Current-Induced Spin Photocurrent in GaAs at Room Temperature

Circularly polarized photocurrent, observed in p-doped bulk GaAs, varies nonlinearly with the applied bias voltage at room temperature. It has been explored that this phenomenon arises from the current-induced spin polarization in GaAs. In addition, we found that the current-induced spin polarization direction of p-doped bulk GaAs grown in the (001) direction lies in the sample plane and is perpendicular to the applied electric field, which is the same as that in GaAs quantum well. This research indicates that circularly polarized photocurrent is a new optical approach to investigate the current-induced spin polarization at room temperature.

Application of Electrochemical Deposition in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Technology

This review paper describes the principle of electrochemical deposition and introduces recent studies applying it to the electrode fabrication of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), a next-generation energy conversion device. Electrochemical deposition can easily control the structure and morphology of the deposition layer according to the applied bias/time/temperature, etc., and the process is very simple and possible even at low temperatures. In addition, deposition of cerium-based oxides, which are the representative ion-conductors or mixed-conductors widely used for SOFCs, is also possible <i>via</i> electrochemical deposition. To elucidate the effectiveness/novelty of electrochemical deposition, we present examples of the application of electrochemical deposition in SOFCs. Moreover, examples of using this method to study the properties of a material and/or to fabricate perovskite oxide-based electrodes are included.

A Novel MEMS Capacitive Microphone with Semiconstrained Diaphragm Supported with Center and Peripheral Backplate Protrusions

Audio applications such as mobile phones, hearing aids, true wireless stereo earphones, and Internet of Things devices demand small size, high performance, and reduced cost. Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) capacitive microphones fulfill these requirements with improved reliability and specifications related to sensitivity, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), distortion, and dynamic range when compared to their electret condenser microphone counterparts. We present the design and modeling of a semiconstrained polysilicon diaphragm with flexible springs that are simply supported under bias voltage with a center and eight peripheral protrusions extending from the backplate. The flexible springs attached to the diaphragm reduce the residual film stress effect more effectively compared to constrained diaphragms. The center and peripheral protrusions from the backplate further increase the effective area, linearity, and sensitivity of the diaphragm when the diaphragm engages with these protrusions under an applied bias voltage. Finite element modeling approaches have been implemented to estimate deflection, compliance, and resonance. We report an 85% increase in the effective area of the diaphragm in this configuration with respect to a constrained diaphragm and a 48% increase with respect to a simply supported diaphragm without the center protrusion. Under the applied bias, the effective area further increases by an additional 15% as compared to the unbiased diaphragm effective area. A lumped element model has been also developed to predict the mechanical and electrical behavior of the microphone. With an applied bias, the microphone has a sensitivity of −38 dB (ref. 1 V/Pa at 1 kHz) and an SNR of 67 dBA measured in a 3.25 mm ´ 1.9 mm ´ 0.9 mm package including an analog ASIC.

Stable and Efficient Photoinduced Charge Transfer of MnFe2O4/Polyaniline Photoelectrode in Highly Acidic Solution

Tailoring conductive polymers with inorganic photocatalysts, which provide photoinduced electron-hole generation, have significantly enhanced composites leading to excellent photoelectrodes. In this work, MnFe2O4 nanoparticles prepared by a hydrothermal method were combined with polyaniline to prepare mixed (hybrid) slurries, which were cast onto flexible FTO to prepare photoelectrodes. The resulting photoelectrodes were characterized by XRD, FESEM, HRTEM and UV-VIS. The photoelectrochemical performance was investigated by linear sweep voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The photocurrent achieved by MnFe2O4/Polyaniline was 400 μA/cm2 at 0.8 V vs. Ag/AgCl in Na2SO4 (pH = 2) at 100 mW/cm2, while polyaniline alone achieved only 25 μA/cm2 under the same conditions. The best MnFe2O4/Polyaniline displayed an incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) and applied bias photon-to-current efficiency (ABPE) of 60% at 405 nm wavelength, and 0.17% at 0.8 V vs. Ag/AgCl, respectively. High and stable photoelectrochemical performance was achieved for more than 900 s in an acidic environment.

Collective cloaking of a cluster of electrostatically defined core-shell quantum dots in graphene

We study cloaking of a cluster of electrostatically defined core-shell quantum dots in graphene. Guided by the generalized multiparticle Mie theory, the Dirac electron scattering from a cluster of quantum dots is addressed. Indeed distant quantum dots may experience a sort of individual cloaking. But despite the multiple scattering of an incident electron from a set of adjacent quantum dots, collective cloaking may happen. Via a proper choice of the radii and bias voltages of shells, two most important scattering coefficients and hence the scattering efficiency of the cluster dramatically decrease. Energy-selective electron cloaks are realizable. More importantly, clusters simultaneously transparent to electrons of different energies, are achievable. Being quite sensitive to applied bias voltages, clusters of core-shell quantum dots may be used to develop switches with high on-off ratios.

Layer and material-type dependent photoresponse in WSe2/WS2 vertical heterostructures

Transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) heterostructures are promising for a variety of applications in photovoltaics and photosensing. Successfully exploiting these heterostructures will require an understanding of their layer-dependent electronic structures. However, there is no experimental data demonstrating the layer-number dependence of photovoltaic effects (PVEs) in vertical TMD heterojunctions. Here, by combining scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM) with optical probes, we report the first layer-dependence of photocurrents in WSe2/WS2 vertical heterostructures as well as in pristine WS2 and WSe2 layers. For WS2, we find that photocurrents increase with increasing layer thickness, whereas for WSe2 the layer dependence is more complex and depends on both the layer number and applied bias (Vb). We further find that photocurrents in the WS2/WSe2 heterostructures exhibit anomalous layer and material-type dependent behaviors. Our results advance the understanding of photoresponse in atomically thin WSe2/WS2 heterostructures and pave the way to novel nanoelectronic and optoelectronic devices.

Flexible boundary layer using exchange for embedding theories. I. Theory and implementation

Embedding theory is a powerful computational chemistry approach to exploring the electronic structure and dynamics of complex systems, with QM/MM being the prime example. A challenge arises when trying to apply embedding methodology to systems with diffusible particles, e.g. solvents, if some of them must be included in the QM region, for example in the description of solvent-supported electronic states or reactions involving proton transfer or charge-transfer-to-solvent: without a special treatment, inter-diffusion of QM and MM particles will lead eventually to a loss of QM/MM separation. We have developed a new method called Flexible Boundary Layer using Exchange (FlexiBLE) that solves the problem by adding a biasing potential to the system that closely maintains QM/MM separation. The method rigorously preserves ensemble averages by leveraging their invariance to exchange of identical particles. With a careful choice of the biasing potential, and the use of a tree algorithm to include only important QM and MM exchanges, we find the method has an MM-forcefield-like computational cost and thus adds negligible overhead to a QM/MM simulation. Furthermore, we show that molecular dynamics with the FlexiBLE bias conserves total energy and remarkably, dynamical quantities in the QM region are unaffected by the applied bias. FlexiBLE thus widens the range of chemistry that can be studied with embedding theory.

Probing the electronic properties of the electrified silicon/water interface by combining simulations and experiments

Silicon (Si) is broadly used in electrochemical and photoelectrochemical devices, where the capacitive and Faradaic reactions at the Si/water interfaces are critical for signal transduction or noise generation. However, probing the electrified Si/water interface at the microscopic level remains a challenging task. Here we focus on hydrogenated Si surfaces in contact with water, relevant to transient electronics and photoelectrochemical modulation of biological cells and tissues. We show that by carrying out first-principles molecular dynamics simulations of the Si(100)/water interface in the presence of an electric field we can realistically correlate the computed flat-band potential and tunneling current images at the interface with experimentally measured capacitive and Faradaic currents. Specifically, we validate our simulations in the presence of bias by performing pulsed chronoamperometry measurements on Si wafers in solution. Consistent with prior experiments, our measurements and simulations indicate the presence of voltage-dependent capacitive currents at the interface. We also find that Faradaic currents are weakly dependent on the applied bias, which we relate to surface defects present in newly prepared samples.

Dislocation-related conductivity in Au(In)/Cd1–xZnxTe(x = 0, 0.1) Schottky contacts

Dislocation-related conductivity is studied in Schottky contacts Au(In)/Cd1-xZnxTe (x = 0, 0.1) prepared on the surface of single crystals modified by multiple irradiation with a ruby laser and mechanical polishing. The contacts were examined by measuring the DC current as a function of the applied bias and temperature as well as the photoelectric response. It is shown that both methods of surface modification result in p-to-n conversion of the conductivity type of the surface layer. The charge transfer in contacts is explained by the formation of dislocation networks buried under the surface. A model of two potential barriers is proposed for the interpretation of the photovoltaic response in contacts. Their existence is associated with compressive strains in the modified surface layer caused by dislocations, which leads to an increase in the band gap and the formation of a heterostructure.