Linear and nonlinear excitonic absorption in semiconducting quantum wires crystallized in a dielectric matrix

Spectra of linear and nonlinear absorption of GaAs and CdSe semiconducting quantum wires crystallized in a transparent dielectric matrix (inside chrysotile-asbestos nanotubes) have been measured. Their features are interpreted in terms of excitonic transitions and filling of the exciton phase space in the quantum wires. The theoretical model presented here has allowed us to calculate the energies of excitonic transitions that are in qualitative agreement with experimental data. The calculated exciton binding energies in quantum wires are a factor of several tens higher than in bulk semiconductors. The cause of this increase in the exciton binding energy is not only the size quantization, but also the “dielectric enhancement,” i.e., stronger attraction between electrons and holes owing to the large difference between permittivities of the semiconductor and dielectric matrix. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 114, 700–710 (August 1998)     

Engineering of SERS Substrates Based on Noble Metal Nanomaterials for Chemical and Biomedical Applications

Abstract

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has attracted great interest due to its remarkable enhancement, excellent sensitivity, and the “fingerprinting” ability to produce distinct spectra for detecting various molecules. Noble metal nanomaterials have usually been employed as SERS-active substrates because of their strong SERS enhancement originated from their unique surface plasmon resonance (SPR) properties. Because the SPR property depends on metal material's size, shape, morphology, arrangement, and dielectric environment around metal nanostructures, the key to wider applications of SERS technique is to develop plasmon-resonant structures with novel geometries to enhance Raman signals and to control the periodic ordering of these structures over a large area to obtain reproducible Raman enhancement. This review presents a general view on the theory background of SERS effect and several basic concepts and focuses on recent progress in engineering metallic nanostructures with various morphologies using versatile methods for improving SERS properties. Their potential applications in the field of chemical detection and biological sensing are overviewed.     

Calculation of the dielectric permittivity tensor for the surface layer of a cubic crystal

The dielectric permittivity tensor has been calculated by the effective-field method with inclusion of spatial inhomogeneities in the crystal surface layer. Cubic crystals have been shown to have natural optical activity within a layer a few lattice constants thick. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 645–647 (April 1998)     

SiO2 nanoparticles doped nematic liquid crystal system: An experimental investigation on optical and dielectric properties

The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of silica (SiO₂) nanoparticles (NPs) on optical and dielectric properties of BBEA nematic liquid crystal (NLC). For optical analysis the photoluminescence (PL) and UV-absorbance experiments have been performed. The doped system is showing enhancement in the intensity of photoluminescence with varying concentration of nanoparticles. A red shift is observed in the emission spectra of NLC doped with silica nanoparticles. The PL emission peak of NLC is observed at 377.3 nm which is shifted to 379.7 nm in the presence of silica nanoparticles. We have also observed the enhancement in the value of UV absorption for silica doped systems in comparison to the pure system. Energy band gap of pure and doped systems has been calculated and it is found that the energy band gap is decreasing with concentration which is a promising result of this study. The dielectric parameters of the pure and doped NLC systems were carried out as a function of frequency and temperature. Different dielectric parameters such as relative permittivity, loss factor and dielectric conductivity have been measured. The pure and silica nanoparticles doped systems has shown decreased value of dielectric permittivity and loss factor at lower frequency region and at higher frequency regions these values became constant. The value of relative permittivity also decreases with concentration. The increased value of a.c. conductivity for doped systems can be utilized in device designing. Moreover, the temperature dependence of the birefringence (Δn) was determined from the transmitted intensity of light for pure and doped systems and the improvement in its value for both composites has been observed. Improved value of birefringence has pronounced applications in optical devices.     

Propagation of Gaussian beams through parabolic index optical waveguides with random dielectric constant gradient

Abstract

The propagation of gaussian beams through parabolic index optical waveguides having random irregularities in the dielectric constant gradient has been studied. For fundamental mode propagation, the perturbation approach has been employed and an analytic expression for the loss of power from the fundamental mode has been obtained. For an incident gaussian beam with arbitrary width, geometrical optics approximation has been used and an exact analytical expression for the average value of the beamwidth has been derived for a particular random process, namely, the dichotomic Markov process. The fluctuations in the beamwidth have also been calculated.     

Optical properties of excitons in CdS semiconductor-insulator quantum wires

The characteristic features of the luminescence spectra of CdS semiconductor nanocrystals, crystallized in hollow channels in a dielectric template, are explained in terms of excitonic transitions in semiconductor-insulator quantum wires. The excitonic transition energies agree with the values calculated taking into account the effects of size quantization and the “dielectric enhancement of excitons” — the large increase in the electron-hole attraction as a result of the difference between the permittivities of the semiconductor and insulator. The theoretically computed binding energies of excitons in CdS quantum wires with a diameter of 10 nm reach 170 meV. It is shown that the excitonic transition energy is constant for a wide range of wire diameters. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 70, No. 3, 216–220 (10 August 1999)     

Dielectric response and kohn effect in strong magnetic fields

The dielectric polarization of an electron gas in strong magnetic field is calculated in the random phase approximation for finite temperatures and finite impurity concentrations. For parameter values typical for semiconductors a remarkable enhancement of the dielectric response at critical wave lengths and, consequently, of the Kohn anomaly has been found.     

Electromagnetic effect in enhanced infrared absorption of adsorbed molecules on thin metal films

The electric field strength within a homogeneous metal layer on a Ge hemi-cylindrical prism in the Kretschmann configuration has been calculated for infrared light using the Fresnel formula. To approximate the non-homogeneous island-like or porous nature of very thin metal films the dielectric constant of the metal layer was derived by the Bruggeman effective medium approximation. The dependence of the calculated intensity on the film thickness and the angle of incidence is in good agreement with the experimental observations of enhanced infrared absorption of adsorbed species. Combined with the observed short range effect of the enhancement this implies that the enhancement is due to actual high electric fields within the pores or between islands of the metal film which are proportional to the calculated effective field.     

Polarization characteristics of non-Gaussian scattering by small particles

Abstract

The statistical properties of radiation which has been singly scattered by a finite number of small spheroidal particles are investigated. Single-particle fluctuation enhancement factors are calculated for a variety of incident radiation polarization states and it is shown that full probability densities can be expressed in closed form in some situations of interest. Results for both free-particle assemblies and surface deposits are presented.     

Effects of CNT inclusions on structure and dielectric properties of PVDF/CNT nanocomposites

ABSTRACT

The effects of multiwall carbon nanotube (CNT) inclusions on the crystalline structure of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), and on the dielectric properties of PVDF/CNT nanocomposites (NCs), prepared by melt mixing, were investigated by employing X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and dielectric spectroscopy techniques. Our results imply that, in the NCs, the formation of β-phase crystals depends on specific compression treatment in the melt and fast cooling. Dielectric measurements on NCs, with CNT concentrations below the electrical percolation threshold, reveal that the dielectric strength of the two relaxation processes in the amorphous phase and dielectric permittivity, ?′, measured within the broad temperature range from ?150 °C to 60 °C, increase strongly with increasing CNT concentration. This enhancement of amorphous PVDF polarizability has been attributed to the increase of the local electric field, due to local polarization generated at the surface of conductive inclusions/CNT clusters.     

Effect of stacked dielectric with high dielectric constant and surface modification on current enhancement in pentacene thin-film transistors

The effect of a stacked dielectric has been studied on pentacene thin-film transistors (TFTs) with respect to the current enhancement, the crystalline polymorph, and the structural change of the film. Here we show that the performance improvement of the device is successfully achieved by the dielectric effects of the high dielectric constant and the surface modification in hybrid dielectric configuration. The systematic analysis on the device feature governed by the interfacial property was carried out for a hybrid structured insulator system using SiO₂ and cross-linked (C-L) polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), including the surface modified layer of dilute polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). Through thickness combinations of bilayer dielectrics with low-k SiO₂ and high-k PVA, the device also exhibits noticeable enhancement of the current drivability up to the current level of 94 μA at a practical gate bias of ?30 V. Moreover, we present the effect of a surface-modified layer with dilute PMMA. After the formation of ultra-thin PMMA layer in a bilayer insulator, the organic dielectric shows an effectively changed surface property into hydrophobicity even on a strong hydroxyl-rich dielectric surface, resulting in the distinct increase of structural order in the film due to the reduction of surface free energy.     

Dielectric and anharmonic behaviour of mixed alkali halides

Summary In the present paper an analysis of the dielectric behaviour and anharmonic contribution to the dielectric constants has been made of KCl−KBr mixed ionic crystals. The temperature and volume derivatives of static (ε₀), electronic (ε_∞) dielectric constants and energy gap parameter (E _g) have been calculated using the Szigeti and Havinga and Bosman dielectric theories. The anharmonic contributions have been estimated in terms of temperature derivatives of dielectric constants at constant volumes. The modified form of Clausius-Mossotti theory of dielectric polarization has been used for the mixed crystal under study. The calculated quantities have been compared with the available experimental data. A good agreement has been obtained. To speed up publication, the authors of this paper have agreed to not receive the proofs for correction.     

Magnetic excitons in near-surface quantum wells: Experiment and theory

We have measured the photoluminescence spectra and photoluminescence excitation spectra of magnetic excitons in InGaAs/GaAs near-surface quantum wells in a magnetic field. We have quantitatively investigated the effect of dielectric enhancement of excitons in quantum wells brought about by decreasing the thickness of the barrier layer, both in a magnetic field and without. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 806–808 (May 1998)     

Electromagnetic effects on a molecule at a metal surface: I. Effects of nonlocality and finite molecular size

The electromagnetic effects on a molecule near a metal surface are considered with the view to understanding the surface-enhanced-Raman-scattering (SERS) effect. The image enhancement effect is calculated including the nonlocal response of the metal and finite molecular size. The effect is much reduced (× 10^?5) from that for a point molecule above a local metal but can still give a gain ≈ 10³. The power emitted by a dipole above a smooth surface is also calculated. For an Ag surface the power emitted in the form of photons, surface plasmons, and electron-hole excitations are found to be in the ratio 1 : 3 : 10⁶. The numerical results are calculated using the semi-classical infinite-barrier model of the metal surface with a Lindhard dielectric function modified to take into account finite electron lifetime and core polarization.     

Position annihilation in transition metals

The positron annihilation rate in a ferromagnetic electron system which is described by a generalized Anderson model has been studied. Because of the spin polarization ofs-type electrons, the difference in the annihilation rate between the majority and the minority spins changes its sign at the momentum corresponding to the virtuald-level. The enhancement factor due to the effective Coulomb interaction between the electrons and a positron has been calculated using the dielectric constant for a ferromagnetic electron gas derived by Kim and Schwatz.     

Density effects of heavy-ion stopping power in high temperature matter

Abstract

The stopping power and range for Xe ions in high temperature matter (partially ionized plasmas) have been calculated using the dielectric response function method. Calculations have been made for a target matter Al (Z = 13) over a wide range of temperatures and densities considering a finite temperature model. The stopping powers obtained have smaller values in comparison with those of a zero temperature model. The stopping power strongly depends on the density and temperature of the target material, and the projectile ion energy.     

Analytical formulas for complex permittivity of periodic composites. Estimation of gain and loss enhancement in active and passive composites

ABSTRACT

The asymptotic homogenization method is applied to complex dielectric periodic composites. An equivalence to coupled dielectric problems with real coefficients is shown. This is similar to a piezoelectric problem: an out-plane mechanical displacement and an in-plane electric potential establishing a correspondence principle. Closed-form formulas for the complex dielectric effective tensor in the case of a square array of circular inclusions embedded in a matrix are given. These formulas are written in terms of a real and symmetric matrix which facilitates the implementation of the computational scheme. We also get similar formulas for multilayered complex dielectric composites. The real closed-form formulas are advantageous for estimating gain and loss enhancement properties of active and passive composites in certain volume fraction intervals. Numerical computations are performed and the results are compared with other approaches showing the usefulness of the obtained formulas. This may be of interest in the context of metamaterials.     

The millimeter-wave dielectric properties of Al2O3 after irradiation to moderate neutron fluence

Abstract

Mono- and polycrystalline Al₂O₃ has been irradiated to 3.5· 10¹⁹ f.n/cm², and the increase in dielectric loss has been measured at 28–38 GHz and 144–146 GHz. Step annealing experiments have been performed between 150 °C and 1100 °C. The recovery of dielectric loss has been analyzed aiming at identifying the defect types affecting dielectric loss. A pronounced recovery step observed at 450–550 °C is explained by F-centres with strong electron-lattice coupling which contribute predominantly to dielectric loss at room temperature.     

Bloch enhancement of electric field gradient in Fe and Cu host alloys

The Bloch enhancement factor α(k _f ) of the electric field gradient has been evaluated for the half-filledd-core Fe host metal and completely filledd-core Cu host metal in single orthogonalized plane wave (OPW) approximation. For this purpose the radially-dependent antishielding factors,γ(r) have been calculated in non-orthogonal Hartree-Fock perturbation theory (NHFPT). The results show that the contributions of antishielding to α(k _f ) from the plane wave-plane wave part and the core part of the OPW state are individually large but opposite in sign and thereby lead to partial cancellation. The net effect of antishielding on α(k _f ) is found to be − 5.6% in Fe and 14% in Cu.     

A comparative study of the effective dielectric constant of a medium containing randomly distributed dielectric spheres embedded in a homogeneous background medium

Abstract

The effective dielectric constant ∈_eff of a medium containing randomly distributed dielectric particles has been analysed by conventional methods: Foldy's approximation, the quasi-crystalline approximation (QCA) and the QCA with coherent potential. These conventional methods, however, have been indicated to become invalid for particles with a high dielectric constant; we have thus presented a new method that is valid for them. This paper compares ∈_eff of our method with those of the conventional methods by changing the volume fraction and the dielectric constant of spheres. As a result, our method is shown to be more powerful for the analysis of ∈_eff than the conventional methods.