The applications of superconducting electronics primarily stem from the inherent critical properties, microwave characteristics, and Josephson effects of superconductors. Superconducting electronics hold revolutionary potential across various fields, including ultrahigh-speed computing, ultrahigh-sensitivity detection, and quantum information technology. Furthermore, superconducting electronics provide a crucial avenue for overcoming the limitations of traditional semiconductor electronics. Modern electronic devices, in particular, often rely on film-based integrated electronic chips. With the rapid advancement in superconducting film technology and cryogenic refrigeration, high-temperature superconducting films are increasingly used to fabricate various superconducting electronic devices. Owing to their sensitivity to weak electromagnetic signals, superconducting films have been used in the design and development of superconducting qubits, superconducting microwave devices, superconducting quantum interference devices, and superconducting single-photon detectors. Currently, the application of high-temperature superconducting materials in low-power electronics is primarily focused on fields such as communications and electronics. Compared with traditional electronic devices, superconducting electronic devices consume less power, exhibit higher sensitivity, and offer various other advantages such as interference resistance and miniaturization. REBa2Cu3O7-delta(REBCO, where RE = rare-earth elements) high-temperature superconducting films have garnered considerable attention owing to their high critical parameters, excellent microwave properties, and interference resistance. However, superconductors inherently have weak bonding properties. Thus, it is essential to develop high-quality biaxially textured REBCO films that meet the required specifications for modern electronic devices. REBCO films are commonly used in the fabrication of microwave electronic devices (e.g., superconducting filters and microwave resonators), mixers, and oscillators. Superconducting microwave electronic devices exhibit superior microwave performance compared with conventional metallic electronic devices. This work reviews the mainstream fabrication methods for REBCO films (e.g., pulsed laser deposition, magnetron sputtering, evaporation, metal-organic chemical vapor deposition, and metal-organic deposition) and summarizes the principles, characteristics, research progress, and performance optimization strategies for fabrication methods. Various epitaxial thin-film techniques play a crucial role in high-temperature superconductivity research owing to their precision and flexibility in structural control. Using epitaxial growth techniques, complex multimaterial structures, including single-crystal films, heterostructures, and superlattices, can be precisely designed and fabricated at the atomic level. This advances the understanding of high-temperature superconducting mechanisms and provides vast prospects for developing superconducting materials with high critical temperatures. Finally, a preliminary outlook on the future development of the fabrication process of REBCO films is presented to promote the applications of superconducting electronics.

Two-dimensional (2D) chalcogenides are widely recognized as promising gas-sensing materials due to their high specific surface area, abundant surface defects and tunable electronic properties. However, challenges remain in optimizing material performance and structural design to enhance sensing capabilities. Herein, compositionally tunable 2D SnS2(1_x)Se2x vertical nanosheets were successfully synthesized on ITO substrates via CVD. The SnS0.98Se0.95-based sensor exhibits high response (173% toward 20 ppm NH3), low detection limit (1 ppm), rapid response/recovery (15 s / 66 s), and good selectivity to NH3 at room temperature. Moreover, the influence mechanism of humidity was analyzed from perspectives of proton (H+) hopping, hydrogen-bond, NH3 solubility, etc. Notably, the sensing performance of 2D SnS2(1_x)Se2x is affected by the S/Se ratio and is significantly superior to that of binary SnSe2/SnS2. This phenomenon may be attributed to weak interlayer coupling, localized strain, and variations in carrier concentration. Finally, density functional theory (DFT) was employed to evaluate the adsorption energies and charge-transfer characteristics of SnS2(1_x)Se2x with different compositions toward NH3. The results were in agreement with the experimental findings. This work explores the application of 2D SnS2(1_x)Se2x in NH3 sensing for the first time, hoping to provide reference for developing and designing novel sensing materials.

Excellent biaxial texture is key to mitigating grain boundary weak links in REBa₂Cu₃O₇-δ (REBCO; RE = rare earth element) superconducting tapes. Ion beam-assisted deposition of MgO (IBAD-MgO) is widely used for developing textured templates. However, IBAD-MgO layers remain susceptible to environmental degradation and form lattice defects. This work investigates the chemical evolution of atmospherically exposed IBAD-MgO layers and its impact on the texture of subsequently grown homoepitaxial-MgO (homo-MgO) via metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Exposure causes surface hydroxylation and carbonation, resulting in the degradation of the MgO texture. Therefore, exposure should ideally be limited to within ∼60 min. Further, the thickness and deposition rate of the homo-MgO layer were synergistically optimized to enhance the MgO-layer texture and morphology. Optimizing the MgO-layer thickness and the homo-MgO-layer deposition rate to ∼100 nm and 16 nm/min, respectively, resulted in excellent biaxial texture, crystallinity, and roughness. The full-width-at-half-maximum values of the out-of-plane (Δω) and in-plane (Δφ) of MgO reached 2.9° and 6.3°, respectively, with a root-mean-square roughness (Rq) of 2.3 nm. Thus, this work provides a reference for the controlled preparation of high-quality MgO buffer layers.

The escalating global energy crisis has intensified research efforts toward developing heterogeneous structures capable of addressing the sluggish kinetics of the hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction in electrocatalysis. In this study, a novel strategy for the design of highly efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts was proposed. Uniform Ni nanolayers were successfully deposited on Nb2CTx/CNT hybrid supports through a combination of CVD and magnetron sputtering techniques. The resulting Ni/Nb2CTx/CNT@NF catalyst demonstrated exceptional electrocatalytic performance in 1 M KOH. For HER, it achieved remarkably low overpotentials of 41 mV@10 mA cm-2 and 196 mV@100 mA cm-2. Similarly, for OER, the catalyst exhibited outstanding activity with overpotentials of 299 mV@20 mA cm-2 and 337 mV@50 mA cm-2. Furthermore, the catalyst maintained stable performance at 20 mA cm-2 for 48 h without significant degradation, highlighting its excellent long-term stability. The superior catalytic performance can be attributed to several key factors: (1) The uniform distribution of Ni nanolayers enhances intrinsic conductivity and increases the density of active sites; (2) The incorporation of CNTs expands the reaction interface, facilitating charge and mass transfer; and (3) The electronic interaction between Nb2CTx and Ni further optimizes the catalytic kinetics.

The second-generation high-temperature superconducting (2G-HTS) tapes based on REBa2Cu3O7-delta (REBCO, RE = rare earth) superconductors possess considerable potential for high-field magnet and electrical applications. Traditional fabrication techniques for the necessary stacked layers involve complex, high-vacuum deposition techniques that increase both the production complexity and cost. Herein, these stacked layers via metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) to simplify the fabrication process, achieve enhanced efficiency, and reduce up-scaling cost. The substrate comprising stacked layers of IBAD-MgO/SDP-Y2O3/Hastelloy was sequentially deposited with a MgO homoepitaxial layer and LaMnO3 (LMO) cap layer via MOCVD, followed by epitaxial deposition of a YBCO film to evaluate the feasibility of these layered structures. The effects of deposition temperature on the texture and morphology of the MgO and LaMnO3 layers were systematically investigated using Xray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The MgO homoepitaxial layer deposited at 580 degrees C exhibited optimal biaxial texture and smoothness, and the LMO cap layer deposited at 700 degrees C also demonstrated similarly high textural quality. Ultimately, the resulting YBCO film showcased a pure c-axis texture, reaching a critical current density of 2 MA/cm2 (77 K, 0 T). Therefore, the stacking layers strategy utilizing MOCVD-LMO/MOCVD-MgO as buffer layers for REBCO superconducting coatings proves feasible in this work. These results highlight the significant potential of MOCVD to simplify the overall fabrication process of 2G-HTS tapes.

To address the increasingly severe ecological degradation, photocatalytic technology has attracted significant attention due to its pollution-free nature and the abundance of renewable resources. Numerous semiconductor photocatalysts have been developed. However, their performance has long been constrained by the rapid recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. In this study, the In2O3nanorods loaded with graphene structure has been fabricated, where In₂O₃nanorods were prepared using the glancing angle deposition technique. The research aims to suppress the recombination of photogenerated carriers in In₂O₃by leveraging the high electron mobility of graphene, thereby enhancing its photocatalytic performance. Under the optimal graphene loading conditions, the photocurrent density of In₂O₃/graphene is as high as 0.6 mA cm-2. The photocurrent density and degradation efficiency has been improved by 81.82% and 33.5% compared to pure In₂O₃nanorods, respectively. This enhancement can be attributed to the built-in electric field formed between graphene and In₂O₃, which facilitates rapid electron transfer and effectively suppresses charge recombination, thereby improving the overall photocatalytic performance.

Metal halide perovskites have shown considerable promise for electroluminescent applications, yet the toxicity and limited operational stability of conventional lead-based systems continue to hinder their practical use. As a lead-free material with low toxicity, improved stability, and self-trapped-exciton emission, CsCu2I3 offers new opportunities for environmentally benign electroluminescent devices. Here, we report an all-inorganic heterojunction electroluminescent diode with an ITO/NiO/CsCu2I3/Ga2O3/n-Si/Ag architecture, in which electroluminescence from CsCu2I3 is achieved through interfacial band engineering. The stepwise band alignment established across the NiO/CsCu2I3/Ga2O3 stack enables directional bipolar carrier injection and confined recombination within the emissive layer, leading to stable yellow electroluminescence under forward bias. These results show that rational interfacial band matching provides an effective route to all-inorganic, lead-free CsCu2I3 electroluminescent devices and offers a useful design strategy for copper halide perovskite-based electroluminescent heterostructures.

This study employs the glancing angle deposition technique to fabricate ordered TiO2 nanorod arrays and constructs TiO2/graphene composite photoanodes by incorporating graphene nanosheets to enhance their photoelectrochemical performance. Structural and compositional analyses indicate that graphene has been successfully integrated onto the TiO2 nanorod surface, forming a strong interfacial contact. Compared to pure TiO2, the composite electrodes exhibit higher photocurrent density and lower interfacial charge transfer resistance. The TG-60 sample shows the best photocurrent response at 1.23 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), with a photocurrent density increase of 3.36 times, reaching 1.41 mA cm(-2), under 100 mW cm(-2) illumination (calibrated by an irradiance meter). In addition to the enhanced photoelectrochemical performance, the composite samples also demonstrate improved photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB), with a RhB degradation efficiency increase of 35.2% within 2 h. The enhanced performance is mainly attributed to graphene's promotion of photogenerated electron extraction and transport, which suppresses electron-hole recombination. This work provides a simple strategy for designing TiO2-based semiconductor/carbon composite photoelectrodes.

Interfacial engineering between superconductors and oxide substrates is critical for controlling epitaxial quality and suppressing weak-link grain boundaries. The large lattice mismatch between YBa₂Cu₃O₇−δ (YBCO) and MgO causes competing cubic-on-cubic and 45° in-plane rotated growth modes, degrading superconducting properties. The LaMnO₃ (LMO) buffer layer was deposited on MgO (001) substrates by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), and the effect of deposition temperature (650–950 °C) was systematically investigated. The LMO layer grown at 850 °C shows optimal texture (Δω = 0.71°, Δφ = 0.97°) and low roughness (Rq = 0.7 nm). Using LMO layer, YBCO films exhibit improved texture (Δω = 0.29°, Δφ = 0.85°) and a dramatic increase in critical current density Jc from 0.07 to 3.3 MA/cm2 (77 K, 0 T). The LMO interlayer effectively alleviates lattice mismatch, suppresses the 45° rotated mode, and provides a practical route for high-performance YBCO on MgO.

The development of high-temperature superconducting coated conductors (HTSCCs) hinges on the availability of long-length metallic substrates with highly planarized surfaces-ideally achieved through simple, scalable, and low-cost methods. Solution deposition planarization (SDP) using amorphous Y2O3 has emerged as a promising route to flatten Hastelloy tapes. In this work, a self-designed high-throughput SDP system is implemented to enable efficient double-sided coating of Y2O3 at a lifting speed of up to 90 m/h on 30 mm-wide Hastelloy substrate. The process reduces the root mean square (RMS) surface roughness from 15.65 nm to 1.511 nm over 5 & micro;m & times; 5 & micro;m areas. Subsequent buffer layer deposition demonstrates that the planarized surface supports the formation of biaxially textured MgO layers, satisfying a key requirement for high-performance HTSCCs. These results manifest that the developed SDP system is a viable and scalable solution for surface planarization in HTSCC manufacturing.

Under the background of sustainable energy development, the development of efficient, stable and low-cost electrocatalysts to improve electrochemical performance has become a research hotspot in the field of energy conversion. In this work, upright, one-fold and oblique Ni nanorods were designed and grown on Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets via glancing angle deposition technique of physical vapor deposition. For the hydrogen evolution reaction, the composite Ti3C2Tx@upright exhibited a low overpotential of only 131 mV@10 mA/cm2, along with excellent 24 h stability in 1 M KOH. Its excellent performance is mainly attributed to the high porosity of the upright nanorods, the fast electron transport channels provided by Ti3C2Tx MXene, and the stable interface structure. This research provides new ideas for constructing high-performance electrocatalytic catalysts and achieving efficient electrocatalytic conversion in sustainable energy systems.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials are considered as ideal building blocks for constructing new functional gassensitive devices because of their large specific surface area, abundant active sites and high carrier mobility. However, research has mainly focused on 2D layered materials due to their easy availability. This work aims to further explore the application value of 2D non-layered materials in gas sensing. Firstly, van der Waals epitaxial growth of 2D non-layered CdS1-xSex on fluorophlogopite substrate was achieved by APCVD. Secondly, the CdS1-xSex-based gas sensor exhibits high sensitivity (626 % at 50 ppm NH3), low detection limit (1 ppm), fast response (12 s at 50 ppm NH3), good selectivity and repeatability to NH3 at room temperature. Notably, the sensing performance of the ternary CdS1-xSex for NH3 is better than other structures of binary CdS. This phenomenon is also further explained. Finally, density functional theory is used to calculate the adsorption energy and charge transfer properties, and the results reconfirm that CdS1-xSex is a promising NH3 sensing material. This work provides a universal synthesis method of 2D non-layered alloy materials, and explores the application of 2D CdS1-xSex in gas sensing for the first time, hoping to bring new ideas for the research of other 2D non-layered materials.

Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is a critical electrochemical reaction in sustainable energy production technologies. Due to slow reaction kinetics, it is essential to explore efficient nonprecious metal catalysts. This paper reports that the metal nanofilms were physically doped via magnetron sputtering technology on both sides of carbon cloth with single-layer MXene (Ti3C2T x ) attached. In the synthesized electrocatalysts, d-MNi demonstrated excellent HER performance in a 1 M KOH alkaline electrolyte. At current densities of 10 and 50 mA cm-2, the overpotentials are reduced to 37 and 231 mV, respectively, with performance surpassing that of the commercial 20% Pt/C. Furthermore, the potential variation of d-MNi following current density tests at 10 and 20 mA cm-2 is negligible within a continuous 48 h period. The results provide valuable insights for the design of high-performance MXene-supported metal nanofilm electrocatalysts.

The paper discusses the optimization of gas sensor performance using heterojunctions and nanostructure morphology modulation. It specifically focuses on TiO2/Fe2O3 heterojunction combinations based on sawtooth shaped nanostructures prepared using an electron beam evaporation method. The study explores an optimization scheme for enhancing NH3 sensing performance of TiO2 at room temperature. Various sawtooth shaped TiO2/Fe2O3 nanorod arrays with different material ratios and deposition orders were prepared and characterized using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Gas sensing tests including NH3 concentration gradient, repeatability, and selectivity were conducted at room temperature. The results show that the gas sensing performance varies with different material ratios in the heterojunction combinations. The combination where TiO2 is deposited in the lower layer at three times the height of Fe2O3 outperformed other combinations in NH3 room temperature sensing, showing significant improvement compared to pure TiO2 materials. The study also explores the impact of humidity on the sensor’s performance at room temperature.

The atomic layer thermopile (ALTP) heat flux sensor has been applied to detect the heat flux of the hot-end component surface to optimize the thermal protection design for important aerospace equipment. To meet the demand for accurately measuring on special-shaped component surfaces, the flexible ALTP heat flux sensor composed of the MgO biaxial texture template fabricated by inclined substrate deposition (ISD) and a textured inclined La1-xCaxMnO3 (LCMO) sensitive film has been reported in past work. Compared to the typical single crystal substrate, the MgO template has inherent defects like large surface roughness and gaps among the adjacent columns, which could affect the epitaxial quality of subsequent sensitive films and further influence the sensor's performance. In this work, the homoepitaxial MgO (homo-MgO) film, fabricated by the metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process, was introduced as the interface modification layer. The most intuitive modification effect is filling the step height difference and gaps of the ISD-MgO, the root mean square (rms) value is optimized to 10.838 nm, and the step height difference is reduced considerably by controlling the epitaxial temperature. Based on the optimized homo-MgO layer, the LCMO sensitive film gets the well biaxial texture, and the corresponding sensor represents the optimized sensitivity of 2.51 mu V/(kW/m(2)) and response time of 82 ns.

With the growing demand for clean energy technologies, the development of highly efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts has become increasingly critical for advancing renewable energy systems. In this work, a heterostructure catalyst was fabricated by constructing an interface between a Ni/C-doped nanofilm and monolayer Ti3C2Txusing a magnetron sputtering technique. In 1 M KOH, the optimized catalyst with a Ni/C doping ratio of 1:1 exhibited excellent catalytic performance and long-term stability, delivering a low overpotential of 111 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm-2. The catalyst maintained its high activity after a 24 h stability test. The enhanced HER activity can be ascribed to the formation of the heterointerface, which promotes efficient adsorption of H+and desorption of H2, along with the synergistic interaction between Ni and C species. This study presents a rational strategy for constructing high-performance, durable, and cost-effective HER electrocatalysts based on Ti3C2Tx@NiC heterostructures.

Metal oxides are extensively utilized in gas sensors due to their exceptional sensing characteristics, thermal stability, and abundance. However, achieving high sensitivity and selectivity at room temperature (RT. 25 degrees C) remains a significant challenge. This study presents an NH3 sensor featuring a nanorod-supported film structure of alpha-Fe2O3/TiO2 n-n heterojunction, fabricated through the glancing angle deposition (GLAD) technique. The sensor demonstrated remarkable selectivity and high sensitivity to NH3 at RT, with an optimal device structure yielding a response value of about 24.7 at 20 ppm. Notably, the device exhibited excellent stability, showing only minimal degradation in response after 10 days of exposure to ambient air. A detailed analysis of the device structure and sensing mechanism underscores the advantages of this approach. These findings highlight the significant potential of the GLAD technique for fabricating nanorod-based structures for RT gas sensing applications.

The widespread application of second-generation high-temperature superconducting (2G HTS) tapes has elevated demand for surface smoothing of long-length Hastelloy tapes utilizing simple and low-cost strategies. Amorphous Y2O3 has been used to flatten the long-length Hastelloy tape surfaces via solution deposition planarization (SDP). In this work, the autonomously designed SDP system is applied to flatten the Hastelloy surface while significantly increasing progress rate. As a result, lifting speed up to 75 m/h, while the root mean square (RMS) roughness on Hastelloy tape surfaces was reduced from 28.13 nm to 0.76 nm over 5 x 5 mu m2 areas. These are superior to those of the state-of-the-art SDP lifting speeds. Additionally, the surface flattening process was elaborated through power spectral density (PSD). The Hastelloy tape surfaces have been confirmed to form a well-biaxially textured MgO buffer layer. The autonomously designed SDP system shed light on an effective strategy for flattening longlength Hastelloy tape surfaces.

High-frequency heat flux measurement is vital for the design of the hypersonic vehicle thermal protection system. La1-xCaxMnO3 (LCMO) thin-film heat flux sensor based on the transverse thermoelectric effect has significant advantages due to its high-frequency response characteristics. Aiming at extremely high-temperature environments, the high-temperature evolution of microstructure and transverse thermoelectric performance of LCMO thin film are revealed. With the heat treatment temperature not beyond 1300 degrees C, LCMO can maintain stable electrical properties and transverse thermoelectric properties, with a sensitivity of similar to 8 mu V/(kW/m(2)) and response frequency of similar to 220 kHz. With the increase in temperature, the electrical properties of LCMO thin films gradually deteriorate due to atom diffusion, aggregation and escape, so the response speed slows. But LCMO still maintains normal transverse thermoelectric properties after heat treatment with 1450 degrees C for 1 h, showing strong survivability. This work lays a foundation for developing and applying high-temperature LCMO thin-film heat flux sensors.

Lead halide perovskites have demonstrated remarkable optoelectronic properties, including high quantum efficiency, tunable photoluminescence emission, and prolonged carrier lifetimes, but their practical applications are hindered by toxicity and environmental instability. Copper-based perovskites, as promising alternatives, combine non-toxic constituents with a unique self-trapped exciton emission mechanism while achieving photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs) comparable to lead-based systems. In this study, high-quality Cs3Cu2X5 (X = Cl, Br, I) thin films were prepared via chemical vapor deposition (CVD). These films exhibit outstanding optical properties, achieving PLQYs of 52.3 % (Cl), 40.4 % (Br), and 54.7 % (I), along with substantial Stokes shifts exceeding 150 nm. Notably, Cs3Cu2Cl5 demonstrates a weaker PL quenching as the temperature rises, whereas Cs3Cu2I5 exhibits excellent air stability. These highly luminescent films, with their composition-tunable emission colors and outstanding environmental stability, represent promising candidates for advanced optoelectronic devices.