Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Xiaomeng Zhang, Chuhao Yao, Jiebin Niu, Hailiang Li, Changqing Xie
Summary: In this paper, metal-assisted chemical etching (MacEtch) was used to prepare 4-inch wafer-scale, ultra-high aspect ratio (> 140:1) microscale silicon structures with smooth sidewalls. By optimizing the size of the metal catalytic structure and employing thermal oxidation, the sidewall roughness was significantly reduced. Simulations revealed potential applications of the micropillar array with smooth sidewalls in high-performance microscale photovoltaic devices, with a maximum exciton production rate (G(max)) of 1.21 x 10(26) and a maximum theoretical short-circuit current density (J(sc)) of 39.78 mA/cm(2).
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Julian A. Michaels, Lukas Janavicius, Xihang Wu, Clarence Chan, Hsieh-Chih Huang, Shunya Namiki, Munho Kim, Dane Sievers, Xiuling Li
Summary: This paper presents a plasma-free, open-circuit, photo-induced metal-assisted chemical etch method for fabricating micro and nanoscale features on Silicon carbide without causing high energy ion-related surface damage. The comprehensive exploration of parameter space demonstrates the controllability and versatility of this technique in producing ordered arrays of micro and nanoscale SiC structures with porous or solid sidewalls, while elucidating the etching mechanism.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
David M. Pera, Ivo Costa, Filipe Serra, Guilherme Gaspar, Killian Lobato, Joao M. Serra, Jose A. Silva
Summary: In this study, a one-step metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE) method was used to reduce the reflectivity of monocrystalline silicon (mono c-Si) wafers. The method utilized hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and hydrofluoric acid (HF) as etchants and silver (Ag) as reaction catalyst. The results showed that solutions with a lower molar ratio (rho) were more reactive and achieved a faster etching process. The MACE process effectively reduced the reflectance in the range 350-1100 nm, with a minimum reflectivity of 3.0% for rho = 0.916.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Hui Chen, Yihao Shi, Jiahao Qin, Guangshang Sheng, Cheng Zhang, Bingchang Zhang, Xiaohong Zhang
Summary: Ag-assisted chemical etching (AgACE) is a low-cost method to produce silicon nanowires (SiNWs) for photoelectric applications. The structure parameters, including array density, of SiNWs have a significant impact on their optical and photoelectric properties. This study experimentally investigates the effect of array density on the optical and photoelectric properties of SiNWs.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Antonio Alessio Leonardi, Maria Jose Lo Faro, Alessia Irrera
Summary: This article discusses the emerging technology of metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE) for the fabrication of silicon nanowires, comparing all the main routes for Si NWs and analyzing factors such as equipment cost, process complexity, repeatability, and the potential for commercial transfer in the field of microelectronics.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Chuhao Yao, Yue Zhao, Xiaomeng Zhang, Hailiang Li, Changqing Xie
Summary: A novel and facile scheme for fabricating highly uniform vertically aligned silicon nanowires (Si-NWs) arrays was presented, demonstrated numerically with excellent properties. The method involves fabricating thin gold (Au) nanostructures using magnetron sputtering followed by metal-assisted chemical etching at low temperature to achieve wafer-scale and highly uniform Si-NWs arrays. The Si-NWs arrays showed promising photoelectric conversion performance, with a maximum exciton generation rate of 1.76 x 10(24) and a reflectivity below 10% over a wide wavelength range at an annealing temperature of 200 degrees C.
RESULTS IN PHYSICS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Shahnawaz Uddin, Md Roslan Hashim, Mohd Zamir Pakhuruddin
Summary: This study investigated the fabrication of b-Si absorber using the AACE process for the first time, and found that b-Si fabricated with a 12 nm thick aluminum film exhibited the lowest Ravg and highest broadband light absorption. The findings demonstrate the potential of the AACE process for producing b-Si with superior broadband light absorption, which is important for photovoltaic applications.
MATERIALS CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Wataru Kubota, Ryoya Yamaoka, Toru Utsunomiya, Takashi Ichii, Hiroyuki Sugimura
Summary: The vapor-phase etching assisted by graphene oxide enhances the etching reaction without the formation of a porous layer, and microcontact printing of graphene oxide can be combined with silicon etching to form micrometer-sized pores in desired areas.
ACS APPLIED NANO MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Debadrita Paria, Annalisa Convertino, Piyush Raj, Kristine Glunde, Yun Chen, Ishan Barman
Summary: Nanotechnology has enabled the development of next generation biomedical devices that interact with living cells at the nanostructure level. By studying the response of cells to different stimuli in 3D microenvironments, researchers are able to harness specific cues for potential applications such as bioassays and tissue printing technologies. The study on randomly oriented nanowire substrates provides insights into the interaction between cancer cells and synthetic surfaces, showing varying attachment preferences of primary and secondary cancer cells.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Stella Gries, Manuel Brinker, Berit Zeller-Plumhoff, Dagmar Rings, Tobias Krekeler, Elena Longo, Imke Greving, Patrick Huber
Summary: Many biological materials have both small nanoscale pores and large macroscopic capillaries, allowing for optimized mass transport and lightweight structures. This study presents a novel approach to create hierarchical porosity in artificial materials using metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE) and photolithography, resulting in single-crystalline silicon with bimodal pore size distribution. The process involves a metal-catalyzed reduction-oxidation reaction and silver nanoparticles acting as catalysts. The resulting hierarchically porous silicon membranes have potential applications in energy storage, sensorics, and opto-fluidic applications.
Article
Materials Science, Coatings & Films
Konstantina Christina Topka, Babacar Diallo, Diane Samelor, Raphael Laloo, Daniel Sadowski, Cecile Genevois, Thierry Sauvage, Francois Senocq, Hugues Vergnes, Viviane Turq, Nadia Pellerin, Brigitte Caussat, Constantin Vahlas
Summary: An innovative O-2/O-3 assisted CVD process has been proposed in this study for the deposition of silica-based materials with tunable functionalities at moderate temperature, allowing for control over carbon content and water contact angle by adjusting precursor chemistry. The impact of deposition temperature on liquid corrosion resistance has been investigated, showing variations in etching rates for different types of films. The addition of HMDS to TEOS chemistry has been demonstrated to modulate film composition and functional properties, offering the potential for developing new sacrificial films.
SURFACE & COATINGS TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Kyung Rock Son, Vignesh Murugadoss, Kyeong Heon Kim, Tae Geun Kim
Summary: This study investigates the effect of different passivation materials on the chemical bonds at the sidewall/passivation layer interface of μ-LEDs. The results show that the right passivation material can suppress non-radiative defects and enhance the light output power and current density of μ-LEDs.
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Vladimir Neplokh, Vladimir Fedorov, Alexey Mozharov, Fedor Kochetkov, Konstantin Shugurov, Eduard Moiseev, Nuno Amador-Mendez, Tatiana Statsenko, Sofia Morozova, Dmitry Krasnikov, Albert G. Nasibulin, Regina Islamova, George Cirlin, Maria Tchernycheva, Ivan Mukhin
Summary: Flexible red light-emitting diodes based on GaPAs/GaP axial nanowires embedded in polydimethylsiloxane membranes with transparent electrodes involving single-walled carbon nanotubes were demonstrated. The devices showed similar electroluminescence properties compared to those processed directly on Si growth substrate, indicating potential for flexible full color inorganic devices.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
U. Ray, D. Banerjee, D. Das, S. Sarkar, K. K. Chattopadhyay
Summary: In this study, silicon nanowire (SiNW) was synthesized using conventional metal assisted chemical etching method and characterized. The research found that hydrogen termination did not significantly affect the dye removal efficiency of SiNWs.
MATERIALS CHARACTERIZATION
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Amin Farhadi, Theresa Bartschmid, Gilles R. Bourret
Summary: In this study, thermal dewetting was used to structure gold-based catalytic etching masks for metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE). The approach involved low-temperature dewetting of metal films to generate metal holey meshes with tunable morphologies. Combined with MACE, dewetting-assisted patterning provided a simple route to synthesize Si nanotubes, Si nanowalls, and Si nanowires with defined dimensions and optical properties.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Review
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Seyed Mahdi Hashemi, Soroush Parvizi, Haniyeh Baghbanijavid, Alvin T. L. Tan, Mohammadreza Nematollahi, Ali Ramazani, Nicholas X. Fang, Mohammad Elahinia
Summary: This review discusses multi-scale integrated computational modeling and data-driven methods in additive manufacturing (AM) of metallic materials in the framework of integrated computational materials engineering (ICME). It elaborates on process simulation, structure modeling, property simulation, and integrated modeling, as well as a data-driven framework that has great potential for completing PSPP linkages.
INTERNATIONAL MATERIALS REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Lei Zhang, Wenhan Lee, Xinhao Li, Yanhui Jiang, Nicholas Xuanlai Fang, Guohao Dai, Yongmin Liu
Summary: This study demonstrates the use of Direct Ink Writing (DIW) to create hydrogel meta-structures at room temperature. The method allows for the integration of various characteristics, such as large specific surface areas, interconnected porous structures, mechanical toughness, biocompatibility, and water absorption and retention capabilities. The meta-structures are printed without sacrificial materials or heating extrusion, and exhibit little lateral expansion and high compressive energy absorbance when subjected to external forces.
BIOACTIVE MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Venkata Krishnan Sampath, Praveen Silori, Parth Paradkar, Stanislau Niauzorau, Aliaksandr Sharstniou, Amm Hasib, Samuel Villalobos, Bruno Azeredo
Summary: This paper evaluates the corrosion resistance and weldability of 3D printed SS 316 L parts compared to their wrought counterparts. The results demonstrate that 3D printed parts have improved corrosion resistance and lower mechanical properties in welded joints compared to wrought parts, especially after accelerated corrosion.
MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING A-STRUCTURAL MATERIALS PROPERTIES MICROSTRUCTURE AND PROCESSING
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Nihar Ranjan Sahoo, Saurabh Dixit, Anuj Kumar Singh, Sang Hoon Nam, Nicholas X. Fang, Anshuman Kumar
Summary: This study investigates the mid-IR optical response of sub-wavelength thin films of alpha-phase molybdenum trioxide for potential high temperature applications. It is found that the alpha-MoO3 based polarizer maintains a high extinction ratio even at temperatures up to 140 degrees C. This research opens up new possibilities for sub-wavelength IR optical components without the need for lithographic constraints.
ADVANCED OPTICAL MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Chang Liu, Qikai Li, Sijia Wang, Weishu Liu, Nicholas X. Fang, Shien-Ping Feng
Summary: The research frontier of harvesting low-grade heat as a source of electrical power for self-powered wearable devices has shown promise, but current attainable thermopowers and constraints of rigid or complicated thermoelectric systems have hindered progress. By assembling porous electrodes and hybrid hydrogel, an ultrahigh thermopower of 19.32 mV K-1 was achieved on a stretchable thermoelectric module. This design provides an effective strategy to increase thermopower by regulating ion transport, resulting in high output power density, tailorable architecture, and excellent stretchability showcased in a thermoelectric wristband for body heat recovery.
Article
Microscopy
Jian-Min Zuo, Renliang Yuan, Yu-Tsun Shao, Haw-Wen Hsiao, Saran Pidaparthy, Yang Hu, Qun Yang, Jiong Zhang
Summary: Transmission electron diffraction is an important method for material characterization, which allows the collection and processing of diffraction patterns to extract crystallographic information and generate images or tomograms. Recent progress in data collection, new algorithms, and automated analysis has wide applications in materials research and future opportunities in smart sampling and machine learning.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Qinwen Lu, Zhiwei Liu, Qun Yang, Hui Cao, Purnima Balakrishnan, Qing Wang, Long Cheng, Yalin Lu, Jian-Min Zuo, Hua Zhou, Patrick Quarterman, Shin Muramoto, Alexander J. Grutter, Hanghui Chen, Xiaofang Zhai
Summary: This study discovers unexpected soft ferromagnetism in ultrathin freestanding LaMnO3 films, both in the in-plane and out-of-plane directions. This finding is important for nanoscale devices, and the ultrathin freestanding films are compatible with Si-based devices.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
J. Carbajo, J. M. Molina, S. Kim, L. P. Maiorano, S. Ghaffari Mosanenzadeh, N. X. Fang
Summary: This paper proposes the design of open-pore polymer and aluminum cellular materials for sound absorption. These materials, fabricated using additive manufacturing and the replication method, show potential as sound absorbers.
METALS AND MATERIALS INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Microscopy
Saran Pidaparthy, Haoyang Ni, Hanyu Hou, Daniel P. Abraham, Jian-Min Zuo
Summary: Four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D-STEM) is a powerful tool for investigating the structural properties of materials. However, it is challenging to analyze disordered materials, especially in technologically important samples with a mixture of ordered and disordered phases. In this study, a new 4D-STEM method called fluctuation cepstral STEM (FC-STEM) is introduced, which uses fluctuation analysis of diffraction patterns to map ordered and disordered phases. The principles of FC-STEM are demonstrated by characterizing a silicon anode from a lithium-ion battery, showing its effectiveness in determining the structure of mixed-phase amorphous materials.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Stanislau Niauzorau, Natalya Kublik, Emmanuel Dasinor, Amm Hasib, Aliaksandr Sharstniou, Bruno Azeredo
Summary: Spherical nanoporous copper powders (PCu) were synthesized via dealloying of Cu-Al gas-atomized precursors with high-throughput, moderate flowability, moderate-oxygen content, high-surface area, and free of precipitates. The nanoscale weldability of hybrid feedstocks composed of PCu and copper nanoparticles were used to overcome the metastability of PCu and preserve its high-surface area. Open-die casting in reducing atmospheres resulted in parts with ultimate compression strength while forming electrically conductive solids with preserved nanoporosity.
APPLIED MATERIALS TODAY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Jinsong Cui, Fufei An, Jiangchao Qian, Yuxuan Wu, Luke L. Sloan, Saran Pidaparthy, Jian-Min Zuo, Qing Cao
Summary: Oxide-based solid-state protonic electrochemical transistors can operate by transferring protons between a hydrogenated tungsten oxide channel and gate through a zirconium dioxide protonic electrolyte. These devices offer multistate and symmetric programming of channel conductance via gate-voltage pulse control and have small cycle-to-cycle variation. They can be programmed at frequencies approaching the megahertz range and exhibit enduring performance. Through monolithic integration with silicon transistors, they can be used to create efficient deep learning accelerator applications.
NATURE ELECTRONICS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Haoyang Ni, Zhenyao Wu, Xinyi Wu, Jacob G. Smith, Michael J. Zachman, Jian-min Zuo, Lili Ju, Guannan Zhang, Miaofang Chi
Summary: The atomic configurations of atomically dispersed catalysts (ADCs), such as atom-atom distances and clustering, greatly affect their catalytic performance. This study presents a CNN-based algorithm that can quantify the spatial arrangement of different adatom configurations. The algorithm was proven effective in accurately identifying atom positions and analyzing large data sets of ADCs. It offers a robust method to overcome the bottleneck in STEM analysis for ADC catalyst research and has the potential to be used as an on-the-fly analysis tool for catalysts in future in situ microscopy experiments.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jinhu Zhang, Tianye Zhang, Erqian Dong, Chuang Zhang, Zhonglu Lin, Zhongchang Song, Hongquan Li, Nicholas X. Fang, Yu Zhang
Summary: The uniqueness of soft materials such as hydrogels creates great potential for new soft robots and actuators. Researchers have developed a bioinspired hydrogel jellyfish that is acoustically transparent and exhibits flexible motion, laying the foundation for the construction of next-generation mechanically flexible and acoustically transparent robots.
CELL REPORTS PHYSICAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Stanislau Niauzorau, Aliaksandr Sharstniou, Venkata Krishnan Sampath, Natalya Kublik, Hanna Bandarenka, Bruno Azeredo
Summary: Control of ligament size in nanoporous gold through process inputs in chemical dealloying has the potential to exploit its size dependent properties in energy and biomedicine applications. This study focuses on the early stage of dealloying of nanocrystalline Au49Ag51 thin films and finds that ligaments are uniformly nucleated through the thickness of the film. The study also quantifies sources of variability that affect the kinetics of ligament growth and establishes process-structure relationships.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Chang Liu, Sijia Wang, Xun Wang, Jianjun Mao, Yue Chen, Nicholas X. Fang, Shien-Ping Feng
Summary: Hydrovoltaic technologies have attracted attention in recent years as a way to generate electricity through the interaction of water with nanostructured materials. A new hydrovoltaic device has been invented that can sustainably produce ultrahigh voltages and has a fast voltage response. It outperforms other moisture-enabled electric generators in power density, adaptability to moisture flow, and simplicity of the device. The device has practical significance as a portable power supply and can recover energy from various real-life scenarios.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2022)
