Electron–phonon coupling in DNA: a systematic study

The coupling of all twelve possible conformational modes of DNA duplexes and four pair-wise correlations among them to positive charge (hole) motion through these biopolymers has been systematically analysed in regular homogeneous B-DNA trimers and tetramers of adenosine–thymidine (AT) and guanosine–cytidine (GC) Watson–Crick pairs using PM3 semiempirical quantum chemistry. Of these only five modes have been found to be most strongly coupled to the electron motion in DNA, namely stretching of H-bonding both in AT and GC, correlated Buckle–Rise and Stagger–Tilt motions in GC and correlated Shear–Twist motion in AT. The parameters for the corresponding polaronic Hamiltonians have been estimated. The nature of these DNA polarons is discussed taking into account the relevant experimental results currently available.     

Control of near-field radiative heat transfer via surface phonon–polariton coupling in thin films

The possibility of controlling near-field radiative heat transfer with the use of silicon carbide thin films supporting surface phonon–polaritons in the infrared spectrum is explored. For this purpose, the local density of electromagnetic states is calculated and analyzed within the nanometric gap formed between two SiC films as well as the radiative heat flux exchanged between the thin layers.     

Growth of Al–N codoped p-type ZnMgO thin films on different substrates

Al–N codoped p-type ZnMgO thin films were prepared on three different substrates, namely glass, quartz, and silicon. Significant differences in the crystallinity, surface morphology, and electrical properties on these substrates were investigated by means of x-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and Hall-effect measurements. It is demonstrated that the Al donor enhances the incorporation of the N acceptor, resulting in better p-type conductivity. The incorporation of the N acceptor, as well as the Al and Mg, was confirmed x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Transmittance and photoluminescence spectra suggested a wider bandgap for the ZnMgO thin films in comparison with ZnO, which is believed to be the result of the incorporation of Mg.     

Molecular-beam epitaxy of topological insulator Bi2Se3 （111） and （221） thin films

This paper presents an overview of the growth of Bi2Se3, a prototypical three-dimensional topological insulator, by molecular-beam epitaxy on various substrates. Comparison is made between the growth of Bi2 Se3 （111） on van der Waals （vdW） and non-vdW substrates, with attention paid to twin suppression and strain. Growth along the [221] direction of Bi2Se3 on InP （001） and GaAs （001） substrates is also discussed.     

Galvanomagnetic properties of thin films of bismuth and bismuth–antimony alloys on substrates with different thermal expansions

Temperature dependences of the galvanomagnetic properties of films of bismuth and Bi_{100 – x}Sb_x (x ≤ 12) on substrates with different temperature expansion coefficients were studied in the temperature range of 77–300 K. The block films were prepared through thermal deposition, and single-crystal Bi_{100 – x}Sb_x were grown by zone recrystallization under a coating. It was found that the temperature expansion coefficient of a substrate substantially influenced the galvanomagnetic properties of Bi and Bi_{100 – x}Sb_x films. Using the experimental data, the change in the charge-carrier concentration in the Bi and Bi_{100 – x}Sb_x films on different substrates at 77 K was estimated.     

Electron–phonon heat exchange in quasi-two-dimensional nanolayers

We study the heat power P transferred between electrons and phonons in thin metallic films deposited on free-standing dielectric membranes. The temperature range is typically below 1 K, such that the wavelengths of the excited phonon modes in the system is large enough so that the picture of a quasi-two-dimensional phonon gas is applicable. Moreover, due to the quantization of the components of the electron wavevectors perpendicular to the metal film’s surface, the electrons spectrum forms also quasi two-dimensional sub-bands, as in a quantum well (QW). We describe in detail the contribution to the electron–phonon energy exchange of different electron scattering channels, as well as of different types of phonon modes. We find that heat flux oscillates strongly with thickness of the film d while having a much smoother variation with temperature (T _e for the electrons temperature and T _ph for the phonons temperature), so that one obtains a ridge-like landscape in the two coordinates, (d, T _e ) or (d, T _ph ), with crests and valleys aligned roughly parallel to the temperature axis. For the valley regions we find P ∝ T _e ^3.5 – T _ph ^3.5 . From valley to crest, P increases by more than one order of magnitude and on the crests P cannot be represented by a simple power law. The strong dependence of P on d is indicative of the formation of the QW state and can be useful in controlling the heat transfer between electrons and crystal lattice in nano-electronic devices. Nevertheless, due to the small value of the Fermi wavelength in metals, the surface imperfections of the metallic films can reduce the magnitude of the oscillations of P vs. d, so this effect might be easier to observe experimentally in doped semiconductors.     

c-axis-textured LiNbO3 thin films on Si (111) substrates

We have successfully prepared highly c-axis-textured LiNbO₃ films on hydrogen-terminated Si (111) substrate using sol-gel spin-coating and rapid thermal annealing. These highly c-axis-textured films were obtained with a preheating at 300 °C for 15 min followed by a rapid thermal annealing at 500–700 °C for 120 s. The c-axis orientation of the LiNbO₃ film is due to a weak effect caused by the 3-fold symmetry match between the film and the Si (111) substrate. The c-axis orientation of LiNbO₃ films is very useful in integrated optics devices and metal–ferroelectric–semiconductor nonvolatile memory applications. Received: 15 September / Accepted: 4 December / Published online: 3 April 2001     

Metal–insulator transition in boron-doped amorphous carbon films

Boron-doped amorphous graphite-like carbon (GLC) films have been prepared with different boron concentrations. Electrical transport measurements in the temperature range 1.3–300?K on the films shows a doping-induced metal–insulator (MI) transition. On the metallic side of the transition, the experimental data are interpreted in terms of weak localization and the effect of electron–electron interactions. Data on the insulator side of transition are analyzed in terms of hopping conduction. Critical behaviour is observed near the transition, with the resistivity obeying a power-law temperature dependence.     

Unusual metal–insulator transition in disordered ferromagnetic films

We present a theoretical interpretation of recent data on the conductance near and farther away from the metal–insulator transition in thin ferromagnetic Gd films of thickness b≈2$b\approx 2$–10 nm. For increasing sheet resistances a dimensional crossover takes place from d=2 to d  =3 dimensions, since the large phase relaxation rate caused by scattering of quasiparticles off spin wave excitations renders the dephasing length L_??b$L_{?}?b$ at strong disorder. The conductivity data in the various regimes obey fractional power-law or logarithmic temperature dependence. One observes weak localization and interaction induced corrections at weaker disorder. At strong disorder, near the metal–insulator transition, the data show scaling and collapse onto two scaling curves for the metallic and insulating regimes. We interpret this unusual behavior as proof of two distinctly different correlation length exponents on both sides of the transition.     

Tight-binding electron–phonon coupling and band renormalization in graphene

The kink structure in the quasiparticle spectrum of electrons in graphene observed at 200 me V below the Fermi level by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy(ARPES)was claimed to be caused by a tight-binding electron–phonon(e–ph)coupling in the previous theoretical studies.However,we numerically find that the e–ph coupling effect in this approach is too weak to account for the ARPES data.The former agreement between this approach and the ARPES data is due to an enlargement of the coupling constant by almost four times.     

Experimental evaluation of phonon–phason coupling in icosahedral quasicrystals

By measuring phonon strain introduced in crystal approximants, the sign and magnitude of the phonon–phason coupling constant have been evaluated for icosahedral quasicrystals of Mg–Ga–Al–Zn and Al–Cu–Fe systems. The evaluated coupling constants are approximately ?0.04μ and 0.004μ (μ?=?shear modulus) for the former and the latter, respectively. They are in good agreement with the results of a previously reported theoretical calculation. Possible effects of phonon–phason coupling on the onset of phasonic elastic instability in icosahedral quasicrystals are discussed.     

Spin–phonon coupling in van der Waals antiferromagnet VOCl

We report magnetization and Raman spectroscopy study on single crystals of VOCl, a van der Waals antiferromagnetic material. Magnetization measurement confirms an antiferromagnetic transition at 79 K and a magnetic easy axis along crystallographic a direction. The temperature-dependent Raman spectrum reveals five peaks at 30 K. Below the Neel temperature TN, the Raman-active modes 247 cm~(-1) and 404 cm~(-1) remarkably deviate from the standard Boltzmann function,which is ascribed to the strong magnetoelastic coupling between spins and phonons. We further observe an anomaly in 383 cm~(-1) mode at around 150 K. This coincides with the broad maximum in VOCl's magnetic susceptibility, suggesting a development of short-ranged magnetic order at this temperature.     

Growth and structural characteristics of metastable β-In_2Se_3 thin films on H-terminated Si(111) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy

Epitaxial growth and structural characteristics of metastable β-In_2Se_3 thin films on H-terminated Si(111) substrates are studied. The In_2Se_3 thin films grown below the β-to-α phase transition temperature(453 K) are characterized to be strained β-In_2Se_3 mixed with significant γ-In_2Se_3 phases. The pure-phased single-crystalline β-In_2Se_3 can be reproducibly achieved by in situ annealing the as-deposited poly-crystalline In_2Se_3 within the phase equilibrium temperature window ofβ-In_2Se_3. It is suggeted that the observed γ-to-β phase transition triggered by quite a low annealing temperature should be a rather lowered phase transition barrier of the epitaxy-stabilized In_2Se_3 thin-film system at a state far from thermodynamic equilibrium.     

The magnetic entropy change in the double perovskite La2NiMnO6 with strong spin–phonon coupling

The magnetocaloric effect and the critical behavior of La₂NiMnO₆ are investigated by measurement of the magnetization around $T_C$. The magnetic entropy change $\left|\Delta S\right|$ of La₂NiMnO₆ for a field change of 0–45 kOe near the Curie temperature is about 5% of the theoretical expectation. The critical behavior of the La₂NiMnO₆ deviates from the mean field theory. These abnormal phenomena are understood in the context of the strong spin–phonon coupling in La₂NiMnO₆. It is suggested that a method of modulating this coupling would enhance the magnetic entropy change greatly, which makes the La₂NiMnO₆ a promising candidate for room-temperature magnetic refrigeration.     

Suppression of Andreev conductance in a topological insulator–superconductor nanostep junction

When two three-dimensional topological insulators(TIs) are brought close to each other with their surfaces aligned,the surfaces form a line junction. Similarly, three TI surfaces, not lying in a single plane, can form an atomic-scale nanostep junction. In this paper, Andreev reflection in a TI–TI–superconductor nanostep junction is investigated theoretically. Because of the existence of edge states along each line junction, the conductance for a nanostep junction is suppressed. When the incident energy(ε) of an electron is larger than the superconductor gap(?), the Andreev conductance in a step junction is less than unity while for a plane junction it is unity. The Andreev conductance is found to depend on the height of the step junction. The Andreev conductance exhibits oscillatory behavior as a function of the junction height with the amplitude of the oscillations remaining unchanged when ε = 0, but decreasing for ε = ?, which is different from the case of the plane junction. The height of the step is therefore an important parameter for Andreev reflection in nanostep junctions, and plays a role similar to that of the delta potential barrier in normal metal–superconductor plane junctions.