Electrical Tuning of Interlayer Exciton Gases in WSe2 Bilayers.

van der Waals heterostructures formed by stacking two-dimensional atomic crystals are a unique platform for exploring new phenomena and functionalities. Interlayer excitons, bound states of spatially separated electron-hole pairs in van der Waals heterostructures, have demonstrated potential for rich valley physics and optoelectronics applications and been proposed to facilitate high-temperature superfluidity. Here, we demonstrate highly tunable interlayer excitons by an out-of-plane electric field in homobilayers of transition metal dichalcogenides. Continuous tuning of the exciton dipole from negative to positive orientation has been achieved, which is not possible in heterobilayers due to the presence of large built-in interfacial electric fields. A large linear field-induced redshift up to ∼100 meV has been observed in the exciton resonance energy. The Stark effect is accompanied by an enhancement of the exciton recombination lifetime by more than two orders of magnitude to >20 ns. The long recombination lifetime has allowed the creation of an interlayer exciton gas with density as large as 1.2 × 1011 cm-2 by moderate continuous-wave optical pumping. Our results have paved the way for the realization of degenerate exciton gases in atomically thin semiconductors.

Exchange-Driven Spin Relaxation in Ferromagnet-Oxide-Semiconductor Heterostructures.

We demonstrate that electron spin relaxation in GaAs in the proximity of a Fe/MgO layer is dominated by interaction with an exchange-driven hyperfine field at temperatures below 60 K. Temperature-dependent spin-resolved optical pump-probe spectroscopy reveals a strong correlation of the electron spin relaxation with carrier freeze-out, in quantitative agreement with a theoretical interpretation that at low temperatures the free-carrier spin lifetime is dominated by inhomogeneity in the local hyperfine field due to carrier localization. As the regime of large nuclear inhomogeneity is accessible in these heterostructures for magnetic fields <3 kG, inferences from this result resolve a long-standing and contentious dispute concerning the origin of spin relaxation in GaAs at low temperature when a magnetic field is present. Further, this improved fundamental understanding clarifies the importance of future experiments probing the time-dependent exchange interaction at a ferromagnet-semiconductor interface and its consequences for spin dissipation and transport during spin pumping.

Amplification of the signal intensity of fluorescence-based fiber-optic biosensors using a Fabry-Perot resonator structure.

Fluorescent biosensors have been widely used in biomedical applications. To amplify the intensity of fluorescence signals, this study developed a novel structure for an evanescent wave fiber-optic biosensor by using a Fabry-Perot resonator structure. An excitation light was coupled into the optical fiber through a laser-drilled hole on the proximal end of the resonator. After entering the resonator, the excitation light was reflected back and forth inside the resonator, thereby amplifying the intensity of the light in the fiber. Subsequently, the light was used to excite the fluorescent molecules in the reactive region of the sensor. The experimental results showed that the biosensor signal was amplified eight-fold when the resonator reflector was formed using a 92% reflective coating. Furthermore, in a simulation, the biosensor signal could be amplified 20-fold by using a 99% reflector.