Phase Modulation of Self-Gating in Ionic Liquid-Functionalized InSe Field-Effect Transistors

Carbon-based iontronics - current state and future perspectives

Over the past few decades, carbon materials, including fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, graphene, and porous carbons, have achieved tremendous success in the fields of energy, environment, medicine, and beyond, through their development and application. Due to their unique physical and chemical characteristics for enabling simultaneous interaction with ions and transport of electrons, carbon materials have been attracting increasing attention in the emerging field of iontronics in recent years. In this review, we first summarize the recent progress and achievements of carbon-based iontronics (ionic sensors, ionic transistors, ionic diodes, ionic pumps, and ionic actuators) for multiple bioinspired applications ranging from information sensing, processing, and actuation, to simple and basic artificial intelligent reflex arc units for the construction of smart and autonomous iontronics. Additionally, the promising potential of carbon materials for smart iontronics is highlighted and prospects are provided in this review, which provide new insights for the further development of nanostructured carbon materials and carbon-based smart iontronics.

Counterintuitive Isomerization of TFSI- and TFSI--Cation Correlated Isomerization: Insights into the Low Melting Points of TFSI--Based Ionic Liquids

Ionic liquids (ILs), particularly bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonamide (TFSI-)-based ILs, have attracted substantial attention in electrochemical energy storage, ionic gating for superconductivity, and iontronic sensing. However, underestimating TFSI- isomerization and overlooking TFSI--cation correlation make the origin of their most characteristic property, low melting points (Tm), ambiguous. Traditional static electronic structure calculations assume that C2-symmetric trans enantiomers of TFSI- easily isomerize into cis enantiomers through four symmetrically equivalent pathways over a barrier of 7.1 kJ mol-1. Herein, ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations combined with metadynamics reveal that the unusual oscillation of the central nitrogen atom promotes TFSI- to undergo complex isomerization. Specifically, asymmetric trans-to-cis diastereomers of TFSI- experience restricted interconversion (20-52 kJ mol-1) through four distinct asymmetric pathways. The adaptive oscillation and hybridization of chiral nitrogen boost nN → σ*S-C negative hyperconjugation for stabilizing conformational structures and enlarging energy barriers. The orientational distortion of oxygen atoms' lone pairs enhances conjugation but breaks the C2-symmetry. The coexistence of both helicity and chiral nitrogen breaks the enantiomeric relationship. Furthermore, Raman characterization and AIMD simulations confirm the positive correlation between the relative stability of cis-TFSI- and its countercation's polarity. TFSI- and countercations make a mutual conformational selection instead of free isomerization. Surprisingly, Tm increases with the cation-dependent conformational rigidity of TFSI-, offering new fundamental insights into the low Tm of ILs. This descriptor encoding the dependence of thermal property on cation-anion correlated isomerization provides material design guidelines and property prediction capability.

2D materials-based photodetectors combined with ferroelectrics

Photodetectors are essential optoelectronic devices that play a critical role in modern technology by converting optical signals into electrical signals, which are one of the most important sensors of the informational devices in current 'Internet of Things' era. Two-dimensional (2D) material-based photodetectors have excellent performance, simple design and effortless fabrication processes, as well as enormous potential for fabricating highly integrated and efficient optoelectronic devices, which has attracted extensive research attention in recent years. The introduction of spontaneous polarization ferroelectric materials further enhances the performance of 2D photodetectors, moreover, companying with the reduction of power consumption. This article reviews the recent advances of materials, devices in ferroelectric-modulated photodetectors. This review starts with the introduce of the basic terms and concepts of the photodetector and various ferroelectric materials applied in 2D photodetectors, then presents a variety of typical device structures, fundamental mechanisms and potential applications under ferroelectric polarization modulation. Finally, we summarize the leading challenges currently confronting ferroelectric-modulated photodetectors and outline their future perspectives.

Determining the Electron Scattering from Interfacial Coulomb Scatterers in Two-Dimensional Transistors

Two-dimensional (2D) transistors are promising for potential applications in next-generation semiconductor chips. Owing to the atomically thin thickness of 2D materials, the carrier scattering from interfacial Coulomb scatterers greatly suppresses the carrier mobility and hampers transistor performance. However, a feasible method to quantitatively determine relevant Coulomb scattering parameters from interfacial long-range scatterers is largely lacking. Here, we demonstrate a method to determine the Coulomb scattering strength and the density of Coulomb scattering centers in InSe transistors by comprehensively analyzing the low-frequency noise and transport characteristics. Moreover, the relative contributions from long-range and short-range scattering in the InSe transistors can be distinguished. This method is employed to make InSe transistors consisting of various interfaces a model system, revealing the profound effects of different scattering sources on transport characteristics and low-frequency noise. Quantitatively accessing the scattering parameters of 2D transistors provides valuable insight into engineering the interfaces of a wide spectrum of ultrathin-body transistors for high-performance electronics.

Single-Gate In-Transistor Readout of Current Superposition and Collapse Utilizing Quantum Tunneling and Ferroelectric Switching

In nanostructure assemblies, the superposition of current paths forms microscopic electric circuits, and different circuit networks produce varying results, particularly when utilized as transistor channels for computing applications. However, the intricate nature of assembly networks and the winding paths of commensurate currents hinder standard circuit modeling. Inspired by the quantum collapse of superposition states for information decoding in quantum circuits, the implementation of analogous current path collapse to facilitate the detection of microscopic circuits by modifying their network topology is explored. Here, the superposition and collapse of current paths in gate-all-around polysilicon nanosheet arrays are demonstrated to enrich the computational resources within transistors by engineering the channel length and quantity. Switching the ferroelectric polarization of Hf0.5 Zr0.5 O2 gate dielectric, which drives these transistors out-of-equilibrium, decodes the output polymorphism through circuit topological modifications. Furthermore, a protocol for the single-electron readout of ferroelectric polarization is presented with tailoring the channel coherence. The introduction of lateral path superposition results into intriguing metal-to-insulator transitions due to transient behavior of ferroelectric switching. This ability to adjust the current networks within transistors and their interaction with ferroelectric polarization in polycrystalline nanostructures lays the groundwork for generating diverse current characteristics as potential physical databases for optimization-based computing.