Directional and Polarized Emission from Nanowire Arrays

Emission Directionality of 3D-Printed Photonic Nanowires

Photonic devices can be advanced by increasing the density of the integrated optical components. As the integration density increases, the potential for signal interference between adjacent components, optical crosstalk, becomes a concern. To address the crosstalk issue, it is crucial to identify the emission directionality of the integrated optical components. In this study, we investigate the emission directionality of 3D printed light-emitting nano/microwires. We experimentally and numerically showed that when the diameter is reduced below the single-mode cutoff, the emission becomes noticeably directional. In addition, our demonstrations on pairs of closely positioned wires show that optical crosstalk can be effectively avoided by reducing the diameter to the nanoscale to exploit the strong directionality of its emission. We expect that our study can be applied to various fundamental research and applications in the fields of photonics, optical communication, sensing, and imaging, where the directionality of the emissions is crucial.

Enhanced spontaneous radiation of quantum dots based on modulated anapole states in dielectric metamaterial

Dielectric nanostructures exhibit low-loss electrical and magnetic resonance, making them ideal for quantum information processing. In this study, the periodic double-groove silicon nanodisk (DGSND) is used to support the anapole state. Based on the distribution properties of the electromagnetic field in anapole states, the anapoles are manipulated by cutting the dielectric metamaterial. Quantum dots (QDs) are used to stimulate the anapole and control the amplification of the photoluminescence signal within the QDs. By opening symmetrical holes in the long axis of the nanodisk in the dielectric metamaterial, the current distribution of Mie resonance can be adjusted. As a result, the toroidal dipole moment is altered, leading to an enhanced electric field (E-field) and Purcell factor. When the dielectric metamaterial is deposited on the Ag substrate separated by the silicon dioxide (SiO2) layer, the structure exhibits ultra-narrow perfect absorption with even higher E-field and Purcell factor enhancement compared to silicon (Si) nanodisks.

Sub-Nanomolar Detection of Oligonucleotides Using Molecular Beacons Immobilized on Lightguiding Nanowires

The detection of oligonucleotides is a central step in many biomedical investigations. The most commonly used methods for detecting oligonucleotides often require concentration and amplification before detection. Therefore, developing detection methods with a direct read-out would be beneficial. Although commonly used for the detection of amplified oligonucleotides, fluorescent molecular beacons have been proposed for such direct detection. However, the reported limits of detection using molecular beacons are relatively high, ranging from 100 nM to a few µM, primarily limited by the beacon fluorescence background. In this study, we enhanced the relative signal contrast between hybridized and non-hybridized states of the beacons by immobilizing them on lightguiding nanowires. Upon hybridization to a complementary oligonucleotide, the fluorescence from the surface-bound beacon becomes coupled in the lightguiding nanowire core and is re-emitted at the nanowire tip in a narrower cone of light compared with the standard 4π emission. Prior knowledge of the nanowire positions allows for the continuous monitoring of fluorescence signals from each nanowire, which effectively facilitates the discrimination of signals arising from hybridization events against background signals. This resulted in improved signal-to-background and signal-to-noise ratios, which allowed for the direct detection of oligonucleotides at a concentration as low as 0.1 nM.

Polarization-Tuned Fano Resonances in All-Dielectric Short-Wave Infrared Metasurface

The short-wave infrared (SWIR) is an underexploited portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in metasurface-based nanophotonics despite its strategic importance in sensing and imaging applications. This is mainly attributed to the lack of material systems to tailor light-matter interactions in this range. Herein, this limitation is addressed and an all-dielectric silicon-integrated metasurface enabling polarization-induced Fano resonance control at SWIR frequencies is demonstrated. The platform consists of a 2D Si/Ge_0.9 Sn_0.1 core/shell nanowire array on a silicon wafer. By tuning the light polarization, it is shown that the metasurface reflectance can be efficiently engineered due to Fano resonances emerging from the electric and magnetic dipoles competition. The interference of optically induced dipoles in high-index nanowire arrays offers additional degrees of freedom to tailor the directional scattering and the flow of light while enabling sharp polarization-modulated resonances. This tunablity is harnessed in nanosensors yielding an efficient detection of 10^-2 changes in the refractive index of the surrounding medium.

Fluorescence excitation enhancement by waveguiding nanowires

The optical properties of vertical semiconductor nanowires can allow an enhancement of fluorescence from surface-bound fluorophores, a feature proven useful in biosensing. One of the contributing factors to the fluorescence enhancement is thought to be the local increase of the incident excitation light intensity in the vicinity of the nanowire surface, where fluorophores are located. However, this effect has not been experimentally studied in detail to date. Here, we quantify the excitation enhancement of fluorophores bound to a semiconductor nanowire surface by combining modelling with measurements of fluorescence photobleaching rate, indicative of the excitation light intensity, using epitaxially grown GaP nanowires. We study the excitation enhancement for nanowires with a diameter of 50-250 nm and show that excitation enhancement reaches a maximum for certain diameters, depending on the excitation wavelength. Furthermore, we find that the excitation enhancement decreases rapidly within tens of nanometers from the nanowire sidewall. The results can be used to design nanowire-based optical systems with exceptional sensitivities for bioanalytical applications.

Crystal field splitting and spontaneous polarization in InP crystal phase quantum dots

Crystal phase quantum dots are formed by vertically stacking zinc-blende and wurtzite phases during nanowire growth. In this work, we show, using an atomistic many-body approach, that crystal field splitting in the wurtzite phase, as well as spontaneous polarization originating from the phase interfaces, will strongly affect the properties of lowest hole states in InP crystal phase quantum dots, and in turn the excitonic optical spectra. We also show that the artifact-free modeling of crystal phase quantum dots should incorporate any additional potentials on equal footing with the electron-hole interaction. In this paper, we discuss a reliable theoretical framework that can be applied to investigate the electronic and optical properties of InP-based crystal phase quantum dots. The importance of accurate excitonic calculations for such systems is highlighted in view of their potential applications in nanowire photonics, yet further research is necessary for bringing theory and experiment in agreement.

Enhanced Optical Biosensing by Aerotaxy Ga(As)P Nanowire Platforms Suitable for Scalable Production

Sensitive detection of low-abundance biomolecules is central for diagnostic applications. Semiconductor nanowires can be designed to enhance the fluorescence signal from surface-bound molecules, prospectively improving the limit of optical detection. However, to achieve the desired control of physical dimensions and material properties, one currently uses relatively expensive substrates and slow epitaxy techniques. An alternative approach is aerotaxy, a high-throughput and substrate-free production technique for high-quality semiconductor nanowires. Here, we compare the optical sensing performance of custom-grown aerotaxy-produced Ga(As)P nanowires vertically aligned on a polymer substrate to GaP nanowires batch-produced by epitaxy on GaP substrates. We find that signal enhancement by individual aerotaxy nanowires is comparable to that from epitaxy nanowires and present evidence of single-molecule detection. Platforms based on both types of nanowires show substantially higher normalized-to-blank signal intensity than planar glass surfaces, with the epitaxy platforms performing somewhat better, owing to a higher density of nanowires. With further optimization, aerotaxy nanowires thus offer a pathway to scalable, low-cost production of highly sensitive nanowire-based platforms for optical biosensing applications.

Polarization Control in Integrated Silicon Waveguides Using Semiconductor Nanowires

In this work, we show the design of a silicon photonic-based polarization converting device based on the integration of semiconduction InP nanowires on the silicon photonic platform. We present a comprehensive numerical analysis showing that full polarization conversion (from quasi-TE modes to quasi-TM modes, and vice versa) can be achieved in devices exhibiting small footprints (total device lengths below 20 µm) with minimal power loss (<2 dB). The approach described in this work can pave the way to the realization of complex and re-configurable photonic processors based on the manipulation of the state of polarization of guided light beams.

Robust Protection of III-V Nanowires in Water Splitting by a Thin Compact TiO2 Layer

Narrow-band-gap III-V semiconductor nanowires (NWs) with a suitable band structure and strong light-trapping ability are ideal for high-efficiency low-cost solar water-splitting systems. However, due to their nanoscale dimension, they suffer more severe corrosion by the electrolyte solution than the thin-film counterparts. Thus, short-term durability is the major obstacle for using these NWs for practical water-splitting applications. Here, we demonstrated for the first time that a thin layer (∼7 nm thick) of compact TiO₂ deposited by atomic layer deposition can provide robust protection to III-V NWs. The protected GaAs NWs maintain 91.4% of its photoluminescence intensity after 14 months of storage in ambient atmosphere, which suggests the TiO₂ layer is pinhole-free. Working as a photocathode for water splitting, they exhibited a 45% larger photocurrent density compared with unprotected counterparts and a high Faraday efficiency of 91% and can also maintain a record-long highly stable performance among narrow-band-gap III-V NW photoelectrodes; after 67 h photoelectrochemical stability test reaction in a strong acid electrolyte solution (pH = 1), they show no apparent indication of corrosion, which is in stark contrast to the unprotected NWs that fully failed after 35 h. These findings provide an effective way to enhance both stability and performance of III-V NW-based photoelectrodes, which are highly important for practical applications in solar-energy-based water-splitting systems.

Light-emitting metalenses and meta-axicons for focusing and beaming of spontaneous emission

Phased-array metasurfaces have been extensively used for wavefront shaping of coherent incident light. Due to the incoherent nature of spontaneous emission, the ability to similarly tailor photoluminescence remains largely unexplored. Recently, unidirectional photoluminescence from InGaN/GaN quantum-well metasurfaces incorporating one-dimensional phase profiles has been shown. However, the possibility of generating arbitrary two-dimensional waveforms—such as focused beams—is not yet realized. Here, we demonstrate two-dimensional metasurface axicons and lenses that emit collimated and focused beams, respectively. First, we develop off-axis meta-axicon/metalens equations designed to redirect surface-guided waves that dominate the natural emission pattern of quantum wells. Next, we show that photoluminescence properties are well predicted by passive transmission results using suitably engineered incident light sources. Finally, we compare collimating and focusing performances across a variety of different light-emitting metasurface axicons and lenses. These generated two-dimensional phased-array photoluminescence waveforms facilitate future development of light sources with arbitrary functionalities.

Controlling radiation emission using metamaterials is of interest for light sources and other applications. Here, the authors develop generalized phased-array metasurface equations and design metasurface axicons and lenses to collimate and focus the spontaneous emission, respectively.

Symmetry Reduction in FEM Optics Modeling of Single and Periodic Nanostructures

Numerical optics modeling is an invaluable tool in the design of nanostructures for nanophotonics applications where diffraction effects often lead to complex dependency between the nanostructure geometry and its optical properties and response. In order to analyze, design, and optimize such nanostructures, computationally efficient numerical optics modeling methods are required. One way to improve the numerical performance is to exploit symmetries found in many optics problems. By identifying equivalencies and restrictions arising from symmetry, it can be possible to simplify the problem at hand, which is the essence of symmetry reduction. However, applying symmetry reduction in optics modeling problems is not trivial. To the best of our knowledge, symmetry reduction has so-far been applied in finite element method (FEM) optics models only in those specific cases where an incident plane wave shares symmetries with the nanostructure geometry. In this work, we show how to extend the symmetry reduction of FEM optics models to the case of nonsymmetric plane-wave incidence, demonstrate such reduction with numerical examples of incident plane wave absorption in a single nanowire and a periodic nanowire array, and discuss the achieved gains in computational efficiency.

Polarization-Sensitive Halide Perovskites for Polarized Luminescence and Detection: Recent Advances and Perspectives

While halide perovskites (HPs) have achieved enormous success in the field of optoelectronic applications, much attention has been recently drawn to the unique polarization sensitivity of HPs, either intrinsic or extrinsic, which makes HPs a potential candidate for innovative applications in directly polarized luminescence and detection. Herein, the research status in the field of polarization-sensitive HPs, including linear polarization and circular polarization, is comprehensively summarized. To evaluate the effectiveness of HPs in generating and detecting linearly or circularly polarized light, the principles and characterization methods of polarized luminescence and detection are introduced. Sequentially, the state-of-the-art development of the strategies that induce the linear or circular polarization characteristics of HPs is systematically reviewed, based on which the application of polarization-sensitive HPs in the field of polarization luminescence and detection are summarized. Moreover, the current challenges and opportunities are discussed, and prospects of the future development in this promising field are outlined.

GaInP nanowire arrays for color conversion applications

Color conversion by (tapered) nanowire arrays fabricated in GaInP with bandgap emission in the red spectral region are investigated with blue and green source light LEDs in perspective. GaInP nano- and microstructures, fabricated using top-down pattern transfer methods, are derived from epitaxial Ga0.51In0.49P/GaAs stacks with pre-determined layer thicknesses. Substrate-free GaInP micro- and nanostructures obtained by selectively etching the GaAs sacrificial layers are then embedded in a transparent film to generate stand-alone color converting films for spectrophotometry and photoluminescence experiments. Finite-difference time-domain simulations and spectrophotometry measurements are used to design and validate the GaInP structures embedded in (stand-alone) transparent films for maximum light absorption and color conversion from blue (450 nm) and green (532 nm) to red (~ 660 nm) light, respectively. It is shown that (embedded) 1 μm-high GaInP nanowire arrays can be designed to absorb ~ 100% of 450 nm and 532 nm wavelength incident light. Room-temperature photoluminescence measurements with 405 nm and 532 nm laser excitation are used for proof-of-principle demonstration of color conversion from the embedded GaInP structures. The (tapered) GaInP nanowire arrays, despite very low fill factors (~ 24%), can out-perform the micro-arrays and bulk-like slabs due to a better in- and out-coupling of source and emitted light, respectively.

Lock-in Ultrafast Electron Microscopy Simultaneously Visualizes Carrier Recombination and Interface-Mediated Trapping

Visualizing charge carrier flow over interfaces or near surfaces meets great challenges concerning resolution and vastly different time scales of bulk and surface dynamics. Ultrafast or four-dimensional scanning electron microscopy (USEM) using a laser pump electron probe scheme circumvents the optical diffraction limit, but disentangling surface-mediated trapping and ultrafast carrier dynamics in a single measurement scheme has not yet been demonstrated. Here, we present lock-in USEM, which simultaneously visualizes fast bulk recombination and slow trapping. As a proof of concept, we show that the surface termination on GaAs, i.e., Ga or As, profoundly influences ultrafast movies. We demonstrate the differences can be attributed to trapping-induced surface voltages of approximately 100-200 mV, which is further supported by secondary electron particle tracing calculations. The simultaneous visualization of both competing processes opens new perspectives for studying carrier transport in layered, nanostructured, and two-dimensional semiconductors, where carrier trapping constitutes a major bottleneck for device efficiency.

Geometry Tailoring of Emission from Semiconductor Nanowires and Nanocones

Semiconductor nanowires are of interest as light emitters in applications such as light-emitting diodes and single-photon sources. Due to the three-dimensional geometry in combination with a size comparable to the wavelength of the emitted light, nanowires have shown strong scattering effects for the emitted light. Here, we demonstrate with electromagnetic modeling that the emission properties of nanowires/nanocones show a complicated dependence on the geometry of the nanowire/nanocone, the shape and position of the emitter region, and the polarization of the emitter. We show that with proper design, the extraction efficiency can close in on 80% for as-grown single nanowires/nanocones. Importantly, we demonstrate how the internal quantum efficiency of the emitter plays a large role in the design process. A considerably different geometry design approach should be undertaken at low and high internal quantum efficiency. Due to the complicated design optimization, we strongly recommend the use of electromagnetic modeling of the emission to give guidance for suitable designs before starting the fabrication and processing of nanowire/nanocone-based light emitters.

Spin-Photon Coupling in Organic Chiral Crystals

Organic chiral materials have brought attention due to their potential application in the area of spin-optics and optoelectronics. Compared with traditional achiral materials, the chirality generated orbital angular momentum (CGO) is one of the key properties for chiral materials. Here, organic nanocrystals with chirality are fabricated to study the effect of the CGO on the magneto-optic coupling. The CGO affects spin states through spin-orbital coupling, which will suppress spin relaxation time to tens of picoseconds. Furthermore, spin states in chiral crystals will be further tuned by the external magnetic field to demonstrate the dependence of spin-photon coupling effects on the magnetic field.

Magnetic and Electric Control of Circularly Polarized Emission through Tuning Chirality-Generated Orbital Angular Momentum in Organic Helical Polymeric Nanofibers

Circularly polarized light emission promotes the development of smart photonic materials for advanced applications in chiral sensing and information storage. The orbital angular momentum is a unique property for organic chiral helical materials. In this work, a type of organic chiral polymeric nanowires is designed with strong chirality induced orbital angular momentum. Under the stimulus of an external magnetic field of 600 mT, circularly polarized emission from the chiral polymeric nanowire becomes more pronounced, where the g factor increases from 0.21 to 0.3. The observed phenomena mainly originate from the chirality-dependent orbital angular momentum. Moreover, the orbital angular momentum in helical chiral nanowire structures can be suppressed by inhibiting electron transport in a helical way to diminish circularly polarized light emission at room temperature.

Single-Molecule Detection with Lightguiding Nanowires: Determination of Protein Concentration and Diffusivity in Supported Lipid Bilayers

Determining the surface concentration and diffusivity of cell-membrane-bound molecules is central to the understanding of numerous important biochemical processes taking place at cell membranes. Here we use the high aspect ratio and lightguiding properties of semiconductor nanowires (NWs) to detect the presence of single freely diffusing proteins bound to a lipid bilayer covering the NW surface. Simultaneous observation of light-emission dynamics of hundreds of individual NWs occurring on the time scale of only a few seconds is interpreted using analytical models and employed to determine both surface concentration and diffusivity of cholera toxin subunit B (CTxB) bound to GM1 gangliosides in supported lipid bilayer (SLB) at surface concentrations down to below one CTxB per μm². In particular, a decrease in diffusivity was observed with increasing GM1 content in the SLB, suggesting increasing multivalent binding of CTxB to GM1. The lightguiding capability of the NWs makes the method compatible with conventional epifluorescence microscopy, and it is shown to work well for both photostable and photosensitive dyes. These features make the concept an interesting complement to existing techniques for studying the diffusivity of low-abundance cell-membrane-bound molecules, expanding the rapidly growing use of semiconductor NWs in various bioanalytical sensor applications and live cell studies.

Combining 1D and 2D waveguiding in an ultrathin GaAs NW/Si tandem solar cell

As an effective means to surpass the Shockley-Queisser efficiency limit, tandem solar cells have been successfully designed and used for years. However, there are still economical and design set-backs hampering the terrestrial implementation of tandem solar cells. Introducing high efficiency, thin Si-based tandem cells that are flexible in design (shape and curvature) will be the next major step towards integrating highly efficient solar cells into fashionable designs of today's buildings and technologies. In this work we present an optically coupled tandem cell that consists of a GaAs nanowire array on a 2μm-thick Si film as the top and bottom cells, respectively. By performing FDTD simulations, we show that coupling the incident light to guided modes of the 1D wires not only boosts the absorption in the wires, but also efficiently transfers the below bandgap photons to the Si bottom cell. Due to diffraction by the nanowire array the momentum of the transmitted light is matched to that of guided modes of the 2D Si thin film. Consequently, infrared light is up to four times more efficiently trapped in the Si bottom cell compared to when the film is not covered by the nanowires.

Characterization of nanowire light-emitting diodes grown by selective-area metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy

We report a systematic study on the current injection and radiative carrier recombination in InP nanowire (NW) light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The InP NWs with axial p-n structures, grown by selective-area metal organic vapor-phase epitaxy, had mixed crystal structures between those of zincblende and wurtzite, mainly in the p-regions. The temperature dependence of the current-voltage (I-V), electroluminescence (EL), and current-light output (I-L) characteristics was investigated. The temperature dependence of the I-V characteristics revealed that tunneling was the main mechanism of carrier transport through the p-n junction in the present NW-LEDs. The temperature and bias voltage dependences of EL showed a complex but systematic behavior, where peaks exhibiting bias-dependent and independent energy positions coexisted and the relative intensity showed a transition with increasing temperature. The external quantum efficiency showed a droop at low temperatures, indicating a reduced injection efficiency at low temperatures. These observations were explained by the radiative and nonradiative tunneling, and suggested a strong effect of the nonradiative tunneling at low temperatures.

Demonstration of extrinsic chirality of photoluminescence with semiconductor-metal hybrid nanowires

Chiral optical response is an inherent property of molecules and nanostructures, which cannot be superimposed on their mirror images. In specific cases, optical chirality can be observed also for symmetric structures. This so-called extrinsic chirality requires that the mirror symmetry is broken by the geometry of the structure together with the incident or emission angle of light. From the fabrication point of view, the benefit of extrinsic chirality is that there is no need to induce structural chirality at nanoscale. This paper reports demonstration extrinsic chirality of photoluminescence emission from asymmetrically Au-coated GaAs-AlGaAs-GaAs core-shell nanowires fabricated on silicon by a completely lithography-free self-assembled method. In particular, the extrinsic chirality of PL emission is shown to originate from a strong symmetry breaking of fundamental HE₁₁ waveguide modes due to the presence of the asymmetric Au coating, causing preferential emission of left and right-handed emissions in different directions in the far field.

Nanowires for High-Efficiency, Low-Cost Solar Photovoltaics

Solar energy is abundant, clean, and renewable, making it an ideal energy source. Solar cells are a good option to harvest this energy. However, it is difficult to balance the cost and efficiency of traditional thin-film solar cells, whereas nanowires (NW) are far superior in making high-efficiency low-cost solar cells. Therefore, the NW solar cell has attracted great attention in recent years and is developing rapidly. Here, we review the great advantages, recent breakthroughs, novel designs, and remaining challenges of NW solar cells. Special attention is given to (but not limited to) the popular semiconductor NWs for solar cells, in particular, Si, GaAs(P), and InP.

Ultrathin CsPbX3 Nanowire Arrays with Strong Emission Anisotropy

1D nanowires of all-inorganic lead halide perovskites represent a good architecture for the development of polarization-sensitive optoelectronic devices due to their high absorption efficient, emission yield, and dielectric constants. However, among as-fabricated perovskite nanowires with the lateral dimensions of hundreds nanometers so far, the optical anisotropy is hindered and rarely explored owing to the invalidating of electrostatic dielectric mismatch in the physical dimensions. Here, well-aligned CsPbBr₃ and CsPbCl₃ nanowires with thickness T down to 15 and 7 nm, respectively, are synthesized using a vapor phase van der Waals epitaxial method. Strong emission anisotropy with polarization ratio up to ≈0.78 is demonstrated in the nanowires with T < 40 nm due to the electrostatic dielectric confinement. With the increasing of thickness, the polarization ratio remarkably reduces monotonously to ≈0.17 until T ≈140 nm; and further oscillates in a small amplitude owing to the wave characteristic of light. These findings not only represent a demonstration of perovskite-based polarization-sensitive light sources, but also advance fundamental understanding of their polarization properties of perovskite nanowires.

Directional Emission of Fluorescent Dye-Doped Dielectric Nanogratings for Lighting Applications

By structuring a luminescent dielectric interface as a relief diffraction grating with nanoscale features, it is possible to control the intensity and direction of the emitted light. The composite structure of the grating is based on a fluorescent dye (Lumogen F RED 305) dispersed in a polymeric matrix (poly(methyl methacrylate)). Measurements demonstrate a significant enhancement of the emitted light for specific directions and wavelengths when the grating interface is compared to nonstructured thin films made of the same material. In particular, the maximum enhancement of photoluminescence for a given pump wavelength is obtained at an angle of incidence that is close to the Rayleigh anomaly condition for the first-order diffracted waves. In this condition, the maximum extinction of incident light is observed. Upon excitation with coherent and monochromatic sources, photoluminescence plots show that the Rayleigh anomalies confine the angular interval of the emitted light. Being the anomalies  directly related to the pitch of the diffraction grating, the system can be thus implemented as an optical device whose directional emission can be designed for specific applications. The exploitation of nanoimprinting techniques for the fabrication of the luminescent grating enables production of the device on large areas, paving the way for low-cost lighting and solar applications.

Efficient Green Emission from Wurtzite Al xIn1- xP Nanowires

Direct band gap III-V semiconductors, emitting efficiently in the amber-green region of the visible spectrum, are still missing, causing loss in efficiency in light emitting diodes operating in this region, a phenomenon known as the "green gap". Novel geometries and crystal symmetries however show strong promise in overcoming this limit. Here we develop a novel material system, consisting of wurtzite Al _xIn_{1- x}P nanowires, which is predicted to have a direct band gap in the green region. The nanowires are grown with selective area metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy and show wurtzite crystal purity from transmission electron microscopy. We show strong light emission at room temperature between the near-infrared 875 nm (1.42 eV) and the "pure green" 555 nm (2.23 eV). We investigate the band structure of wurtzite Al _xIn_{1- x}P using time-resolved and temperature-dependent photoluminescence measurements and compare the experimental results with density functional theory simulations, obtaining excellent agreement. Our work paves the way for high-efficiency green light emitting diodes based on wurtzite III-phosphide nanowires.

Anisotropic-Strain-Induced Band Gap Engineering in Nanowire-Based Quantum Dots

Tuning light emission in bulk and quantum structures by strain constitutes a complementary method to engineer functional properties of semiconductors. Here, we demonstrate the tuning of light emission of GaAs nanowires and their quantum dots up to 115 meV by applying strain through an oxide envelope. We prove that the strain is highly anisotropic and clearly results in a component along the NW longitudinal axis, showing good agreement with the equations of uniaxial stress. We further demonstrate that the strain strongly depends on the oxide thickness, the oxide intrinsic strain, and the oxide microstructure. We also show that ensemble measurements are fully consistent with characterizations at the single-NW level, further elucidating the general character of the findings. This work provides the basic elements for strain-induced band gap engineering and opens new avenues in applications where a band-edge shift is necessary.

Doughnut-shaped emission from vertical organic nanowire coupled to thin plasmonic film

Vertical nanowires facilitate an innovative mechanism to channel the optical field in the orthogonal direction and act as a nanoscale light source. Subwavelength, vertically oriented nanowire platforms, both of plasmonic and semiconducting variety, can facilitate interesting far-field emission profiles and potentially carry orbital angular momentum states. Motivated by these prospects, in this Letter, we show how a hybrid plasmonic-organic platform can be harnessed to engineer far-field radiation. The system that we have employed is an organic nanowire made of diaminoanthroquinone grown on a plasmonic gold film. We experimentally and numerically studied angular distribution of surface plasmon polariton mediated emission from a single, vertical organic nanowire by utilizing evanescent excitation and Fourier plane microscopy. Photoluminescence and elastic scattering from a single nanowire was analyzed individually in terms of inplane momentum states of the outcoupled photons. We found that the emission is doughnut-shaped in both photoluminescence and elastic scattering regimes. We anticipate that the discussed results can be relevant in designing efficient, polariton-mediated nanoscale photon sources that can carry orbital angular momentum states.

Measurement of Nanowire Optical Modes Using Cross-Polarization Microscopy

A method to detect optical modes from vertical InGaAs nanowires (NWs) using cross-polarization microscopy is presented. Light scattered from the optical modes in the NWs is detected by filtering out the polarized direct reflection with a crossed polarizer. A spectral peak and a valley were seen to red-shift with increasing NW diameter in the measured spectra. The peak was assigned to scattering from the TE₀₁ optical mode and the valley was an indication of the HE₁₁ mode, based on finite-element and scattering matrix method simulations. The cross-polarization method can be used to experimentally determine the spectral positions of the TE₀₁ and HE₁₁ optical modes. The modes are significantly more visible in comparison to conventional reflectance measurements. The method can be beneficial in the characterization of NW solar cells, light-emitting diodes and lasers where precise mode control is required.

Quantum Dot Emission Driven by Mie Resonances in Silicon Nanostructures

Resonant dielectric nanostructures represent a promising platform for light manipulation at the nanoscale. In this paper, we describe an active photonic system based on Ge(Si) quantum dots coupled to silicon nanodisks. We show that Mie resonances govern the enhancement of the photoluminescent signal from embedded quantum dots due to a good spatial overlap of the emitter position with the electric field of Mie modes. We identify the coupling mechanism, which allows for engineering the resonant Mie modes through the interaction of several nanodisks. In particular, the mode hybridization in a nanodisk trimer results in an up to 10-fold enhancement of the luminescent signal due to the excitation of resonant antisymmetric magnetic and electric dipole modes.

Epitaxial Nanoflag Photonics: Semiconductor Nanoemitters Grown with Their Nanoantennas

Semiconductor nanostructures are desirable for electronics, photonics, quantum circuitry, and energy conversion applications as well as for fundamental science. In photonics, optical nanoantennas mediate the large size difference between photons and semiconductor nanoemitters or detectors and hence are instrumental for exhibiting high efficiency. In this work we present epitaxially grown InP nanoflags as optically active nanostructures encapsulating the desired characteristics of a photonic emitter and an efficient epitaxial nanoantenna. We experimentally characterize the polarized and directional emission of the nanoflag-antenna and show the control of these properties by means of structure, dimensions, and constituents. We analyze field enhancement and light extraction by the semiconductor nanoflag antenna, which yield comparable values to enhancement factors of metallic plasmonic antennas. We incorporated quantum emitters within the nanoflag structure and characterized their emission properties. Merging of active nanoemitters with nanoantennas at a single growth process enables a new class of devices to be used in nanophotonics applications.

Integrating Sphere Microscopy for Direct Absorption Measurements of Single Nanostructures

Nanoscale materials are promising for optoelectronic devices because their physical dimensions are on the order of the wavelength of light. This leads to a variety of complex optical phenomena that, for instance, enhance absorption and emission. However, quantifying the performance of these nanoscale devices frequently requires measuring absolute absorption at the nanoscale, and remarkably, there is no general method capable of doing so directly. Here, we present such a method based on an integrating sphere but modified to achieve submicron spatial resolution. We explore the limits of this technique by using it to measure spatial and spectral absorptance profiles on a wide variety of nanoscale systems, including different combinations of weakly and strongly absorbing and scattering nanomaterials (Si and GaAs nanowires, Au nanoparticles). This measurement technique provides quantitative information about local optical properties that are crucial for improving any optoelectronic device with nanoscale dimensions or nanoscale surface texturing.

Pseudodirect to Direct Compositional Crossover in Wurtzite GaP/InxGa1-xP Core-Shell Nanowires

Thanks to their uniqueness, nanowires allow the realization of novel semiconductor crystal structures with yet unexplored properties, which can be key to overcome current technological limits. Here we develop the growth of wurtzite GaP/In_xGa_1-xP core-shell nanowires with tunable indium concentration and optical emission in the visible region from 590 nm (2.1 eV) to 760 nm (1.6 eV). We demonstrate a pseudodirect (Γ_8c-Γ_9v) to direct (Γ_7c-Γ_9v) transition crossover through experimental and theoretical approach. Time resolved and temperature dependent photoluminescence measurements were used, which led to the observation of a steep change in carrier lifetime and temperature dependence by respectively one and 3 orders of magnitude in the range 0.28 ± 0.04 ≤ x ≤ 0.41 ± 0.04. Our work reveals the electronic properties of wurtzite In_xGa_1-xP.

Local electric field enhancement at the heterojunction of Si/SiGe axially heterostructured nanowires under laser illumination

We present a phenomenon concerning electromagnetic enhancement at the heterojunction region of axially heterostructured Si/SiGe nanowires when the nanowire is illuminated by a focused laser beam. The local electric field is sensed by micro Raman spectroscopy, which allows the enhancement of the Raman signal arising from the heterojunction region to be revealed; the Raman signal per unit volume increases at least ten times with respect to the homogeneous Si and SiGe nanowire segments. In order to explore the physical meaning of this phenomenon, a three-dimensional solution of the Maxwell equations of the interaction between the focused laser beam and the nanowire was carried out by finite element methods. A local enhancement of the electric field at the heterojunction was deduced. However, the magnitude of the electromagnetic field enhancement only approaches the experimental one when the free carriers are considered, showing enhanced absorption at the carrier depleted heterojunction region. The existence of this effect promises a way of improving photon harvesting using axially heterostructured semiconductor nanowires.

CdS@SiO2 Core-Shell Electroluminescent Nanorod Arrays Based on a Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor Structure

Enormous advancement has been achieved in the field of one-dimensional (1D) semiconductor light-emitting devices (LEDs), however, LEDs based on 1D CdS nanostructures have been rarely reported. The fabrication of CdS@SiO₂ core-shell nanorod array LEDs based on a Au-SiO₂ -CdS metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) structure is presented. The MIS LEDs exhibit strong yellow emission with a low threshold voltage of 2.7 V. Electroluminescence with a broad emission ranging from 450 nm to 800 nm and a shoulder peak at 700 nm is observed, which is related to the defects and surface states of the CdS nanorods. The influence of the SiO₂ shell thickness on the electroluminescence intensity is systematically investigated. The devices have a high light-emitting spatial resolution of 1.5 μm and maintain an excellent emission property even after shelving at room temperature for at least three months. Moreover, the fabrication process is simple and cost effective and the MIS device could be fabricated on a flexible substrate, which holds great potential for application as a flexible light source. This prototype is expected to open up a new route towards the development of large-scale light-emitting devices with excellent attributes, such as high resolution, low cost, and good stability.

Boosting Solar Cell Photovoltage via Nanophotonic Engineering

Approaching the theoretically limiting open circuit voltage (V_oc) of solar cells is crucial to optimize their photovoltaic performance. Here, we demonstrate experimentally that nanostructured layers can achieve a fundamentally larger Fermi level splitting, and thus a larger V_oc, than planar layers. By etching tapered nanowires from planar indium phosphide (InP), we directly compare planar and nanophotonic geometries with the exact same material quality. We show that the external radiative efficiency of the nanostructured layer at 1 sun is increased by a factor 14 compared to the planar layer, leading to a 70 mV enhancement in V_oc. The higher voltage arises from both the enhanced outcoupling of photons, which promotes radiative recombination, and the lower active material volume, which reduces bulk recombination. These effects are generic and promise to enhance the efficiency of current record planar solar cells made from other materials as well.

Opportunities and Limitations for Nanophotonic Structures To Exceed the Shockley-Queisser Limit

Nanophotonic engineering holds great promise for photovoltaics, with several recently proposed approaches that have enabled efficiencies close to the Shockley-Queisser limit. Here, we theoretically demonstrate that suitably designed nanophotonic structures may be able to surpass the 1 sun Shockley-Queisser limit by utilizing tailored directivity of the scattering response of nanoparticles. We show that large absorption cross sections do not play a significant role in the efficiency enhancement, and on the contrary, directivity enhancement constitutes the nanoscale equivalent to concentration in macroscopic photovoltaic systems. Based on this principle, we discuss fundamental limits to the efficiency based on directivity bounds and a number of approaches to get close to these limits. We also highlight that, in practice, achieving efficiencies above the Shockley-Queisser limit is strongly hindered by whether high short-circuit currents can be maintained. Finally, we discuss how our results are affected by the presence of significant nonradiative recombination, in which case both directivity and photon escape probability should be increased to achieve voltage enhancement.

All-Dielectric Antenna Wavelength Router with Bidirectional Scattering of Visible Light

An optical antenna forms the subwavelength bridge between free space optical radiation and localized electromagnetic energy. Its localized electromagnetic modes strongly depend on its geometry and material composition. Here, we present the design and experimental realization of a novel V-shaped all-dielectric antenna based on high-index amorphous silicon with a strong magnetic dipole resonance in the visible range. As a result, it exhibits extraordinary bidirectional scattering into diametrically opposite directions. The scattering direction is effectively controlled by the incident wavelength, rendering the antenna a passive bidirectional wavelength router. A detailed multipole decomposition analysis reveals that the excitation and abrupt phase change of an out-of-plane polarized magnetic dipole and an in-plane electric quadrupole are essential for the directivity switching. Previously, noble metals have been extensively exploited for plasmonic directional nanoantenna design. However, these inevitably suffer from high intrinsic ohmic losses and a relatively weak magnetic response to the incident light. Compared to a similar gold plasmonic nanoantenna design, we show that the silicon-based antennas demonstrate stronger magnetic scattering with minimal absorption losses. Our results indicate that all-dielectric antennas will open exciting possibilities for efficient manipulation of light-matter interactions.

Mode Switching and Filtering in Nanowire Lasers

Coherent light sources confining the light below the vacuum wavelength barrier will drive future concepts of nanosensing, nanospectroscopy, and photonic circuits. Here, we directly image the angular emission of such a light source based on single semiconductor nanowire lasers. It is confirmed that the lasing switches from the fundamental mode in a thin ZnO nanowire to an admixture of several transverse modes in thicker nanowires approximately at the multimode cutoff. The mode competition with higher order modes substantially slows down the laser dynamics. We show that efficient photonic mode filtering in tapered nanowires selects the desired fundamental mode for lasing with improved performance including power, efficiency, and directionality important for an optimal coupling between adjacent nanophotonic waveguides.