359 research outputs found
Unintentional F doping of the surface of SrTiO3(001) etched in HF acid -- structure and electronic properties
We show that the HF acid etch commonly used to prepare SrTiO3(001) for
heteroepitaxial growth of complex oxides results in a non-negligible level of F
doping within the terminal surface layer of TiO2. Using a combination of x-ray
photoelectron spectroscopy and scanned angle x-ray photoelectron diffraction,
we determine that on average ~13 % of the O anions in the surface layer are
replaced by F, but that F does not occupy O sites in deeper layers. Despite
this perturbation to the surface, the Fermi level remains unpinned, and the
surface-state density, which determines the amount of band bending, is driven
by factors other than F doping. The presence of F at the STO surface is
expected to result in lower electron mobilities at complex oxide
heterojunctions involving STO substrates because of impurity scattering.
Unintentional F doping can be substantially reduced by replacing the HF-etch
step with a boil in deionized water, which in conjunction with an oxygen tube
furnace anneal, leaves the surface flat and TiO2 terminated.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figure
Instability, Intermixing and Electronic Structure at the Epitaxial LaAlO3/SrTiO3(001) Heterojunction
The question of stability against diffusional mixing at the prototypical
LaAlO3/SrTiO3(001) interface is explored using a multi-faceted experimental and
theoretical approach. We combine analytical methods with a range of
sensitivities to elemental concentrations and spatial separations to
investigate interfaces grown using on-axis pulsed laser deposition. We also
employ computational modeling based on the density function theory as well as
classical force fields to explore the energetic stability of a wide variety of
intermixed atomic configurations relative to the idealized, atomically abrupt
model. Statistical analysis of the calculated energies for the various
configurations is used to elucidate the relative thermodynamic stability of
intermixed and abrupt configurations. We find that on both experimental and
theoretical fronts, the tendency toward intermixing is very strong. We have
also measured and calculated key electronic properties such as the presence of
electric fields and the value of the valence band discontinuity at the
interface. We find no measurable electric field in either the LaAlO3 or SrTiO3,
and that the valence band offset is near zero, partitioning the band
discontinuity almost entirely to the conduction band edge. Moreover, we find
that it is not possible to account for these electronic properties
theoretically without including extensive intermixing in our physical model of
the interface. The atomic configurations which give the greatest electrostatic
stability are those that eliminate the interface dipole by intermixing, calling
into question the conventional explanation for conductivity at this interface -
electronic reconstruction. Rather, evidence is presented for La indiffusion and
doping of the SrTiO3 below the interface as being the cause of the observed
conductivity
Non-linear instability of Kerr-type Cauchy horizons
Using the general solution to the Einstein equations on intersecting null
surfaces developed by Hayward, we investigate the non-linear instability of the
Cauchy horizon inside a realistic black hole. Making a minimal assumption about
the free gravitational data allows us to solve the field equations along a null
surface crossing the Cauchy Horizon. As in the spherical case, the results
indicate that a diverging influx of gravitational energy, in concert with an
outflux across the CH, is responsible for the singularity. The spacetime is
asymptotically Petrov type N, the same algebraic type as a gravitational shock
wave. Implications for the continuation of spacetime through the singularity
are briefly discussed.Comment: 11 pages RevTeX, two postscript figures included using epsf.st
The use of incidence counts for estimation of cereal aphid populations. 3. Population development and the incidence-density relation.
Om in de praktijk gebruik te kunnen maken van incidentie (de fractie bezette halmen) voor het schatten van graanluispopulaties moet dezelfde relatie tussen dichtheid en incidentie tijdens het hele groeiseizoen gelden. Uit analyses van veldgegevens voor de graanluis Sitobion avenae blijkt dat wel het geval te zijn, zodat bepalingen van incidentie kunnen worden gebruikt om de populatiedichtheid betrouwbaar te schatte
Electronic structures of doped anatase : (M=Co, Mn, Fe, Ni)
We have investigated electronic structures of a room temperature diluted
magnetic semiconductor : Co-doped anatase . We have obtained the
half-metallic ground state in the local-spin-density approximation(LSDA) but
the insulating ground state in the LSDA++SO incorporating the spin-orbit
interaction. In the stoichiometric case, the low spin state of Co is realized
with the substantially large orbital moment. However, in the presence of oxygen
vacancies near Co, the spin state of Co becomes intermediate. The
ferromagnetisms in the metallic and insulating phases are accounted for by the
double-exchange-like and the superexchange mechanism, respectively. Further,
the magnetic ground states are obtained for Mn and Fe doped ,
while the paramagnetic ground state for Ni-doped .Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Magnetic fields in protoplanetary disks
Magnetic fields likely play a key role in the dynamics and evolution of
protoplanetary discs. They have the potential to efficiently transport angular
momentum by MHD turbulence or via the magnetocentrifugal acceleration of
outflows from the disk surface, and magnetically-driven mixing has implications
for disk chemistry and evolution of the grain population. However, the weak
ionisation of protoplanetary discs means that magnetic fields may not be able
to effectively couple to the matter. I present calculations of the ionisation
equilibrium and magnetic diffusivity as a function of height from the disk
midplane at radii of 1 and 5 AU. Dust grains tend to suppress magnetic coupling
by soaking up electrons and ions from the gas phase and reducing the
conductivity of the gas by many orders of magnitude. However, once grains have
grown to a few microns in size their effect starts to wane and magnetic fields
can begin to couple to the gas even at the disk midplane. Because ions are
generally decoupled from the magnetic field by neutral collisions while
electrons are not, the Hall effect tends to dominate the diffusion of the
magnetic field when it is able to partially couple to the gas.
For a standard population of 0.1 micron grains the active surface layers have
a combined column of about 2 g/cm^2 at 1 AU; by the time grains have aggregated
to 3 microns the active surface density is 80 g/cm^2. In the absence of grains,
x-rays maintain magnetic coupling to 10% of the disk material at 1 AU (150
g/cm^2). At 5 AU the entire disk thickness becomes active once grains have
aggregated to 1 micron in size.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figs, aastex.cls. Accepted for publication in
Astrophysics & Space Science. v3 corrects bibliograph
Optical band edge shift of anatase cobalt-doped titanium dioxide
We report on the optical properties of magnetic cobalt-doped anatase phase
titanium dioxide Ti_{1-x}Co_{x}O_{2-d} films for low doping concentrations, 0
<= x <= 0.02, in the spectral range 0.2 to 5 eV. For well oxygenated films (d
<< 1) the optical conductivity is characterized by an absence of optical
absorption below an onset of interband transitions at 3.6 eV and a blue shift
of the optical band edge with increasing Co concentration. The absence of below
band gap absorption is inconsistent with theoretical models which contain
midgap magnetic impurity bands and suggests that strong on-site Coulomb
interactions shift the O-band to Co-level optical transitions to energies above
the gap.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, 1 table; Version 2 - major content revisio
Nanosized superparamagnetic precipitates in cobalt-doped ZnO
The existence of semiconductors exhibiting long-range ferromagnetic ordering
at room temperature still is controversial. One particularly important issue is
the presence of secondary magnetic phases such as clusters, segregations,
etc... These are often tedious to detect, leading to contradictory
interpretations. We show that in our cobalt doped ZnO films grown
homoepitaxially on single crystalline ZnO substrates the magnetism
unambiguously stems from metallic cobalt nano-inclusions. The magnetic behavior
was investigated by SQUID magnetometry, x-ray magnetic circular dichroism, and
AC susceptibility measurements. The results were correlated to a detailed
microstructural analysis based on high resolution x-ray diffraction,
transmission electron microscopy, and electron-spectroscopic imaging. No
evidence for carrier mediated ferromagnetic exchange between diluted cobalt
moments was found. In contrast, the combined data provide clear evidence that
the observed room temperature ferromagnetic-like behavior originates from
nanometer sized superparamagnetic metallic cobalt precipitates.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures; details about background subtraction added to
section III. (XMCD
Photoelectron diffraction: from phenomenological demonstration to practical tool
The potential of photoelectron diffraction—exploiting the coherent interference of directly-emitted and elastically scattered components of the photoelectron wavefield emitted from a core level of a surface atom to obtain structural information—was first appreciated in the 1970s. The first demonstrations of the effect were published towards the end of that decade, but the method has now entered the mainstream armoury of surface structure determination. This short review has two objectives: First, to outline the way that the idea emerged and the way this evolved in my own collaboration with Neville Smith and his colleagues at Bell Labs in the early years: Second, to provide some insight into the current state-of-the art in application of (scanned-energy mode) photoelectron diffraction to address two key issue in quantitative surface structure determination, namely, complexity and precision. In this regard a particularly powerful aspect of photoelectron diffraction is its elemental and chemical-state specificity
First-principles study of nucleation, growth, and interface structure of Fe/GaAs
We use density-functional theory to describe the initial stages of Fe film
growth on GaAs(001), focusing on the interplay between chemistry and magnetism
at the interface. Four features appear to be generic: (1) At submonolayer
coverages, a strong chemical interaction between Fe and substrate atoms leads
to substitutional adsorption and intermixing. (2) For films of several
monolayers and more, atomically abrupt interfaces are energetically favored.
(3) For Fe films over a range of thicknesses, both Ga- and As-adlayers
dramatically reduce the formation energies of the films, suggesting a
surfactant-like action. (4) During the first few monolayers of growth, Ga or As
atoms are likely to be liberated from the interface and diffuse to the Fe film
surface. Magnetism plays an important auxiliary role for these processes, even
in the dilute limit of atomic adsorption. Most of the films exhibit
ferromagnetic order even at half-monolayer coverage, while certain
adlayer-capped films show a slight preference for antiferromagnetic order.Comment: 11 two-column pages, 12 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
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