Anisotropic Wettability of Biomimetic Micro/Nano Dual‐Scale Inclined Cones Fabricated by Ferrofluid‐Molding Method

Learning from nature, a series of cone‐shaped structures resembling trichomes of plants are fabricated by ferrofluid molding to understand the influence of geometry on wettability. Experimentally, ferrofluid microdroplets are generated under an external magnetic field, and their shape can be changed from right cones into oblique cones by tilting the external magnetic field. Followed by hard molds made with UV‐curable tri(propylene glycol) diacrylate, polydimethylsiloxane microcones with different inclination angle (θ) are subsequently generated. Nickel thin film is deposited onto the microcones to form micro/nano dual‐scale structures. The largest contact angle (CA) is obtained in nickel‐deposited right cones (CA = 163.1° ± 2.5°). Anisotropic wettability is exhibited in oblique cones and the retention forces in the pin and release directions differ up to 12 μN (cones θ = 50°). As explained by a model as a function of the inclination angle of the cone structures, the contact and retention forces of droplet move in pin and release directions exhibit considerable differences. Results suggest the inclination of the trichomes assist the balance between repellency and retention of water in a direction‐selective manner.     

PMMA疏水性表面的飞秒激光制备研究

利用飞秒激光加工系统对PMMA表面制备微结构,调节激光的加工次数和微结构的尺寸参数,研究PMMA表面的润湿性机理。激光制备出光栅结构和方柱结构,采用超景深三维显微镜和接触角测量仪对微结构表面形貌和润湿性进行测量分析。研究了不同的激光加工次数和微结构尺寸对表面润湿性的影响,结果表明:PMMA表面微结构的接触角随光栅结构间距的增大而减小,随光栅结构的高度增大而增大,最大接触角达到120°;相较于光栅结构,制备出的方柱结构的接触角更大,与理论计算值比较接近;激光加工PMMA表面微结构可以将PMMA润湿性从亲水向疏水状态转变,微结构间距过小会导致激光加工时飞溅的熔融物堆积在结构通道。     

Superoleophilic and Superhydrophobic Inverse Opals for Oil Sensors

An inverse opal with both superoleophilic (oil contact angle (CA), 5.1° ± 1.2°) and superhydrophobic (water CA, 153.8° ± 1.2°) properties is fabricated using a phenolic resin (PR) as precursor and poly(styrene‐methyl methacrylate‐acrylic acid) (poly(St‐MMA‐AA)) colloidal crystals as templates. The stopband of the inverse opal can shift reversibly upon sorption of oils, whereby the peak position is a linear function of the refractive index of the adsorbed oil, e.g., a variation in refractive index of 0.02 will result in a stopband shift of 26 nm. Therefore, the inverse opals show a high sensitivity and selectivity for different petroleum oils. Moreover, as‐prepared PR inverse opals show excellent oil‐sensing stability in cyclic sorption experiments, which suggests a promising and economical alternative to traditional oil‐sensing materials, and will provide a new approach to in situ petroleum monitoring and detection.     

Surface modification of silicon by laser surface treatment: Improvement of adhesion and copper deposition

We have studied the use of lasers for modifying the surface properties of silicon to improve its wettability and adhesion characteristics. Using a 4th harmonic Nd:YAG (λ = 266 nm, pulse) laser, the wettability and adhesion characteristics of the silicon surfaces have been enhanced by laser irradiation. It was found that laser surface treatment of silicon modified the surface energy. By the contact angle measurement, using distilled water, the wetting characteristics of silicon after the laser irradiation show a decrease in the contact angle and a change in the surface chemical composition. In the case of the laser-treated silicon surface, laser direct writing of copper lines has been achieved through pyrolytic decomposition of copper formate by using a focused Ar⁺ laser beam (λ = 514.5 nm, continuous wave (CW)) on the silicon substrates. The deposited lines and surface chemical compositions were measured by energy dispersive x-ray (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and surface profiler (Alpha Step 500, San Jose, CA) to examine the cross section of deposited copper lines.     

镁掺杂对ZnO薄膜光诱导亲水性的影响

采用溶胶-凝胶法在Si(111)制备了一系列Mg掺杂的ZnO薄膜。用X射线衍射仪、原子力显微镜和接触角测试仪测量薄膜的微结构、表面形貌和表面接触角。结果表明：Mg掺杂ZnO薄膜仍为六角纤锌矿型结构,所有薄膜均具有较好的c轴择优取向。随着Mg掺杂含量的增加,薄膜的粗超度从2.14nm增大到9.56nm,薄膜表面接触角由89? 减小到 82?。通过对薄膜交替进行紫外光照和黑暗放置(或热处理),可以实现其表面疏水与超亲水性之间的可逆转化,光诱导可逆转化效率随Mg掺杂含量的增加而增大。     

Fast and Reversible Wettability Transitions on ZnO Nanostructures

Surface wettability is an important property of solid/liquid interfaces. Recently, the control of contact angle (CA) has been used to drive liquid droplets in micro- or nanosize channels on biochemical and environmental sensing chips, where a faster CA transition rate is desirable for the prompt control of liquid movement. We studied the CA between water droplet and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanotips grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). ZnO was grown as epitaxial films on r-plane sapphire, or as vertically aligned nanotips on various substrates, including silicon, c-plane sapphire, and glass. It is demonstrated that by using ultraviolet (UV) illumination and oxygen annealing, the CA on ZnO nanotips can be changed between 0° and 130°, whereas the CA on the ZnO films only varies between 37° and 100°. The fast transition rates also have been observed. (Received October 16, 2006; accepted January 23, 2007)     

Design of integrated microlens for collimation of the vertical-cavity surface emitting laser array

A method based on the theory of transfer matrix to design the integrated microlens for the collimation of vertical-cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) array is presented. The integrated microlenses fabricated on the substrate directly and on a certain polymer material which is on the substrate are considered. The relationships between the radius of curvature, beam waist and the divergence angle after collimation are obtained with the help of ZEMAX. The results show that the devices with the divergence angle of 15° (1/e ²) and beam waist of 2 μm can be improved to those with the divergence angle lower than 1°, and the devices with beam waist of 10 μm can be improved to those with the divergence angle lower than 3°, which is a good reference for manufacturing high-power devices with small divergence angle. The conclusions including increasing the thicknesses of both the substrate and polymer material and reducing the diameter of oxidized layer are drawn, which will be an important guidance for experiment research.     

Fine Control of the Wettability Transition Temperature of Colloidal‐Crystal Films: From Superhydrophilic to Superhydrophobic

A facile strategy for finely controlling the wettability transition temperature of colloidal‐crystal films from superhydrophilic (water contact angle, CA, 0°) to superhydrophobic (water CA, 150.5°) is demonstrated. The colloidal‐crystal films are assembled from poly(styrene‐n‐butyl acrylate–acrylic acid) amphiphilic latex spheres. The wettability transition temperature of the films can be well tuned by adjusting the n‐butyl acrylate/styrene balance of the latex spheres. Superhydrophobic films are achieved when assembled at 90, 80, 70, 60, 40, or even 20 °C. This approach offers the flexibility of fabricating colloidal crystals with desired and tunable wettability, and can be further extended to general materials, opening up new perspectives in controlling the wettability behavior by chemical composition.     

Under‐Water Superaerophobic Pine‐Shaped Pt Nanoarray Electrode for Ultrahigh‐Performance Hydrogen Evolution

A pine‐shaped Pt nanostructured electrode with under‐water superaerophobicity for ultrahigh and steady hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance is successfully fabricated by a facile and easily scalable electrodeposition technique. Due to the lower bubble adhesive force (11.5 ± 1.2 μN), the higher bubble contact angle (161.3° ± 3.4°) in aqueous solution, and the smaller size of bubbles release for pine‐shaped Pt nanostructured electrode, the incomparable under‐water superaerophobicity for final repellence of bubbles from submerged surface with ease, is successfully achieved, compared to that for nanosphere electrode and for Pt flat electrode. With the merits of superior under‐water superaerophobicity and excellent nanoarray morphology, pine‐shaped Pt nanostructured electrode with the ultrahigh electrocatalytic HER performance, excellent durability, no obvious current fluctuation, and dramatically fast current density increase at overpotential range (3.85 mA mV^?1, 2.55 and 13.75 times higher than that for nanosphere electrode and for Pt flat electrode, respectively), is obtained, much superior to Pt nanosphere and flat electrodes. The successful introduction of under‐water superaerophobicity to in‐time repel as‐formed H₂ bubbles may open up a new pathway for designing more efficient electrocatalysts with potentially practical utilization in the near future.     

Wide angle space laser communication receiver based on asymmetric array structure

In this paper, an asymmetric array structure of space laser communication receiver is proposed. This structure can greatly reduce alignment requirement, and lighten the signal strength jitter caused by atmospheric turbulence. A prototype of the proposed structure is fabricated and a 2.5 Mbit/s on-off keying (OOK) modulated demonstration link over 40 m free space is built. This asymmetric array structure can effectively collect optical signal while rotating in a window angle of ±17°, and the bit error ratio (BER) keeps zero.     

Laser‐fired contact for n‐type crystalline Si solar cells

Laser‐fired contacts to n‐type crystalline silicon were developed by investigating novel metal stacks containing Antimony (Sb). Lasing conditions and the structure of metals stacks were optimized for lowest contact resistance and minimum surface damage. Specific contact resistance for firing different metal stacks through either silicon nitride or p‐type amorphous silicon was determined using two different models and test structures. Specific contact resistance values of 2–7 mΩcm² have been achieved. Recombination loss due to laser damage was consistent with an extracted local surface recombination velocity of ~20 000 cm/s, which is similar to values for laser‐fired base contact for p‐type crystalline silicon. Interdigitated back contact silicon heterojunction cells were fabricated with laser‐fired base contact and proof‐of‐concept efficiencies of 16.9% were achieved. This localized base contact technique will enable low cost back contact patterning and innovative designs for n‐type crystalline solar cell. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of organic acids modified ITO anodes on luminescent properties and stability of OLED devices

In this paper, p-chlorophenylacetic acid and p-fluorophenylacetic acid were applied to modify the indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes. The surface work functions of unmodified ITO, p-chlorophenylacetic acid modified ITO (Cl-ITO) and p-fluorophenylacetic acid modified ITO (F-ITO) are 5.0 eV, 5.26 eV and 5.14 eV, respectively, and the water contact angles are 7.3°, 59.1° and 46.5°, respectively. The increase of the work function makes the hole injection ability of the devices improved, which is proved by the hole transport devices. The self-assembly (SAM) layers transfer hydrophilic ITO to hydrophobic ITO, which makes ITO more compatible with the hydrophobic organic layers, making the organic film more stable during the operation. After modification, the organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), SAM-modified ITO/NPB/Alq3/LiF/Al, with better performance and stability were fabricated. Especially, the OLED with Cl-ITO (Cl-OLED) has a maximum luminance of 22 428 cd/m² (improved by 32.9%) and a half-lifetime of 46 h. Our results suggest that employing organic acids to modify ITO surface can enhance the stability and the luminescent properties of OLED devices.     

Excimer laser-assisted planarization of thick diamond films

The planarization of polycrystalline diamond films is critical for a large number of industrial applications. We have investigated a laser-assisted method for planarization of thick diamond films. This method is based on the application of excimer laser combined with simultaneous rotation of the sample. Thick diamond films (average surface roughness: ∼20 μm and thickness ∼500 μm) were fabricated by plasma jet chemical vapor deposition process. The planarization of diamond films was found to be critically dependent on the angle of incidence of laser beam. Smoother surfaces were obtained at higher incidence angles (θ = 80°). However, by combination of sample rotation with laser irradiation at higher incidence angles (θ = 80°), maximum surface planarization was achieved. Under optimum conditions, the surface roughness of the samples were reduced from 20 to 0.1 μm. The mechanisms for surface planarization of thick diamond films are discussed.     

Molecular or Nanoscale Structures? The Deciding Factor of Surface Properties on Functionalized Poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) Nanorod Arrays

Nanostructures of poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) are assembled by using an anodic aluminum oxide template directly fabricated on gold‐coated silicon wafers. Inside these templates, PEDOT and hydroxy functionalized PEDOT form tubes. On the other hand, alkyl‐ and perfluoro‐functionalized PEDOTs assembled as nanorods. This approach allows a platform to understand the molecular and nanostructural effect on the surface wettability of these materials. In the water/air interface, the contact angle of water droplet (CA_water) for the smooth alkyl‐functionalized PEDOT films increases when alkyl chain gets longer. In contrast, the contact angle reachs saturation at 130° with alkyl chain longer than ethyl in assembled nanorod arrays. It remains the same even in the case of perfluoro‐functionalized PEDOT. Moreover, ethyl‐functionalized PEDOT (PEDOT‐C2) nanorods displays superoleophilicity and the oil deoplet cannot stay on the film in water. Based on the wettability studies, it is concluded that the nanostructures contribute predominantly for the surface wettability of these nanomaterials when the length of alkyl chain crosses certain threshold.     

A Coating that Combines Lotus‐Effect and Contact‐Active Antimicrobial Properties on Silicone

The antimicrobial equipment of materials is of great importance in medicine but also in daily life. A challenge is the antimicrobial modification of hydrophobic surfaces without increasing their low surface energy. This is particularly important for silicone‐based materials. Because most antimicrobial surface modifications render the materials more hydrophilic, methods are needed to achieve antimicrobial activity without changing the high water‐contact‐angle. This is achieved in the present work, where SiO₂ nanoparticles are prepared and functionalized with 3‐(trimethoxysilyl)‐propyldimethyloctadecyl ammonium chloride (QAS) in a one‐pot synthesis. The modified nanoparticles are applied onto a silicone surface from suspension with no need of elaborate pretreatment. The resulting surface exhibits a Lotus‐Effect combined with contact‐active antimicrobial properties. The particle surfaces show self‐organizing micro‐ and nanostructures that afford a water‐contact angle of 144° and a hysteresis below 10°. The particles are self‐adhering on the silicone after solvent evaporation and resistant against immersion into and washing with water for at least 5 d. Thereby, the adhesion of the bacterial strain Staphylococcus aureus to these surfaces is reduced and the remaining bacterial cells are killed within 16 h. This is the first example of a Lotus‐Effect surface with intrinsic contact‐active antimicrobial properties.     

Multi-active region laser diode with a narrow beam divergence angle

A novel large optical cavity laser diode, which consists of multi-active regions cascaded together through tunnel junctions, is proposed. After growing the epi-layers with LP-MOCVD system on GaAs substrate, the ridge waveguide laser structure is fabricated, and it shows a transverse divergence angle as low as 14.4°. This work was supported by special foundations for major state basic research project of China(G20000683-02)     

Transparent flexible plastic substrates for organic light-emitting devices

In this paper, we describe the properties of flexible plastic substrates with a transparent conducting electrode (TCE), which are important for organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs). Specifically, we have evaluated the TCE electrical resistivity, surface roughness, electrode patterning, optical transmission, and the substrate water vapor/oxygen transmission. We have studied the effect of ultraviolet (UV)-ozone treatment on the TCE surface by using contact angle measurements and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). A decrease in the advancing contact angle by 30–40° and an increase of oxygen content on the TCE surface by 10 at.% were observed after the UV-ozone treatment. These changes facilitate the polymer adhesion to the TCE surface and increase the TCE surface work function, respectively. A sheet resistance of 12–13 Ω/□, an optical transmission greater than 80% over the visible range, and a surface roughness of 1.4–2.2-nm RMS over 50×50 μm² have been obtained for the plastic substrates. These properties are adequate for OLED applications based on United States Display Consortium specifications. Finally, we have found that a combination of hydrogenated amorphous silicon-nitride and silicon-oxide layers deposited on one side of the substrate at low-temperature reduces the water vapor and oxygen transmission rates (TRs) to less than 10⁻⁵ g/cm²-day-atm and about 10⁻⁷ cc/cm²-day-atm, respectively.     

Light extraction of flexible OLEDs based on transparent polyimide substrates with 3-D photonic structure

We report a flexible organic light-emitting diode (OLED) based on transparent polyimide (PI) substrate with 3-D photonic structure, which shows a maximum gain factor of ∼1.7 for current efficiency at large viewing angle. The PI substrate is a replicate from glass carrier with hexagonal closely-packed convex-truncated-cone array. Green OLEDs are fabricated on the planar surface of the PI substrate before being mechanically de-bonded from the glass template. The proposed OLEDs exhibit excellent angular optical properties including stable CIE coordinates with Δx = −0.006 and Δy = 0.002 as the viewing angle varies from 0° to 50°. Surface scattering effect of the 3-D photonic structure eliminates the periodic distortion phenomenon in electroluminescence spectrum of flexible OLEDs.     

亚波长线栅太赫兹偏振分束器的研究

为了提高工作在太赫兹波段偏振分束器的性能,采用激光诱导与化学镀铜的方法在聚酰亚胺衬底上制作了亚波长周期金属线栅太赫兹偏振分束器,并以返波振荡器作为太赫兹辐射源搭建了偏振分束特性测试系统。当入射波频率为340GHz、入射角为45°时,测得在入射波偏振在0°～180°变化过程中,该偏振分束器具有良好的偏振分束特性,透射和反射的消光比分别为27.3dB和10.5dB,插入损耗分别为0.13dB和0.32dB;用太赫兹时域光谱系统测得偏振分束器在0.2THz～1.5THz频域内透射消光比大于18dB。结果表明,测试结果与时域有限元方法模拟结果基本吻合。     

Ta/Au ohmic contacts to n-type ZnO

Ta/Au ohmic contacts are fabricated on n-type ZnO (∼1 × 10¹⁷ cm⁻³) epilayers, which were grown on R-plane sapphire substrates by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). After growth and metallization, the samples are annealed at 300°C and 500°C for 30 sec in nitrogen ambient. The specific contact resistance is measured to be 3.2×10⁻⁴ Ωcm² for the as-deposited samples. It reduces to 5.4×10⁻⁶ Ωcm² after annealing at 300°C for 30 sec without significant surface morphology degradation. When the sample is annealed at 500°C for 30 sec, the specific contact resistance increases to 3.3 × 10⁻⁵ Ωcm². The layer structures no longer exist due to strong Au and Ta in-diffusion and O out-diffusion. The contact surface becomes rough and textured.