Gas Doping on the Topological Insulator Bi2Se3 Surface

Gas molecule doping on the topological insulator Bi2 Se3 surface with existing Se vacancies is investigated using first-principles calculations. Consistent with experiments, NO2 and O2 are found to occupy the Se vacancy sites, remove vacancy-doped electrons and restore the band structure of a perfect surface. In contrast, NO and H2 do not favour passivation of such vacancies. Interestingly we have revealed a NO2 dissociation process that can well explain the speculative introduced "photon-doping" effect reported by recent experiments. Experimental strategies to validate this mechanism are presented. The choice and the effect of different passivators are discussed. This step paves the way for the usage of such materials in device applications utilizing robust topological surface states

Controllable magnetic correlation between two impurities by spin-orbit coupling in graphene

Two magnetic impurities on the edge of a zigzag graphene nanoribbon strongly interact with each other via indirect coupling, which can be mediated by conducting carriers. By means of Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) simulations, we find that the spin-orbit coupling $\lambda$ and the chemical potential $\mu$ in system can be used to drive the transition of local-spin exchange from ferromagnetism to anti-ferromagnetism. Since the tunable ranges for $\lambda$ and $\mu$ in graphene are experimentally reachable, we thus open the possibilities for its device application. The symmetry in spatial distribution is broken by the vertical and the transversal spin-spin correlations due to the effect of spin-orbit coupling, leading to the spatial anisotropy of spin exchange, which distinguish our findings from the case in normal Fermi liquid.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures and 1 table. This paper has been accepted in Scientific Report

The absorption spectrum of hydrogenated silicon carbide nanocrystals from ab initio calculations

The electronic structure and absorption spectrum of hydrogenated silicon carbide nanocrystals (SiCNC) have been determined by first principles calculations. We show that the reconstructed surface can significantly change not just the onset of absorption, but the \emph{shape} of the spectrum at higher energies. We found that the absorption treshold of the reconstructed SiCNs cannot be accurately predicted from traditional density functional theory calculations.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl