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Wang Z, Wang Z, Li D, Yang C, Zhang Q, Chen M, Gao H, Wei L. High-quality semiconductor fibres via mechanical design. Nature 2024; 626:72-78. [PMID: 38297173 PMCID: PMC10830409 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06946-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2024]
Abstract
Recent breakthroughs in fibre technology have enabled the assembly of functional materials with intimate interfaces into a single fibre with specific geometries1-11, delivering diverse functionalities over a large area, for example, serving as sensors, actuators, energy harvesting and storage, display, and healthcare apparatus12-17. As semiconductors are the critical component that governs device performance, the selection, control and engineering of semiconductors inside fibres are the key pathways to enabling high-performance functional fibres. However, owing to stress development and capillary instability in the high-yield fibre thermal drawing, both cracks and deformations in the semiconductor cores considerably affect the performance of these fibres. Here we report a mechanical design to achieve ultralong, fracture-free and perturbation-free semiconductor fibres, guided by a study on stress development and capillary instability at three stages of the fibre formation: the viscous flow, the core crystallization and the subsequent cooling stage. Then, the exposed semiconductor wires can be integrated into a single flexible fibre with well-defined interfaces with metal electrodes, thereby achieving optoelectronic fibres and large-scale optoelectronic fabrics. This work provides fundamental insights into extreme mechanics and fluid dynamics with geometries that are inaccessible in traditional platforms, essentially addressing the increasing demand for flexible and wearable optoelectronics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhixun Wang
- School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Zhe Wang
- School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
- Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering (Ministry of Education), Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Dong Li
- School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Chunlei Yang
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Qichong Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Multifunctional Nanomaterials and Smart Systems, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, China.
| | - Ming Chen
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
- Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
| | - Huajian Gao
- School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.
- Institute of High-Performance Computing, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore, Singapore.
| | - Lei Wei
- School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.
- Institute for Digital Molecular Analytics and Science (IDMxS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.
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Tsui HCL, Healy N. Recent progress of semiconductor optoelectronic fibers. FRONTIERS OF OPTOELECTRONICS 2021; 14:383-398. [PMID: 36637765 PMCID: PMC9743859 DOI: 10.1007/s12200-021-1226-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Accepted: 05/08/2021] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Semiconductor optoelectronic fiber technology has seen rapid development in recent years thanks to advancements in fabrication and post-processing techniques. Integrating the optical and electronic functionality of semiconductor materials into a fiber geometry has opened up many possibilities, such as in-fiber frequency generation, signal modulation, photodetection, and solar energy harvesting. This review provides an overview of the state-of-the-art in semiconductor optoelectronic fibers, including fabrication and post-processing methods, materials and their optical properties. The applications in nonlinear optics, optical-electrical conversion, lasers and multimaterial functional fibers will also be highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hei Chit Leo Tsui
- Emerging Technologies and Materials Group, School of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, Newcastle University, Newcastle, NE1 7RU UK
| | - Noel Healy
- Emerging Technologies and Materials Group, School of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, Newcastle University, Newcastle, NE1 7RU UK
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Semiconductor core fibres: materials science in a bottle. Nat Commun 2021; 12:3990. [PMID: 34183645 PMCID: PMC8239017 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24135-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2020] [Accepted: 06/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Novel core fibers have a wide range of applications in optics, as sources, detectors and nonlinear response media. Optoelectronic, and even electronic device applications are now possible, due to the introduction of methods for drawing fibres with a semiconductor core. This review examines progress in the development of glass-clad, crystalline core fibres, with an emphasis on semiconducting cores. The underlying materials science and the importance of post-processing techniques for recrystallization and purification are examined, with achievements and future prospects tied to the phase diagrams of the core materials. The application space for optical fibers is growing, enabled by fibers built using special materials and processes. In this Review, the authors discuss the materials science behind producing crystalline core fibers for diverse applications and progress in the field.
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Ren H, Aktas O, Franz Y, Runge AFJ, Hawkins T, Ballato J, Gibson UJ, Peacock AC. Tapered silicon core fibers with nano-spikes for optical coupling via spliced silica fibers. OPTICS EXPRESS 2017; 25:24157-24163. [PMID: 29041361 DOI: 10.1364/oe.25.024157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2017] [Accepted: 09/02/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Reported here is the fabrication of tapered silicon core fibers possessing a nano-spike input that facilitates their seamless splicing to conventional single mode fibers. A proof-of-concept 30 µm cladding diameter fiber-based device is demonstrated with nano-spike coupling and propagation losses below 4 dB and 2 dB/cm, respectively. Finite-element-method-based simulations show that the nano-spike coupling losses could be reduced to below 1 dB by decreasing the cladding diameters down to 10 µm. Such efficient and robust integration of the silicon core fibers with standard fiber devices will help to overcome significant barriers for all-fiber nonlinear photonics and optoelectronics.
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Wei L, Hou C, Levy E, Lestoquoy G, Gumennik A, Abouraddy AF, Joannopoulos JD, Fink Y. Optoelectronic Fibers via Selective Amplification of In-Fiber Capillary Instabilities. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2017; 29:1603033. [PMID: 27797161 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201603033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2016] [Revised: 09/12/2016] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Thermally drawn metal-insulator-semiconductor fibers provide a scalable path to functional fibers. Here, a ladder-like metal-semiconductor-metal photodetecting device is formed inside a single silica fiber in a controllable and scalable manner, achieving a high density of optoelectronic components over the entire fiber length and operating at a bandwidth of 470 kHz, orders of magnitude larger than any other drawn fiber device.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Wei
- School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore
| | - Chong Hou
- Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- Institute for Soldier Nanotechnology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Etgar Levy
- Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Guillaume Lestoquoy
- Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Alexander Gumennik
- Department of Intelligent Systems Engineering, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, 47408-2664, USA
| | - Ayman F Abouraddy
- CREOL, The College of Optics & Photonics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, 32816, USA
| | - John D Joannopoulos
- Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- Institute for Soldier Nanotechnology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Yoel Fink
- Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- Institute for Soldier Nanotechnology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA, 02139, USA
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Kaufman JJ, Tao G, Shabahang S, Deng DS, Fink Y, Abouraddy AF. Thermal drawing of high-density macroscopic arrays of well-ordered sub-5-nm-diameter nanowires. NANO LETTERS 2011; 11:4768-4773. [PMID: 21967545 DOI: 10.1021/nl202583g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
We investigate the lower limit of nanowire diameters stably produced by the process of thermal fiber drawing and fiber tapering. A centimeter-scale macroscopic cylindrical preform containing the nanowire material in the core encased in a polymer scaffold cladding is thermally drawn in the viscous state to a fiber. By cascading several iterations of the process, continuous reduction of the diameter of an amorphous semiconducting chalcogenide glass is demonstrated. Starting from a 10-mm-diameter rod we thermally draw hundreds of meters of continuous sub-5-nm-diameter nanowires. Using this approach, we produce macroscopic lengths of high-density, well-ordered, globally oriented nanowire arrays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua J Kaufman
- CREOL, The College of Optics & Photonics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32816, United States
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