The remarkable performance of lead halide perovskites in solar cells can be attributed to the long carrier lifetimes and low non-radiative recombination rates, the same physical properties that are ideal for semiconductor lasers. Here, we show room-temperature and wavelength-tunable lasing from single-crystal lead halide perovskite nanowires with very low lasing thresholds (220 nJ cm(-2)) and high quality factors (Q ∼ 3,600). The lasing threshold corresponds to a charge carrier density as low as 1.5 × 10(16) cm(-3). Kinetic analysis based on time-resolved fluorescence reveals little charge carrier trapping in these single-crystal nanowires and gives estimated lasing quantum yields approaching 100%. Such lasing performance, coupled with the facile solution growth of single-crystal nanowires and the broad stoichiometry-dependent tunability of emission colour, makes lead halide perovskites ideal materials for the development of nanophotonics, in parallel with the rapid development in photovoltaics from the same materials.

The van der Waals interfaces of molecular donor/acceptor or graphene-like two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors are central to concepts and emerging technologies of light-electricity interconversion. Examples include, among others, solar cells, photodetectors, and light emitting diodes. A salient feature in both types of van der Waals interfaces is the poorly screened Coulomb potential that can give rise to bound electron-hole pairs across the interface, i.e., charge transfer (CT) or interlayer excitons. Here we address common features of CT excitons at both types of interfaces. We emphasize the competition between localization and delocalization in ensuring efficient charge separation. At the molecular donor/acceptor interface, electronic delocalization in real space can dictate charge carrier separation. In contrast, at the 2D semiconductor heterojunction, delocalization in momentum space due to strong exciton binding may assist in parallel momentum conservation in CT exciton formation.

ABSTRACT:Interfacial charge separation and recombination at heterojunctions of monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are of interest to two dimensional optoelectronic technologies.These processes can involve large changes in parallel momentum vector due to the confinement of electrons and holes to the K-valleys in each layer. Since these high-momentum valleys are usually not aligned across the interface of two TMDC monolayers, how parallel momentum is conserved in the charge separation or recombination process becomes a key question. Here we probe this question using the model system of a type-II heterojunction formed by MoS 2 and WSe 2 monolayers and the experimental technical of femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy. Upon photo-excitation specifically of WSe 2 at the heterojunction, we observe ultrafast (<40 fs) electron transfer from WSe 2 to MoS 2 , independent of the angular alignment and, thus, momentum mismatch between the two TMDCs. The resulting interlayer charge transfer exciton decays via nonradiatively recombination, with rates varying by up to three-orders of magnitude from sample to sample, but with no correlation with inter-layer angular alignment. We suggest that the initial interfacial charge separation and the subsequent interfacial charge recombination processes circumvent momentum mismatch via excess electronic energy and via defect-mediated recombination, respectively.

In its orthorhombic T d polymorph, MoTe2 is a type-II Weyl semimetal, where the Weyl fermions emerge at the boundary between electron and hole pockets. Non-saturating magnetoresistance and superconductivity were also observed in T d-MoTe2. Understanding the superconductivity in T d-MoTe2, which was proposed to be topologically non-trivial, is of eminent interest. Here, we report high-pressure muon-spin rotation experiments probing the temperature-dependent magnetic penetration depth in T d-MoTe2. A substantial increase of the superfluid density and a linear scaling with the superconducting critical temperature T c is observed under pressure. Moreover, the superconducting order parameter in T d-MoTe2 is determined to have 2-gap s-wave symmetry. We also exclude time-reversal symmetry breaking in the superconducting state with zero-field μSR experiments. Considering the strong suppression of T c in MoTe2 by disorder, we suggest that topologically non-trivial s +− state is more likely to be realized in MoTe2 than the topologically trivial s ++ state.

The mechanism of superconductivity in cuprates remains one of the big challenges of condensed matter physics. High-Tc cuprates crystallize into a layered perovskite structure featuring copper oxygen octahedral coordination. Due to the Jahn Teller effect in combination with the strong static Coulomb interaction, the octahedra in high-Tc cuprates are elongated along the c axis, leading to a 3dx2-y2 orbital at the top of the band structure wherein the doped holes reside. This scenario gives rise to 2D characteristics in high-Tc cuprates that favor d-wave pairing symmetry. Here, we report superconductivity in a cuprate Ba2CuO4-y, wherein the local octahedron is in a very exceptional compressed version. The Ba2CuO4-y compound was synthesized at high pressure at high temperatures and shows bulk superconductivity with critical temperature (Tc) above 70 K at ambient conditions. This superconducting transition temperature is more than 30 K higher than the Tc for the isostructural counterparts based on classical La2CuO4. X-ray absorption measurements indicate the heavily doped nature of the Ba2CuO4-y superconductor. In compressed octahedron, the 3d3z2-r2 orbital will be lifted above the 3dx2-y2 orbital, leading to significant 3D nature in addition to the conventional 3dx2-y2 orbital. This work sheds important light on advancing our comprehensive understanding of the superconducting mechanism of high Tc in cuprate materials.