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The bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE) in non-centrosymmetric materials has attracted significant attention in recent years due to its potential to surpass the Shockley-Queisser limit. Although these materials are strictly constrained by symmetry, progress has been made in artificially reducing symmetry to stimulate BPVE in wider systems. However, the complexity of these techniques has hindered their practical implementation. In this study, we demonstrate a large intrinsic photocurrent response in centrosymmetric topological insulator Ag2Te, attributed to the surface photogalvanic effect (SPGE), which is induced by symmetry reduction of the surface. Through diverse spatially-resolved measurements on specially designed devices, we directly observe that SPGE in Ag2Te arises from the difference between two opposite photocurrent flows generated from the top and bottom surfaces. Acting as an efficient SPGE material, Ag2Te demonstrates robust performance across a wide spectral range from visible to mid-infrared, making it promising for applications in solar cells and mid-infrared detectors. More importantly, SPGE generated on low-symmetric surfaces can potentially be found in various systems, thereby inspiring a broader range of choices for photovoltaic materials. The bulk photovoltaic effect holds promise for various optoelectronic applications, but it is usually restricted to non-centrosymmetric materials operating in the visible range. Here, the authors report a surface photogalvanic effect spanning from visible to midinfrared wavelengths in a centrosymmetric topological insulator, Ag2Te. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interplay of electron correlations and topological phases gives rise to various exotic phenomena including fractionalization, excitonic instability and axionic excitation. Recently discovered transition-metal pentatellurides can reach the ultra-quantum limit in low magnetic fields and serve as good candidates for achieving such a combination. Here, we report evidence of density wave and metal-insulator transition in HfTe5 induced by intense magnetic fields. Using the non-linear transport technique, we detect a distinct non-linear conduction behavior in the longitudinal resistivity within the a–c plane, corresponding to the formation of a density wave induced by magnetic fields. In high fields, the onset of non-linear conduction in the Hall resistivity indicates an impurity-pinned magnetic freeze-out as the possible origin of the insulating behavior. These frozen electrons can be gradually reactivated into mobile states above a threshold of electric field. This experimental evidence calls for further investigation into the underlying mechanism of the bulk quantum Hall effect and field-induced phase transitions in pentatellurides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient pre-strained layer structure is proposed, which combines a pre-layer with a pre-well, to prepare a 2 × 3 InGaN green micro-light-emitting-diode (μ-LED) device array with a diameter of 20 μm. The addition of the pre-layer increases the lateral lattice constant of the bottom layer of the structure. This alleviates the strain accumulation of lattice mismatch, reduces the quantum-confined Stark effect (QCSE) of the green μ-LEDs, improves the crystal quality, and produces better optoelectronic properties. Under stress modulation, the external quantum efficiency and -3 dB modulation of the green μ-LED array reach 16.6% and 411 MHz, respectively, which are 14.8 and 91.2% higher than those of the traditional structure.

The anomalous Hall effect (AHE) is an important transport signature revealing topological properties of magnetic materials and their spin textures. Recently, MnBi 2 Te 4 has been demonstrated to be an intrinsic magnetic topological insulator. However, the origin of its intriguing AHE behaviors remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate the Berry curvature-dominated intrinsic AHE in wafer-scale MnBi 2 Te 4 films. By applying back-gate voltages, we observe an ambipolar conduction and n-p transition in ∼7-layer MnBi 2 Te 4 , where a quadratic relation between the AHE resistance and longitudinal resistance suggests its intrinsic AHE nature. In particular, for ∼3-layer MnBi 2 Te 4 , the AHE sign can be tuned from pristine negative to positive. First-principles calculations unveil that such an AHE reversal originated from the competing Berry curvature between oppositely polarized spin-minority-dominated surface states and spin-majority-dominated inner bands. Our results shed light on the underlying physical mechanism of the intrinsic AHE and provide new perspectives for the unconventional sign-tunable AHE.

Due to the nontrivial electronic structure, Cd 3 As 2 is predicted to possess various transport properties and outstanding photoresponses. Photodetectors based on topological materials are mostly made up of nanoplates, yet monolithic in situ heteroepitaxial Cd 3 As 2 photodetectors are rarely reported to date owing to the crystal mismatch between Cd 3 As 2 and semiconductors. Here, we demonstrate Cd 3 As 2 /Zn x Cd 1- x Te/GaSb vertical heteroepitaxial photodetectors via molecule beam epitaxy. By constructing dual-Schottky junctions, these photodetectors show high responsivity and external quantum efficiency in a broadband spectrum. Based on the strong and fast photoresponse, we achieved visible light to near-infrared imaging using a one-pixel imaging system with a galvo. Our results illustrate that the integration of three-dimensional Dirac semimetal Cd 3 As 2 with semiconductors has potential applications in broadband photodetection and infrared cameras.