Nanoscale devices articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Efficient implementation of quantum dot and well architectures are restricted to costly vacuum-epitaxially-grown semiconductors. The authors use quantum dots in perovskite to build field-emission photodiodes that are sensitive across the visible and into the short-wavelength infrared.

    • F. Pelayo García de Arquer
    • , Xiwen Gong
    •  & Edward Sargent

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Although DNA nanopores are widely explored as synthetic membrane proteins, it is still unclear how the anionic DNA assemblies stably reside within the hydrophobic core of a lipid bilayer. Here, the authors use molecular dynamics simulations to reveal the key dynamic interactions and energetics stabilizing the nanopore-membrane interaction.

    • Vishal Maingi
    • , Jonathan R. Burns
    •  & Mark S. P. Sansom

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Two-dimensional materials have shown great promise as efficient chemical sensors. Here, the authors present a sensing mechanism to allow the detection of molecules based on dark excitons in atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides.

    • Maja Feierabend
    • , Gunnar Berghäuser
    •  & Ermin Malic

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Robust molecular junctions demand highly reproducible switching between two or more well-defined conductance states upon control. Here, Gerhardet al. show the utility of elastic deformation of tripodal spirobifluorene derivatives in the junction of a scanning tunnelling microscope to achieve this goal.

    • Lukas Gerhard
    • , Kevin Edelmann
    •  & Wulf Wulfhekel

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Losses of bandwidth are inevitable when interfacing between optical and electronic components. Here the authors present a switching device consisting of a two-dimensional disordered array of nanoholes that can potentially transfer information about 40 times faster than conventional switching devices.

    • Wonjun Choi
    • , Yonghyeon Jo
    •  & Wonshik Choi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Optomechanical systems could form logic gates, but key requirements are two stable static states and the ability to switch between them. Here, the authors observe radiation-pressure induced buckling transitions in an optomechanical system, and control this transition by varying laser power and detuning.

    • H. Xu
    • , U. Kemiktarak
    •  & J. M. Taylor

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here Duanet al. demonstrate dynamic plasmonic colour displays using catalytic magnesium metasurfaces. Controlled hydrogenation and dehydrogenation of the constituent nanoparticles, which serve as dynamic pixels, allow plasmonic colour printing, tuning, erasing, restoration of colour and encoding of information.

    • Xiaoyang Duan
    • , Simon Kamin
    •  & Na Liu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Thanks to its base stacking structure, DNA can behave as an electric wire, but external control of its electronic properties has not been achieved yet. Here, the authors show that DNA conductance can be switched electrochemically when a DNA base is replaced by the redox molecule anthraquinone.

    • Limin Xiang
    • , Julio L. Palma
    •  & Nongjian Tao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Pulsed electron beams with ultrafast duration are desirable to study atomic processes occurring over the natural time scales of electronic motion. Here the authors demonstrate the generation of electron pulses down to attosecond time scales by using optical gating and streaking method.

    • M. Kozák
    • , J. McNeur
    •  & P. Hommelhoff

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Aligning the resonances of sets of optical cavities is necessary for advanced photonics and sensing applications. Here, the authors introduce resonant photoelectrochemical etching as a method to collectively and permanently tune the resonant wavelengths of ensembles of resonators on a photonic chip.

    • Eduardo Gil-Santos
    • , Christopher Baker
    •  & Ivan Favero

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A challenge of using 2D materials for nanoelectronic devices is the need for defect-free lattice supporting efficient carrier transport. Here, the authors show theoretically that 2D topological insulators enable high-performance, low-power field-effect transistors without requiring defect-free materials.

    • William G. Vandenberghe
    •  & Massimo V. Fischetti

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Hybrid polariton states originating from the strong coupling of photonic and excitonic states hold promise for control of nonlinear light behaviour. Here, the authors fabricate a microcavity containing organic dye and WS2, featuring hybrid polaritons arising from both Frenkel and Wannier-Mott excitons.

    • Lucas C. Flatten
    • , David M. Coles
    •  & Jason M. Smith

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Solid-state emitters enable broadband quantum information storage, but they are affected by decoherence resulting from inhomogeneous broadening. Here the authors suppress this effect via cavity protection at the single photon level in an ensemble of rare-earth ions coupled to a nanophotonic resonator.

    • Tian Zhong
    • , Jonathan M. Kindem
    •  & Andrei Faraon

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Plasmonic dark modes are promising candidates for lasing applications. Here, Hakalaet al. show lasing at visible wavelengths in dark and bright modes of an array of silver nanoparticles combined with optically pumped dye molecules, opening up a route to utilization of all modes of plasmonic lattices.

    • T. K. Hakala
    • , H. T. Rekola
    •  & P. Törmä

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Light-matter interactions with single quantum emitters are generally difficult to measure with both high-resolution and a large field of view. Here, Johlin et al. develop far-field super-resolution fluorescence methods to map near-field emitter-nanostructure interactions over several microns.

    • Eric Johlin
    • , Jacopo Solari
    •  & Erik C. Garnett

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Tunnelling currents through molecular junctions are affected by quantum interference effects, but understanding the factors leading to them remains a challenge. Here the authors show that through-space conjugation in self-assembled monolayers leads to conformation-dependent quantum interference that suppresses conductivity.

    • Marco Carlotti
    • , Andrii Kovalchuk
    •  & Ryan C. Chiechi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Molecular magnets are molecules with an inherent non-zero spin that can exhibit magnetic ordering. Here, the authors show that such molecules can change the many-body ground state of nonmagnetic metals at a functional scale with magnetic phthalocyanines.

    • A. Atxabal
    • , M. Ribeiro
    •  & L. E. Hueso

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Flexible approaches are required for building plasmomechanical devices for tunable optical devices. Here, Roxworthyet al. introduce a plasmonic-nanoelectromechanical systems device where gap plasmon resonators are embedded into arrays of moving silicon nitride nanostructures, yielding thousands of devices per chip.

    • Brian J. Roxworthy
    •  & Vladimir A. Aksyuk

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Controlling the generation of light in nano-scale systems is a challenging task and is of growing importance. Here, Li et al. propose a means of controlling the wavefront of light emanating from a single nano scale emitter by holographic principles using a plasmonic metasurface.

    • Guanhai Li
    • , Brendan P. Clarke
    •  & Nikolay I. Zheludev

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here the authors demonstrate functionality for on-chip optical communications via reconfigurable exciton-plasmon interconversion in 200 nm-diameter silver nanowires overlapping onto two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide transistors.

    • Hyun Seok Lee
    • , Dinh Hoa Luong
    •  & Young Hee Lee

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Understanding the decay of persistent current in superconducting rings remains obscure. Here, the authors show detailed agreement between measurements of the persistent current in isolated flux-biased rings and Ginzburg-Landau theory over a wide range of parameters, providing a quantitative picture of the free energy landscape.

    • I. Petković
    • , A. Lollo
    •  & J. G. E. Harris

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Silicon is a promising material for realization of quantum processors, particularly as it could be naturally integrated with classical control hardware based on CMOS technology. Here the authors report a silicon qubit device made with an industry-standard fabrication process on a CMOS platform.

    • R. Maurand
    • , X. Jehl
    •  & S. De Franceschi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Piezoelectricity in diphenylalanine peptide nanotubes (PNTs) suggests an avenue towards green piezoelectric devices. Here the authors show ‘smart’ PNTs whose polarization can be controlled with an electric field, and a resultant power generator which harvests biomechanical energy with high power density.

    • Vu Nguyen
    • , Ren Zhu
    •  & Rusen Yang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    All-optical coherent control schemes offer well-localized and ultrafast control of individual qubits in many-qubit systems. Here the authors report on all-optical resonant and Raman-based control of single silicon vacancies using picosecond pulses, much faster than the ground state coherence time.

    • Jonas Nils Becker
    • , Johannes Görlitz
    •  & Christoph Becher

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Most microelectronic devices today exploit the electronic properties of semiconductors. Here, the authors demonstrate a microelectronic device for free-space electrons by using the enhanced fields in a microstructured metal surface to induce effective photoemission.

    • Ebrahim Forati
    • , Tyler J. Dill
    •  & Dan Sievenpiper

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Scalable quantum information processing requires controllable high-coherence qubits. Here, the authors present superconducting flux qubits with broad frequency tunability, strong anharmonicity and high reproducibility, identifying photon shot noise as the main source of dephasing for further improvements.

    • Fei Yan
    • , Simon Gustavsson
    •  & William D. Oliver

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Voltage control of magnetism in ferromagnetic semiconductor is appealing for spintronic applications, which is yet hindered by compound formation and low Curie temperature. Here, Nie et al. report electric-field control of ferromagnetism in MnxGe1−xnanomeshes with a Curie temperature above 400 K and controllable giant magnetoresistance.

    • Tianxiao Nie
    • , Jianshi Tang
    •  & Kang L. Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Single spin defects can allow high-resolution sensing of molecules under an applied magnetic field. Here, the authors propose a protocol for three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging with angstrom-level resolution exploiting the dipolar field of a spin qubit, such as a diamond nitrogen-vacancy.

    • V. S. Perunicic
    • , C. D. Hill
    •  & L.C.L. Hollenberg

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Visualizing surface plasmon polaritons at buried interfaces has remained elusive. Here, the authors develop a methodology to study the spatiotemporal evolution of buried near-fields within complex heterostructures, enabling the characterization of the next generation of plasmonic devices.

    • Tom T. A. Lummen
    • , Raymond J. Lamb
    •  & F. Carbone

  • Article
    | Open Access

    It has been suggested that strong field enhancement for high harmonic generation may be achievable with nano-antennas. Here, the authors show relevant field enhancement using a metal-sapphire nanostructure that provides a solid tip as the high harmonic emitter, replacing commonly used gaseous atoms.

    • Seunghwoi Han
    • , Hyunwoong Kim
    •  & Seung-Woo Kim

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Conventional electronics use electrons as charge carriers whereas biological systems use ions, confounding integration of electronics with biology. Here the authors show voltage-regulated flow of protons across a supported lipid bilayer using the ion channel Gramicidin A and the voltage-gated ion channel Alamethicin.

    • Zahra Hemmatian
    • , Scott Keene
    •  & Marco Rolandi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The energy harvesting potential of triboelectric nanogenerators is currently limited by their output power. Here, the authors design a triboelectric nanogenerator inspired by lightning generation, featuring an electric double layer that delivers impressive charge separation and electric potential.

    • Jinsung Chun
    • , Byeong Uk Ye
    •  & Jeong Min Baik

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Tests of the Bell-Kochen-Specker theorem aim at showing that the measurement statistics of a single qutrit are incompatible with noncontextual realism. Here, the authors use a superconducting qutrit with deterministic readouts to violate a noncontextuality inequality, ruling out several loopholes.

    • Markus Jerger
    • , Yarema Reshitnyk
    •  & Arkady Fedorov

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Molecular electronics holds promise to overcome scaling limits of conventional technologies, but is currently limited to low frequency operation. Here, Trasobares et al. show radio frequencies of up to 17.8 GHz in a molecular diode based on ferrocenyl undecanethiol self-assembled monolayers on gold nanodots.

    • J. Trasobares
    • , D. Vuillaume
    •  & N. Clément

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The stochastic nature of single-molecule charge transport measurements requires collection of large data sets to capture their full complexity. Here, the authors adopt strategies from machine learning for the unsupervised classification of single-molecule charge transport data without a prioriassumptions.

    • Mario Lemmer
    • , Michael S. Inkpen
    •  & Tim Albrecht

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Interface transparency between 2D semiconductors and superconductors is a longstanding problem, seriously hindering potential applications. Here, using a new hybrid system, Kjaergaard et al. report quantized conductance doubling and a hard superconducting gap measured via a quantum point contact, indicating a near pristine interface.

    • M. Kjaergaard
    • , F. Nichele
    •  & C. M. Marcus

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Evanescent coupling between surfaces separated by a distance smaller than the thermal wavelength can lead to radiative heat transfer greater than the blackbody limit. Here, the authors demonstrate this between two macroscopic-scale surfaces, paving the way to harnessing the effect in thermal devices.

    • Michael P. Bernardi
    • , Daniel Milovich
    •  & Mathieu Francoeur

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The charge injected from the tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope quickly spreads across the surface and can manipulate distant adsorbates. Here, the authors use this nonlocal manipulation to probe the ultrafast ballistic dynamics and coherent evolution of the injected charge carrier.

    • K. R. Rusimova
    • , N. Bannister
    •  & P. A. Sloan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides hold promise as scalable single-photon sources. Here, the authors demonstrate all-electrical, single-photon generation in tungsten disulphide and diselenide, achieving charge injection into the layers, containing quantum emitters.

    • Carmen Palacios-Berraquero
    • , Matteo Barbone
    •  & Mete Atatüre

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The need for intelligent compression of big data, for example in neuroscience, has sparked interest in neuromorphic data processing. Here, Gupta et al.use memristors as event integrators to encode and compress neuronal spiking activity recorded by multi-electrode arrays.

    • Isha Gupta
    • , Alexantrou Serb
    •  & Themistoklis Prodromakis

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Artificial DNA membrane channels are promising molecular devices for biotechnology but suffer from low affinity for lipid bilayers. Here, the authors report a large DNA nanopore that spontaneously inserts into a flat lipid membrane, driven by engineered hydrophobic or streptavidin-biotin interactions.

    • Swati Krishnan
    • , Daniela Ziegler
    •  & Friedrich C. Simmel

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mesoscopic electrical circuits are an ideal platform to explore quantum phenomena, but this requires cooling the electrons to very low temperature, which is challenging. Here, the authors employ three different in situthermometers to report electronic quantum transport at 6mK in a micrometer-scale circuit.

    • Z. Iftikhar
    • , A. Anthore
    •  & F. Pierre

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