Infrared Dielectric Anisotropy and Phonon Modes of Rutile TiO2

Spectroscopic ellipsometry in the mid-infrared and far-infrared spectral range and generalized ellipsometry in the mid-infrared spectral range are used to investigate the anisotropic dielectric response of rutile TiO2. The ordinary and extraordinary dielectric function tensor components and all infrared active phonon mode parameters of single crystalline rutile TiO2 are determined with high accuracy for wavelengths from 3 μm to 83 μm. The data were acquired from samples of (001), (100), and (111) surfaces cut from bulk single crystals. A factorized model dielectric function is employed in order to determine the frequencies and damping parameters of the transverse and longitudinal phonon modes with A2u and Eu symmetries. The bands of total reflection of s- and p-polarized light in dependence of the angle of incidence for highly symmetric sample cuts and orientations are derived. Excellent agreement with phonon modes reported in literature is obtained. Introduction of two additional modes for ordinary as well as extraordinary component of the dielectric function tensor was necessary to most accurately match the experimental data. The spectral position of the additional modes is compared to the calculated phonon density of states. The low-frequency dielectric constants are calculated from the determined phonon mode parameters and the high-frequency dielectric constants by applying the Lyddanne-Sachs-Teller relation. The presented data revise existing infrared optical function data and will be suitable for interpretation of any kind of infrared spectra for bulk TiO2 single crystal substrates, thin films, and TiO2 nanostructures

Anisotropy, Phonon Modes, and Free Charge Carrier Parameters in Monoclinic β-Gallium Oxide Single Crystals

We derive a dielectric function tensor model approach to render the optical response of monoclinic and triclinic symmetry materials with multiple uncoupled infrared and far-infrared active modes. We apply our model approach to monoclinic β-Ga2O3 single-crystal samples. Surfaces cut under different angles from a bulk crystal, (010) and (2̅01), are investigated by generalized spectroscopic ellipsometry within infrared and far-infrared spectral regions. We determine the frequency dependence of 4 independent β-Ga2O3 Cartesian dielectric function tensor elements by matching large sets of experimental data using a point-by-point data inversion approach. From matching our monoclinic model to the obtained 4 dielectric function tensor components, we determine all infrared and far-infrared active transverse optic phonon modes with Au and Bu symmetry, and their eigenvectors within the monoclinic lattice. We find excellent agreement between our model results and results of density functional theory calculations. We derive and discuss the frequencies of longitudinal optical phonons in β-Ga2O3. We derive and report density and anisotropic mobility parameters of the free charge carriers within the tin-doped crystals. We discuss the occurrence of longitudinal phonon plasmon coupled modes in β-Ga2O3 and provide their frequencies and eigenvectors. We also discuss and present monoclinic dielectric constants for static electric fields and frequencies above the reststrahlen range, and we provide a generalization of the Lyddane-Sachs-Teller relation for monoclinic lattices with infrared and far-infrared active modes.We find that the generalized Lyddane-Sachs-Teller relation is fulfilled excellently for β-Ga2O3

A Unified Model to Explain the Large Chiroptical Effects in Polymer Systems Through Natural Optical Activity

Polymer thin films that emit and absorb circularly polarised light have been demonstrated with the promise of achieving important technological advances; from efficient, high-performance displays, to 3D imaging and all-organic spintronic devices. However, the origin of the large chiroptical effects in such films has, until now, remained elusive. We investigate the emergence of such phenomena in achiral polymers blended with a chiral small-molecule additive (1-aza[6]helicene) and intrinsically chiral-sidechain polymers using a combination of spectroscopic methods and structural probes. We show that – under conditions relevant for device fabrication – the large chiroptical effects are caused by coupling of electric and magnetic transition dipole moments (natural optical activity), not structural chirality as previously assumed, and may occur because of local order in a cylinder blue phase-type organisation. This disruptive mechanistic insight into chiral polymer thin films will offer new approaches towards chiroptical materials development after almost three decades of research in this area.</div