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During the lithation of silicon anodes, the solid-state diffusion of lithium into Li

Advances in epitaxy have enabled the preparation of high-quality material architectures consisting of incommensurate components. Remote epitaxy based on lattice transparency of atomically thin graphene has been intensively studied for cost-effective advanced device manufacturing and heterostructure formation. However, remote epitaxy on nongraphene two-dimensional (2D) materials has rarely been studied even though it has a broad and immediate impact on various disciplines, such as many-body physics and the design of advanced devices. Herein, we report remote epitaxy of ZnO on monolayer MoS

Uniform size of Si nanowires (NWs) is highly desirable to enhance the performance of Si NW-based lithium-ion batteries. To achieve a narrow size distribution of Si NWs, the formation of bulk-like Si structures such as islands and chunks needs to be inhibited during nucleation and growth of Si NWs. We developed a simple approach to control the nucleation of Si NWs

We report on morphology-controlled remote epitaxy via hydrothermal growth of ZnO micro- and nanostructure crystals on graphene-coated GaN substrate. The morphology control is achieved to grow diverse morphologies of ZnO from nanowire to microdisk by changing additives of wet chemical solution at a fixed nutrient concentration. Although the growth of ZnO is carried out on poly-domain graphene-coated GaN substrate, the direction of hexagonal sidewall facet of ZnO is homogeneous over the whole ZnO-grown area on graphene/GaN because of strong remote epitaxial relation between ZnO and GaN across graphene. Atomic-resolution transmission electron microscopy corroborates the remote epitaxial relation. The non-covalent interface is applied to mechanically lift off the overlayer of ZnO crystals via a thermal release tape. The mechanism of facet-selective morphology control of ZnO is discussed in terms of electrostatic interaction between nutrient solution and facet surface passivated with functional groups derived from the chemical additives.

Organic–inorganic hybrid perovskites have electronic and optoelectronic properties that make them appealing in many device applications1–4. Although many approaches focus on polycrystalline materials5–7, single-crystal hybrid perovskites show improved carrier transport and enhanced stability over their polycrystalline counterparts, due to their orientation-dependent transport behaviour8–10 and lower defect concentrations11,12. However, the fabrication of single-crystal hybrid perovskites, and controlling their morphology and composition, are challenging12. Here we report a solution-based lithography-assisted epitaxial-growth-and-transfer method for fabricating single-crystal hybrid perovskites on arbitrary substrates, with precise control of their thickness (from about 600 nanometres to about 100 micrometres), area (continuous thin films up to about 5.5 centimetres by 5.5 centimetres), and composition gradient in the thickness direction (for example, from methylammonium lead iodide, MAPbI3, to MAPb0.5Sn0.5I3). The transferred single-crystal hybrid perovskites are of comparable quality to those directly grown on epitaxial substrates, and are mechanically flexible depending on the thickness. Lead–tin gradient alloying allows the formation of a graded electronic bandgap, which increases the carrier mobility and impedes carrier recombination. Devices based on these single-crystal hybrid perovskites show not only high stability against various degradation factors but also good performance (for example, solar cells based on lead–tin-gradient structures with an average efficiency of 18.77 per cent). A solution-based lithography-assisted epitaxial-growth-and-transfer method is used to fabricate single-crystal hybrid perovskites on any surface, with precise control of the thickness, area and chemical composition gradient.

Hierarchical architectures composed of nanomaterials in different forms are essential to improve the performance of lithium-ion battery (LIB) anodes. Here, we systematically studied the effects of hierarchical ZnO nanostructures on the electrochemical performance of LIBs. ZnO nanowire (NW) trunks were decorated with ZnO NWs or ZnO nanosheets (NSs) by successive hydrothermal synthesis to create hierarchical three-dimensional nanostructures. The branched ZnO NSs on the ZnO NW trunk exhibited a two-fold higher specific gravimetric capacity compared to ZnO NWs and branched ZnO NWs on ZnO NW trunks after 100 cycles of charging–discharging at 0.2C (197.4 mA g−1). The improvement in battery anode performance is attributable to the increased interfacial area between the electrodes and electrolyte, and the void space of the branched NSs that facilitates lithium ion transport and volume changes during cycling.

Novel heterostructures created by coupling one-dimensional semiconductor nanowires with a superconducting thin film show great potential toward next-generation quantum computing. Here, by growing high-crystalline SiGe nanowires on a NbTiN thin film, the resulting heterostructure exhibits Ohmic characteristics as well as a shift of the superconducting transition temperature (T c). The structure was characterized at atomic resolution showing a sharp SiGe/NbTiN interface without atomic interdiffusion. Lattice spacing, as calculated from large-area x-ray diffraction experiments, suggests a potential preferred d-spacing matching between (200) NbTiN and (110) SiGe grains. The observed out-of-plane compressive strain within the NbTiN films coupled with SiGe nanowires explains the downward shift of the superconductivity behavior. The presented results post scientific insights toward functional heterostructures by coupling multi-dimensional materials, which could enable tunable superconductivity that benefits the quantum science applications.

The ever-increasing demand for faster, smaller, and energy-efficient devices has pushed the frontiers of research toward silicon photonics to meet the challenges for fabricating the next generation of computing systems. In order to design new devices at the nanoscale, it is important to understand and be able to control material properties, which may differ significantly from their bulk counterparts. Here, we demonstrate very large tunability of phonon-photon interactions in Si nanowire cavities by engineering the cavity mode at the emission wavelength. Raman scattering measurements performed to quantify these interactions reveal that the anti-Stokes to Stokes scattering ratio can vary from 0.035 to 0.405 in Si nanowires compared to a value of 0.1 for bulk Si, demonstrating tunability by over an order of magnitude. Moreover, a ratio of 0.85 was attained at a temperature of 580 K, which is the highest value ever reported for Si. Cavity modes that can be easily changed by changing the nanowire diameter, cavity geometry, or excitation wavelength provide efficient ways of tuning these interactions. Nanocavity engineering offers a new approach for tuning phonon-photon interactions in silicon and opens up new avenues of research and applications in the fields of silicon photonics, Raman lasers, telecommunication, and optical cooling.

Nanowire transistors are typically undoped devices whose characteristics depend strongly on the injection of carriers from the electrical contacts. In this letter, we fabricate and characterize SiGe nanowire transistors with an n-p-n doping profile and with a top gate covering only the p-doped section of the nanowire. For each device, we locate the p-segment with scanning capacitance microscopy, where the p-segment position varies along the channel due to the stochastic nature of our dropcast fabrication technique. The current–voltage characteristics for a series of transistors with different gate positions reveal that the on/off ratios for electrons is the highest when the gated p-type section is closest to the source contact, whereas the on/off ratios for holes is the highest when the gated p-type section is closest to the drain contact.

This paper reports on plastic recovery and self-healing behavior in longitudinally-twinned and [112] orientated SiGe nanowire (NW) beams when they are subjected to large bending strains. The NW alloys are comprised of lamellar nanotwin platelet(s) sandwiched between two semi-cylindrical twins. The loading curves, which are acquired from atomic force microscope (AFM) based three-point bending tests, reveal the onset of plastic deformation at a characteristic stress threshold, followed by further straining of the NWs. This ductility is attributed to dislocation activity within the semi-cylindrical crystal portions of the NW, which are hypothesized to undergo a combination of elastic and plastic straining. On the other hand, the lamellar nanoplatelets undergo purely elastic stretching. During the unloading process, the release of internal elastic stresses enables dislocation backflow and escape at the surface. As a result, the dislocations are predominantly annihilated and the NW samples evidenced self-healing via plastic recovery even at ultra-large strains, which are estimated using finite-element models at 16.3% in one of the tested devices. Finite element analysis also establishes the independence of the observed nanomechanical behavior on the relative orientation of the load with respect to the nanoplatelet. This first observation of reversible plasticity in the SiGe material system, which is aided by a concurrent evolution of segmented elastic and plastic deformation within its grains during the loading process, presents an important new pathway for mechanical stabilization of technologically important group-IV semiconductor nanomaterials.

Introducing interfaces through heterostructuring is a common strategy to bring novel functionalities and improve device performances. Emerging nanomaterials, of which heterostructuring is under development, can be utilized with combinations of various conventional semiconductors, such as Si, Ge, and compound semiconductors. I’ll present recent achievements of fabrication of hybrid architectures composed of 2D and conventional materials. The experimental approach was epitaxial growth Si, Ge, and ZnO on various 2D materials including graphene, hexagonal boron nitride, transition metal dichalcogenides. Van der Waals and remote epitaxy techniques were employed. Details of nucleation control, charge transfer in hybrid architectures, and insight of device applications will be discussed.

The solid–electrolyte interphase (SEI), a layer formed on the electrode surface, is essential for electrochemical reactions in batteries and critically governs the battery stability. Active materials, especially those with extremely high energy density, such as silicon (Si), often inevitably undergo a large volume swing upon ion insertion and extraction, raising a critical question as to how the SEI interactively responds to and evolves with the material and consequently controls the cycling stability of the battery. Here, by integrating sensitive elemental tomography, an advanced algorithm and cryogenic scanning transmission electron microscopy, we unveil, in three dimensions, a correlated structural and chemical evolution of Si and SEI. Corroborated with a chemomechanical model, we demonstrate progressive electrolyte permeation and SEI growth along the percolation channel of the nanovoids due to vacancy injection and condensation during the delithiation process. Consequently, the Si–SEI spatial configuration evolves from the classic ‘core–shell’ structure in the first few cycles to a ‘plum-pudding’ structure following extended cycling, featuring the engulfing of Si domains by the SEI, which leads to the disruption of electron conduction pathways and formation of dead Si, contributing to capacity loss. The spatially coupled interactive evolution model of SEI and active materials, in principle, applies to a broad class of high-capacity electrode materials, leading to a critical insight for remedying the fading of high-capacity electrodes. A correlated structural and chemical evolution of silicon and the solid–electrolyte interphase was unveiled in three dimensions by integrating sensitive elemental tomography, an advanced algorithm and cryogenic scanning transmission electron microscopy.

Strong interactions between excitons are a characteristic feature of two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors, determining important excitonic properties, such as exciton lifetime, coherence, and photon-emission efficiency. Rhenium disulfide ($\mathrm{Re}{\mathrm{S}}_{2}$), a member of the 2D transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) family, has recently attracted great attention due to its unique excitons that exhibit excellent polarization selectivity and coherence features. However, an in-depth understanding of exciton-exciton interactions in $\mathrm{Re}{\mathrm{S}}_{2}$ is still lacking. Here we used ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy to study exciton-exciton interactions in monolayer (1L), bilayer (2L), and triple layer $\mathrm{Re}{\mathrm{S}}_{2}$. We directly measure the rate of exciton-exciton annihilation, a representative Auger-type interaction between excitons. It decreases with increasing layer number, as observed in other 2D TMDs. However, while other TMDs exhibit a sharp weakening of exciton-exciton annihilation between 1L and 2L, such behavior was not observed in $\mathrm{Re}{\mathrm{S}}_{2}$. We attribute this distinct feature in $\mathrm{Re}{\mathrm{S}}_{2}$ to the relatively weak interlayer coupling, which prohibits a substantial change in the electronic structure when the thickness varies. This work not only highlights the unique excitonic properties of $\mathrm{Re}{\mathrm{S}}_{2}$ but also provides novel insight into the thickness dependence of exciton-exciton interactions in 2D systems.

The preparation of crystalline materials on incommensurate substrates has been a key topic of epitaxy. van der Waals (vdW) epitaxy on two-dimensional (2D) materials opened novel opportunities of epitaxial growth overcoming the materials compatibility issue. Therefore, vdW epitaxy has been considered as a promising approach for the preparation of building blocks of flexible devices and thin film-based devices at the nano/microscale. However, an understanding of vdW epitaxy has not been thoroughly established. Especially, controlling nucleation during vdW epitaxy has not been achieved although nucleation in vdW epitaxy is suppressed due to the absence of surface dangling bonds on 2D materials. Here we show an enhancement of nucleation probability of germanium on graphene via introducing an out-of-plane dipole moment without any change in the chemical nature of graphene. A graphene/hexagonal boron nitride stack and transferred graphene on a polarized ferroelectric thin film were employed to demonstrate the significant enhancement of Ge nucleation on graphene. Theoretical calculations and chemical vapor deposition were employed to elucidate the effect of the out-of-plane dipole moment on nucleation in vdW epitaxy.

Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructures have been expected to provide high energy and power densities for lithium ion battery anodes due to the large capacity of Si and the high electrical and ionic conductivities of Ge. Although the battery anode performances of Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructures have been characterized, the degradation of Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructures has not been thoroughly investigated. Here we report the compositional and structural changes of the Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructure over cycling of lithiation and delithiation at different charging rates. The Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructure holds the core and shell structure at a charging rate of 0.8 A g−1 up to 50 cycles. On the other hand, compositional intermixing and loss of Si occur at a charging rate of 20 A g−1 within 50 cycles. The operation condition-dependent degradation provides a new aspect of materials research for the development of high performance lithium ion battery anodes with a long cycle life.

Two-dimensional atomic layered materials (2d-ALMs) are emerging candidates for use as epitaxial seed substrates for transferrable epilayers. However, the micrometer-sized domains of 2d-ALMs preclude their practical use in epitaxy because they cause crystallographically in-plane disordering of the overlayer. Ultrathin graphene can penetrate the electric dipole momentum from an underlying crystal layer to the graphene surface, which then drives it to crystallize the overlayer during the initial growth stage, thus resulting in substantial energy saving. This study demonstrates the remote homoepitaxy of ZnO microrods (MRs) on ZnO substrates across graphene layers via a hydrothermal method. Despite the presence of poly-domain graphene in between the ZnO substrate and ZnO MRs, the MRs were epitaxially grown on a- and c-plane ZnO substrates, whose in-plane alignments were homogeneous within the wafer's size. Transmission electron microscopy revealed a homoepitaxial relationship between the overlayer MRs and the substrate. Density-functional theory calculations suggested that the charge redistribution occurring near graphene induces the electric dipole formation, so the attracted adatoms led to the formation of the remote homoepitaxial overlayer. Due to a strong potential field caused by long-range charge transfer given from the substrate, even the use of bi-layer and tri-layer graphene resulted in remote homoepitaxial ZnO MRs. The effects of substrate crystal planes were also theoretically and empirically investigated. The ability of graphene, which can be released from the mother substrate without covalent bonds, was utilized to transfer the overlayer MR arrays. This method opens a way for producing well aligned, transferrable epitaxial nano/microstructure arrays while regenerating the substrate for cost-saving device manufacturing.

Recent advances in 3D/2D heterostructures have opened up tremendous opportunities in building highly flexible and durable optoelectronic devices. However, the inherit lack of interfacial bonding and low surface energy of van der Waals surfaces limit the nucleation and growth of 3D materials. Enhancing wettability by providing a porous buffer is effective in growing compound semiconductors on graphene while van der Waals epitaxy of Ge remains challenging. Here, the nucleation of Ge has been significantly improved from an islanded mode to granular modes by using a TiN/AlN multilayered buffer prior to Ge/graphene integration. Highly textured Ge growth with dominating (111), (220), and (311) peaks are identified by x-ray diffraction. The microstructure of the buffer TiN/AlN demonstrates a polycrystalline quality with clean interfaces between each interlayer and the substrate. Kelvin probe force microscopy measurements along the lateral TiN/AlN interface identify a potential drop corresponding to the AlN phase. This contact potential difference between TiN and AlN is the key in generating the out-of-plane dipole moment that modifies the surface energy of the monolayer graphene, resulting in enhanced wettability of the Ge adatoms nucleated on top. Surface dipole induced nucleation of 3D semiconductor thin films on 2D materials via the proper design of buffer layer is fundamentally important to enhance the 3D/2D growth toward flexible optoelectronic applications.

Intracellular access with high spatiotemporal resolution can enhance our understanding of how neurons or cardiomyocytes regulate and orchestrate network activity, and how this activity can be affected with pharmacology or other interventional modalities. Nanoscale devices often employ electroporation to transiently permeate the cell membrane and record intracellular potentials, which tend to decrease rapidly to extracellular potential amplitudes with time. Here, we report innovative scalable, vertical, ultra-sharp nanowire arrays that are individually addressable to enable long-term, native recordings of intracellular potentials. We report large action potential amplitudes that are indicative of intracellular access from 3D tissue-like networks of neurons and cardiomyocytes across recording days and that do not decrease to extracellular amplitudes for the duration of the recording of several minutes. Our findings are validated with cross-sectional microscopy, pharmacology, and electrical interventions. Our experiments and simulations demonstrate that individual electrical addressability of nanowires is necessary for high-fidelity intracellular electrophysiological recordings. This study advances our understanding of and control over high-quality multi-channel intracellular recordings, and paves the way toward predictive, high-throughput, and low-cost electrophysiological drug screening platforms., Comment: Main manuscript: 33 pages, 4 figures, Supporting information: 43 pages, 27 figures, Submitted to Advanced Materials

Two-dimensional (2D) materials as contacts for semiconductor devices have attracted much attention due to minimizing Fermi level pinning. Schottky–Mott physics has been widely employed to design 2D material-based electrodes and to elucidate their contact behavior. In this study, we revealed that charge transfer across a 2D/semiconductor heterointerface and materials characteristics besides work function should be accounted for in fabrication of electrodes based on 2D materials. Our density functional theory (DFT) calculations predicted that charge transfer between ZnO and NbSe2 lowers the barrier height at the heterojunction and that conductive surface states of ZnO provide an additional conduction channel in the ZnO/NbSe2 heterostructures. Crystalline ZnO/NbSe2 heterostructures were prepared by the hydrothermal method. Electrical characterizations of the ZnO/NbSe2 heterostructures showed Ohmic-like behavior as predicted by the DFT calculations, opposed to the prediction based on the Schottky–Mott model.

Recent advances in nanoscience have opened ways of recycling substrates for nanomaterial growth. Novel materials, such as atomically thin materials, are highly desirable for the recycling substrates. In this work, we report recycling of monolayer graphene as a growth template for synthesis of single crystalline ZnO nanowires. Selective nucleation of ZnO nanowires on graphene was elucidated by scanning electron microscopy and density functional theory calculation. Growth and subsequent separation of ZnO nanowires was repeated up to seven times on the same monolayer graphene film. Raman analyses were also performed to investigate the quality of graphene structure along the recycling processes. The chemical robustness of graphene enables the repetitive ZnO nanowire growth without noticeable degradation of the graphene quality. This work presents a route for graphene as a multifunctional growth template for diverse nanomaterials such as nanocrystals, aligned nanowires, other two-dimensional materials, and semiconductor thin films.

We report on strain-induced structural defect formation in core Si nanowires of a Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructure and the influence of the structural defects on the electrochemical performances in lithium-ion battery anodes based on Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructures. The induced structural defects consisting of stacking faults and dislocations in the core Si nanowire were observed for the first time. The generation of stacking faults in the Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructure is observed to prefer settling in either only the Ge shell region or in both the Ge shell and Si core regions and is associated with the increase of the shell volume fraction. The relaxation of the misfit strain in the [112] oriented core/shell nanowire heterostructure leads to subsequent gliding of Shockley partial dislocations, preferentially forming the twins. The observation of crossover of defect formation is of great importance for understanding heteroepitaxy in radial heterostructures at the nanoscale and for building three dimensional heterostructures for the various applications. Furthermore, the effect of the defect formation on the nanomaterial's functionality is investigated using electrochemical performance tests. The Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructures enhance the gravimetric capacity of lithium ion battery anodes under fast charging/discharging rates compared to Si nanowires. However, the induced structural defects hamper lithiation of the Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructure.

Remote epitaxy enables to fabricate flexible GaN micro-LED sticker releasable from wafer., There have been rapidly increasing demands for flexible lighting apparatus, and micrometer-scale light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are regarded as one of the promising lighting sources for deformable device applications. Herein, we demonstrate a method of creating a deformable LED, based on remote heteroepitaxy of GaN microrod (MR) p-n junction arrays on c-Al2O3 wafer across graphene. The use of graphene allows the transfer of MR LED arrays onto a copper plate, and spatially separate MR arrays offer ideal device geometry suitable for deformable LED in various shapes without serious device performance degradation. Moreover, remote heteroepitaxy also allows the wafer to be reused, allowing reproducible production of MR LEDs using a single substrate without noticeable device degradation. The remote heteroepitaxial relation is determined by high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy, and the density functional theory simulations clarify how the remote heteroepitaxy is made possible through graphene.

Silicon photonics has been a very active area of research especially in the past two decades in order to meet the ever-increasing demand for more computational power and faster device speeds and their natural compatibility with complementary metal-oxide semiconductor. In order to develop Si as a useful photonics material, essential photonic components such as light sources, waveguides, wavelength convertors, modulators, and detectors need to be developed and integrated. However, due to the indirect electronic bandgap of Si, conventional light emission devices such as light-emitting diodes and lasers cannot be built. Therefore, there has been considerable interest in developing Si-based Raman lasers, which are nonlinear devices and require large stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in an optical cavity. However, due to the low quantum yield of SRS in Si, Raman lasers have very large device footprints and high lasing threshold, making them unsuitable for faster, smaller, and energy-efficient devices. Here, we report strong SRS and extremely high Raman gain in Si nanowire optical cavities in the visible region with measured SRS threshold as low as 30 kW/cm2. At cavity mode resonance, light is confined into a low mode volume and high intensity electromagnetic mode inside the Si nanowire due to its high refractive index, which leads to strong SRS at low pump intensities. Electromagnetic calculations reveal greater than 6 orders of magnitude increase in Raman gain coefficient at 532 nm pump wavelength, compared to the gain value at 1.55 μm wavelength reported in literature, despite the 108 higher losses at 532 nm. Because of the high gain in such small structures, we believe that this is a significant first step in realizing a monolithically integrable nanoscale low-powered Si Raman laser.

The plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) process for MnO2 was demonstrated, exhibiting self-limiting growth as well as stable composition and stable growth rate over a temperature window of 205–265 °C. The PEALD process for MnO2 was combined with the thermal ALD process for LiOH to synthesize Li1+xMn2−xO4 thin film cathodes, where the stoichiometry was effectively controlled to allow for crystallization in the electrochemically active spinel phase. A 3D nanostructure consisting of an Li1+xMn2−xO4 cathode layer, ALD LixAlySizO solid electrolyte, and SiGe nanowire anode was fabricated and characterized via TEM. The Li1+xMn2−xO4 thin films maintained 66% of the areal capacity upon a 100× increase in the rate (4–360 μA cm−2) as well as 97% capacity retention over 100 cycles at ∼5C. The ALD Li1+xMn2−xO4 thin films exhibited a volumetric capacity of 52 μAh cm−2 μm−1 at a C-rate of ∼0.5C and, coupled with the high operating voltage (4.0 V), offer some of best areal energy densities for ALD thin film cathodes, making it a viable material for integration with 3D lithium-ion microbatteries.

All-optical camera, converting X-rays into visible photons, is a promising strategy for high-performance X-ray imaging detector requiring high detection efficiency and ultrafast detector response time. Zinc oxide is a suitable material for all-optical camera due to its fast radiative recombination lifetime in sub-nanosecond regime and its radiation hardness. ZnO nanostructures have been considered as proper building blocks for ultrafast detectors with spatial resolution in sub-micrometer scale. To achieve remarkable enhancement of luminescence efficiency n-type doping in ZnO has been employed. However, luminescence dynamics of doped ZnO nanostructures have not been thoroughly investigated whereas undoped ZnO nanostructures have been employed to study their luminescence dynamics. Here we report a study of luminescence dynamics of hydrogen doped ZnO nanowires obtained by hydrogen plasma treatment. Hydrogen doping in ZnO nanowires gives rise to significant increase in the near-band-edge emission of ZnO and decrease in averaged photoluminescence lifetime from 300 to 140 ps at 10 K. The effects of hydrogen doping on the luminescent characteristics of ZnO nanowires were changed by hydrogen doping process variables.

Heterostructuring provides novel opportunities for exploring emergent phenomena and applications by developing designed properties beyond those of homogeneous materials. Advances in nanoscience enable the preparation of heterostructures formed incommensurate materials. Two-dimensional (2D) materials, such as graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides, are of particular interest due to their distinct physical characteristics. Recently, 2D/2D heterostructures have opened up new research areas. However, other heterostructures such as 2D/three-dimensional (3D) materials have not been thoroughly studied yet although the growth of 3D materials on 2D materials creating 2D/3D heterostructures with exceptional carrier transport properties has been reported. Here we report a novel heterostructure composed of Ge and monolayer MoS2, prepared by chemical vapor deposition. A single crystalline Ge (110) thin film was grown on monolayer MoS2. The electrical characteristics of Ge and MoS2 in the Ge/MoS2 heterostructure were remarkably different from those of isolated Ge and MoS2. The field-effect conductivity type of the monolayer MoS2 is converted from n-type to p-type by growth of the Ge thin film on top of it. Undoped Ge on MoS2 is highly conducting. The observations can be explained by charge transfer in the heterostructure as opposed to chemical doping via the incorporation of impurities, based on our first-principles calculations.

While silicon (Si) is considered to be an excellent candidate for next-generation lithium ion battery (LIB) anodes due to its abundance and high gravimetric capacity, Si suffers from large volume expansion as a result of lithiation. Nanowires (NWs) allow for radial expansion and strain release. Due to this volume expansion, the formation of bulk-like Si structures during the NWs growth process significantly degrades battery performance. Here we report suppression of bulk-like Si formation by interfacial energy contrast between the NWs nucleation catalysts (spontaneously formed gold (Au) nanodots) and titanium nitride (TiN) films. The TiN film promoted a narrow distribution of Si NWs’ diameters and a direct electrical connection to the stainless steel current collector. The characteristics of the solid electrolyte interphase and lithiation/charge transfer mechanisms in Si NWs were also investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The EIS data suggest that the impedance to lithium diffusion within the NWs is approximately 40 % smaller in the NWs grown on TiN than the NWs grown directly on stainless steel. LIB anodes fabricated with the Au-catalyzed Si NWs on TiN films displayed enhanced specific gravimetric capacities (>30 %) under diverse charge/discharge rates and significantly improved capacity retention over 500 cycles.

Author(s): Ro, Yun Goo; Chen, Renjie; Liu, Ren; Li, Nan; Williamson, Theodore; Yoo, Jinkyoung; Sim, Sangwan; Prasankumar, Rohit P; Dayeh, Shadi A

Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructures have been expected to provide high energy and power densities for lithium ion battery anodes due to the large capacity of Si and the high electrical and ionic conductivities of Ge. Although the battery anode performances of Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructures have been characterized, the degradation of Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructures has not been thoroughly investigated. Here we report the compositional and structural changes of the Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructure over cycling of lithiation and delithiation at different charging rates. The Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructure holds the core and shell structure at a charging rate of 0.8 A g-1 up to 50 cycles. On the other hand, compositional intermixing and loss of Si occur at a charging rate of 20 A g-1 within 50 cycles. The operation condition-dependent degradation provides a new aspect of materials research for the development of high performance lithium ion battery anodes with a long cycle life.

International audience; State-of-the-art light emitting diodes (LEDs) are made from high-purity alloys of III-V semiconductors or small molecules, but high fabrication cost and conplicated synthetic process have limited their widespread use for large area solid-state lighting applications. Here we report efficient and stable LEDs processed from solution with tunable color enabled by using phase-pure two-dimensional (2D) Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) layered perovskites with a formula (CH3(CH2)3NH3)2(CH3NH3)n-1PbnI3n+1 (n=3-5 in this report). By using controlled vertically oriented of crystal in the thin-films that facilitate efficient charge injection and transport, we obtain efficient electroluminescence with a radiance of 35 W Sr-1 cm-2 at 744 nm with an ultra-low turn-on voltage of 1V. Finally, operational stability tests suggest that phase purity is strongly correlated to stability. Phase-pure 2D perovskites exhibit >14 hours of stable operation at peak operating conditions with no droop at current-densities of several Amperes/cm2 in comparison to mixtures of 2D/3D mixture or 3D perovskites, which degrade within minutes.

We study ballistic hole transport through Ge/Si core/shell nanowires at low temperatures. We observe Fabry-P$\acute{e}$rot interference patterns as well as conductance plateaus at integer multiples of 2e$^2$/h at zero magnetic field. Magnetic field evolution of these plateaus reveals large effective Land$\acute{e}$ g-factors. Ballistic effects are observed in nanowires with silicon shell thicknesses of 1 - 3 nm, but not in bare germanium wires. These findings inform the future development of spin and topological quantum devices which rely on ballistic subband-resolved transport., 8 pages, 4 figures

ZnO radial p–n junction architecture has the potential for forward-leap of light-emitting diode (LED) technology in terms of higher efficacy and economical production. We report on ZnO radial p–n junction-based light emitting diodes prepared by full metalorganic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) with hydrogen-assisted p-type doping approach. The p-type ZnO(P) thin films were prepared by MOCVD with the precursors of dimethylzinc, tert-butanol, and tertiarybutylphosphine. Controlling the precursor flow for dopant results in the systematic change of doping concentration, Hall mobility, and electrical conductivity. Moreover, the approach of hydrogen-assisted phosphorous doping in ZnO expands the understanding of doping behaviour in ZnO. Ultraviolet and visible electroluminescence of ZnO radial p–n junction was demonstrated through a combination of position-controlled nano/microwire and crystalline p-type ZnO(P) radial shell growth on the wires. The reported research opens a pathway of realisation of production-compatible ZnO p–n junction LEDs.

The recent discovery of excellent thermoelectric properties and topological surface states in SnTe-based compounds has attracted extensive attention in various research areas. Indium doped SnTe is of particular interest because, depending on the doping level, it can either generate resonant states in the bulk valence band leading to enhanced thermoelectric properties, or induce superconductivity that coexists with topological states. Here we report on the vapor deposition of In-doped SnTe nanowires and the study of their surface oxidation and thermoelectric properties. The nanowire growth is assisted by Au catalysts, and their morphologies vary as a function of substrate position and temperature. Transmission electron microscopy characterization reveals the formation of amorphous surface in single crystalline nanowires. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies suggest that the nanowire surface is composed of In2O3, SnO2, Te and TeO2 which can be readily removed by argon ion sputtering. Exposure of the cleaned nanowires to atmosphere yields rapid oxidation of the surface within only one minute. Characterizations of electrical conductivity {\sigma}, thermopower S, and thermal conductivity \k{appa} were performed on the same In-doped nanowire which shows suppressed {\sigma} and \k{appa} but enhanced S yielding an improved thermoelectric figure of merit ZT than the undoped SnTe., Comment: Substantial revisions; accepted for publication in Nanoscale