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Recent Advances of Optoelectronic Devices and Semiconductor Sensors

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Optical Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2024 | Viewed by 3894

Special Issue Editors

Department of Electronics Engineering, National Changhua University of Education, Changhua 50007, Taiwan
Interests: two dimensional materials; semiconductor devices and materials; crystal growth and characterization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan
Interests: III-V compound materials; device manufacture; epitaxial growth LEDs, RC-LEDs and VCSELs

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Optoelectronic devices play essential roles in many aspects of our daily lives, such as fiber communications, solid-state lighting and display technology. Improvements to the materials and processes have resulted in smaller, more versatile, and more efficient LEDs for solid-state lighting. VCSELs have also become key devices in local area networks, driven by new functions in smartphones and vehicles. In the past several decades, sensors have improved the manufacturing technologies in industry sectors and changed the lifestyles of human beings. Due to the development of autonomous vehicles and electric vehicles and advanced manufacturing technologies in industry, many semiconductor sensors have gained great momentum. Furthermore, MEMS sensors made by bulk semiconductor processing technology are used to design different sensors (e.g., pressure, temperature, vibration and chemical sensors). Recently, the developments in wearable devices have helped to improve the quality of healthcare in a fascinating way. Dimension, weight, cost, portability, performance, and user-friendliness play important roles in sensor configuration. Novel 2D materials and their hybrids enable the possibility of flexible and wearable devices owing to their layer-dependent properties. The growing global demand for electricity makes it essential to develop renewable energies. To date, silicon has been the material used most in the construction of solar panels, but in the last two decades some emerging classes of materials, such as perovskite and low-dimensional nanomaterials, have emerged in new lines of research related to sustainable energy technology.

This Special Issue is addressed to all types of optoelectronic devices and semiconductor sensors using new semiconductor materials, new processes, or new structures. We aim to address new trends in the materials, theory, practice, and applications of the most recent optoelectronic technologies and semiconductors.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

  • Emerging optoelectronic materials and devices;
  • New designs and fabrication techniques of optoelectronic devices;
  • Emerging semiconductor materials for sensors;
  • New designs and fabrication techniques for sensors;
  • New advances in photovoltaics and photodetectors;
  • Reliability and lifetime testing of optoelectronic devices and sensors;
  • Recent trends in semiconductor sensors and systems;
  • Recent trends in MEMS sensor design and manufacturing.

Prof. Dr. Der-Yuh Lin
Prof. Dr. Chia-Feng Lin
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sensors is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 7224 KiB  
Article
Machine-Learning-Assisted Instantaneous Frequency Measurement Method Based on Thin-Film Lithium Niobate on an Insulator Phase Modulator for Radar Detection
by Qianqian Jia, Zichuan Xiang, Dechen Li, Jianguo Liu and Jinye Li
Sensors 2024, 24(5), 1489; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24051489 - 25 Feb 2024
Viewed by 478
Abstract
A simple microwave photonic, reconfigurable, instantaneous frequency measurement system based on low-voltage thin-film lithium niobate on an insulator phase modulator is put forward and experimentally demonstrated. Changing the wavelength of the optical carrier can realize the flexibility of the frequency measurement range and [...] Read more.
A simple microwave photonic, reconfigurable, instantaneous frequency measurement system based on low-voltage thin-film lithium niobate on an insulator phase modulator is put forward and experimentally demonstrated. Changing the wavelength of the optical carrier can realize the flexibility of the frequency measurement range and accuracy, showing that during the ranges of 0–10 GHz, 3–15 GHz, and 12–18 GHz, the average measurement errors are 26.9 MHz, 44.57 MHz, and 13.6 MHz, respectively, thanks to the stacked integrated learning models. Moreover, this system is still able to respond to microwave signals of as low as −30 dBm with the frequency measurement error of 62.06 MHz, as that low half-wave voltage for the phase modulator effectively improves the sensitivity of the system. The general-purpose, miniaturized, reconfigurable, instantaneous frequency measurement modules have unlimited potential in areas such as radar detection and early warning reception. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances of Optoelectronic Devices and Semiconductor Sensors)
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13 pages, 6236 KiB  
Article
Mach–Zehnder Modulators for Microwave Polarization Measurement in Astronomy Applications
by Francisco J. Casas and Guillermo Pascual-Cisneros
Sensors 2023, 23(14), 6300; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23146300 - 11 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 580
Abstract
This paper presents a study of the performances of different Mach–Zehnder modulation technologies with applications in microwave polarimeters based on a near-infrared (NIR) frequency up-conversion stage, allowing for optical correlation and signal detection at a wavelength of 1550 nm. Commercial Mach–Zehnder modulators (MZMs) [...] Read more.
This paper presents a study of the performances of different Mach–Zehnder modulation technologies with applications in microwave polarimeters based on a near-infrared (NIR) frequency up-conversion stage, allowing for optical correlation and signal detection at a wavelength of 1550 nm. Commercial Mach–Zehnder modulators (MZMs) are traditionally implemented using LiNbO3 technology, which does not enable integration for the fabrication of MZMs. In this work, we propose the use of an alternative technology based on InP, which allows for integration in the fabrication process. In this way, it is possible to obtain advantages in terms of bandwidth, cost, and size reductions, which yield results that are very interesting for wide-band applications such as microwave instrumentation for the study of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Here, we describe and compare the modulation performances of different MZMs, with one commercial unit presenting a higher bandwidth than those in previous works, and another three InP integrated units provided by the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich-Hertz-Institute (HHI). Then, these modulators were coupled to a microwave polarimeter demonstrator, which has also been presented previously, to compare the polarization measurement performances of each of the MZMs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances of Optoelectronic Devices and Semiconductor Sensors)
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12 pages, 4003 KiB  
Communication
Enhanced Optical Response of SnS/SnS2 Layered Heterostructure
by Der-Yuh Lin, Hung-Pin Hsu, Kuang-Hsin Liu, Po-Hung Wu, Yu-Tai Shih, Ya-Fen Wu, Yi-Ping Wang and Chia-Feng Lin
Sensors 2023, 23(10), 4976; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23104976 - 22 May 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1478
Abstract
The SnS/SnS2 heterostructure was fabricated by the chemical vapor deposition method. The crystal structure properties of SnS2 and SnS were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern, Raman spectroscopy, and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The frequency dependence photoconductivity explores its [...] Read more.
The SnS/SnS2 heterostructure was fabricated by the chemical vapor deposition method. The crystal structure properties of SnS2 and SnS were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern, Raman spectroscopy, and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The frequency dependence photoconductivity explores its carrier kinetic decay process. The SnS/SnS2 heterostructure shows that the ratio of short time constant decay process reaches 0.729 with a time constant of 4.3 × 10−4 s. The power-dependent photoresponsivity investigates the mechanism of electron–hole pair recombination. The results indicate that the photoresponsivity of the SnS/SnS2 heterostructure has been increased to 7.31 × 10−3 A/W, representing a significant enhancement of approximately 7 times that of the individual films. The results show the optical response speed has been improved by using the SnS/SnS2 heterostructure. These results indicate an application potential of the layered SnS/SnS2 heterostructure for photodetection. This research provides valuable insights into the preparation of the heterostructure composed of SnS and SnS2, and presents an approach for designing high-performance photodetection devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances of Optoelectronic Devices and Semiconductor Sensors)
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38 pages, 20048 KiB  
Article
Impact of Supersonic Flow in Scintillator Detector Apertures on the Resulting Pumping Effect of the Vacuum Chambers
by Jiří Maxa, Vilém Neděla, Pavla Šabacká and Tomáš Binar
Sensors 2023, 23(10), 4861; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23104861 - 18 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 775
Abstract
The article describes the combination of experimental measurements with mathematical–physics analyses in flow investigation in the chambers of the scintillator detector, which is a part of the environmental scanning electron microscope. The chambers are divided with apertures by small openings that keep the [...] Read more.
The article describes the combination of experimental measurements with mathematical–physics analyses in flow investigation in the chambers of the scintillator detector, which is a part of the environmental scanning electron microscope. The chambers are divided with apertures by small openings that keep the desirable pressure differences between three chambers: The specimen chamber, the differentially pumped intermediate chamber, and the scintillator chamber. There are conflicting demands on these apertures. On the one hand, the diameter of the apertures must be as big as possible so that they incur minimal losses of the passing secondary electrons. On the other hand, it is possible to magnify the apertures only to a certain extent so the rotary and turbomolecular vacuum pump can maintain the required operating pressures in separate chambers. The article describes the combination of experimental measurement using an absolute pressure sensor and mathematical physics analysis to map all the specifics of the emerging critical supersonic flow in apertures between the chambers. Based on the experiments and their tuned analyses, the most effective variant of combining the sizes of each aperture concerning different operating pressures in the detector is determined. The situation is made more difficult by the described fact that each aperture separates a different pressure gradient, so the gas flow through each aperture has its own characteristics with a different type of critical flow, and they influence each other, thereby influencing the final passage of secondary electrons detected by the scintillator and thus affecting the resulting displayed image. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances of Optoelectronic Devices and Semiconductor Sensors)
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