Electron–hole liquid in low-dimensional silicon–germanium heterostructures

A brief review is given of the studies in which quasi-two-dimensional spatially-direct and dipolar electron–hole liquids in Si/SiGe/Si type-II heterostructures with a low Ge content in the SiGe layer were discovered and investigated.     

Electron–phonon interaction in fan-shaped quantum dot and quantum wire

The optical phonon modes and electron–optical-phonon interaction in fan-shaped quantum dot and quantum wire are studied with the dielectric continuum (DC) model and separation of variables. The explicit expressions for the longitudinal optical (LO) and interface optical (IO) phonon eigenmodes are deduced. It is found that there exist two types of IO phonon modes: top interface optical (TIO) phonon mode and arc interface optical (AIO) phonon mode, in a fan-shaped quantum dot. After having quantized the eigenmodes, we derive the Hamiltonian operators describing the LO and IO phonon modes as well as the corresponding Fröhlich electron–phonon interaction. The potential applications of these results are also discussed.     

Photon-exchange energy transfer of an electron–hole plasma between quasi-two-dimensional semiconductor layers

Photon-mediated energy transfer is shown to play an important role for transfer of an electron–hole plasma between two quasi-two-dimensional quantum wells separated by a wide barrier. The magnitude and the dependence of the transfer rate of an electron–hole plasma on the temperature, the well-to-well distance, and the plasma density are compared with those of the standard Förster (i.e., dipolar) rate and also with the exciton transfer rate. The plasma transfer rate through the photon-exchange mechanism decays very slowly as a function of the well-to-well distance and is larger than the dipolar rate except for short distances. The transfer rate of plasmas saturates at high densities and decays rapidly with the temperature.     

Electron–hole superlattices in GaAs/Al x Ga1− x As multiple quantum wells

A GaAs/Al _x Ga_{1? x} As semiconductor structure is proposed, which is predicted to superconduct at T _c?≈?2?K. Formation of an alternating sequence of electron- and hole-populated quantum wells (an electron–hole superlattice) in a modulation-doped GaAs/Al _x Ga_{1? x} As superlattice is considered. This superlattice may be analogous to the layered electronic structure of high-T _c superconductors. In the structures of interest, the mean spacing between nearest electron (or hole) wells is the same as the mean distance between the electrons (or holes) in any given well. This geometrical relationship mimics a prominent property of optimally doped high-T _c superconductors. Band bending by built-in electric fields from ionized donors and acceptors induces electron and heavy-hole bound states in alternate GaAs quantum wells. A proposed superlattice structure meeting this criterion for superconductivity is studied by self-consistent numerical simulation.     

Quantum interference effects in semiconductor–superconductor microjunctions

We investigate the quantum interference effects in quantum dots of a two-dimensional electron gas attached to a superconductor. When the dot size is comparable to the Fermi wavelength of an electron, transmission resonance shows up in the conductance as distinct peaks and dips. The coupling of electron-like and hole-like excitations by the Andreev reflection leads to a rich variety of behavior of the resonance, in particular, against the bias voltage. Enlarging the dot size, the transmission resonance evolves into conductance fluctuations. The low-magnetic-field conductance fluctuations are shown to be remarkably geometry-specific in comparison to those in the normal counterparts.     

Hydrodynamic analysis of electrostatic counter-streaming instability in a spin-polarized electron–positron–ion plasma

In this study, we present linear analysis of electrostatic counter-streaming instability in spin-polarized electron–positron–ion (e-p-i) plasma. With the aid of the separate spin evolution-quantum hydrodynamic (SSE-QHD) model, we derive the dispersion relation of counter-streaming instability. We numerically solve the dispersion and find four wave solutions: Langmuir wave, positron acoustic mode, and two electron and positron spin-dependent waves. It is noted that coupling of streaming and spin effects excites Langmuir instability and positron acoustic mode instability. However, in the absence of spin effect, only Langmuir instability will survive in e-p-i plasma. We have also discussed the effects of positron concentration, streaming speed, and spin polarization on the real frequency of waves and the growth rate. The present study may be helpful for understanding longitudinal wave propagation and instabilities in dense magnetized environments.     

Impact of propagation effects on intersubband Rabi flopping in semiconductor quantum wells

We investigate intersubband Rabi flopping in modulation-doped semiconductor quantum wells with and without the propagation effects,respectively.It is shown that propagation effects have a larger impact on Rabi flopping than the nonlinearities rooted from electron-electron interactions in multiple quantum wells. By using ultrashortπpulses,an almost complete population inversion exists if the propagation effects are not considered;while no complete population inversion occurs in the presence of propagation effects. Furthermore,the magnitude of the impact of propagation effects may be controlled by varying the carrier density.     

Are pulsar glitches triggered by a superfluid two-stream instability?

Mature neutron stars are expected to have several superfluid components. Strong evidence for this is provided by the glitches that have been observed in dozens of pulsars. We describe a superfluid analog of the two-stream instability that is well known in plasma physics and provide arguments that this instability is likely to be relevant for neutron stars. This is a new physical mechanism which may play a key role in explaining the glitch mechanism and which could also prove to be relevant in laboratory experiments on various superfluid systems.     

Modulational instability of a weakly relativistic ion acoustic wave in a warm plasma with nonthermal electrons

An investigation has been made of modulational instability of a nonlinear ion acoustic wave in a weakly relativistic warm unmagnetized nonthermal plasma whose constituents are an inertial ion fluid and nonthermally distributed electrons. Up to the second order of the perturbation theory, a nonlinear Schr?dinger type (NST) equation for the complex amplitude of the perturbed ion density is obtained. The coefficients of this equation show that the relativistic effect, the finite ion temperature and the nonthermal electrons modify the condition of the modulational stability. The association between the small-wavenumber limit of the NST equation and the oscillatory solution of the Korteweg－de Varies equation, obtained by a reductive perturbation theory, is satisfied.     

Modulational instability of a weakly relativistic ion acoustic wave in a warm plasma with nonthermal electrons

An investigation has been made of modulational instability of a nonlinear ion acoustic wave in a weakly relativistic warm unmagnetized nonthermal plasma whose constituents axe an inertial ion fluid and nonthermally distributed electrons. Up to the second order of the perturbation theory, a nonlinear Schr~dinger type (NST) equation for the complex amplitude of the perturbed ion density is obtained. The coefficients of this equation show that the relativistic effect, the finite ion temperature and the nonthermal electrons modify the condition of the modulational stability. The association between the small-wavenumber limit of the NST equation and the oscillatory solution of the Korteweg-de Varies equation, obtained by a reductive perturbation theory, is satisfied.     

Electron–hole transition in a spherical quantum dot confined at the center of a cylindrical nano-wire: Comparison of isotropic and anisotropic effective mass

Electronic structure of an InAs spherical quantum dot placed at the center of a GaAs cylindrical nano-wire is investigated. The Schrodinger equation within the effective mass approximation is solved and the energy eigenvalues and transition energies are calculated as a function of quantum dot and nano-wire radii using the finite element method. The two types of heavy holes, hhI and hhII, with isotropic and anisotropic effective masses are considered, respectively. The effect of spherical and nano-wire confining potentials, the size of the dot and the nano-wire on ground and first excited state energies of the electron, heavy hole I and heavy hole II are investigated. The results show that the electron and heavy holes energies decrease as the dot and the nano-wire radii increase. The emitted wavelength of transitions between el-hhI and el-hhII are also calculated and compared. The results show that the anisotropy of the effective mass has great effect on the emitted wavelength.     

The instability of electrostatic wave in a magnetized dusty plasma with nonadiabatic dust charge fluctuation

The effects of external magnetized field and nonadiabatic dust charge fluctuation on instability of wave incorporating the nonthermally distributed ions and the temperatures of ion and dust in dusty plasmas are investigated. A linear dispersion relation is obtained. The numerical results show that the external magnetized field, fast ions and nonadiabatic dust charge fluctuation have strong influence on the frequency and the damping of wave.     

Quantum effects on the Rayleigh–Taylor instability of stratified plasma in the presence of suspended particles

The effects of quantum correction on the Rayleigh–Taylor instability (RTI) in stratified plasma layer have been investigated in the presence of suspended particles. A general dispersion relation is obtained from the linearized set of quantum hydrodynamic (QHD) equations. Two particular cases of suspended particle parameters (f ^? and α ₀) with and without quantum corrections are analysed. The condition of RTI is derived while the stability of the system is discussed by applying Routh–Hurwitz (RH) criterion in the polynomial equation. The results show that, in the absence of quantum term, the relaxation frequency of the suspended particles has a destabilizing effect, while the mass concentration of the suspended particles has a stabilizing effect on the growth rates of RTI. In the presence of the quantum term, the relaxation frequency of the suspended particle yields to the stability behaviour on the growth rates of RTI.     

Impact of heavy hole–light hole coupling on the exciton fine structure in quantum dots

We present analytical results which describe the properties of the exciton ground state in a single semiconductor quantum dot (QD). Calculations are performed within the Luttinger–Kohn and Bir–Pikus Hamiltonian theory. We show in an explicit form that an interplay of the exchange interaction and the heavy hole–light hole coupling, which is due to the in-plane asymmetries of the dot shape and the strain distribution, plays an essential role. For both the bright and dark exciton, this combined effect leads to a dependence of the fine structure splitting and polarizations on the main anisotropy axis direction relative to the dot orientation. Basing on the obtained analytical expressions, we discuss some special cases in details.     

Double Electron–Electron Resonance Between Trapped Electron and Hole in a Semiconductor

We demonstrate the spin interactions between dispersedly trapped electrons and holes in a semiconductor using the double electron–electron resonance (DEER) method of the pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) techniques. An aluminum-doped titanium dioxide crystal is adopted as a spin system, in which optically generated electrons and holes are trapped, to reveal EPR signals that appear close to each other at a selected crystal orientation under an external magnetic field. We used the four-pulse DEER method by applying two microwave frequencies to a microwave cavity for pumping electrons and probing holes at the optimum temperature of 32 K. The dipolar modulation in the probed signal by pumping interacting spins was successfully detected. The observed non-oscillating decay shape indicates that the detected interaction is caused by widely distributed trapped electron and hole spins over long distances. We were able to extract a spin-pair distribution function by the first derivative of a background-corrected curve, referring to a previously reported method.     

A quantum efficiency analytical model for complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor image pixels with a pinned photodiode structure

A quantum efficiency analytical model for complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor（CMOS） image pixels with a pinned photodiode structure is developed. The proposed model takes account of the non-uniform doping distribution in the N-type region due to the impurity compensation formed by the actual fabricating process. The characteristics of two boundary PN junctions located in the N-type region for the particular spectral response of a pinned photodiode, are quantitatively analyzed. By solving the minority carrier steady-state diffusion equations and the barrier region photocurrent density equations successively, the analytical relationship between the quantum efficiency and the corresponding parameters such as incident wavelength, N-type width, peak doping concentration, and impurity density gradient of the N-type region is established. The validity of the model is verified by the measurement results with a test chip of 160×160 pixels array,which provides the accurate process with a theoretical guidance for quantum efficiency design in pinned photodiode pixels.     

Modulational instability of ion—acoustic waves in a warm plasma

Using the standard reductive perturbation technique,a nonlinear Schroedinger equation is derived to study the modulational instability of finite-amplitude ion-acoustic waves in a non-magnetized warm plasma.It is found that the inclusion of ion temperature in the equation modifies the nature of the ion-acoustic wave stability and the soliton stuctures.The effects of ion plasma temperature on the modulational stability and ion-acoustic wave properties are inestigated in detail.     

Spin-polarized currents in a two-terminal quantum ring with spin–orbit interaction

Photoinduced spin current is calculated in a system consisting of a 1D quantum ring with conductors connected to it. It is shown that in the presence of Rashba’s spin–orbit interaction, a current is induced in the ring by circularly polarized radiation. Expressions are derived for the current and electron transmission coefficients taking into account the inelastic interaction with the radiation. It is shown that the spin current is a complex function of the magnetic flux through the ring, radiation frequency, and the spin–orbit coupling constant. In the presence of a potential difference, the interaction with radiation may considerably increase the efficiency of the quantum-ring-based spin filter.