News on China's scientific and technological development.

Researchers from Tianjin University created better hydrogel for cardiac repair.

Paper:

Ultra-Histocompatible and Electrophysiological-Adapted PEDOT-Based Hydrogels Designed for Cardiac Repair​

Abstract​

Currently, although conducting polymers have exhibited potential electrophysiological modulation, designing bioinspired ultra-histocompatible conducting polymers remains a long-standing challenge. Moreover, the water dispersibility, conductivity, and biocompatibility of conducting polymers are incompatible, which restricts their application in tissue engineering. Herein, a multilevel template dispersion strategy is presented to produce poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)dextran sulfate/carboxymethyl chitosan) (PEDOTDSS/CMCS)) with biocompatibility superior to that of commercial poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)oly(styrenesulfonate) without sacrificing processability and conductivity. The PEDOTDSS/CMCS) and oxidized dextran solutions form an injectable PEDOT-based hydrogel (PDCOH) mediated by dynamic covalent imine bonds under mild conditions. The PDCOH has a tissue-matched modulus and conductivity to adapt to the mechanical environment of dynamic tissue and modulate fibrosis-induced electrical decoupling. The PDCOH combined with adipose-derived stem cells demonstrates superior cardiac repair effects over cell suspensions and nonconductive hydrogels, inhibiting ventricular remodeling, reducing fibrous scarring, promoting vascular regeneration, and restoring electrophysiological and pulsatile functions.

News:

抵抗人类健康“头号杀手”，天津大学研发“救心”水凝胶​

天津大学李俊杰教授团队成功研发新型水凝胶，该水凝胶可有效抑制心室重塑，促进血管再生并恢复心脏电生理功能，为缺血性心肌梗死患者带来福音。相关成果得到国家自然科学基金和天津市自然科学基金支持，现已发表于领域权威期刊《先进功能材料》。

缺血性心脏病被称为人类健康“头号杀手”。冠状动脉堵塞会诱发心肌供血不足，使心肌细胞代谢出问题，从而导致心肌细胞死亡，影响心脏生理功能。缺血性心脏病持续威胁人类健康，发病群体越来越趋于年轻化。目前，心脏组织工程专家主要使用基于聚乙撑二氧噻吩的导电水凝胶改善心肌细胞跳动频率、收缩速度和排列结构，但是这种水凝胶并不利于心肌细胞存活和增殖，甚至可能引起严重炎症反应。因此，开发出一种新型水凝胶对于心肌修复治疗有重要意义。

天津大学李俊杰教授团队研发的新型水凝胶可有效克服传统导电水凝胶生物相容性差的缺陷，具有优越的细胞相容性和组织相容性，几乎不会引起炎症。特别值得一提的是，这种新型水凝胶还显示出与心肌相匹配的机械性能和传导性，能促进心肌细胞成熟和定向肌节结构的形成，可以调节纤维化引起的电解耦，防止梗塞恶化。实验结果显示，新型水凝胶可以有效延长干细胞治疗的持续时间，改善心脏修复功能。

“协同机械、电学和生物索引是我们团队未来研究的重点，优异的生物相容性和力电仿生设计将是实现更好治疗效果和临床转化的关键。”李俊杰教授介绍，“我们相信，这种水凝胶在心肌修复、骨骼肌重建、神经和脊髓修复等其他方面应用也具有潜在优势。

Scientists from Peking University created 2D indium selenide transistors that are faster than the state-of-the-art sillicon-based FETs.

Paper in English:

Ballistic two-dimensional InSe transistors​

Abstract​

The International Roadmap for Devices and Systems (IRDS) forecasts that, for silicon-based metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) field-effect transistors (FETs), the scaling of the gate length will stop at 12 nm and the ultimate supply voltage will not decrease to less than 0.6 V (ref. ). This defines the final integration density and power consumption at the end of the scaling process for silicon-based chips. In recent years, two-dimensional (2D) layered semiconductors with atom-scale thicknesses have been explored as potential channel materials to support further miniaturization and integrated electronics. However, so far, no 2D semiconductor-based FETs have exhibited performances that can surpass state-of-the-art silicon FETs. Here we report a FET with 2D indium selenide (InSe) with high thermal velocity as channel material that operates at 0.5 V and achieves record high transconductance of 6 mS μm−1 and a room-temperature ballistic ratio in the saturation region of 83%, surpassing those of any reported silicon FETs. An yttrium-doping-induced phase-transition method is developed for making ohmic contacts with InSe and the InSe FET is scaled down to 10 nm in channel length. Our InSe FETs can effectively suppress short-channel effects with a low subthreshold swing (SS) of 75 mV per decade and drain-induced barrier lowering (DIBL) of 22 mV V−1. Furthermore, low contact resistance of 62 Ω μm is reliably extracted in 10-nm ballistic InSe FETs, leading to a smaller intrinsic delay and much lower energy-delay product (EDP) than the predicted silicon limit.

News in Chinese:

北京大学彭练矛、邱晨光团队Nature：速度超越硅极限的二维晶体管​

众所周知，晶体管是构成芯片的关键元件。过去几十年里，集成电路持续向着小型化方向发展，可容纳的晶体管数目大约每隔18个月至两年便会增加一倍，性能也会提升一倍。英特尔创始人之一Gordon Moore最先发现了这一趋势，并依此提出了著名的“摩尔定律”。不过，随着技术的发展，时至今日“摩尔定律”似乎要走到尽头。受限于硅基材料本身的性质，传统晶体管尺寸并不可能持续缩小，集成电路可容纳的晶体管数目也不可能持续增加。根据国际半导体器件与系统路线图（IRDS）的预测，硅基金属氧化物半导体（MOS）场效应晶体管（FET）的极限栅长将停止在12 nm，工作电压不能小于0.6 V。换句话说，硅基芯片的性能已经接近了“天花板”。如果希望继续提高集成电路中晶体管数目，提升芯片性能并降低功耗，一个可行的方向是发展新型沟道材料。原子级厚度的二维层状半导体被认为很有希望成为下一代芯片沟道材料，然而迄今为止所有基于二维半导体的FET所展现出的性能均不能媲美业界先进硅基FET，所存在的主要挑战包括二维半导体和高k电介质之间的低质量界面、二维半导体-金属界面上较差的源极和漏极接触、二维半导体材料本身固有的缺陷等等。

近期，北京大学电子学院彭练矛教授-邱晨光研究员课题组制备了10 nm超短沟道弹道二维硒化铟（InSe）晶体管，首次使得二维晶体管实际性能超过Intel商用10纳米节点的硅基Fin晶体管，并且将二维晶体管的工作电压降到0.5 V，这也是世界上迄今速度最快、能耗最低的二维半导体晶体管。采用高载流子热速度的三层InSe作为沟道材料，饱和区室温弹道率高达83%，超过任何已报道的硅基FET；二维材料表面高质量生长2.6 nm超薄双栅氧化铪（HfO2）介电层，器件跨导提升至6 mS μm−1，超过所有已报道二维器件一个数量级；通过钇（Y）掺杂诱导二维相变解决二维器件领域半导体-金属接触较差的问题，总电阻低至124 Ω μm，满足对于下一代晶体管电阻的要求。相关论文近日发表于Nature，北京大学电子学院博士生姜建峰与徐琳博士为并列第一作者，彭练矛教授和邱晨光研究员为共同通讯作者。

综上所述，北京大学电子学院彭练矛教授-邱晨光研究员课题组制造了具有欧姆接触、高栅极效率和接近理想弹道率的超短沟道高性能InSe场效应晶体管，可在0.5 V的超低电压下工作。这项工作突破了长期以来阻碍二维电子学发展的关键科学瓶颈，首次证实了二维半导体晶体管的性能可以接近理论预测的极限，与当前最先进的硅基晶体管相比在性能与功耗上更具优势。在未来的埃米（Å）技术节点发展中，二维半导体技术有望大放光芒。

One more research on 2D transistors by Peking University.

Paper:

2D fin field-effect transistors integrated with epitaxial high-k gate oxide​

Abstract​

Precise integration of two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors and high-dielectric-constant (k) gate oxides into three-dimensional (3D) vertical-architecture arrays holds promise for developing ultrascaled transistors,,,,, but has proved challenging. Here we report the epitaxial synthesis of vertically aligned arrays of 2D fin-oxide heterostructures, a new class of 3D architecture in which high-mobility 2D semiconductor fin Bi2O2Se and single-crystal high-k gate oxide Bi2SeO5 are epitaxially integrated. These 2D fin-oxide epitaxial heterostructures have atomically flat interfaces and ultrathin fin thickness down to one unit cell (1.2 nm), achieving wafer-scale, site-specific and high-density growth of mono-oriented arrays. The as-fabricated 2D fin field-effect transistors (FinFETs) based on Bi2O2Se/Bi2SeO5 epitaxial heterostructures exhibit high electron mobility (μ) up to 270 cm2 V−1 s−1, ultralow off-state current (IOFF) down to about 1 pA μm−1, high on/off current ratios (ION/IOFF) up to 108 and high on-state current (ION) up to 830 μA μm−1 at 400-nm channel length, which meet the low-power specifications projected by the International Roadmap for Devices and Systems (IRDS). The 2D fin-oxide epitaxial heterostructures open up new avenues for the further extension of Moore’s law.

News:

彭海琳课题组报道首例外延高κ栅介质集成型二维鳍式晶体管​

2023年3月22日，北京大学化学与分子工程学院彭海琳教授课题组在《自然》（Nature）期刊上发表题为“2D fin field-effect transistors integrated with epitaxial high-κ gate oxide”的研究论文。该研究报道了世界首例二维半导体鳍片/高κ栅氧化物异质结阵列的外延生长及其三维架构的异质集成，并研制了高性能二维鳍式场效应晶体管（2D FinFET）。外延制备的二维半导体鳍片/单晶高κ自氧化物异质结（2Dfin/oxideBi2O2Se/Bi2SeO5）具有原子级平整界面和超薄的鳍片厚度（达一个单胞厚度，~1.2纳米），可实现晶圆级定向阵列制备和定点、高密度生长。基于Bi2O2Se/Bi2SeO5外延异质结的二维鳍式场效应晶体管具有很高的电子迁移率，极低的关态电流，很大的开/关态电流比和开态电流密度，满足国际器件与系统路线图（IRDS）的2028年低功耗器件目标要求。该原创性工作突破了后摩尔时代高速低功耗芯片的二维新材料精准合成与新架构三维异质集成瓶颈，为开发未来先进芯片技术带来新机遇。

Midea is the world's largest home appliance company. Here is one of its very efficient, 5G-enhanced factory:

Professor Xiang-Dong Fu, exiled from US brain research

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• Xiang-Dong Fu, who left California over suspicions about his foreign links, has joined Westlake University in southern China
• Fu, who denies any wrongdoing, said his new lab is well-resourced and his work into Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s will continue

A world-leading molecular biologist who became entangled in the Trump-era

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aimed at curbing alleged theft of US intellectual property has joined Westlake University in eastern China as a full-time professor.

Xiang-Dong Fu, a Chinese-born US citizen, resigned from the University of California San Diego in December – after 30 years with its school of medicine – in the wake of an investigation into his links with Chinese scientists and institutions.

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Fu was named a distinguished professor of cellular and molecular medicine. His long-standing research into basic aspects of RNA and its role in diseases led to several breakthroughs.

In 2020, Fu’s team used a gene-editing technique to convert mouse brain cells into neurons, which could be used directly to reverse Parkinson’s – a disease caused by the loss of certain neurons and traditionally treated by preventing the neurons from dying.

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“Five of my grants worth a total of US$1.5 million were taken away, and my lab was running on only two people. NIH and FBI officials came by from time to time to make surprise inspections.”

Since joining Westlake University in January, he has received generous resources, including a team of around 10 research assistants to restart his work. He will start a new lab in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, where he will continue his work on RNA biology and regenerative medicine. His research in China would focus on translational medicine, developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. An estimated

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elderly people will be affected by Parkinson's disease in 2030 China.

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This is a blessing in disguise for patients with neurodegenerative diseases. If he succeeds in China, the treatment may be made affordable and available to everyone regardless of nationality or ethnicity. If he stayed in US for his research, his success would instead be commercialized by big pharma and sold at exorbitant prices to exploit the sick and desperate.

luminary said:

Professor Xiang-Dong Fu, exiled from US brain research

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

• Xiang-Dong Fu, who left California over suspicions about his foreign links, has joined Westlake University in southern China
• Fu, who denies any wrongdoing, said his new lab is well-resourced and his work into Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s will continue

This is a blessing in disguise for patients with neurodegenerative diseases. If he succeeds in China, the treatment may be made affordable and available to everyone regardless of nationality or ethnicity. If he stayed in US for his research, his success would instead be commercialized by big pharma and sold at exorbitant prices to exploit the sick and desperate.

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LMAO talk about self-fulfilling prophecy.

siegecrossbow said:

LMAO talk about self-fulfilling prophecy.

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Here's to many more.

No forced tech transfer for you!

New direction for Li-ion battery development: Using self-developed novel chloride material Li3TiCl6 as anode, China's scientists obtained energy-dense all-solid-state Li-based batteries. At room temperature, the new material is compressible and highly ionic conductive (1.04mS/cm)..

sunnymaxi said:

New direction for Li-ion battery development: Using self-developed novel chloride material Li3TiCl6 as anode, China's scientists obtained energy-dense all-solid-state Li-based batteries. At room temperature, the new material is compressible and highly ionic conductive (1.04mS/cm)..

Click to expand...

What's the energy density?