Recent developments in handheld and portable optosensing-a review

Recent developments in portable and handheld opto-chemical analytical instrumentation over the last decade (2000-2010) are reviewed. First, the characteristics of typical portable/handheld instrumentation are discussed from different points of view: in situ operation, low energy consumption, ease of use, and self-contained devices. These advancements have improved or hastened improvements in the development of miniaturized optoelectronic and optical components, mainly solid-state devices such as different types of semiconductor lasers, light-emitting diodes, and photodiodes. A brief review of advances in these components is also presented. The numerous examples of portable instrumentation presented have been classified according to direct-recognition and reagent-based sensing, and within these, by absorption and emission-based systems. The conclusion discusses some key trends and future perspectives for this technology.     

Energy‐level alignment at metal–organic and organic–organic interfaces

This article reports on the electronic structure at interfaces found in organic semiconductor devices. The studied organic materials are C₆₀ and poly (para‐phenylenevinylene) (PPV)‐like oligomers, and the metals are polycrystalline Au and Ag. To measure the energy levels at these interfaces, ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy has been used. It is shown how the energy levels at interfaces deviate from the bulk. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the vacuum levels do not align at the studied interfaces. The misalignment is caused by an electric field at the interface. Several effects are presented that influence the energy alignment at interfaces, such as screening effects, dipole layer formation, charge transfer, and chemical interaction. The combination of interfaces investigated here is similar to interfaces found in polymer light‐emitting diodes and organic bulk heterojunction photovoltaic devices. The result, the misalignment of the vacuum levels, is expected to influence charge‐transfer processes across these interfaces, possibly affecting the electrical characteristics of organic semiconductor devices that contain similar interfaces. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 2549–2560, 2003     

Flexible Metal Oxide Semiconductor Devices Made by Solution Methods

For the fabrication of next-generation flexible metal oxide devices, solution-based methods are considered as a promising approach because of their potential advantages, such as high-throughput, large-area scalability, low-cost processing, and easy control over the chemical composition. However, to obtain certain levels of electrical performance, a high process temperature is essential, which can significantly limit its application in flexible electronics. Therefore, this article discusses recent research conducted on developing low-temperature, solution-processed, flexible, metal oxide semiconductor devices, from a single thin-film transistor device to fully integrated circuits and systems. The main challenges of solution-processed metal oxide semiconductors are introduced. Recent advances in materials, processes, and semiconductor structures are then presented, followed by recent advances in electronic circuits and systems based on these semiconductors, including emerging flexible energy-harvesting devices for self-powered systems that integrate displays, sensors, data-storage units, and information processing functions.     

Recent advances of folded tetraphenylethene derivatives featuring through-space conjugation

Through-space conjugated molecules are interesting building blocks for the construction of functional materials that allow multi-dimensional transport of carrier and energy. However, the well explored through-space conjugated molecules are quite limited, which defers their structure-property correlation establishment and wide-scale application. In this review, we introduce a kind of newly-emerging folded tetraphenylethene derivatives featuring through-space conjugation. Their synthesis, crystal and electronic structures, and optical properties are described, and their representative applications as bipolar charge-transporting materials in organic light-emitting diodes and as single-molecule wires in molecular devices are presented, which are anticipated to provide guidance for the further expansion of through-space conjugated systems.     

How gamma radiation processing systems are benefiting from the latest advances in information technology

This paper discusses how gamma irradiation plants are putting the latest advances in computer and information technology to use for better process control, cost savings, and strategic advantages.

Some irradiator operations are gaining significant benefits by integrating computer technology and robotics with real-time information processing, multi-user databases, and communication networks. The paper reports on several irradiation facilities that are making good use of client/server LANs, user-friendly graphics interfaces, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, distributed I/O with real-time sensor devices, trending analysis, real-time product tracking, dynamic product scheduling, and automated dosimetry reading. These plants are lowering costs by fast and reliable reconciliation of dosimetry data, easier validation to GMP requirements, optimizing production flow, and faster release of sterilized products to market.

There is a trend in the manufacturing sector towards total automation using “predictive process control”. Real-time verification of process parameters “on-the-run” allows control parameters to be adjusted appropriately, before the process strays out of limits. Applying this technology to the gamma radiation process, control will be based on monitoring the key parameters such as time, and making adjustments during the process to optimize quality and throughput. Dosimetry results will be used as a quality control measurement rather than as a final monitor for the release of the product. Results are correlated with the irradiation process data to quickly and confidently reconcile variations. Ultimately, a parametric process control system utilizing responsive control, feedback and verification will not only increase productivity and process efficiency, but can also result in operating within tighter dose control set points.     

Minority carrier lifetime control in power semiconductor devices by fast neutron irradiation

A new technology for controlling reduction of minority carrier lifetime of power semiconductor devices was given in this paper, using fast neutron irradiation in nuclear reactor. The effects of high frequency thyristor by fast neutron irradiation is mainly discussed. Furthermore, a comparison is made with electron irradiated, ⁶⁰Co-gamma irradiated and gold diffused devices. The conclusion shows, the trade-off of forward voltage drop and turn-off time of fast neutron irradiated devices is alike with gold diffused devices, while the leakage current is less than that of gold diffused devices, and not different from the electron or Gamma irradiated devices. Moreover, the deep energy levels of fast neutron irradiation in silicon was shown in this paper, and a single dominant level of Ec-0.44eV is identified for controlling minority carrier lifetime.     

Photodynamic Inactivation of <Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">E. coli</Emphasis> PTCC 1276 Using Light Emitting Diodes: Application of Rose Bengal and Methylene Blue as Two Simple Models

The lack of a comparative study about potential of high-power light emitting diodes (LEDs) for photodynamic inactivation (PDI) of pathogenic microorganisms has remained as a challenging issue for researchers. Therefore, the aim of this study is to fill this gap through introduction of an efficient model for in vitro PDI in an aqueous medium. For this purpose, two individual 30 mW/cm² irradiation systems were designed using suitable sets of green and red LEDs. At another work, Methylene blue (MB) and Rose bengal (RB) as two simple models in the range of 5–150 μM were used in order to compare PDI of E. coli PTCC 1276 using red and green LED systems. Our results showed that a first-order mathematical model has the strength to describe the temporal variation of survival curves. Based on our results, when concentration of photosensitizer increased, the rate of inactivation for RB increased while MB depicted a maximum rate value at 25 μM. In a comparative study, optimum inactivation of E. coli PTCC 1276 obtained during 2- and 10-min irradiation of the LED systems using RB and MB at 150 and 25 μM, respectively. With regard to lower value of inactivation time and higher rate of inactivation for RB, use of simultaneous green high-power LEDs and RB is proposed as an efficient approach for PDI of pathogenic bacteria in future industrial applications.     

How To Make Ohmic Contacts to Organic Semiconductors

The process of charge injection plays an important role in organic semiconductor devices. We review various experimental techniques that allow injection to be separated from other competing processes, and quantify the injection efficiency of a contact. We discuss the dependence of the injection efficiency on parameters such as the energy barrier at the interface, the carrier mobility of the organic semiconductor, its carrier density (doping level), the presence of mobile ions, and the sample geometry. Based on these findings, we outline guidelines for forming ohmic contacts and present examples of contact engineering in organic semiconductor devices.     

Decontamination of food packaging using electron beam—status and prospects

In this paper the status of food packaging disinfection decontamination using electron beam at Mediscan GmbH is presented. The first section of the paper describes the activities at the service center, where food packaging materials, e.g. yoghurt cups are decontaminated in their final shipment containers. As important step in the hazard analysis and critical control point of food processing, microbiological uncontaminated food packaging material is of public interest and attracts a lot of attention from packaging material producers and food processors.The dose ranges for different sterility assurance levels are discussed and results from microbiological test are presented. Studies at Mediscan have demonstrated, that an electron beam treatment at a dose of 5–7 kGy is most effective against yeast and mold, which are mainly responsible for spoilage and short shelf-life of a variety of products.The second section is devoted to the field of inline decontamination of food packaging and sterilization of pharmaceutical packaging material and the research currently conducted at Mediscan. The requirements for industrial inline electron beam systems are summarized and design concepts discussed in terms of beam energy, beam current, irradiation topology, product handling and shielding.     

Multi-Channel Optical Device for Solar-Driven Bacterial Inactivation under Real-Time Temperature Feedback

Solar-driven photothermal antibacterial devices have attracted a lot of interest due to the fact that solar energy is one of the cleanest sources of energy in the world. However, conventional materials have a narrow absorbance band, resulting in deficient solar harvesting. In addition, lack of knowledge on temperature change in these devices during the photothermal process has also led to a waste of energy. Here, we presented an elegant multi-channel optical device with a multilayer structure to simultaneously address the above-mentioned issues in solar-driven antibacterial devices. In the photothermal channel, semiconductor IrO₂-nanoaggregates exhibited higher solar absorbance and photothermal conversion efficiency compared with nanoparticles. In the luminescence channel, thermal-sensitive Er-doped upconversion nanoparticles were utilized to reflect the microscale temperature in real-time. The bacteria were successfully inactivated during the photothermal effect under solar irradiation with temperature monitoring. This study could provide valuable insight for the development of smart photothermal devices for solar-driven photothermal bacterial inactivation in the future.     

DFB laser diodes in the wavelength range from 760 nm to 2.5 μm

We present a novel device technology to produce DFB laser diodes which are suitable for tunable diode laser spectroscopy. The new technological approach employs lateral metal distributed feedback (DFB) gratings in close proximity to the laser ridge which results in single mode emission with high spectral purity and output powers as required for most spectroscopic applications. Over the entire wavelength range from the visible (760 nm) up to the near-infrared (2.5 microm) single mode emission can be obtained for devices based on different semiconductor systems such as GaAs, InP and GaSb. Typical side mode suppression ratios are better than 35 dB for cw-room temperature operation and narrow linewidths ensure high spectroscopic resolution.     

DFB laser diodes in the wavelength range from 760 nm to 2.5 microm

We present a novel device technology to produce DFB laser diodes which are suitable for tunable diode laser spectroscopy. The new technological approach employs lateral metal distributed feedback (DFB) gratings in close proximity to the laser ridge which results in single mode emission with high spectral purity and output powers as required for most spectroscopic applications. Over the entire wavelength range from the visible (760 nm) up to the near-infrared (2.5 microm) single mode emission can be obtained for devices based on different semiconductor systems such as GaAs, InP and GaSb. Typical side mode suppression ratios are better than 35 dB for cw-room temperature operation and narrow linewidths ensure high spectroscopic resolution.     

Polyelectrolyte diode: nonlinear current response of a junction between aqueous ionic gels

We demonstrate that a fixed junction between two aqueous gels containing oppositely charged polyelectrolytes could rectify electric current. The agarose-based gels were "doped" with sodium poly(styrene sulfonic acid) and poly(diallyl dimethylammonium chloride). The unidirectional current response of the interface between the cationic and anionic gels originates directly from anisotropy in the mobile ionic charges in the gels. The current depends on the concentration of polyelectrolyte, the background ionic concentration, and the distance traveled by the ions. The I-V curves from the devices demonstrated a combination of transient and stationary rectification effects. The current densities achieved were comparable to or higher than those obtained with previously reported organic semiconductor diodes. The diodes had good long-term stability in both DC and AC conduction modes. The materials and the process of preparation of these devices are simple, inexpensive, and scalable. They could be used in flexible and biocompatible electronic circuits.     

Surface transfer doping of diamond: A review

Ultra-wide bandgap materials show great promise as a solution to some of the limitations of current state of the art semiconductor technology. Among these, diamond has exhibited great potential for use in high-power, high-temperature electronics, as well as sensing and quantum applications. Yet, significant challenges associated with impurity doping of the constrained diamond lattice remain a primary impediment towards the development of diamond-based electronic devices. An alternative approach, used with continued success to unlock the use of diamond for semiconductor applications, has been that of ‘surface transfer doping’ - a process by which intrinsically insulating diamond surfaces can be made semiconducting without the need for traditional impurity doping. Here, we present a review of progress in surface transfer doping of diamond, both a history and current outlook of this highly exploitable attribute.     

Doping induced surface chemistry dictating the characteristics of Schottky contacts to III-V nitride semiconductors

While lightly doped semiconductors are preferred for Schottky contacts, heavily doped semiconductors are preferred for Ohmic contacts. The upper limit of doping for Schottky contacts and the lower limit of doping for Ohmic contacts have not, however, been quantified. To address this problem, the influence of doping induced surface chemistry on the electrical characteristics of Schottky diodes has been studied. Hall measurement, current-voltage measurements, and transmission electron microscopy have been performed. The most remarkable observation of the study is a relationship between the surface dislocation density and the ideality factor of the Schottky diodes. The observation leads to a conclusion that the upper limit of the semiconductor doping for Schottky diodes should be such that it leads to negligible barrier height reduction without the creation of excessive surface dislocation density.     

Light-emitting diodes with semiconductor nanocrystals

Colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals are promising luminophores for creating a new generation of electroluminescence devices. Research on semiconductor nanocrystal based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) has made remarkable advances in just one decade: the external quantum efficiency has improved by over two orders of magnitude and highly saturated color emission is now the norm. Although the device efficiencies are still more than an order of magnitude lower than those of the purely organic LEDs there are potential advantages associated with nanocrystal-based devices, such as a spectrally pure emission color, which will certainly merit future research. Further developments of nanocrystal-based LEDs will be improving material stability, understanding and controlling chemical and physical phenomena at the interfaces, and optimizing charge injection and charge transport.     

Study of diffusion of impurities in semiconductor silicon by activation analysis and nuclear reaction methods

Diffusion of impurities is a basic operation in the technology of modern semiconductor devices especially integrated circuits. A knowledge of diffusion parameters such as concentration profile, diffusion depth and diffusion coefficient makes the optimization of a technological process possible. A destructive method of the step-by-step removal of the layers from the silicon single crystal slices irradiated in a nuclear reactor with subsequent determination of impurity contents was used in the diffusion studies of phosphorus, arsenic and gold. Phosphorus was determined by the beta counting of³²P after a separation, arsenic and gold were determined by means of a Ge(Li) gamma-ray spectroscopy without any chemical separation. The diffusion of boron was studied by the nondestructive method of the deconvolution of the energy spectrum of prompt alpha radiation from¹⁰B(n, α)⁷Li after thermal neutron irradiation.     

水/醇溶共轭聚合物界面材料及其在光电器件中的应用

相对于传统的无机半导体器件,以有机半导体(特别是聚合物半导体)材料为基础的有机光电器件,可采用与传统印刷技术(例如喷墨打印、卷对卷印刷等)相结合的溶液加工方式制备低成本、大面积、柔性光电器件,因而成为广泛关注的焦点,并得到了快速发展.实现溶液加工的高效有机光电器件的一个关键问题是界面问题——如何避免溶液加工时有机层间的互溶以及如何实现可印刷稳定金属电极的高效电子注入等.水/醇溶性共轭聚合物的迅速发展为解决溶液加工多层有机光电器件所面临的界面问题提供了有效手段.研究发现,水/醇溶共轭聚合物不但可以有效避免溶液加工多层器件中的界面互溶,而且还可与高功函数的稳定金属发生界面偶极相互作用而增强其电子注入,从而解决了高功函数稳定金属电子注入的难题,为实现全溶液加工的高效印刷有机光电器件提供了可行的方案.本文介绍了近年来本课题组在水/醇溶共轭聚合物阴极界面材料及器件应用方面的研究进展,并对水/醇溶共轭聚合物阴极界面材料在聚合物发光二极管和聚合物太阳电池中的工作机理进行了探讨.     

Combustion synthesis and characterization of nanocrystalline WO3

The energy payback time associated with the semiconductor active material is an important parameter in a photovoltaic solar cell device. Thus lowering the energy requirements for the semiconductor synthesis step or making it more energy-efficient is critical toward making the overall device economics more competitive relative to other nonpolluting energy options. In this communication, combustion synthesis is demonstrated to be a versatile and energy-efficient method for preparing inorganic oxide semiconductors such as tungsten trioxide (WO3) for photovoltaic or photocatalytic solar energy conversion. The energy efficiency of combustion synthesis accrues from the fact that high process temperatures are self-sustained by the exothermicity of the combustion process, and the only external thermal energy input needed is for dehydration of the fuel/oxidizer precursor mixture and bringing it to ignition. Importantly, we show that, in this approach, it is also possible to tune the optical characteristics of the oxide semiconductor (i.e., shift its response toward the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum) in situ by doping the host semiconductor during the formative stage itself. As a bonus, the resultant material shows enhanced surface properties such as markedly improved organic dye uptake relative to benchmark samples obtained from commercial sources. Finally, this synthesis approach requires only very simple equipment, a feature that it shares with other "mild" inorganic semiconductor synthesis routes such as sol-gel chemistry, chemical bath deposition, and electrodeposition. The present study constitutes the first use of combustion synthesis for preparing WO3 powder comprising nanosized particles.     

Synthesis of ultraviolet curable encapsulating adhesives and their package applications for organic optoelectronic devices

With conventional heating process, ultraviolet (UV) illumination, and microwave irradiation, we have successfully synthesized UV curable encapsulating adhesives with excellent gas barrier capabilities, good adhesive strength, moderate hardness, and high refractive indices. The experimental results manifest that the physical properties of lab-made encapsulating adhesives are highly dependent on their chemical structures and synthetic procedure. We also discover that the encapsulating adhesive prepared by microwave irradiation (i.e. encapsulating adhesive VI-MW) exhibits better adhesive strength and higher gas resistance than those prepared by conventional heating process and UV illumination. Furthermore, encapsulating adhesive VI-MW has also been applied for the package of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), flexible OLEDs, and organic solar cells. With encapsulating adhesive VI-MW, the entry of oxygen and moisture in the air into these organic optoelectronic devices has been blocked, therefore enhancing the lifetimes.