Evaluating the quantum confinement effects modulating exciton and electronic band structures of two-dimensional layered MoSSe films and their photodetection potentials

Emerging two-dimensional ternary transition metal dichalcogenide alloys have attracted much attention for their unique optical and optoelectronic properties,making them ideal candidates for optoelectronic applications.However,a comprehensive understanding of their quantum confinement effects and photoelectronic response characteristics remains crucial for device optimization and performance enhancement.In this study,we employed various spectroscopic techniques to investigate the optical properties and electronic band structures of molybdenum sulfide selenide(MoSSe)films with different layer numbers(4–11 layers).Our results revealed the splitting of Raman modes and shifting of phonon vibrational frequencies with increasing thickness,suggesting that MoSSe has strong interactions within the lattice.The A1g and E2g 1 modes were mainly shifted by internal strain and dielectric screening effect versus thickness,respectively.The redshift phenomenon of A and B excitons with increasing thickness was attributed to the leading effect of quantum confinement on exciton properties and optical band gaps.We observed a strong decrease in the direct bandgap spectral weight in photoluminescence(PL)when the layer number increased from 4 to 5.In addition,we have fabricated MoSSe photodetectors that exhibit a broadband response in the visible wavelength band of 350–800 nm.Furthermore,the observed enhancement in photocurrent and responsivity with increasing film thickness underscored the potential of MoSSebased devices for practical optoelectronic applications.This research contributes to advancing our fundamental understanding of MoSSe materials and paves the way for the design and development of high-performance optoelectronic devices.

Photoluminescence of carbon quantum dots:coarsely adjusted by quantum confinement effects and finely by surface trap states

Photoluminescence(PL) mechanism of carbon quantum dots(CQDs) remains controversial up to now even though a lot of approaches have been made. In order to do that, herein a PL color ladder from blue to near infrared of CQDs with the absolute quantum yields higher than 70% were prepared via a one-pot hydrothermal synthesis route and separated by silica gel column.Time-correlated single photon counting measurements suggest that the electron transition takes in effect in the PL progress of the crystalline core-shell structured CQDs, and the PL properties could be coarsely adjusted by tuning the size of the crystalline carbon core owing to quantum confinement effects, and finely adjusted by changing the surface functional groups consisted shell owing to surface trap states,respectively. Both coarse and fine adjustments of PL, as optical and photoelectrical characterizations and density-functional theory(DFT) calculations have demonstrated, make it possible for top-level design and precise synthesis of new CQDs with specific optical properties.

Inorganic Halide Perovskite Quantum Dots:A Versatile Nanomaterial Platform for Electronic Applications

Metal halide perovskites have generated significant attention in recent years because of their extraordinary physical properties and photovoltaic performance.Among these,inorganic perovskite quantum dots(QDs)stand out for their prominent merits,such as quantum confinement effects,high photoluminescence quantum yield,and defect-tolerant structures.Additionally,ligand engineering and an all-inorganic composition lead to a robust platform for ambient-stable QD devices.This review presents the state-of-the-art research progress on inorganic perovskite QDs,emphasizing their electronic applications.In detail,the physical properties of inorganic perovskite QDs will be introduced first,followed by a discussion of synthesis methods and growth control.Afterwards,the emerging applications of inorganic perovskite QDs in electronics,including transistors and memories,will be presented.Finally,this review will provide an outlook on potential strategies for advancing inorganic perovskite QD technologies.

Analysis on porous Si PL from quantum confinement effect

We have measured the variation of photoluminescence(PL) in porous silicon with anodization(AO) time,HF soak time or natural oxidation time,and found that the peak value of PL spectrum will shift towards shorter value as above time is increased.The analyses in experiment and theory show that the quantum confined structures produced by the AO process may be responsible for the blue shift.

Tight-binding study of quantum transport in nanoscale GaAs Schottky MOSFET

This paper explores the band structure effect to elucidate the feasibility of an ultra-scaled GaAs Schottky MOSFET （SBFET） in a nanoscale regime. We have employed a 20-band sp3dSs＊ tight-binding （TB） approach to compute E - K dis- persion. The considerable difference between the extracted effective masses from the TB approach and bulk values implies that quantum confinement affects the device performance. Beside high injection velocity, the ultra-scaled GaAs SBFET suffers from a low conduction band DOS in the F valley that results in serious degradation of the gate capacitance. Quan- tum confinement also results in an increment of the effective Schottky barrier height （SBH）. Enhanced Schottky barriers form a double barrier potential well along the channel that leads to resonant tunneling and alters the normal operation of the SBFET. Major factors that may lead to resonant tunneling are investigated. Resonant tunneling occurs at low temperatures and low drain voltages, and gradually diminishes as the channel thickness and the gate length scale down. Accordingly, the GaAs （100） SBFET has poor ballistic performance in nanoscale regime.

On the binding energies of excitons in polar quantum well structures in a weak electric field

The binding energies of excitons in quantum well structures subjected to an applied uniform electric field by taking into account the exciton longitudinal optical phonon interaction is calculated. The binding energies and corresponding Stark shifts for Ⅲ-Ⅴ and Ⅱ-Ⅵ compound semiconductor quantum well structures have been numerically computed. The results for GaAs/A1GaAs and ZnCdSe/ZnSe quantum wells are given and discussed. Theoretical results show that the exciton-phonon coupling reduces both the exciton binding energies and the Stark shifts by screening the Coulomb interaction. This effect is observable experimentally and cannot be neglected.

Phonon thermal transport properties of XB_(2)(X=Mg and Al)compounds:considering quantum confinement and electron-phonon interaction

XB_(2)(X=Mg and Al)compounds have drawn great attention for their superior electronic characteristics and potential applications in semiconductors and superconductors.The study of phonon thermal transport properties of XB_(2)is significant to their application and mechanism behind research.In this work,the phonon thermal transport properties of three-dimensional(3D)and two-dimensional(2D)XB_(2)were studied by first-principles calculations.After considering the electron-phonon interaction(EPI),the thermal conductivities(TCs)of 3D Mg B_(2)and 3D Al B_(2)decrease by 29%and 16%which is consistent with experimental values.Moreover,the underlying mechanisms of reduction on lattice TCs are the decrease in phonon lifetime and heat capacity when considering quantum confinement effect.More importantly,we are surprised to find that there is a correlation between quantum confinement effect and EPI.The quantum confinement will change the phonon and electron characteristics which has an impact on EPI.Overall,our work is expected to provide insights into the phonon thermal transport properties of XB_(2)compounds considering EPI and quantum confinement effect.

Recent Progress of Layered Perovskite Solar Cells Incorporating Aromatic Spacers

Layered two dimensional(2D) or quasi-2D perovskites are emerging photovoltaic materials due to their superior environment and structure stability in comparison with their 3D counterparts. The typical 2D perovskites can be obtained by cutting 3D perovskites along < 100 > orientation by incorporation of bulky organic spacers, which play a key role in the performance of 2D perovskite solar cells(PSCs). Compared with aliphatic spacers, aromatic spacers with high dielectric constant have the potential to decrease the dielectric and quantum confinement effect of 2D perovskites, promote efficient charge transport and reduce the exciton binding energy, all of which are beneficial for the photovoltaic performance of 2D PSCs. In this review, we aim to provide useful guidelines for the design of aromatic spacers for 2D perovskites. We systematically reviewed the recent progress of aromatic spacers used in 2D PSCs. Finally, we propose the possible design strategies for aromatic spacers that may lead to more efficient and stable 2D PSCs.

Physical Parameter Variation Analysis on the Performance Characteristics of Nano DG-MOSFETs

DG-MOSFETs are the most widely explored device architectures for nano-scale CMOS circuit design in sub-50 nm due to the improved subthreshold slope and the reduced leakage power compared to bulk MOSFETs. In thin-film (tsi < 10 nm) DG-MOS structures, charge carriers are affected by tsi- induced quantum confinement along with the confinement caused by a very high electric field at the interface. Therefore, quantum confinement effects on the device characteristics are also quite important and it needs to be incorporated along with short channel effects for nano-scale circuit design. In this paper, we analyzed a DG-MOSFET structure at the 20 nm technology node incorporating quantum confinement effects and various short channel effects. The effect of physical parameter variations on performance characteristics of the device such as threshold voltage, subthreshold slope, ION - IOFF ratio, DIBL, etc. has been investigated and plotted through extensive TCAD simulations. The physical parameters considered in this paper are operating temperature (Top), channel doping concentration (Nc), gate oxide thickness (tox) and Silicon film thickness (tsi). It was observed that quantum confinement of charge carriers significantly affected the performance characteristics (mostly the subthreshold characteristics) of the device and therefore, it cannot be ignored in the subthreshold region-based circuit design like in many previous research works. The ATLASTM device simulator has been used in this paper to perform simulation and parameter extraction. The TCAD analysis presented in the manuscript can be incorporated for device modeling and device matching. It can be used to illustrate exact device behavior and for proper device control.

Compact Modeling for Inversion Charge in Nanoscale DG-MOSFETs

A compact model for the integrated inversion charge density Qi in double-gate （DG-） MOSFETs is developed. For nanoscale applications,quantum confinement of the inversion carriers must be taken into account. Based on the previous work of Ge, we establish an expression for the surface potential with respect to Qi, and form an implicit equation, from which Qi can be solved. Results predicted by our model are compared to published data as well as results from Schred,a popular 1D numerical solver that solves the Poisson＇s and Schr6dinger equa- tions self-consistently. Good agreement is obtained for a wide range of silicon layer thickness,confirming the supe- riority of this model over previous work in this field.

Quantum confinement effect of two-dimensional all-inorganic halide perovskites

Quantum confinement effect（QCE）, an essential physical phenomenon of semiconductors when the size becomes comparable to the exciton Bohr radius, typically results in quite different physical properties of low-dimensional materials from their bulk counterparts and can be exploited to enhance the device performance in various optoelectronic applications. Here, taking Cs Pb Br3 as an example, we reported QCE in all-inorganic halide perovskite in two-dimensional（2D） nanoplates. Blue shifts in optical absorption and photoluminescence spectra were found to be stronger in thinner nanoplates than that in thicker nanoplates, whose thickness lowered below -7 nm. The exciton binding energy results showed similar trend as that obtained for the optical absorption and photoluminescence. Meanwile, the function of integrated intensity and full width at half maximum and temperature also showed similar results, further supporting our conclusions. The results displayed the QCE in all-inorganic halide perovskite nanoplates and helped to design the all-inorganic halide perovskites with desired optical properties.

Silicon nanoparticles: Preparation, properties, and applications

Silicon nanoparticles have attracted great attention in the past decades because of their intriguing physical properties, active surface state, distinctive photoluminescence and biocompatibility. In this review, we present some of the recent progress in preparation methodologies and surface functionalization approaches of silicon nanoparticles. Further, their promising applications in the fields of energy and electronic engineering are introduced.

Novel method to determine effective length of quantum confinement using fractional-dimension space approach

The binding energy and effective mass of a polaron confined in a GaAs film deposited on an AlGal-xAs substrate are investigated, for different film thickness values and aluminum concentra- tions and within the framework of the fractional-dimensional space approach. Using this scheme, we propose a new method to define the effective length of the quantum confinement. The limita- tions of the definition of the original effective well width are discussed, and the binding energy and effective mass of a polaron confined in a GaAs film are obtained. The fl-actional-dimensional theo- retical results are shown to be in good agreement with previous, more detailed calculations based on second-order perturbation theory.

Photoluminescence Properties of Nanocrystalline 3C-SiC Films

Nanocrystalline （nc） 3C-SiC films on the Si substrate were prepared by the helicon wave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition （HW-PECVD） technique. With the SiH4-CH4 gas flow ratio changing, the films exhibit different photoluminescence （PL） characteristics. Under the stoichiometric condition, the PL peak redshift from 470 nm to 515 nm is detected with the increase of excitation wavelength, which can be attributed to the quantum confinement effect radiation of 3C-SiC nanocrystals of different sizes. However, the appearance of an additional PL band at 436 nm in Si-rich film might be sourced back to the excess of Si defect centers in it. This is also the case for C-rich film for its PL band lying at 570 nm. The results above quoted indicate an important influence of gas flow ratio on the PL properties of the SiC films providing an effective guidance for analyzing the luminescence mechanism and exploring the high-efficiency light emission of the SiC films.

Band structure of silicon and germanium thin films based on first principles

In nanomaterials, optical anisotropies reveal a fundamental relationship between structural and optical properties, in which directional optical properties can be exploited to enhance the performance of optoelectronic devices. First principles calculation based on density functional theory （DFT） with the generalized gradient approximation （GGA） are carried out to investigate the energy band gap structure on silicon （Si） and germanium （Ge） nanofilms. Simulation results show that the band gaps in Si （100） and Ge （111） nanofilms become the direct-gap structure in the thickness range less than 7.64 nm and 7.25 nm respectively, but the band gaps of Si （111） and Ge （110） nanofilms still keep in an indirect-gap structure and are independent on film thickness, and the band gaps of Si （110） and Ge （100） nanofilms could be transferred into the direct-gap structure in nanofilms with smaller thickness. It is amazing that the band gaps of Si（1-x）/ZGexSi（1-x）/2 sandwich structure become the direct-gap structure in a certain area whether （111） or （100） surface. The band structure change of Si and Ge thin films in three orientations is not the same and the physical mechanism is very interesting, where the changes of the band gaps on the Si and Ge nanofilms follow the quantum confinement effects.

Metallic Graphene Nanoribbons

Isolated graphene nanoribbons(GNRs)usually have energy gaps,which scale with their widths,owing to the lateral quantum confinement effect of GNRs.The absence of metallic GNRs limits their applications in device interconnects or being one-dimensional physics platform to research amazing properties based on metallicity.A recent study published in Science provided a novel method to produce metallic GNRs by inserting a symmetric superlattice into other semiconductive GNRs.This finding will broader the applications of GNRs both in nanoelectronics and fundamental science.

Quantum confinement effect in β-SiC nanowires

The quantum confinement effect is important in nanoelectronics and optoelectronics applications; however, there is a discrepancy between the theory of quantum confinement, which indicates that band-gap widening occurs only at small sizes, and experimental observations of band-gap widening in large-diameter nanowires （NWs）. This paper reports an obvious blue shift of the absorption edge in the UV-visible absorption spectra of SiC NWs with diameters of 50-300 nm. On the basis of quantum confinement theory and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images of SiC NWs, band-gap widening in SiC NWs with diameters of up to hundreds of nanometers is fully explained; the results could help to explain similar band-gap widening in other NWs with large diameters.

PbS：Hg2＋ Nanostructures Films by Chemical Bath

The growth of nanocrystalline PbS films by chemical bath deposition （CBD） onto glass at temperatureT = 40 ± 2℃, is presented in this research. We report on the modification of structural, optical nanostructures due to in situ Hg-doping.The morphological changes of the layers were analyzed using AFM. XRD spectra displayed peaks at 20 = （26.00, 30.07, 43.10, 51.00, 53.48）, indicating growth on the zinc blende face. The grain size determined by x-rays diffraction of the undoped samples, was found -36 nm, whereas with the doped sample was 32-23 nm. Optical absorption, transition direct and indirect the forbidden band gap energy （Eg） shifts discloses a shift in the range 1.45-2.4 eV.

Electrically pumped terahertz laser based on a topological insulator quantum dot array

The energy level separation between the edge states in topological insulator quantum dots lies in the terahertz(THz) range.Quantum confinement ensures the nonuniformity of the energy level separation near the Dirac point. Based on these features, we propose that a topological insulator quantum dot array can be operated as an electrically pumped continuous-wave THz laser. The proposed device can operate at room temperature, with power exceeding 10 mW and quantum efficiency reaching ~50%. This study may promote the usage of topological insulator quantum dots as an important source of THz radiation.

Recent progresses on InGaN quantum dot light-emitting diodes

InGaN quantum dots （QDs） have attracted many research interests in recent years for their potentials to realize long wavelength visible emission from green to red, which can pave a way to fabricate the phosphor-free white light emitting diodes （LEDs）. In this paper, we reported our recent progresses on InGaN QD LEDs, the discussions were dedicated to the basic physics model of the strain relaxation in self-assembled InGaN QDs, the growth of InGaN QDs with a growth interruption method by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy, the optimization of GaN barrier growth in multilayer InGaN QDs, the demonstration of green, yellow-green and red InGaN QD LEDs, and future challenges.