arXiv subjects

Subhabrata Dhar

Publications and source records attributed to Subhabrata Dhar.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Nanoscale mapping of stacking-dependent work function and local photoresponse in CVD-grown MoS2 bilayers by KPFM

Stacking order in bilayers of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) controls structural symmetry and layer-to-layer interactions, offering a direct route to tune their electronic properties and enable optoelectronic applications. The work function is a key parameter that determines the electronic and optoelectronic device performance. However, a comprehensive understanding of the influence of stacking order on work function of TMDs remains limited. Herein, we employ Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy (KPFM) to probe spatial variations in surface potential and thereby determine the work function of AA'- and AB-stacked MoS2 bilayers grown using NaCl-assisted chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique. The work function increases with layer number in both AA'- and AB-stacked MoS2, with a larger work function difference in AB-stacked layers, reflecting their stronger interlayer coupling. KPFM measurements clearly resolve local electronic heterogeneities arising from carrier trapping at residual surface particulates from CVD growth. Photoinduced surface potential variations imply n-type doping in MoS2 due to enhanced photogating from trapped holes and Na+ ions at the MoS2/SiO2 interface. Our study demonstrates the competing effects of interlayer coupling, substrate-induced photogating, and carrier trapping by surface particulates in determining the localized optoelectronic response of MoS2 bilayers. Correlative atomic force microscopy measurements in lateral force microscopy and force modulation microscopy modes probe the nanomechanical response to electronic variations. These findings provide new insights into the localized optoelectronic response of CVD-grown AA'- and AB-stacked MoS2, with significant implications for the design and reliability of optoelectronic devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Si-Ga2O3/p-GaN epitaxial heterostructure based self-powered and visible-blind UV photodetectors with fast and electrically tuneable response time

n-Ga2O3/p-GaN heterojunction based photodetector devices are fabricated on Si-doped (-201) β-Ga2O3 epitaxial layers grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique on p-type c-GaN/sapphire templates. These devices demonstrate the ability to act as highly efficient self-powered visible blind UV-photodetectors with fast response time. It has been found that the optimum performance of the detector in terms of its responsivity, detectivity and response time could be achieved by adjusting the Si doping level and the thickness of the Ga2O3 layer. Our best performing device showing the peak responsivity and detectivity of 56.8 mA/W and 3*10^12 Jones, respectively, is achieved for 660 nm thick Ga2O3 layer with Si-concentration of 8*10^18 cm^-3. Moreover, as low as a few nW of optical signal can be sensed by the detector. The response time of the detector is found to be only a few tens of nanoseconds, which highlights their potential for application in ultrafast detection of UV light. These devices also exhibit a slower component of photoresponse with a timescale of a few tens of milliseconds. Interestingly, the time-scale of the slower response can be prolongated by several orders of magnitude through enhancing the applied reverse bias. Such an electrical tuneability of the response time is highly desirable for neuromorphic device applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

CVD grown bilayer MoS2 based artificial optoelectronic synapses for arithmetic computing and image recognition applications

Demand for lower computing power has rapidly increased. In this context, brain-inspired neuromorphic computing, which integrate data storage and processing, has attracted significant attention. Here, our study reveals that field effect transistors fabricated on chemical vapor deposited bilayer (2L) MoS2 films can mimic the functions of biological synapse. These devices demonstrate high level of pair pulse facilitation (PPF), short term to long term memory (STM-to-LTM) transition as well as learning-forgetting-relearning properties. Effect of light intensity, pulse number, pulse width and photon energy on the STM-to-LTM transition is studied. It has been found that the rate of depression of the memory state can be controlled using the gate bias. Electrical and optical energy consumptions per synaptic event are estimated to be as low as 280 fJ and 20 nJ, respectively. Furthermore, photocurrent in these devices is observed to increase linearly with the number of the excitation pulses. This property has been exploited to demonstrate different arithmetic operations by the device. Moreover, these devices show great potential for image recognition. Artificial neural network simulation has returned an image recognition accuracy of ~85%. All these findings show a great prospect of 2L-MoS2 for developing low power, transparent and flexible neuromorphic devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Spontaneous growth of perfectly circular domains of MoS2 monolayers using chemical vapour deposition technique

Very large-scale integration of devices in a circular pattern has several advantages over the commonly used rectangular grid layout. For the development of such integrated circuits on a 2D semiconductor platform, spontaneous growth of the material in the form of circular islands is desirable. Here, we report the natural formation of 1L-MoS2 circular islands of diameter as large as a few hundreds of micrometer on SiO2/Si substrates by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique without the use of any seeding layer. The size of the circles is found to increase with the amount of sulphur used during growth. The study reveals that these circular islands are formed with a less-defective interior and a more-defective outer part that is dominated by a large density of grain boundaries and twists. Due to the lower defect density, the interior region yields much higher photoluminescence than the peripheral part. Field effect transistors (FETs) are fabricated on inner and outer portions of a circle to estimate the mobility and concentration of the background carriers in the two regions. The study shows that the maximum mobility is more than double in the interior than the outer part. While the carrier concentration remains practically unchanged in the two regions. The natural tendency to minimize the strain energy resulting from the mismatch between the thermal expansion coefficients of the monolayer and the substrate as well as the edge energy that originates from the boundary tension are thought to be the driving forces behind the formation of these circular domains.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

High-energy electron-beam induced defect engineering of monolayer MoS2 for tunable optical properties

Structural defects in 2D-transition metal dichalcogenides are critical in modulating their optical and electrical behavior. Nevertheless, precise defect control within the monolayer regime poses a significant challenge. Herein, a high-energy (1MeV) electron beam irradiation strategy is harnessed to induce defects in monolayer MoS2. Controlled variation of electron-beam irradiation time tunes the defect density, as reflected by the evolution of defect-mediated photoluminescence characteristics. The optically active defect emission appearing at approx. 200-300meV below the A exciton at 85K exhibits a systematic increase in intensity with prolonged exposure and saturates at higher laser excitation power. Circular polarization-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy reveals strong suppression of valley polarization of the A exciton after irradiation. Complementary x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy identifies enhanced Mo-O bonding signatures in MoS2 following irradiation. Kelvin probe force microscopy indicates the transition to p-type doping behaviour. A detailed temperature and power-dependent photoluminescence measurements further elucidate the optical behaviour of these defect states. Density functional theory calculations using these configurations establish that the transition between the conduction band and acceptor states within the bandgap accounts for the defect emission. This work presents a tunable route for defect engineering in monolayer TMDs, enabling controlled tailoring of their structural and optical properties for optoelectronic, electronic and valleytronic applications.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Experimental demonstration of two distinct pathways of trion generation in monolayer MoS2

Excitation power and energy dependent photoluminescence (PL) and transient absorption spectroscopy (TAS) studies are carried out on chemical vapour deposition (CVD) grown 1L-MoS2 films to understand the process of trion formation. The study shows that the excitation with sufficiently low photon energy results in the creation of trions directly in the K/K' valleys through photon absorption followed by phonon scattering events. On the other hand, excitation energy sufficiently larger than the band-gap can generate the carriers away from the K/K' valleys. Dissimilarity in the rates of relaxation of the photo-excited electrons and the holes to the bottom of the K/K' valleys results in the transformation of the excitons residing there into trions. Our TAS study clearly demonstrates a temporary increase of the trion population in the K/K' valleys. Moreover, excitation intensity dependent PL spectroscopy performed under above-band-gap excitation, also suggests the coexistence of both the pathways of trion generation in this material. This conclusion is further validated by a rate equation model. Our findings provide valuable insight into the formation of trions in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDC), which could be crucial in designing valleytronic devices based on trions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

p-(001)NiO/n-(0001)ZnO Heterostructures based Ultraviolet Photodetectors

We investigate the potential of epitaxial (001)p-NiO/(0001)n-ZnO heterostructures grown on (0001)sapphire substrates by pulsed laser deposition technique for ultraviolet photodetector application. Our study reveals that in the self-powered mode, these devices can serve as effective photodetectors for the UV-A band (320-400 nm) with response time as short as 400 microseconds. Peak responsivity as high as 5mA/W at zero bias condition have been achieved. These devices also show a very high level of stability under repeated on/off illumination cycles over a long period of time. Furthermore, we find that the response time of these detectors can be controlled from several microseconds to thousands of seconds by applying bias both in the forward and the reverse directions. This persistent photoconductivity effect has been explained in terms of the field induced change in the capture barrier height associated with certain traps located at the junction.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2024

Controlled Growth of large area bilayer MoS$_2$ films on SiO$_2$ substrates by chemical vapour deposition technique

Bilayer (2L) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD) have the ability to host interlayer excitons, where electron and hole parts are spatially separated that leads to much longer lifetime as compared to direct excitons. This property can be utilized for the development of exciton-based logic devices, which are supposed to be superior in terms of energy efficiency and optical communication compatibility as compared to their electronic counterparts. However, obtaining uniformly thick bilayer epitaxial films with large area coverage is challenging. Here, we have engineered the flow pattern of the precursors over the substrate surface to obtain large area (mm2) covered strictly bilayer MoS$_2$ films on SiO$_2$ by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) technique without any plasma treatment of the substrate prior to the growth. Bilayer nature of these films is confirmed by Raman, low-frequency Raman, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and photoluminescence (PL) studies. The uniformity of the film has been checked by Raman peak separation and PL intensity map. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) reveals that crystalline and twisted bilayer islands coexist within the layer. Back gated field-effect transistor (FET) structures fabricated on the bilayers show on/off ratio of 10^6 and subthreshold swings (SS) of 2.5 V/Decade.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

p-(001)NiO/n-(0001)ZnO heterostructures grown by pulsed laser deposition technique

NiO/ZnO heterostructures are grown on c-sapphire substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. X-ray diffraction study shows that the ZnO layer epitaxially grows along [0001]-direction on (0001)sapphire surface as expected. While, the epitaxial NiO film is found to be deposited along [001]-direction on the (0001)ZnO surface. Moreover, the presence of three (001)NiO domains laterally rotated by 30° with respect to each other, has also been observed in our NiO films. The study reveals the continuous nature of the NiO film, which also possesses a very smooth surface morphology. In a sharp contrast, ZnO films are found to grow along [0001]-direction when deposited on (111)NiO layers. These films also show columnar morphology. (001)NiO/(0001)ZnO layers exhibit the rectifying current-voltage characteristics that suggests the existence of p-n junction in these devices. However, the behavior could not be observed in (0001)ZnO/(111)NiO heterojunctions. The reason could be the columnar morphology of the ZnO layer. Such a morphology can facilitate the propagation of the metal ions from the contact pads to the underlying NiO layer and suppress the p-n junction effect.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Influence of strain and point defects on the electronic structure and related properties of (111)NiO epitaxial films

(111)NiO epitaxial films are grown on c-sapphire substrates at various growth temperatures ranging from room-temperature to 600C using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. Two series of samples, where different laser fluences are used to ablate the target, are studied here. Films grown with higher laser fluence, are found to be embedded with Ni-clusters crystallographically aligned with the (111)NiO matrix. While the layers grown with lower laser energy density exhibit p-type conductivity specially at low growth temperatures. X-ray diffraction study shows the coexistence of biaxial compressive and tensile hydrostatic strains in these samples, which results in an expansion of the lattice primarily along the growth direction. This effective uniaxial expansion {epsilon}_perpendicular increases with the reduction of the growth temperature. Band gap of these samples is found to decrease linearly with {epsilon}_perpendicular. This result is validated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Experimental findings and the theoretical study further indicate that V_Ni + O_I and V_O + Ni_I complexes exist as the dominant native defects in samples grown with Ni-deficient (low laser fluence) and Ni-rich (high laser fluence) conditions, respectively. P-type conductivity observed in the samples grown in Ni-deficient condition is more likely to be resulting from V_Ni + O_I defects than Ni-vacancies (V_Ni).

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Ni cluster embedded (111)NiO layers grown on (0001)GaN films using pulsed laser deposition technique

(111) NiO epitaxial layers embedded with crystallographically oriented Ni-clusters are grown on c-GaN/Sapphire templates using pulsed laser deposition technique. Structural and magnetic properties of the films are examined by a variety of techniques including high resolution x-ray diffraction, precession-electron diffraction and superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry. The study reveals that the inclusion, orientation, shape, size, density and magnetic properties of these clusters depend strongly on the growth temperature (TG). Though, most of the Ni-clusters are found to be crystallographically aligned with the NiO matrix with Ni(111) parallel to NiO(111), clusters with other orientations also exist, especially in samples grown at lower temperatures. Average size and density of the clusters increase with TG . Proportion of the Ni(111) parallel to NiO(111) oriented clusters also improves as TG is increased. All cluster embedded films show ferromagnetic behaviour even at room temperature. Easy-axis is found to be oriented in the layer plane in samples grown at relatively lower temperatures. However, it turns perpendicular to the layer plane for samples grown at sufficiently high temperatures. This reversal of easy-axis has been attributed to the size dependent competition between the shape, magnetoelastic and the surface anisotropies of the clusters. This composite material thus has great potential to serve as spin-injector and spinstorage medium in GaN based spintronics of the future.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

An electroplating-based plasmonic platform for giant emission enhancement in monolayer semiconductors

Two dimensional semiconductors have attracted considerable attention owing to their exceptional electronic and optical characteristics. However, their practical application has been hindered by the limited light absorption resulting from their atomically thin thickness and low quantum yield. A highly effective approach to manipulate optical properties and address these limitations is integrating subwavelength plasmonic nanostructures with these monolayers. In this study, we employed electron beam lithography and electroplating technique to fabricate a gold nanodisc (AuND) array capable of enhancing the photoluminescence (PL) of monolayer MoS$_2$ giantly. Monolayer MoS$_2$ placed on the top of the AuND array yields up to 150-fold PL enhancement compared to that on a gold film. We explain our experimental findings based on electromagnetic simulations.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Spatially indirect interfacial excitons in n-ZnO/p-GaN heterostructures

Electroluminescence properties of epitaxially grown n-ZnO/p-GaN pn-heterojunctions are investigated as functions of applied bias and temperature. The study reveals the existence of indirect interfacial excitons at sufficiently low temperatures. Electroluminescence feature associated with these excitons redshifts with increasing forward bias. It has been found that the binding energy of these entities can be controlled through applied forward bias and can even be made higher than that of the excitons in ZnO bulk (60 meV). However, formation of these excitons becomes unsustainable when either the applied bias or the temperature crosses a threshold. This has been explained in terms of leakage and thermal escape of electrons (holes) into GaN (ZnO) side. Calculations for the band diagram and the binding energy of these spatially indirect electron-hole coulomb-coupled entities are carried out. Theoretical results are found to explain the experimental findings quite well.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Influence of Defects on the Valley Polarization Properties of Monolayer MoS$_{2}$ Grown by Chemical Vapor Deposition

Here, the underlying mechanisms behind valley de-polarization is investigated in chemical vapor deposited 1L-MoS$_{2}$. Temperature dependent polarization resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy was carried out on as-grown, transferred and capped samples. It has been found that the momentum scattering of the excitons due to the sulfur-vacancies attached with air-molecule defects has a strong influence on the valley de-polarization process. Our study reveals that at sufficiently low densities of such defects and temperatures, long range electron-hole exchange mediated intervalley transfer due to momentum scattering via Maialle-Silva-Sham (MSS) mechanism of excitons is indeed the most dominant spin-flip process as suggested by T. Yu et al. The rate of momentum scattering of the excitons due to these defects is found to be proportional to the cube root of the density of the defects. Intervalley transfer process of excitons involving $Γ$-valley also has significance in the valley de-polarization process specially when the layer has tensile strain or high density of $V_S$ defects as these perturbations reduce $K$ to $Γ$-energy separation. Band-structural calculations carried out within the density functional theory framework validate this finding. Experimental results further suggest that exchange interactions with the physisorbed air molecules can also result in the intervalley spin-flip scattering of the excitons, and this process gives an important contribution to valley depolarization, specially at the strong scattering regime.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Effect of strain and sulfur vacancies on the luminescence and valley polarization properties of CVD grown monolayer MoS$_2$ films

Using temperature dependent photoluminescence (PL), polarization resolved PL and Raman spectroscopy, we investigate the effect of in situ vacuum annealing as well as the relaxation of strain on the luminescence and the valley polarization properties of large area strictly monolayer (1L)-MoS$_2$, grown on sapphire and SiO$_2$/Si substrates by a microcavity based chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique. The study shows that the strain as well as the physisorption of air molecules at the sulfur vacancy ($V_S$) sites play key roles in governing the optical quality of CVD grown 1L-MoS$_2$. Removal of air molecules from the $V_S$ sites enhances the relative strength of the A-exciton/trion transition as compared to the broad luminescence (BL) band arising from those defects at low temperatures. It has also been found that such removal helps in improving the valley polarization property of the film. Relaxation of biaxial tensile strain, which has been achieved by post growth transferring of 1L-MoS$_2$ film from the sapphire to a SiO$_2$/Si substrate by a polystyrene assisted transfer process, is also found to be helpful to get back the high polarization character ($\sim$80%) of the valleys. The study further shows that the transfer process not only facilitates the removal of physisorbed air molecules from the $V_S$ sites but also puts in place a long lasting capping layer on MoS$_2$ that shields the film from reacting with air and hence enhances the relative yield of A-exciton/trion transition by suppressing the BL transition. The study thus creates an opportunity to use CVD grown large area 1L-MoS$_2$ for the development of optoelectronic as well as valleytronic devices for practical applications for the future.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Effect of manganese incorporation on the excitonic recombination dynamics in monolayer MoS$_2$

Using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy techniques we investigate the incorporation of Manganese (Mn) in monolayer (1L)-MoS$_2$ grown on sapphire substrates by microcavity based chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. These layers are coated with different amount of Mn by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique and temperature dependent photo-luminescence (PL) spectroscopic study has helped us in understanding how such deposition affects the dynamics of excitonic recombination in this system. The study further reveals two distinctly different Mn-incorporation regimes. Below a certain critical deposition amount of Mn, thin Mn-coating with large area coverage is found on MoS$_2$ layers and in this regime, substitution of Mo ions by Mn is detected through XPS. Dewetting takes place when Mn-deposition crosses the critical mark, which results in the formation of Mn-droplets on MoS$_2$ layers. In this regime, substitutional incorporation of Mn is suppressed, while the Raman study suggests an enhancement of disorder in the lattice with the Mn-deposition time. From PL investigation, it has been found that the increase of the amount of Mn-deposition not only enhances the density of non-radiative recombination channels for the excitons but also raises the barrier height for such recombination to take place. The study attributes these non-radiative transitions to certain Mo related defects (either Mo-vacancies or distorted Mo-S bonds), which are believed to be generated in large numbers during Mn-droplet formation stage as a result of the withdrawal of Mn ions from the Mo-substitutional sites.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Very thin (111) NiO epitaxial films grown on c-sapphire substrates by pulsed laser deposition technique

(111)NiO epitaxial layers are grown on c-sapphire substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. Structural and morphological properties of the films are studied using in-plane as well as out-of-plane high resolution X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy techniques as functions of growth temperature, oxygen pressure and the pulses count of the laser. The study shows that continuous epitaxial films of thickness as low as 3 nm with high crystalline quality, smooth surface and interface morphology can be grown by this technique. The study also reveals the co-existence of 60°-rotated (111) triangular domains of NiO in the film. The study also evidences the presence of a very low density of 60-degree dislocations in these films. Density of screw and edge dislocations are also estimated to be quite low. It has been found that growth-temperature, oxygen partial pressure and the film thickness can influence differently the density of various dislocation types. These parameters are also found to affect significantly the strain developed in the films.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Spin transport in polarization induced two dimensional confinement of carriers in wedge shaped \textit{c}-GaN nanowalls

Spin transport property of polarization induced two-dimensional electron gas channel formed in the central vertical plane of a wedge-shaped \textit{c}-oriented GaN nanowall is investigated theoretically. Since the confining potential preserves the spatial symmetry between the conduction and valence band, the Rashba effect is suppressed in this system even when the shape of the wedge is asymmetric. It has been found that the relaxation of the electron spin oriented along the direction of the confinement via D'yakonov-Perel' (DP) mechanism, which is the dominant process of relaxation in this high mobility channel, is entirely switched off at low temperatures. Spin relaxation can be turned on by applying a suitable bias at the gate. Exploiting this remarkable effect, a novel all electrically driven spin-transistor has been proposed.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗