Yichao Liu

Efficient field emission from α-Fe2O3 nanoflakes on an atomic force microscope tip

Aligned arrays of flake-shaped hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanostructure have been fabricated on an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip. They are created by simply heating an iron-coated AFM tip in ambience on a hot plate. These nanoflakes are characterized as α-Fe2O3 single crystalline structures with tip radii as small as several nanometers and are highly effective as electron field emitters. With a vacuum gap of about 150μm, field emission measurements of α-Fe2O3 nanoflakes on AFM tips show a low turn-on voltage of about 400–600V and a high current density of 1.6Acm−2 under 900V. Such high emission current density is attributed to the nanoscale sharp tips of the as-grown nanoflakes. Based on the Fowler–Nordheim theory, it is demonstrated the enhancement factor of α-Fe2O3 nanoflakes on AFM tips is comparable to that of carbon nanotubes. Our findings suggest that α-Fe2O3 nanoflakes are potentially useful as candidates for future electron field emission devices.

Three-dimensional magnetic cloak working from d.c. to 250 kHz

Invisible cloaking is one of the major outcomes of the metamaterial research, but the practical potential, in particular for high frequencies (for example, microwave to visible light), is fatally challenged by the complex material properties they usually demand. On the other hand, it will be advantageous and also technologically instrumental to design cloaking devices for applications at low frequencies where electromagnetic components are favourably uncoupled. In this work, we vastly develop the bilayer approach to create a three-dimensional magnetic cloak able to work in both static and dynamic fields. Under the quasi-static approximation, we demonstrate a perfect magnetic cloaking device with a large frequency band from 0 to 250 kHz. The practical potential of our device is experimentally verified by using a commercial metal detector, which may lead us to having a real cloaking application where the dynamic magnetic field can be manipulated in desired ways.

First experimental demonstration of an isotropic electromagnetic cloak with strict conformal mapping

In the past years quasi-conformal mapping has been generally used to design broadband electromagnetic cloaks. However, this technique has some inherit practical limitations such as the lateral beam shift, rendering the device visible or difficult to hide a large object. In this work we circumvent these issues by using strict conformal mapping to build the first isotropic cloak. Microwave near-field measurement shows that our device (with dielectric constant larger than unity everywhere) has a very good cloaking performance and a broad frequency response. The present dielectric approach could be technically extended to the fabrication of other conformal devices at higher frequencies.

Experimentally demonstrated a unidirectional electromagnetic cloak designed by topology optimization

Electromagnetic invisible devices usually designed by transformation optics are rather complicated in material parameters and not suitable for general applications. Recently, a topology optimized cloak based on level-set method was proposed to realize nearly perfect cloaking [Fujii et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 102, 251106 (2013)]. In this work, we experimentally implemented this idea and fabricated a unidirectional cloak with a relative large invisible region made of single dielectric material. Good cloaking performance was verified through measurement which consists very well with numerical simulation. The advantages and disadvantages of this optimization method are also discussed.

Novel thermal lens for remote heating/cooling designed with transformation optics

Remote thermal focusing/refrigeration by suppressing thermal diffusion can be achieved with the help of the novel thermal lens proposed in this paper. Our thermal lens is designed using transformation optics, and has several advantages. Firstly, it is a remote controlling device, i.e. the temperature is increased or decreased only in the heat/cold source and the target points, and the temperature in the area between the source and target points is not influenced. Secondly, the heat/cold sources can move freely inside the lens, and hence the focused points outside the lens can be adjusted dynamically. Numerical simulations are given to verify the novel properties (such as thermal focusing effect, remote refrigeration and remote thermal diffusion suppressing) of the proposed device, which cannot be achieved by any other traditional method.

Transformation thermodynamics and heat cloaking: a review

This article is a review of the advances and progresses in the field of heat cloaking which is being realized using metamaterials. Heat cloaking has been a particularly important subject of study due to its potential multidimensional applications. The process which manipulates the heat flux in such a way that it can neither enter into the cloaked region nor be distorted outside is called thermal cloaking. Transformation optics has made the hitherto inconceivable advancements in the field of thermodynamics possible with the remarkable assistance of metamaterials. In this article we present a review of the work done in the field of heat cloaking, its progress and outlook. We discuss the theoretical and experimental studies, models, design managements, implementations and behaviors of thermal invisibility cloaking and related devices. This review is intended to help further develop practical and applicable concepts, examine fabrication techniques for a variety of different invisibility cloaking devices and systems, and to pave a way for the new avenues leading to new future technologies.

An efficient plate heater with uniform surface temperature engineered with effective thermal materials

Extended from its electromagnetic counterpart, transformation thermodynamics applied to thermal conduction equations can map a virtual geometry into a physical thermal medium, realizing the manipulation of heat flux with almost arbitrarily desired diffusion paths, which provides unprecedented opportunities to create thermal devices unconceivable or deemed impossible before. In this work we employ this technique to design an efficient plate heater that can transiently achieve a large surface of uniform temperature powered by a small thermal source. As opposed to the traditional approach of relying on the deployment of a resistor network, our approach fully takes advantage of an advanced functional material system to guide the heat flux to achieve the desired temperature heating profile. A different set of material parameters for the transformed device has been developed, offering the parametric freedom for practical applications. As a proof of concept, the proposed devices are implemented with engineered thermal materials and show desired heating behaviors consistent with numerical simulations. Unique applications for these devices can be envisioned where stringent temperature uniformity and a compact heat source are both demanded.

True dynamic imaging and image composition by the optical translational projector

Based on transformation optics, a novel shell (an optical translational projector (OTP)) that can be utilized for true dynamic imaging is designed. Our OTP has several notable features: Firstly OTP can form an image without a scanning process, which results in fast imaging. Secondly, the object to be imaged by the OTP can move inside the OTP, which means that we can achieve dynamic real-time imaging. Thirdly, we can achieve an image composition effect by using two OTPs that form two images in a common spatial region. The OTP will lead a new way to future true 3D volumetric display technologies.

A multi-cloak bifunctional device

Invisibility cloak has attracted the attention of electromagnetic researchers due to its magical properties and marvelous potential applications in the field of applied physics and engineering. Recently, a multiphysics cloaking has put the new spirit into this field. In this paper, we introduce a device, composed of three shells and each shell works as an invisibility cloak for a specific physical phenomenon. Following this technique, a number of cloaks with different implementation approaches can be proposed for distinct physical phenomena in a single structure. Here, we restrict ourselves for the case of two physical behaviors: thermal and electrical conductivities. This type of multi-cloaking structure can be best used in mechanically designed structures to better control heating and electrical effects.

Rapid thermal oxidation of radio frequency sputtered polycrystalline silicon germanium films

The oxide growth of rf sputtered polycrystalline Si1−xGex films was found not sensitive to the Ge concentration in the films. The infrared results showed that the oxide grown on Si0.61Ge0.39 film mainly contained GeO2 and the oxide contained Ge–O–Ge and Si–O–Ge bonds when grown on Si0.73Ge0.27 film. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results showed the absence of Ge in the bulk of the oxides for Si1−xGex films with x<0.27 and no pile-up of Ge at the SiO2/Si1−xGex interface. The electrical breakdown fields of oxides grown on Si1−xGex films were lower than the oxide breakdown field of polysilicon. The Dit and Qf values of the SiO2/Si1−xGex system were found to be rather high at ∼2.1–2.6×1012 eV−1 cm−2 and ∼1.1–2.7×1012 cm−2, respectively.