GaN quantum discs embedded in AlGaN nanocolumns with outstanding crystal quality and very high luminescence efficiency were grown on Si͑111͒ substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy under highly N-rich conditions. Nanocolumns with diameters in the range of 30-150 nm, with no traces of any extended defects, as confirmed by transmission electron microscopy, were obtained. GaN quantum discs, 2 and 4 nm thick, were grown embedded in AlGaN nanocolumns by switching on and off the Al flux during variable time spans. Strong optical emissions from GaN quantum discs, observed by photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence measurements, reveal quantum confinement effects. While Raman data indicate that the nanocolumns are fully relaxed, the quantum discs appear to be fully strained. These nanostructures have a high potential for application in efficient vertical cavity emitters.

Tackling the interfacial loss in emerged perovskite‐based solar cells (PSCs) to address synchronously the carrier dynamics and the environmental stability, has been of fundamental and viable importance, while technological hurdles remain in not only creating such interfacial mediator, but the subsequent interfacial embedding in the active layer. This article reports a strategy of interfacial embedding of hydrophobic fluorinated‐gold‐clusters (FGCs) for highly efficient and stable PSCs. The p‐type semiconducting feature enables the FGC efficient interfacial mediator to improve the carrier dynamics by reducing the interfacial carrier transfer barrier and boosting the charge extraction at grain boundaries. The hydrophobic tails of the gold clusters and the hydrogen bonding between fluorine groups and perovskite favor the enhancement of environmental stability. Benefiting from these merits, highly efficient formamidinium lead iodide PSCs (champion efficiency up to 24.02%) with enhanced phase stability under varied relative humidity (RH) from 40% to 95%, as well as highly efficient mixed‐cation PSCs with moisture stability (RH of 75%) over 10 000 h are achieved. It is thus inspiring to advance the development of highly efficient and stable PSCs via interfacial embedding laser‐generated additives for improved charge transfer/extraction and environmental stability.

The impact of rapid thermal annealing on the optical emission of GaInNAs/GaAs quantum wells (QWs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy with high In and N content is shown to be highly dependent on the crystal structure of the QWs, as determined by transmission electron microscopy. Due to the presence of higher concentrations of nonradiative recombination centers, the annealing temperature required to obtain maximum photoluminescence emission is higher for the QW with strong structural modulation of the upper interface [at the onset of three-dimensional (3D) growth], intermediate for the two-dimensional (2D) grown QW with compositional fluctuations, and lower for the homogeneous 2D grown QW. Moreover, the transition from homogeneous 2D growth, to 2D growth with compositional fluctuations, and finally 3D growth, leads to progressively deeper carrier localization states below the conduction-band edge. Increasing annealing temperatures gradually shifts the localization states closer to the conduction-band edge, predominantly when compositional fluctuations are present. These results suggest a link between the formation of carrier localization centers and the presence of alloy fluctuations along the QW.

A systematic analysis of the deep level spectrum in the lower half of the bandgap of Au–Zn1−xMgxO (0.056<x<0.18) Schottky diodes is presented. Two deep levels are observed at Ev+580 and Ev+280 meV regardless of the bandgap energy with trap concentrations linearly increasing with the Mg content. The Ev+280 meV trap concentration becomes as high as 1.01×1018 cm−3 at 18% Mg, partially compensating the films and causing a decrease from 8.02×1016 to 1.27×1016 cm−3 in the net electron concentration and an increase by three orders of magnitude in the diode series resistance due to electron trapping.

Schottky photodiodes based on Au-ZnMgO/sapphire are demonstrated covering the spectral region from 3.35 to 3.48 eV, with UV/VIS rejection ratios up to ∼105 and responsivities as high as 185 A/W. Both the rejection ratio and the responsivity are shown to be largely enhanced by the presence of an internal gain mechanism, by which the compensated films become highly conductive as a result of illumination. This causes a large increase in the tunnel current through the Schottky barrier, yielding internal gains that are a function of the incident photon flux.