Nanoscale View of Engineered Massive Dirac Quasiparticles in Lithographic Superstructures.

Massive Dirac fermions are low-energy electronic excitations characterized by a hyperbolic band dispersion. They play a central role in several emerging physical phenomena such as topological phase transitions, anomalous Hall effects, and superconductivity. This work demonstrates that massive Dirac fermions can be controllably induced by lithographically patterning superstructures of nanoscale holes in a graphene device.

Enhanced stark effect in Dirac materials.

The Stark effect in confined geometries is sensitive to boundary conditions. The vanishing wave function required on the boundary of nanostructures described by the infinite-barrier Schrödinger equation means that such states are only weakly polarizable. In contrast, materials described by the Dirac equation are characterized by much less restrictive boundary conditions.

Two-Dimensional Materials with Giant Optical Nonlinearities near the Theoretical Upper Limit.

Nonlinear optical (NLO) phenomena such as harmonic generation and Kerr and Pockels effects are of great technological importance for lasers, frequency converters, modulators, switches, . Recently, two-dimensional (2D) materials have drawn significant attention due to their strong and peculiar NLO properties. Here, we describe an efficient first-principles workflow for calculating the quadratic optical response and apply it to 375 non-centrosymmetric semiconductor monolayers from the Computational 2D Materials Database (C2DB).

A library of ab initio Raman spectra for automated identification of 2D materials.

Raman spectroscopy is frequently used to identify composition, structure and layer thickness of 2D materials. Here, we describe an efficient first-principles workflow for calculating resonant first-order Raman spectra of solids within third-order perturbation theory employing a localized atomic orbital basis set. The method is used to obtain the Raman spectra of 733 different monolayers selected from the Computational 2D Materials Database (C2DB).

Interlayer excitons in van der Waals heterostructures: Binding energy, Stark shift, and field-induced dissociation.

Photoexcited intralayer excitons in van der Waals heterostructures (vdWHs) with type-II band alignment have been observed to tunnel into interlayer excitons on ultrafast timescales. Such interlayer excitons have sufficiently long lifetimes that inducing dissociation with external in-plane electric fields becomes an attractive option of improving efficiency of photocurrent devices. In the present paper, we calculate interlayer exciton binding energies, Stark shifts, and dissociation rates for six different transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) vdWHs using a numerical procedure based on exterior complex scaling (ECS).

Plasmons in ultra-thin gold slabs with quantum spill-out: Fourier modal method, perturbative approach, and analytical model.

We numerically study the effect of the quantum spill-out (QSO) on the plasmon mode indices of an ultra-thin metallic slab, using the Fourier modal method (FMM). To improve the convergence of the FMM results, a novel nonlinear coordinate transformation is suggested and employed. Furthermore, we present a perturbative approach for incorporating the effects of QSO on the plasmon mode indices, which agrees very well with the full numerical results.

Lithographic band structure engineering of graphene.

Two-dimensional materials such as graphene allow direct access to the entirety of atoms constituting the crystal. While this makes shaping by lithography particularly attractive as a tool for band structure engineering through quantum confinement effects, edge disorder and contamination have so far limited progress towards experimental realization. Here, we define a superlattice in graphene encapsulated in hexagonal boron nitride, by etching an array of holes through the heterostructure with minimum feature sizes of 12-15 nm.

Dissociation of two-dimensional excitons in monolayer WSe.

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconducting materials are promising building blocks for optoelectronic applications, many of which require efficient dissociation of excitons into free electrons and holes. However, the strongly bound excitons arising from the enhanced Coulomb interaction in these monolayers suppresses the creation of free carriers. Here, we identify the main exciton dissociation mechanism through time and spectrally resolved photocurrent measurements in a monolayer WSe p-n junction.

Linear and nonlinear optical response of one-dimensional semiconductors: finite-size and Franz-Keldysh effects.

The dipole moment formalism for the optical response of finite electronic structures breaks down in infinite ones, for which a momentum-based method is better suited. Focusing on simple chain structures, we compare the linear and nonlinear optical response of finite and infinite one-dimensional semiconductors. This comparison is then extended to cases including strong electro-static fields breaking translational invariance.

Model dielectric function for 2D semiconductors including substrate screening.

Dielectric screening of excitons in 2D semiconductors is known to be a highly non-local effect, which in reciprocal space translates to a strong dependence on momentum transfer q. We present an analytical model dielectric function, including the full non-linear q-dependency, which may be used as an alternative to more numerically taxing ab initio screening functions. By verifying the good agreement between excitonic optical properties calculated using our model dielectric function, and those derived from ab initio methods, we demonstrate the versatility of this approach.

High-output LED-based light engine for profile lighting fixtures with high color uniformity using freeform reflectors.

In the stage lighting and entertainment market, light engines (LEs) for lighting fixtures are often based on high-intensity discharge (HID) bulbs. Switching to LED-based light engines gives possibilities for fast switching, additive color mixing, a longer lifetime, and potentially, more energy-efficient systems. The lumen output of a single LED is still not sufficient to replace an HID source in high-output profile fixtures, but combining multiple LEDs can create an LE with a similar output, but with added complexity.

Nonperturbative Quantum Physics from Low-Order Perturbation Theory.

The Stark effect in hydrogen and the cubic anharmonic oscillator furnish examples of quantum systems where the perturbation results in a certain ionization probability by tunneling processes. Accordingly, the perturbed ground-state energy is shifted and broadened, thus acquiring an imaginary part which is considered to be a paradigm of nonperturbative behavior. Here we demonstrate how the low order coefficients of a divergent perturbation series can be used to obtain excellent approximations to both real and imaginary parts of the perturbed ground state eigenenergy.

Bandgap scaling in bilayer graphene antidot lattices.

On the basis of a tight binding model we reveal how the bandgap in bilayer graphene antidot lattices (GALs) follows a different scaling law than in monolayer GALs and we provide an explanation using the Dirac model. We show that previous findings regarding the criteria for the appearance of a bandgap in monolayer GALs are equally applicable to the bilayer case. Furthermore, we briefly investigate the optical properties of bilayer GALs and show that estimates of the bandgap using optical methods could lead to overestimates due to weak oscillator strength of the lowest transitions.

Nanoimprinted backside reflectors for a-Si:H thin-film solar cells: critical role of absorber front textures.

The development of optimal backside reflectors (BSRs) is crucial for future low cost and high efficiency silicon (Si) thin-film solar cells. In this work, nanostructured polymer substrates with aluminum coatings intended as BSRs were produced by positive and negative nanoimprint lithography (NIL) techniques, and hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) was deposited hereon as absorbing layers. The relationship between optical properties and geometry of front textures was studied by combining experimental reflectance spectra and theoretical simulations.

Plasmon-phonon coupling in large-area graphene dot and antidot arrays fabricated by nanosphere lithography.

Nanostructured graphene on SiO2 substrates paves the way for enhanced light-matter interactions and explorations of strong plasmon-phonon hybridization in the mid-infrared regime. Unprecedented large-area graphene nanodot and antidot optical arrays are fabricated by nanosphere lithography, with structural control down to the sub-100 nm regime. The interaction between graphene plasmon modes and the substrate phonons is experimentally demonstrated, and structural control is used to map out the hybridization of plasmons and phonons, showing coupling energies of the order 20 meV.

Second harmonic generation in carbon nanotubes induced by transversal electrostatic field.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) of armchair and zigzag type contain an inversion centre, and are thus intrinsically unable to generate dipole even-order nonlinearities, such as second harmonic generation (SHG). Breaking the inversion symmetry by application of an external voltage transversal to the CNT axis will, however, induce a second harmonic response. Similarly, additional non-vanishing second harmonic tensor elements will be induced in chiral tubes already displaying an intrinsic response.

Optimization of imprintable nanostructured a-Si solar cells: FDTD study.

We present a finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) study of an amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin film solar cell, with nano scale patterns on the substrate surface. The patterns, based on the geometry of anisotropically etched silicon gratings, are optimized with respect to the period and anti-reflection (AR) coating thickness for maximal absorption in the range of the solar spectrum. The structure is shown to increase the cell efficiency by 10.

Pore size dependence of diffuse light scattering from anodized aluminum solar cell backside reflectors.

The development of backside reflectors (BSRs) is crucial for the efficiency of future low cost thin-film silicon solar cells. In this work, the scattering efficiency of bare aluminum BSRs with different pore sizes and ordering of surface microstructures are investigated. The BSRs were fabricated by utilizing the process of self-ordering anodic oxidation on aluminum foils resulting in regions with an approximately hexagonally periodic surface microstructure.

Polarizability of nanowires at surfaces: exact solution for general geometry.

The polarizability of a nanostructure is an important parameter that determines the optical properties. An exact semi-analytical solution of the electrostatic polarizability of a general geometry consisting of two segments forming a cylinder that can be arbitrarily buried in a substrate is derived using bipolar coordinates, cosine-, and sine-transformations. Based on the presented expressions, we analyze the polarizability of several metal nanowire geometries that are important within plasmonics.

Reliability of point source approximations in compact LED lens designs.

In many applications, compact concentrator lenses are used for collimating light from LEDs into high output beams. When optimizing lens designs, the LED is often approximated as a point source. At small lens-to-LED size ratios this is known to be inaccurate, but the performance compared to optimizations with more realistic models is rarely addressed.

Exact polarizability and plasmon resonances of partly buried nanowires.

The electrostatic polarizability for both vertical and horizontal polarization of two conjoined half-cylinders partly buried in a substrate is derived in an analytical closed-form expression. Using the derived analytical polarizabilities we analyze the localized surface plasmon resonances of three important metal nanowire configurations: (1) a half-cylinder, (2) a half-cylinder on a substrate, and (3) a cylinder partly buried in a substrate. Among other results we show that the substrate plays an important role for spectral location of the plasmon resonances.

Compact lens with circular spot profile for square die LEDs in multi-LED projectors.

In the stage illumination industry, LED technology is promising both in terms of energy use and novel features, but it also has inherent issues. This paper presents a solution to the poor color homogeneity arising when multiple rectangular images formed from LED dies are combined into a circular spot profile. Using ray tracing, a nonrotationally symmetric collimating lens was optimized to round off such die images.

Quasiparticle electronic and optical properties of the Si-Sn system.

The Si(1-x)Sn(x) material system is an interesting candidate for an optically active material compatible with Si. Based on density functional theory with quasiparticle corrections we calculate the electronic band structure of zinc-blende SiSn under both compressive and tensile strain. At 2.

Nanoparticle plasmon resonances in the near-static limit.

Localized surface plasmon resonances of metal nanoparticles of arbitrary shape are analyzed in the near-static limit with retardation included to the second order. Starting from the electrostatic approximation, the second-order correction to the resonant dielectric constant is expressed by means of a triple surface integral. For arbitrary nanoparticles with cylindrical symmetry we show how the triple surface integral can be significantly simplified, resulting in a computationally efficient scheme for evaluation of nanoparticle plasmon eigenresonances in the near-static limit.

Guidelines for 1D-periodic surface microstructures for antireflective lenses.

Antireflective properties of one-dimensional periodically microstructured lens surfaces (refractive index 1.5) are studied with the Green's function surface integral equation method, and design guidelines are obtained. Special attention is given to the requirement of having practically all incident light transmitted in the fundamental transmission diffraction order.