Paths on breaking 20% efficiency of transport-layer-free perovskite solar cells

In the perovskite photovoltaic community, sandwiched device configurations such as n-type transport layer-perovskite-p-type transport layer (n-i-p, regular) or p-i-n (inverted) are research mainstreams for higher power conversion efficiencies (PCEs)[1].One of the important functions of these transport layers (TLs) is the construction of built-in-electric fields (BFs) for carrier directional diffusion [2].

Magnetism and Superconductivity in the t–J Model of La_(3)Ni_(2)O_7 Under Multiband Gutzwiller Approximation

The recent discovery of possible high temperature superconductivity in single crystals of La_(3)Ni_(2)O_(7) under pressure renews the interest in research on nickelates.The density functional theory calculations reveal that both d_(z^(2)) and d_(x^(2)-y^(2)) orbitals are active,which suggests a minimal two-orbital model to capture the low-energy physics of this system.In this work,we study a bilayer two-orbital t–J model within multiband Gutzwiller approximation,and discuss the magnetism as well as the superconductivity over a wide range of the hole doping.Owing to the inter-orbital super-exchange process between d_(z^(2)) and d_(x^(2)-y^(2)) orbitals,the induced ferromagnetic coupling within layers competes with the conventional antiferromagnetic coupling,and leads to complicated hole doping dependence for the magnetic properties in the system.With increasing hole doping,the system transfers to A-type antiferromagnetic state from the starting G-type antiferromagnetic(G-AFM)state.We also find the inter-layer superconducting pairing of d_(x^(2)-y^(2)) orbitals dominates due to the large hopping parameter ofd_(z^(2)) along the vertical inter-layer bonds and significant Hund’s coupling between d_(z^(2)) and d_(x^(2)-y^(2)) orbitals.Meanwhile,the G-AFM state and superconductivity state can coexist in the low hole doping regime.To take account of the pressure,we also analyze the impacts of inter-layer hopping amplitude on the system properties.

Magneto-optic Kerr Effect Measurement of TbMn_(6)Sn_(6) at mK Temperature

Novel electron states stabilized by Coulomb interactions attract tremendous interests in condensed matter physics.These states are studied by corresponding phase transitions occurring at extreme conditions such as mK temperatures and high magnetic field.In this work,we introduce a magneto-optical Kerr effect measurement system to comprehensively explore these phases in addition to conventional transport measurement.This system,composed of an all-fiber zero-loop Sagnac interferometer and in situ piezo-scanner inside a dilution refrigerator,operates below 100 m K,with a maximum field of 12 Tesla and has a resolution as small as 0.2μrad.As a demonstration,we investigate TbMn_(6)Sn_(6),where the manganese atoms form Kagome lattice that hosts topological non-trivial Dirac cones.We observed two types of Kerr signals,stemming from its fully polarized ferromagnetic ground state and positive charged carriers within the Dirac-like dispersion.

Progress in efficient doping of Al-rich AlGaN

The development of semiconductors is always accompanied by the progress in controllable doping techniques.Taking AlGaN-based ultraviolet(UV)emitters as an example,despite a peak wall-plug efficiency of 15.3%at the wavelength of 275 nm,there is still a huge gap in comparison with GaN-based visible light-emitting diodes(LEDs),mainly attributed to the inefficient doping of AlGaN with increase of the Al composition.First,p-doping of Al-rich AlGaN is a long-standing challenge and the low hole concentration seriously restricts the carrier injection efficiency.Although p-GaN cladding layers are widely adopted as a compromise,the high injection barrier of holes as well as the inevitable loss of light extraction cannot be neglected.While in terms of n-doping the main issue is the degradation of the electrical property when the Al composition exceeds 80%,resulting in a low electrical efficiency in sub-250 nm UV-LEDs.This review summarizes the recent advances and outlines the major challenges in the efficient doping of Al-rich AlGaN,meanwhile the corresponding approaches pursued to overcome the doping issues are discussed in detail.

Purification of copper foils driven by single crystallization

High-purity copper(Cu) with excellent thermal and electrical conductivity, is crucial in modern technological applications, including heat exchangers, integrated circuits, and superconducting magnets. The current purification process is mainly based on the zone/electrolytic refining or anion exchange, however, which excessively relies on specific integrated equipment with ultra-high vacuum or chemical solution environment, and is also bothered by external contaminants and energy consumption. Here we report a simple approach to purify the Cu foils from 99.9%(3N) to 99.99%(4N) by a temperature-gradient thermal annealing technique, accompanied by the kinetic evolution of single crystallization of Cu.The success of purification mainly relies on(i) the segregation of elements with low effective distribution coefficient driven by grain-boundary movements and(ii) the high-temperature evaporation of elements with high saturated vapor pressure.The purified Cu foils display higher flexibility(elongation of 70%) and electrical conductivity(104% IACS) than that of the original commercial rolled Cu foils(elongation of 10%, electrical conductivity of ~ 100% IACS). Our results provide an effective strategy to optimize the as-produced metal medium, and therefore will facilitate the potential applications of Cu foils in precision electronic products and high-frequency printed circuit boards.

Strong light-matter coupling in van der Waals materials

In recent years,two-dimensional(2D)van der Waals materials have emerged as a focal point in materials research,drawing increasing attention due to their potential for isolating and synergistically combining diverse atomic layers.Atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides(TMDs)are one of the most alluring van der Waals materials owing to their exceptional electronic and optical properties.The tightly bound excitons with giant oscillator strength render TMDs an ideal platform to investigate strong light-matter coupling when they are integrated with optical cavities,providing a wide range of possibilities for exploring novel polaritonic physics and devices.In this review,we focused on recent advances in TMD-based strong light-matter coupling.In the foremost position,we discuss the various optical structures strongly coupled to TMD materials,such as Fabry-Perot cavities,photonic crystals,and plasmonic nanocavities.We then present several intriguing properties and relevant device applications of TMD polaritons.In the end,we delineate promising future directions for the study of strong light-matter coupling in van der Waals materials.

Quantum information processing with nitrogen–vacancy centers in diamond

Nitrogen-vacancy （NV） center in diamond is one of the most promising candidates to implement room temperature quantum computing. In this review, we briefly discuss the working principles and recent experimental progresses of this spin qubit. These results focus on understanding and prolonging center spin coherence, steering and probing spin states with dedicated quantum control techniques, and exploiting the quantum nature of these multi-spin systems, such as superposition and entanglement, to demonstrate the superiority of quantum information processing. Those techniques also stimulate the fast development of NV-based quantum sensing, which is an interdisciplinary field with great potential applications.

Electron Spin Decoherence of Nitrogen-Vacancy Center Coupled to Multiple Spin Baths

We present the experimental results of nitrogen-vacancy （NV） electron spin decoherence, which are linked to the coexistence of electron spin bath of nitrogen impurity （PI center） and 13C nuclear spin bath. In previous works, only one dominant decoherence source is studied： P1 electron spin bath for type-Ⅰb diamond; or 13C nuclear spin bath for type-Ⅱa diamond. In general, the thermal fluctuation from both spin baths can be eliminated by the Hahn echo sequence, resulting in a long coherence time （T2 ） of about 400#8. However, in a high-purity type-Ⅱa diamond where 1℃ nuclear spin bath is the dominant decoherence source, dramatic decreases of NV electron spin T2 time caused by P1 electron spin bath are observed under certain magnetic field. We further apply the engineered Hahn echo sequence to confirm the decoherenee mechanism of multiple spin baths and quantitatively estimate the contribution of P1 electron spin bath. Our results are helpful to understand the NV decoherence mechanisms, which will benefit quantum computing and quantum metrology.

Light–matter interaction of 2D materials:Physics and device applications

In the last decade, the rise of two-dimensional （2D） materials has attracted a tremendous amount of interest for the entire field of photonics and opto-electronics. The mechanism of light-matter interaction in 2D materials challenges the knowledge of materials physics, which drives the rapid development of materials synthesis and device applications. 2D materials coupled with plasmonic effects show impressive optical characteristics, involving efficient charge transfer, plas- monic hot electrons doping, enhanced light-emitting, and ultrasensitive photodetection. Here, we briefly review the recent remarkable progress of 2D materials, mainly on graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides, focusing on their tunable optical properties and improved opto-electronic devices with plasmonic effects. The mechanism of plasmon enhanced light-matter interaction in 2D materials is elaborated in detail, and the state-of-the-art of device applications is compre- hensively described. In the future, the field of 2D materials holds great promise as an important platform for materials science and opto-electronic engineering, enabling an emerging interdisciplinary research field spanning from clean energy to information technology.

Ab initio path-integral molecular dynamics and the quantum nature of hydrogen bonds

The hydrogen bond （HB） is an important type of intermolecular interaction, which is generally weak, ubiquitous, and essential to life on earth. The small mass of hydrogen means that many properties of HBs are quantum mechanical in nature. In recent years, because of the development of computer simulation methods and computational power, the influence of nuclear quantum effects （NQEs） on the structural and energetic properties of some hydrogen bonded systems has been intensively studied. Here, we present a review of these studies by focussing on the explanation of the principles underlying the simulation methods, i.e., the ab initio path-integral molecular dynamics. Its extension in combination with the thermodynamic integration method for the calculation of free energies will also be introduced. We use two examples to show how this influence of NQEs in realistic systems is simulated in practice.

Realization of arbitrary two-qubit quantum gates based on chiral Majorana fermions

Quantum computers are in hot-spot with the potential to handle more complex problems than classical computers can.Realizing the quantum computation requires the universal quantum gate set {T,H,CNOT} so as to perform any unitary transformation with arbitrary accuracy.Here we first briefly review the Majorana fermions and then propose the realization of arbitrary two-qubit quantum gates based on chiral Majorana fermions.Elementary cells consist of a quantum anomalous Hall insulator surrounded by a topological superconductor with electric gates and quantum-dot structures,which enable the braiding operation and the partial exchange operation.After defining a qubit by four chiral Majorana fermions,the singlequbit T and H quantum gates are realized via one partial exchange operation and three braiding operations,respectively.The entangled CNOT quantum gate is performed by braiding six chiral Majorana fermions.Besides,we design a powerful device with which arbitrary two-qubit quantum gates can be realized and take the quantum Fourier transform as an example to show that several quantum operations can be performed with this space-limited device.Thus,our proposal could inspire further utilization of mobile chiral Majorana edge states for faster quantum computation.

Quantum algorithm for a set of quantum 2SAT problems

We present a quantum adiabatic algorithm for a set of quantum 2-satisfiability(Q2SAT)problem,which is a generalization of 2-satisfiability(2SAT)problem.For a Q2SAT problem,we construct the Hamiltonian which is similar to that of a Heisenberg chain.All the solutions of the given Q2SAT problem span the subspace of the degenerate ground states.The Hamiltonian is adiabatically evolved so that the system stays in the degenerate subspace.Our numerical results suggest that the time complexity of our algorithm is O(n^(3.9))for yielding non-trivial solutions for problems with the number of clauses m=dn(n-1)/2(d■0.1).We discuss the advantages of our algorithm over the known quantum and classical algorithms.

Constructing Low-Dimensional Quantum Devices Based on the Surface State of Topological Insulators

We propose a new method to construct low-dimensional quantum devices consisting of the magnetic topological insulators.Unlike previous systems based on locally depleting two-dimensional electron gas in semiconductor heterojunctions,magnetization provides a simpler and rewriteable fabrication way.The motion of electrons can be manipulated through the domain wall formed by the boundary between different magnetic domains.Here,three devices designed by local magnetization are presented.For the quantum point contact,conductance exhibits quantized plateaus with the increasing silt width between two magnetic domains.For the quantum dot,conductance shows pronounced peaks as the change of gate voltage.Finally,for the Aharonov–Bohm ring,conductance oscillates periodically with the external magnetic field.Numerical results show that the transport of these local magnetization systems is identical to that of the previous systems based on depleting two-dimensional electron gas,and the only difference is the approach of construction.These findings may pave the way for realization of low-power-consumption devices based on magnetic domain walls.

Effects of Localized Interface Phonons on Heat Conductivity in Ingredient Heterogeneous Solids

Phonons are the primary heat carriers in non-metallic solids.In compositionally heterogeneous materials,the thermal properties are believed to be mainly governed by the disrupted phonon transport due to mass disorder and strain fluctuations,while the effects of compositional fluctuation induced local phonon states are usually ignored.Here,by scanning transmission electron microscopy electron energy loss spectroscopy and sophisticated calculations,we identify the vibrational properties of ingredient-dependent interface phonon modes in Alx Ga1-x N and quantify their various contributions to the local interface thermal conductance.We demonstrate that atomic-scale compositional fluctuation has significant influence on the vibrational thermodynamic properties,highly affecting the mode ratio and vibrational amplitude of interface phonon modes and subsequently redistributing their modal contribution to the interface thermal conductance.Our work provides fundamental insights into understanding of local phonon-boundary interactions in nanoscale inhomogeneities,which reveal new opportunities for optimization of thermal properties via engineering ingredient distribution.

Matter wave interference of dilute Bose gases in the critical regime

Ultra-cold atomic gases provide a new chance to study the universal critical behavior of phase transition. We study theoretically the matter wave interference for ultra-cold Bose gases in the critical regime. We demonstrate that the interference in the momentum distribution can be used to extract the correlation in the Bose gas. A simple relation between the interference visibility and the correlation length is found and used to interpret the pioneering experiment about the critical behavior of dilute Bose gases [Science 315 1556（2007）]. Our theory paves the way to experimentally study various types of ultra-cold atomic gases with the means of matter wave interference.

Interaction of moiréexcitons with cavity photons in two-dimensional semiconductor hetero-bilayers

Moirématerials,composed of two single-layer two-dimensional semiconductors,are important because they are good platforms for studying strongly correlated physics.Among them,moirématerials based on transition metal dichalcogenides(TMDs)have been intensively studied.The hetero-bilayer can support moiréinterlayer excitons if there is a small twist angle or small lattice constant difference between the TMDs in the hetero-bilayer and form a type-Ⅱ band alignment.The coupling of moiréinterlayer excitons to cavity modes can induce exotic phenomena.Here,we review recent advances in the coupling of moiréinterlayer excitons to cavities,and comment on the current difficulties and possible future research directions in this field.

Axion-Photon Conversion of LHAASO Multi-TeV and PeV Photons

The Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory(LHAASO)has reported the detection of a large number of multi-Te V-scale photon events also including several Pe V-scale gamma-ray-photon events with energy as high as 1.4 Pe V.The possibility that some of these events may have extragalactic origins is not yet excluded.Here we propose a mechanism for the traveling of very-high-energy and ultra-high-energy photons based upon the axionphoton conversion scenario,which allows extragalactic above-threshold photons to be detected by observers on the Earth.We show that the axion-photon conversation can serve as an alternative mechanism,besides the threshold anomaly due to Lorentz invariance violation,for the very-high-energy features of the newly observed gamma ray burst GRB 221009A.

Lorentz quantum computer

A theoretical model of computation is proposed based on Lorentz quantum mechanics.Besides the standard qubits,this model has an additional bit,which we call hyperbolic bit(or hybit in short).A set of basic logical gates are constructed and their universality is proved.As an application,a search algorithm is designed for this computer model and is found to be exponentially faster than Grover's search algorithm.

Concerted versus stepwise mechanisms of cyclic proton transfer:Experiments, simulations, and current challenges

Proton transfer(PT) is a process of fundamental importance in hydrogen(H)-bonded systems. At cryogenic or moderate temperatures, pronounced quantum tunneling may happen due to the light mass of H. Single PT processes have been extensively studied. However, for PT involving multiple protons, our understanding remains in its infancy stage due to the complicated interplay between the high-dimensional nature of the process and the quantum nature of tunneling. Cyclic H-bonded systems are typical examples of this, where PT can happen separately via a “stepwise” mechanism or collectively via a “concerted” mechanism. In the first scenario, some protons hop first, typically resulting in metastable intermediate states(ISs) and the reaction pathway passes through multiple transition states. Whilst in the concerted mechanism, all protons move simultaneously, resulting in only one barrier along the path. Here, we review previous experimental and theoretical studies probing quantum tunneling in several representative systems for cyclic PT, with more focus on recent theoretical findings with path-integral based methods. For gas-phase porphyrin and porphycene, as well as porphycene on a metal surface, theoretical predictions are consistent with experimental observations, and enhance our understanding of the processes. Yet, discrepancies in the PT kinetic isotope effects between experiment and theory appear in two systems,most noticeably in water tetramer adsorbed on NaCl(001) surface, and also hinted in porphycene adsorbed on Ag(110)surface. In ice Ih, controversy surrounding concerted PT remains even between experiments. Despite of the recent progress in both theoretical methods and experimental techniques, multiple PT processes in cyclic H-bonded systems remain to be mysterious.

Fermionized Dual Vortex Theory for Magnetized Kagom′e Spin Liquid

Inspired by the recent quantum oscillation measurement on the kagom′e lattice antiferromagnet in finite magnetic fields,we raise the question about the physical contents of the emergent fermions and the gauge fields if the U(1)spin liquid is relevant for the finite-field kagom′e lattice antiferromagnet.Clearly,the magnetic field is non-perturbative in this regime,and the finite-field state has no direct relation with the U(1)Dirac spin liquid proposal at zero field.We here consider the fermionized dual vortex liquid state as one possible candidate theory to understand the magnetized kagom′e spin liquid.Within the dual vortex theory,the S^(z) magnetization is the emergent U(1)gauge flux,and the fermionized dual vortex is the emergent fermion.The magnetic field polarizes the spin component that modulates the U(1)gauge flux for the fermionized vortices and generates the quantum oscillation.Within the mean-field theory,we discuss the gauge field correlation,the vortex–antivortex continuum and the vortex thermal Hall effect.