Silicon-based all-solid-state batteries operating free from external pressure.

Silicon-based all-solid-state batteries offer high energy density and safety but face significant application challenges due to the requirement of high external pressure. In this study, a LiSi/Si-LiSi double-layered anode is developed for all-solid-state batteries operating free from external pressure. Under the cold-pressed sintering of LiSi alloys, the anode forms a top layer (LiSi layer) with mixed ionic/electronic conduction and a bottom layer (Si-LiSi layer) containing a three-dimensional continuous conductive network.

Solid-State Lithium Batteries with Ultrastable Cyclability: An Internal-External Modification Strategy.

A commonly used strategy to tackle the unstable interfacial problem between LiAlTi(PO) (LATP) and lithium (Li) is to introduce an interlayer. However, this strategy has a limited effect on stabilizing LATP during long-term cycling or under high current density, which is due in part to the negative impact of its internal defects (eg., gaps between grains (GBs)) that are usually neglected.

Silicon Nanowire Array Weaved by Carbon Chains for Stretchable Lithium-Ion Battery Anode.

To manufacture flexible batteries, it can be a challenge for silicon base anode materials to maintain structural integrity and electrical connectivity under bending and torsion conditions. In this work, 1D silicon nanowire array structures combined with flexible carbon chains consisting of short carbon nanofibers (CNFs) and long carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are proposed. The CNFs and CNTs serve as chain joints and separate chain units, respectively, weaving the well-ordered Si nanowire array into a robust and integrated configuration.

Effect of the bonding layer and multigrading layers on the performance of a wafer-bonded InGaAs/Si single-photon detector.

A wafer-bonded InGaAs/Si avalanche photodiode (APD) at a wavelength of 1550 nm was theoretically simulated. We focused on the effect of the multigrading layers and bonding layers on the electric fields, electron and hole concentrations, recombination rates, and energy bands. In this work, multigrading layers inserted between Si and InGaAs were adopted to reduce the discontinuity of the conduction band between Si and InGaAs.

Scalable fabrication of self-assembled GeSn vertical nanowires for nanophotonic applications.

In this work, scalable fabrication of self-assembled GeSn vertical nanowires (NWs) based on rapid thermal annealing (RTA) and inductively coupled-plasma (ICP) dry etching was proposed. After thermal treatment of molecular-beam-epitaxy-grown GeSn, self-assembled Sn nanodots (NDs) were formed on surface and the spontaneous emission from GeSn direct band was enhanced by ∼5-fold. Employing the self-assembled Sn NDs as template, vertical GeSn NWs with a diameter of 25 ± 6 nm and a density of 2.

Spatially modulated femtosecond laser direct ablation-based preparation of ultra-flexible multifunctional copper mesh electrodes and its application.

Multifunctional electrodes possess superior properties such as high photoelectric properties and high stability. Laser manufacturing process is one of the widely used method for electrode fabrication. However, the current multifunctional electrode laser manufacturing process suffers from low fabrication speed.

Clinical study on multi-focused laser in the treatment of vulvar lichen sclerosus.

Objective: To investigate the clinical effect of Multi-focused (MF) laser in the treatment of vulvar lichen sclerosus (VLS).

Methods: In this single-center, randomized controlled trial, we compared the effect of fractionated MF laser with other treatments on patients with biopsy-proven VLS. Patients with VLS were enrolled in this study and randomly divided into three groups.

On the Interface Design of Si and Multilayer Graphene for a High-Performance Li-Ion Battery Anode.

Si/multilayer graphene (mG) is a promising candidate for the next-generation Li-ion battery anode. The highly ordered mG shows intrinsic good stability against the liquid electrolyte and its flexibility to accommodate volume change. Until now, reducing the growth temperature and thus engineering the interphase are a very important research area, but only few studies have been reported.

Fabrication of flexible transparent Ag square-shaped mesh electrode by top-flat nanosecond laser ablation.

We report a facile top-flat square nanosecond (ns) laser direct writing ablation technique in a thin silver film substrate to fabricate the silver square-shaped cell structure of flexible transparent electrodes. Square silver cell structures feature smooth surface morphology, excellent edge definition, mechanical stability, strong adhesion to the substrate, and favorable resistance and transparency. In particular, this strategy enables fabrication of a high square-shaped cell areal density (ablated square cell to the total area) Ag mesh, substantially improving transparency ($ {\gt} {85}\% $>85%) without considerably sacrificing conductivity ($ {\lt} {5}\;\Omega \;{{\rm sq}^{ - 1}}$<5Ωsq unit of resistance).

Broadband 400-2400 nm Ge heterostructure nanowire photodetector fabricated by three-dimensional Ge condensation technique.

A 2.7% tensile strained Ge/SiGe heterostructure nanowire (NW) is in-situ fabricated by a three-dimensional Ge condensation method. The NW metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodetector demonstrates an ultra-broadband detection wavelength of 400-2400 nm, showing a high responsivity of >3.

Enhanced Si Passivation and PERC Solar Cell Efficiency by Atomic Layer Deposited Aluminum Oxide with Two-step Post Annealing.

In this study, aluminum oxide (AlO) films were prepared by a spatial atomic layer deposition using deionized water and trimethylaluminum, followed by oxygen (O), forming gas (FG), or two-step annealing. Minority carrier lifetime of the samples was measured by Sinton WCT-120. Field-effect passivation and chemical passivation were evaluated by fixed oxide charge (Q) and interface defect density (D), respectively, using capacitance-voltage measurement.

Temperature-Dependent HfO/Si Interface Structural Evolution and its Mechanism.

In this work, hafnium oxide (HfO) thin films are deposited on p-type Si substrates by remote plasma atomic layer deposition on p-type Si at 250 °C, followed by a rapid thermal annealing in nitrogen. Effect of post-annealing temperature on the crystallization of HfO films and HfO/Si interfaces is investigated. The crystallization of the HfO films and HfO/Si interface is studied by field emission transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and atomic force microscopy.

Scalable Engineering of Bulk Porous Si Anodes for High Initial Efficiency and High-Areal-Capacity Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Nano-Si has been long-hampered in its use for practical lithium battery anodes due to its intrinsic high surface area. To improve the Coulombic efficiency and areal mass loading, we extend the starting materials from nano-Si to photovoltaic waste Si powders (∼1.5 μm).

Monolithically Integrated Self-Charging Power Pack Consisting of a Silicon Nanowire Array/Conductive Polymer Hybrid Solar Cell and a Laser-Scribed Graphene Supercapacitor.

Owing to the need for portable and sustainable energy sources and the development trend for microminiaturization and multifunctionalization in the electronic components, the study of integrated self-charging power packs has attracted increasing attention. A new self-charging power pack consisting of a silicon nanowire array/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) hybrid solar cell and a laser-scribed graphene (LSG) supercapacitor has been fabricated. The Si nanowire array/PEDOT:PSS hybrid solar cell structure exhibited a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 12.

Pulse laser-induced size-controllable and symmetrical ordering of single-crystal Si islands.

Optically electric- and magnetic resonance-induced dielectric nanostructures have garnered significant attention due to applications as tunable electronic and optoelectronic device. In this letter, we describe an ultrafast and large-area method to construct symmetrical and single-crystal Si island structures directly on Si substrates by a pulse laser dewetting method. The tunable surface electric field intensity distribution could convert the stochastic dewetting process into a deterministic process (classical dipole mode and Mie resonance dipole mode) on predefined Si pit arrays via laser dewetting.

Low dark current broadband 360-1650 nm ITO/Ag/n-Si Schottky photodetectors.

This work designed an ITO/Ag/n-Si Schottky photodetector with broad wavelength detection and low dark current. The introduction of Ag interfacial layer and post rapid thermal annealing dramatically increase the barrier height of ITO/n-Si Schottky diode by 0.32 eV, leading to the 2300 × reduction of dark current.

Design of wafer-bonded structures for near room temperature Geiger-mode operation of germanium on silicon single-photon avalanche photodiode.

We investigate the effect of temperature on the single-photon properties of four germanium/silicon (Ge/Si) single-photon avalanche photodiodes (SPADs), which are fabricated by Ge-on-Si direct epitaxial growth, Ge-on-Si two-step epitaxial growth, Ge/Si direct wafer bonding, and Si/Si hydrophobic bonding, respectively. It is found that the wafer-bonded Ge/Si SPAD exhibits extremely low dark current and dark count rate (DCR) compared with the epitaxial ones at 250 and 300 K. This implies that the wafer-bonding technique is a possible candidate for the fabrication of Ge/Si SPAD, which can be operated at near room temperature.

Thyroid cancer 1 (C8orf4) shows high expression, no mutation and reduced methylation level in lung cancers, and its expression correlates with β-catenin and DNMT1 expression and poor prognosis.

Thyroid cancer 1 (TC1, C8orf4) plays important roles in tumors. The aim of this study was to examine the protein expression levels, methylation status, and mutational status of () in lung cancers, and investigate the correlation between TC1, other members of the Wnt signaling pathway, and lung cancer. TC1 expression levels were assessed via immunohistochemical staining in 179 cases of lung cancer.

Room Temperature Electroluminescence from Tensile-Strained SiGe/Ge Multiple Quantum Wells on a Ge Virtual Substrate.

Direct band electroluminescence (EL) from tensile-strained SiGe/Ge multiple quantum wells (MQWs) on a Ge virtual substrate (VS) at room temperature is reported herein. Due to the competitive result of quantum confinement Stark effect and bandgap narrowing induced by tensile strain in Ge wells, electroluminescence from Γ1-HH1 transition in 12-nm Ge wells was observed at around 1550 nm. As injection current density increases, additional emission shoulders from Γ2-HH2 transition in Ge wells and Ge VS appeared at around 1300-1400 nm and 1600-1700 nm, respectively.

Surface Passivation of Silicon Using HfO Thin Films Deposited by Remote Plasma Atomic Layer Deposition System.

Hafnium oxide (HfO) thin films have attracted much attention owing to their usefulness in equivalent oxide thickness scaling in microelectronics, which arises from their high dielectric constant and thermodynamic stability with silicon. However, the surface passivation properties of such films, particularly on crystalline silicon (c-Si), have rarely been reported upon. In this study, the HfO thin films were deposited on c-Si substrates with and without oxygen plasma pretreatments, using a remote plasma atomic layer deposition system.

Voltage sharing effect and interface state calculation of a wafer-bonding Ge/Si avalanche photodiode with an interfacial GeO2 insulator layer.

The tunneling effect and interface state in the p-Ge/GeO2p-Si structure of a wafer-bonding Ge/Si avalanche photodiode (APD) are investigated. It is found that the thin interfacial GeO2 layer (1-2 nm) formed by the hydrophilic reaction at the wafer-bonding interface significantly affects the performance of the Ge/Si APD. With the increase of the GeO2 thickness, the dark current of the Ge/Si APD decreases enormously due to the blocking effect of this GeO2 layer.

Expression of Nemo-like kinase was increased and negatively correlated with the expression of TCF4 in lung cancers.

Nemo-like kinase (NLK), as a mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK)-like kinase, is involved in the development of several human cancers. In this study, we explored the expression of NLK in lung squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma tissues, and investigated the associations among NLK, β-catenin, T-cell factor 4 (TCF4), and the clinicopathological factors of lung cancers. The expressions of NLK, β-catenin, TCF4 were examined in 109 cases of lung cancers using immunohistochemistry method.

NiSi(x)/a-Si Nanowires with Interfacial a-Ge as Anodes for High-Rate Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Conductive metal nanowire is a promising current collector for the Si-based anode material in high-rate lithium-ion batteries. However, to harness this remarkable potential for high power density energy storage, one has to address the interfacial potential barrier that hinders the electron injection from the metal side. Herein, we present that, solely by inserting ultrathin amorphous germanium (a-Ge) (∼5 nm) at the interface of NiSix/amorphous Si (a-Si), the rate capacity was substantially enhanced, 477 mAh g(-1) even at a high rate of 40 A g(-1).

Overexpression of long non-coding RNA HOTAIR predicts a poor prognosis in patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

The long non-coding RNA, HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA (HOTAIR), has been indicated to have involvement in a number of cancers, however, its role in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is unknown. The present study aimed to investigate the pattern of HOTAIR expression in AML and to evaluate its clinical significance in tumor progression. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed to examine the HOTAIR expression in mononuclear cells from the bone marrow (BM) or peripheral blood specimens of 85 patients with newly diagnosed AML.