Phonon density of states in epitaxial FE/CR(0 0 1) superlattices

Incoherent nuclear resonant absorption of synchrotron radiation at the 14.413 keV nuclear resonance of ⁵⁷Fe was employed to measure directly the Fe-projected (partial) phonon density of states (DOS) in epitaxial FeCr(0 0 1) superlattices and in an ⁵⁷Fe_0.03Cr_0.97(0 0 1) alloy film MBE-grown on MgO(0 0 1). The measurements were performed at 300 K with 2.3 meV energy resolution around 14.413 keV. At the interfaces, longitudinal vibrations of Fe atoms are suppressed, and a strong resonance phonon mode appears near 23 meV. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Role of Fe doping on structural and vibrational properties of ZnO nanostructures

In this report, Raman and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) measurements were carried out to study the phonon modes of pure and Fe doped ZnO nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were prepared by sol–gel technique at room temperature. The X-ray diffraction measurements reveal that the nanoparticles are in hexagonal wurtzite structure and doping makes the shrinkage of the lattice parameters, whereas there is no alteration in the unit cell. Raman measurements show both E₂^lowE_{2}^{\mathrm{low}} and E₂^HighE_{2}^{\mathrm{High}} optical phonon mode is shifted towards lower wave number with Fe incorporation and explained on the basis of force constant variation, stress measurements, respectively. In addition, Fe related local vibrational modes (LVM) were observed for higher concentration of Fe doping. FTIR spectra reveal a band at 444 cm⁻¹ which is specific to E ₁ (TO) mode; a red-shift of this mode in Fe doped samples and some surface phonon modes were observed. Furthermore, the observation of additional IR modes, which is considered to have an origin related to Fe dopant in the ZnO nanostructures, is also reported. These additional mode features can be regarded as an indicator for the incorporation of Fe ions into the lattice position of the ZnO nanostructures.     

Experimental observation of fundamental microwave absorption in high-quality dielectric crystals

This paper is devoted to the experimental study of small microwave losses (tan δ ≈ 10⁻⁴−10⁻⁹) in high-quality dielectric single crystals. Wide-temperature-range measurements of the loss tangent at frequencies 9–72 GHz have indicated the existence of fundamental (lattice) and extrinsic (due to imperfections) microwave absorption in sapphire and YAG crystals. Strong distinctive temperature dependence of the lattice absorption (tan δ ∼ T^α, α = 4 or α = 5 for different crystal symmetries) allows to identify it with the “photon+phonon→phonon” interaction due to lattice anharmonicity.     

Experimental assessment of the phonon confinement in TiO2 anatase nanocrystallites by Raman spectroscopy

TiO₂ aerogels prepared by sol‐gel method and followed by supercritical drying have been annealed at temperatures ranging between 400 and 550 °C. The obtained TiO₂ anatase crystallites with the mean size between 6.4 and 13.9 nm, as obtained from transmission electron microscopy measurements, have been further investigated by Raman spectroscopy. It was found that the peak position and full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the TiO₂ anatase Raman bands located around 144, 398, and 638 cm⁻¹ are influenced by crystallite dimension. These spectral changes can be assigned to the combined action of several nanosize effects such as phonon confinement, phonon coupling, strain, and stoichiometry defects. Surprisingly, the best discrimination of the FWHM change with the nanocrystallite mean size was achieved for the 638 cm⁻¹ band, whereas the best discrimination for the peak position was found for the 398 cm⁻¹ band. The critical size values obtained from the peak position and FWHM evaluation were between 12.7 and 13.1 nm. Taking into consideration that only the phonon confinement and inhomogeneous strain can induce an asymmetric broadening of the Raman signal, the bands asymmetry was evaluated, and the critical size values of the nanocrystallites were determined to be between 10 and 11 nm. For a symmetric size distribution of TiO₂ anatase crystallites with dimensions between 6.4 and 13.9 nm, the obtained result indicates that the phonon confinement contribution to the overall size effects is more than 75%. No evidence about the influence of the phonon coupling and vacancies on the Raman features was observed. The comparison of the data derived from the experimental analysis with those obtained by applying the theoretical phonon confinement model indicates the necessity of developing an improved phonon confinement model. The asymmetry approach can be applied for a great variety of nanostructures, as a measure of the confinement effect. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sources of loss processes in phonon generation and detection experiments with superconducting tunneling junctions

Observing the phonon yield, i.e. the ratio of the experimental phonon signal amplitude and the corresponding calculated value, phonon losses within the generation-detection system can be localized and determined quantitatively. With tin junctions on pure silicon substrates immersed in liquid helium the phonon yield is 3–5%. Under vacuum conditions the yield rises to 10–12% indicating strong phonon transmission to the helium bath. The experimental lifetime for 280 GHz phonons in the silicon substrate is longer than 65 µs indicating negligible volume losses and losses at the free substrate surface. It is further shown, that volume losses inside the phonon generator and detector are small compared to the total loss of about 90%. By phonon reverberation measurements we find evidence that the main sources for phonon losses are localized at the boundaries of the tunneling junctions to the substrate. This is supported by an increase of the phonon yield with improved polishing from about 9% (mechanical), 10% (chemical) to 12% (sputter etching). A SIMS analysis indicates the presence of carbonhydrates and probably of water in the boundaries. This layer of extraneous molecules together with the nonideal surface structure of the substrate and the evaporated films weakens the mechanical bonding between the tunnel junctions and the substrate and is possibly causing strong phonon splitting by anharmonic forces.     

Intersubband scattering of cold electrons in a coupled quantum well with subband spacing below

We report measurements of the intersubband scattering rate between the first and second subband in a quantum-well structure with subband spacing (11 meV) smaller than the optical phonon energy. We measure the electron population in the second subband under CW excitation by a far-infrared laser tuned to the intersubband absorption frequency. This allows us to determine the intersubband relaxation rate using detailed balance. These measurements are novel because they are performed at very low excitation densities (I10 μW/cm²). In this regime the heating of the electron gas is negligible, so that the optically excited population in the upper subband greatly exceeds any thermal population induced by laser heating. Therefore, the relaxation rate we measure is controlled by intersubband scattering rather than carrier cooling. At low temperature we obtain an intersubband lifetime of which is power independent below 10⁻¹ W/cm², and approximately temperature independent for lattice temperatures between T=10 and 2.5 K.     

On the curve of the density of phonon states for cubic boron nitride (from the results of photoluminescence measurements)

The fine structure of the phonon wing associated with the zero-phonon line (ZPL) of the BN1 center in the cubic boron nitride is analyzed in comparison with the structure of the phonon wing of the luminescence center at 3.188 eV in diamond, the second-order Raman scattering spectrum, and the theoretically calculated densities of phonon states of the c-BN compound. Taking into account the similarity of the structures of the phonon wings in the spectra of the above centers and the previously made assumptions that the structure of the phonon wing of the center at 3.188 eV is due to the specific features in the density of phonon states of diamond, it is assumed that, in the observed density of phonon states of cubic boron nitride, the critical points are represented by the specific features of the structure of the phonon wing associated with the zero-phonon line (at 3.294 eV) of the BN1 luminescence center. In turn, these latter specific features coincide accurate to within 5–10cm^?1 with the theoretically calculated lattice vibrations of the c-BN compound and the experimental data obtained from the second-order Raman spectra.     

Acoustic phonon spectroscopy

An introduction is given to an acoustic phonon spectrometer, which is based on optical modulation techniques to detect magnetic circular dichroism. The spectrometer is capable of detecting deviations from a thermal background at a few degrees Kelvin of 1 part in 10⁴ within a 4 mK (80 MHz) bandwidth over the phonon energy range of 0.3 to 16K. Because the strongest phonon interactions in dielectric crystals at a few degrees Kelvin occur on the surfaces, many of the applications have been concerned with surface problems.     

Far-infrared study of impurity local modes in gallium-doped PbTe

We present far-infrared reflection spectra and results of galvanomagnetic measurements of PbTe single crystals doped with gallium between 10 and 300 K. The analysis of the far-infrared reflection spectra was made by a fitting procedure based on the model of coupled oscillators. Together with the strong plasmon–phonon coupling we obtain three local modes of gallium at about 122, 166 and 192 cm⁻¹. The position of these modes depends of impurity center charge, and their intensity depends of temperature and of gallium concentration. Persistent photoconductivity effect was registered in the sample with 0.4 at.% Ga by galvanomagnetic and far-infrared measurements.     

Radiative strength function and the pygmy dipole resonance in <Superscript>208</Superscript>Pb and <Superscript>70</Superscript>Ni

The pygmy-resonance parameters and the E1 strength function are derived for ²⁰⁸Pb using a fully self-consistent microscopic formalism recently developed for magic nuclei, which takes into account quasiparticle phonon interactions (or coupling to phonons) in addition to the random phase approximation. For the radiative strength function of ²⁰⁸Pb at energies above 5 MeV, the experimental data of the Oslo group are adequately described by our predictions, whereby the important role of coupling to phonons is confirmed. By comparing the measurements based on the (³He, ³He′γ) and (γ, γ′) reactions, we discuss the physical properties of the radiative strength function measured for ²⁰⁸Pb. For the neutron-rich ⁷⁰Ni nucleus, predictions for the radiative strength function and the pygmy resonance are obtained using a partially self-consistent approach, which invokes the Skyrme forces in deriving the mean field, effective nucleon–nucleon interaction, and phonon characteristics.     

Studies on the complex behavior of optical phonon modes in wurtzite (ZnO)1−x (Cr2O3) x

This paper reports on the use of phonon spectra obtained with laser Raman spectroscopy for the uncertainty concerned to the optical phonon modes in pure and composite ZnO_1?x (Cr₂O₃) _x . Particularly, in previous literature, the two modes at 514 and 640 cm^?1 have been assigned to ZnO are not found for pure ZnO in our present study. The systems investigated for the typical behavior of phonon modes with 442 nm as excitation wavelength are the representative semiconductor (ZnO)_1?x (Cr₂O₃) _x (x = 0, 5, 10 and 15 %). Room temperature Raman spectroscopy has been demonstrated polycrystalline wurtzite structure of ZnO with no structural transition from wurtzite to cubic with Cr₂O₃. The incorporation of Cr³⁺ at most likely on the Zn sub-lattice sites is confirmed. The uncertainty of complex phonon bands is explained by disorder-activated Raman scattering due to the relaxation of Raman selection rules produced by the breakdown of translational symmetry of the crystal lattice and dopant material. The energy of the E ₂ (high) peak located at energy 53.90 meV (435 cm^?1) due to phonon–phonon anharmonic interaction increases to 54.55 meV (441 cm^?1). A clear picture of the dopant-induced phonon modes along with the B ₁ silent mode of ZnO is presented and has been explained explicitly. Moreover, anharmonic line width and effect of dislocation density on these phonon modes have also been illustrated for the system. The study will have a significant impact on the application where thermal conductivity and electrical properties of the materials are more pronounced.     

Phonon dispersion in Xe

The predictions of the Mie-Lennard-Jones potentials for phonon dispersion in solid Xe at 10°K and at 77°K are compared with the results of recent measurements. The dynamics of the crystal are described by the first order self-consistent phonon theory for the imaginary part of the one phonon Green's function. The fit obtained is quite poor though we point out that no conclusion can be drawn about the size of three-body forces. We conclude that improved potentials are needed to account for the experimental data.     

Brillouin scattering by pure-transverse phonons in GaSe and GaS

Brillouin scattering experiments in the layer-type semiconductors GaSe and GaS by the pure-transverse phonon domains have been carried out at room temperature. Weak resonant enhancement and cancellation have been found for both materials in the region of transparency. The non-diagonal elastic constants C₁₂ have also been determined to be 3.77 × 10¹¹ dyn cm^?2 (GaSe) and 5.35 × 10¹¹ dyn cm^?2 (GaS) by measuring the sound velocities of the phonon domains.     

EPR and optical spectroscopy of Cr3+ ions in Y3Ga5O12 crystalline thin films

The emission spectrum of Cr³⁺ in Y₃Ga₅O₁₂ crystalline thin films at 10K is composed of the sharp R ₁-line, its phonon sideband, and the very weak broadband. The lineshape of R ₁-line at the peak wavelength of 689.8 nm cannot be fitted to a single Gaussian. This suggests that there exist several different Cr³⁺ sites in the thin film. This fact is confirmed by lifetime measurements; the radiative decay of the fluorescence is decomposed into multiple-exponential curves. The dominant component (2.8 ms) of the decay curve for the broadband emission is equal to those (2.4 ms) for R ₁-line and its phonon sidebands. This result is discussed in terms of a tunneling model.     

Far-infrared reflectivity of the mixed-valence compounds TmTe and TmSe

Far-infrared reflectivity measurements have been made on the mixed valence compounds TmTe and TmSe between 1.3 and 300 K. For TmTe at 1.3 K a single Reststrahlen band is observed at frequencies expected for divalent Tm in TmTe. At 4.2 K new weak structure appears which may be due to trivalent Tm. TmSe shows a surprisingly low reflectivity, but no phonon structure. The plasma edge is at ～ 10cm^-1 indicating a strongly frequency-dependent conductivity.     

On the phonon Hall effect in a paramagnetic dielectric

The phonon Hall effect in the paramagnetic dielectric garnet Tb₃Ga₅O₁₂ has been investigated. It has been found that the coefficient of the phonon Hall effect is positive and is equal to (3.5 ± 2) × 10^?5T^?1 in a magnetic field of 3 T at a temperature of 5.13 K. The results are experimental evidence of the phonon Hall effect in the paramagnetic dielectric found by C. Strohm, G. L. J. A. Rikken, and P. Wyder, Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 155901 (2005).     

Phonon emission from a metallic film excited by nanosecond electrical pulses

We report the first measurements of heat pulses generated by electrical excitation of a thin metallic film on a nanosecond time scale. Using heater power densities of between 8 and 800 Wmm^-2, we found a significant variation of the phonon pulse length reaching the bolometer and also of the ratio of transverse to longitudinal polarisation amplitudes. The phenomena were attributed to diffusive propagation due to highly frequency dependent phonon scattering within a thin damaged layer at the surface of the sapphire substrate.     

Mode dependent scattering of phonons by domain walls in ferroelectric KDP

Thermal conductivity and ballistic phonon imaging measurements in KH₂PO₄ (KDP) at low temperature (T<3K) indicate that scattering from domain walls has a large effect on phonon transport. kDP has a ferroelectric phase transition from tetragonal to orthorhombic structure atT _c =122 K. BelowT _c domains of opposite electric polarization and crystal orientation form unless the sample is colled in an electric field. Thermal conductivity measured along the [100] (tetragonal) axis drops 30% when domain walls are present, which is independent of sample size and temperature. We attribute this decrease to phonon polarization-dependent scattering at the domain boundaries. This is verified by measurements of ballistic transport, using phonon imaging techniques, which reveal the phonon polarization and mode dependence of the scattering. The scattering is successfully modelled using continuum acoustics with simple acoustic mismatch at the domainwall. The interface scattering is found to be mode dependent: Caustic structures in the phonon images due to slow transverse phonons are most affected by the domain wall scattering, which channels these phonons along parallel planes by multiple reflections without mode conversion. Mode conversion scattering, though possible for a number of phonons, has little effect on the overall phonon transmission.     

Some properties of the phonon spectra of transition metal disilicides VSi2, NbSi2, and TaSi2

The phonon spectra of metallic disilicides VSi₂, NbSi₂, and TaSi₂ have been studied in detail by inelastic neutron scattering at 300 K and specific heat measurements between 10 K and 250 K. The specific heat calculated from the generalised phonon density of states extracted from neutron measurements is in good agreement with the measured lattice contribution to the specific heat. The properties of the phonon spectra are discussed in relation with other data reported for these isostructural and isoelectronic disilicides.