In this work, Mg1-xZnxO thin films were deposited on glass substrates by the pneumatic spray technique at 450°C using a 0.15 M precursor solution of magnesium acetate and zinc acetate. The effect of Zn content (x = 0, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7%) on the structural, morphological, optical, and electrical properties of the films was examined. XRD analysis showed that all films adopted a cubic MgO structure with diffraction peaks from the (111), (200), and (220) planes, and the crystallite size grew from 8.12 to 12.49 nm as the Zn content increased. SEM images indicated that moderate Zn incorporation improved film homogeneity, whereas higher Zn contents promoted agglomeration and surface roughening. The films transmitted well in the visible region, and the optical band gap widened from 3.56 to 3.93 eV at x = 0.3. The Urbach energy also rose with Zn content, reaching a maximum of 0.695 eV at x = 0.7, which indicates greater structural disorder. FTIR spectra confirmed that Zn incorporation modifies the chemical bonding network. The sheet resistance increased markedly with Zn content, demonstrating the strong influence of Zn doping on the optical and electrical properties of MgO thin films.

In this study, we demonstrate a well-established strategy for controlling the threshold voltage (Vth) in organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) by applying uniform gold nanoparticle (AuNP) coatings onto silver nanowire (AgNW) electrodes using a galvanic replacement process in the presence of NaCl. This approach highlights the potential for low-energy consumption operation. The AuNP coatings effectively adjust the work function of the AgNW electrodes to better match that of the organic semiconductor. As a result, the OTFT devices show significantly reduced threshold voltages, enhancing charge injection efficiency and lowering the operating voltage. Additionally, when used as synaptic transistors, the optimized Aucoated AgNW composite electrodes demonstrate superior neuromorphic performance, including a lower maximum drain voltage (VDS), indicating a potential for improved energy efficiency per spike event. This advancement marks a critical step toward developing low-power neuromorphic devices and low-voltage flexible electronics. Our work establishes a practical methodology for quantitatively and reproducibly controlling Vth through precise modulation of metal coating uniformity, providing a solid technological foundation for future optimization of organic electronic devices.

This study presents a performance evaluation platform for sputtered thin-film electrodes used in biogas-driven, low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). The design considerations include electrolyte material composition and thickness, anode material composition and thickness, anode fuel composition, and cathode composition and thickness, all derived from a review of existing literature. For the electrolyte, we propose a thickness of 100 μm for the main electrolyte made of gadolinium-doped ceria (GDC) and 0.1 μm for the auxiliary electrolyte made of scandia-stabilized zirconia. In terms of anode fabrication, we suggest a material composition of Ru/Ni-Cu-GDC, with thicknesses of 1 μm for Ni-Cu-GDC and a few nanometers for Ru in the nanoporous anode. For the anode fuel supply, we recommend mole ratios of 45% to 75% CH₄ and 25% to 55% CO₂ to assess the impact of biogas composition on power performance. Lastly, for the cathode, we propose a material composition of Pt-Ti-samarium-doped ceria with a thickness of 100 nm for the nanoporous structure.

A yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) cathode functional layer (CFL) was fabricated using a co-sputtering process to improve the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). To optimize the yttria molar percentage and achieve a nano-granular structure with enhanced grain boundary density, the DC sputtering power for the metallic yttrium target was varied at 10, 30, and 50 W. Structural and compositional analyses were performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results indicated that a DC power of 30 W resulted in a well-developed grain structure with high grain boundary density and an yttria composition close to the optimal molar percentage of 8-10 mol %. Under these optimized conditions, the SOFC with the co-sputtered YSZ CFL achieved a maximum power output of 9.22 mW/cm² at 450^oC, representing approximately a 43% enhancement compared to the reference cell. This highlights the significant potential of co-sputtering for future low-temperature SOFC applications.

Pinhole-free ionic conductors are critical to achieve optimal performance in thin film-solid oxide fuel cells (TF-SOFCs). However, nanoscale defects, especially pinholes, can induce current leakage and contribute to cell failure by creating electrical short circuits. This study introduced a novel methodology for detecting pinholes in yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thin-film solid oxide electrolytes. The approach utilized selective adsorption of silver (Ag) nanoparticles generated via a spark discharge generator (SDG). Analytical techniques, including focused ion beam (FIB), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), were employed to investigate interactions between Ag nanoparticles and nanoscale defects. Results showed that nanoparticle-based diagnostic methods were efficacious for defect characterization, offering a solution for enhancing the quality of thin-film electrolytes.

The elastic property of a copper (Cu) thin film was investigated using the surface acoustic wave (SAW) measurement technique. The Cu film was deposited on a quartz substrate using a direct current magnetron sputter and its surface morphology was inspected using atomic force microscopy. Time-domain waveforms of the SAW on the film were acquired at different propagation distances to estimate the Young’s modulus of Cu such that the experimentally-obtained dispersion curve can be compared to the analytical result calculated using the Transfer Matrix method for curve-fitting. Results showed that the film’s elastic property value decreased by 18.5% compared to that of the bulk state, and the scale effect was not significant in the thickness range of 150-300 nm, showing good agreement with those by the nanoindentation technique. The property, however, increased by 15.5% with the grain coarsening.

In this study, we fabricated thin film solid oxide fuel cells on nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) substrate for low-temperature operation using the all-through sputtering method. To deposit up to a three-micrometer thick anode with both porosity and electrical conductivity, we used the glancing angle deposition and co-sputtering methods. For the anode materials, we used nickel gadolinium-doped-ceria (Ni-GDC) mixed ionic and electronic conductor (MIEC), which improved hydrogen oxidation reaction reactivity at the anode side. TF-SOFCs were successfully operated at 500℃, and 223.6 mW/cm² was their highest measured maximum power density. We conducted structural and electrochemical analyses to figure out cells’ unique resistant characteristics; ohmic resistance through the anode thin film and polarization resistance of reaction area near the narrowed anode pores. We found how the anode thin film thickness affects the current collecting performance and the anode reactivity, and their effects were qualitatively and quantitatively compared.

Energy devices in modern society require high efficiency, carbon neutrality, and the capability of distributed power generation. A fuel cell is an energy conversion device, that satisfies all of these requirements. However, most fuel cells use hydrogen as a fuel, and more than half of hydrogen is currently produced through hydrocarbon reforming, resulting in significant energy loss. Additionally, the storage and supply of hydrogen require costly systems, and a large amount of energy is consumed during compression or liquidation processes. This paper develops a solid oxide fuel cell, that uses hydrocarbon directly as fuel to resolve this problem. A small amount of Ru is mixed with the Ni-based electrode, for the effective internal reforming of hydrocarbons. For rapid deposition of YSZ electrolytes, we developed a reactive sputtering process, using a DC power source. The developed thin-film solid oxide fuel cell, showed a performance of 76 mW/cm² at 500℃ using methane as fuel.

In this study, Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) functional layers were applied with different thin-film fabrication process such as sputtering and atomic layer deposition (ALD) to enhance oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) for solid oxide fuel cells. We confirmed that the YSZ functional layer deposited with sputtering showed relatively low grain boundary density, while the YSZ functional layer deposited with the ALD technique clearly indicated high grain boundary density through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD) results. The YSZ functional layer coated with the ALD technique revealed that more ORR kinetics can occur using high grain boundary density than the functional layer deposited with sputtering. The peak power density of the SOFC deposited with ALD YSZ indicates 2-folds enhancement than the pristine SOFC.

Nature-inspired architected materials have been widely used to achieve efficient structural materials by harnessing their cellular and hierarchical structures. For example, biological materials observed in bone, shell, nacre, and wood contain constituents, ranging from nanometers to centimeters, arranged in an ordered hierarchy. Because of their composited structures that contain micro and nanoscale building blocks arranged in an ordered hierarchy and the material size effect in the mechanical strength of nano-sized solids, bioceramic materials are mechanically robust and lightweight. The design principles offered by hard biological materials of multiscale composite structures can assist in the creation of advanced ceramic architectures. In addition, the evolution of additive manufacturing technologies has enabled the fabrication of materials with intricate cellular architected materials. In this review, we discussed advanced additive manufacturing for the fabrication of nature-inspired multiscale ceramic structures by combining conformal thin-film coating technique with conventional additive manufacturing methods.

Recently, new perovskite cathode material, SrCo_0.8Nb_0.1Ta0.1O_3-δ (SCNT) was reported, showing high oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity. This study demonstrates thin film deposition of SCNT by pulsed laser deposition technique applied to anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) based thin-film solid oxide fuel cells (TF-SOFCs) to assess the possibility of SCNT application to TF-SOFCs. The SCNT powder and the target were prepared by the solid state reactive sintering method (SSRS). This target was then mounted to the pulsed laser depositing machine and deposited on the Si wafer, and the nano-porous substrate, AAO. The physical structure and the chemical phase were investigated by the field emission scanning electron microscope, focused ion beam scanning electron microscope, and X-ray diffraction. On the top of the AAO, thin Pt film and yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) were first deposited by sputtering and the SCNT was deposited on the top of it afterward. The open circuit voltage of AAO cell was tested at 500°C, and successful polarization activity of SCNT was observed.

To study the geometrical scale dependency of thin film solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), we fabricated three thin films SOFCs with the same cross-sectional structure but with different electrode areas of 1, 4 and 9 ㎟. Since the activation and ohmic losses of SOFCs depend on their active region, we examined the variations of the power density of the cells with a Pt (anode)/sputtered YSZ/Pt (cathode) structure. We found that a cathode electrode with a low aspect ratio may suffer from high ohmic and activation losses because of the geometrical scale dependency.

Picosecond ultrasonic evaluation on the Young’s modulus of a ceramic thin-film was performed in the present study. A 100nm thick silicon nitride thin-film was deposited on a silicon wafer using the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique and gigahertz-frequency longitudinal bulk waves were excited in the film using a femtosecond laser setup. A thermoelastic equation was numerically solved using the finite difference method and compared to the experimental data to estimate the elastic property of the film. Results show that the present measurement technique can effectively evaluate the film’s Young’s modulus and it is recognized that the modulus is 60-70% lower than that of its bulk status. This study is expected to provide a way to characterize nanoscale ceramics with very high spatial and temporal resolutions for the design and analysis of microelectromechanical systems and thin-film based devices.

The energy saving effect of reactant plasma in Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) of ultrathin solid oxide fuel cell electrolyte was examined by measuring electrical current in real time. Actuating a plasma generator led to a remarkable change in electric current and therefore a Plasma Enhanced ALD (PE-ALD) Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) supercycle demanded ~12% higher process energy than a Thermal ALD (T-ALD) YSZ supercycle. Nonetheless, because PE-ALD YSZ electrolyte providing higher growth rate and higher gas tightness needed 2 times smaller cycle number compared to T-ALD YSZ electrolyte, applying oxygen plasma in ALD of YSZ electrolyte resultantly reduced total process energy by ~44%.