Water-ice transformation of few nm nanodroplets plays a critical role in nature including climate change, microphysics of clouds, survival mechanism of animals in cold environments, and a broad spectrum of technologies. In most of these scenarios, water-ice transformation occurs in a heterogenous mode where nanodroplets are in contact with another medium. Despite computational efforts, experimental probing of this transformation at few nm scales remains unresolved. Here, we report direct probing of water-ice transformation down to 2 nm scale and the length-scale dependence of transformation temperature through two independent metrologies. The transformation temperature shows a sharp length dependence in nanodroplets smaller than 10 nm and for 2 nm droplet, this temperature falls below the homogenous bulk nucleation limit. Contrary to nucleation on curved rigid solid surfaces, ice formation on soft interfaces (omnipresent in nature) can deform the interface leading to suppression of ice nucleation. For soft interfaces, ice nucleation temperature depends on surface modulus. Considering the interfacial deformation, the findings are in good agreement with predictions of classical nucleation theory. This understanding contributes to a greater knowledge of natural phenomena and rational design of anti-icing systems for aviation, wind energy and infrastructures and even cryopreservation systems.

Semiconducting cubic boron arsenide (c-BAs) has been predicted to have carrier mobility of 1400 square centimeters per volt-second for electrons and 2100 square centimeters per volt-second for holes at room temperature. Using pump-probe transient reflectivity microscopy, we monitored the diffusion of photoexcited carriers in single-crystal c-BAs to obtain their mobility. With near-bandgap 600-nanometer pump pulses, we found a high ambipolar mobility of 1550 ± 120 square centimeters per volt-second, in good agreement with theoretical prediction. Additional experiments with 400-nanometer pumps on the same spot revealed a mobility of >3000 square centimeters per volt-second, which we attribute to hot electrons. The observation of high carrier mobility, in conjunction with high thermal conductivity, enables an enormous number of device applications for c-BAs in high-performance electronics and optoelectronics.

No abstract

Cubic boron arsenide (BAs) is attracting greater attention due to the recent experimental demonstration of ultrahigh thermal conductivity above 1000 W/m·K. However, its bandgap has not been settled and a simple yet effective method to probe its crystal quality is missing. Furthermore, traditional  measurement methods are destructive and time consuming, thus they cannot meet the urgent demand for fast screening of high  materials. After we experimentally established 1.82 eV as the indirect bandgap of BAs and observed room-temperature band-edge photoluminescence, we developed two new optical techniques that can provide rapid and non-destructive characterization of  with little sample preparation: photoluminescence mapping (PL-mapping) and time-domain thermo-photoluminescence (TDTP). PL-mapping provides nearly real-time image of crystal quality and  over mm-sized crystal surfaces; while TDTP allows us to pick up any spot on the sample surface and measure its  using nanosecond laser pulses.These new techniques reveal that the apparent single crystals are not only non-uniform in , but also are made of domains of very distinct . Because PL-mapping and TDTP are based on the band-edge PL and its dependence on temperature, they can be applied to other semiconductors, thus paving the way for rapid identification and development of high- semiconducting materials.

No abstract

Lead-free highly luminescent CsCu2I3 perovskite has attracted much attention recently, but agreements on basic optical properties have remained unsettled. By correlating X-ray diffraction with the photoluminescence (PL) of CsCu2I3 single-crystal wires, we first show that blue PL at 420 nm originates from CuI. We then exclude defect states as a source for the broadband emission centered at 570 nm from the lack of defect absorption, PL under sub-bandgap photoexcitation, observations of a linear dependence of PL intensity on excitation laser power, and a strong spectral blueshift under mild hydrostatic pressure. Finally, using a model of the self-trapped exciton and the associated coordinate configuration diagram, we explain pressure evolutions of PL energy, intensity, and lifetime. Single-crystal wires also enable us to obtain polarization-dependent Raman spectra down to 10 cm–1 and confirm their respective ambient crystal structure of orthorhombic Cmcm and phase transition to Pbnm at ∼5 GPa.

No abstract

No abstract