Microsphere-assisted manipulation of a single Ag nanowire

Metal nanowires are promising building blocks for optoelectronic nanodevices, so their independent and precise manipulation is urgently needed. However, the direct optical manipulation methods are severely hampered due to the high absorption and scattering characteristics of the metal nanowires. Here, a microsphere-assisted indirect optical manipulation method is proposed, and precise manipulation of a single Ag nanowire is demonstrated in liquid. The microsphere is actuated to rotate to generate a microvortex by dynamic optical traps. Under the action of shear stress, the Ag nanowire within the microvortex can be controllably rotated and accurately orientated. By manipulating the position of the microsphere using a single optical trap, a precise positioning of the nanowire can be achieved under the action of pushing force. On this basis, the Ag nanowire-based structures were assembled. This indirect optical manipulation avoids the direct interaction between the light and the nanowires, which makes it independent of both the laser (power, wavelength) and the nanowire (material, size, and shape). Hence, the microsphere-assisted manipulation method is simple and general for independent and precise manipulation of a single nanowire, which is of great significance to the fabrication of optoelectronic nanodevices.

Optoelectronic Nanodevices

Over the last decade, novel materials such as graphene derivatives, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), other two-dimensional (2D) layered materials, perovskites, as well as metal oxides and other metal nanostructures have centralized the interest of the scientific community [...]

Broad spectral response of an individual tellurium nanobelt grown by molecular beam epitaxy

A photodetector with high performance based on an individual Te nanobelt provides a promising approach for further optoelectronic nanodevices.

Tuning the electronic and optical properties of hexagonal boron-nitride nanosheet by inserting graphene quantum dots

It is difficult to integrate two-dimensional (2D) graphene and hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) in optoelectronic nanodevices, due to the semi-metal and insulator characteristic of graphene and h-BN, respectively. Using the state-of-the-art first-principles calculations based on many-body perturbation theory, we investigate the electronic and optical properties of h-BN nanosheet embedded with graphene dots. We find that C atom impurities doped in h-BN nanosheet tend to phase-separate into graphene quantum dots (QD), and BNC hybrid structure, i.e. a graphene dot within a h-BN background, can be formed. The band gaps of BNC hybrid structures have an inverse relationship with the size of graphene dot. The calculated optical band gaps for BNC structures vary from 4.71 eV to 3.77 eV, which are much smaller than that of h-BN nanosheet. Furthermore, the valence band maximum is located in C atoms bonded to B atoms and conduction band minimum is located in C atoms bonded to N atoms, which means the electron and hole wave functions are closely distributed around the graphene dot. The bound excitons, localized around the graphene dot, determine the optical spectra of the BNC hybrid structures, in which the exciton binding energies decrease with increase in the size of graphene dots. Our results provide an important theoretical basis for the design and development of BNC-based optoelectronic nanodevices.

Improved electrical transport properties of an n-ZnO nanowire/p-diamond heterojunction

A heterojunction of n-ZnO nanowire/p-diamond was fabricated and exhibits improved electrical transport properties, which offer a promising design for developing optoelectronic nanodevices working at the nano-scale and with severe environments.