Innovation in diamond

 This historical review of the progress of innovation in diamond research is discussed comparing it with the history of other materials. The innovation steps in current diamond technology are shaped by the fact that diamond is a functional material. This series of innovations was mainly brought about by the discovery of CVD methods of synthesizing diamond from the gas phase. Many kinds of expected applications have been proposed. Success in demonstrating diamond electronic devices has been achieved, and atomic scale observations on diamond growth are reported. Thus, even atomic scale control in synthesizing diamond looks quite realistic in the near future. Although such new data enhance the applications of diamond, most industrial applications of diamond still rely on its hardness. Innovation with diamond will be accelerated when a product using diamond as a functional material is used widely. Received: 2 January 1997 / Accepted: 27 March 1997     

Van der Waals Heterostructures for High-Performance Device Applications: Challenges and Opportunities

The discovery of two-dimensional (2D) materials with unique electronic, superior optoelectronic, or intrinsic magnetic order has triggered worldwide interest in the fields of material science, condensed matter physics, and device physics. Vertically stacking 2D materials with distinct electronic and optical as well as magnetic properties enables the creation of a large variety of van der Waals heterostructures. The diverse properties of the vertical heterostructures open unprecedented opportunities for various kinds of device applications, e.g., vertical field-effect transistors, ultrasensitive infrared photodetectors, spin-filtering devices, and so on, which are inaccessible in conventional material heterostructures. Here, the current status of vertical heterostructure device applications in vertical transistors, infrared photodetectors, and spintronic memory/transistors is reviewed. The relevant challenges for achieving high-performance devices are presented. An outlook into the future development of vertical heterostructure devices with integrated electronic and optoelectronic as well as spintronic functionalities is also provided.     

基于导电纤维的柔性电子器件研究进展

柔性电子器件具有优异的灵活性,实现了与服装的无缝集成,在各种实际的可穿戴应用中具有巨大的潜力。一维纤维状电子器件由于其优异的柔韧性、可编织性及舒适性成为智能可穿戴领域的研究热点。首先,综述了用于纤维状柔性电子器件的一维可拉伸电极的研究进展,然后详细介绍了高性能一维纤维状柔性电子器件制备过程中具有代表性的导电材料、制造技术及一维柔性纤维进一步应用于各类电子器件的主要制备方法,另外总结了近年来基于柔性纤维状电子器件在智能可穿戴领域的应用。最后对一维纤维基智能可穿戴电子器件的机遇和挑战进行了批判性思考。      

Electrical properties of diamond films grown at low temperature

The unique electronic properties of diamond, associated with the emergence of chemical vapour deposition (CVD) methods for the growth of thin films on non-diamond substrates, have led to considerable interest in electronic devices fabricated from this material. In our previous work, we found that polycrystalline diamond films can be deposited at 250 °C using CH₄---CO₂ gas mixtures. Studying the electrical properties and the upcoming problems of applications of low-temperature diamond films are relevant concerns.

In this work, the electrical properties of diamond films grown at low temperatures were studied and compared with those of conventional diamond films. Platinum was used as the upper electrode. The resistivity of low-temperature diamond was around three orders of magnititude lower than that of conventional diamond. However, both the low temperature and conventional growth diamond exihibited rectifying behavior when platinum was used as the upper electrode.     

Silicon carbide and diamond for high temperature device applications

The physical and chemical properties of wide bandgap semiconductors silicon carbide and diamond make these materials an ideal choice for device fabrication for applications in many different areas, e.g. light emitters, high temperature and high power electronics, high power microwave devices, micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) technology, and substrates. These semiconductors have been recognized for several decades as being suitable for these applications, but until recently the low material quality has not allowed the fabrication of high quality devices. Silicon carbide and diamond based electronics are at different stages of their development. An overview of the status of silicon carbide's and diamond's application for high temperature electronics is presented. Silicon carbide electronics is advancing from the research stage to commercial production. The most suitable and established SiC polytype for high temperature power electronics is the hexagonal 4H polytype. The main advantages related to material properties are: its wide bandgap, high electric field strength and high thermal conductivity. Almost all different types of electronic devices have been successfully fabricated and characterized. The most promising devices for high temperature applications are pn-diodes, junction field effect transistors and thyristors. MOSFET is another important candidate, but is still under development due to some hidden problems causing low channel mobility. For microwave applications, 4H-SiC is competing with Si and GaAs for frequency below 10 GHz and for systems requiring cooling like power amplifiers. The unavailability of high quality defect and dislocation free SiC substrates has been slowing down the pace of transition from research and development to production of SiC devices, but recently new method for growth of ultrahigh quality SiC, which could promote the development of high power devices, was reported. Diamond is the superior material for high power and high temperature electronics. Fabrication of diamond electronic devices has reached important results, but high temperature data are still scarce. PN-junctions have been formed and investigated up to 400 ^∘C. Schottky diodes operating up to 1000 ^∘C have been fabricated. BJTs have been fabricated functioning in the dc mode up to 200 ^∘C. The largest advance, concerning development of devices for RF application, has been done in fabrication of different types of FETs. For FETs with gate length 0.2 μ m frequencies f_T = 24.6 GHz, f_{max (MAG)} = 63 GHz and f_{max (U)} = 80 GHz were reported. Further, capacitors and switches, working up to 450 ^∘C and 650 ^∘C, respectively, have also been fabricated. Low resistant thermostable resistors have been investigated up to 800 ^∘C. Temperature dependence of field emission from diamond films has been measured up to 950 ^∘C. However, the diamond based electronics is still regarded to be in its infancy. The prerequisite for a successful application of diamond for the fabrication of electronic devices is availability of wafer diamond, i.e. large area, high quality, inexpensive, diamond single crystal substrates. A step forward in this direction has been made recently. Diamond films grown on multilayer substrate Ir/YSZ/Si(001) having qualities close those of homoepitaxial diamond have been reported recently.     

Materials with extreme properties: Their structuring and applications

This article is a brief review on syntheses of materials with extreme properties and their modification by plasma processes to obtain different morphological structures. First we illustrate general methodologies on preparation of polycrystalline diamond (PD), nanocrystalline diamond (ND), cubic boron nitride (cBN), diamond/cBN multilayer films by low pressure methods. Since cBN synthesis is more challenging, we place more attention to cBN including its growth, structuring and doping. The structural compatibility of cBN and diamond enables the fabrication of multilayer (superlattices); and we describe such an approach to produce composite materials with even more extreme properties. The superior hardness, extreme thermal conductivity and high chemical stability make diamond and cBN well suited for cutting tool and tribological applications. Although doping of these wide bandgap materials for p- and n-type conductivity is difficult, recent works indicate considerable advancement. The combination of high chemical stability and thermal conductivity with attractive electronic properties makes diamond and cBN suitable for construction of high power electronic devices operating in harsh environments. The development of these applications relies on the ability to design patterns and control the film conductivity. We illustrate that despite diamond and cBN are chemically stable and inert against many chemicals, film patterning and device fabrication is possible with the use of plasma processing. Further, we discuss the fundamental issues involved and demonstrate feasibility for the design of practical applications such as deep-ultraviolet (DUV) detectors and surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices. Finally we discuss the existence of other composite materials with extreme properties that have been only barely investigated, and that present promising alternatives for the future commercial applications.     

Recent Advances in 1D Stretchable Electrodes and Devices for Textile and Wearable Electronics: Materials,Fabrications, and Applications

Research on wearable electronic devices that can be directly integrated into daily textiles or clothes has been explosively grown holding great potential for various practical wearable applications. These wearable electronic devices strongly demand 1D electronic devices that are light–weight, weavable, highly flexible, stretchable, and adaptable to comport to frequent deformations during usage in daily life. To this end, the development of 1D electrodes with high stretchability and electrical performance is fundamentally essential. Herein, the recent process of 1D stretchable electrodes for wearable and textile electronics is described, focusing on representative conductive materials, fabrication techniques for 1D stretchable electrodes with high performance, and designs and applications of various 1D stretchable electronic devices. To conclude, discussions are presented regarding limitations and perspectives of current materials and devices in terms of performance and scientific understanding that should be considered for further advances.     

Lead-free halide double perovskites: Toward stable and sustainable optoelectronic devices

In recent years, metal halide perovskites (MHPs) have attracted attention as semiconductors that achieve desirable properties for optoelectronic devices. However, two challenges—instability and the regulated nature of Pb —remain to be addressed with commercial applications. The development of Pb-free halide double perovskite (HDP) materials has gained interest and attention as a result. This family offers potential in the field of optoelectronic devices through flexible material designs and compositional adjustments. We highlight recent progress and development in halide double perovskites and encompass the synthesis, optoelectronic properties, and engineering of the electronic structures of these materials along with their applications in optoelectronic devices. Computational and data-driven statistical methods can also be used to explore mechanisms and discover promising candidate double perovskites.     

Buckled Structures: Fabrication and Applications in Wearable Electronics

Wearable electronics have attracted a tremendous amount of attention due to their many potential applications, such as personalized health monitoring, motion detection, and smart clothing, where electronic devices must conformably form contacts with curvilinear surfaces and undergo large deformations. Structural design and material selection have been the key factors for the development of wearable electronics in the recent decades. As one of the most widely used geometries, buckling structures endow high stretchability, high mechanical durability, and comfortable contact for human–machine interaction via wearable devices. In addition, buckling structures that are derived from natural biosurfaces have high potential for use in cost‐effective and high‐grade wearable electronics. This review provides fundamental insights into buckling fabrication and discusses recent advancements for practical applications of buckled electronics, such as interconnects, sensors, transistors, energy storage, and conversion devices. In addition to the incorporation of desired functions, the simple and consecutive manipulation and advanced structural design of the buckled structures are discussed, which are important for advancing the field of wearable electronics. The remaining challenges and future perspectives for buckled electronics are briefly discussed in the final section.     

25th Anniversary Article: Key Points for High‐Mobility Organic Field‐Effect Transistors

Remarkable progress has been made in developing high performance organic field‐effect transistors (OFETs) and the mobility of OFETs has been approaching the values of polycrystalline silicon, meeting the requirements of various electronic applications from electronic papers to integrated circuits. In this review, the key points for development of high mobility OFETs are highlighted from aspects of molecular engineering, process engineering and interface engineering. The importance of other factors, such as impurities and testing conditions is also addressed. Finally, the current challenges in this field for practical applications of OFETs are further discussed.     

Materials and Structures for Stretchable Energy Storage and Conversion Devices

Stretchable energy storage and conversion devices (ESCDs) are attracting intensive attention due to their promising and potential applications in realistic consumer products, ranging from portable electronics, bio‐integrated devices, space satellites, and electric vehicles to buildings with arbitrarily shaped surfaces. Material synthesis and structural design are core in the development of highly stretchable supercapacitors, batteries, and solar cells for practical applications. This review provides a brief summary of research development on the stretchable ESCDs in the past decade, from structural design strategies to novel materials synthesis. The focuses are on the fundamental insights of mechanical characteristics of materials and structures on the performance of the stretchable ESCDs, as well as challenges for their practical applications. Finally, some of the important directions in the areas of material synthesis and structural design facing the stretchable ESCDs are discussed.     

Rational Functionalization of Carbon Nanotubes Leading to Electrochemical Devices with Striking Applications

As one‐dimensional carbon nanostructures, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are a member of the carbon family but they possess very different structural and electronic properties from other kinds of carbon materials frequently used in electrochemistry, such as glassy carbon, graphite, and diamond. Although the past decade has witnessed rapid and substantial progress in both the fundamental understanding of CNT‐oriented electrochemistry and the development of various kinds of electrochemical devices with carbon nanotubes, the increasing demand from both academia and industry requires CNT‐based electrochemical devices with vastly improved properties, such as good reliability and durability, and high performance. As we outline here, the smart functionalization of CNTs and effective methods for the preparation of devices would pave the way to CNT‐based electronic devices with striking applications.     

An assessment of radiotherapy dosimeters based on CVD grown diamond

Diamond is potentially a very suitable material for use as a dosimeter for radiotherapy. Its radiation hardness, the near tissue equivalence and chemical inertness are some of the characteristics of diamond, which make it well suited for its application as a dosimeter. Recent advances in the synthesis of diamond by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) technology have resulted in the improvement in the quality of material and increased its suitability for radiotherapy applications. We report in this paper, the response of prototype dosimeters based on two different types (CVD1 and CVD2) of CVD diamond to X-rays. The diamond devices were assessed for sensitivity, dependence of response on dose and dose rate, and compared with a Scanditronix silicon photon diode and a PTW natural diamond dosimeter. The diamond devices of CVD1 type showed an initial increase in response with dose, which saturates after ≈6 Gy. The diamond devices of CVD2 type had a response at low fields (<1162.8 V/cm) that was linear with dose and dose rate. At high fields (>1162.8 V/cm), the CVD2-type devices showed polarisation and dose-rate dependence. The sensitivity of the CVD diamond devices varied between 82 and 1300 nC/Gy depending upon the sample type and the applied voltage. The sensitivity of CVD diamond devices was significantly higher than that of natural diamond and silicon dosimeters. The results suggest that CVD diamond devices can be fabricated for successful use in radiotherapy applications.     

Single crystal diamond M?i?P diodes for power electronics

Its outstanding electronic properties and the recent advances in growing single-crystal chemically vapour-deposited substrates have made diamond a candidate for high-power applications. Diamond Schottky diodes have the potential of being an alternative to silicon p-i-n and SiC Schottky diodes in power electronic circuits. Extensive experimental and theoretical results, for both on- and off-state behaviour of metal-insulator-p-type diamond Schottky structures, are presented here. The temperature dependence of the forward characteristics and electrical performance of a termination structure suitable for unipolar diamond devices are also presented.     

Carbon nanotubes for biomedical applications

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have many unique physical, mechanical, and electronic properties. These distinct properties may be exploited such that they can be used for numerous applications ranging from sensors and actuators to composites. As a result, in a very short duration, CNTs appear to have drawn the attention of both the industry and the academia. However, there are certain challenges that need proper attention before the CNT-based devices can be realized on a large scale in the commercial market. In this paper, we report the use of CNTs for biomedical applications. The paper describes the distinct physical, electronic, and mechanical properties of nanotubes. The basics of synthesis and purification of CNTs are also reviewed. The challenges associated with CNTs, which remain to be fully addressed for their maximum utilization for biomedical applications, are discussed.     

Recent Progress on Stretchable Electronic Devices with Intrinsically Stretchable Components

Stretchable electronic devices with intrinsically stretchable components have significant inherent advantages, including simple fabrication processes, a high integrity of the stacked layers, and low cost in comparison with stretchable electronic devices based on non‐stretchable components. The research in this field has focused on developing new intrinsically stretchable components for conductors, semiconductors, and insulators. New methodologies and fabrication processes have been developed to fabricate stretchable devices with intrinsically stretchable components. The latest successful examples of stretchable conductors for applications in interconnections, electrodes, and piezoresistive devices are reviewed here. Stretchable conductors can be used for electrode or sensor applications depending on the electrical properties of the stretchable conductors under mechanical strain. A detailed overview of the recent progress in stretchable semiconductors, stretchable insulators, and other novel stretchable materials is also given, along with a discussion of the associated technological innovations and challenges. Stretchable electronic devices with intrinsically stretchable components such as field‐effect transistors (FETs), photodetectors, light‐emitting diodes (LEDs), electronic skins, and energy harvesters are also described and a new strategy for development of stretchable electronic devices is discussed. Conclusions and future prospects for the development of stretchable electronic devices with intrinsically stretchable components are discussed.     

Flexible Electronics Based on Organic Semiconductors: from Patterned Assembly to Integrated Applications

Organic flexible electronic devices are at the forefront of the electronics as they possess the potential to bring about a major lifestyle revolution owing to outstanding properties of organic semiconductors, including solution processability, lightweight and flexibility. For the integration of organic flexible electronics, the precise patterning and ordered assembly of organic semiconductors have attracted wide attention and gained rapid developments, which not only reduces the charge crosstalk between adjacent devices, but also enhances device uniformity and reproducibility. This review focuses on recent advances in the design, patterned assembly of organic semiconductors, and flexible electronic devices, especially for flexible organic field-effect transistors (FOFETs) and their multifunctional applications. First, typical organic semiconductor materials and material design methods are introduced. Based on these organic materials with not only superior mechanical properties but also high carrier mobility, patterned assembly strategies on flexible substrates, including one-step and two-step approaches are discussed. Advanced applications of flexible electronic devices based on organic semiconductor patterns are then highlighted. Finally, future challenges and possible directions in the field to motivate the development of the next generation of flexible electronics are proposed.     

Materials and Fabrication Needs for Low‐Cost Organic Transistor Circuits

There has been tremendous progress in the area of organic electronic materials and devices recently. However, many challenges and problems remain to be addressed for practical applications of such materials and devices. This article seeks to summarize some of the important recent materials‐related research on organic transistors and point out future needs in this area. Special emphasis is directed towards the stability and processability of the active materials.     

Recent Progress of Fiber Shaped Lighting Devices for Smart Display Applications—A Fibertronic Perspective

Advances in material science and nanotechnology have fostered the miniaturization of devices. Over the past two decades, the form-factor of these devices has evolved from 3D rigid, volumetric devices through 2D film-based flexible electronics, finally to 1D fiber electronics (fibertronics). In this regard, fibertronic strategies toward wearable applications (e.g., electronic textiles (e-textiles)) have attracted considerable attention thanks to their capability to impart various functions into textiles with retaining textiles' intrinsic properties as well as imperceptible irritation by foreign matters. In recent years, extensive research has been carried out to develop various functional devices in the fiber form. Among various features, lighting and display features are the highly desirable functions in wearable electronics. This article discusses the recent progress of materials, architectural designs, and new fabrication technologies of fiber-shaped lighting devices and the current challenges corresponding to each device's operating mechanism. Moreover, opportunities and applications that the revolutionary convergence between the state-of-the-art fibertronic technology and age-long textile industry will bring in the future are also discussed.     

Concepts for diamond electronics

The present status in the development of diamond as electronic semiconductor material with wide band-gap (5.45 eV) is reviewed. Since diamond cannot be doped with shallow impurities, specific doping concepts and related diode and FET structures had to be developed, restricted to p-type boron doping. The results allow to predict that diamond high voltage switching diodes, high power RF FET sources and operation at high temperature will surpass the capability of devices designed in competing wide band-gap materials like SiC and GaN.