Plasmon-enhanced performance of CdS/CdTe solar cells using Au nanoparticles.

Metal nanoparticles (NPs) are incorporated in solar cells during the formation of front or back contacts to improve light absorption via the scattering of excitation light at their surface plasmon resonance (SPR) or localized SPR (LSPR). Here, we demonstrate LSPR-promoted improvement in the efficiency of CdS/CdTe solar cells fabricated by physical vapor deposition by incorporating different quantities of chemically synthesized 200-nm Au NPs in the CdTe layer. The J-V characteristics, external quantum efficiencies, absorption spectra, and cell efficiencies of these devices are compared. This study can guide future research on enhancing the CdS/CdTe solar cell performance using the plasmon effect.

Antiferromagnetic coupling of van der Waals ferromagnetic Fe3GeTe2.

Among two-dimensional (2D) layered van der Waals materials, ferromagnetic 2D materials can be useful for compact low-power spintronic applications. One promising candidate material is Fe3GeTe2 (FGT), which has a strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and relatively high Curie temperature. In this study, we confirmed that an oxide layer (O-FGT) naturally forms on top of exfoliated FGT and that an antiferromagnetic coupling (AFC) exists between FGT and O-FGT layers. From a first-principles calculation, oxide formation at the interface of each layer induces an AFC between the layers. An AFC causes a tailed hysteresis loop, where two-magnetization reversal curves are included, and a negative remanence magnetization at a certain temperature range.

A possible superconductor-like state at elevated temperatures near metal electrodes in an LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface.

We experimentally investigated the transport properties near metal electrodes installed on a conducting channel in a LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface. The local region around the Ti and Al electrodes has a higher electrical conductance than that of other regions, where the upper limits of the temperature and magnetic field can be well defined. Beyond these limits, the conductance abruptly decreases, as in the case of a superconductor. The samples with the Ti- or Al-electrode have an upper-limit temperature of approximately 4 K, which is 10 times higher than the conventional superconducting critical temperature of LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interfaces and delta-doped SrTiO3. This phenomenon is explained by the mechanism of electron transfer between the metal electrodes and electronic d-orbitals in the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface. The transferred electrons trigger a phase transition to a superconductor-like state. Our results contribute to the deep understanding of the superconductivity in the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface and will be helpful for the development of high-temperature interface superconductors.

Conductance Change Induced by the Rashba Effect in the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 Interface.

The LaAlO3/SrTiO3 (LAO/STO) heterostructure has an inherent space inversion asymmetry causing an internal electric field near the interface. The Rashba spin-orbit coupling arising from this structural characteristic has a considerable influence on spin transport. With application of an external magnetic field, we observed conductance change in the LAO/STO interface which depends on the sign and magnitude of the field. Our systematic study revealed that these results come from spin dependent transport, by which we obtained quantitative strength of the Rashba effect. The Rashba strength in this system depends on the temperature: it varies from 2.6 x 10(-12) eVm to negligible value in the temperature range of 1.8 K-12 K. This method for detecting Rashba effect covers a wider temperature range in comparison with those obtained from Shubnikov-de Haas oscillation or weak antilocalization measurements.

Magnetic-field-controlled reconfigurable semiconductor logic.

Logic devices based on magnetism show promise for increasing computational efficiency while decreasing consumed power. They offer zero quiescent power and yet combine novel functions such as programmable logic operation and non-volatile built-in memory. However, practical efforts to adapt a magnetic device to logic suffer from a low signal-to-noise ratio and other performance attributes that are not adequate for logic gates. Rather than exploiting magnetoresistive effects that result from spin-dependent transport of carriers, we have approached the development of a magnetic logic device in a different way: we use the phenomenon of large magnetoresistance found in non-magnetic semiconductors in high electric fields. Here we report a device showing a strong diode characteristic that is highly sensitive to both the sign and the magnitude of an external magnetic field, offering a reversible change between two different characteristic states by the application of a magnetic field. This feature results from magnetic control of carrier generation and recombination in an InSb p-n bilayer channel. Simple circuits combining such elementary devices are fabricated and tested, and Boolean logic functions including AND, OR, NAND and NOR are performed. They are programmed dynamically by external electric or magnetic signals, demonstrating magnetic-field-controlled semiconductor reconfigurable logic at room temperature. This magnetic technology permits a new kind of spintronic device, characterized as a current switch rather than a voltage switch, and provides a simple and compact platform for non-volatile reconfigurable logic devices.