P3HT-graphene bilayer electrode for Schottky junction photodetectors

We have investigated the effect of a poly (3-hexylthiophene-2.5-diyl)(P3HT)-graphene bilayer electrode on the photoresponsivity characteristics of Si-based Schottky photodetectors. P3HT, which is known to be an electron donor and absorb light in the visible spectrum, was placed on CVD grown graphene by dip-coating method. The results of the UV-vis and Raman spectroscopy measurements have been evaluated to confirm the optical and electronic modification of graphene by the P3HT thin film. Current-voltage measurements of graphene/Si and P3HT-graphene/Si revealed rectification behavior confirming a Schottky junction formation at the graphene/Si interface. Time-resolved photocurrent spectroscopy measurements showed the devices had excellent durability and a fast response speed. We found that the maximum spectral photoresponsivity of the P3HT-graphene/Si photodetector increased more than three orders of magnitude compared to that of the bare graphene/Si photodetector. The observed increment in the photoresponsivity of the P3HT-graphene/Si samples was attributed to the charge transfer doping from P3HT to graphene within the spectral range between near-ultraviolet and near-infrared. Furthermore, the P3HT-graphene electrode was found to improve the specific detectivity and noise equivalent power of graphene/Si photodetectors. The obtained results showed that the P3HT-graphene bilayer electrodes significantly improved the photoresponsivity characteristics of our samples and thus can be used as a functional component in Si-based optoelectronic device applications.

The local nature of incompressibility of quantum Hall effect

Since the experimental realization of the integer quantum Hall effect in a two-dimensional electron system, the interrelation between the conductance quantization and the topological properties of the system has been investigated. Assuming that the two-dimensional electron system is described by a Bloch Hamiltonian, system is insulating in the bulk of sample throughout the quantum Hall plateau due to a magnetic field induced energy gap. Meanwhile, the system is conducting at the edges resembling a 2+1 dimensional topological insulator without time-reversal symmetry. Here, by our magneto-transport measurements performed on GaAs/AlGaAs high purity Hall bars with two inner contacts we show that incompressible strips formed at the edges result in Hall quantization, even if the bulk is compressible. Consequently, the relationship between the quantum Hall effect and topological bulk insulator breaks for specific field intervals within the plateaus. The measurement of conducting bulk, strongly challenges all existing single-particle theories.

Edge current quantization in the integer quantum Hall effect is understood to arise due to noninteracting electrons circulating an incompressible insulating bulk. Here, the authors evidence compressible metal-like bulk behaviour in GaAs/AlGaAs Hall bars consistent with electronic interactions.

Anomalous resistance overshoot in the integer quantum Hall effect

In this work we report on experiments performed on smooth edge-narrow Hall bars. The magneto-transport properties of intermediate mobility two-dimensional electron systems are investigated and analyzed within the screening theory of the integer quantized Hall effect. We observe a non-monotonic increase of Hall resistance at the low magnetic field ends of the quantized plateaus, known as the overshoot effect. Unexpectedly, for Hall bars that are defined by shallow chemical etching the overshoot effect becomes more pronounced at elevated temperatures. We observe the overshoot effect at odd and even integer plateaus, which favor a spin independent explanation, in contrast to discussion in the literature. In a second set of the experiments, we investigate the overshoot effect in gate defined Hall bar and explicitly show that the amplitude of the overshoot effect can be directly controlled by gate voltages. We offer a comprehensive explanation based on scattering between evanescent incompressible channels.