Superconductivity of In-doped Sn0.62Pb0.33Ge0.05Te alloys

A study of the Hall and Seebeck coefficients and of resistivity has been carried out on an Sn_0.62Pb_0.33Ge_0.05Te alloy doped by 5 and 10 at. % In. A superconducting transition with the maximum critical temperature T _C～4 K has been discovered in samples with hole concentrations p≥1×10²¹ cm^?3. The dependence of T _C on hole concentration has been established to be of a threshold nature. The onset of superconductivity is accompanied practically simultaneously by a growth of the resistivity and a sharp drop of the Seebeck coefficient. These features in the experimental data indicate the existence of a band of In resonance states within the allowed valence-band spectrum and strong resonance hole scattering to impurity states. The threshold character of the T _C(p) dependence is connected with the holes filling the resonance states. A positive correlation between the resonance scattering intensity and the critical temperature is observed.     

Hall effect and magnetoresistance of (SN)x films

Hall effect and electrical conductivity have been investigated between 77 K and 300 K and the magnetoresistance at 4.2 K for a number of (SN)_x films deposited at substrate temperatures between — 10 and 50°C. The small magnitude of the Hall mobility (? 1 cm² Vsec^?1 at 300 K) and its activated temperature dependence are interpreted in terms of a heterogenous model for (SN)_x films with thin depletion layers separating highly conductive islands. The hole concentration in these islands (p ≈ 10²¹ cm^?3, the microscopic mobility (μ ≈ 500 cm² Vsec^?1 at 4.2 K) and the temperatures dependence of μ are found to be close to values for (SN)_x crystals.     

Thermal conductivity of the opal-epoxy resin nanocomposite

The effective thermal conductivity κ_eff of seven opal + epoxy resin nanocomposite samples with 100% filling of first-order pores by epoxy resin was measured in the 100-to 300-K temperature interval. In the nanocomposite studied, the thermal conductivity of the matrix (amorphous SiO₂ spheres) is larger than that of the filler material (epoxy resin). κ_eff(T) of the opal + epoxy resin nanocomposite at intermediate temperatures (100–300 K) is shown to behave similar to pure opal. An explanation of the observed effect is proposed.     

Electron scattering in CdxHg1−xTe

Experimental studies of the electron mobility in Cdinx,Hgin1?xTe/0x/0.33, 10¹⁵ cm^?3n10¹⁸ cm^?3, 4.2 K ?T ?300 K/and of the thermoelectric power of intrinsic HgTe from 300 K down to 5 K are reported. These results are interpreted in terms of calculations based on the variational solution of the Boltzmann equation. Analysis shows that in pure samples at low temperatures, the electron mobility is limited by ionized donors, heavy holes, and, in some cases, unresolved defect scattering. In the doped samples with x0̆.1, disorder scattering also becomes significant. Polar-optical phonon scattering is dominant at high temperatures. The sharp decrease of mobility in the region 20–40 K, which occurs for pure samples with x0̌.14, is explained by interband optical phonon scattering. The thermoelectric power of intrinsic HgTe is strongly affected by phonon-drag of holes at low temperatures and by electron-electron scattering at high temperatures.     

Thermal conductivity of HgSe loaded in the pore lattice of a synthetic opal single crystal

Samples of the opal + HgSe nanocomposite with 100% filling of the first-order opal pores by mercury selenide were prepared. The effective thermal conductivity κ_eff and electrical resistivity ρ_eff were measured in the temperature range T=5–200 K, and the thermopower coefficient α was measured in the interval 80–300 K. The coefficient α of HgSe in opal was shown to remain the same as that in bulk mercury selenide samples with similar carrier concentrations. The mechanism of carrier scattering in the HgSe loaded in opal also did not change. The total thermal conductivity κ _tot ⁰ and electrical resistivity ρ⁰ were isolated from κ_eff and ρ_eff, and the electronic (κ _e ⁰ ) and lattice (κ _ph ⁰ ) components of thermal conductivity of HgSe in opal were determined. The magnitude of κ _ph ⁰ was found to be considerably smaller than κ_ph of bulk HgSe with the same carrier concentration throughout the temperature interval studied (5–200 K). For T>20 K, this behavior of κ _ph ⁰ (T) is accounted for by the presence of specific impurities and defects forming in HgSe, and for T<20 K, by the onset of boundary scattering of phonons in the bottlenecks of the horn-shaped channels connecting first-order octahedral and tetrahedral opal pores loaded by mercury selenide.     

Thermal conductivity of NaCl loaded in regular arrays of nanovoids in a synthetic opal single crystal

Samples of opal + NaCl nanocomposites with 100 and 80% filling of first-order opal voids by sodium chloride have been prepared. Their effective thermal conductivities, κ_eff, were measured in the temperature interval 5–300 K. The lattice thermal conductivity of NaCl loaded in the opal voids, κ _ph ^op , was calculated from the measured κ_eff(T). The value of ph was found to be considerably smaller than the lattice thermal conductivity of bulk NaCl throughout the temperature interval studied. For T>20 K, this behavior of κ _ph ^op (T) is accounted for by the presence of specific defects that form in NaCl loaded in opal voids. For T<20 K, κ _ph ^op (T) is governed by boundary phonon scattering from bottlenecks in horn-shaped channels interconnecting the octahedral and tetrahedral first-order opal voids filled by sodium chloride. It was found that the value of κ _ph ^op (T) in this temperature region depends substantially on the dimensions of the bottlenecks, whose thicknesses are related to the amount of the cristobalite forming in a near-surface layer of the amorphous SiO₂ opal spheres in the course of preparation of the opal + NaCl nanocomposite.     

Preparation and semiconducting properties of Th3As4

The resistivity, thermoelectric power and Hall constant in the temperature range of 78–830 K were determined for polycrystalline Th₃As₄ samples obtained by annealing thin thorium slabs in arsenic vapour. The samples examined were n-type semiconductors with a carrier concentration ranging from 1.0 × 10¹⁸cm^?3 to 2.8 × 10¹⁸ cm^?3 for which the effective mass was found to be equal to 0.55–0.76m₀. The Hall mobility, about 450cm²V^?1s^?1 at room temperature, obeys a $\text{T}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>?3</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$ law at high temperatures. On the basis of the electrical measurements the forbidden gap of Th₃As₄ was found to be equal to 0.43 eV.     

Synthesis,electrical and optical properties of CuNdO2 compound

CuNdO₂, a p-type transparent conducting oxide has been synthesized by conventional solid-state reaction. The XRD and TEM results show that the pure delafossite phase is obtained, furthermore, the EDX results indicate the sample is obviously oxygen-rich. The p-type conduction of CuNdO₂ was confirmed by Hall and Seebeck measurements. Carrier concentration and mobility at room temperature are around 1.38×10¹⁷ cm^?3 and 1.24 cm²V^?1s^?1, respectively. On the other hand, the optical band gap of CuNdO₂ is estimated to be around 3.14 eV, which agrees well with the theoretical result predicted by the first-principle calculation.     

Quantum efficiency for degenerate p-type photoluminescence and electroluminescence in GaAs crystals2

The radiative lifetime and the internal quantum efficiency for the degenerate p-type photoluminescence and the electroluminescence in GaAs crystals have been investigated with a simplified model of degenerate semiconductors in which the recombination constant B is approximately proportional to the ?$\text{5}\text{8}$power of the hole concentration. It is suggested that the radiative lifetime reaches a minimum at some hole concentration, in good agreement with the prediction of Dumke. At 77 K, the internal quantum efficiency exhibits a maximum, found to be 100% at 5 × 10¹⁸ cm^?3 for p-type GaAs crystals, in perfect agreement with experiments of Cusano, and for p-n GaAs junction crystals η_int, _max = 60% at 3 × 10¹⁸cm^?3. Finally, it is noted that in degenerate p-type GaAs crystals, the internal quantum efficiency increases linearly with increasing temperatures.     

The defect structure of silver-doped CdS

High-temperature Hall effect measurements are carried out on CdS doped with 2·5 × 10¹⁷?2·3 × 10²⁰ Ag cm^?3 under various cadmium and sulfur pressures. At high p_cd and low silver concentrations, Ag acts as a donor. At higher concentrations self compensation occurs. An anomalous variation of the Hall coefficient with p_s2 indicates that the electron concentration increases with increasing p_s2. This is attributed to the formation of anti structure defects S_cd. A complete defect model is proposed, and published solubility and diffusion data for Ag in CdS in equilibrium with (Ag, Cd) alloys are reinterpreted on the basis of this model.     

Autosolitons in electron-hole plasma in p-Ge

The self-organization of an electron-hole plasma (EHP) heated by an electric field in pure p-Ge samples at T = 77 K has been studied experimentally. The derived current-voltage characteristics (CVCs) and the distributions of the electric field and IR emission of the hot carriers along the samples show that the segments of a steep rise or the S-shaped segments of the CVCs in samples with n-p junctions are related to the formation of longitudinal thermal-diffusion autosolitons (AS_‖); as a result, thin (d = 2–20 μm in diameter), melted-through current channels appear. Such AS_‖ are formed at high EHP densities (n ≥ 1 × 10¹⁶ cm⁻³), when the electron-hole scattering is dominant, and at electron temperatures T _e = (2–4.5)T ₀ (T ₀ is the lattice temperature). The saturation segments and the N-shaped segments in the CVCs are attributable to the generation of transverse thermal-diffusion high-field autosolitons (AS_⊥) in the form of narrow strata with electric field strengths = 1–20 kV cm⁻¹. High-field AS_⊥ are formed at EHP densities n = 5 × 10¹³−1 × 10¹⁶ cm⁻³, when the electron-phonon scattering is dominant, and at electron temperatures T _e ∼ Θ ≥ 5T ₀ (Θ is the Debye temperature). The generated longitudinal and transverse autosolitons have high temperatures (T _e ≥ 1000 K) and reduced carrier densities and can exist simultaneously in different parts of the sample. Original Russian Text ? M.N. Vinoslavskiĭ, P.A. Belevskii, A.V. Kravchenko, 2006, published in Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2006, Vol. 129, No. 3, pp. 477–492.     

The influence of AlN interlayers on the microstructural and electrical properties of p-type AlGaN/GaN superlattices grown on GaN/sapphire templates

AlN with different thicknesses were grown as interlayers (ILs) between GaN and p-type Al_0.15Ga_0.85N/GaN superlattices (SLs) by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE). It was found that the edge-type threading dislocation density (TDD) increased gradually from the minimum of 2.5×10⁹?cm^?2 without AlN IL to the maximum of 1×10¹⁰?cm^?2 at an AlN thickness of 20 nm, while the screw-type TDD remained almost unchanged due to the interface-related TD suppression and regeneration mechanism. We obtained that the edge-type dislocations acted as acceptors in p-type Al _x Ga_1?x N/GaN SLs, through the comparison of the edge-type TDD and hole concentration with different thicknesses of AlN IL. The Mg activation energy was significantly decreased from 153 to 70?meV with a?10-nm AlN IL, which was attributed to the strain modulation between AlGaN barrier and GaN well. The large activation efficiency, together with the TDs, led to the enhanced hole concentration. The variation trend of Hall mobility was also observed, which originated from the scattering at TDs.     

Energy spectrum of (Sn0.65Pb0.35)0.95Ge0.05Te solid solutions

The paper reports the study on the resistivity ρ and thermoemf S of the (Sn_0.65Pb_0.35)_0.95Ge_0.05Te solid solution layers. The dependences of ρ and S on the hole concentrations in the range 3×10¹⁹–2×10²¹ cm^?3 exhibit jumps in the resistivity and thermoemf minima at close hole concentrations p ₁≈9×10¹⁹ cm^?3, p ₂≈2.5×10²⁰ cm^?3, and p ₃≈4.5×10²⁰ cm^?3. The observed jumps and minima suggest a complex structure of the valence band and the presence of critical points in the energy spectrum of holes. According to the data for SnTe, the critical points in the energy spectrum at the given hole concentrations are identified as the Σ-extremum, saddle point LΣ, and Δ-extremum, respectively.     

Correlation of resonance scattering and superconductivity in PbxSn1−xTe solid solutions doped with In

The Hall coefficient and resistivity were measured on a series of samples of Pb_xSn_1−xTe with 0x0.45 and 5 at% of InTe as a dopant. All samples show p-type conductivity with hole concentration in the range from 10¹⁹ to 10²¹ cm⁻³ at 77 K. A slight decrease of Hall mobility and corresponding increase in the scattering cross-section of holes by impurity atoms was observed with an extremum at x=0.25. All samples exhibit a transition to a superconducting state with the critical temperatures ranging from 0.3 to 3.0 K. The maximum of dH_c2/dT (where H_c2 is the second critical field) correlates with the fall in mobility (or rise in the scattering cross-section of holes), which shows that the resonance scattering mechanism is playing an important role in the enhancement of superconducting properties of these solid solution materials.     

Infrared spectroscopy of the intermediate-valence semiconductor YbB12

The dynamic conductivity and permittivity spectra of the intermediate-valence compound YbB₁₂ are measured in the frequency range (6–10⁴) cm^?1 (quantum energy 0.75 meV-1.24 eV) at temperatures of 5–300 K. Analysis of the spectral singularities associated with the response of free charge carriers has made it possible for the first time to determine the temperature dependences of their microscopic parameters, viz., concentration, effective mass, relaxation frequency and time, mobility, and plasma frequency. It is shown that the relaxation frequency decreases upon cooling from 300 K to the coherence temperature T ^* = 70 K for YbB₁₂, which is mainly associated with the phonon mechanism of scattering of charge carriers. For cooling below the coherence temperature T ^* = 70 K, the temperature dependence of the relaxation frequency for charge carriers of the Fermi-liquid type is found to be γ ～ γ₀ + T ², while their effective mass and relaxation time increase, respectively, to m ^*(20 K) = 34m ₀ (m ₀ is the free electron mass) and τ(20 K) = 4 × 10^?13 s, indicating the establishment of coherent scattering of carriers from localized magnetic moments of the f centers. At a temperature of T = 5 K, the conductivity spectrum contains an absorption line at a frequency of 22 cm^?1 (2.7 meV); the origin of this line can be associated with the exciton-polaron bound state. Since such a state was observed earlier in other intermediate-valence semiconductors (such as SmB₆, TmSe_1?x Te, and (Sm, Y)S), it is probably typical of this class of compounds.     

The special features of the Hall effect in GaMnSb layers deposited from a laser plasma

Epitaxial GaMnSb films with Mn contents up to about 10 at. % were obtained by deposition from a laser plasma in vacuum. The growth temperature T _s during deposition was varied from 440 to 200°C, which changed the concentration of holes from 3 × 10¹⁹ to 5 × 10²⁰ cm^?3, respectively. Structure studies showed that, apart from Mn ions substituting Ga, the GaMnSb layers contained ferromagnetic clusters with Mn and shallow acceptor defects of the Ga_Sb type controlled by the T _s value. Unlike single-phase GaMnSb systems studied earlier with negative anomalous Hall effect values and Curie temperatures not exceeding 30 K, the films obtained in this work exhibited a positive anomalous Hall effect, whose hysteresis character manifested itself up to room temperature and was the more substantial the higher the concentration of holes. The unusual behavior of this effect was interpreted in terms of the interaction of charge carriers with ferromagnetic clusters, which was to a substantial extent determined by the presence of Schottky barriers at the boundary between the clusters and the semiconducting matrix; this interaction increased as the concentration of holes grew. The absence of this effect in semiconducting compounds based on III–V Group elements with MnSb or MnAs ferromagnetic clusters was discussed in the literature; we showed that this absence was most likely related to the low hole concentrations in these objects.     

Electrical properties of narrow gap semiconductor PtSb2

Results of measurements of conductivity, Hall and Seebeck coefficients of tellurium doped n-type crystals of platinum antimonide are presented. The Hall coefficient and the Seebeck coefficient undergo sign inversion twice, below and above room temperature. The detailed analysis of the experimental results revealed that below 200 K PtSb₂ can be described by a simple conduction and valence band model. The energy gap E_g = (110?0.15 × T) (meV), the electron conductivity mass m_n^c/m₀ = 0.35, acoustic phonon limited electron mobility 〈μ_a〉_n = 3 × 10⁶ T^{?$\text{3}\text{2}$} ($\text{cm}{}^2\text{V · s}$) and mobility ratio 〈μ_a〉_n/〈μ_a〉_p = 0.4 are determined. However, at higher temperatures a more complicated valence band model is needed to account for the experimental results. The arguments for the existence of subsidiary valleys in the valence band are presented.     

Specific heat measurements in pure and in (Cu, Mn, Fe, Ni)-doped single-crystals of l-arginine phosphate monohydrate

The influence of highly diluted impurities (Cu, Mn, Fe, Ni) on the temperature (T) dependence of the specific heat (c_p) of l-arginine phosphate monohydrate (LAP) was investigated in the temperature range 1.8-300 K. The doped samples yielded values for c_p in excess to those obtained for a pure LAP sample. The melting temperatures (T_m≈420 K) obtained by differential scanning calorimetry for pure and doped LAP samples were found not to be significantly affected by the impurities. The T-dependence of c_p was fully accounted for by taking into consideration the Debye contribution, an Einstein term and a contribution due to both Frenkel and Schottky defects. The model fit all c_p versus T data using a single value for both the Debye (θ_D=160 K) and the Einstein (T_E=376.8 K) temperatures, and for the energy (ε_d=157.9 meV) required to create the defects.     

Investigation of X-ray diffraction limitations upon the analysis of tellurium-atom injection into GaAs epitaxial layers

GaAs lattice “superdilation” caused by an introduced tellurium impurity, which is well known in publications, is experimentally studied. This phenomenon consists in the fact that the GaAs-lattice dilation can be more than 10 times greater than expansion that would appear upon the replacement of arsenic atoms with tellurium atoms if calculations are performed using the current-carrier concentration and Vegard’s law. The given phenomenon has already been observed at n _Te > 3 × 10¹⁸ cm^–3. A series of GaAs epitaxial layers heavily doped with tellurium and grown via metal-organic chemical vapor deposition are investigated using high-resolution X-ray diffractometry (HRXRD), secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), and the Hall effect. It is demonstrated that, despite a high Te concentration (10²⁰?10²¹ cm^–3) in the layer and variations in the growth conditions, the concentration estimates based on HRXRD data depend linearly on the results of elemental analysis performed by means of SIMS. The GaAs lattice expands even somewhat slighter as compared to the case where arsenic atoms are replaced with all Te atoms injected into the layer. At the same time, the Hall carrier concentration decreases sharply beginning at 2 × 10²⁰ cm^–3. In accordance with the obtained results, the examined phenomenon can be interpreted as the strong compensation of donor and acceptor carriers rather than as superdilation.     

Zeitliches Abklingen und Anisotropie von p-Terphenyl- undp-Terphenyl-Anthrazen-Mischkristallen bei Beschuß mit α-Teilchen

The time dependence of scintillation intensity from single crystals ofp-terphenyl and mixed crystals ofp-terphenyl and anthracene after bombarding with α-particles was investigated at the two temperaturesT=296 °K andT=92 °K. For the crystals ofp-terphenyl the time dependence of the scintillation anisotropy was also measured. Using the formulas given byKing andVoltz the decay curves ofp-terphenyl were decomposed into two components. Good agreement between experiment and theory was found. The ratio of the prompt intensity to the delayed intensity was determined to be 1∶2 atT=296 °K and 1∶3 atT=92 °K. The diffusion constants for triplet excitons were calculated to beD _T(296 °K)≈10^?5 cm² sec^?1 andD _T(92 °K)≈ 2×10^?6 cm² sec^?1, and the triplet-triplet interaction rate constantsχ _tt(296 °K)≈ 2.5×10^?11 cm³ sec^?1 andχ _tt(92 °K)≈0.5×10^?11 cm³ sec^?1.