Van der Waals Magnetic Electrode Transfer for Two-Dimensional Spintronic Devices.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials are promising candidates for spintronic applications. Maintaining their atomically smooth interfaces during integration of ferromagnetic (FM) electrodes is crucial since conventional metal deposition tends to induce defects at the interfaces. Meanwhile, the difficulties in picking up FM metals with strong adhesion and in achieving conductance match between FM electrodes and spin transport channels make it challenging to fabricate high-quality 2D spintronic devices using metal transfer techniques. Here, we report a solvent-free magnetic electrode transfer technique that employs a graphene layer to assist in the transfer of FM metals. It also serves as part of the FM electrode after transfer for optimizing spin injection, which enables the realization of spin valves with excellent performance based on various 2D materials. In addition to two-terminal devices, we demonstrate that the technique is applicable for four-terminal spin valves with nonlocal geometry. Our results provide a promising future of realizing 2D spintronic applications using the developed magnetic electrode transfer technique.

AuAg Bimetallic Non-Alloyed Nanoparticles on SiO2 Spacer Layer for Improved Light Absorption in Thin-Film c-Si Solar Cells.

We present a light trapping structure consisting of gold and silver (AuAg) bimetallic non-alloyed nanoparticles (BNNPs) on a silicon dioxide (SiO2) spacer layer over crystalline silicon (c-Si) film, designed to improve the absorption of thin-film c-Si solar cells. Prior to fabrication of the AuAg BNNPs on the SiO2 spacer layer, numerical investigations were carried out using electromagnetic field simulation following the finite-difference time-domain method. The hemispherical Au8Ag8 BNNPs were fabricated and deposited on a 15 nm-thick SiO2 spacer layer, which enhanced light trapping in the c-Si film over a broad wavelength range (450-1100 nm). Specifically, more than 85% of the incident light was absorbed in the c-Si film at 620 nm wavelengths due to the strong scattering of the Au8Ag8 BNNPs. To the best of our knowledge this is the first case presenting such a theoretical calculation and experimental study of the efficient light trapping by AuAg BNNPs on space layer for increasing the absorption in thin-film c-Si solar cells.

Open architecture time of flight 3D SWIR camera operating at 150 MHz modulation frequency.

In the past two decades 3-D cameras have proven to be one of the next revolutions in machine vision. However, these devices are still an emerging technology with a particularly narrow set of commercially available devices. In this paper, the concept and execution of the first short wavelength infrared (SWIR) time-of-flight (ToF) 3-D camera system operating at a wavelength of 1550 nm is presented. By decoupling the optical and electrical components of the system in an open architecture we not only surpass many of the limitations of an on-chip integrated solution, but also can easily change the imaging device based on the requirements of the application. We achieve modulation frequencies up to 150 MHz, which exceeds the conventional values currently published for other large format modulators by about five times. This increase in the modulation frequency allows for a TOF camera with significantly higher depth resolution, while the open architecture design allows for a highly reconfigurable device that can be modified for specific working conditions.

Light trapping enhancement induced by bimetallic non-alloyed nanoparticles on a disordered subwavelength flexible thin film crystalline silicon substrate using metal-assisted chemical etching.

We report the application of gold and silver (AuAg) bimetallic non-alloyed nanoparticles (BNNPs) on disordered subwavelength structures (d-SWSs). The combined advantages of the plasmonic structures and d-SWSs improved the light trapping performance of flexible thin film crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells. Antireflective d-SWSs were fabricated using spin-coated Ag ink and subsequent metal-assisted chemical etching, which reduced the ion-induced surface damage produced by the dry etching process. The dimensions of the d-SWSs were finely tuned by adjusting the Ag ink ratio. Au8Ag8 BNNPs were employed on optimized d-SWSs to achieve low reflectance at broadband wavelengths. The Au8Ag8 BNNPs on the d-SWSs showed 180% and 145% enhanced absorption compared to bare c-Si film and Au8Ag8 BNNPs on c-Si film, respectively, in the wavelength range of 300-1100 nm. After 200 cycles of bending the antireflection of the structures remained similar to the original level. This study introduces new approaches for light management in flexible thin film c-Si solar cells over the broadband wavelength range.

Bi-SERS sensing and enhancement by Au-Ag bimetallic non-alloyed nanoparticles on amorphous and crystalline silicon substrate.

We have demonstrated Au-Ag bimetallic non-alloy nanoparticles (BNNPs) on thin a-Si film and c-Si substrate for high SERS enhancement, low cost, high sensitivity and reproducible SERS substrate with bi-SERS sensing properties where two different SERS peak for Au NPs and Ag NPs are observed on single SERS substrate. The isolated Au-Ag bimetallic NPs, with uniform size and spacing distribution, are suitable for uniform high density hotspot SERS enhancement. The SERS enhancement factor of Au-Ag BNNPs is 2.9 times higher compared to Ag NPs on similar substrates due to the increase of the localized surface plasmon resonance effect. However there is a decrement of SERS peak intensity at specific wavenumbers when the surrounding refractive index increases due to out-phase hybridization of Au NPs. The distinct changes of the two different SERS peaks on single Au-Ag BNNPs SERS substrate due to Au and Ag NPs independently show possible application for bi-molecular sensing.

AuAg bimetallic nonalloyed nanoparticles on a periodically nanostructured GaAs substrate for enhancing light trapping.

We present a light trapping structure consisting of AuAg bimetallic nonalloyed nanoparticles (BNNPs) on cone-shaped GaAs subwavelength structures (SWSs), combining the advantages of plasmonic structures and SWSs for GaAs-based solar cell applications. To obtain efficient light trapping in solar cells, the optical properties' dependence on the size and composition of the Ag and Au metal nanoparticles was systematically investigated. Cone-shaped GaAs SWSs with AuAg BNNPs formed from an Au film of 12 nm and an Ag film of 10 nm exhibited the extremely low average reflectance (R(avg)) of 2.43% and the solar-weighted reflectance (SWR) of 2.38%, compared to that of a bare GaAs substrate (R(avg), 37.50%; SWR, 36.72%) in the wavelength range of 300 to 870 nm.

Optical absorption enhancement of hybrid-plasmonic-based metal-semiconductor-metal photodetector incorporating metal nanogratings and embedded metal nanoparticles.

We propose and numerically demonstrate a high absorption hybrid-plasmonic-based metal semiconductor metal photodetector (MSM-PD) comprising metal nanogratings, a subwavelength slit and amorphous silicon or germanium embedded metal nanoparticles (NPs). Simulation results show that by optimizing the metal nanograting parameters, the subwavelength slit and the embedded metal NPs, a 1.3 order of magnitude increase in electric field is attained, leading to 28-fold absorption enhancement, in comparison with conventional MSM-PD structures. This is 3.5 times better than the absorption of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) based MSM-PD structures employing metal nanogratings and a subwavelength slit. This absorption enhancement is due to the ability of the embedded metal NPs to enhance their optical absorption and scattering properties through light-stimulated resonance aided by the conduction electrons of the NPs.

High-efficiency light-trapping effect using silver nanoparticles on thin amorphous silicon subwavelength structure.

In this Letter, we experimentally demonstrate a hybrid structure consisting of metal nanoparticles deposited onto a subwavelength structure (SWS), which further increases the absorption of thin amorphous silicon (a-Si) and can possibly lead to a reduction in the minimum required thickness of the a-Si layer. Experimental results show that backscattering of the silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) deposited on the top surface can be suppressed dramatically (by 85.5%) by the Ag NPs deposited on the SWS. We also experimentally prove that the thin a-Si SWS only lowers the surface reflectivity and does not increase the absorption rate of the material. The absorption of the thin a-Si layer can be increased by depositing Ag NPs onto a thin a-Si SWS, which not only reduces the backscattering of the metal NPs but also increases the light-trapping effect within thin a-Si through localized surface plasmon resonance properties. This decrease of reflection and increase in the light-trapping effect of Ag NPs on cone-shaped thin a-Si SWSs leads to extremely high average absorption (86.14%) within a 400 nm thick a-Si layer.

Modifying the Power and Performance of 2-Dimensional MoS2 Field Effect Transistors.

Over the past 60 years, the semiconductor industry has been the core driver for the development of information technology, contributing to the birth of integrated circuits, Internet, artificial intelligence, and Internet of Things. Semiconductor technology has been evolving in structure and material with co-optimization of performance-power-area-cost until the state-of-the-art sub-5-nm node. Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors are recognized by the industry and academia as a hopeful solution to break through the quantum confinement for the future technology nodes. In the recent 10 years, the key issues on 2D semiconductors regarding material, processing, and integration have been overcome in sequence, making 2D semiconductors already on the verge of application. In this paper, the evolution of transistors is reviewed by outlining the potential of 2D semiconductors as a technological option beyond the scaled metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors. We mainly focus on the optimization strategies of mobility (µ), equivalent oxide thickness (EOT), and contact resistance (RC ), which enables high ON current (Ion ) with reduced driving voltage (Vdd ). Finally, we prospect the semiconductor technology roadmap by summarizing the technological development of 2D semiconductors over the past decade.

Localized surface plasmon resonance with broadband ultralow reflectivity from metal nanoparticles on glass and silicon subwavelength structures.

Metal nanoparticles (NPs) are well known to increase the efficiency of photovoltaic devices by reducing reflection and increasing light trapping within device. However, metal NPs on top flat surface suffer from high reflectivity losses due to the backscattering of the NPs itself. In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate a novel structure that exhibits localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) along with broadband ultralow reflectivity over a wide range of wavelength. Experimental results show that by depositing Ag NPs and Au NPs onto glass subwavelength structures (SWS) the backscattering effect of NPs can be suppressed, and the reflections can be considerably reduced by up to 87.5% and 66.7% respectively, compared to NPs fabricated on a flat glass substrate. Broadband ultralow reflection (< 2%) is also observed in the case of Ag NPs and Au NPs fabricated on cone shaped SWS silicon substrate over a wavelength range from 200 nm to 800 nm. This broadband ultralow reflectivity of Ag NPs and Au NPs on silicon SWS structure leads to a substantial enhancement of average absorption by 66.53% and 66.94%, respectively, over a broad wavelength range (200-2000 nm). This allows light absorption by NPs on SWS silicon structure close to 100% over a wavelength range from 300 nm to 1000 nm. The mechanism responsible for the increased light absorption is also explained.

Plasmon-enhanced reduced graphene oxide photodetector with monometallic of Au and Ag nanoparticles at VIS-NIR region.

Hybrids plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) and unique 2D graphene significantly enhanced the photoresponse of the photodetectors. The metallic NPs that exhibit localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) improves strong light absorption, scattering and localized electromagnetic field by the incident photons depending on the optimum condition of NPs. We report high-performance photodetectors based on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) integrated with monometallic of Au and Ag nanoparticles via a familiar fabrication technique using an electron beam evaporation machine. Under 680 nm illumination of light, our rGO photodetector exhibited the highest performance for Au-rGO with the highest responsivity of 67.46 AW-1 and the highest specific detectivity (2.39 × 1013 Jones). Meanwhile, Ag-rGO achieved the highest responsivity of 17.23 AW-1, specific detectivity (7.17 × 1011 Jones) at 785 nm. The response time are 0.146 µs and 0.135 µs for Au-rGO and Ag-rGO respectively for both wavelengths. The proposed photodetector with combining monometallic and graphene provide a new strategy to construct reliable and next-generation optoelectronic devices at VIS-NIR region.

Engineering the gain-bandwidth product of phototransistor diodes.

In recent years, phototransistors have considerably expanded their field of application, including for instance heterodyne detection and optical interconnects. Unlike in low-light imaging, some of these applications require fast photodetectors that can operate in relatively high light levels. Since the gain and bandwidth of phototransistors are not constant across different optical powers, the devices that have been optimized for operation in low light level cannot effectively be employed in different technological applications. We present an extensive study of the gain and bandwidth of short-wavelength infrared phototransistors as a function of optical power level for three device architectures that we designed and fabricated. The gain of the photodetectors is found to increase with increasing carrier injection. Based on a Shockley-Read-Hall recombination model, we show that this is due to the saturation of recombination centers in the phototransistor base layer. Eventually, at a higher light level, the gain drops, due to the Kirk effect. As a result of these opposing mechanisms, the gain-bandwidth product is peaked at a given power level, which depends on the device design and material parameters, such as doping and defect density. Guided by this physical understanding, we design and demonstrate a phototransistor which is capable of reaching a high gain-bandwidth product for high-speed applications. The proposed design criteria can be employed in conjunction with the engineering of the device size to achieve a wide tunability of the gain and bandwidth, hence paving the way toward fast photodetectors for applications with different light levels.

Bimetallic non-alloyed NPs for improving the broadband optical absorption of thin amorphous silicon substrates.

We propose the use of bimetallic non-alloyed nanoparticles (BNNPs) to improve the broadband optical absorption of thin amorphous silicon substrates. Isolated bimetallic NPs with uniform size distribution on glass and silicon are obtained by depositing a 10-nm Au film and annealing it at 600°C; this is followed by an 8-nm Ag film annealed at 400°C. We experimentally demonstrate that the deposition of gold (Au)-silver (Ag) bimetallic non-alloyed NPs (BNNPs) on a thin amorphous silicon (a-Si) film increases the film's average absorption and forward scattering over a broad spectrum, thus significantly reducing its total reflection performance. Experimental results show that Au-Ag BNNPs fabricated on a glass substrate exhibit resonant peaks at 437 and 540 nm and a 14-fold increase in average forward scattering over the wavelength range of 300 to 1,100 nm in comparison with bare glass. When deposited on a 100-nm-thin a-Si film, Au-Ag BNNPs increase the average absorption and forward scattering by 19.6% and 95.9% compared to those values for Au NPs on thin a-Si and plain a-Si without MNPs, respectively, over the 300- to 1,100-nm range.