Addendum to “Switching effect and the metal–insulator transition in electric field” by A.L. Pergament et al. [J. Phys. Chem. Solids 71 (2010) 874]

In the paper mentioned above we reported on the switching mechanism in vanadium dioxide which was shown to be based on the electronically-induced Mott insulator-to-metal transition occurring in conditions of the non-equilibrium carrier density excess in the applied electric field, and the proposed model involved the dependence of the carrier density n on electric field (the Poole–Frenkel effect), as well as the dependence of the critical electric field on n. The data on the n(T) dependence were obtained on the assumption of a temperature-independent carrier mobility μ, and the problem of n reduction at lower temperatures was not fully understood. In this Letter we revisit this problem in the light of some recent data on the μ(T) dependence for VO₂. It is shown that the adjusted values of n, taking into account this μ(T), correspond to the Mott critical density within an order of magnitude.     

Characterization of the hole transport and electrical properties in poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene)

A systematic study of the hole transport and electrical properties in blue-emitting polymers as poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) (PFO) has been performed. We show that the temperature dependent and thickness dependent current density versus voltage characteristics of PFO hole-only devices can be accurately described using our recently introduced improved mobility model based on both the Arrhenius temperature dependence and non-Arrhenius temperature dependence. Within the improved model, the mobility depends on three important physical quantities: temperature, carrier density, and electric field. For the polymer studied, we find the width of the density of states σ=0.115 eV and the lattice constant a=1.2 nm. Furthermore, we show that the boundary carrier density has an important effect on the current density versus voltage characteristics. Too large or too small values of the boundary carrier density lead to incorrect current density versus voltage characteristics. The numerically calculated carrier density is a decreasing function of distance from the interface. The numerically calculated electric field is an increasing function of distance. Both the maximum of carrier density and minimum of electric field appear near the interface.     

Photoemission study of electronic structure evolution across the metal-insulator transition of heavily B-doped diamond

We studied the electronic structure evolution of heavily B-doped diamond films across the metal-insulator transition (MIT) using ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS). From high-temperature UPS, through which electronic states near the Fermi level (E_F) up to ∼5k_BT can be observed (k_B is the Boltzmann constant and T the temperature), we observed the carrier concentration dependence of spectral shapes near E_F. Using another carrier concentration dependent UPS, we found that the change in energy position of sp-band of the diamond valence band, which corresponds to the shift of E_F, can be explained by the degenerate semiconductor model, indicating that the diamond valence band is responsible for the metallic states for samples with concentrations above MIT. We discuss a possible electronic structure evolution across MIT.     

电场诱导二氧化钒绝缘-金属相变的研究进展

二氧化钒(VO_2)是电子强关联体系的典型代表,其晶体结构在特定阈值的温度、电场、光照和压力等物理场作用下会发生由单斜金红石结构向四方金红石结构的可逆转变,从而引发绝缘-金属相变.其中,电场诱导VO_2绝缘-金属相变后的电导率可提高2-5个数量级,在可重构缝隙天线、太赫兹辐射以及智能电磁防护材料等领域具有广阔的应用前景,成为近年来人们的研究热点.首先,简要概述了VO_2发生绝缘-金属相变时晶体结构和能带结构的变化,进而从电场诱导VO_2绝缘-金属相变的研究方法、响应时间、临界阈值场强调控以及相变机理几个方面系统总结和评述了近年来国内外学者在该领域的重要发现和研究进展.最后,指出了当前VO_2绝缘-金属相变研究存在的问题,并展望了未来的发展方向.     

Theoretical study of metal-insulator transition in rhombohedral vanadium sesquioxide

The electronic structure and the metal-insulator transition (MIT) of V₂O₃ are investigated in the framework of density functional theory and GGA+U. It is found that, both the insulating and metallic phases can be realized in rhombohedral structure by varying the on-site Coulomb interaction, and the MIT in V₂O₃ can take place without any structure phase transition. Our calculated energy gap (0.63 eV) agrees with experimental result very well. The metallic phase exhibits high spin (S=1) character, but it becomes S=1/2 in insulating phase. According to our analysis, the Mott-Hubbard and the charge-transfer induce the MIT together, and it supports the mechanism postulated by Tanaka (2002) [11].     

Tunneling in 2-D quantum dots via quantum adiabatic switching route

We explore the phenomenon of tunneling in single carrier 2-D quantum dot by quantum adiabatic switching route. The confinement in the y-direction is kept harmonic which ensures that tunneling is allowed only along the x-direction. The harmonic confinement potential is kept fixed and a constant external magnetic field is applied along the z-direction. The growth of probability density in the classically forbidden zones and tunneling current are monitored critically which reveals how tunneling significantly depends on the barrier parameters. The efficacy of the switching function in enforcing adiabaticity of the evolution is demonstrated. The effective mass, barrier width, and height emerge as important control parameters.     

The ESR study of single crystal spinel ZnCr2Se4 diluted with Sb and V

The single crystal of Sb³⁺ and V³⁺ doped zinc chromium selenide spinel ZnCr₂Se₄ were prepared by a chemical transport method and characterized by ESR spectroscopy in order to examine the effect of nonmagnetic antimony and magnetic vanadium on properties of the system. For antimony admixtures the Neel temperature is very similar to that of the parent spinel ZnCr₂Se₄ (22 K). However, upon incorporating vanadium ions, the T_N temperature decreases down to 17.5 K, determined for the maximum vanadium content (x=0.06). The temperature dependence of the ESR linewidth over paramagnetic region is interpreted by an occurrence of spin-phonon interaction. The strong broadening linewidth together with its strong temperature dependence for vanadium doped ZnCr₂Se₄ is explained by the complex paramagnetic relaxation model.     

Effect of electric field on the metal-insulator transition with the formation of superstructure

The mechanism of the effect of an electric field on the metal-insulator transition with the formation of superstructure is considered with allowance for the field modulation of the electronic spectrum. Experimental data on the switching effect in vanadium dioxide are interpreted on the basis of this modified model.     

Effect of Mn-doping on the electrical properties of Cu2GeSe3

In this work we report the temperature dependence of the resistivity ρ of p-Cu₂GeSe₃ and manganese-doped p-Cu₂GeSe₃ at low temperature. It was found that for a intrinsic sample ρ obeys the Shklovskii-Efros-type variable-range hopping resistivity law in the temperature range from 4 to 63 K. This behaviour is governed by generation of a Coulomb gap Δ=78 meV in the density of localized states. We find a low activation term T₀=0.24 K, which is an indication of a large localization length ξ. For Mn-doped sample a metal-insulator transition (MIT) is observed at T=65 K. On the basis of the Mott criterion for metal-insulator transition, the critical carrier density n_c is determined. From the analysis of resistivity data it is concluded that Mn acts as acceptor impurity.     

Memory electrical switching in hydrated amorphous vanadium dioxide

Experimental data for the effect of memory electrical switching in a metal—oxide—metal structure based on hydrated vanadium dioxide obtained by the method of anodic—cathodic polarization are discussed. A model that assumes the key role of the ion current in the switching mechanism is suggested. This model makes it possible to determine the critical parameters of the material (the concentration and mobility of impurity ions) that influence the origination of the effect. The field dependence of the ion mobility derived by simulating the switching effect is explained through the hopping transfer mechanism in terms of the percolation theory.     

Determination of electric transport properties in the pre- and post-breakdown regime ofp-germanium

Conductivity and Hall-effect measurements were performed on single-crystallinep-doped germanium, electrically driven into low-temperature avalanche breakdown via impurity impact ionization. The electric transport properties were determined as a function of the applied electric field in the pre- and post-breakdown regime. The characteristic field dependence of the carrier density, mobility, and drift velocity was found to be reflected in smooth variations of the integral current flow. The breakdown mechanism was demonstrated to involve a mobility which sensitively depends upon the density of the mobile charge carriers. Our experimental findings are qualitatively explained by simple model approaches developed from established breakdown theories.     

Density of states effective mass of n-type CuInSe2 from the temperature dependence of Hall coefficient in the activation regime

The Hall coefficient R_H of n-type CuInSe₂ single crystals is measured between 10 and 300 K in pulsed magnetic field up to 35 T. The threshold field B_th, above which the magnetic freezeout starts to occur, varies linearly with temperature. From the analysis of the temperature dependence of electron concentration in the activation regime above 100 K at different field values, it is established that the density of states effective mass is independent of the magnetic field B and the activation energy E_D, above around 6 T, varies as B^1/3. Similar B^1/3 dependence of the magnetoresistance in the high magnetic field regime, reported earlier in the same material, suggests that theoretical work that could explain this coincidence is needed.     

Investigation of thermodynamic properties of cerium dioxide by statistical moment method

The thermodynamic properties of the cerium dioxide (CeO₂) are studied using the statistical moment method, including the anharmonicity effects of thermal lattice vibrations. The free energy, linear thermal expansion coefficient, bulk modulus, specific heats at the constant volume and those at the constant pressure, C_V and C_P, are derived in closed analytic forms in terms of the power moments of the atomic displacements. The temperature dependence of the thermodynamic quantities of cerium dioxide is calculated using three different interatomic potentials. The influence of dipole polarization effects on the thermodynamic properties and thermodynamic stability of cerium dioxide have been studied in detail.     

Non-BCS superconductivity for underdoped cuprates by spin-vortex attraction

Within a gauge approach to the t-J model, we propose a new, non-BCS mechanism of superconductivity for underdoped cuprates. The gluing force of the superconducting mechanism is an attraction between spin vortices on two different Néel sublattices, centered around the empty sites described in terms of fermionic holons. The spin fluctuations are described by bosonic spinons with a gap generated by the spin vortices. Due to the no-double occupation constraint, there is a gauge attraction between holon and spinon binding them into a physical hole. Through gauge interaction the spin vortex attraction induces the formation of spin-singlet (RVB) spinon pairs with a lowering of the spinon gap. Lowering the temperature, the approach exhibits two crossover temperatures: at the higher crossover a finite density of incoherent holon pairs are formed leading to a reduction of the hole spectral weight, while at the lower crossover a finite density of incoherent spinon RVB pairs are also formed, giving rise to a gas of incoherent preformed hole pairs, and magnetic vortices appear in the plasma phase. Finally, at a even lower temperature the hole pairs become coherent, the magnetic vortices becoming dilute and superconductivity appears. The superconducting mechanism is not of BCS-type since it involves a gain in kinetic energy (for spinons) coming from the spin interactions.     

Kinetics of thermalization of electric charge carriers in organic molecular semiconductors in strong electric fields

The kinetics of photogeneration of electric charge carriers in organic molecular semiconductors in strong electric fields is investigated within a theoretical model that includes the diffusion-drift mechanism of motion of electric charge carriers. In the framework of the proposed model, it is established that the time dependence of the probability of dissociation of a geminal pair exhibits an exponential behavior. The time constant strongly depends on the electric charge carrier hopping distance and the external electric field strength in accordance with the experimental data.     

Electron hopping mechanism in hematite (α-Fe2O3)

The frequency dependence of the real (?′) and imaginary (?″) parts of the dielectric constant of polycrystalline hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) has been investigated in the frequency range 0-100 kHz and the temperature range 190-350 K, in order to reveal experimentally the electron hopping mechanism that takes place during the Morin transition of spin-flip process. The dielectric behaviour is described well by the Debye-type relaxation (α-dispersion) in the temperature regions T<233 K and T>338 K. In the intermediate temperature range 233 K<T<338 K a charge carrier mechanism takes place (electron jump from the O²⁻ ion into one of the magnetic ions Fe³⁺) which gives rise to the low frequency conductivity and to the Ω-dispersion. The temperature dependence of relaxation time (τ) in the −ln τ vs 10³/T plot shows two linear regions. In the first, T<238 K, τ increases with increasing T implying a negative activation energy −0.01 eV, and in the second region T>318 K τ decreases as the temperature increases implying a positive activation energy 0.12 eV. The total reorganization energy (0.12-0.01) 0.11 eV is in agreement with the adiabatic activation energy 0.11 eV given by an ab initio model in the literature. The temperature dependence of the phase shift in the frequencies 1, 5, 10 kHz applied shows clearly an average Morin temperature T_Mo=284±1 K that is higher than the value of 263 K corresponding to a single crystal due to the size and shape of material grains.     

Shot noise in a quantum dot with the coulomb interaction

We study the noise in a quantum dot which is coupled to metallic leads by using the non-equation of motion technique at the Kondo temperature T_K. We compute the out of equilibrium density of states, the current and the shot noise. We find that the shot noise exhibits a nonmonotonic dependence on the voltage when variation of ε_d values of the QD energy in the absence of the external magnetic field occurs. We also find that the amplitude of current exhibits a saturation behavior when driving field is increased.     

D-wave superconductivity in doped Mott insulators

The effect of proximity to a Mott insulating phase on the charge transport properties of a superconductor is determined. An action describing the low energy physics is formulated and different scenarios for the approach to the Mott phase are distinguished by different variation with doping of the parameters in the action. A crucial issue is found to be the doping dependence of the quasiparticle charge which is defined here and which controls the temperature and field dependence of the electromagnetic response functions. Presently available data on high-T_c superconductors are analyzed. The data, while neither complete nor entirely consistent, suggest that neither the quasiparticle velocity nor the quasiparticle charge vanish as the Mott phase is approached, in contradiction to the predictions of several widely studied theories of lightly doped Mott insulators. Implications of the results for the structure of vortices in high-T_c superconductors are determined.     

Ultrafast semiconductor-metal phase transition in vanadium dioxide induced by a femtosecond laser pulse

A model is proposed for a photoinduced Peierls-type semiconductor-metal phase transition that makes it possible to determine the time dependence of the bandgap width in the electronic spectrum of vanadium dioxide subjected to a light field and the dependence of the time at which a photoinduced semiconductor-metal phase transition occurs on the laser pulse duration. The theoretical results obtained are consistent with experimental data on the illumination of a VO₂ film with an intense laser pulse.