Ji Ung Lee

Photovoltaic effect in ideal carbon nanotube diodes

We demonstrate that individual single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) can form ideal p-n junction diodes. An ideal behavior is the theoretical limit of performance for any diode, a highly sought after goal in all electronic materials development. We further elaborate on their properties by examining photovoltaic effects, an application where its performance is intimately related to the quality of the diode. Under illumination, SWNT diodes show significant power conversion efficiencies owing to enhanced properties of an ideal diode.

Carbon nanotube p-n junction diodes

We demonstrate a single-walled carbon nanotube p-n junction diode device. The p-n junction is formed along a single nanotube by electrostatic doping using a pair of split gate electrodes. By biasing the two gates accordingly, the device can function either as a diode or as an ambipolar field-effect transistor. The diode current–voltage characteristics show forward conduction and reverse blocking characteristics, i.e., rectification. For low bias conditions, the characteristics follow the ideal diode equation with an ideality factor close to one.

Optical properties of large-area polycrystalline chemical vapor deposited graphene by spectroscopic ellipsometry

Spectroscopic ellipsometry was used to characterize the complex refractive index of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) graphene grown on copper foils and transferred to glass substrates. Two ellipsometers, with respective wavelength ranges extending into the ultraviolet and infrared (IR), have been used to characterize the CVD graphene optical functions. The optical absorption follows the same relation to the fine structure constant previously observed in the IR region, and displays the exciton-dominated absorption peak at ∼4.5 eV. The optical functions of CVD graphene show some differences when compared to published values for exfoliated graphene.

Ideal Graphene/Silicon Schottky Junction Diodes

The proper understanding of semiconductor devices begins at the metal-semiconductor interface. The metal/semiconductor interface itself can also be an important device, as Schottky junctions often forms when the doping in the semiconductors is low. Here, we extend the analysis of metal-silicon Schottky junctions by using graphene, an atomically thin semimetal. We show that a fundamentally new transport model is needed to describe the graphene-silicon Schottky junction. While the current-voltage behavior follows the celebrated ideal diode behavior, the details of the diode characteristics is best characterized by the Landauer transport formalism, suggesting that the injection rate from graphene ultimately determines the transport properties of this new Schottky junction.

JOSEPHSON VORTEX FLOW IN SUPERCONDUCTING SINGLE-CRYSTAL BI2SR2CACU2OX

Using various size rectangular mesas formed by photolithographically patterning and etching on single‐crystal Bi2Sr2Ca1Cu2Ox superconductors, we have obtained c‐axis volt‐ampere characteristics as a function of magnetic field applied parallel to the a‐b planes. Enhanced sensitivity with field perpendicular to the long side was observed even in mesas with dimensions smaller than the magnetic penetration depth λc. This can be explained in terms of viscous flow of Josephson vortices. The measurements are in good quantitative agreement with theoretical models for Josephson vortex motion in layered superconductors. Vortex flow coexists with the multiple hysteretic structure previously presented as evidence that this material behaves as a stack of underdamped intrinsic Josephson junctions.

Direct probe of excitonic and continuum transitions in the photocurrent spectroscopy of individual carbon nanotube p-n diodes

The authors show that a carbon nanotube p-n diode is a very sensitive probe of optical transitions in individual single-walled carbon nanotubes. In the photocurrent spectra, an alternating sequence of resonant peaks from dissociation of excitons and exciton-phonon bound states, for the lowest and higher electronic subbands, is observed. At an intermediate energy, the onset of continuum is observed that allows measurement of exciton binding energies. Both the binding energy and the onset of continuum follow the inverse diameter relation as expected from general theory of optical transitions in nanotubes.

Reconfigurable multi-function logic based on graphene P-N junctions

In this paper, we introduce a novel reconfigurable graphene logic based on graphene p-n junctions. In this logic device, switching is accomplished by using co-planar split gates that modulate the properties that are unique to graphene, including ambipolar conduction, electrostatic doping, and angular dependent carrier reflection. In addition, the use of these control gates can dynamically change the operation of the device, leading to reconfigurable multi-functional logic. A device model is derived from carrier transmission probability across the p-n junction for allowing quantitative comparison to CMOS logic. Based on this model, we show that the proposed graphene logic has significant advantages over CMOS gate in terms of delay-power product and signal restoration, while maintaining a similar footprint. Furthermore, the device utilizes a large graphene sheet with minimal patterning, allowing feasible integration with CMOS circuits, for potential CMOS-graphene hybrid circuits.

Reconfigurable p-n junction diodes and the photovoltaic effect in exfoliated MoS2 films

Realizing basic semiconductor devices such as p-n junctions are necessary for developing thin-film and optoelectronic technologies in emerging planar materials such as MoS2. In this work, electrostatic doping by buried gates is used to study the electronic and optoelectronic properties of p-n junctions in exfoliated MoS2 flakes. Creating a controllable doping gradient across the device leads to the observation of the photovoltaic effect in monolayer and bilayer MoS2 flakes. For thicker flakes, strong ambipolar conduction enables realization of fully reconfigurable p-n junction diodes with rectifying current-voltage characteristics, and diode ideality factors as low as 1.6. The spectral response of the photovoltaic effect shows signatures of the predicted band gap transitions. For the first excitonic transition, a shift of >4kBT is observed between monolayer and bulk devices, indicating a thickness-dependence of the excitonic coulomb interaction.

Quantum efficiency and capture cross section of first and second excitonic transitions of single-walled carbon nanotubes measured through photoconductivity.

Comparing photoconductivity measurements, using p-n diodes formed along individual single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT), with modeling results, allows determination of the quantum efficiency, optical capture cross section, and oscillator strength of the first (E11) and second (E22) excitonic transitions of SWNTs. This is in the infrared region of the spectrum, where little experimental work on SWNT optical absorption has been reported to date. We estimate quantum efficiency (η) ~1-5% and provide a correlation of η, capture cross section, and oscillator strength for E11 and E22 with nanotube diameter. This study uses the spectral weight of the exciton resonances as the determining parameter in optical measurements.

Enhanced Optical Second-Harmonic Generation from the Current-Biased Graphene/SiO2/Si(001) Structure

We find that optical second-harmonic generation (SHG) in reflection from a chemical-vapor-deposition graphene monolayer transferred onto a SiO2/Si(001) substrate is enhanced about 3 times by the flow of direct current electric current in graphene. Measurements of rotational-anisotropy SHG revealed that the current-induced SHG from the current-biased graphene/SiO2/Si(001) structure undergoes a phase inversion as the measurement location on graphene is shifted laterally along the current flow direction. The enhancement is due to current-associated charge trapping at the graphene/SiO2 interface, which introduces a vertical electric field across the SiO2/Si interface that produces electric field-induced SHG. The phase inversion is due to the positive-to-negative polarity switch in the current direction of the trapped charges at the current-biased graphene/SiO2 interface.