arXiv subjects

Yanxia Cui

Publications and source records attributed to Yanxia Cui.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Tailoring 4H-SiC Surface Electronic States by Atomic-Layer Deposition for Ideal Peta-Ohm Resistors

High resolution resistors capable of detecting minuscule currents are vital for advanced sensors, but existing off-shelf models struggle with inconsistent resistance under varying voltages. The underlying physics of this issue is rooted in unstable surface charges and intrinsic inhomogeneity of surface potential caused by spontaneous polarization (SP) in commercial semi-insulating silicon carbide (SiC) devices. In this work, we found that coating SiC surfaces with an ultrathin zinc oxide layer immobilizes the dangling surface charges in place and balances the natural electric field of the material, ensuring stable resistance even at extreme voltages up to 1000 V. The resulting SiC resistor maintains a record-high resistance of one peta-ohm (10^15 {\Omega}) with negligible voltage fluctuations, outperforming conventional options. Additionally, these devices can switch states when exposed to light or heat, making them dual-purpose tools for ultra-sensitive measurements and sensors. This breakthrough combines high stability, scalability for mass production, and multifunctionality, opening doors to next-generation precision technologies in fields like quantum sensing and environmental monitoring.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2021

Degradation Mechanism of Perovskite under High Charge Carrier Density Condition

Extensive studies have focused on degradation of perovskite at low charge carrier density (<10^16 cm^-3), but few have surveyed the degradation mechanism at high charge carrier density (~10^18 cm^-3). Here, we investigate the degradation mechanisms of perovskite under high charge carrier conditions. Unlike the observations in previous works, we find that MAPbI3 degradation starts at surface defects and progressing from the surface defects towards neighboring regions under high charge carrier density condition. By using PbI2 passivation, the defect-initiated degradation is significantly suppressed and the nanoplatelet degrades in a layer-by-layer way, enabling the MAPbI3 laser sustain for 4500 s (2.7*10^7 pulses), which is almost 3 times longer than that of the nanoplatelet laser without passivation. Meanwhile, the PbI2 passivated MAPbI3 nanoplatelet laser with the nanoplatelet cavity displaying a maximum quality factor up to ~7800, the highest reported for all MAPbI3 nanoplatelet cavities. Furthermore, a high stability MAPbI3 nanoplatelet laser that can last for 8500 s (5.1*10^7 pulses) is demonstrated based on a dual passivation strategy, by retarding the defect-initiated degradation and surface-initiated degradation, simultaneously. This work provides in-depth insights for understanding the degradation of perovskite at high charge carrier density.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

High-responsivity, High-detectivity Photomultiplication Organic Photodetector Realized by a Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor Tunneling Junction

Organic photodetectors (OPDs) possess bright prospects in applications of medical imaging and wearable electronics due to the advantages such as low cost, good biocompatibility, and good flexibility. Photomultiplication OPDs (PM-OPDs) enabled by the trap-assisted carrier tunneling injection effect exhibit external quantum efficiencies far greater than unity, thus the acquired responsivities are extremely high. However, the reported PM-OPDs with high responsivity performances are all accompanied by high dark currents due to the introduction of carrier traps, which inevitably results in inferior detectivities. In this work, we modify a P3HT:PCBM donor-rich PM-OPD by introducing an atomically thin Al2O3 interfacial layer through the ALD technique, obtaining a high responsivity of 8294 A/W and high detectivity of 6.76*10^14 Jones, simultaneously, both of which are among the highest reported for bulk heterojunction PM-OPDs. Ascribed to the introduction of the atomically thin Al2O3 layer, the metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) tunneling junction is formed, which brings forward a suppressed dark current along with an increased amounts of holes tunneling under forward bias. Meanwhile, the weak light detection limit of the modified PM-OPD within the linear response range reaches the level of nW/cm2. Based on the proposed PM-OPD, a proof-of-concept image sensor with 26*26 pixels is demonstrated, which can respond to both ultraviolet light and visible light. The PM-OPD based sensor arrays can find broad applications for medical imaging, wearable electronics, etc.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2020

Maxwell's demon-like nonreciprocity by non-Hermitian gyrotropic metasurfaces

We show that Maxwell's demon-like nonreciprocity can be supported in a class of non-Hermitian gyrotropic metasurfaces in the linear regime. The proposed metasurface functions as a transmission-only Maxwell's demon operating at a pair of photon energies. Based on multiple scattering theory, we construct a dual-dipole model to explain the underlying mechanism that leads to the antisymmetric nonreciprocal transmission. The results may inspire new designs of compact nonreciprocal devices for photonics.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2018

Improving Performance of Organic Photodetectors based on Trap Assisted Photomultiplication through Adjusting Photogenerated Carrier Distributions

Organic photodetectors (OPDs) based on trap-assisted photomultiplication (PM) effect with external quantum efficiency (EQE) far exceeding 100% are quite appealing for achieving highly sensitive photodetection. A classic structure of PM-type OPDs is based on the active layer of P3HT:PC70BM with the weight ratio of 100:1, in which PC70BM forms islands and supply bulk electron traps for inducing strong interfacial band bending and thus hole tunneling from the Al electrode. In this paper, aiming for optimizing the PM effect, we study the photogenerated carrier distribution by tuning thickness of the active layer (P3HT:PC70BM). The combination effect of both the exciton generation and exciton dissociation processes affects the photogenerated carrier distribution, which ultimately determines the PM performances of OPDs. On the one hand, simulation reveals that the thinner the active layer, the stronger exciton generation near the Al electrode. On the other hand, the photoluminescence and surface morphology studies reflect that the active layer with thickness of 230 nm has the smooth surface and produces the highest exciton dissociation rate. The two effects result in the OPD with a 205 nm thick active layer has the champion EQE (105569%) and photoresponsivity (344 A/W), corresponding to an enhancement of 330% with respect to the OPD with a 325 nm thick active layer. Ascribed to the trade off of EQE and dark current, the detectivity performs differently at different wavelength ranges. At short wavelength range, the detectivity reaches the highest when the active layer is 205 nm thick, while the highest detectivity at long wavelength range is produced by the thickest active layer. Our work contributes to developing low cost organic photodetectors for detecting weak light signals.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2016

Tungsten based Anisotropic Metamaterial as an Ultra-broadband Absorber

The trapped rainbow effect has been mostly found on tapered anisotropic metamaterials (MMs) made of low loss noble metals, such as gold, silver, etc. In this work, we demonstrate that an anisotropic MM waveguide made of high loss metal tungsten can also support the trapped rainbow effect similar to the noble metal based structure. We show theoretically that an array of tungsten/germanium anisotropic nano-cones placed on top of a reflective substrate can absorb light at the wavelength range from 0.3 micrometer to 9 micrometer with an average absorption efficiency approaching 98%. It is found that the excitation of multiple orders of slow-light resonant modes is responsible for the efficient absorption at wavelengths longer than 2 micrometer, and the anti-reflection effect of tapered lossy material gives rise to the near perfect absorption at shorter wavelengths. The absorption spectrum suffers a small dip at around 4.2 micrometer where the first order and second order slow-light modes get overlapped, but we can get rid of this dip if the absorption band edge at long wavelength range is reduced down to 5 micrometer. The parametrical study reflects that the absorption bandwidth is mainly determined by the filling ratio of tungsten as well as the bottom diameter of the nano-cones and the interaction between neighboring nano-cones is quite weak. Our proposal has some potential applications in the areas of solar energy harvesting and thermal emitters.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2015

Beam Collimation Using an Anisotropic Metamaterial Slab without Any Nanometer-sized Aperture

Plasmonic beam collimation effect has been thoroughly investigated based on the well-known nanometer-scale bull's eye structure formed by complex and high-cost fabrication processes. In this work, we report our effort for attaining beam collimation using an anisotropic metamaterial (AMM) slab that consists of a stack of alternating metal/dielectric layers and an integrated top metal grating. The results show that AMM slab allows creating the beam collimation effect similar to that of the bull's eye structure, an enabling technology for practical application due to its simple architecture and cost benefits. The excitation of surface plasmons at the AMM/air interface is derived. The structure of the AMM slab and its impact on beaming performance were analyzed using the effective medium theory and Finite Element Method.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2015

Efficiency Enhancement in Organic Solar Cells by Incorporating Silica-coated Gold Nanorods at the Buffer/Active interface

The performance of organic solar cells (OSCs) can be greatly improved by incorporating silica-coated gold nanorods (Au@SiO2 NRs) at the interface between the hole transporting layer and the active layer due to the plasmonic effect. The silica shell impedes the aggregation effect of the Au NRs in ethanol solution as well as the server charge recombination on the surface of the Au NRs otherwise they would bring forward serious reduction in open circuit voltage when incorporating the Au NRs at the positions in contact with the active materials. As a result, while the high open circuit voltage being maintained, the optimized plasmonic OSCs possess an increased short circuit current, and correspondingly an elevated power conversion efficiency with the enhancement factor of ~11%. The origin of performance improvement in OSCs with the Au@SiO2 NRs was analyzed systematically using morphological, electrical, optical characterizations along with theoretical simulation. It is found that the broadband enhancement in absorption, which yields the broadband enhancement in exciton generation in the active layer, is the major factor contributing to the increase in the short circuit current density. Simulation results suggest that the excitation of the transverse and longitudinal surface plasmon resonances of individual NRs as well as their mutual coupling can generate strong electric field near the vicinity of the NRs, thereby an improved exciton generation profile in the active layer. The incorporation of Au@SiO2 NRs at the interface between the hole transporting layer and the active layer also improves hole extraction in the OSCs.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2014

Plasmonic and Metamaterial Structures as Electromagnetic Absorbers

Electromagnetic absorbers have drawn increasing attention in many areas. A series of plasmonic and metamaterial structures can work as efficient narrow band absorbers due to the excitation of plasmonic or photonic resonances, providing a great potential for applications in designing selective thermal emitters, bio-sensing, etc. In other applications such as solar energy harvesting and photonic detection, the bandwidth of light absorbers is required to be quite broad. Under such a background, a variety of mechanisms of broadband/multiband absorption have been proposed, such as mixing multiple resonances together, exciting phase resonances, slowing down light by anisotropic metamaterials, employing high loss materials and so on.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2013

Efficient multiband absorber based on 1D periodic metal-dielectric photonic crystals with a reflective substrate

We propose an efficient multiband absorber comprising a truncated one-dimensional periodic metal-dielectric photonic crystal and a reflective substrate. The reflective substrate is actually an optically thick metallic film. Such a planar device is easier to fabricate compared with the absorbers with complicated shapes. For a 4-unit cell device, all of the four absorption peaks can be optimized with efficiencies higher than 95%. Moreover, those absorption peaks are insensitive to both polarization and incident angle. The influences of the geometrical parameters along with the refractive index of the dielectric on the device performance are discussed as well. Furthermore, it is found that the number of absorption peaks within each photonic band exactly corresponds to the number of the unit cells because the truncated photonic crystal lattices have the function of selecting resonant modes. It is also displayed that the total absorption efficiency gradually increases when there are more metal-dielectric unit cells placing on top of the metallic substrate. Our work is expected to have some potential applications in the areas of solar energy harvesting and thermal emission tailoring.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2012

Optical Curtain Effect: Extraordinary Optical Transmission Enhanced by Antireflection

In this paper, we employ an antireflective coating which comprises of inverted pi shaped metallic grooves to manipulate the behaviour of a TM-polarized plane wave transmitted through a periodic nanoslit array. At normal incidence, such scheme can not only retain the optical curtain effect in the output region, but also generate the extraordinary transmission of light through the nanoslits with the total transmission efficiency as high as 90%. Besides, we show that the spatially invariant field distribution in the output region as well as the field distribution of resonant modes around the inverted pi shaped grooves can be reproduced immaculately when the system is excited by an array of point sources beneath the inverted pi shaped grooves. In further, we investigate the influence of center-groove and side-corners of the inverted pi shaped grooves on suppressing the reflection of light, respectively. Based on our work, it shows promising potential in applications of enhancing the extraction efficiency as well as controlling the beaming pattern of light emitting diodes.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2011

Ultra-broadband Microwave Metamaterial Absorber

A microwave ultra-broadband polarization-independent metamaterial absorber is demonstrated. It is composed of a periodic array of metal-dielectric multilayered quadrangular frustum pyramids. These pyramids possess resonant absorption modes at multi-frequencies, of which the overlapping leads to the total absorption of the incident wave over an ultra-wide spectral band. The experimental absorption at normal incidence is above 90% in the frequency range of 7.8-14.7GHz, and the absorption is kept large when the incident angle is smaller than 60 degrees. The experimental results agree well with the numerical simulation.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2011

Ultra-broadband Light Absorption by a Sawtooth Anisotropic Metamaterial Slab

We present an ultra broadband thin-film infrared absorber made of saw-toothed anisotropic metamaterial. Absorbtivity of higher than 95% at normal incidence is supported in a wide range of frequencies, where the full absorption width at half maximum is about 86%. Such property is retained well at a very wide range of incident angles too. Light of shorter wavelengths are harvested at upper parts of the sawteeth of smaller widths, while light of longer wavelengths are trapped at lower parts of larger tooth widths. This phenomenon is explained by the slowlight modes in anisotropic metamaterial waveguide. Our study can be applied in the field of designing photovoltaic devices and thermal emitters.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2011

A Thin Film Broadband Absorber Based on Multi-sized Nanoantennas

We experimentally demonstrate an infrared broadband absorber for TM polarized light based on an array of nanostrip antennas of several different sizes. The broadband property is due to the collective effect of magnetic responses excited by these nano-antennas at distinct wavelengths. By manipulating the differences of the nanostrip widths, the measured spectra clearly validate our design for the purpose of broadening the absorption band. The present broadband absorber works very well in a wide angular range.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2010

Thin Film Absorbers Based on Plasmonic Phase Resonances

We demonstrate an efficient double-layer light absorber by exciting plasmonic phase resonances. We show that the addition of grooves can cause mode splitting of the plasmonic waveguide cavity modes and all the new resonant modes exhibit large absorptivity greater than 90%. Some of the generated absorption peaks have wide-angle characteristics. Furthermore, we find that the proposed structure is fairly insensitive to the alignment error between different layers. The proposed plasmonic nano-structure designs may have exciting potential applications in thin film solar cells, thermal emitters, novel infrared detectors, and highly sensitive bio-sensors.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2010

Plasmon Assisted Optical Curtains

We predict an optical curtain effect, i.e., formation of a spatially invariant light field as light emerges from a set of periodic metallic nano-objects. The underlying physical mechanism of generation of this unique optical curtain can be explained in both the spatial domain and the wave-vector domain. In particular, in each period we use one metallic nanostrip to equate the amplitudes of lights impinging on the openings of two metallic nanoslits and also shift their phases by pi difference. We elaborate the influence on the output effect from some geometrical parameters like the periodicity, the slit height and so on. By controlling the light illuminated on metallic subwavelength apertures, it is practical to generate optical curtains of arbitrary forms, which may open new routes of plasmonic nano-lithography.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2009

A theoretical revisit of giant transmission of light through a metallic nano-slit surrounded with periodic grooves

The giant transmission of light through a metallic nano-slit surrounded by periodic grooves on the input surface is revisited theoretically. It is shown that the influence to the transmission comes from three parts: the groove-generated surface plasmon wave (SPW), the nano-slit-generated SPW and the incident wave. The groove-generated SPW is the main factor determining the local field distribution around the nano-slit opening, which is directly related to the transmission through the nano-slit. The nano-slit-generated SPW can be considered as a disturbance to the light distribution on the input surface. The influence of the incident wave can be strongly reduced when strong surface plasmon wave is generated on the input surface by many periods of deep grooves. Our study shows that the slit-to-groove distance for a maximal transmission through the nano-slit surrounded with periodic grooves can not be predicted by several previous theories, including the magnetic field phase theory of a recent work (Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 043902, 2007). A clear physical explanation is given for the dependence of the transmission on the slit-to-groove distance.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2008

Enhancing extraordinary transmission of light through a metallic nano slit with a nano cavity antenna

The extraordinary transmission of light through a nano slit in a metal film is enhanced by introducing a nano cavity antenna formed by a nearby metallic nano-strip over the slit opening. For a fixed wavelength, the width of the metallic nano-strip should be chosen to make the horizontal metal-insulator-metal waveguide of finite length resonant as a Fabry-Perot cavity. When such a cavity antenna is used to enhance the transmission through a non-resonant nano slit, the slit should be opened at a position with maximal magnetic field in the horizontal resonant cavity. It is shown that an optimized cavity antenna can enhance greatly the transmission of light through a non-resonant nano slit (by about 20 times) or a resonant nano slit (by 124%). The transmission spectrum of the nano slit can also be tuned by adjusting the width of the metallic nano-strip. Such a transmission enhancement with a nano cavity antenna is studied for the first time and the physical mechanism is explained.

physics.optics↗