902 research outputs found
First-principles study of the atomic and electronic structure of the Si(111)-(5x2-Au surface reconstruction
We present a systematic study of the atomic and electronic structure of the
Si(111)-(5x2)-Au reconstruction using first-principles electronic structure
calculations based on the density functional theory. We analyze the structural
models proposed by Marks and Plass [Phys. Rev. Lett.75, 2172 (1995)], those
proposed recently by Erwin [Phys. Rev. Lett.91, 206101 (2003)], and a
completely new structure that was found during our structural optimizations. We
study in detail the energetics and the structural and electronic properties of
the different models. For the two most stable models, we also calculate the
change in the surface energy as a function of the content of silicon adatoms
for a realistic range of concentrations. Our new model is the energetically
most favorable in the range of low adatom concentrations, while Erwin's "5x2"
model becomes favorable for larger adatom concentrations. The crossing between
the surface energies of both structures is found close to 1/2 adatoms per 5x2
unit cell, i.e. near the maximum adatom coverage observed in the experiments.
Both models, the new structure and Erwin's "5x2" model, seem to provide a good
description of many of the available experimental data, particularly of the
angle-resolved photoemission measurements
Structural models for the Si(553)-Au atomic chain reconstruction
Recent photoemission experiments on the Si(553)-Au reconstruction show a
one-dimensional band with a peculiar ~1/4 filling. This band could provide an
opportunity for observing large spin-charge separation if electron-electron
interactions could be increased. To this end, it is necessary to understand in
detail the origin of this surface band. A first step is the determination of
the structure of the reconstruction. We present here a study of several
structural models using first-principles density functional calculations. Our
models are based on a plausible analogy with the similar and better known
Si(557)-Au surface, and compared against the sole structure proposed to date
for the Si(553)-Au system [Crain JN et al., 2004 Phys. Rev. B 69 125401 ].
Results for the energetics and the band structures are given. Lines for the
future investigation are also sketched
Transport in disordered two-dimensional topological insulator
We study experimentally the transport properties of "inverted" semiconductor
HgTe-based quantum well, which is related to the two-dimensional topological
insulator, in diffusive transport regime.
We perform nonlocal electrical measurements in the absence of the magnetic
field and observe large signal due to the edge states. It demonstrates, that
the edge states can propagate over long distance 1 mm, and, therefore, there is
no difference between local and non local electrical measurements in
topological insulator. In the presence of the in-plane magnetic field we find
strong decrease of the local resistance and complete suppression of the
nonlocal resistance. We attribute this observation to the transition between
topological insulator and bulk metal induced by the in-plane magnetic field.Comment: 4.5 pages, 4 figure
Double non-equivalent chain structure on vicinal Si(557)-Au surface
We study electronic and topographic properties of the vicinal Si(557)-Au
surface using scanning tunneling microscopy and reflection of high energy
electron diffraction technique. STM data reveal double wire structures along
terraces. Moreover behavior of the voltage dependent STM tip - surface distance
is different in different chains. While the one chain shows oscillations of the
distance which are sensitive to the sign of the voltage bias, the oscillations
in the other chain remain unchanged with respect to the positive/negative
biases. This suggests that one wire has metallic character while the other one
- semiconducting. The experimental results are supplemented by theoretical
calculations within tight binding model suggesting that the observed chains are
made of different materials, one is gold and the other one is silicon chain.Comment: 9 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Thermally activated intersubband scattering and oscillating magnetoresistance in quantum wells
Experimental studies of magnetoresistance in high-mobility wide quantum wells
reveal oscillations which appear with an increase in temperature to 10 K and
whose period is close to that of Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations. The observed
phenomenon is identified as magnetointersubband oscillations caused by the
scattering of electrons between two occupied subbands and the third subband
which becomes occupied as a result of thermal activation. These small-period
oscillations are less sensitive to thermal suppression than the largeperiod
magnetointersubband oscillations caused by the scattering between the first and
the second subbands. Theoretical study, based on consideration of electron
scattering near the edge of the third subband, gives a reasonable explanation
of our experimental findings.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
Unconventional Hall effect near charge neutrality point in a two-dimensional electron-hole system
The transport properties of the two-dimensional system in HgTe-based quantum
wells containing simultaneously electrons and holes of low densities are
examined. The Hall resistance, as a function of perpendicular magnetic field,
reveals an unconventional behavior, different from the classical N-shaped
dependence typical for bipolar systems with electron-hole asymmetry. The
quantum features of magnetotransport are explained by means of numerical
calculation of the Landau level spectrum based on the Kane Hamiltonian. The
origin of the quantum Hall plateau {\sigma}xy = 0 near the charge neutrality
point is attributed to special features of Landau quantization in our system.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure
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