Ju-Ying Chen

All Carbon-Based Photodetectors: An eminent integration of graphite quantum dots and two dimensional graphene

Photodetectors with ultrahigh sensitivity based on the composite made with all carbon-based materials consisting of graphite quantum dots (QDs), and two dimensional graphene crystal have been demonstrated. Under light illumination, remarkably, a photocurrent responsivity up to 4 × 107 AW−1 can be obtained. The underlying mechanism is attributed to the spatial separation of photogenerated electrons and holes due to the charge transfer caused by the appropriate band alignment across the interface between graphite QDs and graphene. Besides, the large absorptivity of graphite QDs and the excellent conductivity of the graphene sheet also play significant roles. Our result therefore demonstrates an outstanding illustration for the integration of the distinct properties of nanostructured carbon materials with different dimensionalities to achieve highly efficient devices. Together with the associated mechanism, it paves a valuable step for the further development of all carbon-based, cheap, and non-toxic optoelectronics devices with excellent performance.

p-Si nanowires/SiO2/n-ZnO heterojunction photodiodes

Influence of a SiO2 ultrathin film on n-ZnO/p-silicon nanowires photodiodes has been investigated. With a SiO2 thin layer, the diode characteristics can be significantly improved, which exhibits high responsivity under a reverse bias. Based on the electron conversion efficiency measurement, we show that the ultrathin SiO2 layer with positive fixed charges not only acts as a hole blocking layer but also helps the photogenerated electrons to tunnel through the barrier. In addition, the SiO2 layer can effectively passivate the defects generated by wet etching process. It is expected that our approach can be extended to many other nanoscale heterojunction devices.

Self-polarized spin-nanolasers

Besides adding a new functionality to conventional lasers, spin-polarized lasers can, potentially, offer lower threshold currents and reach higher emission intensities. However, to achieve spin-polarized lasing emission a material should possess a slow spin relaxation and a high propensity to be injected with spin-polarized currents. These are stringent requirements that, so far, have limited the choice of candidate materials for spin-lasers. Here we show that these requirements can be relaxed by using a new self-polarized spin mechanism. Fe3O4 nanoparticles are coupled to GaN nanorods to form an energy-band structure that induces the selective charge transfer of electrons with opposite spins. In turn, this selection mechanism generates the population imbalance between spin-up and spin-down electrons in the emitters energy levels without an external bias. Using this principle, we demonstrate laser emission from GaN nanorods with spin polarization up to 28.2% at room temperature under a low magnetic field of 0.35 T. As the spin-selection mechanism relies entirely on the relative energy-band alignment between the iron oxide nanoparticles and the emitter and requires neither optical pumping with circularly polarized light nor electrical pumping with magnetic electrodes, potentially a wide range of semiconductors can be used as spin-nanolasers.

High-Tc SQUID gradiometer system for magnetocardiography in an unshielded environment

We have designed a magnetocardiography (MCG) system that is capable of measuring magnetocardiograms in an unshielded environment. In order to carry out such a measurement, one has to contend with various ambient noise sources. These include power line and RF interference, microphonics pickup, fluctuations in the earth’s magnetic field, and electrostatic pickup. Earlier solutions devised to overcome these problems have entailed the use of a second-order gradiometer inside a deep mine or inside a magnetically shielded enclosure [1]. Apart from the above problems which are common to both low-Tc and high-Tc SQUIDs, high-Tc SQUIDs exhibit additional 1/f noise [2]. This noise is the result of hopping of flux vortices that are trapped in the body of the field cooled high-Tc SQUID, and can only be eliminated by zero-field cooling the SQUID.

Influence of bicrystal microstructural defects on high-transition-temperature direct-current superconducting quantum interference device

Using atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), we investigate the correlations between the microstructural defects and the electrical characteristics of the bicrystal grain-boundary Josephson junctions and dc superconducting quantum inference devices (SQUIDs). The structural defects are shown to correlate qualitatively with the characteristics of grain-boundary Josephson junctions patterned on the YBa2Cu3O7−x film. SEM images show that these defects grown on the grain boundary were a few submicron depth of the groove. The low flux noise characteristics were observed when the groove depth was smaller than 18nm in the junctions of the SQUID. The existence of these defects is expected to affect the supercurrent and the motion of the magnetic flux in the films, which dominate the excess noise in the SQUID with bicrystal junctions.

A highly sensitive YBCO serial SQUID magnetometer with a flux focuser

We have designed and fabricated a low noise, high Tc superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer with an improved yield. In order to reduce the field noise level of the magnetometer, we increased the voltage modulation depth with a series SQUID array and enhanced the effective area with a flux focuser. Ten washer-type SQUIDs were connected in series, thereby increasing the voltage flux transfer function by a factor of 10. An enhancement in effective area by a factor of 5 was achieved by coupling the 10-SQUID array to a single-layered flux focuser. For the directly coupled SQUID array magnetometer, the yield was improved by selecting the best SQUIDs to have in series in order to reduce the flux noise. The magnetic field sensitivity of 40 fT Hz−1/2 in the white regime and 100 fT Hz−1/2 at 1 Hz is demonstrated by using a single layer of high Tc film. The proposed high yield magnetometers would be suitable for building low noise multi-channel magnetocardiographs.

High quality step-edge substrates for high-Tc superconducting devices

Despite the significant progress in fabrication methods of step edge, the lack of reproducibility still hinders their use in more complicated systems. To pursue the high reproducibility and quality of step edge for high-Tc superconducting devices, we have developed the technique to fabricate high quality step-edge substrates with arbitrary step angles. We used two steps to improve the step ramp quality substantially. The surface microscopy of step substrates shows high uniformity with respect to any step angle. There are no needles, waves, trenches, cascades, or other flaws on these surfaces. Serial Josephson junctions and superconducting quantum interference device arrays were fabricated onto step-edge substrates. The step-edge devices exhibit excellent results.

Single ZnO nanowire–PZT optothermal field effect transistors

A new type of pyroelectric field effect transistor based on a composite consisting of single zinc oxide nanowire and lead zirconate titanate (ZnO NW-PZT) has been developed. Under infrared (IR) laser illumination, the transconductance of the ZnO NW can be modulated by optothermal gating. The drain current can be increased or decreased by IR illumination depending on the polarization orientation of the Pb(Zr(0.3)Ti(0.7))O(3) (PZT) substrate. Furthermore, by combining the photocurrent behavior in the UV range and the optothermal gating effect in the IR range, the wide spectrum of response of current by light offers a variety of opportunities for nanoscale optoelectronic devices.

Insulator, semiclassical oscillations and quantum Hall liquids at low magnetic fields

Magneto-transport measurements are performed on two-dimensional GaAs electron systems to probe the quantum Hall (QH) effect at low magnetic fields. Oscillations following the Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) formula are observed in the transition from the insulator to QH liquid when the observed almost temperature-independent Hall slope indicates insignificant interaction correction. Our study shows that the existence of SdH oscillations in such a transition can be understood based on the non-interacting model.

Magnetically tunable surface plasmon resonance based on a composite consisting of noble metal nanoparticles and a ferromagnetic thin film

We demonstrate magnetically tunable surface plasmon resonance based on a composite consisting of noble metal nanoparticles and ferromagnetic thin film. We found that both the frequency and linewidth of the localized surface plasmon resonance can be manipulated by applying an external magnetic field. The underlying mechanism is attributed to the variation of the dielectric constant in the ferromagnetic thin film resulting from the change of magnetization. Our result shown here paves an alternative route for manipulation of the characteristics of the surface plasmon resonance, which may serve as a new design concept for the development of magneto-optical devices.