Photoluminescence Spectra of GaS0.75Se0.25 Layered Single Crystals

Photoluminescence (PL) spectra of GaS_0.75Se_0.25 layered single crystals have been studied in the wavelength region of 500‐850 nm and in the temperature range of 10‐200 K. Two PL bands centered at 527 ( 2.353 eV, A‐band) and 658 nm (1.884 eV, B‐band) were observed at T = 10 K. Variations of both bands have been studied as a function of excitation laser intensity in the range from 8 × 10^‐3 to 10.7 W cm^‐2. These bands are attributed to recombination of charge carriers through donor‐acceptor pairs located in the band gap. Radiative transitions from shallow donor levels located 0.043 and 0.064 eV below the bottom of conduction band to acceptor levels located 0.088 and 0.536 eV above the top of the valence band are suggested to be responsible for the observed A‐ and B‐bands in the PL spectra, respectively.     

Influence of ion implantation on structural and photoconductive properties of Bridgman grown GaSe single crystals

The structure and temperature dependent spectral photoconductivity of as‐grown and N‐and Si‐implanted GaSe single crystals have been studied. It was observed that post‐annealing results in a complete recovery of the crystalline nature that was moderately reduced upon implantation. The band edge is shifted in the implanted sample which is attributed to the structural modifications and continuous shallow levels introduced upon implantation and annealing. Our calculations showed that the trap density is increased upon implantation and annealing which confirms a possibility of explanation the phenomenon within a framework of continuous trap levels. Photocurrent measurements as a function of photo‐excitation intensity also support continuous distribution of localized states in the band gap. © 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim     

Thermoelectric properties of Tl‐doped Bi2Se3 single crystals

The single crystals of the ternary system based on Bi_2‐xTl_xSe₃ (nominaly x = 0.0‐0.1) were prepared using the Bridgman technique. Samples with varying content of Tl were characterized by the measurement of lattice parameters, electrical conductivity σ_⊥c , Hall coefficient R_H (B∥c), and Seebeck coefficient S (ΔT ⊥c). The measurements indicate that by incorporating Tl in Bi₂Se₃ one lowers the concentration of free electrons and enhances their mobility. This effect is explained in terms of the point defects in the crystal lattice – formation of substitutional defects thallium on the site of bismuth Tl_Bi and the decrease of concentration of selenium vacancies V_Se⁺². We also discuss the temperature dependence of the power factor σS² of the samples. Upon the thallium doping we observe a significant increase of the power factor compare to the parental Bi₂Se₃. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Determination of optical parameters of Ga0.75In0.25Se layered crystals

The optical properties of the Ga_0.75In_0.25Se crystals have been investigated by means of transmission and reflection measurements in the wavelength range of 380–1100 nm. The analysis of the results performed at room temperature revealed the presence of optical indirect transtions with band gap energy of 1.89 eV. The variation of the band gap energy as a function of temperature was also studied in the temperature range of 10–300 K. The rate of change of band gap energy (γ = –6.2 × 10^–4 eV/K) and absolute zero value of the band gap (E_gi(0) = 2.01 eV) were reported. The wavelength dependence of the refractive index was analyzed using Wemple and DiDomenico, Sellmeier and Cauchy models to find the oscillator energy, dispersion energy, oscillator strength and zero‐frequency refractive index values. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Effect of crystal disorder on linewidth of the Raman modes in GaS1‐xSex layered mixed crystals

The linewidths of Raman‐active intralayer compressional modes in GaS_1‐xSe_x layered mixed crystals (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) have been measured in the 10‐300 K temperature range to study the anharmonic effect as a function of compositional variation and temperature. It was found that the anharmonicity increases with an increase in substitutional disorder. The cubic (three‐phonon) processes with energy conservation is responsible for the anharmonic contribution to the broadening of the intralayer phonon lines with temperature. (© 2003 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Growth and properties of Ba‐doped KDP crystals

KDP crystals were rapidly grown from solution doped with different Ba²⁺ concentrations. The effects of Ba²⁺ on the growth rate, morphology and quality of KDP crystals were discussed. Significant changes in shapes and volume of the grown crystals have been observed. During the growth process, defect region expands gradually with the increasing Ba²⁺ concentration. Samples were cut from different parts of the as‐grown crystals for investigating the optical quality, including transmission spectrum, scattering centers. Through comparison, it is found that the nonuniform distribution of Ba²⁺ ions causes remarkable difference in optical quality between prismatic and pyramidal sectors. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Effect of Nd3+ on the growth and quality of KDP crystals

KDP crystals were rapidly grown from solutions doped with different Nd³⁺ concentrations. During the growth process, “foggy” inclusions were selectively captured in the pyramidal sector of KDP crystal and hourglass shaped crystals were obtained. It is found that the nonuniform distribution of Nd³⁺ ions causes remarkable differences in optical quality between prismatic and pyramidal sectors. With increasing Nd³⁺ concentration, the optical quality is greatly decreased for pyramidal sectors, while the change is not so obvious for prismatic sectors. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Investigation of thermo-electro-optic properties of some mixed nematic liquid crystals

The 6CB/8CB/8OCB liquid crystal mixture has been studied by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), polarised optic microscopy (POM), Semiconductor Characterization System, and Ultra-violet spectrophotometry (UV). DSC and POM results indicate that the 6CB/8CB/8OCB mixture exhibits liquid crystalline properties. The capacitance-voltage and conductance-voltage measurements were performed in the frequency range of 200-500 kHz and in the temperature range of 30oC–50oC. The 6CB/8CB/8OCB mixture showed an extremely large positive dielectric anisotropy. The molar absorptivity ? for the 6CB/8CB/8OCB mixture was calculated and found to be higher than the absorptivity values of the binary mixtures due to the alkyl chain length with H-aggregation.     

Electrical conductivity and dielectric properties of potassium sulfamate single crystals

Single crystals of potassium sulfamate are grown by the method of slow evaporation at constant temperature. AC electrical conductivity of potassium sulfamate is measured in the temperature range 300–430 K and in the frequency region between 100 Hz and 3 MHz along the a, b and c‐axes. Complex impedance spectroscopy is used to investigate the frequency response of the electrical properties of the potassium sulfamate single crystal. Temperature variation of AC conductivity and dielectric measurements show a slope change around 345 K for both heating and cooling run and this anomaly is attributed as phase transition, which is well supported by the DSC measurements. Value of loss tangent in the temperature region 330–400 K is found to be very low. Activation energies for the conduction process are calculated along the a, b and c‐axes. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Growth and electrical characterization of L‐arginine added KDP and ADP single crystals

Potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate (KDP) and ammonium dihydrogen orthophosphate (ADP) single crystals added with L‐arginine have been grown by the solution methods. DC and AC electrical measurements were carried out at various temperatures along both a‐ and c‐ directions. Results indicate an increase of the electrical parameters with the increase of temperature which can be attributed mainly to the increase of thermally generated hydrogen bond vacancies (L. defects). Also, the present study indicates that L‐arginine addition leads to reduction of electrical parameters of KDP and ADP single crystals which can be attributed mainly to the decrease of L‐defects due to creation of additional hydrogen bonds by the impurity in random directions. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Effect of temperature and isomorphic atom substitution on optical absorption edge of TlInS2xSe2(1‐x) mixed crystals (0.25 ≤ x ≤ 1)

The optical properties of the TlInS_2xSe_2(1‐x)mixed crystals (0.25 ≤ x ≤ 1) have been investigated through the transmission and reflection measurements in the wavelength range of 400–1100 nm. The optical indirect band gap energies were determined by means of the analysis of the absorption data. It was found that the energy band gaps decrease with the increase of selenium atoms content in the TlInS_2xSe_2(1‐x)mixed crystals. The transmission measurements carried out in the temperature range of 10–300 K revealed that the rates of change of the indirect band gaps with temperature are γ = –9.2×10^–4 eV/K, –6.1×10^–4 eV/K, –4.7×10^–4 eV/K and –5.6×10^–4 eV/K for TlInS₂, TlInS_1.5Se_0.5, TlInSSe and TlInS_0.5Se_1.5 crystals, respectively. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Growth and dissolution of equally‐sized insulin crystals

A protocol for growing sets of nearly uniform size crystals was devised and tested experimentally. The experiments were centered on insulin because of its medical significance however the method is applicable to other substances as well (C.N. Nanev, V.D. Tonchev, F.V. Hodzhaoglu, Protocol for growing insulin crystals of uniform size, J. Cryst. Growth 375 (2013)10–15). Now, both growth and dissolution of equally‐sized crystals are described quantitatively by a common analytical model. In our model the emphasis is put on the dissolution case when crystals number and/or size are sufficiently large to secure reaching solubility, while some non‐dissolved crystalline substance is still remaining. Quantitative results are obtained for the relations between dimensionless values of crystal size, solution concentration and time elapsed, the assumption simplifying our calculations being that the crystals retain their shape during the entire dissolution process.     

Incommensurate phase properties of TlGaSe2 layered crystals

The frequency and time dependence of the ac conductivity were measured within incommensurate phase in the frequency range 10¹‐10⁷ Hz and analyzed. The electrical conductivity decreases with decreasing temperature, then saturates in mentioned temperature interval. The ac conductivity is proportional to w^s. The value f s decreases with increasing temperature which suggests hopping conduction mechanism. The time dependence of the conductivity exhibited exponential decay. It shows two conductivity relaxations in mentioned temperature interval. Moreover, the characteristic relaxation times decrease with decreasing annealing temperature. The two different relaxation times refer to two different incommensurate ordering in mentioned temperature interval. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Influence of photonic excitations on the electrical parameters of TlInS2 crystals

The photo‐excitation effect on the current transport mechanism in TlInS₂ crystals has been studied by means of dark and illuminated conductivity measurements. The temperature‐dependent electrical conductivity analysis in the temperature region of 110‐340 K revealed the domination of the thermionic emission and the thermally assisted variable range hopping (VRH) of charge carriers above and below 160 K, respectively. Above 160 K, the conductivity activation energies in the dark are found to be 0.28 and 0.15 eV in the temperature regions of 340‐240 K and 230‐160 K, respectively. In the temperature region of 110‐150 K, the dark variable range hopping analysis revealed a density of localized states of 1.99×10²² cm^–3eV^–1, an average hopping distance of 0.53 nm and an average hopping energy of 79.65 meV. When the sample was photo‐excited, the values of the conductivity activation energies, the density of localized states near the Fermi level and the average hopping energy were observed to decrease sharply with increasing illumination intensity. On the other hand, the average hopping distance increased with rising illumination intensity. Such behaviours were attributed to the Fermi level shift and/or trap density reduction by electron‐hole recombination. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Crystal growth and defects in Ga3PO7 crystals

Crystals with a non‐centrosymmetric structure are of great interest owing to their properties such as ferroelectricity, piezoelectricity, dielectric behavior and optical properties. In this letter, Ga₃PO₇ crystals are grown by the top‐seeded solution growth (TSSG) method from a Li₂O‐3MoO₃ flux. It crystallizes in a non‐centrosymmetric trigonal crystal system with space group R3m within point group 3m. The growth defects are investigated by means of chemical etching method. The results reveal hot concentrated phosphoric acid to be a good etchant for Ga₃PO₇. The main defects are cracks, inclusions, dislocations and twin. In the meantime, the effective measures for reducing the defects are proposed. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Electrical conductivity of sulfamic acid single crystals

Single crystals of sulfamic acid have been grown by the method of slow evaporation at constant temperature. DC electrical conductivity was measured in the temperature range 300 ‐ 440 K along a, b and c‐axes. Conductivity measurements show slope change near 330 K and 410 K. The slope change observed around 330 K may be attributed as due to a phase transition which has been well supported by the DSC and DTA measurements. Slope change observed around 410 K is attributed as the onset of the thermal decomcoposition as evidenced by TGA curve. TGA studies show the crystal is very stable up to 440 K. Activation energies for the conduction process are calculated for all measured crystallographic directions. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Impact of electrical resistance and TEP in layered SnSe crystals under high pressure

SnSe crystals belong to IV–VI layered binary semiconducting compound category. These layered compounds have generated a great deal of interest due to their interesting electronic properties. These electronic materials are useful because of their applications in holographic‐recording systems, optoelectronics and memory switching. Earlier, several investigators have studied and reported the influence of temperature and pressure over the phase transitions in SnS and SnSe semiconductors. They also utilized Mossbauer Spectroscopy and Hydrostatic Pressure techniques to examine the bonding of the Sn atoms in SnS and SnSe. It is therefore thought worthwhile to study the effect of pressure on the thermoelectric power and the electrical resistance of SnSe crystals synthesized by a modified direct vapour transport technique. The electrical resistance has been found to be pressure dependent. The transition in electrical resistance behaviour, observed at 65 Kbar, has been explained on the basis of transition from a predominantly two‐dimensional material to a more three‐dimensional one. Similar to the resistance behaviour, the thermoelectric power is also found to be pressure dependent. The increase in thermoelectric power with pressure at the transition pressure of 65 Kbar has been explained. The implications are discussed. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Specific features of the optical spectra in Tl2In2S3Se layered single crystals

The optical properties of Tl₂In₂S₃Se layered single crystals have been studied by means of transmission and reflection measurements in the wavelength range of 450‐1100 nm. The analysis of the absorption data revealed the presence of both optical indirect and direct transitions with energy band gaps of 2.16 and 2.42 eV, respectively. The observed coexistence of indirect and direct energy band gaps is related to the anisotropy of the Tl‐containing layered crystals. The dispersion of the refractive index is discussed in terms of the Wemple‐DiDomenico single‐effective‐oscillator model. The refractive index dispersion parameters: oscillator energy, dispersion energy, oscillator strength and zero‐frequency refractive index were found to be 4.78 eV, 43.58 eV, 13.18 × 10¹³ m^–2 and 3.18, respectively. From X‐ray powder diffraction study, the parameters of monoclinic unit cell were determined. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Growth and characterization of pure and lithium doped L‐alanine single crystals for NLO devices

Single crystals of pure and lithium substituted L‐alanine are successfully grown by slow evaporation method at constant temperature of 32°C. The effect of lithium dopant on crystal properties has been studied. Powder and single crystal XRD analysis confirms the structure and change in lattice parameter values for the doped crystals. The crystals were characterized by solubility studies, density, melting point measurements, FTIR and UV‐Vis‐NIR techniques. Thermal and mechanical stability of crystals were tested by TGA/DTA and micro hardness analysis. NLO activity of the crystals is found to be increased in the presence of lithium ions. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the crystals were studied as a function of frequency. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Influence of lithium ions on the NLO properties of KDP single crystals

Potassium Dihydrogen Phosphate (KDP) and its isomorphous deuterated form are popular due to their applications in frequency converters and electro‐optic modulation. Different attempts have been made to dope KDP with inorganic additives, organic materials and amino acids. Since many of the metal ions possess more electro negativity which increases the non centrosymmetry, it is of interest to dope them in KDP. The influence of lithium ion (Li⁺) on NLO properties of KDP crystal has been studied in the present investigation. Single crystal of Lithium ion doped Potassium Dihydrogen Phosphate (KDP) was grown by slow evaporation technique. The enhancement in SHG efficiency after addition of ion Lithium (Li⁺) was observed by Kurtz Powder SHG test. It was found that the SHG efficiency of KDP after addition of Lithium ion is 1.33 times more than pure KDP. The crystal structure and cell parameters of grown crystal were determined by X‐ray diffraction. The Energy Dispersive X‐ray analysis (EDAX) gives the chemical composition of grown crystal. The functional groups were identified by FT‐IR spectral analysis. The presence of Lithium in the material of grown crystal was detected by Atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The optical absorption and transmission studies were done by UV‐Visible spectral analysis. The grown crystal was subjected to thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)