Strained In1-xGaxAsyP1-y/InP quantum well heterostructures grown by low-pressure metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy

We have investigated the optical and the structural properties of strained In1-xGaxAsyP1-y/InP and strain compensated In1-xGaxAsyP1-y/In1-zGazAsqP1-q/InP multi-quantum well heterostructures grown by low-pressure metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy at different growth conditions. Our results indicate an increase of the compositional fluctuation of quaternary materials as the alloy composition moves from the outer spinodal isotherm into the miscibility gap region. In1-xGaxAsyP1-y layers grown at high tensile strained values exhibit a three-dimensional-like growth mode. Strain compensated structures revealed the presence of a broad photoluminescence emission band below the fundamental quantum well transition, well defined elongated features along the [011] direction and interface undulations. All these effects were found to be strongly dependent on the growth temperature and the number of wells.495

Carrier dynamics investigated by time resolved optical spectroscopy

We have investigated the transport of carriers in GaAs using time resolved optical spectroscopy with picosecond resolution. Carriers are optically created to the sample surface by an ultra-fast laser pulse. They diffuse and drift throught a thick GaAs layer, until they are captured by an InGaAs quantum well, where they recombine with holes from a p-type doped layer at an inner InGaP barrier. Our study was performed with a set of samples with different GaAs layer thickness. As the GaAs thickness increases, the emission from the quantum well is delayed and its decay slows down significantly. We have investigated the effect of an applied DC field between the surface and the InGaAs quantum well. The transient of the quantum well emission is mostly independent of the applied DC voltage up to field of the order of 20 KV/cm, including both polarities. This is a clear indication that the carrier transport is dominated by ambipolar diffusion due to the Coulomb interaction that strongly couples photoinjected electrons and holes. On the other hand, the decay of the GaAs emission varies signi-cantly when a DC gate voltage is applied such as a current appears at the structure.35335

Effects of silicon dioxide as the polar dielectric on the infrared absorption spectrum ofthemetal-insulator-metal metasurface

Metal-insulator-metal metasurfaces have been widely used as high-performance absorbers in almost all electromagnetic spectral ranges. Their absorption spectra can be engineered by making variations in the geometry of the unit cells and/or by embedding materials with specific optical constants. Including a polar dielectric in their structure is another approach for manipulating their absorption spectra. In this research, we have numerically and experimentally investigated the effect of using silicon dioxide (SiO2) as a polar dielectric on the absorption spectrum of a metal-insulator-metal metasurface composed of a tri-layer of Ni-SiO2-Ni. Our results have shown the presence of absorption peaks in the mid-infrared which are attributed to the excitation of the optical phonons in the SiO2 spacer layer. Particularly, the excitation of the Berreman mode in the SiO2 spacer layer was observed and its effect on the total absorption spectrum is studied. The parametric effects of the top patterned Ni layer, the incident angle, and the polarization are also investigated. This study can provide engineering capabilities for the mid-infrared absorbers and reflection filters

Voltage Pulse Driven VO2 Volatile Resistive Transition Devices as Leaky Integrate-and-Fire Artificial Neurons

In a hardware-based neuromorphic computation system, using emerging nonvolatile memory devices as artificial synapses, which have an inelastic memory characteristic, has attracted considerable interest. In contrast, the elastic artificial neurons have received much less attention. An ideal material system that is suitable for mimicking biological neurons is the one with volatile (or mono-stable) resistive change property. Vanadium dioxide (VO2) is a well-known material that exhibits an abrupt and volatile insulator-to-metal transition property. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate that pulse-driven two-terminal VO2 devices behave in a leaky integrate-and-fire (LIF) manner, and they elastically relax back to their initial value after firing, thus, mimicking the behavior of biological neurons. The VO2 device with a channel length of 20 µm can be driven to fire by a single long-duration pulse (>83 µs) or multiple short-duration pulses. We further model the VO2 devices as resistive networks based on their granular domain structure, with resistivities corresponding to the insulator or metallic states. Simulation results confirm that the volatile resistive transition under voltage pulse driving is caused by the formation of a metallic filament in an avalanche-like process, while this volatile metallic filament will relax back to the insulating state at the end of driving pulses. The simulation offers a microscopic view of the dynamic and abrupt filament formation process to explain the experimentally observed LIF behavior. These results suggest that VO2 insulator–metal transition could be exploited for artificial neurons

Voltage Pulse Driven VO₂ Volatile Resistive Transition Devices as Leaky Integrate-and-Fire Artificial Neurons

In a hardware-based neuromorphic computation system, using emerging nonvolatile memory devices as artificial synapses, which have an inelastic memory characteristic, has attracted considerable interest. In contrast, the elastic artificial neurons have received much less attention. An ideal material system that is suitable for mimicking biological neurons is the one with volatile (or mono-stable) resistive change property. Vanadium dioxide (VO2) is a well-known material that exhibits an abrupt and volatile insulator-to-metal transition property. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate that pulse-driven two-terminal VO2 devices behave in a leaky integrate-and-fire (LIF) manner, and they elastically relax back to their initial value after firing, thus, mimicking the behavior of biological neurons. The VO2 device with a channel length of 20 µm can be driven to fire by a single long-duration pulse (>83 µs) or multiple short-duration pulses. We further model the VO2 devices as resistive networks based on their granular domain structure, with resistivities corresponding to the insulator or metallic states. Simulation results confirm that the volatile resistive transition under voltage pulse driving is caused by the formation of a metallic filament in an avalanche-like process, while this volatile metallic filament will relax back to the insulating state at the end of driving pulses. The simulation offers a microscopic view of the dynamic and abrupt filament formation process to explain the experimentally observed LIF behavior. These results suggest that VO2 insulator–metal transition could be exploited for artificial neurons

3-D Edge-Oriented Electrocatalytic NiCo2S4 Nanoflakes on Vertical Graphene for Li-S Batteries

Polysulfide shuttle effect, causing extremely low Coulombic efficiency and cycling stability, is one of the toughest challenges hindering the development of practical lithium sulfur batteries (LSBs). Introducing catalytic nanostructures to stabilize the otherwise soluble polysulfides and promote their conversion to solids has been proved to be an effective strategy in attacking this problem, but the heavy mass of catalysts often results in a low specific energy of the whole electrode. Herein, by designing and synthesizing a free-standing edge-oriented NiCo2S4/vertical graphene functionalized carbon nanofiber (NCS/EOG/CNF) thin film as a catalytic overlayer incorporated in the sulfur cathode, the polysulfide shuttle effect is largely alleviated, revealed by the enhanced electrochemical performance measurements and the catalytic function demonstration. Different from other reports, the NiCo2S4 nanosheets synthesized here have a 3-D edge-oriented structure with fully exposed edges and easily accessible in-plane surfaces, thus providing a high density of active sites even with a small mass. The EOG/CNF scaffold further renders the high conductivity in the catalytic structure. Combined, this novel structure, with high sulfur loading and high sulfur fraction, leads to high-performance sulfur cathodes toward a practical LSB technology

Electrical oscillation generation with current-induced resistivity switching in VO2 micro-channel devices

We report large amplitude modulation waveforms as large as ~ 10 V using vanadium dioxide micro-channel devices operating under current-controlled conditions. The self-sustained electrical oscillations were generated by controlling the applied current in the negative differential resistance region of the investigated devices. An appropriate value of internal capacitance was achieved as parasitic capacitance in the device structure to stabilize the electrical oscillations. This eliminates the need of an external pulsed source or any external passive component connected to the micro-channel devices. Amplitude and frequency of the oscillation were tuned by illuminating the device micro-channel with an external laser. An equivalent circuit model was developed to simulate the waveforms. A good agreement between experiment and simulation was verified

Media 1: Versatile optical microscopy using a reconfigurable hemispherical digital condenser

Originally published in Biomedical Optics Express on 01 March 2015 (boe-6-3-658