Currently, the global 5G network, cloud computing, and data center industries are experiencing rapid development. The continuous growth of data center traffic has driven the vigorous progress in high-speed optical transceivers for optical interconnection within data centers. The electro-absorption modulated laser (EML), which is widely used in optical fiber communications, data centers, and high-speed data transmission systems, represents a high-performance photoelectric conversion device. Compared to traditional directly modulated lasers (DMLs), EMLs demonstrate lower frequency chirp and higher modulation bandwidth, enabling support for higher data rates and longer transmission distances. This article introduces the composition, working principles, manufacturing processes, and applications of EMLs. It reviews the progress on advanced indium phosphide (InP)-based EML devices from research institutions worldwide, while summarizing and comparing data transmission rates and key technical approaches across various studies.

Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) serves as an indispensable process for achieving global planarization in semiconductor manufacturing, especially as integrated circuit (IC) technology advances to sub-7 nm nodes, where atomic-level surface flatness becomes crucial. Silica abrasives, which account for over 90% of the abrasive market in advanced CMP processes, operate not through simple mechanical grinding but through a key "chemical-mechanical synergistic" mechanism: chemically softening the wafer surface, then mechanically removing the softened layer to expose a new surface, which is further softened and removed, repeating this cycle to produce a smooth wafer. Despite their prevalence, conventional silica abrasives still face challenges, including relatively low material removal rate (MRR), a tendency to agglomerate, leading to poor dispersion and surface defects, and limitations in achieving ultimate surface uniformity. Significant progress has been made to address these issues. Development has progressed from simple spherical particles to complex structural designs (such as mesoporous, hollow, and raspberry-shaped structures) to enhance slurry transport and mechanical action. Surface chemical modifications (e.g., using amino or polymer groups) can improve dispersion stability and reduce scratching. Furthermore, composites with other materials (e.g., ceria, polymers) and precise control of particle size distribution are key to enhancing performance. These innovative approaches have yielded significant performance gains. State-of-the-art slurries have demonstrated the ability to achieve surface roughness below 0.1 nm RMS. The development of silica abrasives is increasingly focused on sustainability and smart manufacturing. A prominent direction is the design of biodegradable abrasives that disintegrate after use, thereby simplifying post-chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) cleanup and minimizing environmental impact—an approach fully aligned with green manufacturing principles. This review systematically summarizes the progress of silica abrasives for CMP over the past 60 years. This summary provides theoretical insights and forward-looking strategies to overcome the current limitations of abrasive technology. We believe this review will be helpful in advancing the field of CMP abrasives towards next-generation semiconductor manufacturing.

To address the demand for sub-100-nm overlay accuracy in wafer bonding for 3D integration, this study proposes an extended overlay assessment model integrating physical mechanisms and data-driven approaches, along with a correlation analysis methodology with process parameters. Rigid-body models inadequately characterize systematic deformations from crystalline anisotropy and process stresses. To overcome this, we construct an extended overlay model based on Zernike polynomials, incorporating physically meaningful terms for precise description of non-uniform wafer deformation. An innovative Zernike term selection strategy combining physics-guided pre-screening and AIC-optimized stepwise regression resolves overfitting/underfitting, enhancing generalizability and interpretability. Validation using patterned wafer geometry (PWG) data shows the model achieves R² > 0.70 for both net bonding deformation and lithography-compensable components, demonstrating excellent deformation decomposition. Correlation analysis of multiple process experiments reveals strong correlations (|r| > 0.85) between key process parameters (e.g., peak bonding head force) and specific Zernike modes, providing evidence for suppressing detrimental deformations via process optimization. This research establishes a complete framework from theory to experimental verification and process traceability, laying a foundation for mechanism diagnosis, predictive compensation, and closed-loop control in high-precision wafer bonding.

Although perovskite solar cells containing methylamine cation can show high power conversion efficiency, stability is a concern. Here, methylamine-free perovskite material Cs_xFA_1–xPbI₃ was synthesized by a one-step method. In addition, we incorporated smaller cadmium ions into mixed perovskite lattice to partially replace Pb ions to address the excessive internal strain in perovskite structure. We have found that the introduction of Cd can improve the crystallinity and the charge carrier lifetime of perovskite films. Consequently, a power conversion efficiency as high as 20.59% was achieved. More importantly, the devices retained 94% of their initial efficiency under 1200 h of continuous illumination.

The continuous progress in thin film materials and devices has greatly promoted the development in the field of flexible electronics. As one of the most common thin film devices, thin film transistors (TFTs) are significant building blocks for flexible platforms. Flexible oxide-based TFTs are well compatible with flexible electronic systems due to low process temperature, high carrier mobility, and good uniformity. The present article is a review of the recent progress and major trends in the field of flexible oxide-based thin film transistors. First, an introduction of flexible electronics and flexible oxide-based thin film transistors is given. Next, we introduce oxide semiconductor materials and various flexible oxide-based TFTs classified by substrate materials including polymer plastics, paper sheets, metal foils, and flexible thin glass. Afterwards, applications of flexible oxide-based TFTs including bendable sensors, memories, circuits, and displays are presented. Finally, we give conclusions and a prospect for possible development trends.

Since the invention of amorphous indium–gallium–zinc–oxide (IGZO) based thin-film transistors (TFTs) by Hideo Hosono in 2004, investigations on the topic of IGZO TFTs have been rapidly expanded thanks to their high electrical performance, large-area uniformity, and low processing temperature. This article reviews the recent progress and major trends in the field of IGZO-based TFTs. After a brief introduction of the history of IGZO and the main advantages of IGZO-based TFTs, an overview of IGZO materials and IGZO-based TFTs is given. In this part, IGZO material electron travelling orbitals and deposition methods are introduced, and the specific device structures and electrical performance are also presented. Afterwards, the recent advances of IGZO-based TFT applications are summarized, including flat panel display drivers, novel sensors, and emerging neuromorphic systems. In particular, the realization of flexible electronic systems is discussed. The last part of this review consists of the conclusions and gives an outlook over the field with a prediction for the future.

Aluminum scandium nitride (AlScN), an emerging Ⅲ-nitride semiconductor material, has attracted significant attention in recent years due to its exceptional piezoelectric properties, high thermal stability, tunable bandgap, and excellent compatibility with micro/nano fabrication. This paper systematically reviews the crystal structure, fundamental properties, and property modulation mechanisms of AlScN. It also summarizes recent progress in micro/nano fabrication technologies, including deposition, etching, and device integration. Furthermore, the applications of AlScN in diverse fields such as micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), RF communications, energy conversion, optoelectronics and sensors are discussed. Finally, current challenges and promising future research directions for AlScN are outlined.

In this article, a vertical SnO/β-Ga₂O₃ mesa heterojunction diode (mesa-HJD) fabricated through self-aligned etching is reported. The mesa structure eliminates the influence of lateral depletion at the region, leading to an improved breakdown characteristics in comparison with its unterminated heterojunction diode (UT-HJD) counterpart. The SnO/β-Ga₂O₃ mesa-HJD, featuring a 500 nm mesa depth, achieves a breakdown voltage (BV) of 1100 V, which can be improved to 1631 V by sidewall passivation. With the increase of mesa depth, BV increases, accompanied by the increase of specific on-resistance (R_on,sp). Therefore, a maximum Baliga’s power figure of merit (PFOM) can be achieved for the optimized device with 500 nm mesa depth, giving the value of 0.93 GW/cm² for the passivated device. The mesa-HJD demonstrates considerable potential for application in high BV β-Ga₂O₃ power electronic devices in the future.