Direct observation and manipulation of hot electrons at room temperature.
Natl Sci Rev
; 8(9): nwaa295, 2021 Sep.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34691730
ABSTRACT
In modern electronics and optoelectronics, hot electron behaviors are highly concerned, as they determine the performance limit of a device or system, like the associated thermal or power constraint of chips and the Shockley-Queisser limit for solar cell efficiency. To date, however, the manipulation of hot electrons has been mostly based on conceptual interpretations rather than a direct observation. The problem arises from a fundamental fact that energy-differential electrons are mixed up in real-space, making it hard to distinguish them from each other by standard measurements. Here we demonstrate a distinct approach to artificially (spatially) separate hot electrons from cold ones in semiconductor nanowire transistors, which thus offers a unique opportunity to observe and modulate electron occupied state, energy, mobility and even path. Such a process is accomplished through the scanning-photocurrent-microscopy measurements by activating the intervalley-scattering events and 1D charge-neutrality rule. Findings here may provide a new degree of freedom in manipulating non-equilibrium electrons for both electronic and optoelectronic applications.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article