Rare-earth doping of AgGaGe3Se8: A pathway to multifunctional materials for tunable optoelectronics

IF 4.3 3区材料科学 Q2 MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Optical Materials Pub Date : 2026-06-01 Epub Date: 2026-02-13 DOI:10.1016/j.optmat.2026.117966

G. Myronchuk , M. Kyrychenko , P. Rakus , J. Jedryka , S. Taboukhat , D. Guichaoua , B. Sahraoui

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This study explores the impact of rare-earth ion doping (Nd³⁺, Er³⁺) on the complex optical, photoelectric, and functional properties of advanced AgGaGe₃Se₈ chalcogenide crystals. The findings demonstrate that Er³⁺ doping, in particular, serves as an efficient strategy for band structure engineering, resulting in a reduced band gap (Eg down to 2.20 eV) and a marked increase in static structural disorder (Urbach energy Eu up to 81 meV), while preserving high transparency in the mid infrared region.

These microscale modifications manifest in a pronounced enhancement of the impurity photoconductivity peak (∼1.65 eV), supporting the formation mechanism of defect centers, notably silver vacancies. Crucially, the altered electronic structure drives a synergistic improvement in the material's functional performance: the piezoelectric coefficient d₃₃ rises to 35 p.m./V, and second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency is significantly boosted. Moreover, the study demonstrates the feasibility of optically modulating the piezoelectric response.

Overall, the results confirm that targeted rare-earth doping is a powerful approach for developing novel multifunctional materials for infrared optoelectronics, offering tunable piezoelectric behavior and enhanced nonlinear optical properties.

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稀土掺杂AgGaGe3Se8：可调谐光电子多功能材料的途径

本研究探讨了稀土离子掺杂（Nd3+, Er3+）对先进AgGaGe3Se8硫系化合物晶体复杂光学、光电和功能性质的影响。研究结果表明，Er3+掺杂是一种有效的能带结构工程策略，可以减小带隙（Eg降至2.20 eV）和显著增加静态结构无序（Urbach能Eu高达81 meV），同时在中红外区域保持高透明度。这些微尺度的修饰表现在杂质光电导率峰（~ 1.65 eV）的显著增强，支持缺陷中心的形成机制，特别是银空位。至关重要的是，改变的电子结构推动了材料功能性能的协同改善：压电系数d33上升到35 p.m./V，二次谐波产生（SHG）效率显着提高。此外，研究还证明了光调制压电响应的可行性。总体而言，研究结果证实，定向稀土掺杂是开发新型红外光电子多功能材料的有力途径，可以提供可调谐的压电行为和增强的非线性光学特性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Optical Materials 工程技术-材料科学：综合

CiteScore

6.60

自引率

12.80%

发文量

1265

审稿时长

38 days

期刊介绍： Optical Materials has an open access mirror journal Optical Materials: X, sharing the same aims and scope, editorial team, submission system and rigorous peer review. The purpose of Optical Materials is to provide a means of communication and technology transfer between researchers who are interested in materials for potential device applications. The journal publishes original papers and review articles on the design, synthesis, characterisation and applications of optical materials. OPTICAL MATERIALS focuses on: • Optical Properties of Material Systems; • The Materials Aspects of Optical Phenomena; • The Materials Aspects of Devices and Applications. Authors can submit separate research elements describing their data to Data in Brief and methods to Methods X.