Related papers: Structural phase transitions between layered Indiu…
Revealing the bonding and time-evolving atomic dynamics in functional materials with complex lattice structures can update the fundamental knowledge on rich physics therein, and also help to manipulate the material properties as desired. As…
Using a modified Lennard-Jones model for anisotropic particles, we present results of molecular dynamics simulation in two dimensions. In one-component systems, we find crystallization, a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless phase, and a…
We harness non-volatile, amorphous-crystalline transitions in the chalcogenide phase-change medium germanium antimony telluride (GST) to realize optically-switchable, all-dielectric metamaterials. Nanostructured, subwavelength-thickness…
The discovery of novel phases of matter is at the core of modern physics. In quantum materials, subtle variations in atomic-scale interactions can induce dramatic changes in macroscopic properties and drive phase transitions. Despite their…
While recent advances in reconfigurable photonics have provided new avenues for manipulating light on the subwavelength scale, on-demand control of infrared absorption remains elusive. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a plasmonic…
First-principles calculations are performed to investigate the effects of the adsorption of gas molecules (CO, NO, NO2, H2S, N2, H2O, O2, NH3 and H2) on the electronic properties of atomically thin indium selenium (InSe). Our study shows…
We use density functional theory to calculate the electronic band structures, cohesive energies, phonon dispersions, and optical absorption spectra of two-dimensional In$_2$X$_2$ crystals, where X is S, Se, or Te. We identify two…
Geometrical confinement effect in exfoliated sheets of layered materials leads to significant evolution of energy dispersion with decreasing layer thickness. Molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) was recently found to exhibit indirect to direct gap…
Structural transformations at interfaces are of profound fundamental interest as complex examples of phase transitions in low-dimensional systems. Despite decades of extensive research, no compelling evidence exists for structural…
We study parametric interactions in a new type of nonlinear photonic structures, which is realized in the vicinity of a pair of nonlinear crystals. In this kind of structure, which we call binary, multiple nonlinear optical processes can be…
Volatile threshold resistive switching and neuronal oscillations in phase-change materials, specifically those undergoing metal-to-insulator transitions, offer unique attributes such as fast and low-field volatile switching, tunability, and…
Ultrathin topological insulator membranes are building blocks of exotic quantum matter. However, traditional epitaxy of these materials does not facilitate stacking in arbitrary orders, while mechanical exfoliation from bulk crystals is…
Radiation-tolerant semiconductors have traditionally been engineered by the principle of suppressing defect accumulation and amorphization, based on the assumption that radiation damage is inherently stochastic. Here we show that, in…
We introduce multilayer structures with the phase-change material Ge$_2$Sb$_2$Te$_5$ (GST) for use as broadband switchable absorbers in the infrared wavelength range. We optimize both the material composition and the layer thicknesses of…
Scalable programmable photonic integrated circuits (PICs) can potentially transform the current state of classical and quantum optical information processing. However, traditional means of programming, including thermo-optic, free carrier…
Reconfigurable beam splitters capable of being arbitrarily programmed for the power splitting ratios are vital for the adaptive optical networks and photonic computing. Conventional mechanisms such as thermo-optic, free-carrier, or…
Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides with direct bandgaps are emerging candidates for microelectronics, nano-photonics, and optoelectronics. Transferred onto photonic integrated circuits (PICs), these semiconductor materials have…
Silicon telluride (Si2Te3) is a two-dimensional semiconductor with unique structural properties due to the size contrast between Si and Te atoms. A recent experiment shows that the material turns metallic under hydrostatic pressure, while…
Selective optical excitation of a substrate lattice can drive phase changes across hetero-interfaces. This phenomenon is a non-equilibrium analogue of static strain control in heterostructures and may lead to new applications in optically…
Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) exist in various crystal structures with semiconducting, semi-metallic, and metallic properties. The dynamic control of these phases is of immediate interest for next generation electronics such as…