Lattice dynamics of niobium carbide (NbC)

A consistent and comprehensive approach has been adopted to derive the framework of a deformation dipole model (DDM) which is capable of explaining successfully the lattice dynamics of ionic crystals. The application of this model to the case of the niobium carbide crystal has reproduced fairly well the phonon dispersion curves.     

Five-wave-mixing spectroscopy of ultrafast electron dynamics at a si(001) surface

The optically induced electron dynamics at a Si(001) surface is studied using a five-wave-mixing setup which measures the diffracted second-harmonic intensity induced by three ultrashort (13 fs) laser pulses. Depending on the time ordering of the pulses, this technique is capable of monitoring the temporal evolution of photoexcited one- or two-photon coherences, or populations. For a particular pulse sequence, the experiments show a delayed rise and a decay of the diffracted signal intensity on time scales of 50 and 250 fs, respectively. This response can be described by optical Bloch equations by including rapid scattering of the photoexcited carriers in the D(down) band of Si(001).     

Alkali adsorption on the Al(001) surface

The chemisorption of Na on the Al(001) surface has been studied by 2D bandstructure calculations on slab models using a density functional STO-LCAO method. Two slab models of three and five layers of substrate atoms have been used. Overlayers of the structuresp(2×2),c(2×2) andp(1×1), representing coverages of a quarter, a half and a full atomic monolayer of sodium atoms, respectively, have been investigated. The electronic structure of the adatoms and the charge transfer to the substrate are discussed. Satisfactory agreement with experiment is obtained for the adsorption induced change of the work function, correctly reproducing its monotonic character.     

Phosphine dissociation on the Si(001) surface

Density functional calculations are performed to identify features observed in STM experiments after phosphine (PH3) dosing of the Si(001) surface. On the basis of a comprehensive survey of possible structures, energetics, and simulated STM images, three prominent STM features are assigned to structures containing surface bound PH2, PH, and P, respectively. Collectively, the assigned features outline for the first time a detailed mechanism of PH3 dissociation and P incorporation on Si(001).     

Surface bands of the (001) surface of molybdenum

The electronic structure of the ideal (001) surface of Mo is calculated using a parametrized linear combination of atomic orbitals. Surface states and resonances are identified along the high symmetry directions of the two dimensional Brillouin zone. The local density of states near the surface is presented and the main modifications due to the surface states are discussed. Significant surface features are found in the range 0–0.1 Ryd below the Fermi energy in agreement with the experimental findings.     

Relativistic electronic structure of the Pb (001) surface

The surface electronic band structure of the Pb (001) was calculated using the self-consistent, first-principles linear-augmented-plane-wave method and the norm-conserving pseudopotentiai method. In the nonrelativistic case, forbidden gaps appear above and below the Fermi levelin the bulk projected band structure of lead. An occupied surface state at the point and two surface states in a wide forbidden gap above E_F are found. A characteristic feature of the electronic structure of the Pb (001) surface is the absence of a surface state within the forbidden S-P gap in the vicinity of the point. The inclusion of scalar-relativistic effects leads to the merger of several S-P gaps into one wide gap extending throughout the entire Brillouin zone. At the same time, the occupied state at point extends to point and its energy decreases by 2 eV. New, relatively weak surface states in the direction and unoccupied states in the vicinity of the point appear. An unoccupied surface state is found at the bottom of the forbidden gap at point . Including the contribution of the spinorbit pseudopotentiai leads to the appearance of two-spin orbit gas; however, the surface level structure is practically unchanged (except for the disappearance of the unoccupied surface state of P_z-symmetry at point ).Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 10, pp. 47–53, October, 1991.     

Ab initio investigation of the CdTe (001) surface

Based on first-principles density functional pseudopotential calculations, the CdTe (001) surface has been studied. Atomic configurations of different reconstructions are obtained with good accuracy. This reveals the efficiency of the force calculation for the surface relaxations. The surface energies were calculated on relaxed surface slabs as a function of the chemical potentials. The main result is that the energy of the Te-terminated dimerized surface with a (2 × 1) reconstruction is larger than the Cd-terminated c(2×2) reconstructed surface. This is in agreement with what was suspected by the equilibrium model introduced by F. Tinjod et al., which explains the formation of the quantum dots in CdTe/ZnTe superstructures.     

New Ga-enriched reconstructions on the GaAs(001) surface

To prepare structure-ordered GaAs(001) surfaces at low temperatures, GaAs(001) surfaces coated with native oxides were exposed in an atomic hydrogen flow in the temperature range 280–450 °C. The new Ga-enriched GaAs(001) surfaces with the (4 × 4) and (2 × 4)/c(2 × 8) reconstructions were prepared and studied by the methods of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, low-energy electron diffraction, and high-resolution characteristic electron energy loss spectroscopy. For the GaAs(001)-(2 × 4) surface, the structure of the Ga-stabilized surface has been proposed and ab initio computed within the (2 × 4) Ga-trimer unit cell model.     

Immobilization of avidin on (001) GaAs surface

To reliably immobilize different biomoieties on surfaces of III-V semiconductors is one of the most critical issues in the development of biodetector devices based on the optical/electronic properties of these materials. Herein we demonstrate the successful immobilization of avidin, a robust and well-studied protein, on a (001) GaAs surface. The immobilization was investigated via specific binding to biotin, which was connected to the GaAs surface through commercially available long- or short-chain amino group terminated alkanethiols (HS(CH₂)₁₁NH₂ or HS(CH₂)₂NH₂), or through a biotinylated thiol synthesized in our laboratory. The immobilization performance was evaluated by photoluminescence and fluorescence microscopy measurements. We found that the biotinylated thiol mixed with a diluent thiol provides the highest avidin immobilization efficiency. PACS 81.05.Ea; 82.65.+r; 87.14.Ee     

Electron dynamics in charged wet TiO2 anatase (001) surface functionalised by ruthenium ions

The surface of charged wet TiO₂ anatase (001) functionalised by ruthenium ion at ambient temperatures is studied by computational modelling. Response of this model to photoexcitations at ambient temperatures is explored with the Redfield density matrix equation of motion on the basis of Kohn–Sham orbitals. The parameters of the Redfield equation are on-the-fly non-adiabatic couplings for electronic degrees of freedom obtained along the ab initio molecular dynamics nuclear trajectories. The main results in this study are the following: (1) optical properties of the doped models such as light absorption intensity and transition energies can be tuned by modifying total charge; (2) electron and hole relaxation rates depend on the initial excitation; and (3) in the doped model, excitations of lower energy provide quicker relaxation. Results of computational modelling would benefit understanding of the mechanism of electron transfer processes on the surface of ruthenium-doped TiO₂.     

Surface resonance on the NiFe(001) alloy surface

First principles calculations based on density-functional theory are used to investigate the geometrical and electronic structure of a NiFe(001) invar surface. We use different ordered as well as alloy fcc-like structures to simulate the system. Ab initio atomic force minimizations show that the (001) invar surface is rumpled; Fe atoms are shifted outwards, Ni atoms inwards. A surface resonance is observed at (0.1–1.0) eV below the Fermi level, depending on the chemical ordering at and below the surface. Our calculations show that this resonance is pronounced in iron-rich surface regions. Presented at the X-th Symposium on Suface Physics, Prague, Czech Republic, July 11–15, 2005.