Interfacial state induced ultrasensitive ultraviolet light photodetector with resolved flux down to 85 photons per second

We present an ultrasensitive ultraviolet （UV） detector based on a p-type ZnS nanoribbon （NR）/indium tin oxide （ITO） Schottky barrier diode （SBD）. The device exhibits a pseudo-photovoltaic behavior which can allow the SBD to detect UV light irradiation with incident power of 6 × 10^-17 W （-85 photons/s on the NR） at room temperature, with excellent reproducibility and stability. The corresponding detectivity and photoconductive gain are calculated to be 3.1 × 10^20 cm.Hz1/2.W^-1 and 6.6 × 10^5, respectively. It is found that the presence of the trapping states at the p-ZnS NWITO interface plays a crucial role in determining the ultrahigh sensitivity of this nanoSBDs. Based on our theoretical calculation, even ultra-low photon fluxes on the order of several tens of photons could induce a significant change in interface potential and consequently cause a large photocurrent variation. The present study provides new opportunities for developiphigh-performance optoelectronic devices in the future.

Interfacial properties of g-C_(3)N_(4)/TiO_(2) heterostructures studied by DFT calculations

Constructing the hetrostructure is a feasible strategy to enhance the performances of photocatalysts. However, there are still some fundamental details and mechanisms for the specific design of photocatalysts with heterostructure,which need further confirming and explain.In this work,g-C_(3)N_(4)-based heterostructures are constructed with TiO_(2) in different ways,and their intrinsic factors to improve the photocatalytic activity are systematically studied by density functional theory(DFT).When g-C_(3)N_(4) combines horizontally with TiO_(2) to form a heterostructure,the interaction between them is dominated by van der Waals interaction.Although the recombination of photo-generated electron-hole pair cannot be inhibited significantly,this van der Waals interaction can regulate the electronic structures of the two components,which is conducive to the participation of photo-generated electrons and holes in the photocatalytic reaction.When the g-C_(3)N_(4) combines vertically with TiO_(2) to form a heterostructure,their interface states show obvious covalent features,which is very beneficial for the photo-generated electrons’ and holes’ transport along the opposite directions on both sides of the interface.Furthermore,the built-in electric field of g-C_(3)N_(4)/TiO_(2) heterostructure is directed from TiO_(2) layer to g-C_(3)N_(4) layer under equilibrium,so the photo-generated electron-hole pairs can be spatially separated from each other.These calculated results show that no matter how g-C_(3)N_(4) and TiO_(2) are combined together,the g-C_(3)N_(4)/TiO_(2) heterostructure can enhance the photocatalytic performance through corresponding ways.

FINE STRUCTURES OF BOTH INTERFACES AND INTERFACIAL REACTION PRODUCTS

The characteristic of interface depending on the atomic structure exerts an inportant,and sometime controlling,influence on performance of the interacial materials. The present paper reviews the main studies on fine structure of both the materials inter- faces and interfacial reaction products in semiconductor uperlattice,metal multilayer ceram- ics and composite materials by mean of selected area electron doffraction patterns and high resolution electron microscopy. The following features of interfaces are reviewed:the orientation relationships;the char- acteristic of steps,facets and ronghness of interfaces;atomic bonding across the interface;the degree of coherency,the structure of misfit dislocations and elastic relaxations at the inter- faces:the presence of defects at the onterfaces:the structure of the interfacial reaction prod- ucts as well as the reaction kinetics and reaetion mechanism.

Materials Design on the Origin of Gap States in a High-κ/GaAs Interface

Given the demand for constantly scaling micro- electronic devices to ever smaller dimensions, a SiO2 gate dielectric was substituted with a higher dielectric-constant material, Hf（Zr）O2, in order to minimize current leakage through dielectric thin film. However, upon interfacing with high dielectric constant （high-κ） dielectrics, the electron mobility in the conventional Si channel degrades due to Coulomb scattering, surface-roughness scattering, remotephonon scattering, and dielectric-charge trapping.Ⅲ-Ⅴ and Ge are two promising candidates with superior mobility over Si. Nevertheless, Hf（Zr）O2/Ⅲ-Ⅴ（Ge） has much more complicated interface bonding than Si-based interfaces. Successful fabrication of a high-quality device critically depends on understanding and engineering the bonding configurations at Hf（Zr）O2/Ⅲ-Ⅴ（Ge） interfaces for the optimal design of device interfaces. Thus, an accurate atomic insight into the interface bonding and mechanism of interface gap states formation becomes essential. Here, we utilize first- principle calculations to investigate the interface between HfO2 and GaAs. Our study shows that As--As dimer bonding, Ga partial oxidation （between 3＋ and 1＋） and Ga- dangling bonds constitute the major contributions to gap states. These findings provide insightful guidance for optimum interface passivation.

Revealing the potential of apparent critical current density of Li/garnet interface with capacity perturbation strategy

Apparent critical current density(j_(Ac)^(a))of garnet all-solid-state lithium metal symmetric cells(ASSLSCs)is a fundamental parameter for designing all-solid-state lithium metal batteries.Nevertheless,how much the possible maximum apparent current density that a given ASSLSC system can endure and how to reveal this potential still require study.Herein,a capacity perturbation strategy aiming to better measure the possible maximum j_(Ac)^(a)is proposed for the first time.With garnet-based plane-surface structure ASSLSCs as an exemplification,the j_(Ac)^(a)is quite small when the capacity is dramatically large.Under a perturbed capacity of 0.001 mA h cm^(-2),the j_(Ac)^(a)is determined to be as high as 2.35 mA cm^(-2)at room temperature.This investigation demonstrates that the capacity perturbation strategy is a feasible strategy for measuring the possible maximum j_(Ac)^(a)of Li/solid electrolyte interface,and hopefully provides good references to explore the critical current density of other types of electrochemical systems.

Spin relaxation induced by interfacial effects in GaN/Al_(0.25) Ga_(0.75) N heterostructures

Spin relaxation induced by the interfacial effects in GaN/Al_(0.25) Ga_(0.75) N heterostructures was carefully investigated using a photon-energy-dependent time-resolved Kerr rotation spectrum.The existence of the interfacial localized states with potential fluctuations at the GaN/AlGaN heterointerface leads to photoluminescence peaks showing blue and S-shaped shifts owing to the excitation power and temperature,respectively.Photoexcited electrons in the localized states show a spin relaxation time longer than 1 ns because of the suppression of the D’yakonov-Perel’(DP)scattering,while the spin relaxation time of free electrons was approximately only 10 ps because of the giant Rashba spin-orbit coupling induced by the interfacial polarization field under the framework of the DP scattering mechanism.Furthermore,it is found that the high electron mobility at the heterointerface results in a long spin diffusion length of 300 nm at high temperatures,which is promising for the development of GaN-based spintronic devices.

An analytic model to describe the relationship between conductance and frequency of heterojunction

The admittance measurements of a hetero-junction can be used to derive the density of the interfacial state in the hetero-junction. Hence, prediction conductance via frequency is very useful for comprehension of the admittance of a hetero-junction using a mathematical strategy. From the observations on the curve of the frequencydependent conductance of the hetero-junction an analytic model with four-parameters was developed that relates conductance to frequency; the theoretical results agree quite well with the experimental data. The model shows potential for a variety of applications including different electronic devices. The model is a practical tool that can be readily used for assessing the electronic behaviors of a hetero-junction and is scientifically justifiable. In addition, the mathematical bridge to link the density of the interfacial state of the（pyronine-B）/p-Si structure to energy implies a good route to discuses the density of the interfacial state of interfaces.