Sm doped BiFeO3 nanofibers for improved photovoltaic devices

Interdigital electrodes, BiFeO₃ and Sm doped BiFeO₃ nanofibers and corresponding photovoltaic devices were obtained by semiconductor technology and electrostatic spinning method. The interdigital electrodes have prefect structure and the nanofibers have uniform morphology both before and after annealing process examined by SEM and AFM, respectively. The ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of the BiFeO₃ and Sm doped BiFeO₃ nanofibers were demonstrated by PFM. After Sm doping, the BiFeO₃ nanofibers have improved ferroelectricity. Compared with BiFeO₃ nanofiber photovoltaic device, Sm doped BiFeO₃ nanofiber photovoltaic device has improved photovoltaic performance with increased photocurrent and energy conversion efficiency is improved to 1.65 times. The BiFeO₃-based nanofibers are very promising ferroelectric photovoltaic materials for high performance photovoltaic devices.     

Ultrahigh‐Density Plasmonic‐Nanoparticle‐Sensitized Semiconductor Photocatalysts Profit from Cooperative Light Harvesting and Charge Separation Processes: Experiments,Simulations, and Multifunctional Plasmonics

Here, a controlled synthesis of remarkable 3D photocatalysts is presented that is composed of ultrahigh‐density unaggregated plasmonic Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) chemically bound to vertically aligned ZnO nanorod arrays (ZNA) through bifunctional molecular linkers. Experimental probes and electromagnetic simulations of electron transfer and localized plasmonic coupling processes are exploited to gain insight into the underlying light‐irradiation‐induced interactions in the 3D ZNA–AuNPs photocatalysts. Highly dense AuNPs on ZNA surfaces act as sinks for the storage of UV‐generated electrons, which promote the separation of charge carriers and create numerous photocatalytic reaction centers. Furthermore, 3D finite‐difference time domain simulation indicates that significant visible light confinement and enhancement around the ZNA–AuNPs interfacial plasmon “hot spots” contribute to efficient conversion of light energy to electron‐hole pairs. Significantly, in comparison with the bare ZNA, the 10‐nm‐sized AuNPs‐decorated ZNA exhibits 10.6‐fold enhanced photoreaction rate in the entire UV–vis region. Moreover, various novel hybrid structures based on the plasmonic AuNPs and diverse nanostructures (films, powdered nanorods, mesoporous, and nanotubes) or functional materials (multiferroic BiFeO₃, CuInGaSe₂ absorber layers, and photoactive TiO₂) are successfully constructed using the present synthesis methodology. It may stimulate the progress in materials science toward the synthesis of multifunctional plasmonic heterostructures or devices.     

Nonvolatile bipolar resistance switching effects in multiferroic BiFeO3 thin films on LaNiO3-electrodized Si substrates

We report on reversible bipolar resistance switching effects in multiferroic BiFeO₃ thin films without electroforming. The BiFeO₃ thin films with (110) preferential orientation were prepared on LaNiO₃-electrodized Si substrates with a Pt/BiFeO₃/LaNiO₃ device configuration. The resistance ratio of high resistance state (HRS) to low resistance state (LRS) of the devices was as high as three orders of magnitude. The dominant conduction mechanisms of LRS and HRS were dominated by ohmic behavior and trap-controlled space charge limited current, respectively. The resistance switching mechanism of the devices was discussed using a modified Schottky-like barrier model taking into account the movement of oxygen vacancies.     

First-principles study on the electronic and optical properties of BiFeO3

The structural, electronic, and optical properties of multiferroic bismuth ferrite (BiFeO₃) are investigated using density functional theory within generalized gradient approximation (GGA). The calculated lattice parameters are in good agreement with the experimental data. The electronic structure shows that BiFeO₃ has an indirect (very close to direct) band gap of 1.06 eV. The complex dielectric function, absorption spectra, refractive index, extinction coefficient, energy-loss spectrum and reflectivity are calculated, and the results are compared with the available experimental data. Finally, the optical properties of BiFeO₃ are discussed based on the band structure calculations.     

High‐gain Zn1–xMgx O‐based ultraviolet photodetectors on Al2O3 and LiGaO2 substrates

We report the fabrication and characterization of highly responsive ZnMgO‐based ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors in the metal–semiconductor–metal (MSM) configuration for solar‐blind/visible‐blind optoelectronic application. MSM devices were fabricated from wurtzite Zn_1–xMg_x O/ZnO (x ～ 0.44) thin‐film heterostructures grown on sapphire (α‐Al₂O₃) substrates and w‐Zn_1–xMg_x O (x ～ 0.08), grown on nearly lattice‐matched lithium gallate (LiGaO₂) substrates, both by radio‐frequency plasma‐assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE). Thin film properties were studied by AFM, XRD, and optical transmission spectra, while MSM device performance was analyzed by spectral photoresponse and current–voltage techniques. Under biased conditions, α‐Al₂O₃ grown devices exhibit peak responsivity of ～7.6 A/W at 280 nm while LiGaO₂ grown samples demonstrate peak performance of ～119.3 A/W, albeit in the UV‐A regime (～324 nm). High photoconductive gains (76, 525) and spectral rejection ratios (～10³, ～10⁴) were obtained for devices grown on α‐Al₂O₃ and LiGaO₂, respectively. Exemplary device performance was ascribed to high material quality and in the case of lattice‐matched LiGaO₂ films, decreased photocarrier trapping probability, presumably due to low‐density of dislocation defects. To the best of our knowledge, these results represent the highest performing ZnO‐based photodetectors on LiGaO₂ yet fabricated, and demonstrate both the feasibility and substantial enhancement of photodetector device performance via growth on lattice‐matched substrates. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Local leakage current behaviours of BiFeO3 films

The leakage current behaviours of polycrystalline BiFeO₃ thin films are investigated by using both conductive atomic force microscopy and current-voltage characteristic measurements. The local charge transport pathways are found to be located mainly at the grain boundaries of the films. The leakage current density can be tuned by changing the post-annealing temperature, the annealing time, the bias voltage and the light illumination, which can be used to improve the performances of the ferroelectric devices based on the BiFeO₃ films. A possible leakage mechanism is proposed to interpret the charge transports in the polycrystalline BiFeO₃ films.     

Efficient Integrated Graphene Photonics in the Visible and Near‐IR

Graphene photonics has emerged as a promising platform for providing desirable optical functionality. However, graphene's monolayer‐scale thickness fundamentally restricts the available light matter interaction, posing a critical design challenge for integrated devices, particularly in wavelength regimes where graphene plasmonics is untenable. While several plasmonic designs have been proposed to enhance graphene light interaction in these regimes, they suffer from substantial insertion loss due to metal absorption. Here we report a non‐resonant metamaterial‐based waveguide platform to overcome the design bottleneck associated with graphene device. Such metamaterial structure enables low insertion loss even though metal is being utilized. By examining waveguide dispersion characteristics via closed‐form analysis, it is demonstrated that the metamaterial approach can provide optimized optical field that overlaps with the graphene monolayer. This enables graphene‐based integrated components with superior optical performance. Specifically, the metamaterial‐assisted graphene modulator can provide 5‐fold improvement in extinction ratio compared to Si nanowire, while reducing insertion loss by one order magnitude compared to plasmonic structures. Such a waveguide configuration thus allows one to maximize the optical potential that graphene holds in the telecom and visible regimes.     

Searching for better plasmonic materials

Plasmonics is a research area merging the fields of optics and nanoelectronics by confining light with relatively large free‐space wavelength to the nanometer scale ‐ thereby enabling a family of novel devices. Current plasmonic devices at telecommunication and optical frequencies face significant challenges due to losses encountered in the constituent plasmonic materials. These large losses seriously limit the practicality of these metals for many novel applications. This paper provides an overview of alternative plasmonic materials along with motivation for each material choice and important aspects of fabrication. A comparative study of various materials including metals, metal alloys and heavily doped semiconductors is presented. The performance of each material is evaluated based on quality factors defined for each class of plasmonic devices. Most importantly, this paper outlines an approach for realizing optimal plasmonic material properties for specific frequencies and applications, thereby providing a reference for those searching for better plasmonic materials.     

Thickness Dependence of Photoconductance in Strained BiFeO3 Thin Films With Planar Device Geometry

The recent discovery of efficient charge separation in tetragonal–rhombohedral (T‐R) polymorphic phase boundaries (PPBs) in strained BiFeO₃ (BFO) films is of great interest, and also raised a question of whether the PPBs could enhance the performance of BFO‐based planar photodetectors. To address it, we prepare BFO films with thickness ranging from 8 to 90 nm on the LaAlO₃ substrates, in which the BFO evolves from a pure T phase (without PPBs) to a T‐R mixed phase (with PPBs) due to the strain relaxation. Then, we comparatively investigate the photoconductive properties of these BFO films with the planar device geometry. It is found that the photoconductance first increases and then decreases with increasing film thickness. Particularly, the 50‐nm film containing the pure T phase without any detectable PPBs exhibits the highest photoconductance. This unexpected observation can be understood by analyzing the effects of increasing film thickness and associated phase evolution on the photoconduction‐related parameters.     

Broadly tunable one-way terahertz plasmonic waveguide based on nonreciprocal surface magneto plasmons

One-way-propagating broadly tunable terahertz plasmonic waveguide at a subwavelength scale is proposed based on a metal-dielectric-semiconductor structure. Unlike other one-way plasmonic devices that are based on interference effects of surface plasmons, the proposed one-way device is based on nonreciprocal surface magneto plasmons under an external magnetic field. Theoretical and simulation results demonstrate that the one-way-propagating frequency band can be broadly tuned by the external magnetic fields. The proposed concept can be used to realize various high performance tunable plasmonic devices such as isolators, switches and splitters for ultracompact integrated plasmonic circuits.     

Optical switch with low-phase transition temperature based on thin nanocrystalline VOx film

An optical switch is fabricated by using micromachining technology, which is based on thin nanocrystalline vanadium oxide (VO_x) film, and it consists of four layers: a silicon (Si) substrate layer, a VO_x layer, a Si₃N₄ buffer layer, and an aurum (Au) electrode layer. By applying a switching power supply to a pair of the Au electrodes, the optical switch is controlled to exhibit from an “on” state with semi-conducting phase to an “off” state with metallic phase. The optical switch performance is investigated, and testing results show that its extinction ratio is about 14 dB, its switching response time can achieve about 1.5 ms, and the power dissipation required for stimulating switching to work can be below about 15 mW at least, which is lower than the power dissipation of conventional optical switches based on microstructure thin vanadium dioxide (VO₂) films. This kind of optical switch is potential to be applied as optical switch for optical communication.     

多铁性BiFeO3纳米颗粒的尺寸依赖磁性能研究

采用乙二胺四乙酸杂化溶胶法制备了不同晶粒尺寸的纯相BiFeO₃纳米颗粒,并利用X射线衍射仪、扫描电镜、超导量子干涉仪和Mossbauer 谱系统研究了其结构、形貌以及磁性能.结果表明: BiFeO₃纳米颗粒具有明显的弱铁磁性,并呈现强烈的尺寸依赖特性; 这种弱铁磁性主要源于纳米材料的尺寸限制效应,而非杂质相或Fe²⁺ 的存在所致.     

The enhanced electron injection by fluorinated tris-(8-hydroxy-quinolinato) aluminum derivatives in high efficient Si-anode OLEDs

Fabrication of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and lasers on silicon substrates is a feasible route to integrate microelectronic chips with optical devices for telecommunications. However, the efficiency of Si-anode based OLEDs is restricted by the imbalance of hole-electron injection because a p-type Si anode owns better hole injection ability than ITO. We have used fluorinated tris-(8-hydroxy-quinolinato) aluminum (FAlq₃) derivatives to prepare Si-anode based OLEDs. We observed that, when tris-(5-fuloro-8-hydroxyquinolinato) aluminum (5FAlq₃) is used as the electron-transporting material instead of Alq₃, the cathode electron injection is enhanced due to its lower lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) compared to the Alq₃. The device can keep the relative carrier balance even when a Si anode capable of stronger hole injection was used. Further optimization of the device structure by introducing 2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (BCP) as a hole blocking layer showed significant increase in the device power efficiency from 0.029 to 0.462 lm/W. This indicates that use of fluorinated Alq₃ derivatives is an effective way to improve the performance of Si-anode based OLEDs.     

Effect of substituent groups of porphyrins on the electroluminescent properties of porphyrin‐doped OLED devices

Six tetraphenylporphyrins (TRPPH₂) with different horizontal substituents R (R = H, CH₃, OH, F, Cl, Br) were synthesized, and the organic light‐emitting diode (OLED) devices with a general configuration of ITO/TPD/Alq₃:2%TRPPH₂/Alq₃/Al were prepared. The substituted TRPPH₂ was used as the host dopant, 4,4‐bis‐(m‐tolyphenylamino)biphenyl (TPD) was used as a hole‐transporting material, and aluminum tris(8‐quinolinolato) (Alq₃) was used as an electron‐transporting material. The electroluminescent (EL) properties of these devices were studied to understand the light emitting properties of the substituted TRPPH₂. Previous studies have found that the color emitted by the devices was dependent on the TRPPH₂ dye concentration. The electronic effect of the horizontal substituents R of TRPPH₂ influenced the turn‐on voltage, brightness, and power efficiency of the devices. Also, the electroluminescence performance of the porphyrin‐doped OLED devices depended on the effectual overlaps between the emission of electron‐transporting material and the absorption of the dopants. This means that it is possible to evaluate the electroluminescence performance of the porphyrin‐doped OLED devices based on the emission of electron‐transporting material and the absorption of the dopants. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Light-induced negative differential resistance effect in a resistive switching memory device

The negative differential resistance (NDR) effect was observed in a Pt/BiFeO₃/TiO₂/BiFeO₃/Pt memory cell by using light-illumination as extra stimulation. Further, the coexistence appearances and gradually becomes obvious when the device is exposed to light-illumination, which display an excellent stability and reversibility of the coexistence of NDR and resistive switching (RS) at room temperature. Through analysis of the physical conduction mechanism, it is expected that a large number of photo-generated charge carriers are induced under light-illumination on the surface and interface of the heterojunction is responsible for the appearance of this coexistence phenomenon. Importantly, the NDR effect is strengthened by the competition transfer of charge carrier in the polarized electric field under light-illumination. This work shows that the coexistence of light-modulated NDR and RS can deeply explore the potential applications of light-controlled multifunctional devices.     

Organic‐inorganic hybrids based on phenanthrene‐functionalized gold nanoparticles for OLEDs

The electroluminescence intensity of the phenanthrene‐functionalized gold nanoparticles, PMPT‐Au nanoparticles/CPB: Ir(PIA)₂ (acac) film, was increased by 4.9 times compared with control device, CPB: Ir(PIA)₂ (acac) due to coupling between the excitons of emissive layer and localized surface plasmonic resonance of PMPT‐Au NPs. The maximum luminous efficiencies of devices II to IV with PMPT‐Au NPs were 39.2 cd A^?1 (11.8 V), 40.1 cd A^?1 (10.5 V), and 43.1 cd A^?1 (9.0 V), respectively. The increment of current efficiency with PMPT‐Au NP coated devices was strongly related to the energy transfer between the radiated light generated from CBP: Ir(PIA)₂ (acac) emissive layer and localized surface plasmonic resonance excited by PMPT‐Au NP layer.     

Interplay between elasticity,ferroelectricity and magnetism at the domain walls of bismuth ferrite

Multiferroic domain walls have recently been proposed as the active element in devices related to spintronics, data storage, and magnetic logic. Among multiferroics, BiFeO₃ is by far the most studied material. Its domain walls have shown rich behaviours that include conductivity in an otherwise insulating crystal, and magnetotransport properties that are markedly different from those of the bulk. In this article we summarize the experimental evidence and the current models used to understand the interplay between elastic, electric, and magnetic properties of the domain walls. Starting from the considera‐ tion of antiferromagnetic domain structures on a background of ferroelectric domains, and emphasizing pinning effects, we proceed to discuss the microscopic behavior of ferroelectricity and magnetism at the walls. We describe how domain organization in BiFeO₃ is caused by structural transformations, and scrutinize modelling works pinpointing their characteristic features. Finally, we summarize the recent progress and list open questions for future study on BiFeO₃ domain structures. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Structural, optical and magnetic properties of Nd-doped BiFeO3 thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

Nd-doped BiFeO₃ thin films were grown by pulsed laser deposition on quartz substrate and their structural, optical and magnetic properties have been studied. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that Nd addition caused structural distortion even with 5% of Nd concentration, additional secondary phase appeared in all samples but its intensity was greatly reduced with Nd addition. Doping-induced variations in texture and structure modifying both magnetic and optical properties of BiFeO₃ thin films. The energy band gap decreases while the refractive index increases with addition of Nd³⁺ in BiFeO₃ for Bi³⁺. These variations in energy band gap and refractive index have been explained on the basis of density of states and increase in disorders in the system. All the samples were found to exhibit ferromagnetism at room temperature and the saturation magnetization increases with the increase in structural distortion with addition of Nd. Finally, Nd-doping modifies the physical properties of BiFeO₃ in comparison to undoped BiFeO₃ thin films.     

Switchable surface plasmon dichroic splitter modulated by optical polarization

For the miniaturization of optical devices, surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) have been widely utilized due to their outstanding confinement and field‐enhancement characteristics. Analyzing a spectrum of optical signals and splitting certain regions of the spectrum range within a submicrometer‐scale structure are demanded for optical integrated systems. In this paper, a novel type of dichroic surface plasmon launcher that can switch the launching direction according to incident polarization states is demonstrated. Compared to the previously reported plasmonic dichroic splitters, the proposed schemes do not use any asymmetric geometry for directional launching. Hence, the direction of guided SPPs can be interchanged according to the polarization state. Such characteristics will be helpful to design switchable plasmonic devices that can be applied to active plasmonic integrated circuits.     

Nanoplasmonic directional couplers and Mach–Zehnder interferometers

We present a novel design and analysis of two nano-scale plasmonic devices: a directional coupler and a Mach–Zehnder interferometer. The designs of the two devices are based on our recent work on the air-gap coupler that resulted in high coupling efficiency between a dielectric waveguide and a plasmonic waveguide. The two devices are embedded between two dielectric waveguides and operate at optical telecom wavelengths. The overall efficiency was 37% for a 2×2 directional coupler switch and above 50% for the proposed designs for a Mach–Zehnder Interferometer. The efficiency in the proposed devices can be increased using broader plasmonic waveguides.