Local density of states and interface effects in semimetallic ErAs nanoparticles embedded in GaAs

The atomic and electronic structures of ErAs nanoparticles embedded within a GaAs matrix are examined via cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (XSTM/XSTS). The local density of states (LDOS) exhibits a finite minimum at the Fermi level demonstrating that the nanoparticles remain semimetallic despite the predictions of previous models of quantum confinement in ErAs. We also use XSTS to measure changes in the LDOS across the ErAs/GaAs interface and propose that the interface atomic structure results in electronic states that prevent the opening of a band gap.     

Magnetoplasma resonance in a GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well in a strong parallel magnetic field

The dispersion of magnetoplasma excitations in two-dimensional electron systems in a strong parallel magnetic field has been studied. A considerable increase in the electron cyclotron mass with an increase in the parallel component of magnetic field has been detected. It has been found that the cyclotron mass increment is a quadratic function of the magnetic field parallel to the interface. It has been shown that the mass anisotropy of 2D electrons induced by the parallel magnetic field reaches nearly 2.5 in B _‖ = 7 T. The energy of space quantization of the electron in the quantum well has been estimated from the magnetic field dependence of the anisotropy.     

Experimental evidence of surface-plasmon coupling in anisotropic hollow nanoparticles

We report on the investigation of surface-plasmon excitation of anisotropic WS(2) hollow nanoparticles in a near-field geometry by means of a scanning transmission electron microscope. The shell thickness influence on the electron-energy-loss-spectroscopy spectra is experimentally observed and is analyzed within a classical dielectric formalism. As for the isotropic case, we evidence one symmetric (tangential) and one antisymmetric (radial) mode. We point out the intriguing fact that, for the anisotropic case, one can relate these modes to the interband transition of the in-plane component of the dielectric tensor and to the bulk-plasmon energy of the out-of-plane component.     

Enhanced surface-plasmon resonance absorption in metal-dielectric-metal layered microspheres

We present a theoretical study of the dispersion relation of surface-plasmon resonances of mesoscopic metal-dielectric-metal microspheres. By analyzing the solutions to Maxwell's equations, we obtain a simple geometric condition for which the system exhibits a band of surface-plasmon modes whose resonant frequencies are weakly dependent on the multipole number. Using a modified Mie calculation, we find that a large number of modes belonging to this flat-dispersion band can be excited simultaneously by a plane wave, thus enhancing the absorption cross section. We demonstrate that the enhanced absorption peak of the sphere is geometrically tunable over the entire visible range.     

Ultrafast optical switching of terahertz metamaterials fabricated on ErAs/GaAs nanoisland superlattices

We demonstrate optical switching of electrically resonant terahertz planar metamaterials fabricated on ErAs/GaAs nanoisland superlattice substrates. Photoexcited charge carriers in the superlattice shunt the capacitive regions of the constituent elements, thereby modulating the resonant response of the metamaterials. A switching recovery time of 20 ps results from fast carrier recombination in the ErAs/GaAs superlattice substrates.     

D-type fiber biosensor based on surface-plasmon resonance technology and heterodyne interferometry

A D-type fiber biosensor based on surface-plasmon resonance (SPR) technology and heterodyne interferometry is presented. The sensing device is a single-mode optical fiber in which half the core is polished away and a thin-film layer of gold is deposited. We measure the phase-difference variations instead of the light intensity as in traditional SPR techniques. Therefore the accuracy and resolution of our method are very high. Its sensitivity can reach 2 x 10(-6) refractive-index units. The sensor has some merits, e.g., tunable high sensitivity, small size, lower cost, smaller sample volume, and suitability for in vivo testing. This novel method of a D-type fiber biosensor based on SPR technology and heterodyne interferometry is valuable for chemical, biological, and biochemical sensing, and the novel method of D-type fiber biosensing is a feasible means of study.     

Damped low-frequency surface-plasmon resonance in metal-dielectric periodic structures of planar semi-infinite extent

In the low-frequency limit with respect to the bulk plasma frequency of metal, damped surface-plasmon resonance is examined for a periodic semi-infinite structure with metal-dielectric unit cells in slab geometry. In comparison to the author’s earlier results in [1], the additional material damping is found to alter the resonance characteristics in many nontrivial ways. In particular, the damped Bloch waves propagating in the direction normal to the slab planes are induced, thereby altering wave stability with respect to the ratio of dielectric constants.     

Quantum nonlinear resonance in a strong electromagnetic field

The motion of a one-dimensional quantum weakly anharmonic system under the influence of harmonic external field is treated in the range where the transition frequency between the neighboring levels is close to the frequency of the harmonic field (quantum nonlinear resonance). The case of the strong external field, in which the Rabi frequency for the transitions is large in comparison with the field frequency, is studied. The expression for compact wavepackets of quasienergy states that change their content and width periodically (and, possibly, strongly), is obtained.     

Photoinduced phase transition in VO2 nanocrystals: ultrafast control of surface-plasmon resonance

We study the ultrafast insulator-to-metal transition in nanoparticles of VO2, obtained by ion implantation and self-assembly in silica. The nonmagnetic, strongly correlated compound VO2 undergoes a reversible phase transition, which can be photoinduced on an ultrafast time scale. In the nanoparticles, prompt formation of the metallic state results in the appearance of surface-plasmon resonance. We achieve large, ultrafast enhancement of optical absorption in the near-infrared spectral region that encompasses the wavelength range for optical-fiber communications. One can further tailor the response of the nanoparticles by controlling their shape.     

Evidence for a new low-lying resonance state in 7He

Low-lying resonance states in 7He(6He+n), formed after fragmentation reactions of a 227 MeV/nucleon 8He beam on a carbon target, have been studied. Coincidences between 6He nuclei and neutrons, corresponding to the one-neutron knockout channel in 8He, were selected. The relative energy spectrum in the 6He+n system shows a structure, which is interpreted as the 7He ( Ipi = 3/2(-)) ground state, unbound with 0.43(2) MeV relative to the 6He+n system and a width of Gamma = 0.15(8) MeV overlapping with an excited ( Ipi = 1/2(-)) state observed at 1.0(1) MeV with a width of Gamma = 0.75(8) MeV.     

Separatrix conservation mechanism for nonlinear resonance in strong chaos

We propose a simple, approximate theory of the fairly general mechanism for the separatrix conservation of nonlinear resonance, which leads to the complete suppression of global diffusion despite the strong local chaos of motion. This theory allows the separatrix splitting angle to be plotted against system parameters and, in particular, yields their values at which the separatrix remains unsplit. We present the results of our numerical experiments confirming theoretical conclusions for a certain class of dynamical Hamiltonian systems. New features of chaos suppression have been found in such systems. In conclusion, we discuss the range of application of the proposed theory.     

Trapping of surface-plasmon polaritons in a subwavelength cut

We study a transverse magnetic wave propagation in a subwavelength metallic slit which is modified by a perpendicular cut. The surface-plasmon polaritons (SPPs) can be trapped in the perpendicular cut by tuning the length or width of the cut. Moreover, the period of the resonance states corresponds to the difference of the cut's length ΔL which is 450 nm. An analytical solution for the resonance condition of the structure is derived by the cavity theory, which is consistent with the numerical simulation by using the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method.     

Evidence for strong dominance of proton-neutron correlations in nuclei

We analyze recent data from high-momentum-transfer (p, pp) and (p, ppn) reactions on carbon. For this analysis, the two-nucleon short-range correlation (NN-SRC) model for backward nucleon emission is extended to include the motion of the NN pair in the mean field. The model is found to describe major characteristics of the data. Our analysis demonstrates that the removal of a proton from the nucleus with initial momentum 275-550 MeV/c is 92(+8/-18) % of the time accompanied by the emission of a correlated neutron that carries momentum roughly equal and opposite to the initial proton momentum. This indicates that the probabilities of pp or nn SRCs in the nucleus are at least a factor of 6 smaller than that of pn SRCs. Our result is the first estimate of the isospin structure of NN-SRCs in nuclei, and may have important implication for modeling the equation of state of asymmetric nuclear matter.     

Scaling of resonance frequency for strong injection-locked lasers

It has been shown that strong optical injection locking can significantly enhance the resonance frequency of semiconductor lasers. In this Letter, we describe the trade-off between the maximum resonance frequency enhancement and the quality factor (Q) of the lossless laser cavity and show that the time-bandwidth product (product of photon lifetime and maximum resonance frequency) is equal to one half the square root of the external power injection ratio. The theoretical model agrees well with our experimental data.