Methodology for the Selection of Technological Modes for the Synthesis of Transparent Conducting Oxides with Desired Properties

Transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) are widely used as a transparent electrode in various fields of opto-and semiconductor electronics. The main materials used today are indium-tin oxide, tin-antimony oxide and zinc-aluminum oxide. The authors have developed and improved the spray-pyrolysis method, which is one of the most promising methods of implementation in production. In this work, the study of tin dioxide doped with antimony coatings and the development of a methodology for the controlled synthesis of TCO, taking into account the effect of technological modes of deposition on the TCO parameters. The results of the performed studies contribute to the development of an automated technology for the synthesis of transparent conducting oxides with desired properties.

Light-induced Patterning of Electroactive Bacterial Biofilms

Electroactive bacterial biofilms can function as living biomaterials that merge the functionality of living cells with electronic components. However, the development of such advanced living electronics has been challenged by the inability to control the geometry of electroactive biofilms relative to solid-state electrodes. Here, we developed a lithographic strategy to pattern conductive biofilms of Shewanella oneidensis by controlling aggregation protein CdrAB expression with a blue light-induced genetic circuit. This controlled deposition enabled S. oneidensis biofilm patterning on transparent electrode surfaces and measurements demonstrated tunable biofilm conduction dependent on pattern size. Controlling biofilm geometry also enabled us, for the first time, to quantify the intrinsic conductivity of living S. oneidensis biofilms and experimentally confirm predictions based on simulations of a recently proposed collision-exchange electron transport mechanism. Overall, we developed a facile technique for controlling electroactive biofilm formation on electrodes, with implications for both studying and harnessing bioelectronics.

Room-temperature multiple ligands-tailored SnO2 quantum dots endow in situ dual-interface binding for upscaling efficient perovskite photovoltaics with high VOC

The benchmark tin oxide (SnO2) electron transporting layers (ETLs) have enabled remarkable progress in planar perovskite solar cell (PSCs). However, the energy loss is still a challenge due to the lack of “hidden interface” control. We report a novel ligand-tailored ultrafine SnO2 quantum dots (QDs) via a facile rapid room temperature synthesis. Importantly, the ligand-tailored SnO2 QDs ETL with multi-functional terminal groups in situ refines the buried interfaces with both the perovskite and transparent electrode via enhanced interface binding and perovskite passivation. These novel ETLs induce synergistic effects of physical and chemical interfacial modulation and preferred perovskite crystallization-directing, delivering reduced interface defects, suppressed non-radiative recombination and elongated charge carrier lifetime. Power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 23.02% (0.04 cm2) and 21.6% (0.98 cm2, VOC loss: 0.336 V) have been achieved for the blade-coated PSCs (1.54 eV Eg) with our new ETLs, representing a record for SnO2 based blade-coated PSCs. Moreover, a substantially enhanced PCE (VOC) from 20.4% (1.15 V) to 22.8% (1.24 V, 90 mV higher VOC, 0.04 cm2 device) in the blade-coated 1.61 eV PSCs system, via replacing the benchmark commercial colloidal SnO2 with our new ETLs.

Optically Transparent and Highly Conductive Electrodes for Acousto-Optical Devices

The study was devoted to the creation of transparent electrodes based on highly conductive mesh structures. The analysis and reasonable choice of technological approaches to the production of such materials with a high Q factor (the ratio of transparency and electrical conductivity) were carried out. The developed manufacturing technology consists of the formation of grooves in a transparent substrate by photolithography methods, followed by reactive ion plasma etching and their metallization by chemical deposition using the silver mirror reaction. Experimental samples of a transparent electrode fabricated using this technology have a sheet resistance of about 0.1 Ω/sq with a light transmittance in the visible wavelength range of more than 60%.

Polymer skulls with integrated transparent electrode arrays for cortex-wide opto-electrophysiological recordings

Electrophysiology and optical imaging provide complementary neural sensing capabilities; electrophysiological recordings have the highest temporal resolution, while optical imaging allows recording the activities of genetically defined populations at high spatial resolution. Combining these complementary, yet orthogonal modalities to perform simultaneous large-scale, multimodal sensing of neural activity across multiple brain regions would be very powerful. Here we show that transparent, inkjet-printed electrocorticography (ECoG) electrode arrays can be seamlessly integrated with morphologically conformant transparent polymer skulls for multimodal recordings across the cortex. These eSee-Shells, were implanted on transgenic mice expressing the Ca2+ indicator GCaMP6f in cortical excitatory cells and provided a robust opto-electrophysiological interface for over 100 days. eSee-Shells enable simultaneous mesoscale Ca2+ imaging and ECoG acquisition under anesthesia as well as in awake animals presented with sensory stimuli. eSee-Shells further show sufficient clarity and transparency to observe single-cell Ca2+ signals directly below the electrodes and interconnects. Simultaneous multimodal measurement of cortical dynamics reveals changes in both ECoG and Ca2+ signals that depend on the behavioral state.