Design for 2D anisotropic photonic crystal with large absolute band gaps by using a genetic algorithm

A 2-state genetic algorithm (GA) approach is used to design a two-dimensional (2D) anisotropic photonic crystal of square lattice with a maximal absolute band gap. The unit cell is devided equally into many small squares, and each filling pattern of squares with two dielectric materials corresponds to a binary number. As a numerical example, the GA gives a 2D Te structure with a relative width of the absolute band gap of about . After a further optimization, a new structure is obtained with a relative width of the absolute band gap of about .Received: 1 November 2003, Published online: 9 April 2004PACS: 42.70.Qs Photonic bandgap materials - 78.20.Ci Optical constants (including refractive index, complex dielectric constant, absorption, reflection and transmission coefficients, emissivity) - 02.70.-c Computational techniques     

Modeling of size and shape dependent band gap,dielectric constant and phonon frequency of semiconductor nanosolids

A bond theory model is extended to study the size and shape dependent optoelectronics properties of semiconductors solids at nanoscale. On structural miniaturization down to nano scale, the optical parameters no longer remain stable but become tunable. The fraction of surface atoms and the dangling bonds on the surface affects the properties of semiconductors at nanoscale. The theory is applied to study the size and shape dependent energy band gap, dielectric constant and phonon frequency of TiO₂, CdS, CdSe, Si and GaN semiconductor nanosolids. We incorporated the relaxation factor, defined as the ratio of dangling bonds and the total bonds of atoms at nano scale. It is predicted that as the energy band increases with decrease in size, the effect becomes more when shape changes from spherical to tetrahedral. The model projects a decrease in phonon frequency and dielectric constants of semiconductor nanostructured materials with decrease in particle size. A good agreement between predicted results and the available experimental data is projected.     

New fabrication method for anisotropic gratings formed in photocrosslinkable polymer liquid crystals

We present a new fabrication method, called two-step ultraviolet exposure, to prepare anisotropic gratings in photocrosslinkable polymer liquid crystal films. Using the controllability of the reorientation direction of mesogenic molecules, anisotropic phase gratings, in which the mesogenic molecules were periodically modulated in orthogonal directions, were prepared by the use of one grating photomask. The resultant gratings diffract the light and convert the polarization states at the same time, and have applications as diffraction optical devices. PACS 42.65.Hw; 42.70.Df; 42.70.Nq; 78.20.-e; 78.40.Me     

Optical transmission spectra of a silicate glass containing nanocrystallites of cadmium sulphoselenide

The optical transmission spectra of CdSe _x S_1-x doped low viscosity silicate glass are experimentally studied. Glass samples were subjected to one- or multi-step heat treatment for different lengths of time. We have followed the modification of the absorption spectra after each heat treatment. The red shift of the absorption edge and the accompanying change of coloration from orange to red are explained by size-quantization effects in the energy spectrum of electrons and holes in semiconductor nanoparticles thermally developed in low viscosity glass matrix. X-ray diffraction data show no stoichiometry changes during the heat treatment processes. Crystallites composition ( ) defined from the diffraction peaks was very close to the value estimated from the position of absorption edge.Received: 14 March 2003, Published online: 9 September 2003PACS: 79.60.Jv Interfaces; heterostructures; nanostructures - 78.20.Ci Optical constants (including refractive index, complex dielectric constant, absorption, reflection and transmission coefficients, emissivity) - 78.40.Fy Semiconductors     

微波吸收法研究ZnO光电子衰减过程

微波吸收无接触测量技术可以用于半导体粉体材料、微晶材料等研究光生载流子衰减过程。本文采用微波吸收法在室温下分别测量了ZnO纳米材料和微晶材料的光电子衰减过程。发现在紫外激光短脉冲激发下,两种材料的导带光电子寿命有很大的差异,ZnO微晶粉体材料的光电子寿命为50ns,而ZnO纳米材料的光电子寿命仅为10ns。分析认为纳米ZnO的光电子寿命缩短是由于纳米ZnO晶体的表面积远远大于体材料的表面积,纳米材料的表面形成了大量的缺陷能级,加速了光电子的表面复合,缩短了光电子的寿命。纳米材料内部缺陷增多和量子限域效应同样会缩短光电子的寿命。     

Bandgaps and band bowing in semiconductor alloys

The bandgap and band bowing parameter of semiconductor alloys are calculated with a fast and realistic approach. The method is a dielectric scaling approximation that is based on a scissor approximation. It adds an energy shift to the bandgap provided by the local density approximation (LDA) of the density functional theory (DFT). The energy shift consists of a material-independent constant weighted by the inverse of the high-frequency dielectric constant. The salient feature of the approach is the fast calculation of the dielectric constant of alloys via the Green function (GF) of the TB-LMTOs (tight-binding linear muffin-tin orbitals) in the atomic sphere approximation (ASA). When it is applied to highly mismatched semiconductor alloys (HMAs) like Zn Te_xSe_1?x, this method provides a band bowing parameter that is different from the band bowing parameter calculated with the LDA due to the bowing exhibited also by the high-frequency dielectric constant.     

Theoretical predictions of photonic properties of nanoporous copolymer films as photonic band gap materials using FDTD

Block copolymers (BCPs), which self-organize into ordered 1-, 2- and 3-dimensional periodic equilibrium structures, can exhibit photonic band gaps (PBGs). In this paper, cylinder microdomain nanoporous films are proposed to be treated as a new kind of 2-dimensional BCP based photonic crystal. The minor component of the nanoporous films has been removed chemically with only pores left in order to enhance their dielectric constant contrast, which provides a new solution to achieve necessary PBG properties with BCPs. The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is used to investigate band features of this kind of photonic crystal theoretically. It is noted that the complete band gaps for the H polarization are obtained, although for the E polarization only the incomplete gaps exist. In addition, the gap map of the PBG materials is presented and its characteristics are analyzed. PACS 42.70.Qs; 42.70.Jk; 42.25.Bs     

Analysis of the peculiar shift of the low-frequency end of a variable photonic band gap

The effect of the variation of a rod’s dielectric constant on the photonic band gap in a two-dimensional square lattice structure photonic crystal is studied in this paper. The effects were calculated by FDTD algorithm and some peculiar variation properties were obtained. By consecutively changing the dielectric constant of the rod over certain wide ranges and fixing that of the background, the low-frequency end of the TM band gap in low frequency regions reveals very tiny shifts which to some extent can be treated as fixed. This is primarily due to the fact that the high-e region in the crystal is nearly unchanged, hence, the concentrated energy of the low frequency mode changes only slightly. This effect does not exist for materials whose dielectrics are varied over wide ranges. We propose an alternative method using 2D core-shell photonic crystals. The final results of the band calculation show that the gap maps of the core-shell cases closely match those of the ideal case. Such peculiar changes in the photonic band gap have wide application prospects. PACS 42.70.Qs; 78.20.Bh     

Field emission from a metal covered with a semiconducting layer: A model calculation

The electron field emission from a metal covered with a thin layer of a semiconductor with electron affinity and dielectric constant is considered. The model takes into account the metal-semiconductor (Schottky) barrier of height _b, the conduction current inside the semiconductor, and the band bending at the semiconductor-vacuum interface due to the external field penetration. For thick films under moderately high electric fields, the metal-semiconductor interface does not influence the emission behaviour whereas for thin films, the interface plays an important role, depending on the barrier heights. In particular, for /_b<^2/3 the I–V characteristics will, for strong fields, be dominated by the field emission process at the interface. In such cases important deviations from Fowler-Nordheim behaviour are found.     

First-principle study on the electronic and optical properties of Mn-doped SnO2

Using the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave method (FP-LAPW), we have investigated the electronic and optical properties of Sn_1−xMn_xO₂ (x=0, 0.0625, 0.125, 0.1875, 0.25). The doped Mn results in reduction of the band gap, which can be attributed to a series of impurity bands at the bottom of the conduction band caused by the strong hybridization between Mn 3d and O 2p. The results also show that the Mn-doped systems tend to convert into p-type semiconductor with direct band gaps. With the increase of Mn concentration, both the imaginary part of dielectric function and the absorption spectrum show red-shift corresponding to the change of band gaps.     

Modification of Drude model on the free carrier property of IV-VI compound semiconductor in magnetic field

A general analytical expression is reported for the Drude model's dielectric function of free carrier in multi-valley IV-VI compound semiconductor in the magnetic field. The modifications of the energy band non-parabolicity and free carrier re-population are introduced to the dielectric function in combination with the model. The difference of the dielectric function between the modified Drude model and the classical Drude model is demonstrated by the calculation for the typical IV-VI compound semiconductor material PbTe.Hai Da Fellow     

Ab-initio optical properties and dielectric response of open-shell spinel zinc ferrite

In the present work, we predict the optical properties and the dielectric response spectrum of the spinel zinc ferrite Zn₂Fe₄O₈, and show in particular the impact of many-body effects on the absorption spectrum, using advanced many-body perturbation approach. The excitonic effects remarkably redistribute the spectral weights causing a red-shift of 1.6 eV of the maximum of the independent particle G ₀ W ₀?(IP-G ₀ W ₀) towards the electron-hole affected spectrum. The excitation spectrum of the zinc ferrite exhibits a low lying doubly degenerated bound dark exciton at 1.84 eV with a fully symmetric excited-state density, and a narrow optical gap setting on at 1.93 eV. We further analyse the electronic transitions and exciton density distributions giving insights to the nature of excitations. The dielectric response of Zn₂Fe₄O₈ shows a particular sensitivity to the excitations higher than the electronic band gap, however it abruptly becomes passive to the incoming electro-magnetic wave and propagates to the negative regions at high energy regimes.     

稀土元素Lu，Sc掺杂GaN光电特性的第一性原理研究

基于密度泛函理论,采用广义梯度近似（GGA+U）平面波超软赝势方法,计算了本征GaN和稀土元素Lu、Sc掺杂GaN体系的电子结构和光学性质.结果表明：计算得到本征GaN的禁带宽度为3.37 eV,与实验值（3.39 eV）接近. Lu掺杂后GaN体系带隙变窄,而Sc掺杂后诱导了深能级杂质,带隙变宽,但仍为直接带隙半导体.掺杂后体系均发生畸变,晶格常数和体积增大,且在费米能级附近产生杂质带. Lu、Sc掺杂GaN体系的静态介电常数较本征GaN（4.50）均有所增大.Lu、Sc掺杂后体系介电常数虚部整体左移,光吸收边往低能方向移动,发生了红移现象.计算结果对稀土元素Lu、Sc掺杂GaN高压光电材料的开发和研究提供了理论依据.     

New regime of inverse saturable absorption for self-stabilizing passively mode-locked lasers

The reflectivity of a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) is generally expected to increase with increasing pulse energy. However, for higher pulse energies the reflectivity can decrease again; we call this a roll-over of the nonlinear reflectivity curve caused by inverse saturable absorption. We show for several SESAMs that the measured roll-over is consistent with two-photon absorption only for short (femtosecond) pulses, while a stronger (yet unidentified) kind of nonlinear absorption is dominant for longer (picosecond) pulses. These inverse saturable absorption effects have important technological consequences, e.g. for the Q-switching dynamics of passively mode-locked lasers. A simple equation using only measurable SESAM parameters and including inverse saturable absorption is derived for the Q-switched mode-locking threshold. We present various data and discuss the sometimes detrimental effects of this roll-over for femtosecond high repetition rate lasers, as well as the potentially very useful consequences for passively mode-locked multi-GHz lasers. We also discuss strategies to enhance or reduce this induced absorption by using different SESAM designs or semiconductor materials. PACS 42.60.Fc; 42.70.Nq; 78.20.Ci     

Experimental analysis of metal coated dielectric waveguides

This paper concerns the experimental characteristics of metal coated dielectric waveguides with a rectangular surface corrugation. Waveguide are designed to operate at a second Bragg frequency of 90 GHz. The period, height and the duty cycle of a rectangular grating were calculated using the chosen frequency. A metallic layer of aluminum is sputtered on one side of the slab waveguide. The purpose of the metallic layer is to simulate a layer of high density plasma on the surface of the waveguide similar to that obtained by optical excitation of semiconductor structures. Experiments were performed to examine the far field radiation pattern, attenuation constant and the dispersion relation. Due to the presence of the plasma layer there will be an angular shift in the far field radiation pattern. We have observed angular shifts of about 20 in the radiation pattern of the waveguide before and after coating. Measurements are made in the frequency range of 88–95 GHz. This waveguide structure can be used to design an electronically steerable antenna and an electronic phase shifter operating in the millimeter-wave frequency band.Supported in part by the Army Research Office.     

The role of the biexciton in a dynamic density matrix theory of the semiconductor band edge

We describe the dielectric response of the semiconductor band edge in a dynamic density matrix model. Our treatment is based on a set of ₃-relevant constitutive equations involving two-, four- and six-point density matrices. We demonstrate that under certain conditions all contributions to the third order susceptibility can be expressed in terms of excitonic and biexcitonic transitions. As a first application of these ₃-relevant equations we investigate the influence of the biexciton on the optical Stark effect in CuCl. We calculate shifts and lineshapes. Our results turn out to be in excellent agreement with experiments as well as with other theoretical predictions.     

Simulation of bulk-absorption thermal lensing in transmissive optics of gravitational waves detectors

This paper presents finite-element modelling simulations of thermal lensing and thermal lens compensation in transmissive optics for gravitational wave detectors. We compare the current candidate test mass materials, fused silica and sapphire, in terms of sample geometry and time-dependent phenomena. For both materials, the thermal-lensing time constant is a few minutes, yet the core temperature needs several tens of minutes to stabilize. Thermal lens compensation using simple radiative heating is limited in temperature by absorption in the test mass. This effect limits the maximum allowed absorption for sapphire to 10–20 ppm/cm. For reasonable parameters, optical path length compensation within 1 nm can be achieved over a beam radius of 5 mm. If the optical absorption of the transmissive optics is too high, compensation can be achieved by means of a separate compensation plate. PACS 42.25.Bs; 42.70.Ce     

Rectangular patch antennas over electromagnetic band gap structures

In this paper, I propose a new design of a defected structure (DS) for use as an electromagnetic band gap (EBG) configuration to enhance the performance of low profile microstrip antennas. The proposed defected structure embodies a honeycomb lattice of cylindrical air holes. The proposed DS is applied to three different configurations using a dielectric substrate (dielectric constant 6 and thickness 1.5 mm); namely: a dielectric substrate backed by a defected ground plane, a defected dielectric substrate backed by a normal substrate and a defected dielectric substrate backed by a defected ground plane. The simulated values of the transmission coefficient S ₂₁ for the last one show two well-defined stop bands around 8.5 and 9.5 GHz, respectively. The first band has been used to reduce mutual coupling in a microstrip array. On the other hand, the stop band defined around 9.5 GHz has been applied to enhance the characteristics of a rectangular patch antenna and improve the operational 10-dB bandwidth.     

Optical properties of thin metallic film/dielectric superlattices constrained by the size effect

The dispersion relation of the 1D Bloch wave vector accompanied with an incident transverse electromagnetic wave on thin metallic film/dielectric superlattices is crucial to its optical properties. The interference of excited longitudinal plasmons between neighbouring metallic films induces a collective oscillation of the whole superlattice causing coupled plasmon polariton waves. A calculation of the optical reflectance manipulated by the size effect on the dielectric constant induces more allowable bands at < as the specularity parameters p and q decrease, meanwhile the cut-off frequency for band rejection also shows a blue shift.