Single photon detectors are key for time-correlated photon counting applications [1] and enable a host of emerging optical quantum information technologies [2]. So far, the leading approach for continuous and efficient single-photon detection in the optical domain has been based on semiconductor photodiodes [3]. However, there is a paucity of efficient and continuous single-photon detectors in the microwave regime, because photon energies are four to five orders of magnitude lower therein and conventional photodiodes do not have that sensitivity. Here we tackle this gap and demonstrate how itinerant microwave photons can be efficiently and continuously converted to electrical current in a high-quality, semiconducting nanowire double quantum dot that is resonantly coupled to a cavity. In particular, in our detection scheme, an absorbed photon gives rise to a single electron tunneling event through the double dot, with a conversion efficiency reaching 6 %. Our results pave the way for photodiodes with single-shot microwave photon detection, at the theoretically predicted unit efficiency [4].
We present the optoelectronic characterization of two graphene/silicon Schottky junctions, fabricated by transferring CVD-graphene on flat and nanotip-patterned n-Si substrates, respectively. We demonstrate record photo responsivity, exceeding 2.5 A/W under white light, which we attribute to the contribution of charges photogenerated in the surrounding region of the flat junction or to the internal gain by impact ionization caused by the enhanced field on the nanotips.
Intersubband optoelectronic devices rely on transitions between quantum-confined electron levels in semiconductor heterostructures, which enables infrared (IR) photodetection in the 1-30 $μ$m wavelength window with picosecond response times. Incorporating nanowires as active media could enable an independent control over the electrical cross-section of the device and the optical absorption cross-section. Furthermore, the three-dimensional carrier confinement in nanowire heterostructures opens new possibilities to tune the carrier relaxation time. However, the generation of structural defects a…
Defects are detrimental for optoelectronics devices, such as stacking faults can form carrier-transportation barriers, and foreign impurities (Au) with deep-energy levels can form carrier traps and non-radiative recombination centers. Here, we first developed self-catalyzed p-type GaAs nanowires (NWs) with pure zinc blende (ZB) structure, and then fabricated photodetector made by these NWs. Due to absence of stacking faults and suppression of large amount of defects with deep energy levels, the photodetector exhibits room-temperature high photo responsivity of 1.45 x 105 A W^-1 and excellent s…
The quantum dot arrays (QDAs) embedded into inhomogeneous nanowires connected to metallic electrodes show an electron heat rectification effect, which is attributed to the thermal voltage arising from a temperature bias and the QDA with a broken spatial inversion symmetry. The staircase energy levels of QDAs can be controlled to the resonant and off resonant transports for electrons in the forward and backward temperature biases, respectively. The effect of electron Coulomb interactions on the rectification efficiency of heat diode is clarified by the case of double QDs. We find that it is imp…
The critical current of a superconductor can depend on the direction of current flow due to magnetochiral anisotropy when both inversion and time-reversal symmetry are broken, an effect known as the superconducting (SC) diode effect. Here, we consider one-dimensional (1D) systems in which superconductivity is induced via the proximity effect. In both topological insulator and Rashba nanowires, the SC diode effect due to a magnetic field applied along the spin-polarization axis and perpendicular to the nanowire provides a measure of inversion symmetry breaking in the presence of a superconducto…
MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente（特温特大学介观纳米技术研究所）；State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics and Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, School of Physics, Peking University（北京大学物理学院介观物理国家重点实验室与前沿纳米光电科学中心）
As the conventional silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) approaches its scaling limits; many novel device structures are being extensively explored. Among them, the silicon nanowire transistor (SNWT) has attracted broad attention. To understand device physics in depth and to assess the performance limits of SNWTs, simulation is becoming increasingly important. The objectives of this work are: 1) to theoretically explore the essential physics of SNWTs (e.g., electrostatics, transport and band structure) by performing computer-based simulations, and 2) to assess the…
The electrical and photodiode characteristics of ensemble and single p-GaN nanowire and n-Si heterojunction devices were studied. Ideality factor of the single nanowire p-GaN/n-Si device was found to be about three times lower compared to that of the ensemble nanowire device. Apart from the deep-level traps in p-GaN nanowires, defect states due to inhomogeneity in Mg dopants in the ensemble nanowire device are attributed to the origin of high ideality factor. Photovoltaic mode of ensemble nanowire device showed an improvement in the fill-factors up to 60 percent over the single nanowire device…
We report novel graphene nanoribbon (GNR)/semiconductor nanowire (SNW) heterojunction light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for the first time. The GNR and SNW have a face-to-face contact structure, which has the merit of bigger active region. ZnO, CdS, and CdSe NWs were employed in our case. At forward biases, the GNR/SNW heterjunction LEDs could emit light with wavelengths varying from ultraviolet (380 nm) to green (513 nm) to red (705 nm), which were determined by the band-gaps of the involved SNWs. The mechanism of light emitting for the GNR/SNW heterojunction LED was discussed. Our approach can ea…
An analytical model of the spin-diode effect induced by resonant spin-transfer torque in a ferromagnetic bilayer with strong dipolar coupling provides the resonance frequencies and the lineshapes of the magnetic field spectra obtained under field or laser-light modulation. The effect of laser irradiation is accounted for by introducing the temperature dependence of the saturation magnetization and anisotropy, as well as thermal spin-transfer torques. The predictions of the model are compared with experimental data obtained with single Co/Cu/Co spin valves, embedded in nanowires and produced by…
Giant and robust Josephson diode effect in multiband topological nanowires
International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University（北京大学物理学院量子材料国际中心）；Hefei National Laboratory（合肥国家实验室）；International Quantum Academy, Shenzhen（深圳国际量子研究院）
We study the key features of the Josephson transport through a curved semiconducting nanowire. Based on numerical simulations and analytical estimates within the framework of the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations we find the ground-state phase difference $φ_0$ between the superconducting leads tuned by the spin splitting field $h$ driving the system from the topologically trivial to the nontrivial superconducting state. The phase $φ_0$ vanishes for rather small $h$, grows in a certain field range around the topological transition, and then saturates at large $h$ in the Kitaev regime. Both the sub…
We demonstrate a novel method for nanowire formation by natural selection during wet chemical etching in boiling Phosphoric acid. It is observed that wire lateral dimensions of sub-10 nm and lengths of 700 nm or more have been naturally formed during the wet etching. The dimension variation is controlled through etching times wherein the underlying cause is the merging of the nearby crystallographic hexagonal etch pits. The emission processes involving excitons are found to be efficient and lead to enhanced emission characteristics. The exciton binding energy is augmented by using quantum conf…
Light emitting diodes (LEDs) were fabricated using ensembles of free-standing (In,Ga)N/GaN nanowires (NWs) grown on Si substrates in the self-induced growth mode by molecular beam epitaxy. Electron beam induced current analysis, cathodoluminescence as well as biased $μ$-photoluminescence spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and electrical measurements indicate that the electroluminescence of such LEDs is governed by the differences in the individual current densities of the single-NW LEDs operated in parallel, i.e. by the inhomogeneity of the current path in the ensemble LED. In add…
We investigated the origin of the high reverse leakage current in light emitting diodes (LEDs) based on (In,Ga)N/GaN nanowire (NW) ensembles grown by molecular beam epitaxy on Si substrates. To this end, capacitance deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) and temperature-dependent current-voltage (I-V) measurements were performed on a fully processed NW-LED. The DLTS measurements reveal the presence of two distinct electron traps with high concentrations in the depletion region of the p-i-n junction. These band gap states are located at energies of $570\pm20$ and $840\pm30$ meV below the cond…
Superconducting diodes are a recently-discovered quantum analogueue of classical diodes. The superconducting diode effect relies on the breaking of both time-reversal and inversion symmetry. As a result, the critical current of a superconductor can become dependent on the direction of the applied current. The combination of these ingredients naturally occurs in proximitized semiconductors under a magnetic field, which is also predicted to give rise to exotic physics such as topological superconductivity. In this work, we use InSb nanowires proximitized by Al to investigate the superconducting …
Understanding of the electroluminescence (EL) mechanism in optoelectronic devices is important for further optimization of their efficiency and effectiveness. Here, a quantum mechanical approach is formulated for modeling EL processes in nanoscale light emitting diodes (LED). Based on nonequilibrium Green's function quantum transport equations, interactions with electromagnetic vacuum environment is included to describe electrically driven light emission in the devices. Numerical studies of a silicon nanowire LED device are presented. EL spectra of the nanowire device under different bias volt…
In the experimental electroluminescence (EL) spectra of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on N-polar (In,Ga)N/GaN nanowires (NWs), we observed a double peak structure. The relative intensity of the two peaks evolves in a peculiar way with injected current. Spatially and spectrally resolved EL maps confirmed the presence of two main transitions in the spectra, and suggested that they are emitted by the majority of single nano-LEDs. In order to elucidate the physical origin of this effect, we performed theoretical calculations of the strain, electric field, and charge density distributions both…
The separation of hot carriers in semiconductors is of interest for applications such as thermovoltaic photodetection and third-generation photovoltaics. Semiconductor nanowires offer several potential advantages for effective hot-carrier separation such as: a high degree of control and flexibility in heterostructure-based band engineering, increased hot-carrier temperatures compared to bulk, and a geometry well suited for local control of light absorption. Indeed, InAs nanowires with a short InP energy barrier have been observed to produce electric power under global illumination, with an ope…
Electronic devices are extremely sensitive to defects in their constituent semiconductors, but locating electronic point defects in bulk semiconductors has previously been impossible. Here we apply scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) electron beam-induced current (EBIC) imaging to map electronic defects in a GaAs nanowire Schottky diode. Imaging with a non-damaging 80 or 200 kV STEM acceleration potential reveals a minority-carrier diffusion length that decreases near the surface of the hexagonal nanowire, thereby demonstrating that the device's charge collection efficiency (CCE) …
Heat engines made of quantum-dot (QD) superlattice nanowires (SLNWs) offer promising applications in energy harvesting due to the reduction of phonon thermal conductivity. In solid state electrical generators (refrigerators), one needs to generate (remove) large amount of charge current (heat current). Consequently, a high QD SLNW density is required for realistic applications. This study theoretically investigated the properties of power factor and electron heat rectification for an SLNW array under the transition from a one dimensional system to a two dimensional system. The SLNW arrays show…
We report reproducible fabrication of InP-InAsP nanowire light emitting diodes in which electron-hole recombination is restricted to a quantum-dot-sized InAsP section. The nanowire geometry naturally self-aligns the quantum dot with the n-InP and p-InP ends of the wire, making these devices promising candidates for electrically-driven quantum optics experiments. We have investigated the operation of these nano-LEDs with a consistent series of experiments at room temperature and at 10 K, demonstrating the potential of this system for single photon applications.
The density of states of proximitized normal nanowires interrupting superconducting rings can be tuned by the magnetic flux piercing the loop. Using these as the contacts of a single-electron transistor allows to control the energetic mirror asymmetry of the conductor, this way introducing rectification properties. In particular, we show that the system works as a diode that rectifies both charge and heat currents and whose polarity can be reversed by the magnetic field and a gate voltage. We emphasize the role of dissipation at the island. The coupling to substrate phonons enhances the effect…
ZnO nanowires have an enormous potential for applications as ultra-violet (UV) photodetectors. Their mechanism of photocurrent generation is intimately related with the presence of surface states where considerable efforts, such as surface chemical modifications, have been pursued to improve their photodetection capabilities. In this work, we report a step further in this direction demonstrating that the photosensitivity and quality factor (Q factor) of the photodetector are entirely tunable by an applied gate voltage. This mechanism enables UV photodetection selectivity ranging from wavelengt…
We have characterized the photodetection capabilities of single GaN nanowires incorporating 20 periods of AlN/GaN:Ge axial heterostructures enveloped in an AlN shell. Transmission electron microscopy confirms the absence of an additional GaN shell around the heterostructures. In the absence of a surface conduction channel, the incorporation of the heterostructure leads to a decrease of the dark current and an increase of the photosensitivity. A significant dispersion in the magnitude of dark currents for different single nanowires is attributed to the coalescence of nanowires with displaced na…
A bright photon source that combines high-fidelity entanglement, on-demand generation, high extraction efficiency, directional and coherent emission, as well as position control at the nanoscale is required for implementing ambitious schemes in quantum information processing, such as that of a quantum repeater. Still, all of these properties have not yet been achieved in a single device. Semiconductor quantum dots embedded in nanowire waveguides potentially satisfy all of these requirements; however, although theoretically predicted, entanglement has not yet been demonstrated for a nanowire qu…
Current voltage and Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy (KPFM) measurements were performed on single ZnO nanowires. Measurements are shown to be strongly correlated with the contact behavior, either ohmic or Schottky. The ZnO nanowires were obtained by metallo-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) and contacted using electronic-beam lithography. Depending on the contact geometry, good quality ohmic contacts (linear I V behavior) or non-linear (diode like) Schottky contacts were obtained. Current voltage and KPFM measurements on both types of contacted ZnO nanowires were performed in order to inv…
Low-cost spintronic devices functioning in zero applied magnetic field are required for bringing the idea of spin-based electronics into the real-world industrial applications. Here we present first microwave measurements performed on nanomagnet devices fabricated by electrodeposition inside porous membranes. In the paper, we discuss in details a microwave resonator consisting of three nanomagnets, which functions in zero external magnetic field. By applying a microwave signal at a particular frequency, the magnetization of the middle nanomagnet experiences the ferromagnetic resonance (FMR), a…
Macroscopic spontaneous coherence of exciton-polariton in semiconductor cavity is one important research field in condensed matter physics. All-inorganic micro/nanowire Fabry-Pérot cavity with excellent optical performance makes it possible to realize strong coupling and lasing of exciton-photon at room temperature. In this work, we demonstrated strong coupling of exciton-photon and polariton lasing in CsPbBr3 micro/nanowires synthesized by CVD method. By exploring spatial resolved PL spectra of CsPbBr3 cavity, we observed mode volume dependent coupling strength , as well as significant increa…
Core-shell GaAs-based nanowires monolithically integrated on Si constitute a promising class of nanostructures that could enable light emitters for fast inter- and intrachip optical connections. We introduce and fabricate a novel coaxial GaAs/(In,Ga)As dot-in-a-well nanowire heterostructure to reach spontaneous emission in the Si transparent region, which is crucial for applications in Si photonics. Specifically, we achieve room temperature emission at 1.27 $μ$m in the telecommunication O band. The presence of quantum dots in the heterostructure is evidenced by a structural analysis based on s…
Several of the key issues of planar (Al,Ga)N-based deep-ultraviolet light emitting diodes could potentially be overcome by utilizing nanowire heterostructures, exhibiting high structural perfection and improved light extraction. Here, we study the spontaneous emission of GaN/(Al,Ga)N nanowire ensembles grown on Si(111) by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The nanowires contain single GaN quantum disks embedded in long (Al,Ga)N nanowire segments essential for efficient light extraction. These quantum disks are found to exhibit intense emission at unexpectedly high energies, namely, signif…
We report on a detailed study of the intensity dependent optical properties of individual GaN/AlN Quantum Disks (QDisks) embedded into GaN nanowires (NW). The structural and optical properties of the QDisks were probed by high spatial resolution cathodoluminescence (CL) in a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). By exciting the QDisks with a nanometric electron beam at currents spanning over 3 orders of magnitude, strong non-linearities (energy shifts) in the light emission are observed. In particular, we find that the amount of energy shift depends on the emission rate and on the …
Wireless technology relies on the conversion of alternating electromagnetic fields to direct currents, a process known as rectification. While rectifiers are normally based on semiconductor diodes, quantum mechanical non-reciprocal transport effects that enable highly controllable rectification have recently been discovered. One such effect is magnetochiral anisotropy (MCA), where the resistance of a material or a device depends on both the direction of current flow and an applied magnetic field. However, the size of rectification possible due to MCA is usually extremely small, because MCA rel…
We propose a hybrid device consisting of a graphene/silicon (Gr/Si) Schottky diode in parallel with a Gr/SiO2/Si capacitor for high-performance photodetection. The device, fabricated by transfer of commercial graphene on low-doped n-type Si substrate, achieves a photoresponse as high as 3 AW^(-1) and a normalized detectivity higher than 3.5 10^12 cmHz^(1/2) W^(-1) in the visible range. The device exhibits a photocurrent exceeding the forward current, because photo-generated minority carriers, accumulated at Si/SiO2 interface of the Gr/SiO2/Si capacitor, diffuse to the Gr/Si junction. We show t…
In this work, the influence of Au plasmonics on photocurrent generation in the visible wavelength range in integrated thiol-linked CdSe quantum dot/Au nanogap structures is demonstrated. The plasmonic absorption is sensed utilizing photoacoustic (PA) detection technique. The laser diode is modulated to generate the PA excitation that oscillates the air-filled cell. When light absorption increases, an enhanced acoustic signal is captured by a microphone. The observed enhancement in the PA response is related to plasmonic absorption by the Au layers and the response is further enhanced by about …
