B. Xu

Electronic and magnetic properties of zigzag graphene nanoribbon with one edge saturated

We investigated the energetic stability, electronic, and magnetic properties of the zigzag graphene nanoribbons with one edge saturated by two hydrogen atoms, the other edge saturated by one hydrogen atom by using density-functional theory (DFT). The energy of the ferromagnetic semiconductor state is the lowest state for these nanoribbons. The energy difference between the antiferromagnetic states and the ferromagnetic states varies inversely with the nanoribbon width. Both the band gaps and the magnetic moments in the zigzag graphene nanoribbons with one edge saturated are larger than those of zigzag graphene nanoribbons.

Probing Carrier Transport and Structure-Property Relationship of Highly Ordered Organic Semiconductors at the Two-Dimensional Limit.

One of the basic assumptions in organic field-effect transistors, the most fundamental device unit in organic electronics, is that charge transport occurs two dimensionally in the first few molecular layers near the dielectric interface. Although the mobility of bulk organic semiconductors has increased dramatically, direct probing of intrinsic charge transport in the two-dimensional limit has not been possible due to excessive disorders and traps in ultrathin organic thin films. Here, highly ordered single-crystalline mono- to tetralayer pentacene crystals are realized by van der Waals (vdW) epitaxy on hexagonal BN. We find that the charge transport is dominated by hopping in the first conductive layer, but transforms to bandlike in subsequent layers. Such an abrupt phase transition is attributed to strong modulation of the molecular packing by interfacial vdW interactions, as corroborated by quantitative structural characterization and density functional theory calculations. The structural modulation becomes negligible beyond the second conductive layer, leading to a mobility saturation thickness of only ∼3  nm. Highly ordered organic ultrathin films provide a platform for new physics and device structures (such as heterostructures and quantum wells) that are not possible in conventional bulk crystals.

Ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic properties of the semihydrogenated SiC sheet

The intriguing electronic and magnetic properties of the semihydrogenated SiC sheet are investigated by means of the first-principles calculations. The semihydrogenated SiC sheet exhibits diverse electronic and magnetic properties: a ferromagnetic semiconductor when Si atoms are hydrogenated, while an antiferromagnetic semiconductor with C atoms hydrogenated. The semihydrogenated SiC sheet with the C atoms hydrogenated is found to be more stable than the sheet with the Si atoms hydrogenated. Thus, controlling the hydrogenation on the different atom sites can precisely modulate the electronic and magnetic properties of the semihydrogenated SiC sheet, which endues the semihydrogenated SiC sheet great potential applications in the future functional nanodevices.

A van der Waals pn heterojunction with organic/inorganic semiconductors

van der Waals (vdW) heterojunctions formed by two-dimensional (2D) materials have attracted tremendous attention due to their excellent electrical/optical properties and device applications. However, current 2D heterojunctions are largely limited to atomic crystals, and hybrid organic/inorganic structures are rarely explored. Here, we fabricate the hybrid 2D heterostructures with p-type dioctylbenzothienobenzothiophene (C8-BTBT) and n-type MoS2. We find that few-layer C8-BTBT molecular crystals can be grown on monolayer MoS2 by vdW epitaxy, with pristine interface and controllable thickness down to monolayer. The operation of the C8-BTBT/MoS2 vertical heterojunction devices is highly tunable by bias and gate voltages between three different regimes: interfacial recombination, tunneling, and blocking. The pn junction shows diode-like behavior with rectifying ratio up to 105 at the room temperature. Our devices also exhibit photovoltaic responses with a power conversion efficiency of 0.31% and a photoresponsivity of 22 mA/W. With wide material combinations, such hybrid 2D structures will offer possibilities for opto-electronic devices that are not possible from individual constituents.

The effect of acoustic phonon scattering on the carrier mobility in the semiconducting zigzag single wall carbon nanotubes

Carrier mobilities of the semiconducting single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have been studied by using the first-principles calculations with the deformation potential approximation, which only considers the scattering by the longitudinal acoustic phonons based on the adapting Bardeen–Shockley theory [J. Bardeen and W. Shockley, Phys. Rev. 80, 72 (1950)] to one-dimensional case. From the band structures of the semiconducting SWCNTs, we calculated the effective masses, the stretching modulus, the deformation potential constants. We demonstrated that the calculated intrinsic carrier mobility can reach 106 cm2/V s at room temperature, and the carrier mobilities of the semiconducting SWCNTs show the intriguing alternating behavior.

The growth of metallic nanofilaments in resistive switching memory devices based on solid electrolytes

Memory cells with sandwich structure based on solid electrolytes Ag30S2P14O42, called ASP, were fabricated on Pt/Ti/Si(001) wafers by using pulsed laser deposition and focused ion beam nanofabrication technique. The current-voltage characteristic of the ASP memory units shows satisfactory switching behaviors. The switching of the devices was explained by the formation and rupture of Ag nanofilaments with the help of bipolar electrical pulses. A simplified model was proposed to describe the growth of the Ag nanofilaments. It was shown that the effective cross section area of the Ag nanofilaments increased at initial stage, then decreased after reaching a maximum until the top and bottom electrodes were connected.

Remarkable charge-trapping efficiency of the memory device with (TiO2)0.8(Al2O3)0.1 composite charge-storage dielectric

A memory device p-Si/SiO2/(TiO2)0.8(Al2O3)0.1(TAO-81)/Al2O3/Pt was fabricated, in which a composite of two high-k dielectrics with a thickness of 1 nm was employed as the charge-trapping layer to enhance the charge-trapping efficiency of the memory device. At an applied gate voltage of ±9 V, TAO-81 memory device shows a memory window of 8.83 V in its C-V curve. It also shows a fast response to a short voltage pulse of 10−5 s. The charge-trapping capability, the endurance, and retention characteristics of TAO-81 memory device can be improved by introducing double TAO-81 charge-trapping layers intercalated by an Al2O3 layer. The charge-trapping mechanism in the memory device is mainly ascribed to the generation of the electron-occupied defect level in the band gap of Al2O3 induced by the inter-diffusion between TiO2 and Al2O3.

Bipolar resistive switching performance of the nonvolatile memory cells based on (AgI)0.2(Ag2MoO4)0.8 solid electrolyte films

Resistive switching memory cells with polycrystalline (AgI)0.2(Ag2MoO4)0.8 (AIMO) solid electrolyte films as storage medium were fabricated on SiO2/Pt/Ti/Si substrates by using pulse laser deposition technique and focused ion beam lithography. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive x-ray analysis have been employed to investigate the structure, the surface morphology, and the composition of AIMO thin films. The Ag/AIMO/Pt memory cells with sandwich structure exhibit stable, reproducible, and reliable resistive switching characteristics. The ratio of resistance between high resistance states and low resistance states can reach ∼105. Moreover, the low resistance is ∼500 Ω at a compliance current of 0.5 mA, which is favorable to reduce the power dissipation of the entire circuit. The switching-on mechanism has been discussed and the metallic conduction characteristic has also been verified. The fast response speed and the good retention properties further indicate that polycry...

Band alignments and improved leakage properties of (La2O3)0.5(SiO2)0.5/SiO2/GaN stacks for high-temperature metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor applications

The band alignments of (La2O3)0.5(SiO2)0.5(LSO)/GaN and LSO/SiO2/GaN gate dielectric stacks were investigated comparatively by using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The valence band offsets for LSO/GaN stack and LSO/SiO2/GaN stack are 0.88 and 1.69 eV, respectively, while the corresponding conduction band offsets are found to be 1.40 and 1.83 eV, respectively. Measurements of the leakage current density as function of temperature revealed that the LSO/SiO2/GaN stack has much lower leakage current density than that of the LSO/GaN stack, especially at high temperature. It is concluded that the presence of a SiO2 buffer layer increases band offsets and reduces the leakage current density effectively.

Determination of the density of the defect states in Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 high-k film Deposited by using rf-magnetron sputtering technique

A memory structure Pt/Al2O3/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/Al2O3/p-Si was fabricated by using atomic layer deposition and rf-magnetron sputtering techniques, and its microstructure has been investigated by using the high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). By measuring the applied gate voltage dependence of the capacitance for the memory structure, the planar density of the trapped charges in Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 high-k film was estimated as 6.63 × 1012 cm−2, indicating a body defect density of larger than 2.21 × 1019 cm−3. It is observed that the post-annealing in N2 can reduces the defect density in Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 film, which was ascribed to the occupancy of oxygen vacancies by nitrogen atoms.