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Silica (SiO2, silicon dioxide—a dielectric layer commonly used in electronic devices) is widely used in many types of sensors, such as gas, molecular, and biogenic polyamines. To form silica films, core shell or an encapsulated layer, silane has been used as a precursor in recent decades. However, there are many hazards caused by using silane, such as its being extremely flammable, the explosive air, and skin and eye pain. To avoid these hazards, it is necessary to spend many resources on industrial safety design. Thus, the silica synthesized without silane gas which can be determined as a silane-free procedure presents a clean and safe solution to manufactures. In this report, we used the radio frequency (rf = 13.56 MHz) plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique (PECVD) to form a silica layer at room temperature. The silica layer is formed in hydrogen-based plasma at room temperature and silane gas is not used in this process. The substrate temperature dominates the silica formation, but the distance between the substrate and electrode (DSTE) and the methane additive can enhance the formation of a silica layer on the Si wafer. This silane-free procedure, at room temperature, is not only safer and friendlier to the environment but is also useful in the fabrication of many types of sensors.

Knowledge of Neogene fish diversity in Taiwan is extremely limited. In this paper, we present a collection of 1716 fish otoliths recovered from the late Miocene Tapu Formation. The abundance and density of otoliths vary across the sites. Although the preservation of samples is considerably limited, our sample coverage is sufficient and reveals the presence of at least 34 otolith-based taxa belonging to 13 families. Four new species are introduced: Larimichthys koae sp. nov., Nibea chaoi sp. nov., Taosciaena jiangi sp. nov., and T. hui sp. nov. Among the earliest fossil records, this collection features a remarkable abundance of Larimichthys spp. The assemblage is dominated by otoliths of Sciaenidae, Gobiidae and Soleidae, and it is indicative of a coastal shallow-water palaeoenvironment with muddy to sandy bottoms, perhaps adjacent to a river mouth. We hypothesise that the differences in the taxonomic composition between the fossil assemblage and modern fauna are mainly chronological and evolutionary, and only a moderate turnover of certain lineages has occurred since the Miocene. Our study provides a unique 'window' to a rarely visited fossil fish community that exclusively documented by fossil otolith data, and reveals a past coastal fish diversity that otherwise could not be recognised.