Visible light communication (VLC) is an emerging technology that uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) or laser diodes for simultaneous illumination and data communication. This technology is envisioned to be a major part of the solution to the current bottlenecks in data and wireless communication. However, the conventional lighting phosphors that are typically integrated with LEDs have limited modulation bandwidth and thus cannot provide the bandwidth required to realize the potential of VLC. In this work, we present a promising light converter for VLC by designing solution-processed CsPbBr 3 perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) with a conventional red phosphor. The fabricated CsPbBr 3 NC phosphor-based white light converter exhibits an unprecedented modulation bandwidth of 491 MHz, which is ∼40 times greater than that of conventional phosphors, and the capability to transmit a high data rate of up to 2 Gbit/s. Moreover, this perovskiteenhanced white light source combines ultrafast response characteristics with a high color rendering index of 89 and a correlated color temperature of 3236 K, thereby enabling dual VLC and solid-state lighting functionalities.

Hydrogen production via photoelectrochemical water-splitting is a key source of clean and sustainable energy. The use of one-dimensional nanostructures as photoelectrodes is desirable for photoelectrochemical water-splitting applications due to the ultralarge surface areas, lateral carrier extraction schemes, and superior light-harvesting capabilities. However, the unavoidable surface states of nanostructured materials create additional charge carrier trapping centers and energy barriers at the semiconductor-electrolyte interface, which severely reduce the solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency. In this work, we address the issue of surface states in GaN nanowire photoelectrodes by employing a simple and low-cost surface treatment method, which utilizes an organic thiol compound (i.e., 1,2-ethanedithiol). The surface-treated photocathode showed an enhanced photocurrent density of -31 mA/cm at -0.2 V versus RHE with an incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency of 18.3%, whereas untreated nanowires yielded only 8.1% efficiency. Furthermore, the surface passivation provides enhanced photoelectrochemical stability as surface-treated nanowires retained ∼80% of their initial photocurrent value and produced 8000 μmol of gas molecules over 55 h at acidic conditions (pH ∼ 0), whereas the untreated nanowires demonstrated only <4 h of photoelectrochemical stability. These findings shed new light on the importance of surface passivation of nanostructured photoelectrodes for photoelectrochemical applications.

We investigated the mechanisms of radiative recombination in a CH3NH3PbBr3 hybrid perovskite material using low-temperature, power-dependent (77 K), and temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) measurements. Two bound-excitonic radiative transitions related to grain size inhomogeneity were identified. Both transitions led to PL spectra broadening as a result of concurrent blue and red shifts of these excitonic peaks. The red-shifted bound-excitonic peak dominated at high PL excitation led to a true-green wavelength of 553 nm for CH3NH3PbBr3 powders that are encapsulated in polydimethylsiloxane. Amplified spontaneous emission was eventually achieved for an excitation threshold energy of approximately 350 μJ/cm2. Our results provide a platform for potential extension towards a true-green light-emitting device for solid-state lighting and display applications.

The high optical gain and absorption of organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites have attracted attention for photonic device applications. However, owing to the sensitivity of organic moieties to solvents and temperature, device processing is challenging, particularly for patterning. Here, we report the direct patterning of perovskites using chemically gas-assisted focused-ion beam (GAFIB) etching with XeF2 and I2 precursors. We demonstrate etching enhancement in addition to controllability and marginal surface damage compared to focused-ion beam (FIB) etching without precursors. Utilizing the GAFIB etching, we fabricated a uniform and periodic submicron perovskite subwavelength grating (SWG) absorber with broadband absorption and nanoscale precision. Our results demonstrate the use of FIB as a submicron patterning tool and a means of providing surface treatment (after FIB patterning to minimize optical loss) for perovskite photonic nanostructures. The SWG absorber can be patterned on perovskite solar cells to enhance the device efficiency through increasing light trapping and absorption.

Managing trap states and understanding their role in ultrafast charge-carrier dynamics, particularly at surface and interfaces, remains a major bottleneck preventing further advancements and commercial exploitation of nanowire (NW)-based devices. A key challenge is to selectively map such ultrafast dynamical processes on the surfaces of NWs, a capability so far out of reach of time-resolved laser techniques. Selective mapping of surface dynamics in real space and time can only be achieved by applying four-dimensional scanning ultrafast electron microscopy (4D S-UEM). Charge carrier dynamics are spatially and temporally visualized on the surface of InGaN NW arrays before and after surface passivation with octadecylthiol (ODT). The time-resolved secondary electron images clearly demonstrate that carrier recombination on the NW surface is significantly slowed down after ODT treatment. This observation is fully supported by enhancement of the performance of the light emitting device. Direct observation of surface dynamics provides a profound understanding of the photophysical mechanisms on materials' surfaces and enables the formulation of effective surface trap state management strategies for the next generation of high-performance NW-based optoelectronic devices.

A breakthrough in the development of 4D scanning ultrafast electron microscopy is described for real-time and space imaging of secondary electron energy loss and carrier diffusion on the surface of an array of nanowires as a model system, providing access to a territory that is beyond the reach of either static electron imaging or any time-resolved laser spectroscopy.

Currently the AlGaN-based ultraviolet (UV) solid-state lighting research suffers from numerous challenges. In particular, low internal quantum efficiency, low extraction efficiency, inefficient doping, large polarization fields, and high dislocation density epitaxy constitute bottlenecks in realizing high power devices. Despite the clear advantage of quantum-confinement nanostructure, it has not been widely utilized in AlGaN-based nanowires. Here we utilize the self-assembled nanowires (NWs) with embedding quantum-disks (Qdisks) to mitigate these issues, and achieve UV emission of 337 nm at 32 A/cm² (80 mA in 0.5 × 0.5 mm² device), a turn-on voltage of ~5.5 V and droop-free behavior up to 120 A/cm² of injection current. The device was grown on a titanium-coated n-type silicon substrate, to improve current injection and heat dissipation. A narrow linewidth of 11.7 nm in the electroluminescence spectrum and a strong wavefunctions overlap factor of 42% confirm strong quantum confinement within uniformly formed AlGaN/AlGaN Qdisks, verified using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The nitride-based UV nanowires light-emitting diodes (NWs-LEDs) grown on low cost and scalable metal/silicon template substrate, offers a scalable, environment friendly and low cost solution for numerous applications, such as solid-state lighting, spectroscopy, medical science and security.

High-density dislocations in materials and poor electrical conductivity of p-type AlGaN layers constrain the performance of the ultraviolet light emitting diodes and lasers at shorter wavelengths. To address those technical challenges, we design, grow, and fabricate a novel nanowire structure adopting a graded-index separate confinement heterostructure (GRINSCH) in which the active region is sandwiched between two compositionally graded AlGaN layers, namely a GRINSCH diode. Calculated electronic band diagram and carrier concentrations show an automatic formation of a p-n junction with electron and hole concentrations of ~10 18 /cm 3 in the graded AlGaN layers without intentional doping. The transmission electron microscopy experiment confirms the composition variation in the axial direction of the graded AlGaN nanowires. Significantly lower turn-on voltage of 6.5 V (reduced by 2.5 V) and smaller series resistance of 16.7 Ω (reduced by nearly four times) are achieved in the GRINSCH diode, compared with the conventional p-in diode. Such an improvement in the electrical performance is mainly attributed to the effectiveness of polarization-induced nand p-doping in the compositionally graded AlGaN layers. In consequence, the carrier transport and injection efficiency of the GRINSCH diode are greatly enhanced, which leads to a lower turn-on voltage, smaller series resistance, higher output power, and enhanced device efficiency. The calculated carrier distributions (both