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In order to solve the problems of low transmission rate and large device size of electro-optical modulator, an electro-optic half subtractor based on silicon-based hybrid surface plasmon polariton waveguide is proposed in this study. The proposed device utilizes three units metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitor structure to achieve the half subtractor logic function of electro-optic control, improving the transmission rate of the electro-optic half subtractor while also reducing the device size using surface plasmon polariton technology, with a size of only 32 μm × 4.3 μm. At the same time, the use of hybrid silicon waveguides reduces the sharp Ohmic attenuation caused by surface plasmon polaritons and reduces optical insertion losses (ILs). The simulation results show that when the electro-optic half subtractor operates at the wavelength of 1,550 nm, the IL difference is 1.0 dB in each state, the transmission rate of the device is 0.75 Tbit/s, and the energy consumption is 12.69 fj/bit.

This article proposes an on-chip optical temperature sensor based on a cascaded microring resonator, which is composed of a reference ring and a sensing ring cascaded with different temperature sensitivities and free spectral ranges. By changing the temperature of the sensing window environment, the thermal optical effect of the waveguide causes a change in the refractive index of the waveguide, which affects the temperature sensitivity and free spectrum changes of the sensor. The output spectral response of the sensor shifts, achieving temperature sensing detection. The experimental results show that the temperature sensitivity of this microring cascaded temperature sensor is 303.6 pm/°C, which is 3.65 times the limit of a single microring temperature sensitivity of 83 pm/°C. The temperature-sensing range of the sensor is 100°C, which can well meet the temperature-monitoring requirements of ultra-large-scale integrated circuits.

Oxygen evolution reaction catalysts capable of working efficiently in acidic media are highly demanded for the commercialization of proton exchange membrane water electrolysis. Herein, we report a Zn-doped RuO2 nanowire array electrocatalyst with outstanding catalytic performance for the oxygen evolution reaction under acidic conditions. Overpotentials as low as 173, 304, and 373 mV are achieved at 10, 500, and 1000 mA cm−2, respectively, with robust stability reaching to 1000 h at 10 mA cm−2. Experimental and theoretical investigations establish a clear synergistic effect of Zn dopants and oxygen vacancies on regulating the binding configurations of oxygenated adsorbates on the active centers, which then enables an alternative Ru−Zn dual-site oxide path of the reaction. Due to the change of reaction pathways, the energy barrier of rate-determining step is reduced, and the over-oxidation of Ru active sites is alleviated. As a result, the catalytic activity and stability are significantly enhanced. Ru-based materials are promising catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction in acidic condition, but their catalytic performance needs to be further improved. Here, the authors report Zn-RuO2 nanowires with a Ru−Zn dual-site oxide reaction pathway with enhanced activity and stability for acidic oxygen evolution reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]