arXiv subjects

Yu-Jung Lu

Publications and source records attributed to Yu-Jung Lu.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Anisotropic hot carrier relaxation mediated by electron phonon scattering in TiN thin films

Crystal orientations can shape the ultrafast energy relaxations of transition-metal nitride thin films. Here, we investigate the orientation-dependent electron-phonon (e-ph) mediated relaxation in titanium nitride (TiN) thin films along the [100], [110], and [111] directions by combining first-principles calculations with ultrafast pump-probe transient absorption spectroscopy. Using maximally localized Wannier functions, we evaluate e-ph quasiparticle scattering lifetimes near the Fermi level and identify a clear anisotropy: The TiN [111] orientation exhibits a longer e-ph scattering lifetime (15.96 fs) than [100] (13.69 fs) and [110] (11.12 fs), indicating reduced intrinsic e-ph scattering strength. Furthermore, we grew quasi-epitaxial, orientation-controlled TiN thin films on MgO substrates. Pump-probe measurements reveals that the population-level relaxation (hot-electron cooling) time also depends on orientations, with [111] films showing a significantly slower decay (110 fs) than [100] (90 fs) and [110] (80 fs). We emphasize that the calculated few-femtosecond scattering lifetimes and the measured few-hundred-femtosecond cooling time respectively represent single-event scattering and collective cooling, yet they exhibit consistent trends. These results demonstrate that crystallographic orientation provides a practical and powerful route to tune e-ph-governed relaxation in TiN thin films, offering essential design guidelines for refractory plasmonic and energy-conversion platforms.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Robust Broadband Infrared Unidirectional Absorption Enabled by a Non-Hermitian Multilayer

Unidirectional electromagnetic absorption provides a powerful approach for controlling light and heat, yet broadband realization in the infrared spectral region remains experimentally unexplored. Here, we report a non-Hermitian multilayer structure that enables robust broadband infrared unidirectional absorption. By combining low- and high-loss materials and engineering their thicknesses using the transfer-matrix formulation, the structure exhibits nearly perfect absorption spectrally matched to the blackbody radiation at 373 K under forward illumination, while suppressing backward absorption below 30%. Spectral analysis indicates that the observed unidirectionality originates from non-Hermitian physics near an exceptional point. Notably, broadband unidirectional absorption is achieved even without strict exceptional-point condition. This indicates that the observed unidirectionality is governed by the combination effect of loss distribution and optical interference, rather than a singular condition, ensuring robustness against film thickness variations. Furthermore, thermal shielding experiments demonstrate that the structure enables unidirectional control of thermal radiation, resulting in a temperature difference of up to 21 0C between forward and backward configurations. These results establish a robust strategy for broadband directional control of infrared radiation, with potential applications in passive thermal management, including thermal smart windows and infrared heat-shielding devices.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Dual-Mode Calorimetric Superconducting Nanowire Single Photon Detectors

A dual-operation mode SNSPD is proposed. In the conventional Geiger mode, the sensor operates at temperatures well below the critical temperature, Tc, working as an event counter without sensitivity to the number of photons impinging the sensor. In the calorimetric mode, the detector is operated at temperatures just below TC and displays calorimetric sensitivity in the range of 15 to 250 absorbed-photon energy equivalent for a photon beam with a wavelength of 515 nm. In this energy sensitive mode, photon absorption causes Joule heating of the SNSPD that becomes partially resistive without the presence of latching. Depending on the application, by tuning the sample temperature and bias current using the same readout system, the SNSPD can readily switch between the two modes. In the calorimetric mode, SNSPD recovery times shorter than the ones in the Geiger mode are observed, reaching values as low as 560 ps. Dual-mode SNSPDs may provide significant advancements in spectroscopy and calorimetry, where precise timing, photon counting and energy resolution are required.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2025

High-Temperature-Resilient Hyperbolicity in a Mixed-Dimensional Superlattice

Hyperbolic superlattices are used for sub-wavelength focusing, cloaking, and optical thermal management. Typically, these superlattices are constructed of layers of noble metals and insulators. Despite these systems displaying excellent optical performance, the poor thermal stability of noble metals prevents their application in high-temperature environments. Instead, CMOS-compatible transition-metal nitrides are often substituted for noble metals in plasmonic systems since they have high thermal stability at the expense of optical properties. Here, we fabricate hyperbolic titanium nitride (TiN)/hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) superlattices with 3D-2D interfaces. The mixed-dimensional nature of the interfaces prevents atoms from diffusing across the interface at high temperatures. The hyperbolicity of the superlattice is found to be unaffected by annealing at high temperature (800 oC for 10 hrs), and TiN/hBN is found to have a larger hyperbolic figure of merit than similar superlattices.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

> 2π Phase Modulation using Exciton-Polaritons in a Two-Dimensional Superlattice

Active metamaterials promise to enable arbitrary, temporal control over the propagation of wavefronts of light for applications such as beam steering, optical communication modulators, and holograms. This has been done in the past using patterned silicon photonics to locally control the phase of light such that the metasurface acts as a large number of wavelets. Although phase modulation only requires refractive index modulation when the interaction length is on the order of the wavelength, this is not enough to significantly modulate the phase of light in flatland. Instead, phase modulation is achieved using a resonant mode such as a plasmon or high-Q cavity mode that enable light to accumulate a large amount of phase over a short distance and coupling it to an active material that modulates the light-matter interactions. Here, we report that electrostatic doping can modulate the light-matter interaction strength of a two-dimensional WS2 based multi quantum well (MQW) structure going from strongly-coupled, phase-accumulating exciton-polaritons to weakly-coupled exciton-trion-polaritons. As a result of this transition, 2.02π radians of phase modulation is observed using spectroscopic ellipsometry. This result demonstrates the potential of the MQW structure as a compact, lightweight electro-optical modulators for LiDAR and optical communications in the red region of visible spectrum.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Ultrahigh Photoresponsivity of Gold Nanodisk Array/CVD MoS$_2$-based Hybrid Phototransistor

Owing to its atomically thin thickness, layer-dependent tunable band gap, flexibility, and CMOS compatibility, MoS$_2$ is a promising candidate for photodetection. However, mono-layer MoS2-based photodetectors typically show poor optoelectronic performances, mainly limited by their low optical absorption. In this work, we hybridized CVD-grown monolayer MoS$_2$ with a gold nanodisk (AuND) array to demonstrate a superior visible photodetector through a synergetic effect. It is evident from our experimental results that there is a strong light-matter interaction between AuNDs and monolayer MoS$_2$, which results in better photodetection due to a surface trap state passivation with a longer charge carrier lifetime compared to pristine MoS$_2$. In particular, the AuND/MoS$_2$ system demonstrated a photoresponsivity of $8.7 \times 10^{4}$ A/W, specific detectivity of $6.9 \times 10^{13}$ Jones, and gain $1.7 \times 10^{5}$ at $31.84 μW/cm^{2}$ illumination power density of 632 nm wavelength with an applied voltage of 4.0 V for an AuND/MoS$_2$-based photodetector. To our knowledge, these optoelectronic responses are one order higher than reported results for CVD MoS$_2$-based photodetector in the literature.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Type III superconductivity

Superconductivity remains one of most fascinating quantum phenomena existing on a macroscopic scale. Its rich phenomenology is usually described by the Ginzburg-Landau (GL) theory in terms of the order parameter, representing the macroscopic wave function of the superconducting condensate. The GL theory addresses one of the prime superconducting properties, screening of the electromagnetic field because it becomes massive within a superconductor, the famous Anderson-Higgs mechanism. Here we describe another widely-spread type of superconductivity where the Anderson-Higgs mechanism does not work and must be replaced by the Deser-Jackiw-Templeton topological mass generation and, correspondingly, the GL effective field theory must be replaced by an effective topological gauge theory. These superconductors are inherently inhomogeneous granular superconductors, where electronic granularity is either fundamental or emerging. We show that the corresponding superconducting transition is a three-dimensional (3D) generalization of the 2D Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) vortex binding-unbinding transition. The binding-unbinding of the line-like vortices in 3D results in the Vogel-Fulcher-Tamman (VFT) scaling of the resistance near the superconducting transition. We report experimental data fully confirming the VFT behavior of the resistance.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Magnetic MoS2 Interface Monolayer on CdS Nanowire by Cation Exchange

MoS2 atomic layers have recently attracted much interest because of their two-dimensional structure as well as tunable optical, electrical, and mechanical properties for next generation electronic and electro-optical devices. Here we have achieved facile fabrication of MoS2 thin films on CdS nanowires by cation exchange in solution at room temperature and importantly observed their extraordinary magnetic properties. We establish the atomic structure of the MoS2/CdS heterostructure by taking atomic images of the MoS2/CdS interface as well as performing first-principles density functional geometry optimizations and STEM-ADF image simulations. Furthermore, our first principles density functional calculations for the MoS2/CdS heterostructure reveal that the magnetism in the MoS2/CdS heterostructure stems from the ferromagnetic MoS2 monolayer next to the MoS2/CdS interface. The ferromagnetism is attributed to the partial occupation of the Mo dx2-y2/dxy conduction band in the interfacial MoS2 monolayer caused by the mixed covalent-ionic bonding among the MoS2 and CdS monolayers near the MoS2/CdS interface. The present findings of the ferromagnetic MoS2 monolayer with large spin polarization at the MoS2-semiconductor interface suggest a new route for fabrication of the transition metal dichalcogenide-based magnetic semiconductor multilayers for applications in spintronic devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗