Ultralow contact resistance in organic transistors via orbital hybridization

Ultralow contact resistance in organic transistors via orbital hybridization

Nature Communications 14, 324 (2023)

Junpeng Zeng, Daowei He, Jingsi Qiao, Yating Li, Li Sun, Weisheng Li, Jiacheng Xie, Si Gao, Lijia Pan, Peng Wang, Yong Xu, Yun Li, Hao Qiu, Yi Shi, Jian-Bin Xu, Wei Ji & Xinran Wang

Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) are of interest in unconventional form of electronics. However, high-performance OFETs are currently contact-limited, which represent a major challenge toward operation in the gigahertz regime. Here, we realize ultralow total contact resistance (Rc) down to 14.0 Ω ∙ cm in C10-DNTT OFETs by using transferred platinum (Pt) as contact. We observe evidence of Pt-catalyzed dehydrogenation of side alkyl chains which effectively reduces the metal-semiconductor van der Waals gap and promotes orbital hybridization. We report the ultrahigh performance OFETs, including hole mobility of 18 cm2 V−1 s−1, saturation current of 28.8 μA/μm, subthreshold swing of 60 mV/dec, and intrinsic cutoff frequency of 0.36 GHz. We further develop resist-free transfer and patterning strategies to fabricate large-area OFET arrays, showing 100% yield and excellent variability in the transistor metrics. As alkyl chains widely exist in conjugated molecules and polymers, our strategy can potentially enhance the performance of a broad range of organic optoelectronic devices.

Continuously tunable ferroelectric domain width down to the single-atomic limit in bismuth tellurite

Continuously tunable ferroelectric domain width down to the single-atomic limit in bismuth tellurite

Nature Communications 13, 5903 (2022)

Mengjiao Han#, Cong Wang#, Kangdi Niu, Qishuo Yang, Chuanshou Wang, Xi Zhang, Junfeng Dai, Yujia Wang, Xiuliang Ma, Junling Wang, Lixing Kang*, Wei Ji* Junhao Lin*

Abstract

Emerging functionalities in two-dimensional materials, such as ferromagnetism,superconductivity and ferroelectricity, open new avenues for promising nanoelectronic applications.Here, we report the discovery of intrinsic in-plane room-temperature ferroelectricity in two-dimensional Bi2TeO5 grown by chemical vapor deposition, where spontaneous polarization originates from Bi column displacements. We found an intercalated buffer layer consist ofmixed Bi/Te column as 180° domain wall which enables facile polarized domain engineering, including continuously tunable domain width by pinning different concentration of buffer layers, and even ferroelectric-antiferroelectric phase transition when the polarization unit is pinned down to single atomic column. More interestingly, the intercalated Bi/Te buffer layer can interconvert to polarized Bi columns which end up with series terraced domain walls and unusual fan-shaped ferroelectric domain. The buffer layer induced size and shape tunable ferroelectric domain in two-dimensional Bi2TeO5 offer insights into the manipulation of functionalities in van der Waals materials for future nanoelectronics.

Chirality locking charge density waves in a chiral crystal

Chirality locking charge density waves in a chiral crystal

Nature Communications 13, 2914 (2022)

Geng Li#, Haitao Yang#, Peijie Jiang#, Cong Wang#, Qiuzhen Cheng, Shangjie Tian, Guangyuan Han, Chengmin Shen, Xiao Lin, Hechang Lei*, Wei Ji*, Ziqiang Wang* & Hong-Jun Gao*

Abstract

In Weyl semimetals, charge density wave (CDW) order can spontaneously break the chiral symmetry, gap out the Weyl nodes, and drive the material into the axion insulating phase. Investigations have however been limited since CDWs are rarely seen in Weyl semimetals. Here, using scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/S), we report the discovery of a novel unidirectional CDW order on the (001) surface of chiral crystal CoSi – a unique Weyl semimetal with unconventional chiral fermions. The CDW is incommensurate with both lattice momentum and crystalline symmetry directions, and exhibits an intra unit cell π phase shift in the layer stacking direction. The tunneling spectrum shows a particle-hole asymmetric V-shaped energy gap around the Fermi level that modulates spatially with the CDW wave vector. Combined with first-principle calculations, we identify that the CDW is locked to the crystal chirality and is related by a mirror reflection between the two enantiomers of the chiral crystal. Our findings reveal a novel correlated topological quantum state in chiral CoSi crystals and raise the potential for exploring the unprecedented physical behaviors of unconventional chiral fermions.

Spin mapping of intralayer antiferromagnetism and field-induced spin reorientation in monolayer CrTe2

Spin mapping of intralayer antiferromagnetism and field-induced spin reorientation in monolayer CrTe2

Nature Communications 13: 257 (2022)

Jing-Jing Xian#, Cong Wang#, Jin-Hua Nie, Rui Li, Mengjiao Han, Junhao Lin, Wen-Hao Zhang, Zhen-Yu Liu, Zhi-Mo Zhang, Mao-Peng Miao, Yangfan Yi, Shiwei Wu, Xiaodie Chen, Junbo Han, Zhengcai Xia, Wei Ji* & Ying-Shuang Fu*

Abstract

Intrinsic antiferromagnetism in van der Waals (vdW) monolayer (ML) crystals enriches our understanding of two-dimensional (2D) magnetic orders and presents several advantages over ferromagnetism in spintronic applications. However, studies of 2D intrinsic antiferromagnetism are sparse, owing to the lack of net magnetisation. Here, by combining spin-polarised scanning tunnelling microscopy and first-principles calculations, we investigate the magnetism of vdW ML CrTe2, which has been successfully grown through molecular-beam epitaxy. We observe a stable antiferromagnetic (AFM) order at the atomic scale in the ML crystal, whose bulk is ferromagnetic, and correlate its imaged zigzag spin texture with the atomic lattice structure. The AFM order exhibits an intriguing noncollinear spin reorientation under magnetic fields, consistent with its calculated moderate magnetic anisotropy. The findings of this study demonstrate the intricacy of 2D vdW magnetic materials and pave the way for their in-depth analysis.

Giant anisotropic photonics in the 1D van der Waals semiconductor fibrous red phosphorus

Giant anisotropic photonics in the 1D van der Waals semiconductor fibrous red phosphorus

Nature Communications 12: 4822 (2021) 

Luojun Du*,#, Yanchong Zhao#, Linlu Wu#, Xuerong Hu, Lide Yao, Yadong Wang, Xueyin Bai, Yunyun Dai, Jingsi Qiao, Md Gius Uddin, Xiaomei Li, Jouko Lahtinen, Xuedong Bai, Guangyu Zhang, Wei Ji* & Zhipei Sun*

Abstract

A confined electronic system can host a wide variety of fascinating electronic, magnetic, valleytronic and photonic phenomena due to its reduced symmetry and quantum confinement effect. For the recently emerging one-dimensional van der Waals (1D vdW) materials with electrons confined in 1D sub-units, an enormous variety of intriguing physical properties and functionalities can be expected. Here, we demonstrate the coexistence of giant linear/nonlinear optical anisotropy and high emission yield in fibrous red phosphorus (FRP), an exotic 1D vdW semiconductor with quasi-flat bands and a sizeable bandgap in the visible spectral range. The degree of photoluminescence (third-order nonlinear) anisotropy can reach 90% (86%), comparable to the best performance achieved so far. Meanwhile, the photoluminescence (third-harmonic generation) intensity in 1D vdW FRP is strong, with quantum efficiency (third-order susceptibility) four (three) times larger than that in the most well-known 2D vdW materials (e.g., MoS2). The concurrent realization of large linear/nonlinear optical anisotropy and emission intensity in 1D vdW FRP paves the way towards transforming the landscape of technological innovations in photonics and optoelectronics.