A single monolayer semiconductor integrated into a plasmonic tunnel junction exhibits electroluminescence with photon energies that exceed the excitation electron potential. This phenomenon is shown to be indirectly triggered by inelastically tunnelling electrons.
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References
Lambe, J. & McCarthy, S. L. Light emission from inelastic electron tunneling. Phys. Rev. Lett. 37, 923–925 (1976). This paper reports the first observation of light emission from a metal–insulator–metal tunnel junction.
Withers, F. et al. Light-emitting diodes by band-structure engineering in van der Waals heterostructures. Nat. Mater. 14, 301–306 (2015). This paper presents the design of light-emitting tunnel diodes fabricated using 2D semiconductors.
Dong, Z. C. et al. Generation of molecular hot electroluminescence by resonant nanocavity plasmons. Nat. Photon. 4, 50–54 (2010). This paper reports the observation of upconversion electroluminescence in STM tunnel junctions incorporating single molecules.
Papadopoulos, S. et al. Energy transfer from tunneling electrons to excitons. Preprint at https://arxiv.org/abs/2209.11641 (2022). This preprint reports injection-free electroluminescence enabled by tunnelling dipoles.
Wang, Z. et al. Optical anisotropy in van der Waals materials: impact on direct excitation of plasmons and photons by quantum tunneling. Light Sci. Appl. 10, 230 (2021). This paper discusses plasmonic light emissions driven by inelastic electron tunnelling in van der Waals tunnel junctions.
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This is a summary of: Wang, Z. et al. Upconversion electroluminescence in 2D semiconductors integrated with plasmonic tunnel junctions. Nat. Nanotechnol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-024-01650-0 (2024).
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Inelastic electron tunnelling induces anomalous light emission. Nat. Nanotechnol. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-024-01664-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-024-01664-8
