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At least 55 records · Page 3

Quantum Confined Stark Effect and Temperature Dependencies of Photoluminescence of InAs Quantum Dots Coupled with AlGaAs/GaAs Two Dimensional Electron Gas

In this work, Experimental study of the influence of internal electric field and the temperature on the photoluminescence of InAs self assembled quantum dots inserted in AlGaAs/GaAs modulation doped hetero-structure have been investigated. The internal electric field is controlled by an appropriate design of the hetero-structure. We have observed a red shift of the photoluminescence position peaks result from the quantum confined Stark effect due to the local electric field existing in the structure. Estimation values of the internal electric field have been obtained through carrier’s densities values in interface of AlGaAs/GaAs hetero-junction. An anomalous dependence of the full width at half maximum with temperature has been found, which attributed to the carrier’s dynamics between InAs quantum dots layer and the two-dimensional electron gas.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

A CVD Diamond-Based Photodetector for the Visible and Near-IR Spectral Range

A photodetector for the visible and near-IR spectral range has been created on the basis of a chemical- vapor-deposited diamond modulation-doped with boron. The detected electromagnetic radiation is absorbed in a thin Cr (7 nm)–Au (5.5 nm) bimetallic sublayer deposited on the surface of a modulationdoped diamond film comprising a highly doped (up to 5 × 10{sup 19} cm{sup –3}) 3-nm-thick delta-layer, low-doped (~10{sup 17} cm{sup –3}) 800-nm-thick sublayer, and highly doped (10{sup 20} cm{sup –3}) ~10-μm-thick sublayer with an ohmic Ti(50 nm)/Pt(15 nm)/Au(30 nm) contact. Holes generated in the bimetallic sublayer diffuse into diamond and are accelerated by an electric field in the low-doped sublayer to form a response photocurrent. The ampere/watt responsivity of the photodetector reaches 1 μA/W at a radiation wavelength of 445 nm and 0.18 μA/W at 1.06 μm.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Enhancing the Reaction Kinetics and Stability of Co‐Free Li‐Rich Cathode Materials via a Multifunctional Strategy

Co-free Li-rich layered oxides (CFLLOs) with anionic redox activity are among the most promising cathode materials for high-energy-density and low-cost lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, irreversible oxygen release often causes severe structural deterioration, electrolyte decomposition, and the formation of unstable cathode-electrolyte interface (CEI) film with high impedance. Additionally, the elimination of cobalt elements further deteriorates the reaction kinetics, leading to reduced capacity and poor rate performance. Here, in this study, a multifunctional strategy is proposed, incorporating Li 2 MnO 3 phase content regulation, micro-nano structure design, and heteroatom substitution. The increased content of Li 2 MnO 3 phase enhances the capacity through oxygen redox. The smaller nanoscale primary particles induce greater tensile strain and introduce more grain boundaries, thereby improving the reaction kinetics and reactivity, while the larger micron-sized secondary particles help to reduce interfacial side reactions. Furthermore, Na⁺ doping modulates the local coordination environment of oxygen, stabilizing both the anion framework and the crystal structure. As a result, the designed cathode exhibits enhanced rate performance, delivering a capacity of 158 mAh g⁻¹ at 5.0 C and improved cyclic stability, with a high capacity retention of 99% after 400 cycles at 1.0 C. This multifunctional strategy holds great promise for advancing the practical application of CFLLOs in next-generation LIBs.

Co-free Li-rich layered oxide↗

Quantization and anomalous structures in the conductance of Si/SiGe quantum point contacts

Quantum point contacts (QPCs) are fabricated on modulation-doped Si/SiGe heterostructures and ballistic transport is studied at low temperatures. We observe quantized conductance with subband separations up to 4 meV and anomalies in the first conductance plateau at 4e{sup 2}/h. At a temperature of T = 22 mK in the linear transport regime, a weak anomalous kink structure arises close to 0.5(4e{sup 2}/h), which develops into a distinct plateau-like structure as temperature is raised up to T = 4 K. Under magnetic field parallel to the wire up to B = 14 T, the anomaly evolves into the Zeeman spin-split level at 0.5(4e{sup 2}/h), resembling the '0.7 anomaly' in GaAs/AlGaAs QPCs. Additionally, a zero-bias anomaly (ZBA) is observed in nonlinear transport spectroscopy. At T = 22 mK, a parallel magnetic field splits the ZBA peak up into two peaks. At B = 0, elevated temperatures lead to similar splitting, which differs from the behavior of ZBAs in GaAs/AlGaAs QPCs. Under finite dc bias, the differential resistance exhibits additional plateaus approximately at 0.8(4e{sup 2}/h) and 0.2(4e{sup 2}/h) known as '0.85 anomaly' and '0.25 anomaly' in GaAs/AlGaAs QPCs. Unlike the first regular plateau at 4e{sup 2}/h, the 0.2(4e{sup 2}/h) plateau is insensitive to dc bias voltage up to at least V{sub DS} = 80 mV, in-plane magnetic fields up to B = 15 T, and to elevated temperatures up to T = 25 K. We interpret this effect as due to pinching off one of the reservoirs close to the QPC. We do not see any indication of lifting of the valley degeneracy in our samples.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Observation of electron states of small period artificial graphene in nano-patterned GaAs quantum wells

Engineered honeycomb lattices, called artificial graphene (AG), are tunable platforms for the study of novel electronic states related to Dirac physics. Here in this work, we report the achievement of electronic bands of the honeycomb topology with the period as low as 40 nm on the nano-patterned modulation-doped AlGaAs/GaAs quantum wells. Resonant inelastic light scattering spectra reveal peaks which are interpreted as combined electronic transitions between subbands of the quantum well confinement with a change in the AG band index. Spectra lineshapes are explained by joint density of states obtained from the calculated AG electron band structures. These results provide a basis for further advancements in AG physics.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Impact of threading dislocation density on the lifetime of InAs quantum dot lasers on Si

We investigate the impact of threading dislocation density on the reliability of 1.3 μm InAs quantum dot lasers epitaxially grown on Si. A reduction in the threading dislocation density from 2.8 × 108 cm−2 to 7.3 × 106 cm−2 has improved the laser lifetime by about five orders of magnitude when aged continuous-wave near room temperature (35 °C). We have achieved extrapolated lifetimes (time to double initial threshold) more than 10 × 106 h. An accelerated laser aging test at an elevated temperature (60 °C) reveals that p-modulation doped quantum dot lasers on Si retain superior reliability over unintentionally doped ones. These results suggest that epitaxially grown quantum dot lasers could be a viable approach to realize a reliable, scalable, and efficient light source on Si.

Jung, Daehwan↗

On quantum-dot lasing at gain peak with linewidth enhancement factor $α$ H = 0

This paper describes an investigation of the linewidth enhancement factor α H in a semiconductor quantum-dot laser. Results are presented for active region parameters and laser configurations important for minimizing α H . In particular, the feasibility of lasing at the gain peak with α H = 0 is explored. The study uses a many-body theory with dephasing effects from carrier scattering treated at the level of quantum-kinetic equations. InAs quantum-dot lasers with different p-modulation doping densities are fabricated and measured to verify the calculated criteria on laser cavity design and epitaxial growth conditions.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Upper critical magnetic field and multiband superconductivity in artificial high-𝑇 𝑐 superlattices of nano quantum wells

Artificial high-T c superlattices (AHTS) composed of quantum building blocks with tunable superconducting critical temperature have been synthesized by engineering their nanoscale geometry using the Bianconi-Perali Valletta (BPV) two-gap superconductivity theory. These quantum heterostructures consist of quantum wells made of superconducting, modulation-doped Mott insulators (S), confined by a metallic (N) potential barrier. The lattice geometry has been carefully engineered to induce the predicted Fano-Feshbach shape resonance between the gaps, near a topological Lifshitz transition. Here, we validate the BPV theory by providing compelling experimental evidence that AHTS samples, at the peak of the superconducting dome, exhibit resonant two-band, two-gap superconductivity. This is demonstrated by measuring the temperature dependence of the upper critical magnetic field, μ 0 H c2 , in samples with superlattice periods 3.3 < d < 5.28 nm and L/d ratios close to the magic value 2/3 (where L is the thickness of the superconducting La 2 CuO 4 layer and d is the superlattice period). Here, the data reveal the predicted upward concavity in H c2 (T) and a characteristic kink in the coherence length as a function of temperature, confirming the predicted two-band superconductivity with Fermi velocity ratio ≈ 0.25 and significant pair-exchange term among the two condensates.

Heterostructures↗

Strong quantum coherence between Fermi liquid Mahan excitons

In modulation doped quantum wells, the excitons are formed as a result of the interactions of the charged holes with the electrons at the Fermi edge in the conduction band, leading to the so-called “Mahan excitons.” The binding energy of Mahan excitons is expected to be greatly reduced and any quantum coherence destroyed as a result of the screening and electron-electron interactions. Surprisingly, we observe strong quantum coherence between the heavy hole and light hole excitons. Such correlations are revealed by the dominating cross-diagonal peaks in both one-quantum and two-quantum two-dimensional Fourier transform spectra. Theoretical simulations based on the optical Bloch equations where many-body effects are included phenomenologically reproduce well the experimental spectra. Furthermore, time-dependent density functional theory calculations provide insight into the underlying physics and attribute the observed strong quantum coherence to a significantly reduced screening length and collective excitations of the many-electron system.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Thermal and Quantum Melting Phase Diagrams for a Magnetic-Field-Induced Wigner Solid

A sufficiently large perpendicular magnetic field quenches the kinetic (Fermi) energy of an interacting two-dimensional (2D) system of fermions, making them susceptible to the formation of a Wigner solid (WS) phase in which the charged carriers organize themselves in a periodic array in order to minimize their Coulomb repulsion energy. In low-disorder 2D electron systems confined to modulation-doped GaAs heterostructures, signatures of a magnetic-field-induced WS appear at low temperatures and very small Landau level filling factors ($\textit{ν}$ ≃ 1/5). In dilute GaAs 2D hole systems, on the other hand, thanks to the larger hole effective mass and the ensuing Landau level mixing, the WS forms at relatively higher fillings ($\textit{ν}$ ≃ 1/3). Here we report our measurements of the fundamental temperature vs filling phase diagram for the 2D holes’ WS-liquid thermal melting. Moreover, via changing the 2D hole density, we also probe their Landau level mixing vs filling WS-liquid quantum melting phase diagram. In this work, we find our data to be in good agreement with the results of very recent calculations, although intriguing subtleties remain.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Record-quality GaAs two-dimensional hole systems

The complex band structure, large spin-orbit induced band splitting, and heavy effective mass of two-dimensional (2D) hole systems hosted in GaAs quantum wells render them rich platforms to study many-body physics and ballistic transport phenomena. Here we report ultra-high-quality (001) GaAs 2D hole systems, fabricated using molecular beam epitaxy and modulation doping, with mobility values as high as 5.8 × 10 6 cm 2 /(V s) at a hole density of p = 1.3 × 10 11 /cm 2 , implying a mean free path of ≃ 27 μm. In the low-temperature magnetoresistance trace of this sample, we observe high-order fractional quantum Hall states up to the Landau level filling ν = 12/25 near ν = 1/2. Furthermore, we see a deep minimum develop at ν = 1/5 in the magnetoresistance of a sample with a much lower hole density of p = 4.0 × 10 10 /cm 2 where we measure a mobility of 3.6 × 10 6 cm2/(V s). Finally, these improvements in sample quality were achieved by the reduction of residual impurities both in the GaAs channel and in the AlGaAs barrier material, as well as optimization in the design of the sample structure.

2-dimensional systems↗

Dislocation-driven growth of two-dimensional lateral quantum-well superlattices

Here, the advent of two-dimensional (2D) materials has led to extensive studies of heterostructures for novel applications. 2D lateral multiheterojunctions and superlattices have been recently demonstrated, but the available growth methods can only produce features with widths in the micrometer or, at best, 100-nm scale and usually result in rough and defective interfaces with extensive chemical intermixing. Widths smaller than 5 nm, which are needed for quantum confinement effects and quantum-well applications, have not been achieved. We demonstrate the growth of sub–2-nm quantum-well arrays in semiconductor monolayers, driven by the climb of misfit dislocations in a lattice-mismatched sulfide/selenide heterointerface. Density functional theory calculations provide an atom-by-atom description of the growth mechanism. The calculated energy bands reveal type II alignment suitable for quantum wells, suggesting that the structure could, in principle, be turned into a “conduit” of conductive nanoribbons for interconnects in future 2D integrated circuits via n-type modulation doping. This misfit dislocation–driven growth can be applied to different combinations of 2D monolayers with lattice mismatch, paving the way to a wide range of 2D quantum-well superlattices with controllable band alignment and nanoscale width.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Transient Studies of Nonequilibrium Transport in Two-Dimensional Semiconductors

The overarching objective of research under DOE support has been to investigate emergent carrier phenomena in different two-dimensional (2D) systems, under conditions where they are driven far from equilibrium. The description of nonequilibrium transport has long represented one of the most enduring challenges in condensed-matter physics, in large part due to the need to invoke the role of complex many-body phenomena (electron-phonon and electron-electron coupling) in this regime. In this project, we have explored aspects of this problem in a variety of different two-dimensional systems. These include the modulation-doped two-dimensional electrons gas, or 2DEG, in GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures; the electron and hole systems in graphene and its related hetero-structures, and; the strongly-confined electron layers in transition-metal dichalcogenide (MoS 2 and WS 2 ) and trichalcogenide (TiS 3 ) materials. Significant understanding has been achieved in a number of different areas, as we elaborate upon in subsequent sections of this proposal: Nanoscale spectroscopy of defect-related barriers in MoS2 Negative differential conductance due to inter-valley scattering in WS 2 under high fields Incipient localization due to scattering from frozen-phonon disorder in quantum point contacts High-field transient transport in graphene/hexagonal BN heterostructures Universal voltage scaling of quantum corrections in graphene under nonequilibrium A defining feature of much of this research has been an approach to problem solving in which novel experimental techniques (such as transient electrical pulsing and scanning-probe microscopy) are combined with the development (in collaboration with colleagues from condensed-matter theory) of sophisticated models, a strategy that we propose to continue in our future research. In recent years, we have developed an increasing capacity for handling atomically-thin materials, and their van der Waals systems, a capacity that is reflected in the balance of topics listed above.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Correlated States of Two-dimensional Electron Systems in AlAs Quantum Wells

Two-dimensional (2D) carrier systems confined to modulation-doped semiconductor hetero-structures provide a nearly ideal testing ground for exploring new physical phenomena. At low temperatures and in the presence of a strong magnetic field, these systems exhibit fascinating, often unexpected, many-body states, arising from the strong electron-electron interaction. In our work, we studied various many-body states of different 2D systems. These included 2D electron and hole systems confined to GaAs and also to AlAs quantum wells, including wide quantum wells where the charge distribution is bilayer like. We observed and reported new phenomena in these systems, including new (even-denominator) fractional quantum Hall states, Wigner crystal solid phases, and composite fermion compressible states.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Doping and energy band modulation of nanoporous electrodes for enhancing power conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells

Highlights: • Cd and La are co-doped into TiO{sub 2} by sol-gel method. • La dopant modulates particle size to enhance dye adsorption. • Cd dopant causes decrease in band gap of TiO{sub 2} and creates trap sites. • Only small amount of Cd dopant required for the favorable decrease in band gap. • 24% of efficiency increment for 0.1 mol% Cd-La TiO{sub 2} compared to pure TiO{sub 2}. - Abstract: This work report, for the first time, the co-doping of mesoporous TiO{sub 2} with Cd{sup 2+} and La{sup 3+} cations for improved performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Cd{sup 2+} ions modify the TiO{sub 2} lattice interstitially and lower the band gap enabling better electron injection. La{sup 3+} ions, having a larger ionic radius compared to that of Ti{sup 4+} ions, occupy interstitial sites and modulate particle size which increase surface area, hence the dye adsorption. The result demonstrates that DSSC employed with 0.1 mol% Cd-La co-doped TiO{sub 2} anode an increase in power conversion efficiency of 24% compared to DSSC with pure TiO{sub 2} anode. The doping concentration has to remain low as not to completely transform the morphology of TiO{sub 2} and to decrease the number of oxygen vacancies forming trap sites for recombination. The selection of ionic radius of dopants is significant as they can modify the TiO{sub 2} lattice either by substitution or interstitial of titanium ions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗