A method of exchanging or transforming end groups in and/or improving the ferroelectric properties of a PVDF-TrFE co-polymer is disclosed. A bulky or chemically dissimilar end group, such as an iodine, sulfate, aldehyde or carboxylic acid end group, may be transformed to a hydrogen, fluorine or chlorine atom. A method of making a PVDF-TrFE co-polymer is disclosed, including polymerizing a mixture of VDF and TrFE using an initiator, and transforming a bulky or chemically dissimilar end group to a hydrogen, fluorine or chlorine atom. A PVDF-TrFE co-polymer or other fluorinated alkene polymer is also disclosed. The co-polymer may be used as a ferroelectric, electromechanical, piezoelectric or dielectric material in an electronic device.

Disclosed is a plurality of metal chalcogenide nanocrystals coated with multiple organic and inorganic ligands; wherein the metal is selected from Hg, Pb, Sn, Cd, Bi, Sb or a mixture thereof; and the chalcogen is selected from S, Se, Te or a mixture thereof; wherein the multiple inorganic ligands includes at least one inorganic ligands are selected from S.sup.2, HS.sup., Se.sup.2, Te.sup.2, OH.sup., BF.sub.4.sup., PF.sub.6.sup., Cl.sup., Br.sup., I.sup., As.sub.2Se.sub.3, Sb.sub.2S.sub.3, Sb.sub.2Te.sub.3, Sb.sub.2Se.sub.3, As.sub.2S.sub.3 or a mixture thereof; and wherein the absorption of the CH bonds of the organic ligands relative to the absorption of metal chalcogenide nanocrystals is lower than 50%, preferably lower than 20%.

A thermoelectric material structure includes a substrate, at least one spacing layer, and at least one two-dimensional (2D) material layer. The substrate has a surface. The 2D material layer and the spacing layer are overlapped and disposed on the surface of the substrate. The thermal conductivity of the 2D material layer along the direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate is less than 10 W/mK.

The invention provides novel latexes of particles of vinylidene fluoride/trifluoroethylene copolymers possessing a more ordered ferroelectric crystalline phase, and hence improved ferro-, pyro-, and piezo-electric properties, and a method for manufacturing the same by emulsion polymerization in the presence of certain cyclic fluorosurfactants.

We disclose an array of Infra-Red (IR) detectors comprising at least one dielectric membrane formed on a semiconductor substrate comprising an etched portion; at least two IR detectors, and at least one patterned layer formed within or on one or both sides of the said dielectric membrane for controlling the IR absorption of at least one of the IR detectors. The patterned layer comprises laterally spaced structures.

Pyroelectric detection device, comprising at least: a suspended membrane; a pyroelectric detection element located on the suspended membrane and comprising at least one portion of pyroelectric material located between first and second electrodes, the first electrode being located between said at least one portion of pyroelectric material and the suspended membrane; and in which the membrane and the pyroelectric detection element are subjected to a higher compression stress than a limiting buckling stress of the suspended membrane and the pyroelectric detection element and together form a bistable structure.

A metasurface integrated microbolometer having a sensing layer (e.g., Si.sub.xGe.sub.yO.sub.1-x-y). The presence of the metasurface provides selectivity with respect to wavelength, polarization and angle-of-incidence. The presence of the metasurface into the microbolometer affects conversion of electromagnetic to thermal energy, thermal response, electrical integration of the microbolometer, and the tradeoff between resistivity and temperature coefficient of resistance, thereby allowing the ability to obtain a sensing with high temperature coefficient of resistance with lower resistivity values than that of films without the metasurface. The presence of the metasurface removes the need for a Fabry-Perot cavity.

A method for producing an at least partially transparent device is provided, including producing, on a first substrate, first and second separation layers one against the other; producing, on the second separation layer, an at least partially transparent functional layer; making the functional layer integral with a second at least partially transparent substrate; forming a mechanical separation at an interface between the separation layers; removing the second separation layer; producing a first at least partially transparent electrode layer on the functional layer; where the materials of the stack are chosen such that the interface between the separation layers corresponds to that, among all the interfaces of the stack, having the lowest adherence force.

A pyroelectric device, comprising a plurality of layers of a polar dielectric material having a pyroelectric coefficient, p, wherein each layer exhibits pyroelectric properties; a plurality of conductive electrodes, wherein each conductive electrode is substantially in contact with at least a portion of one surface of a respective at least one of said plurality of layers of polar dielectric material, wherein said electrodes are electrically connected in a parallel configuration as to form a series of capacitors comprised of said plurality of layers of polar dielectric material and plurality of conductive electrodes.

A method and device incorporating the use of Zinc Oxide to generate electrical power directly from heat, with minimal or no complex and inefficient mechanical interventions, by making advantageous use of the abundance and low cost of ZnO and its pyroelectric and thermoelectric properties. ZnO is used as a cheap, under-used material for the purpose of converting thermal energy (heat) directly into usable electricity with none or almost none of the mechanical conversion systems generally in use.