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Here we demonstrate a more effective use of III–V photoconversion material to achieve an ultrahigh power-per-weight ratio from a solar cell utilizing an axial p-i-n junction GaAs/AlGaAs nanowire (NW) array grown by molecular beam epitaxy on a Si substrate. By analyzing single NW multicontact devices, we first show that an n-GaAs shell is self-formed radially outside the axial p- and i-core of the GaAs NW during n-core growth, which significantly deteriorates the rectification property of the NWs in the axial direction. When employing a selective-area ex situ etching process for the n-GaAs shell, a clear rectification of the axial NW p-i-n junction with a high on/off ratio was revealed. Such a controlled etching process of the self-formed n-GaAs shell was further introduced to fabricate axial p-i-n junction GaAs NW array solar cells. Employing this method, a GaAs NW array solar cell with only ∼1.3% areal coverage of the NWs shows a photoconversion efficiency of ∼7.7% under 1 Sun intensity (AM 1.5G), which is the highest achieved efficiency from any single junction GaAs NW solar cell grown on a Si substrate so far. This corresponds to a power-per-weight ratio of the active III–V photoconversion material as high as 560 W/g, showing great promise for high-efficiency and low-cost III–V NW solar cells and III–V NW/Si tandem solar cells.

Semiconductor nanowire lasers can produce guided coherent light emission with miniaturized geometry, bringing about new possibilities for a variety of applications including nanophotonic circuits, optical sensing, and on-chip and chip-to-chip optical communications. Here, we report on the realization of single-mode and room-temperature lasing from 890 nm to 990 nm utilizing a novel design of single nanowires with GaAsSb-based multiple axial superlattices as gain medium under optical pumping. The control of lasing wavelength via compositional tuning with excellent room-temperature lasing performance is shown to result from the unique nanowire structure with efficient gain material, which delivers a low lasing threshold of ~ 6 kW/cm2 (75 μJ/cm2 per pulse), a lasing quality factor as high as 1250 and a high characteristic temperature of ~ 129 K. These results present a major advancement for the design and synthesis of nanowire laser structures, which can pave the way towards future nanoscale integrated optoelectronic systems with superior performance. © American Chemical Society 2018. This is the authors accepted and refereed manuscript to the article. Locked until 4.3.2019 due to copyright restrictions.

Here we report on the heat-induced solid-state replacement of GaAs by Au in nanowires. Such replacement of semiconductor nanowires by metals is envisioned as a method to achieve well-defined junctions within nanowires. To better understand the mechanisms and dynamics that govern the replacement reaction, we performed in situ heating studies using high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy. The dynamic evolution of the phase boundary was investigated, as well as the crystal structure and orientation of the different phases at reaction temperatures. In general, the replacement proceeds one GaAs(111) bilayer at a time, and no fixed epitaxial relation could be found between the two phases. The relative orientation of the phases affects the replacement dynamics and can induce growth twins in the Au nanowire phase. In the case of a limited Au supply, the metal phase can also become liquid.

We synthesized a three-dimensional nanorod structure of zinc oxide (ZnO) using a simple sol-gel process and systematically investigated properties of the ZnO nanorods regarding protein adsorption and effect on fluorescence emission. As compared to conventional polystyrene plate that has been widely used for strong protein adsorption, the ZnO nanorods had a superior protein adsorption capacity and significantly amplified fluorescence emission, suggesting the ZnO nanorods are attractive for fluorescence-based biomolecular detection assays. When applied to diagnostic assay of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) probe with a RCGRS motif that reportedly has a strong affinity for ZnO, the ZnO nanorods gave apparently high positive signals for all the RA-positive standards and patient sera, whereas upon the detection using conventional polystyrene plate, all the detection signals were relatively negligible. Moreover, the streptavidin-mediated immobilization of well oriented CCP further enhanced sensitivity, even for a 5000-times diluted patient serum. A highly sensitive detection of a very small amount of RA autoantibodies is important because individuals at high risk of developing RA can be identified several years before the clinical onset. Consequently, the fluorescence-based sensitive assay of RA was successfully performed using the three-dimensional ZnO nanorods, owing to the fluorescence amplification and protein/peptide adsorption properties and dimensionality of ZnO nanorods that in turn increases probe accessibility to anti-CCP RA autoantibodies. Although RA was assayed here for proof-of-concept, the ZnO nanorods-based assay can be applied in general to sensitive detection of a wide variety of antibody or protein targets.

본 연구에서는 기존 실리콘 반도체 기술 기반의 포토 및 이빔 리소그래피 공정을 통하여 유기 반도체 소자를 패터닝하였다. P3HT나 PEDOT 등의 유기 반도체는 용매에 녹기 때문에 MIMIC (micro-molding in capillaries)이나 inkjet printing 기술을 이용하여 마이크로미터 크기의 소자 제작이 가능하였으나, 펜타신은 용매에 녹지 않기 때문에 매우 복잡한 방법으로 마이크로미터크기의 소자를 제작하여왔다. 그러나, 본 연구에서는 원자층 증착 방법으로 증착한 산화 알루미늄막을 펜타신의 보호층으로 이용하여 기존의 포토 및 이빔 리소그래피 방법으로 마이크로미터크기의 펜타신 소자를 제작하였으며 그 전기 특성을 확인하였다.