2,640 research outputs found
Refining of metallurgical-grade silicon
A basic requirement of large scale solar cell fabrication is to provide low cost base material. Unconventional refining of metallurical grade silicon represents one of the most promising ways of silicon meltstock processing. The refining concept is based on an optimized combination of metallurgical treatments. Commercially available crude silicon, in this sequence, requires a first pyrometallurgical step by slagging, or, alternatively, solvent extraction by aluminum. After grinding and leaching, high purity qualtiy is gained as an advanced stage of refinement. To reach solar grade quality a final pyrometallurgical step is needed: liquid-gas extraction
Magnitude and crystalline anisotropy of hole magnetization in (Ga,Mn)As
Theory of hole magnetization Mc in zinc-blende diluted ferromagnetic
semiconductors is developed relaxing the spherical approximation of earlier
approaches. The theory is employed to determine Mc for (Ga,Mn)As over a wide
range of hole concentrations and a number of crystallographic orientations of
Mn magnetization. It is found that anisotropy of Mc is practically negligible
but the obtained magnitude of Mc is significantly greater than that determined
in the spherical approximation. Its sign and value compares favorably with the
results of available magnetization measurements and ferromagnetic resonance
studies.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Self-sustained magnetoelectric oscillations in magnetic resonant tunneling structures
The dynamic interplay of transport, electrostatic, and magnetic effects in
the resonant tunneling through ferromagnetic quantum wells is theoretically
investigated. It is shown that the carrier-mediated magnetic order in the
ferromagnetic region not only induces, but also takes part in intrinsic,
robust, and sustainable high-frequency current oscillations over a large window
of nominally steady bias voltages. This phenomenon could spawn a new class of
quantum electronic devices based on ferromagnetic semiconductors.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Prospect for room temperature tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance effect: density of states anisotropies in CoPt systems
Tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance (TAMR) effect, discovered recently in
(Ga,Mn)As ferromagnetic semiconductors, arises from spin-orbit coupling and
reflects the dependence of the tunneling density of states in a ferromagnetic
layer on orientation of the magnetic moment. Based on ab initio relativistic
calculations of the anisotropy in the density of states we predict sizable TAMR
effects in room-temperature metallic ferromagnets. This opens prospect for new
spintronic devices with a simpler geometry as these do not require
antiferromagnetically coupled contacts on either side of the tunnel junction.
We focus on several model systems ranging from simple hcp-Co to more complex
ferromagnetic structures with enhanced spin-orbit coupling, namely bulk and
thin film L1-CoPt ordered alloys and a monatomic-Co chain at a Pt surface
step edge. Reliability of the predicted density of states anisotropies is
confirmed by comparing quantitatively our ab initio results for the
magnetocrystalline anisotropies in these systems with experimental data.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Hole concentration in a diluted ferromagnetic semiconductor
We consider a mean-field approach to the hole-mediated ferromagnetism in
III-V Mn-based semiconductor compounds to discuss the dependence of the hole
density on that of Mn sites in Ga_{1-x}Mn_xAs. The hole concentration, p, as a
function of the fraction of Mn sites, x, is parametrized in terms of the
product m*J_{pd}^2 (where m* is the hole effective mass and J_{pd} is the
Kondo-like hole/local-moment coupling), and the critical temperature Tc. By
using experimental data for these quantities, we have established the
dependence of the hole concentration with x, which can be associated with the
occurrence of a reentrant metal-insulator transition taking place in the hole
gas. We also calculate the dependence of the Mn magnetization with x, for
different temperatures (T), and found that as T increases, the width of the
composition-dependent magnetization decreases drammatically, and that the
magnetization maxima also decreases, indicating the need for quality-control of
Mn-doping composition in diluted magnetic semiconductor devices.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, RevTeX 3; Fig. 1 changed, new references adde
Optical properties of metallic (III,Mn)V ferromagnetic semiconductors in the infrared to visible range
We report on a study of the ac conductivity and magneto-optical properties of
metallic ferromagnetic (III,Mn)V semiconductors in the infrared to visible
spectrum. Our analysis is based on the successful kinetic exchange model for
(III,Mn)V ferromagnetic semiconductors. We perform the calculations within the
Kubo formalism and treat the disorder effects pertubatively within the Born
approximation, valid for the metallic regime. We consider an eight-band
Kohn-Luttinger model (six valence bands plus two conduction bands) as well as a
ten-band model with additional dispersionless bands simulating
phenomenologically the upper-mid-gap states induced by antisite and
interstitial impurities. These models qualitatively account for
optical-absorption experiments and predict new features in the mid-infrared
Kerr angle and magnetic-circular-dichroism properties as a function of Mn
concentration and free carrier density.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, some typos correcte
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