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Combining the quantum optical properties of single-photon emitters with the strong near-field interactions available in nanophotonic and plasmonic systems is a powerful way of creating quantum manipulation and metrological functionalities. The ability to actively and dynamically modulate emitter-environment interactions is of particular interest in this regard. While thermal, mechanical and optical modulation have been demonstrated, electrical modulation has remained an outstanding challenge. Here we realize fast, all-electrical modulation of the near-field interactions between a nanolayer of erbium emitters and graphene, by in-situ tuning the Fermi energy of graphene. We demonstrate strong interactions with a >1,000-fold increased decay rate for 25% of the emitters, and electrically modulate these interactions with frequencies up to 300 kHz - orders of magnitude faster than the emitters radiative decay (100 Hz). This constitutes an enabling platform for integrated quantum technologies, opening routes to quantum entanglement generation by collective plasmon emission or photon emission with controlled waveform., Comment: to be published in Nat Commun

Protection of silver mirror stacks from environmental degradation before launching is crucial for space applications. Hereby, we report a comparative study of the advanced protection of silver mirror stacks for space telescopes provided by SiO2 and Al2O3 coatings in conditions of accelerated aging by sulfidation. The model silver stack samples were deposited by cathodic magnetron sputtering on a reference silica substrate for optical applications and a surface-pretreated SiC substrate. Accelerated aging was performed in dry and more severe wet conditions. Optical micrographic observations, surface and interface analysis by Time-of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) and reflectivity measurements were combined to comparatively study the effects of degradation. The results show a lower kinetics of degradation by accelerated aging of the stacks protected by the alumina coating in comparable test conditions., Comment: JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE \& TECHNOLOGY, 2020, Advanced Corrosion-Resistant Materials and Emerging Applications

Electrochemical polarization measurements were combined with surface analysis by Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (ToF-SIMS), X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to study the alterations of the passive film on 316L austenitic stainless steel induced by the presence of chlorides in sulfuric acid electrolyte. The work was performed at a stage of initiation of localized corrosion preceding metastable pitting at the micrometer scale as verified by current transient analysis and AFM. The results show that Cl-ions enter the bilayer structure of the surface oxide already formed in the native oxide-covered initial surface state at concentrations below the detection limit of XPS (< 0.5 at%), mostly in the hydroxide outer layer where Fe(III) and Mo(IV,VI) species are concentrated but barely in the oxide inner layer enriched in Cr(III). Their main effect is to produce a less resistive passive state by poisoning dehydroxylation and further Cr(III) and Mo(IV,VI) enrichments obtained in the absence of chlorides. This detrimental effect can be suppressed by pre-passivation in a Cl-free electrolyte, which blocks the entry of chlorides in the passive film, including in the outer exchange layer, and enables the beneficial aging-induced variations of the composition to take place despite the presence of chlorides in the environment.

Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy, X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, in situ Photo-Current Spectroscopy and electrochemical analysis were combined to characterize the physicochemical alterations induced by electrochemical passivation of the surface oxide film providing corrosion resistance to 316L stainless steel. The as-prepared surface is covered by a ~2 nm thick, mixed (Cr(III)-Fe(III)) and bi-layered hydroxylated oxide. The inner layer is highly enriched in Cr(III) and the outer layer less so. Molybdenum is concentrated, mostly as Mo(VI), in the outer layer. Nickel is only present at trace level. These inner and outer layers have band gap values of 3.0 and 2.6-2.7 eV, respectively, and the oxide film would behave as an insulator. Electrochemical passivation in sulfuric acid solution causes the preferential dissolution of Fe(III) resulting in the thickness decrease of the outer layer and its increased enrichment in Cr(III) and Mo(IV-VI). The further Cr(III) enrichment of the inner layer causes loss of photoactivity and improved corrosion protection with the anodic shift of the corrosion potential and the increase of the polarization resistance by a factor of ~4. Aging in the passive state promotes the Cr enrichment in the inner barrier layer of the passive film., Comment: 27 pages, 4 tables, 14 figures