A fundamental study on electrowetting by traditional and multifunctional ionic liquids: possible use in electrowetting on dielectric-based microfluidic applications

Water or aqueous electrolytes are the dominant components in electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD)-based microfluidic devices. Low thermal stability, evaporation, and a propensity to facilitate corrosion of the metal parts of integrated circuits or electronics are drawbacks of aqueous solutions. The alternative use of ionic liquids (ILs) as electrowetting agents in EWOD-based applications or devices could overcome these limitations. Efficient EWOD devices could be developed using task-specific ILs. In this regard, a fundamental study on the electrowetting properties of ILs is essential. Therefore electrowetting properties of 19 different ionic liquids, including mono-, di-, and tricationic, plus mono- and dianionic ILs were examined. All tested ILs showed electrowetting of various magnitudes on an amorphous flouropolymer layer. The effects of IL structure, functionality, and charge density on the electrowetting properties were studied. The enhanced stability of ILs in electrowetting on dielectric at higher voltages was studied in comparison with water. Deviations from classical electrowetting theory were confirmed. The physical properties of ILs and their electrowetting properties were tabulated. These data can be used as references to engineer task-specific electrowetting agents (ILs) for future electrowetting-based applications.     

Determination of the structural properties of a columnar hexagonal liquid crystal by light scattering

In this study we examine a new computer model of light scattering. Light propagation through a columnar hexagonal liquid crystal has been represented by using a cylindrical model. Numerical aspects of the light scattering process, which are based on numerically solving Maxwell's equations, have been calculated for a liquid crystal. We describe in detail the circular cylindrical model for computing light scattering from a columnar hexagonal liquid crystal and present the results of benchmark computations. We report results of extensive calculation for oriented columnar molecular systems. Our results are compared with previous studies on light scattering by other materials.     

A review on the light extraction techniques in organic electroluminescent devices

Organic electroluminescent devices are becoming increasingly important because of their potential applications for large area flat-panel displays and general lighting. The internal quantum efficiency of these devices have been achieved near 100% using electro-phosphorescent materials with proper management of singlet and triplet excitons, however, the external quantum efficiency of conventional devices remains near 20% because of losses due to wave-guiding effect. Recently, there has been great progress to enhance the light out-coupling efficiency of organic electroluminescent devices by means of various internal and external device modification techniques. In this review we report recent advances in light out-coupling techniques, such as, substrate modification methods, use of scattering medium, micro-lens arrays, micro-cavity effect, photonic crystals and nano-cavity, nano-particles, nano-structures and surface plasmon-enhanced techniques that have been implemented to enhance the external extraction efficiency of organic electro-luminescent devices.     

电子墨水技术的研究进展

对当今世界上主流的5种电子墨水技术的原理做了概括性的介绍与评述.它们分别是微胶囊电泳、双色拧转球、胆甾型液晶、电湿技术和电致变色技术.     

Light‐Driven Chiral Molecular Switches or Motors in Liquid Crystals

The ability to tune molecular self‐organization with an external stimulus is a main driving force in the bottom‐up nanofabrication of molecular devices. Light‐driven chiral molecular switches or motors in liquid crystals that are capable of self‐organizing into optically tunable helical superstructures undoubtedly represent a striking example, owing to their unique property of selective light reflection and which may lead to applications in the future. In this review, we focus on different classes of light‐driven chiral molecular switches or motors in liquid crystal media for the induction and manipulation of photoresponsive cholesteric liquid crystal systems and their consequent applications. Moreover, the change of helical twisting powers of chiral dopants and their capability of helix inversion in the induced cholesteric phases are highlighted and discussed in the light of their molecular geometric changes.     

Thermophysical Properties of 1,1,1,3,3-Pentafluorobutane (R365mfc)

This paper presents an experimental study on various thermophysical properties of a new fluoroalkane, 1,1,1,3,3-pentafluorobutane (R365mfc). The thermal conductivity of R365mfc was measured in the liquid phase near saturation conditions at temperatures between 263 and 333 K using a parallel plate instrument with an uncertainty of less than ±5%. For the measurement of the saturated liquid density between 273 and 353 K, a vibrating tube instrument was used. The uncertainty of the density measurements is less than ±0.1%. In addition, experimental data have been obtained for R365mfc under saturation conditions over a wide temperature range from about 253 to 460 K using light scattering techniques. Light scattering from the bulk fluid has been applied for measuring both the thermal diffusivity and the sound speed in the liquid and vapor phases. Light scattering by surface waves on a horizontal liquid–vapor interface has been used for the simultaneous determination of the surface tension and kinematic viscosity of the liquid phase. With the light scattering techniques, uncertainties of less than ±1.0, ±0.5, ±1.0, and ±1.2% have been achieved for the thermal diffusivity, the sound speed, the kinematic viscosity, and the surface tension, respectively.     

Electrowetting‐Mediated Transport to Produce Electrochemical Transistor Action in Nanopore Electrode Arrays

Understanding water behavior in confined volumes is important in applications ranging from water purification to healthcare devices. Especially relevant are wetting and dewetting phenomena which can be switched by external stimuli, such as light and electric fields. Here, these behaviors are exploited for electrochemical processing by voltage‐directed ion transport in nanochannels contained within nanopore arrays in which each nanopore presents three electrodes. The top and middle electrodes (TE and ME) are in direct contact with the nanopore volume, but the bottom electrode (BE) is buried beneath a 70 nm silicon nitride (SiN_x) insulating layer. Electrochemical transistor operation is realized when small, defect‐mediated channels are opened in the SiN_x. These defect channels exhibit voltage‐driven wetting that mediates the mass transport of redox species to/from the BE. When BE is held at a potential maintaining the defect channels in the wetted state, setting the potential of ME at either positive or negative overpotential results in strong electrochemical rectification with rectification factors up to 440. By directing the voltage‐induced electrowetting of defect channels, these three‐electrode nanopore structures can achieve precise gating and ion/molecule separation, and, as such, may be useful for applications such as water purification and drug delivery.     

Analysis of the scatter growth in dispersive media with the use of dynamic light scattering

Analysis of the structure functions of intensity fluctuations of scattered laser light was applied to monitor the phase separation in probed disperse media. UV-cured mixtures of a liquid crystal and prepolymer were studied during the formation of the structure of dispersive polymer-liquid crystal (DPLC) composites. The experimentally observed features of light beating induced by dynamic light scattering in DPLC systems (the scaling properties of the structure functions, the narrowing of the beating spectrum for certain weight fractions of the liquid-crystalline component) were interpreted in terms of the discrete scattering model using the results of statistical modeling.     

Length Distribution of Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Aqueous Suspension Measured by Electrospray Differential Mobility Analysis

The first characterization of the length distribution of single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) dispersed in a liquid by electrospray differential mobility analysis (ES‐DMA) is presented. Although an understanding of geometric properties of SWCNTs, including length, diameter, aspect ratio, and chirality, is essential for commercial applications, rapid characterization of nanotube length distributions remains challenging. Here the use of ES‐DMA to obtain length distributions of DNA‐wrapped SWCNTs dispersed in aqueous solutions is demonstrated. Lengths measured by ES‐DMA compare favorably with those obtained from multiangle light scattering, dynamic light scattering, field flow fractionation with UV/vis detection, and atomic force microscopy, validating ES‐DMA as a technique to measure SWCNTs of <250 nm in length. The nanotubes are previously purified and dispersed by wrapping with oligomeric DNA in aqueous solution and centrifuging to remove bundles and amorphous carbon. These dispersions are particularly attractive due to their amenability to bulk processing, ease of storage, high concentration, compatibility with biological and high‐throughput manufacturing environments, and for their potential applications ranging from electronics and hydrogen‐storage vessels to anticancer agents.     

On the characterisation of grown-in defects in Czochralski-grown Si and Ge

High yield processing of advanced integrated devices poses stringent demands on substrate and active device layer quality. Wafers have to be free of electrically active defects and should therefore be free of so called large pit defects and Crystal Originated Particles (COP’s) which can be formed during Czochralski (Cz) crystal growth. These COP’s are surface pits formed by large vacancy clusters and are observed by surface inspection tools based on light scattering as “particles”. They are formed by vacancy clustering during crystal growth. In Cz Si these defects can also be observed inside the bulk of the material by using infra red light scattering tomography and transmission electron microscopy. Recently similar defects were observed on polished Cz Ge wafers using optical and scanning electron microscopy and the same surface inspection tools as used for silicon wafers. In the present paper the characterisation of grown-in voids in Si and Ge using these various techniques is discussed. The observed void size-density distributions are compared with results of the simulation of vacancy incorporation and clustering during the Czochralski growth process.     

Dual drug-loaded cubic liquid crystal gels for transdermal delivery: inner structure and percutaneous mechanism evaluations

Abstract

The goal of this paper was to develop and evaluate dual component-loaded with the hydrophilic sinomenine hydrochloride (SH) and lipophilic cinnamaldehyde (CA) cubic liquid crystal gels for transdermal delivery. The gels was prepared with a vortex method using phytantriol/water (70:30, w/w) and characterized by polarized light microscopy, small-angle X-ray scattering and rheology. The inner structure of the gels were Pn3m cubic phase and exhibited a pseudoplastic fluid behavior. Furthermore, the in vitro release profile showed that the release behavior of the two drugs from cubic liquid crystal gels conformed to Higuchi equation and were dominated by Fick’s diffusion (n?<?0.45). The ex vivo penetration experiment indicated that dual components-loaded liquid crystal gels can enhance and extend the skin permeation of these two drugs, especially the ratio of SH to CA is 1: 0.5. Finally, transdermal mechanisms were evaluated using laser scanning confocal microscopy and attenuated total reflectance-fourier transform infrared, hinting that hydrophilic and lipophilic drugs weaken each other’s transdermal velocity at the initial stage of penetration. In short, the dual drug-loaded liquid crystal gels was a promising strategy for transdermal applications in treatment of chronic disease.     

3D Helix Engineering in Chiral Photonic Materials

Engineering the helical structure of chiral photonic materials in three dimensions remains a challenge. 3D helix engineered photonic materials are fabricated by local stratification in a photopolymerizable chiral nematic liquid crystal. The obtained chiral photonic materials reflect both handedness of circular polarized light and show super‐reflectivity. Simulations match the experimentally observed photonic properties and reveal a distorted helical structure. 3D engineered polymer films can be made that reflect both left‐ and right handed circular and linear polarized light dependent and exhibit a changing color contrast upon altering the polarization of incident light. Hence, these 3D engineered photonic materials are of interest for new and emerging applications ranging from anti‐counterfeit labels and data encryption to aesthetics and super‐reflective films.     

Electrically controlled polarized photoluminescence of CdSe/ZnS nanorods embedded in a liquid crystal template

A novel homogeneous composite material, consisting of luminescent CdSe/ZnS quantum nanorods, embedded in the nematic liquid crystal 5CB, has been prepared. Liquid crystal cells and free-standing stretched polymer films incorporating this composite material were characterized using polarized micro-photoluminescence and electro-optical measurements under an applied electric field. A liquid crystal induced, macroscopic orientation of the nanorods in a thin layer of the material has been demonstrated. A conventional liquid crystal cell, filled with this composite, exhibits 40% modulation of the nanorod's photoluminescence intensity when subjected to an external electric field. These results indicate that quantum nanorods may have practical applications in photonic devices.     

Nano-engineering of the anchoring of liquid crystals on solid surfaces

The solid surface in the conventional liquid crystal displays, being responsible for the liquid crystal alignment in the absence of external fields, is playing only a passive role in the switching of the liquid crystal layer. Recently, we have shown that the anchoring strength and the easy axis, two important parameters characterizing the liquid crystal alignment, can effectively be controlled by light via photo-induced nano-scale changes of the solid surface properties. We have also introduced two novel concepts of commanded anchoring, the electrically commanded surfaces (for mediating switching of the liquid crystal) and the high performance alignment layers (for facilitating the switching of the liquid crystal) realized practically by means of a proper nano-engineering of the alignment layer. Electrically commanded anchoring concepts are strong candidates for implementation in a new generation of advanced liquid crystal displays and devices.     

Slow light for deep tissue imaging with ultrasound modulation

Slow light has been extensively studied for applications ranging from optical delay lines to single photon quantum storage. Here, we show that the time delay of slow-light significantly improves the performance of the narrowband spectral filters needed to optically detect ultrasound from deep inside highly scattering tissue. We demonstrate this capability with a 9?cm thick tissue phantom, having 10?cm(-1) reduced scattering coefficient, and achieve an unprecedented background-free signal. Based on the data, we project real time imaging at video rates in even thicker phantoms and possibly deep enough into real tissue for clinical applications like early cancer detection.     

Electrically Controlled Localized Charge Trapping at Amorphous Fluoropolymer–Electrolyte Interfaces

Charge trapping is a long‐standing problem in electrowetting on dielectric, causing reliability reduction and restricting its practical applications. Although this phenomenon is investigated macroscopically, the microscopic investigations are still lacking. In this work, the trapped charges are proven to be localized at the three‐phase contact line (TPCL) region by using three detecting methods—local contact angle measurements, electrowetting (EW) probe, and Kelvin probe force microscopy. Moreover, it is demonstrated that this EW‐assisted charge injection (EWCI) process can be utilized as a simple and low‐cost method to deposit charges on fluoropolymer surfaces. Charge densities near the TPCL up to 0.46 mC m^?2 and line widths of the deposited charge ranging from 20 to 300 µm are achieved by the proposed EWCI method. Particularly, negative charge densities do not degrade even after a “harsh” testing with a water droplet on top of the sample surfaces for 12 h, as well as after being treated by water vapor for 3 h. These findings provide an approach for applications which desire stable and controllable surface charges.     

Precision metrology for studying thin films and surfaces

Evaluation techniques that are appropriate for characterizing the surface topography of optical thin films and surfaces are briefly described. These include microscopes ranging from low power optical microscopes to scanning probe microscopes that can measure topography of individual atoms or groups of atoms, optical non-contact and mechanical contact profilers, some of which can give topographic maps of surface areas, and total integrated scattering and angle-resolved scattering that yield statistical properties of surfaces. Theories are needed to relate scattering to surface topography; these are valid only for certain types of topographies. Examples are given showing how various surface evaluation techniques can be applied to selected surfaces.     

Transmission and small-angle scattering of light by nematic liquid crystal-cellulose diacetate composite with self-organized structure

Electrooptical properties of thin films of nematic liquid crystal-cellulose diacetate (NLC-CD) composite with self-organized structure. The composite samples were prepared at different rates of solvent evaporation on substrates inclined at various angles. The best optical contrast is obtained in composite films formed on substrates inclined at 45°. The dependence of the small-angle scattering of light on the control electric field strength in the NLC-CD composite differs from the analogous dependence known for the traditional polymer-dispersed liquid crystal composites. It is established that the classical theory of the small-angle scattering does not adequately describe structural characteristics of the NLC-CD composite with self-organized structure.     

Finite-difference time-domain solution of light scattering by dielectric particles with a perfectly matched layer absorbing boundary condition

A three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) program has been developed to provide a numerical solution for light scattering by nonspherical dielectric particles. The perfectly matched layer (PML) absorbing boundary condition (ABC) is used to truncate the computational domain. As a result of using the PML ABC, the present FDTD program requires much less computer memory and CPU time than those that use traditional truncation techniques. For spheres with particle-size parameters as large as 40, the extinction and absorption efficiencies from the present FDTD program match the Mie results closely, with differences of less than ~1%. The difference in the scattering phase function is typically smaller than ~5%. The FDTD program has also been checked by use of the exact solution for light scattering by a pair of spheres in contact. Finally, applications of the PML FDTD to hexagonal particles and to spheres aggregated into tetrahedral structures are presented.     

微米级ZnS-Qds@聚硅氧烷核-壳型光扩散杂化微球的制备与应用

在液晶背光模组中通常使用扩散膜来提高光的散射效果,提高光的利用率。光散射粒子是影响光散射材料透光率和雾度的主要因素。有机硅微球由于热稳定性好,尺寸稳定性佳,粒径和折射率可以通过反应调控的特点,作为光扩散粒子应用于光扩散材料具有十分广阔的应用前景。本文通过在溶胶-凝胶法制备的聚硅氧烷微球上面沉淀一层被巯基聚硅氧烷包裹的硫化锌量子点(ZnS-Qds),制得微米级ZnS-Qds@聚硅氧烷核-壳型光扩散杂化微球,并制备了添加不同质量分数的杂化微球的光扩散膜。采用TEM、TEM映射分析、荧光光度计等测试手段对所制备的杂化材料进行了表征,并对用该杂化粒子制备得到的光扩散膜进行了光学性能测试。结果表明,ZnS-Qds@聚硅氧烷光扩散杂化微球具有核壳结构,平均粒径约3.6μm,壳层平均厚度为87.4 nm,平均粒径为2 nm的ZnS-Qds均匀地分散在壳层中。将该粒子添加到丙烯酸树脂中并涂覆在聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯(PET)膜上以制成光扩散膜,实验结果表明,当杂化粒子添加量从0wt%增加到20wt%时,光扩散膜的雾度从1.67%提高到91.11%,而光扩散膜的透光率仅从90.10%降低到82.57%。