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International audience; All-dielectric sub-micrometric particles have been successfully exploited for light management in a plethora of applications at visible and near-infrared frequencies. However, the investigation of the intricacies of the Mie resonances at the sub-wavelength scale has been hampered by the limitations of conventional near-field methods. In this paper, we address the spatial and spectral mapping of multipolar modes of a Si island by hyper-spectral imaging. The simultaneous detection of several resonant modes allows us to clarify the role of the substrate and the incidence angle of the impinging light, highlighting spectral splitting of the quadrupolar mode and resulting in different spatial features of the field intensity. We explore theoretically and experimentally such spatial features. Details as small as 200 nm can be detected and agree with simulations based on the finite difference time domain method. Our results are relevant to near-field imaging of dielectric structures, the comprehension of the resonant features of sub-micrometric Mie antennas, beam steering, and the resonant coupling with light emitters. Our analysis suggests a novel approach to control the absorption of a single emitter in the framework of surface enhanced absorption or stimulated emission applications.

We propose to exploit the natural mechanical instability of thin solid films to form regular patterns of mono- crystalline atomically smooth silicon and germanium nanostructures that cannot be realized with conventional methods. The solid-state dewetting dynamics is guided by pre-patterning the sample by a combination of electron-beam lithography and reactive-ion etching, obtaining precise control over number, size, shape, and relative position of the final Si1-xGex structures. Here we describe our progress in the spectroscopic investigation of individual dewetted Si1-xGex nanoislands: in the linear regime, bright Mie-type localized resonances are detected in the visible spectral range, with a spectral position that can be tuned by modifying the size of the nanoparticles. In the non-linear regime, instead, sizable third-harmonic generation is observed at the level of single islands. We believe that these results will be pivotal to a novel approach in spectral filtering, sensing and structural color with all-dielectric photonic devices.

Fabrication and scaling of disordered hyperuniform (dHU) materials remain hampered by the difficulties in controlling the spontaneous phenomena leading to this novel kind of exotic arrangement of objects. In this work, we demonstrate a hybrid top-down/bottom-up approach based on sol-gel dip-coating and nano-imprint lithography for the faithful reproduction of dHU metasurfaces in metal oxides (MOx). Nano- to micro-structures made of silica and titania can be directly printed over several cm2 on glass and on silicon substrates. Firstly, we describe the polymer mold fabrication starting from a hard master obtained via spontaneous solid-state dewetting. Then we address the effective dHU character of the master and of the replica and the role of the initial thickness of the sol-gel layer on the MOx replicas. Finally, these structures will be optimized towards their exploitation in many potential photonic applications like photonic devices (anti-reflection coatings, quantum emitters).

Fabrication and scaling of disordered hyperuniform materials remain hampered by the difficulties in controlling the spontaneous phenomena leading to this novel kind of exotic arrangement of objects. Here, we demonstrate a hybrid top-down/bottom-up approach based on sol-gel dip-coating and nanoimprint lithography for the faithful reproduction of disordered hyperuniform metasurfaces in metal oxides. Nano- to microstructures made of silica and titania can be directly printed over several cm

International audience; Fabrication and scaling of disordered hyperuniform materials remain hampered by the difficulties in controlling the spontaneous phenomena leading to this novel kind of exotic arrangement of objects. Here, we demonstrate a hybrid top-down/ bottom-up approach based on sol−gel dip-coating and nanoimprint lithography for the faithful reproduction of disordered hyperuniform metasurfaces in metal oxides. Nano-to microstructures made of silica and titania can be directly printed over several cm 2 on glass and on silicon substrates. First, we describe the polymer mold fabrication starting from a hard master obtained via spontaneous solid-state dewetting of SiGe and Ge thin layers on SiO 2. Then, we assess the effective disordered hyperuniform character of master and replica and the role of the thickness of the sol− gel layer on the metal oxide replicas and on the presence of a residual layer underneath. Finally, as a potential application, we show the antireflective character of titania structures on silicon. Our results are relevant for the realistic implementation over large scales of disordered hyperuniform nano-and microarchitectures made of metal oxides, thus opening their exploitation in the framework of wet chemical assembly.

We report a new strategy for the ordering of 2D arrays of Ge and Au nanodots on a silicon wafer using a patterned titanium oxide layer. In a rst step, a TiO 2 layer is prepared by block-copolymer-micelles-assisted sol-gel deposition on a full Si wafer, followed by a thermal annealing. The process leads to hexagonally positioned perforations of homogeneous size and spacing. In a second step, these TiO 2 Inorganic NanoPatterns (INPs) are used as templates for the organization of Ge and Au nanodots. Germanium adatoms deposited by Molecular Beam Epitaxy on INPs, diuse and self-assemble into nanodots, located within the INPs pores. They form homogeneous sub-20 nm Ge nanodots in epitaxy on the silicon substrate and regularly distributed with one dot per perforation. The same approach is used for the formation of Au nanodots. In this case, a gentle mechanical polishing is requiered to suppress the dots seating at 1 the top of the TiO 2 network. The process developed in this study paves the way to the large scale self-organisation of quantum dots that are highly interesting for various applications, such as opto-electronics, and microelectronics.

Silicon-Germanium strain engineering has been used for more than two decades in silicon based devices and has contributed to the scaling down of a transistor’s size and to significant improvements in device performance. However, while conventional silicon-germanium based electronics has experienced rapid and steady growth, thanks to this continuous miniaturization of transistors, this trend cannot continue indefinitely. Industry has already moved to alternate methods such as FinFET devices, in which a thin silicon channel is placed vertically, and the FD-SOI (FD-SGOI) design consisting of a thin film Si(SiGe) channel placed horizontally. For nodes scaled down below 28 nm, low power operation will be inherently hindered by both the imperfect interface, non-uniformity of ultra-thin films and quantum confinement effects, which increase the effective bandgap. In these devices, despite the intense research activity on the strained SiGe ultra-thin body, which accounts for a large portion of such microelectronic devices (below the 45 nm node), we still fail to properly understand the mechanisms that limit hole and electron mobilities in SGOI layers. In addition, one of the main challenges for Si based devices remains the fabrication of efficient group-IV photon sources / photon detectors compatible with the microelectronic industry, which would usefully replace the integration of III-V heterostructures on Si. The major bottleneck is that group-IV semiconductor elements have indirect bandgaps, but with possibilities of being transformed to direct bandgaps using strain engineering strategies. In this presentation, we will review the formation mechanism of Ge-rich layers on SOI by condensation at different temperatures. TEM cross-section and GPA analysis of the heterostructures will be presented. We will also report the physical and optical properties of these heterostructures. Special attention is devoted to the influence of the SiGe thickness reduction (up to few MLs), where quantum confinement is prominent in the optical properties of the layers. Raman and PL results will be presented to better explain such confinement behavior. We show that novel SGOI substrates could represent a key strategy for the fabrication of future photonic devices.

Natural porous systems, such as soil, membranes, and biological tissues comprise disordered structures characterized by dead-end pores connected to a network of percolating channels. The release and dispersion of particles, solutes, and microorganisms from such features is key for a broad range of environmental and medical applications including soil remediation, drug delivery and filtration. Yet, the role of microscopic structure and flow for the dispersion of particles and solutes in such disordered systems has been only poorly understood, in part due to the stagnant and opaque nature of these microscopic systems. Here, we use a microfluidic model system that features a pore structure characterized by dead-ends to determine how particles are transported, retained and dispersed. We observe strong tailing of arrival time distributions at the outlet of the medium characterized by power-law decay with an exponent of 2/3. Using numerical simulations and an analytical model, we link this behavior to particles initially located within dead-end pores, and explain the tailing exponent with a hopping and rolling mechanism along the streamlines inside vortices within dead-end pores. These dynamics are quantified by a stochastic model that predicts the full evolution of arrival times. Our results demonstrate how microscopic flow structures can impact macroscopic particle transport.

Large-scale, defect-free, micro- and nano-circuits with controlled inter-connections represent the nexus between electronic and photonic components. However, their fabrication over large scales often requires demanding procedures that are hardly scalable. Here we synthesize arrays of parallel ultra-long (up to 0.75 mm), monocrystalline, silicon-based nano-wires and complex, connected circuits exploiting low-resolution etching and annealing of thin silicon films on insulator. Phase field simulations reveal that crystal faceting and stabilization of the wires against breaking is due to surface energy anisotropy. Wires splitting, inter-connections and direction are independently managed by engineering the dewetting fronts and exploiting the spontaneous formation of kinks. Finally, we fabricate field-effect transistors with state-ofthe- art trans-conductance and electron mobility. Beyond the first experimental evidence of controlled dewetting of patches featuring a record aspect ratio of 1/60000 and selfassembled mm long nano-wires, our method constitutes a distinct and promising approach for the deterministic implementation of atomically-smooth, mono-crystalline electronic and photonic circuits.

All-dielectric photonics is a rapidly developing field of optics and material science. The main interest at visible and near-infrared frequencies is light management using high-refractive-index Mie-resonant dielectric particles. Most work in this area of research focuses on exploiting Si-based particles. Here, we study monocrystalline Mie-resonant particles made of Ge-rich SiGe alloys with refractive index higher than that of Si. These islands are formed via solid state dewetting of SiGe flat layers by using two different processes: (i) dewetting of monocrystalline SiGe layers (60%-80% Ge content) obtained via Ge condensation of SiGe on silicon on insulator; and (ii) dewetting of a SiGe layer deposited via molecular beam epitaxy on silicon on insulator and ex situ Ge condensation, forming a Ge-rich shell surrounding a SiGe-core. Using high-spatial-resolution Raman microscopy we monitor Ge content x and strain ϵ of flat layers and SiGe-islands. We observe strain relaxation associated with formation of trading dislocations in the SiGe islands compared to the starting SiGe layers, as confirmed by TEM images. For initial high Ge concentration in the flat layers, the corresponding Ge content in the dewetted islands is lower, owing to diffusion of Si atoms from Si or SiO

We report on the dewetting process, in a high vacuum environment, of amorphous Ge thin films on SiO2/Si (001). A detailed insight of the dewetting is obtained by in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction and ex situ scanning electron microscopy. These characterizations show that the amorphous Ge films dewet into Ge crystalline nano-islands with dynamics dominated by crystallization of the amorphous material into crystalline nano-seeds and material transport at Ge islands. Surface energy minimization determines the dewetting process of crystalline Ge and controls the final stages of the process. At very high temperatures, coarsening of the island size distribution is observed.

Large-scale, defect-free, micro- and nano-circuits with controlled inter-connections represent the nexus between electronic and photonic components. However, their fabrication over large scales often requires demanding procedures that are hardly scalable. Here we synthesize arrays of parallel ultra-long (up to 0.75 mm), monocrystalline, silicon-based nano-wires and complex, connected circuits exploiting low-resolution etching and annealing of thin silicon films on insulator. Phase field simulations reveal that crystal faceting and stabilization of the wires against breaking is due to surface energy anisotropy. Wires splitting, inter-connections and direction are independently managed by engineering the dewetting fronts and exploiting the spontaneous formation of kinks. Finally, we fabricate field-effect transistors with state-of-the-art trans-conductance and electron mobility. Beyond the first experimental evidence of controlled dewetting of patches featuring a record aspect ratio of \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\sim$$\end{document}~1/60000 and self-assembled \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\sim$$\end{document}~mm long nano-wires, our method constitutes a distinct and promising approach for the deterministic implementation of atomically-smooth, mono-crystalline electronic and photonic circuits., Fabricating defect-free micro- and nano-circuits over large scales with controlled interconnections remains a challenge. Here, Bollani et al. show a dewetting strategy for engineering arrays of parallel Si-based nanowires up to 0.75 mm and complex interconnected circuits of monocrystalline Si on a chip.

We address the solid state dewetting of ultra-thin and ultra-large patches of monocrystalline silicon on insulator. We show that the underlying instability of the thin Si film under annealing can be perfectly controlled to form monocrystalline, complex nanoarchitectures extending over several microns. These complex patterns are obtained guiding the dewetting fronts by etching ad-hoc patches prior to annealing. They can be reproduced over hundreds of repetitions extending over hundreds of microns. We discuss the effect of annealing temperature and patch size on the stability of the final result of dewetting showing that for simple patches (e.g. simple squares) the final outcome is stable and well reproducible at 720 degrees C and for similar to 1 mu m square size. Finally, we demonstrate that introducing additional features within squared patches (e.g. a hole within a square) stabilises the dewetting dynamic providing perfectly reproducible complex nanoarchitectures of 5 pm size. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The passivation layers at the front of the cell are often referred as to the window layer because it must be transparent so as the solar cell has a high efficiency. In this work, numerical simulation has been proposed to study the effect of the AlGaAs gradual and normal windows on the cell sensitivity to the electron irradiation so as to passivate the solar cell. To expect the effect of gradual window layers, the J-V and P-V characteristics are confirmed better energy conversion performance of the illuminated solar cells after irradiation. The short circuit current Jsc and the open circuit voltage Voc are evaluated for different electron irradiation fluencies. The results show how the gradual window layer improves resistance to electron irradiation through its own parameters.

Silicon-Germanium strain engineering has been used for more than two decades in silicon based devices and has contributed to the scaling down of a transistor’s size and to significant improvements in device performance. However, while conventional silicon-germanium based electronics has experienced rapid and steady growth, thanks to this continuous miniaturization of transistors, this trend cannot continue indefinitely. Industry has already moved to alternate methods such as FinFET devices, in which a thin silicon channel is placed vertically, and the FD-SOI (FD-SGOI) design consisting of a thin film Si(SiGe) channel placed horizontally. For nodes scaled down below 28 nm, low power operation will be inherently hindered by both the imperfect interface, non-uniformity of ultra-thin films and quantum confinement effects, which increase the effective bandgap. In these devices, despite the intense research activity on the strained SiGe ultra-thin body, which accounts for a large portion of such microelectronic devices (below the 45 nm node), we still fail to properly understand the mechanisms that limit hole and electron mobilities in SGOI layers. In addition, one of the main challenges for Si based devices remains the fabrication of efficient group-IV photon sources / photon detectors compatible with the microelectronic industry, which would usefully replace the integration of III-V heterostructures on Si. The major bottleneck is that group-IV semiconductor elements have indirect bandgaps, but with possibilities of being transformed to direct bandgaps using strain engineering strategies. In this presentation, we will review the formation mechanism of Ge-rich layers on SOI by condensation at different temperatures. TEM cross-section and GPA analysis of the heterostructures will be presented. We will also report the physical and optical properties of these heterostructures. Special attention is devoted to the influence of the SiGe thickness reduction (up to few MLs), where quantum confinement is prominent in the optical properties of the layers. Raman and PL results will be presented to better explain such confinement behavior. We show that novel SGOI substrates could represent a key strategy for the fabrication of future photonic devices.

All-dielectric photonics is a promptly developing field of optics and material science. The main interest at visible and near-infrared frequencies is light management using high-refractive-index Mie-resonant dielectric particles. Most work in this area of research was done exploiting Si-based particles. Here, we study monocrys- talline Mie-resonant particles made of Ge-rich SiGe alloys with refractive index higher than that of Si. These islands are formed via solid state dewetting of SiGe flat layers by using two different processes: i) dewetting of monocrystalline SiGe layers (60-80% Ge content) obtained via Ge condensation of SiGe on silicon on insulator, ii) dewetting of a SiGe layer deposited via molecular beam epitaxy on silicon on insulator and ex-situ Ge con- densation, forming a Ge-rich shell surrounding a SiGe-core. Using high-spatial-resolution Raman microscopy we monitor Ge content x and strain of flat layers and SiGe-islands. We observe strain relaxation associated with formation of trading dislocations in the SiGe islands compared to the starting SiGe layers, as confirmed by TEM images. For initial high Ge concentration in the flat layers, the corresponding Ge content in the dewetted islands is lower, owing to diffusion of Si atoms from Si or SiO 2 into SiGe islands. The Ge content also varies from particle to particle on the same sample. Size and shape of the dewetted particles depend on the fabrication process: thicker initial SiGe layers lead to larger particles. Samples with narrow island size distribution display rather sharp Mie resonances in the 1000-2500 nm spectral range. Larger islands display Mie resonances at longer wavelength. Positions of the resonances are in agreement with the theoretical calculations in the discrete dipole approximation.

Because of their state of art technology, GaAs solar cells are generally preferred for spatial applications. Exposure to proton and electron irradiations, solar cells suffer significant degradation in their performance such as short circuit current and open circuit voltage. Adding a window layer helps in effectively reducing the surface recombination at the emitter surface of the solar cell without absorbing the useful light required for the device. It remains to study the physics of the window-emitter hetero-interface in order to understand how the window layer presence increases the minority carrier lifetime of the solar cell exposed to particles irradiation. In this work Numerical simulation has been used to study the AlxGa1- xAs window composition effect on the current-voltage characteristics of a GaAs solar cell under AM0 illumination and exposed to 1 MeV electron irradiation. To predict the effect of window layers on solar cells degradation, the current voltage characteristic are evaluated for different electron irradiation fluences. The findings are supported by experimental data. They lead us to get to know how the window layer improves resistance to electron irradiation through its own parameters.

The purpose of this paper is to reach the root mean square (RMS) value of the fluctuating temperature along a jet plane by examining only the impact produced by a laser beam after having traversed the heated jet of air. This model is based on the Einstein–Fokker–Planck–Kolmogorov (EFPK) equation, which helped us to determine the value of the jet diffusion coefficient defined as a proportionality factor between the mean square of the deflection angle fluctuations and the length of the corresponding finite laser beam path. The numerical method of calculation in our work uses the value of the localized diffusion coefficient. This plays an essential role in measuring along the RMS of the temperature fluctuations. The obtained values are compared to the experimental measurements.

Materials featuring anomalous suppression of density fluctuations over large length scales are emerging systems known as disordered hyperuniform. The underlying hidden order renders them appealing for several applications, such as light management and topologically protected electronic states. These applications require scalable fabrication, which is hard to achieve with available top-down approaches. Theoretically, it is known that spinodal decomposition can lead to disordered hyperuniform architectures. Spontaneous formation of stable patterns could thus be a viable path for the bottom-up fabrication of these materials. Here we show that mono-crystalline semiconductor-based structures, in particular Si$_{1-x}$Ge$_{x}$ layers deposited on silicon-on-insulator substrates, can undergo spinodal solid-state dewetting featuring correlated disorder with an effective hyperuniform character. Nano- to micro-metric sized structures targeting specific morphologies and hyperuniform character can be obtained, proving the generality of the approach and paving the way for technological applications of disordered hyperuniform metamaterials. Phase-field simulations explain the underlying non-linear dynamics and the physical origin of the emerging patterns., 6 pages, 3 figures, supplementary information (7 pages) enclosed

International audience; We demonstrate a simple self-assembly method based on solid state dewetting of ultra-thin silicon films and germanium deposition for the fabrication of efficient anti reflection coatings on silicon for light trapping. Via solid state dewetting of ultra-thin silicon on insulator and epitaxial deposition of Ge we fabricate SiGe islands with a high surface density, randomly positioned and broadly varied in size. This allows to reduce the reflectance to low values in a broad spectral range (from 500 nm to 2500 nm) and a broad angle (up to 55 degrees) and to trap within the wafer a large portion of the impinging light (∼40%) also below the band-gap, where the Si substrate is non-absorbing. Theoretical simulations agree with the experimental results showing that the efficient light coupling into the substrate mediated by Mie resonances formed within the SiGe islands. This lithography-free method can be implemented on arbitrarily thick or thin SiO2 layers and its duration only depends on the sample thickness and on the annealing temperature.

Flexible and stretchable photonics are emerging fields aiming to develop novel applications where the devices need to conform to uneven surfaces or whenever lightness and reduced thickness are major requirements. However, owing to the relatively small refractive index of transparent soft matter including most polymers, these materials are not well adapted for light management at visible and near-infrared frequencies. Here we demonstrate simple, low cost and efficient protocols for fabricating Si1−x Ge x -based, sub-micrometric dielectric antennas over record scales (50 mm wafers) with ensuing hybrid integration into different plastic supports. The transfer process has a near-unity yield: up to 99.94% for disordered structures and 99.5% for the ordered counterpart. Finally, we benchmark the optical quality of the dielectric antennas with light scattering measurements, demonstrating the control of the islands structural color and the onset of sharp Mie modes after encapsulation in plastic. Thanks to the ease of implementation of our fabrication methods, these results are relevant for the integration of SiGe-based dielectric Mie resonators in flexible substrates over large surfaces.