The equation of state approximation of solid hydrogen in wide interval of densities

Abstract

The coefficients of the second order Birch equation for static lattice of solid hydrogen are determined.     

Dependence of the indirect energy gap of silicon on hydrostatic pressure

A diamond anvil optical cell is employed to measure the pressure dependence of the fundamental indirect Γ-X transition of crystalline Si. The result is

$\text{E (eV) = (1.110 ± 0.002) ? (1.41 ± 0.06) × 10}{}^{\mathrm{?3}}\text{P}$

where the pressure P is in kbar. Between 115 and 126 a transformation takes place to a phase opaque to electromagnetic radiation of wavelength between 0.3 and 2.0 μm. We believe this is the same phase transition reported by Minomura and Drickamer. A pseudopotential calculation assuming a relatively soft core is carried out and its results are in rather good agreement with experiment.     

Laser emission study of the pressure dependence of the energy gap in tellurium

The pressure dependence of the band gap of tellurium has been precisely measured to 8 kbar in a study of the laser emission of an optically-pumped sample at liquid nitrogen temperatures. A large negative pressure tuning coefficient is observed along with an anomalous nonlinearity in the tuning. These measurements are compared to previous studies using other optical and electrical techniques and are related to current theoretical models of the band structure of tellurium.     

Magnon energy gap in a four-layer ferromagnetic superlattice

The magnon energy band in a four-layer ferromagnetic superlattice is studied by using the linear spin-wave approach and Green＇s function technique. It is found that three modulated energy gaps exist in the magnon energy band along Kx direction perpendicular to the superlattice plane. The spin quantum numbers and the interlayer exchange couplings all affect the three energy gaps. The magnon energy gaps of the four-layer ferromagnetic superlattice are different from those of the three-layer one. For the four-layer ferromagnetic superlattice, the disappearance of the magnon energy gaps △ω12, △ω23 and △ω34 all correlates with the symmetry of this system. The zero energy gap △ω23 correlates with the symmetry of interlayer exchange couplings, while the vanishing of the magnon energy gaps △ω12 and △ω34 corresponds to a translational symmetry of x-direction in the lattice. When the parameters of the system deviate from these symmetries, the three energy gaps will increase.     

Natural sulfur-containing minerals as topological insulators with a wide band gap

The electronic structure of quaternary natural minerals PbBi₂Te₂S₂ (aleksite), Pb₂Bi₂Te₂S₃ (saddlebackite), and PbBi₄Te₄S₃ (C phase) has been theoretically studied. These compounds have a layered structure: aleksite and saddlebackite are formed by seven- and nine-layer blocks, respectively, and C phase consists of five- and seven-layer blocks separated by van der Waals gaps. It has been shown that all studied materials are three-dimensional topological insulators with a wide band gap in the electronic spectrum and have a high spin polarization. For these reasons, they are promising for applications.     

Ultrafast carrier dynamics in wide gap hydrogenated amorphous silicon

We report on picosecond and femtosecond pump and probe measurements of the dynamics of photoexcited carriers in wide gap a-Si : H prepared by microwave electron–cyclotron resonance plasma-enhanced chemical-vapour-deposition. We interpret the picosecond dynamics of transient absorption under strong picosecond excitation in terms of a bimolecular recombination process with the rate constant B≈5×10⁻¹⁰ cm³ s⁻¹, followed by a slower nanosecond decay. In the femtosecond measurements, we observed an initial decay with effective time constant ≈20 ps. We have not found any change in the picosecond dynamics when tuning the excitation wavelength through photoluminescence (PL) excitation spectrum profile. The ultrafast dynamics do not differ in the samples with PL efficiency differing in more than one order of magnitude, and they agree well with those in standard a-Si : H.     

Theoretical investigation of an electron beam propagating through a wide gap cavity

This paper presents a self-consistent nonlinear theory of the current and energy modulations when an electron beam propagates through an inductively-loaded wide gap cavity. The integro-differential equations axe obtained to describe the modulation of the beam current and kinetic energy. A relativistic klystron amplifier （RKA） model is introduced, which uses an inductively-loaded wide gap cavity as an input cavity. And a numerical code is developed for the extended model based on the equations, from which some relations about the modulated current and modulated energy are numerically given.     

Synthesis of wide band gap nanocrystalline NiO powder via a sonochemical method

A sonochemistry-based synthesis method was used to produce nanocrystalline nickel oxide powder with ∼20 nm average crystallite diameter from Ni(OH)₂ precursor. Ultrasound waves were applied to the primary solution to intensify the Ni(OH)₂ precipitation. Dried precipitates were calcined at 320 °C to form nanocrystalline NiO particles. The morphology of the produced powder was characterized by transmission electron microscopy. Using sonochemical waves resulted in lowering of the size of the nickel oxide crystallites. FT-IR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction revealed high purity well-crystallized structure of the synthesized powder. Photoluminescence spectroscopy confirmed production of a wide band-gap structure.     

Measurement of a superconducting energy gap in a homogeneously amorphous insulator

We present tunneling spectroscopy measurements that directly reveal the existence of a superconducting gap in the insulating state of homogenously disordered amorphous indium oxide films. Two films on both sides of the disorder induced superconductor to insulator transition show the same energy gap scale. This energy gap persists up to relatively high magnetic fields and is observed across the magnetoresistance peak typical of disordered superconductors. The results provide useful information for understanding the nature of the insulating state in the disorder induced superconductor to insulator transition.     

A simple automatic ellipsometer for a wide energy range

We describe the design, construction and operation of an automatic ellipsometer based on a design similar to that of Archard, Clegg and Taylor. A simple calibration procedure eliminates all systematic errors in the analyzer-detector system. Data reduction is done with a modified version of the ellipsometric equations developed in the text.     

Surface and interface issues in wide band gap semiconductor electronics

Wide band gap (WGB) materials are the most promising semiconductors for future electronic devices, and are candidates to replace the conventional materials (Si, GaAs, …) that are approaching their physical limits. Among WBG materials, silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) have achieved the largest advancements with respect to their material quality and device processing. Clearly, the devices performances depend on several surface and interface properties, which in turn are often crucially determined by the quality of the available material, as well as by the device processing maturity. In this paper, some surface and interface issues related to SiC and GaN devices processing are reviewed. First, the control of metal/SiC barrier uniformity and surface preparation will be discussed with respect to the performance of Schottky-based devices. Moreover, the impact of high-temperature annealing required for high-voltage Schottky diodes and MOSFETs fabrication, on the surface morphology and device performances will also be briefly presented. In the second part, it will be shown that for GaN the material quality is still the main concern, since dislocations have a severe influence on the current transport and barrier homogeneity of metal/GaN interfaces. Other practical implications of thermal annealing and surface passivation during GaN-based devices fabrication will also be addressed.     

Effect of high pressure on the vibrational modes and the energy gap of ZnP2

The pressure dependence of the vibrational modes in ZnP₂ has been investigated by Raman Spectroscopy using a diamond anvil cell, up to 150 kbar pressure. The intrachain phosphorus modes exhibit a strong pressure dependence whereas the low frequency Zn-P modes soften very slightly under pressure. For a crystal which is treated as a molecular crystal this is an unexpected result. It is suggested that the behaviour may be due to a buckling of the phosphorus chain, or due to a double bond promotion between P atoms, or a charge transfer under pressure. The shift in the energy gap has also been measured to 100 kbar hydrostatic pressure. There is a small initial blue shift which gradually changes over to a red shift. However the whole shift in 100 kbar is quite small. Combining the (dEg/dP) _T with the published (dEg/dT) _P the thermal expansion contribution and the electron-phonon interaction contribution were evaluated. The latter dominates the total (dEg/dT) _P of ZnP₂. The authors felicitate Prof. D S Kothari on his eightieth birthday and dedicate this paper to him on this occasion.