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The development of self-powered UV photodiode on green substrate is still a challenge. In this study, highly conductive Al doped ZnO (AZO) film was sputter-deposited on paper substrate at room temperature; subsequently, paper-based Schottky photodiodes were successfully fabricated by following Au-ZnO-Al and Au-ZnO-AZO-Al structure designs, respectively. These UV light-based devices operate successfully without external power. Au-ZnO-AZO-Al photodiode shows improved response and faster speed compared to Au-ZnO-Al photodiode. The one-dimensional Poisson simulation results demonstrate that the improvement is attributed to the strong electric field in the ZnO-AZO n-n+ high-low junction, thus, enhancing the collection rate and drifting speed of the photogenerated carriers. In addition, AZO can form favorable ohmic contact with the Al electrodes, further improving the device performance. The photo-response of the paper-based photodiode device shows high reproducibility and stability. Based on these outstanding results, we conclude that these paper-based electronic devices have great potential to replace conventional petroleum-based flexible electronic devices, thus, contributing to the green/sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanocellulose has received enormous scientific interest for its abundance, easy manufacturing, biodegradability, and low cost. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) are ideal candidates to replace plastic coating in the textile and paper industry. Thanks to their capacity to form an interconnected network kept together by hydrogen bonds, nanocelluloses perform an unprecedented strengthening action towards cellulose‐ and other fiber‐based materials. Furthermore, nanocellulose use implies greener application procedures, such as deposition from water. The surface chemistry of nanocellulose plays a pivotal role in influencing the performance of the coating: tailored surface functionalization can introduce several properties, such as gas or grease barrier, hydrophobicity, antibacterial and anti‐UV behavior. This review summarizes recent achievements in the use of nanocellulose for paper and textile coating, evidencing critical aspects of coating performances related to deposition technique, nanocellulose morphology, and surface functionalization. Furthermore, beyond focusing on the aspects strictly related to large‐scale coating applications for paper and textile industries, this review includes recent achievements in the use of nanocellulose coating for the safeguarding of Cultural Heritage, an extremely noble and interesting emerging application of nanocellulose, focusing on consolidation of historical paper and archaeological textile. Finally, nanocellulose use in electronic devices as an electrode modifier is highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photonic and electronic devices currently face challenges in terms of improved efficiency of energy harvesting and light emission, renewable energy and materials, and the development of eco‐friendly materials. Owing to the emergence of world‐wide concerns about environmental degradation and the ensuing regulations, demand for environmentally friendly technology has been increasing in recent years. As the current technology of creating electronics and photonics devices based on semiconductors heavily relies on processes that produce a series of hazardous chemicals, development of renewable and eco‐friendly materials has become immensely important. Two of the most promising materials in this respect are silk and paper, and this progress report will investigate their unique properties for both photonic and electronic applications. These two natural materials have been intensively studied in the last decades and have shown promising aspects for use in future green technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of papers as substrates in the process of manufacturing flexible electronic components is urgently required to obtain cost-effective products as well as to expand the potential applications of such components. This study aimed to examine the suitability of three different types of paper for sensor applications using an inkjet printing process. Three types of paper (denoted as Types 1, 2, and 3) designed for specific applications in printed electronics were selected and entirely characterized in terms of microscopic and macroscopic properties, such as internal fibers structure, cross-sectional layer structure, surface roughness, and hardness. Dot arrays were printed on these three types of paper to determine how the papers absorb silver ink and which one is the best substrate for manufacturing printed electronic components. After a comprehensive analysis, the paper that exhibited the best feature was further studied as a substrate for printing interdigitated electrodes to develop a humidity sensor. The Type 2 paper-based sensor demonstrated the variation in capacitance in the range from 9.4 to 10.6 pF while changing the relative humidity (RH) from 40 to 90%. Thus, Type 2 has the great potential for application in flexible sensors, suggesting the possibility of industrial scalability and mass production of inexpensive, biodegradable, and conformable electronic components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Point-of-care testing (POCT) technology is urgently required owing to the prevalence of the Internet of Things and portable electronics. In light of the attractive properties of low background and high sensitivity caused by the complete separation of excitation source and detection signal, the paper-based photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensors, featured with fast in analysis, disposable and environmental-friendly have become one of the most promising strategies in POCT. Therefore, in this review, the latest advances and principal issues in the design and fabrication of portable paper-based PEC sensors for POCT are systematically discussed. Primarily, the flexible electronic devices that can be constructed by paper and the reasons why they can be used in PEC sensors are expounded. Afterwards, the photosensitive materials involved in paper-based PEC sensor and the signal amplification strategies are emphatically introduced. Subsequently, the application of paper-based PEC sensors in medical diagnosis, environmental monitoring and food safety are further discussed. Finally, the main opportunities and challenges of paper-based PEC sensing platforms for POCT are briefly summarized. It provides a distinct perspective for researchers to construct paper-based PEC sensors with portable and cost-effective, hoping to enlighten the fast development of POCT soon after, as well as benefit human society. • The merits of functionalized paper for PEC sensor are introduced. • Photosensitive material and signal amplification strategy of paper-based PEC sensor are discussed. • The application of paper-based PEC sensor in the field of POCT is highlighted. • The limitations and challenges of paper-based PEC sensor are summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper gives a brief overview on the recent advances on photonic devices based on carbon materials such as: graphene waveguides or photonic devices on paper or plastic substrates in analogy with carbon based electronic devices. The four building block for electronics are the electrons as carrier's information's vectors, the generators, the cables and the transistors. In the same way, photonics or plasmonics will achieve in the future the capability to do same operations done actually in electronics by using photons or plasmons. Following the same steps as in electronics, new technologies were developed in photonics in order to produce photonic integrated circuits (PIC) first on silicon and more recently on plastic or paper substrates. If we analyze the present achievements we can notice that the already equivalent building blocks for photonics on paper substrates are already done: laser on paper substrate (as signal generators), optical and plasmonic waveguides (as information transport cables), optical and plasmonic transistors, photodetectors based on carbon materials etc. In this paper we present by analogy with electronics the recent advancements on paper and carbon based photonics devices. As for electronics, some of the most important advantages of these materials are that they are mechanically flexible, lightweight, cheap and environmentally friendly. • A briefly overview on technologies and materials for photonics on paper substrates. • State of art on perovskite materials for solar cells, LED and lasers. • State of art on plasmonic modulators based on graphene. • New perspectives for the development of future integrated photonic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellulose is one of the most abundant organic materials on earth, and cellulose paper is ubiquitous in our daily life. Re-engineering cellulose fibers at the nanoscale will allow this renewable material to be applied to advanced energy storage systems and optoelectronic devices. In this article, we examine the recent development of nanofibrillated cellulose and discuss how the integration of other nanomaterials leads to a wide range of applications. The unique properties of nanofibrillated cellulose enable multi-scale structuring of the functional composites, which can be tailored to develop new concepts of energy and electronic devices. Tapping into the nanostructured materials offered by nature can offer many opportunities that will take nanotechnology research to a new level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paper, broadly defined as thin, porous sheets, is currently being used to create novel devices for diagnostics, microfluidics, and electronics that ideally combine low cost and high performance. A “device,” in this context, can be defined as an object that serves to provide information or function to a user in response to input. This issue will highlight some of these novel devices and provide examples of potential applications. We begin with an overview of paper’s unique properties and how these properties lead to a potential for changing the integrated microfluidic and flexible electronics landscape. We then discuss methods for patterning paper as well as specific fluidic operations that are possible on paper. Finally, we conclude with an overview of electronic devices on paper and a brief outlook on the future of this emerging field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While previously published experimental results have shown that the step-free (0 0 0 1) 4H-SiC mesa growth surface uniquely enables radical improvement of 3C-SiC and 2H-AlN/GaN heteroepitaxial film quality (>100-fold reduction in extended defect densities), important aspects of the step-free mesa heterofilm growth processes and resulting electronic device benefits remain to be more fully elucidated. This paper reviews and updates recent ongoing studies of 3C-SiC and 2H-AlN/GaN heteroepilayers grown on top of 4H-SiC mesas. For both 3C-SiC and AlN/GaN films nucleated on 4H-SiC mesas rendered completely free of atomic-scale surface steps, TEM studies reveal that relaxation of heterofilm strain arising from in-plane film/substrate lattice constant mismatch occurs in a remarkably benign manner that avoids formation of threading dislocations in the heteroepilayer. In particular, relaxation appears to occur via nucleation and inward lateral glide of near-interfacial dislocation half-loops from the mesa sidewalls. Preliminary studies of homojunction diodes implemented in 3C-SiC and AlN/GaN heterolayers demonstrate improved electrical performance compared with much more defective heterofilms grown on neighbouring stepped 4H-SiC mesas. Recombination-enhanced dislocation motion known to degrade forward-biased 4H-SiC bipolar diodes has been completely absent from our initial studies of 3C-SiC diodes, including diodes implemented on defective 3C-SiC heterolayers grown on stepped 4H-SiC mesas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternating-aperture phase shift masking (AAPSM), a form of strong resolution enhancement technology, will be used to image critical features on the polysilicon layer at smaller technology nodes. This technology imposes additional constraints on the layouts beyond traditional design rules. Of particular note is the requirement that all critical features be flanked by opposite-phase shifters while the shifters obey minimum width and spacing requirements. A layout is called phase assignable if it satisfies this requirement. Phase conflicts have to be removed to enable the use of AAPSM for layouts that are not phase assignable. Previous work has sought to detect a suitable set of phase conflicts to be removed as well as correct them. This paper has two key contributions: 1) a new computationally efficient approach to detect a minimal set of phase conflicts, which when corrected will produce a phase-assignable layout, and 2) a novel layout modification scheme for correcting these phase conflicts with small layout area increase. Unlike previous formulations of this problem, the proposed solution for the conflict detection problem does not frame it as a graph bipartization problem. Instead, a simpler and more computationally efficient reduction is proposed. This simplification greatly improves the runtime while maintaining the same improvements in the quality of results obtained in Chiang et al. (Proc. DATE, 2005, p. 908). An average runtime speedup of 5.9× is achieved using the new flow. A new layout modification scheme suited for correcting phase conflicts in large standard-cell blocks is also proposed. The experiments show that the percentage area increase for making standard-cell blocks phase assignable ranges from 1.7% to 9.1%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we prepared planar polypyrrole (PPy) coated paper-based supercapacitors by applying simple laser carving assisted method. The planar structure of the device showed a significant performance improvement (13.9 mF/cm2) compared to the sandwiched structure device (12.3 mF/cm2). In addition, by adjusting the polymerization time of pyrrole, the device capacity can be further increased to 87.4 mF/cm2. We firmly believed that the laser carving assisted method has a significant role in promoting the development of flexible planar electronic devices. • Planar PPy coated paper-based supercapacitors were obtained by laser carving. • The planar device showed a significant performance improvement. • The optimal device capacity can be further increased to 87.4 mF/cm2. Paper-based supercapacitors have attracted more and more attention for high electrochemical performance. However, most of them adopt sandwiched structure. Here, we prepared planar polypyrrole (PPy) coated paper-based supercapacitors by applying simple laser carving assisted method. The planar device showed a significant performance improvement (13.9 mF/cm2) compared to the sandwiched device (12.3 mF/cm2). In addition, by adjusting the polymerization time of pyrrole, the device capacity can be further increased to 87.4 mF/cm2. We firmly believed that the laser carving assisted method has a significant role in promoting the development of flexible planar electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we report results concerning the use of paper as substrate and as an electronic component for the next generation of sustainable low cost electronic systems, where different examples of applications are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since more than a decade ago, the research on highly filled papers, as well as paper‐derived inorganic materials, has greatly intensified. As presented in this review, highly filled papers as preforms allow for the design of porous or dense, multilayered, and geometrically complex structures. These paper‐derived ceramic‐ or metal‐based materials are generated by the heat‐treatment of highly filled papers. Paper‐derived materials are potential materials of choice for applications in transportation, energy‐generation, environmental conservation, support structures, medical uses, and electronic components. Due to the adjustability of the filler content and the good machinability of highly filled papers, paper‐derived sheets or multilayers may include intricate structures and tailored gradients in phase structure or porosity. Paper‐derived multilayers also may contain cast ceramic tapes or other functionalized layers, as presented in some examples. Computer‐aided manufacturing processes for paper‐derived materials can be supplemented by prediction models for the sintering shrinkage in order to identify optimal post‐processing steps, stacking orders and orientations for highly filled paper layers within multilayer green bodies. The accuracy of established component‐level sintering models can be significantly increased by microstructure models of the highly filled paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El artículo ofrece la opinión de la autora acerca del futuro de los materiales basados en papel. Ella comenta sobre la popularidad de los portales digitales, el Internet y otros medios electrónicos y su influencia en la lectura. También se enfatizan los aspectos humanos de leer materiales escritas en vez de por dispositivos electrónicos.