Xuan Wang

Quantum dot (QD) solids are emerging materials for many optoelectronic applications. To enhance interdot coupling and charge transport, surface ligands can be removed, allowing individual QDs to be attached along specific crystal orientations (termed "oriented attachment"). Optimizing the electronic and optical properties of QD solids demands a comprehensive understanding of the nanoscale energy flow in individual and attached QDs under photoexcitation. In this work, we employed ultrafast electron diffraction to directly measure how oriented attachment along < 100 > directions affects the nonequilibrium lattice dynamics of lead selenide QDs. The oriented attachment anisotropically alters the ultrafast energy relaxation along specific crystal axes. Along the < 100 > directions, both the lattice deformation and atomistic random motions are suppressed in comparison with those of individual QDs. Conversely, the effects are enhanced along the unattached < 111 > directions due to ligand removal. The oriented attachment switches the major lattice thermalization pathways from < 100 > to < 111 > directions.

A thorough understanding of the photocarrier relaxation dynamics in semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) is essential to optimize their device performance. However, resolving hot carrier kinetics under high excitation conditions with multiple excitons per dot is challenging because it convolutes several ultrafast processes, including Auger recombination, carrier- phonon scattering, and phonon thermalization. Here, we report a systematic study of the lattice dynamics induced by intense photoexcitation in PbSe QDs. By probing the dynamics from the lattice perspective using ultrafast electron diffraction together with modeling the correlated processes collectively, we can differentiate their roles in photocarrier relaxation. The results reveal that the observed lattice heating time scale is longer than that of carrier intraband relaxation obtained previously using transient optical spectroscopy. Moreover, we find that Auger recombination efficiently annihilates excitons and speeds up lattice heating. This work can be readily extended to other semiconductor QDs systems with varying dot sizes.

To integrate a terahertz pump into an ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) experiment has attracted much attention due to its potential to initiate and detect the structural dynamics both directly. However, the deflection of the electron probe by the electromagnetic field of the terahertz pump alters the incident angle of the electron probe on the sample, impeding it from recording structural information afterwards. In this article, we studied this issue by a theoretical simulation of the terahertz-induced deflection effect on the electron probe, and came up with several possible schemes to reduce such effect. As a result, a terahertz-pump-electron-probe UED experiment with a temporal resolution comparable to the terahertz period is realized. We also found that MeV UED was more suitable for such terahertz pump experiment.

It is essential to develop pattern-related process windows on substrate surface for reducing the dislocation density of wide bandgap semiconductor film growth. For extremely high instantaneous intensity and excellent photon absorption rate, femtosecond lasers are currently being increasingly adopted. However, the mechanism of the femtosecond laser developing pattern-related process windows on the substrate remains to be further revealed. In this paper, a model is established based on the Fokker–Planck equation and the two-temperature model (TTM) equation to simulate the ablation of a sapphire substrate under the action of a femtosecond laser. The transient nonlinear evolutions such as free electron density, absorption coefficient, and electron–lattice temperature are obtained. This paper focuses on simulating the multiphoton absorption of sapphire under femtosecond lasers of different wavelengths. The results show that within the range of 400 to 1030 nm, when the wavelength is large, the number of multiphoton required for ionization is larger, and wider and shallower ablation pits can be obtained. When the wavelength is smaller, the number of multiphoton is smaller, narrower and deeper ablation pits can be obtained. Under the simulation conditions presented in this paper, the minimum ablation pit depth can reach 0.11 μm and the minimum radius can reach 0.6 μm. In the range of 400 to 1030 nm, selecting a laser with a shorter wavelength can achieve pattern-related process windows with a smaller diameter, which is beneficial to increase the density of pattern-related process windows on the substrate surface. The simulation is consistent with existing theories and experimental results, and further reveals the transient nonlinear mechanism of the femtosecond laser developing the pattern-related process windows on the sapphire substrate.

With the rapid demand for underwater optical communication (UOC), studies of UOC degradation by oceanic turbulence have attached increasing attention worldwide and become a research hot-spot in recent years. Previous studies used a simplified and inaccurate oceanic turbulence spectrum, in which the eddy diffusivity ratio between temperature and salinity is assumed to be unity and the outer scale of turbulence is assumed to be infinite. However, both assumptions are not true in most of the actual marine environments. In this paper, based on the Rytov theory in weak turbulence, we derive analytical expressions of “the aperture-averaged scintillation index” (SI) for both plane and spherical waves, which can clearly demonstrate how SI is influenced by several key factors in UOC. Then, typical fade statistics of the UOC system in weak turbulence is discussed including the probability of fade, the expected number of fades per time, the mean fade time, signal-to-noise ratio and bit error rate. Our results show that spherical wave is preferable in the UOC system in weak turbulence compared to plane wave, and the aperture-averaged effect has a significant impact on UOC system’s performance. Our results can be used to determine those key parameters for designing the UOC system over reasonable ranges.

We studied the thermal transport across a GaAs/AlGaAs interface using time-resolved Reflection High Energy Electron Diffraction. The lattice temperature change of the GaAs nanofilm was directly monitored and numerically simulated using diffusive heat equations based on Fourier's Law. The extracted thermal boundary resistances (TBRs) were found to decrease with increasing lattice temperature imbalance across the interface. The TBRs were found to agree well with the Diffuse Mismatch Model in the diffusive transport region, but showed evidence of further decrease at temperatures higher than Debye temperature, opening up questions about the mechanisms governing heat transfer at interfaces between very similar semiconductor nanoscale materials under highly non-equilibrium conditions.