Research highlights

Nanoscale 17, 8111(2025)

ZrN as an innovative electrical contact for GaN nanowires

A thin metallic layer of zirconium nitride (ZrN) deposited on a substrate turns out to not only facilitate the formation of gallium nitride (GaN) nanowires, but also provides a low-resistance ohmic electrical contact to their bottom parts. This ph...

(a) The cover of Small magazine, showing an image of a single nanowire obtained by transmission electron microscopy. (b) Photoluminescence spectrum of GaN nanowires with HfOx and AlOx coatings, and bare GaN nanowires. (c) Monochromatic cathodoluminescence maps of the nanowires with partial HfOx and AlOx coatings, and bare GaN nanowires measured at 5K are shown in this panel.

Small 20, 2401139 (2024)

Enhancement of GaN nanowire luminescence by ultrathin oxide shells

Our scientists have discovered that a coverage of GaN nanowires with an ultrathin oxide shells significantly increases intensity of GaN luminescence and prevents photodegradation of the nanowires exposed to an environment. That finding is importan...

Figure 1 (a) Antimony triselenide nanostructures on a (111)B GaAs substrate measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM). (b) Crystallographic model illustrating three possible Sb2Se3 orientations on (111)B GaAs substrate. One dimensional nano-stripes grow always along the 011 directions of the GaAs substrate (c) A close-up of a AFM image showing the orientation of the nanostripes.

Nanoscale 16, 19477-19484 (2024)

Self-assembled Nano stripes of a one-dimensional van der Waals semiconductor

Our scientists have discovered that antimony triselenide spontaneously forms longitudinal high-quality crystal structures, nano-stripes, in the process of molecular beam growth. This quasi-one-dimensional van der Waals semiconductor may therefore ...

a): AgScP2S6 P-31c unit cell. b): A picture of a freshly cut, as-grown AgScP2S6 crystal. c): A visual depiction of the area structurally investigated by the raman confocal spectrometer. d): Raman scattering spectra of two distinguishable patterns in the highlighted, defect-rich (red) and defect-free zone (blue) of crystal surface shown in c).

Adv. Optical Mater. 2024, 2400481

Strain-Tunable luminescence appears in AgScP2S6 thanks to lattice defects

Nature's imperfections can sometimes unlock interesting and sought for properties. A team from IP PAS and MIT has found that structural point defects can serve as the origin of unusual photoluminescence in the visible range.

Formation of an EuAs layer on the InAs nanowire surface at lower temperatures and the reconstruction of the InAs nanowire into an Eu3In2As4 crystal at higher temperatures - experimental results and MD simulations.

Nature Nanotechnology (2024)

Topotaxial mutual-exchange growth of magnetic Zintl Eu3In2As4 axion insulator nanowires

The term "topotaxy" describes crystal growth process based on recrystallization in which the crystallographic orientation of the parent crystal determines that of the product composed crystal. Recently, a new method was developed and reported in t...

Artistic visualization of the non-Hermitian Fermi-Dirac distribution (shown in the background 3D plot) and its impact on persistent current transport in a superconducting-normal-superconducting junction (blue-green-blue). The junction is coupled to an external environment (violet), showcasing the dissipative nature of the quantum transport process.

Physical Review Letters 133, 086301 (2024)

Fermi-Dirac Distribution Reformulated in Non-Hermitian Systems

Researchers have extended the traditional Fermi-Dirac distribution to non-Hermitian systems. This new formalism provides a general framework to compute quantum many-body observables in equilibrium systems coupled to dissipative environments.

(left) The diffusion of the intrinsically disordered protein (green) is slower than that of a protein with a globular structure (black), even though the green protein has a much lower molecular mass and a shorter chain, as shown by the autocorrelation curves measured by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. (right) The coarse-grained globule-linker model allows rapid calculation of the hydrodynamic radii of intrinsically disordered proteins in agreement with experimentally measured results.

J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 15, 5024 - 5033 (2024)

Hydrodynamic properties of intrinsically disordered proteins

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), essential for regulating critical cellular functions, have long posed research challenges due to their lack of fixed three-dimensional structure. They are now more accessible for study thanks to a new mode...

A: Layout of the studied nanostructure consisting of an Single Vortex Box (SVB), a Dayem nanobridge, and narrow connecting leads. The Lorentz force FL is exerted on the vortex by the applied current IL in the presence of perpendicular magnetic field B. B: The as-received experimental vortex stability diagram. Switching current dependence of the nanobridge on the applied perpendicular magnetic field B and the amplitude of the Lorentz pulse IL. The slope of Iexp, indicated with dashed line, mark the minimum value of the Lorentz pulse necessary to expel the vortex for a given magnetic field B. C: Experimental thermal dynamics of the SVB after expulsion of a single vortex measured under conditions denoted by the circle on the vortex stability diagram. The broken line represents the exponential fit in the linear regime. D: The pulse protocol used in the experiment.

Sci. Adv. 10, eado4032 (2024)

Quantum thermodynamics with a single superconducting vortex

We control and monitor the state of the single superconducting vortex. Using our fastest thermometer in the nanoworld, we measured the thermal transient due to the vortex expulsion from the superconductor. An energy dissipated due to this expulsio...