Roll‐to‐Roll Cohesive,Coated, Flexible,High‐Efficiency Polymer Light‐Emitting Diodes Utilizing ITO‐Free Polymer Anodes

This paper reports solution‐processed, high‐efficiency polymer light‐emitting diodes fabricated by a new type of roll‐to‐roll coating method under ambient air conditions. A noble roll‐to‐roll cohesive coating system utilizes only natural gravity and the surface tension of the solution to flow out from the capillary to the surface of the substrate. Because this mechanism uses a minimally cohesive solution, the roll‐to‐roll cohesive coating can effectively realize an ultra‐thin film thickness for the electron injection layer. In addition, the roll‐to‐roll cohesive coating enables the fabrication of a thicker polymer anode film more than 250 nm at one time by modification of the surface energy and without wasting the solution. It is observed that the standard sheet resistance deviation of the polymer anode is only 2.32 Ω/□ over 50 000 bending cycles. The standard sheet resistance deviation of the polymer anode in the different bending angles (0 to 180°) is 0.313 Ω/□, but the case of the ITO‐PET is 104.93 Ω/□. The average surface roughness of the polymer anode measured by atomic force microscopy is only 1.06 nm. Because the surface of the polymer anode has a better quality, the leakage current of the polymer light‐emitting diodes (PLEDs) using the polymer anode is much lower than that using the ITO‐PET substrate. The luminous power efficiency of the two devices is 4.13 lm/W for the polymer anode and 3.21 lm/W for the ITO‐PET. Consequently, the PLEDs made by using the polymer anode exhibited 28% enhanced performance because the polymer anode represents not only a higher transparency than the ITO‐PET in the wavelength of 560 nm but also greatly reduced roughness. The optimized the maximum current efficiency and power efficiency of the device show around 6.1 cd/A and 5.1 lm/W, respectively, which is comparable to the case of using the ITO‐glass.     

Borosilicate glasses for fiber optical waveguides

Of the existing optical glasses, pure fused silica is known to have the lowest optical attenuation in the red and near infrared portion of the spectrum where optical communications appears most promising. However, to approach the low attenuations afforded by pure fused silica in a waveguide structure requires that a core of fused silica be clad with a glass of slightly lower index refraction. This paper describes an investigation of the binary borosilicate glass system which has led to the realization of a promising cladding material for pure fused silica core fibers.     

A technique for making low-loss fused silica core-borosilicate clad fiber optical waveguides

A technique for producing low-loss fused silica core-borosilicate clad fiber optical waveguides is described. The method consists of depositing radially oriented needles of borosilica on the outside surface of a fire-polished fused silica rod. This deposition is accomplished by a flame reaction of boron and silicon hydrides with oxygen. The deposit is subsequently sintered at approximately 1000°C to form a bubble free glass cladding. A thin fused silica outer jacket is then developed on this cladding to enhance the strength and the composite structure is drawn down to a fiber.     

H2O‐Etchant‐Promoted Synthesis of High‐Quality Graphene on Glass and Its Application in See‐Through Thermochromic Displays

Direct growth of graphene on glass can bring an innovative revolution by coupling the complementary properties of traditional glass and modern graphene (such as transparency and conductivity), offering brand new daily‐life related applications. However, preparation of high‐quality graphene on nonmetallic glass is still challenging. Herein, the direct route of low sheet resistance graphene on glass is reported by using in situ‐introduced water as a mild etchant and methane as a carbon precursor via chemical vapor deposition. The derived graphene features with large domain sizes and few amorphous carbon impurities. Intriguingly, the sheet resistance of graphene on glass is dramatically lowered down to ≈1170 Ω sq^?1 at the optical transmittance ≈93%, ≈20% of that derived without the water etchant. Based on the highly conductive and optical transparent graphene on glass, a see‐through thermochromic display is thus fabricated with transparent graphene glass as a heater. This work can motivate further investigations of the direct synthesis of high‐quality graphene on functional glass and its versatile applications in transparent electronic devices or displays.     

Formation of void array inside transparent and absorptive glasses by femtosecond laser irradiation

We demonstrate self-fabrication of void arrays in a fused silica transparent in the visible and a color-filter borosilicate glass strongly absorptive at 800 nm using tightly focused Ti-sapphire femtosecond laser pulses at 1 kHz without scanning. The period, the size, the number of voids, and the length of the aligned void structure were controlled by changing the laser pulse energy, and the position of the focal point inside two materials. The void arrays were observed by an optical microscope and also estimated by an optical diffraction experiment. The void size and period were smaller in the absorptive glass than in the transparent glass. The submicrometer-sized void was observed by a scanning electron microscope. The smaller and clearer void arrays were formed in the color filter than the fused silica glass. With increasing the laser focal depth, the void-array length increased in the fused silica and decreased in the color filter.     

RF spectroscopy of polymer-clad silica optical fibers

Radio-frequency (RF) impedance spectroscopy has been used to measure the dielectric permittivity of a polymer coating on optical fibers. It is established that the temperature dependences of permittivity in the RF range in polymers and fused silica significantly differ. The principal possibility of independent measurements of the temperature of a polymer cladding and silica core of an optical fiber is confirmed.     

Functionalisation of glass with iron oxide nanoparticles produced by laser pyrolysis

In the present work, a new process for depositing nanoparticle layers onto glass has been developed by using one of the most interesting nanoparticle generation technologies at the moment, which is based on the pyrolysis induced by laser of vapours combined with CVD of the particles onto glass. Nanoparticles prepared by this method were deposited into a hot silica substrate obtaining new nanocomposites with unique properties. The coated glasses present new specific functionalities such as colour, and interesting magnetic and optical properties. Control of the thickness and the iron oxide phase, either magnetic or not, has been achieved by adjusting the experimental conditions. Thus, thickness is controlled by the glass and the precursor temperature, while the iron phase is controlled by the precursor temperature and the nature and the flow of the carrier gas. This process is inexpensive, adaptable to current glass production technologies and takes place at atmospheric pressure.     

Optical bonding using silica nanoparticle sol-gel chemistry

A simple method is described to bond optical components using silica nanoparticle sol-gel chemistry. The silica nanoparticles polymerize into highly branched networks that link the surfaces together. The nanoparticle mediated bonding has several advantages to currently used optical joining technologies. The bonding is a room-temperature process and does not require any clean room facilities. The bonded interface has a high mechanical strength and low scattering. The bonding is resistant to organic solvents on silylation with hydrophobic surface groups. This method achieves 100% successful bonding rates between soda-lime glass slides. The bond-setting time can be tailored to allow time for precision optical alignment.     

High‐Performance All‐Polymer Solar Cells Enabled by an n‐Type Polymer Based on a Fluorinated Imide‐Functionalized Arene

A novel imide‐functionalized arene, di(fluorothienyl)thienothiophene diimide (f‐FBTI2), featuring a fused backbone functionalized with electron‐withdrawing F atoms, is designed, and the synthetic challenges associated with highly electron‐deficient fluorinated imide are overcome. The incorporation of f‐FBTI2 into polymer affords a high‐performance n‐type semiconductor f‐FBTI2‐T, which shows a reduced bandgap and lower‐lying lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy level than the polymer analog without F or with F‐functionalization on the donor moiety. These optoelectronic properties reflect the distinctive advantages of fluorination of electron‐deficient acceptors, yielding “stronger acceptors,” which are desirable for n‐type polymers. When used as a polymer acceptor in all‐polymer solar cells, an excellent power conversion efficiency of 8.1% is achieved without any solvent additive or thermal treatment, which is the highest value reported for all‐polymer solar cells except well‐studied naphthalene diimide and perylene diimide‐based n‐type polymers. In addition, the solar cells show an energy loss of 0.53 eV, the smallest value reported to date for all‐polymer solar cells with efficiency > 8%. These results demonstrate that fluorination of imide‐functionalized arenes offers an effective approach for developing new electron‐deficient building blocks with improved optoelectronic properties, and the emergence of f‐FBTI2 will change the scenario in terms of developing n‐type polymers for high‐performance all‐polymer solar cells.     

25th Anniversary Article: Rise to Power – OPV‐Based Solar Parks

A solar park based on polymer solar cells is described and analyzed with respect to performance, practicality, installation speed, and energy payback time. It is found that a high voltage installation where solar cells are all printed in series enables an installation rate in Watts installed per minute that far exceed any other PV technology in existence. The energy payback time for the practical installation of polymer solar cell foil on a wooden 250 square meter platform in its present form is 277 days when operated in Denmark and 180 days when operated in southern Spain. The installation and de‐installation rate is above 100 m min^?1, which, with the present performance and web width, implies installation of >200 W min^?1. In comparison, this also exceeds the overall manufacturing speed of the polymer solar cell foil with a width of 305 mm which is currently 1 m min^?1 for complete encapsulated and tested foil. It is also significant that simultaneous installation and de‐installation which enables efficient schemes for decommissioning and recycling is possible. It is highlighted where research efforts should most rationally be invested in order to make grid electricity from OPV a reality (and it is within reach).     

Efficient beam shaping of linear, high-power diode lasers by use of micro-optics

We have designed, fabricated, and characterized a micro-optical beam-shaping device that is intended to optimize the coupling of an incoherent, linearly extended high-power diode laser into a multimode fiber. The device uses two aligned diffractive optical elements (DOEs) in combination with conventional optics. With a first prototype, we achieved an overall efficiency of 28%. Straightforward improvements, such as antireflective coatings and the use of gray-tone elements, are expected to lead to an efficiency of approximately 50%. The device is compact, and its fabrication is suited for mass production at low cost. This micro-optical device, used in a range-finder measurement system, will extend the measurement range. In addition to the direct laser writing technique, which was used for fabrication of the DOEs of the prototype, we applied two other technologies for the fabrication of the micro-optical elements and compared their performance. The technologies were multiple-projection photolithography in combination with reactive-ion etching in fused silica and high-energy beam-sensitive glass gray-tone lithography in photoresist. We found that refractive-type elements (gray tone) yield better efficiency for large deflection angles, whereas diffractive elements (multilevel or laser written) give intrinsically accurate deflection angles.     

Trap Healing for High‐Performance Low‐Voltage Polymer Transistors and Solution‐Based Analog Amplifiers on Foil

Solution‐processed semiconductors such as conjugated polymers have great potential in large‐area electronics. While extremely appealing due to their low‐temperature and high‐throughput deposition methods, their integration in high‐performance circuits has been difficult. An important remaining challenge is the achievement of low‐voltage circuit operation. The present study focuses on state‐of‐the‐art polymer thin‐film transistors based on poly(indacenodithiophene‐benzothiadiazole) and shows that the general paradigm for low‐voltage operation via an enhanced gate‐to‐channel capacitive coupling is unable to deliver high‐performance device behavior. The order‐of‐magnitude longitudinal‐field reduction demanded by low‐voltage operation plays a fundamental role, enabling bulk trapping and leading to compromised contact properties. A trap‐reduction technique based on small molecule additives, however, is capable of overcoming this effect, allowing low‐voltage high‐mobility operation. This approach is readily applicable to low‐voltage circuit integration, as this work exemplifies by demonstrating high‐performance analog differential amplifiers operating at a battery‐compatible power supply voltage of 5 V with power dissipation of 11 µW, and attaining a voltage gain above 60 dB at a power supply voltage below 8 V. These findings constitute an important milestone in realizing low‐voltage polymer transistors for solution‐based analog electronics that meets performance and power‐dissipation requirements for a range of battery‐powered smart‐sensing applications.     

Ultrashort pulsed fiber laser welding and sealing of transparent materials

In this paper, methods of welding and sealing optically transparent materials using an ultrashort pulsed (USP) fiber laser are demonstrated which overcome the limit of small area welding of optical materials. First, the interaction of USP fiber laser radiation inside glass was studied and single line welding results with different laser parameters were investigated. Then multiline scanning was used to obtain successful area bonding. Finally, complete four-edge sealing of fused silica substrates with a USP laser was demonstrated and the hermetic seal was confirmed by water immersion test. This laser microwelding technique can be extended to various applications in the semiconductor industry and precision optic manufacturing.     

Effect of substrate on structural and transport properties of sprayed Fe:ZnO polycrystalline thin films

ZnO thin films doped with iron have been grown by spray pyrolysis technique on glass and fused silica substrates in order to study the effect of substrate material on the structural, optical, and electro-magnetotransport properties of grown layers. The polycrystalline Fe:ZnO films have different growth orientation according to the substrate, though both films are highly transparent in the visible region of wavelength. The sample grown on glass substrate has larger magnetoresistance and lower electron mobility than that on fused silica substrate.     

All‐Solution‐Processed Metal‐Oxide‐Free Flexible Organic Solar Cells with Over 10% Efficiency

All‐solution‐processing at low temperatures is important and desirable for making printed photovoltaic devices and also offers the possibility of a safe and cost‐effective fabrication environment for the devices. Herein, an all‐solution‐processed flexible organic solar cell (OSC) using poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly‐(styrenesulfonate) electrodes is reported. The all‐solution‐processed flexible devices yield the highest power conversion efficiency of 10.12% with high fill factor of over 70%, which is the highest value for metal‐oxide‐free flexible OSCs reported so far. The enhanced performance is attributed to the newly developed gentle acid treatment at room temperature that enables a high‐performance PEDOT:PSS/plastic underlying substrate with a matched work function (≈4.91 eV), and the interface engineering that endows the devices with better interface contacts and improved hole mobility. Furthermore, the flexible devices exhibit an excellent mechanical flexibility, as indicated by a high retention (≈94%) of the initial efficiency after 1000 bending cycles. This work provides a simple route to fabricate high‐performance all‐solution‐processed flexible OSCs, which is important for the development of printing, blading, and roll‐to‐roll technologies.     

An Unfused‐Core‐Based Nonfullerene Acceptor Enables High‐Efficiency Organic Solar Cells with Excellent Morphological Stability at High Temperatures

Most nonfullerene acceptors developed so far for high‐performance organic solar cells (OSCs) are designed in planar molecular geometry containing a fused‐ring core. In this work, a new nonfullerene acceptor of DF‐PCIC is synthesized with an unfused‐ring core containing two cyclopentadithiophene (CPDT) moieties and one 2,5‐difluorobenzene (DFB) group. A nearly planar geometry is realized through the F···H noncovalent interaction between CPDT and DFB for DF‐PCIC. After proper optimizations, the OSCs with DF‐PCIC as the acceptor and the polymer PBDB‐T as the donor yield the best power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10.14% with a high fill factor of 0.72. To the best of our knowledge, this efficiency is among the highest values for the OSCs with nonfullerene acceptors owning unfused‐ring cores. Furthermore, no obvious morphological changes are observed for the thermally treated PBDB‐T:DF‐PCIC blended films, and the relevant devices can keep ≈70% of the original PCEs upon thermal treatment at 180 °C for 12 h. This tolerance of such a high temperature for so long time is rarely reported for fullerene‐free OSCs, which might be due to the unique unfused‐ring core of DF‐PCIC. Therefore, the work provides new idea for the design of new nonfullerene acceptors applicable in commercial OSCs in the future.     

Investigation of the soda aluminosilicate glass system for application to fiber optical waveguides

An extensive investigation of the soda aluminosilicate glass systems has been conducted to determine the suitability of this material for low loss fiber optical waveguides. Based on measurements of scattering loss energy gap, and glass transition temperature we conclude that certain compositions of soda aluminosilicate glass have substantially lower measured scattering loss and less estimated absorption loss than pure fused silica, the best of the present waveguide materials. Scattering losses less than $\text{1}\text{4}$ that of pure fused silica have been observed.     

A Crosslinked Polytetrahydrofuran‐Borate‐Based Polymer Electrolyte Enabling Wide‐Working‐Temperature‐Range Rechargeable Magnesium Batteries

A polymer‐based magnesium (Mg) electrolyte is vital for boosting the development of high‐safety and flexible Mg batteries by virtue of its enormous advantages, such as significantly improved safety, potentially high energy density, ease of fabrication, and structural flexibility. Herein, a novel polytetrahydrofuran‐borate‐based gel polymer electrolyte coupling with glass fiber is synthesized via an in situ crosslinking reaction of magnesium borohydride [Mg(BH₄)₂] and hydroxyl‐terminated polytetrahydrofuran. This gel polymer electrolyte exhibits reversible Mg plating/stripping performance, high Mg‐ion conductivity, and remarkable Mg‐ion transfer number. The Mo₆S₈/Mg batteries assembled with this gel polymer electrolyte not only work well at wide temperature range (?20 to 60 °C) but also display unprecedented improvements in safety issues without suffering from internal short‐circuit failure even after a cutting test. This in situ crosslinking approach toward exploiting the Mg‐polymer electrolyte provides a promising strategy for achieving large‐scale application of Mg‐metal batteries.     

Fused glass deposition modelling for applications in the built environment

For the built environment and for engineers, glass is an indispensable material with unique properties. Recent developments have shown that there is a potential market for additive manufacturing technology in the building industry, based on the production with a relatively small amount of repetitions and the tendency of applying technological innovations for advanced buildings. This paper focusses on the potential of fusing glass filaments on a glass base plate in order to develop a scientific base to create a process that is able to print 3D glass on glass plates for applications in the building industry. These fused components could eliminate boreholes for joints in glass panes including related disadvantages. Also, the fused deposition glass components can be a potential reinforcement of flat glass. Therefore, the fusing of soda lime silicate glass and borosilicate glass has been investigated. Based on these experiences, samples with different glass thicknesses are manufactured and the fused components are tested for their bending strength. The manufactured samples are analysed with polarized images, 3D computer tomography, microscopy and energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy. This paper describes, presents and discusses the results of the investigations, and demonstrates that load transfer via fused glass joints is possible in principle.     

中孔炭的水玻璃模板法制备、结构调控及球形功能化

以廉价水玻璃为原料, 通过控制水解条件, 合成出具有不同尺寸的SiO₂溶胶, 并与间苯二酚-甲醛(RF)溶胶形成均相的凝胶复合物, 经常压干燥、炭化、酸洗, 得到具有可控结构的中孔炭材料。考察了水解温度、水解时间和反应物组成对孔结构的影响, 并通过氮气吸附、扫描电镜和透射电镜对材料的微观结构进行了表征。结果表明: 中孔炭的孔隙反相复制于SiO₂凝胶网络, 其平均孔径随水解时间的延长或水解温度的升高而增大, 并在6~12 nm范围内精细调控, 而其总孔隙率可以通过改变炭、SiO₂前驱体比例调节。对液相复合溶胶通过悬浮聚合法和喷雾干燥法处理, 分别制备出毫米级和微米级的中孔炭球, 进而实现了中孔炭在宏观形貌上的调控。本工作为中孔炭的低成本制备、精细结构调控以及球形功能化提供了重要参考。