Semiconductor devices have become indispensable for generating electromagnetic radiation in everyday applications. Visible and infrared diode lasers are at the core of information technology, and at the other end of the spectrum, microwave and radio-frequency emitters enable wireless communications. But the terahertz region (1-10 THz; 1 THz = 10(12) Hz) between these ranges has remained largely underdeveloped, despite the identification of various possible applications--for example, chemical detection, astronomy and medical imaging. Progress in this area has been hampered by the lack of compact, low-consumption, solid-state terahertz sources. Here we report a monolithic terahertz injection laser that is based on interminiband transitions in the conduction band of a semiconductor (GaAs/AlGaAs) heterostructure. The prototype demonstrated emits a single mode at 4.4 THz, and already shows high output powers of more than 2 mW with low threshold current densities of about a few hundred A cm(-2) up to 50 K. These results are very promising for extending the present laser concept to continuous-wave and high-temperature operation, which would lead to implementation in practical photonic systems.

] Of relevance to this work is the binary metal perovskite CH 3 NH 3 (Pb x Sn 1-x )I 3 [0 ≤ x ≤ 1]. [30,31] Interestingly, the bandgap bows and becomes lower when Sn 2+ is substituted by Pb 2+ for samples with 80% and 60% Sn content compared to 100% Sn-based perovskite, in line with previous observations. [30,31] While such tin-based perovskites offer tunable bandgaps down to 1.1 eV, the fabrication of efficient optoelectronic devices has been impeded by factors including poor semiconductor quality and low surface coverage. [30] As a consequence, solar cells made using these perovskites often exhibit very low efficiencies, with typical PCEs < 1% obtained for planar heterojunction devices. [30] To overcome this challenge, we have developed a novel elevated temperature processing method (depicted in Figure 1A), [32] for preparing CH 3 NH 3 (Pb x Sn 1-x )I 3 perovskites on a Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulf onate) (PEDOT:PSS)/nickel oxide (NiO) bilayer, which results in the formation of large micron-sized grains ( Figure 1B) with almost complete substrate coverage. Our semiconductors not only exhibit relatively low energetic and structural disorder but also impart high PCEs when fabricated into a PV device. For PVs prepared using the lowest bandgap perovskites, open circuit voltages (V OC 's) approaching the prediction of the Shockley-Queisser (S-Q) model are demonstrated. Such promising performance metrics are obtained against a backdrop of fast radiative recombination and low photoluminescence quantum efficiencies (PLQEs), pointing toward the crucial role of high intrinsic charge carrier mobility in these low-bandgap semiconductors.To study the optical properties of the CH 3 NH 3 (Pb x Sn 1-x )I 3 [0 ≤ x ≤ 1] perovskite thin films, linear absorption and photoluminescence (PL) were measured as shown in Figure S1 (Supporting Information). It can be observed in Figure 1C that the bandgap bows as we substitute Pb 2+ in place of Sn 2+ (until 40% Sn 2+ ions are replaced by Pb 2+ ) and results in a nonmonotonic bandgap lowering similar to what was observed previously by Hao etal. [31] Briefly, the bandgap of the 60% and 80% Sn content films exhibit a lower bandgap than the 100% Sn-substituted films. A similar trend can also be traced in the PL spectra (see Figure S1B of the Supporting Information) where the PL spectra of 80% and 60% Sn content thin-film samples are red-shifted compared to the 100% Sn content thinfilm sample, which is consistent with the absorption spectra. Such anomalous bandgap bowing and lack of conformity with Vegard's law [31,33] have been attributed to the competition The performance of organometallic halide (hybrid) perovskite solar cells has improved dramatically in just a few years, with photovoltaic (PV) power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) now exceeding 22% for state-of-the-art devices. [1][2][3][4][5] This remarkable result, coupled with their low cost, tunability, and versatile lowtemperature preparation methods, makes hybrid perovskites one of the most promising semiconduct...

Semiconductor lasers based on two-dimensional photonic crystals generally rely on an optically pumped central area, surrounded by un-pumped, and therefore absorbing, regions. This ideal configuration is lost when photonic-crystal lasers are electrically pumped, which is practically more attractive as an external laser source is not required. In this case, in order to avoid lateral spreading of the electrical current, the device active area must be physically defined by appropriate semiconductor processing. This creates an abrupt change in the complex dielectric constant at the device boundaries, especially in the case of lasers operating in the far-infrared, where the large emission wavelengths impose device thicknesses of several micrometres. Here we show that such abrupt boundary conditions can dramatically influence the operation of electrically pumped photonic-crystal lasers. By demonstrating a general technique to implement reflecting or absorbing boundaries, we produce evidence that whispering-gallery-like modes or true photonic-crystal states can be alternatively excited. We illustrate the power of this technique by fabricating photonic-crystal terahertz (THz) semiconductor lasers, where the photonic crystal is implemented via the sole patterning of the device top metallization. Single-mode laser action is obtained in the 2.55-2.88 THz range, and the emission far field exhibits a small angular divergence, thus providing a solution for the quasi-total lack of directionality typical of THz semiconductor lasers based on metal-metal waveguides.

The spin field effect transistor envisioned by Datta and Das[1] opens a gateway to spin information processing [2,3]. Although the coherent manipulation of electron spins in semiconductors is now possible [4][5][6][7], the realization of a functional spin field effect transistor for information processing has yet to be achieved, owing to several fundamental challenges such as the low spin-injection efficiency due to resistance mismatch [9], spin relaxation, and the spread of spin precession angles. Alternative spin transistor designs have therefore been proposed [10,11], but these differ from the field effect transistor concept and require the use of optical or magnetic elements, which pose difficulties for the incorporation into integrated circuits. Here, we present an all-electric and all-semiconductor spin field effect transistor, in which these obstacles are overcome by employing two quantum point contacts as spin injectors and detectors. Distinct engineering architectures of spin-orbit coupling are exploited for the quantum point contacts and the central semiconductor channel to achieve complete control of the electron spins-spin injection, manipulation, and detection-in a purely electrical manner. Such a device is compatible with large-scale integration and hold promise for future spintronic devices for information processing.Spin-orbit (SO) coupling-the interaction between a particle's spin and its motion-can be appreciated in the framework of an effective magnetic field B SO , which acts on charged particles when they move in an electric field E and is described by, where is Planck's constant divided by 2π, c is the speed of light, k is the particle's wavevector, and m is its mass. In semiconductor heterostructures, the electric field which gives rise to B SO can be created by breaking the structural inversion symmetry in the material, namely, the Rashba SO coupling [12,13]. Moreover, this electric field can easily be varied using metallic gates [14,15], thus controlling B SO . Such an effective magnetic field creates a link between the magnetic moment of the particle (spin) and the electric field acting upon it, offering a route for fast and coherent electrical control of spin states. While the SO coupling has been utilized for spin manipulation, approaches to spin injection and detection still rely on ferromagnetic and/or optical components, and the demonstration of an all-electric spin transistor device has remained elusive.Figure 1 illustrates our proposed spin field effect transistor (FET) and its operating principle. An InGaAs heterostructure (see Methods Summary), one of the strong contenders to replace Si in future generations of largescale integrated circuits (see International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors; http://public.itrs.net), is used to provide a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) channel for ballistic electron transport under a metallic middle gate and between two gate-defined quantum point contacts (QPCs). The QPCs are narrow and short onedimensional (1D) constrictions, usually...

Despite sustained research, application of lead halide perovskites in field-effect transistors (FETs) has substantial concerns in terms of operational instabilities and hysteresis effects which are linked to its ionic nature. Here, we investigate the mechanism behind these instabilities and demonstrate an effective route to suppress them to realize high-performance perovskite FETs with low hysteresis, high threshold voltage stability (ΔVt < 2 V over 10 hours of continuous operation), and high mobility values >1 cm2/V·s at room temperature. We show that multiple cation incorporation using strain-relieving cations like Cs and cations such as Rb, which act as passivation/crystallization modifying agents, is an effective strategy for reducing vacancy concentration and ion migration in perovskite FETs. Furthermore, we demonstrate that treatment of perovskite films with positive azeotrope solvents that act as Lewis bases (acids) enables a further reduction in defect density and substantial improvement in performance and stability of n-type (p-type) perovskite devices.