Phonon- and phason-dynamics in Al–Cu–Fe quasicrystals

The lattice dynamics of quasicrystals includes local phason jumps as well as phonons. Phason dynamics is important for the understanding of both the structure and atomic motion in quasicrystals, leading to short-ranged atomic motion not involving vacancies in addition to diffusion. We have studied the phason and phonon dynamics of icosahedral i-Al₆₂Cu_25.5Fe_12.5. Quasielastic Mössbauer spectroscopy (QMS) was used to probe the iron phason dynamics. Inelastic nuclear-resonant absorption (INA) of synchrotron radiation and inelastic neutron scattering (INS) were used to study the iron-partial as well as the total vibrational DOS (VDOS). We find from preliminary QMS studies that iron atoms jump on a time scale about two orders of magnitude slower than that found for copper. The EFG shows an abrupt change in slope at ca. 825 K which may be related to a transition from simple (isolated) to more complicated (co-operative) phason jumps. From INA we find that the iron-partial VDOS differs radically from that of the total (neutron-weighted) generalised VDOS measured by INS. Both these properties are related to the specific local environments of Fe and Cu in i-AlCuFe.     

Evidence for insulator–metal transition in amorphous chalcogenide Se–Ge–Te films

The temperature dependence of the dc conductivity and thermoelectric power was determined for five different amorphous chalcogenide Se–Ge–Te films, with Ge?=?3.0–22?at.%, Se?=?0–97?at.% and Te?=?0–97?at.%. The films were prepared by thermal evaporation of GeSe₄, GeTe₄ and GeSe₂Te₂ quenched bulk materials. Values of the activation energy calculated from the temperature dependence of both electrical conductivity and thermoelectric power showed a decrease with increasing Ge content in the Se–Ge films as well as with replacement of Te for Se in the Se–Ge–Te films. The results showed an Anderson transition, with the conductivity showing insulating behaviour on the Ge–Se side to metallic behaviour at the binary composition Ge–Te. The radius of localization was obtained for the different compositions investigated. The wave function associated with the charge carriers at the composition Ge_3.3Te_96.7 is non-localized. A minimum metallic conductivity of 237?±?5?(Ω?cm)^?1 was found.     

Plasmon coupling in binary metal core–satellite assemblies

Controlled plasmon coupling is observed in nanoparticle assemblies composed of 20 nm silver ‘satellite’ nanoparticles tethered by reconfigurable duplex DNA linkers to a 50 nm gold ‘core’ particle. The assemblies incorporate silver nanoparticle–oligonucleotide conjugates prepared using a new conjugation method in which the recognition strand is anchored by a 10 base pair, double strand spacer that presents adjacent 3’- and 5’-thiols to the silver surface. Reconfiguration of the DNA linkers from a compact to an extended state results in decreased core–satellite coupling and a blue-shift in the gold core plasmon resonance. The structural basis for the observed resonance modulation is investigated through simulation of the scattering spectra of binary assemblies with various core–satellite separations. Additional simulations of core–satellite assemblies composed of gold satellite particles bound to silver cores and of assemblies composed entirely of silver particles are used to clarify the dependence of the coupling response on the composition of the components and their distribution within the assembly. Electronic Supplementary Material  The online version of this article () contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Continuous transformation from quasicrystals to approximants in Al–Cu–Fe alloys

Continuous transformation of icosahedral quasicrystals as observed in Al-Cu-Fe alloys proceeds through intermediate modulated structures towards rational approximants with a rhombohedral structure. Corresponding to the diffuse scattering in the electron diffraction during the transformation, a tweed contrast emerges throughout the icosahedral phase matrix. High-resolution electron microscopy reveals a complex modulated structure which tends to evolve into rhombohedral microdomains. The observed distortion of the reciprocal quasilattice due to the structural modulation has been simulated on a computer by introducing linear phason strains into the quasicrystals.     

Cross-shaped metal–semiconductor–metal plasmonic crystal for terahertz modulator

The transmission and tuning properties of a cross-shaped plasmonic crystal based on periodic metal–semiconductor–metal (MSM) structures have been investigated in the terahertz (THz) regime. According to the mode analysis, we find that the different resonance modes in the plasmonic crystal show the different changes when this device is actively controlled by the carrier injection of the MSM structures. The longitudinal modes disappear, while the horizontal mode moves to a higher frequency. The former leads to an intensity modulation at 0.5 THz and 1.1 THz when the groove depth h = 60 μm, and the later leads to a band blue-shift from 1.325 THz to 1.38 THz. These results will be applied to THz modulation and tunable filtering.     

Electrically controllable metal–insulator-like transition in nanoparticle compacts

We report on the observations of tunneling transport in nanocompacts, where nanoparticles are packed into compact units using selective mass compositions and packing densities. An insulator-like thermal behavior in electron transport is seen in a very loosely packed 6-nm Ag nanocompact, whereas the densely packed 4.5-nm Au nanocompact displays a metal-like thermal behavior. Metal–insulator-like transitions, with the transition temperature can readily be tuned by controlling the bias voltage, are observed in the nanocompact consists of mixtures of 2.4 nm Ag and 4.8 nm core/shell Cu/Cu₂O nanoparticles. The resistivity across the metal–insulator transition is found to change by more than four orders-of-magnitude. At low bias voltages or small excitation currents, the metal–insulator transition occurs at ~190 K. The transition temperature can be tuned to reach the ambient temperature when a higher bias voltage or a larger current is allowed. Possible mechanisms that may produce the observed transport characteristics in the nanocompacts are discussed.     

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.     

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.     

Pressure-induced semiconductor–metal phase transition in Mg2Si

In situ electrical resistivity measurement of powdered Mg₂Si has been performed in a diamond anvil cell up to 25.4 GPa. At about 22.2 GPa, Mg₂Si underwent a pressure-induced semiconductor–metal phase transition that took place in the Ni₂In-type structure rather than the anti-fluorite structure predicted theoretically. The other phases (anti-fluorite and anti-cotunnite) belong to the semiconductor phase.     

Magnetic anisotropy in 5d transition metal–porphyrin molecules

Single molecule magnets(SMMs) with large magnetic anisotropy energy(MAE) have great potential applications in magnetic recording.Using the first-principles calculations,we investigate the MAE of 5 d transition metal-porphyrin-based SMMs by using the PBE and PBE+U with different U values,respectively.The results indicate that W-P,Re-P,Os-P,and Ir-P possess the considerably large MAE among 5 d TM-P SMMs.Furthermore,the MAE of 5 d TM-P can be facilely manipulated by tensile strain.The reduction of the absolute value of MAE for Ir-P molecule caused by tensile strain makes it easier to implement the writing operation.The decreasing of the occupation number of minority-spin channels of Ir-d_(x~2-y~2) orbital leads the MAE to decrease when the tensile strain increases.     

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.     

Symmetry and optical transition rule for low-dimensional semiconductor system with spin–orbit interaction and magnetic field

Starting from effective mass Hamiltonian, we systematically investigate the symmetry of low-dimensional structures with spin–orbit interaction and transverse magnetic field. The position-dependent potentials are assumed to be space symmetric, which is ever-present in theory and experiment research. By group theory, we analyze degeneracy in different cases. Spin–orbit interaction makes the transition between Zeeman sub-levels possible, which is originally forbidden within dipole approximation. However, a transition rule given in this paper for the first time shows that the transition between some levels is forbidden for space symmetric potentials.     

Unusual sum rule for Clebsch–Gordan coefficients

Letters in Mathematical Physics - We present a new sum rule for Clebsch–Gordan coefficients using generalized characters of irreducible representations of the rotation group. The identity is...     

Barnes-Mössbauer rule for compounds formed by rare-earth and transition metals

The question of applicability of the technique proposed in [1–3] to calculate the gain S for the R₂Fe₁₄B compound, whose physical properties are of practical interest, is discussed.     

Analysis of interface states and series resistance for Al/PVA:n-CdS nanocomposite metal–semiconductor and metal–insulator–semiconductor diode structures

This paper presents the fabrication and characterization of Al/PVA:n-CdS (MS) and Al/Al₂O₃/PVA:n-CdS (MIS) diode. The effects of interfacial insulator layer, interface states (N _ss ) and series resistance (R _s ) on the electrical characteristics of Al/PVA:n-CdS structures have been investigated using forward and reverse bias I–V, C–V, and G/w–V characteristics at room temperature. Al/PVA:n-CdS diode is fabricated with and without insulator Al₂O₃ layer to explain the effect of insulator layer on main electrical parameters. The values of the ideality factor (n), series resistance (R _s ) and barrier height (? _b ) are calculated from ln(I) vs. V plots, by the Cheung and Norde methods. The energy density distribution profile of the interface states is obtained from the forward bias I–V data by taking into account the bias dependence ideality factor (n(V)) and effective barrier height (? _e ) for MS and MIS diode. The N _ss values increase from mid-gap energy of CdS to the bottom of the conductance band edge for both MS and MIS diode.     

Microdeformation behaviour of Al–SiC metal matrix composites

The satisfactory performance of metal matrix composites depends critically on their integrity, the heart of which is the quality of the matrix-reinforcement interface. The nature of the interface depends in turn on the processing of the MMC component. At the micro-level, the development of local concentration gradients around the reinforcement can be very different according to the nominal conditions. These concentration gradients are due to the metal matrix attempting to deform during processing. This plays a crucial role in the micro-structural events of segregation and precipitation at the matrix-reinforcement interface. Equilibrium segregation occurs as a result of impurity atoms relaxing in disordered sites found at interfaces, such as grain boundaries, whereas non-equilibrium segregation arises because of imbalances in point defect concentrations set up around interfaces during non-equilibrium heat treatment processing. The amount and width of segregation depend very much on (a) the heat treatment temperature and the cooling rate, (b) the concentration of solute atoms and (c) the binding energy between solute atoms and vacancies. An aluminium–silicon–magnesium alloy matrix reinforced with varying amounts of silicon carbide particles was used in this study. A method of calculation has been applied to predict the interfacial fracture strength of aluminium, in the presence of magnesium segregation at metal matrix interface. Preliminary results show that the model succeeds in predicting the trends in relation to segregation and intergranular fracture strength behaviour in these materials. Microhardness profiles of reinforced and un-reinforced aluminium alloys are reported. The presence of precipitates at alloy-reinforcement interface identified by Nano-SEM.