Artistic depiction of electron transfer driven by an ultrashort laser pulse, across an interface between two atomically-thin materials. This transfer is facilitated by an interlayer ‘bridge’ state that electrons are able to access due to lattice vibrations in both materials. Credit: Gregory M. Stewart/SLACResearchers are exploring the potential applications of two-dimensional materials in transistors and optoelectronics, as semiconductor devices continue to become smaller.
“Our work shows that we need to go beyond the analogy of Lego blocks to understand stacks of disparate 2D materials, even though the layers aren’t strongly bonded to one another,” said Archana Raja, a scientist at the“The seemingly distinct layers, in fact, communicate through shared electronic pathways, allowing us to access and eventually design properties that are greater than the sum of the parts.
From left, Stanford University’s Aaron Lindenberg, Aditya Sood, and Felipe Jornada are among the scientists who discovered a highly efficient mechanism for energy transfer between two-dimensional materials. Credit: Jacqueline Ramseyer Orrell/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, the team used a technique known as ultrafast electron diffraction to measure the temperatures of the individual layers while optically exciting electrons in just the WSe2 layer.
“It was very surprising to see the two layers heat up almost simultaneously after photoexcitation and it motivated us to zero in on a deeper understanding of what was going on,” said Raja.
Energy Energy Latest News, Energy Energy Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: SciTechDaily1 - 🏆 84. / 68 Read more »