Single-mode solarization-free hollow-core fiber for ultraviolet pulse delivery.

In this paper, we report anti-resonant silica hollow-core fibers (AR-HCFs) for solarization-free ultraviolet (UV) pulse transmission. The new fibers reported have lower attenuation than any previous HCFs for this spectral range. We report a single fiber that guides over a part of the UV-C and the whole of the UV-A spectral regions in adjacent transmission bands. A second AR-HCF is used for delivery of 17 nanosecond laser pulses at 266 nm at 30 kHz repetition rate. The fiber maintained a constant transmission, free of silica fluorescence and solarization-induced fiber degradation while delivering 0.46 µJ pulses for a period of over one hour. By direct comparison, we demonstrate that the single-mode AR-HCF significantly outperforms commercially-available high-OH and solarization-resistant silica multimode fibers for pulsed light delivery in this spectral range.

Femtosecond Laser-Induced Crystallization of Amorphous Silicon Thin Films under a Thin Molybdenum Layer.

A new process to crystallize amorphous silicon without melting and the generation of excessive heating of nearby components is presented. We propose the addition of a molybdenum layer to improve the quality of the laser-induced crystallization over that achieved by direct irradiation of silicon alone. The advantages are that it allows the control of crystallite size by varying the applied fluence of a near-infrared femtosecond laser. It offers two fluence regimes for nanocrystallization and polycrystallization with small and large crystallite sizes, respectively. The high repetition rate of the compact femtosecond laser source enables high-quality crystallization over large areas. In this proposed method, a multilayer structure is irradiated with a single femtosecond laser pulse. The multilayer structure includes a substrate, a target amorphous Si layer coated with an additional molybdenum thin film. The Si layer is crystallized by irradiating the Mo layer at different fluence regimes. The transfer of energy from the irradiated Mo layer to the Si film causes the crystallization of amorphous Si at low temperatures (∼700 K). Numerical simulations were carried out to estimate the electron and lattice temperatures for different fluence regimes using a two-temperature model. The roles of direct phonon transport and inelastic electron scattering at the Mo-Si interface were considered in the transfer of energy from the Mo to the Si film. The simulations confirm the experimental evidence that amorphous Si was crystallized in an all-solid-state process at temperatures lower than the melting point of Si, which is consistent with the results from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman. The formation of crystallized Si with controlled crystallite size after laser treatment can lead to longer mean free paths for carriers and increased electrical conductivity.

Laser-Deposited Carbon Aerogel Derived from Graphene Oxide Enables NO2-Selective Parts-per-Billion Sensing.

Laser-deposited carbon aerogel is a low-density porous network of carbon clusters synthesized using a laser process. A one-step synthesis, involving deposition and annealing, results in the formation of a thin porous conductive film which can be applied as a chemiresistor. This material is sensitive to NO2 compared to ammonia and other volatile organic compounds and is able to detect ultra-low concentrations down to at least 10 parts-per-billion. The sensing mechanism, based on the solubility of NO2 in the water layer adsorbed on the aerogel, increases the usability of the sensor in practically relevant ambient environments. A heating step, achieved in tandem with a microheater, allows the recovery to the baseline, making it operable in real world environments. This, in combination with its low cost and scalable production, makes it promising for Internet-of-Things air quality monitoring.

Edge-Selective Gas Detection Using Langmuir Films of Graphene Platelets.

Recent advances in the large-scale production of graphene have led to the availability of solution-processable platelets on the commercial scale. Langmuir-Schaefer deposition is a scalable process for forming a percolating film of graphene platelets, which can be used for electronic gas sensing. Here, we demonstrate the use of this deposition method to produce functional gas sensors, using a chemiresistor structure from commercially available graphene dispersions. The sensitivity of the devices and the repeatability of the electrical response upon gas exposure have been characterized. Raman spectroscopy and Kelvin probe force microscopy show doping of the basal plane using ammonia (n-dopant) and acetone (p-dopant). The resistive signal is increased upon exposure to both gases, showing that sensing originates from the change in the contact resistance between nanosheets. We demonstrate that Arrhenius fitting of desorption response potentially allows measurements of desorption process activation energies for gas molecules adsorbed onto the graphene nanosheets.

Carbon Nanofoam Supercapacitor Electrodes with Enhanced Performance Using a Water-Transfer Process.

Carbon nanofoam (CNF) is a highly porous, amorphous carbon nanomaterial that can be produced through the interaction of a high-fluence laser and a carbon-based target material. The morphology and electrical properties of CNF make it an ideal candidate for supercapacitor applications. In this paper, we prepare and characterize CNF supercapacitor electrodes through two different processes, namely, a direct process and a water-transfer process. We elucidate the influence of the production process on the microstructural properties of the CNF, as well as the final electrochemical performance. We show that a change in morphology due to capillary forces doubles the specific capacitance of the wet-transferred CNF electrodes.