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At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
arXiv2018

Broadband optical-fiber-compatible photodetector based on a graphene-MoS2-WS2 heterostructure with a synergetic photo-generating mechanism

Integrating two-dimensional (2D) crystals into optical fibers can grant them optoelectronic properties and extend their range of applications. However, our ability to produce complicated structures is limited by the challenges of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) manufacturing. Here, we successfully demonstrate a 2D-material heterostructure created on a fiber endface by integrating a microscale multilayer graphene-MoS2-WS2 van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure film on it. Hence, based on simple layer-by-layer transferring, a visible-to-infrared gating-free all-in-fiber photodetector (FPD) is produced. Our FPD exhibits an ultrahigh photoresponsivity of 6.6X107 A/W and a relatively fast response speed of 7 ms at 400 nm light wavelength, due to the strong light absorption and the built-in electric field of the heterostructure. Moreover, owning to the type-II staggered band alignments in the MoS2-WS2 heterostructure, the interlayer optical transition between the MoS2 and WS2 layers enable our FPD to sense the infrared light power, displaying a photoresponsivity of 17.1 A/W at 1550 nm. In addition, an inverse photoresponse is observed under an illuminating power higher than 1 mW at 1550 nm, indicating a competingphotocurrent generation mechanism, comprising the photoconductive and photo-bolometric effects. These findings offer a new strategy for developing broadband and gating-free photodetectors and other novel optoelectronic devices based on 2D crystals. Furthermore, our fabrication method may provide a new platform for the integration of optical fibers with semiconducting materials.

physics.app-ph↗
arXiv2018

Surface Structures of Epitaxial B20 FeGe(-1-1-1) Thin Films via Scanning Tunneling Microscopy

We grew 20-100 nm thick films of B20 FeGe by molecular beam epitaxy and investigated the surface structures via scanning tunneling microscopy. We observed the atomic resolution of each of the four possible chemical layers in FeGe(-1-1-1). An average hexagonal surface unit cell is observed via scanning tunneling microscopy, low energy electron diffraction, and reflection high energy electron diffraction resulting in a size of ~6.84 Å in agreement with the bulk expectation. Furthermore, the atomic resolution and registry across triple-layer step edges definitively determine the grain orientation as (111) or (-1-1-1). Further verification of the grain orientation is made by Ar+ sputtering FeGe(-1-1-1) surface allowing direct imaging of the subsurface layer.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2018

Observation of Bulk Polarization Transitions and Higher-Order Embedded Topological Eigenstates for Sound

Topological systems are inherently robust to disorder and continuous perturbations, resulting in dissipation-free edge transport of electrons in quantum solids, or reflectionless guiding of photons and phonons in classical wave systems characterized by Chern or spin-Chern topological invariants. These established examples of topological physics, however, do not exhaust all possible topological phases, and recently a new class of topological metamaterials characterized by bulk polarization has been introduced. In addition to edge conduction, these systems have been shown to host higher-order topological modes. Here, we introduce and measure topological bulk polarization in 3D printed two-dimensional acoustic meta-structures, and observe topological transitions as the design parameters are tuned. We also demonstrate that our topological meta-structure hosts both 1D edge and higher-order 0D corner states with unique acoustic properties. The edge states have spin polarization that reverses for opposite propagation direction, thus supporting directional excitation. Corner states are pinned to the meta-structure corners, and rapidly decay both along the edges and into the bulk. Interestingly, these 0D states can spectrally overlap with the continuum of bulk states, but are not compatible with radiation, thus enabling embedded topological eigenstates within the continuum of bulk modes. Their confinement and inherent topological robustness is experimentally confirmed by deliberately introducing disorder. Our findings open new directions in acoustics for advanced sound propagation and manipulation.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2018

Towards an optical FPGA - Programmable silicon photonic circuits

A novel technique is presented for realising programmable silicon photonic circuits. Once the proposed photonic circuit is programmed, its routing is retained without the need for additional power consumption. This technology enables a uniform multi-purpose design of photonic chips for a range of different applications and performance requirements, as it can be programmed for each specific application after chip fabrication. Therefore the cost per chip can be dramatically reduced because of the increase in production volume, and rapid prototyping of new photonic circuits is enabled. Essential building blocks for programmable circuits, erasable directional couplers (DCs) were designed and fabricated, utilising ion implanted waveguides. We demonstrate permanent switching between the drop port and through port of the DCs using a localised post-fabrication laser annealing process. Proof-of-principle demonstrators in the form of generic 1X4 and 2X2 programmable switching circuits were then fabricated and subsequently programmed, to define their function.

physics.app-ph↗
arXiv2018

Virtual Testing of Experimental Continuation

We present a critical advance in experimental testing of nonlinear structures. Traditional quasi-static experimental methods control the displacement or force at one or more load-introduction points on a structure. This approach is unable to traverse limit points in the control parameter, as the immediate equilibrium beyond these points is statically unstable, causing the structure to snap to another equilibrium. As a result, unstable equilibria---observed numerically---are yet to be verified experimentally. Based on previous experimental work, and a virtual testing environment developed herein, we propose a new experimental continuation method that can path-follow along unstable equilibria and traverse limit points. To support these developments, we provide insightful analogies between a fundamental building block of our technique---shape control---and analysis concepts such as the principle of virtual work and Galerkin's method. The proposed testing method will enable the validation of an emerging class of nonlinear structures that exploit instabilities for novel functionality.

physics.app-ph↗
arXiv2018

Amplifying thermal conduction calibre of nanocolloids employing induced electrophoresis

Electrophoresis has been shown as a novel methodology to enhance heat conduction capabilities of nanocolloidal dispersions. A thoroughly designed experimental system has been envisaged to solely probe heat conduction across nanofluids by specifically eliminating the buoyancy driven convective component. Electric field is applied across the test specimen in order to induce electrophoresis in conjunction with the existing thermal gradient. It is observed that the electrophoretic drift of the nanoparticles acts as an additional thermal transport drift mechanism over and above the already existent Brownian diffusion and thermophoresis dominated thermal conduction. A scaling analysis of the thermophoretic and electrophoretic velocities from classical Huckel-Smoluchowski formalism is able to mathematically predict the thermal performance enhancement due to electrophoresis. It is also inferred that the dielectric characteristics of the particle material is the major determining component of the electrophoretic amplification of heat transfer. Influence of surfactants has also been probed into and it is observed that enhancing the stability via surface charge modulation can in fact enhance the electrophoretic drift, thereby enhancing heat transfer calibre. Also, surfactants ensure colloidal stability as well as chemical gradient induced recirculation, thus ensuring colloidal phase equilibrium and low hysteresis in spite of the directional drift in presence of electric field forcing. The findings may have potential implications in enhanced and tunable thermal management of micro nanoscale devices.

physics.app-ph↗
arXiv2018

Competitive electrohydrodynamic and electrosolutal advection arrests evaporation kinetics of droplets

The present article reports the hitherto unreported phenomenon of arrested evaporation dynamics in pendent droplets in an electric field ambience. The evaporation kinetics of pendant droplets of electrically conducting saline solutions in the presence of a transverse, alternating electric field is investigated experimentally. It has been observed that while increase of field strength arrests the evaporation, increment in field frequency has the opposite effect. The same has been explained on the solvation kinetics of the ions in the polar water. Theoretical analysis reveals that change in surface tension and diffusion driven evaporation model cannot predict the arrested or decelerated evaporation. With the aid of Particle Image Velocimetry, suppression of internal circulation velocity within the droplet is observed under electric field stimulus, and this affects the evaporation rate directly. A mathematical scaling model is proposed to quantify the effects of electrohydrodynamic circulation, electrothermal and electro-solutal advection on the evaporation kinetics of the droplet. The analysis encompasses major governing parameters, viz. the thermal and solutal Marangoni numbers, the Electrohydrodynamic number, the electro Prandtl and electro Schmidt numbers and their respective contributions. It has been shown that the electrothermal Marangoni effect is supressed by the electric field, leading to deteriorated evaporation rates. Additionally, the electrosolutal Marangoni effect further supresses the internal advection, which again arrests the evaporation rate by a larger proportion. Stability analysis reveals that the electric body force retards the stable internal circulation within such droplets and arrests advection.

physics.flu-dyn↗
arXiv2018

Electrically programmable chiral MEMS photonics

Optical chirality is central to many industrial photonic technologies including enantiomer identification, ellipsometry-based tomography and spin multiplexing in optical communication. However, a substantial chiral response requires a typical three-dimensional (3D) constituent, thereby making the paradigm highly complex. Photonic devices integrated with microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have shown potential for chiral light control by external stimuli, but the stimuli usually demand a destructive dosage. Here, we report a simple synthetic chiral paradigm that is electrically programmable with self-assembled 3D MEMS cantilevers. This paradigm enables four reconfigurable chiral schemes with dextrorotary, levorotary, racemic and achiral conformations. Optical response of reversible chirality and chiral to achiral switch are electrically encoded following an exclusive OR logical operation with dual-channel bias as low as 10 V. Our device demonstrates a route to electrically actuated synthetic chiral platform and serves as a powerful conformation analysis tool for macromolecules in biology, medicine, chemistry and physics. The prototype delivers a new strategy towards reconfigurable stereoselective photonic applications.

physics.optics↗
arXiv2018

Addressing environmental and atmospheric challenges for capturing high-precision thermal infrared data in the field of astro-ecology

Using thermal infrared detectors mounted on drones, and applying techniques from astrophysics, we hope to support the field of conservation ecology by creating an automated pipeline for the detection and identification of certain endangered species and poachers from thermal infrared data. We test part of our system by attempting to detect simulated poachers in the field. Whilst we find that we can detect humans hiding in the field in some types of terrain, we also find several environmental factors that prevent accurate detection, such as ambient heat from the ground, absorption of infrared emission by the atmosphere, obscuring vegetation and spurious sources from the terrain. We discuss the effect of these issues, and potential solutions which will be required for our future vision for a fully automated drone-based global conservation monitoring system.

astro-ph.IM↗
arXiv2018

Tuning and Stabilization of Optomechanical Crystal Cavities Through NEMS Integration

Nanobeam optomechanical crystals, in which localized GHz frequency mechanical modes are coupled to wavelength-scale optical modes, are being employed in a variety of experiments across different material platforms. Here, we demonstrate the electrostatic tuning and stabilization of such devices, by integrating a Si$_3$N$_4$ slot-mode optomechanical crystal cavity with a nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) element, which controls the displacement of an additional "tuning" beam within the optical near-field of the optomechanical cavity. Under DC operation, tuning of the optical cavity wavelength across several optical linewidths with little degradation of the optical quality factor ($Q\approx10^5$) is observed. The AC response of the tuning mechanism is measured, revealing actuator resonance frequencies in the 10 MHz to 20 MHz range, consistent with the predictions from simulations. Feedback control of the optical mode resonance frequency is demonstrated, and alternative actuator geometries are presented.

physics.app-ph↗
arXiv2018

The development of low-temperature atomic layer deposition of HfO2 for TEM sample preparation on soft photo-resist substrate

In this study, the method of low-temperature atomic layer deposition (ALD), which is applied on the soft photo-resist (PR) substrate forming hafnium dioxide (HfO2) at 40 C to 85 C, is reported for the first time. This reveals the potential application in the TEM sample preparation. The thickness, refractive index, band gap, and depth profiling chemical state of the thin film are analyzed by ellipsometry, X-ray diffraction, and photoelectron spectroscopy respectively. Our TEM image shows a clear boundary between the photo-resist and hafnium dioxide deposited on PR, which indicates the low-temperature atomic layer deposition (ALD) may lead a new way for TEM sample preparation in advanced technology node.

physics.app-ph↗
arXiv2018

Self-similarity of optical rotation trajectories around the Poincare sphere with application to an ultra-narrow atomic bandpass filter

We present an investigation of magneto-optic rotation in both the Faraday and Voigt geometries. We show that more physical insight can be gained in a comparison of the Faraday and Voigt effects by visualising optical rotation trajectories on the Poincare sphere. This insight is applied to design and experimentally demonstrate an improved ultra-narrow optical bandpass filter based on combining optical rotation from two cascaded cells - one in the Faraday geometry and one in the Voigt geometry. Our optical filter has an equivalent noise bandwidth of 0.56 GHz, and a figure-of-merit value of 1.22(2) GHz$^{-1}$ which is higher than any previously demonstrated filter on the Rb D2 line.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2018

Ni-P coatings electroplating - A review, Part I: Pure Ni-P alloy

In the electroplating industry Ni-P coatings are extensively employed owing to their excellent properties which enable substrate protection against corrosion and wear. Depending on their composition and structure, as-plated deposits demonstrate good mechanical, tribological and electrochemical features, catalytic activity but also beneficial magnetic characteristics. With subsequent thermal treatment hardness of Ni-P metal-metalloid system can approach or be even higher than that of hard Cr coatings. The purpose of this paper is to provide a general survey of the research work dealing with the electrodeposition of Ni-P binary alloy coatings. Proposed phosphorus incorporation mechanisms, Ni-P alloy microstructure before and after thermal treatment, its mechanical, tribological, corrosion, catalytic and magnetic properties are considered, so are the key process variables influencing phosphorus content in the deposits and the roles of the main electrolytic bath constituents. Findings on the merits of employing pulse plating and fabrication of unconventional (layered and functionally graded) structures are succinctly explored.

physics.app-ph↗
arXiv2018

High performing ionanofluid electrolyte with higher lithium salt concentration for safer lithium metal batteries

A new class of high-performance pyrrolidinium cation based ionanofluid electrolytes with higher lithium salt concentration are developed. The electrolytes are formed by dispersing imidazolium ionic liquid functionalized TiO2 nanoparticles in low conducting, 0.6 M lithium salt doped N-alkyl-N-butylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (Pyr14TFSI) ionic liquid (IL) hosted electrolyte. Viscosity, ionic conductivity and thermal properties of these electrolytes are compared with well studied 0.2 M salt doped Pyr14TFSI IL-based electrolyte. The highly crystalline 0.6 M lithium salt dissolved IL-based electrolytes gradually become amorphous with the increasing dispersion of surface functionalized nanoparticles within it. The ionic conductivity of the electrolytes shows unusual viscosity decoupled characteristics and at the 5.0 wt% nanoparticle dispersion it attains a maximum value, higher than that of pure IL host. As compared to pure IL-based electrolytes, the ionanofluid electrolyte also possesses a significantly higher value of lithium ion transference number. The Li/LiMn2O4 cell with the best conducting ionanofluid electrolyte delivers a discharge capacity of about 131 mAh g-1 at 25 degree C at a current density of 24 mA g-1, much higher than that obtained in 0.2 M Li salt dissociated Pyr14TFSI electrolyte (87 mAh g-1). Superior interfacial compatibility between ionanofluid electrolyte and electrodes as indicated by the excellent rate performance with outstanding capacity retention of the cell as compared to pure IL-based analogue, further establish great application potentiality of this optimized newly developed electrolyte for safer LMBs.

physics.app-ph↗
arXiv2018

Polarization and wavelength agnostic nanophotonic beam splitter

High-performance optical beam splitters are of fundamental importance for the development of advanced silicon photonics integrated circuits. However, due to the high refractive index contrast of the silicon-on-insulator platform, state of the art Si splitters are hampered by trade-offs in bandwidth, polarization dependence and sensitivity to fabrication errors. Here, we present a new strategy that exploits modal engineering in slotted waveguides to overcome these limitations, enabling ultra-wideband polarization-insensitive optical power splitters, with relaxed fabrication tolerances. The proposed splitter relies on a single-mode slot waveguide which is transformed into two strip waveguides by a symmetric taper, yielding equal power splitting. Based on this concept, we experimentally demonstrate -3$\pm$0.5 dB polarization-independent transmission in an unprecedented 390 nm bandwidth (1260 - 1650 nm), even in the presence of waveguide width deviations as large as $\pm$25 nm.

physics.app-ph↗
arXiv2018

A Quadrature VCO with Phase Noise Optimization for Wide Tuning Triple Band Frequency Generation

This paper presents an analytical model on quadrature VCO (QVCO) phase noise performance as well as a wide-tuning triple band QVCO RFIC design. The phase noise model demonstrates the advantages of applying phase shift to quadrature coupling for QVCO phase noise reduction and bi-model oscillation elimination. As an example, we present a wide-tuning and low noise QVCO RFIC that contains a bottom-series QVCO with bipolar transistors for oscillation and NMOS transistors for coupling. The low-band and middle-band signals are generated from the QVCO outputs and its 2nd harmonics, while the high-band signal is obtained by frequency mixing. The tuning-range enhancement technique enables the triple-band frequency generation in the range from 1.4GHz to 8.7GHz without penalizing oscillator's phase noise. The proposed wide-band frequency generation RFIC is implemented in a 0.18 μm SiGe BiCMOS technology with 0.6mm2 area. The measured phase-noise is -125.2, -119.5 and -108.8dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset for the three bands, respectively.

physics.app-ph↗
arXiv2018

A High-Order Compensated Op-amp-less Bandgap Reference with 39 ppm/ °C over -260~125 °C Temperature Range and -50 dB PSRR

This brief presents a technique for compensating the temperature coefficient (TC) of a bandgap reference (BGR) using temperature characteristics of transistor's current gain \b{eta}. As a comparison, three BGR circuits built with Si BJTs and SiGe HBTs are implemented to demonstrate the proposed TC curvature compensation technique. Measured average TC of the HBT proposed BGR is 23ppm/ °C and 39 ppm/ °C over the commercial (0~70 °C) and space (-260~125 °C) temperature ranges, respectively. With the proposed PSRR improvement technique, the BGR reaches PSRR of -50dB at 1MHz, and -38dB at 1GHz, respectively.

physics.app-ph↗