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A silicon-based graphene modulator, holding the advantages of high modulation efficiency, high speed, and being ultra-compact, is regarded as a promising candidate for next-generation communication networks. Although the properties involved for optical communications have been widely studied, very few works evaluate the performance required for the microwave scenarios. Here, for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, the linearity of silicon-based graphene electro-absorption modulator (EAM) is analyzed and experimentally characterized through spurious free dynamic range (SFDR) with 82.5 dB·Hz 1/2 and 100.3 dB·Hz 2/3 . Further calculations reveal that a higher SFDR value could be achieved through optimizing the bias voltage. Variations of capacitor structural parameters have little influence on the linearity. Such performance leads to the first, to the best of our knowledge, demonstration of a Gbps-level pulse-amplitude 4-level modulation scheme (PAM-4) eye diagram in a silicon-based graphene modulator.

Berry curvature is analogous to magnetic field but in momentum space and is commonly present in materials with nontrivial quantum geometry. It endows Bloch electrons with transverse anomalous velocities to produce Hall-like currents even in the absence of a magnetic field. We report the direct observation of in situ tunable valley-selective Hall effect (VSHE), where inversion symmetry, and thus the geometric phase of electrons, is controllable by an out-of-plane electric field. We use high-quality bilayer graphene with an intrinsic and tunable bandgap, illuminated by circularly polarized midinfrared light, and confirm that the observed Hall voltage arises from an optically induced valley population. Compared with molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ), we find orders of magnitude larger VSHE, attributed to the inverse scaling of the Berry curvature with bandgap. By monitoring the valley-selective Hall conductivity, we study the Berry curvature's evolution with bandgap. This in situ manipulation of VSHE paves the way for topological and quantum geometric optoelectronic devices, such as more robust switches and detectors.

Scattering and correlation properties of a two-photon (TP) pulse are studied in a four-terminal waveguide system, i.e., two one-dimensional waveguides connected by a Jaynes-Cummings emitter (JCE). The wave function approach is utilized to exactly calculate the real-time dynamic evolution of the TP transport. When the width of the incident TP Gaussian pulse is much larger than the photon wavelength, the TP transmission spectra approach that of the corresponding single photon cases and are almost independent of the pulse width. On the contrary, as the pulse width is comparable to the photon wavelength, the TP transmission and correlation both show strong dependence on the pulse width. The resonant scattering due to the JCE and the photon interference together determine the TP correlation. When the distance between the TPs is small, the TP correlations between any two terminals for the scattered TP pulse are much different from those for the incident TP pulse and therefore, such a four-terminal waveguide system provides a way to control the TP correlation.

In this paper, a strategy to achieve a simultaneous wavefront shaping and polarization rotation, without compromising the number of pixels and energy efficiency as well as having broadband operation range, is proposed. This strategy is based on the application of a spin-decoupled phase metasurface composed by only one set of metal-insulator-metal (MIM) umbrella-shaped chiral unit cells. Quasi-non-dispersive and spin-decoupled phase shift can be achieved simply by changing single structural parameter of the structure. By further merging the Pancharatnam-Berry (PB) geometric phase, conversion of an incident LP light beam into right- and left-handed circularly polarized reflected beams with similar amplitudes, desired phase profiles and controlled phase retardation on a nanoscale is enabled with high efficiency. Based on the proposed strategy, a polarization-insensitive hologram generator with control optical activity, and a multiple ring vortex beam generator are realized. The results obtained in this work provide a simple and pixel-saving approach to the design of integratable and multitasking devices combining polarization manipulation and wavefront shaping functions, such as vectorial holographic generators, multifocal metalenses, and multichannel vector beam generators.

ε-[Al13O4(OH)24(H2O)12]7+, which shares similarity with the phosphotriesterase active site ZnII-OH-ZnII, was specially chosen to interact with the cluster α-PMo10V2O405- to form a new three-dimensional intercluster, which crystallized in the monoclinic space group P21/m with Z = 2, for the decontamination of chemical warfare agents. The experimental results showed that 50 mg of the compound decontaminated 96.4% (within 120 min) and 99.5% (within 40 min) of sulfur mustard (HD) (4 μL) and soman (GD) (4 μL), respectively, in ambient conditions. The decontamination processes followed first-order reaction kinetics with a rate constant and half-life of 0.01234 min-1 and 56.15 min for HD and 0.1198 min-1 and 5.78 min for GD, respectively. It was concluded that the α-PMo10V2O405- moiety was responsible for the catalytic oxidation of HD into non-toxic sulfoxide, while the ε-[Al13O4(OH)24(H2O)12]7+ moiety was responsible for the catalytic hydrolysis of HD and GD into nontoxic hydrolysates. Besides, the compound showed notable efficacy for the decontamination of HD on guinea pig skin and of GD on Kunming mouse skin, indicating high potential for use in human skin protection and treatment.

We report the development of a new type of organic semiconductor gas sensor based on a porphyrin-based hydrogen-bonded organic framework (HOF). Owing to the orderly porous structures, the decoration with rich amino sites and the n-type semiconductor nature, this HOF-based sensor exhibits selective NO 2 sensing performance with ultra-fast response/recovery rates (17.6 s/15.4 s over 100 ppb) and a limit of detection lower than 40 ppb, together with high sensitivity, good reproducibility, and long-term stability at room temperature. This study demonstrates that HOF-based materials have potential application prospects in gas sensing, thereby offering a new way of thinking for the design and development of sensors.

Infrared light detection and sensing is deeply embedded in modern technology and human society and its development has always been benefitting from the discovery of various photoelectric materials. The rise of two-dimensional materials, thanks to their distinct electronic structures, extreme dimensional confinement and strong light-matter interactions, provides a material platform for next-generation infrared photodetection. Ideal infrared detectors should have fast respond, high sensitivity and air-stability, which are rare to meet at the same time in one two-dimensional material. Herein we demonstrate an infrared photodetector based on two-dimensional Bi 2 O 2 Se crystal, whose main characteristics are outstanding in the whole two-dimensional family: high sensitivity of 65 AW -1 at 1200 nm and ultrafast photoresponse of ~1 ps at room temperature, implying an intrinsic material-limited bandwidth up to 500 GHz. Such great performance is attributed to the suitable electronic bandgap and high carrier mobility of two-dimensional oxyselenide.

Patterning of high-mobility 2D semiconducting materials with unique layered structures and superb electronic properties offers great potential for batch fabrication and integration of next-generation electronic and optoelectronic devices. Here, a facile approach is used to achieve accurate patterning of 2D high-mobility semiconducting Bi 2 O 2 Se crystals using dilute H 2 O 2 and protonic mixture acid as efficient etchants. The 2D Bi 2 O 2 Se crystal after chemical etching maintains a high Hall mobility of over 200 cm 2 V -1 s -1 at room temperature. Centimeter-scale well-ordered arrays of 2D Bi 2 O 2 Se with tailorable configurations are readily obtained. Furthermore, integrated photodetectors based on 2D Bi 2 O 2 Se arrays are fabricated, exhibiting excellent air stability and high photoresponsivity of ≈2000 A W -1 at 532 nm. These results are one step towards the practical application of ultrathin 2D integrated digital and optoelectronic circuits., (© 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Graphene has demonstrated great potential in new-generation electronic applications due to its unique electronic properties such as large carrier Fermi velocity, ultrahigh carrier mobility, and high material stability. Interestingly, the electronic structures can be further engineered in multilayer graphene by the introduction of a twist angle between different layers to create van Hove singularities (vHSs) at adjustable binding energy. In this work, using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with sub-micrometer spatial resolution, the band structures and their evolution are systematically studied with twist angle in bilayer and trilayer graphene sheets. A doping effect is directly observed in graphene multilayer system as well as vHSs in bilayer graphene over a wide range of twist angles (from 5° to 31°) with wide tunable energy range over 2 eV. In addition, the formation of multiple vHSs (at different binding energies) is also observed in trilayer graphene. The large tuning range of vHS binding energy in twisted multilayer graphene provides a promising material base for optoelectrical applications with broadband wavelength selectivity from the infrared to the ultraviolet regime, as demonstrated by an example application of wavelength selective photodetector., (© 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Nanostructures of ternary topological insulator (TI) Bi 2 Te 2 Se are, in principle, advantageous to the manifestation of topologically nontrivial surface states, due to significantly enhanced surface-to-volume ratio compared with its bulk crystals counterparts. Herein, the synthesis of 2D Bi 2 Te 2 Se crystals on mica via the van der Waals epitaxy method is explored and systematically the growth behaviors during the synthesis process are investigated. Accordingly, 2D Bi 2 Te 2 Se crystals with domain size up to 50 µm large and thickness down to 2 nm are obtained. A pronounced weak antilocalization effect is clearly observed in the 2D Bi 2 Te 2 Se crystals at 2 K. The method for epitaxial growth of 2D ternary Bi 2 Te 2 Se crystals may inspire materials engineering toward enhanced manifestation of the subtle surface states of TIs and thereby facilitate their potential applications in next-generation spintronics., (© 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Two-dimensional (2D) layered hybrid perovskites of (RNH 3 ) 2 PbX 4 (R is an alkyl and X is a halide) have been recently synthesized and exhibited rich optical properties including fluorescence and exciton effects. However, few studies on transport and optoelectronic measurements of individual 2D perovskite crystals have been reported, presumably owing to the instability issue during electronic device fabrications. Here we report the first photodetector based on individual 2D (C 4 H 9 NH 3 ) 2 PbBr 4 perovskite crystals, built with the protection and top contact of graphene film. Both a high responsivity (∼2100 A/W) and extremely low dark current (∼10 -10 A) are achieved with a design of interdigital graphene electrodes. Our study paves the way to build high-performance optoelectronic devices based on the emerging 2D single-crystal perovskite materials.

The semiconductors decorated with noble metals or magnetic metals have attracted increasing attention due to multifunctional properties. In this article, we prepare novel bimetallic core/shell nanoparticle (Co@Au and Co@Ag)-decorated 3D urchin-like hierarchical TiO2 nanostructures through combining electroless plating and in situ replacement processes. The morphology and structure are characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and a surface area analyzer. It demonstrates that Co@Au and Co@Ag nanoparticles are uniformly decorated on urchin-like TiO2 nanostructures. The composite nanostructures show not only surface plasmon absorption band from Au or Ag but also a magneto-responsive characteristic from Co. This allows composite nanostructures to exhibit advantages including enhanced decolorization efficiency compared to pure TiO2 nanostructures and facile separation from a solution by magnetic field.

The semiconductors decorated with noble metals have attracted increasing attention due to their interesting physical and chemical properties. Here, 3D urchin-like hierarchical TiO2 nanostructures decorated with Au or Ag nanoparticles were prepared by wet-chemical process. The morphology and structure were characterized by different techniques. It shows that Au or Ag nanoparticles with narrow distribution are uniformly loaded on urchin-like TiO2 nanostructures, and the resulted composite nanostructures show distinct surface plasmon absorption band and quenched photoluminence compared to pure TiO2 nanostructures. Photocatalytic tests show both Au-decorated TiO2 and Ag-decorated TiO2 exhibit enhanced photocatalytic activity for photodegradation of methyl blue in water., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In this work, needle-shaping of tungsten oxide nanowires occurred during field emission characterization. Compared with nanowires with a flat apex, needle-shaped emitters showed a lower threshold field of 11.9 V µm(-1) for 1 mA cm(-2) and a higher emission current of 1120 µA at 16.2 V µm(-1). Most notably, the measured ageing current dramatically increased by more than four times until it slightly decreased, tending towards stability. In addition, the samples showed striking difference in their nonlinear Fowler-Nordheim plot before and after ageing tests. Selected area diffraction and transmission electron microscope characterizations were used to further study these amazing results.