Transport properties through double-magnetic-barrier structures in graphene

We study electrons tunneling through a double-magnetic-barrier structure on the surface of monolayer graphene.The transmission probability and the conductance are calculated by using the transfer matrix method.The results show that the normal incident transmission probability is blocked by the magnetic vector potential and the Klein tunneling region depends strongly on the direction of the incidence electron.The transmission probability and the conductance can be modulated by changing structural parameters of the barrier,such as width and height,offering a possibility to control electron beams on graphene.     

Transport of hydrogen species in a single crystal SrTiO3

The total conductivity and the partial hydrogen ion conductivity of a single crystal of SrTiO₃ have been investigated by transport number measurements using a hydrogen activity concentration cell/EMF method in wet atmospheres as a function of pO₂ (10^− 20–1 atm) at 1000 °C and as a function of temperature (350–1050 °C) in wet hydrogen. The single crystal exhibits a small but readily measurable proton conductivity contribution in wet oxidising atmospheres. Earlier indications of apparent – but unlikely – transport by negatively charged hydrogen ions under reducing conditions and high temperatures in polycrystalline SrTiO₃ have been reproduced for the single crystal, thus eliminating grain boundaries and porosity as a cause of such findings. The paper proposes transport of neutral hydrogen species through the oxide as an alternative cause: This results in polarization of the hydrogen activity at the interface between the electrodes and the electrolyte, in turn giving rise to an unintended gradient in oxygen activity and an EMF resulting from the relatively high oxygen ion transport number of the material.     

Enhanced tunability of two-dimensional electron gas on SrTiO3 through heterostructuring

Two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) on the SrTiO₃ (STO) surface or in STO-based heterostructures have exhibited many intriguing phenomena, which are strongly dependent on the 2DEG-carrier density. We report that the tunability of the 2DEG-carrier density is significantly enhanced by adding a monolayer LaTiO₃ (LTO) onto the STO. Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation induced maximum carrier density of the 2DEG in LTO/STO is increased by a factor of ~4 times, compared to that of the bare STO. By oxygen gas exposure, it becomes 10 times smaller than that of the bare STO. This enhanced tunability is attributed to the drastic surface property change of a polar LTO layer by UV irradiation and O₂ exposure. This indicates that the 2DEG controllability in LTO/STO is more reliable than that on the bare STO driven by defects, such an oxygen vacancy.     

Transport properties of Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3/Nb:SrTiO3 heterojunctions

Current–voltage (J–V) characteristics of epitaxial hetero-junctions composed of Pr_0.7Ca_0.3MnO₃ and Nb:SrTiO₃ were studied under forward and reversed bias conditions. Detailed analysis showed that the J–V characteristics of these heterojunctions can be well-fitted by the thermally-assisted tunnelling model. While the dielectric constant of Nb:SrTiO₃ extracted under the forward bias was about one order of magnitude smaller than that of bulk SrTiO₃, the value obtained under reverse bias was very close to that of the bulk SrTiO₃. The result can be explained by the existence of an interface layer on the Nb:SrTiO₃ substrate with a smaller effective dielectric constant. The current finding suggested that the properties of interface layer should be taken into account in order to accurately simulate the J–V characteristics of such heterojunctions.     

Transport in graphene nanostructures

Graphene nanostructures are promising candidates for future nanoelectronics and solid-state quantum information technology. In this review we provide an overview of a number of electron transport experiments on etched graphene nanostructures. We briefly revisit the electronic properties and the transport characteristics of bulk, i.e., two-dimensional graphene. The fabrication techniques for making graphene nanostructures such as nanoribbons, single electron transistors and quantum dots, mainly based on a dry etching ??paper-cutting?? technique are discussed in detail. The limitations of the current fabrication technology are discussed when we outline the quantum transport properties of the nanostructured devices. In particular we focus here on transport through graphene nanoribbons and constrictions, single electron transistors as well as on graphene quantum dots including double quantum dots. These quasi-one-dimensional (nanoribbons) and quasi-zero-dimensional (quantum dots) graphene nanostructures show a clear route of how to overcome the gapless nature of graphene allowing the confinement of individual carriers and their control by lateral graphene gates and charge detectors. In particular, we emphasize that graphene quantum dots and double quantum dots are very promising systems for spin-based solid state quantum computation, since they are believed to have exceptionally long spin coherence times due to weak spin-orbit coupling and weak hyperfine interaction in graphene.     

Transport in suspended graphene

Motivated by recent experiments on suspended graphene showing carrier mobilities as high as 200,000 cm²/V s, we theoretically calculate transport properties assuming Coulomb impurities as the dominant scattering mechanism. We argue that the substrate-free experiments done in the diffusive regime are consistent with our theory and verify many of our earlier predictions including (i) removal of the substrate will increase mobility since most of the charged impurities are in the substrate, (ii) the minimum conductivity is not universal, but depends on impurity concentration with cleaner samples having a higher minimum conductivity. We further argue that experiments on suspended graphene put strong constraints on the two parameters involved in our theory, namely, the charged impurity concentration and d, the typical distance of a charged impurity from the graphene sheet. The recent experiments on suspended graphene indicate a residual impurity density of which are presumably stuck to the graphene interface, compared to impurity densities of for graphene on SiO₂ substrate. Transport experiments can therefore be used as a spectroscopic tool to identify the properties of the remaining impurities in suspended graphene.     

Dielectric investigations of solid solutions SrTiO3-KTaO3 and SrTiO3-KNbO3

The temperature dependences of the dielectric constant and dielectric hysteresis loops in ceramic samples of (1 ? x)SrTiO_3?x KNbO₃ and (1 ? x)SrTiO_3?x KTaO₃ (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.3) solid solutions prepared using different heat treatments have been investigated. Phase diagrams of the studied solid solutions have been constructed in the T-x coordinates. It has been shown that, after quenching of samples (spontaneous cooling at room temperature after long-term heating at the sintering temperature of the ceramic samples), the temperature of the induced phase transition increases because of the weakening of random electric fields associated with nonisovalent impurities due to their “frozen” nonequilibrium redistribution. For small concentrations x, strong dielectric relaxation is observed in the temperature range of 150–250 K. A model of relaxing centers, which is based on the local charge compensation of heterovalent impurities, has been proposed.     

Surface states on n-type SrTiO3

We have used a model based on local density of states functions to calculate the surface electronic structure for both perfect SrTiO₃(100) surfaces and for surfaces containing O-vacancy defects. The calculations are in excellent agreement with ultraviolet photoemission spectra for both types of surfaces. A magnetic layer with μ ≈ 2.3 μ_B per surface unit cell is predicted for the O-vacancy SrTiO₃(100) surface.     

Improvement of dielectric properties of SrTiO3-based materials through grain-boundary engineering

When an oxide melt is infiltrated into sintered SrTiO₃, the liquid films formed between SrTiO₃ grains are often observed to migrate. This paper shows two techniques for controlling the liquid film migration during the melt infiltration. An oxidation treatment of Nb₂O₅-doped SrTiO₃ between a sintering in 95N₂-5H₂ and a melt infiltration in air suppressed the migration as did a proper ratio (∼1) of BaO and CaO in an infiltrant. The observed migration suppression was attributed to the formation of a thin oxidized layer whose lattice parameter was similar to that of bulk SrTiO₃ grain. The migration suppression resulted in a considerable increase in dielectric properties.     

Structure of SrTiO3 films on Si

The epitaxial deposition of oxides on silicon opens the possibility of incorporating their diverse properties into silicon-device technology. Deposition of SrTiO(3) on silicon was first reported over a decade ago, but growing the coherent, lattice-matched films that are critical for many applications has been difficult for thicknesses beyond 5 unit cells. Using a combination of density functional calculations and x-ray diffraction measurements, we determine the atomic structure of coherent SrTiO(3) films on silicon, finding that the Sr concentration at the interface varies with the film thickness. The structures with the lowest computed energies best match the x-ray diffraction. During growth, Sr diffuses from the interface to the surface of the film; the increasing difficulty of Sr diffusion with film thickness may cause the disorder seen in thicker films. The identification of this unique thickness-dependent interfacial structure opens the possibility of modifying the interface to improve the thickness and quality of metal oxide films on silicon.     

Transport properties of mesoscopic graphene rings

Based on a recursive Green's function method, we investigate the conductance of mesoscopic graphene rings in the presence of disorder, in the limit of phase coherent transport. Two models of disorder are considered: edge disorder and surface disorder. Our simulations show that the conductance decreases exponentially with the edge disorder and the surface disorder. In the presence of flux, a clear Aharonov-Bohm conductance oscillation with the period Φ₀ (Φ₀=h/e) is observed. The edge disorder and the surface disorder have no effect on the period of AB oscillation. The amplitudes of AB oscillations vary with gate voltage and flux, which is consistent with the previous results. Additionally, ballistic rectification and negative differential resistance are observed in I-V curves, with on/off characteristic.     

Transport property of inhomogeneous strained graphene

In analogy to real magnetic field, the pseudo-magnetic field (PMF) induced by inhomogeneous strain can also formthe Landau levels and edge states. In this paper, the transport properties of graphene under inhomogeneous strain arestudied. We find that the Landau levels have non-zero group velocity, and construct one-dimensional conducting channels.In addition, the edge states and the Landau level states in PMF are both fragile under disorder. We also confirm that thebackscattering of these states could be suppressed by applying a real magnetic filed (MF). Therefore, the transmissioncoefficient for each conducting channel can be manipulated by adjusting the MF strength, which indicates the applicationof switching devices.     

Second sound in SrTiO3

We study collective phonon excitations in SrTiO3 by low-frequency light scattering. We employ extended thermodynamics for phonon gas to construct a theoretical spectral function that is applicable regardless of local thermal equilibrium. Our analysis reveals the temperature dependence of tauN, the relaxation time for the momentum-conserving phonon collisions (normal processes), in SrTiO3. These results indicate that the previously reported anomalous soundlike spectrum originates from second sound, which is a wavelike propagation of heat.     

Electron-induced Ti-rich surface segregation on SrTiO3 nanoparticles

Atomic surface structures of nanoparticles are of interest in catalysis and other fields. Aberration-corrected HREM facilitates direct imaging of the surfaces of nanoparticles. A remaining concern of surface imaging arises from beam damage. It is important to identify the intrinsic surface structures and the ones created by electron beam irradiation in TEM. In this study, we performed aberration-corrected HREM and EELS to demonstrate that TiO and bcc type Ti islands form due to intense electron irradiation. The formation of Ti-rich islands is in agreement with previous high temperature annealing experiments on the surfaces of SrTiO₃ single crystals.     

SrTiO3薄膜氧缺陷的第一性原理研究

在广义梯度近似(GGA)下,利用超软赝势对真空条件下SrTiO3超晶胞的体系能量、原子间电子云重叠布局数和电子态密度等进行了自恰计算.结果显示,对有氧缺陷的超晶胞优化后,晶格参数的几何平均值增大了2.711%,这表明在高温条件下外延生长STO薄膜时,产生了氧缺陷,并且氧空位易处于薄膜表层;另外,表层氧缺陷使表层Ti原子明显的发生偏心位移,两个Ti原子的核间距由0.3905 nm增大至0.4234 nm,b轴上的氧原子则向中心靠近了0.0108 nm、并沿c轴方向上突了0.0027 nm,使STO晶体产生自发极化,氧缺陷还使STO的电子态密度的能隙增宽了1.75 eV,达到2.48 eV,从而使STO晶体由顺电相转向铁电相.     

Resonant tunneling through double-barrier structures on graphene

Quantum resonant tunneling behaviors of double-barrier structures on graphene are investigated under the tightbinding approximation. The Klein tunneling and resonant tunneling are demonstrated for the quasiparticles with energy close to the Dirac points. The Klein tunneling vanishes by increasing the height of the potential barriers to more than 300 meV. The Dirac transport properties continuously change to the Schro¨dinger ones. It is found that the peaks of resonant tunneling approximate to the eigen-levels of graphene nanoribbons under appropriate boundary conditions. A comparison between the zigzag- and armchair-edge barriers is given.     

Transport properties of AA-stacking bilayer graphene nanoribbons

The transport properties of AA-stacking bilayer graphene nanoribbons (GNs) have been explored by using the nonequilibrium Green's function method and the Landauer–Büttiker formalism. It is found that in the case of zero bias, the interlayer coupling has pronounced effects on the conductance of bilayer GNs. The zigzag bilayer GNs remain metallic, but metallic armchair bilayer GNs will be semiconductor as the strength of interlayer coupling exceeds critical value. The first Van Hove singularities move close to the Dirac point for both armchair and zigzag bilayer GNs with the strength of interlayer coupling increasing. Some prominent conductance peaks around the Fermi energy are observed in zigzag bilayer GNs, when the top layer and bottom layer have different widths. In the presence of bias voltage, the I–V curves show that for armchair bilayer GNs, the interlayer interactions suppress current, while the interlayer interactions have almost no effect on the current for zigzag bilayer GNs. The ripples in bilayer GNs suppress electronic transport, especially for zigzag bilayer GNs.     

Transport properties in monolayer–bilayer–monolayer graphene planar junctions

The transport study of graphene based junctions has become one of the focuses in graphene research. There are two stacking configurations for monolayer–bilayer–monolayer graphene planar junctions. One is the two monolayer graphene contacting the same side of the bilayer graphene, and the other is the two-monolayer graphene contacting the different layers of the bilayer graphene. In this paper, according to the Landauer–Büttiker formula, we study the transport properties of these two configurations. The influences of the local gate potential in each part, the bias potential in bilayer graphene,the disorder and external magnetic field on conductance are obtained. We find the conductances of the two configurations can be manipulated by all of these effects. Especially, one can distinguish the two stacking configurations by introducing the bias potential into the bilayer graphene. The strong disorder and the external magnetic field will make the two stacking configurations indistinguishable in the transport experiment.