Compton scattering of 59.5 keV gamma rays from p-Si sample in an external electric field

This study is related to Compton scattering of photons from a p-Si sample whose surface charge density distributions are changed by an external electric field. The external electric field intensity in the range 0-75 kV/m was used to change the surface charge density distributions of the sample. The sample surface perpendicular to the electric field was selected as the scattering surface. The p-Si sample was bombarded by 59.5 keV γ-photons emitting from an Am-241 point source. The Compton scattered photons at an angle of 90^o were detected by an Si(Li) detector. The Compton scattering intensity suddenly increased with the application of the electric field since the applied electric field distorts both the negatively charged scattering center (free electron, bound electron, ionized acceptor) and the positively charged scattering center (hole) and their momentum distribution in the sample. There is a good third-order polynominal relation between the Compton scattering intensity and the increasing (or decreasing) electric field intensity. The results show that the positively charged scattering centers behave like negatively charged scattering centers, but the latter are slightly more effective than the former in the Compton scattering of γ-rays from the sample in the electric field.     

Structure analysis of stoichiometric LiNbO3(0 0 0 1) surfaces using low-energy neutral scattering spectroscopy

The atomic structure of LiNbO₃(0 0 0 1) surface was investigated by low-energy neutral scattering spectroscopy (LENS). Poled stoichiometric LiNbO₃ (SLN) samples were prepared for the measurements. The LENS was developed for surface structure and composition analysis particularly of highly insulating materials and was successfully applied to the structure analysis of the SLN(0 0 0 1) surface. The polar angle dependences of intensity of scattered He⁰ from the poled SLN surfaces indicate obvious differences between the negatively and the positively charged surfaces. It is suggested that O atoms cover the surfaces, and the first metal layers underneath the O layer consist of Li and Nb for negatively and positively charged surfaces, respectively, parallel to the applied electric field.     

Thermally stimulated current measurements in undoped Ga3InSe4 single crystals

The trap levels in nominally undoped Ga₃InSe₄ crystals were investigated in the temperature range of 10-300 K using the thermally stimulated currents technique. The study of trap levels was accomplished by the measurements of current flowing along the c-axis of the crystal. During the experiments we utilized a constant heating rate of 0.8 K/s. Experimental evidence is found for one hole trapping center in the crystal with activation energy of 62 meV. The analysis of the experimental TSC curve gave reasonable results under the model that assumes slow retrapping. The capture cross-section of the trap was determined as 1.0×10⁻²⁵ cm² with concentration of 1.4×10¹⁷ cm⁻³.     

Anomalously high low-frequency effective permittivity in a system of metal nanoislands

The low-frequency effective permittivity in a system of Co, W, and FeNi metal nanoislands in an electric field is investigated. The permittivity of films is determined from analyzing the dependences of the susceptance of the films on the temperature and the electric field. It is found that the effective permittivity of the structures under investigation has an anomalously high positive value (10⁷–10⁸) and that an increase in the electric field leads to a decrease in the effective permittivity and an increase in the electrical conductivity of the films. The nature of the high effective permittivity of the structures is governed by the island structure of the metal films and associated with the polarization of dipoles formed by pairs of negatively and positively charged metal nanoislands.     

Electric field influence on spin polarization vector behaviour of the negative muon in silicon

When a negatively charged muon is captured by a silicon atom, the atom is transformed into a solitary acceptor center similar to an Al atom. An external electric field influences the formation process of the neutral acceptor center (A.C.). It is shown in this article that the behaviour of the muon polarization vector changes appreciably in electric fields with intensities E\,\gtrsim\,10 V/cm. We estimate the muon spin relaxation rate \varLambda_μ in the so‐called “dirty limit”; for example, interaction between an internal electric field from charged impurities and a nonzero dipole moment of the A.C. is taken into account. A phonon mechanism is proposed to explain the temperature dependence of \varLambda_μ. We also estimate the value of the paramagnetic shift of the muon spin precession frequency \delta\omega/\omega₀ which is also temperature dependent. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Spin fluctuations in the vicinity of a charged particle in solid3He

At low temperature the positively charged muon (μ⁺) in solid³He is localized in a polaron which, unlike a chemically bound complex, is held together with polarizational attraction (van der Waals force). The dynamic effects in the muon relaxation are determined by the spin exchange of the³He atoms in the polaron. In crystals with large molar volumes (melting pressureP _m<60 bar) the rate of magnetic field fluctuations at the muon site is at least one order of magnitude lower than in an unperturbed crystal. In an external electric field the μ⁺ produces an anisotropic local distortion which reduces the rate of the local³He spin exchange and leads to an increase of the muon spin relaxation rate.     

Double layer creation in asymmetric discharge

Particle-in-cell Monte Carlo code has been used to simulate the DC discharge in strongly inhomogeneous cylindrical and spherical electric fields. Such a discharge occurs in the gaseous medium between a thin wire and a coaxial cylinder, or between a sharp tip and a sphere at high voltage. The discharge threshold conditions have been specified and corresponding threshold voltage (threshold electric field intensity) has been determined numerically. The threshold voltage varies with the electrode geometry, the polarity of active electrodes, gas composition (H, Ar, N₂) and gas pressure. In case of a positively charged inner electrode, a thin boundary sheet is developed in the vicinity of the electrode, when the quasineutrality of the ionized gas is violated and the electron current is closed via the external RLC circuit. In the opposite case of a negatively charged inner electrode, a double layer is developed inside the ionized gas. Dedicated to Prof. Jan Janča on the occasion of his 60^th birthday. Presented at 23^rd International Conference on Phenomena in Ionized Gases, Toulouse (France), July 17–22, 1997. The work was supported by the Grant Agency of the Czech. Acad. Sci. under Contract No. 202/1022.     

A wire trap for neutral atoms

We present new ways of trapping a neutral atom with static electric and magnetic fields. We discuss the interaction of a neutral atom with the magnetic field of a current carrying wire and the electric field of a charged wire. Atoms can be trapped by the 1/r magnetic field of a current-carrying wire in a two-dimensional trap. The atoms move in Kepler-like orbits around the wire and angular momentum prevents them from being absorbed at the wire. Trapping was demonstrated in an experiment by guiding atoms along a 1 m long current-carrying wire. Stable traps using the interaction of a polarizable atom with the electric field of a charged wire alone are not possible because of the 1/r ² form of the interaction potential. Nevertheless, we show that one can build a microscopic trap with a combination of a magnetic field generated by a current in a straight wire and the static electric field generated by a concentric charged ring which provides the longitudinal confinement. In all of these traps, the neutral atoms are trapped in a region of maximal field, in theirhigh-field seeking state.Dedicated to H. Walther on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Precise - and -factor measurements of Ba+ isotopes

Laser-microwave double and triple resonance experiments were performed on clouds of Ba⁺ ions confined in a Penning ion trap to induce and detect electronic and nuclear spin flip transitions. Collisions with buffer gas molecules in the trap was used to reduce the lifetime of a long lived metastable state of the ions, in which population trapping might occur, and to cool the ions to the ambient temperature. Loss of ions from the trap by collisions were prevented by coupling the magnetron and reduced cyclotron motions by an additional r.f. field at the sum frequency of the two motions. Electronic Zeeman transitions in ¹³⁸Ba⁺ and ¹³⁵Ba⁺ were observed at a full width of about 3 kHz at a transition frequency of 80 GHz. The uncertainty of the line center was . From the magnetic field calibration by the cyclotron resonance of electrons stored in the same trap the g_J-factor for both isotopes could be determined to . From radiofrequency induced transitions of ¹³⁵Ba⁺ the nuclear g-factor could be determined . Both measurements improve earlier results by about one order of magnitude. Received: 9 July 1998 / Accepted: 14 July 1998     

Scintillation kinetics and thermoluminescence of SrI2:Eu2+ single crystals

Single crystal of strontium iodide doped with 1% europium (SrI₂:1% Eu²⁺) was grown by Vertical Gradient Freeze technique. UV excited emission spectra were studied as a function of temperature. Results indicate the thermal quenching of Eu²⁺ emission starts from ～400 K with a thermal activation energy of 0.39 eV. Gamma and UV excited decay measurements indicate that the scintillation decay time of SrI₂:Eu²⁺ is longer than the lifetime of Eu²⁺ luminescence center in the SrI₂ host. The thermoluminescence glow curve revealed a highly concentrated charge carrier trap at 50 K. Elimination of this trap is expected to enhance the energy migration of charge carriers and result in faster scintillation decay.     

Hot́ hole anisotropic effect in silicon and germanium

Anisotropic effect of the hole drift velocity in silicon and germanium has been investigated with the time of flight technique by applying the electric field parallel to the <100 and <111 crystallographic axis. The measurements were performed for electric fields ranging from 10 to 3 × 10⁴V/cm and temperatures from 40 to 200°K. The results indicate that the anisotropic effect v_d<100/v_d<111 increases with decreasing temperature and increasing electric field, and reaches a saturation value at high electric fields (? 10⁴V/cm). The maximum anisotropic effect for Ge is 1.25 at 40°K and for Si is 1.2 at 45°K. A qualitative analysis of the experimental data indicates that the anisotropic effect is due to the warped heavy-valence-band shape.     

Hole-stimulated transfer of traps in dielectrics

The transport of traps in a dielectric after capture of holes in an electric field is considered with the inclusion of the two-band conduction. The distance covered by a trap with a trapped hole decreases exponentially with an increase in the electric field. A value of 3 × 10^–15 cm²/(V s) has been determined for the mobility of traps with trapped holes in Si₃N₄.     

Charge Distribution and Hyperfine Interactions in the CuFeO<Subscript>2</Subscript> Multiferroic According to <Superscript>63,65</Superscript>Cu NMR Data

For the first time, the CuFeO₂ single crystal has been studied by ^63,65Cu nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The measurements have been carried out in the temperature range of T = 100?350 K in the magnetic field H = 117 kOe applied along different crystallographic directions. The components of the electric field gradient tensor and the hyperfine coupling constants are determined. It is shown that electrons of copper 4s and 3d orbitals are involved in the spin polarization transfer Fe → Cu. The occupancies of these orbitals are estimated.     

Trap characterization for Bi4Ti3O12 thin films by thermally stimulated currents

Thermally stimulated current (TSC) measurements performed in the 100 K–400 K temperature range on Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ (BiT) thin films annealed at 550 °C and 700 °C had revealed two trapping levels having activation energies of 0.55 eV and 0.6 eV. The total trap concentration was estimated at 10¹⁵ cm⁻³ for the samples annealed at 550 °C and 3×10¹⁵ cm⁻³ for a 700 °C annealing and the trap capture cross-section was estimated about 10⁻¹⁸ cm². From the temperature dependence of the dark current in the temperature range 20 °C–120 °C the conduction mechanism activation energy was found to be about 0.956–0.978 eV. The electrical conductivity depends not only on the sample annealing temperature but also whether the measurement is performed in vacuum or air. The results on the dark conductivity are discussed considering the influence of oxygen atoms and oxygen vacancies. Received: 28 January 1998 / Accepted: 8 January 1999 / Published online: 5 May 1999     

Diffusion and point defects in Cu2O

The diffusion of⁶⁴Cu in Cu₂O has been measured by a serial-sectioning technique as a function of temperature (700–1153°C) and oxygen partial pressure (10^?6?8 × 10^2&#x0304; atm). The oxygen-partial-pressure and temperature dependencies of D¹_Cu suggest that both neutral and singly charged copper vacancies contribute to cation self-diffusion. A defect model involving both neutral and singly charged copper vacancies, electron holes, and singly charged oxygen-interstitial ions is developed and fit to the tracer-diffusion data, the electrical-conductivity data (Maluenda et al.), and the stoichiometry data (O'Keeffe and Moore). The resulting defect data are quantitatively consistent with the chemical-diffusion data (Maluenda et al.) and with a correlation factor $\text{f}{}_{\mathrm{v}}\text{=}\text{2}\text{3}$. The defect data are also quantitatively consistent with the high-temperature oxidation studies of copper metal (Iguchi et al.) and with the copper vacancy being 10 times more mobile than the oxygen-interstitial ion at 10002C.     

Excitonic transitions in GaAs---GaAlAs superlattices under a weak electric field

We report a study of the photoluminescence spectra of GaAs---Ga_0.65Al_0.35As superlattice under an electric field of about 10 kVcm⁻¹, from 9 K up to 80 K; the ratio of the intensities of the −1 and 0 peaks of the Wannier-Stark ladder varies with the temperature T. To fit these variations, we assume for both transitions, a trapped exciton density of states with a gaussian distribution of eigenenergies, and a two dimensional density of states for free excitons. We show that above about 50 K there is a thermal equilibrium between direct and crossed free excitons whereas at low temperatures, the equilibrium statistics are not respected: the excitons trap into the direct state rather than to the crossed one.     

Drift theory of charged-particle motion for a strong electric field in a weakly relativistic approximation

Drift equations of motion are derived for a charged particle in the case of a strong electric field with allowance for relativistic effects of order v²/c². The role of these effects is discussed along with the effects of a high-frequency field. The cases of weak and strong electric fields are distinguished [2] in the drift theory of the motion of charged particles in weakly inhomogeneous magnetic and electric fields. In the case of a weak electric field, the electric-drift velocity is v_E v, where v is the characteristic velocity of the particle. For a strong electric field,v _Ev.The drift theory has now been reasonably well developed for the case of weak electric fields in the classical and relativistic cases, for the absence of high-frequency fields and for the presence of these [1–3], Extension of the theory to strong electric fields involves considerable mathematical difficulties, and this has been done only in the classical approximation with and without hf fields [2–4], Here we consider the drift theory of charged-particle motion for the case of a strong electric field in the weakly relativistic approximation, incorporating terms of order v²/c², where c is the velocity of light. Also hf fields may be present.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 9, pp. 7–9, September, 1981.     

Heterolytic dissociation under hot-electron bombardment of the silanic bond at the Si-SiO2 interface

An atomistic model is proposed to account for the threshold-voltage instability of mos transistors under hot-electron bombardment. High-level density-functional-theory calculations for a set of model molecules simulating the Si-SiO₂ interface show that in the presence of one adsorbed water molecule the diradical center (resulting from the homolytic cleavage by hot-electron impact of the silanic bond at the hydrogen-passivated interface trap) evolves spontaneously to the formation of a positively charged defect at the oxide side of the Si-SiO₂ interface. Received: 10 January 2001 / Accepted: 19 June 2001 / Published online: 30 August 2001     

Electric field distribution and effective nonlinear AC and DC responses of graded cylindrical composites

The perturbation method is used to study the localization of electric field distribution and the effective nonlinear response of graded composites under an external alternating-current (AC) and direct-current (DC) electric field E_app = E₀ (1+sin ωt). The dielectric profile of the cylindrical inclusions is modeled by function ε_i (r) = C_k r^k (r ≤ a), where r is the radius of the cylindrical inclusion, and C_k, k, a are parameters. In the dilute limit, the local potentials and the effective nonlinear responses at all harmonics are derived. Meanwhile, the general effective nonlinear responses are also derived and compared with the effective nonlinear responses at harmonics under the AC and DC external field. It is found that the effective nonlinear AC and DC responses at harmonics can be calculated by those of the general effective nonlinear of the graded composites under the external DC electric field. Moreover, the obtained local electrical fields show that the electrical field distribution in the cylindrical inclusions is controllable, and the maximum of the electric field inside the cylinder is at its center.     

Performance of a Herriott cell, designed for variable temperatures between 296 and 20 K

We designed, fabricated and tested a multipath Herriott cell (or off-axis spherical mirror interferometer) to achieve low temperature absorption measurements. The cell is fabricated entirely from copper, and the 15 cm radius of curvature copper mirrors have gold coated reflective surfaces. The cell was tested at temperatures between 296 and 20 K with a folded absorption path length of 5.37 m utilizing a lead salt tunable diode laser. Short term temperature stability (1 h) of the Herriott cell is better than 0.005 K under normal operating conditions with a temperature uniformity better than 0.01 K (not measurable). The cell was tested by performing collisional cooling experiments on ¹³C¹⁶O₂ in helium at temperatures between 70 and 20 K and by performing more traditional pressure broadening and shift measurements on molecular infrared absorption lines at temperatures between 300 and about 80 K on ¹³C¹⁶O₂ and methane.