Epitaxial Lift‐Off of Centimeter‐Scaled Spinel Ferrite Oxide Thin Films for Flexible Electronics

Mechanical flexibility of electronic devices has attracted much attention from research due to the great demand in practical applications and rich commercial value. Integration of functional oxide materials in flexible polymer materials has proven an effective way to achieve flexibility of functional electronic devices. However, the chemical and mechanical incompatibilities at the interfaces of dissimilar materials make it still a big challenge to synthesize high‐quality single‐crystalline oxide thin film directly on flexible polymer substrates. This study reports an improved method that is employed to successfully transfer a centimeter‐scaled single‐crystalline LiFe₅O₈ thin film on polyimide substrate. Structural characterizations show that the transferred films have essentially no difference in comparison with the as‐grown films with respect to the microstructure. In particular, the transferred LiFe₅O₈ films exhibit excellent magnetic properties under various mechanical bending statuses and show excellent fatigue properties during the bending cycle tests. These results demonstrate that the improved transfer method provides an effective way to compose single‐crystalline functional oxide thin films onto flexible substrates for applications in flexible and wearable electronics.     

Inorganic Semiconductors for Flexible Electronics

This article reviews several classes of inorganic semiconductor materials that can be used to form high‐performance thin‐film transistors (TFTs) for large area, flexible electronics. Examples ranging from thin films of various forms of silicon to nanoparticles and nanowires of compound semiconductors are presented, with an emphasis on methods of depositing and integrating thin films of these materials into devices. Performance characteristics, including both electrical and mechanical behavior, for isolated transistors as well as circuits with various levels of complexity are reviewed. Collectively, the results suggest that flexible or printable inorganic materials may be attractive for a range of applications not only in flexible but also in large‐area electronics, from existing devices such as flat‐panel displays to more challenging (in terms of both cost and performance requirements) systems such as large area radiofrequency communication devices, structural health monitors, and conformal X‐ray imagers.     

High‐Performance Flexible Photodetectors based on High‐Quality Perovskite Thin Films by a Vapor–Solution Method

Organometal halide perovskites are new light‐harvesting materials for lightweight and flexible optoelectronic devices due to their excellent optoelectronic properties and low‐temperature process capability. However, the preparation of high‐quality perovskite films on flexible substrates has still been a great challenge to date. Here, a novel vapor–solution method is developed to achieve uniform and pinhole‐free organometal halide perovskite films on flexible indium tin oxide/poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrates. Based on the as‐prepared high‐quality perovskite thin films, high‐performance flexible photodetectors (PDs) are constructed, which display a nR value of 81 A W^?1 at a low working voltage of 1 V, three orders higher than that of previously reported flexible perovskite thin‐film PDs. In addition, these flexible PDs exhibit excellent flexural stability and durability under various bending situations with their optoelectronic performance well retained. This breakthrough on the growth of high‐quality perovskite thin films opens up a new avenue to develop high‐performance flexible optoelectronic devices.     

Organic against inorganic electrodes grown onto polymer substrates for flexible organic electronics applications

One of the most challenging topics in the area of organic electronic devices is the growth of transparent electrodes onto flexible polymeric substrates that will be characterized by enhanced conductivity in combination with high optical transparency. An essential aspect for these materials is their synthesis and/or microstructure which define the transparency, the stability and the interfacial chemistry which in turn determine the performance and stability of the organic electronic devices, such as organic light emitting diodes, organic photovoltaics, etc.In this work, we will discuss the latest advances in the growth of organic (e.g. PEDOT:PSS) and inorganic (e.g. zinc oxide-ZnO, indium tin oxide-ITO) conductive materials and their deposition onto flexible polymeric substrates. We will compare the optical, structural, nano-mechanical and nano-topographical properties of the inorganic and organic materials and we investigate the effect of their structure on their properties and functionality. In the case of the organic conductive materials, we will discuss the effects of PEDOT:PSS weight ratios and the various spin speeds on their optical and electrical properties. Furthermore, in the case of ZnO the growth mechanisms, interface phenomena, crystallinity and optical properties of ZnO thin films grown onto polymer and hybrid (inorganic-organic) flexible substrates will be also discussed.     

薄膜材料导热行为及其测试和预测

薄膜材料在集成电路,光电子技术,微结构传感器等微电子元件的应用日益广泛,其导热性能直接影响元器件的热噪声,进而对其可行一和使用性能产生明显影响,薄膜材料导热性能及其测试研究愈益受人瞩目,为此,本文对薄膜材料导热性能及各种测试方法进行了综述,并在分析薄膜微结构模型的基础上,对计算薄膜有效热导率的不同预测议程进行了评述,从而可为薄膜材料的制备工艺和性能变化提供技术判据。     

A Solution Processable High‐Performance Thermoelectric Copper Selenide Thin Film

A solid‐state thermoelectric device is attractive for diverse technological areas such as cooling, power generation and waste heat recovery with unique advantages of quiet operation, zero hazardous emissions, and long lifetime. With the rapid growth of flexible electronics and miniature sensors, the low‐cost flexible thermoelectric energy harvester is highly desired as a potential power supply. Herein, a flexible thermoelectric copper selenide (Cu₂Se) thin film, consisting of earth‐abundant elements, is reported. The thin film is fabricated by a low‐cost and scalable spin coating process using ink solution with a truly soluble precursor. The Cu₂Se thin film exhibits a power factor of 0.62 mW/(m K²) at 684 K on rigid Al₂O₃ substrate and 0.46 mW/(m K²) at 664 K on flexible polyimide substrate, which is much higher than the values obtained from other solution processed Cu₂Se thin films (<0.1 mW/(m K²)) and among the highest values reported in all flexible thermoelectric films to date (≈0.5 mW/(m K²)). Additionally, the fabricated thin film shows great promise to be integrated with the flexible electronic devices, with negligible performance change after 1000 bending cycles. Together, the study demonstrates a low‐cost and scalable pathway to high‐performance flexible thin film thermoelectric devices from relatively earth‐abundant elements.     

Advances in piezoelectric thin films for acoustic biosensors,acoustofluidics and lab-on-chip applications

Recently, piezoelectric thin films including zinc oxide (ZnO) and aluminium nitride (AlN) have found a broad range of lab-on-chip applications such as biosensing, particle/cell concentrating, sorting/patterning, pumping, mixing, nebulisation and jetting. Integrated acoustic wave sensing/microfluidic devices have been fabricated by depositing these piezoelectric films onto a number of substrates such as silicon, ceramics, diamond, quartz, glass, and more recently also polymer, metallic foils and bendable glass/silicon for making flexible devices. Such thin film acoustic wave devices have great potential for implementing integrated, disposable, or bendable/flexible lab-on-a-chip devices into various sensing and actuating applications. This paper discusses the recent development in engineering high performance piezoelectric thin films, and highlights the critical issues such as film deposition, MEMS processing techniques, control of deposition/processing parametres, film texture, doping, dispersion effects, film stress, multilayer design, electrode materials/designs and substrate selections. Finally, advances in using thin film devices for lab-on-chip applications are summarised and future development trends are identified.     

基于MoS2/SiO2范德华异质结的VO2薄膜转移打印研究

近年来, 柔性电子器件由于在物联网、生物电子等领域的潜在应用引起了研究者的广泛关注。功能氧化物材料在柔性聚合物中的集成已被证明是实现高性能柔性电子器件的有效方式。由于功能氧化物薄膜通常需要高温制备, 直接在柔性聚合物基底上合成高质量的氧化物薄膜仍然是一个巨大的挑战。本研究提出了一种基于MoS₂/SiO₂范德华异质结转移打印大面积VO₂薄膜的方法, 即利用MoS₂和SiO₂薄膜亲疏水性能的不同, 可以仅使用去离子水解离MoS₂/SiO₂范德华异质结界面, 成功将Si/SiO₂/MoS₂/SiO₂/VO₂ 多层膜结构上的VO₂薄膜转印到Si、SiO₂/Si以及柔性基底上。X射线衍射(XRD)结果显示, 转印前后VO₂薄膜的晶体结构没有差异, 变温Raman光谱和变温红外反射光谱证明了转印前后VO₂薄膜良好的金属-绝缘体转变性能。本研究提供了一种有效的功能氧化物薄膜转印方法, 在不引入牺牲层和腐蚀性溶剂的条件下, 实现了VO₂薄膜在任意基底上的低温集成, 为柔性可穿戴电子器件的研制提供了一种新思路。     

Atomic Layer Deposition for Membranes,Metamaterials, and Mechanisms

Bending and folding techniques such as origami and kirigami enable the scale‐invariant design of 3D structures, metamaterials, and robots from 2D starting materials. These design principles are especially valuable for small systems because most micro‐ and nanofabrication involves lithographic patterning of planar materials. Ultrathin films of inorganic materials serve as an ideal substrate for the fabrication of flexible microsystems because they possess high intrinsic strength, are not susceptible to plasticity, and are easily integrated into microfabrication processes. Here, atomic layer deposition (ALD) is employed to synthesize films down to 2 nm thickness to create membranes, metamaterials, and machines with micrometer‐scale dimensions. Two materials are studied as model systems: ultrathin SiO₂ and Pt. In this thickness limit, ALD films of these materials behave elastically and can be fabricated with fJ‐scale bending stiffnesses. Further, ALD membranes are utilized to design micrometer‐scale mechanical metamaterials and magnetically actuated 3D devices. These results establish thin ALD films as a scalable basis for micrometer‐scale actuators and robotics.     

Design and integration of flexible planar micro-supercapacitors

As promising candidates for energy-storage devices,supercapacitors (SCs) have attracted considerable attention because of their unique features,such as their high power density,outstanding rate capability,excellent cycling performance,and safety.The recent boom in portable electronic devices requires high-performance SCs that are flexible,simplified,thin,and integrated.Tremendous efforts have been directed towards the design and integration of planar microSCs (MSCs) based on different active electrode materials by various methods.This review highlights the recent developments in the device design of flexible planar MSCs and their integration with other electronic devices.The current challenges and future prospects for the development of flexible MSCs are also discussed.     

Optical and structural properties of ZnO for transparent electronics

During the last years there is has been an enormous research effort on the materials and processes for the production of transparent electronic devices grown on flexible polymeric substrates as well as on rigid substrates, such as Si and glass. The deposition of Transparent Conductive Oxides (TCOs) characterized by superior optical and electrical properties, in combination to desirable growth characteristics, compatible to polymeric substrates, is of considerable importance. Among all TCO materials, Zinc Oxide (ZnO) has emerged as one of the most promising materials due to its optical and electrical properties, its high chemical and mechanical stability and, due to its abundance, low cost compared with the most currently used TCO materials. In this work, we study the effect of the deposition parameters of ZnO thin films in terms of their optical, structural and nanomechanical properties by employing Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (SE) in the Vis-fUV spectral region, and X-Ray Diffraction techniques. The SE measurements allowed the determination of the optical properties of the ZnO thin films with deposition time and gas partial pressure, whereas the XRD measurements revealed that the ZnO thin films are preferentially grown parallel to (002) axis, in grains less than 10 nm. Furthermore, nanomechanical testing through nanoindentation indicates a thickness controlled fracture mechanism (pop-in events) affecting the durability of the deposited ZnO thin films.     

Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Flexible Electronics and Sensors

This article reviews the use of electronic quality single-walled carbon nanotubes grown via chemical vapor deposition （CVD） approaches at high temperatures as building blocks for fabricating flexible field-effect devices, such as thin-film transistors （TFTs） and chemical sensors. Dry transfer printing technique is developed for forming films of CVD nanotubes on low-temperature plastic substrates. Examples of TFTs with the use of nanotubes and thin dielectrics and hydrogen sensors with the use of nanotubes decorated with palladium nanoparticles are discussed in detail to demonstrate the promising potentiality of single-walled carbon nanotubes for building high performance flexible devices, which can find applications where traditional devices on rigid substrates are not suitable.     

Optical properties of polymer nanocomposites

Nanomaterials have emerged as an area of interest motivated by potential applications of these materials in light emitting diodes, solar cells, polarizers, light-stable colour filters, optical sensors, optical data communication and optical data storage. Nanomaterials are of particular interest as they combine the properties of two or more different materials with the possibility of possessing novel mechanical, electronic or chemical behaviour. Understanding and tuning such effects could lead to hybrid devices based on these nanocomposites with improved optical properties. We have prepared polymer nanocomposites of well-defined compositions and studied the optical properties of powders and their thin films. UV-vis absorption spectroscopy on nanocomposite powders and spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements on thin films was used to study the effect of interfacial morphology, interparticle spacing and finite size effects on optical properties of nanocomposites. Systematic shift in the imaginary part of the dielectric function can be seen with variation in size and fraction of the gold nanoparticle. The thickness of the film also plays a significant role in the tunability of the optical spectra.     

Engineering Transport in Manganites by Tuning Local Nonstoichiometry in Grain Boundaries

Interface‐dominated materials such as nanocrystalline thin films have emerged as an enthralling class of materials able to engineer functional properties of transition metal oxides widely used in energy and information technologies. In particular, it has been proven that strain‐induced defects in grain boundaries of manganites deeply impact their functional properties by boosting their oxygen mass transport while abating their electronic and magnetic order. In this work, the origin of these dramatic changes is correlated for the first time with strong modifications of the anionic and cationic composition in the vicinity of strained grain boundary regions. We are also able to alter the grain boundary composition by tuning the overall cationic content in the films, which represents a new and powerful tool, beyond the classical space charge layer effect, for engineering electronic and mass transport properties of metal oxide thin films useful for a collection of relevant solid‐state devices.     

Predicting and determining the bending stiffness of thin films and laminates

Three different techniques for experimentally determining the bending stiffness of flexible films and laminates have been evaluated using a number of different packaging materials. The results showed that a cantilever test was the best, giving reliable data for all kinds of films and laminates. A three‐point bending test proved to be sensitive to misalignment, whereas a bending‐under‐own‐weight test was incapable of handling curled samples and generally gave lower stiffness values. A model for predicting the bending stiffness of multilayer laminates from the elastic modulus of the constituents was developed and used to examine the influence of layer position and composition on the overall bending stiffness. Model calculations showed that thin layers, such as adhesives, print and barrier coatings, can have a large influence on the bending stiffness and that the influence often goes against what would be intuitively expected. The calculations also showed that layer modulus often is less important than layer thickness and that the position of the layer in the laminate can have a major influence on the overall stiffness. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

2D Crystal–Based Fibers: Status and Challenges

2D crystals are emerging new materials in multidisciplinary fields including condensed state physics, electronics, energy, environmental engineering, and biomedicine. To employ 2D crystals for practical applications, these nanoscale crystals need to be processed into macroscale materials, such as suspensions, fibers, films, and 3D macrostructures. Among these macromaterials, fibers are flexible, knittable, and easy to use, which can fully reflect the advantages of the structure and properties of 2D crystals. Therefore, the fabrication and application of 2D crystal–based fibers is of great importance for expanding the impact of 2D crystals. In this Review, 2D crystals that are successfully prepared are overviewed based on their composition of elements. Subsequently, methods for preparing 2D crystals, 2D crystals dispersions, and 2D crystal–based fibers are systematically introduced. Then, the applications of 2D crystal–based fibers, such as flexible electronic devices, high‐efficiency catalysis, and adsorption, are also discussed. Finally, the status‐of‐quo, perspectives, and future challenges of 2D crystal–based fibers are summarized. This Review provides directions and guidelines for developing new 2D crystal–based fibers and exploring their potentials in the fields of smart wearable devices.     

A stretchable carbon nanotube strain sensor for human-motion detection

Devices made from stretchable electronic materials could be incorporated into clothing or attached directly to the body. Such materials have typically been prepared by engineering conventional rigid materials such as silicon, rather than by developing new materials. Here, we report a class of wearable and stretchable devices fabricated from thin films of aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes. When stretched, the nanotube films fracture into gaps and islands, and bundles bridging the gaps. This mechanism allows the films to act as strain sensors capable of measuring strains up to 280% (50 times more than conventional metal strain gauges), with high durability, fast response and low creep. We assembled the carbon-nanotube sensors on stockings, bandages and gloves to fabricate devices that can detect different types of human motion, including movement, typing, breathing and speech.     

基于微结构的柔性压力传感器设计、制备及性能

随着科技的快速发展,电子皮肤和柔性可穿戴设备由于在人体运动、健康监测、智能机器人等领域具有重要应用而引起了人们广泛的关注。传统的基于贵金属或金属氧化物半导体的压力传感器成本高、柔韧性差,而新型的基于微结构的柔性压力传感器具有灵敏度高、应变范围宽、低成本、低功耗、响应速度快等优势,在电子皮肤和柔性可穿戴设备等方面发挥重要作用,成为当前柔性电子材料与器件主要研究热点之一。本文系统总结了近年来颇受关注的基于金字塔形、微球形、微柱形、仿生结构、褶皱等不同柔性基底微结构和多孔导电聚合物材料的柔性压力传感器在材料选择、结构设计、制备方法、传感性能等方面取得的重要进展,并对柔性压力传感器的未来发展进行了展望。     

Tailoring Materials for Mottronics: Excess Oxygen Doping of a Prototypical Mott Insulator

The Mott transistor is a paradigm for a new class of electronic devices—often referred to by the term Mottronics—which are based on charge correlations between the electrons. Since correlation‐induced insulating phases of most oxide compounds are usually very robust, new methods have to be developed to push such materials right to the boundary to the metallic phase in order to enable the metal–insulator transition to be switched by electric gating. Here, it is demonstrated that thin films of the prototypical Mott insulator LaTiO₃ grown by pulsed laser deposition under oxygen atmosphere are readily tuned by excess oxygen doping across the line of the band‐filling controlled Mott transition in the electronic phase diagram. The detected insulator to metal transition is characterized by a strong change in resistivity of several orders of magnitude. The use of suitable substrates and capping layers to inhibit oxygen diffusion facilitates full control of the oxygen content and renders the films stable against exposure to ambient conditions. These achievements represent a significant advancement in control and tuning of the electronic properties of LaTiO_3+x thin films making it a promising channel material in future Mottronic devices.     

Flexible Energy‐Storage Devices: Design Consideration and Recent Progress

Flexible energy‐storage devices are attracting increasing attention as they show unique promising advantages, such as flexibility, shape diversity, light weight, and so on; these properties enable applications in portable, flexible, and even wearable electronic devices, including soft electronic products, roll‐up displays, and wearable devices. Consequently, considerable effort has been made in recent years to fulfill the requirements of future flexible energy‐storage devices, and much progress has been witnessed. This review describes the most recent advances in flexible energy‐storage devices, including flexible lithium‐ion batteries and flexible supercapacitors. The latest successful examples in flexible lithium‐ion batteries and their technological innovations and challenges are reviewed first. This is followed by a detailed overview of the recent progress in flexible supercapacitors based on carbon materials and a number of composites and flexible micro‐supercapacitors. Some of the latest achievements regarding interesting integrated energy‐storage systems are also reviewed. Further research direction is also proposed to surpass existing technological bottle‐necks and realize idealized flexible energy‐storage devices.