Integration technologies for chips with 2D materials

With compact footprint, low energy consumption, high scalability, and mass producibility, chip-scale integrated devices are an indispensable part of modern technological change and development. Recent advances in two-dimensional (2D) layered materials with their unique structures and distinctive properties have motivated their on-chip integration, yielding a variety of functional devices with superior performance and new features. To realize integrated devices incorporating 2D materials, it requires a diverse range of device fabrication techniques, which are of fundamental importance to achieve good performance and high reproducibility. This paper reviews the state-of-art fabrication techniques for the on-chip integration of 2D materials. First, an overview of the material properties and on-chip applications of 2D materials is provided. Second, different approaches used for integrating 2D materials on chips are comprehensively reviewed, which are categorized into material synthesis, on-chip transfer, film patterning, and property tuning / modification. Third, the methods for integrating 2D van der Waals heterostructures are also discussed and summarized. Finally, the current challenges and future perspectives are highlighted.

Recent Advance and Perspective of 3D Printed Micro-Supercapacitor: From Design to Smart Integrated Devices

3D-printed micro-supercapacitors (MSCs) have emerged as the ideal candidates for energy storage devices owing to unique characteristics of miniaturization, structural diversity, and integration. Exploring the 3D printing technology for various...

Towards Repeatable, Scalable Graphene Integrated Micro-Nano Electromechanical Systems (MEMS/NEMS)

The demand for graphene-based devices is rapidly growing but there are significant challenges for developing scalable and repeatable processes for the manufacturing of graphene devices. Basic research on understanding and controlling growth mechanisms have recently enabled various mass production approaches over the past decade. However, the integration of graphene with Micro-Nano Electromechanical Systems (MEMS/NEMS) has been especially challenging due to performance sensitivities of these systems to the production process. Therefore, ability to produce graphene-based devices on a large scale with high repeatability is still a major barrier to the commercialization of graphene. In this review article, we discuss the merits of integrating graphene into Micro-Nano Electromechanical Systems, current approaches for the mass production of graphene integrated devices, and propose solutions to overcome current manufacturing limits for the scalable and repeatable production of integrated graphene-based devices.

Half-mode substrate integrated plasmonic waveguide for filter and diplexer designs

A half-mode substrate integrated waveguide (HMSIW) combined with spoof surface plasmon polariton (SSPP) structure is proposed to realize bandpass filter (BPF) characteristic and miniaturization, which is termed as the half-mode substrate integrated plasmonic waveguide (HMSIPW). Compared with the conventional HMSIW structure having identical cutoff frequency, this new design of HMSIPW not only supports SSPP modes, but also realizes a transversal size reduction of 19.4% and longitudinal reduction of more than 60%. Then, a diplexer based on two back-to-back placed HMSIPW BPFs is designed, and it has only one row of metallized via holes to further reduce the transversal size. The experimental prototypes of the filters and diplexer have been manufactured, and the measurement results agree well with simulation ones. Due to the size miniaturization and simple structure, the proposed designs will have many potentials in the integrated devices and circuits for wireless communication systems.

Design of “Universal Module” Based Time and Frequency System using White Rabbit Technology

In the WR network, a dedicated time and frequency system is set up to deliver and distribute the time signal from WR switches or WR nodes locally. Accordingly, the design of a flexible, transferrable, and extensible time and frequency system is required for complementing existing WR equipment and WR networks. Here we propose the concept of “universal module”. Based on the universal modules, a variety of devices and TF system can be developed. In particular, three applications are demonstrated in this paper. Finally, the first measurement results of the integrated devices will be demonstrated in this paper.

Design of “Universal Module” Based Time and Frequency System using White Rabbit Technology

In the WR network, a dedicated time and frequency system is set up to deliver and distribute the time signal from WR switches or WR nodes locally. Accordingly, the design of a flexible, transferrable, and extensible time and frequency system is required for complementing existing WR equipment and WR networks. Here we propose the concept of “universal module”. Based on the universal modules, a variety of devices and TF system can be developed. In particular, three applications are demonstrated in this paper. Finally, the first measurement results of the integrated devices will be demonstrated in this paper.

Multiplexed Profiling of Extracellular Vesicles for Biomarker Development

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are cell-derived membranous particles that play a crucial role in molecular trafficking, intercellular transport and the egress of unwanted proteins. They have been implicated in many diseases including cancer and neurodegeneration. EVs are detected in all bodily fluids, and their protein and nucleic acid content offers a means of assessing the status of the cells from which they originated. As such, they provide opportunities in biomarker discovery for diagnosis, prognosis or the stratification of diseases as well as an objective monitoring of therapies. The simultaneous assaying of multiple EV-derived markers will be required for an impactful practical application, and multiplexing platforms have evolved with the potential to achieve this. Herein, we provide a comprehensive overview of the currently available multiplexing platforms for EV analysis, with a primary focus on miniaturized and integrated devices that offer potential step changes in analytical power, throughput and consistency.

Simulation of optical triode based on PT symmetric structure under electro-optic modulation

In modern microwave and optical communication systems, it is urgent to develop optical components with the same performance as electronic components. In this paper, a PT-symmetric structure including electro-optical medium is designed to construct optical triode. It is found that the structure has a pole effect of amplification under certain parameters. The frequency of the incident wave at the pole is taken as the carrier frequency, and the electrical signal is modulated into an optical signal. By setting the bias electric field, the modulated optical signal can be amplified in phase and out phase, and even by doubling frequency, and a new optical triode model is obtained. The designed model will play an important role in the design of optical integrated devices.

Best practices for design and fabrication of biomicrofluidic devices by resin 3D printing

Stereolithographic (SL) 3D printing, especially digital light processing (DLP) printing, is a promising rapid fabrication method for bio-microfluidic applications such as clinical tests, lab-on-a-chip devices, and sensor integrated devices. The benefits of 3D printing lead many to believe this fabrication method will accelerate the use of bioanalytical microfluidics, but there are major obstacles to overcome to fully utilize this technology. For commercially available printing materials, this includes challenges in producing prints with the print resolution and mechanical stability required for a particular design, along with cytotoxic components within many SL resins and low optical compatibility for imaging experiments. Potential solutions to these problems are scattered throughout the literature and rarely available in head-to-head comparisons. Therefore, we present here principles for navigation of 3D printing techniques and systematic tests to inform resin selection and optimization of the design and fabrication of SL 3D printed bio-microfluidic devices.