Metal–insulator transition in boron-doped amorphous carbon films

Boron-doped amorphous graphite-like carbon (GLC) films have been prepared with different boron concentrations. Electrical transport measurements in the temperature range 1.3–300?K on the films shows a doping-induced metal–insulator (MI) transition. On the metallic side of the transition, the experimental data are interpreted in terms of weak localization and the effect of electron–electron interactions. Data on the insulator side of transition are analyzed in terms of hopping conduction. Critical behaviour is observed near the transition, with the resistivity obeying a power-law temperature dependence.     

Unusual metal–insulator transition in disordered ferromagnetic films

We present a theoretical interpretation of recent data on the conductance near and farther away from the metal–insulator transition in thin ferromagnetic Gd films of thickness b≈2$b\approx 2$–10 nm. For increasing sheet resistances a dimensional crossover takes place from d=2 to d  =3 dimensions, since the large phase relaxation rate caused by scattering of quasiparticles off spin wave excitations renders the dephasing length L_??b$L_{?}?b$ at strong disorder. The conductivity data in the various regimes obey fractional power-law or logarithmic temperature dependence. One observes weak localization and interaction induced corrections at weaker disorder. At strong disorder, near the metal–insulator transition, the data show scaling and collapse onto two scaling curves for the metallic and insulating regimes. We interpret this unusual behavior as proof of two distinctly different correlation length exponents on both sides of the transition.     

On the variation of activation energy for amorphous–crystallization phase transition in Se–Te–Sn chalcogenide glasses using iso-conversional analysis

In this paper, the variation of activation energy of amorphous–crystallization phase transition of as-Se_85–xTe₁₅Sn_x (x = 2, 4 and 6) chalcogenide glasses is investigated using iso-conversional analysis under non-isothermal conditions using differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) technique. The study is based on the variation of activation energy of crystallization with the degree of conversion and hence with temperature. The three iso-conversional methods of Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS), Ozawa–Flynn–Wall (OFW) and Friedman are used to deduce the variation of activation energy with the extent of conversion and also with temperature. The KAS and OFW methods give the similar values while the Friedman method gives lower values of activation energy of crystallization for the investigated chalcogenide glasses.     

Characterization of new quaternary chalcogenide As–Ge–Se–Sb thin films

This paper reports the effect of replacement of selenium by antimony on the optical gap and some other physical parameters of new quaternary chalcogenide As₁₄Ge₁₄Se_{72? x} Sb _x (where x = 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 at%) thin films. Thin films with thickness 200–220 nm of As₁₄Ge₁₄Se_{72? x} Sb _x were prepared by thermal evaporation of the bulk samples. Increasing antimony content was found to affect the average heat of atomization, the average coordination number, number of constraints and cohesive energy of the As₁₄Ge₁₄Se_{72 ?x} Sb _x alloys. Optical absorption measurements showed that the fundamental absorption edge is a function of composition. Optical absorption is due to allowed, non-direct transition and the energy gap decreases with the increasing antimony content. The chemical bond approach has been applied successfully to interpret the decrease in the optical gap with increasing antimony content.     

On the metal–insulator transition in vanadium dioxide

The conductivity σ of vanadium dioxide (VO₂) drops at a metal–insulator transition by four orders of magnitude due to the structural change between tetragonal and monoclinic crystals. In order to elucidate this conductivity drop, we introduce the semiclassical equation of motion to describe the dynamics of the conduction electron (wave packet), where the existence of a k-vector k is prerequisite for the conduction. We showed that the periodicity using the non-orthogonal bases does not legitimize the electron dynamics in solids. The theory suggests that the decrease in the dimensionality of the k-vectors due to the structural change is the cause of the conductivity drop.     

Photoconductivity in amorphous thin films of Ge22Se78−xBix

Temperature and intensity dependence of photoconductivity is studied in amorphous thin films of Ge₂₂Se_78−x Bi_x with x = 0, 2 and 10. Transient photoconductivity measurements have also been made on the same samples. Our results show that photosensitivity decreases as Bi concentration is increased from x = 0 to x = 2. However, at high concentration of Bi(x = 10), photosensitivity again increases. Transient photoconductivity also show a different behaviour at low and high concentration of Bi. Results have been explained in terms of defect states produced due to Bi incorporation in GeSe system.     

Universal role of quantum uncertainty in Anderson metal–insulator transition

We explore quantum uncertainty, based on Wigner–Yanase skew information, in various one-dimensional single-electron wave functions. For the power-law function and eigenfunctions in the Aubry–André model, the electronic localization properties are well-defined. For them, we find that quantum uncertainty is relatively small and large for delocalized and localized states, respectively. And around the transition points, the first-order derivative of the quantum uncertainty exhibits singular behavior. All these characters can be used as signatures of the transition from a delocalized phase to a localized one. With this criterion, we also study the quantum uncertainty in one-dimensional disorder system with long-range correlated potential. The results show that the first-order derivative of spectrum-averaged quantum uncertainty is minimal at a certain correlation exponent α_m${\alpha }_m$ for a finite system, and has perfect finite-size scaling behaviors around α_m${\alpha }_m$. By extrapolating α_m${\alpha }_m$, the threshold value α_c?1.56±0.02${\alpha }_c?1.56\pm 0.02$ is obtained for the infinite system. Thus we give another perspective and propose a consistent interpretation for the discrepancies about localization property in the long-range correlated potential model. These results suggest that the quantum uncertainty can provide us with a new physical intuition to the localization transition in these models.     

Determination of the thickness and optical constants of amorphous Ge–Se–Bi thin films

The effect of varying bismuth concentration on the optical constants of amorphous Ge₂₀Se_{80? x} Bi _x (where x = 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 at%) thin films prepared by thermal evaporation has been investigated. The transmission spectra T(λ) of the films at normal incidence were obtained in the spectral region from 400 to 2500 nm. An analysis proposed by Swanepoel [J. Phys. E: Sci. Instrum. 16 (1983) p.1214], based on the use of the maxima and minima of the interference fringes, was applied to derive the real and imaginary parts of the complex index of refraction and also the film thickness. Increasing bismuth content was found to affect the refractive index and extinction coefficient of the Ge₂₀Se_{80? x} Bi _x films. Optical absorption measurements show that the fundamental absorption edge is a function of composition. With increasing bismuth content, the refractive index increases while the optical band gap decreases.     

Spectral features of Co–Ge–Te amorphous thin film

Optical spectral features of Co_xGe_yTe_100?x?y amorphous thin films where 10≤x≤35 and 41≤y≤47 were studied for the first time. The transmittance and reflectance at normal incidence have been measured at room temperature in the spectral range 190–2500 nm. Refractive index and extinction coefficient have been evaluated in the above spectral range. Band tail width and energy gap were strongly affected by cobalt concentration in the “as prepared” amorphous thin film. Absorption band spectrum on the basis of the imaginary parts of the dielectric constant, ε₂, ε_1, refractive index, and extinction coefficient are also affected by cobalt content. On the other hand, the band edge parameter β remains almost constant.     

Electro-optic metal–insulator–semiconductor–insulator–metal Mach-Zehnder plasmonic modulator

The performance of a CMOS-compatible electro-optic Mach-Zehnder plasmonic modulator is investigated using electromagnetic and carrier transport simulations. Each arm of the Mach-Zehnder device comprises a metal–insulator–semiconductor–insulator–metal (MISIM) structure on a buried oxide substrate. Quantum mechanical effects at the oxide/semiconductor interfaces were considered in the calculation of electron density profiles across the structure, in order to determine the refractive index distribution and its dependence on applied bias. This information was used in finite element simulations of the electromagnetic modes within the MISIM structure in order to determine the Mach-Zehnder arm lengths required to achieve destructive interference and the corresponding propagation loss incurred by the device. Both inversion and accumulation mode devices were investigated, and the layer thicknesses and height were adjusted to optimise the device performance. A device loss of <8 dB is predicted for a MISIM structure with a 25 nm thick silicon layer, for which the device length is <3 μm, and <5 dB loss is predicted for the limiting case of a 5 nm thick silicon layer in a 1.2 μm long device: in both cases, the maximum operating voltage is 7.5 V.     

The dependence of photosensitivity on composition for thin films of Ge x As y Se1–x–y chalcogenide glasses

We have prepared twelve Ge–As–Se chalcogenide glass films with different chemical compositions and investigated their stability to exposure with near bandedge light. The evolution of two key parameters, the refractive index at 1550 nm and the bandgap with increasing fluence were fitted with stretched-exponential functions. While most of the films showed photo-bleaching (or photodarkening) behavior, we found that for films with a mean coordination number (MCN) around ≈2.45–2.50, neither the bandgap nor the refractive index changed upon irradiation, demonstrating that photostable glasses exist with a particular chemical composition corresponding to the strongest glass formers. Such photostable glasses are the best choice for applications in photonics.     

Excitonic metal–insulator phase transition of the Mott type in compressed calcium

It has been experimentally found that, under the static compression of a calcium crystal at room temperature, it undergoes a series of structural phase transitions: face-centered cubic lattice → body-centered cubic lattice → simple cubic lattice. It has been decided to investigate precisely the simple cubic lattice (because it is an alternative lattice) with the aim of elucidating the possibility of the existence of other (nonstructural) phase transitions in it by using for this purpose the Hubbard model for electrons with half-filled ns-bands and preliminarily transforming the initial electronic system into an electron–hole system by means of the known Shiba operators (applicable only to alternative lattices). This transformation leads to the fact that, in the new system of fermions, instead of the former repulsion, there is an attraction between electrons and holes. Elementary excitations of this new system are bound boson pairs—excitons. This system of fermions has been quantitatively analyzed by jointly using the equation-of-motion method and the direct algebraic method. The numerical integration of the analytically exact transcendental equations derived from the first principles for alternative (one-, two-, and three-dimensional) lattices has demonstrated that, in systems of two-species (electrons + hole) fermions, temperature-induced metal–insulator phase transitions of the Mott type are actually possible. Moreover, all these crystals are in fact excitonic insulators. This conclusion is in complete agreement with the analytically exact calculations of the ground state of a one-dimensional crystal (with half-filled bands), which were performed by Lieb and Wu with the aim to find out the Mott insulator–metal transition of another type.     

Electric-field induced ion-leveraged metal–insulator transition in conducting polymer-based field effect devices

The field effect devices prepared completely from conducting polymers, especially poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PEDOT/PSS), were studied. Normally in a conductive “on” state, the transistor-like device has a transition to a substantially less conductive “off” state at an applied positive gate voltage, typically ∼15–25 V. The current ratio I_off/I_on can exceed 10⁻⁴ at room temperature. We have found that the field effect is strongly temperature dependent and is substantially reduced upon decreasing the temperature by only a 10 °C. This loss of current reduction upon application of a gate voltage is not due to the temperature dependence of the electrical conductivity of polymers of which the devices are made. The temperature dependence of the dc conductivity of the PEDOT/PSS follows the variable range hopping law both before and after application of the gate voltage, though with an increased activation energy, T₀. We suggest that the conducting polymer is near the metal–insulator transition and that the field effect in the device is related to the electric field modulating this transition in the region underneath the gate electrode. The transition is controlled and leveraged by ion motion. The time dynamics of the current with the gate modulation strongly supports our conjecture. We demonstrate the generality of the phenomena by presenting similar results for devices fabricated from the conducting polypyrrole doped with Cl.     

Detection of the metal–insulator transition in disordered systems of magnetic nanoislands

We have studied the conductivity and permittivity of a series of nanoisland-type FeNi films with an effective thickness of up to 3.2 nm on different substrates. It has been observed that the quantity Re ε changes its sign at effective thickness d ^* ≈ 1.5–1.8 nm, because of the metal–insulator transition. Analysis of the temperature dependences of the conductivity has confirmed the existence of the metal–insulator transition at the same thickness d ^*. It has been concluded that the introduced effective permittivity can serve as a characteristic of island metal systems.     

Optical constants of quaternary Ge–As–Te–In amorphous thin films evaluated from their reflectance spectra

Thin films of amorphous Ge₉As₂₀Te_{71? x} In _x with different compositions (x = 0, 3, 6 and 9 at. %) were obtained by deposition onto glass substrates by thermal evaporation. The reflection spectra, R(λ), of the films were obtained in the spectral region from 400 to 2500 nm. A straightforward analysis proposed by Ruiz-Perez et al., based on the use of the maxima and minima of the interference fringes, has been applied to derive the real and imaginary parts of the complex index of refraction, the thickness and the thickness variation of the studied films. Increasing In content is found to affect the refractive index and the extinction coefficient of the films. Optical absorption measurements were used to obtain the fundamental absorption edge as a function of composition. With increasing In content, the refractive index decreases, whereas the optical band gap, E_g , increases. The relationship between E_g and the chemical composition of the Ge₉As₂₀Te_{71? x} In _x system is discussed in terms of the cohesive energy, the average heat of atomization, H _s , and the average coordination number, N _r .     

Studies on electrical switching behavior and optical band gap of amorphous Ge–Te–Sn thin films

Amorphous thin film Ge₁₅Te_85−x Sn _x (1≤x≤5) and Ge₁₇Te_83−x Sn _x (1≤x≤4) switching devices have been deposited in sandwich geometry using a flash evaporation technique, with aluminum as the top and bottom electrodes. Electrical switching studies indicate that these films exhibit memory type electrical switching behavior. The switching fields for both the series of samples have been found to decrease with increase in Sn concentration, which confirms that the metallicity effect on switching fields/voltages, commonly seen in bulk glassy chalcogenides, is valid in amorphous chalcogenide thin films also. In addition, there is no manifestation of rigidity percolation in the composition dependence of switching fields of Ge₁₅Te_85−x Sn _x and Ge₁₇Te_83−x Sn _x amorphous thin film samples. The observed composition dependence of switching fields of amorphous Ge₁₅Te_85−x Sn _x and Ge₁₇Te_83−x Sn _x thin films has been understood on the basis of Chemically Ordered Network model. The optical band gap for these samples, calculated from the absorption spectra, has been found to exhibit a decreasing trend with increasing Sn concentration, which is consistent with the composition dependence of switching fields.