Artificial visual systems enabled by quasi-two-dimensional electron gases in oxide superlattice nanowires.

Rapid development of artificial intelligence techniques ignites the emerging demand on accurate perception and understanding of optical signals from external environments via brain-like visual systems. Here, enabled by quasi-two-dimensional electron gases (quasi-2DEGs) in InGaO3(ZnO)3 superlattice nanowires (NWs), an artificial visual system was built to mimic the human ones. This system is based on an unreported device concept combining coexistence of oxygen adsorption-desorption kinetics on NW surface and strong carrier quantum-confinement effects in superlattice core, to resemble the biological Ca2+ ion flux and neurotransmitter release dynamics. Given outstanding mobility and sensitivity of superlattice NWs, an ultralow energy consumption down to subfemtojoule per synaptic event is realized in quasi-2DEG synapses, which rivals that of biological synapses and now available synapse-inspired electronics. A flexible quasi-2DEG artificial visual system is demonstrated to simultaneously perform high-performance light detection, brain-like information processing, nonvolatile charge retention, in situ multibit-level memory, orientation selectivity, and image memorizing.

Ultra-fast photodetectors based on high-mobility indium gallium antimonide nanowires.

Because of tunable bandgap and high carrier mobility, ternary III-V nanowires (NWs) have demonstrated enormous potential for advanced applications. However, the synthesis of large-scale and highly-crystalline InxGa1-xSb NWs is still a challenge. Here, we achieve high-density and crystalline stoichiometric InxGa1-xSb (0.09 < x < 0.28) NWs on amorphous substrates with the uniform phase-purity and <110 >-orientation via chemical vapor deposition. The as-prepared NWs show excellent electrical and optoelectronic characteristics, including the high hole mobility (i.e. 463 cm2 V-1 s-1 for In0.09Ga0.91Sb NWs) as well as broadband and ultrafast photoresponse over the visible and infrared optical communication region (1550 nm). Specifically, the In0.28Ga0.72Sb NW device yields efficient rise and decay times down to 38 and 53 µs, respectively, along with the responsivity of 6000 A W-1 and external quantum efficiency of 4.8 × 106 % towards 1550 nm regime. High-performance NW parallel-arrayed devices can also be fabricated to illustrate their large-scale device integrability for next-generation, ultrafast, high-responsivity and broadband photodetectors.

Novel Series of Quasi-2D Ruddlesden-Popper Perovskites Based on Short-Chained Spacer Cation for Enhanced Photodetection.

Quasi two-dimensional (2D) layered organic-inorganic perovskite materials (e.g., (BA)2(MA) n-1Pb nI3 n+1; BA = butylamine; MA = methylamine) have recently attracted wide attention because of their superior moisture stability as compared with three-dimensional counterparts. Inevitably, hydrophobic yet insulating long-chained organic cations improve the stability at the cost of hindering charge transport, leading to the unsatisfied performance of subsequently fabricated devices. Here, we reported the synthesis of quasi-2D ( iBA)2(MA) n-1Pb nI3 n+1 perovskites, where the relatively pure-phase ( iBA)2PbI4 and ( iBA)2MA3Pb4I13 films can be obtained. Because of the shorter-branched chain of iBA as compared with that of its linear equivalent ( n-butylamine, BA), the resulting ( iBA)2(MA) n-1Pb nI3 n+1 perovskites exhibit much enhanced photodetection properties without sacrificing their excellent stability. Through hot-casting, the optimized ( iBA)2(MA) n-1Pb nI3 n+1 perovskite films with n = 4 give the significantly improved crystallinity, demonstrating the high responsivity of 117.09 mA/W, large on-off ratio of 4.0 × 102, and fast response speed (rise and decay time of 16 and 15 ms, respectively). These figure-of-merits are comparable or even better than those of state-of-the-art quasi-2D perovskite-based photodetectors reported to date. Our work not only paves a practical way for future perovskite photodetector fabrication via modulation of their intrinsic material properties but also provides a direction for further performance enhancement of other perovskite optoelectronics.

Environmentally and Mechanically Stable Selenium 1D/2D Hybrid Structures for Broad-Range Photoresponse from Ultraviolet to Infrared Wavelengths.

Selenium (Se) is one of the potential candidates as photodetector because of its outstanding properties such as high photoconductivity (∼8 × 104 S cm-1), piezoelectricity, thermoelectricity, and nonlinear optical responses. Solution phase synthesis becomes an efficient way to produce Se, but a contamination issue that could deteriorate the electric characteristic of Se should be taken into account. In this work, a facile, controllable approach of synthesizing Se nanowires (NWs)/films via a plasma-assisted growth process was demonstrated at the low substrate temperature of 100 °C. The detailed formation mechanisms of nanowires arrays to thin films at different plasma powers were investigated. Moreover, indium (In) layer was used to enhance the adhesive strength with 50% improvement on a SiO2/Si substrate by mechanical interlocking and surface alloying between Se and In layers, indicating great tolerance for mechanical stress for future wearable devices applications. Furthermore, the direct growth of Se NWs/films on a poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrate was demonstrated, exhibiting a visible to broad infrared detection ranges from 405 to 1555 nm with a high on/off ratio of ∼700 as well as the fast response time less than 25 ms. In addition, the devices exhibited fascinating stability in the atmosphere over one month.

Large-Scale Synthesis of Freestanding Layer-Structured PbI2 and MAPbI3 Nanosheets for High-Performance Photodetection.

Recently, due to the possibility of thinning down to the atomic thickness to achieve exotic properties, layered materials have attracted extensive research attention. In particular, PbI2 , a kind of layered material, and its perovskite derivatives, CH3 NH3 PbI3 (i.e., MAPbI3 ), have demonstrated impressive photoresponsivities for efficient photodetection. Herein, the synthesis of large-scale, high-density, and freestanding PbI2 nanosheets is demonstrated by manipulating the microenvironment during physical vapor deposition. In contrast to conventional two-dimensional (2D) growth along the substrate surface, the essence here is the effective nucleation of microplanes with different angles relative to the in-plane direction of underlying rough-surfaced substrates. When configured into photodetectors, the fabricated device exhibits a photoresponsivity of 410 mA W-1 , a detectivity of 3.1 × 1011 Jones, and a fast response with the rise and decay time constants of 86 and 150 ms, respectively, under a wavelength of 405 nm. These PbI2 nanosheets can also be completely converted into MAPbI3 materials via chemical vapor deposition with an improved photoresponsivity up to 40 A W-1 . All these performance parameters are comparable to those of state-of-the-art layered-material-based photodetectors, revealing the technological potency of these freestanding nanosheets for next-generation high-performance optoelectronics.

Enhanced Self-Assembly of Crystalline, Large-Area, and Periodicity-Tunable TiO2 Nanotube Arrays on Various Substrates.

Due to their superior physical properties, titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotube arrays are one of the most investigated nanostructure systems in materials science until now. However, it is still a great challenge to achieve damage-free techniques to realize controllable, cost-effective, and high-performance TiO2 nanotube arrays on both rigid and flexible substrates for different technological applications. In this work, we demonstrate a unique strategy to achieve self-assemble crystalline, large-area, and regular TiO2 nanotube arrays on various substrates via hybrid combination of conventional semiconductor processes. Besides the usual applications of TiO2 as carrier transport layers in thin-film electronic devices, we demonstrate that the periodic TiO2 nanotube arrays can show the effect of optical grating with large-area uniformity. Specifically, the fabricated nanotube geometries, such as the tube height, pitch, diameter, and wall thickness, as well as the crystallinity can be reliably controlled by varying the processing conditions. More importantly, utilizing these nanotube arrays in perovskite solar cells can further enhance the optical absorption, leading to improved power conversion efficiency. In contrast to other typical template-assisted fabrication approaches, we employ a soft template here, which would enable the construction of nanotube arrays without any significant damage associated with template removal. Furthermore, without the thermal restriction of underlying substrates, these crystalline nanotube arrays can be transferred to mechanically flexible substrates by a simple one-step method, which can expedite these nanotubes for potential utilization in other application domains.

Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor-Compatible, High-Mobility, ⟨111⟩-Oriented GaSb Nanowires Enabled by Vapor-Solid-Solid Chemical Vapor Deposition.

Using CMOS-compatible Pd catalysts, we demonstrated the formation of high-mobility ⟨111⟩-oriented GaSb nanowires (NWs) via vapor-solid-solid (VSS) growth by surfactant-assisted chemical vapor deposition through a complementary experimental and theoretical approach. In contrast to NWs formed by the conventional vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism, cylindrical-shaped Pd5Ga4 catalytic seeds were present in our Pd-catalyzed VSS-NWs. As solid catalysts, stoichiometric Pd5Ga4 was found to have the lowest crystal surface energy and thus giving rise to a minimal surface diffusion as well as an optimal in-plane interface orientation at the seed/NW interface for efficient epitaxial NW nucleation. These VSS characteristics led to the growth of slender NWs with diameters down to 26.9 ± 3.5 nm. Over 95% high crystalline quality NWs were grown in ⟨111⟩ orientation for a wide diameter range of between 10 and 70 nm. Back-gated field-effect transistors (FETs) fabricated using the Pd-catalyzed GaSb NWs exhibit a superior peak hole mobility of ∼330 cm2 V-1 s-1, close to the mobility limit for a NW channel diameter of ∼30 nm with a free carrier concentration of ∼1018 cm-3. This suggests that the NWs have excellent homogeneity in phase purity, growth orientation, surface morphology and electrical characteristics. Contact printing process was also used to fabricate large-scale assembly of Pd-catalyzed GaSb NW parallel arrays, confirming the potential constructions and applications of these high-performance electronic devices.

Crystal Orientation Controlled Photovoltaic Properties of Multilayer GaAs Nanowire Arrays.

In recent years, despite significant progress in the synthesis, characterization, and integration of various nanowire (NW) material systems, crystal orientation controlled NW growth as well as real-time assessment of their growth-structure-property relationships still presents one of the major challenges in deploying NWs for practical large-scale applications. In this study, we propose, design, and develop a multilayer NW printing scheme for the determination of crystal orientation controlled photovoltaic properties of parallel GaAs NW arrays. By tuning the catalyst thickness and nucleation and growth temperatures in the two-step chemical vapor deposition, crystalline GaAs NWs with uniform, pure ⟨110⟩ and ⟨111⟩ orientations and other mixture ratios can be successfully prepared. Employing lift-off resists, three-layer NW parallel arrays can be easily attained for X-ray diffraction in order to evaluate their growth orientation along with the fabrication of NW parallel array based Schottky photovoltaic devices for the subsequent performance assessment. Notably, the open-circuit voltage of purely ⟨111⟩-oriented NW arrayed cells is far higher than that of ⟨110⟩-oriented NW arrayed counterparts, which can be interpreted by the different surface Fermi level pinning that exists on various NW crystal surface planes due to the different As dangling bond densities. All this indicates the profound effect of NW crystal orientation on physical and chemical properties of GaAs NWs, suggesting the careful NW design considerations for achieving optimal photovoltaic performances. The approach presented here could also serve as a versatile and powerful platform for in situ characterization of other NW materials.

Approaching the Hole Mobility Limit of GaSb Nanowires.

In recent years, high-mobility GaSb nanowires have received tremendous attention for high-performance p-type transistors; however, due to the difficulty in achieving thin and uniform nanowires (NWs), there is limited report until now addressing their diameter-dependent properties and their hole mobility limit in this important one-dimensional material system, where all these are essential information for the deployment of GaSb NWs in various applications. Here, by employing the newly developed surfactant-assisted chemical vapor deposition, high-quality and uniform GaSb NWs with controllable diameters, spanning from 16 to 70 nm, are successfully prepared, enabling the direct assessment of their growth orientation and hole mobility as a function of diameter while elucidating the role of sulfur surfactant and the interplay between surface and interface energies of NWs on their electrical properties. The sulfur passivation is found to efficiently stabilize the high-energy NW sidewalls of (111) and (311) in order to yield the thin NWs (i.e., <40 nm in diameters) with the dominant growth orientations of ⟨211⟩ and ⟨110⟩, whereas the thick NWs (i.e., >40 nm in diameters) would grow along the most energy-favorable close-packed planes with the orientation of ⟨111⟩, supported by the approximate atomic models. Importantly, through the reliable control of sulfur passivation, growth orientation and surface roughness, GaSb NWs with the peak hole mobility of ∼400 cm(2)V s(-1) for the diameter of 48 nm, approaching the theoretical limit under the hole concentration of ∼2.2 × 10(18) cm(-3), can be achieved for the first time. All these indicate their promising potency for utilizations in different technological domains.