A compact optical terahertz (THz) source was demonstrated based on an efficient high-repetition-rate doubly resonant optical parametric oscillator (OPO) around 2 mu m with two type-II phase-matched KTP crystals in the walk-off compensated configuration. The KTP OPO was intracavity pumped by an acousto-optical (AO) Q-switched Nd:YVO4 laser and emitted two tunable wavelengths near degeneracy. The tuning range extended continuously from 2.068 mu m to 2.191 mu m with a maximum output power of 3.29 W at 24 kHz, corresponding to an optical-optical conversion efficiency (from 808 nm to 2 mu m) of 20.69%. The stable pulsed dual-wavelength operation provided an ideal pump source for generating terahertz wave of micro-watt level by the difference frequency generation (DFG) method. A 7.84-mm-long periodically inverted quasi-phase-matched (QPM) GaAs crystal with 6 periods was used to generate a terahertz wave, the maximum voltage of 180 mV at 1.244 THz was acquired by a 4.2-K Si bolometer, corresponding to average output power of 0.6 mu W and DFG conversion efficiency of 4.32x10(-7). The acceptance bandwidth was found to be larger than 0.35 THz (FWHM). As to the 15-mm-long GaSe crystal used in the type-II collinear DFG, a tunable THz source ranging from 0.503 THz to 3.63 THz with the maximum output voltage of 268 mV at 1.65 THz had been achieved, and the corresponding average output power and DFG conversion efficiency were 0.9 mu W and 5.86x10(-7) respectively. This provides a potential practical palm-top tunable THz sources for portable applications.

Single-photon emitters (SPEs) are quantum systems that can produce individual photons when excited. These photons can be manipulated in their polarization states to encode quantum bits, which are the quantum-mechanical analogs of classical bits. SPEs are critical to the development of quantum information technology applications, including quantum communication, computing, and sensing. Despite their importance, there are currently no solid-state SPEs that meet the requirements for large-scale applications. Researchers have explored various materials hosts, including quantum dots, carbon nanotubes, and bulk semiconductors, but many challenges remain. For example, producing scalable and integrated SPEs with tunable wavelengths, high clocking rates (brightness), and single-photon purity at room temperature is still an ongoing research goal. In recent years, there has been significant research interest in single-photon emitters (SPEs) in two-dimensional (2D) Van der Waals (VdW) materials. Most research in this area has focused on SPEs in multilayer insulating hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), which can be operated at room temperature, and monolayer tungsten diselenide (WSe2), which is a direct bandgap semiconductor. The SPEs in hBN are derived from defect emission, while those in monolayer WSe2 stem from either defect or strain-bound excitons. Despite this promising research, there are critical challenges that impede the development of these SPEs. For example, hBN is an insulator with a band gap of 6.0 eV, which limits electrical control, and controlling defects is difficult. Additionally, the photo-stability of monolayer WSe2 is vulnerable to environmental fluctuations, such as surface contaminants. Multilayer gallium selenide (GaSe) is another 2D Van der Waals (VdW) SPE host, and the initial experimental observation of GaSe SPEs was reported by Tonndorf. et al. in 2017.2,3 However, GaSe SPEs have received less attention compared to hBN and WSe2 for several reasons. Firstly, early reports2,3 show that GaSe SPEs arising from defects are less brighter than SPEs in WSe24 and hBN.5 Secondly, increasing the laser power for brighter GaSe SPEs would cause the formation of biexcitons, which degrades the single photon purity.2 Since 2017, to the best of our knowledge, there have been no further experimental studies conducted on overcoming those challenges to improve the performances of GaSe SPEs. In this dissertation, I present three research projects focused on addressing the challenges of developing single-photon emitters (SPEs) in multilayer gallium selenide (GaSe). First, I achieved localized bright and stable GaSe SPEs in multilayer GaSe through the manipulation of nanoscale strain. Second, I performed below-diffraction limit hyperspectral imaging of strain-localized GaSe SPEs through cathodoluminescence and demonstrated the wide spectral range tunability, significant enhancement of emission intensities controlled by nanoscale strain, as well as the robust spectral stability of GaSe SPEs. In the last project, I demonstrated a 30%-50% improvement in emission intensities of GaSe, converted non-SPEs to SPEs, and increased operating temperatures from 23 K up to 85K above cryogenic temperature through electrostatic doping. The research works in this dissertation lays a crucial foundation for future fundamental studies and the development of GaSe SPEs and their analogues.

The objective of this study is analysing the characteristics of five different solar cell technologies regarding their efficiency, fill factor, cost and environmental impacts and comparing their improvement records over years considering their efficiency. The five solar cell technologies of interest are amorphous silicon, monocrystalline silicon, polycrystalline silicon, cupper indium gallium selenide thin film and cadmium telluride thin film. The structure and manufacturing process of each of cell technologies were discussed. The study was conducted by the aid of available scientific reports regarding the electrical characteristics of different solar cell technologies. The extracted information regarding efficiency rate and fill factor was analysed using graphs and significant findings are discussed. The five technologies are also compared regarding their cost and ease of fabrication and their impacts on environment and recycling challenges. The result of this study is suggesting the most promising technology that may be the optimal option for further investment and research.