Magnetic ground state of an individual Fe(2+) ion in strained semiconductor nanostructure

Mid-gap levels induced near-infrared response and photothermal catalytic degradation of chlortetracycline hydrochloride by (SnFe2)Ox under solar light

We present a comprehensive photocurrent characterization to explore the near-infrared (NIR) response and photothermal effects induced by mid-gap levels in (SnFe2)Ox (SFO) nanoparticles. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy revealed multiple mid-gap levels due to multivalent Fe ions. The SFO photocatalyst displayed a noticeable temperature rise under NIR irradiation and a considerable photothermal effect across the full solar spectrum during the photocatalytic degradation of chlortetracycline hydrochloride (CTC·HCl). In photothermal catalysis, after 150 min, SFO was able to remove 88% of CTC·HCl (60 mg/L), outperforming photocatalysis (79%) and thermal catalysis (73%). Rapid and slow response processes were observed in the photocurrent characterization under light-emitting diodes of different wavelengths (365-1500 nm), which revealed a clear dependence on the incident wavelength. Furthermore, innovative photocurrent response tests using alternating ultraviolet (UV) and NIR irradiation revealed that, in the presence of mid-gap levels, UV-excited electrons can aid NIR-excited electrons in achieving cascaded electron transitions, enhancing the utilization of NIR-excited electrons. Our findings demonstrate that mid-gap levels effectively improve the utilization of low-energy photons and boost the photocatalytic process through photothermal effects and increased active charge carrier density.

Magneto-Optical Stark Effect in Fe-Doped CdS Nanocrystals

Fe²⁺ doping in II-VI semiconductors, due to the absence of energetically accessible multiple spin state configurations, has not given rise to interesting spintronic applications. In this work, we demonstrate for the first time that the interaction of homogeneously doped Fe²⁺ ions with the host CdS nanocrystal with no clustering is different for the two spin states and produces two magnetically inequivalent excitonic states upon optical perturbation. We combine ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy and density functional theoretical analysis within the ground and excited states to demonstrate the presence of the magneto-optical Stark effect (MOSE). The energy gap between the spin states arising due to MOSE does not decay within the time frame of observation, unlike optical and electrical Stark shifts. This demonstration provides a stepping-stone for spin-dependent applications.

Magnetic field assisted high capacity durable Li-ion battery using magnetic α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles decorated expired drug derived N-doped carbon anode

We have synthesized a novel ferromagnetic material by coating α-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles with N-doped carbon matrix using a simple combustion method. Expired paracetamol drugs are used as nitrogen and carbon source. This α-Fe₂O₃/NC shows ferromagnetic property due to the incorporation of oxygen defects. When used as the Li-ion battery anode, α-Fe₂O₃/NC shows higher capacity compared to commercial α-Fe₂O₃ due to the occurrence of both intercalation and conversion reaction. Further, application of magnetic field at the anode of the freshly assembled cell at the first charge-discharge cycle, results in ~two-fold enhancement in specific capacity. For the cycled cell also, increase in the capacity from 80 mAh. g^-1 to 150 mAh. g^-1 at 5 A. g^-1 is observed during the application of magnetic field at the 501^st charging cycle. This improved performance is attributed to the field-dependent enhancement of diffusion and convection due to the magnetohydrodynamic effect. Further, application of the magnetic field at 1001^st, 1501^st and 1751^st charging cycles shows improved LIB performance. We can show that not only the magnetic field, magnetic properties of the anode α-Fe₂O₃/NC also play a crucial role in influencing the battery performance. Moreover, utilization of expired drug helps in dramatically reducing pollution caused by its disposal.

Ultra-long-working-distance spectroscopy of single nanostructures with aspherical solid immersion microlenses

In light science and applications, equally important roles are played by efficient light emitters/detectors and by the optical elements responsible for light extraction and delivery. The latter should be simple, cost effective, broadband, versatile and compatible with other components of widely desired micro-optical systems. Ideally, they should also operate without high-numerical-aperture optics. Here, we demonstrate that all these requirements can be met with elliptical microlenses 3D printed on top of light emitters. Importantly, the microlenses we propose readily form the collected light into an ultra-low divergence beam (half-angle divergence below 1°) perfectly suited for ultra-long-working-distance optical measurements (600 mm with a 1-inch collection lens), which are not accessible to date with other spectroscopic techniques. Our microlenses can be fabricated on a wide variety of samples, including semiconductor quantum dots and fragile van der Waals heterostructures made of novel two-dimensional materials, such as monolayer and few-layer transition metal dichalcogenides.

Directed Exciton Magnetic Polaron Formation in a Single Colloidal Mn2+:CdSe/CdS Quantum Dot

One of the most prominent signatures of transition-metal doping in colloidal nanocrystals is the formation of charge carrier-induced magnetization of the dopant spin sublattice, called exciton magnetic polaron (EMP). Understanding the direction of EMP formation, however, is still a major obstacle. Here, we present a series of temperature-dependent photoluminescence studies on single colloidal Mn²⁺:CdSe/CdS core/shell quantum dots (QDs) performed in a vector magnetic field providing a unique insight into the interaction between individual excitons and numerous magnetic impurities. The energy of the QD emission and its full width at half-maximum are controlled by the interplay of EMP formation and statistical magnetic fluctuations, in excellent agreement with theory. Most important, we give the first direct demonstration that anisotropy effects-hypothesized for more than a decade-dominate the direction of EMP formation. Our findings reveal a pathway for directing the orientation of optically induced magnetization in colloidal nanocrystals.

Readout of a dopant spin in the anisotropic quantum dot with a single magnetic ion

Owing to exchange interaction between the exciton and magnetic ion, a quantum dot embedding a single magnetic ion is a great platform for optical control of individual spin. In particular, a quantum dot provides strong and sharp optical transitions, which give experimental access to spin states of an individual magnetic ion. We show, however, that physics of quantum dot excitons also complicate spin readout and optical spin manipulation in such a system. This is due to electron-hole exchange interaction in anisotropic quantum dots, which affects the polarisation of the emission lines. One of the consequences is that the intensity of spectral lines in a single spectrum are not simply proportional to the population of various spin states of magnetic ion. In order to provide a solution of the above problem, we present a method of extracting both the spin polarisation degree of a neutral exciton and magnetic dopant inside a semiconductor quantum dot in an external magnetic field. Our approach is experimentally verified on a system of CdSe/ZnSe quantum dot containing a single Fe²⁺ ion. Both the resonant and non-resonant excitation regimes are explored resulting in a record high optical orientation efficiency of dopant spin in the former case. The proposed solutions can be easily expanded to any other system of quantum dots containing magnetic dopants.

Resonance Raman Spectroscopy of Mn-Mgk Cation Complexes in GaN

Resonance Raman analysis is performed in order to gain insight into the nature of impurity-induced Raman features in GaN:(Mn,Mg) hosting Mn-Mgk cation complexes and representing a prospective strategic material for the realization of full-nitride photonic devices emitting in the infra-red. It is found that in contrast to the case of GaN:Mn, the resonance enhancement of Mn-induced modes at sub-band excitation in Mg co-doped samples is not observed at an excitation of 2.4 eV, but shifts to lower energies, an effect explained by a resonance process involving photoionization of a hole from the donor level of Mn to the valence band of GaN. Selective excitation within the resonance Raman conditions allows the structure of the main Mn-induced phonon band at ~670 cm−1 to be resolved into two distinct components, whose relative intensity varies with the Mg/Mn ratio and correlates with the concentration of different Mn-Mgk cation complexes. Moreover, from the relative intensity of the 2LO and 1LO Raman resonances at inter-band excitation energy, the Huang-Rhys parameter has been estimated and, consequently, the strength of the electron-phonon interaction, which is found to increase linearly with the Mg/Mn ratio. Selective temperature-dependent enhancement of the high-order multiphonon peaks is due to variation in resonance conditions of exciton-mediated outgoing resonance Raman scattering by detuning the band gap.

Mechanisms of optical orientation of an individual Mn2+ ion spin in a II-VI quantum dot

We provide a theoretical description of the optical orientation of a single Mn2+ ion spin under quasi-resonant excitation demonstrated experimentally by Goryca et al (2009 Phys. Rev. Lett. 103 087401). We build and analyze a hierarchy of models by starting with the simplest assumptions (transfer of perfectly spin-polarized excitons from Mn-free dot to the other dot containing a single Mn2+ spin, followed by radiative recombination) and subsequently adding more features, such as spin relaxation of electrons and holes. Particular attention is paid to the role of the influx of the dark excitons and the process of biexciton formation, which are shown to contribute significantly to the orientation process in the quasi-resonant excitation case. Analyzed scenarios show how multiple features of the excitonic complexes in magnetically-doped quantum dots, such as the values of exchange integrals, spin relaxation times, etc, lead to a plethora of optical orientation processes, characterized by distinct dependencies on light polarization and laser intensity, and occurring on distinct timescales. Comparison with experimental data shows that the correct description of the optical orientation mechanism requires taking into account Mn2+ spin-flip processes occurring not only when the exciton is already in the orbital ground state of the light-emitting dot, but also those that happen during the exciton transfer from high-energy states to the ground state. Inspired by the experimental results on energy relaxation of electrons and holes in nonmagnetic dots, we focus on the process of biexciton creation allowed by mutual spin-flip of an electron and the Mn2+ spin, and we show that by including it in the model, we obtain good qualitative and quantitative agreement with the experimental data on quasi-resonantly driven Mn2+ spin orientation.

Giant Excitonic Exchange Splittings at Zero Field in Single Colloidal CdSe Quantum Dots Doped with Individual Mn2+ Impurities

Replacing a single atom of a host semiconductor nanocrystal with a functional dopant can introduce completely new properties potentially valuable for "solotronic" information-processing applications. Here, we report successful doping of colloidal CdSe quantum dots with a very small number of manganese ions-down to the ultimate limit of one. Single-particle spectroscopy reveals spectral fingerprints of the spin-spin interactions between individual dopants and quantum-dot excitons. Spectrally well-resolved emission peaks are observed that can be related to the discrete spin projections of individual Mn²⁺ ions. In agreement with theoretical predictions, the exchange splittings are enhanced by more than an order of magnitude in these quantum dots compared to their epitaxial counterparts, opening a path for solotronic applications at elevated temperatures.

Comparison of magneto-optical properties of various excitonic complexes in CdTe and CdSe self-assembled quantum dots

We present a comparative study of two self-assembled quantum dot (QD) systems based on II-VI compounds: CdTe/ZnTe and CdSe/ZnSe. Using magneto-optical techniques we investigated a large population of individual QDs. The systematic photoluminescence studies of emission lines related to the recombination of neutral exciton X, biexciton XX, and singly charged excitons (X(+), X(-)) allowed us to determine average parameters describing CdTe QDs (CdSe QDs): X-XX transition energy difference 12 meV (24 meV); fine-structure splitting δ1=0.14 meV (δ1=0.47 meV); g-factor g  =  2.12 (g  =  1.71); diamagnetic shift γ=2.5 μeV T(-2) (γ =1.3 μeV T(-2)). We find also statistically significant correlations between various parameters describing internal structure of excitonic complexes.