Conductance of short quantum wires with sharp boundaries

The conductance of short ballistic wires with boundaries, whose curvature radius is comparable to the electron wavelength, is investigated. It is found that, in such wires, no conductance quantization takes place. Instead, pronounced interference effects are observed. These effects are related to the Fabry-Perot interference by the wire edges and with the mesoscopic interference caused by the coherent scattering of electrons by the wire edges and by the impurities located in the near-wire regions of the 2D electron gas. Original Russian Text ? D.A. Kozlov, Z.D. Kvon, A.E. Plotnikov, D.V. Shcheglov, A.V. Latyshev, 2007, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 86, No. 10, pp. 752–756.     

Microwave radiation induced collective response in Si/SiGe heterostructures with a 2D electron gas

The collective resonant photoresponse in Si/SiGe structures with a 2DEG under microwave radiation is reported for the first time. The application of microwave radiation of various frequencies results in resonant photoconductivity at magnetic field values that are systematically lower than expected for the cyclotron resonance (CR) in an infinitely large two-dimensional electron system. The analysis of the data shows that the observed microwave radiation induced response is dominated by plasmon excitations.     

Numerical Calculation of Flows and Long-Range Transport of Contaminants in Lowland River Reservoirs

Flows and contaminant transport in the Novosibirsk reservoir are calculated on the basis of a two-dimensional (plane) nonstationary model with Saint Venant's equations. The model allows for the presence of a large number of islands. Coefficients of horizontal exchange (dispersion) are calculated by the formula taking into account dynamic velocity at the bottom. Numerical implementation of the model employs a semi-implicit conservative finite-difference TVD scheme on a distributed grid and procedures allowing for the flow past these islands. Model examples of calculations and computation results for dynamics of long-range transport of contaminants along the Novosibirsk reservoir are given.     

Interference Transport in a Two-Dimensional Topological Insulator in a CdHgTe Quantum Well

JETP Letters - Interference transport in mesoscopic samples of a two-dimensional topological insulator in CdHgTe quantum wells is studied for the first time. It is established that quasi-ballistic...     

In-situ XPS investigation of nitric oxide adsorption on (111), (310), and (533) gold single crystal faces

Decomposition of nitric oxide on the flat (111) and stepped (310) and (533) faces of gold single crystals was investigated by in-situ X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy at elevated NO pressures up to 7 Pa and temperatures between 300 K and 500 K. The adsorbed layer formed on the gold surfaces at these conditions was found to contain nitrogen adsorbed atomically and/or nitrous oxide. The population of these adspecies was found to be dependent upon the crystal structure of the Au face, as well as the sample temperature and NO pressure. Explanations for these phenomena are discussed.     

Application of Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy in the Investigation of the Sintering of Ag/Al2O3 Model Supported Catalysts

The results of a study of a specially prepared Ag/Al₂O₃ model system by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) are presented. The surface morphology of a model support (a thin alumina film on a conducting support) and a model supported catalyst (Ag/Al₂O₃) was characterized using STM. The first experimental results obtained in the STM and XPS study of the sintering of supported catalysts are reported, which demonstrate the capabilities of these techniques for studies of this kind.     

Aharonov-Bohm oscillation amplitude in small ballistic interferometers

Small-radius (110 nm) ring interferometers were fabricated by the local anodic oxidation of AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructures containing 2D electron gas. Measurements and modeling show that a small ring asymmetry, which is detected by an atomic force microscope, leads to a small amplitude of Aharonov-Bohm oscillations, while a stronger asymmetry completely suppresses these oscillations.     

Nonlinear effects in a two-dimensional electron gas with a periodic lattice of scatterers

The magnetoresistance of two-dimensional (2D) electrons in a periodic lattice of antidots is found to be substantially influenced by an applied electric field. The non-Ohmic behavior of the resistance in the region of commensurability oscillations originates from the electric-field-induced breakdown of the trajectories skipping along the lattice arrays. In the region of magnetic fields where the cyclotron diameter is less than the distance between antidots the breakdown of the orbits skipping around antidots is responsible for the nonlinear behavior of the magnetoresistance. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 65, No. 3, 237–241 (10 February 1997) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Edited by Steve Torstveit.     

Terahertz electron transport in a two-dimensional topological insulator in a HgTe quantum well

The terahertz response of a two-dimensional topological insulator in a HgTe quantum well to radiation with wavelengths of 118 and 184 μm is investigated. It is found that the photoconductivity is rather high (up to a few percent of dark conductivity) and is manifested in both the local and nonlocal responses of the system. This fact proves that the observed photoconductivity is caused by changes in the transport via edge current-carrying states. The sign and nonresonant character of the photoconductivity indicate that it is caused by the heating of electrons in the system. The analysis of experimental results makes it possible to suggest that this heating originates from the Drude absorption of terahertz radiation by metallic “droplets” appearing owing to fluctuations in the impurity potential and the gap and located in direct proximity to edge states.     

Weak localization of Dirac fermions in HgTe quantum wells

Weak localization in a system of gapless two-dimensional Dirac fermions in HgTe quantum wells with thickness d = 6.6 nm, which corresponds to the transition from a normal to an inverted spectrum, has been investigated experimentally. A negative logarithmic correction to the conductivity of the system has been observed both at the Dirac point and in the vicinity of this point. The anomalous magnetoresistance of two-dimensional Dirac fermions is positive. This indicates that weak localization in the system of two-dimensional Dirac fermions occurs owing to localization and interaction effects in the presence of rapid spin relaxation.