The 100 most-cited articles in Applied Physics Letters, 2020

Oxygen vacancies play crucial roles in determining the physical properties of metal oxides, representing important building blocks in many scientific and technological fields due to their unique chemical, physical, and electronic properties. However, oxygen vacancies are often invisible because of their dilute concentrations. Therefore, characterizing and quantifying their presence is of utmost importance for understanding and realizing functional metal oxide devices. This, however, is oftentimes a non-trivial task. In this Perspective paper, we discuss the relevant regimes of concentrations and associated phenomena arising from oxygen vacancies. We then focus on experimental techniques available for observing oxygen vacancies at widely different levels of concentrations. Finally, we discuss current challenges and opportunities for utilizing oxygen vacancies in metal oxides.

The coding metasurface integrated with tunable materials offers an attractive alternative to manipulate the THz beam dynamically. In this work, we demonstrate a THz programmable metasurface based on liquid crystal. The phase profile on the metasurface could be dynamically manipulated by switching the “0” and “1” states of each element. The programmable metasurface could deflect the THz beam using the designed coding sequence, and a maximum deflection angle of 32° has been achieved. The presented design opens a route of beamforming for THz communication.

There is growing interest in microLED devices with lateral dimensions between 1 and 10 μm. However, reductions in external quantum efficiency (EQE) due to increased nonradiative recombination at the surface become an issue at these sizes. Previous attempts to study size-dependent EQE trends have been limited to dimensions above 5 μm, partly due to fabrication challenges. Here, we present size-dependent EQE data for InGaN microLEDs down to 1 μm in diameter fabricated using a process that only utilizes standard semiconductor processing techniques (i.e., lithography and etching). Furthermore, differences in EQE trends for blue and green InGaN microLEDs are compared. Green wavelength devices prove to be less susceptible to reductions in efficiency with the decreasing size; consequently, green devices attain higher EQEs than blue devices below 10 μm despite lower internal quantum efficiencies in the bulk material. This is explained by smaller surface recombination velocities with the increasing indium content due to enhanced carrier localization.

This perspective provides an overview of early developments, current status, and remaining challenges of microLED (μLED) technology, which was first reported in Applied Physics Letters in 2000 [S. X. Jin, J. Li, J. Z. Li, J. Y. Lin and H. X. Jiang, "GaN Microdisk Light Emitting Diodes," Appl. Phys. Lett. 76, 631 (2000)]. Today, microLED is recognized as the ultimate display technology and is one of the fastest-growing technologies in the world as technology giants utilize it on a wide range of products from large flat panel displays and televisions, wearable displays, and virtual reality displays to light sources for the neural interface and optogenetics. It is anticipated that the collective R&D efforts worldwide will bring microLED products not only to the mass consumer electronic markets but also to serve the society on the broadest scale by encompassing sectors in medical/health, energy, transportation, communications, and entertainment.

In this Letter, high-performance vertical NiO/β-Ga2O3 p–n heterojunction diodes without any electric field managements were reported. The devices show a low leakage current density and a high rectification ratio over 1010 (at ±3 V) even operated at temperature of 400 K, indicating their excellent thermal stability and operation capability at high temperature. Given a type-II band alignment of NiO/β-Ga2O3, carrier transport is dominated by the interface recombination at forward bias, while the defect-mediated variable range hopping conduction is identified upon strong reverse electric field. By using the double-layer design of NiO with a reduced hole concentration of 5.1 × 1017 cm−3, the diode demonstrates an improved breakdown voltage (Vb) of 1.86 kV and a specific on-resistance (Ron,sp) of 10.6 mΩ cm2, whose power figure of merit (Vb2/Ron,sp) has reached 0.33 GW/cm2. The high breakdown voltage and low leakage current are outperforming other reported Ga2O3 based p–n heterojunctions and Schottky barrier diodes without field plate and edge termination structures. TCAD simulation…

The electron transport layer (ETL) in perovskite photodetectors is playing a vital role in highly efficient electron extraction. Herein, this work reports a perovskite photodetector based on hydrothermal-fabricated ZnO nanorods (NRs) as the ETL and hot-injection-fabricated CsPbBr3 quantum dot (QD) as the photoabsorber. The crystalline structure, morphologies, and photoluminescence (PL) of the materials and the physics mechanism of highly efficient electron extraction in the devices are characterized and analyzed. The PL and time-resolved PL confirm the reduced recombination and enhanced electron transport to the indium tin oxide anode. The photodetectors based on ZnO NRs/CsPbBr3 QDs exhibit enormous enhancement in the response parameters such as a rise time of 12 ms, a decay time of 38 ms, and an on/off ratio of 3000, compared with the photodetectors based on ZnO films/CsPbBr3 QDs. These results indicate that the fabricated ZnO NRs/CsPbBr3 QDs heterojunction has a wide prospect of future applications in photodetectors.

Chemical etching and Al2O3 dielectric passivation were used to minimize nonradiative sidewall defects in InGaN/GaN microLEDs (mesa diameter = 2–100 μm), resulting in an increase in external quantum efficiency (EQE) as the LED size was decreased. Peak EQEs increased from 8%–10% to 12%–13.5% for mesa diameters from 100 μm to 2 μm, respectively, and no measurable leakage currents were seen in current density–voltage (J–V) characteristics. The position and shape of EQE curves for all devices were essentially identical, indicating size-independent ABC model (Shockley–Read–Hall, radiative, and Auger recombination) coefficients-behavior that is not typical of microLEDs as the size decreases. These trends can be explained by enhancement in light extraction efficiency (LEE), which is only observable when sidewall defects are minimized, for the smallest LED sizes. Detailed ray-tracing simulations substantiate the LEE enhancements.

In current long-distance communications, classical information carried by large numbers of particles is intrinsically robust to some transmission losses but can, therefore, be eavesdropped without notice. On the other hand, quantum communications can provide provable privacy and could make use of entanglement swapping via quantum repeaters to mitigate transmission losses. To this end, considerable effort has been spent over the last few decades toward developing quantum repeaters that combine long-lived quantum memories with a source of indistinguishable single photons. Multiple candidate optical spin qubits in the solid state, including quantum dots, rare-earth ions, and color centers in diamond and silicon carbide (SiC), have been developed. In this perspective, we give a brief overview on recent advances in developing optically active spin qubits in SiC and discuss challenges in applications for quantum repeaters and possible solutions. In view of the development of different material platforms, the perspective of SiC spin qubits in scalable quantum networks is discussed.

We report on 4.5-nm-thick Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (HZO) thin-film-based ferroelectric tunnel junctions (FTJs) with a tungsten (W) bottom electrode. The HZO on the W electrode exhibits stable ferroelectricity with a remanent polarization of 14 μC/cm2, an enhanced tunneling electroresistance of 16, and excellent synaptic properties. We found that a large tensile stress was induced on a HZO thin film, owing to a low thermal expansion coefficient of the W bottom electrode. The low thermal expansion coefficient results in the effective formation of an orthorhombic phase, even in an ultra-thin HZO film. This was verified by a comparative study of the electrical characteristics, grazing-angle incidence x-ray diffraction, and residual stress measurement of the HZO film on various bottom electrodes with different thermal expansion coefficients. In addition, this study demonstrates the suitable functions of the FTJ for electronic synapses, such as analog-like resistance transition under various pulse schemes. The fabricated stress-engineered FTJ exhibits an appropriate conductance ratio, linearly…

There is growing interest in the development of path coiling-based labyrinthine acoustic metamaterials for realizing extraordinary acoustical properties such as low-to-mid frequency sound absorption. We present a subwavelength labyrinthine acoustic metastructure (≤3 cm) exhibiting a superior sound absorption with a high bandwidth (more than one octave in the range of 400–1400 Hz). The metastructure is orchestrated of multiple labyrinthine unit cells of different configurations in a hexagonal array, and broadband absorption has been achieved by the dissipation of incident propagating sound waves inside the labyrinthine zigzag channels. Furthermore, the unique design of the metastructure allows for simultaneous air circulation for facilitating natural ventilation and sound absorption. The proposed unique designs may find potential applications in architectural acoustics and noise shielding where simultaneous natural ventilation and noise mitigation are required.

We investigate the intrinsic reverse leakage mechanisms in Ni-based Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) fabricated on a (2¯01) single crystal β-Ga2O3 substrate, where a uniform bulk reverse leakage current has been designed and confirmed. The temperature-dependent reverse leakage characteristics are analyzed by a numerical reverse leakage model, which includes both the image-force lowering and doping effects. We found that the reverse leakage current is near-ideal and dominated by Schottky barrier tunneling throughout the entire range of the surface electric field from 0.8 MV/cm to 3.4 MV/cm. The extracted barrier height from the reverse leakage model is consistent with the values extracted from the forward current–voltage and capacitance–voltage measurements. The practical maximum electric field, defined by the maximum allowable reverse leakage current levels, is calculated as a function of the barrier height. These results suggest that it is possible to approach the intrinsic breakdown electric field in β-Ga2O3 SBDs, as long as a sufficiently high barrier height (∼2.2 to 3 eV) is…

This work investigates the influence of residual stress on the performance of InGaN-based red light-emitting diodes (LEDs) by changing the thickness of the underlying n-GaN layers. The residual in-plane stress in the LED structure depends on the thickness of the underlying layer. Decreased residual in-plane stress resulting from the increased thickness of the underlying n-GaN layers improves the crystalline quality of the InGaN active region by allowing for a higher growth temperature. The electroluminescence intensity of the InGaN-based red LEDs is increased by a factor of 1.3 when the thickness of the underlying n-GaN layer is increased from 2 to 8 μm. Using 8-μm-thick underlying n-GaN layers, 633-nm-wavelength red LEDs are realized with a light-output power of 0.64 mW and an external quantum efficiency of 1.6% at 20 mA. The improved external quantum efficiency of the LEDs can be attributed to the lower residual in-plane stress in the underlying GaN layers.

Magnetic information storage has been achieved by controlling and sensing the magnetic moment orientation of nanoscale ferromagnets. Recently, there has been concentrated effort to utilize materials with antiferromagnetic coupling as a storage medium to realize devices that switch faster, are more secure against external magnetic fields, and have higher storage density. Within this class of materials are ferrimagnets, whose magnetization can be reduced to zero by tuning parameters such as the chemical composition, temperature, and strain. Compared to conventional antiferromagnets, compensated ferrimagnets not only possess the aforementioned speed and density advantages but also allow the use of convenient electrical reading and writing mechanisms due to the existence of inequivalent magnetic sublattices. Recent research has demonstrated fast spin-torque switching, as well as efficient electrical reading with compensated ferrimagnets. Further material and device research using these zero-moment magnets promises a spintronic platform for fast and energy efficient information storage…

We report on the growth of β-Ga2O3 thin films using trimethylgallium (TMGa) as a source for gallium and pure O2 for oxidation. The growth rate of the films was found to linearly increase with the increase in the molar flow rate of TMGa and reach as high as ∼6 μm/h at a flow rate of 580 μmol/min. High purity, lightly Si-doped homoepitaxial β-Ga2O3 films with a good surface morphology, a record low temperature electron mobility exceeding 23 000 cm2/V s at 32 K, and an acceptor concentration of 2 × 1013 cm−3 were realized, showing an excellent purity film. Films with room temperature (RT) electron mobilities ranging from 71 cm2/V s to 138 cm2/V s with the corresponding free carrier densities between ∼1.1 × 1019 cm−3 and ∼1.5 × 1016 were demonstrated. For layers with the doping concentration in the range of high-1017 and low-1018 cm−3, the RT electron mobility values were consistently more than 100 cm2/V s, suggesting that TMGa is suitable to grow channel layers for lateral devices, such as field effect transistors. The results demonstrate excellent purity of the films produced and…

Electrons and holes confined in quantum dots define excellent building blocks for quantum emergence, simulation, and computation. Silicon and germanium are compatible with standard semiconductor manufacturing and contain stable isotopes with zero nuclear spin, thereby serving as excellent hosts for spins with long quantum coherence. Here, we demonstrate quantum dot arrays in a silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor (SiMOS), strained silicon (Si/SiGe), and strained germanium (Ge/SiGe). We fabricate using a multi-layer technique to achieve tightly confined quantum dots and compare integration processes. While SiMOS can benefit from a larger temperature budget and Ge/SiGe can make an Ohmic contact to metals, the overlapping gate structure to define the quantum dots can be based on a nearly identical integration. We realize charge sensing in each platform, for the first time in Ge/SiGe, and demonstrate fully functional linear and two-dimensional arrays where all quantum dots can be depleted to the last charge state. In Si/SiGe, we tune a quintuple quantum dot using the N + 1 method to…

Dropwise condensation (DWC) on non-wetting surfaces has remarkable potential to enhance heat transfer performance compared to filmwise condensation on wetting substrates. In this article, we discuss important recent developments and challenges in the field of DWC, including durability of DWC-promoting coatings, DWC of low surface tension fluids, physical mechanisms governing DWC, unconventional methods to achieve DWC, and promising metrology techniques for DWC. We end the article by providing a road map detailing where we believe the community should direct both fundamental and applied efforts in order to solve the identified century-old challenges that limit DWC implementation.

A rotational electromagnetic energy harvester is designed to collect the mechanical energy of human motion at a low frequency. Linear motion can be converted to high speed rotation with an inertial system, which is mainly composed of a twist driving structure and a ratchet-clutch structure. When the twist rod is compressed by a footstep, the ratchet can keep rotating for about 20 s inertially, and an overall energy of 85.2 mJ can be harvested. The peak power output can reach 32.2 mW and a root mean square power of 7.7 mW is achieved. The maximum speed of the ratchet would be as high as 3700 revolutions per minute. When driven by the human footstep at a frequency of 1 Hz, an electronic hygrothermograph and 70 light-emitting diodes (LEDs) could be easily powered, which demonstrates the promising application of self-powered microelectronic devices.

Gallium oxide (Ga2O3) has attracted great attention for electronic device applications due to its ultra-wide bandgap, high breakdown electric field, and large-area affordable substrates grown from the melt. However, its thermal conductivity is significantly lower than that of other wide bandgap semiconductors such as SiC, AlN, and GaN, which will impact its ability to be used in high power density applications. Thermal management in Ga2O3 electronics will be the key for device reliability, especially for high power and high frequency devices. Similar to the method of cooling GaN-based high electron mobility transistors by integrating it with high thermal conductivity diamond substrates, this work studies the possibility of heterogeneous integration of Ga2O3 with diamond for the thermal management of Ga2O3 devices. In this work, Ga2O3 was deposited onto single crystal diamond substrates by atomic layer deposition (ALD), and the thermal properties of ALD-Ga2O3 thin films and Ga2O3–diamond interfaces with different interface pretreatments were measured by Time-domain Thermoreflectance.…

Acoustic impedance regulation of a neck embedded Helmholtz resonator is realized by introducing surface roughness to the neck so as to convert the initially non-perfect sound absorber to a perfect sound absorber. The proposed roughened-neck embedded Helmholtz resonator (R-NEHR) achieves perfect sound absorption (α>0.999) at 158 Hz across a deep subwavelength thickness of λ/42. Theoretical predictions of the R-NEHR's performance are validated against experimental measurements. Physically, surface roughness triggers the periodic concentration effect of fluid vibration in the neck, thereby improving its acoustic mass and acoustic resistance and altering the resonant damping state of the absorber. As a result, the absorption peak position of the R-NEHR shifts by 16.0% to lower frequency, together with a peak value increase of 19.6%. This work provides an approach for perfect sound absorber design and impedance regulation of acoustic metamaterials.

A highly sensitive trace gas sensor based on light-induced thermoelastic spectroscopy (LITES) and a custom quartz tuning fork (QTF) is reported. The QTF has a T-shaped prong geometry and grooves carved on the prongs' surface, allowing a reduction of both the resonance frequency and the electrical resistance but retaining a high resonance quality factor. The base of the QTF prongs is the area maximizing the light-induced thermoelastic effect. The front surface of this area was left uncoated to allow laser transmission through the quartz, while on the back side of the QTF, a gold film was coated to back-reflect the laser beam and further enhance the light absorption inside the crystal. Acetylene (C2H2) was chosen as the target gas to test and validate the LITES sensor. We demonstrated that the sensor response scales linearly with the laser power incident on the prong base, and the optimum signal to noise ratio was obtained at an optical power of 4 mW. A minimum detection limit of ∼325 ppb was achieved at an integration time of 1 s, corresponding to a normalized noise equivalent…

Identifying intrinsic low-dimensional ferromagnets with high magnetic transition temperature and electrically tunable magnetism is crucial for the development of miniaturized spintronics and magnetoelectrics. Recently, long-range 2D ferromagnetism was observed in van der Waals crystals CrI3 and Cr2Ge2Te6, however, their Curie temperature is significantly lowered when reducing down to monolayer/few layers. Herein, using renormalized spin-wave theory and first-principles electronic structure theory, we present a theoretical study of electrically tunable 2D ferromagnetism in van der Waals layered CrSBr and CrSeBr semiconductors with a high Curie temperature of ∼150 K and a sizable bandgap. The high transition temperature is attributed to the strong anion-mediated superexchange interaction and a sizable spin-wave excitation gap due to large exchange and single-ion anisotropy. Remarkably, hole and electron doping can switch the magnetization easy axis from the in-plane to the out-of-plane direction. These unique characteristics establish monolayer CrSBr and CrSeBr as a promising platform…

Quantum neuromorphic computing physically implements neural networks in brain-inspired quantum hardware to speed up their computation. In this perspective article, we show that this emerging paradigm could make the best use of the existing and near future intermediate size quantum computers. Some approaches are based on parametrized quantum circuits and use neural network-inspired algorithms to train them. Other approaches, closer to classical neuromorphic computing, take advantage of the physical properties of quantum oscillator assemblies to mimic neurons and synapses to compute. We discuss the different implementations of quantum neuromorphic networks with digital and analog circuits, highlight their respective advantages, and review exciting recent experimental results.

While the droplet impact dynamics on stationary superhydrophobic surfaces has been extensively studied, the dynamic behaviors of impact droplets on moving superhydrophobic surfaces have received less attention. Here, we report the droplet impact dynamics on a moving superhydrophobic surface. We show that compared to the stationary surface, the moving superhydrophobic surface breaks the symmetry in both droplet spreading and retracting. Specifically, the shear force exerted by the moving surface acting on the impact droplet enlarges the maximum spreading in the moving direction, and thus, the droplet contact time is reduced. The contact time of impact droplets was examined thoroughly under the effects of the droplet impact (normal) and the wall moving (tangential) Weber numbers. We provide a scaling analysis to explain how the contact time depends on the normal and tangential Weber numbers. Our experimental investigation and theoretical analysis provide insight into the droplet impact dynamics on moving superhydrophobic surfaces.

Ptychographic imaging is a powerful means of imaging beyond the resolution limits of typical x-ray optics. Recovering images from raw ptychographic data, however, requires the solution of an inverse problem, namely, phase retrieval. Phase retrieval algorithms are computationally expensive, which precludes real-time imaging. In this work, we propose PtychoNN, an approach to solve the ptychography data inversion problem based on a deep convolutional neural network. We demonstrate how the proposed method can be used to predict real-space structure and phase at each scan point solely from the corresponding far-field diffraction data. Our results demonstrate the practical application of machine learning to recover high fidelity amplitude and phase contrast images of a real sample hundreds of times faster than current ptychography reconstruction packages. Furthermore, by overcoming the constraints of iterative model-based methods, we can significantly relax sampling constraints on data acquisition while still producing an excellent image of the sample. Besides drastically accelerating…

Homoepitaxial (100) β-Ga2O3 films were grown on substrates with miscut angles of 2°, 4°, and 6° toward [001¯] by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy. Step-flow growth mode, resulting in smooth film surfaces and high crystalline quality, could only be achieved if the diffusion length on the film surface corresponds approximately to the width of the terraces. Otherwise, 2D islands or step-bunching is obtained, which results in a deteriorated crystalline quality and reduced Hall mobility of the electrons. By varying the growth parameters such as the O2/Ga ratio, Ar push gas flow, and chamber pressure, the diffusion length could be adjusted so that step-flow growth mode could be achieved at all miscut angles. Furthermore, the growth rate could remarkably be increased from 1.6 nm/min to 4.3 nm/min. For homoepitaxial β-Ga2O3 films grown in step-flow growth mode, TEM measurements revealed a high crystalline quality, which is correlated with a high Hall mobility of 131 cm2/V s at a carrier concentration of 1.6 × 1017cm−3, which is comparable with β-Ga2O3 single crystal bulk values. This study…

Mid-air acoustic levitation is becoming a powerful tool to suspend and manipulate millimetric objects. Because of its unique characteristics, acoustic levitation is suitable to trap a wide variety of materials such as liquids, solids, soap bubbles, and even living creatures. Acoustic levitation can also be combined with noncontact measurement systems, allowing contactless analysis and characterization of levitating samples. In this article, we review some of the advances that have been made over the last decade. We also present the technical challenges that must be overcome in order to extend the capability of current acoustic levitation devices and, finally, we point out future directions for acoustic levitation.

We report the doping effects of cobalt on van der Waals (vdW) magnet Fe5GeTe2. A series of (Fe1−xCox)5GeTe2 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.44) single crystals have been grown, and their structural, magnetic, and transport properties are investigated. For x = 0.20, the Curie temperature TC increases from 276 K to 337 K. Moreover, the magnetic easy axis is reoriented to the ab-plane from the c-axis in undoped Fe5GeTe2 with largely enhanced magnetic anisotropy. A complex magnetic phase diagram is identified on the higher doping side. The x = 0.44 crystal first orders ferromagnetically at TC = 363 K and then undergoes an antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition at TN = 335 K. Furthermore, magnetic-field-induced spin-flop transitions are observed for the AFM ground state. Our work reveals (Fe1−xCox)5GeTe2 as promising candidates for developing spin-related applications and proposes a method to engineer the magnetic properties of the vdW magnet.

Harvesting energy from the environment often suffers from discontinuity in power generation. Typical examples of technologies where this problem occurs are photovoltaics and solar heat power generation, which can only generate power during the day. In this study, the temperature difference caused by radiative cooling is utilized to generate thermoelectric power continuously throughout the day. The emitter has a wavelength-selective emissivity such that it is radiatively cooled all the time and its surface temperature is always cooler than the bottom side of the thermoelectric module which is placed below the selective emitter. The device placed outdoor generates thermoelectric voltage during the day and night without dropping to zero. The device can be used as a power supply for sensors and monitors placed outdoors.

In this study, we investigate the effects of various electrodes on the ferroelectric properties of ultrathin HfZrOx (HZO) films. The ferroelectric polarization is totally suppressed in the HZO films with TiN and W bottom electrodes when the film thickness is below 5 nm. These results can be attributed to the formation of a dead layer at the bottom electrode/HZO interface during the atomic layer deposition (ALD) and annealing processes. On the other hand, the HZO film with a Pt bottom electrode shows an excellent P–E loop with a very high switchable polarization (2Pr) of 42.5 μC/cm2 even at a film thickness of 2.5 nm. Through the short pulse switching technique, we confirm the formation of a thick dead layer in the HZO films with TiN and W electrodes, which inhibits the formation of the orthorhombic phase in these ultrathin HZO films. This implies that the ferroelectric property of ultrathin HZO films can be improved by choosing an appropriate electrode material capable of suppress ing the formation of a dead layer.

β-Ga2O3 has attracted much attention due to its ultrawide-bandgap (∼4.9 eV) with a high breakdown field (8 MV/cm) and good thermal/chemical stability. In order for β-Ga2O3 to be used in electronic and optoelectronic devices, epitaxial growth technology of thin films should be given priority. However, challenges are associated with the trade-off growth rate with crystallization and surface roughness in conventional epitaxy. Herein, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition was used to grow the β-Ga2O3 epilayer, and the growth kinetics process has been systematically investigated. A high growth rate of ∼0.58 μm/h and a single 2¯01 plane orientation with a full width at half maximum value of 0.86° were obtained when grown on the c-plane sapphire substrate at the growth temperature of 820 °C. Then, a proposed model for the mechanism of nucleation and growth of β-Ga2O3 epitaxial films is established to understand the precursor transport and gas phase reaction process. This work provides a cheap, green, and efficient epitaxial growth method, which is indispensable for device applications…

Intriguing properties are frequently reported in various topologically non-trivial materials. They include robust metallic surface states, high carrier mobility, chiral fermions, and ultralong Fermi arcs. An exciting recent finding is that these properties are strongly related to adsorption and electron transfer in various heterogeneous catalysis reactions, such as hydrogen evolution, oxygen evolution, oxygen reduction, enantiospecific adsorption, and hydrometallation. Thus, we expect that the introduction of non-trivial symmetry-protected topological order will offer important freedom for designing high-performance heterogeneous catalysts. To uncover the contribution of the topologically non-trivial electronic structure to the heterogeneous reactions, in situ techniques are urgently needed to detect the interaction between surface states, topological electrons, and reaction intermediates.

Significant effort has been put into the antenna miniaturization. Electrically small antennas still suffer from various issues, such as a relatively large physical size. Hence, antenna designs based on different radiation mechanisms have attracted more attention, and the mechanical antenna is one feasible solution. A review of the conventional antenna miniaturization and developments in miniaturization methods is presented in this paper. The topic of focus is on mechanical resonance and magnetoelectric (ME) coupling within the piezoelectric/ferromagnetic ME composite. This Perspective discusses the challenges and possible solutions for employing mechanical antennas for practical applications; it concludes an up-to-date discussion of current ME antenna applications for commercial and military communication devices and future applications.

Surface-functionalized β-Ga2O3 and diamond substrates were directly bonded by annealing at 250 °C in atmospheric air. Prior to bonding, the β-Ga2O3 and diamond surfaces were OH-terminated by oxygen plasma irradiation and H2SO4/H2O2 cleaning, respectively. After contacting the OH-terminated surfaces with each other, direct bonding was formed by a thermal dehydration reaction. The annealed specimen had a shear strength of 14 MPa because of the generation of chemical bonds between β-Ga2O3 and diamond surfaces. The analysis of interface structures revealed that the β-Ga2O3 and diamond surfaces were atomically bonded without nano-voids, cracks, or any intermediate layer. The β-Ga2O3 and diamond substrates were bonded without any serious loss in crystallinity except for the outermost surfaces. We believe that the β-Ga2O3/diamond heterostructure can contribute to the high-power applications of β-Ga2O3 devices.

This Letter reports an acoustic metasurface for low-frequency sound absorption with a compact size in both vertical and lateral directions, which is constructed by a series of Helmholtz resonators with spiral extended necks. Analytical, numerical, and experimental results show that the metasurface with a thickness of 13.5 mm possesses total sound absorption at 320 Hz under normal incidence. The thickness of the prototype is only about 1/80th of the operating wavelength (λ). What is more, the side length of the basic unit (25 mm) is also on the deep-subwavelength scale (λ/43). To widen the narrow effective absorption bandwidth of the uniform absorber, the strategy of parallel arrangement of different elements is employed. A wideband absorber consisting of four inhomogeneous units is optimally designed to maximize the averaged absorption coefficient in a prescribed frequency range of [360, 410] Hz. The experimental results show that the absorber with a thickness of 13.5 mm exhibits high absorption (the averaged absorption coefficient is about 0.9) in the desired frequency range. The…

Recently, sound attenuation with ventilation is highly needed in many practical applications. In this study, we report on a subwavelength acoustic silencer, named double-layer acoustic silencer (DAS), based on compactly assembled slit-type Helmholtz resonators (SHRs) for low-frequency broadband sound insulation while preserving ventilation. A simple yet insightful theoretical model is first established to characterize the sound insulation performance in terms of transmission loss (TL) and used for microstructure designs of the DAS. The fluctuating TL of the DAS, inevitably produced by the SHR resonances, is then mitigated and optimized via the introduction of viscosity and proper SHR frequency detuning. The overall TL is numerically investigated and experimentally observed to reach beyond 30 dB over the target working band of 0.48–0.95 kHz, with a maximum exceeding 50 dB. In addition, the proposed design also provides perfect ventilation when deployed in a duct environment, due to the straight and conserved airflow cross section. We believe that the proposed acoustic silencer design…

Neuromorphic computing has the potential to accelerate high performance parallel and low power in-memory computation, artificial intelligence, and adaptive learning. Despite emulating the basic functions of biological synapses well, the existing artificial electronic synaptic devices have yet to match the softness, robustness, and ultralow power consumption of the brain. Here, we demonstrate an all-inorganic flexible artificial synapse enabled by a ferroelectric field effect transistor based on mica. The device not only exhibits excellent electrical pulse modulated conductance updating for synaptic functions but also shows remarkable mechanical flexibility and high temperature reliability, making robust neuromorphic computation possible under external disturbances such as stress and heating. Based on its linear, repeatable, and stable long-term plasticity, we simulate an artificial neural network for the Modified National Institute of Standards and Technology handwritten digit recognition with an accuracy of 94.4%. This work provides a promising way to enable flexible, low-power,…

Small-scale wind energy harvesting, which can replace batteries to power small electronic devices and realize self-powered systems, has been extensively studied. To improve the working wind-speed range and output power of small-scale wind energy generation systems, we propose a synergetic hybrid piezoelectric and triboelectric mechanism for galloping wind energy harvesting. In this mechanism, a piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) works in the vibration area and starts working at low wind speeds, while triboelectric nanogenerators work at the vibration boundaries and cooperate with the PEH at high wind speeds. The triboelectric nanogenerator boundaries can (1) constrain the maximum deformation of the beam at high wind speeds to avoid damage to the PEH, (2) increase the vibration frequency to enhance the electromechanical conversion efficiency, and (3) allow the PEH to have a low equivalent stiffness to work effectively at low wind speeds. A dynamic model is presented to characterize the synergetic hybrid piezoelectric–triboelectric wind energy harvester (SHPTWEH) and this is…

The Goos–Hänchen effect has found many important applications in photonics and optoelectronics since its discovery in 1947. Here, we propose unique applications of the Goos–Hänchen effect in optical differential operation and image edge detection. This Letter describes the theoretical foundation and experimental realization of the proposed scheme. By incorporating with the microscopy technique, our scheme may find important applications in cell and molecular imaging.

The development of memristive device technologies has reached a level of maturity to enable the design and fabrication of complex and large-scale hybrid memristive-Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) neural processing systems. These systems offer promising solutions for implementing novel in-memory computing architectures for machine learning and data analysis problems. We argue that they are also ideal building blocks for integration in neuromorphic electronic circuits suitable for ultra-low power brain-inspired sensory processing systems, therefore leading to innovative solutions for always-on edge-computing and Internet-of-Things applications. Here, we present a recipe for creating such systems based on design strategies and computing principles inspired by those used in mammalian brains. We enumerate the specifications and properties of memristive devices required to support always-on learning in neuromorphic computing systems and to minimize their power consumption. Finally, we discuss in what cases such neuromorphic systems can complement conventional processing…

The multi-scale computational method of combining the first-principles calculation and finite element electromagnetic simulations is used to study the plasmon-enhanced interlayer charge transfer (CT) exciton of 2D lateral and van der Waals MoS2/WS2 heterostructures with the 2H phase. The weak interlayer CT excitons are observed in the 2H lateral and van der Waals MoS2/WS2 heterostructures. Theoretical results reveal the physical principle of plexcitons resulting from the strong coupling between plasmons and interlayer CT excitons. The weak CT excitons can be strongly enhanced by a metal plasmon, which provides a way to observe the weak CT excitons. Our results can promote a deeper understanding of the plexciton resulting from strong coupling interaction between the plasmon and the exciton of lateral and van der Waals heterostructures.

Lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) is a unique platform for integrated photonic applications and especially for high-efficiency nonlinear frequency converters because of the strong optical field confinement. In this work, we fabricated a 6-mm-long periodically poled LNOI ridge waveguide with an optimized duty cycle (50:50) using an active domain structure monitoring method. The performance of the single-pass second-harmonic generation and difference-frequency generation in the nanophotonic waveguide was characterized, and the normalized conversion efficiencies were ∼80% of the theoretical values. These high-quality frequency conversion devices can pave the way for the application of LNOI in nonlinear integrated photonics.

Auxetic metamaterials have received wide attention due to their idiosyncratic physical properties. In this paper, experiments and simulations were performed to study the mechanical and acoustic properties of a 3D anti-chiral auxetic metamaterial subjected to quasi-static loading. The results shows that Poisson's ratio of the designed metamaterial can be changed from −0.45 to 0.35 with different cell parameters. Acoustic tests show that the designed metamaterial provides an ultra-wide phononic bandgap and exhibits outstanding wave attenuation properties. By applying rational tensile/compression force, the bandgap is widened/narrowed, which indicates the tunability of the bandgap through deformation. Moreover, the bandgap tuning is through all high symmetry points in the Brillouin zone due to the iso-auxeticity of the metamaterial. This study provides a possible way for controlling the bandgap with the deformable metamaterial.

As a contribution to (transparent) bipolar oxide electronics, vertical pn heterojunction diodes were prepared by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy of unintentionally doped p-type SnO layers with hole concentrations ranging from p=1018 to 1019 cm−3 on unintentionally doped n-type β-Ga2O3(−201) substrates with an electron concentration of n=2.0×1017 cm−3. The SnO layers consist of (001)-oriented grains without in-plane epitaxial relation to the substrate. After subsequent contact processing and mesa-etching (which drastically reduced the reverse current spreading in the SnO layer and associated high leakage), electrical characterization by current–voltage and capacitance–voltage measurement was performed. The results reveal a type-I band alignment and junction transport by thermionic emission in forward bias. A rectification of 2×108 at ±1 V, an ideality factor of 1.16, a differential specific on-resistance of 3.9 m Ω cm2, and a built-in voltage of 0.96 V were determined. The pn-junction isolation prevented parallel conduction in the highly conductive Ga2O3 substrate during…

Polymorphic (HfxZr1−x)O2 (HZO) thin films exhibit ferroelectric, dielectric, and antiferroelectric properties across a wide compositional range due to the existence of orthorhombic, monoclinic, and tetragonal phases. To better understand the phase stability across the HfO2–ZrO2 compositional range, we investigate the structural evolution of HZO thin films in situ via high-temperature x-ray diffraction (HTXRD) for five different compositions [ZrO2, (Hf0.23Zr0.77)O2, (Hf0.43Zr0.57)O2, (Hf0.67Zr0.33)O2, and HfO2]. The real-time monitoring of HZO crystallization reveals a competing driving force between the tetragonal and monoclinic phase stabilities for HfO2-rich vs ZrO2-rich compositions. Additionally, we confirm an XRD peak shift toward lower 2θ with increasing temperature in ZrO2, (Hf0.23Zr0.77)O2, and (Hf0.43Zr0.57)O2 films, which we ascribe to the appearance of a metastable orthorhombic phase during heating. A monotonic trend for the onset crystallization temperature is reported for five compositions of HZO and reveals an increase in onset crystallization temperature for HfO2-rich…

We demonstrate the growth of pure wurtzite phase ScxAl1−xN with a Sc composition as high as x = 0.34 on GaN and AlN templates using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The wurtzite structure is well maintained even at high growth temperatures up to 900 °C for Sc0.2Al0.8N. Smooth surface morphology (root mean square roughness less than 1 nm) and excellent crystal quality [(002) plane rocking curve full-width at half maximum below 450 arc sec] are achieved over the range of x ≤ 0.34. Optical absorption studies indicate a decreasing bandgap with increasing Sc with a linear relationship of Eg(x) = 6.1 − 3.39x, which is in good agreement with the theoretical prediction. A monotonically tunable refractive index between AlN and GaN is further measured for ScxAl1−xN with various Sc compositions. This work provides a viable path for the epitaxy of wurtzite ScxAl1−xN with high Sc compositions. The distinct effect of substitutional Sc on bandgap and refractive index could be used in designing high-performance optoelectronic, electronic, and piezoelectric devices, and III-nitride integrated…

This Letter presents a rotational impact energy harvester by utilizing the centrifugal softening effect of an inverted driving beam in improving the energy harvesting performance of two piezoelectric beams at low rotational frequencies. By our proposed structure, the static divergence of the inverted driving beam in the deflected mode can not only be avoided but also be utilized. Numerical and experimental results show that the centrifugal softening effect can amplify the relative motion between the driving and generating beams and increase the impact force, which in turn improves the output power significantly. The maximum output power of the harvester is increased by 212.5%, 258.7%, and 682.8% for the impact gaps of 1.07 mm, 1.43 mm, and 2.14 mm, respectively. Moreover, the inverted driving beam can be prevented from continuously deflecting by introducing large impact stiffness at the contact instant.

We show how macroscopic magnetic samples like yttrium iron garnet samples are excellent candidates for producing deterministic quantum entanglement and, thus, providing a platform for quantum information science. This requires strong coupling with a high quality cavity, which, in turn, provides an effective coupling between the two samples. For modest values of the squeezing of the pump, we obtain significant entanglement between the two garnet samples. This is the principal feature of our scheme. We present a number of tests for entanglement in terms of the experimentally observed quantities and, in this way, unfold a paradigm for producing entanglement. We also generate quantum states of collective magnon variables.

Ion migration in halide perovskite materials usually brings an intractable problem in the working stability of solar cells and photoelectrical detectors. The mechanism of ion migration and its impact on physical properties are still open questions. In this work, the ion migration behavior in solution-grown CsPbBr3 crystals was observed by the hysteresis in current–voltage curves and the temperature dependent reversed current–time measurements. Defect proliferation phenomena (new defects of [VCs]− and [PbBr]2+) originating from ion migration were verified by thermally stimulated current spectroscopy. Our results also give evidence that Cs+ ions also participate in the process of ion migration except the widely considered Br− ions. Furthermore, the photoelectric properties of the CsPbBr3 device were found to be seriously deteriorated after the ion migration. Our work demonstrates the strong correlation between the ion migration and physical properties in halide perovskites.

Sn doping of (010) β-Ga2O3 grown by conventional plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE) and via metal oxide catalyzed epitaxy (MOCATAXY) using a supplied indium flux during molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth was investigated. While high Sn concentrations were achievable over a range of growth conditions in conventional PAMBE, Sn doping less than 1019 cm−3 resulted in non-uniform doping profiles for constant Sn cell temperatures, as well as run-to-run variation in doping. Sn doping in MOCATAXY grown β-Ga2O3 allowed for sharp doping profiles and a wide range of donor concentrations from 3.9 × 1016 cm−3 to 2 × 1019 cm−3 and a maximum room temperature Hall mobility of 136 cm2/V s at 3.9 × 1016 cm−3. From temperature-dependent Hall measurements, Sn was found to have a relatively deep donor state at 77 meV below the conduction band edge. The samples showed low electron mobility at cryogenic temperatures, suggesting the existence of high background impurity levels in the MBE grown films and the need for impurity control in the oxide MBE growth environment.

Quantum opto- and electromechanical systems interface mechanical motion with the electromagnetic modes of optical resonators and microwave circuits. The capabilities and promise of these hybrid devices have been showcased through a variety of recent experimental advances that demonstrated exquisite control over the quantum state of solid-state mechanical objects. In this perspective, we offer an overview of the current state, as well as an outlook of the future directions, challenges, and opportunities for this growing field of research. We focus, in particular, on the prospects for ground state cooling of mechanical modes and their use in quantum circuits, transducers, and networks.

We introduce Cryoscope, a method for sampling on-chip baseband pulses used to dynamically control qubit frequency in a quantum processor. We specifically use Cryoscope to measure the step response of the dedicated flux control lines of two-junction transmon qubits in circuit QED processors with the temporal resolution of the room-temperature arbitrary waveform generator producing the control pulses. As a first application, we iteratively improve this step response using optimized real-time digital filters to counter the linear-dynamical distortion in the control line, as needed for high-fidelity repeatable one- and two-qubit gates based on dynamical control of qubit frequency.

Precisely positioned and scalable single-photon emitters (SPEs) are highly desirable for applications in quantum technology. This Perspective discusses single-photon-emitting atomistic defects in monolayers of MoS2 that can be generated by focused He-ion irradiation with few nanometers positioning accuracy. We present the optical properties of the emitters and the possibilities to implement them into photonic and optoelectronic devices. We showcase the advantages of the presented emitters with respect to atomistic positioning, scalability, long (microsecond) lifetime, and a homogeneous emission energy within ensembles of the emitters. Moreover, we demonstrate that the emitters are stable in energy on a timescale exceeding several weeks and that temperature cycling narrows the ensembles' emission energy distribution.

Beta-phase gallium oxide (β-Ga2O3), the most thermally stable phase of Ga2O3, has stimulated great interest in power electronics due to its ultra-wide bandgap (∼4.9 eV) and high breakdown electric field. The relatively low thermal conductivity of β-Ga2O3, however, limits the device performance due to excessive temperature driven by self-heating. Recently, integrating β-Ga2O3 thin films on substrates with high thermal conductivities has been proposed to improve heat rejection and device reliability. In this work, we prepare high-quality single-crystal β-Ga2O3 thin films by mechanical exfoliation of bulk crystals and study their thermal transport properties. Both the anisotropic thermal conductivity of β-Ga2O3 bulk crystals and the thickness-dependent thermal conductivity of β-Ga2O3 thin films are measured using the time-domain thermoreflectance technique. The reduction in the thin-film thermal conductivity, compared to the bulk value, can be well explained by the size effect resulting from the enhanced phonon-boundary scattering when the film thickness decreases. This work not only…

ABSTRACT Ultrasound can be focused into deep tissues with millimeter precision to perform non-invasive ablative therapy for diseases such as cancer. In most cases, this ablation uses high intensity ultrasound to deposit non-selective thermal or mechanical energy at the ultrasound focus, damaging both healthy bystander tissue and cancer cells. Here we describe an alternative low intensity pulsed ultrasound approach that leverages the distinct mechanical properties of neoplastic cells to achieve inherent cancer selectivity. We show that when applied at a specific frequency and pulse duration, focused ultrasound selectively disrupts a panel of breast, colon, and leukemia cancer cell models in suspension without significantly damaging healthy immune or red blood cells. Mechanistic experiments reveal that the formation of acoustic standing waves and the emergence of cell-seeded cavitation lead to cytoskeletal disruption, expression of apoptotic markers, and cell death. The inherent selectivity of this low intensity pulsed ultrasound approach offers a potentially safer and thus more…

In this paper, wireless power transfer (WPT) and energy harvesting (EH) technologies are reviewed in detail, and the application of metamaterials and metasurfaces for WPT and EH is discussed. Specifically, we focus on the metasurfaces for ambient radio frequency energy harvesting (AEH) in recent advances, comments, existing challenges, and future directions. The performance of metasurface- and antenna-based AEH systems is compared. The metasurfaces not only enable the efficient operation of the AEH system but also extend the potential function to various kinds of energy harvesting devices, which is influential progress of ambient electromagnetic energy harvesting.

β-Ga2O3 is a wide-bandgap semiconductor of significant technological importance for electronics, but its low thermal conductivity is an impeding factor for its applications. In this work, an interatomic potential is developed for β-Ga2O3 based on a deep neural network model to predict the thermal conductivity and phonon transport properties. Our potential is trained by the ab initio energy surface and atomic forces, which reproduces phonon dispersion in good agreement with first-principles calculations. We are able to use molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to predict the anisotropic thermal conductivity of β-Ga2O3 with this potential, and the calculated thermal conductivity values agree well with experimental results from 200 to 500 K. Green–Kubo modal analysis is performed to quantify the contributions of different phonon modes to the thermal transport, showing that optical phonon modes play a critical role in the thermal transport. This work provides a high-fidelity machine learning-based potential for MD simulation of β-Ga2O3 and serves as a good example of exploring thermal…

The deployment of ferroelectrics in device concepts such as Ferroelectric Random Access Memory and Ferroelectric Field Effect Transistors requires a good understanding of the polarization switching mechanisms. While several reports already exist involving classical perovskite ferroelectrics, only recently has the switching dynamics in HfO2-based layers started to be addressed. In this work, the Kolmogorov–Avrami–Ishibashi (KAI), the Nucleation Limited Switching (NLS), the Landau–Khalatnikov (LK), and the Inhomogeneous Field Mechanism (IFM) models for polarization switching are surveyed and evaluated with the existing body of literature. Data concerning NLS and IFM are compared to experiments undertaken in this study. After excluding the KAI model because of considerations dealing with film morphology and domain wall energy, we conclude that the NLS, the LK, and the IFM models do not necessarily mutually exclude each other, but rather give a diverse perspective on the switching phenomenon based on thermodynamic, kinetic, statistic, microscopic, and/or macroscopic points of view.

HgTe colloidal quantum dots are investigated as the active material in photodiodes for extended short-wave infrared up to 2.6 μm. The HgTe colloidal quantum dots photodiodes achieve external quantum efficiencies above 50% and specific detectivities of 1 × 1011 at 2.2 μm at room temperature with a microsecond response time and compete with commercial extended InGaAs photodiodes.

ScxAl1−xN (x = 0.18–0.40) thin films of ∼28 nm thickness grown on metal polar GaN substrates by molecular beam epitaxy are found to exhibit smooth morphology with less than 0.5 nm roughness and predominantly single-phase wurtzite crystal structure throughout the composition range. Measurement of the piezoelectric d33 coefficient shows a 150% increase for lattice-matched Sc0.18Al0.82N relative to pure aluminum nitride, whereas higher Sc contents exhibit lower piezoelectric coefficients. The electromechanical response of the epitaxial films correlates with the crystal quality and the presence of zinc blende inclusions, as observed by high-resolution electron microscopy. It is further found that the polarity of the epitaxial ScxAl1−xN layers is locked to the underlying substrate. The measured electromechanical properties of epitaxial ScxAl1−xN, their relation to the atomic crystal structure and defects, and its crystal polarity provide useful guidance toward the applications of this material.

The COVID-19 pandemic has stressed healthcare systems and supply lines, forcing medical doctors to risk infection by decontaminating and reusing single-use personal protective equipment. The uncertain future of the pandemic is compounded by limited data on the ability of the responsible virus, SARS-CoV-2, to survive across various climates, preventing epidemiologists from accurately modeling its spread. However, a detailed thermodynamic analysis of experimental data on the inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 and related coronaviruses can enable a fundamental understanding of their thermal degradation that will help model the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigate future outbreaks. This work introduces a thermodynamic model that synthesizes existing data into an analytical framework built on first principles, including the rate law for a first-order reaction and the Arrhenius equation, to accurately predict the temperature-dependent inactivation of coronaviruses. The model provides much-needed thermal decontamination guidelines for personal protective equipment, including masks. For example, at 70…

Metallic microneedles are attractive for painless transdermal drug-delivery. However, fabrication techniques for metal microneedles are often complex and multi-step. In this study, a scalable manufacturing of metallic microneedle arrays is presented using thermoplastic drawing of metallic glasses. Microneedles with tunable lengths and tips are produced by controlling the rheology and fracture of metallic glass. The same drawing process can generate solid and hollow microneedles simply by varying the thickness of metallic glass. The mechanism of thickness dependent transition from solid to hollow profiles is described by the viscous buckling of metallic liquid. In vitro skin insertion tests demonstrate that both solid and hollow metallic glass microneedles can pierce porcine skin and deliver model drugs.

We investigate photoconductive terahertz (THz) emitters compatible with 1550 nm excitation for THz time-domain spectroscopy (TDS). The emitters are based on rhodium (Rh) doped InGaAs grown by molecular beam epitaxy. InGaAs:Rh exhibits a unique combination of ultrashort trapping time, high electron mobility, and high resistivity. THz emitters made of InGaAs:Rh feature an emitted THz power of 637 μW at 28 mW optical power and 60 kV/cm electrical bias field. In particular for a fiber coupled photoconductive emitter, this is an outstanding result. When these emitters are combined with InGaAs:Rh based receivers in a THz TDS system, 6.5 THz bandwidth and a record peak dynamic range of 111 dB can be achieved for a measurement time of 120 s.

Generating power at night has recently stimulated interest in using the radiative cooling mechanism with thermoelectric generators (TEGs). These low temperature and passive devices have been shown to generate electricity at night with no active input of heat needed. Here, we optimize both the geometry and operating conditions of radiative cooling driven thermoelectric (RC-TE) generators. We determine the optimal operating conditions, including the maximum power point and maximum efficiency point, by developing a combined thermal and electrical model. Our results show that the optimal operating condition results in larger power output than was previously expected. Moreover, we show that maximum power density occurs when the area ratio between the cooler and P or N element reaches an optimal value and can be improved to nearly 2.2 times larger than what has been achieved with commercial TEGs. Finally, we perform a parametric study that takes account of environmental and structural parameters to improve the performance of the RC-TE device, including enhancing heat transfer between the…

In this work, we report on the growth of high-mobility β-Ga2O3 homoepitaxial thin films grown at a temperature much lower than the conventional growth temperature window for metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. Low-temperature β-Ga2O3 thin films grown at 600 °C on Fe-doped (010) bulk substrates exhibit remarkable crystalline quality, which is evident from the measured room temperature Hall mobility of 186 cm2/V s for the unintentionally doped films. N-type doping is achieved by using Si as a dopant, and a controllable doping in the range of 2 × 1016–2 × 1019 cm−3 is studied. Si incorporation and activation is studied by comparing the silicon concentration from secondary ion mass spectroscopy and the electron concentration from temperature-dependent Hall measurements. The films exhibit high purity (low C and H concentrations) with a very low concentration of compensating acceptors (2 × 1015 cm−3) even at this growth temperature. Additionally, an abrupt doping profile with a forward decay of ∼ 5 nm/dec (10 times improvement compared to what is observed for thin films grown at 810 °C) is…

Deep UV-LEDs (DUV-LEDs) emitting at 233 nm with an emission power of (1.9 ± 0.3) mW and an external quantum efficiency of (0.36 ± 0.07) % at 100 mA are presented. The entire DUV-LED process chain was optimized including the reduction of the dislocation density using epitaxially laterally overgrown AlN/sapphire substrates, development of vanadium-based low resistance n-metal contacts, and employment of high thermally conductive AlN packages. Estimated device lifetimes above 1500 h are achieved after a burn-in of 100 h. With the integration of a UV-transparent lens, a strong narrowing of the far-field pattern was achieved with a radiant intensity of 3 mW/sr measured at 20 mA.

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is a prominent material for radiative cooling due to its promising optical properties in the mid-infrared spectral region as well as its fabrication easiness. Even though several works have reported that the mid-infrared emissivity of a PDMS film can be increased by surface modification, there is still room for further enhancement through global optimization. Here, we designed and fabricated the thin PDMS film patterned with two-dimensional gratings to obtain the highest emissivity in the wavelength range from 8 to 13 μm. A surrogate-model-based optimization was performed, and the optimum structure exhibited the averaged emissivity value of 0.99 in the wavelength of 8–13 μm, which is the highest value reported to date among polymer-based radiative coolers. For real-world applications, we also developed the fabrication method that is repeatable and applicable for various surfaces using a flexible master mold.

In this work, the bandgap of CuO (p-type semiconductor) has been engineered from an indirect bandgap of ∼1 eV to a direct bandgap of 4 eV just by tuning the nanostructure morphology and midgap defect states. The absorption in near-infrared (NIR) and visible regions is ordinarily suppressed by controlling the growth parameters. Considering the increasing scope and demand of varying spectral range (UV-C to NIR) photodetectors, the systematic variation of the available density of states (DOS) at a particular energy level in CuO nanostructures has been utilized to fabricate dual-band (250 nm and 900 nm), broadband (250 nm–900 nm), and UV-C (250 nm) photodetectors. The sensitivity and detectivity of the photodetector for broadband detectors were ∼103 and 2.24 × 1011 Jones for the wavelengths of 900 nm and 122 and 2.74 × 1010 Jones for 250 nm wavelength light, respectively. The UV-C detector showed a sensitivity of 1.8 and a detectivity of 4 × 109 Jones for 250 nm wavelength light. A plausible mechanism for the photoconduction has been proposed for explaining the device operation and the…

We present and characterize a source for a 5 GHz clocked polarization-based simplified BB84 protocol. Secret keys are distributed over 151.5 km of standard telecom fiber at a rate of 54.5 kbps. Potentially, an increased clock frequency of the experiment introduces correlations between succeeding pulses. We discuss the impact of these correlations and propose measurements to estimate the relevant parameters.

We report high performance ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors (PDs) based on p-GaN-gated AlGaN/GaN heterostructures grown on silicon substrates. Benefitting from the high electrical gain resulting from the transistor-like operation of the device, a photocurrent as high as 4.8 mA/mm was achieved with UV illumination. Due to the effective depletion of the two-dimensional electron gas at the AlGaN/GaN heterointerface via a p-GaN optical gate, the dark current was suppressed to below 3 × 10−8 mA/mm. A high photo-to-dark current ratio over 108 and a high responsivity of 2 × 104 A/W were demonstrated in the device. Moreover, with a cutoff wavelength of 395 nm, the PDs exhibited an ultrahigh UV-to-visible rejection ratio of over 107. Limited by a persistent photoconductivity effect, the rise time and fall time of the device frequency response were measured to be 12.2 ms and 8.9 ms, respectively. The results suggest the potential of the proposed PDs for high-sensitivity UV detection.

We demonstrate saturated internal detection efficiency at 1550 nm wavelengths for meander-shaped superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors made of 3 nm thick MoSi films with widths of 1 and 3 μm and active areas up to 400 × 400 μm2. Despite hairpin turns and a large number of squares (up to 104) in the device, the dark count rate was measured to be ∼103 cps at 99% of the switching current. This value is about two orders of magnitude lower than the results reported recently for short MoSi devices with shunt resistors. We also found that 5 nm thick MoSi detectors with the same geometry were insensitive to single near-infrared photons, which may be associated with different levels of suppression of the superconducting order parameter. However, our results obtained on 3 nm thick MoSi devices are in good agreement with predictions in the frame of a kinetic-equation approach.

Materials with both giant and colossal mechanocaloric effects together with giant electrocaloric and magnetocaloric materials are expected to replace harmful fluids in more efficient and environmentally friendly refrigeration and heat pumping technologies. While mechanocaloric materials have only received attention in the last decade, they have already shown better caloric performances than their magnetic and polar counterparts. In particular, the recent discovery of colossal barocaloric and elastocaloric materials opens up bright perspectives for this class of materials. We envisage great promise in the use of mechanocaloric materials for future energy applications.

A coherent Ising machine (CIM) is a network of optical parametric oscillators (OPOs), in which the “strongest” collective mode of oscillation at well above threshold corresponds to an optimum solution of a given Ising problem. When a pump rate or network coupling rate is increased from below to above threshold, however, the eigenvectors with the smallest eigenvalue of the Ising coupling matrix [Jij] appear near threshold and impede the machine to relax to true ground states. Two complementary approaches to attack this problem are described here. One approach is to utilize the squeezed/anti-squeezed vacuum noise of OPOs below threshold to produce coherent spreading over numerous local minima via quantum noise correlation, which could enable the machine to access either true ground states or excited states with eigen-energies close enough to that of ground states above threshold. The other approach is to implement a real-time error correction feedback loop so that the machine migrates from one local minimum to another during an explorative search for ground states. Finally, a set of…

Magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ), a spintronics device, has been intensively developed in the past couple of decades because of its high potential in terms of non-volatility, fast operation, virtually infinite endurance, scalability, and compatibility with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuits as well as their process and circuits. Today, high-volume manufacturing of spin-transfer torque magnetoresistive random access memory based on MTJ has been initiated for embedded memory applications in CMOS logic. Whether MTJ is scalable along with the advancement of CMOS technology is critical for the technology's future. Here, we review the scaling of MTJ technology, from in-plane anisotropy MTJs to perpendicular interfacial- or shape-anisotropy MTJs. We also discuss challenges and prospects in the future 1X- and X-nm era.

Temperature-dependent behavior of regular and trench Ni/β-Ga2O3 (001) Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) was studied. Current–Voltage (I–V) characteristics, ideality factor, and barrier height of trench SBDs were compared with those of regular SBDs at temperatures ranging from 100 K to 650 K. The trench SBDs showed a superior performance to regular SBDs. At elevated temperatures (as high as 650 K), the trench SBDs maintained a high ON/OFF current ratio (105), which is four orders of magnitude higher than that in the regular diodes. The current–voltage characteristics of the trench SBDs were recovered when the sample was cooled to room temperature after high temperature measurements, whereas the I–V characteristics of the regular SBDs were degraded. The breakdown voltage (BV) was also measured on as-fabricated devices and after high temperature ramp up to 650 K. We observed a reduction in maximum achieved BV from 1084 V to 742 V on the trench SBDs and from 662 V to 488 V on regular SBDs, respectively, after temperature-dependent measurements.

Following the demonstration of semiconductor-based Josephson junctions, which are fully tunable by electrical means, new routes have been opened for the study of hybrid semiconductor–superconductor qubits. These include semiconductor-based transmon qubits, single-spin Andreev qubits, and fault-tolerant topological qubits based on Majorana zero modes. In this perspective, we review recent progress in the path toward such hybrid qubit designs. After a short introduction and a brief digression about the historical roadmap that has led to the experimental state-of-the-art, the emphasis is placed on superconducting qubits based on semiconductor nanowires.

We experimentally demonstrate that a rainbow-based metamaterial, created by a graded array of resonant rods attached to an elastic beam, operates as a mechanical delay-line by slowing down surface elastic waves to take advantage of wave interaction with resonance. Experiments demonstrate that the rainbow effect reduces the amplitude of the propagating wave in the host structure. At the same time, it dramatically increases both the period of interaction between the waves and the resonators and the wavefield amplitude in the rod endowed with the harvester. Increased energy is thus fed into the resonators over time: we show the enhanced energy harvesting capabilities of this system.

We report the experimental demonstration of a mm-wave electron accelerating structure powered by a high-power rf source. We demonstrate reliable coupling of an unprecedented rf power—up to 575 kW into the mm-wave accelerator structure using a quasi-optical setup. This standing wave accelerating structure consists of a single-cell copper cavity and a Gaussian to TM01 mode converter. The accelerator structure is powered by 110 GHz, 10-ns long rf pulses. These pulses are chopped from 3 ms pulses from a gyrotron oscillator using a laser-driven silicon switch. We show an unprecedented high gradient up to 230 MV/m that corresponds to a peak surface electric field of more than 520 MV/m. We have achieved these results after conditioning the cavity with more than 105 pulses. We also report preliminary measurements of rf breakdown rates, which are important for understanding rf breakdown physics in the millimeter-wave regime. These results open up many frontiers for applications not only limited to the next generation particle accelerators but also x-ray generation, probing material dynamics,…

The electrical device characteristics of Ni/β-Ga2O3 vertical Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) were measured in situ during the irradiation of 120 MeV Ag7+ swift heavy ions (SHIs). These devices exhibit SHI irradiation-induced degradation with 120 MeV Ag7+ ions in the ion fluence ranges of 1 × 1010 to 1 × 1012 ions/cm2. The height of the Schottky barrier is found to decrease from 1.11 to 0.93 eV, and the ideality factor increases from 1.16 to 2.06. These changes indicate the degradation of the device with SHI irradiation. A significant four orders increase is observed in the leakage current density from 4.04 × 10−8 to 1.98 × 10−4 A/cm2 at −1 V, and the series resistance also increases from 3.38 × 103 to 1.15 × 104 Ω. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements show that the Ga ions are present in divalent and trivalent states with the spectral features having the binding energies centered at 20.2 eV and 19.9 eV (Ga 3d core-levels) before and after ion irradiation. The O 2s peak shifts to 23.7 eV, and there is an increase in intensity and peak broadening due to the change in the…

MEMS sensors based on magnetoelectric composites have attracted great interest due to their capability to detect weak magnetic fields, showing high potential in applications like biomagnetic field detection and magnetic particle imaging. This paper reports on a scandium aluminum nitride thin film-based MEMS magnetoelectric sensor. The sensor consists of a polycrystalline silicon cantilever with a size of 1000 μm × 200 μm covered by a piezoelectric Al0.73Sc0.27N and a magnetostrictive (Fe90Co10)78Si12B10 thin film. The performance of the presented sensor is investigated based on the magnetoelectric (ME) voltage coefficient, voltage noise density, and limit of detection and compared to the characteristics of the aluminum nitride thin film-based ME sensor with the same layout and fabrication technology. By using an Al0.73Sc0.27N thin film with a higher piezoelectric activity instead of AlN in MEMS ME sensors, the ME voltage coefficient of (1334 ± 84) V/cm Oe in resonance is almost double, thereby lowering the requirements for the electronic system. The limit of detection of (60 ± 2)…

A highly crystalline single- or few-layered 2D-MoS2 induces a high dark current, due to which an extremely small photocurrent generated by a few photons can be veiled or distorted. In this report, we show that suppression in the dark current with the enhancement in the photocurrent of a 2D-based photodetector, which is a prerequisite for photoresponse enhancement, can be achieved by constructing an ideal p-n junction based on functionalizing n-type 2D-MoS2 with p-type quantum dots (QDs). Highly crystalline solution-processed manganese oxide QDs (MnO QDs) are synthesized via the pulsed femtosecond laser ablation technique in ethanol. The ablated MnO QDs are spray-coated on an exfoliated 2D-MoS2 substrate with interdigitated Au electrodes through N2-assisted spraying. In the resulting MnO QD-decorated 2D-MoS2 photodetector with a heterojunction, dark current is reduced and is accompanied by photocurrent enhancement, thereby markedly improving the photoresponsivity and detectivity of MoS2-based devices. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms contributing to this enhancement, power- and…

Rutile germanium dioxide (r-GeO2) is a recently predicted ultrawide-bandgap semiconductor with potential applications in high-power electronic devices, for which the carrier mobility is an important material parameter that controls the device efficiency. We apply first-principles calculations based on density functional and density functional perturbation theory to investigate carrier-phonon coupling in r-GeO2 and predict its phonon-limited electron and hole mobilities as a function of temperature and crystallographic orientation. The calculated carrier mobilities at 300 K are μelec,⊥c→=244 cm2 V−1 s−1, μelec,∥c→=377 cm2 V−1 s−1, μhole,⊥c→=27 cm2 V−1 s−1, and μhole,∥c→=29 cm2 V−1 s−1. At room temperature, carrier scattering is dominated by the low-frequency polar-optical phonon modes. The predicted Baliga figure of merit of n-type r-GeO2 surpasses several incumbent semiconductors such as Si, SiC, GaN, and β-Ga2O3, demonstrating its superior performance in high-power electronic devices.

Complex polarizations of elastic waves allow mode conversions between two solids, making wave mode separation extremely difficult even for a narrow frequency range with resonant metamaterials. In this Letter, a non-resonant elastic metasurface design is proposed to achieve a perfect splitting of longitudinal and shear waves in space. The key to this broadband design is a singly polarized solid with engineered static elastic tensor, which provides a tool to tune the polarization through non-resonant microstructure design. Both full-wave simulations and experiments are conducted to validate the mode splitting function of the designed metasurface. Potential applications such as elastic wave shifting and selective wave mode focusing are also demonstrated. This research provides an alternative route to design broadband and compact metasurfaces for elastic wave communications, biomedical diagnosis, and wave-based damage evaluations.

As a wide bandgap semiconductor with high breakdown field, GaN is expected to outperform the incumbent Si technology for power switching applications. Advances in GaN epitaxial growth, device technology, and circuit implementations have resulted in high-performing power switches based on the GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) structure. Demonstrated system benefits have validated the real value of GaN power switching technology. However, the full potential of GaN power switching technology is still far from being exploited. Various factors, including the size of electrodes and wiring, non-optimal E-field shaping, and substrate capacitive coupling, are limiting the performance of GaN HEMT power switches. Emerging device structures, such as, vertical transistors and multichannel superjunction transistors, have the potential to overcome some of those limitations, thereby bringing the performance benefits of the GaN power switching technology to a new level. Understanding the underlying physics is important to the success of the emerging device structures.

The superelastic and elastocaloric properties of a Mn-rich Ni44Mn46Sn10 polycrystalline alloy prepared by directional solidification were studied. Owing to the coarse columnar shaped grains with strong ⟨001⟩A preferred orientation, a large superelastic strain up to 8% and a transformation strain of 5.6% can be obtained through compressive stress induced martensitic transformation. Moreover, a giant adiabatic temperature variation up to –18 K was achieved on removing the stress. Such a remarkable elastocaloric effect is attributed to the large transformation entropy change through composition modification and the enhanced mechanical properties due to the formation of a highly textured microstructure in the directionally solidified alloy.

Photodetection in the visible and near-infrared (NIR) spectral regions offers a wide range of applications, such as image arrays of high pixel density and artificial intelligence. In this work, broadband organic photodiodes (OPDs) are developed with performance comparable to that of crystalline silicon-based commercial devices. Through the strategy of combining an NIR-absorbing non-fullerene acceptor and a thick junction, the resulting devices show significantly improved performance parameters, with a suppressed dark current density of 0.35 nA/cm2, an enhanced spectral response covering 300–1000 nm, and external quantum efficiency over 60% el/ph. Owing to the low dark current noise and high responsivity to NIR wavelengths, an unexpectedly high specific detectivity of 5.1 × 1013 Jones at 930 nm is obtained together with a linear dynamic range of 157 dB and a −3 dB cutoff frequency of 4.5 kHz. These results reveal that the NIR OPD has great potential for 2D and 3D imaging applications with a high frame rate and multiple band selection.

Memristive-based electro-optical neuromorphic hardware takes advantage of both the high-density of electronic circuits and the high bandwidth of their photonic counterparts, thus showing potential for low-power artificial intelligence applications. In this Perspective paper, we introduce a class of electro-optical memristors that can emulate the key properties of synapses and neurons, which are essential features for the realization of electro-optical neuromorphic functionalities. We then describe the challenges associated with existing technologies and finally give our viewpoint on possible developments toward an energy-efficient neuromorphic platform.

α-Ga2O3 is a metastable phase of gallium oxide (Ga2O3) and is important for application in solar-blind region optoelectronic devices. High-quality α-Ga2O3 thin films can be grown by mist chemical vapor deposition (mist-CVD). We systematically investigate the growth mechanism of α-Ga2O3 by mist-CVD using acetylacetonated Ga source solutions. We propose a growth mechanism of α-Ga2O3 in mist-CVD in which acetylacetonate ligands anchor to surface hydroxyls and Ga–O bonds are formed by a ligand exchange mechanism. The origin of oxygen atoms and impurity concentration profiles in grown α-Ga2O3 thin films are examined by secondary ion mass spectroscopy.

An optical gas sensing technique based on in-plane quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (IP-QEPAS) is reported. In IP-QEPAS, the laser beam is aligned in the plane of the quartz tuning fork (QTF) to increase the interaction area between the acoustic wavefront and the QTF. A custom T-shaped QTF with a prong length of 9.4 mm and a resonance frequency of 9.38 kHz was designed and employed in the IP-QEPAS sensor. For comparison, the traditional QEPAS sensor in which the laser beam is perpendicular to the QTF plane (PP-QEPAS) is investigated with the same operating conditions. Theoretical calculations of strain and displacement of the QTF prong were performed to support the advantage of using the IP-QEPAS technique. By selecting water vapor as the gas target, the IP-QEPAS sensor results in a signal more than 40 times higher than that measured with the PP-QEPAS configuration, confirming the potential of this approach.

Spin excitations of ordered magnets – magnons – mediate transport in magnetic insulators. Their bosonic nature makes them qualitatively distinct from electrons. These features include quantum properties traditionally realized with photons. In this perspective, we present an intuitive discussion of one such phenomenon. Equilibrium magnon-squeezing manifests unique advantages with magnons as compared to photons, including properties such as entanglement. Building upon the recent progress in the fields of spintronics and quantum optics, we outline challenges and opportunities in this emerging field of quantum magnonics.

High entropy oxides (HEOs) are a class of materials, containing equimolar portions of five or more transition metal and/or rare-earth elements. We report here about the layer-by-layer growth of HEO [(La0.2Pr0.2Nd0.2Sm0.2Eu0.2)NiO3] thin films on NdGaO3 substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The combined characterizations with in situ reflection high energy electron diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and x-ray diffraction affirm the single crystalline nature of the film with smooth surface morphology. The desired +3 oxidation of Ni has been confirmed by an element sensitive x-ray absorption spectroscopy measurement. Temperature dependent electrical transport measurements revealed a first order metal-insulator transition with the transition temperature very similar to the undoped NdNiO3. Since both these systems have a comparable tolerance factor, this work demonstrates that the electronic behaviors of A-site disordered perovskite-HEOs are primarily controlled by the average tolerance factor.

We present and analyze characteristics of the runaway electron flow in a high-voltage (the voltage rise rate of up to 1.5 MV/ns) air-filled electrode gap with a strongly nonuniform electric field. It is demonstrated that such a flow contains a high-energy electron component of duration not more than 10 ps. According to numerical simulations, runaway electron generation/termination is governed by impact ionization of the gas near the cathode and switching on/off a critical (sufficient for electrons to run away) electric field at the boundary of the expanding cathode plasma. The corresponding characteristic time estimated to be 2–3 ps is defined by the ionization rate at a critical field.

We report on the fabrication and characterization of single-photon-sensitive WSi superconducting detectors with wire widths from 1 μm to 3 μm. The devices achieve the saturated internal detection efficiency at a wavelength of 1.55 μm and exhibit maximum count rates in excess of 105 s−1. We also investigate the material properties of the silicon-rich WSi films used for these devices. We find that many devices with active lengths of several hundred micrometers exhibit critical currents in excess of 50% of the depairing current. A meandered detector with a 2.0 μm wire width is demonstrated over a surface area of 362 × 362 μm2, showcasing the material and device quality achieved.

In this Letter, in situ Mg doping in β-Ga2O3 was demonstrated via metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) epitaxy. The electrical insulating property of the Mg acceptors in β-Ga2O3 was found to be intrinsically activated in the as-grown Mg-doped β-Ga2O3 thin films. Growth conditions for MOCVD β-Ga2O3 were further explored and optimized at a lower growth temperature regime, leading to a better confinement of the Mg-doping profile. Detailed analysis of Mg diffusion characteristics revealed a diffusion barrier energy Ebarrier ∼ 0.9 eV for Mg in MOCVD β-Ga2O3, which is likely related to an interstitial-assisted process. Surface morphologies and electron transport were characterized on samples grown with different growth temperatures and Mg doping levels. The MOCVD growth method demonstrated its feasibility to grow semi-insulating Mg-doped β-Ga2O3 epilayers with controllable Mg incorporation while maintaining good material quality and smooth surface morphology. From capacitance-voltage charge profiling, it is verified that the Mg-doped buffer layer grown at the substrate-epilayer…

Acoustic holography has emerged as a revolutionary technique to reconstruct the desired wavefronts of sound fields. Traditional acoustic holography typically relies on arrays of discrete sound emitters independently driven by sophisticated circuits to generate the required phase and amplitude profile. Recently, we witnessed growing efforts to conquer the realm of acoustic metasurfaces as a possible platform to reconstruct computer-generated holograms due to their advantages in manipulating sound waves with a well-controlled phase and/or amplitude. In this article, we review the latest efforts to explore an acoustic metasurface hologram in transmission-type and reflection-type systems, where we discuss how artificial meta-pixels appear as highly useful ingredients to tailor the flow of sound and transform a conventional incident wave into a desired arbitrary-complex wavefront in the far field. We summarize the latest advancements from their design principles to versatile functional applications, and some future research directions are also provided.

Constructing two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures is becoming a promising way for photocatalytic water splitting to produce hydrogen. In this Letter, we perform a 2D vdW blue phosphorous/β-AsP (BP/β-AsP) heterostructure based on density functional theory calculations. The type II band alignment in the BP/β-AsP vdW heterostructure is beneficial for separating the photogenerated electrons and holes and suppressing their recombination. The BP/β-AsP heterostructure not only keeps a suitable band edge position for the water splitting reaction but also significantly improves the optical absorption in the visible and ultraviolet light region. Appropriate uniaxial strain can change the indirect bandgap of the BP/β-AsP heterostructure into a direct one. The present findings indicate that the BP/β-AsP heterostructure is a promising candidate for applications in photovoltaic devices and photocatalysis.

A synergetic effect of Li/Nd at the A site and W/Mn at the B site co-substitution on electrical properties of calcium bismuth niobate (CaBi2Nb2O9, CBNO)-based ceramics is proposed in this paper. CBNO primarily shows mixed p-type and ionic conduction due to a trace of oxygen vacancies (VO••). Both bulk resistivity (ρb) and activity energy (Ea) for conduction are dramatically increased by the co-substitution in Ca0.92(Li1/2Nd1/2)0.08Bi2Nb2−x(W3/4Mn1/4)xO9 [CBNO-LN-x(WM), x = 0–0.02]. Consequently, the modified compositions almost show an intrinsic conducting mechanism due to a significant suppression of the VO•• concentration. Furthermore, the synergetic effect of Li/Nd at the A site and W/Mn at the B site greatly improves the piezoelectricity coefficient (d33), which is up to ∼21.1 pC/N in the optimized composition [CBNO-LN-10(WM)]. This combined with a high Curie temperature (TC = ∼946 °C) and high resistivity indicates that CBNO-LN-10(WM) is a good promising material in high-temperature piezoelectric applications.

Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) films are promising building blocks for diversified applications in electronics, photovoltaics, and photonics. However, their electrical and optical engineering is still a challenging task owing to multiple obstacles, including the absence of fast and easy-to-use methods for the determination of SWCNT film properties. Here, we present a rapid, contactless, and universal technique for accurate estimation of both SWCNT film thicknesses and their dielectric functions. The approach combines broadband optical absorbance and highly sensitive spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements. The observed linear dependence of the film thickness on its absorbance at 550 nm provides a time-effective and contactless method of thickness assignment, which is of significant importance to the practical implementation of SWCNT films in optoelectronic devices. Additionally, our approach revealed that a simple procedure of film densification allows to controllably alter the dielectric response by at least 40% and, thus, to add extra fine-tuning capabilities during…

Single atom catalysts (SACs) have recently attracted much attention. To identify the single atom materials, a combination of high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) and synchrotron radiation-based extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) is typically used. However, the present work reveals that EXAFS is not sensitive enough to identify single atoms in many cases, which may easily confuse the contributions from small clusters or nanoparticles due to the polydispersity and disorder effects. Also, HAADF-STEM measures very limited regions, which may easily miss other compositions. The real catalytic sites in various reactions could be significantly different from the single atom sites due to the complicated compositions in the so-called “SACs,” which may also lead to misunderstanding of the working mechanism.

Traditional metal-oxide semiconductor devices are inadequate for use in artificial neural networks (ANNs) owing to their high power consumption, complex structures, and difficult fabrication techniques. Resistive random access memory (RRAM) is a promising candidate for ANNs owing to its simple structure, low power consumption, and excellent compatibility with CMOS. Moreover, it can mimic synaptic functions because of its multilevel resistive switching (RS) behavior. Herein, we demonstrate highly uniform RS and a high on/off ratio of RRAM based on graphene oxide by embedding gold nanoparticles into the device. This allowed reliable multilevel storage. Further, multilevel RRAM based on spike-timing-dependent-plasticity learning rules was used for image pattern recognition. These findings may offer a route to develop reliable digital memristors for ANNs.

Antiferromagnets having negligible net magnetization but a topologically nontrivial spin structure are a good testbed for investigating the intrinsic anomalous Hall effect (AHE). In this Letter, we explore L12-ordered Mn3Ir thin films, which are one of the noncollinear antiferromagnets predicted to exhibit the intrinsic AHE due to their topologically nontrivial spin structure. The anomalous Hall conductivity as large as σAHE = 40 Ω−1 cm−1 was observed at R.T. This value can be translated to the anomalous Hall conductivity per net magnetization M as |σAHE/M| = 0.6 V−1, which is much larger compared to those for general ferromagnetic materials. We also show that σAHE depends on the crystallinity of Mn3Ir as well as the chemical order parameter S characterizing a content of the L12 phase. Our results experimentally verify that L12-ordered Mn3Ir thin films exhibit the topologically originated AHE.