Semiconductor–metal transition in GaAs nanowires under high pressure

We investigate the structural phase transitions and electronic properties of GaAs nanowires under high pressure by using synchrotron x-ray diffraction and infrared reflectance spectroscopy methods up to 26.2 GPa at room temperature.The zinc-blende to orthorhombic phase transition was observed at around 20.0 GPa.In the same pressure range, pressureinduced metallization of GaAs nanowires was confirmed by infrared reflectance spectra.The metallization originates from the zinc-blende to orthorhombic phase transition.Decompression results demonstrated that the phase transition from zincblende to orthorhombic and the pressure-induced metallization are reversible.Compared to bulk materials, GaAs nanowires show larger bulk modulus and enhanced transition pressure due to the size effects and high surface energy.     

Structural transition of BaF2 nanocrystals under high pressure

The structural transition of BaF₂ nanocrystals is studied by in situ high pressure synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction measurements up to about 21.2 GPa at ambient temperature. Two phase transformations were observed at 5.8 and 14.4 GPa, and the two high pressure phases are identified as orthorhombic (Pnma) phase and hexagonal (P6₃/mmc) phase by Rietveld refinement. Upon decompression, the α-PbCl₂-type metastable phase is retained when the pressure is released. Two phase transformations of the BaF₂ nanocrystals are higher than that in bulk BaF₂. It is proposed that the size effects are found to influence the BaF₂ nanocrystals high-pressure behaviors and the surface energy plays a significant role in the structural stability.     

Stabilization of metastable expanded face-centered-tetragonal manganese

The structural and magnetic properties of Mn prepared on single crystalline face-centered-tetragonal (fct) Co(001) were investigated. Mn grows coherently up to at least 50 monolayers (ML) and adopts a metastable expanded fct(001) phase [c/a = 1.055(5)]. This new fct-Mn phase was recently predicted theoretically by Hafner and Spisák. Studies of magnetic Mn/Co interface exchange interactions prove the room temperature antiferromagnetic state for thicknesses above 2.5 ML. The magnetic anisotropy of the thin Mn is high enough to induce a significant exchange anisotropy for Mn thicknesses as low as 6 ML. The potential of fct-Mn to become a novel model system for systematic studies on the exchange interactions at antiferromagnet/ferromagnet interfaces is discussed.     

Effect of interfacial defects on the electronic and magnetic properties of epitaxial CrAs/InAs and CrAs/CdSe half-metallic multilayers

We present an extended study of single impurity atoms at the interface between the half-metallic ferromagnetic zinc-blende CrAs compound and the zinc-blende binary InAs and CdSe semiconductors in the form of very thin multilayers. Contrary to the case of impurities in the perfect bulk CrAs studied in Galanakis and Pouliasis [J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 321 (2009) 1084] defects at the interfaces do not alter in general the half-metallic character of the perfect systems. The only exception are Void impurities at Cr or In(Cd) sites which lead, due to the lower-dimensionality of the interfaces with respect to the bulk CrAs, to a shift of the p bands of the nearest neighboring As(Se) atom to higher energies and thus to the loss of the half-metallicity. But Void impurities are Schottky-type and should exhibit high formation energies and thus we expect the interfaces in the case of thin multilayers to exhibit a robust half-metallic character.     

Surface stabilized cubic phase of CsPbI_3 and CsPbBr_3 at room temperature

Inorganic halide perovskites CsPb X_3(X = I, Br) have attracted tremendous attention in solar cell applications. However, the bulk form of the cubic phase CsPb X_3, which offers moderate direct bandgaps, is metastable at room temperature and tends to transform into a tetragonal or orthorhombic phase. Here, our density functional theory calculation results found that the surface energies of the cubic phase are smaller than those of the orthorhombic phase, although the bulk counterpart of the cubic phase is less stable than that of the orthorhombic phase. These results suggest a surface stabilization strategy to maintain the stability of the cubic phase at room temperature that an enlarged portion of surfaces shall change the relative stability of the two phases in nanostructured CsPb X_3. This strategy, which may potentially solve the long-standing stability issue of cubic CsPb X_3, was demonstrated to be feasible by our calculations in zero-, one-, and two-dimensional nanostructures. In particular, confined sizes from few to tens of nanometers could keep the cubic phase as the most thermally favored form at room temperature. Our predicted values in particular cases, such as the zero-dimensional form of CsPbI_3,are highly consistent with experimental values, suggesting that our model is reasonable and our results are reliable. These predicted critical sizes give the upper and lower limits of the confined sizes, which may guide experimentalists to synthesize these nanostructures and promote likely practical applications such as solar cells and flexible displays using CsPb X_3 nanostructures.     

Fe-C-Sb合金中液态急冷获得的ε相的高压稳定性及其相变

本工作用X射线粉末照相法研究了Fe-C-Sb合金中液态急冷获得的ε相在高压下的相变过程。实验结果表明,压力对ε相的稳定性及其相变过程都有显著影响。在4.7GPa压力下,ε相的稳定化温度提高到450℃左右,而后合金中开始出现在常压下未曾出现过的新的正交结构亚稳相。在上述压力下,当温度达到560℃时,该正交结构亚稳相开始转变成Fe₃C;在800℃时,Fe₃C分解成单质状态的石墨碳和γ-Fe,这时合金的相组成为:C,γ-Fe,Sb及另一未知相。 关键词：     

The superconductivity and structure of equiatomic ternary transition metal pnictides

Recent superconductivity and crystallographic data for the MM′X ternary compounds with M = Ti, Zr, or Hf, M′ = Ru or Os, and X = P or As are presented. Moderate to high superconducting transition temperatures (T _c 's)are exhibited by the ZrRuSi-type hexagonal phase which is found to be metastable at low temperatures. The low-temperature phase of ZrRuP has the TiNiSi-type orthorhombic structure and exhibits superconductivity at 3.9K. The low-temperature phase of HfRuAs has the TiFeSi-type orthorhombic superstructure and remains normal at 1.0K. TiRuAs exists only with the superstructure and remains normal at 0.35K. The details of these various structural modifications point to the importance of undistorted zig-zag chains of metal atoms for the occurrence of superconductivity in these compounds. The lowT _c for TiRuP and the absence of superconductivity for TiOsP above 0.35K are not accounted for by these structural modifications.     

CdTe epilayers for uses in optical waveguides

CdTe epilayers have been grown by vapor phase epitaxy (VPE) on glass, MgO, sapphire, LiNbO₃ and mica substrates. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies show the good structural quality of the epilayers. In these epilayers, a few optical modes were excited with a 1.33-μm laser. The measured propagation losses were in the range between 5 dB/cm and less than 0.5 dB/cm. From dark-mode m-lines, the epilayer thickness was found to be in the 1–3 μm range, in good accord with that obtained by SEM measurements. The refractive index obtained from the fitting is also in good accord with that of bulk CdTe. Received: 7 October 1999 / Accepted: 13 March 2000 / Published online: 5 July 2000     

Pseudomorphy, surface alloys and the role of elementary clusters on the domain orientations in the Cu/Al13Co4(100) system

We have used the pseudo-tenfold surface of the orthorhombic Al(13)Co(4) crystal as a template for the adsorption of Cu thin films of various thicknesses deposited at different temperatures. This study has been carried out by means of low energy electron diffraction (LEED), scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and x-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD). From 300 to 573 K, Cu adatoms grow pseudomorphically up to one monolayer. At 300 K, the β-Al(Cu, Co) phase appears for coverages greater than one monolayer. For higher temperature deposition, the β-Al(Cu, Co) phase further transforms into the γ-Al(4)Cu(9) phase. Both β and γ phases grow as two (110) domains rotated by 72° ± 1° from each other. Instead of following the substrate symmetry, it is the orientations of the bipentagonal motifs present on the clean Al(13)Co(4)(100) surface that dictate the growth orientation of these domains. The initial bulk composition and structural complexity of the substrate have a minor role in the formation of the γ-Al(4)Cu(9) phase as long as the amount of Al and the Cu film thickness reach a critical stoichiometry.     

La4Au亚稳超导相的高压合成

本文报道了利用非晶合金的高压变态,合成新亚稳超导相La₄Au的结果,非晶La₈₀Au₂₀交结构,晶格参数为α=6.54?,b=7.71?,C=11.32?,超导临界温度T_c达5.5K,高于所有已知La-Au相的值。 关键词：     

Universal conductance fluctuations in epitaxial GaMnAs ferromagnets: dephasing by structural and spin disorder

Mesoscopic transport measurements reveal a large effective phase coherence length in epitaxial GaMnAs ferromagnets, contrary to usual 3d-metal ferromagnets. Universal conductance fluctuations of single nanowires are compared for epilayers with a tailored anisotropy. At large magnetic fields, quantum interferences are due to structural disorder only, and an unusual behavior related to hole-induced ferromagnetism is evidenced, for both quantum interferences and decoherence. At small magnetic fields, phase coherence is shown to persist down to zero field, even in presence of magnons, and an additional spin disorder contribution to quantum interferences is observed under domain walls nucleation.     

Size quantization effect in GaAs nanocrystals

GaAs nanocrystals have been synthesized by an electrochemical route from the acidic solutions of metallic gallium and arsenic oxide. Structural analysis by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), reveales the presence of orthorhombic phase, in contrast to the usual cubic phase of bulk GaAs. Well separated GaAs nanocrystals having sizes in the range of 7 to 15 nm are identified in the TEM micrograph. Optical absorption shows a strong excitonic absorption band on account of quantum size effect associated with GaAs nanocrystals. Photoluminescence, recorded at 300 K under ultraviolet excitation (369 nm), shows the HOMO-LUMO transition band as well as the red shifted bands. Micro-Raman analysis shows a phonon mode centered at 250 cm⁻¹ associated with a point defect.     

Characterization of 4H-SiC substrates and epilayers by Fourier transform infrared reflectance spectroscopy

The infrared reflectance spectra of both 4H–SiC substrates and epilayers are measured in a wave number range from 400 cm 1 to 4000 cm 1 using a Fourier-transform spectrometer. The thicknesses of the 4H–SiC epilayers and the electrical properties, including the free-carrier concentrations and the mobilities of both the 4H–SiC substrates and the epilayers, are characterized through full line-shape fitting analyses. The correlations of the theoretical spectral profiles with the 4H–SiC electrical properties in the 30 cm 1 –4000 cm 1 and 400 cm 1 –4000 cm 1 spectral regions are established by introducing a parameter defined as error quadratic sum. It is indicated that their correlations become stronger at a higher carrier concentration and in a wider spectral region (30 cm 1 –4000 cm 1 ). These results suggest that the infrared reflectance technique can be used to accurately determine the thicknesses of the epilayers and the carrier concentrations, and the mobilities of both lightly and heavily doped 4H–SiC wafers.     

Symmetry breaking of in-plane order in confined copolymer mesophases

Packing of spherical-domain block copolymer mesophases confined to a thin film is investigated as a function of the number of layers n. We find an abrupt transition from hexagonal to orthorhombic in-plane ordering of domains when n is increased from 4 to 5. As n increases further (up to 23 in this study), the symmetry of the orthorhombic phase asymptotically approaches that of the body-centered cubic (110) plane. These results are interpreted in terms of the energetics of competing packings in the bulk and at the film interfaces. Detailed structural and thermodynamic properties are obtained with self-consistent field theory.     

Pressure-induced phase transition in an orthorhombic C60 crystal

X-ray diffraction studies of an orthorhombic C₆₀ single crystal grown from CS₂ solution have revealed a phase transition to a monoclinic phase between 1.1 and 2.2GPa. Compressibility of three principal axes is measured up to 3GPa and found to be nearly isotropic. Its bulk modulus is obtained as 10.5±1.9GPa, and this crystal is more compressible than an fcc one. We discuss the structural characteristic differences under pressure between the orthorhombic crystal and the fcc crystal.     

Carrier recombination under one-photon and two-photon excitation in GaN epilayers

Luminescence properties of 100-mum thick GaN epilayers grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) over three different substrates: high-pressure grown n-type bulk GaN (HP-n-GaN), high-pressure bulk GaN doped with magnesium (HP-GaN:Mg), and free-standing HVPE lifted-off from sapphire (FS-HVPE-GaN), were compared by means of one-photon and two-photon excitations. The contribution of carrier capture to nonradiative traps was estimated by the analysis of luminescence transients with carrier diffusion taken into account. The estimated values of carrier lifetime of about 3ns and diffusion coefficient of 1cm(2)/s indicate the highest quality of GaN epilayers on FS-HVPE-GaN substrates.     

气液相变过程亚稳态体相内部界面分析

利用热力学理论对亚稳态体相内部活化分子的聚集状态进行讨论,发现在无外界扰动的平衡状态下,体相内部活化分子绝大多数以单体形式存在,并给出了单体与聚集体的浓度关系。在聚集体浓度与聚集体内部分子数之间关系分析的基础上,推导出临界聚集浓度的表达式,从而确定体相处于过热(过冷)极限点时的内部分子能量分布特性,借以从分子聚集的角度来描述气液相变的物理图景。同时,利用体相在过热(过冷)极限点处的宏观性质来逆推体相与微小新相之间的界面张力γ,从而对经典理论的形核率作出修正。     

X-ray study of structural phase transitions in nanocrystalline LaMnO3+δ perovskite

The nanocrystalline LaMnO_3+δ perovskite was synthesized by the microwave-assisted glycothermal method and calcined at several temperatures up to 1500°C. The prepared samples were examined by the X-ray powder diffraction with the aim to show that LaMnO_3+δ exhibits the size-induced structural phase transitions. The as-received nanocrystals of LaMnO_3+δ are of tetragonal, pseudo-cubic symmetry not known for bulk material. The samples calcined at temperatures 750–1100°C have trigonal symmetry known from the high-temperature phase of LaMnO₃ single crystal. The samples calcined from 1200°C to 1500°C have two phases: trigonal and orthorhombic. Thus, the observed phase sequence is inverted with respect to that of the bulk material, which is the characteristic of the size-induced mechanism of phase transitions in the nanocrystals. The critical crystallite sizes for both structural transitions were evaluated as 20 and 100?nm.     

Pressure-induced phase transformations in l-alanine crystals

Raman scattering and synchrotron X-ray diffraction have been used to investigate the high-pressure behavior of l-alanine. This study has confirmed a structural phase transition observed by Raman scattering at 2.3 GPa and identified it as a change from orthorhombic to tetragonal structure. Another phase transformation from tetragonal to monoclinic structure has been observed at about 9 GPa. From the equation of state, the zero-pressure bulk modulus and its pressure derivative have been determined as (31.5±1.4) GPa and 4.4±0.4, respectively.     

Structural studies of the P-T phase diagram of sodium niobate

The crystal structure of sodium niobate (NaNbO₃) has been investigated by energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction at high pressures (up to 4.3 GPa) in the temperature range 300–1050 K. At normal conditions, NaNbO₃ has an orthorhombic structure with Pbcm symmetry (antiferroelectric P phase). Upon heating, sodium niobate undergoes a series of consecutive transitions between structural modulated phases P-R-S-T(1)-T(2)-U; these transitions manifest themselves as anomalies in the temperature dependences of the positions and widths of diffraction peaks. Application of high pressure leads to a decrease in the temperatures of the structural transitions to the R, S, T(1), T(2), and U phases with different baric coefficients. A phase diagram for sodium niobate has been build in the pressure range 0–4.3 GPa and the temperature range 300–1050 K. The dependences of the unit-cell parameters and volume on pressure and temperature have been obtained. The bulk modulus and the volume coefficients of thermal expansion have been calculated for different structural modulated phases of sodium niobate. A phase transition (presumably, from the antiferroelectric orthorhombic P phase to the ferroelectric rhombohedral N phase) has been observed at high pressure (P = 1.6 GPa) and room temperature.