been fabricated by means of atomic layer deposition of TiO2 onto a reticular sponge template. The obtained freestanding TiO2 with large surface area can be easily taken out of the water to solve a complex separation procedure. A compact and conformal nanocoating was evidenced by morphologic characterization. A phase transition, as well as production of oxygen vacancies with increasing annealing temperature, was detected by x-ray diffraction and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The photocatalytic experimental results demonstrated that the powder with appropriate annealing treatment possessed excellent photocatalytic ability due to the co-action of high surface area, oxygen vacancies and the optimal crystal structure.

Integrative optofluidic microcavity with tubular channels and coupled waveguides via two-photon polymerization

Miniaturization of functional devices and systems demands new design and fabrication approaches for lab-on-a-chip application and optical integrative systems. By using a direct laser writing (DLW) technique based on two-photon polymerization (TPP), a highly integrative optofluidic refractometer is fabricated and demonstrated based on tubular optical microcavities coupled with waveguides. Such tubular devices can support high quality factor (Q-factor) up to 3600 via fiber taper coupling. Microtubes with various diameters and wall thicknesses are constructed with optimized writing direction and conditions. Under a liquid-in-tube sensing configuration, a maximal sensitivity of 390 nm per refractive index unit (RIU) is achieved with subwavelength wall thickness (0.5 μm), which offers a detection limit of the devices in the order of 10-5 RIU. Such tubular microcavities with coupled waveguides underneath present excellent optofluidic sensing performance, which proves that TPP technology can integrate more functions or devices on a chip in one-step formation.

Whispering-gallery nanocavity plasmon-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

The synergy effect in nature could enable fantastic improvement of functional properties and associated effects. The detection performance of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) can be highly strengthened under the cooperation with other factors. Here, greatly-enhanced SERS detection is realized based on rolled-up tubular nano-resonators decorated with silver nanoparticles. The synergy effect between whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) and surface plasmon leads to an extra enhancement at the order of 105 compared to non-resonant flat SERS substrates, which can be well tuned by altering the diameter of micron- and nanotubes and the excitation laser wavelengths. Such synchronous and coherent coupling between plasmonics and photonics could lead to new principle and design for various sub-wavelength optical devices, e.g. plasmonic waveguides and hyperbolic metamaterials.

Reversible air-induced optical and electrical modulation of methylammonium lead bromide (MAPbBr3) single crystals

The photoluminescence (PL) variations of organic-inorganic hybrid lead halide perovskites in different atmospheres are well documented, while the fundamental mechanism still lacks comprehensive understandings. This study reports the reversible optical and electrical properties of methylammonium lead bromide (MAPbBr3 or CH3NH3PbBr3) single crystals caused by air infiltration. With the change in the surrounding atmosphere from air to vacuum, the PL intensity of perovskite single crystals decreases, while the conductivity increases. By means of first-principles computational studies, the shallow trap states are considered as key elements in PL and conductivity changes. These results have important implications for the characterization and application of organic-inorganic hybrid lead halide perovskites in vacuum.

Temperature-dependent electronic properties of inorganic-organic hybrid halide perovskite (CH3NH3PbBr3) single crystal

In this paper, the temperature-dependent electronic properties of inorganic-organic hybrid halide perovskite (CH3NH3PbBr3) single crystals are investigated. The dynamic current-time measurement results at different temperatures directly demonstrate that the electrical properties of the perovskite single crystal are dependent on the work temperature. We find that the Poole-Frankel conduction mechanism fits the current-voltage curves at small bias voltage (0–1 V) under darkness, which is mainly attributed to the surface defect states. The capability of carriers de-trapping from defects varies with different work temperatures, resulting in an increased current as the temperature increases under both darkness and illumination. In addition, the different transient photocurrent responses of incident light at two wavelengths (470 nm, 550 nm) further confirm the existence of defect states on the single crystal surface.