Amorphous WO3 as transparent conductive oxide in the near-IR

The demand for transparent conductive films (TCFs) is dramatically increasing. In this work tungsten oxide (WO3-x) is studied as a possible option additional to the existed TCFs. We introduce WO3-x thin films fabricated by a non-reactive magnetron RF-sputtering process at room temperature, followed by thermal annealing in dry air. Films are characterized morphologically, structurally, electrically, optically, and dielectrically. Amorphous WO3-x thin films are shown to be ntype conductive while the transparency extends to the near-IR. By evaluating a figure of merit for transparent-conductive performance and comparing to some most-widely used TCFs, WO3-x turns out to outperform in the near-IR optical range

Real-Time Monitoring of Cellular Cultures with Electrolyte-Gated Carbon Nanotube Transistors

Cell-based biosensors constitute a fundamental tool in biotechnology, and their relevance has greatly increased in recent years as a result of a surging demand for reduced animal testing and for high-throughput and cost-effective in vitro screening platforms dedicated to environmental and biomedical diagnostics, drug development and toxicology. In this context, electrochemical/electronic cell-based biosensors represent a promising class of devices that enable long-term and real-time monitoring of cell physiology in a non-invasive and label-free fashion, with a remarkable potential for process automation and parallelization. Common limitations of this class of devices at large include the need for substrate surface modification strategies to ensure cell adhesion and immobilization, limited compatibility with complementary optical cell-probing techniques, and need for frequency-dependent measurements, which rely on elaborated equivalent electrical circuit models for data analysis and interpretation. We hereby demonstrate the monitoring of cell adhesion and detachment through the time-dependent variations in the quasi-static characteristic current curves of a highly stable electrolyte-gated transistor, based on an optically transparent network of printable polymer-wrapped semiconducting carbon-nanotubes

Field-effect and capacitive properties of water-gated transistors based on polythiophene derivatives

Recently, water-gated organic field-effect transistors (WGOFET) have been intensively studied for their application in the biological field. Surprisingly, a very limited number of conjugated polymers have been reported so far. Here, we systematically explore a series of polythiophene derivatives, presenting different alkyl side chains lengths and orientation, and characterized by various morphologies: comparative evaluation of their performances allows highlighting the critical role played by alkyl side chains, which significantly affects the polymer/water interface capacitance. Reported results provide useful guidelines towards further development of WGOFETs and represent a step forward in the understanding of the polymer/water interface phenomena

Ladder-type bithiophene imide-based organic semiconductors: understanding charge transport mechanisms in organic field effect transistors

Different charge transport mechanisms at the device interface are found for a series of ladder-type semiconductors with increasing chain length

Roadmap on printable electronic materials for next-generation sensors

The dissemination of sensors is key to realizing a sustainable, ‘intelligent’ world, where everyday objects and environments are equipped with sensing capabilities to advance the sustainability and quality of our lives—e.g., via smart homes, smart cities, smart healthcare, smart logistics, Industry 4.0, and precision agriculture. The realization of the full potential of these applications critically depends on the availability of easy-to-make, low-cost sensor technologies. Sensors based on printable electronic materials offer the ideal platform: they can be fabricated through simple methods (e.g., printing and coating) and are compatible with high-throughput roll-to-roll processing. Moreover, printable electronic materials often allow the fabrication of sensors on flexible/stretchable/biodegradable substrates, thereby enabling the deployment of sensors in unconventional settings. Fulfilling the promise of printable electronic materials for sensing will require materials and device innovations to enhance their ability to transduce external stimuli—light, ionizing radiation, pressure, strain, force, temperature, gas, vapours, humidity, and other chemical and biological analytes. This Roadmap brings together the viewpoints of experts in various printable sensing materials—and devices thereof—to provide insights into the status and outlook of the field. Alongside recent materials and device innovations, the roadmap discusses the key outstanding challenges pertaining to each printable sensing technology. Finally, the Roadmap points to promising directions to overcome these challenges and thus enable ubiquitous sensing for a sustainable, ‘intelligent’ world

Roadmap on energy harvesting materials

Ambient energy harvesting has great potential to contribute to sustainable development and address growing environmental challenges. Converting waste energy from energy-intensive processes and systems (e.g. combustion engines and furnaces) is crucial to reducing their environmental impact and achieving net-zero emissions. Compact energy harvesters will also be key to powering the exponentially growing smart devices ecosystem that is part of the Internet of Things, thus enabling futuristic applications that can improve our quality of life (e.g. smart homes, smart cities, smart manufacturing, and smart healthcare). To achieve these goals, innovative materials are needed to efficiently convert ambient energy into electricity through various physical mechanisms, such as the photovoltaic effect, thermoelectricity, piezoelectricity, triboelectricity, and radiofrequency wireless power transfer. By bringing together the perspectives of experts in various types of energy harvesting materials, this Roadmap provides extensive insights into recent advances and present challenges in the field. Additionally, the Roadmap analyses the key performance metrics of these technologies in relation to their ultimate energy conversion limits. Building on these insights, the Roadmap outlines promising directions for future research to fully harness the potential of energy harvesting materials for green energy anytime, anywhere

Trapping effects on the frequency response of dithiolene-based planar photodetectors

The paper analyses the interrelation between the signal frequency response in an organic planar photodetector and the distribution of traps of the active material playing a fundamental role in the transport of charge carriers. In particular, the response of a dithiolene-based photodetector spectrally matched to the near infrared has been acquired under optical pulses ranging from 10 Hz to 1 MHz in frequency. By means of modulated photocurrent spectroscopy, the trap density distribution of the dithiolene in the solid state has been extracted. The capture and release of photogenerated carriers exerted by a Gaussian density of trapping states, located 0.42 eV below the transport energy, is shown to be the responsible for the observed device frequency response