Multimode Phonon Cooling via Three Wave Parametric Interactions with Optical Fields

We discuss the possible cooling of different phonon modes via three wave mixing interactions of vibrational and optical modes. Since phonon modes exhibit a variety of dispersion relations or frequency spectra with diverse spatial structures, depending on the shape and size of the sample, we formulate our theory in terms of relevant spatial mode functions for the interacting fields in any given geometry. We discuss the possibility of Dicke like collective effects in phonon cooling and present explicit results for simultaneous cooling of two phonon modes via the anti-Stokes up conversions. We show that the bimodal cooling should be observable experimentally

Magnetic and Transport Properties of Fe-Ag granular multilayers

Results of magnetization, magnetotransport and Mossbauer spectroscopy measurements of sequentially evaporated Fe-Ag granular composites are presented. The strong magnetic scattering of the conduction electrons is reflected in the sublinear temperature dependence of the resistance and in the large negative magnetoresistance. The simultaneous analysis of the magnetic properties and the transport behavior suggests a bimodal grain size distribution. A detailed quantitative description of the unusual features observed in the transport properties is given

Excitons and high-order optical transitions in individual carbon nanotubes

We examine the excitonic nature of high-lying optical transitions in single-walled carbon nanotubes by means of Rayleigh scattering spectroscopy. A careful analysis of the principal transitions of individual semiconducting and metallic nanotubes reveals that in both cases the lineshape is consistent with an excitonic model, but not one of free-carriers. For semiconducting species, side-bands are observed at ~200 meV above the third and fourth optical transitions. These features are ascribed to exciton-phonon bound states. Such side-bands are not apparent for metallic nanotubes,as expected from the reduced strength of excitonic interactions in these systems

Bimodal grain-size scaling of thermal transport in polycrystalline graphene from large-scale molecular dynamics simulations

Grain boundaries in graphene are inherent in wafer-scale samples prepared by chemical vapor deposition. They can strongly influence the mechanical properties and electronic and heat transport in graphene. In this work, we employ extensive molecular dynamics simulations to study thermal transport in large suspended polycrystalline graphene samples. Samples of different controlled grain sizes are prepared by a recently developed efficient multiscale approach based on the phase field crystal model. In contrast to previous works, our results show that the scaling of the thermal conductivity with the grain size implies bimodal behaviour with two effective Kapitza lengths. The scaling is dominated by the out-of-plane (flexural) phonons with a Kapitza length that is an order of magnitude larger than that of the in-plane phonons. We also show that in order to get quantitative agreement with the most recent experiments, quantum corrections need to be applied to both the Kapitza conductance of grain boundaries and the thermal conductivity of pristine graphene and the corresponding Kapitza lengths must be renormalized accordingly.Comment: Accepted to Nano Lett.; Numerical samples and computer codes availabl

Bimodal grain-size scaling of thermal transport in polycrystalline graphene from large-scale molecular dynamics simulations

Grain boundaries in graphene are inherent in wafer-scale samples prepared by chemical vapor deposition. They can strongly influence the mechanical properties and electronic and heat transport in graphene. In this work, we employ extensive molecular dynamics simulations to study thermal transport in large suspended polycrystalline graphene samples. Samples of different controlled grain sizes are prepared by a recently developed efficient multiscale approach based on the phase field crystal model. In contrast to previous works, our results show that the scaling of the thermal conductivity with the grain size implies bimodal behaviour with two effective Kapitza lengths. The scaling is dominated by the out-of-plane (flexural) phonons with a Kapitza length that is an order of magnitude larger than that of the in-plane phonons. We also show that in order to get quantitative agreement with the most recent experiments, quantum corrections need to be applied to both the Kapitza conductance of grain boundaries and the thermal conductivity of pristine graphene and the corresponding Kapitza lengths must be renormalized accordingly.Comment: Accepted to Nano Lett.; Numerical samples and computer codes availabl

Polariton Bose-Einstein condensate at room temperature in a Al(Ga)N nanowire-dielectric microcavity with a spatial potential trap

A spatial potential trap is formed in a 6.0 {\mu}m Al(Ga)N nanowire by varying the Al composition along its length during epitaxial growth. The polariton emission characteristics of a dielectric microcavity with the single nanowire embedded in-plane has been studied at room temperature. Excitation is provided at the Al(Ga)N end of the nanowire and polariton emission is observed from the lowest bandgap GaN region of the nanowire. Comparison of the results with those measured in an identical microcavity with an uniform GaN nanowire and having an identical exciton-photon detuning suggests evaporative cooling of the polaritons as they are transported across the trap in the Al(Ga)N nanowire. Measurement of the spectral characteristics of the polariton emission, their momentum distribution, first-order spatial coherence and time-resolved measurements of polariton cooling provide strong evidence of the formation of an equilibrium Bose-Einstein condensate, a unique state of matter in solid state systems, in the GaN region of the nanowire, at room temperature. An equilibrium condensate is not formed in the GaN nanowire dielectric microcavity without the spatial potential trap.Comment: 28 pages, 6 figures, Submitted to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of Americ

Thermal Transport Across Graphene Step Junctions

Step junctions are often present in layered materials, i.e. where single-layer regions meet multi-layer regions, yet their effect on thermal transport is not understood to date. Here, we measure heat flow across graphene junctions (GJs) from monolayer to bilayer graphene, as well as bilayer to four-layer graphene for the first time, in both heat flow directions. The thermal conductance of the monolayer-bilayer GJ device ranges from ~0.5 to 9.1x10^8 Wm-2K-1 between 50 K to 300 K. Atomistic simulations of such GJ device reveal that graphene layers are relatively decoupled, and the low thermal conductance of the device is determined by the resistance between the two dis-tinct graphene layers. In these conditions the junction plays a negligible effect. To prove that the decoupling between layers controls thermal transport in the junction, the heat flow in both directions was measured, showing no evidence of thermal asymmetry or rectification (within experimental error bars). For large-area graphene applications, this signifies that small bilayer (or multilayer) islands have little or no contribution to overall thermal transport