Jean-Sébastien Lauret

Optical spectroscopy of two-dimensional layered (C6H5C2H4-NH3)2-PbI4 perovskite

We report on optical spectroscopy (photoluminescence and photoluminescence excitation) on two-dimensional self-organized layers of (C(6)H(5)C(2)H(4)-NH(3))(2)-PbI(4) perovskite. Temperature and excitation power dependance of the optical spectra gives a new insight into the excitonic and the phononic properties of this hybrid organic/inorganic semiconductor. In particular, exciton-phonon interaction is found to be more than one order of magnitude higher than in GaAs QWs. As a result, photoluminescence emission lines have to be interpreted in the framework of a polaron model.

Highly directional stadium-shaped polymer microlasers

The far-field emission of two-dimensional stadium-shaped microlasers is investigated. Stadium-shaped microcavities based on a laser dye embedded in a polymer matrix have been elaborated. Such stadium-shaped microresonators, made by lithography and reactive ion etching have displayed quality factors greater than 6000 and a high output power. The highly directional far-field pattern of the emitted beam (full width at half maximum ∼15°) reflects the symmetries of the stadium shape.

Strong exciton-photon coupling in a microcavity containing layered perovskite semiconductors

The authors have realized a Perot-Fabry microcavity containing a two-dimensional layered perovskite-type semiconductor, (C6H5C2H4–NH3)2PbI4, between a dielectric mirror and a metallic mirror. A strong coupling regime between the perovskite exciton and the confined photon mode has been evidenced at room temperature from angular-resolved reflectivity experiments. An anticrossing of 140meV is observed between the excitonic and cavity modes. (C6H5C2H4–NH3)2PbI4 having a self-organized multiple quantum well structure, they have determined the oscillator strength per quantum well of this structure: 4×1013cm−2, which is one order of magnitude higher than in conventional inorganic quantum wells.

Origin of the excitonic recombinations in hexagonal boron nitride by spatially resolved cathodoluminescence spectroscopy

The excitonic recombinations in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) are investigated with spatially resolved cathodoluminescence spectroscopy in the UV range. Cathodoluminescence images of an individual hBN crystallite reveals that the 215 nm free excitonic line is quite homogeneously emitted along the crystallite whereas the 220 nm and 227 nm excitonic emissions are located in specific regions of the crystallite. Transmission electron microscopy images show that these regions contain a high density of crystalline defects. This suggests that both the 220 nm and 227 nm emissions are produced by the recombination of excitons bound to structural defects.

Particularities of surface plasmon?exciton strong coupling with large Rabi splitting

This paper presents some of the particularities of the strong coupling regime occurring between surface plasmon (SP) modes and excitons. Two different active materials were deposited on a silver film: a cyanine dye J-aggregate, and a two-dimensional layered perovskite-type semiconductor. The dispersion relations, which are deduced from angular resolved reflectometry spectra, present an anticrossing characteristic of the strong coupling regime. The wavevector is a good parameter to determine the Rabi splitting. Due to the large interaction energies (several hundreds of milli-electron-volts), the calculations at constant angle can induce an overestimation of the Rabi splitting of more than a factor of two. Another property of polaritons based on SP is their nonradiative character. In order to observe the polaritonic emission, it is thus necessary to use particular extraction setups, such as gratings or prisms. Otherwise only the incoherent emission can be detected, very similar to the bare exciton emission.

Π‐Stacking Functionalization of Carbon Nanotubes through Micelle Swelling

We report on a new, original and efficient method for pi-stacking functionalization of single-wall carbon nanotubes. This method is applied to the synthesis of a high-yield light-harvesting system combining single-wall carbon nanotubes and porphyrin molecules. We developed a micelle-swelling technique that leads to controlled and stable complexes presenting an efficient energy transfer. We demonstrate the key role of the organic solvent in the functionalization mechanism. By swelling the micelles, the solvent helps the non-water-soluble porphyrins to reach the micelle core and allows a strong enhancement of the interaction between porphyrins and nanotubes. This technique opens new avenues for the functionalization of carbon nanostructures.

Many-body effects in electronic bandgaps of carbon nanotubes measured by scanning tunnelling spectroscopy

Single-walled carbon nanotubes provide an ideal system for studying the properties of one-dimensional (1D) materials, where strong electron-electron interactions are expected. Optical measurements have recently reported the existence of excitons in semiconducting nanotubes, revealing the importance of many-body effects. Surprisingly, pioneering electronic structure calculations and scanning tunnelling spectroscopy (STS) experiments report the same gap values as optical experiments. Here, an experimental STS study of the bandgap of single-walled semiconducting nanotubes, demonstrates a continuous transition from the gap reduced by the screening resulting from the metal substrate to the intrinsic gap dominated by many-body interactions. These results provide a deeper knowledge of many-body interactions in these 1D systems and a better understanding of their electronic properties, which is a prerequisite for any application of nanotubes in the ultimate device miniaturization for molecular electronics, or spintronics.

Preparations and Characterizations of Luminescent Two Dimensional Organic-inorganic Perovskite Semiconductors

This article reviews the synthesis, structural and optical characterizations of some novel luminescent two dimensional organic-inorganic perovskite (2DOIP) semiconductors. These 2DOIP semiconductors show a self-assembled nano-layered structure, having the electronic structure of multi-quantum wells. 2DOIP thin layers and nanoparticles have been prepared through different methods. The structures of the 2DOIP semiconductors are characterized by atomic force microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The optical properties of the 2DOIP semiconductors are characterized from absorption and photoluminescence spectra measured at room and low temperatures. Influences of different components, in particular the organic parts, on the structural and optical properties of the 2DOIP semiconductors are discussed.

Strong exciton-photon coupling at room temperature in microcavities containing two-dimensional layered perovskite compounds

We have realized Perot–Fabry microcavities containing a two-dimensional layered perovskite-type semiconductor: (C6H5C2H4–NH3)2PbI4 between a dielectric mirror and a metallic mirror. A strong coupling regime between the perovskite exciton and the confined photon mode has been evidenced at room temperature from angular-resolved reflectivity experiments, anticrossings as large as 190 meV are observed between the excitonic and cavity modes. We have shown that the design of the microcavity can be varied at will, so that the detuning or the Rabi splitting can be precisely chosen. The emission of the polaritonic low energy branch has been observed.

Quantum efficiency of energy transfer in noncovalent carbon nanotube/porphyrin compounds

We report on the quantum yield of excitation energy transfer in noncovalently bound nanotube/porphyrin compounds. Evidence for energy transfer is gained from photoluminescence excitation experiments. We perform a quantitative evaluation of the transfer quantum yield in the case of (6,5) nanotubes through three independent methods: quantitative photoluminescence excitation measurements, evaluation of the luminescence quenching of the donor (porphyrin) and ultrafast transient absorption measurements. The latter shows a tremendous increase in the porphyrin recovery rate upon incorporation in the compound. All these measurements consistently lead to an exceptional quantum yield: η∼1(10−5<1−η<10−3).