Hexagonal Boron Nitride Slab Waveguides for Enhanced Spectroscopy of Encapsulated 2D Materials.

The layered insulator hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is a critical substrate that brings out the exceptional intrinsic properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials such as graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). In this work, the authors demonstrate how hBN slabs tuned to the correct thickness act as optical waveguides, enabling direct optical coupling of light emission from encapsulated layers into waveguide modes. Molybdenum selenide (MoSe ) and tungsten selenide (WSe ) are integrated within hBN-based waveguides and demonstrate direct coupling of photoluminescence emitted by in-plane and out-of-plane transition dipoles (bright and dark excitons) to slab waveguide modes.

Acoustic cavities in 2D heterostructures.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials offer unique opportunities in engineering the ultrafast spatiotemporal response of composite nanomechanical structures. In this work, we report on high frequency, high quality factor (Q) 2D acoustic cavities operating in the 50-600 GHz frequency (f) range with f × Q up to 1 × 10. Monolayer steps and material interfaces expand cavity functionality, as demonstrated by building adjacent cavities that are isolated or strongly-coupled, as well as a frequency comb generator in MoS/h-BN systems.

Micromachined Silicon Platform for Precise Assembly of 2D Multilayer Laue Lenses for High-Resolution X-ray Microscopy.

We report on a developed micromachined silicon platform for the precise assembly of 2D multilayer Laue lenses (MLLs) for high-resolution X-ray microscopy. The platform is 10 × 10 mm and is fabricated on ~500 µm thick silicon wafers through multiple steps of photolithography and deep reactive-ion etching. The platform accommodates two linear MLLs in a pre-defined configuration with precise angular and lateral position control.

2D MEMS-based multilayer Laue lens nanofocusing optics for high-resolution hard x-ray microscopy.

We report on the development of 2D integrated multilayer Laue lens (MLL) nanofocusing optics used for high-resolution x-ray microscopy. A Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS) - based template has been designed and fabricated to accommodate two linear MLL optics in pre-aligned configuration. The orthogonality requirement between two MLLs has been satisfied to a better than 6 millidegrees level, and the separation along the x-ray beam direction was controlled on a micrometer scale.

Enabling remote quantum emission in 2D semiconductors via porous metallic networks.

Here we report how two-dimensional crystal (2DC) overlayers influence the recrystallization of relatively thick metal films and the subsequent synergetic benefits this provides for coupling surface plasmon-polaritons (SPPs) to photon emission in 2D semiconductors. We show that annealing 2DC/Au films on SiO results in a reverse epitaxial process where initially nanocrystalline Au films gain texture, crystallographically orient with the 2D crystal overlayer, and form an oriented porous metallic network (OPEN) structure in which the 2DC can suspend above or coat the inside of the metal pores. Both laser excitation and exciton recombination in the 2DC semiconductor launch propagating SPPs in the OPEN film.

Tunable Coupling of a Double Quantum Dot Spin System to a Mechanical Resonator.

The interaction of quantum systems with mechanical resonators is of practical interest for applications in quantum information and sensing and also of fundamental interest as hybrid quantum systems. Achieving a large and tunable interaction strength is of great importance in this field as it enables controlled access to the quantum limit of motion and coherent interactions between different quantum systems. This has been challenging with solid state spins, where typically the coupling is weak and cannot be tuned.

Scalable in operando strain tuning in nanophotonic waveguides enabling three-quantum-dot superradiance.

The quest for an integrated quantum optics platform has motivated the field of semiconductor quantum dot research for two decades. Demonstrations of quantum light sources, single photon switches, transistors and spin-photon interfaces have become very advanced. Yet the fundamental problem that every quantum dot is different prevents integration and scaling beyond a few quantum dots.

Graphene Strained by Defects.

Using graphene nanomechanical resonators we demonstrate the extent to which the mechanical properties of multilayer graphene films are controllable, in real time, through introduction and rearrangement of defects. We show both static and re-entrant (cyclical) changes in the tensile stress using a combination of ion implantation, chemical functionalization, and thermal treatment. While the dramatic increase in static tensile stress achievable through laser annealing can be of importance for various MEMS applications, we view the direct observation of a time-variable stress as even more significant.

Printing Highly Controlled Suspended Carbon Nanotube Network on Micro-patterned Superhydrophobic Flexible Surface.

Suspended single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) offer unique functionalities for electronic and electromechanical systems. Due to their outstanding flexible nature, suspended SWCNT architectures have great potential for integration into flexible electronic systems. However, current techniques for integrating SWCNT architectures with flexible substrates are largely absent, especially in a manner that is both scalable and well controlled.

Engineering graphene mechanical systems.

We report a method to introduce direct bonding between graphene platelets that enables the transformation of a multilayer chemically modified graphene (CMG) film from a "paper mache-like" structure into a stiff, high strength material. On the basis of chemical/defect manipulation and recrystallization, this technique allows wide-range engineering of mechanical properties (stiffness, strength, density, and built-in stress) in ultrathin CMG films. A dramatic increase in the Young's modulus (up to 800 GPa) and enhanced strength (sustainable stress ≥1 GPa) due to cross-linking, in combination with high tensile stress, produced high-performance (quality factor of 31,000 at room temperature) radio frequency nanomechanical resonators.

Ultrathin single crystal diamond nanomechanical dome resonators.

We present the first nanomechanical resonators microfabricated in single-crystal diamond. Shell-type resonators only 70 nm thick, the thinnest single crystal diamond structures produced to date, demonstrate a high-quality factor (Q ≈ 1000 at room temperature, Q ≈ 20 000 at 10 K) at radio frequencies (50-600 MHz). Quality factor dependence on temperature and frequency suggests an extrinsic origin to the dominant dissipation mechanism and methods to further enhance resonator performance.

Wafer-scale reduced graphene oxide films for nanomechanical devices.

We report a process to form large-area, few-monolayer graphene oxide films and then recover the outstanding mechanical properties found in graphene to fabricate high Young's modulus ( =185 GPa), low-density nanomechanical resonators. Wafer-scale films as thin as 4 nm are sufficiently robust that they can be delaminated intact and resuspended on a bed of pillars or field of holes. From these films, we demonstrate radio frequency resonators with quality factors (up to 4000) and figures of merit ( f x Q>10(11)) well exceeding those of pure graphene resonators reported to date.