Fabrication and electrical transport properties of embedded graphite microwires in a diamond matrix

Micrometer width and nanometer thick wires with different shapes were produced \approx 3~\upmum below the surface of a diamond crystal using a microbeam of He$^+$ ions with 1.8~MeV energy. Initial samples are amorphous and after annealing at $T\approx 1475$~K, the wires crystallized into a graphite-like structures, according to confocal Raman spectroscopy measurements. The electrical resistivity at room temperature is only one order of magnitude larger than the in-plane resistivity of highly oriented pyrolytic bulk graphite and shows a small resistivity ratio($\rho(2{\rm K})/\rho(315{\rm K}) \approx 1.275$). A small negative magnetoresistance below $T=200$~K was measured and can be well understood taking spin-dependent scattering processes into account. The used method provides the means to design and produce millimeter to micrometer sized conducting circuits with arbitrary shape embedded in a diamond matrix.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, to be published in Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics (Feb. 2017

Electrical current distribution across a metal-insulator-metal structure during bistable switching

Combining scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron-beam-induced current (EBIC) imaging with transport measurements, it is shown that the current flowing across a two-terminal oxide-based capacitor-like structure is preferentially confined in areas localized at defects. As the thin-film device switches between two different resistance states, the distribution and intensity of the current paths, appearing as bright spots, change. This implies that switching and memory effects are mainly determined by the conducting properties along such paths. A model based on the storage and release of charge carriers within the insulator seems adequate to explain the observed memory effect.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, submitted to J. Appl. Phy

Asymptotics and zeros of Sobolev orthogonal polynomials on unbounded supports

In this paper we present a survey about analytic properties of polynomials orthogonal with respect to a weighted Sobolev inner product such that the vector of measures has an unbounded support. In particular, we are focused in the study of the asymptotic behaviour of such polynomials as well as in the distribution of their zeros. Some open problems as well as some new directions for a future research are formulated.Comment: Changed content; 34 pages, 41 reference

Collisional and thermal ionization of sodium Rydberg atoms I. Experiment for nS and nD atoms with n=8-20

Collisional and thermal ionization of sodium nS and nD Rydberg atoms with n=8-20 has been studied. The experiments were performed using a two-step pulsed laser excitation in an effusive atomic beam at atom density of about 2 10^{10} cm^{-3}. Molecular and atomic ions from associative, Penning, and thermal ionization processes were detected. It has been found that the atomic ions were created mainly due to photoionization of Rydberg atoms by photons of blackbody radiation at the ambient temperature of 300K. Blackbody ionization rates and effective lifetimes of Rydberg states of interest were determined. The molecular ions were found to be from associative ionization in Na(nL)+Na(3S) collisions. Rate constants of associative ionization have been measured using an original method based on relative measurements of Na_{2}^{+} and Na^{+} ion signals.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figure

Competition between electric field and magnetic field noise in the decoherence of a single spin in diamond

We analyze the impact of electric field and magnetic field fluctuations in the decoherence of the electronic spin associated with a single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) defect in diamond by engineering spin eigenstates protected either against magnetic noise or against electric noise. The competition between these noise sources is analyzed quantitatively by changing their relative strength through modifications of the environment. This study provides significant insights into the decoherence of the NV electronic spin, which is valuable for quantum metrology and sensing applications.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, including supplementary information

Diffraction based Hanbury Brown and Twiss interferometry performed at a hard x-ray free-electron laser

We demonstrate experimentally Hanbury Brown and Twiss (HBT) interferometry at a hard X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) on a sample diffraction patterns. This is different from the traditional approach when HBT interferometry requires direct beam measurements in absence of the sample. HBT analysis was carried out on the Bragg peaks from the colloidal crystals measured at Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). We observed high degree (80%) spatial coherence of the full beam and the pulse duration of the monochromatized beam on the order of 11 fs that is significantly shorter than expected from the electron bunch measurements.Comment: 32 pages, 10 figures, 2 table

Revealing three-dimensional structure of individual colloidal crystal grain by coherent x-ray diffractive imaging

We present results of a coherent x-ray diffractive imaging experiment performed on a single colloidal crystal grain. The full three-dimensional (3D) reciprocal space map measured by an azimuthal rotational scan contained several orders of Bragg reflections together with the coherent interference signal between them. Applying the iterative phase retrieval approach, the 3D structure of the crystal grain was reconstructed and positions of individual colloidal particles were resolved. As a result, an exact stacking sequence of hexagonal close-packed layers including planar and linear defects were identified.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure