Disorder effect on the quantum Hall effect in thin films of three-dimensional topological insulators

We numerically study the quantum Hall effect (QHE) in three-dimensional topological insulator (3DTI) thin film in the presence of the finite Zeeman energy g and the hybridization gap Δ under a strong magnetic field and disorder. For Δ = 0 but g ≠ 0, the Hall conductivity remains to be odd-integer quanti-zed σ _xy = ν(e ²/h) , where ν = 2? + 1 with ? being an integer. In the presence of disorder, the Hall plateaus can be destroyed through the float-up of extended levels toward the band center and the higher plateaus disappear first. The two central plateaus with ν = ± 1 around the band center are strongest against disorder scattering. With the increasing of the disorder strength, Hall plateaus are destroyed faster for the system with a weaker magnetic field. If g = 0 but Δ ≠ 0, there is a splitting of the central (n = 0) Landau level, yielding a new plateau with ν = 0, in addition to the original odd-integer plateaus. In the strong-disorder regime, the QHE plateaus can be destroyed due to the float-up of extended levels toward the band center. The ν = 0 plateau around the band center is strongest against disorder scattering, which eventually disappears. For both g ≠ 0 and Δ ≠ 0, the simultaneous presence of nonzero g and Δ causes the splitting of the degenerating Landau levels, so that all integer Hall plateaus ν = ? appear. The ν = 0,1 plateaus are the most stable ones. In the strong-disorder regime, all QHE states are destroyed by disorder, and the system transits into an insulating phase.     

拓扑荷在圆盘状向列相液晶薄膜中的尺寸效应

拓扑现象对于病毒颗粒的空间分布、高分子聚合物纳米囊泡的成型以及玻色-爱因斯坦凝聚物等方面都发挥着重要作用.本文利用Landau-de Gennes理论,构建模型来模拟液晶中拓扑荷分布及其他现象.通过对数值模型序参量场的演化,以及模拟液晶薄膜中所生成的拓扑荷之间的相互作用来分析液晶(Lqc)薄膜的尺寸对拓扑荷的影响.研究...     

Modulation polarimetry of thermoelasticity induced by thermal radiation in a glass

The phenomenon of thermoelasticity induced by an external thermal radiation in a model glass sample was investigated experimentally. The thermoelasticity was detected by the optical polarization method used in studies of the photoelastic effect and modified by the probe radiation polarization modulation technique. This technique made it possible to increase the sensitivity of the measurement system to the strain state of a solid so that it became possible to detect thermoelasticity under conditions where the temperature gradient across the sample reaches a few fractions of a degree. The spatial and temporal changes of the mechanical stresses induced in the sample by a nonuniform radiation heating and, consequently, by a heat flux were measured. The coordinate functions of temperature as solutions of the inverse problem of thermoelasticity were obtained using the graphical integration of the experimental characteristics. The characteristic parameters of some of the heat transfer mechanisms were determined by analyzing the experimental characteristics of the kinetics and dynamics of mechanical stresses.     

Field-effect modulation of anomalous Hall effect in diluted ferromagnetic topological insulator epitaxial films

High quality chromium(Cr) doped three-dimensional topological insulator(TI) Sb_2Te_3 films are grown via molecular beam epitaxy on heat-treated insulating SrTiO_3(111) substrates. We report that the Dirac surface states are insensitive to Cr doping, and a perfect robust long-range ferromagnetic order is unveiled in epitaxial Sb_(2–x)Cr_xTe_3 films. The anomalous Hall effect is modulated by applying a bottom gate, contrary to the ferromagnetism in conventional diluted magnetic semiconductors(DMSs), here the coercivity field is not significantly changed with decreasing carrier density. Carrier-independent ferromagnetism heralds Sb_(2–x)Cr_xTe_3 films as the base candidate TI material to realize the quantum anomalous Hall(QAH) effect. These results also indicate the potential of controlling anomalous Hall voltage in future TI-based magneto-electronics and spintronics.     

Electron transport in amorphous metal-carbon nanocomposite films

The electrical conductivity of amorphous silicon- and oxygen-containing W-, Nb-, and Cr-carbon nanocomposite films is studied. It is revealed that, at a metal concentration of 10–40 at. % and in the temperature range 80–400 K, the electrical conductivity of the films is a power function of temperature. In terms of inelastic electron tunneling, the average number of localized states in the intercluster potential barriers is calculated as a function of the metal concentration.     

The grain size distribution in nanocomposite films

The grain size distributions and related mechanisms in nanocomposite films with nanostructures comprising a nanocrystalline (nc) phase surrounded by an amorphous (a) matrix under different amorphous phase amounts (V _a) have been analyzed by using a Monte Carlo grain growth model. The results show that with the V _a value increasing to a critical value of ～28%, the grain size distribution approaches lognormality, and it becomes off-lognormal when the V _a value is larger or smaller than ～28%. The simulated results are in a good agreement with the experiment. It is shown that the homogenous or inhomogeneous grain growth mode, determined by the energy exerted on the grain boundary, originates in lognormal or off-lognormal grain size distributions in nanocomposite films. Also, in a system with lognormal grain size distribution, the amorphous phase just covers all grain boundaries (GBs) and the length obtained by summing the boundary circumference of all nanograins is the longest. It is expected that this microstructure can result in exceptional properties of nanocomposite films.     

Quantum Hall superfluids in topological insulator thin films

Three-dimensional topological insulators have protected Dirac-cone surface states. In this Letter we argue that gapped excitonic superfluids with spontaneous coherence between top and bottom surfaces can occur in the topological insulator (TI)-thin-film quantum Hall regime. We find that the large dielectric constants of TI materials increase the layer separation range over which coherence survives and decrease the superfluid sound velocity, but have little influence on the superfluid density or on the charge gap. The coherent state at total Landau-level filling factor νT=0 is predicted to be free of edge modes, qualitatively altering its transport phenomenology compared to the widely studied case of νT=1 in GaAs double-quantum wells.     

Anomalous dispersion in nanocomposite films at the surface plasmon resonance

Nanocomposite thin films formed by Cu nanocrystals (NCs) embedded in an amorphous aluminium oxide (Al₂O₃) host have been prepared by alternate pulsed laser deposition. Spectroscopic ellipsometry is used to determine the effective refractive index (n=n+ik). The extinction coefficient is non-negligible and shows a broad absorption band related to the surface plasmon resonance. In the neighbourhood of this wavelength, the real part of the refractive index undergoes an anomalous dispersion, leading to a significant increase of the n value of the composite compared to that of the host. When the Cu content is low enough, about 2 at. %, the use of an effective medium approach combined with a regression method allows us to determine the metal content and film thickness from the ellipsometric measurements. For larger concentrations this approach is no longer valid. Received: 31 July 2001 / Revised version: 21 September 2001 / Published online: 15 October 2001     

Magnetic properties and application of nanocomposite films

Some peculiar properties of magnetic nanocomposite films have been considered. It is shown that the physical limit of practical application of these materials, determined by their superparamagnetic transition, can be overcome using the effects of magnetic and exchange interactions between nanoparticles.     

Structure and properties of nanocomposite Nb-Al-N films

Physics of the Solid State - Nanocomposite Nb-Al-N films prepared by magnetron sputtering have been studied. It has been found that, in the films, there are two stable crystalline structural...     

Fabrication of hybrid surface-modified titania-epoxy nanocomposite films

This work reports the preparation of well-dispersed surface-modified titiania nanoparticles in organic solvents. Different types of surface-modified titania nanoparticles can be incorporated into epoxy matrix to form hybrid nanocomposites. The hybrid nanocomposite films have higher refractive index than pure epoxy system. The refractive index can be tuned by using different forms of titania nanoparticles and by changing the titania solid content. The titania solid content in the epoxy matrix can be more than 70 wt% without affecting the optical transparency of the hybrid film.     

Electron localization in ultrathin films of three-dimensional topological insulators

The recent discovery of three-dimensional(3D) topological insulators(TIs) has provided a fertile ground for obtaining further insights into electron localization in condensed matter systems.In the past few years,a tremendous amount of research effort has been devoted to investigate electron transport properties of 3D TIs and their low dimensional structures in a wide range of disorder strength,covering transport regimes from weak antilocalization to strong localization.The knowledge gained from these studies not only offers sensitive means to probe the surface states of 3D TIs but also forms a basis for exploring novel topological phases.In this article,we briefly review the main experimental progress in the study of the localization in 3D TIs,with a focus on the latest results on ultrathin TI films.Some new transport data will also be presented in order to complement those reported previously in the literature.     

Transport properties of topological insulators films and nanowires

The last several years have witnessed the rapid developments in the study and understanding of topological insulators. In this review, after a brief summary of the history of topological insulators, we focus on the recent progress made in transport experiments on topological insulator films and nanowires. Some quantum phenomena, including the weak antilocalization, the Aharonov-Bobm effect, and the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations, observed in these nanostructures are described. In addition, the electronic transport evidence of the superconducting proximity effect as well as an anomalous resistance enhancement in topological insulator/superconductor hybrid structures is included.     

A new visible photoluminescence in the conducting Ta-Si-N nanocomposite thin films

The conventional visible photoluminescence (PL) behavior at room temperature (RT) is observed in the semiconducting or insulating nanostructured materials with large bandgaps. Here, we have demonstrated the visible-color PL behavior at RT of the conducting Ta-Si-N thin films nanocomposite using simple magnetron sputtering without any post annealing. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) depth profile results evidence that the microstructure of conducting Ta-Si-N with a low resistivity of 220-375 μΩ cm exhibits (Ta_x,Si_y)N nanocrystalline grains embedded in an amorphous matrix, which can emit the distinct PL intensity from 390 to 750 nm wavelengths. No PL is detected in the coarse-grain polycrystalline films. Qin's extended quantum confinement/luminescence center model [G.G. Qin, Mater. Res. Bull. 33 (1998) 1857-1866] was adopted and modified to discuss the RT PL mechanism in the conducting Ta-Si-N films using three types of competitive photoexcitation/photoemission processes.     

Structure and properties of ZnSe nanocomposite thin films

The structure and electrophysical and optical properties of semiconductor ZnSe nanocomposite thin films are studied. These films are obtained by discrete thermal evaporation in an ultrahigh vacuum. ZnSe films are synthesized in various structural states in the condensation temperature range 2–200°C. The optical spectra of these films are studied in the visible region.     

Interfacial protection of topological surface states in ultrathin Sb films

Spin-polarized gapless surface states in topological insulators form chiral Dirac cones. When such materials are reduced to thin films, the Dirac states on the two faces of the film can overlap and couple by quantum tunneling, resulting in a thickness-dependent insulating gap at the Dirac point. Calculations for a freestanding Sb film with a thickness of four atomic bilayers yield a gap of 36 meV, yet angle-resolved photoemission measurements of a film grown on Si(111) reveal no gap formation. The surprisingly robust Dirac cone is explained by calculations in terms of interfacial interaction.     

掺Ag纳米颗粒的BaTiO3复合薄膜的非线性光学特性

通过准分子激光(XeCl,308 nm,20 ns)在MgO(100)单晶衬底上制备了不同掺杂浓度的Ag:BaTiO3纳米复合薄膜,通过X射线衍射和X射线光电子能谱对薄膜的结构和组分进行了表征.在430 nm和470 nm附近观测到了不同浓度Ag纳米颗粒引起的等离子体吸收峰,通过z扫描技术对复合薄膜的三阶非线性光学特性进行了测量,并对其光学非线性的增强机制进行了讨论.     

Texture and strain in CoPt/Ag nanocomposite films

The texture and microstrain in CoPt/Ag nanocomposite films is monitored as a function of film thickness. Perpendicular anisotropy due to (0 0 1) texturing is achieved by annealing films with thickness below 15 nm at 600°C. As a function of film thickness δ the texture evolves from weak (0 0 1) below 9 nm to strong (0 0 1) at δ=12 nm which deteriorates rapidly above 15 nm and evolves to (1 1 1) above 40 nm. The strain is minimized in the range of film thickness where the (0 0 1) texturing is optimum indicating a texturing mechanism related to the reduction of mechanical strain energy.     

Gamma induced changes in Makrofol/CdSe nanocomposite films

We applied an ex-situ casting procedure to prepare a nanocomposite (NCP) from Makrofol polycarbonate (PC) and CdSe nanoparticles. The CdSe nanoparticles were prepared by a thermolysis procedure in the presence of N₂ gas flow. Rietveld refinement of x-ray data illustrated that the CdSe adopts a cubic zinc blend structure of 6.057 Å lattice parameter and 2 nm typical grain size. Samples from the prepared NCP were exposed to γ dosages (20 kGy-250 kGy). The modifications induced in the NCP films owing to γ dosages have been studied. The γ irradiation (50 kGy-250 kGy) causes crosslinks that reduce the optical bandgap from 4.15 eV to 3.81 eV, associated with an increase in dielectric parameters and refractive index. This is attributed to an increase in the mass fraction of the disordered regions as specified by x-ray diffraction. The PC-CdSe NCP was found to have a reaction to color modification which makes it suitable for saleable reproduction on a printing press.