Low‐temperature photoluminescence of oxide‐covered single‐layer MoS2

We present a photoluminescence study of single‐layer MoS₂ flakes on SiO₂ surfaces. We demonstrate that the luminescence peak position of flakes prepared from natural MoS₂, which varies by up to 25 meV between individual flakes, can be homogenized by annealing in vacuum. We use HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ layers prepared by atomic layer deposition to cover some of our flakes. In these flakes, we observe a suppression of the low‐energy luminescence peak which appears in asprepared flakes at low temperatures. We infer that this peak originates from excitons bound to surface adsorbates. We also observe different temperature‐induced shifts of the luminescence peaks for the oxide‐covered flakes. This effect stems from the different thermal expansion coefficients of the oxide layers and the MoS₂ flakes. It indicates that the single‐layer MoS₂ flakes strongly adhere to the oxide layers and are therefore strained. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

High‐temperature stability of suspended single‐layer graphene

We report in situ Joule heating on suspended single‐layer graphene in a transmission electron microscope (TEM). Thermally‐driven degradation of pre‐deposited nanoparticles on the membrane is monitored and used for local temperature estimation. By extrapolating the Joule heating power and temperature relation, we find that the suspended single‐layer graphene has exceptional thermal stability up to at least 2600 K. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Identification of excitons,trions and biexcitons in single‐layer WS2

Single‐layer WS₂ is a direct‐gap semiconductor showing strong excitonic photoluminescence features in the visible spectral range. Here, we present temperature‐dependent photoluminescence measurements on mechanically exfoliated single‐layer WS₂, revealing the existence of neutral and charged excitons at low temperatures as well as at room temperature. By applying a gate voltage, we can electrically control the ratio of excitons and trions and assert a residual n‐type doping of our samples. At high excitation densities and low temperatures, an additional peak at energies below the trion dominates the photoluminescence, which we identify as biexciton emission. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Layer‐dependent resonant Raman scattering of a few layer MoS2

We report resonant Raman scattering of MoS₂ layers comprising of single, bi, four and seven layers, showing a strong dependence on the layer thickness. Indirect band gap MoS₂ in bulk becomes a direct band gap semiconductor in the monolayer form. New Raman modes are seen in the spectra of single‐ and few‐layer MoS₂ samples which are absent in the bulk. The Raman mode at ~230 cm⁻¹ appears for two, four and seven layers. This mode has been attributed to the longitudinal acoustic phonon branch at the M point (LA(M)) of the Brillouin zone. The mode at ~179 cm⁻¹ shows asymmetric character for a few‐layer sample. The asymmetry is explained by the dispersion of the LA(M) branch along the Γ‐M direction. The most intense spectral region near 455 cm⁻¹ shows a layer‐dependent variation of peak positions and relative intensities. The high energy region between 510 and 645 cm⁻¹ is marked by the appearance of prominent new Raman bands, varying in intensity with layer numbers. Resonant Raman spectroscopy thus serves as a promising non invasive technique to accurately estimate the thickness of MoS₂ layers down to a few atoms thick. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

EPR evidence of antiferromagnetic ordering in single‐layer graphene

We report electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) evidence of the antiferromagnetic ordering in pristine single‐layer graphene. Temperature dependences of the parameters of EPR spectra obtained for vacuum‐processed samples were studied within the temperature range of 4.2–300 K. Our experiment has confirmed recent theoretical predictions that in single‐layer graphene the carrier‐mediated exchange interaction leads to antiferromagnetic coupling. We note some quantitative discrepancies between the theory and experimental findings and discuss their origins. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Reduction of low‐frequency noise in multilayer MoS2 FETs using a Fermi‐level depinning layer

Two‐dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are potential candidate materials for future thin‐film field effect transistors (FETs). However, many aspects of this device must be optimized for practical applications. In addition, low‐frequency noise that limits the design window of electronic devices, in general, must be minimized for TMD‐based FETs. In this study, the low‐frequency noise characteristics of multilayer molybdenum disulphide (MoS₂) FETs were investigated in detail, with two different contact structures: titanium (Ti) metal–MoS₂ channel and Ti metal–TiO₂ interlayer–MoS₂ channel. The results showed that the noise level of the device with a TiO₂ interlayer reduced by one order of magnitude compared with the device without the TiO₂ interlayer. This substantial improvement in the noise characteristics could be explained using the carrier number of fluctuation model. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Observation of low‐wavenumber out‐of‐plane optical phonon in few‐layer graphene

Few‐layer graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition has been studied by Raman and ultrafast laser spectroscopy. A low‐wavenumber Raman peak of ~120 cm⁻¹ and a phonon‐induced oscillation in the kinetic curve of electron–phonon relaxation process have been observed, respectively. The Raman peak is assigned to the low‐wavenumber out‐of‐plane optical mode in the few‐layer graphene. The phonon band shows an asymmetric shape, a consequence of so‐called Breit‐Wigner‐Fano resonance, resulting from the coupling between the low‐wavenumber phonon and electron transitions. The obtained oscillation wavenumber from the kinetic curve is consistent with the detected low‐wavenumber phonon by Raman scattering. The origin of this oscillation is attributed to the generation of coherent phonons and their interactions with photoinduced electrons. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tunable n‐ and p‐type doping of single‐layer graphene by engineering its interaction with the SiO2 support

We report a technique to tune the excess charge concentration in single‐layer graphene from p‐ to n‐type up to densities of |n | ～ 1.2 × 10¹³ cm^–2, corresponding to a displacement electric field of ～2.5 V/nm. The tuning is achieved by engineering the interaction between graphene and the underlying Si/SiO₂ substrate with an amino group‐terminated self‐assembled monolayer, and subsequent rinsing in aqueous solutions at controlled pH. Raman spectroscopy and electrical measurements on treated graphene devices confirm the occurrence of doping. Interestingly, we found the field‐effect mobility not to be significantly affected by the procedure. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Experimental characterization of temperature‐dependent electron transport in single‐wall multi‐tube carbon nanotube transistors

Current–voltage, radio‐frequency (RF) and noise characteristics of single‐wall multi‐tube carbon nanotube (CNT) transistors were measured at cryogenic temperatures. Compared to an ambient temperature (T_a) of 300 K, only a slight drain current increase at T_a = 77 K was observed. In addition, a weak dependence of the maximum value of the current gain cut‐off frequency (f_T) on T_a was obtained, indicating that f_T is rather limited by the device intrinsic quantum and extrinsic capacitances than by an improved mobility due to reduced optical phonon scattering at low T_a. A noise analysis of the devices at T_a = 10 K reveals that the noise factor (NF) improvement at very low temperatures is related to the reduced Nyquist noise of all resistive transistor noise contributors. Since the main noise source in CNTFETs is the shot noise, NF remains comparatively high even at T_a = 10 K.

     

Giant two‐photon absorption in monolayer MoS2

Strong two‐photon absorption (TPA) in monolayer MoS₂ is demonstrated in contrast to saturable absorption (SA) in multilayer MoS₂ under the excitation of femtosecond laser pulses in the near‐infrared region. MoS₂ in the forms of monolayer single crystal and multilayer triangular islands are grown on either quartz or SiO₂/Si by employing the seeding method through chemical vapor deposition. The nonlinear transmission measurements reveal that monolayer MoS₂ possesses a nonsaturation TPA coefficient as high as ∼(7.62 ±0.15) ×10³ cm/GW, larger than that of conventional semiconductors by a factor of 10³. As a result of TPA, two‐photon pumped frequency upconverted luminescence is observed directly in the monolayer MoS₂. For the multilayer MoS₂, the SA response is demonstrated with the ratio of the excited‐state absorption cross section to ground‐state cross section of ∼0.18. In addition, the laser damage threshold of the monolayer MoS₂ is ∼97 GW/cm², larger than that of the multilayer MoS₂ of ∼78 GW/cm².

     

Pseudogap in the Eliashberg approach based on electron‐phonon and electron‐electron‐phonon interaction

The properties of the superconducting and the anomalous normal state were described by using the Eliashberg method. The pairing mechanism was reproduced with the help of the Hamiltonian, which models the electron‐phonon and the electron‐electron‐phonon interaction (EEPh). The set of the Eliashberg equations, which determines the order parameter function (φ), the wave function renormalization factor (Z), and the energy shift function (χ), was derived. It was proven that for the sufficiently large values of the EEPh potential, the doping dependence of the order parameter () has the analogous course to that observed experimentally in cuprates. The energy gap in the electron density of states is induced by Z and χ ‐ the contribution from φ is negligible. The electron density of states possesses the characteristic asymmetric form and the pseudogap is observed above the critical temperature.

     

Two-dimensional phonon transport in graphene

Properties of phonons-quanta of the crystal lattice vibrations-in graphene have recently attracted significant attention from the physics and engineering communities. Acoustic phonons are the main heat carriers in graphene near room temperature, while optical phonons are used for counting the number of atomic planes in Raman experiments with few-layer graphene. It was shown both theoretically and experimentally that transport properties of phonons, i.e. energy dispersion and scattering rates, are substantially different in a quasi-two-dimensional system such as graphene compared to the basal planes in graphite or three-dimensional bulk crystals. The unique nature of two-dimensional phonon transport translates into unusual heat conduction in graphene and related materials. In this review, we outline different theoretical approaches developed for phonon transport in graphene, discuss contributions of the in-plane and cross-plane phonon modes, and provide comparison with available experimental thermal conductivity data. Particular attention is given to analysis of recent results for the phonon thermal conductivity of single-layer graphene and few-layer graphene, and the effects of the strain, defects, and isotopes on phonon transport in these systems.     

Correlations in single‐photon experiments

Correlations of detection events in two photodetectors placed at the opposite sides of a beam splitter are studied in the frame of classical probability theory. It is assumed that there is always only one photon present in the measuring apparatus during one elementary experiment (one measurement act). Due to the conservation of energy, there is always a strict anticorrelation in one elementary experiment, because the photon cannot excite both of the detectors at the same time. It is explicitely shown in several examples that the “bunching” and “anti‐bunching” of the counts in serieses of elementary single‐photon experiments is governed by the statistical properties of grouping the sequences of the elementary measurements.     

Triple‐resonant two‐phonon Raman scattering in graphene

The triple‐resonant (TR) second‐order Raman scattering mechanism in graphene is re‐examined. It is shown that the magnitude of the TR contribution to the photon‐G′ mode coupling function in graphene is one order of magnitude larger than the widely accepted two‐resonant coupling. Enhancement of the order of 100 in the Raman intensity, with respect to the usual double‐resonant model, is found for the G′ band in graphene, and is expected in the related sp²‐based carbon materials, as well. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multicolor Light‐Emitting Diodes with MoS2 Quantum Dots

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) quantum dots (QDs) are known for their excitation‐wavelength‐dependent photoluminescent (PL) properties. However, the mechanism of this phenomenon is still unclear. Here, small size MoS₂ QDs with a narrow size distribution are synthesized. Based on the decay study and PL dynamics, a reasonable radiation model is presented to understand the special PL properties, i.e., the carrier recombination in the localized surface defect states generated the PL. Accordingly, this optical property is used to fabricate multicolor light‐emitting devices with the same MoS₂ QDs. The emission color covers the full visible spectrum from blue to red, only by adjusting the thickness of the down‐conversion QD layers.