Ultrafast relaxation of electrons and selfconsistent electrical charging in insulators

Low energy electron scattering in insulators is described by a Monte Carlo program based on acoustic and optical phonon scattering as well as on impact ionization of valence band electrons, especially aimed to the scattering of ballistic and drifting electrons in wide gap dielectrics. There is a rapid relaxation of excited electrons within the conduction band of wide gap insulators like SiO₂ and Al₂O₃ over femtoseconds. The field-dependent transport and trapping parameters allow us to model the selfconsistent charge transport and charging-up of insulating samples during electron irradiation. The resulting spatial and time-dependent distributions of all currents j(x,t), charges ρ(x,t), the electric field F(x,t) and the potential V(x,t) are obtained and compared with experimental measurements.     

Gaseous discharge plasmas produced by high-energyelectron-irradiated insulators for spacecraft

High-energy electron irradiation of insulators in vacuum causes both internal regions and surfaces of insulators to achieve high (negative) static voltage relative to nearby “ground”. Occasional spontaneous discharges inject pulses of partially ionized gas composed of the insulating material and surface gas-adatoms into the adjacent vacuum. The gas is capable of partially discharging the high surface potentials by carrying current across the vacuum to “ground”. The current-time waveforms were measured as a function of the spatial arrangement of the sample, test chamber electrodes, and static electric fields in order to investigate effects inside spacecraft boxes and cavities. It was found that plane-parallel electric fields are less able to sustain large discharge currents than are divergent electric fields. Also, physical confinement of the pulse of gas within the region of the electric field greatly increases the conductance of the gaseous discharge. Thus, the spatial arrangement of the sample, test chamber electrodes, and static electric field has a strong impact on the level of ESD-pulse threat to sensitive electronics posed by spontaneous discharges of irradiated insulators in spacecraft     

纳米碳化硅/硅橡胶复合物非线性电导特性研究

将纳米碳化硅填加到硅橡胶中,可以获得具有非线性电导特性的纳米碳化硅/硅橡胶复合物. 本文研究了质量分数分别为5 wt%,15 wt%,30 wt%,45 wt%的纳米碳化硅/硅橡胶复合物的非线性电导特性,建立了电导率与场强的函数关系,分析了复合物的非线性电导机理,并测试了复合物的介电谱特性和击穿特性. 为了探讨非线性碳化硅/硅橡胶复合物应用于电缆终端和复合绝缘子以均匀其电场分布的可能性,应用COMSOL Multiphysics软件,对电缆终端和复合绝缘子中的电场分布进行了仿真分析. 仿真结果表明,将纳米碳化硅/硅橡胶复合物应用于电缆终端应力锥的绝缘部分,以及应用于复合绝缘子的端部,可以有效地降低其最大场强. 关键词： 纳米碳化硅/硅橡胶复合物 非线性电导特性 电场仿真     

Topological insulator as an optical modulator for pulsed solid‐state lasers

Topological insulators are states of quantum matter that have narrow topological nontrivial energy gaps and a large third‐order nonlinear optical response. The optical absorption of topological insulators can become saturated under strong excitation. In this work, with Bi₂Se₃ as an example, it was demonstrated that a topological insulator can modulate the operation of a bulk solid‐state laser by taking advantage of its saturable absorption. The result suggests that topological insulators are potentially attractive as broadband pulsed modulators for the generation of short and ultrashort pulses in bulk solid‐state lasers, in addition to other promising applications in physics and computing.     

From physical dielectric breakdown to the stochastic fractal model

We show how the stochastic growth model we have formulated for dielectric breakdown is related to microscopic mechanisms. Beginning with gas discharges we focus on the origin of the stochastic features and the dependence of growth probability on the local electric field. For dielectric breakdown in solid insulators we argue that quenched disorder does not appreciably modify the patterns which appear in the gaseous case.     

Optimal conditions for observation of phonon echoes and amplification induced by alternating magnetic fields

Quantitative predictions are given for the observation of acoustic echo effects and amplification induced by alternating magnetic fields in a number of orderes magnetic insulators.     

Electrocaloric Effect in a Lead Magnoniobate–Scandoniobate Relaxor

The electrocaloric effect and also the dielectric, pyroelectric, acoustic, and piezoelectric properties of a lead magnoniobate–scandoniobate solid solution in a biasing electric field have been studied. The dielectric and electromechanical contributions to the pyroelectric and electrocaloric effects are discussed.     

Acoustic flux imaging in anisotropic media

A new method for characterizing acoustic flux propagation in anisotropic media is introduced and developed. The technique, which we call ultrasonic flux imaging (UFI), utilizes a pair of water-immersion focused acoustic transducers as a point source and point detector. Raster scanning one transducer produces a transmission pattern which exhibits the anisotropies in acoustic flux known as phonon focusing modulated by interference between sheets of the acoustic wave surface. This internal diffraction is studied theoretically taking into account the anisotropy of the medium, the boundary conditions between the solid and the water, and the pressure fields produced by the transducers. In addition to bulk effects, the images reveal interesting critical-cone structures associated with the water/solid interface. The theoretical predictions agree well with experimental observations in silicon and a number of other materials, including single-crystal metals, insulators, and semiconductors. All measurements are made at room temperature, in contrast to the cryogenic requirements of previous phononimaging techniques. As a new method, UFI holds promise for examining anisotropies in the vibrational properties, and, possibly, electron-phonon coupling in metals and superconductors. The principles and techniques may also have application to non-destructive characterization of textured polycrystalline and composite materials.     

Calculation of lattice dynamical properties from electronic energies: Application to C,Si and Ge

It is shown that lattice dynamical properties of insulators can be calculated directly from the electronic band structure using the “special points” method. The shear modulii and zone boundary transverse acoustic phonon frequencies of C, Si and Ge are calculated with no adjustable parameters, with results in reasonable agreement with experiment.     

Study of ultraintense laser-produced fast-electron propagation and filamentation in insulator and metal foil targets by optical emission diagnostics

The transport of an intense electron beam produced by ultrahigh intensity laser pulses through metals and insulators has been studied by high resolution imaging of the optical emission from the targets. In metals, the emission is mainly due to coherent transition radiation, while in plastic, it is due to the Cerenkov effect and it is orders of magnitude larger. It is also observed that in the case of insulators the fast-electron beam undergoes strong filamentation and the number of filaments increases with the target thickness. This filamented behavior in insulators is due to the instability of the ionization front related to the electric field ionization process. The filamentary structures characteristic growth rate and characteristic transversal scale are in agreement with analytical predictions.     

Absorption edge shift: Internal electric field model

The shift of the optical absorption edge caused by defect-induced electric fields through Redfield's internal Franz-Keldysh mechanism is discussed for semiconductors and insulators.     

基于复合蜂窝结构的宽带周期与非周期声拓扑绝缘体

具有良好可重构性、良好缺陷兼容性及紧凑型的声学拓扑结构可能成为声学发展中一个有前景的方向.本文设计了一种可调谐、应用于空气声的二维宽带复合蜂窝形晶格结构,其元胞拥有两个变量:一个是中心圆的缩放参数s,另一个是"花瓣"图案围绕其质心的旋转角度q.研究发现当s为1.2, q为±33°时,在结构的布里渊区中心点出现四重简并态.在±33°两侧,能带会发生反转,体系经历拓扑相变;同时,结构的相对带隙宽带逐渐增加,其中q为0°和60°时,相对带宽分别为0.39和0.33.本研究还计算了由这两种转角的声子晶体组成的拼合结构的投影能带,发现在其体带隙中存在着边界态并验证了此拓扑边界的缺陷免疫特性.最后通过变化s,构建了一种非周期性双狄拉克锥型的声拓扑绝缘体并验证了其缺陷免疫性.本研究的体系相对带宽显著超过已知体系,将为利用声拓扑边界的声波器件微型化打下良好的基础.     

声场与电场作用下空化泡的动力学特性

以液体为工作介质, 利用空化泡的RP控制方程, 模拟分析了无量纲化的电场频率、场强的幅值以及无量纲化的声波频率、 声压幅值的变化对空化泡运动特性的影响. 结果表明: 声场和电场联合作用时, 空化泡运动处于混沌区域范围远高于两者单独作用下空化泡的混沌区域范围. 这不仅对声空化的进一步研究具有重要的理论意义, 而且对于提高和改进空化降解有机污染物的技术也具有指导意义.     

The nondissipative spin Hall current in a nonuniform Rashba effect system

The spin Hall current in a two-dimensional electron system with nonuniform Rashba spin–orbit interaction (SOI) is investigated by means of the lattice Green's function method. Large electric and spin Hall currents are produced by this nonuniform Rashba SOI, while the electric Hall current vanishes in the uniform Rashba SOI system. A nondissipative spin Hall current is also produced, without any longitudinal voltage bias, any external magnetic field and any special class of band insulators.     

Determination of the characteristics of an electric arc plasmacontaminated by vapors from insulators

Results are presented from an experimental study (at atmospheric pressure) carried out on plasma penetrated by vapors from different industrial insulators. The data describe the influence of each insulator type upon the characteristics of the electric arc plasma, i.e. the resulting increase of the temperature, electronic density, electric field, and extinction velocity of the arc. Measurements were made spectrometrically and by means of probes     

Sonoluminescence and acoustically driven optical phenomena in solids and solid–gas interfaces

During the last decade, significant progress has been achieved in our understanding of the generation of light in acoustic fields, a research area which is known as sonoluminescence (SL). Some of the data obtained, including SL effects in water, have previously been reviewed in the literature. This article takes a broader view and reports on experimental evidence of SL phenomena in solids and solid–gas interfaces as well as on interpretations and potential applications. It is shown that the understanding of SL is facilitated when couched in the language of moving dislocations which produce vacancy–interstitial pairs of host atoms. Radiative transitions in defect pairs would then constitute the SL effect in solids. It is further shown that the occurrence of electric fields due to the generated point defects and charged dislocations produces a number of interesting phenomena. These fields are particularly important for the occurrence of SL at solid–gas interfaces which has been suggested to be initiated by gas discharges due to strong electric fields of charged dislocations. The appearance of acoustically driven internal electric fields is shown to lead to remarkable effects with regard to exciton lifetimes. The storage of photogenerated electron–hole pairs in the moving piezoelectric potential of acoustic waves allows prolonged exciton recombination times of μs in InGaAs/GaAs quantum well structures. The intertwining of acoustically driven long-range electric fields and microfields occurring at the exciton sites turns out to be a prerequisite for attaining the lifetime tuning of the bound excitons in CdS crystals. The review is concluded by discussing sonoluminescence effects in granular systems. Implications for the relevance of this effect to the dynamical behavior of granular media are outlined.     

Photogalvanic effects in topological insulators

We discuss optical absorption in topological insulators and study possible photoelectric effects theoretically. We found that absorption of circularly polarized electromagnetic waves in two-dimensional topological insulators results in electric current in the conducting 1D edge channels, the direction of the current being determined by the light polarization. We suggest two ways of inducing such a current: due to magnetic dipole electron transitions stimulated by irradiation of frequency below the bulk energy gap, and due to electric dipole transitions in the bulk at frequencies larger than the energy gap with subsequent capture of the photogenerated carriers on conducting edge states.     

Spin polarization and transport of surface states in the topological insulators Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3 from first principles

We investigate the band dispersion and the spin texture of topologically protected surface states in the bulk topological insulators Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3 by first-principles methods. Strong spin-orbit entanglement in these materials reduces the spin polarization of the surface states to ～50% in both cases; this reduction is absent in simple models but of important implications to essentially any spintronic application. We propose a way of controlling the magnitude of spin polarization associated with a charge current in thin films of topological insulators by means of an external electric field. The proposed dual-gate device configuration provides new possibilities for electrical control of spin.     

Breakdown of the homogeneity of weakly conducting liquids in high electric fields

A study of the structure of electrohydrodynamic flows shows that the electric charge carriers are ions that are practically frozen into the surrounding liquid. In other words, ions in weakly conducting liquids are capable of forming more or less stable structures whose viscoelastic properties are different from those of an uncharged liquid. One method of studying this effect is to investigate the velocity dispersion of ultrasound on charged supermolecular formations. The results of theoretical and experimental investigations of acoustic dispersion in liquid dielectrics subjected to prebreakdown electric fields are presented. A model problem of sound propagation in a liquid in which supermolecular structures have formed around elementary charge carriers is studied theoretically. Approximate formulas describing the dispersion of the acoustic phase velocity as a function of the electric field parameters and the electrophysical parameters of the liquid are obtained. The frequency dependence of the sound velocity is of a resonance character, the resonance frequency being determined by the electric charge density and the mass of the charged supermolecular structures. The experiments showed that the space charge affects the velocity of acoustic waves in liquid dielectrics. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 67, 105–111 (October 1997)