A two-dimensional Te/ReS2 van der Waals heterostructure photodetector with high photoresponsivity and fast photoresponse.

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors are the building blocks for high-performance optoelectronic devices. However, the performance of photoconductive photodetectors based on 2D semiconductors is hampered by low photoresponsivity and large dark current. Herein, a van der Waals heterostructure (vdWH) composed of rhenium disulfide (ReS2) and tellurium (Te) is fabricated. The Te/ReS2 vdWH photodetector exhibits a sensitive and broadband photoresponse and has high photoresponse on/off ratios under ultraviolet and visible light illumination, especially over 102 in visible light. The Te/ReS2 vdWH photodetector achieves the responsivity of 7.9 A W-1 at 365 nm, 3.02 A W-1 at 450 nm, 2.37 A W-1 at 532 nm, and 2.45 A W-1 at 660 nm. In addition, the device achieves a high specific detectivity of 1011 Jones and a fast photoresponse speed of 11.9 µs. Such high responsivity could be attributed to the efficient absorption of phonons by the Te/ReS2 vdWH and the high-quality heterostructure interfaces with a small amount of trap states. The highly crystalline structure of Te/ReS2 with a low density of defects reduces the grain boundary scattering, leading to the rapid diffusion of charge carriers. Moreover, the Te/ReS2 vdWH device exhibits a photovoltaic effect and can be employed as a self-powered photodetector (SPPD), which is sensitive to visible light of 450 nm, 532 nm, and 660 nm. Our findings demonstrate that the Te/ReS2 vdWH photodetector is an ideal building block for the next-generation electronic and optoelectronic devices in practical applications.

Revealing the truncated conical geometry of nanochannels in anodic aluminium oxide membranes.

Anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) membranes with self-ordered nanochannels have become promising candidates for applications in the aspects such as structural coloration, photonic crystals, upconversion luminescence and nanofluidic transport. Also, self-ordered AAO membranes have been extensively used for the fabrication of functional nanostructures such as nanowires, nanotubes, nanoparticles, nanorods and nanopillars. Geometries of nanochannels are crucial for the applications of AAO membranes as well as controlling growth (e.g., nucleation, direction and morphology) and in applications (e.g., optics, magnetics, thermoelectrics, biology, medicine, sensing, and energy conversion and storage) of the functional nanostructures fabricated via AAO template-based methods. However, observation of whole nanochannels with nanometer-resolution in thick AAO membranes remains a fundamental challenge, and the nanochannel geometry has not yet been sufficiently elucidated. Here, for the first time, we use depth-profiling transmission electron microscopy to reveal the truncated conical geometry of whole nanochannels of 70 µm in length. Such shape nonuniformity of the nanochannels leads to different reflectance properties of the different depths of the nanochannels along their long axis for one AAO membrane, which suggests that the nonuniformity result in some effects on applications of the nanostructures. Furthermore, we introduce a shape factor to evaluate the shape nonuniformity and demonstrate that the nonuniformity can be remarkably removed by an effective etching method based on a temperature gradient regime.

Near-field coupling and resonant cavity modes in plasmonic nanorod metamaterials.

Plasmonic resonant cavities are capable of confining light at the nanoscale, resulting in both enhanced local electromagnetic fields and lower mode volumes. However, conventional plasmonic resonant cavities possess large Ohmic losses at metal-dielectric interfaces. Plasmonic near-field coupling plays a key role in a design of photonic components based on the resonant cavities because of the possibility to reduce losses. Here, we study the plasmonic near-field coupling in the silver nanorod metamaterials treated as resonant nanostructured optical cavities. Reflectance measurements reveal the existence of multiple resonance modes of the nanorod metamaterials, which is consistent with our theoretical analysis. Furthermore, our numerical simulations show that the electric field at the longitudinal resonances forms standing waves in the nanocavities due to the near-field coupling between the adjacent nanorods, and a new hybrid mode emerges due to a coupling between nanorods and a gold-film substrate. We demonstrate that this coupling can be controlled by changing the gap between the silver nanorod array and gold substrate.

Size and dielectric-environment dependence of transversal resonance modes of localized surface plasmons in silver nanorods.

Tuning transversal resonance modes of localized surface plasmons (LSPs) by the size and the ambient dielectric medium of Ag nanorods is presented. It is found that the resonance wavelength and intensity of the transversal modes of LSPs are closely related to the dimensions of the Ag nanorods embedded in anodic aluminum oxide membranes. The transversal resonance peak exhibits obvious redshifts from 365 to 396 nm with increasing nanorod diameter from 40 to 80 nm, and the resonance intensity remarkably enhances with increasing nanorod diameter. In addition, it is observed that the transversal resonance modes of LSPs in Ag nanorods are strongly sensitive to their surrounding dielectric medium such as water, ethanol, and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, and the transversal resonance peak distinctly redshifts from 422 to 467 nm when the refractive index of the dielectric medium increases from 1.342 to 1.435. As a result, a refractive index sensitivity of up to 484 nm/RIU can be achieved based on the transversal resonance modes. The transverse resonance modes of LSPs in the Ag nanorods can be used for sensitive quantification of chemical and biological species.

High- and Reproducible-Performance Graphene/II-VI Semiconductor Film Hybrid Photodetectors.

High- and reproducible-performance photodetectors are critical to the development of many technologies, which mainly include one-dimensional (1D) nanostructure based and film based photodetectors. The former suffer from a huge performance variation because the performance is quite sensitive to the synthesis microenvironment of 1D nanostructure. Herein, we show that the graphene/semiconductor film hybrid photodetectors not only possess a high performance but also have a reproducible performance. As a demo, the as-produced graphene/ZnS film hybrid photodetector shows a high responsivity of 1.7 × 10(7) A/W and a fast response speed of 50 ms, and shows a highly reproducible performance, in terms of narrow distribution of photocurrent (38-65 µA) and response speed (40-60 ms) for 20 devices. Graphene/ZnSe film and graphene/CdSe film hybrid photodetectors fabricated by this method also show a high and reproducible performance. The general method is compatible with the conventional planar process, and would be easily standardized and thus pay a way for the photodetector applications.

Cathodoluminescence and photoconductive characteristics of single-crystal ternary CdS/CdSe/CdS biaxial nanobelts.

The cathodoluminescence and optoelectronic properties based on an individual CdS/CdSe/CdS biaxial nanobelt are revealed in the present study. Both typical CdS and CdSe emissions are detected from as-grown CdS/CdSe/CdS nanobelts. The photodetector based on this nanobelt exhibits high sensitivity and excellent cycle stability. This opens a door to rational design of germanium chalcogenide compounds with unique optical properties.

Optical properties of Ni and Cu nanowire arrays and Ni/Cu superlattice nanowire arrays.

: In this study, Ni and Cu nanowire arrays and Ni/Cu superlattice nanowire arrays are fabricated using standard techniques such as electrochemical deposition of metals into porous anodic alumina oxide templates having pore diameters of about 50 nm. We perform optical measurements on these nanowire array structures. Optical reflectance (OR) of the as-prepared samples is recorded using an imaging spectrometer in the wavelength range from 400 to 2,000 nm (i.e., from visible to near-infrared bandwidth). The measurements are carried out at temperatures set to be 4.2, 70, 150, and 200 K and at room temperature. We find that the intensity of the OR spectrum for nanowire arrays depends strongly on the temperature. The strongest OR can be observed at about T = 200 K for all samples in visible regime. The OR spectra for these samples show different features in the visible and near-infrared bandwidths. We discuss the physical mechanisms responsible for these interesting experimental findings. This study is relevant to the application of metal nanowire arrays as optical and optoelectronic devices.

An investigation of the electronic properties of MgO doped with group III, IV, and V elements: trends with varying dopant atomic number.

The electronic properties and the trends with varying dopant atomic number of III, IV, and V main group elements in MgO have been investigated using density functional theory. It is found that all of the geometry-optimized systems with the dopant atom replacing O in MgO exhibit half-metallic ferromagnetic properties regardless of metal or non-metal doping, and this agrees well with other theoretical computations. However, because of the high formation energy of metal atoms substituting for O atoms, we have calculated metal atom substitution for the Mg atom in MgO. We found that this system has a paramagnetic state and the formation energy is much lower than that of the former case. Finally, we have performed calculations for MgO doped with an F atom which shows a metallic behavior.

Enhanced separation of seven quinolones by capillary electrophoresis with silica nanoparticles as additive.

This paper describes the enhanced separation of lomefloxacin, sparfloxacin, fleroxacin, norfloxacin, ofloxacin, gatifloxacin and pazufloxacin by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) using silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) as running buffer additive. The impact of SiNPs concentration on the resolution and selectivity of separation was investigated and a given value of SiNPs was finally chosen under the optimum conditions. The addition of the SiNPs to the running buffer enabled electroosmotic flow (EOF) decrease and permitted full interaction between SiNPs and analytes. The influence of separation voltage, pH and buffer concentration on the separation in the presence of SiNPs was examined. Interactions between drugs and nanoparticles during the separation are discussed; the determination of interaction constants is also achieved. A good resolution of seven quinolones was obtained within 15 min in a 50 cm effective length fused-silica capillary at a separation voltage of +10 kV in a 12 mM disodium tetraborate-phosphate buffer (pH 9.08) containing 5.2 microgmL(-1) SiNPs.

Synthesis of Tapered CdS Nanobelts and CdSe Nanowires with Good Optical Property by Hydrogen-Assisted Thermal Evaporation.

The tapered CdS nanobelts and CdSe nanowires were prepared by hydrogen-assisted thermal evaporation method. Different supersaturation leads to two different kinds of 1D nanostructures. The PL measurements recorded from the as-prepared tapered CdS nanobelts and CdSe nanowires show only a bandgap emission with relatively narrow full-width half maximum, which means that they possess good optical property. The as-synthesized high-quality tapered CdS nanobelts and CdSe nanowires may be excellent building blocks for photonic devices.