Nanoscale devices

The limitation in metal-semiconductor contact has been a major challenge for high-performance organic field-effect transistors. Here, the authors fabricate the contact by transferring platinum electrode on solution-processed organic films, realizing ultralow total contact resistance down to 14 Ω ∙ cm.

Novel methodologies for cleaving inherently inert C(sp²)‒ C(sp²) bonds are desirable. Here, the authors report the use of an oriented electric field to cleave C(sp²)‒ C(sp²) in cycloparaphenylenes via electrophilic aromatic substitution.

Flexible and coherent light generation is of paramount importance to enable new functionalities in integrated silicon photonics. Here the authors, develop an optical parametric oscillator with high conversion efficiency and high output power, based on the third order nonlinearity in a silicon nitride microresonator

Frequency-bin qubits get the best of time-bin and dual-rail encodings, but require external modulators and pulse shapers to build arbitrary states. Here, instead, the authors work directly on-chip by controlling the interference of biphoton amplitudes generated in multiple, coherently-pumped ring resonators.

2D semiconductors are attracting increasing attention as potentially scalable channels for future transistors, but the scaling of their contact length remains challenging. Here, the authors report the realization of 1D semimetal-2D semiconductor contacts based on individual carbon nanotubes with contact length down to 2 nm.

With advances in robotic technology, the complexity of control of robot has been increasing owing to fundamental von Neumann bottlenecks. Here, we demonstrate coordinated movement by a fully parallel-processable synaptic array with reduced control complexity.

Deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) is an established characterization technique used to study electrically active defects in 3D semiconductors. Here, the authors show that DLTS can also be applied to monolayer semiconductors, enabling in-situ characterization of the energy states of different defects and their interactions.

The authors demonstrate a multi-dimensional communication scheme that combines wavelength- and mode- multiplexing on photonic integrated circuits using foundry-compatible photonic inverse design and spectrally flattened microcombs

Here, the authors show robust edge state transport in patterned nanoribbon networks produced on epigraphene—graphene that is epitaxially grown on non-polar faces of SiC wafers. The edge state forms a zero-energy, one-dimensional ballistic network with dissipationless nodes at ribbon–ribbon junctions.

Detection of cytokine biomarkers has the potential to aid in diagnosis and treatment of different diseases. Here, the authors report on the creation of an asymmetric geometry MoS₂ diode-based biosensor for the detection of TNF-α as a model biomarker in a proof of concept study.

Here the authors harness the on-chip integration of Jones matrix metasurfaces to demonstrate an ultra-compact approach to access and manipulate the optical spin states of vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) with previously unattainable phase controllability.

Quantum-dot spin qubits in Si/SiGe quantum wells require a large and uniform valley splitting for robust operation and scalability. Here the authors introduce and characterize a new heterostructure with periodic oscillations of Ge atoms in the quantum well, which could enhance the valley splitting.

Valleytronic devices employ the electronic valley degree of freedom to realize potential low-power electronic applications. Here, the authors utilize a topological semiconductor to engineer valley polarization transistors with long lifetimes and demonstrate low-power neuromorphic functionality at room temperature.

One of the possible events signaling a neutrinoless double beta decay is a Xe atom decaying into a Ba ion and two electrons. Aiming at the realisation of a detector for such a process, the authors show that Ba ions can be efficiently trapped (chelated) in vacuum by an organic molecule layer on a surface.

Applications of ultra-low-loss photonic circuitry in quantum photonics, in particular including triggered single photon sources, are rare. Here, the authors show how InAs quantum dot single photon sources can be integrated onto wafer-scale, CMOS compatible ultra-low loss silicon nitride photonic circuits.

2D and 3D conductive MOFs have performed well in the fields of energy and catalysis. Here, authors synthesise a 1D conductive MOF in which DDA ligands are connected by double Cu ions, forming nanoribbon layers with π-d conjugated nanoribbon planes and out-of-plane π-π stacking, which facilitates charge transport along two dimensions.

The realization of Jones matrix with full eight free parameters is particularly challenging. Here, the authors construct spatially varying Jones matrix with eight free parameters by cascading two-layer metasurfaces and use it for new optical functionalities.

Retrieving the pupil phase of a optical beam path is a central problem for imaging systems across scales. The authors use Diffractive Neural Networks to directly extract pupil phase information with a single, compact optoelectronic device.

Defect centers in two-dimensional materials has shown promise for applications in quantum information and sensing. Lee et al. computationally discover a class of substitutional defect centers in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides with promising qubit characteristics operating at telecom wavelengths.

Neuromorphic computing memristors are attractive to construct low-power- consumption electronic textiles. Here, authors report an ultralow-power textile memristor network of Ag/MoS2/HfAlOx/carbon nanotube with reconfigurable characteristics and firing energy consumption of 1.9 fJ/spike.

Traditional carbon nitride membranes are generally presented with random stacking behavior leading to undesired separation performance. Here, authors create lamellar membranes via polycation pillaring to afford adaptive subnanochannels, overcoming the selectivity-permeability trade-off in forward osmosis.

It is challenging to directly characterize mechanical properties of soft 3D cardiac organoids with current sensors. Here the authors report an electronic skin-based all-soft organoid-sensing system which can wirelessly monitor minute force profiles of cardiac organoids in real-time in-situ.

Future optical devices, e.g., for AR and VR, will require sophisticated flat metaoptics with unique optical functionalities. The authors demonstrate a metaobjective based on electrically switchable metallic polymer metalenses, whose optical states and focal length is adjustable via CMOS compatible voltages.

Designing efficient reconfigurable field effect transistors remains a challenge. Here, the authors develop a transistor with three distinct operation modes, realized directly on an industrial 22nm FDSOI platform, demonstrating a reconfigurable analog circuit element with signal follower, phase shifter, and frequency doubler operation.

Electrochemical hydrogen-participating processes are commonly relevant in multiple clean energy technologies. Here, authors achieve in situ quantification of H sorption kinetics during Pd-catalyzed CO₂ reduction, unravelling its key role within the interfacial network of local pH, proton donors and CO₂ molecules.

While transmon is the most widely used superconducting qubit, the search for alternative qubit designs with improved characteristic is ongoing. Hyyppä et al. demonstrate a novel superconducting qubit, the unimon, that combines high anharmonicity and protection against low-frequency charge noise and flux noise.

Vibrational strong coupling (VSC) promises ultrasensitive IR spectroscopy and modification of material properties. Here, nanoscale mapping of VSC between organic molecules and individual IR nanoresonators is achieved by remote near-field spectroscopy.

The adoption of photonic synapses with biosimilarity to realize analog signal transmission is of significance in realizing artificial illuminance modulation responses. Here, the authors report a biomimetic ocular prosthesis system based on quantum dots embedded photonic synapses with improved depression properties through mid-gap trap.

High-speed flexible circuits are essential in flexible systems for real-time information analysis and wireless communication. Here, flexible circuits are reported with a 281 ps stage delay based on scaled carbon nanotube thin film transistors.

The application of electric fields >1 V/nm in solid state devices could provide access to unexplored phenomena, but it is currently difficult to implement. Here, the authors develop a double-sided ionic liquid gating technique to generate electric fields as large as 4 V/nm across few-layer WSe₂, leading to field-induced semiconductor-to-metal transitions.

Coherently interfacing microwave and optical radiation at the single photon level is an outstanding challenge in quantum technologies. Here, the authors show bi-directional on-chip conversion between MW and optical frequencies exploiting piezoelectric actuation of a gallium phosphide optomechanical resonator.

Understanding the behaviors of droplets at nanoscales is crucial to many applications, yet it remains experimentally challenging to track them in real time. Here, Sbarra et al. use a miniature optomechanical resonator to probe the evaporation dynamics of attoliter droplets with millisecond resolution.

The motion of a vibrating object is set by the way it is held. Here, the authors show a nanomechanical resonator reversibly slides on its supporting substrate as it vibrates and exploit this unconventional dynamics to quantify friction at the nanoscale.

Rare-earth elements are vital to advanced technological applications ranging from spintronic devices to quantum information science. Here, the authors formed charged rare-earth complexes on a material surface and demonstrated atomically precise control on their rotational dynamics.

We show frequency domain mirrors that provide reflections of optical mode propagation in the frequency domain. We theoretically investigated the mirror properties and experimentally demonstrate it using polarization and coupled-resonator-based coupling on thin film Lithium Niobate.

PVA is a hydrogel that has attractive swelling properties for use in tunable photonic applications. Here, the authors exploit PVA with nanoimprint lithography to realize multiplexed optical encryption metasurfaces to display, hide, and destroy encrypted information.

Memory augmented neural network for lifelong on-device learning is bottlenecked by limited bandwidth in conventional hardware. Here, the authors demonstrate its efficient in-memristor realization with a close-software accuracy, supported by hashing and similarity search in crossbars.

Slow light effects are interesting for telecommunications and quantum photonics applications. Here, the authors use coupled exciton-surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in a hybrid monolayer WSe₂-metallic waveguide structure to demonstrate a 1300-fold reduction of the SPP group velocity.

Topological superconductivity (TSC) is predicted to exist in nanowires with strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC) when they are in proximity to superconductors, with a key signature being zero-energy states in conductance measurements. Here, using weak-SOC carbon nanotubes as the nanowires, the authors show that similar looking zero-energy states can appear even in nanowires which cannot, in principle, host TSC.

Experimental studies of the Casimir effect have involved only interactions between two bodies so far. Here, the authors observe a micrometer-thick cantilever under the Casimir force exerted by microspheres from two sides simultaneously.

The potential energy efficiency of impact ionization field-effect transistors (I²FETs) is usually limited by stringent operational conditions. Here, the authors report I²FETs based on 2D WSe₂, showing average subthreshold slopes down to 2.3 mV/dec and on/off ratios of ~10⁶ at room temperature and bias voltages <1 V.

3D depth sensing with structured light enables simultaneous imaging of multiple objects, but has limited field of view and low efficiency. Here, the authors demonstrate 3D imaging with scattered light from a metasurface composed of periodic supercells, covering a 180° field of view with a high-density dot array.

Topological materials hold great promise for dissipationless information transmission. Here, the authors create Chern insulator junctions between domains with different Chern numbers in MnBi₂Te₄ to realize the basic operation of a topological circuit.

The accumulation of single-function sensors can increase the complexity of virtual reality systems. Here, Shen et al. exploit the intrinsic anisotropy of tellurium nanowires to design a multi-function pressure and temperature sensor, which can be used as tactile experience in the virtual world.

Multiterminal Josephson junctions may provide a novel way to realize topologically non-trivial band structures in an n-dimensional phase space. Here, the authors experimentally demonstrate the proposed necessary conditions to measure these states.

Computing, memories, and digital electronics are based on the operation principle of bi-stable systems. Here, Yaish et al. report the unusual non-linear behaviour of buckled up carbon nanotubes mechanical resonators, which allows high electrical frequency tunability and snap-through bi-stability.

Probing fundamental quantum systems and their phase change is interesting. Here the authors demonstrate the existence of mobile quantum solid phase composed of dimerized ³He atoms and topology-induced vacancies using ³He adsorbed on carbon nanotube.

This work experimentally demonstrates nano-electromechanically tunable asymmetric dielectric metasurfaces. The metasurfaces enable large phase tuning, high reflection, a wavelength-scale pixel size, and electrical control of diffraction patterns.

Designing an efficient platform that enables verbal communication without vocalization remains a challenge. Here, the authors propose a silent speech interface by utilizing a deep learning algorithm combined with strain sensors attached near the subject’s mouth, able to collect 100 words and classify at a high accuracy rate.