Alloyed surfaces: new substrates for graphene growth

We report a systematic ab-initio density functional theory investigation of Ni(111) surface alloyed with elements of group IV (Si, Ge and Sn), demonstrating the possibility to use it to grow high quality graphene. Ni(111) surface represents an ideal substrate for graphene, due to its catalytic properties and perfect matching with the graphene lattice constant. However, Dirac bands of graphene growth on Ni(111) are completely destroyed due to the strong hybridization between carbon pz and Ni d orbitals. Group IV atoms, namely Si, Ge and Sn, once deposited on Ni(111) surface, form an ordered alloyed surface with √ 3 × √ 3-R30◦ reconstruction. We demonstrate that, at variance with the pure Ni(111) surface, alloyed surfaces effectively decouple graphene from the substrate, resulting unstrained due to the nearly perfect lattice matching and preserves linear Dirac bands without the strong hybridization with Ni d states. The proposed surfaces can be prepared before graphene growth without resorting on post-growth processes which necessarily alter the electronic and structural properties of graphene

Evolution of electronic structure of few-layer phosphorene from angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of black phosphorous

A complete set of tight-binding parameters for the description of the quasiparticle dispersion relations of black phosphorous (BP) and N-layer phosphorene with N = 1 ...∞ is presented. The parameters, which describe valence and conduction bands, are fit to angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) data of pristine and lithium doped BP. We show that zone-folding of the experimental three-dimensional electronic band structure of BP is a simple and intuitive method to obtain the layer-dependent two-dimensional electronic structure of few-layer phosphorene. Zone folding yields the band gap of N-layer phosphorene in excellent quantitative agreement to experiments and ab initio calculations. A combined analysis of optical absorption and ARPES spectra of pristine and doped BP is used to estimate a value for the exciton binding energy of BP

Controlled thermodynamics for tunable electron doping of graphene on Ir(111)

The electronic properties and surface structures of K-doped graphene supported on Ir(111) are characterized as a function of temperature and coverage by combining low-energy electron diffraction, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Deposition of K on graphene at room temperature (RT) yields a stable (√3 × √3) R30° surface structure having an intrinsic electron doping that shifts the graphene Dirac point by ED = 1.30 eV below the Fermi level. Keeping the graphene substrate at 80 K during deposition generates instead a (2 × 2) phase, which is stable until full monolayer coverage. Further deposition of K followed by RT annealing develops a double-layer K-doped graphene that effectively doubles the K coverage and the related charge transfer, as well as maximizing the doping level (ED = 1.61 eV). The measured electron doping and the surface reconstructions are rationalized by DFT calculations. These indicate a large thermodynamic driving force for K intercalation below the graphene layer. The electron doping and Dirac point shifts calculated for the different structures are in agreement with the experimental measurements. In particular, the K4s bands are shown to be sensitive to both the K intercalation and periodicity and are therefore suggested as a fingerprint for the location and ordering of the K dopants

Driven electronic bridge processes via defect states in 229^{229}Th-doped crystals

The electronic defect states resulting from doping $^{229}$Th in CaF$_2$ offer a unique opportunity to excite the nuclear isomeric state $^{229m}$Th at approximately 8 eV via electronic bridge mechanisms. We consider bridge schemes involving stimulated emission and absorption using an optical laser. The role of different multipole contributions, both for the emitted or absorbed photon and nuclear transition, to the total bridge rates are investigated theoretically. We show that the electric dipole component is dominant for the electronic bridge photon. In contradistinction, the electric quadrupole channel of the $^{229}$Th isomeric transition plays the dominant role for the bridge processes presented. The driven bridge rates are discussed in the context of background signals in the crystal environment and of implementation methods. We show that inverse electronic bridge processes quenching the isomeric state population can improve the performance of a solid-state nuclear clock based on $^{229m}$Th

Different hierarchy of avalanches observed in the Bak-Sneppen evolution model

We introduce a new quantity, average fitness, into the Bak-Sneppen evolution model. Through the new quantity, a different hierarchy of avalanches is observed. The gap equation, in terms of the average fitness, is presented to describe the self-organization of the model. It is found that the critical value of the average fitness can be exactly obtained. Based on the simulations, two critical exponents, avalanche distribution and avalanche dimension, of the new avalanches are given.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure