Decade Milestone Advancement of Defect-Engineered g-C_(3)N_(4) for Solar Catalytic Applications

Over the past decade, graphitic carbon nitride(g-C_(3)N_(4)) has emerged as a universal photocatalyst toward various sustainable carbo-neutral technologies. Despite solar applications discrepancy, g-C_(3)N_(4) is still confronted with a general fatal issue of insufficient supply of thermodynamically active photocarriers due to its inferior solar harvesting ability and sluggish charge transfer dynamics. Fortunately, this could be significantly alleviated by the “all-in-one” defect engineering strategy, which enables a simultaneous amelioration of both textural uniqueness and intrinsic electronic band structures. To this end, we have summarized an unprecedently comprehensive discussion on defect controls including the vacancy/non-metallic dopant creation with optimized electronic band structure and electronic density, metallic doping with ultraactive coordinated environment(M–N_(x), M–C_(2)N_(2), M–O bonding), functional group grafting with optimized band structure, and promoted crystallinity with extended conjugation π system with weakened interlayered van der Waals interaction. Among them, the defect states induced by various defect types such as N vacancy, P/S/halogen dopants, and cyano group in boosting solar harvesting and accelerating photocarrier transfer have also been emphasized. More importantly, the shallow defect traps identified by femtosecond transient absorption spectra(fs-TAS) have also been highlighted. It is believed that this review would pave the way for future readers with a unique insight into a more precise defective g-C_(3)N_(4) “customization”, motivating more profound thinking and flourishing research outputs on g-C_(3)N_(4)-based photocatalysis.

Probing photocarrier dynamics of pressurized graphene using time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy

Graphene hosts intriguing photocarrier dynamics such as negative transient terahertz(THz) photoconductivity, high electron temperature, benefiting from the unique linear Dirac dispersion. In this work, the pressure effects of photocarrier dynamics of graphene have been investigated using in situ time-resolved THz spectroscopy in combination with diamond anvil cell exceeding 9 GPa. We find that the negative THz conductivity maintains in our studied pressure range both for monolayer and bilayer graphene. In particular, the amplitude of THz photoconductivity in monolayer graphene manifests an extraordinary dropping with pressure, compared with that from the counterparts such as bulk silicon and bilayer graphene.Concomitantly, the time constant is reduced with increasing pressure, highlighting the pressure-induced hot carrier cooling.The pressure dependence of photocarrier dynamics in monolayer graphene is likely related with the enhancement of the interfacial coupling between diamond surface and sample, allowing for the activity of new electron–phonon scattering. Our work is expected to provide an impetus for the studies of high-pressure THz spectroscopy of two-dimensional materials.

Correlation between the Low-Temperature Photoluminescence Spectra and Photovoltaic Properties of Thin Polycrystalline CdTe Films

A dominant intrinsic luminescence band, which is due to the surface potential barriers of crystalline grains, and an edge doublet, which arises as an LO-phonon repetition of the e-h band, has been revealed in the low-temperature photoluminescence spectra of fine-grained obliquely deposited films. Doping film with In impurity leads to quenching of the doublet band, while further thermal treatment causes activation of the intrinsic band, the half-width and the blue shift of the red edge of which correlates with the maximum value of anomalously high photovoltage generated by the film.

Large positive magnetoresistance in photocarrier-doped potassium tantalites

We report on the high-field magnetotransport of KTaO_(3)single crystals,which are a promising candidate for study in the extreme quantum limit.By photocarrier doping with 360 nm light,we observe a significant positive,non-saturating,and linear magnetoresistance at low temperatures accompanied by a decreasing Hall coefficient.When cooling down to 10 K,the magnetoresistance value of KTaO_(3)(100)reaches~433%at a magnetic field of 12 T.Such behavior can be attributed to all the electrons occupying only the lowest Landau level in the extreme quantum limit.Light inhomogeneity may also contribute to large linear magnetoresistance.These results provide insights into novel magnetic devices based on complex materials and add a new family of materials with positive magnetoresistance.

Thermal annealing induced photocarrier radiometry enhancement for ion implanted silicon wafers

An experimental study on the photocarrier radiometry signals of As^＋ ion implanted silicon wafers before and after rapid thermal annealing is performed. The dependences of photocarrier radiometry amplitude on ion implantation dose （1×10^11-1×10^16/cm^2）, implantation energy （20-140 keV） and subsequent isochronical annealing temperature （500- 1100℃ are investigated. The results show that photocarrier radiometry signals are greatly enhanced for implanted samples annealed at high temperature, especially for those with a high implantation dose. The reduced surface recombination rate resulting from a high built-in electric field generated by annealing-activated impurities in the pn junction is believed to be responsible for the photocarrier radiometry signal enhancement. Photocarrier radiometry is contactless and can therefore be used as an effective in-line tool for the thermal annealing process monitoring of the ion-implanted wafers in semiconductor industries.

Photocarrier radiometry for noncontact evaluation of space monocrystalline silicon solar cell under low-energy electron irradiation

A space monocrystalline silicon（c-Si） solar cell under low-energy（〈 1 MeV） electron irradiation was investigated using noncontact photocarrier radiometry（PCR）. Monte Carlo simulation（MCS） was employed to characterize the effect of different energy electron irradiation on the c-Si solar cell. The carrier transport parameters（carrier lifetime, diffusion coefficient, and surface recombination velocities） were obtained by best fitting the experimental results with a theoretical one-dimensional two-layer PCR model. The results showed that the increase of the irradiation electron energy caused a large reduction of the carrier lifetime and diffusion length. Furthermore, the rear surface recombination velocity of the Si：p base of the solar cell at the irradiation electron energy of 1 Me V was dramatically enhanced due to 1 MeV electron passing through the whole cell. Short-circuit current（I sc） degradation evaluated by PCR was in good agreement with that obtained by electrical measurement.

IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD FOR PHOTOCARRIER SPECKLE FRINGE

In the present paper,a new image processing method for photocarrierspeckle fringe is proposed.A simple and fast filter is designed for different kinds of specklefringe with certain direction to eliminate the speckle effect.Fringe multiplication is carriedout with personal computer.The procedure of photocarrier speckle image collecting,pro-cessing,calculating and verifying is described with a practical example.

PHOTOCARRIER:THE PRINCIPLE OF PHASE MODULATION OF OPTIC AL WAVE

This paper presents the principle of phase modulation of the optical wave,that is using a dense fringe family to modulate another fringe pattern,and its applicationin fringe multiplication.It is of universal significance in optically experimental mechanics.

Combined frequency- and time-domain photocarrier radiometry characterization of ion-implanted and thermally annealed silicon wafers

A combined frequency-swept and quasi-time-domain photocarrier radiometry （PCR） technique was developed to characterize thermally annealed silicon wafers with B＋, P＋, and As＋ ion implantation at doses ranging from 1 ×1011 cm-2 to 1 ×1016 cm-2. The implantation dose dependence of the PCR amplitude, the frequency dependencies of the PCR amplitude and phase, as well as the quasi-time-domain PCR waveforms were simultaneously employed to analyze all the ion-implanted silicon samples. The dependence of the effective lifetime on the implantation dose has been investigated and shown to be related to the trap density and the lifetime extracted from the transient PCR signals.

Symmetry-broken silicon disk array as an efficient terahertz switch working with ultra-low optical pump power

The advancement of terahertz technology in recent years and its applications in various fields lead to an urgent need for functional terahertz components,among which a terahertz switch is one example of the most importance because it provides an effective interface between terahertz signals and information in another physical quantity.To date many types of terahertz switches have been investigated mainly in the form of metamaterials made from metallic structures and optically-active medium.However,these reported terahertz switches usually suffer from an inferior performance,e.g.,requiring a high pump laser power density due to a low quality factor of the metallic metamaterial resonances.In this paper,we report and numerically investigate a symmetry-broken silicon disk based terahertz resonator array which exhibits one resonance with ultrahigh quality factor for normal incidence of the terahertz radiations.This resonance,which can never be excited for regular circular Si disks,can help to realize a superior terahertz switch with which only an ultra-low optical pump power density is required to modify the free carrier concentration in Si and its refractive index in the terahertz band.Our findings demonstrate that to realize a high terahertz transmittance change from 0 to above 50%,the required optical pump power density is more than 3 orders of magnitude smaller than that required for a split-ring resonator(SRR)based terahertz switch reported in the literature.

Differential nonlinear photocarrier radiometry for characterizing ultra-low energy boron implantation in silicon

The measuring of the depth profile and electrical activity of implantation impurity in the top nanometer range of silicon encounters various difficulties and limitations, though it is known to be critical in fabrication of silicon complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor(CMOS) devices. In the present work, SRIM program and photocarrier radiometry(PCR)are employed to monitor the boron implantation in industrial-grade silicon in an ultra-low implantation energy range from 0.5 keV to 5 keV. The differential PCR technique, which is improved by greatly shortening the measurement time through the simplification of reference sample, is used to investigate the effects of implantation energy on the frequency behavior of the PCR signal for ultra-shallow junction. The transport parameters and thickness of shallow junction, extracted via multi-parameter fitting the dependence of differential PCR signal on modulation frequency to the corresponding theoretical model, well explain the energy dependence of PCR signal and further quantitatively characterize the recovery degree of structure damage induced by ion implantation and the electrical activation degree of impurities. The monitoring of nmlevel thickness and electronic properties exhibits high sensitivity and apparent monotonicity over the industrially relevant implantation energy range. The depth profiles of implantation boron in silicon with the typical electrical damage threshold(YED) of 5.3×10^(15)cm^(-3) are evaluated by the SRIM program, and the determined thickness values are consistent well with those extracted by the differential PCR. It is demonstrated that the SRIM and the PCR are both effective tools to characterize ultra-low energy ion implantation in silicon.

Synergistic-engineered van der Waals photodiodes with high efficiency

Van der Waals(vdW)heterostructures based on two-dimensional transitionmetal dichalcogenides have provided unprecedented opportunities for photovoltaic detectors owing to their strong light-matter interaction and ultrafast interfacial charge transfer.Despite continued advancement,insufficient control of photocarrier behaviors still limits the external quantum efficiency(EQE)and operation speed of such detectors.Here,we propose a synergistic strategy of contact-configuration design and thickness-modulation to construct high-performance vdW photodiodes based on the typical type II heterostructure(MoS2/WSe2).Through integrating three contact architectures into one device to exclude other factors,we solid the superiority of designed 1L-MoS2/WSe2/graphene heterostructures incorporating efficient photocarrier collection and gate modulation.Together with leveraging the layer-numberdependent properties of WSe2,we observe the critical thickness of WSe2(11 layers)for the highest EQE,which verifies the thickness-dependent competition between photocarrier generation,dissociation,and collection.Finally,we demonstrate the synergistic-engineered vdW heterostructure can trigger record-high EQE(61%)and manifest ultrafast photoresponse(4.1μs)at the atomically thin limit(8 nm).The proposed strategy enables architecture-design and thickness-engineering to unlock the potential to realize high-performance optoelectronic devices.

Atomically precise metal-chalcogenide semiconductor molecular nanoclusters with high dispersibility:Designed synthesis and intracluster photocarrier dynamics

A comprehensive understanding of excited-state dynamics of semiconductor quantum dots or nanomaterials at the atomic or molecular level is of scientific importance.Pure inorganic(or non-covalently protected)seimiconductor molecular nanoclusters with atomically precise structure are contributive to establish accurate correlation of excited-state dynamics with their composition/structure,however,the related studies are almost blank because of unresolved solvent dispersion issue.Herein,we designedly created the largest discrete chalcogenide seimiconductor molecular nanoclusters(denoted P2-CuMSnS,M=In or/and Ga)with great dispersibility,and revealed an interesting intracluster“core–shell”charge transfer relaxation dynamics.A systematic red shift in absorption spectra with the gradual substitution of In by Ga was experimentally and computationally investigated,and femtosecond transient absorption measurements further manifested there were three ultrafast processes in excited-state dynamics of P2 nanoclusters with the corresponding amplitudes directed by composition variation.Current results hold the great promise of the solution-processible applications of semiconductor-NC-based quantum dots and facilitate the development of atomically precise nano-chemistry.

Salt-assisted growth and ultrafast photocarrier dynamics of large-sized monolayer ReSe2

Owing to its anisotropic optical and electrical properties,rhenium diselenide(ReSe2)has garnered considerable attention recently as a candidate material for polarization-sensitive photodetectors.However,the direct and controllable synthesis of large-sized ReSe2 with a uniform thickness is still a great challenge.Herein,we have refined the synthesis method to obtain uniform monolayer ReSe2 flakes with a size of up to^106μm on sapphire via an ambient-pressure chemical vapor deposition technique using Na promoter from sodium chloride.Interestingly,optical pump-probe spectroscopy revealed a fast switching from saturable absorption(SA)to absorption enhancement(AE)in subpicosecond time scale,followed by a slower decay induced by exciton recombination.Furthermore,both AE and SA signals exhibited clear angular dependence with a periodicity of 180°,which reflected the dichroism in nonlinear absorption dynamics.In addition,the photocarrier dynamics including free-carrier transport and subpicosecond relaxation due to exciton formation or surface trapping was probed using time resolved terahertz spectroscopy.We believe that our study serves as a reference for atomically controlled synthesis of large-sized ReSe2 and provides useful insights on its optoelectronic properties for novel device applications.

Spatiotemporal sectioning of two-photon fluorescence ellipsoid with a CsPbBr_(3) nanosheet

Two-photon fluorescence (TPF) ellipsoid formed by a focused femtosecond laser into luminescent media serves as a fundamental pixel for TPF spatiotemporal imaging. Visualizing spatiotemporal evolution of the TPF ellipsoid itself in a selected luminescent medium is important for correctly reconstructing and interpreting spatiotemporal information of imaged targets. Here, we report a new spatiotemporal sectioning technique with a luminescent CsPbBr_(3) nanosheet and visualize the spatiotemporal evolution of TPF ellipsoid along the axial direction. Time-resolved axial lengths of TPF ellipsoids turn out to broaden nonlinearly with a turning point at about 600 ps. By comparison experiments, observed phenomena are attributed to photocarrier trapping and TPF photon recycling processes within CsPbBr_(3) nanosheets. The spatiotemporal sectioning technique is expected to be widely applicable, which will ignite a plethora of investigations and applications utilizing TPF ellipsoid.