Channel Devices Research Articles

Sustain release of dexamethasone from polyvinyl alcohol microparticle produced via coaxial microfluidic system

ObjectivePolyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a synthetic biopolymer has unique physicochemical properties to achieve an efficient drug carrier. In this study phenol-substituted polyvinyl alcohol (PVAPh) microparticle was made through a microfluidic system and peroxidase-mediated reaction in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and in following dexamethasone (Dex) release characteristics from this vehicle were elaborated for sustained drug delivery applications.ResultsPVAPh was synthesized by esterification and amidation reactions respectively. Then, the synthesized PVAPh solution containing peroxidase and Dex flowed within the inner channel of the coaxial microfluidic device while liquid paraffin saturated with H2O2 flowed from the outer channel. The monodisperse microparticles were produced in a spherical shape with an average diameter of 160 μm. The Dex was successfully encapsulated in PVAPh MP and its sustained release profile was maintained for up to 7 days. It was found that exposure of Dex-loaded PVAPh MPs to subcultured mouse embryonic fibroblast 10T1/2 cells had no deleterious effects on cell viability, morphology and growth rate. Moreover, the sustained release of Dex and the high mechanical durability of PVAPh MPs suggest an excellent prospect for the synthesized PVAPh and the developed method as a biocompatible carrier required for drug delivery and regenerative medicine.

Top-down fabrication of Ge nanowire arrays by nanoimprint lithography and hole gas accumulation in Ge/Si core–shell nanowires

Germanium (Ge) nanowire arrays are expected to be a promising channel material for high-performance field-effect transistors (FETs) due to their excellent electronic transport properties, silicon (Si) compatibility, and high integration. To produce highly ordered Ge nanowires with low contamination, nanoimprint lithography (NIL) and Bosch etching are used and the size of nanowires is reduced from 220 nm to ∼30 nm by adjusting the H2O2 etching time. Furthermore, Ge/Si core–shell nanowires are prepared by forming p-Si shells on Ge nanowires, and their good crystalline quality and sharp interfaces are confirmed by transmission electron microscope (TEM) observations. This structure is used as a high-mobility channel in HEMT-type devices, and the accumulation of hole gas inside the Ge nanowires, which is the most important, is demonstrated and investigated by Raman scattering.

Channel Estimation and Device Detection for Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface Aided Massive IoT Networks With Mixed-ADCs

Channel Estimation and Device Detection for Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface Aided Massive IoT Networks With Mixed-ADCs

Highly sensitive detection of malaria biomarker through matching channel and gate capacitance of integrated organic electrochemical transistors

Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) possess versatile advantages for biochemical and electrophysiological applications due to electrochemical gating and ion-to-electron conversion capability. Although OECTs have been successfully applied for biochemical sensing, the effect of relative capacitance for specific sensing events is still unclear. In the present work, we design integrated interdigitated OECTs (iOECTs) with on-plane gold gate and different channel geometries for point-of-care diagnosis of malaria using aptamer as receptor. The transconductance of the iOECTs gated with micro-size gold electrodes decreased with increasing the channel thicknesses, especially for devices with large channel areas, which is inconsistent with devices gated by typical Ag/AgCl electrodes, attributing to the limited gating efficiency of the micro-size gate electrode. The capacitance of gate electrode was heavily suppressed by receptors but increased with the incubation of targets. In addition, the integrated iOECTs with thin channels exhibited superior sensitivity for malaria detection with the detection limit as low as 3.2 aM, much lower than their thick channel counterpart and other state-of-the-art biosensors. These deviations could be caused by the high relative capacitances, with respect to the gate and channel capacitance (Cg/Cch), resulting in a high gate potential drop over the organic channel and thus entirely gating on the thin channel device. These findings provide guidance to optimize the geometry of OECT devices with on-chip integrated gates and the fabrication of miniaturized OECTs for biosensing applications.

Low complexity channel tracking algorithms for coordinated and uncoordinated pilot access over high-rate internet of things

Given that high-rate internet-of-things (IoT) applications are supported by ubiquitous massive MIMO services, this paper introduces novel algorithms with significantly reduced complexity to estimate and track the channels of active and inactive devices, which can resolve intra-cell pilot collisions and utilize their information. Then, we propose an optimum coordinated access (O-CA) tracker whose complexity grows squarely with the number of devices instead of cubically. In addition, the error-boundedness and steady-state characteristics of O-CA are demonstrated. Although uncoordinated pilot access eliminates control signaling associated with active IoT devices, it needs the base station (BS) to identify the devices’ pilot transmission patterns (DPTPs). A low-complexity optimal uncoordinated access (O-UA) tracker is intended to contain DPTPs that expand exponentially, which is impractical. To this end, we derive an analytical closed-form solution for a near-optimal uncoordinated access (NO-UA) tracker that minimizes an upper bound on the error between O-UA and the simplified DPTPs. Consequently, the NO-UA results in significantly lower computational costs and superior estimation performance compared to existing trackers. Moreover, we derive the optimal linear uncoordinated access (OL-UA) tracker and its stability. Specifically, two heuristic trackers are introduced to detect DPTPs and track the devices’ channels. The simulation results and complexity analysis demonstrate that the designed trackers significantly reduce complexity compared with conventional trackers.

Molecule-induced n-type behavior of phosphorene-based field-effect transistor for highly sensitive detection of sialic acid

Low-concentration detection of sialic acid (SA) seems to be a promising method in early cancer prognosis. In this work, a phosphorene-based field-effect-transistor (Ph-FET) device has been introduced for detecting various concentrations of SA. The device was fabricated using successive hydrogen plasma treatment to start from the red phosphorus layer and to realize highly crystalline black phosphorus sheets. The morphology and crystalline quality of phosphorene sheets have been extensively examined by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. By utilizing this device, we can detect different concentrations of SA from 3 to 2400 μM owing to its negative charge. The detection limit of SA is as low as 2.8 μM. This technique offers a straightforward method for the fabrication of high-performance Ph-FET with no need for exfoliation or sheet transfer. We have fabricated a Ph-FET with a mobility of 10 cm2 V−1 s−1, a carrier concentration of 3.9 × 1011 cm−2, and an on/off current ratio of 103. Moreover, we have observed that exposure to SA solution would change the carrier type of the transistor from a p-type channel into an n-type channel device due to the interaction of SA molecules with the phosphorene atoms at the top of the puckered structure that weakens the P-P lattice anti-bonding orbitals and screens the trapped sites.

Linearity improvement in graded channel AlGaN/GaN HEMTs for high-speed applications

AlGaN HEMTs are popular devices for high-frequency applications. At higher frequencies, nonlinearity effects are major concerns and need serious attention. In this work, we have attempted to improve the linearity performance of graded channel Al x Ga1−x N/GaN HEMTs in comparison with abrupt channel GaN HEMTs through Technology Computer Aided (TCAD) simulation. In graded channel HEMTs, linearly grading of Al composition in the AlGaN layer, reduces the local carrier densities and provides improvement in the carrier saturation velocity. This provides an avenue to improve the overall linearity performance. A complete set of figures of merits (FOMs) such as and for both devices are presented. The simulation results have been calibrated with reported experimental results available in the literature. The graded devices are observed to have better transconductance (g m ) and drain current for gate voltages greater than −2 V. The drop in g m is reduced by nearly 50% at the higher gate-to-source voltages. Moreover, the RF figure of merits such as the current gain cutoff frequency (f T) and a maximum frequency of oscillation (f max) have been calculated for both devices. Due to the graded channel f T increases by 20% and f max becomes twice which makes it a better choice for high-voltage and high-power applications. The impact of interface trap and leakage current performance on the graded channel device are also reported. The cutoff frequency reduces by 25% with an increase in trap charge concentration from 9e17 cm−2 to 1e19 cm−2. Also, it has been found that the graded channel device shows better linearity and lower intermodulation distortion in comparison to the abrupt device which has been calculated from the linearity parameters. The high gate leakage current in the case of the graded channel device can be reduced by adding a thin GaN cap layer on the AlGaN channel which can be a future prospect of improving the performance of the graded GaN device.

A Perfused In Vitro Human iPSC-Derived Blood–Brain Barrier Faithfully Mimics Transferrin Receptor-Mediated Transcytosis of Therapeutic Antibodies

Delivering biologics to elicit a therapeutic response in the central nervous system (CNS) remains challenging due to the presence of the blood–brain barrier (BBB). Receptor-mediated transcytosis is a strategy to improve brain exposure after systemic drug administration. The availability of a clinically relevant in vitro BBB model is crucial to investigate transcytosis pathways and to predict the penetration of biologics into the CNS. We created a perfused human in vitro BBB model made of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC)-derived brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMEC) for studying transferrin receptor-mediated transcytosis. iPSC-derived BMEC were seeded in the top channel of a three-lane microfluidic device (OrganoPlate®). After 2 days in culture, the established cell model exhibited relevant BBB features, including physiological transendothelial electrical resistance in a transwell setting (1500 Ω*cm2), reduced apparent permeability (Papp) to the fluorescence tracer Lucifer yellow (20-fold less than cell-free chips), expression of key BBB markers such as tight junctions proteins, transporters, receptors and functional P-gp efflux pump. Moreover, the model exhibited functional transferrin receptor-mediated uptake and transcytosis. To assess selective transferrin receptor-mediated transcytosis, a mixture of anti-human transferrin receptor (MEM-189) and control (sheep IgG anti-bovine serum albumin) antibodies was perfused in the top channel for 2 h. The Papp of MEM-189 was 11-fold higher than that of the control antibody, demonstrating facilitated receptor-mediated transcytosis. Compared to published work reporting a 2-fold ratio, this result is remarkable and establishes the suitability of our model for exploring receptor-mediated transcytosis and screening of antibodies for putative brain shuttle application.Graphical A perfused in vitro human model made of iPSC-derived BMEC with the chief characteristics (barrier tightness, functionality) of the human BBB can be applied to study transferrin receptor (TfR)-mediated transcytosis of therapeutic antibodies. This may bring critical advances in drug shuttle technology. Graphical abstract generated with biorender.com.

Physics-Integrated Machine Learning for Efficient Design and Optimization of a Nanoscale Carbon Nanotube Field-Effect Transistor

We propose an efficient framework for optimizing the design of Carbon Nanotube Field-Effect Transistor (CNTFET) through the integration of device physics, machine learning (ML), and multi-objective optimization (MOO). Firstly, we leverage the calibrated TCAD model based on experimental data to dissect the physical mechanisms of CNTFET, gaining insights into its operational principles and unique physical properties. This model also serves as a foundation, enabling multi-scale performance evaluations essential for dataset construction. In the ML phase, a chain structure of Support Vector Regression (SVR Chain) guided by a comprehensive statistical analysis of the design metrics is utilized to predict the design metrics. The surrogate model based on the SVR Chain achieves an average mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 1.59% across all design metrics without overfitting, even with limited data. The established ML model exhibits its competence in rapidly producing a global response surface for multi-scale CNTFET. Remarkably, an anomalous equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) and ON-state current (I on ) relationship is observed in CNTFET behavior due to extreme gate length scaling in long channel devices. This intriguing observation is further elucidated through a physics-based explanation. We further compare shallow and deep learning-based TCAD digital twins for model selection guidance. Using the Non-Dominated Sorted Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II) in MOO, we harmonize metrics at both device and circuit levels, significantly reducing the design space. The closed-loop framework expedites the early-stage development of advanced transistors, overcoming the challenges posed by limited data.

Environment‐Adaptive Meta‐Channel

AbstractThe fundamental transmission channels of smart wearable devices and systems should support function reconfiguration and environment cognition or self‐adaption. Here, a environment‐adaptive meta‐channel (EAMC) is proposed that is adaptive to the near‐field environment. Benefiting from the capability to manipulate environment‐wave interactions, EAMC can cognize the near‐field environment impurities with subwavelength resolution, in which different impurities can be distinguished and located accurately with the aid of machine learning method. Thus, EAMC can adapt itself to varying environment so that its customized function is stabilized. For instance, EAMC is used as a communication modulator to adapt to different dielectric impurities and human body contacts dynamically. The quality of transmitted picture signals with impurities will deteriorate seriously but can be repaired efficiently as the self‐adaptive process of EAMC is used. Hence, the proposed EAMC could be a candidate for fundamental transmission channels for future smart wearable devices and systems.

Blood component separation in straight microfluidic channels.

Separation of blood components is required in many diagnostic applications and blood processes. In laboratories, blood is usually fractionated by manual operation involving a bulk centrifugation equipment, which significantly increases logistic burden. Blood sample processing in the field and resource-limited settings cannot be readily implemented without the use of microfluidic technology. In this study, we developed a small footprint, rapid, and passive microfluidic channel device that relied on margination and inertial focusing effects for blood component separation. No blood dilution, lysis, or labeling step was needed as to preserve sample integrity. One main innovation of this work was the insertion of fluidic restrictors at outlet ports to divert the separation interface into designated outlet channels. Thus, separation efficiency was significantly improved in comparison to previous works. We demonstrated different operation modes ranging from platelet or plasma extraction from human whole blood to platelet concentration from platelet-rich plasma through the manipulation of outlet port fluidic resistance. Using straight microfluidic channels with a high aspect ratio rectangular cross section, we demonstrated 95.4% platelet purity extracted from human whole blood. In plasma extraction, 99.9% RBC removal rate was achieved. We also demonstrated 2.6× concentration of platelet-rich plasma solution to produce platelet concentrate. The extraction efficiency and throughput rate are scalable with continuous and clog-free recirculation operation, in contrast to other blood fractionation approaches using filtration membranes or affinity-based purification methods. Our microfluidic blood separation method is highly tunable and versatile, and easy to be integrated into multi-step blood processing and advanced sample preparation workflows.

Tunable electronic and optical properties of ferroelectric WS2/Ga2O3 heterostructures

To integrate two-dimensional (2D) materials into van der Waals heterostructures (vdWHs) is regarded as an effective strategy to achieve multifunctional devices. The vdWHs with strong intrinsic ferroelectricity is promising for applications in the design of new electronic devices. The polarization reversal transitions of 2D ferroelectric Ga2O3 layers provide a new approach to explore the electronic structure and optical properties of modulated WS2/Ga2O3 vdWHs. The WS2/Ga2O3↑ and WS2/Ga2O3↓ vdWHs are designed to explore possible characteristics through the electric field and biaxial strain. The biaxial strain can effectively modulate the mutual transition of two mode vdWHs in type II and type I band alignment. The strain engineering enhances the optical absorption properties of vdWHs, encompassing excellent optical absorption properties in the range from infrared to visible to ultraviolet, ensuring promising applications in flexible electronics and optical devices. Based on the highly modifiable physical properties of the WS2/Ga2O3 vdWHs, we have further explored the potential applications for the field-controlled switching of the channel in MOSFET devices.

Target-modulated mineralization of wood channels as enzyme-free electrochemical sensors for detecting amyloid-β species

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an irreversible brain disorder, which has been found to be associated with neurotoxic amyloid-β oligomers (AβO). The early diagnosis of AD is still a great challenge. Herein, inspired by the hierarchical channel structure of natural wood, we design and demonstrate a low-cost and sensitive wood channel-based fluidic membrane for electrochemical sensing of AβO1-42. In this design, Zn/Cu-2-methylimidazole (Zn/Cu-Hmim) with artificial peroxidase (POD)-like activity was asymmetrically fabricated at one side of the wood channels by biomimetic mineralization and a subsequent ion exchange reaction. The strong affinity between Cu(II) and AβO1-42 enables Cu(II) species in Zn/Cu-Hmim to be extracted by AβO1-42, thus suppressing the POD-like performance via Zn/Cu-Hmim disassembly. Using Zn/Cu-Hmim to catalyze the oxidation reaction of 2,2′-diazo-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) by H2O2, the current–voltage (I–V) properties of wood channels are influenced by the generated oxidation product (ABTS•+), thus providing information useful for the quantitative analysis of AβO1-42. Importantly, the three aggregation states of Aβ1-42 (AβM1-42, AβO1-42, and AβF1-42) can also be identified, owing to the affinity difference and available reaction sites. The proposed wood membrane provides a novel, assessable, and scalable channel device to develop sensitive electrochemical sensors; moreover, the sustainable wood materials represent alternative candidates for developing channel-structured sensing platforms.

3D-Printed Intrinsically Stretchable Organic Electrochemical Synaptic Transistor Array.

Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) for skin-like bioelectronics require mechanical stretchability, softness, and cost-effective large-scale manufacturing. However, developing intrinsically stretchable OECTs using a simple and fast-response technique is challenging due to limitations in functional materials, substrate wettability, and integrated processing of multiple materials. In this regard, we propose a fabrication method devised by combining the preparation of a microstructured hydrophilic substrate, multi-material printing of functional inks with varying viscosities, and optimization of the device channel geometries. The resulting intrinsically stretchable OECT array with synaptic properties was successfully manufactured. These devices demonstrated high transconductance (22.5 mS), excellent mechanical softness (Young's modulus ∼ 2.2 MPa), and stretchability (∼30%). Notably, the device also exhibited artificial synapse functionality, mimicking the biological synapse with features such as paired-pulse depression, short-term plasticity, and long-term plasticity. This study showcases a promising strategy for fabricating intrinsically stretchable OECTs and provides valuable insights for the development of brain-computer interfaces.

Hydrodynamics of vapor-liquid flows in curvilined channels of separation devices of power plants

The main factor that affects the efficiency of the separation process is the lack of contact with the surface of the shutter when moving in the flow of small droplets of wet steam. This process depends on the physical and chemical properties of the wet vapor, the dispersion of the droplets, the parameters of the movement of the two-phase medium, adhesion and edge angle, and the geometry of the channel. Purpose. Determination of the limit modes of operation of separation shutter devices depending on the dispersion and quantity of droplet liquid, flow parameters and geometric characteristics of curved channels. Methodology. The methodology is based on the analysis of the physical model of the movement of a two-phase medium under the action of mass and gravitational forces in a curved horizontal channel. Findings. A mathematical model is presented for determining the trajectory of a liquid droplet in a curvilinear corrugation channel of the louvered package of a separator-superheater. The main conditions of film destruction and dynamic droplet break-up are defined. A method for expanding the range of stable operation of separation devices is proposed. Based on the obtained correlations, the design of the blind package is optimized. Originality. Based on the analysis of the physical model of the movement of a two-phase medium in a curved horizontal channel, a mathematical model was developed and the limit of capture of the dispersed phase was determined. Practical value. The presented results allow optimization of separation devices of boiler drums, horizontal steam generators and steam superheater separators of the II circuit of VVER-1000, fuel preparation systems of GTU.

High-Energy Proton and Atmospheric-Neutron Irradiations of SiC Power MOSFETs: SEB Study and Impact on Channel and Drift Resistances

Accelerated single event burnout (SEB) tests with 200 MeV protons and atmospheric-neutrons were performed for commercial SiC power MOSFETs with different architectures ( <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">i.e</i> ., planar gate, asymmetric trench and symmetric trench). The average electric fields over the depletion layer width and the electric field distributions are reported for the tested conditions and compared for the three architectures, confirming the necessity of a lower de-rating for the trench design to protect from SEB, compared to planar ones. In addition to the epitaxial layer design, the influence of other design parameters on the SEB threshold is discussed. Finally, to investigate the presence of precursor damage in the pre-SEB region, a methodology is presented and used to study the radiation-induced degradation of the channel and drift resistances of devices which survived the SEB tests.

TV Advertising and Online Sales: A Case Study of Intertemporal Substitution Effects for an Online Travel Platform

Digital technologies lead consumers to engage with companies online after they see TV ads, and firms increasingly wish to coordinate TV advertising in real time with online marketing activities. As a result, firms are keen to measure how TV advertising affects consumers’ online behavior, but a key question is over what window of time to measure this effect. The standard industry practice of using short attribution windows around an ad to measure a causal effect may miss the possibility that consumer behavior shifts over time due to, for example, intertemporal substitution. The authors collaborate with an online travel platform and evaluate the results of a field test in which part of the country was exposed to TV ads while another part of the country formed a control group. Using the synthetic difference-in-differences approach, the authors find that TV advertising leads to an instantaneous increase in online browsing and sales. However, they also document evidence for intertemporal substitution: consumers appear to move their online activities forward in time in response to TV advertising, leading to lower browsing and lower sales at times when no ad is airing. The authors further explore the effects of TV advertising on channel choices, device choices, and promotion usage and discuss the implications for advertisers and the ad-measurement industry.

The Investigation of 1200V SiC MOSFET Short-Circuit Ruggedness and Turn-Off Current Tail

Short circuit characteristics of 4H-SiC MOSFETs with different channel lengths are studied in this work. The peak drain-source current during the short-circuit period is measured. These results show that short channel devices has lower capability to sustain short-circuit condition. This work found an evident current tail after the gate turning off. Through the investigation with different device design, circuit condition and numeric simulation. The cause of the current tail is found to be due to the increased ionization of electron-hole pair as the junction temperature is elevated at long short-circuit condition.

Pushing the Limits of Biosensing: Selective Calcium Ion Detection with High Sensitivity via High-k Gate Dielectric Engineered Si Nanowire Random Network Channel Dual-Gate Field-Effect Transistors.

Calcium ions (Ca2+) are abundantly present in the human body; they perform essential roles in various biological functions. In this study, we propose a highly sensitive and selective biosensor platform for Ca2+ detection, which comprises a dual-gate (DG) field-effect transistor (FET) with a high-k engineered gate dielectric, silicon nanowire (SiNW) random network channel, and Ca2+-selective extended gate. The SiNW channel device, which was fabricated via the template transfer method, exhibits superior Ca2+ sensing characteristics compared to conventional film channel devices. An exceptionally high Ca2+ sensitivity of 208.25 mV/dec was achieved through the self-amplification of capacitively coupled DG operation and an enhanced amplification ratio resulting from the high surface-to-volume ratio of the SiNW channel. The SiNW channel device demonstrated stable and reliable sensing characteristics, as evidenced by minimal hysteresis and drift effects, with the hysteresis voltage and drift rate measuring less than 6.53% of the Ca2+ sensitivity. Furthermore, the Ca2+-selective characteristics of the biosensor platform were elucidated through experiments with pH buffer, NaCl, and KCl solutions, wherein the sensitivities of the interfering ions were below 7.82% compared to the Ca2+ sensitivity. The proposed Ca2+-selective biosensor platform exhibits exceptional performance and holds great potential in various biosensing fields.

Electric Potential Induced Prevention and Removal of an Algal Biofoulant from Planar SERS Substrates.

Ulva zoospores are widespread marine macroalgae and a common organism found in biofouling communities due to their strong adhesive properties and quick settlement times. Using Ulva as a model organism, a strategy is presented where direct-current (DC) electric potentials are applied in conjunction with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to characterize, remove, and prevent Ulva from forming a biofilm on gold-capped nanopillar SERS substrates. Experiments were conducted within a poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) flow channel device where the SERS substrates were used as an electrode. Ulva density, determined in situ by SERS and ex situ by electron and fluorescence microscopy, decreased under successively increasing low negative potentials up to -1.0 V. The presence of damaged Ulva suggests that the applied potential led to spore rupture. At the highest negative applied potential (-1.0 V), microparticles containing copper, which is known for its antimicrobial properties, were associated with Ulva on the SERS substrate and the lowest Ulva density was observed. These findings indicate that (1) SERS can be employed to study biofilm formation on nanostructured metal surfaces and (2) applying low-voltage electric potentials may be used to control Ulva biofouling on SERS marine sensors.