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Radiation dosimetry is crucial in many fields where the exposure to ionizing radiation must be precisely controlled to avoid health and environmental safety issues. Among solid state detectors, we recently demonstrated that Radiation sensitive OXide Field Effect Transistors (ROXFETs) are excellent candidates for personal dosimetry thanks to their fast response and high sensitivity to x rays. These transistors use indium–gallium–zinc oxide as a semiconductor, combined with a dielectric based on high-permittivity and high-atomic number materials. Here, we present a study on the ROXFET gate dielectric fabricated by atomic layer deposition, where we compare single- and multi-layer structures to determine the best-performing configuration. All the devices show stable operational parameters and high reproducibility among different detectors. We identified an optimized bi-layer dielectric structure made of tantalum oxide and aluminum oxide, which demonstrated a sensitivity of (63 ± 2) V/Gy, an order of magnitude larger than previously reported values. To explain our findings, we propose a model identifying the relevant charge accumulation and recombination processes leading to the large observed transistor threshold voltage shift under ionizing radiation, i.e., of the parameter that directly defines the sensitivity of the device.

The disordered microscopic structure of amorphous semiconductors causes the formation of band tails in the density of states (DOS) that strongly affect charge transport properties. Such band tail properties are crucial for understanding and optimizing thin-film device performance with immense relevance for large area electronics. Among the available techniques to measure the DOS, Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy (KPFM) is exceptional as it enables precise local electronic investigations combined with microscopic imaging. However, a model to interpret KPFM spectroscopy data on amorphous semiconductors of finite thickness is lacking. To address this issue, we provide an analytical solution to the Poisson equation for a metal–insulator–semiconductor junction interacting with the atomic force microscope tip. The solution enables us to fit experimental data for semiconductors with finite thickness and to obtain DOS parameters, such as band tail width, doping density, and flat band potential. To demonstrate our method, we perform KPFM experiments on Indium–Gallium–Zinc Oxide (IGZO) thin-film transistors (IGZO-TFTs). DOS parameters compare well with values obtained with photocurrent spectroscopy. We demonstrate the relevance of the developed method by investigating the impact of ionizing radiation on DOS parameters and TFT performance. Our results provide clear evidence that the observed shift in threshold voltage is caused by static charge in the gate dielectric, leading to a shift in flat band potential. Band-tails and doping density are not affected by the radiation. The developed methodology can be easily translated to different semiconductor materials and paves the way for quantitative microscopic mapping of local DOS parameters in thin-film devices.

A large scale approach for multifunctional smart display systems in traditional textiles has yet to be demonstrated. Here, authors present a foldable, rollable 46-inch smart textile lighting/display system for smart homes and internet of things applications via the systematic design and integration of versatile fibre devices into textile form factors.

Poly(p-xylylene) derivatives, widely known as Parylenes, have been considerably adopted by the scientific community for several applications, ranging from simple passive coatings to active device components. Here, we explore the thermal, structural, and electrical properties of Parylene C, and further present a variety of electronic devices featuring this polymer: transistors, capacitors, and digital microfluidic (DMF) devices. We evaluate transistors produced with Parylene C as a dielectric, substrate, and encapsulation layer, either semitransparent or fully transparent. Such transistors exhibit steep transfer curves and subthreshold slopes of 0.26 V/dec, negligible gate leak currents, and fair mobilities. Furthermore, we characterize MIM (metal–insulator–metal) structures with Parylene C as a dielectric and demonstrate the functionality of the polymer deposited in single and double layers under temperature and AC signal stimuli, mimicking the DMF stimuli. Applying temperature generally leads to a decrease in the capacitance of the dielectric layer, whereas applying an AC signal leads to an increase in said capacitance for double-layered Parylene C only. By applying the two stimuli, the capacitance seems to suffer from a balanced influence of both the separated stimuli. Lastly, we demonstrate that DMF devices with double-layered Parylene C allow for faster droplet motion and enable long nucleic acid amplification reactions.

In this article, characterization of fully patterned zinc-tin oxide (ZTO)-based memristive devices with feature sizes as small as 25 µm2 is presented. The devices are patterned via lift-off with a platinum bottom contact and a gold-titanium top contact. An on/off ratio of more than two orders of magnitude is obtained without the need for electroforming processes. Set operation is a current controlled process, whereas the reset is voltage dependent. The temperature dependency of the electrical characteristics reveals a bulk-dominated conduction mechanism for high resistance states. However, the charge transport at low resistance state is consistent with Schottky emission. Synaptic properties such as potentiation and depression cycles, with progressive increases and decreases in the conductance value under 50 successive pulses, are shown. This validates the potential use of ZTO memristive devices for a sustainable and energy-efficient brain-inspired deep neural network computation.

Neuromorphic computing has been gaining momentum for the past decades and has been appointed as the replacer of the outworn technology in conventional computing systems. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) can be composed by memristor crossbars in hardware and perform in-memory computing and storage, in a power, cost and area efficient way. In optoelectronic memristors (OEMs), resistive switching (RS) can be controlled by both optical and electronic signals. Using light as synaptic weigh modulator provides a high-speed non-destructive method, not dependent on electrical wires, that solves crosstalk issues. In particular, in artificial visual systems, OEMs can act as the artificial retina and combine optical sensing and high-level image processing. Therefore, several efforts have been made by the scientific community into developing OEMs that can meet the demands of each specific application. In this review, the recent advances in inorganic OEMs are summarized and discussed. The engineering of the device structure provides the means to manipulate RS performance and, thus, a comprehensive analysis is performed regarding the already proposed memristor materials structure and their specific characteristics. Moreover, their potential applications in logic gates, ANNs and, in more detail, on artificial visual systems are also assessed, taking into account the figures of merit described so far.

In this paper, the most suited analog-to-digital (A/D) converters (ADCs) for Internet of Things (IoT) applications are compared in terms of complexity, dynamic performance, and energy efficiency. Among them, an innovative hybrid topology, a digital–delta (Δ) modulator (ΔM) ADC employing noise shaping (NS), is proposed. To implement the active building blocks, several standard-cell-based synthesizable comparators and amplifiers are examined and compared in terms of their key performance parameters. The simulation results of a fully synthesizable Digital-ΔM with NS using passive and standard-cell-based circuitry show a peak of 72.5 dB in the signal-to-noise and distortion ratio (SNDR) for a 113 kHz input signal and 1 MHz bandwidth (BW). The estimated FoMWalden is close to 16.2 fJ/conv.-step.

Neuromorphic computation based on resistive switching devices represents a relevant hardware alternative for artificial deep neural networks. For the highest accuracies on pattern recognition tasks, an analog, linear, and symmetric synaptic weight is essential. Moreover, the resistive switching devices should be integrated with the supporting electronics, such as thin-film transistors (TFTs), to solve crosstalk issues on the crossbar arrays. Here, an a-Indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (IGZO) memristor is proposed, with Mo and Ti/Mo as bottom and top contacts, with forming-free analog switching ability for an upcoming integration on crossbar arrays with a-IGZO TFTs for neuromorphic hardware systems. The development of a TFT compatible fabrication process is accomplished, which results in an a-IGZO memristor with a high stability and low cycle-to-cycle variability. The synaptic behavior through potentiation and depression tests using an identical spiking scheme is presented, and the modulation of the plasticity characteristics by applying non-identical spiking schemes is also demonstrated. The pattern recognition accuracy, using MNIST handwritten digits dataset, reveals a maximum of 91.82% accuracy, which is a promising result for crossbar implementation. The results displayed here reveal the potential of Mo/a-IGZO/Ti/Mo memristors for neuromorphic hardware.

This paper reports on-chip rail-to-rail timing signals generation thin-film circuits for the first time. These circuits, based on a-IGZO thin-film transistors (TFTs) with a simple staggered bottom gate structure, allow row and column selection of a sensor matrix embedded in a flexible radiation sensing system. They include on-chip clock generator (ring oscillator), column selector (shift register) and row-selector (a frequency divider and a shift register). They are realised with rail-to-rail logic gates with level-shifting ability that can perform inversion and NAND logic operations. These logic gates are capable of providing full output swing between supply rails, VDD and VSS, by introducing a single additional switch for each input in bootstrapping logic gates. These circuits were characterised under normal ambient atmosphere and show an improved performance compared to the conventional logic gates with diode connected load and pseudo CMOS counterparts. By using these high-performance logic gates, a complete rail-to-rail frequency divider is presented from measurements using D-Flip Flop. In order to realize a complete compact system, an on-chip ring oscillator (output clock frequency around 1 kHz) and a shift register are also presented from simulations, where these circuits show a power consumption of 1.5 mW and 0.82 mW at a supply voltage of 8 V, respectively. While the circuit concepts described here were designed for an X-ray sensing system, they can be readily expanded to other domains where flexible on-chip timing signal generation is required, such as, smart packaging, biomedical wearable devices and RFIDs.

This paper presents a high-speed ring oscillator (RO) with amorphous Indium-Gallium-Zinc-Oxide Thin-film transistors (a-IGZO TFTs). The proposed RO reduces the delay of a single stage inverter using intermediate signals generated within the RO, hence, improving the speed. To validate the proposed idea, two conventional ROs (with diode-load load inverter and bootstrapped pseudo-CMOS inverter) and the proposed RO were fabricated at a temperature ≤ 180°C. Measured results of the proposed RO have shown a frequency and power-delay-product (PDP) of 173.2 kHz and 0.7 nJ at a supply voltage of 6V. Further, it shows approximately 155% (44%) increase in frequency and 14% (24.5%) decrease in PDP compared to diode-load inverter (bootstrapped pseudo-CMOS inverter) based ROs. Therefore, the proposed RO finds applications in low-voltage and high speed designs for timing signal generation.

The contamination of water resources by pollutants resulting from human activities represents a major concern nowadays. One promising alternative to solve this problem is the photocatalytic process, which has demonstrated very promising and efficient results. Oxide nanostructures are interesting alternatives for these applications since they present wide band gaps and high surface areas. Among the photocatalytic oxide nanostructures, zinc tin oxide (ZTO) presents itself as an eco-friendly alternative since its composition includes abundant and non-toxic zinc and tin, instead of critical elements. Moreover, ZTO nanostructures have a multiplicity of structures and morphologies possible to be obtained through low-cost solution-based syntheses. In this context, the current work presents an optimization of ZTO nanostructures (polyhedrons, nanoplates, and nanoparticles) obtained by microwave irradiation-assisted hydrothermal synthesis, toward photocatalytic applications. The nanostructures’ photocatalytic activity in the degradation of rhodamine B under both ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and natural sunlight was evaluated. Among the various morphologies, ZTO nanoparticles revealed the best performance, with degradation > 90% being achieved in 60 min under UV irradiation and in 90 min under natural sunlight. The eco-friendly production process and the demonstrated ability of these nanostructures to be used in various water decontamination processes reinforces their sustainability and the role they can play in a circular economy.

Indium oxide (In2O3)-based transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) have been widely used and studied for a variety of applications, such as optoelectronic devices. However, some of the more promising dopants (zirconium, hafnium, and tantalum) for this oxide have not received much attention, as studies have mainly focused on tin and zinc, and even fewer have been explored by solution processes. This work focuses on developing solution-combustion-processed hafnium (Hf)-doped In2O3 thin films and evaluating different annealing parameters on TCO’s properties using a low environmental impact solvent. Optimized TCOs were achieved for 0.5 M% Hf-doped In2O3 when produced at 400 °C, showing high transparency in the visible range of the spectrum, a bulk resistivity of 5.73 × 10−2 Ω.cm, a mobility of 6.65 cm2/V.s, and a carrier concentration of 1.72 × 1019 cm−3. Then, these results were improved by using rapid thermal annealing (RTA) for 10 min at 600 °C, reaching a bulk resistivity of 3.95 × 10 −3 Ω.cm, a mobility of 21 cm2/V.s, and a carrier concentration of 7.98 × 1019 cm−3, in air. The present work brings solution-based TCOs a step closer to low-cost optoelectronic applications.

This paper presents the experimental characterization of different rectifier circuits using indium-gallium-zinc-oxide thin-film transistor technologies either at NFC or a high frequency range (13.56 MHz) of RFID. These circuits include a single ended rectifier, its differential counterpart, a bridge rectifier, and a cross-coupled full wave rectifier. Diodes were implemented with transistors using conventional processing steps, without requiring short channel devices (L=15 μm). Hence, there is no need for either extra masks or processing steps unlike the Schottky diode-based implementation. These circuits were fabricated on a PEN substrate with an annealing temperature not exceeding 180°C. This paper finds a direct application in flexible low-cost RFID tags since they enable integration of the required electronics to implement tags with the same fabrication steps.

This paper presents a novel high-gain transimpedance amplifier for flexible radiation sensing systems that can be used as large-area dosimeters. The circuit is implemented with indium-gallium-zinc-oxide thin-film-transistors and uses two stages for the amplification of the sensor signal (current). The first stage consists of cascode current mirrors with a diode connected load that performs current amplification and voltage conversion. Then, the first stage is followed by a voltage amplifier based on a positive feedback topology for gain enhancement. The proposed circuit converts nano-ampere (10 nA) currents into hundreds of millivolts (280 mV), showing a gain around 149 dB and a power consumption of 0.45 mW. The sensed radiation dose level, in voltage terms, can drive the next stages in the radiation sensing system, such as analog to digital converters. These radiation sensing devices can find potential applications in real-time, large area, flexible health, and security systems.

Recent advances in the production and development of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (2D TMDs) allow applications of these materials, with a structure similar to that of graphene, in a series of devices as promising technologies for optoelectronic applications. In this work, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanostructures were grown directly on paper substrates through a microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis. The synthesized samples were subjected to morphological, structural, and optical analysis, using techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman. The variation of synthesis parameters, as temperature and synthesis time, allowed the manipulation of these nanostructures during the growth process, with alteration of the metallic (1T) and semiconductor (2H) phases. By using this synthesis method, two-dimensional MoS2 nanostructures were directly grown on paper substrates. The MoS2 nanostructures were used as the active layer, to produce low-cost near-infrared photodetectors. The set of results indicates that the interdigital MoS2 photodetector with the best characteristics (responsivity of 290 mA/W, detectivity of 1.8 × 109 Jones and external quantum efficiency of 37%) was obtained using photoactive MoS2 nanosheets synthesized at 200 °C for 120 min.

The growing use of wearable devices has been stimulating research efforts in the development of energy harvesters as more portable and practical energy sources alternatives. The field of piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs) and triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), especially employing zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires (NWs), has greatly flourished in recent years. Despite its modest piezoelectric coefficient, ZnO is very attractive due to its sustainable raw materials and the facility to obtain distinct morphologies, which increases its multifunctionality. The integration of ZnO nanostructures into polymeric matrices to overcome their fragility has already been proven to be fruitful, nevertheless, their concentration in the composite should be optimized to maximize the harvesters’ output, an aspect that has not been properly addressed. This work studies a composite with variable concentrations of ZnO nanorods (NRs), grown by microwave radiation assisted hydrothermal synthesis, and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). With a 25 wt % ZnO NRs concentration in a composite that was further micro-structured through laser engraving for output enhancement, a nanogenerator (NG) was fabricated with an output of 6 V at a pushing force of 2.3 N. The energy generated by the NG could be stored and later employed to power small electronic devices, ultimately illustrating its potential as an energy harvesting device.

Extracellular microelectrodes have been widely used to measure brain activity, yet there are still basic questions about the requirements for a good extracellular microelectrode. One common source of confusion is how much an electrode’s impedance affects the amplitude of extracellular spikes and background noise. Here we quantify the effect of an electrode’s impedance on data quality in extracellular recordings, which is crucial for both the detection of spikes and their assignment to the correct neurons. This study employs commercial polytrodes containing 32 electrodes (177 μm2) arranged in a dense array. This allowed us to directly compare, side-by-side, the same extracellular signals measured by modified low impedance (∼100 kΩ) microelectrodes with unmodified high impedance (∼1 MΩ) microelectrodes. We begin with an evaluation of existing protocols to lower the impedance of the electrodes. The poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT-PSS) electrodeposition protocol is a simple, stable, and reliable method for decreasing the impedance of a microelectrode up to 10-fold. We next record in vivo using polytrodes that are modified in a ‘chess board’ pattern, such that the signal of one neuron is detected by multiple coated and non-coated electrodes. The performance of the coated and non-coated electrodes is then compared on measures of background noise and amplitude of the detected action potentials. If the proper recording system is used, then the impedance of a microelectrode within the range of standard polytrodes (∼0.1 to 2 MΩ) does not greatly affect data quality and spike sorting. This study should encourage neuroscientists to stop worrying about one more unknown.

Solution-processed metal oxides have been investigated as an alternative to vacuum-based oxides to implement low-cost, high-performance electronic devices on flexible transparent substrates. However, their electrical properties need to be enhanced to apply at industrial scale. Amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide (a-IGZO) is the most-used transparent semiconductor metal oxide as an active channel layer in thin-film transistors (TFTs), due to its superior electrical properties. The present work evaluates the influence of composition, thickness and ageing on the electrical properties of solution a-IGZO TFTs, using solution combustion synthesis method, with urea as fuel. After optimizing the semiconductor properties, low-voltage TFTs were obtained by implementing a back-surface passivated 3-layer In:Ga:Zn 3:1:1 with a solution-processed high-к dielectric; AlOx. The devices show saturation mobility of 3.2 cm2 V−1 s−1, IOn/IOff of 106, SS of 73 mV dec−1 and VOn of 0.18 V, thus demonstrating promising features for low-cost circuit applications.

ZnSnO3 semiconductor nanostructures have several applications as photocatalysis, gas sensors, and energy harvesting. However, due to its multicomponent nature, the synthesis is far more complex than its binary counter parts. The complexity increases even more when aiming for low-cost and low-temperature processes as in hydrothermal methods. Knowing in detail the influence of all the parameters involved in these processes is imperative, in order to properly control the synthesis to achieve the desired final product. Thus, this paper presents a study of the influence of the physical parameters involved in the hydrothermal synthesis of ZnSnO3 nanowires, namely volume, reaction time, and process temperature. Based on this study a growth mechanism for the complex Zn:Sn:O system is proposed. Two zinc precursors, zinc chloride and zinc acetate, were studied, showing that although the growth mechanism is inherent to the material itself, the chemical reactions for different conditions need to be considered.

Oxide semiconductor thin-film transistors can show anomalous behavior under bias stress. Two types of anomalies are discussed in this paper. The first is the shift in threshold voltage (VTH) in a direction opposite to the applied bias stress, and highly dependent on gate dielectric material. We attribute this to charge trapping/detrapping and charge migration within the gate dielectric. We emphasize the fundamental difference between trapping/detrapping events occurring at the semiconductor/dielectric interface and those occurring at gate/dielectric interface, and show that charge migration is essential to explain the first anomaly. We model charge migration in terms of the non-instantaneous polarization density. The second type of anomaly is negative VTH shift under high positive bias stress, with logarithmic evolution in time. This can be argued as electron-donating reactions involving H2O molecules or derived species, with a reaction rate exponentially accelerated by positive gate bias and exponentially decreased by the number of reactions already occurred.

This work reports on the role of structure and composition on the determination of the performances of p-type SnOx TFTs with a bottom gate configuration deposited by rf magnetron sputtering at room temperature, followed by a post-annealed step up to 200 °C at different oxygen partial pressures (Opp) between 0% and 20% but where the p-type conduction was only observed between in a narrow window, from 2.8% to 3.8%. The role of structure and composition were evaluated by XRD and Mössbauer spectroscopic studies that allows to identify the best phases/compositions and thicknesses (around 12 nm) to be used to produce p-type TFTs with saturation mobility of 4.6 cm2 V−1 s−1 and on-off ratio above 7 × 104, operating at the enhancement mode with a saturation voltage of −10 V. Moreover, a brief overview is also presented concerning the present state of the existing developments in processing SnOx TFTs with different methods and using different device configurations.

In this study, we report solution-processed amorphous zinc tin oxide transistors exhibiting high operational stability under positive gate bias stress, translated by a recoverable threshold voltage shift of about 20% of total applied stress voltage. Under vacuum condition, the threshold voltage shift saturates showing that the gate-bias stress is limited by trap exhaustion or balance between trap filling and emptying mechanism. In ambient atmosphere, the threshold voltage shift no longer saturates, stability is degraded and the recovering process is impeded. We suggest that the trapping time during the stress and detrapping time in recovering are affected by oxygen adsorption/desorption processes. The time constants extracted from stretched exponential fitting curves are ≈106 s and 105 s in vacuum and air, respectively.

In the present study, titanium dioxide nanostructures were synthesized through microwave irradiation. In a typical microwave synthesis, nanorod spheres in the powder form were simultaneously produced with nanorod arrays grown on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates. The syntheses were performed in water or ethanol with limited temperature at 80 °C and 200 °C. A simple and low-cost approach was used for the arrays growth, which involved a PET substrate with a zinc oxide seed layer deposited by spin-coating. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy revealed that synthesis in water result in a mixture of brookite and rutile phases, while using ethanol as solvent it was only observed the rutile phase. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the synthesized spheres were in the micrometer range appearing as aggregates of fine nanorods. The arrays maintained the sphere nanorod aggregate structures and the synthesis totally covered the flexible substrates. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to identify the brookite structure. The optical band gaps of all materials have been determined from diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Photocatalytic activity was assessed from rhodamine B degradation with remarkable degradability performance under ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Reusability experiments were carried out for the best photocatalyst, which also revealed notable photocatalytic activity under solar radiation. The present study is an interesting and competitive alternative for the photocatalysts existing nowadays, as it simultaneously results in highly photoactive powders and flexible materials produced with low-cost synthesis routes such as microwave irradiation.