Lorentz Force-Actuated Bidirectional Nanoelectromechanical Switch with an Ultralow Operation Voltage.

The high operating voltage of conventional nanoelectromechanical switches, typically tens of volts, is much higher than the driving voltage of the complementary metal oxide semiconductor integrated circuit (∼1 V). Though the operating voltage can be reduced by adopting a narrow air gap, down to several nanometers, this leads to formidable manufacturing challenges and occasionally irreversible switch failures due to the surface adhesive force. Here, we demonstrate a new nanowire-morphed nanoelectromechanical (NW-NEM) switch structure with ultralow operation voltages.

Single-nanowire-morphed mechanical slingshot for directional shooting delivery of micro-payloads.

Stretching elastomer bands to accumulate strain energy, for a sudden projectile launching, has been an old hunting skill that will continue to find new applications in miniaturized worlds. In this work, we explore the use of highly resilient and geometry-tailored ultrathin crystalline silicon nanowires (SiNWs) as elastic medium to fabricate the first, and the smallest, mechanical slingshot. These NW-morphed slingshots were first grown on a planar surface, with desired layout, and then mounted upon standing pillar frames, with a unique self-hooking structure that allows for a facile and reliable assembly, loading and shooting maneuver of microsphere payloads.

Electroluminescence from μLED without external charge injection.

Stable electroluminescence from micro-pixelated light-emitting diode (μLED) occurs when electrons and holes are continuously injected from external electrodes. Different from the general recognition, in this work, μLED works in an operation mode, namely, non-electrical contact and non-carrier injection mode, and can be 'wirelessly' lit up without external charge injection, which is different from the general recognition. Inherent holes and electrons in μLEDs can provide sufficient carriers for radiative recombination under alternating-current electric field.

Binary Electronic Synapses for Integrating Digital and Neuromorphic Computation in a Single Physical Platform.

As a promising advanced computation technology, the integration of digital computation with neuromorphic computation into a single physical platform holds the advantage of a precise, deterministic, fast data process as well as the advantage of a flexible, paralleled, fault-tolerant data process. Even though two-terminal memristive devices have been respectively proved as leading electronic elements for digital computation and neuromorphic computation, it is difficult to steadily maintain both sudden-state-change and gradual-state-change in a single device due to the entirely different operating mechanisms. In this work, we developed a digital-analog compatible memristive device, namely, binary electronic synapse, through realizing controllable cation drift in a memristive layer.