Nanosphere lithography with variable deposition angle for the production of one‐directional transparent conductors

The production of high quality and cheap transparent electrodes is a fundamental step for a variety of optoelectronic devices. We present a method for the production of transparent conducting films optimised for electrical conduction in one direction. The deposition of a metal film through a perfectly aligned nanosphere‐lithography mask at variable incidence angle gave origin to parallel nanowires with thin interconnections. This structure showed excellent conductivity in one direction and high optical transparency.

Glass substrates under the crystalline areas of the polystyrene‐nanospheres mask.     

Investigation of strain‐induced phase transformation in ferroelectric transistor using metal‐nitride gate electrode

In this work, we report a ferroelectric memory with strained‐gate engineering. The memory window of the high strain case was improved by ～71% at the same ferroelectric thickness. The orthorhombic phase transition (from ferroelectric to anti‐ferroelectric transition) plays a key role in realizing negative capacitance effect at high gate electric field. Based on a reliable first principles calculation, we clarify that the gate strain accelerates the phase transformation from metastable monoclinic to orthorhombic and thus largely enhances the ferroelectric polarization without increasing dielectric thickness. This ferroelectric strain technology shows the potential for emerging device application.

     

Molecular detection by active Fano‐sensor

The optical properties and sensing performances of the molecular sensors based on plasmonic Fano‐resonance (PFR) nanostructures have been numerically investigated in detail. The on‐resonance sensor, in which the Fano‐resonance position is overlapping with the absorption‐band of the detected molecules perfectly, reveals a powerful ability to detect the molecules with a low concentration or thin thickness. By the bias‐modulation of a single‐layer graphene, the Fano‐resonance position of the nanostructures can be tuned effectively. On being modulated properly, the PFR sensor shows an ultrahigh performance because of the unprecedentedly high overlap of the Fano‐resonance position with the absorption‐band of molecules, which is enabling superior signal strength in the molecular detections based on their vibrational fingerprints. Our proposed strategy may enable the development of dynamic sensors and open exciting prospects for bio‐sensing.

     

CuNi binary alloy catalyst for growth of nitrogen‐doped graphene by low pressure chemical vapor deposition

The CuNi binary alloy can be significant as a catalyst for nitrogen‐doped (N‐doped) graphene growth considering controllable solubility of both carbon and nitrogen atoms. Here, we report for the first time the possibility of synthesizing substitutional N‐doped bilayer graphene on the binary alloy catalyst. Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy analysis confirm the growth of bilayer and few‐layer graphene domains. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis shows the presence of around 5.8 at% of nitrogen. Our finding shows that large N‐doped bilayer graphene domains can be synthesized on the CuNi binary alloy.

     

True nature of active layers in organic solar cells fabricated by sequential casting of donor and acceptor layers

The operation characteristics of nominal bilayer (BL) organic solar cells (OSCs), the active layers (ALs) of which consisted of sequentially casted bottom P3HT donor and top ICBA acceptor layers, resembled those of OSCs with bulk heterojunction (BHJ) ALs. Optical analysis and device simulations showed that such resemblance can be attributed to a similarity in the micromorphology of ALs; as‐deposited BL‐type ALs transformed spontaneously into BHJ‐type ALs. The inclusion of P3HT nanowires (NWs) in the donor layers resulted in different AL micromorphology and consequently a larger power conversion efficiency. Separate assessment of the exciton generation and charge–carrier transport and/or extraction showed that the contribution of P3HT NWs was more prominent in optical effects.

     

Flexible X‐ray detector based on sliced lead iodide crystal

A promising flexible X‐ray detector based on inorganic semiconductor PbI₂ crystal is reported. The sliced crystals mechanically cleaved from an as‐grown PbI₂ crystal act as the absorber directly converting the impinging X‐ray photons to electron hole pairs. Due to the ductile feature of the PbI₂ crystal, the detector can be operated under a highly curved state with the strain on the top surface up to 1.03% and still maintaining effective detection performance. The stable photocurrent and fast response were obtained with the detector repeated bending to a strain of 1.03% for 100 cycles. This work presents an approach for developing efficient and cost‐effective PbI₂‐based flexible X‐ray detector.

     

Sulfur impregnation of multi‐walled carbon nanotubes via SF6/NH3 plasma exposure

Plasma treatments are established methods to functionalise carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and modify their surface structure. This paper presents a mild glow‐discharge plasma treatment of aligned arrays of multi‐walled carbon nanotubes employing sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆), ammonia (NH₃), and their mixtures as process gases. For the latter, sulfur was detected at the tip and sidewalls of the nanotubes via energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, while electron microscopy served as method to verify the structural integrity of the CNTs after the plasma treatment. This approach provides the basis for an easy and quick alternative to existing sulfur functionalisation methods of MWCNTs. Furthermore, the proposed method can conveniently be applied to carbon nanotube arrays on substrate while preserving their structure and alignment.

SEM‐EDX map of SF₆/NH₃ plasma‐treated multi‐walled carbon nanotubes on substrate. Green, yellow and red correspond to silicon, carbon and sulfur signals, respectively.     

Graphene screen‐printed radio‐frequency identification devices on flexible substrates

Despite the great promise of printed flexible electronics from 2D crystals, and especially graphene, few scalable applications have been reported so far that can be termed roll‐to‐roll compatible. Here we combine screen printed graphene with photonic annealing to realize radio‐frequency identification devices with a reading range of up to 4 meters. Most notably our approach leads to fatigue resistant devices showing less than 1% deterioration of electrical properties after 1000 bending cycles. The bending fatigue resistance demonstrated on a variety of technologically relevant plastic and paper substrates renders the material highly suitable for various printable wearable devices, where repeatable dynamic bending stress is expected during usage. All applied printing and post‐processing methods are compatible with roll‐to‐roll manufacturing and temperature sensitive flexible substrates providing a platform for the scalable manufacturing of mechanically stable and environmentally friendly graphene printed electronics.

     

Localized states emission in type‐I GaAsSb/AlGaAs multiple quantum wells grown by molecular beam epitaxy

As an important candidate for novel infrared semiconductor lasers, the optical properties of GaAsSb‐based multiple quantum wells (MQWs) are crucial. The temperature‐ and excitation power‐dependent photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the GaAs_0.92Sb_0.08/Al_0.2Ga_0.8As MQWs, which were grown by molecular beam epitaxy, were investigated and are detailed in this work. Two competitive peaks were observed from 40 K to 90 K. The peak located at the low‐energy shoulder was confirmed to be localized states emission (LE) and the high‐energy side peak was confirmed to be free‐carrier emission by its temperature‐dependent emission peak position. It is observed that the LE peak exhibited a blueshift with the increase of laser excitation power, which can be ascribed to the band filling effect of localized states. Our studies have great significance for application of GaAsSb‐based MQWs in infrared semiconductor lasers.

     

Photocatalytic activity of α‐PbO2‐type TiO2

The α‐PbO₂‐type TiO₂ is synthesized under high‐pressure and high‐temperature environment and it shows higher photocatalytic activity as compared to rutile and anatase under UV irradiation. The reduction in α‐PbO₂‐type TiO₂ induces visible‐light photocatalytic activity. These results indicate that α‐PbO₂‐type TiO₂ is an important candidate material for use in a photocatalytic matrix.

     

Ab initio prediction of a new allotrope of two‐dimensional silicon

Silicene, a promising candidate for future electronic devices, has been fabricated only on supporting substrates as silicon atom prefers to form the sp³ hybridization structure. Therefore, it's important to search more stable two‐dimensional (2D) silicon allotropes and several 2D silicon allotropes have been proposed recently. In this work, we predict a new type of 2D silicon allotrope (called OTDS) based on ab initio structure, phonon‐mode and molecular dynamics calculations. OTDS has the in‐plane octagonal tiling (OT) pattern with dumbbell‐like structures and silicon atoms in OTDS are four‐ and three‐coordinated. OTDS is a semiconductor with a large band gap (about 1.5 eV by HSE calculation) and the band gap can be tuned effectively by the in‐plane strain.

Perspective and side views of the atomic structure of OTDS.     

High‐temperature ferroelectricity and strong magnetoelectric effects in a hybrid organic–inorganic perovskite framework

A Cu‐based organic–inorganic perovskite framework exhibits high‐temperature ferroelectricity with strong magnetoelectric effects. Both electric field control of magnetization and magnetic field control of polarization are realized. Theoretical calculations suggest that a new mechanism of hybrid improper ferroelectricity arising from the Jahn–Teller distortions of magnetic metal ions and tilting of the organic cations are responsible for the peculiar multiferroic behaviors.

     

Transient dynamics of a one‐dimensional Holstein polaron under the influence of an external electric field

Following the Dirac‐Frenkel time‐dependent variational principle, transient dynamics of a one‐dimensional Holstein polaron with diagonal and off‐diagonal exciton‐phonon coupling in an external electric field is studied by employing the multi‐D₂ Ansatz, also known as a superposition of the usual Davydov D₂ trial states. Resultant polaron dynamics has significantly enhanced accuracy, and is in perfect agreement with that derived from the hierarchy equations of motion method. Starting from an initial broad wave packet, the exciton undergoes typical Bloch oscillations. Adding weak exciton‐phonon coupling leads to a broadened exciton wave packet and a reduced current amplitude. Using a narrow wave packet as the initial state, the bare exciton oscillates in a symmetric breathing mode, but the symmetry is easily broken by weak coupling to phonons, resulting in a non‐zero exciton current. For both scenarios, temporal periodicity is unchanged by exciton‐phonon coupling. In particular, at variance with the case of an infinite linear chain, no steady state is found in a finite‐sized ring within the anti‐adiabatic regime. For strong diagonal coupling, the multi‐ Anstaz is found to be highly accurate, and the phonon confinement gives rise to exciton localization and decay of the Bloch oscillations.

     

P‐type tin‐oxide thin film transistors for blue‐light detection application

We reported the characteristics of p‐type tin‐oxide (SnO) thin film transistors (TFTs) upon illumination with visible light. Our p‐type TFT device using the SnO film as the active channel layer exhibits high sensitivity toward the blue‐light with a high light/dark read current ratio (I_light/I_dark) of 8.2 × 10³ at a very low driven voltage of <3 V. Since sensing of blue‐light radiation is very critical to our eyes, the proposed p‐type SnO TFTs with high sensitivity toward the blue‐light show great potential for future blue‐light detection applications.

     

Spontaneous Ga incorporation in ZnO nanowires epitaxially grown on GaN substrate

Surface‐diffusion‐induced spontaneous Ga incorporation process is demonstrated in ZnO nanowires grown on GaN substrate. Crucially, contrasting distributions of Ga atoms in axial and radial directions are experimentally observed. Ga atoms uniformly distribute along the ～10 μm long ZnO nanowire and show a rapidly gradient distribution in the radial direction, which is attributed substantially to the difference between surface and volume diffusion. The understanding on the incorporation process can potentially modulate doping and properties in semiconductor nanomaterials.

     

Spectral dependence of light extraction efficiency of high‐power III‐nitride light‐emitting diodes

Using the recently suggested method of processing the data on external quantum efficiency as a function of output optical power, we have estimated the dependence of light extraction efficiency of high‐power light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) on their emission wavelength varied between 425 nm and 540 nm. The extraction efficiency is found to increase with the wavelength from ～80% to ～85% in this spectral range and to correlate with the wavelength dependence of reflectivity of the large‐area p‐electrode being the essential unit of the LED chip design. The correlation found identifies the incomplete reflection of emitted light from the electrode as the major mechanism eventually controlling the spectral dependence of the efficiency of light extraction from the LEDs.

     

Casimir interactions in strained graphene systems

We theoretically study the strain effect on the Casimir interactions in graphene based systems. We found that the interactions between two strained graphene sheets are strongly dependent on the direction of stretching. The influence of the strain on the dispersion interactions is still strong in the presence of dielectric substrates but is relatively weak when the substrate is metallic. Our studies would suggest new ways to design next generation devices.

     

Quasinormal modes of BTZ black hole and Hawking‐like radiation in graphene

The Bañados‐Teitelboim‐Zanelli (BTZ) black hole model corresponds to a solution of (2+1)‐dimensional Einstein gravity with negative cosmological constant, and by a conformal rescaling its metric can be mapped onto the hyperbolic pseudosphere surface (Beltrami trumpet) with negative curvature. Beltrami trumpet shaped graphene sheets have been predicted to emit Hawking radiation that is experimentally detectable by a scanning tunnelling microscope. Here, for the first time we present an analytical algorithm that allows variational solutions to the Dirac Hamiltonian of graphene pseudoparticles in BTZ black hole gravitational field by using an approach based on the formalism of pseudo‐Hermitian Hamiltonians within a discrete‐basis‐set method. We show that our model not only reproduces the exact results for the real part of quasinormal mode frequencies of (2+1)‐dimensional spinless BTZ black hole, but also provides analytical results for the real part of quasinormal modes of spinning BTZ black hole, and also offers some predictions for the observable effects with a view to gravity‐like phenomena in a curved graphene sheet.