114 research outputs found
Positron studies of surfaces, structure and electronic properties of nanocrystals
A brief review is given of recent positron studies of metal and semiconductor
nanocrystals. The prospects offered by positron annihilation as a sensitive
method to access nanocrystal (NC) properties are described and compared with
other experimental methods. The tunability of the electronic structure of
nanocrystals underlies their great potential for application in many areas.
Owing to their large surface-to-volume ratio, the surfaces and interfaces of
NCs play a crucial role in determining their properties. Here we focus on
positron 2D angular correlation of annihilation radiation (2D-ACAR) and
(two-detector) Doppler studies for investigating surfaces and electronic
properties of CdSe NCs.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Physica Status Solidi (b) - basic
solid state physics, presented at the 14th International Conference of
Positron Annihilation ICPA-1
Bulk Fermi surface and momentum density in heavily doped LaSrCuO using high resolution Compton scattering and positron annihilation spectroscopies
We have observed the bulk Fermi surface (FS) in an overdoped (=0.3) single
crystal of LaSrCuO by using Compton scattering. A
two-dimensional (2D) momentum density reconstruction from measured Compton
profiles yields a clear FS signature in the third Brillouin zone along [100].
The quantitative agreement between density functional theory (DFT) calculations
and momentum density experiment suggests that Fermi-liquid physics is restored
in the overdoped regime. In particular the predicted FS topology is found to be
in good accord with the corresponding experimental data. We find similar
quantitative agreement between the measured 2D angular correlation of positron
annihilation radiation (2D-ACAR) spectra and the DFT based computations.
However, 2D-ACAR does not give such a clear signature of the FS in the extended
momentum space in either the theory or the experiment.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure
Annealing of SnO2 thin films by ultra-short laser pulses
Post-deposition annealing by ultra-short laser pulses can modify the optical properties of SnO2 thin films by means of thermal processing. Industrial grade SnO2 films exhibited improved optical properties after picosecond laser irradiation, at the expense of a slightly increased sheet resistance [Proc. SPIE 8826, 88260I (2013)]. The figure of merit Ï• = T10 / Rsh was increased up to 59% after laser processing. In this paper we study and discuss the causes of this improvement at the atomic scale, which explain the observed decrease of conductivity as well as the observed changes in the refractive index n and extinction coefficient k. It was concluded that the absorbed laser energy affected the optoelectronic properties preferentially in the top 100-200 nm region of the films by several mechanisms, including the modification of the stoichiometry, a slight desorption of dopant atoms (F), adsorption of hydrogen atoms from the atmosphere and the introduction of laser-induced defects, which affect the strain of the film
Electronic coupling of colloidal CdSe nanocrystals monitored by thin-film positron-electron momentum density methods
The effect of temperature controlled annealing on the confined valence
electron states in CdSe nanocrystal arrays, deposited as thin films, was
studied using two-dimensional angular correlation of annihilation radiation
(2D-ACAR). A reduction in the intensity by ~35% was observed in a feature of
the positron annihilation spectrum upon removal of the pyridine capping
molecules above 200 degrees Celsius in a vacuum. This reduction is explained by
an increased electronic interaction of the valence orbitals of neighboring
nanocrystals, induced by the formation of inorganic interfaces. Partial
evaporation of the nanoporous CdSe layer and additional sintering into a
polycrystalline thin film was observed at a relatively low temperature of ~486
degrees Celsius.Comment: The article has been accepted by Applied Physics Letters. After it is
published, it will be found at http://apl.aip.or
Nature of the positron state in CdSe quantum dots
Previous studies have shown that positron-annihilation spectroscopy is a
highly sensitive probe of the electronic structure and surface composition of
ligand-capped semiconductor Quantum Dots (QDs) embedded in thin films. Nature
of the associated positron state, however, whether the positron is confined
inside the QDs or localized at their surfaces, has so far remained unresolved.
Our positron-annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) studies of CdSe QDs
reveal the presence of a strong lifetime component in the narrow range of
358-371 ps, indicating abundant trapping and annihilation of positrons at the
surfaces of the QDs. Furthermore, our ab-initio calculations of the positron
wave function and lifetime employing a recent formulation of the Weighted
Density Approximation (WDA) demonstrate the presence of a positron surface
state and predict positron lifetimes close to experimental values. Our study
thus resolves the longstanding question regarding the nature of the positron
state in semiconductor QDs, and opens the way to extract quantitative
information on surface composition and ligand-surface interactions of colloidal
semiconductor QDs through highly sensitive positron-annihilation techniques.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure
Integration of first-principles methods and crystallographic database searches for new ferroelectrics: Strategies and explorations
In this concept paper, the development of strategies for the integration of
first-principles methods with crystallographic database mining for the
discovery and design of novel ferroelectric materials is discussed, drawing on
the results and experience derived from exploratory investigations on three
different systems: (1) the double perovskite Sr(SbMn)O as a
candidate semiconducting ferroelectric; (2) polar derivatives of schafarzikite
SbO; and (3) ferroelectric semiconductors with formula
P(S,Se). A variety of avenues for further research and
investigation are suggested, including automated structure type classification,
low-symmetry improper ferroelectrics, and high-throughput first-principles
searches for additional representatives of structural families with desirable
functional properties.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, 4 table
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