Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Biasing of Metal-Semiconductor Junctions01:27

Biasing of Metal-Semiconductor Junctions

174
Biasing metal-semiconductor junctions involves applying a voltage across the junction. Specifically, the metal is connected to a voltage source, while the semiconductor is grounded. This technique is essential for controlling the direction and magnitude of current flow in electronic devices, including diodes, transistors, and photovoltaic cells.
In Schottky junctions, where the semiconductor is n-type, applying a positive voltage to the metal relative to the semiconductor reduces its Fermi...
174
Metal-Semiconductor Junctions01:24

Metal-Semiconductor Junctions

239
The contact of metal and semiconductor can lead to the formation of a junction with either Schottky or Ohmic behavior.
Schottky Barriers
Schottky barriers arise when a metal with a work function (Φm) contacts a semiconductor with a different work function (Φs). Initially, electrons transfer until the Fermi levels of the metal and semiconductor align at equilibrium. For instance, if Φm > Φs, the semiconductor Fermi level is higher than the metal's before contact. The...
239
Fermi Level Dynamics01:12

Fermi Level Dynamics

190
The vacuum level denotes the energy threshold required for an electron to escape from a material surface. It is usually positioned above the conduction band of a semiconductor and acts as a benchmark for comparing electron energies within various materials.
Electron affinity in semiconductors refers to the energy gap between the minimum of its conduction band and the vacuum level and it is a critical parameter in determining how easily a semiconductor can accept additional electrons.
The work...
190
Types of Semiconductors01:20

Types of Semiconductors

438
Intrinsic semiconductors are highly pure materials with no impurities. At absolute zero, these semiconductors behave as perfect insulators because all the valence electrons are bound, and the conduction band is empty, disallowing electrical conduction. The Fermi level is a concept used to describe the probability of occupancy of energy levels by electrons at thermal equilibrium. In intrinsic semiconductors, the Fermi level is positioned at the midpoint of the energy gap at absolute zero. When...
438
P-N junction01:11

P-N junction

395
A p-n junction is formed when p-type and n-type semiconductor materials are joined together. At the interface of the p-n junction, holes from the p-side and electrons from the n-side begin to diffuse into the opposite sides due to the concentration gradient. This diffusion of carriers leads to a region around the junction where there are no free charge carriers, known as the depletion region. The charge density within the depletion region for the n-side and p-side can be described by the...
395
Biasing of P-N Junction01:16

Biasing of P-N Junction

347
The operation of a p-n junction diode involves various biasing conditions, including forward bias, reverse bias, and equilibrium.
In equilibrium, no external voltage is applied across the p-n junction. The depletion region is formed at the junction interface due to the diffusion of carriers, which leaves behind charged dopants, acceptors on the p-side, and donors on the n-side. These immobile charges create an electric field that prevents further diffusion of carriers. The related energy band...
347

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Imaging the flat bands of magic-angle graphene reshaped by interactions.

Nature·2026
Same author

Revealing Electron-Electron Interactions in Graphene at Room Temperature with a Quantum Twisting Microscope.

Nano letters·2026
Same author

Optical control over topological Chern number in moiré materials.

Nature·2026
Same author

Observation of a superfluid-to-insulator transition of bilayer excitons.

Nature·2026
Same author

Radio-Frequency Charge Detection on Graphene Electron-Hole Double Quantum Dots.

Nano letters·2025
Same author

Milli-Tesla quantization enabled by tuneable Coulomb screening in large-angle twisted graphene.

Nature communications·2025
Same journal

High Pressure Synthesis of Ultrasmall Nanodiamonds with Nitrogen Vacancy Centers.

Nano letters·2026
Same journal

Efros-Shklovskii Law at the Thinnest Limit of a Material.

Nano letters·2026
Same journal

Oxygen Electronic Configuration Modulation Triggering Reversible Anionic Redox Chemistry toward High Voltage Tolerant Sodium Layered Oxide.

Nano letters·2026
Same journal

Development of a Nanoscale Protein-Protein Mapping of PDE4 Interface-Disrupting Peptides.

Nano letters·2026
Same journal

Lubricin-Protected Plasmonic Nanoslides Enable Stable, Reusable, Nonfouling, and Ultrasensitive Biomimetic-SERS Sensing for the Detection of Vancomycin in Unprocessed Whole Blood.

Nano letters·2026
Same journal

Forcing a Molecule to Switch: Quantifying Mechanical Control at the Atomic Scale.

Nano letters·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 10, 2025

Scalable Quantum Integrated Circuits on Superconducting Two-Dimensional Electron Gas Platform
05:39

Scalable Quantum Integrated Circuits on Superconducting Two-Dimensional Electron Gas Platform

Published on: August 2, 2019

9.5K

Gate-Tunable Hot Electron Extraction in a Two-Dimensional Semiconductor Heterojunction.

Chenran Xu1,2, Chen Xu1,2, Jichen Zhou1,2

  • 1School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.

Nano Letters
|April 21, 2025
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Hot carrier solar cells can exceed efficiency limits by harvesting hot electrons. Electrostatic doping in MoSe2/hBN/WS2 junctions significantly boosts hot electron extraction, offering new design strategies for advanced solar energy conversion.

Keywords:
exciton-electron scatteringhot carrier extractiontransient reflectance spectroscopytwo-dimensional heterostructures

More Related Videos

Fabrication of Gate-tunable Graphene Devices for Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Studies with Coulomb Impurities
11:42

Fabrication of Gate-tunable Graphene Devices for Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Studies with Coulomb Impurities

Published on: July 24, 2015

15.4K
Nanofabrication of Gate-defined GaAs/AlGaAs Lateral Quantum Dots
15:47

Nanofabrication of Gate-defined GaAs/AlGaAs Lateral Quantum Dots

Published on: November 1, 2013

16.1K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 10, 2025

Scalable Quantum Integrated Circuits on Superconducting Two-Dimensional Electron Gas Platform
05:39

Scalable Quantum Integrated Circuits on Superconducting Two-Dimensional Electron Gas Platform

Published on: August 2, 2019

9.5K
Fabrication of Gate-tunable Graphene Devices for Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Studies with Coulomb Impurities
11:42

Fabrication of Gate-tunable Graphene Devices for Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Studies with Coulomb Impurities

Published on: July 24, 2015

15.4K
Nanofabrication of Gate-defined GaAs/AlGaAs Lateral Quantum Dots
15:47

Nanofabrication of Gate-defined GaAs/AlGaAs Lateral Quantum Dots

Published on: November 1, 2013

16.1K

Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Renewable Energy

Background:

  • Hot carrier solar cells (HCSCs) aim to surpass the Shockley-Queisser limit by utilizing excess energy from photoexcited carriers.
  • Fast hot-carrier cooling is a major obstacle to realizing high-efficiency HCSCs.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To demonstrate gate-tunable hot electron harvesting in a MoSe2/hBN/WS2 heterostructure.
  • To investigate methods for enhancing hot electron extraction density for improved solar cell performance.

Main Methods:

  • Transient reflectance spectroscopy was employed to study carrier dynamics.
  • MoSe2/hBN/WS2 junctions were fabricated and characterized.
  • External electric fields and electrostatic doping were utilized to tune carrier properties.

Main Results:

  • Gate-tunable extraction of hot electrons from MoSe2 to WS2 was successfully demonstrated.
  • Electrostatically doped electrons in MoSe2 enhanced hot electron extraction density by up to several tens.
  • Reducing the conduction band offset with an external electric field further boosted hot electron extraction.

Conclusions:

  • The interaction between hot excitons and doped electrons enhances hot electron generation.
  • Electrostatic strategies offer a promising pathway for designing efficient hot carrier solar cells.
  • This work provides critical insights for advancing solar energy conversion technologies.