Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry is used to rapidly characterize the human neutrophil peptides - HNP 1, 2, and 3 - in saliva. The saliva excreted from the parotid and sublingual/submandibular glands of 70 individuals were collected and examined using MALDI-TOF. The MALDI approach requires no sample pretreatment other than mixing the saliva-absorbing material with the matrix and drying under ambient conditions. Tissue paper was the best material for collecting the saliva samples because of its strong texture and high absorbance, and sinapinic acid was the best MALDI matrix for the analysis of the HNPs. HNPs were detected in almost all the samples collected from the parotid glands, with no obvious differences among age or gender. In contrast, the distribution of the HNPs in the samples collected from the sublingual/submandibular glands was age-dependent: no HNPs were detected for those collected from individuals younger than 30, but the HNPs were present in all of the samples collected from those older than 60 years. The increased probability of detecting saliva HNPs with age suggests that HNPs may function as a biomarker for aging.

In this paper, the impact of crystallization method on the electrical characteristics of polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) tunnel field-effect transistors (TFETs) is investigated. Different crystallization methods may result in different amounts of interface traps (N it ) and bulk traps (N GB ). TFETs crystallized with solid-phase crystallization (SPC) and metal-induced lateral crystallization (MILC) were fabricated and compared. In comparison to the SPC TFETs, the MILC TFETs exhibit ~ 4.5 × higher on-state current I ON , subthreshold swing reduction ΔS.S. ~ 202 mV/dec, and larger ~ 7.2 × on/off current ratio. According to the measurement of a monitor poly-Si TFT, replacing SPC with MILC results in a reduced N it ~ 0.60× and a reduced N GB ~ 0.36× respectively. It can enhance the gate-to-tunnel junction controllability. Consequently, lowering trap density favors reducing power consumption of TFETs and provides a promising solution for future low power driving circuits in portable electronics. Index Terms-tunnel field-effect-transistor (TFET), poly-Si thin-film transistor (poly-Si TFTs), trap density, and metal-induced lateral crystallization (MILC).

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