Domain enhanced interlayer coupling in ferroelectric/paraelectric superlattices

We investigate the ferroelectric phase transition and domain formation in a periodic superlattice consisting of alternate ferroelectric (FE) and paraelectric (PE) layers of nanometric thickness. We find that the polarization domains formed in the different FE layers can interact with each other via the PE layers. By coupling the electrostatic equations with those obtained by minimizing the Ginzburg-Landau functional we calculate the critical temperature of transition Tc as a function of the FE/PE superlattice wavelength and quantitatively explain the recent experimental observation of a thickness dependence of the ferroelectric transition temperature in KTaO3/KNbO3 strained-layer superlattices.Comment: Latest version as was published in PR

Boosting the Figure Of Merit of LSPR-based refractive index sensing by phase-sensitive measurements

Localized surface plasmon resonances possess very interesting properties for a wide variety of sensing applications. In many of the existing applications only the intensity of the reflected or transmitted signals is taken into account, while the phase information is ignored. At the center frequency of a (localized) surface plasmon resonance, the electron cloud makes the transition between in- and out-of-phase oscillation with respect to the incident wave. Here we show that this information can experimentally be extracted by performing phase-sensitive measurements, which result in linewidths that are almost one order of magnitude smaller than those for intensity based measurements. As this phase transition is an intrinsic property of a plasmon resonance, this opens up many possibilities for boosting the figure of merit (FOM) of refractive index sensing by taking into account the phase of the plasmon resonance. We experimentally investigated this for two model systems: randomly distributed gold nanodisks and gold nanorings on top of a continuous gold layer and a dielectric spacer and observed FOM values up to 8.3 and 16.5 for the respective nanoparticles

Synthesis of Glass Nanofibers Using Femtosecond Laser Radiation Under Ambient Condition

We report the unique growth of nanofibers in silica and borosilicate glass using femtosecond laser radiation at 8 MHz repetition rate and a pulse width of 214 fs in air at atmospheric pressure. The nanofibers are grown perpendicular to the substrate surface from the molten material in laser-drilled microvias where they intertwine and bundle up above the surface. The fibers are few tens of nanometers in thickness and up to several millimeters in length. Further, it is found that at some places nanoparticles are attached to the fiber surface along its length. Nanofiber growth is explained by the process of nanojets formed in the molten liquid due to pressure gradient induced from the laser pulses and subsequently drawn into fibers by the intense plasma pressure. The attachment of nanoparticles is due to the condensation of vapor in the plasma

Plasmonically Enhanced Reflectance of Heat Radiation from Low-Bandgap Semiconductor Microinclusions

Increased reflectance from the inclusion of highly scattering particles at low volume fractions in an insulating dielectric offers a promising way to reduce radiative thermal losses at high temperatures. Here, we investigate plasmonic resonance driven enhanced scattering from microinclusions of low-bandgap semiconductors (InP, Si, Ge, PbS, InAs and Te) in an insulating composite to tailor its infrared reflectance for minimizing thermal losses from radiative transfer. To this end, we compute the spectral properties of the microcomposites using Monte Carlo modeling and compare them with results from Fresnel equations. The role of particle size-dependent Mie scattering and absorption efficiencies, and, scattering anisotropy are studied to identify the optimal microinclusion size and material parameters for maximizing the reflectance of the thermal radiation. For composites with Si and Ge microinclusions we obtain reflectance efficiencies of 57 - 65% for the incident blackbody radiation from sources at temperatures in the range 400 - 1600 {\deg}C. Furthermore, we observe a broadbanding of the reflectance spectra from the plasmonic resonances due to charge carriers generated from defect states within the semiconductor bandgap. Our results thus open up the possibility of developing efficient high-temperature thermal insulators through use of the low-bandgap semiconductor microinclusions in insulating dielectrics.Comment: Main article (8 Figures and 2 Tables) + Supporting Information (8 Figures

Identification of the Orbital Pairing Symmetry in UPt_3

This paper summarizes the results of a comprehensive analysis of the thermodynamic and transport data for the superconducting phases of UPt_3. Calculations of the transverse sound attenuation as a function of temperature, frequency, polarization, and disorder are presented for the leading models of the superconducting order parameter. Measurements of the specific heat, thermal conductivity, and transverse sound attenuation place strong constraints on the orbital symmetry of the superconducting order parameter. We show that the superconducting A and B phases are in excellent agreement with pairing states belonging to the odd-parity E_{2u} orbital representation.Comment: 11 pages with 7 figure

Fano resonances in plasmonic core-shell particles and the Purcell effect

Despite a long history, light scattering by particles with size comparable with the light wavelength still unveils surprising optical phenomena, and many of them are related to the Fano effect. Originally described in the context of atomic physics, the Fano resonance in light scattering arises from the interference between a narrow subradiant mode and a spectrally broad radiation line. Here, we present an overview of Fano resonances in coated spherical scatterers within the framework of the Lorenz-Mie theory. We briefly introduce the concept of conventional and unconventional Fano resonances in light scattering. These resonances are associated with the interference between electromagnetic modes excited in the particle with different or the same multipole moment, respectively. In addition, we investigate the modification of the spontaneous-emission rate of an optical emitter at the presence of a plasmonic nanoshell. This modification of decay rate due to electromagnetic environment is referred to as the Purcell effect. We analytically show that the Purcell factor related to a dipole emitter oriented orthogonal or tangential to the spherical surface can exhibit Fano or Lorentzian line shapes in the near field, respectively.Comment: 28 pages, 10 figures; invited book chapter to appear in "Fano Resonances in Optics and Microwaves: Physics and Application", Springer Series in Optical Sciences (2018), edited by E. O. Kamenetskii, A. Sadreev, and A. Miroshnichenk

Magnetic skyrmions and their lattices in triplet superconductors

Complete topological classification of solutions in SO(3) symmetric Ginzburg-Landau free energy has been performed and a new class of solutions in weak external magnetic field carrying two units of magnetic flux has been identified. These solutions, magnetic skyrmions, do not have singular core like Abrikosov vortices and at low magnetic field become lighter for strongly type II superconductors. As a consequence, the lower critical magnetic field Hc1 is reduced by a factor of log(kappa). Magnetic skyrmions repel each other as 1/r at distances much larger then magnetic penetration depth forming relatively robust triangular lattice. Magnetic induction near Hc1 increases gradually as (H-Hc1)^2. This agrees very well with experiments on heavy fermion superconductor UPt3. Newly discovered Ru based compounds Sr2RuO4 and Sr2YRu(1-x)Cu(x)O6 are other possible candidates to possess skyrmion lattices. Deviations from exact SO(3) symmetry are also studied.Comment: 23 pages, 10 eps figure

Two-dimensional Transport Induced Linear Magneto-Resistance in Topological Insulator Bi2_2Se3_3 Nanoribbons

We report the study of a novel linear magneto-resistance (MR) under perpendicular magnetic fields in Bi2Se3 nanoribbons. Through angular dependence magneto-transport experiments, we show that this linear MR is purely due to two-dimensional (2D) transport, in agreement with the recently discovered linear MR from 2D topological surface state in bulk Bi2Te3, and the linear MR of other gapless semiconductors and graphene. We further show that the linear MR of Bi2Se3 nanoribbons persists to room temperature, underscoring the potential of exploiting topological insulator nanomaterials for room temperature magneto-electronic applications.Comment: ACS Nano, in pres

Bulk and Boundary Critical Behavior at Lifshitz Points

Lifshitz points are multicritical points at which a disordered phase, a homogeneous ordered phase, and a modulated ordered phase meet. Their bulk universality classes are described by natural generalizations of the standard $\phi^4$ model. Analyzing these models systematically via modern field-theoretic renormalization group methods has been a long-standing challenge ever since their introduction in the middle of the 1970s. We survey the recent progress made in this direction, discussing results obtained via dimensionality expansions, how they compare with Monte Carlo results, and open problems. These advances opened the way towards systematic studies of boundary critical behavior at $m$-axial Lifshitz points. The possible boundary critical behavior depends on whether the surface plane is perpendicular to one of the $m$ modulation axes or parallel to all of them. We show that the semi-infinite field theories representing the corresponding surface universality classes in these two cases of perpendicular and parallel surface orientation differ crucially in their Hamiltonian's boundary terms and the implied boundary conditions, and explain recent results along with our current understanding of this matter.Comment: Invited contribution to STATPHYS 22, to be published in the Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Statistical Physics (STATPHYS 22) of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), 4--9 July 2004, Bangalore, Indi

Fano resonances in nanoscale structures

Nowadays nanotechnology allows to scale-down various important devices (sensors, chips, fibres, etc), and, thus, opens up new horizon for their applications. Nevertheless, the efficiency most of them is still based on the fundamental physical phenomena, such as resonances. Thus, the understanding of the resonance phenomena will be beneficial. One of the well-known examples is the resonant enhancement of the transmission known as Breit-Wigner resonances, which can be described by a Lorentzian function. But, in many physical systems the scattering of waves involves propagation along different paths, and, as a consequence, results in interference phenomena, where constructive interference corresponds to resonant enhancement and destructive interference to resonant suppression of the transmission. Recently, a variety of experimental and theoretical work has revealed such patterns in different branches of physics. The purpose of this Review is to demonstrate that this kind of resonant scattering is related to the Fano resonances, known from atomic physics. One of the main features of the Fano resonances is the asymmetric profile. The asymmetry comes from the close coexistence of resonant transmission and resonant reflection. Fano successfully explained such a phenomenon in his seminal paper in 1961 in terms of interaction of a discrete (localized) state with a continuum of propagation modes. It allows to describe both resonant enhancement and resonant suppression in a unified manner. All of these properties can be demonstrated in the frame of a very simple model, which will be used throughout the Review to show that resonant reflections observed in different complex systems are indeed closely related to the Fano resonances.Comment: This review paper was submitted to Review of Modern Physics. But all comments are still welcome