Electronic Interface Reconstruction at Polar-Nonpolar Mott Insulator Heterojunctions

We report on a theoretical study of the electronic interface reconstruction (EIR) induced by polarity discontinuity at a heterojunction between a polar and a nonpolar Mott insulators, and of the two-dimensional strongly-correlated electron systems (2DSCESs) which accompany the reconstruction. We derive an expression for the minimum number of polar layers required to drive the EIR, and discuss key parameters of the heterojunction system which control 2DSCES properties. The role of strong correlations in enhancing confinement at the interface is emphasized.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, some typos correcte

Spintronics for electrical measurement of light polarization

The helicity of a circularly polarized light beam may be determined by the spin direction of photo-excited electrons in a III-V semiconductor. We present a theoretical demonstration how the direction of the ensuing electron spin polarization may be determined by electrical means of two ferromagnet/semiconductor Schottky barriers. The proposed scheme allows for time-resolved detection of spin accumulation in small structures and may have a device application.Comment: Revised version, 8 two-column pages, 5 figures; Added: a comprehensive time dependent analysis, figures 3b-3c & 5, equations 6 & 13-16 and 3 references. submitted to Phys. Rev.

Superconducting Quantum Point contacts and Maxwell Potential

The quantization of the current in a superconducting quantum point contact is reviewed and the critical current is discussed at different temperatures depending on the carrier concentration as well by suggesting a constant potential in the semiconductor and then a Maxwell potential. When the Fermi wave length is comparable with the constriction width we showed that the critical current has a step-like variation as a function of the constriction width and the carrier concentration.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, some figures are clarified; scheduled to appear in an issue in MPLB Vo.21, (2007

Temperature Dependent Polarity Reversal in Au/Nb:SrTiO3 Schottky Junctions

We have observed temperature-dependent reversal of the rectifying polarity in Au/Nb:SrTiO3 Schottky junctions. By simulating current-voltage characteristics we have found that the permittivity of SrTiO3 near the interface exhibits temperature dependence opposite to that observed in the bulk, significantly reducing the barrier width. At low temperature, tunneling current dominates the junction transport due both to such barrier narrowing and to suppressed thermal excitations. The present results demonstrate that novel junction properties can be induced by the interface permittivity

The impacts of surface conditions on the vapor-liquid-solid growth of germanium nanowires on Si (100) substrate

The impacts of surface conditions on the growth of Ge nanowires on a Si (100) substrate are discussed in detail. On SiO2-terminated Si substrates, high-density Ge nanowires can be easily grown. However, on H-terminated Si substrates, growing Ge nanowires is more complex. The silicon migration and the formation of a native SiO2 overlayer on a catalyst surface retard the growth of Ge nanowires. After removing this overlayer in the HF solution, high-density and well-ordered Ge nanowires are grown. Ge nanowires cross vertically and form two sets of parallel nanowires. It is found that nanowires grew along ?110? direction

Nonpolar resistive switching in Cu/SiC/Au non-volatile resistive memory devices

Amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC) based resistive memory (RM) Cu/a-SiC/Au devices were fabricated and their resistive switching characteristics investigated. All four possible modes of nonpolar resistive switching were achieved with ON/OFF ratio in the range 10 6-10 8. Detailed current-voltage I-V characteristics analysis suggests that the conduction mechanism in low resistance state is due to the formation of metallic filaments. Schottky emission is proven to be the dominant conduction mechanism in high resistance state which results from the Schottky contacts between the metal electrodes and SiC. ON/OFF ratios exceeding 10 7 over 10 years were also predicted from state retention characterizations. These results suggest promising application potentials for Cu/a-SiC/Au RM

Magnetotransport in a two-dimensional electron system in dc electric fields

We report on nonequilibrium transport measurements in a high-mobility two-dimensional electron system subject to weak magnetic field and dc excitation. Detailed study of dc-induced magneto-oscillations, first observed by Yang {\em et al}., reveals a resonant condition that is qualitatively different from that reported earlier. In addition, we observe dramatic reduction of resistance induced by a weak dc field in the regime of separated Landau levels. These results demonstrate similarity of transport phenomena in dc-driven and microwave-driven systems and have important implications for ongoing experimental search for predicted quenching of microwave-induced zero-resistance states by a dc current.Comment: Revised version, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Electric field induced charge injection or exhaustion in organic thin film transistor

The conductivity of organic semiconductors is measured {\it in-situ} and continuously with a bottom contact configuration, as a function of film thickness at various gate voltages. The depletion layer thickness can be directly determined as a shift of the threshold thickness at which electric current began to flow. The {\it in-situ} and continuous measurement can also determine qualitatively the accumulation layer thickness together with the distribution function of injected carriers. The accumulation layer thickness is a few mono layers, and it does not depend on gate voltages, rather depends on the chemical species.Comment: 4 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.

Strain Modulated Electronic Properties of Ge Nanowires - A First Principles Study

We used density-functional theory based first principles simulations to study the effects of uniaxial strain and quantum confinement on the electronic properties of germanium nanowires along the [110] direction, such as the energy gap and the effective masses of the electron and hole. The diameters of the nanowires being studied are up to 50 {\AA}. As shown in our calculations, the Ge [110] nanowires possess a direct band gap, in contrast to the nature of an indirect band gap in bulk. We discovered that the band gap and the effective masses of charge carries can be modulated by applying uniaxial strain to the nanowires. These strain modulations are size-dependent. For a smaller wire (~ 12 {\AA}), the band gap is almost a linear function of strain; compressive strain increases the gap while tensile strain reduces the gap. For a larger wire (20 {\AA} - 50 {\AA}), the variation of the band gap with respect to strain shows nearly parabolic behavior: compressive strain beyond -1% also reduces the gap. In addition, our studies showed that strain affects effective masses of the electron and hole very differently. The effective mass of the hole increases with a tensile strain while the effective mass of the electron increases with a compressive strain. Our results suggested both strain and size can be used to tune the band structures of nanowires, which may help in design of future nano-electronic devices. We also discussed our results by applying the tight-binding model.Comment: 1 table, 8 figure

Ga-induced atom wire formation and passivation of stepped Si(112)

We present an in-depth analysis of the atomic and electronic structure of the quasi one-dimensional (1D) surface reconstruction of Ga on Si(112) based on Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy (STM and STS), Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) and Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. A new structural model of the Si(112)6 x 1-Ga surface is inferred. It consists of Ga zig-zag chains that are intersected by quasi-periodic vacancy lines or misfit dislocations. The experimentally observed meandering of the vacancy lines is caused by the co-existence of competing 6 x 1 and 5 x 1 unit cells and by the orientational disorder of symmetry breaking Si-Ga dimers inside the vacancy lines. The Ga atoms are fully coordinated, and the surface is chemically passivated. STS data reveal a semiconducting surface and show excellent agreement with calculated Local Density of States (LDOS) and STS curves. The energy gain obtained by fully passivating the surface calls the idea of step-edge decoration as a viable growth method toward 1D metallic structures into question.Comment: Submitted, 13 pages, accepted in Phys. Rev. B, notational change in Fig.