November 2017

The most article of November is published in Applied Surface Science by researchers from ICMAB and from the Department of Physics and Materials Science and Centre for Functional Photonics (CFP) (City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong). 

Evaluation of the dielectric function of colloidal Cd1-xHgxTe quantum dot films by spectroscopic ellipsometry. Bejaoui, A.; Alonso, M. I.; Garriga, M.; Campoy-Quiles, M.; Goni, A. R.; Hetsch, F.; Kershaw, S. V.; Rogach, A. L.; To, C. H.; Foo, Y.; Zapien, J. A. APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE. NOV 1 2017, 421, B, 295-300. DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2016.09.070.

The article investigates the structural and optical of layer-by-layer thin films with CdHgTe quantum dots and determines its dielectric function. Taking into account surface thickness and roughness, the same dielectric function fits all films. Quantum-confinement-related blue-shifts of interband transitions are observed.

December 2017

The articles published in December gather still no citations. However, we present here the article published in December in the journal with the highest impact factor (IF 2016 Journal Citation Reports, Thomson Reuters):

Mercury-Mediated Organic Semiconductor Surface Doping Monitored by Electrolyte-Gated Field-Effect Transistors. Zhang, Qiaoming; Leonardi, Francesca; Casalini, Stefano; Mas-Torrent, Marta. ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS. DEC 8 2017, 27,46, 1703899. DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201703899. 

Surface doping allows tuning the electronic structure of semiconductors at near-surface regime and is normally accomplished through the deposition of an ultrathin layer on top or below the host material. Surface doping is particularly appealing in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) where charge transport takes place at the first monolayers close to the dielectric surface. However, due to fabrication restrictions that OFET architecture imparts, this is extremely challenging. Here, it is demonstrated that mercury cations, Hg²⁺, can be exploited to control doping levels at the top surface of a thin film of a p-type organic semiconductor blended with polystyrene.