Raymond Smith (left) and Shihyun Ahn (right), winners of the 2017 ECS young author awards.

ECS is pleased to announce the winners of the Society’s 2017 young author awards: Raymond Smith and Shihyun Ahn.

ECS presents two young author awards each year to recognize the best papers published by young authors in the Journal of The Electrochemical Society and the ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology during the volume year preceding the award.

The 2017 young author awards will be presented at AiMES 2018 in Cancun, Mexico, September 30-October 4, 2018.

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In an effort to better recognize the innovative research gaining traction across the diverse span of ECS’s topical interest areas, the Society has instituted a new blog series, which will highlight the top five most-downloaded journal articles in each TIA during each quarter of the year.

The most-downloaded ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology articles by TIA during the first quarter of 2018 (January through March) are listed below.

Highlights are based on articles published since January 1, 2016.

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After over 115 years of peer-reviewed research, what is it that keeps authors publishing in ECS journals? In what ways do ECS journals excel?

To those who have opted to publish elsewhere, how might ECS journals adapt to meet your needs as an author? What aspects of ECS journals need reexamination?

Above all else, what do you look for in a scientific journal?

Whether you’re a proponent or a critic of ECS journals, please take a few minutes to tell us more.

Any feedback you are able to provide—positive or negative—will assist ECS in evaluating the strength and scope of its peer-reviewed journals.

Share your thoughts today to help shape the future of these publications!

Deadline Extended: March 19, 2018

The “Semiconductor-Based Sensors for Application to Vapors, Chemicals, Biological Species, and Medical Diagnosis” focus issue of the ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology aims to cover various active or passive semiconductor devices for gas, chemical, bio and medical detection, with the focus on silicon, GaN, dichalcogenides/oxides, graphene, and other semiconductor materials for electronic or photonic devices.

The scope of contributed articles includes materials preparation, growth, processing, devices, chemistry, physics, theory, and applications for the semiconductor sensors. Different methodologies, principles, designs, models, fabrication techniques, and characterization are all included. Integrated systems combine semiconductor sensors, electric circuit, microfluidic channels, display, and control unit for real applications such as disease diagnostic or environmental monitoring are also welcome.

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The portable biosensor can test specific cardiac markers in five minutes with a single drop of blood.
Credit: Yu-Lin Wang

A team of researchers from National Tsing Hua University and National Cheng Kung University, both in Taiwan, has developed a low-cost, portable medical sensor package that has the potential to alert users of medical issues ranging from severe heart conditions to cancer, according to a new study published in the ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology.

Portable medical devices have become an integral part of holistic health care, exhibiting huge potential in monitoring, medical therapeutics, diagnosis, and fitness and wellness. When paired with benchtop point-of-care instruments used in hospitals and urgent care centers, individuals are able to both increase preventative care measures and gain a more complete picture of their health.

According to the open access paper, “Field-Effect Transistor-Based Biosensors and a Portable Device for Personal Healthcare” (ECS J. Solid State Sci. Technol., 6, Q71 [2017]), researchers have reported the design, development, fabrication, and prototyping of a low-cost transistor-based device that can measure the C-reactive protein (CRP) in bloodstreams, which, when elevated, indicates inflammation that could be linked to heart attack, stroke, coronary artery disease, and a host of other medical diagnosis.

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In a recent survey of over 100 corresponding authors who published in ECS journals, over 55% of respondents said the speed from initial manuscript submission to publication was faster than expected, and nearly 25% said it was very fast.

The survey also asked the authors to rate ECS’s turnaround speed during specific periods of the publication process: (1) from initial submission to first decision, (2) from manuscript acceptance to receipt of page proofs, and (3) from manuscript acceptance to publication.

Here are the key takeaways:

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In a recently published ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology paper, ECS member Roger Loo and coauthors describe a new epitaxial growth technology and address the challenges of implementation. The open access article, “Epitaxial CVD Growth of Ultra-Thin Si Passivation Layers on Strained Ge Fin Structures,” was designated Editors’ Choice due to its significance and the importance of the technology described.

“The work combines carefully thought out and elegant experimental work, with appropriate simulation work that compliments the experiments,” said Jennifer Bardwell, ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology technical editor in the area of electronic materials and processing. “I am certain that it will be of great interest to many of our readers.”

We recently sat down with Loo to discuss the work and its impact on the field.

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Submission Deadline: February 14, 2018

The ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology (JSS) Focus Issue on Semiconductor-Based Sensors for Application to Vapors, Chemicals, Biological Species, and Medical Diagnosis is currently accepting manuscripts.

This JSS focus issue aims to cover various active or passive semiconductor devices for gas, chemical, bio and medical detection, with the focus on silicon, GaN, dichalcogenides/oxides, graphene, and other semiconductor materials for electronic or photonic devices. The scope of contributed articles includes materials preparation, growth, processing, devices, chemistry, physics, theory, and applications for the semiconductor sensors. Different methodologies, principles, designs, models, fabrication techniques, and characterization are all included. Integrated systems combine semiconductor sensors, electric circuit, microfluidic channels, display, and control unit for real applications such as disease diagnostic or environmental monitoring are also welcome.

Topics of interest include, but not limited, to the following:

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