14 Department of Applied Physics Cutting-edge Research with Immediate Application Our researchers are dedicated to improving various aspects of human lives through their innovative ideas including biomimetic vision imaging, fast point-of-care virus diagnosis, efficient hydrogen generation, low-cost solar desalination, high-resolution ultrasonic imaging, and more. AP’s innovation for biomimetic vision, solar desalination and medical imaging. Learn from Human Eyes to Make Photoreceptors Work from Sunlight to Starlight Inspired by our human eyes’ amazing capability to work over an illumination range of 160 dB by switching between rod and cone cells that work for weak and strong light, Prof. CHAI Yang has developed MoS2 back-gated phototransistors that allow dynamic modulation of the photosensitivity under different lighting conditions. This technology creates an effective perception range of up to 199 dB, providing valuable applications for photodetection and imaging systems. Flexible COVID-19 Antibody Detection Sensors In another study, Prof. YAN Feng developed an ultrafast, low-cost, label-free and portable SARS-CoV-2 IgG detection platform based on organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs), which can be remotely controlled by a mobile phone, enabling specific detection of SARS-CoV-2 IgG in several minutes with a detectable region from 10 fM to 100 nM for potential use in the diagnosis and prognosis of COVID-19 and many other diseases. In recognition of his excellent achievements, Prof. Yan was ranked the “Highly Cited Researcher” in 2021 and 2022 by Clarivate. Solar Desalination with Low Cost and Easy Accessibility Prof. TSANG Yuen-hong has developed a solar-powered water evaporation mechanism that uses sunlight and materials at low-cost to first evaporate seawater and unclean surface water, then condense it into clean water. Furthermore, his solar steam generator can heat steam to 130°C for sterilising surgical equipment in hospitals located in remote areas. Prof. Tsang is now collaborating with private sector and hospitals in Bangladesh on a first-phase clinic trial. All-In-One Luminescence-Based Point-Of-Care Testing Device for Virus Diagnosis Supported by a CRF COVID-19 grant of HK$8.4M, Prof. HAO Jianhua’s team has developed an all-in-one point-of-care diagnostics platform to provide accurate diagnosis through reflecting the full spectrum of infected patients’ information, which offers a highly accurate, rapid and low-cost early diagnosis scheme to guide clinical treatment, infection control and development of vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses. Prof. Hao’s research achievements were recognised by the award “Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Awards - Natural Science Award Second Class” ( 學校科學研究 優秀成果獎 ( 科學技術) 自然科學獎二等獎) in 2020, and “RGC Senior Research Fellow Award” by the Research Grants Council in 2021. Significantly Accelerated Pyro-Catalytic Hydrogen Production from Water Splitting Prof. HUANG Haitao’s recent work on pyro-catalytic hydrogen production marks a breakthrough by realising in-situ growth of Au nanoparticles on the pyro-catalyst. This innovation enables rapid thermal cycling for the pyro-catalyst and fast pyro-catalytic reaction rate. High-Resolution Ultrasonic Imaging Using Phased Array Transducers Finally, Prof. DAI Jiyan has developed high-frequency (>15 MHz) phased array ultrasound transducers for medical diagnoses, which has been transferred to Shantou Institute of Ultrasonic Instrument (SIUI) Ltd. for the production of medical instruments. Our Achievements
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