No Arabic abstract
Sensing response of individual single-crystal titania nanowires configured as chemiresistors for detecting reducing (CO, H2) and oxidizing (O2) gases is shown to be sensitive to visible light illumination. It is assumed that doping of the TiO2 nanowires with C and/or N during carbon assisted vapor-solid growth creates extrinsic states in the band gap close to the valence band maximum, which enables photoactivity at the photon energies of visible light. The inherently large surface-to-volume ratio of nanowires, along with facile transport of the photo-generated carriers to/from the nanowires surface promote the adsorption/desorption of donor/acceptor molecules, and therefore open the possibility for visible light assisted gas sensing. The photo-catalytic performance of TiO2 nanowire chemiresistors demonstrates the prospect of combining light harvesting and sensing action in a single nanostructure.
We demonstrate aqueous refractive index sensing with 15 to 30 {mu}m diameter silicon nitride microdisk resonators to detect small concentrations of Li salt. A dimpled-tapered fiber is used to couple 780 nm visible light to the microdisks, in order to perform spectroscopy their optical resonances. The dimpled fiber probe allows testing of multiple devices on a chip in a single experiment. This sensing system is versatile and easy to use, while remaining competitive with other refractometric sensors. For example, from a 20 {mu}m diameter device we measure a sensitivity of 200 $pm$ 30 nm/RIU with a loaded quality factor of 1.5 $times$ 10$^4$, and a limit of detection down to (1.3 $pm$ 0.1) $times$ 10$^{-6}$ RIU.
Fast modulation and switching of light at visible and near-infrared (vis-NIR) frequencies is of utmost importance for optical signal processing and sensing technologies. No fundamental limit appears to prevent us from designing wavelength-sized devices capable of controlling the light phase and intensity at gigaherts (and even terahertz) speeds in those spectral ranges. However, this problem remains largely unsolved, despite recent advances in the use of quantum wells and phase-change materials for that purpose. Here, we explore an alternative solution based upon the remarkable electro-optical properties of graphene. In particular, we predict unity-order changes in the transmission and absorption of vis-NIR light produced upon electrical doping of graphene sheets coupled to realistically engineered optical cavities. The light intensity is enhanced at the graphene plane, and so is its absorption, which can be switched and modulated via Pauli blocking through varying the level of doping. Specifically, we explore dielectric planar cavities operating under either tunneling or Fabry-Perot resonant transmission conditions, as well as Mie modes in silicon nanospheres and lattice resonances in metal particle arrays. Our simulations reveal absolute variations in transmission exceeding 90% as well as an extinction ratio >15 dB with small insertion losses using feasible material parameters, thus supporting the application of graphene in fast electro-optics at vis-NIR frequencies.
The main challenge to exploiting plasmons for gas vibrational mode sensing is the extremely weak infrared absorption of gas species. In this work, we explore the possibility of trapping free gas molecules via surface adsorption, optical, or electrostatic fields to enhance gas-plasmon interactions and to increase plasmon sensing ability. We discuss the relative strengths of these trapping forces and found gas adsorption in a typical nanoribbon array plasmonic setup produces measurable dips in optical extinction of magnitude 0.1 % for gas concentration of about parts per thousand level.
Dispersive charge sensing is realized in hybrid semiconductor-superconductor nanowires in gate-defined single- and double-island device geometries. Signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) were measured both in the frequency and time domain. Frequency-domain measurements were carried out as a function of frequency and power and yield a charge sensitivity of $1 times 10^{-3} e/sqrt{rm Hz}$ for an 11 MHz measurement bandwidth. Time-domain measurements yield SNR > 1 for 20 $mu$s integration time. At zero magnetic field, photon-assisted tunneling was detected dispersively in a double-island geometry, indicating coherent hybridization of the two superconducting islands. At an axial magnetic field of 0.6 T, subgap states are detected dispersively, demonstrating the suitability of the method for sensing in the topological regime.
We study structural and chemical transformations induced by focused laser beam in GaAs nanowires with axial zinc-blende/wurtzite (ZB/WZ) heterostucture. The experiments are performed using a combination of transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Raman scattering, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. For the both components of heterostructure, laser irradiation under atmospheric air is found to produce a double surface layer which is composed of crystalline arsenic and of amorphous GaO$_{x}$. The latter compound is responsible for appearance of a peak at 1.76 eV in photoluminescence spectra of GaAs nanowires. Under increased laser power density, due to sample heating, evaporation of the surface crystalline arsenic and formation of $beta$-Ga$_{2}$O$_{3}$ nanocrystals proceed on surface of the zinc-blende part of nanowire. The formed nanocrystals reveal a photoluminescence band in visible range of 1.7-2.4 eV. At the same power density for wurtzite part of the nanowire, total amorphization with formation of $beta$-Ga$_{2}$O$_{3}$ nanocrystals occurs. Observed transformation of WZ-GaAs to $beta$-Ga$_{2}$O$_{3}$ nanocrystals presents an available way for creation of axial and radial heterostuctures ZB-GaAs/$beta$-Ga$_{2}$O$_{3}$ for optoelectronic and photonic applications.