Fabrication of organic semiconductor crystalline thin films and crystals from solution by confined crystallization

Highly crystalline thin films of organic semiconductors processed from solution for electronic devices are difficult to achieve due to a slow and preferential three-dimensional growth of the crystals. Here we describe the development of a processing technique to induce a preferential two-dimensional crystalline growth of organic semiconductors by means of minimizing one dimension and confining the solution in two dimensions into a thin layer. The versatility of the process is demonstrated by processing small molecules (TIPS-pentacene and C₆₀) and a polymer (P3HT), all from solvents with a relatively low boiling point, to obtain crystalline thin films. The thin films show an improved in-plane packing of the molecules compared to films processed under similar conditions by spin coating, which is beneficial for the use in organic field-effect transistors.     

A Soft,Fast and Versatile Electrohydraulic Gripper with Capacitive Object Size Detection

Soft robotic grippers achieve increased versatility and reduced complexity through intelligence embodied in their flexible and conformal structures. The most widely used soft grippers are pneumatically driven; they are simple and effective but require bulky air compressors that limit their application space and external sensors or computationally expensive vision systems for pick verification. In this study, a multi-material architecture for self-sensing electrohydraulic bending actuators is presented that enables a new class of highly versatile and reconfigurable soft grippers that are electrically driven and feature capacitive pick verification and object size detection. These electrohydraulic grippers are fast (step input results in finger closure in 50 ms), draw low power (6.5 mW per finger to hold grasp), and can pick a wide variety of objects with simple binary electrical control. Integrated high-voltage driving electronics are presented that greatly increase the application space of the grippers and make them readily compatible with commercially available robotic arms.     

Investigation of LSPR Coupling Effects toward the Rational Design of CsxWO3–δ Based Solar NIR Filtering Coatings

The optical range of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) is extended into the infrared region, thanks to the development of highly doped semiconductor nanocrystals. Particularly, the near-infrared (NIR) range holds a significant interest in managing solar radiation. However, practical applications necessitate the arrangement of particles, which is known to possibly impact their optical properties through LSPR coupling effects. How such coupling modifies the LSPR response in semiconductor hosts remains largely unexplored. In this study, a protocol for producing composite coatings composed of cesium-doped tungsten bronze nanocrystals embedded in a silica matrix is presented. Achieving individual dispersion of nanocrystals is made possible through careful selection of a surface polyglycerol ligand exchange. This allows to tune the interparticle distance by adjusting the nanocrystal volume fraction in the composite. The findings demonstrate that LSPR coupling effects significantly influence the LSPR intensity of nanocrystals in the composite when the nanocrystal-to-nanocrystal distance matches their size. Beyond elucidating the LSPR coupling effect, this study provides insights into the potential use of Cs-HTB nanocrystals for solar control applications. Through the optimization of morphology and film structure, remarkable selectivity is obtained in terms of maintaining good transparency in the visible range while achieving high absorption in the NIR.     

Functionalization of Graphene Oxide Films with Au and MoOx Nanoparticles as Efficient p‐Contact Electrodes for Inverted Planar Perovskite Solar Cells

A graphene oxide (GO) film is functionalized with metal (Au) and metal‐oxide (MoO_x) nanoparticles (NPs) as a hole‐extraction layer for high‐performance inverted planar‐heterojunction perovskite solar cells (PSCs). These NPs can increase the work function of GO, which is confirmed with X‐ray photoelectron spectra, Kelvin probe force microscopy, and ultraviolet photoelectron spectra measurements. The down‐shifts of work functions lead to a decreased level of potential energy and hence increased V_oc of the PSC devices. Although the GO‐AuNP film shows rapid hole extraction and increased V_oc, a J_sc improvement is not observed because of localization of the extracted holes inside the AuNP that leads to rapid charge recombination, which is confirmed with transient photoelectric measurements. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the GO‐AuNP device attains 14.6%, which is comparable with that of the GO‐based device (14.4%). In contrast, the rapid hole extraction from perovskite to the GO‐MoO_x layer does not cause trapping of holes and delocalization of holes in the GO film accelerates rapid charge transfer to the indium tin oxide substrate; charge recombination in the perovskite/GO‐MoO_x interface is hence significantly retarded. The GO‐MoO_x device consequently shows significantly enhanced V_oc and J_sc, for which its device performance attains PCE of 16.7% with great reproducibility and enduring stability.     

Hydrogen-bonded diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) pigments as organic semiconductors

Diketopyrrolopyrroles (DPPs) have recently gained attention as building-blocks for organic semiconducting polymers and small molecules, however the semiconducting properties of their hydrogen-bonded (H-bonded) pigment forms have not been explored. Herein we report on the performance of three archetypical H-bonded DPP pigments, which show ambipolar carrier mobilities in the range 0.01–0.06 cm²/V s in organic field-effect transistors. Their semiconducting properties are correlated with crystal structure, where an H-bonded crystal lattice supports close and relatively cofacial π–π stacking. To better understand transport in these systems, density functional theory calculations were carried out, indicating theoretical maximum ambipolar mobility values of ∼0.3 cm²/V s. Based on these experimental and theoretical results, H-bonded DPPs represent a viable alternative to more established DPP-containing polymers and small molecules where H-bonding is blocked by N-alkylation.     

Magnetization Reversal in CsNiIICrIII(CN)6 Coordination Nanoparticles: Unravelling Surface Anisotropy and Dipolar Interaction Effects

CsNiCr(CN)₆ coordination nanoparticles with sizes ranging from 6 to 30 nm are highly diluted in an organic polymer matrix. Their static and dynamic magnetic behaviour allows unravelling of surface anisotropy and interparticle dipolar interaction effects. The single magnetic domain critical size is thus evaluated to be around 22 nm with a blocking temperature of 21 K (at ν = 1 Hz) and an effective energy barrier for the reversal of the magnetization of 426 K.     

The influence of packaging materials on RF performance

At frequencies beyond 1 GHz, every component of the IC package contributes to the RF performance, whether required or not. In this work, we study the effects of packaging materials namely, the substrate and the globtop/underfill material on RF performance. We have measured interconnects on two area-array CSPs, the ball grid array and the polymer stud grid array using IMEC’s MCM-D technology. The measurements on the package interconnect show that the losses in the package substrate material account for about 50% of the total losses at 1.8 GHz and this drops to less than 20% at 5.2 GHz. The losses due to impedance mismatch dominate the losses especially below 10 GHz and considerable improvement in performance cannot be obtained by using an improved/expensive substrate. The other study is about the influence of globtop/underfill materials on wirebonds (through 3D EM simulations) as well as on standard 50 Ω MCM-D transmission lines (through experiments). While a higher value of dielectric constant of the globtop/underfill material is better on wirebonds, the influence of loss tangent is felt only above values of 0.1. The influence of seven different globtop/undefill materials on 50 Ω transmission lines has been used to extract their dielectric constant and loss tangent values at 30 GHz. These results are very valuable since one can hardly find the properties of globtop/underfill materials beyond 1 GHz.     

D类放大器背后的奥秘

音频放大器的用途是在发声输出元件上复现输入音频信号,提供所需要的音量和功率水平-保证复现的忠实性、高效率以及低失真度.在这一任务面前,D类放大器表现出多方面的优势.     

Selecting Cryptographic Key Sizes

In this article we offer guidelines for the determination of key sizes for symmetric cryptosystems, RSA, and discrete logarithm-based cryptosystems both over finite fields and over groups of elliptic curves over prime fields. Our recommendations are based on a set of explicitly formulated parameter settings, combined with existing data points about the cryptosystems. Received September 1999 and revised February 2001 Online publication 14 August 2001     

Time-dependent competitive adsorption of milk proteins and surfactants in oil-in-water emulsions

Competitive adsorption of pure milk proteins and non-ionic surfactants has been studied in model oil-in-water emulsions (4 g kg^?1 β-lactoglobulin or β-casein, 200 g kg^?1 n-hexadecane) as a function of the age of the adsorbed protein layer at the oil-water interface. With β-lactoglobulin-stabilised emulsions containing oil-soluble surfactant C₁₂ E₂ (diethylene glycol n-dodecyl ether), there is found to be a steadily increasing amount of protein associated with the emulsion droplets over a few hours following emulsification. Addition of water-soluble surfactant Tween 20 (polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monolaurate) to a β-lactoglobulin-stabilised emulsion (with or without C₁₂E₂) leads to less protein displacement if the emulsion is aged prior to addition of Tween 20. Moderate additions of C₁₂E₂ or Tween 20 produce no time dependence in the competitive adsorption in β-casein-stabilised emulsions, although some time dependence is observed when C₁₂E₂ and a high concentration of Tween 20 are present together. Crystallisation of the oil phase in β-casein-stabilised emulsions at pH 7 leads to a lowering of the measured protein surface concentration, especially in the presence of C₁₂E₂ and a reduction in the surfactant to protein molar ratio required for complete protein displacement by water-soluble surfactant (Tween 20 or octaethylene glycol n-dodecyl ether). Under more acidic conditions of pH 5 or pH 3, the surface coverage and ease of displacement of β-lactoglobulin at the surface of liquid emulsion droplets is substantially different from that under neutral pH conditions.