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Abstract Optoelectronic synapses with fast response, low power consumption, and memory function hold great potential in the future of artificial intelligence technologies. Herein, a strategy of annealing in oxygen ambient at different temperatures is presented to improve the optoelectronic synaptic behaviors of acceptor-rich ZnO (A-ZnO) microtubes. The basic synaptic functions of as-grown and annealed A-ZnO microtubes including excitatory postsynaptic current (EPSC), short-term memory (STM) to long-term memory (LTM) conversion, and paired-pulse facilitation (PPF), were successfully emulated. The results show that the annealing temperature of 600 °C yields high figures of merit compared to other annealed A-ZnO microtubes. The 4-fold and 20-fold enhancement dependent on the light pulse duration time and energy density have been achieved in the 600 °C annealed A-ZnO microtube, respectively. Furthermore, the device exhibited a PPF index of up to 238% and achieved four cycles of “learning-forgetting” process, proving its capability for optical information storage. The free exciton (FX) and donor–acceptor pair (DAP) concentrations significantly influenced the persistent photoconductivity (PPC) behavior of A-ZnO microtubes. Therefore, the LTM response can be controlled by the adjustment of numbers, powers, and interval time of the optical stimulation. This work outlines a strategy to improve the EPSC response through defect control, representing a step towards applications in the field of optoelectronic synaptic device.

The preparation of electrocatalysts with high performance for the ethanol oxidation reaction is vital for the large-scale commercialization of direct ethanol fuel cells. Here, we successfully synthesized a high-performance electrocatalyst of a AuPd alloy with a decreased alloying degree via pulsed laser irradiation in liquids. As indicated by the experimental results, the photochemical effect-induced surficial deposition of Pd atoms, combined with the photothermal effect-induced interdiffusion of Au and Pd atoms, resulted in the formation of AuPd alloys with a decreased alloying degree. Structural characterization reveals that L-AuPd exhibits a lower degree of alloying compared to C-AuPd prepared via the conventional co-reduction method. This distinct structure endows L-AuPd with outstanding catalytic activity and stability in EOR, achieving mass and specific activities as high as 16.01 A mgPd−1 and 20.69 mA cm−2, 9.1 and 5.2 times than that of the commercial Pd/C respectively. Furthermore, L-AuPd retains 90.1% of its initial mass activity after 300 cycles. This work offers guidance for laser-assisted fabrication of efficient Pd-based catalysts in EOR.

Monoclinic β-Ga2O3 microbelts were successfully fabricated using a one-step optical vapor supersaturated precipitation method, which exhibited advantages including a free-standing substrate, prefect surface, and low cost. The as-grown microbelts possessed a well-defined geometry and perfect crystallinity. The dimensions of individual β-Ga2O3 microbelts were a width of ~50 μm, length of ~5 mm, and thickness of ~3 μm. The SEM, XRD, HRTEM, XPS, and Raman spectra demonstrated the high single-crystalline structure of β-Ga2O3 microbelts. Twelve frequency modes were activated in Raman spectra. The optical band gap of the β-Ga2O3 microbelt was calculated to be ~4.45 eV. Upon 266 nm excitation, 2 strong UV emissions occurred in photoluminescence spectra through the radiative recombination of self-trapped excitons, and the blue emission band was attributed to the presence of donor-acceptor-pair transition. The individual β-Ga2O3 microbelt was employed as metal-semiconductor-metal deep-ultraviolet photodetector, which exhibits the photoresponse under 254 nm. This work provides a simple and economical route to fabricate high-quality β-Ga2O3 single-crystal microbelts, which should be a potential synthetic strategy for ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor materials.

Recently, there has been remarkable progress of the host-guest doped pure organic room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) materials. However, it remains a great challenge to develop highly efficient host-guest doping systems. In this study, we have successfully developed a heavy atom free pure organic molecular doped system (benzophenone-thianthrene, respectively) with efficient RTP through a simple host-guest doping strategy. Furthermore, by optimizing the doping ratios, the host-guest material with a molar ratio of 100:1 presented an efficient RTP emission with 46% quantum efficiency and a long lifetime of up to 9.17 ms under ambient conditions. This work will provide an effective way to design new organic doping systems with RTP.

Summary: Here we demonstrate a novel and robust mechanism, termed as “current-induced Joule heating activated thermal tunneling excitation,” to achieve electroluminescence (EL) by the hot electron-hole-pair recombination in a single highly compensated semiconductor microrod. The radiative luminescence is electrically excited under ambient conditions. The current-induced Joule heating reduces the thermal tunneling excitation threshold of voltage down to 8 V and increases the EL efficiency ~4.4-fold at 723 K. We interpret this novel phenomenon by a thermal tunneling excitation model corrected by electric-induced Joule heating effect. The mechanism is confirmed via theoretical calculation and experimental demonstration, for the first time. The color-tunable EL emission is also achieved by regulation of donor concentration. This work opens up new opportunities for design of novel multi-color light-emitting devices by homogeneous defect-engineered semiconductors in future.

The effect of KrF excimer laser irradiation on the optical and electrical properties of epitaxial wafers with a p-GaN surface were investigated at different laser energy densities and pulse numbers. The laser-irradiated samples were annealed in oxygen. The laser irradiation-induced changes in optical and electrical properties of GaN epitaxial wafers were examined using PL, I–V, XPS, SIMS, and Hall effect measurements. Experimental results show that under an appropriate laser-irradiated condition, optical and electrical properties of the samples were improved to different degrees. The samples which were annealed after laser irradiation have better electrical properties such as the hole concentration and sheet resistance than those without annealing. We hypothesize that the pulsed KrF excimer laser irradiation dissociates the Mg–H complexes and annealing treatment allows the hydrogen to diffuse out more completely under the oxygen atmosphere at a proper temperature, by which the crystalline symmetry of GaN is improved. Under appropriate laser conditions and O2-activated annealing, the light output of the laser-irradiated GaN-based LED sample is about 1.44 times that of a conventional LED at 20 mA. It is found that the wall-plug efficiency is 10% higher at 20 mA and the reverse leakage current is 80% lower at 5 V.

Fermi-Dirac distribution for doped semiconductors and Burstein-Moss effect have been correlated first time to figure out the conductivity type of ZnO. Hall Effect in the Van der Pauw configuration has been applied to reconcile our theoretical estimations which evince our assumption. Band-gap narrowing has been found in all p-type samples, whereas blue Burstein-Moss shift has been recorded in the n-type films. Atomic Force Microscopic (AFM) analysis shows that both p-type and n-type films have almost same granular-like structure with minor change in average grain size (∼ 6 nm to 10 nm) and surface roughness rms value 3 nm for thickness ∼315 nm which points that grain size and surface roughness did not play any significant role in order to modulate the conductivity type of ZnO. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) have been employed to perform the structural, chemical and elemental analysis. Hexagonal wurtzite structure has been observed in all samples. The introduction of nitrogen reduces the crystallinity of host lattice. 97% transmittance in the visible range with 1.4 × 107 Ω-1cm-1 optical conductivity have been detected. High absorption value in the ultra-violet (UV) region reveals that NZOs thin films can be used to fabricate next-generation high-performance UV detectors.

Ytterbium doped Lu1.5Y1.5Al5O12 (LuYAG) nanocrystalline powders were synthesized by a wet chemical mixed precipitant co-precipitation (MPP) method, and then the mixed crystal of Yb:LuYAG was grown in an optical floating zone (OFZ) furnace at the speed of 6⁻10 mm/h, using a [111] oriented YAG seed crystal. The transmittance of the polished LuYAG crystal is close to the ideal value of LuAG or YAG. The X-ray rocking curve shows complete symmetry and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) is 10 arc-second, indicating the good quality of as grown Yb:LuYAG multicomponent garnet crystal. The thermal luminescent spectrum at room temperature shows four deep energy traps at around 1⁻1.3 eV. X-ray excited luminesce (XEL) spectra is measured to characterize the existence of LuAl or YAl shadow defects in the bulk single crystal. The emission peak at around 320 nm indicates that the LuYAG crystal prepared by OFZ have lower concentrations of antisite defects (AD) with respect to its Czochralski counterpart.

Ag/ZnO core/shell nanostructure was synthesised by a 248-nm KrF excimer pulsed laser ablation in a liquid solution for the first time. It was found that the surface plasma resonance absorption of the Ag/ZnO core/shell nanostructures can be tuned by the thickness of the ZnO shell, which is in agreement with the finite difference in the time domain simulation. Furthermore, the ultraviolet emission spectrum of the Ag/ZnO core/shell nanostructures was stronger and blue-shifted compared with that of pure ZnO nanoparticles. This interesting photoluminescent phenomenon is analysed in detail and a possible explanation is proposed.

The effect of KrF pulsed excimer laser irradiation on the structural, photoluminescence and electrical properties and on the surface morphology of ZnO thin films is examined under different laser energy densities. The studies have shown that the mechanism responsible for the ultraviolet enhancement is the increase in donors and not the improvement in the crystalline quality.

Ag/ZnO core/shell nanostructure was synthesised by a 248-nm KrF excimer pulsed laser ablation in a liquid solution for the first time. It was found that the surface plasma resonance absorption of the Ag/ZnO core/shell nanostructures can be tuned by the thickness of the ZnO shell, which is in agreement with the finite difference in the time domain simulation. Furthermore, the ultraviolet emission spectrum of the Ag/ZnO core/shell nanostructures was stronger and blue-shifted compared with that of pure ZnO nanoparticles. This interesting photoluminescent phenomenon is analysed in detail and a possible explanation is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blue photoluminescence (PL) of 6H-SiC irradiated by an ultraviolet laser can be observed at room temperature in dark condition. PL spectra with Gaussian fitting curve of the irradiated SiC show that blue luminescence band (∼440 nm) is more pronounced than other bands. The blue PL enhancement is the combined result of the improved shallow N-donor energy level and the unique surface state with Si nanocrystals and graphene/Si composite due to the effect of photon energy input by the short-wavelength laser irradiation. The study can provide a promising route towards the preparation of well-controlled blue photoluminescence material for light-emitting devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large, high optical quality single crystals of ruby have been grown successfully by the floating zone method under air atmosphere. The size of the grown crystal is typically 60-70 mm in length and 7-8 mm in diameter. The obtained crystals were red and did not have any macroscopic defects such as cracks and inclusions. Grown crystals were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods, polarized optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The absorption and fluorescence spectra were measured at room temperature and the dielectric constant measurements of ruby crystals were also presented. Defects occurring in single crystals of ruby during crystal growth by floating zone method are described, and their correlation with the growth parameters is discussed. The origin and control of these defects in grown crystals were studied and the optimum method was proposed. (© 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple method for the fabrication of increasing the hydrophobic property on poly (vinylidene fluoride) using KrF excimer laser irradiation is demonstrated. The results showed that the water contact angle on modified area was increased from 53° to approximately 170°. It was found that the change in wetting behavior correlated with the formation of a regular wall-like structure and the appearance of C–CF2 and C–F. The combined effect of surface morphology and surface chemical construction induced by the laser irradiation had considerably contributed to increase the hydrophobic property of poly (vinylidene fluoride). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This letter describes the increase in electrical conductivity of poly(vinylidene fluoride) induced by excimer laser irradiation with λ=248 nm. The electrical conductivity was found to increase from 10-13 to 10-4 Ω-1 cm-1. As a result, experiments produced a transition in the property of the material from an insulator to a conductor. Optimal conditions for laser irradiation were determined in terms of the laser energy density, the repetition frequency, and the total number of laser shots. This letter also discusses the micromechanics of increasing conductivity in the light of Raman spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tantalum-pentoxide ceramics with significantly enhanced dielectric permittivities around 60–70 (up to 71.62) at 1 MHz and 20°C were prepared by CO2 laser irradiation. The dielectric loss and the temperature coefficient of dielectric permittivity could be 0.0128 and 721 ppm/°C, respectively. Dielectric properties were investigated over the temperature range from -60 to 100°C at 1 MHz. The frequency dependence of the dielectric properties was also investigated between 1 kHz and 1 MHz at 20 °C. The stabilization of high-temperature phase at RT and crystallographic orientation in the ceramics by laser irradiation can explain the strong enhancement of the dielectric permittivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, on the basis of finite difference time domain simulations and group theory, by employing regular nanosphere trimers as the main examples, we analyse and discuss the polarization-independent surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) phenomenon arising from the rotation symmetry of coined metallic nanomultimers. The results demonstrate why the rotationally symmetrical nanomultimers can show polarization-independent SERS performance. Because of the dramatically hybridized polarization-independent SERS performance over the whole 360° range, rotationally symmetrical coined metal nanomultimers, such as regular trimers, regular triangular tetramers and regular pentamers, are reliable and reproducible SERS substrates, which have the potential for convenient and flexible practical SERS detection without the need for optimally incident polarization outside the laboratory setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transparent and pale yellow calcium barium niobates (CaxBa1-xNb2O6) single crystals with larger Ca content ranging from 0.224 to 0.366 have been grown out by floating zone technique. The growth of CBN crystals in air is oriented along the <001> direction. The CBN crystals have been characterized by X-ray diffraction and X-ray single crystal diffraction. The composition uniformity of CBN-35 crystal rod has been checked by EPMA measurement. The deviations of Ca mole fraction between initial melt and the crystal are 0.1-1.4 mol%, which is much lower than crystals prepared by the Czochralski method. All the as grown crystals had high transmittance above 80% with increasing wavelength from about 500 nm. With increasing Ca content in crystal, symmetric bending mode v5 and symmetric stretching mode v2 broadened and moved to the low wave number. The relative intensity of Raman peak v5 compared to v2 increasing gradually indicates that the NbO6 octahedral distortion degree increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]