This review examines the use of halide perovskite materials in electronic devices, highlighting their exceptional optoelectronic properties and the challenges associated with them. Despite their potential for high-performance devices, practical applications are limited by sensitivity to environmental factors such as moisture and oxygen, etc. We discuss advances in enhancing stability and operational reliability, featuring innovative synthesis methods and device engineering strategies that help mitigate degradation. Furthermore, we explore the integration of perovskites in applications such as field-effect transistors and LEDs, emphasizing their transformative potential. This review also outlines future research directions, stressing the need for ongoing improvements in material stability and device integration to fully realize the commercial potential of perovskites.
Currently, the most developed new energy source is solar energy. Because solar power is installed outside, it is exposed to many pollutants. Pollutants are causing the characteristics of solar energy to deteriorate. Therefore, this study aims to develop a water-repellent coating to prevent contamination of solar modules. Silica and Titania materials are mainly used as water-repellent coating materials. In this study, it was based on silica and the contact angle characteristics were measured according to the change in the amount of silica and ammonia water added and the number of coatings. As a result of the measurement, it was confirmed that the contact angle was more than 60 degrees when 0.5 mol of TEOS was added to 50 mL and 0.15 M when 1 mL of ammonia water was added to 296.47 ml of distilled water. And it was confirmed that the contact angle improved when the number of coatings was applied twice. A water-repellent coating material was applied to low iron tempered glass used to protect dye-sensitized solar cell modules. The characteristics of the module were measured after spraying DI-Water on low-emission tempered glass with a water-repellent coating. As a result of the measurement, the efficiency of the module without application, the efficiency of the module coated once, and the module coated twice were 4.87%, 4.90%, and 4.91%, respectively. It was confirmed that the efficiency of the module increased by applying water-repellent coating. As a result of this study, it is determined that the water-repellent coating material will help improve solar power generation efficiency and lifespan by being self-cleaning and non-reflective.
Roll-to-roll processing holds an integral position within the manufacturing landscape, and its significance reverberates across numerous industries. This versatile technology platform encompasses a diverse array of process methods and accommodates a wide spectrum of material categories, making it a cornerstone of modern production. Within this expansive domain, two commonly employed coating techniques, namely the slot die and gravure coating methods, have earned their prominence for their precision and efficiency in delivering flawless coatings. Additionally, the realm of drying processes relies heavily on thermal drying, infrared (IR) drying, and ultraviolet (UV) drying methods to expedite the transformation of materials from their liquid or semi-liquid states to solid, ready-to-use products. The undeniable importance of roll-to-roll processing lies in its ability to streamline manufacturing processes, reduce costs, and enhance product quality. This article embarks on a comprehensive journey to fathom the depth of this importance by delving into the intricacies of these common roll-to-roll process methods. Through rigorous research and meticulous data collection, we aim to shed light on the pivotal role these techniques play in shaping various industries and advancing the world of manufacturing. By understanding their significance, we can harness the full potential of roll-to-roll processing and pave the way for innovation and excellence in production.
For enhancing the flame-retardant properties of wallpapers, we developed an organic-inorganic hybrid solution with ZrSiO4 as a functional ceramic powder, coated on non-woven fabric using dip coating, spray coating, and slot-die coating methods. Their flame retardant properties were characterized by a 45° combustion tester, which is manufactured according to the flame-retardant performance standard (KOFEIS 1001 and KS F 2819). In organic-inorganic hybrid solution, with increasing the concentration of acid-catalyst (acetic acid), the precipitation of ZrSiO4 powders increased, and the flame retardant properties decreased. The highest flame retardant result was obtained for the solution adding 5 wt% acetic acid. The optimization of the coating method and coating number resulted in the most excellent flame-retardant properties being obtained for the non-woven fabric coated for 5 or 7 times by dip coating method, and their flame-retardant properties corresponded to class 2 flame-retardant performance of wallpapers.
The field of liquid crystal display (LCD) is constantly in the spotlight and the process of depositing an alignment layer in the LCD manufacturing process is very important to obtain excellent performance such as low-power driving and high-speed response to improve LCD performance. Therefore, research on liquid crystal (LC) alignment is being actively conducted. When manufacturing LCD, it is necessary to consider the effect of the alignment layer thickness as one of the factors affecting various LCD performances. In addition, previous studies confirmed the LC alignment characteristics correlate with the rotation speed in the spin coating process. Therefore, the electro-optical properties of the LCD were investigated by manufacturing a polyimide alignment layer by varying the rotation speed in the spin coating process in this study. It was confirmed that the thickness of the polyimide alignment layer was controlled according to the spin coating conditions. The average transmittances of anti-parallel LC cells at the spin coating speed of 2,500 rpm and 3,000 rpm are about 60%, which indicates that the LC cell has relatively higher performance. At the spin coating speed of 3,000 rpm, the voltage-transmittance curve of twisted nematic (TN) LC cell was below 1.5 V, which means that the TN LC cell operated at a low power. In addition, high-speed operating characteristics were confirmed with a response time of less than 30 ms. From these derived data, we confirmed that the ideal spin coating speed is 3,000 rpm. And these results provide an optimized polyimide alignment layer process when considering enhanced future LCD manufacturing.
Piezoelectric generators use direct piezoelectric effects that convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. Many studies were attempted to fabricate piezoelectric generators using piezoelectrics such as ZnO, PZT, PVDF. However, these various inorganic/organic piezoelectric materials are not suitable for bio-implantable devices due to problems such as brittleness, toxicity, bio-incompatibility, bio-degradation. Thus, in this paper, piezoelectric generators were prepared using a silk fibroin film which is bio-compatible by dip-coating method. The silk fibroin films are a mixed state of silk I and silk II having stable β- sheet type structures and shows the d33 value of 8~10 pC/N. There was a difference in output voltages according to the thickness. The silk fibroin generators, coated 10 times and 20 times, revealed the power density of 16.07 μW/㎠ and 35.31 μW/㎠ using pushing tester, respectively. The silk fibroin generators are sensitive to various pressure levels, which may arise from body motions such as finger tapping, foot pressing, wrist shaking, etc. The silk fibroin piezoelectric generators with bio-compatibility shows the applicability as a low-power implantable piezoelectric generator, healthcare monitoring service, and biotherapy devices.
We fabricated BiAlO thin film by a solution process with a brush coating to be used as liquid crystal (LC) alignment layer. Solution-processed BiAlO was coated on the glass substrate by brush process. Prepared thin films were annealed at different temperatures of 80℃, 180℃, and 280℃. To verify whether the BiAlO film was formed properly, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis was performed on Bi and Al. Using a crystal rotation method by polarized optical microscopy, LC alignment state was evaluated. At the annealing temperature of 280℃, the uniform homogenous LC alignment was achieved. To reveal the mechanism of LC alignment by brush coating, field emission scanning electron microscope was used. Through this analysis, spin-coated and brush coated film surface were compared. It was revealed that physical anisotropy was induced by brush coating at a high annealing temperature. Particles were aligned in one direction along which brush coating was made, resulting in a physical anisotropy that affects a uniform LC alignment. Therefore, it was confirmed that brush coating combined with BiAlO thin film annealed at high temperature has a significant potential for LC alignment.
Indium-doped Mg0.05Zn0.95O thin films were deposited on glass substrates by a sol-gel method. Three types of indium precursors such as indium chloride, indium acetate, and indium nitrate were used as doping sources. Physical properties of fabricated thin films were analyzed through XRD (x-ray diffraction), UV-vis spectrophotometer, Hall effect measurement, and EDS (energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy). All In-doped thin films grown in this study exhibited a preferred orientation of (002) with over 80% transmittance. The results showed that the Mg0.05Zn0.95O thin film from indium chloride as the indium precursor has higher crystallinity and transmittance with lower resistivity when compared with those from other indium precursors.
Al2O3 powders with particle sizes of 0.35 μm, 0.5 μm, 1.5 μm, and 2.5 μm are deposited onto glass and Cu substrates using the aerosol deposition (AD) process. The deposition characteristics of Al2O3 films using those four types of Al2O3 powders are investigated to determine the influence of the particle size on the films. To observe detailed micro-structures of the films, the cross-section and surface morphology are observed. Then, the crystalline size and internal strain are calculated from X-ray diffraction peaks in order to confirm the hammering effect as well as the micro-strain during the AD deposition. From the above results, deposition mechanisms related to the particle size are studied. The results of this study indicate the optimal particle size and formation mechanisms for dense Al2O3 film with a smooth surface roughness as well as for a porous Al2O3 film with a rough surface roughness.
In this study, MgxZn1-xO thin films, which can be applied not only to active layers of light-emitting devices (LEDs), such as UV-LEDs, but also to solar cells, high mobility field-effect transistors, and power semiconductor devices, are fabricated using the sol-gel method. ZnO and Mg0.3Zn0.7O solution synthesized by the sol-gel method and the thin film were grown by spin coating on a Si (100) substrate and sapphire substrate. The solutions are synthesized by dissolving precursor materials in 2-methoxyethanol (2-ME) solvent, and then monoethanolamine (MEA) was added to the mixed solution as a sol stabilizer. Zinc acetate dihydrate is used as a ZnO precursor, while Mg nitrate hexahydrate and Mg acetate tetrahydrate are used as an MgO precursor. Then, the optical and structural characteristics of the fabricated thin films are compared. The molar concentration of the Zn precursor in the solvent is fixed at 0.3 M, and the amount of the Mg precursor is 30% of Mg2+/Zn2+. The optical characteristics are measured using an UV-vis spectrophotometer, and the transmittance of each wavelength is measured. Structural characteristics are measured using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Composition analyses are performed using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The Mg0.3Zn0.7O thin film was well formed at the ratio of the Mg precursor added regardless of the type of Mg precursor, and the c-axis of the thin film was decreased, while the band gap was increased to 3.56 eV.
For machine learning techniques, a large amount of high-quality material property data should be accumulated. In this study, several data for an alumina tape casting process were produced with the variables of slurry viscosity, gap size, and coating speed. The alumina tapes were manufactured in the range of 1,000~6,000 cps for slurry viscosity, 300~1,000 ㎛ for gap size, and 0.5~2.0 m/min for coating speed. As a result, the lower the viscosity, coating speed, and gap size, the more pore-free tapes could be manufactured. The viscosity of the slurry limited the minimum thickness of the tape. Green sheets with high packing density were manufactured from the slurry of 100~6,000 cps slurry viscosity, coating speed of 0.5 m/min, and a 300~500 ㎛ gap size.
Transparent conductive thin films (TCFs) are essential materials for solar cells, organic light-emitting diodes, and display panels. Indium tin oxide (ITO) is one of the most widely used commercial materials to create TCFs’; however, new materials that can possibly replace ITO at a lower cost and/or those possessing mechanical flexibility are urgently needed. Silver nanowire (AgNW) is one of those promising materials, as it is less expensive and possesses superior mechanical flexibility as compared to ITO. We used AgNW and sol-gel ZnO to fabricate composite thin films by spray coating. We propose two spray-coating methods: the ‘metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD)/AgNW’ method and the Mixture method. These two methods are expected to be commercialized for high-quality and low-cost products, respectively.
Electrical behaviors of plasma-sprayed Al2O3-TiO2 coatings have been investigated in terms of their TiO2 content. On increasing the TiO2 content from 6 to 30 wt%, the DC electrical conductivity increased by several orders of magnitude. From impedance spectroscopy analysis, the total conductivity of the grains and grain boundaries and their respective activation energies were determined without the electrode effects that could impede ionic transfer. An electron transference number was also estimated, ranging between 6.5% and 7.3% for 13 wt% TiO2 and between 0.4% and 0.7% for 30 wt% TiO2 in the coating. Because of the high electronic contribution to the total conductivity, the Al2O3-TiO2 coating could be a new candidate material to obtain superior electrical conductivity as well as corrosion and wear resistances.
DSSCs (dye-sensitized solar cells) based on TiO2/SiO2 multi layer AR (anti-reflection) coating on the outer glass FTO (fluorine-doped tin oxide) substrate are investigated. We have coated an AR layer on the surface of a DSSCs device by using an IAD (ion beam-assisted deposition) system and investigated the effects of the AR layer by measuring photovoltaic performance. Compared to the pure FTO substrate, the multi layer AR coating increased the total transmittance from 67.4 to 72.9% at 530 nm of wavelength. The main enhancement of solar conversion efficiency is attributed to the reduction of light reflection at the FTO substrate surface. This leads to the increase of Jsc and the efficiency improvement of DSSCs.
Prevailing dissemination of machine tools and cutting technology have caused drastic developments of high speed dry machining with work materials of high hardness, and demands on the high-hardness-materials with high efficiency have become increasingly important in terms of productivity, cost reduction, as well as environment-friendly issue. Addition of Si to TiAlN has been known to form nano-composite coating with higher hardness of over 30 GPa and oxidation temperature over 1,000℃. However, it is not easy to add Si to TiAlN by using conventional PVD technologies. Therefore, Ti-Al-Si-N have been prepared by hybrid process of PVD with multiple target sources or PVD combined with PECVD of Si source gas. In this study, a single composite target of Ti-Al-Si was prepared by powder metallurgy of MA (mechanical alloying) and SPS (spark plasma sintering). Properties of he resulting alloying targets were examined. They revealed a microstructure with micro-sized grain of about 1~5 ㎛, and all the elements were distributed homogeneously in the alloying target. Hardness of the Ti-Al-Si-N target was about 1,127 Hv. Thin films of Ti-Al-Si-N were prepared by unbalanced magnetron sputtering method by using the home-made Ti-Al-Si alloying target. Composition of the resulting thin film of Ti-Al-Si-N was almost the same with that of the target. The thin film of Ti-Al-Si-N showed a hardness of 35 GPa and friction coefficient of 0.66.
For the improvement of the anti-pollution properties of porcelain electrical insulators, in this study, we have applied the functional film to the surface of insulator. The functional films were coated on the ceramic substrates which components were like the porcelain electrical insulator. The coating material was applied to ceramic substrate by spray coating method and then the film was cured at around 300oC for 10 minutes with different gas ambient, such as O2, N2, and only vacuum. We have measured the contact angle of the coated surface, and obtained the lowest angle (8.9o) and a strong hydrophilic property at vacuum condition. The anti-pollution properties were measured, revealing that as the contact angle decreased, the anti-pollution properties improved. The mechanical hardness and adhesion were both excellent regardless of the annealing ambient.
Transparent color coating films were fabricated on a glass substrate by using sol-gel hybrid binder and organic dye. Sol-gel hybrid binder coating film fabricated with PTMS of 0.03 mole showed a very high pencil hardness of 9 H. As the withdrawal speed increased from 1.0 mm/s to 5.0 mm/sec, The yellowness (b*) of coating glass also gradually increased. The transmittance of yellow color coating glass was 82.6% and the haze of coating glass was 0.35%. Red and blue color coating glasses also showed the high transmittance of 62.4% and 80.6% respectively. The surface hardness of color coating films was 6 H.
In this paper, we fabricated organic compounds detector using the MWCNT/PMMA (multi-walled carbon nanotube / polymethylmethacrylate) composite film. We used polymer film as a matrix material for the device framework, and introduced CNTs for reacting with the organic compounds resulting in changing electrical conductivity. Spray coating method was used to form the MWCNT/PMMA composite film detector, and pattern formation of the detector was done by shadow mask during the spray coating process. We investigated changes of electrical conductivity of the detector before and after the organic compounds exposure. Electrical conductivity of the detector tended to decrease after the exposure with various organic compounds such as acetone, tetrahydrofuran(THF), toluene, and dimethylformamide (DMF). Finally we conclude that organic compounds detection by the MWCNT/PMMA composite film detector was possible, and expect the feasibility of commercial MWCNT/PMMA composite film detector for various organic compounds.
In this paper, we investigated the relations between dispersion of CNTs (carbon nanotubes) and electrical conductivity in the CNT/PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) composite film. By adding hydrophobic CNTs as filler into the PVDF matrix, we fabricated hydrophobic and electrically conducting polymer coating film. Dispersion of CNTs in the CNT/PVDF composite film plays a significant role in terms of electrical conductivity and wetting property. Spray coating method was used to form the CNT/PVDF composite films by injecting the dispersed CNTs in the PVDF solution with different weight ratios from 0.7 wt% to 7 wt%. We investigated the electrical properties and contact angles of the CNT/PVDF composite films with the CNT concentration. Finally we discussed the conducting mechanism and feasibility of the CNT/PVDF composite film for the conducting polymer films.
Stainless steel (SS) mesh was used to fabricate photo electrode for flexible dye-seisitzed solar cells(DSSCs) in order to evaluate them as replacements for more expensive transparent conductive oxide(TCO). We fabricated the DSSCs with new type of photo electrode, which consisted of flexible SS mesh coated with 100 nm thickness titanium (Ti) protective layer deposited using electron-beam deposition system. SS mesh DSSCs with protective layer showed higher efficiency than those without a protective layer. The best cell property in the present study showed the open circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.608 V, short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 5.73 mA cm-2, fill factor (FF) of 65.13%, and efficiency (η) of 2.44%. Compared with SS mesh based on DSSCs (1.66%), solar conversion of SS mesh based on DSSCs with protective layer improved about 47%.
In this paper, we fabricated flexible antenna radiator using the CNT/PVDF (carbon nanotube /polyviny lidene fluoride) composite film. We used polymer film as a matrix material for the flexible devices, and introduced CNTs for adding conductivity into the film resulting in obtaining performances of the antenna radiator. Spray coating method was used to form the CNT/PVDF composite radiator, and pattern formation of the radiator was done by shadow mask during the spray coating process. We investigated the electrical properties of the CNT/PVDF composite films with the CNT concentration, and also estimated the radiator performance. Finally we discuss the feasibility of the CNT/PVDF composite radiator for the flexible antenna.
Thermal batteries are primary reserve batteries that use inorganic salt as electrolytes which areinactive at room temperature. The two principal heat sources that have been used in thermal batteries areheat paper and heat pellets. As soon as the heat paper, which is ignited by the initiator, in turn ignites theheat pellets, all the solid electrolytes are melted into excellent ionic conductors. However, the highcombustion temperature by heat papers in thermal batteries causes thermal decomposition at the cathode,eventually leading to a thermal runaway. In this paper, we have attempted to prepare Zr/BaCrO4 heatpapers coated with KCl molten salt. We have also investigated the effect of a molten salt coating on theheat papers through the thermal characteristics such as calorimetric value, combustion temperature andburning rate. The calorimetric value and combustion temperature of heat papers were reduced with anincrease in the molten salt coating. As a result, the molten salt coating on heat papers greatly reducedrisk of a thermal runaway and improved the stability of thermal batteries.
Copper manganite thin films were fabricated on SiNx/Si substrate by metal organic decomposition (MOD) process. They were burned-out at 400℃ and annealed at various temperatures (400∼800℃) for 1h in ambient atmosphere. Their micro-structure and negative temperature coefficient of resistance (NTCR) characteristics were analyzed for micro-bolometer application. The copper manganitefilm with a cubic spinel structure was well developed at 500℃ which confirmed by XRD and HRTEM analysis. It showed a low resistivity (47.5 Ω·cm) at room temperature and high NTCR characteristics of-4.12%/℃ and -2.15%/℃ at room temperature and 85℃, implying a good thin film for micro-bolometer application. Furthermore, its crystallinity was enhanced with increasing temperature to 600℃. However, the appearance of secondary phase at temperatures higher than 600℃ lead to deteriorate the NTCR characteristics.
Thin thermistor films of solutions with nickel and manganese oxides were prepared by metal-organic decomposition (MOD). The structural properties of the thin films were investigated as a function of annealing temperature. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) results indicated that the thin films had a thin thickness, smooth and dense surface. The crystallization temperature of 414.9℃ was confirmed from thermogavimetric-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA)curve. A single phase of cubic spinel structure was obtained for the thin film annealed from 700℃ to 800℃,which was confirmed from the X-ray diffraction (XRD). From the selected area electron diffraction(SAED) in high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), the nano grains (2∼3 nm) of spinel phase with (311) and (222) planes were detected for the thin film annealed at 500℃, which could be applicable to read-out integrated circuit (ROIC) substrate of the uncooled microbolometer with low processing temperature.
Recently, remote phosphor is reported for white LED enhancing of phosphor efficiency compared with conventional phosphor-based W-LED. In this study, Remote phosphor was produced by screen printing coating on glass substrate with phosphor contents rated paste and heat treatment. The paste consists of phosphor, lowest softening glass frit and organic binders. Remote phosphor can be well controlled by varying the phosphor content rated paste. After mounting remote phosphor on top of blue LED chip, CCT, CRI, and luminance efficiency were measured. The measurement results showed that CCT, CRI. and luminance efficiency were 6,645, 68, and 1,161 n/W in phosphor 80 wt.% remote phosphor sintered at 600℃.
The carbon nanotube / poly-vinylidene fluoride (CNT/PVDF) composite films for the nano-generator devices were fabricated by spray coating method using the CNT/PVDF solution, which was prepared by adding PVDF pellets into the CNT dispersed N-Methyl-2-pyrroli-done (NMP) solution. The flexible CNT/PVDF composite films were investigated by the scanning electron microscopy, which revealed that the CNTs were uniformly dispersed in the PVDF matrix and thickness of the films was approximately 20 jim. Fourier transform infra-red spectra were used to investigate crystal structure of the as-spray-coated CNT/PVDF films, and we found that they revealed extremely large portion of the f3 phase PVDF. The capacitance of the CNT/PVDF films increased by adding CNTs into the PVDF matrix, and finally saturated. However, the resistance didn`t show any saturation effect in the CNT concentration range of 0- 4 wt%. Finally, the resulting nano-generator devices revealed reasonable current output after given mechanical stress.
Abstract: Carbon nanotubes (CNT) / polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) piezoelectric composite films for nanogenerator devices were fabricated by spray coating method. When the CNT/PVDF mixture solution passes through the spray nozzle with small diameter by the compressed nitrogen gas, electric charges are generated in the liquid by a triboelectric effect. Then randomly distributed {3 phase PVDF film could be re-oriented by the electric field resulting from the accumulated electrical charges, and might be resulted in extremely one-directionally aligned 13 phase PVDF film without additional electric field for poling. X-ray diffraction patterns were used to investigate crystal structure of the CNT/PVDF composite films. It was confirmed that they revealed extremely large portion of the f3 phase PVDF crystalline in the film. Therefore we could obtain the poled CNT/PVDF piezoelectric composite films by the spray coating method without additional poling process.
In this paper, we present a novel hydrophilic coating material (Wellture Finetech, Korea) which can be utilized as a coating layer for anti-contamination for electrical and electronic system. The coating material was deposited on 4 inch silicon wafer with several different film thickness. The film thickness was controlled by spin coating speed. After curing of the film, we have scratched by permanent marker to check self-cleaning property of the film. Also we have executed several mechanical tests of the films. As the spin coating speed is increased, the film thickness was thickness was thinned from 230 nm to 125nm. Contact angle of the film lowered from 30° to 12° as the spin coating speed is increased from 700 to 2,500rpm. On permanent marker scratched film surface coated at 1,000 rpm. We have poured regular city water to investigate self cleaning property of the film. The scratches were gradually separated from the film surface due to super-hydrophilicity of the film. Hardness of coated film was 9H measured by ASTM D3363 method. And adhesion of all film was 5B tested by D3359 method. Also, to get exact hardness value of the film, we have utilized a nano-indenter. As spin speed is increased, the hardness of film was increased from 3 Gpa to 5 Gpa.
We developed a package of remote phosphor structure having blue LED chips and phosphors physically separated, and the characteristics were evaluated according to different classifications of phosphor coatings. Remote phosphor was produced by screen printing coating on glass substrate with phosphor content rated paste and heat treatment. After mounting Remote phosphor, which has been classified according to number of coatings, on top of blue LED chips, luminous flux, luminous efficacy, CCT and CRI were measured. The measurement results showed the most suitable characteristics of white LED package as a general light source when the content rate of phosphor in Remote phosphor was 80 wt.% with 3 layers of coatings and thickness over 12 μm.
The water soluble quantum dots (QDs) are synthesized by the phase transfer and silica coating reaction. The photoluminescence intensity of silica-coated QDs are mainly affected by the amount of phase transfer agent, SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate), and the maximum value is obtained at the cmc (critical micell concentration) concentration of SDS in the phase transfer reaction. Based on fluorescence spectra and field emission transmission electron microscope (FETEM), the energy transfer rate by forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is increasing with the thickness of the silica shell coated on CdSe/ZnS QDs.