High-performance and -stability graphene quantum dots-mixed conducting polymer/porous Si hybrid solar cells with titanium oxide passivation layer.

Recently, conducting polymer/Si hybrid solar cells (HSCs) based on simple fabrication processes have become highly attractive due to their low cost, but low conductivity of the polymer, high reflection index of Si, and large recombination loss on the Si back contact are major drawbacks that should be solved for the practical applications. Here, we first report HSCs composed of graphene quantum dots (GQDs)-mixed poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT:GQDs)/ porous Si (PSi)/n-Si/titanium oxide (TiO x , back passivation layer). Maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10.49% is obtained from the HSCs at an active area of 5 mm2, resulting from the enhanced conductivity of the PEDOT:GQDs, the reduced reflectivity of Si (the increased absorption) by the formation of PSi, and the prevented recombination loss at the Si backside due to the passivation. In addition, the HSCs of 16 mm2 active area maintain ∼78% (absolutely from 8.03% to 6.28%) of the initial PCE even while kept under ambient conditions for 15 d.

Optical Sensing Properties of ZnO Nanoparticles Prepared by Spray Pyrolysis.

We studied the optical sensing properties of ZnO nanoparticles prepared by spray pyrolysis. To investigate their optical sensing performance, we incubated peptides on ZnO nanoparticles. The photoluminescence (PL) peak intensity of peptides on the ZnO nanoparticles was higher than that of peptides on the ZnO film or on the glass plate. This observed PL enhancement is attributed to the optical confinement of ZnO nanoparticles. The low-temperature spectra displayed a strong exciton emission peak with multiple sidebands, attributed to the bound exciton and its longitudinal optical phonon sidebands. The strong exciton emission is thought to be the combined effect of optical confinement due to the nanoparticle geometry, reduction of defect emission by thermal annealing, and reduction of non-radiative relaxation at low temperatures.

Highly-flexible perovskite photodiodes employing doped multilayer-graphene transparent conductive electrodes.

We first report highly-flexible perovskite photodiodes, using AuCl3-doped multilayer-graphene transparent conducting electrodes. The doping effect of the AuCl3 is more effective when the number of layers (L n ) = 1 and 2 rather than 3 and 4, as analyzed by Raman scattering and sheet resistance. The photodiodes optimized at L n  = 2 exhibit a 105 photo-/dark-current ratio, 0.4 AW-1 responsivity, 80% external quantum efficiency, 5.3 × 1010 cm Hz1/2/W detectivity, 90 dB linear dynamic range, and ∼1.1 µs response time. In addition, the photodiodes show excellent bending stabilities, maintaining a responsivity at about 70% of its initial value, even after 1000 bending cycles at a bending curvature of 4 mm.

Strong enhancement of emission efficiency in GaN light-emitting diodes by plasmon-coupled light amplification of graphene.

Recently, we have demonstrated that excitation of plasmon-polaritons in a mechanically-derived graphene sheet on the top of a ZnO semiconductor considerably enhances its light emission efficiency. If this scheme is also applied to device structures, it is then expected that the energy efficiency of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) increases substantially and the commercial potential will be enormous. Here, we report that the plasmon-induced light coupling amplifies emitted light by ∼1.6 times in doped large-area chemical-vapor-deposition-grown graphene, which is useful for practical applications. This coupling behavior also appears in GaN-based LEDs. With AuCl3-doped graphene on Ga-doped ZnO films that is used as transparent conducting electrodes for the LEDs, the average electroluminescence intensity is 1.2-1.7 times enhanced depending on the injection current. The chemical doping of graphene may produce the inhomogeneity in charge densities (i.e., electron/hole puddles) or roughness, which can play a role as grating couplers, resulting in such strong plasmon-enhanced light amplification. Based on theoretical calculations, the plasmon-coupled behavior is rigorously explained and a method of controlling its resonance condition is proposed.

Highly-stable and -flexible graphene/(CF3SO2)2NH/graphene transparent conductive electrodes for organic solar cells.

We first employ highly-stable and -flexible (CF3SO2)2NH-doped graphene (TFSA/GR) and GR-encapsulated TFSA/GR (GR/TFSA/GR) transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs) prepared on polyethylene terephthalate substrates for flexible organic solar cells (OSCs). Compared to conventional indium tin oxide (ITO) TCEs, the TFSA-doped-GR TCEs show higher optical transmittance and larger sheet resistance. The TFSA/GR and GR/TFSA/GR TCEs show work functions of 4.89 ± 0.16 and 4.97 ± 0.18 eV, respectively, which are not only larger than those of the ITO TCEs but also indicate p-type doping of GR, and are therefore more suitable for anode TCEs of OSCs. In addition, typical GR/TFSA/GR-TCE OSCs are much more mechanically flexible than the ITO-TCE ones with their photovoltaic parameters being similar, as proved by bending tests as functions of cycle and curvature.

Resonance effects in thickness-dependent ultrafast carrier and phonon dynamics of topological insulator Bi2Se3.

Resonance effects in the thickness-dependent ultrafast carrier and phonon dynamics of topological insulator Bi2Se3 are found irrespective of the kind of substrate by measuring thickness-dependent abrupt changes of pump-probe differential-reflectivity signals (ΔR/R) from Bi2Se3 thin films on four different substrates of poly- and single-crystalline (sc-) ZnO, sc-GaN and SiO2. The absolute peak intensity of the ΔR/R is maximized at ∼t C (6 ∼ 9 quintuple layers), which is not directly related to but is very close to the critical thickness below which the energy gap opens. The intensities of the two phonon modes deduced from the oscillatory behaviors superimposed on the ΔR/R profiles are also peaked at ∼t C for the four kinds of substrates, consistent with the thickness-dependent Raman-scattering behaviors. These resonant effects and others are discussed based on possible physical mechanisms including the effects of three-dimensional carrier depletion and intersurface coupling.

Enhancement of the effectiveness of graphene as a transparent conductive electrode by AgNO3 doping.

Single-layer graphene sheets have been synthesized by using chemical vapor deposition, and subsequently doped with AgNO3 at various doping concentrations (n(D)) from 5 to 50 mM. Atomic force microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy images reveal the formation of ∼10-100 nm Ag particles on the graphene surface after doping. The type of n doping is confirmed by analyzing the n(D)-dependent behaviors of Raman scattering and the work function of the doped graphene films. The sheet resistance monotonically decreases to ∼173 Ω/sq with the increase of n(D) to 50 mM, and the transmittance is reduced by only about 3% for the highest n(D). At n(D) = 10 mM optimized doped graphene layers with a sheet resistance of 202 Ω/sq and a transmittance of 96% are obtained, resulting in a maximum DC conductivity/optical conductivity ratio (σ(DC)/σ(OP)) of ∼45.5, much larger than the minimum industry standard (σ(DC)/σ(OP) = ∼35) for transparent conductive electrodes.

Graphene-quantum-dot nonvolatile charge-trap flash memories.

Nonvolatile flash-memory capacitors containing graphene quantum dots (GQDs) of 6, 12, and 27 nm average sizes (d) between SiO2 layers for use as charge traps have been prepared by sequential processes: ion-beam sputtering deposition (IBSD) of 10 nm SiO2 on a p-type wafer, spin-coating of GQDs on the SiO2 layer, and IBSD of 20 nm SiO2 on the GQD layer. The presence of almost a single array of GQDs at a distance of ∼13 nm from the SiO2/Si wafer interface is confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and photoluminescence. The memory window estimated by capacitance-voltage curves is proportional to d for sweep voltages wider than  ± 3 V, and for d = 27 nm the GQD memories show a maximum memory window of 8 V at a sweep voltage of  ± 10 V. The program and erase speeds are largest at d = 12 and 27 nm, respectively, and the endurance and data-retention properties are the best at d = 27 nm. These memory behaviors can be attributed to combined effects of edge state and quantum confinement.

Rapid-thermal-annealing surface treatment for restoring the intrinsic properties of graphene field-effect transistors.

Graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) were fabricated by photolithography and lift-off processes, and subsequently heated in a rapid-thermal-annealing (RTA) apparatus at temperatures (T(A)) from 200 to 400 °C for 10 min under nitrogen to eliminate the residues adsorbed on the graphene during the GFET fabrication processes. Raman-scattering, current-voltage (I-V), and sheet resistance measurements showed that, after annealing at 250 °C, graphene in GFETs regained its intrinsic properties, such as very small intensity ratios of D to G and G to 2D Raman bands, a symmetric I-V curve with respect to ~0 V, and very low sheet resistance. Atomic force microscopy images and height profiles also showed that the surface roughness of graphene was almost minimized at T(A) = 250 °C. By annealing at 250 °C, the electron and hole mobilities reached their maxima of 4587 and 4605 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1), respectively, the highest ever reported for chemical-vapor-deposition-grown graphene. Annealing was also performed under vacuum or hydrogen, but this was not so effective as under nitrogen. These results suggest that the RTA technique is very useful for eliminating the surface residues of graphene in GFETs, in that it employs a relatively low thermal budget of 250 °C and 10 min.

Identification of ß-Glucosidase Activity of Lentilactobacillus buchneri URN103L and Its Potential to Convert Ginsenoside Rb1 from Panax ginseng.

Lentilactobacillus buchneri isolated from Korean fermented plant foods produces ß-glucosidase, which can hydrolyze ginsenoside Rb1 from Panax ginseng to yield ginsenoside Rd. The aim of this study was to determine the mechanisms underlying the extracellular ß-glucosidase activity obtained from Lentilactobacillus buchneri URN103L. Among the 17 types of lactic acid bacteria showing positive ß-glucosidase activity in the esculin iron agar test, only URN103L was found to exhibit high hydrolytic activity on ginsenoside Rb1. The strain showed 99% homology with Lentilactobacillus buchneri NRRLB 30929, whereby it was named Lentilactobacillus buchneri URN103L. Supernatants of selected cultures with ß-glucosidase activity were examined for hydrolysis of the major ginsenoside Rb1 at 40 °C, pH 5.0. Furthermore, the ß-glucosidase activity of this strain showed a distinct ability to hydrolyze major ginsenoside Rb1 into minor ginsenosides Rd and Rg3. Lentilactobacillus buchneri URN103L showed higher leucine arylamidase, valine arylamidase, α-galactosidass, ß-galactosidase, and ß-glucosidase activities than any other strain. We conclude that ß-glucosidase from Lentilactobacillus buchneri URN103L can effectively hydrolyze ginsenoside Rb1 into Rd and Rg3. The converted ginsenoside can be used in functional foods, yogurts, beverage products, cosmetics, and other health products.

Size- and doping-dependent time-resolved photoluminescence of doped Si nanocrystals.

Time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) has been studied for B- and Sb-doped Si nanocrystals (NCs) fabricated by ion beam sputtering and annealing. For B-doped Si NCs, the PL intensity as well as the PL lifetime (τPL) increases as NC size (d) varies from 1.5 to 2.6 nm, similar to the case for undoped Si NCs, but with further increase of d, they decrease, possibly resulting from the increase of optically less active NCs with the increase of NCs containing more dopants. The PL intensity and τPL monotonically decrease with increasing doping concentration (nD), irrespective of doping element. Si NCs show smaller τPL in B doping than in Sb doping over the full range of nD. The sharp decrease in PL intensity, accompanied by the gradual decrease in τPL for the higher nD of Sb, may be attributed to Auger recombination due to the presence of Sb inside Si NCs. The higher PL quench rate by Sb compared to B could be attributed to better ionization of Sb dopants in Si NCs.

Active doping of B in silicon nanostructures and development of a Si quantum dot solar cell.

Active doping of B was observed in nanometer silicon layers confined in SiO(2) layers by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) depth profiling analysis and confirmed by Hall effect measurements. The uniformly distributed boron atoms in the B-doped silicon layers of [SiO(2) (8 nm)/B-doped Si(10 nm)](5) films turned out to be segregated into the Si/SiO(2) interfaces and the Si bulk, forming a distinct bimodal distribution by annealing at high temperature. B atoms in the Si layers were found to preferentially substitute inactive three-fold Si atoms in the grain boundaries and then substitute the four-fold Si atoms to achieve electrically active doping. As a result, active doping of B is initiated at high doping concentrations above 1.1 × 10(20) atoms cm( - 3) and high active doping of 3 × 10(20) atoms cm( - 3) could be achieved. The active doping in ultra-thin Si layers was implemented for silicon quantum dots (QDs) to realize a Si QD solar cell. A high energy-conversion efficiency of 13.4% was realized from a p-type Si QD solar cell with B concentration of 4 × 10(20) atoms cm( - 3).

Nonvolatile floating-gate memories using Zr and ZrO2 nanodots.

Triple-layer structures of SiO2/Zr nanodots (NDs)/SiO2 for nonvolatile memories have been firstly fabricated at room temperature by using ion beam sputtering deposition (IBSD). High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrate that Zr NDs self-assembled between the SiO2 layers by IBSD are changed into ZrO2 NDs by annealing. The memory window that is estimated by capacitance-voltage curves increases up to a maximum value of 5.8 V with increasing Zr amount up to 6 monolayers for the annealed samples. The memory window and the charge-loss rate at the programmed state are smaller before annealing, which is explained with reference to double oxide barriers of SiO2 and ZrO2.

Plasmon-enhanced ultraviolet photoluminescence from hybrid structures of graphene/ZnO films.

We report substantially enhanced photoluminescence (PL) from hybrid structures of graphene/ZnO films at a band gap energy of ZnO (∼3.3 eV/376 nm). Despite the well-known constant optical conductivity of graphene in the visible-frequency regime, its abnormally strong absorption in the violet-frequency region has recently been reported. In this Letter, we demonstrate that the resonant excitation of graphene plasmon is responsible for such absorption and eventually contributes to enhanced photoemission from structures of graphene/ZnO films when the corrugation of the ZnO surface modulates photons emitted from ZnO to fulfill the dispersion relation of graphene plasmon. These arguments are strongly supported by PL enhancements depending on the spacer thickness, measurement temperature, and annealing temperature, and the micro-PL mapping images obtained from separate graphene layers on ZnO films.

Control of amorphous silica nanowire growth by oxygen content of Si-rich oxide.

Ni-coated Si-rich oxide (SRO, SiO(x)) on a p-type Si wafer has been annealed with Si powder to grow silica nanowires (NWs), which have a composition of stoichiometric SiO(2), irrespective of x. The diameters of the NWs are well controlled from 82 to 23 nm by increasing x from 0.4 to 1.2 and they have a uniform distribution at a fixed x. These results suggest that the oxygen content (x) plays a crucial role in determining the diameter of the NWs at the early stage of the NW formation. The growth behaviors of the NWs are explained well based on a modified vapor-liquid-solid mechanism.

Enhanced Flexibility and Stability in Perovskite Photodiode-Solar Cell Nanosystem Using MoS2 Electron-Transport Layer.

Hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites and MoS2 are highly attractive as emerging materials for various kinds of optoelectronic devices. Here, we first report perovskite photodiode-solar cell nanosystems (PPSNs) by employing bilayer (BL) MoS2 and triethylenetetramine-doped graphene (TETA-GR) as the electron-transport layer (ETL) and transparent conductive electrode (TCE), respectively. The rigid/flexible PPSNs exhibit 0.42/0.40 AW-1 responsivity (R), 37.2/80.1 pW Hz-1/2 noise equivalent power, 1.1 × 1010/5.0 × 109 cm Hz1/2 W-1 specific detectivity at a zero-bias photodiode mode (i.e., self-power operation), similar to or even greater than those of previous reports, and 14.27/12.12% power conversion efficiency at a photovoltaic mode. The PPSNs show high long-term stabilities by maintaining more than 78% of the initial R for 30 days. The flexible PPSNs maintain about 80% of the original R during 1000 bending tests at 4 mm radius of curvature, indicating excellent mechanical properties. These high performances result from the enhanced TCE properties, well-matched band offsets at the cathode/ETL/active layer interfaces, and the reduced carrier recombination/charge-transfer resistance by the use of TETA-GR TCE and BL-MoS2 ETL.

InAs on GaAs Photodetectors Using Thin InAlAs Graded Buffers and Their Application to Exceeding Short-Wave Infrared Imaging at 300 K.

Short-wave infrared (SWIR) detectors and emitters have a high potential value in several fields of applications, including the internet of things (IoT) and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), gas sensing. Indium Gallium Arsenide (InGaAs) photodetectors are widely used in the SWIR region of 1-3 µm; however, they only capture a part of the region due to a cut-off wavelength of 1.7 µm. This study presents an InAs p-i-n photodetector grown on a GaAs substrate (001) by inserting 730-nm thick InxAl1-xAs graded and AlAs buffer layers between the InAs layer and the GaAs substrate. At room temperature, the fabricated InAs photodetector operated in an infrared range of approximately 1.5-4 µm and its detectivity (D*) was 1.65 × 108 cm · Hz1/2 · W-1 at 3.3 µm. To demonstrate performance, the Sherlock Holmes mapping images were obtained using the photodetector at room temperature.

Graphene-Based Semiconductor Heterostructures for Photodetectors.

Graphene transparent conductive electrodes are highly attractive for photodetector (PD) applications due to their excellent electrical and optical properties. The emergence of graphene/semiconductor hybrid heterostructures provides a platform useful for fabricating high-performance optoelectronic devices, thereby overcoming the inherent limitations of graphene. Here, we review the studies of PDs based on graphene/semiconductor hybrid heterostructures, including device physics/design, performance, and process technologies for the optimization of PDs. In the last section, existing technologies and future challenges for PD applications of graphene/semiconductor hybrid heterostructures are discussed.

Semitransparent Flexible Organic Solar Cells Employing Doped-Graphene Layers as Anode and Cathode Electrodes.

Semitransparent flexible photovoltaic cells are advantageous for effective use of solar energy in many areas such as building-integrated solar-power generation and portable photovoltaic chargers. We report semitransparent and flexible organic solar cells (FOSCs) with high aperture, composed of doped graphene layers, ZnO, P3HT:PCBM, and PEDOT:PSS as anode/cathode transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs), electron transport layer, photoactive layer, and hole transport layer, respectively, fabricated based on simple solution processing. The FOSCs do not only harvest solar energy from ultraviolet-visible region but are also less sensitive to near-infrared photons, indicating semitransparency. For the anode/cathode TCEs, graphene is doped with bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)-amide or triethylene tetramine, respectively. Power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.12% is obtained from the fundamental FOSC structure, and the PCE is further enhanced to 4.23% by adding an Al reflective mirror on the top or bottom side of the FOSCs. The FOSCs also exhibit remarkable mechanical flexibilities through bending tests for various curvature radii.

High-Quality 100 nm Thick InSb Films Grown on GaAs(001) Substrates with an In x Al1-x Sb Continuously Graded Buffer Layer.

In this paper, we report the growth of a high-quality 100 nm thick InSb layer on a (001) GaAs substrate for InSb-based high-speed electronic device applications. A continuously graded buffer (CGB) technique with In x Al1-x Sb was used to grow high-quality InSb films on GaAs substrates. The CGB layer was grown by continuously changing the growth temperature and composition of the aluminum and indium during the growth of the buffer layer. Degradation of electrical properties, which normally accompany carrier-defect scattering in a heteroepitaxial layer, was minimized by using the CGB layer. The electrical properties of the InSb films were characterized by Hall measurements, and the electron mobility of the 100 nm-thick InSb film had the largest value, of 39 290 cm2/V·s, among reports of similar thickness. To investigate the relationship between electrical and structural properties, the 100 nm thick InSb film was characterized by energy-dispersive spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy.