Single-layer metal dichalcogenides are two-dimensional semiconductors that present strong potential for electronic and sensing applications complementary to that of graphene.

/pdf/electronics-and-optoelectronics-of-two-dimensional-2jbqr1unvw.pdf

Electronics and optoelectronics of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides.

Spintronics, or spin electronics, involves the study of active control and manipulation of spin degrees of freedom in solid-state systems. This article reviews the current status of this subject, including both recent advances and well-established results. The primary focus is on the basic physical principles underlying the generation of carrier spin polarization, spin dynamics, and spin-polarized transport in semiconductors and metals. Spin transport differs from charge transport in that spin is a nonconserved quantity in solids due to spin-orbit and hyperfine coupling. The authors discuss in detail spin decoherence mechanisms in metals and semiconductors. Various theories of spin injection and spin-polarized transport are applied to hybrid structures relevant to spin-based devices and fundamental studies of materials properties. Experimental work is reviewed with the emphasis on projected applications, in which external electric and magnetic fields and illumination by light will be used to control spin and charge dynamics to create new functionalities not feasible or ineffective with conventional electronics.

/pdf/spintronics-fundamentals-and-applications-2dx38n6phu.pdf

Spintronics: Fundamentals and applications

The ultimate aim of any detection method is to achieve such a level of sensitivity that individual quanta of a measured entity can be resolved. In the case of chemical sensors, the quantum is one atom or molecule. Such resolution has so far been beyond the reach of any detection technique, including solid-state gas sensors hailed for their exceptional sensitivity1, 2, 3, 4. The fundamental reason limiting the resolution of such sensors is fluctuations due to thermal motion of charges and defects5, which lead to intrinsic noise exceeding the sought-after signal from individual molecules, usually by many orders of magnitude. Here, we show that micrometre-size sensors made from graphene are capable of detecting individual events when a gas molecule attaches to or detaches from graphene's surface. The adsorbed molecules change the local carrier concentration in graphene one by one electron, which leads to step-like changes in resistance. The achieved sensitivity is due to the fact that graphene is an exceptionally low-noise material electronically, which makes it a promising candidate not only for chemical detectors but also for other applications where local probes sensitive to external charge, magnetic field or mechanical strain are required.

/pdf/detection-of-individual-gas-molecules-adsorbed-on-graphene-2b3viubc4o.pdf

Detection of individual gas molecules adsorbed on graphene

The ultimate aspiration of any detection method is to achieve such a level of sensitivity that individual quanta of a measured value can be resolved. In the case of chemical sensors, the quantum is one atom or molecule. Such resolution has so far been beyond the reach of any detection technique, including solid-state gas sensors hailed for their exceptional sensitivity. The fundamental reason limiting the resolution of such sensors is fluctuations due to thermal motion of charges and defects which lead to intrinsic noise exceeding the sought-after signal from individual molecules, usually by many orders of magnitude. Here we show that micrometre-size sensors made from graphene are capable of detecting individual events when a gas molecule attaches to or detaches from graphenes surface. The adsorbed molecules change the local carrier concentration in graphene one by one electron, which leads to step-like changes in resistance. The achieved sensitivity is due to the fact that graphene is an exceptionally low-noise material electronically, which makes it a promising candidate not only for chemical detectors but also for other applications where local probes sensitive to external charge, magnetic field or mechanical strain are required.

Detection of Individual Gas Molecules Absorbed on Graphene

A new type of semiconductor laser is studied, in which injected carriers in the active region are quantum mechanically confined in two or three dimensions (2D or 3D). Effects of such confinements on the lasing characteristics are analyzed. Most important, the threshold current of such laser is predicted to be far less temperature sensitive than that of conventional lasers, reflecting the reduced dimensionality of electronic state. In the case of 3D‐QW laser, the temperature dependence is virtually eliminated. An experiment on 2D quantum well lasers is performed by placing a conventional laser in a strong magnetic field (30 T) and has demonstrated the predicted increase of T0 value from 144 to 313 °C.

Multidimensional quantum well laser and temperature dependence of its threshold current

The electronic properties of inversion and accumulation layers at semiconductor-insulator interfaces and of other systems that exhibit two-dimensional or quasi-two-dimensional behavior, such as electrons in semiconductor heterojunctions and superlattices and on liquid helium, are reviewed. Energy levels, transport properties, and optical properties are considered in some detail, especially for electrons at the (100) silicon-silicon dioxide interface. Other systems are discussed more briefly.

Electronic properties of two-dimensional systems

The strong surface electric field associated with a semiconductor inversion layer quantizes the motion normal to the surface. The bulk energy bands split into electric sub-bands near the surface, each of which is a two-dimensional continuum associated with one of the quantized levels. We treat the electric quantum limit, in which only the lowest electric sub-band is occupied. Within the effective-mass approximation, we have generalized the energy-level calculation to include arbitrary orientations of (1) the constant-energy ellipsoids in the bulk, (2) the surface or interface, and (3) an external magnetic field. The potential associated with a charged center located an arbitrary distance from the surface is calculated, taking into account screening by carriers in the inversion layer. The bound states in the inversion layer due to attractive Coulomb centers are calculated for a model potential which assumes the inversion layer to have zero thickness. The Born approximation is compared with a phase-shift calculation of the scattering cross section, and is found to be reasonably good for the range of carrier concentrations encountered in InAs surfaces. The low-temperature mobility associated with screened Coulomb scattering by known charges at the surface and in the semiconductor depletion layer is calculated for InAs and for Si (100) surfaces in the Born approximation, using a potential that takes the inversion-layer charge distribution into account. The InAs results are in good agreement with experiment. In Si, but not in InAs, freeze-out of carriers into inversion-layer bound states is expected at low temperatures and low inversion-layer charge densities, and the predicted behavior is in qualitative agreement with experiment. An Appendix gives the phase-shift method for two-dimensional scattering and the exact cross section for scattering by an unscreened Coulomb potential.

Properties of Semiconductor Surface Inversion Layers in the Electric Quantum Limit

The response of a two-dimensional electron gas to a longitudinal electric field of arbitrary wave vector and frequency is calculated in the self-consistent-field approximation. The results are used to find the asymptotic screened Coulomb potential and the plasmon dispersion for a plane of electrons imbedded in a three-dimensional dielectric.

Polarizability of a Two-Dimensional Electron Gas

Self-consistent results for energy levels, populations, and charge distributions are given for $n$-type inversion layers on $p$-type silicon. Quantum effects are taken into account in the effective-mass approximation, and the envelope wave function is assumed to vanish at the surface. Approximate analytic results are given for some special cases. Numerical results are given for representative surface orientations, bulk acceptor concentrations, inversion-layer electron concentrations, and temperatures.

Self-Consistent Results for n -Type Si Inversion Layers

Spectral line shapes of the radiation produced by band-to-band recombination of excess carriers in semi-conductors are calculated under the assumption that the momentum matrix element is the same for all initial and final states, i.e., that there is no momentum selection rule. The peak of the stimulated radiation falls at a lower photon energy than does the peak of the spontaneous radiation, except when $T=0$\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K. Some numerical results are given for simple parabolic bands, specifically for the case of electron injection into $p$-type GaAs, and are used to deduce the temperature dependence of the forward current which is necessary to maintain a fixed gain in the active region of a diode. The result is closely related to the temperature dependence of the threshold current in an injection laser, and gives reasonable agreement with experiment. The effect of a conduction band tail is briefly considered.

Frank Stern

Papers

Electronic properties of two-dimensional systems

Properties of Semiconductor Surface Inversion Layers in the Electric Quantum Limit

Polarizability of a Two-Dimensional Electron Gas

Self-Consistent Results for n -Type Si Inversion Layers

Spontaneous and Stimulated Recombination Radiation in Semiconductors