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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 October 2018) | Viewed by 49508

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Prof. Dr. Shoou-Jinn Chang

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Department of Electrical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan
Interests: optical and electronic devices; semi-conductive materials; nanotechnology
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Prof. Dr. Teen-Hang Meen

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Department of Electronic Engineering National Formosa University, Yunlin 632, Taiwan
Interests: IOT devices; photovoltaic devices; STEM education
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Dr. Stephen D. Prior

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Aeronautics, Astronautics and Computational Engineering, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 7QF, UK
Interests: microsystem design; nanotechnology
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The 2018 IEEE International Conference on Applied System Innovation (IEEE ICASI 2018) will be held in Chiba, Tokyo, Japan, 13–17 April, 2018, and will provide a unified communication platform for material topics. Scientists from all over the world actively want to discover new advanced materials in electrical and mechanical engineering. In recent years, the applications of advanced materials have been highly developing fields, in the areas of semiconductor and electronic device technology, design, manufacturing, physics, and modeling. Therefore, the fields of electrical and mechanical materials have been the subjects of review. The scopes of IEEE ICASI 2018 not only encompass material sizes at the nanoscale, but also in various dimensions where the onset of size dependent phenomena usually enables novel applications.

This Special Issue will select excellent papers from IEEE ICASI 2018 and covers the following scopes: Fundamental and advanced materials of electrical and mechanical engineering, their synthesis and engineering, their application on optical sensors, magnetic, acoustic, and thermal transduction, their integration with many elements, designing of electrical or mechanical devices, evaluation various performance and exploring their broad applications in industry, environmental control, material analysis, etc. We invite investigators to contribute original research articles, as well as review articles, to this Special Issue. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

Developments of advanced materials for new electrical and optical properties
Nanomaterials for preparation and applications
Combinatorial methods of advanced materials for mechanical design and optimization
Advanced materials for preparation and applications
Subjects related to electronic thin films and coating technology
Synthesis engineering of advanced materials
Advanced materials in mechatronics applications

Prof. Dr. ShoouJinn Chang
Prof. TeenHang Meen
Dr. Stephen D. Prior
Guest Editors

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

Developments of advanced materials for new electrical and optical properties
Nanomaterials for preparation and applications
Combinatorial methods of advanced materials for mechanical design and optimization
Advanced materials for preparation and applications
Subjects related to electronic thin films and coating technology
Synthesis engineering of advanced materials
Advanced materials in mechatronics applications

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Published Papers (12 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 9991 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigation of the Electrical Characteristics of Bilayer ZnO/In₂O₃ Thin-Film Transistors Fabricated by Solution Processing

by Hyeonju Lee, Xue Zhang, Jung Won Kim, Eui-Jik Kim and Jaehoon Park

Materials 2018, 11(11), 2103; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11112103 - 26 Oct 2018

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4593

Abstract

Metal-oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs) have been developed as promising candidates for use in various electronic and optoelectronic applications. In this study, we fabricated bilayer zinc oxide (ZnO)/indium oxide (In₂O₃) TFTs by using the sol-gel solution process, and investigated the structural and chemical properties of the bilayer ZnO/In₂O₃ semiconductor and the electrical properties of these transistors. The thermogravimetric analysis results showed that ZnO and In₂O₃ films can be produced by the thermal annealing process at 350 °C. The grazing incidence X-ray diffraction patterns and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy results revealed that the intensity and position of characteristic peaks related to In₂O₃ in the bilayer structure were not affected by the underlying ZnO film. On the other hand, the electrical properties, such as drain current, threshold voltage, and field-effect mobility of the bilayer ZnO/In₂O₃ TFTs obviously improved, compared with those of the single-layer In₂O₃ TFTs. Considering the energy bands of ZnO and In₂O₃, the enhancement in the TFT performance is explained through the electron transport between ZnO and In₂O₃ and the formation of an internal electric field in the bilayer structure. In the negative gate-bias stress experiments, it was found that the internal electric field contributes to the electrical stability of the bilayer ZnO/In₂O₃ TFT by reducing the negative gate-bias-induced field and suppressing the trapping of holes in the TFT channel. Consequently, we suggest that the bilayer structure of solution-processed metal-oxide semiconductors is a viable means of enhancing the TFT performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from IEEE ICASI 2018)

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14 pages, 5702 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Chemical Interaction-Induced Evolution of Phase Compatibilization in Blends of Poly(hydroxy ether of bisphenol-A)/Poly(1,4-butylene terephthalate)

by Jing Liu, Hsiang-Ching Wang, Chean-Cheng Su and Cheng-Fu Yang

Materials 2018, 11(9), 1667; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11091667 - 9 Sep 2018

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3015

Abstract

An immiscible blend of poly(hydroxy ether of bisphenol-A) (phenoxy) and poly(1,4-butylene terephthalate) (PBT) with phase separation was observed in as-blended samples. The compatibilization of phenoxy/PBT blends can be promoted through chemical exchange reactions of phenoxy with PBT upon annealing. The annealed phenoxy/PBT blends had a homogeneous phase with a single T_g that could be enhanced by annealing at 260 °C. Infrared (IR) spectroscopy demonstrated that phase homogenization could be promoted by annealing the phenoxy/PBT blend, where alcoholytic exchange occurred between the dangling hydroxyl group (–OH) in phenoxy and the carbonyl group (C=O) in PBT in the heated blends. The alcoholysis reaction changed the aromatic linkages to aliphatic linkages in the carbonyl groups, which initially led to the formation of a graft copolymer of phenoxy and PBT with an aliphatic/aliphatic carbonyl link. The progressive alcoholysis reaction resulted in the transformation of the initial homopolymers into block copolymers and finally into random copolymers, which promoted phase compatibilization in blends of phenoxy with PBT. As the amount of copolymers increased upon annealing, the crystallization of PBT was inhibited by alcoholytic exchange in the blends. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from IEEE ICASI 2018)

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15 pages, 5563 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Using Oxygen Plasma Pretreatment to Enhance the Properties of F-Doped ZnO Films Prepared on Polyimide Substrates

by Chih-Cheng Chen, Fang-Hsing Wang, Sheng-Cheng Chang and Cheng-Fu Yang

Materials 2018, 11(9), 1501; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11091501 - 22 Aug 2018

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4276

Abstract

In this study, a radio frequency magnetron sputtering process was used to deposit F-doped ZnO (FZO) films on polyimide (PI) substrates. The thermal expansion effect of PI substrates induces distortion and bending, causing FZO films to peel and their electrical properties and crystallinity to deteriorate. To address these shortcomings, oxygen (O₂) plasma was used to pretreat the surface of PI substrates using a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition system before the FZO films were deposited. The effects of O₂ plasma pretreatment time on the surface water contact angle, surface morphologies, and optical properties of the PI substrates were investigated. As the pretreatment time increased, so did the roughness of the PI substrates. After the FZO films had been deposited on the PI substrates, variations in the surface morphologies, crystalline structure, composition, electrical properties, and optical properties were investigated as a function of the O₂ plasma pretreatment time. When this was 30 s, the FZO films had optimal optical and electrical properties. The resistivity was 3.153 × 10⁻³ Ω-cm, and the transmittance ratios of all films were greater than 90%. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectra of the FZO films, particularly the peaks for O_1s, Zn 2p_1/2, and Zn 2p_3/2, were determined for films with O₂ plasma pretreatment times of 0 and 30 s. Finally, a HCl solution was used to etch the surfaces of the deposited FZO films, and silicon-based thin-film solar cells were fabricated on the FZO/PI substrates. The effect of O₂-plasma pretreatment time on the properties of the fabricated solar cells is thoroughly discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from IEEE ICASI 2018)

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15 pages, 3058 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Coarse-Grained Simulations Using a Multipolar Force Field Model

by Shuo-Feng Chiu and Sheng D. Chao

Materials 2018, 11(8), 1328; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11081328 - 31 Jul 2018

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2875

Abstract

This paper presents a coarse-grained molecular simulation for fullerenes based on a multipolar expansion method developed previously. The method is enabled by the construction of transferable united atoms potentials that approximate the full atomistic intermolecular interactions, as obtained from ab initio electronic structure calculations supplemented by empirical force fields and experimental data, or any combination of the above. The resultant series contains controllable moment tensors that allow to estimate the errors, and approaches the all-atom intermolecular potential as the expansion order increases. We can compute the united atoms potentials very efficiently with a few interaction moment tensors, in order to implement a parallel algorithm on molecular interactions. Our simulations describe the mechanism for the condensation of fullerenes, and they produce excellent agreement with benchmark fully atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from IEEE ICASI 2018)

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12 pages, 2976 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Pollen-Structured Gold Nanoclusters for X-ray Induced Photodynamic Therapy

by Lih Shin Tew, Meng-Ting Cai, Leu-Wei Lo, Yit Lung Khung and Nai-Tzu Chen

Materials 2018, 11(7), 1170; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11071170 - 9 Jul 2018

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4208

Abstract

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a cancer treatment that employs the production of cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS), subsequently triggering tumor apoptosis and tumor size reduction. However, this approach suffers from insufficient light penetration depth. In order to mitigate this issue, pollen-structured gold clusters (PSGCs) were designed for mediating X-ray-induced PDT for radiotherapy enhancement. The structure of PSGCs provides a large surface area that is able to generate ROS upon X-ray irradiation. The synthesized PSGCs were exposed to different X-ray doses and the generated ROS was then quantified by dihydroethidium (DHE) assay. Furthermore, at the cellular level, the PDT efficacy of PSGCs was evaluated via immunofluorescence staining with γ-H2AX and comet assay. The results demonstrated that PSGCs possess a significantly high ROS-generating capacity and a remarkable PDT efficacy in the treatment of breast cancer cells, thus showing potential clinical uses in deep-tissue cancer treatment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from IEEE ICASI 2018)

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13 pages, 5143 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Radiative Cooling on Reducing the Temperature of Greenhouses

by Chia-Hsin Liu, Chyung Ay, Jo-Chuan Kan and Maw-Tien Lee

Materials 2018, 11(7), 1166; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11071166 - 9 Jul 2018

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 5121

Abstract

Currently, greenhouses are widely used for the cultivation of various crops. However, in tropical and subtropical regions, undesired near-infrared radiation (NIR) causes heat loads inside the greenhouse. Recent works have demonstrated that radiative cooling, releasing energy via radiative heat exchange where the heat is dumped directly into outer space, can be achieved by using silica particles designed to emit in the infrared atmospheric transparency window. The purpose of this study is to improve the plastic greenhouse cladding to regulate the temperature inside the greenhouse, mainly by passive cooling. Low-density-polyethylene (LDPE)-based formulations with anti-fogging agent, UV stabilizer, and silica particles were prepared by the melt blending technique and were formed into a double film by extrusion molding. Experimental results showed that under 35 °C ambient conditions, the inner temperature of the simulated greenhouse with the newly developed cladding was 4 to 5 °C less than that of the greenhouse with the commercial agricultural polyethylene (PE) film. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from IEEE ICASI 2018)

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18 pages, 7655 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Enhancement on the Surface Hydrophobicity and Oleophobicity of an Organosilicon Film by Conformity Deposition and Surface Fluorination Etching

by Zheng-Wen Xu, Yu-Kai Zhang, Tai-Hong Chen, Jin-How Chang, Tsung-Hsin Lee, Pei-Yu Li and Day-Shan Liu

Materials 2018, 11(7), 1089; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11071089 - 26 Jun 2018

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4261

Abstract

In this work, the surface morphology of a hydrophobic organosilicon film was modified as it was deposited onto a silver seed layer with nanoparticles. The surface hydrophobicity evaluated by the water contact angle was significantly increased from 100° to 128° originating from the surface of the organosilicon film becoming roughened, and was deeply relevant to the Ag seed layer conform deposition. In addition, the organosilicon film became surface oleophobic and the surface hydrophobicity was improved due to the formation of the inactive C-F chemical on the surface after the carbon tetrafluoride glow discharge etching. The surface hydrophobicity and oleophobicity of the organosilicon film could be further optimized with water and oleic contact angles of about 138° and 61°, respectively, after an adequate fluorination etching. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from IEEE ICASI 2018)

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11 pages, 6657 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Using Spin-Coated Silver Nanoparticles/Zinc Oxide Thin Films to Improve the Efficiency of GaInP/(In)GaAs/Ge Solar Cells

by Po-Hsun Lei, I-Jen Chen, Jia-Jan Chen, Po-Chun Yang and Yan-Hua Gong

Materials 2018, 11(6), 1020; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11061020 - 15 Jun 2018

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4865

Abstract

We synthesized a silver nanoparticle/zinc oxide (Ag NP/ZnO) thin film by using spin-coating technology. The treatment solution for Ag NP/ZnO thin film deposition contained zinc acetate (Zn(CH₃COO)₂), sodium hydroxide (NaOH), and silver nitrate (AgNO₃) aqueous solutions. The crystalline characteristics, surface morphology, content of elements, and reflectivity of the Ag NPs/ZnO thin film at various concentrations of the AgNO₃ aqueous solution were investigated using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and ultraviolet–visible–near infrared spectrophotometry. The results indicated that the crystalline structure, Ag content, and reflectance of Ag NP/ZnO thin films depended on the AgNO₃ concentration. Hybrid antireflection coatings (ARCs) composed of SiN_x and Ag NPs/ZnO thin films with various AgNO₃ concentrations were deposited on GaInP/(In)GaAs/Ge solar cells. We propose that the optimal ARC consists of SiN_x and Ag NP/ZnO thin films prepared using a treatment solution of 0.0008 M AgNO₃, 0.007 M Zn(CH₃COO)₂, and 1 M NaOH, followed by post-annealing at 200 °C. GaInP/(Al)GaAs/Ge solar cells with the optimal hybrid ARC and SiN_x ARC exhibit a conversion efficiency of 34.1% and 30.2% with V_oc = 2.39 and 2.4 V, J_sc = 16.63 and 15.37 mA/cm², and fill factor = 86.1% and 78.8%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from IEEE ICASI 2018)

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9 pages, 5287 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Formation of Cl-Doped ZnO Thin Films by a Cathodic Electrodeposition for Use as a Window Layer in CIGS Solar Cells

by Jianping Ao, Rui Fu, Ming-Jer Jeng, Jinlian Bi, Liyong Yao, Shoushuai Gao, Guozhong Sun, Qing He, Zhiqiang Zhou, Yun Sun and Liann-Be Chang

Materials 2018, 11(6), 953; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11060953 - 5 Jun 2018

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3749

Abstract

Zinc oxide films that are prepared by radio frequency (RF) sputtering are widely used as window layers in copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) solar cells. To reduce their production cost, the electrodeposition method for preparing Cl-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Cl), rather than sputtering, was studied. The electrodeposition parameters of injected current density and the pH of the electrolyte solution were studied. A moderate current density was used to yield high quality zinc oxides. The pH of the electrolyte greatly affected the formation of ZnO films. The pH value of the electrolyte that ensured that zinc oxides of high quality are obtained was close to seven. Electrodeposited ZnO:Cl films had higher transmittance than ZnO:Al films in the near-infrared region and so they can be used to improve the performance of solar cells. Our experiments revealed that the CIGS solar cells with electrodeposited ZnO:Cl films as a window layer were slightly more efficient than those with sputtered ZnO:Al films. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from IEEE ICASI 2018)

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17 pages, 4612 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Waste-Based Pervious Concrete for Climate-Resilient Pavements

by Hsin-Lung Ho, Ran Huang, Lih-Chuan Hwang, Wei-Ting Lin and Hui-Mi Hsu

Materials 2018, 11(6), 900; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11060900 - 27 May 2018

Cited by 31 | Viewed by 3856

Abstract

For the sake of environmental protection and circular economy, cement reduction and cement substitutes have become popular research topics, and the application of green materials has become an important issue in the development of building materials. This study developed green pervious concrete using water-quenched blast-furnace slag (BFS) and co-fired fly ash (CFFA) to replace cement. The objectives of this study were to gauge the feasibility of using a non-cement binder in pervious concrete and identify the optimal binder mix design in terms of compressive strength, permeability, and durability. For filled percentage of voids by cement paste (FPVs) of 70%, 80%, and 90%, which mixed with CFFA and BFS as the binder (40 + 60%, 50 + 50%, and 60 + 40%) to create pervious concrete with no cement. The results indicate that the complete (100%) replacement of cement with CFFA and BFS with no alkaline activator could induce hydration, setting, and hardening. After a curing period of 28 days, the compressive strength with different FPVs could reach approximately 90% that of the control cement specimens. The cementless pervious concrete specimens with BFS:CFFA = 7:3 and FPV = 90% presented better engineering properties and permeability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from IEEE ICASI 2018)

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11 pages, 4187 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Photovoltaic Performance Enhancement of Silicon Solar Cells Based on Combined Ratios of Three Species of Europium-Doped Phosphors

by Wen-Jeng Ho, Bang-Jin You, Jheng-Jie Liu, Wen-Bin Bai, Hong-Jhang Syu and Ching-Fuh Lin

Materials 2018, 11(5), 845; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11050845 - 18 May 2018

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3767

Abstract

This paper presents a scheme for the enhancement of silicon solar cells in terms of luminescent emission band and photovoltaic performance. The proposed devices are coated with an luminescent down-shifting (LDS) layer comprising three species of europium (Eu)-doped phosphors mixed within a silicate film (SiO₂) using a spin-on film deposition. The three species of phosphor were mixed at ratios of 0.5:1:1.5, 1:1:1, or 1.5:1:0.5 in weight percentage (wt %). The total quantity of Eu-doped phosphors in the silicate solution was fixed at 3 wt %. The emission wavelengths of the Eu-doped phosphors were as follows: 518 nm (specie-A), 551 nm (specie-B), and 609 nm (specie-C). We examined the extended luminescent emission bands via photoluminescence measurements at room temperature. Closely matching the luminescent emission band to the high responsivity band of the silicon semiconductor resulted in good photovoltaic performance. Impressive improvements in efficiency were observed in all three samples: 0.5:1:1.5 (20.43%), 1:1:1 (19.67%), 1.5:1:0.5 (16.81%), compared to the control with a layer of pure SiO₂ (13.80%). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from IEEE ICASI 2018)

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12 pages, 21125 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Bioactivating Silicon (100) Surfaces with Novel UV Grafting of Cyclopropylamine for Promotion of Cell Adhesion

by Jing Yuan Ching, Chieh-Hua Lee and Yit Lung Khung

Materials 2018, 11(5), 713; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11050713 - 2 May 2018

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3907

Abstract

In this report, utraviolent (UV) photoionization of cyclopropylamine on silicon (100) hydride was employed to examine interfacing with three different epithelial cell types (MDA-MB 231, AGS and HEC1A). The cellular viability using this novel methodology had been quantified to evaluate the bioactivating potential of this ring-opening chemistry when compared to standardized controls (aminopropyltriethoxylamine, collagen and poly-L lysine). X-ray photospectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to characterize surface chemistry composition, while cell viability and confocal microscopy after 24 h of incubation were performed. Based on the results acquired from this novel ring-opening metastasis process, the promotion of cell adhesion and viability was found to be higher using this chemistry when compared to other conventional control groups, even for the collagen coating, without any observable issues of cytotoxicity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from IEEE ICASI 2018)

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