Near Zero-Threshold Voltage P-N Junction Diodes Based on Super-Semiconducting Nanostructured Ag/Al Arrays.

Semiconductor devices are currently one of the most common energy consumption devices. Significantly reducing the energy consumption of semiconductor devices with advanced energy-efficient technologies is highly desirable. The discovery of super-semiconductors (SSCs) based on metallic bi-layer shell arrays provides an opportunity to realize ultra-low-power consumption semiconductor devices. As an example, the achievement of near zero-threshold voltage in p-n junction diodes based on super-semiconducting nanostructured Ag/Al arrays is reported, realizing ultra-low-power p-n junction diodes: ≈3 W per trillion diodes with a working voltage of 1 V or 30 mW per trillion diodes with an operating voltage of 0.1 V. In addition, the p-n junction diodes exhibit a high breakdown field of ≈1.1 × 106  V cm-1 , similar to that of SiC and GaN, due to a robust built-in field driven by infrared light photons. The SSC p-n diodes with near zero-threshold voltage and high breakdown field allow access to ultra-low-power semiconducting transistors, integrated circuits, chips, etc.

Ferroelectric-gated MoSe2photodetectors with high photoresponsivity.

Ferroelectric transistors with semiconductors as the channel material and ferroelectrics as the gate insulator have potential applications in nanoelectronics. We report in-situ modulation of optoelectronic properties of MoSe2thin flakes on ferroelectric 0.7PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3-0.3PbTiO3(PMN-PT). Under the excitation of 638 nm laser, the photoresponsivity can be greatly boosted to 59.8 A W-1and the detectivity to 3.2 × 1010Jones, with the improvement rates of about 1500% and 450%, respectively. These results suggest hybrid structure photodetector of two-dimensional layered material and ferroelectric has great application prospects in photoelectric detector.

Heating behavior and crystal growth mechanism in microwave field.

A simple microwave solid-state reactor was designed on the basis of a domestic microwave oven by using graphite powder as heating medium. The heating behavior of the reactor was studied by using an on-line computer to monitor the real-time temperature during irradiation. It was found that the temperature (T) was related to the time (t) and that microwave power depended on the duty cycle (x) of microwave irradiation. Two empirical equations were proposed and could be applied to the similar microwave solid-state reactors. Four inorganic layered materials, LiV(3)O(8), KNb(3)O(8), KTiNbO(5), and KSr(2)Nb(3)O(10), were successfully synthesized in the designed reactor at a suitable heating rate and temperature that were fully controlled by the empirical equations. Characterization results of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy, and scanning (SEM) and transmission (TEM) electron microscopy indicated that the phases of samples prepared by traditional and microwave methods were in good agreement; nevertheless, the heating nature and the morphologies of products were quite different. The samples synthesized in the microwave field had crystallographic defects and showed an incompactly stacking structure of nanosheets. Due to the rapid formation of crystallites and different extended growth rate along the crystal axis of the products in microwave field, the crystal growth mechanism of layered metal oxides was not according to that of the traditional method and is briefly discussed.

Novel coassembly route to Cu-SiO2 MCM-41-like mesoporous materials.

A series of mesostructured Cu-SiO2 composites have been synthesized with sodium metasilicate (Na2SiO3) and cuprammonia nitrate (Cu(NH3)4(NO3)2) respectively used as Si and Cu sources. The synthetic procedures were conducted at room temperature, and cetyltrimethylammonia bromide was used as a template. Under our experimental conditions, ordered mesoporous Cu-SiO2 composites could be obtained with a copper content up to 16.8 wt %. Average pore diameters (2.80-3.15 nm), wall thickness (1.30-2.20 nm), and specific surface area (1020-690 m2/g) are found to vary linearly with copper content (0-16.8 wt %). Results of thermal gravimetry-differential thermal analysis reveal the collapse temperature of the order structure starts at approximately 1250 K for mesoporous Cu-SiO2 with 16.8 wt % copper content. As indicated by the outcomes of inductively coupled plasma and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies, copper is mainly incorporated inside the pore wall rather than embedded on the wall surface. Copper species strongly interact with silica, and calcination at high temperatures cannot cause phase separation between silica and copper oxide. Cu status in mesoporous Cu-SiO2 composites is similar to that in copper silicate in neighboring structures. Based on the results, a S+ I- I+ I- mechanism is proposed in which copper entities are surrounded by silicon species during synthesis of the mesostructured composite.