Design of a polarization splitter for an ultra-broadband dual-core photonic crystal fiber

A novel ultra-broadband polarization splitter based on a dual-core photonic crystal fiber(DC-PCF)is designed.The full-vector finite element method and coupled-mode theory are employed to investigate the characteristics of the polarization splitter.According to the numerical results,a graphene-filled layer not only broadens the working bandwidth but also reduces the size of the polarization splitter.Furthermore,the fluorine-doped region and the germanium-doped region can broaden the bandwidth.Also,the 4.78 mm long polarization splitter can achieve an extinction ratio of-98.6 d B at a wavelength of 1550 nm.When extinction ratio is less than-20 d B,the range of the wavelength is 1027 nm-1723 nm with a bandwidth of 696 nm.Overall,the polarization splitter can be applied to all-optical network communication systems in the infrared and near-infrared wavelength range.

Rapid inactivation of human respiratory RNA viruses by deep ultraviolet irradiation from light-emitting diodes on a high-temperatureannealed AlN/Sapphire template

Efficient and eco-friendly disinfection of air-borne human respiratory RNA viruses is pursued in both public environment and portable usage.The AlGaN-based deep ultraviolet(DUV)light-emission diode(LED)has high practical potentials because of its advantages of variable wavelength,rapid sterilization,environmental protection,and miniaturization.Therefore,whether the emission wavelength has effects on the disinfection as well as whether the device is feasible to sterilize various respiratory RNA viruses under portable conditions is crucial.Here,we fabricate AlGaN-based DUV LEDs with different wavelength on high-temperature-annealed(HTA)AlN/Sapphire templates and investigate the inactivation effects for several respiratory RNA viruses.The AlN/AlGaN superlattices are employed between the template and upper n-AlGaN to release the strong compressive stress(SCS),improving the crystal quality and interface roughness.DUV LEDs with the wavelength of 256,265,and 278 nm,corresponding to the light output power of 6.8,9.6,and 12.5 mW,are realized,among which the 256 nm-LED shows the most potent inactivation effect in human respiratory RNA viruses,including SARS-CoV-2,influenza A virus(IAV),and human parainfluenza virus(HPIV),at a similar light power density(LPD)of~0.8 mW/cm2 for 10 s.These results will contribute to the advanced DUV LED application of disinfecting viruses with high potency and broad spectrum in a portable and eco-friendly use.

Sign reversal of anisotropic magnetoresistance and anomalous thickness-dependent resistivity in Sr_(2)CrWO_(6)/SrTiO_(3) films

High-quality Sr_(2)CrWO_(6)(SCWO) films have been grown on SrTiO_(3)(STO) substrate by pulsed laser deposition under low oxygen pressure. With decrease of the film thickness, a drastic conductivity increase is observed. The Hall measurements show that the thicker the film, the lower the carrier density. An extrinsic mechanism of charge doping due to the dominance of oxygen vacancies at SCWO/STO interfaces is proposed. The distribution and gradient of carrier concentration in SCWO films are considered to be related to this phenomenon. Resistivity behavior observed in these films is found to follow the variable range hopping model. It is revealed that with increase of the film thickness, the extent of disorder in the lattice increases, which gives a clear evidence of disorder-induced localization charge carriers in these films.Magnetoresistance measurements show that there is a negative magnetoresistance in SCWO films, which is considered to be caused by the magnetic scattering of magnetic elements Cr^(3+) and W^(5+). In addition, a sign reversal of anisotropic magnetoresistance(AMR) in SCWO film is observed for the first time, when the temperature varies across a characteristic value, T_(M). Magnetization-temperature measurements demonstrate that this AMR sign reversal is caused by the direction transition of easy axis of magnetization from the in-plane ferromagnetic order at T > T_(M) to the out-of-plane at T < T_(M).

Doping-enhanced robustness of anomaly-related magnetoresistance in WTe_(2±α)flakes

We study systematically the negative magnetoresistance(MR)effect in WTe_(2±α)flakes with different thicknesses and doping concentrations.The negative MR is sensitive to the relative orientation between electrical-/magnetic-field and crystallographic orientation of WTe_(2±α).The analysis proves that the negative MR originates from chiral anomaly and is anisotropic.Maximum entropy mobility spectrum is used to analyze the electron and hole concentrations in the flake samples.It is found that the negative MR observed in WTe_(2±α)flakes with low doping concentration is small,and the high doping concentration is large.The doping-induced disorder obviously inhibits the positive MR,so the negative MR can be more easily observed.In a word,we introduce disorder to suppress positive MR by doping,and successfully obtain the negative MR in WTe_(2±α)flakes with different thicknesses and doping concentrations,which indicates that the chiral anomaly effect in WTe_(2)is robust.

240 nm AlGaN-based deep ultraviolet micro-LEDs:size effect versus edge effect

240 nm AlGaN-based micro-LEDs with different sizes are designed and fabricated.Then,the external quantum efficiency(EQE)and light extraction efficiency(LEE)are systematically investigated by comparing size and edge effects.Here,it is revealed that the peak optical output power increases by 81.83%with the size shrinking from 50.0 to 25.0μm.Thereinto,the LEE increases by 26.21%and the LEE enhancement mainly comes from the sidewall light extraction.Most notably,transversemagnetic(TM)mode light intensifies faster as the size shrinks due to the tilted mesa side-wall and Al reflector design.However,when it turns to 12.5μm sized micro-LEDs,the output power is lower than 25.0μm sized ones.The underlying mechanism is that even though protected by SiO2 passivation,the edge effect which leads to current leakage and Shockley-Read-Hall(SRH)recombination deteriorates rapidly with the size further shrinking.Moreover,the ratio of the p-contact area to mesa area is much lower,which deteriorates the p-type current spreading at the mesa edge.These findings show a role of thumb for the design of high efficiency micro-LEDs with wavelength below 250 nm,which will pave the way for wide applications of deep ultraviolet(DUV)micro-LEDs.

BaTiO_(3)/p-GaN/Au self-driven UV photodetector with bipolar photocurrent controlled by ferroelectric polarization

Ferroelectric materials are promising candidates for ultraviolet photodetectors due to their ferroelectric effect.In this work,a BaTiO_(3)/p-GaN/Au hybrid heterojunction-Schottky self-driven ultraviolet photodetector was fabricated with excellent bipolar photoresponse property.At 0 V bias,the direction of the photocurrent can be switched by flipping the depolarization field of BaTiO_(3),which allows the performance of photodetectors to be controlled by the ferroelectric effect.Meanwhile,a relatively large responsivity and a fast response speed can be also observed.In particular,when the depolarization field of BaTiO_(3) is in the same direction of the built-in electric field of the Au/p-GaN Schottky junction(up polarized state),the photodetector exhibits a high responsivity of 18 mA/W at 360 nm,and a fast response speed of<40 ms at 0 V.These findings pave a new way for the preparation of high-performance photodetectors with bipolar photocurrents.

Application of nanoparticles in cast steel:An overview

The innovative and environmentally friendly methodologies for comprehensively enhancing the performances of high-strength steels without damage to plasticity,toughness and heat/corrosion/fatigue resistance are being developed.In recent years,nanoparticles elevate the field of high-strength steel.It is proposed that nanoparticles have the potential to replace conventional semi-coherent intermetallic compounds,carbides and alloying to optimize the steel.The fabrication process is simplified and the cost is lower compared with the traditional methods.Considerable research effort has been directed towards high-performance cast steels reinforced with nanoparticles due to potential application in major engineering.Nanoparticles are found to be capable of notably optimizing the nucleation behavior and precipitate process.The prominently optimized microstructure configuration and performances of cast steel can be acquired synchronously.In this review,the lattice matching and valence electron criterion between diverse nanoparticles and steel are summarized,and the existing various preparation methods are compared and analyzed.At present,there are four main methods to introduce nanoparticles into steel:external nanoparticle method,internal nanoparticle method,in-situ reaction method,and additive manufacturing method.These four methods have their own advantages and limitations,respectively.In this review,the synthesis,selection principle and strengthening mechanism of nanoparticles in cast steels for the above four methods are discussed in detail.Moreover,the main preparation methods and microstructure manipulation mechanism of the steel reinforced with different nanoparticles have been systematically expatiated.Finally,the development and future potential research directions of the application of nanoparticles in cast steel are prospected.

Recent progress of ZnMgO ultraviolet photodetector

The ultra-violet（UV） detection has a wide application in both civil and military fields.ZnO is recognized as one of ideal materials for fabricating the UV photodetectors due to its plenty of advantages,such as wide bandgap,low cost,being environment-friendly,high radiation hardness,etc.Moreover,the alloying of ZnO with MgO to make ZnMgO could continually increase the band gap from ~ 3.3 eV to ~ 7.8 eV,which allows both solar blind and visible blind UV radiation to be detected.As is well known,ZnO is stabilized in the wurtzite structure,while MgO is stabilized in the rock salt structure.As a result,with increasing the Mg content,the crystal structure of ZnMgO alloy will change from wurtzite structure to rock salt structure.Therefore,ZnMgO photodetectors can be divided into three types based on the structures of alloys,namely,wurtzite-phase,cubic-phase and mixed-phase devices.In this paper,we review recent development and make the prospect of three types of ZnMgO UV photodetectors.

Ultraviolet photodetectors based on wide bandgap oxide semiconductor films

Ultraviolet(UV) photodetectors have attracted more and more attention due to their great potential applications in missile tracking, flame detecting, pollution monitoring, ozone layer monitoring, and so on. Owing to the special characteristics of large bandgap, solution processable, low cost, environmentally friendly, etc., wide bandgap oxide semiconductor materials, such as ZnO, ZnMgO, Ga_2O_3, TiO_2, and Ni O, have gradually become a series of star materials in the field of semiconductor UV detection. In this paper, a review is presented on the development of UV photodetectors based on wide bandgap oxide semiconductor films.

Review of improved spectral response of ultraviolet photodetectors by surface plasmon

Ultraviolet(UV) photodetectors based on wide band gap semiconductor have attracted much attention for their small volume, low working voltage, long lifetime, good chemical and thermal stability. Up to now, many researches have been done on the semiconductors based UV detectors and some kinds of detectors have been made, such as metal–semiconductor–metal(MSM), Schottky, and PIN-type detectors. However, the sensitivity values of those detectors are still far from the expectation. Recent years, surface plasmon(SP) has been considered to be an effective way to enhance the sensitivity of semiconductor based UV photodetector. When the light is matched with the resonance frequency of surface plasmon, the localized field enhancement or scattering effect will happen and thus the spectral response will be enhanced.Here, we present an overview of surface plasmon enhancing the performance of UV detectors, including the GaN, ZnO,and other wide band gap semiconductor UV detectors. Both fundamental and experimental achievements are contained in this review.

Boosting the kinetics of PF_(6)^(-) into graphitic layers for the optimal cathode of dual-ion batteries:The rehearsal of pre-intercalating Li^(+)

Large anions exhibit slow diffusion kinetics in graphite cathode of dual-ion batteries(DIBs);particularly at high current density,it suffers severely from the largely-reduced interlayer utilization of graphite cathode,which as a bottleneck limits the fast charge application of DIBs.To maximize interlayer utilization and achieve faster anion diffusion kinetics,a fast and uncrowded anion transport channel must be established.Herein,Li^(+)was pre-intercalated into the graphite paper(GP)cathode to increase the interlayer spacing,and then hosted for the PF_(6)^(-)anion storage.Combined with theoretical calculation,it shows that the local interlayer spacing enlargement and the residual Li^(+)reduce the anion intercalation energy and diffusion barrier,leading to better rate stability.The obtained GP with Li^(+)pre-intercalation(GP-Li)electrode exhibits a discharge capacity of 23.1 m Ah g^(-1) at a high current of 1300 m A g^(-1).This work provides a facile method to efficiently improve the interlayer utilization of graphite cathode at large currents.

Enhanced thermal stability of VCSEL array by thermoelectric analysis-based optimization of mesas distribution

The thermal stability of a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser（VCSEL） array is enhanced by redesigning the mesa arrangement. Based on a thermoelectric coupling three-dimensional（3D） finite-element model, an optimized VCSEL array is designed. The effects of this optimization are studied experimentally. Power density characteristics of VCSEL arrays with different mesa configuration are obtained under different thermal stress in which the optimized device shows improved performance. Optimized device also shows better stability from measured spectra and calculated thermal resistances. The experimental results prove that our simulation model and optimization is instructive for VCSEL array design.

Effect of temperature on photoresponse properties of solar-blind Schottky barrier diode photodetector based on single crystal Ga_2O_3

A solar-blind photodetector is fabricated on single crystal Ga_2O_3 based on vertical structure Schottky barrier diode. A Cu Schottky contact electrode is prepared in a honeycomb porous structure to increase the ultraviolet(UV) transmittance.The quantum efficiency is about 400% at 42 V. The Ga_2O_3 photodetector shows a sharp cutoff wavelength at 259 nm with high solar-blind/visible(= 3213) and solar-blind/UV(= 834) rejection ratio. Time-resolved photoresponse of the photodetector is investigated at 253-nm illumination from room temperature(RT) to 85.8℃. The photodetector maintains a high reversibility and response speed, even at high temperatures.

Photodetectors based on inorganic halide perovskites:Materials and devices

The newly emerging metal halide perovskites have attracted considerable attention due to their exceptional optoelectronic properties. This upsurge was initially driven when the power conversion efficiency of perovskite-based photovoltaic devices exceeded 23%. Due to their optoelectronic properties, perovskite materials have also been used in light-emitting diodes, photodetectors, lasers, and memory devices. This study comprehensively discusses the recent progress of allinorganic perovskite-based photodetectors, focusing on their structures, morphologies of their constituent materials, and diverse device architectures that improve the performance metrics of these photodetectors. A brief outlook, highlighting the main existing problems, possible solutions to these problems, and future development directions, is also provided herein.

Introducing voids around the interlayer of AlN by high temperature annealing

Introducing voids into AlN layer at a certain height using a simple method is meaningful but challenging.In this work,the AlN/sapphire template with AlN interlayer structure was designed and grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition.Then,the AlN template was annealed at 1700℃for an hour to introduce the voids.It was found that voids were formed in the AlN layer after high-temperature annealing and they were mainly distributed around the AlN interlayer.Meanwhile,the dislocation density of the AlN template decreased from 5.26×10^(9)cm^(-2)to 5.10×10^(8)cm^(-2).This work provides a possible method to introduce voids into AlN layer at a designated height,which will benefit the design of AlN-based devices.

Dependence of Thermal Annealing on Transparent Conducting Properties of HoF_3-Doped ZnO Thin Films

A kind of n-type HoF_3-doped zinc oxide-based transparent conductive film has been developed by electron beam evaporation and studied under thermal annealing in air and vacuum at temperatures 100–500℃.Effective substitutional dopings of F to O and Ho to Zn are realized for the films with smooth surface morphology and average grain size of about 50 nm.The hall mobility,electron concentration,resistivity and work function for the asdeposited films are 47.89 cm^2/Vs,1.39×10^(20)cm^(-3),9.37×10^(-4)Ω·cm and 5.069 eV,respectively.In addition,the average transmittance in the visible region(400–700 nm)approximates to 87%.The HoF_3:ZnO films annealed in air and vacuum can retain good optoelectronic properties under 300℃,thereinto,more stable electrical properties can be found in the air-annealed films than in the vacuum-annealed films,which is assumed to be a result of improved nano-crystalline lattice quality.The optimized films for most parameters can be obtained at 200℃ for the air-annealing case and at room temperature for the vacuum annealing case.The advisable optoelectronic properties imply that HoF_3:ZnO can facilitate carrier injection and has promising applications in energy and light sources as transparent electrodes.

The improved output performance of a broad-area vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser with an optimized electrode diameter

The output performance of a 980-nm broad-area vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser （VCSEL） is improved by optimizing the p-electrode diameter in this study. Based on a three-dimensional finite-element method, the current density distribution within the active region of the VCSEL is optimized through the appropriate adjustment of the p-electrode diameter, and uniform current-density distribution is achieved. Then, the effects of this optimization are studied experimentally. The L-I-V characteristics under different temperatures of the VCSELs with different p-electrode diameters are investigated, and better temperature stability is demonstrated in the VCSEL with an optimized p-electrode diameter. The far-field measurements show that with an injected current of 2 A, the far-field divergence angle of the VCSEL with an optimized p-electrode diameter is 9°, which is much lower than the far-field angle of the VCSEL without this optimization. Also the VCSEL with an optimized p-electrode diameter shows a better near-field distribution.

Boosting the performance of crossed ZnO microwire UV photodetector by mechanical contact homo-interface barrier

One-dimensional(1D)micro/nanowires of wide band gap semiconductors have become one of the most promising blocks of high-performance photodetectors.However,in the axial direction of micro/nanowires,the carriers can transport freely driven by an external electric field,which usually produces large dark current and low detectivity.Here,an UV photodetector built from three cross-intersecting ZnO microwires with double homo-interfaces is demonstrated by the chemical vapor deposition and physical transfer techniques.Compared with the reference device without interface,the dark current of this ZnO double-interface photodetector is significantly reduced by nearly 5 orders of magnitude,while the responsivity decreases slightly,thereby greatly improving the normalized photocurrent-to-dark current ratio.In addition,ZnO double-interface photodetector exhibits a much faster response speed(~0.65 s)than the no-interface device(~95 s).The improved performance is attributed to the potential barriers at the microwire-microwire homo-interfaces,which can regulate the carrier transport.Our findings in this work provide a promising approach for the design and development of high-performance photodetectors.

Effect of surface oxygen vacancy defects on the performance of ZnO quantum dots ultraviolet photodetector

The slower response speed is the main problem in the application of ZnO quantum dots(QDs)photodetector,which has been commonly attributed to the presence of excess oxygen vacancy defects and oxygen adsorption/desorption processes.However,the detailed mechanism is still not very clear.Herein,the properties of ZnO QDs and their photodetectors with different amounts of oxygen vacancy(VO)defects controlled by hydrogen peroxide(H_(2)O_(2))solution treatment have been investigated.After H_(2)O_(2) solution treatment,VO concentration of ZnO QDs decreased.The H_(2)O_(2) solution-treated device has a higher photocurrent and a lower dark current.Meanwhile,with the increase in VO concentration of ZnO QDs,the response speed of the device has been improved due to the increase of oxygen adsorption/desorption rate.More interestingly,the response speed of the device became less sensitive to temperature and oxygen concentration with the increase of VO defects.The findings in this work clarify that the surface VO defects of ZnO QDs could enhance the photoresponse speed,which is helpful for sensor designing.

Modeling of resistance characteristics of a continuously-graded distributed Bragg reflector in a 980-nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser

The resistance characteristics of a continuously-graded distributed Bragg reflector（DBR） in a 980-nm verticalcavity surface-emitting laser（VCSEL） are modeled in detail.The junction resistances between the layers of both the p-and n-DBR mirrors are analysed by combining the thermionic emission model and the finite difference method.In the meantime,the intrinsic resistance of the DBR material system is calculated to make a comparison with the junction resistance.The minimal values of series resistances of the graded p-and n-type DBR mirrors and the lateral temperature-dependent resistance variation are calculated and discussed.The result indicates the potential to optimize the design of the DBR reflectors of the 980-nm VCSELs.