Parametric Generation of Subharmonics in a Composite Multiferroic Resonator

Parametric generation of subharmonics in a composite multiferroic resonator is observed and investigated. The resonator has the form of a disk and contains two mechanically coupled layers, one of which is amorphous ferromagnet Fe-B-Si-C and the other piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate. The resonator is placed inside two planar electromagnetic coils with orthogonal axes. A static magnetic field of 0-100 Oe is applied parallel to the plane of the resonator. The resonator is excited in the frequency range f = 9-10 kHz by either a harmonic magnetic field with an amplitude of up to 5 Oe generated by one of the coils, or a harmonic electric field with an amplitude of up to 500 V/cm applied to the piezoelectric layer. When the pump field is above a certain threshold, generation of a subharmonic of half-frequency (f/2) is observed for three different excitation methods. The first two employed either the direct magnetoelectric effect or the converse magnetoelectric effect, while in the third a transformer system is utilized. The subharmonic is generated in a limited range of pump frequencies and its amplitude is a nonlinear function of both the pump-field amplitude and the strength of static magnetic field. A theory of parametric generation of the subharmonic in a multiferroic resonator is developed, taking into account the magnetoacoustic nonlinearity of the ferromagnetic layer of the structure and excitation of acoustic resonances near the pump and subharmonic frequencies. The theory qualitatively describes the main characteristics of the subharmonic generation.</p

Interaction of surface acoustic waves with a two-dimensional electron gas in the presence of spin splitting of the Landau bands

The absorption and variation of the velocity of a surface acoustic wave of frequency $f$= 30 MHz interacting with two-dimensional electrons are investigated in GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures with an electron density $n=(1.3 - 2.8) \times 10^{11} cm^{-2}$ at $T$=1.5 - 4.2 K in magnetic fields up to 7 T. Characteristic features associated with spin splitting of the Landau level are observed. The effective g factor and the width of the spin-split Landau bands are determined: $g^* \simeq 5$ and $A$=0.6 meV. The greater width of the orbital-split Landau bands (2 meV) relative to the spin-split bands is attributed to different shielding of the random fluctuation potential of charged impurities by 2D electrons. The mechanisms of the nonlinearities manifested in the dependence of the absorption and the velocity increment of the SAW on the SAW power in the presence of spin splitting of the Landau levels are investigated.Comment: Revtex 5 pages + 5 EPS Figures, v.2 - minor corrections in text and pic

Kinetics of exciton photoluminescence in type-II semiconductor superlattices

The exciton decay rate at a rough interface in type-II semiconductor superlattices is investigated. It is shown that the possibility of recombination of indirect excitons at a plane interface essentially affects kinetics of the exciton photoluminescence at a rough interface. This happens because of strong correlation between the exciton recombination at the plane interface and at the roughness. Expressions that relate the parameters of the luminescence kinetics with statistical characteristics of the rough interface are obtained. The mean height and length of roughnesses in GaAs/AlAs superlattices are estimated from the experimental data.Comment: 3 PostScript figure

Ferromagnetic HfO2/Si/GaAs interface for spin-polarimetry applications

In this letter, we present electrical and magnetic characteristics of HfO2-based metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors (MOSCAPs), along with the effect of pseudomorphic Si as a passivating interlayer on GaAs(001) grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Ultrathin HfO2 high-k gate dielectric films (3–15 nm) have been grown on Si/GaAs(001) structures through evaporation of a Hf/HfO2 target in NO2 gas. The lowest interface states density Dit at Au/HfO2/Si/GaAs(001) MOS-structures were obtained in the range of (6−13)×101

Landscape science: a Russian geographical tradition

The Russian geographical tradition of landscape science (landshaftovedenie) is analyzed with particular reference to its initiator, Lev Semenovich Berg (1876-1950). The differences between prevailing Russian and Western concepts of landscape in geography are discussed, and their common origins in German geographical thought in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are delineated. It is argued that the principal differences are accounted for by a number of factors, of which Russia's own distinctive tradition in environmental science deriving from the work of V. V. Dokuchaev (1846-1903), the activities of certain key individuals (such as Berg and C. O. Sauer), and the very different social and political circumstances in different parts of the world appear to be the most significant. At the same time it is noted that neither in Russia nor in the West have geographers succeeded in specifying an agreed and unproblematic understanding of landscape, or more broadly in promoting a common geographical conception of human-environment relationships. In light of such uncertainties, the latter part of the article argues for closer international links between the variant landscape traditions in geography as an important contribution to the quest for sustainability

Semiconductor A3B5 nanostructures for infrared femtosecond lasers

Two techniques were suggested and tested for the recovery time shortening of saturable absorbers on a base of A3B5 compounds including quantum wells. The first one, proposed by authors, is the sample post-growth treatment by UV laser radiation; it implied generation of point defects, which, in its turn, led to electron-hole recombination acceleration and to recovery time shortening by an order of magnitude and more. Another technique based on special design of barriers gave promising results for the fast saturable absorbers. Semiconductor mirrors designed for Yb3+:KY(WO4)2 infrared laser mode locking led to 115 fs stable modelocking regime with average power close to CW operation. Results on fast saturable absorbers for spectral region of 1500 nm are also presented