3,240 research outputs found
Interaction between concentric Tubes in DWCNTs
A detailed investigation of the Raman response of the inner tube radial
breathing modes (RBMs) in double-wall carbon nanotubes is reported. It revealed
that the number of observed RBMs is two to three times larger than the number
of possible tubes in the studied frequency range. This unexpected increase in
Raman lines is attributed to a splitting of the inner tube response. It is
shown to originate from the possibility that one type of inner tube may form in
different types of outer tubes and the fact that the inner tube RBM frequency
depends on the diameter of the enclosing tube. Finally, a comparison of the
inner tube RBMs and the RBMs of tubes in bundles gave clear evidence that the
interaction in a bundle is stronger than the interaction between inner and
outer tubes.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Eur. Phys. J.
Diameter selective characterization of single-wall carbon nanotubes
A novel method is presented which allows the characterization of diameter
selective phenomena in SWCNTs. It is based on the transformation of fullerene
peapod materials into double-wall carbon nanotubes and studying the diameter
distribution of the latter. The method is demonstrated for the diameter
selective healing of nanotube defects and yield from C peapod samples.
Openings on small diameter nanotubes are closed first. The yield of very small
diameter inner nanotubes from C peapods is demonstrated. This challenges
the theoretical models of inner nanotube formation. An anomalous absence of
mid-diameter inner tubes is observed and explained by the suppressed amount of
C peapods due to the competition of the two almost equally stable
standing and lying C peapod configurations
Fine-tuning the functional properties of carbon nanotubes via the interconversion of encapsulated molecules
Tweaking the properties of carbon nanotubes is a prerequisite for their
practical applications. Here we demonstrate fine-tuning the electronic
properties of single-wall carbon nanotubes via filling with ferrocene
molecules. The evolution of the bonding and charge transfer within the tube is
demonstrated via chemical reaction of the ferrocene filler ending up as
secondary inner tube. The charge transfer nature is interpreted well within
density functional theory. This work gives the first direct observation of a
fine-tuned continuous amphoteric doping of single-wall carbon nanotubes
Linear plasmon dispersion in single-wall carbon nanotubes and the collective excitation spectrum of graphene
We have measured a strictly linear pi-plasmon dispersion along the axis of
individualized single wall carbon nanotubes, which is completely different from
plasmon dispersions of graphite or bundled single wall carbon nanotubes.
Comparative ab initio studies on graphene based systems allow us to reproduce
the different dispersions. This suggests that individualized nanotubes provide
viable experimental access to collective electronic excitations of graphene,
and it validates the use of graphene to understand electronic excitations of
carbon nanotubes. In particular, the calculations reveal that local field
effects (LFE) cause a mixing of electronic transitions, including the 'Dirac
cone', resulting in the observed linear dispersion
Radiation Hardness of Thin Low Gain Avalanche Detectors
Low Gain Avalanche Detectors (LGAD) are based on a n++-p+-p-p++ structure
where an appropriate doping of the multiplication layer (p+) leads to high
enough electric fields for impact ionization. Gain factors of few tens in
charge significantly improve the resolution of timing measurements,
particularly for thin detectors, where the timing performance was shown to be
limited by Landau fluctuations. The main obstacle for their operation is the
decrease of gain with irradiation, attributed to effective acceptor removal in
the gain layer. Sets of thin sensors were produced by two different producers
on different substrates, with different gain layer doping profiles and
thicknesses (45, 50 and 80 um). Their performance in terms of gain/collected
charge and leakage current was compared before and after irradiation with
neutrons and pions up to the equivalent fluences of 5e15 cm-2. Transient
Current Technique and charge collection measurements with LHC speed electronics
were employed to characterize the detectors. The thin LGAD sensors were shown
to perform much better than sensors of standard thickness (~300 um) and offer
larger charge collection with respect to detectors without gain layer for
fluences <2e15 cm-2. Larger initial gain prolongs the beneficial performance of
LGADs. Pions were found to be more damaging than neutrons at the same
equivalent fluence, while no significant difference was found between different
producers. At very high fluences and bias voltages the gain appears due to deep
acceptors in the bulk, hence also in thin standard detectors
Exciton-plasmon states in nanoscale materials: breakdown of the Tamm-Dancoff approximation
Within the Tamm-Dancoff approximation ab initio approaches describe excitons
as packets of electron-hole pairs propagating only forward in time. However, we
show that in nanoscale materials excitons and plasmons hybridize, creating
exciton--plasmon states where the electron-hole pairs oscillate back and forth
in time. Then, as exemplified by the trans-azobenzene molecule and carbon
nanotubes, the Tamm-Dancoff approximation yields errors as large as the
accuracy claimed in ab initio calculations. Instead, we propose a general and
efficient approach that avoids the Tamm--Dancoff approximation, and correctly
describes excitons, plasmons and exciton-plasmon states
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