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Photo-induced currents and short-term memory for reservoir computing in a ferroelectric semiconductor
Authors:
Yan Meng Chong,
Atreya Majumdar,
Manuel Zahn,
Ingvild Hansen,
Karin Everschor-Sitte,
Dennis Meier
Abstract:
Physical reservoir computing represents an energy efficient approach for processing temporal signals by exploiting the intrinsic nonlinear dynamics and fading memory of a physical system. Recently, ferroelectric semiconductors moved into focus as reservoir materials motivated by their versatile electronic responses to external stimuli. Here, we explore the fundamental possibility to recognize time…
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Physical reservoir computing represents an energy efficient approach for processing temporal signals by exploiting the intrinsic nonlinear dynamics and fading memory of a physical system. Recently, ferroelectric semiconductors moved into focus as reservoir materials motivated by their versatile electronic responses to external stimuli. Here, we explore the fundamental possibility to recognize time-varying light pulses via photo-induced currents, using the small-band-gap p-type semiconductor ErMnO$_3$ as a model system. Under white light illumination, ErMnO$_3$ exhibits non-linearly evolving photo-induced currents and controllable relaxation dynamics that naturally realize the high-dimensional projection and fading memory capabilities required for reservoir computing. The reservoir capability of ErMnO$_3$ is reflected by the improved recognition accuracy of "Past" input pulses, which increases from ~33% to ~93% after applying reservoir transformation to the input signal. The results present ferroelectric hexagonal manganites as a promising platform for photo-induced current-based reservoir computing and highlight the potential of light-driven oxide semiconductors for temporal information processing.
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Submitted 22 July, 2026;
originally announced July 2026.
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Machine-learning-assisted analysis of transition metal dichalcogenide thin-film growth
Authors:
Hyuk Jin Kim,
Minsu Chong,
Tae Gyu Rhee,
Yeong Gwang Khim,
Min-Hyoung Jung,
Young-Min Kim,
Hu Young Jeong,
Byoung Ki Choi,
Young Jun Chang
Abstract:
In situ reflective high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) is widely used to monitor the surface crystalline state during thin-film growth by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and pulsed laser deposition. With the recent development of machine learning (ML), ML-assisted analysis of RHEED videos aids in interpreting the complete RHEED data of oxide thin films. The quantitative analysis of RHEED data al…
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In situ reflective high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) is widely used to monitor the surface crystalline state during thin-film growth by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and pulsed laser deposition. With the recent development of machine learning (ML), ML-assisted analysis of RHEED videos aids in interpreting the complete RHEED data of oxide thin films. The quantitative analysis of RHEED data allows us to characterize and categorize the growth modes step by step, and extract hidden knowledge of the epitaxial film growth process. In this study, we employed the ML-assisted RHEED analysis method to investigate the growth of 2D thin films of transition metal dichalcogenides (ReSe2) on graphene substrates by MBE. Principal component analysis (PCA) and K-means clustering were used to separate statistically important patterns and visualize the trend of pattern evolution without any notable loss of information. Using the modified PCA, we could monitor the diffraction intensity of solely the ReSe2 layers by filtering out the substrate contribution. These findings demonstrate that ML analysis can be successfully employed to examine and understand the film-growth dynamics of 2D materials. Further, the ML-based method can pave the way for the development of advanced real-time monitoring and autonomous material synthesis techniques.
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Submitted 22 October, 2023;
originally announced October 2023.
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Machine-learning-accelerated Bose-Einstein condensation
Authors:
Zachary Vendeiro,
Joshua Ramette,
Alyssa Rudelis,
Michelle Chong,
Josiah Sinclair,
Luke Stewart,
Alban Urvoy,
Vladan Vuletić
Abstract:
Machine learning is emerging as a technology that can enhance physics experiment execution and data analysis. Here, we apply machine learning to accelerate the production of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ atoms by Bayesian optimization of up to 55 control parameters. This approach enables us to prepare BECs of $2.8 \times 10^3$ optically trapped $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ atoms fro…
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Machine learning is emerging as a technology that can enhance physics experiment execution and data analysis. Here, we apply machine learning to accelerate the production of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ atoms by Bayesian optimization of up to 55 control parameters. This approach enables us to prepare BECs of $2.8 \times 10^3$ optically trapped $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ atoms from a room-temperature gas in 575 ms. The algorithm achieves the fast BEC preparation by applying highly efficient Raman cooling to near quantum degeneracy, followed by a brief final evaporation. We anticipate that many other physics experiments with complex nonlinear system dynamics can be significantly enhanced by a similar machine-learning approach.
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Submitted 18 December, 2022; v1 submitted 16 May, 2022;
originally announced May 2022.
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Optical control of the charge state of color centers in hexagonal boron nitride
Authors:
Prince Khatri,
Andrew J. Ramsay,
Ralph N. E. Malein,
Harold M. H. Chong,
Isaac J. Luxmoore
Abstract:
We report on multicolor excitation experiments with color centers in hexagonal boron nitride at cryogenic temperatures. We demonstrate controllable optical switching between bright and dark states of color centers emitting around 2eV. Resonant, or quasi-resonant excitation also pumps the color center, via a two-photon process, into a dark state, where it becomes trapped. Photoluminescence excitati…
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We report on multicolor excitation experiments with color centers in hexagonal boron nitride at cryogenic temperatures. We demonstrate controllable optical switching between bright and dark states of color centers emitting around 2eV. Resonant, or quasi-resonant excitation also pumps the color center, via a two-photon process, into a dark state, where it becomes trapped. Photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy reveals a defect dependent energy threshold for repumping the color center into the bright state of between 2.2 and 2.6eV. Photoionization and photocharging of the defect is the most plausible explanation for this behaviour, with the negative and neutral charge states of the boron vacancy potential candidates for the bright and dark states, respectively. Furthermore, a second zero phonon line, detuned by +0.4eV, is observed in absorption with orthogonal polarization to the emission, evidencing an additional energy level in the color center.
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Submitted 19 February, 2020;
originally announced February 2020.
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Bright electroluminescence from single graphene nanoribbon junctions
Authors:
Michael C. Chong,
Nasima Afshar-Imani,
Fabrice Scheurer,
Claudia Cardoso,
Andrea Ferretti,
Deborah Prezzi,
Guillaume Schull
Abstract:
Thanks to their highly tunable band gaps, graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with atomically precise edges are emerging as mechanically and chemically robust candidates for nanoscale light emitting devices of modulable emission color. While their optical properties have been addressed theoretically in depth, only few experimental studies exist, limited to ensemble measurements and without any attempt to…
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Thanks to their highly tunable band gaps, graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with atomically precise edges are emerging as mechanically and chemically robust candidates for nanoscale light emitting devices of modulable emission color. While their optical properties have been addressed theoretically in depth, only few experimental studies exist, limited to ensemble measurements and without any attempt to integrate them in an electronic-like circuit. Here we report on the electroluminescence of individual GNRs suspended between the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) and a Au(111) substrate, constituting thus a realistic opto-electronic circuit. Emission spectra of such GNR junctions reveal a bright and narrow band emission of red light, whose energy can be tuned with the bias voltage applied to the junction, but always lying below the gap of infinite GNRs. Comparison with {\it ab initio} calculations indicate that the emission involves electronic states localized at the GNR termini. Our results shed light on unpredicted optical transitions in GNRs and provide a promising route for the realization of bright, robust and controllable graphene-based light emitting devices.
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Submitted 28 February, 2018;
originally announced February 2018.
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Electrofluorochromism at the single molecule level
Authors:
Benjamin Doppagne,
Michael C. Chong,
Hervé Bulou,
Alex Boeglin,
Fabrice Scheurer,
Guillaume Schull
Abstract:
The interplay between the oxidation state and the optical properties of molecules plays a key role for applications in displays, sensors or molecular-based memories. The fundamental mechanisms occurring at the level of a single-molecule have been difficult to probe. We used a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) to characterize and control the fluorescence of a single Zn-phthalocyanine radical cati…
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The interplay between the oxidation state and the optical properties of molecules plays a key role for applications in displays, sensors or molecular-based memories. The fundamental mechanisms occurring at the level of a single-molecule have been difficult to probe. We used a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) to characterize and control the fluorescence of a single Zn-phthalocyanine radical cation adsorbed on a NaCl-covered Au(111) sample. The neutral and oxidized states of the molecule were identified on the basis of their fluorescence spectra that revealed very different emission energies and vibronic fingerprints. The emission of the charged molecule was controlled by tuning the thickness of the insulator and the plasmons localized at the apex of the STM tip. In addition, sub-nanometric variations of the tip position were used to investigate the charging and electroluminescence mechanisms.
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Submitted 20 July, 2018; v1 submitted 2 February, 2018;
originally announced February 2018.
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Electrically-driven vibronic spectroscopy with sub-molecular resolution
Authors:
Benjamin Doppagne,
Michael C. Chong,
Etienne Lorchat,
Stéphane Berciaud,
Michelangelo Romeo,
Hervé Bulou,
Alex Boeglin,
Fabrice Scheurer,
Guillaume Schull
Abstract:
A scanning tunneling microscope is used to generate the electroluminescence of phthalocyanine molecules deposited on NaCl/Ag(111). Photon spectra reveal an intense emission line at 1.9 eV that corresponds to the fluorescence of the molecules, and a series of weaker red-shifted lines. Based on a comparison with Raman spectra acquired on macroscopic molecular crystals, these spectroscopic features c…
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A scanning tunneling microscope is used to generate the electroluminescence of phthalocyanine molecules deposited on NaCl/Ag(111). Photon spectra reveal an intense emission line at 1.9 eV that corresponds to the fluorescence of the molecules, and a series of weaker red-shifted lines. Based on a comparison with Raman spectra acquired on macroscopic molecular crystals, these spectroscopic features can be associated to the vibrational modes of the molecules and provide a detailed chemical fingerprint of the probed species. Maps of the vibronic features reveal sub- molecularly-resolved structures whose patterns are related to the symmetry of the probed vibrational modes.
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Submitted 14 December, 2016;
originally announced December 2016.
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Narrow-line single-molecule transducer between electronic circuits and surface plasmons
Authors:
Michael C. Chong,
Gaël Reecht,
Hervé Bulou,
Alex Boeglin,
Fabrice Scheurer,
Fabrice Mathevet,
Guillame Schull
Abstract:
A molecular wire containing an emitting molecular center is controllably suspended between the plasmonic electrodes of a cryogenic scanning tunneling microscope. Passing current through this circuit generates an ultra narrow-line emission at an energy of ? 1.5 eV which is assigned to the fluorescence of the molecular center. Control over the linewidth is obtained by progressively detaching the emi…
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A molecular wire containing an emitting molecular center is controllably suspended between the plasmonic electrodes of a cryogenic scanning tunneling microscope. Passing current through this circuit generates an ultra narrow-line emission at an energy of ? 1.5 eV which is assigned to the fluorescence of the molecular center. Control over the linewidth is obtained by progressively detaching the emitting unit from the surface. The recorded spectra also reveal several vibronic peaks of low intensities that can be viewed as a fingerprint of the emitter. Surface-plasmon localized at the tip-sample interface are shown to play a major role on both excitation and emission of the molecular excitons.
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Submitted 14 September, 2015;
originally announced September 2015.