Publications

Molybdenum disulfide, a two-dimensional material extensively explored for potential applications in non-von Neumann computing technologies, has garnered significant attention owing to the observed hysteresis phenomena in MoS2 FETs. The dominant sources of hysteresis reported include charge trapping at the channel-dielectric interface and the adsorption/desorption of molecules. However, in MoS2 FETs with different channel thicknesses, the specific nature and density of defects contributing to hysteresis remain an intriguing aspect requiring further investigation. This study delves into memristive devices with back-gate modulated channel layers based on CVD-deposited flake-based and thin-film-based MoS2 FETs, with a few-layer (FL) and thin-film (TF) channel thickness. Analysis of current-voltage (I−V) and conductance-frequency (Gp/ω−f) measurements led to the conclusion that the elevated hysteresis observed in TF MoS2 devices, as opposed to FL devices, stems from a substantial contribution from intrinsic defects within the channel volume, surpassing that of interface defects. This study underscores the significance of considering both intrinsic defects within the bulk and the interface defects of the channel when analyzing hysteresis in MoS2 FETs, particularly in TF FETs. The selection between FL and TF MoS2 devices depends on the requirements for memristive applications, considering factors such as hysteresis tolerance and scaling capabilities.

Elastic, bendable and stretchable electronics establish a new and promising area of multi-physics engineering for a variety of applications, e.g. on wearables or in complex-shaped machine parts. While the area of metamorphic electronics has been investigated comprehensively, the behavior at radio frequencies (RFs), especially in the GHz range, is much less well studied. The mechanical deformation of the soft substrates, for instance, due to stretching, changes the geometrical dimensions and the electrical properties of RF transmission lines. This effect could be desirable in some cases, e.g. for smart devices with shape-dependent transmission or radiation characteristics, or undesirable in other cases, e.g. in feed and distribution networks due to the variable electrical lengths and thus phase variations. This contribution describes the results of a systematic study of the broadband RF properties of coplanar transmission lines on Ecoflex® substrates, based on numerical simulations and experimental data. Two types of stretchable transmission line structures were studied: Meander- and circular ring-segmented lines. Modeling and simulation were performed combining a 2D circuit simulation software with electromagnetic full-wave simulations. The experimental part of the work included the fabrication of metamorphic substrates metallized with thin copper layers and systematic measurements of the electrical lengths and phase constants of coplanar waveguides in the frequency range from 1 to 5 GHz based on vector network analysis for different stretching levels. With the given substrate technology, we succeeded in demonstrating stretchability up to a level of 21%, while the theoretical limit is expected at 57%. The meander- and circular-shaped line structures revealed markedly different sensitivities to the stretching level, which was lower for circular structures compared to the meander structures by approximately a factor of three.

Reactive multilayers produce exothermic reaction with definite velocity and maximum temperature after ignition, which are the fundamental properties of the reactive multilayer systems. The generated heat with certain velocity makes it widely used in joining, bonding in the packaging, thermal batteries and many more applications. In this work, a distinct approach for achieving a reaction transfer between the reactive multilayers and different materials is demonstrated which can affect the generated temperature and velocity from the self-propagating properties of the reaction. For these intensions, we fabricated the Al/Ni reactive elements with certain separations between elements which allow to observe the reaction front transfer and emitted temperature in the reaction chain. The created separation between reactive elements are periodical and ordered systems with different thermal conductive properties. The temperature and definite velocity were measured by time-resolved pyrometer and high-speed camera measurements. SEM analysis showed the characteristics of the reaction transfer between reactive multilayer elements. It is predicted that: (I) The reaction front stops at a space with critical length; (II) Reducing heat loss through the substrate supports reaction front propagation through spaces; (III) Thermal property design of the spaces between the reactive elements enables property modification of the self-propagating reaction.

An unconventional approach for the resistless nanopatterning 2H- and 1T’-MoTe2 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 MoTe2 nanosheet surface under ambient conditions. Due to the water solubility of the generated oxide, a direct pattern transfer into the MoTe2 surface can be achieved by a simple immersion of the sample in deionized water. The tip-grown oxide was characterized using Auger electron and Raman spectroscopy, revealing it consists of amorphous MoO3/MoOx as well as TeO2/TeOx. With the presented technology in combination with subsequent AFM imaging it was possible to demonstrate a strong anisotropic sensitivity of 1T’-/(Td)-MoTe2 to aqueous environments. We finally used the discussed approach to structure a nanoribbon field effect transistor out of a few-layer 2H-MoTe2 nanosheet. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

The electrodeposition of aluminum-nickel coatings was performed by pulsed direct current in the ionic liquid (IL) 1.5:1 AlCl3:EMIm]Cl containing nickel nanoparticles (Ni NPs), for reactive dispersion coating application. Several electrochemical and characterization techniques were used to shed more light on the mechanism of Ni particle incorporation into the Al matrix. Thus, particle incorporation at the early stage of the deposition would mainly take place via particle adsorption at the substrate. However, as the thickness of the coating increases, it seems that the main mechanism for particle incorporation is via the reduction of ions adsorbed at the particles surface. Although a considerable high incorporation of Ni NPs has been achieved from the IL containing the highest concentration of Ni NPs (i.e. ∼33 wt% from a 20 g/L of Ni NPs bath), a high concentration of NPs in the IL resulted having a negative effect in terms of quality of the coatings, due to solidification of the electrolyte in a poorly conductive compound. Moreover, almost equivalent amounts of Ni and Al (Ni ∼45 wt.%and Al ∼44 wt.%) have been detected in some areas of the coatings. Such a layer composition would be desired for the targeted application.