Universal Heat Conduction in YBa_2Cu_3O_6.9

The thermal conductivity of YBa_2Cu_3O_6.9 was measured at low temperatures in untwinned single crystals with concentrations of Zn impurities from 0 to 3% of Cu. A linear term kappa_0/T = 0.19 mW/K^2.cm is clearly resolved as T -> 0, and found to be virtually independent of Zn concentration. The existence of this residual normal fluid strongly validates the basic theory of transport in unconventional superconductors. Moreover, the observed universal behavior is in quantitative agreement with calculations for a gap function of d-wave symmetry.Comment: Latex file, 4 pages, 3 EPS figures, to appear in Physical Review Letter

Low-temperature electronic heat transport in La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4} single crystals: Unusual low-energy physics in the normal and superconducting states

The thermal conductivity \kappa is measured in a series of La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4} (x = 0 - 0.22) single crystals down to 90 mK to elucidate the evolution of the residual electronic thermal conductivity \kappa_{res}, which probes the extended quasiparticle states in the d-wave gap. We found that \kappa_{res}/T grows smoothly, except for a 1/8 anomaly, above x = 0.05 and shows no discontinuity at optimum doping, indicating that the behavior of \kappa_{res}/T is not governed by the metal-insulator crossover in the normal state; as a result, \kappa_{res}/T is much larger than what the normal-state resistivity would suggest in the underdoped region, which highlights the peculiarities in the low-energy physics in the cuprates.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, final version published in PRL. Discussions have been modified and an analysis of the phonon term has been adde

ULTRASONIC ATTENUATION IN MIXED STATE OF NIOBIUM

We have investigated the attenuation of ultrasonic waves in the mixed state of niobium, where a remarkable dip appears near the lower critical field . The measurement has been performed on one sample for various orientations of the wave vector and of the principal crystallographic axes of the sample with respect to external magnetic field

Near-field probing of the THz Mie magnetic mode in a single sub-wavelength TiO2 sphere

We report the first investigation of single Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) sub-wavelength size (20-30μm) spheres and ellipsoids using THz near-field microscopy. The Mie resonances are observed in individual particles allowing characterization of the resonance line-width and its dependence on the particle dimensions and shape

Strong suppression of In desorption from InGaN QW by improved technology of upper InGaN/GaN QW interface

International audienceThe aim of this work is to elucidate how different growth mode and composition of barriers can influence the QW properties and their PL and to find optimal QW capping process, to suppress the In desorption from QWs and to maintain the QW PL efficiency. It concentrates on the technology procedure for growth of upper quantum well (QW) interfaces in InGaN/GaN QW structure when different temperature for QW and barrier epitaxy is used. We have found that optimal photoluminescence (PL) results were achieved, when the growth after QW formation was not interrupted, but immediately continued during the temperature ramp by the growth of (In)GaN capping layer with small introduction of In precursor into the reactor. Optimal barrier between QW with respect to PL results was found to be pure GaN. We have shown according to SIMS and HRTEM results that by this technological procedure the InGaN desorption was considerably suppressed and three times higher In concentration and two times thicker QWs were achieved for the same QW growth parameters without deterioration of PL intensity in comparison to sample with usually used thin GaN low temperature capping protection. Additionally, for samples covered by the QW capping layer during the temperature ramp the defect band is almost completely missing, thus we can conclude that this defect band is connected with quality of the upper QW interface

Zenneck THz Surface Waves-assisted Imaging of Subwavelength Dielectric Particles

Electromagnetic Zenneck THz surface waves propagating on a bow-tie antenna are employed for time-resolved near-field imaging of subwavelength-size SrTiO3 and TiO2 particles. This approach provides high contrast, high-spatial resolution imaging through enhancing the fieldparticle interaction

Surface plasmon waves for broadband THz spectroscopy

In this presentation we discuss application of broadband terahertz (THz) time-domain spectroscopy for probing subwavelength (micrometer) size objects. The problem of weak coupling between THz waves and sub-wavelength objects, which limits the use of THz spectroscopy to large samples, is mitigated by employing surface plasmon waves. In one implementation, THz surface waves, excited on a broad-band planar THz bow-tie antenna, are used to enhance the interaction with a small particle placed on the antenna surface. The surface field distribution near the particle is mapped with an integrated sub-wavelength aperture THz near-field probe. We demonstrate that imaging and probing of the subwavelength size dielectric particles (TiO2 and SrTiO3) can be realized using the enhanced THz field between the antenna and the probe. We also discuss THz wave confinement using two sharp metallic needles. We demonstrate that in the near-field region of the needle tips, the electric field of THz pulses is concentrated to a volume smaller than (10 μm)3 without limiting the THz pulse bandwidth. Application of both methods for high spatial resolution imaging and spectroscopy will be discussed

Improvement of luminescence properties of n-GaN using TEGa precursor

The aim of this work is to compare and improve optical and structural properties of GaN layers prepared using TMGa or TEGa precursors. MOVPE grown GaN buffer layers on sapphire substrates are usually grown from TMGa precursor at the temperatures above 1000 degrees C. These layers contain deep and shallow acceptor levels which are responsible for blue and yellow defect bands in luminescent spectra. Both defect bands are detrimental for all major nitride device applications. Especially n-doped GaN layers suffer from strong yellow defect bands. In this work, it is shown that yellow band photoluminescence intensity can be suppressed by using TEGa precursor during the growth of n-doped GaN layers. Different kinds of growth parameters, such as growth temperature or growth rate, have been studied. It is also shown that the change of carrier gas (H-2 or N-2) has very strong influence on the layer quality. H-2 carrier gas increased intensity of yellow band in sample grown from TEGa precursor while N-2 carrier gas had the same effect for sample grown from TMGa precursor. Variable energy positron annihilation spectroscopy showed creation of single V-Ga in H-2 atmosphere and clustering of V-Ga to big complexes ((V-Ga)(3)(V-N)(n)) in N-2 atmosphere