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Polyvinylidene difluoride trifluoroethylene (PVDF-TrFE) has received widespread application in flexible electronics and biomedical devices but is limited in its sensing modalities to piezoelectricity and pyroelectricity. The addition of optically or magnetically active nanoparticles could provide additional sensing modalities in the same element, which could drive miniaturization of such sensors. Europium barium titanate (EBTO) is one such optically active nanoparticle that could add functionality to such a nanocomposite. In this work, multifunctional nanocomposites of PVDF-TrFE and EBTO are successfully synthesized and characterized for their material and electronic properties. The nanocomposite in this work is the first known multifunctional nanocomposite with PVDF-TrFE and a fluorescent nanoparticle. 

Optical sectioning structured illumination microscopy (OS-SIM) provides optical sectioning capability in wide-field microscopy. The required illumination patterns have traditionally been generated using spatial light modulators (SLM), laser interference patterns, or digital micromirror devices (DMDs) which are too complex to implement in miniscope systems. MicroLEDs have emerged as an alternative light source for patterned illumination due to their extreme brightness capability and small emitter sizes. This paper presents a directly addressable striped microLED microdisplay with 100 rows on a flexible cable (70 cm long) for use as an OS-SIM light source in a benchtop setup. The overall design of the microdisplay is described in detail with luminance-current-voltage characterization. OS-SIM implementation with a benchtop setup shows the optical sectioning capability of the system by imaging within a 500 µm thick fixed brain slice from a transgenic mouse where oligodendrocytes are labeled with a green fluorescent protein (GFP). Results show improved contrast in reconstructed optically sectioned images of 86.92% (OS-SIM) compared with 44.31% (pseudo-widefield). MicroLED based OS-SIM therefore offers a new capability for deep tissue widefield imaging. 

Micro light-emitting diode (microLED) structures were modeled and validated with fabricated devices to investigate p-type GaN (pGaN) contact size dependence on power output efficiency. Two schemes were investigated: a constant 10μm diameter pGaN contact and varying microLED sizes and a constant 10μm diameter microLED with varying contact sizes. Modeled devices show a 17% improvement in output power by increasing the microLED die size. Fabricated devices followed the same trend with a 70% improvement in power output. Modeled microLED devices of a constant size and varying inner contact sizes show optimized power output at different current densities for various contact sizes. In particular, lower current densities show optimized output for smaller pGaN contacts and trend towards larger contacts for higher current densities in a balance between undesirable efficiency losses at high-current injection and preventing surface recombination losses. We show that for all device geometries, it is preferential to shrink the pGaN contact to maximize efficiency by suppressing surface recombination losses and further improvements should be carefully considered to optimize efficiency for a desired operational brightness. 

Abstract Micro light emitting diodes (MicroLEDs) provide unrivaled luminance and operating lifetime, which has led to significant activity using devices for display and non‐display applications. The small size and high power density of microLEDs, however, causes increased adverse heating effects that can limit performance. A new generation of electrically insulating high thermal conductivity materials, such as alumina, is proposed to mitigate these thermal effects when used as a substrate as an alternative to glass. This strategy can then be used as a method of passive heat sinking to improve the overall performance of the microLED. In this work, a newly available material, an 80 micron thick alumina ceramic substrate, is shown to yield a 30 % improvement on average in the maximum current drive over a glass substrate. 

Acoustic devices have played a major role in telecommunications for decades as the leading technology for filtering in RF and microwave frequencies. While filter requirements for insertion loss and bandwidth become more stringent, more functionality is desired for many applications to improve overall system level performance. For instance, a filter with non-reciprocal transmission can minimize losses due to mismatch and protect the source from reflections while also performing its filtering duties. A device such as this one was originally researched by scientists decades ago. These devices were based on the acoustoelectric effect where surface acoustic waves (SAW) traveling in the same direction are as drift carriers in a nearby semiconductor are amplified. While several experiments were successfully demonstrated in [1], [2], [3]. these devices suffered from extremely high operating electric fields and noise figure [4], [5]. In the past few years, new techniques have been developed for implementing non-reciprocal devices such as isolators and circulators without utilizing magnetic materials [6], [7], [8], [9]. The most popular technique has been spatio-temporal modulation (STM) where commutated clock signals synchronized with delay elements result in non-reciprocal transmission through the network. STM has also been adapted by researchers to create non-reciprocal filters. The work in [10] utilizes 4 clocks signals to obtain a non-reciprocal filter with an insertion loss of -6.6 dB an isolation of 25.4 dB. Another filter demonstrated in [11] utilizes 6 synchronized clock signals to obtain a non-reciprocal filter with an insertion loss of -5.6 dB and an Isolation of 20 dB. In this work, a novel non-reciprocal topology is explored with the use of only one modulation signal. The design is based on asymmetrical SAW delay lines with a parametric amplifier. The device can operate in two different modes: phase coherent mode and phase incoherent mode. In phase coherent mode, the device is capable of over +12 dB of gain and 20.2 dB of isolation. A unique feature of this mode is that the phase of the pump signal can be utilized to tune the frequency response of the filter. Under the phase-incoherent mode, the pump frequency remains constant and the device behaves as a normal filter with non-reciprocal transmission exhibiting over +7 dB of gain and 17.33 dB of isolation. While the tuning capability is lost in this mode, phase-coherence is no longer necessary so the device can be utilized in most filtering applications. 

Abstract The challenge of fabricating transparent and conductive (T/C) films and patterns for applications in flexible electronics, touch screens, solar cells, and smart windows remains largely unsolved. Traditional fabrication techniques are complex, costly, time‐consuming, and struggle to achieve the necessary precision and accuracy over electronic and optical properties. Here, hypersurface photolithography (HP), which integrates microfluidics, a digital micromirror device, and photochemical surface‐initiated polymerizations is used to create polymer brush patterns. The high‐throughput optimization enabled by HP provides conditions to fabricate patterns composed of cross‐linked polymer brushes containing Au‐binding 2‐vinylpyrrolidine (2VP) groups with precise control over the height and the composition at each pixel. Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) are incorporated into the polymer brush patterns through in situ reduction of Au ions, resulting in T/C composite AuNP/polymer brush patterns. The sheet resistance at 100 mA of a 2VP‐AuNP‐functionalized patterns on a glass substrate is 0.42 Ω sq⁻¹with 86% transmittance of visible light. Additional patterns demonstrate multiplexing by copatterning rhodamine B functionalized fluorescent polymer brushes and AuNP/polymer brush conductive domains. This work solves the challenge of creating T/C films by forming metal‐polymer composites from polymer brush patterns, offering a scalable solution for electronic and optical device development and fabrication.