Preparation of atomically clean and flat Si(100) surfaces by low-energy ion sputtering and low-temperature annealing

Si(100) surfaces were prepared by wet-chemical etching followed by 0.3-1.5keV Ar ion sputtering, either at elevated or room temperature. After a brief anneal under ultrahigh vacuum conditions, the resulting surfaces were examined by scanning tunneling microscopy. We find that wet-chemical etching alone cannot produce a clean and flat Si(100) surface. However, subsequent 300eV Ar ion sputtering at room temperature followed by a 973K anneal yields atomically clean and flat Si(100) surfaces suitable for nanoscale device fabrication.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, to be published in Applied Surface Scienc

The role of antiphase boundaries during ion sputtering and solid phase epitaxy of Si(001)

The Si(001) surface morphology during ion sputtering at elevated temperatures and solid phase epitaxy following ion sputtering at room temperature has been investigated using scanning tunneling microscopy. Two types of antiphase boundaries form on Si(001) surfaces during ion sputtering and solid phase epitaxy. One type of antiphase boundary, the AP2 antiphase boundary, contributes to the surface roughening. AP2 antiphase boundaries are stable up to 973K, and ion sputtering and solid phase epitaxy performed at 973K result in atomically flat Si(001) surfaces.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Surface Scienc

Vertical transport and electroluminescence in InAs/GaSb/InAs structures: GaSb thickness and hydrostatic pressure studies

We have measured the current-voltage (I-V) of type II InAs/GaSb/InAs double heterojunctions (DHETs) with 'GaAs like' interface bonding and GaSb thickness between 0-1200 \AA. A negative differential resistance (NDR) is observed for all DHETs with GaSb thickness $>$ 60 \AA below which a dramatic change in the shape of the I-V and a marked hysteresis is observed. The temperature dependence of the I-V is found to be very strong below this critical GaSb thickness. The I-V characteristics of selected DHETs are also presented under hydrostatic pressures up to 11 kbar. Finally, a mid infra-red electroluminescence is observed at 1 bar with a threshold at the NDR valley bias. The band profile calculations presented in the analysis are markedly different to those given in the literature, and arise due to the positive charge that it is argued will build up in the GaSb layer under bias. We conclude that the dominant conduction mechanism in DHETs is most likely to arise out of an inelastic electron-heavy-hole interaction similar to that observed in single heterojunctions (SHETs) with 'GaAs like' interface bonding, and not out of resonant electron-light-hole tunnelling as proposed by Yu et al. A Zener tunnelling mechanism is shown to contribute to the background current beyond NDR.Comment: 8 pages 12 fig

Direct observation of particle-hole mixing in the superconducting state by angle-resolved photoemission

Particle-hole (p-h) mixing is a fundamental consequence of the existence of a pair condensate. We present direct experimental evidence for p-h mixing in the angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) spectra in the superconducting state of Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+\delta}. In addition to its pedagogical importance, this establishes unambiguously that the gap observed in ARPES is associated with superconductivity.Comment: 3 pages, revtex, 4 postscript figure

Sliding Luttinger liquid phases

We study systems of coupled spin-gapped and gapless Luttinger liquids. First, we establish the existence of a sliding Luttinger liquid phase for a system of weakly coupled parallel quantum wires, with and without disorder. It is shown that the coupling can {\it stabilize} a Luttinger liquid phase in the presence of disorder. We then extend our analysis to a system of crossed Luttinger liquids and establish the stability of a non-Fermi liquid state: the crossed sliding Luttinger liquid phase (CSLL). In this phase the system exhibits a finite-temperature, long-wavelength, isotropic electric conductivity that diverges as a power law in temperature $T$ as $T \to 0$. This two-dimensional system has many properties of a true isotropic Luttinger liquid, though at zero temperature it becomes anisotropic. An extension of this model to a three-dimensional stack exhibits a much higher in-plane conductivity than the conductivity in a perpendicular direction.Comment: Revtex, 18 pages, 8 figure

Coupling between planes and chains in YBa2Cu3O7 : a possible solution for the order parameter controversy

We propose to explain the contradictory experimental evidence about the symmetry of the order parameter in $YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{7}$ by taking into account the coupling between planes and chains. This leads to an anticrossing of the plane and chain band. We include an attractive pairing interaction within the planes and a repulsive one between planes and chains, leading to opposite signs for the order parameter on planes and chains, and to nodes of the gap because of the anticrossing. Our model blends s-wave and d-wave features, and provides a natural explanation for all the contradictory experimentsComment: 13 pages, revtex, 2 uucoded figure

Core-Collapse Supernovae at the Threshold

Recent progress in modeling core-collapse supernovae is summarized and set in perspective. Two-dimensional simulations with state-of-the-art treatment of neutrino transport still fail to produce powerful explosions, but evidence is presented that they are very close to success.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, high-quality available upon request; contribution to Procs. IAU Coll. 192, "Supernovae", Eds. J.M. Marcaide ad K.W. Weiler, Springe