Premium
Active Control of Photon Recycling for Tunable Optoelectronic Materials
Author(s) -
Xu Yunlu,
Tennyson Elizabeth M.,
Kim Jehyung,
Barik Sabyasachi,
Murray Joseph,
Waks Edo,
Leite Marina S.,
Munday Jeremy N.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
advanced optical materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.89
H-Index - 91
ISSN - 2195-1071
DOI - 10.1002/adom.201701323
Subject(s) - materials science , optoelectronics , photonics , doping , semiconductor , diode , photon , nanotechnology , optics , physics
Optoelectronic materials are the backbone of today's high‐tech industry. To customize their response, one can directly modify the atomic arrangement, chemical composition, lattice strain, or doping of the semiconductor. However, these processes frequently cause undesirable effects resulting from induced defects. Here, a novel concept is demonstrated to actively tune the optoelectronic response of a material through tailored photon recycling. Without altering the material's intrinsic structure, doping, or temperature, the reabsorption of emitted photons within GaAs is modulated to control its carrier density. This approach is used to create a diode that can change its emission wavelength, a solar cell with improved open‐circuit voltage, and an actively controlled, gate‐free current modulator. These results represent a new platform to enable materials with tailored optoelectronic response based on photonic manipulation rather than semiconductor engineering.