Hysteresis-Free Contact Doping for High-Performance Two-Dimensional Electronics.

Contact doping is considered crucial for reducing the contact resistance of two-dimensional (2D) transistors. However, a process for achieving robust contact doping for 2D electronics is lacking. Here, we developed a two-step doping method for effectively doping 2D materials through a defect-repairing process.

Internal Built-In Electric Fields at Organic-Inorganic Interfaces of Two-Dimensional Ruddlesden-Popper Perovskite Single Crystals.

Two-dimensional (2D) organic-inorganic hybrid Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites (OIRPPs), which consist of naturally formed "multiple quantum well (MQW)-like" structure, have received considerable interest in optoelectronic applications, owing to their outstanding optical properties and tailorable functionalities. While the quantum-confined electrons and holes at an MQW structure are under an applied electric field, the tilt of the energy bands may cause a significant influence on their optical properties. This work demonstrates the presence of internal built-in electric fields (BIEFs) at the as-synthesized 2D OIRPP single crystals.

Atomically Resolved Quantum-Confined Electronic Structures at Organic-Inorganic Interfaces of Two-Dimensional Ruddlesden-Popper Halide Perovskites.

This work demonstrates the direct visualization of atomically resolved quantum-confined electronic structures at organic-inorganic heterointerfaces of two-dimensional (2D) organic-inorganic hybrid Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites (RPPs); this is accomplished with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) by using solvent engineering to prepare perpendicularly oriented 2D RPPs. Atomically resolved band mapping images across the organic-inorganic interfaces of 2D RPPs yield typical quantum-well-like type-I heterojunction band alignment with band gaps depending on the thicknesses or values of the inorganic perovskite slabs. The presence of edge states within the band gap due to organic cation vacancies is also observed.

Spatially Resolved Imaging on Photocarrier Generations and Band Alignments at Perovskite/PbI Heterointerfaces of Perovskite Solar Cells by Light-Modulated Scanning Tunneling Microscopy.

The presence of the PbI passivation layers at perovskite crystal grains has been found to considerably affect the charge carrier transport behaviors and device performance of perovskite solar cells. This work demonstrates the application of a novel light-modulated scanning tunneling microscopy (LM-STM) technique to reveal the interfacial electronic structures at the heterointerfaces between CHNHPbI perovskite crystals and PbI passivation layers of individual perovskite grains under light illumination. Most importantly, this technique enabled the first observation of spatially resolved mapping images of photoinduced interfacial band bending of valence bands and conduction bands and the photogenerated electron and hole carriers at the heterointerfaces of perovskite crystal grains.

Precisely Controlled Ultrastrong Photoinduced Doping at Graphene-Heterostructures Assisted by Trap-State-Mediated Charge Transfer.

Ultrastrong and precisely controllable n-type photoinduced doping at a graphene/TiOx heterostructure as a result of trap-state-mediated charge transfer is demonstrated, which is much higher than any other reported photodoping techniques. Based on the strong light-matter interactions at the graphene/TiOx heterostructure, precisely controlled photoinduced bandgap opening of a bilayer graphene device is demonstrated.

Atomic-scale mapping of electronic structures across heterointerfaces by cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy.

Interfacial science has received much attention recently based on the development of state-of-the-art analytical tools that can create and manipulate the charge, spin, orbital, and lattice degrees of freedom at interfaces. Motivated by the importance of nanoscale interfacial science that governs device operation, we present a technique to probe the electronic characteristics of heterointerfaces with atomic resolution. In this work, the interfacial characteristics of heteroepitaxial structures are investigated and the fundamental mechanisms that pertain in these systems are elucidated through cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy (XSTM).

Atomic-scale interfacial band mapping across vertically phased-separated polymer/fullerene hybrid solar cells.

Using cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscope (XSTM) with samples cleaved in situ in an ultrahigh vacuum chamber, this study demonstrates the direct visualization of high-resolution interfacial band mapping images across the film thickness in an optimized bulk heterojunction polymer solar cell consisting of nanoscale phase segregated blends of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). We were able to achieve the direct observation of the interfacial band alignments at the donor (P3HT)-acceptor (PCBM) interfaces and at the interfaces between the photoactive P3HT:PCBM blends and the poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) anode modification layer with an atomic-scale spatial resolution. The unique advantage of using XSTM to characterize polymer/fullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells allows us to explore simultaneously the quantitative link between the vertical morphologies and their corresponding local electronic properties.