Tunneling resonances in structures with a two-step barrier

Electron transport through an asymmetric heterostructure with a two-step barrier N⁺GaAs/N⁻GaAs/Al_0.4Ga_0.6As/Al_0.03Ga_0.97As/N⁻GaAs/N⁺GaAs was investigated. Features due to resonance tunneling both through a size-quantization level in a triangular quantum well, induced by an external electric field in the region of the bottom step of the barrier (Al_0.03Ga_0.97As layer), and through virtual levels in two quantum pseudowells of different width are observed in the tunneling current. The virtual levels form above the bottom step or above one of the spacers (N⁻GaAs layer) as a result of interference of electrons, in the first case on account of reflection from the Al_0.4Ga_0.6As barrier and a potential jump at the Al_0.03Ga_0.97As/N⁻GaAs interface and in the second case — from the Al_0.4Ga_0.6As barrier and the potential gradient at the N⁻GaAs/N⁺GaAs junction, reflection from which is likewise coherent. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 67, No. 10, 814–819 (25 May 1998)     

Effect of borax additives on the rheological properties of sodium hyaluronate aqueous solutions

The rheological properties of sodium hyaluronate aqueous solutions are studied, and the effect of borax additives on them is investigated. It is shown that, at low concentrations, sodium hyaluronate behaves as a typical linear polyelectrolyte in the limit of a high concentration of the salt in both a 0.1 M NaCl aqueous solution and a salt-free solvent. The addition of 1 mole of borax per base-mole of the polymer to the solution of sodium hyaluronate significantly decreases the specific viscosity of the solution if no salt is added and has practically no effect on the viscosity of the solution in 0.1 M NaCl. The viscosity of a semidilute solution of sodium hyaluronate without the added salt decreases as the shear rate is increased in the range 1.5–656 s^?1. With an increase in temperature, viscosity decreases and its dependence on shear rate becomes less pronounced. The same effect is exerted by small amounts of borax. The properties of salt-free solutions are explained by the presence of admixtures of low-molecular-mass ions in them that screen the Coulomb repulsion of charges linked to sodium hyaluronate chains, and the effect of borax may be rationalized by the screening effect of ions resulting from the hydrolysis of borax.     

Dissociative recombination of electrons with molecular hydrogen ions

To a first approximation, the perturbation theory yields an explicit analytical expression for the cross section of the dissociative recombination of electrons with molecular hydrogen ions. The possible nonadiabatic transitions during the separation of the nuclei which lead to the appearance of H⁺+H^–, H(1s)+H(n=2), H(1s)+H(n=3) in finite reaction channels were considered. Numerical results are presented for the cross sections of direct and reverse reactions. The expression =4. 2 · 10^–8 T^–1/2 cm³/sec² was obtained for the recombination rate at low temperatures; this expression is in agreement with known results. Several general details of the calculation and their possible implications for the case of heavy molecular ions are discussed.     

Magnetostriction of Hexagonal HoMnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> and YMnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> Single Crystals

We report on the magnetostriction of hexagonal HoMnO₃ and YMnO₃ single crystals in a wide range of applied magnetic fields (up to H = 14 T) at all possible combinations of the mutual orientations of magnetic field H and magnetostriction ΔL/L. The measured ΔL/L(H, T) data agree well with the magnetic phase diagram of the HoMnO₃ single crystal reported previously by other authors. It is shown that the nonmonotonic behavior of magnetostriction of the HoMnO₃ crystal is caused by the Ho³⁺ ion; the magnetic moment of the Mn³⁺ ion parallel to the hexagonal crystal axis. The anomalies established from the magnetostriction measurements of HoMnO₃ are consistent with the phase diagram of these compounds. For the isostructural YMnO₃ single crystal with a nonmagnetic rare-earth ion, the ΔL/L(H, T) dependences are described well by a conventional quadratic law in a wide temperature range (4–100 K). In addition, the magnetostriction effect is qualitatively estimated with regard to the effect of the crystal electric field on the holmium ion.     

A3B5 nanowhiskers: MBE growth and properties

The structural properties of GaAs nanowhiskers (NWs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) are investigated. Under optimal growth conditions, the aspect ratio of MBE grown GaAs NWs is higher than 100. The maximum length of NWs is several times (up to 10) larger than the effective thickness of deposited GaAs. A kinetic model of the diffusion-induced NW rowth is used to predict the dependence of NW length on the technologically controlled MBE growth conditions. The obtained results demonstrate that the NW growth is controlled by the adatom diffusion towards their tip rather than by the conventional vapor-liquid-solid mechanism. The growth conditions influence on the NW morphology may be used for the controlled fabrication of NWs by MBE for different applications. Presented at the X-th Symposium on Suface Physics, Prague, Czech Republic, July 11–15, 2005.     

Suppression of the equilibrium tunneling current between slightly disordered two-dimensional electron systems with different electron concentrations in a high magnetic field

Tunneling between parallel two-dimensional electron gases (2DEG) in accumulation layers formed on both sides of the single doped AlGaAs barrier are examined in both zero and high magnetic field. Accumulation layers are separated from highly n-doped contact regions which freely supply electrons to the 2DEGs via 80 nm thick lightly n-doped spacer layers. Strongly oscillating current with magnetic field along the 2DEGs is absent in this arrangement. Without magnetic field resonant tunneling between 2DEGs with different as grown electron concentration could be settle by application of external voltage bias. High magnetic fields (ν<1) shift resonant tunneling to zero external bias and suppresses tunneling current, creating wide gap in the tunneling density of states at the Fermi level arisen from the in-plane Coulomb interaction in the 2DEGs. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 69, No. 3, 236–241 (10 February 1999) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Edited by Steve Torstveit.     

On the electron mobility of δ layers in the presence of diamagnetic “ejection” of size-quantization levels

The Hall mobility of electrons is investigated as a function of the population of size-quantization subbands in the two-dimensional electron gas of a δ-doped layer in GaAs with constant total electron density N _s =3.2×10¹² cm⁻² (three initially filled subbands) at T=4.2 K. The population of the subbands is varied by diamagnetic “ejection” of size-quantization levels (i.e., pushing them over the Fermi level) by a magnetic field oriented parallel to the plane of the δ-doped layer. The measurements are made in magnetic fields making small angles (5°) with the plane of the doping. The magnetic field component normal to the plane was used to measure the Hall mobility and density. It is found that the measured Hall mobility as a function of the ejecting magnetic field has a distinct maximum. This maximum is due to an increase in the electron mobility in the first subband (the ground subband is assigned the index 0) and electron redistribution between subbands with in increasing ejecting magnetic field parallel to the plane of the δ layer. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 66, No. 11, 704–708 (10 December 1997)     

Conductivity and persistent photoconductivity in GaAs epitaxial films containing single and double delta-doped layers

Electrophysical parameters of single and double delta-doped layers in GaAs epitaxial films grown by the metal-organic chemical vapor deposition have been systematically investigated in the temperature range of 4.2 to 300 K. The 2D electron gas density distribution is affected by the overlap of wave functions in neighboring quantum wells, as a result of which the peak on the curve of the Hall mobility in the 2D electron gas versus the separation between the quantum wells shifts. The persistent photoconductivity in delta-doped layers is due to the change in the surface potential caused by the neutralization of the negative charge of surface states by photoexcited holes. A method for comparing delta-doped layers grown under different conditions at different depths from the sample surface has been suggested. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 113, 693–702 (February 1998)     

Numerical analysis of Ostwald ripening in two-dimensional systems

This work addresses theory of Ostwald ripening based on the continuum second order kinetic equation for the size distribution of embryos over sizes. Numerical studies are performed with two-dimensional condensing systems having different growth laws of islands, using different forms of kinetic equation. The material influx into the system is terminated to enable the Ostwald ripening process. We obtain numerical solutions for the size distributions with and without fluctuation effects described by the second derivative in the kinetic equation. We show that fluctuations lead to a considerable broadening of size distribution at the early Ostwald ripening step in the diffusion limited growth of islands. Comparison of our numerical distributions with the deterministic Lifshitz-Slezov shape shows that the latter in principle withstands fluctuations. However, the correspondence between the numerical large time asymptotes and the Lifshitz-Slezov spectra is not perfect, particularly in the diffusion-induced growth regime, and becomes worse when the fluctuations are included.     

General regularities of magnetoresistive effects in the polycrystalline yttrium and bismuth high-temperature superconductor systems

The influence of thermomagnetic prehistory on the behavior of a resistive transition R(T) in external magnetic fields of polycrystalline YBa₂Cu₃O₇ and Bi_1.8Pb_0.3Sr_1.9Ca₂Cu₃O _x high-temperature supercon-ductors and the Bi_1.8Pb_0.3Sr_1.9Ca₂Cu₃O _x + Ag texture has been investigated. It has been found that, for YBa₂Cu₃O₇, the thermomagnetic prehistory exerts a substantial influence on the dissipation in the subsystem of grain boundaries in magnetic fields up to ～10³ Oe, and this effect becomes insignificant in fields higher than ～10⁴ Oe. This behavior has been explained by the influence of magnetic moments of high-temperature superconductor grains on the effective magnetic field in the intergranular medium. For bismuth high-temperature superconductors, no influence of thermomagnetic prehistory on the resistive transition has been observed; however, this effect manifests itself in current-voltage characteristics at high transport current densities. There is also a radical difference in the behavior of isotherms of the magnetoresistance R(H) for the yttrium and bismuth systems. For YBa₂Cu₃O₇, there is a clear separation between the dissipation regimes in the intergranular medium and in grains, which manifests itself even at low transport current densities as a change of sign in the curvature of the dependence R(H). For a texture based on the bismuth high-temperature superconductor, this feature has been observed only at high current densities (comparable to the critical current density at H = 0). This difference in the behavior of magnetoresistive properties of the classical high-temperature superconductor systems under investigation has been explained by relatively low irreversibility fields of the bismuth high-temperature superconductors. In these materials, simultaneous processes of dissipation can occur in an external magnetic field both in the subsystem of grain boundaries between crystallites and in the crystallites themselves.