Advancing Glass Engineering: Harnessing Focused Electron Beams for Direct Microstructuring.

A technological approach for direct glass structuring is presented by exploiting electron-beam-induced defect generation utilizing a conventional scanning electron microscope (SEM). The structuring process is assumed to be linked to electron-beam-induced ion migration and allows to create structures of several hundred nanometers in depth. It is demonstrated that the structuring can be realized in literally any SEM, which thus enables a comparatively simple implementation in support of a broad field of applications.

Tip-Induced 3D Printing on the Nanoscale with Field Emission Scanning Probes.

3D printing down to the nanoscale remains a significant challenge. In this paper, the study explores the use of scanning probes that emit low-energy electrons (<100 eV) coupled with the localized injection and electron-induced decomposition of precursor molecules, for the precise localized deposition of 3D nanostructures. The experiments are performed inside the chamber of a scanning electron microscope (SEM), enabling the use of the in-built gas injector system (GIS) with gaseous naphthalene precursor for carbon deposition, as well as immediate inspection of the deposits by SEM.

Chip-integrated non-mechanical microfluidic pump driven by electrowetting on dielectrics.

A microfluidic pump is presented that generates its pumping action the EWOD (electrowetting-on-dielectric) effect. The flow is generated by the periodic movement of liquid-vapor interfaces in a large number (≈10) of microcavities resulting in a volume change of approx. 0.

Blooming and pruning: learning from mistakes with memristive synapses.

Blooming and pruning is one of the most important developmental mechanisms of the biological brain in the first years of life, enabling it to adapt its network structure to the demands of the environment. The mechanism is thought to be fundamental for the development of cognitive skills. Inspired by this, Chialvo and Bak proposed in 1999 a learning scheme that learns from mistakes by eliminating from the initial surplus of synaptic connections those that lead to an undesirable outcome.

Vector Symbolic Finite State Machines in Attractor Neural Networks.

Hopfield attractor networks are robust distributed models of human memory, but they lack a general mechanism for effecting state-dependent attractor transitions in response to input. We propose construction rules such that an attractor network may implement an arbitrary finite state machine (FSM), where states and stimuli are represented by high-dimensional random vectors and all state transitions are enacted by the attractor network's dynamics. Numerical simulations show the capacity of the model, in terms of the maximum size of implementable FSM, to be linear in the size of the attractor network for dense bipolar state vectors and approximately quadratic for sparse binary state vectors.

Droplet Motion Driven by Liquid Dielectrophoresis in the Low-Frequency Range.

Electrohydrodynamic wetting manipulation plays a major role in modern microfluidic technologies such as lab-on-a-chip applications and digital microfluidics. Liquid dielectrophoresis (LDEP) is a common driving mechanism, which induces hydrodynamic motion in liquids by the application of nonhomogeneous electrical fields. Among strategies to analyze droplet movement, systematic research on the influence of different frequencies under AC voltage is missing.

Exploring the Surface Oxidation and Environmental Instability of 2H-/1T'-MoTe Using Field Emission-Based Scanning Probe Lithography.

An unconventional approach for the resistless nanopatterning 2H- and 1T'-MoTe by means of scanning probe lithography is presented. A Fowler-Nordheim tunneling current of low energetic electrons (E = 30-60 eV) emitted from the tip of an atomic force microscopy (AFM) cantilever is utilized to induce a nanoscale oxidation on a MoTe nanosheet surface under ambient conditions. Due to the water solubility of the generated oxide, a direct pattern transfer into the MoTe surface can be achieved by a simple immersion of the sample in deionized water.

Cold Atmospheric Plasma Exerts Antimicrobial Effects in a 3D Skin Model of Cutaneous Candidiasis.

Cutaneous candidiasis is characterized by an overgrowth of leading to skin inflammation and infection. Similar to bacteria, can develop tolerance to common antifungal drugs. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), with its proven antimicrobial properties, offers a promising alternative to the prevailing methods.

Stiffness Considerations for a MEMS-Based Weighing Cell.

In this paper, a miniaturized weighing cell that is based on a micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) is discussed. The MEMS-based weighing cell is inspired by macroscopic electromagnetic force compensation (EMFC) weighing cells and one of the crucial system parameters, the stiffness, is analyzed. The system stiffness in the direction of motion is first analytically evaluated using a rigid body approach and then also numerically modeled using the finite element method for comparison purposes.

Easily Repairable and High-Performance Carbon Nanostructure Absorber for Solar Photothermoelectric Conversion and Photothermal Water Evaporation.

Carbon materials are a category of broadband solar energy harvesting materials that can convert solar energy into heat under irradiation, which can be used for photothermal water evaporation and photothermoelectric power generation. However, destruction of the carbon nanostructure during usage will significantly decrease the light-trapping performance and, thus, limit their practical applications. In this article, an easily repairable carbon nanostructure absorber with full-solar-spectrum absorption and a hierarchically porous structure is prepared.

Exfoliated 2D Layered and Nonlayered Metal Phosphorous Trichalcogenides Nanosheets as Promising Electrocatalysts for CO Reduction.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials catalysts provide an atomic-scale view on a fascinating arena for understanding the mechanism of electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction (CO ECR). Here, we successfully exfoliated both layered and nonlayered ultra-thin metal phosphorous trichalcogenides (MPCh ) nanosheets via wet grinding exfoliation (WGE), and systematically investigated the mechanism of MPCh as catalysts for CO ECR. Unlike the layered CoPS and NiPS nanosheets, the active Sn atoms tend to be exposed on the surfaces of nonlayered SnPS nanosheets.

Formation of nanoflowers: Au and Ni silicide cores surrounded by SiO branches.

This work reports the formation of nanoflowers after annealing of Au/Ni bilayers deposited on SiO/Si substrates. The cores of the nanoflowers consist of segregated Ni silicide and Au parts and are surrounded by SiO branches. The SiO decomposition is activated at 1050 °C in a reducing atmosphere, and it can be enhanced more by Au compared to Ni.

Multilayer redox-based HfO/AlO/TiO memristive structures for neuromorphic computing.

Redox-based memristive devices have shown great potential for application in neuromorphic computing systems. However, the demands on the device characteristics depend on the implemented computational scheme and unifying the desired properties in one stable device is still challenging. Understanding how and to what extend the device characteristics can be tuned and stabilized is crucial for developing application specific designs.

Highly efficient passive Tesla valves for microfluidic applications.

A multistage optimization method is developed yielding Tesla valves that are efficient even at low flow rates, characteristic, e.g., for almost all microfluidic systems, where passive valves have intrinsic advantages over active ones.

Plasma-Assisted Fabrication of Molecularly Imprinted NiAl-LDH Layer on Ni Nanorod Arrays for Glyphosate Detection.

An inorganic-framework molecularly imprinted NiAl layered double hydroxide (MI-NiAl-LDH) with specific template molecule (glyphosate pesticide, Glyp) recognition ability was prepared on Ni nanorod arrays (Ni NRAs) through electrodeposition followed by a low-temperature O plasma treatment. The freestanding Ni/MI-NiAl-LDH NRA electrode had highly enhanced sensitivity and selectivity. The electrocatalytic oxidation of Glyp was proposed to occur at Ni centers in MI-NiAl-LDH, and the current response depended linearly on the Glyp concentration from 10.

Anisotropy of the ΔE Effect in Ni-Based Magnetoelectric Cantilevers: A Finite Element Method Analysis.

In recent investigations of magnetoelectric sensors based on microelectromechanical cantilevers made of TiN/AlN/Ni, a complex eigenfrequency behavior arising from the anisotropic ΔE effect was demonstrated. Within this work, a FEM simulation model based on this material system is presented to allow an investigation of the vibrational properties of cantilever-based sensors derived from magnetocrystalline anisotropy while avoiding other anisotropic contributions. Using the magnetocrystalline ΔE effect, a magnetic hardening of Nickel is demonstrated for the (110) as well as the (111) orientation.

Artificial neural network performance based on correlation analysis qualitatively comparable with human performance in behavioral signal detection experiments.

Standard Gaussian signal detection theory (SDT) is a widely used approach to assess the detection performance of living organisms or technical systems without looking at the inner workings of these systems like neural or electronic mechanisms. Nevertheless, a consideration of the inner mechanisms of a system and how they produce observed behaviors should help to better understand the functioning. It might even offer the possibility to demonstrate isolated pattern separation processes directly in the model.

On the acoustically induced fluid flow in particle separation systems employing standing surface acoustic waves - Part II.

Particle separation using surface acoustic waves (SAWs) has been a focus of ongoing research for several years, leading to promising technologies based on Lab-on-a-Chip devices. In many of them, scattering effects of acoustic waves on suspended particles are utilized to manipulate their motion by means of the acoustic radiation force (). Due to viscous damping of radiated waves within a fluid, known as the acoustic streaming effect, a superimposed fluid flow is generated, which additionally affects the trajectories of the particles by drag forces.

On the acoustically induced fluid flow in particle separation systems employing standing surface acoustic waves - Part I.

By integrating surface acoustic waves (SAW) into microfluidic devices, microparticle systems can be fractionated precisely in flexible and easily scalable Lab-on-a-Chip platforms. The widely adopted driving mechanism behind this principle is the acoustic radiation force, which depends on the size and acoustic properties of the suspended particles. Superimposed fluid motion caused by the acoustic streaming effect can further manipulate particle trajectories and might have a negative influence on the fractionation result.

Black Silver: Three-Dimensional Ag Hybrid Plasmonic Nanostructures with Strong Photon Coupling for Scalable Photothermoelectric Power Generation.

The conversion of solar energy into electric power has been extensively studied, for example, by photovoltaics. However, photo-thermoelectric (P-TE) conversion as an effective solar-to-electricity conversion process is less studied. Here, we present an efficient full-solar-spectrum plasmonic absorber for scalable P-TE conversion based on a simple integration of light absorber and commercial thermoelectric modules.

Aligned deposition of bottom-up grown nanowires by two-directional pressure-controlled contact printing.

Aligned large-scale deposition of nanowires grown in a bottom-up manner with high yield is a persisting challenge but required to assemble single-nanowire devices effectively. Contact printing is a powerful strategy in this regard but requires so far adequate adjustment of the tribological surface interactions between nanowires and target substrate, e.g.