Additively patterned ferroelectric thin films with vertical sidewalls

The functional properties of electroceramic thin films can be degraded by subtractive patterning techniques used for microelectromechanical (MEMS) applications. This work explores an alternative deposition technique, where lead zirconate titanate (PZT) liquid precursors are printed onto substrates in a desired geometry from stamp wells (rather than stamp protrusions). Printing from wells significantly increased sidewall angles (from ~1 to >35 degrees) relative to printing solutions from stamp protrusions. Arrays of PZT features were printed, characterized, and compared to continuous PZT thin films of similar thickness. Three‐hundred‐nanometer‐thick printed PZT features exhibit a permittivity of 730 and a loss tangent of 0.022. The features showed remanent polarizations of 26 μC/cm², and coercive fields of 95 kV/cm. The piezoelectric response of the features produced an e_31,f of ?5.2 C/m². This technique was also used to print directly atop prepatterned substrates. Optimization of printing parameters yielded patterned films with 90° sidewalls. Lateral feature sizes ranged from hundreds of micrometers down to one micrometer. In addition, several device designs were prepatterned onto silicon on insulator (SOI) wafers (Si/SiO₂/Si with thicknesses of 0.35/1/500 μm). The top patterned silicon was released from the underlying material, and PZT was directly printed and crystallized on the free‐standing structures.     

Oxidative and carbonaceous patterning of Si surface in an organic media by scanning probe lithography

A simple top-down fabrication technique that involves scanning probe lithography on Si is presented. The writing procedure consists of a chemically selective patterning in mesitylene. Operating in an organic media is possible to perform local oxidation or solvent decomposition during the same pass by tuning the applied bias. The layer deposited with a positively biased tip with sub-100-nm lateral resolution consists of nanocrystalline graphite, as verified by Raman spectroscopy. The oxide pattern obtained in opposite polarization is later used as a mask for dry etching, showing a remarkable selectivity in SF₆ plasma, to produce Si nanofeatured molds.     

Aesthetically textured,hard latex coatings by fast IR-assisted evaporative lithography

Polymer coatings with periodic topographic patterns, repeating over millimetre length scales, can be created from lateral flows in an aqueous dispersion of colloidal particles. The flow is driven by differences in evaporation rate across the wet film surface created by IR radiative heating through a shadow mask. This new process, which we call IR radiation-assisted evaporative lithography (IRAEL), combines IR particle sintering with the concept of evaporative lithography. Here, a series of experiments has been conducted in which the mass of the latex is measured as a function of the exposure time under infrared radiation through a mask. The water evaporation rates and the minimum exposure time required for a dry film are estimated as a function of the power density of the IR emitter. The temperature of the wet film is monitored to avoid overheating and boiling of the water, which will otherwise cause defects. It is demonstrated that textured films can be created on a variety of substrates (plastics, metals, paper and glass), and processing times can be as short as 5 min. We use IRAEL to decorate household goods with an aesthetic coating with the desired texture.     

UV nanoimprint using flexible polymer template and substrate

Nano to micro-sized patterns were formed on a flexible polymer substrate using a flexible UV imprint stamp. A 6 in. diameter flexible UV nanoimprint template was fabricated using PVC hot embossing and DLC coating. Using the UV nanoimprint process with the DLC coated PVC template, nano to micro-sized patterns were clearly formed on the flexible PET substrate without a residual layer, due to the antistiction properties and high mechanical hardness of the DLC coating. By depositing a Cr layer on the imprinted resist pattern and lifting it off, Cr metal patterns were fabricated on the PET substrate.     

微型薄膜电阻的制备及研究

将具有优异特性的碳纳米管（CNTS）与负性感光胶（SU-8 2002）混合得到复合材料,将不同比例的碳纳米管通过超声工艺分散到SU-8 2002感光胶中,通过UV-LIGA加工工艺,热压处理后实现了微型电阻的快速制备。对复合薄膜电阻的性能进行测试,测试结果表明复合薄膜电阻率随着碳纳米管比例的增加而减小,当碳纳米管的比例为12%时,电阻率减小到0.06 ,复合材料达到逾渗阈值,频率小于1.2GHz时,电阻值的变化范围小于5%,为快速制备微型电阻提供了新的方法。     

Efficiently Releasing the Trapped Energy Flow in White Organic Light‐Emitting Diodes with Multifunctional Nanofunnel Arrays

White organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs) hold great promise for applications in displays and lighting due to high efficiency and superior white color balance. However, further improvement in efficiency remains a continuous and urgent demand due to limited energy flow extraction. A powerful method for drastically releasing the trapped energy flow in conventional white OLEDs is demonstrated by implementing unique quasi‐periodic subwavelength nanofunnel arrays (NFAs) via soft nanoimprinting lithography, which is ideal for enhancing light extraction without any spectral distortion or angular dependence. The resulting efficiency is over 2 times that of a conventional OLED used as a comparison. The external quantum efficiency and power efficiency are raised to 32.4% and 56.9 lm W^?1, respectively. Besides, the substantial increase in efficiency over a broad bandwidth with angular color stability, the experimental proofs show that the NFA‐based extraction structure affords the enticing capacity against scrubbing and the self‐cleaning feature, which are critical to the commercial viability in practical applications.     

Synthesis of tubular silica fiber via all-aqueous microfluidics for geopolymer regulation

Lightweight hollow ceramic microfibers/microparticles hold promising prospects in numerous applications. To date, it remains a challenge to develop a fabrication strategy that well balances product quality and efficiency. In this article, an all-aqueous microfluidic method was proposed to prepare tubular polymeric fiber as the preceramic template. The relevant dimensional parameters could be promptly regulated via simple flow rate control. This approach could serve as a general technical route to preparing different kinds of ceramics by switching the types of nanoparticles. Here, silica nanoparticles were introduced and the ceramic microfiber could be got via calcination. Afterward, the tubular silica microfiber was employed to synthesize geopolymer composite by mold casting. The chemically formed interfacial bonding between the silica microfiber and geopolymer matrix was confirmed by elemental analysis. The addition of 10% volume fraction silica microfiber could not only increase the flexural modulus of geopolymer composite by 3.5 times but also effectively inhibited crack propagation under thermal circumstances.     

Improved conversion efficiency of amorphous Si solar cells using a mesoporous ZnO pattern

To provide a front transparent electrode for use in highly efficient hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin-film solar cells, porous flat layer and micro-patterns of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle (NP) layers were prepared through ultraviolet nanoimprint lithography (UV-NIL) and deposited on Al-doped ZnO (AZO) layers. Through this, it was found that a porous micro-pattern of ZnO NPs dispersed in resin can optimize the light-trapping pattern, with the efficiency of solar cells based on patterned or flat mesoporous ZnO layers increased by 27% and 12%, respectively.