{"title":"Alkylamine-tuned MoOx with synergistic manipulation of interlayer spacing and oxygen vacancies toward advanced Li–S batteries","authors":"Fengjun Niu, Guobao Xu, Hengyu Yang, Yongle Liang, Zhan Xu, Huihong Li, Xiaolin Wei, Liwen Yang","doi":"10.1063/5.0244568","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0244568","url":null,"abstract":"Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries have been considered a promising next-generation energy storage device. However, the serious polysulfide shuttle effect and slow reaction kinetics hampered their development. Herein, alkylamine-tuned MoOx with synergistic manipulation of interlayer spacing and oxygen vacancies as a bifunctional mediator for separator modification (refer to as MOC/PP) in Li–S batteries is proposed. The increased interlayer spacing provides a rapid and stable pathway for Li+ diffusion, facilitating uniform Li+ deposition on lithium anode. Rich oxygen vacancies serve as active sites for efficient chemisorption and catalysis with polysulfide. As demonstrated by theoretical calculations and experimental results successively, MOC/PP efficiently captures and accelerates the redox reaction of polysulfide. Therefore, LiǁLi symmetric cells with MOC/PP exhibit stable cycling over 1000 h at a current density of 1 mA cm−2. The full cells deliver a notable discharge-specific capacity of 602 mAh g−1 at 5 C (1 C = 1675 mA g−1) and maintain stable cycling for 800 cycles at 1 C, with 0.07% capacity decay per cycle. Even under conditions of lean electrolyte (E/S = 7 μL mgs−1) and high sulfur mass loading (4.3 mg cm−2), the initial capacity exceeds 1200 mAh g−1.","PeriodicalId":8094,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics Letters","volume":"58 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143026485","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"High-crystallinity and enhanced mobility in In2O3 thin-film transistors via metal-induced method","authors":"Zhipeng Chen, Zhaoxing Fu, Tingting Jin, Liang Jing, Junyan Ren, Minghang Lei, Jingting Sun, Hongyu Chen, Lingyan Liang, Hongtao Cao","doi":"10.1063/5.0240919","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0240919","url":null,"abstract":"Meeting the advanced demands of display technology, developing oxide semiconductor thin-film transistors (TFTs) with high mobility remains a significant challenge in current research. This paper reports the fabrication of high-crystallinity In2O3 thin films and high-mobility TFT devices through low-temperature annealing using aluminum (Al) and tantalum (Ta) for induced crystallization. In the control film, partial crystallization occurs only in the central region, with grain lateral dimensions around 50 nm, resulting in a reasonable field-effect mobility of 23.9 cm2/V s for the corresponding TFTs. In contrast, metal-induced films form In2O3 grains with lateral dimensions exceeding 100 nm, along with numerous spherical crystalline particles at the metal/In2O3 interface. The well-defined front-channel structure allows the Al- and Ta-induced In2O3 TFTs to achieve high field-effect mobilities of 65.2 and 101.0 cm2/V s, respectively. Additionally, Al induction improves the subthreshold swing and threshold voltage (Vth), enhancing overall electrical performance. This study investigates the crystallization behavior of induced technology in the In2O3 system, elucidates the mechanism of metal-induced crystallization, and demonstrates that Al-induced crystallization significantly enhances the performance of metal oxide TFTs under processing temperature constraints.","PeriodicalId":8094,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics Letters","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143026524","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sub-terahertz PAM4 modulator based on transmission characteristic reconstruction","authors":"Kesen Ding, Chunyang Bi, Yu Ao, Liyu Cheng, Hailong Fang, Yazhou Dong, Hongji Zhou, Xun Wang, Zhenpeng Zhang, Shixiong Liang, Sen Gong, Yaxin Zhang","doi":"10.1063/5.0242240","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0242240","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, we propose a sub-terahertz PAM4 modulator based on transmission characteristic reconstruction by combining meta-unit, GaAs Schottky diode, and fan branch lines. This method combined the significant electromagnetic resonant characteristics of meta-unit, the high-speed controllability of GaAs Schottky diode, and the high integration of on-chip transmission line together to realize high-speed modulation. Then, we achieve transmission characteristic reconstruction by adjusting the resonance strength under different applied voltages through fan branch lines, enabling high-order amplitude modulation of sub-terahertz waves. The experimental results show that the PAM4 modulation of sub-terahertz waves is achieved with a nearly linear variation of the transmission coefficient in the whole voltage range and a maximum modulation rate of 21 Gbps, providing a promising prospect for the development and application of integrated sub-terahertz direct high-order modulation technology.","PeriodicalId":8094,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics Letters","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143026532","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Phase-gradient force-based optical array sorter","authors":"Yixuan Wu, Yu Liu, Shaohua Tao","doi":"10.1063/5.0238242","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0238242","url":null,"abstract":"Microparticle sorting is crucial for applications in biomedicine, environmental monitoring, and biochip technology. However, traditional optical sorting methods often rely on external equipment, such as microfluidic devices. In this Letter, we proposed a phase-gradient force-based optical array sorting (POAS) scheme, which achieves the accurate transporting and sorting of the particles by regulating the phase-gradient force based on the physical characteristics of the particles. The method combines the function of particle transporting and sorting, eliminating the need for external auxiliary equipment. Based on the POAS scheme, we used the complex amplitude beam shaping algorithms to design a 1 × 2 array sorting beam with the controllable phase-gradient forces. The array sorting beam was used to experimentally sort two kinds of particles with different sizes, and the particles are first transported and then precisely sorted at the designated sorting nodes. All the parameters of the sorting beam were adjustable, which greatly enhances the flexibility and scalability of the optical sorting technology. This study provides an alternative scheme for the high-throughput particle sorting, which can be easily integrated into the optical sorting chips for applications in medical detection and drug delivery.","PeriodicalId":8094,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics Letters","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143020501","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Single-pixel microscopic imaging through complex scattering media","authors":"Tianshun Zhang, Yin Xiao, Wen Chen","doi":"10.1063/5.0246489","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0246489","url":null,"abstract":"Microscopic imaging through complex scattering media is recognized to be challenging. Here, we report high-resolution single-pixel microscopic imaging through complex scattering media. This is developed via an integration of temporal corrections with single-pixel microscopic imaging to enhance the quality of the reconstructed object images and achieve high resolution in complex scattering environments. By adopting a fixed pattern as a temporal carrier, the effect of dynamic scaling factors induced by complex scattering media, which disturb the recorded light intensities, is removed. Artificial targets and biological specimens are tested in optical experiments, and feasibility of the proposed approach is validated to show that the developed single-pixel microscopic imaging system exhibits high robustness against complex scattering. This work offers a promising solution for high-resolution microscopic imaging through thick, dynamic, and complex scattering media.","PeriodicalId":8094,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics Letters","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143020502","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Amrendra Kumar, Utkarsh Shashank, Suman Kumar Maharana, John Rex Mohan, Joseph Vimal Vas, Surbhi Gupta, Hironori Asada, Rafal E. Dunin-Borkowski, Yasuhiro Fukuma, Rohit Medwal
{"title":"Charge-to-spin conversion at argon ion milled SrTiO3/NiFe hetero-interfaces","authors":"Amrendra Kumar, Utkarsh Shashank, Suman Kumar Maharana, John Rex Mohan, Joseph Vimal Vas, Surbhi Gupta, Hironori Asada, Rafal E. Dunin-Borkowski, Yasuhiro Fukuma, Rohit Medwal","doi":"10.1063/5.0238345","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0238345","url":null,"abstract":"Two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) at perovskite oxide interfaces, such as strontium titanate (STO), have garnered significant attention due to their induced ferromagnetic (FM), spin–orbit coupling, and superconducting properties. The 2DEG, formed at the interface between STO and either insulating oxides or reactive metals, exhibits efficient charge-to-spin interconversion in STO/NM(non-magnetic)/FM structures. The insulating oxide layer at the STO interface attenuates the spin currents injected into the ferromagnet. In contrast, the metallic layers facilitate efficient spin current injection but suffer from spin current diffusion. Here, we present an approach to overcome these challenges by directly creating a 2DEG at the STO surface through Ar+ ion bombardment. This method enables efficient spin-to-charge conversion without an intermediate NM layer. Our experimental and simulation results demonstrate the generation of unconventional spin currents at the STO(Ar+)/NiFe (Permalloy) interface. Our findings may enable applications of complex oxide and ferromagnet interfaces for efficient charge-to-spin conversion, paving the way for low-power, room-temperature oxide-based spintronic devices.","PeriodicalId":8094,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics Letters","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143020500","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Iurii Nesterenko, Benjamin Kalas, Thang Duy Dao, Julian Schulze, Nikolai Andrianov
{"title":"Mechanism of selective SiO2/photoresist reactive ion etching in an inductively coupled plasma operated in a C4F8/H2 gas mixture","authors":"Iurii Nesterenko, Benjamin Kalas, Thang Duy Dao, Julian Schulze, Nikolai Andrianov","doi":"10.1063/5.0238676","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0238676","url":null,"abstract":"A reactive ion etch process that achieves high selectivity between SiO2 and photoresist (PR) and based on C4F8/H2 chemistry in an inductively coupled radio frequency plasma is developed. The process is accompanied by the formation of a fluorocarbon film, which defines key process characteristics. The SiO2 etching is described as a sum of two competing mechanisms: (i) an inhibition mechanism related to fluorocarbon film deposition and (ii) a defluorination mechanism, describing the diffusion of etching species to the CxFy/SiO2 interface. However, the photoresist etch rate is primarily determined by the inhibition mechanism. In order to achieve high SiO2/PR selectivity, both mechanisms are studied as functions of hydrogen admixture, pressure, gas residence time, and substrate temperature. This study reveals that depending on the superposition of the process parameters, one of the mechanisms can prevail over the other one, which significantly affects etch rates and selectivity. By adjusting the process parameters, a maximum selectivity between SiO2 and PR of 8 is achieved corresponding to a SiO2 etch rate of 200 nm/min.","PeriodicalId":8094,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics Letters","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143020499","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Taikyu Kim, Seung Ho Ryu, Jihoon Jeon, Taeseok Kim, In-Hwan Baek, Seong Keun Kim
{"title":"Ultrahigh field-effect mobility of 147.5 cm2/Vs in ultrathin In2O3 transistors via passivating the surface of polycrystalline HfO2 gate dielectrics","authors":"Taikyu Kim, Seung Ho Ryu, Jihoon Jeon, Taeseok Kim, In-Hwan Baek, Seong Keun Kim","doi":"10.1063/5.0240110","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0240110","url":null,"abstract":"This study presents considerable improvements in the electrical characteristics of atomic-layer-deposited 3-nm-thick In2O3 thin-film transistors (TFTs), which were achieved by introducing a 2-nm-thick amorphous Al2O3 interfacial layer to passivate the surface of a polycrystalline HfO2 gate dielectric. The resulting devices exhibited exceptional electrical characteristics, including an ultrahigh field-effect mobility (μFE) of approximately 147.5 ± 16.6 cm2/V s, subthreshold swing of 103.7 ± 9.1 mV/dec, and threshold voltage (VTH) of 0.5 ± 0.1 V. These enhancement-mode devices represent increases of more than threefold in μFE compared to devices without an amorphous passivation layer. This is despite all the fabrication processes being identical, except for the introduction of the Al2O3 interfacial layer. This improvement can be primarily attributed to the reduced electron scattering through suppressed remote Coulomb interactions. Furthermore, the In2O3 TFTs exhibited enhanced operational stability, showing minimal VTH shifts of 0.15 and −0.01 V under positive and negative bias-stress conditions, respectively. The findings of this study emphasize the critical role of the surface passivation of polycrystalline HfO2 dielectrics in improving the electrical performance of ultrathin In2O3 TFTs.","PeriodicalId":8094,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics Letters","volume":"74 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142991944","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rongli Deng, Haibin Lin, Qichuan Hu, Dan Wang, Bo Wu, Richard Nötzel
{"title":"From localization to quantum-dot chains in self-formed core–shell InGaN nanowires emitting in the red","authors":"Rongli Deng, Haibin Lin, Qichuan Hu, Dan Wang, Bo Wu, Richard Nötzel","doi":"10.1063/5.0252308","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0252308","url":null,"abstract":"Self-formed core–shell InGaN nanowires (NWs) grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on p-Si (111) are studied by temperature-dependent and time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Clear localization and associated photocarrier redistribution can be evidenced by the S-shape temperature dependence of the PL peak energy and inflection of the PL linewidth. An unexpected maximum of the integrated PL intensity as a function of temperature is observed. This maximum is identified as proof that the localized states behave as chains of quantum dots with reduced radiative lifetime due to the combination of strong two-dimensional lateral quantum confinement in the NW core with localization. This is underlined by the time-resolved PL measurements exhibiting a fast, sub-ns, single-exponential decay, in addition evidencing negligible quantum-confined Stark effect for efficient light sources emitting in the red.","PeriodicalId":8094,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics Letters","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142991945","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Band structure engineering in 2D BA2PbI4/InSe perovskite heterostructures and superlattices","authors":"Yujia Gao, Tengcheng Huang, Zhuxia Wu, Tingting Shi, Weiguang Xie","doi":"10.1063/5.0245038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0245038","url":null,"abstract":"Periodic stacking of two van der Waals materials enables the realization of superlattice structures with artificial design of band structure. Two-dimensional perovskites offer structural flexibility for engineering of band structure that can result in superlattice structures. Here, InSe/BA2PbI4 perovskite heterostructure and superlattice are explored by first principles calculation. Both the heterostructure and superlattice show a similar direct bandgap structure. As the concentration of VBA defects increases, the bandgap of the heterostructure and superlattices generally increase in different manners due to different interfacial interaction. The introduction of VI defects leads to the formation of a type-I band alignment, contrasting with the type-II band alignment resulting from VBA defects. These findings offer valuable insights into the defect-driven modulation of electronic properties in semiconductor superlattices and heterostructures, providing opportunities to tailor them for various optoelectronic applications.","PeriodicalId":8094,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics Letters","volume":"105 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142991947","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}