2,002 research outputs found
Simulated response of a multispectral scanner over wheat as a function of wavelength and view/illumination direction
The reflectance response with view angle of wheat, was analyzed. The analyses, which assumes there are no atmospheric effects, and otherwise simulates the response of a multispectral scanner, is based upon spectra taken continuously in wavelength from 0.45 to 2.4 micrometers at more than 1200 view/illumination directions using an Exotech model 20C spectra radiometer. Data were acquired six meters above four wheat canopies, each at a different growth stage. The analysis shows that the canopy reflective response is a pronounced function of illumination angle, scanner view angle and wavelength. The variation is greater at low solar elevations compared to high solar elevations
Linear polarization of light by two wheat canopies measured at many view angles
The linear polarization and reflection of visible light by wheat as a function of sun-view directions, crop development stage, and wavelength were examined. Two-hundred spectra were taken continuously in wave-lengths from 0.45 to 0.72 Micron in 33 view directions using an Exotech model 20C spectroradiometer six meters above two wheat canopies in the boot and fully headed maturity stages. The analysis results show that the amount of linearly polarized light from the wheat canopies is greatest in the blue spectral region and decreases gradually with increasing wavelength. The results also show that the linearly polarized light from the canopies is generally greatest in the azimuth direction of the Sun and tends toward zero as the view direction tends toward the direction of the hot spot or anti-solar point. It is demonstrated that the single, angle of incidence of sunlight on the leaf, explains almost all of the variation of the amount of polarized light with Sun-view direction
Predicting polarization enhancement in multicomponent ferroelectric superlattices
Ab initio calculations are utilized as an input to develop a simple model of
polarization in epitaxial short-period CaTiO3/SrTiO3/BaTiO3 superlattices grown
on a SrTiO3 substrate. The model is then combined with a genetic algorithm
technique to optimize the arrangement of individual CaTiO3, SrTiO3 and BaTiO3
layers in a superlattice, predicting structures with the highest possible
polarization and a low in-plane lattice constant mismatch with the substrate.
This modelling procedure can be applied to a wide range of layered
perovskite-oxide nanostructures providing guidance for experimental development
of nanoelectromechanical devices with substantially improved polar properties.Comment: 4 pages, submitted to PR
Compositional Inversion Symmetry Breaking in Ferroelectric Perovskites
Ternary cubic perovskite compounds of the form A_(1/3)A'_(1/3)A''_(1/3)BO_3
and AB_(1/3)B'_(1/3)B''_(1/3)O_3, in which the differentiated cations form an
alternating series of monolayers, are studied using first-principles methods.
Such compounds are representative of a possible new class of materials in which
ferroelectricity is perturbed by compositional breaking of inversion symmetry.
For isovalent substitution on either sublattice, the ferroelectric double-well
potential is found to persist, but becomes sufficiently asymmetric that
minority domains may no longer survive. The strength of the symmetry breaking
is enormously stronger for heterovalent substitution, so that the double-well
behavior is completely destroyed. Possible means of tuning between these
behaviors may allow for the optimization of resulting materials properties.Comment: 4 pages, two-column style with 3 postscript figures embedded. Uses
REVTEX and epsf macros. Also available at
http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~dhv/preprints/index.html#sai_is
Spontaneous polarization and piezoelectric constants of III-V nitrides
The spontaneous polarization, dynamical Born charges, and piezoelectric
constants of the III-V nitrides AlN, GaN, and InN are studied ab initio using
the Berry phase approach to polarization in solids. The piezoelectric constants
are found to be up 10 times larger than in conventional III-V's and II-VI's,
and comparable to those of ZnO. Further properties at variance with those of
conventional III-V compounds are the sign of the piezoelectric constants
(positive as in II-VI's) and the very large spontaneous polarization.Comment: RevTeX 4 pages, improved upon revie
Dynamics of Phononic Dissipation at the Atomic Scale: Dependence on Internal Degrees of Freedom
Dynamics of dissipation of a local phonon distribution to the substrate is a
key issue in friction between sliding surfaces as well as in boundary
lubrication. We consider a model system consisting of an excited nano-particle
which is weakly coupled with a substrate. Using three different methods we
solve the dynamics of energy dissipation for different types of coupling
between the nano-particle and the substrate, where different types of
dimensionality and phonon densities of states were also considered for the
substrate. In this paper, we present our analysis of transient properties of
energy dissipation via phonon discharge in the microscopic level towards the
substrate. Our theoretical analysis can be extended to treat realistic
lubricant molecules or asperities, and also substrates with more complex
densities of states. We found that the decay rate of the nano-particle phonons
increases as the square of the interaction constant in the harmonic
approximation.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Accurate calculation of polarization-related quantities in semiconductors
We demonstrate that polarization-related quantities in semiconductors can be
predicted accurately from first-principles calculations using the appropriate
approach to the problem, the Berry-phase polarization theory. For III-V
nitrides, our test case, we find polarizations, polarization differences
between nitride pairs, and piezoelectric constants quite close to their
previously established values. Refined data are nevertheless provided for all
the relevant quantities.Comment: RevTeX 4 pages, no figure
Ideal barriers to polarization reversal and domain-wall motion in strained ferroelectric thin films
The ideal intrinsic barriers to domain switching in c-phase PbTiO_3 (PTO),
PbZrO_3 (PZO), and PbZr_{1-x}Ti_xO_3 (PZT) are investigated via
first-principles computational methods. The effects of epitaxial strain on the
atomic structure, ferroelectric response, barrier to coherent domain reversal,
domain-wall energy, and barrier to domain-wall translation are studied. It is
found that PTO has a larger polarization, but smaller energy barrier to domain
reversal, than PZO. Consequentially the idealized coercive field is over two
times smaller in PTO than PZO. The Ti--O bond length is more sensitive to
strain than the other bonds in the crystals. This results in the polarization
and domain-wall energy in PTO having greater sensitivity to strain than in PZO.
Two ordered phases of PZT are considered, the rock-salt structure and a (100)
PTO/PZO superlattice. In these simple structures we find that the ferroelectric
properties do not obey Vergard's law, but instead can be approximated as an
average over individual 5-atom unit cells.Comment: 9 pages, 13 figure
Managing the supercell approximation for charged defects in semiconductors: finite size scaling, charge correction factors, the bandgap problem and the ab initio dielectric constant
The errors arising in ab initio density functional theory studies of
semiconductor point defects using the supercell approximation are analyzed. It
is demonstrated that a) the leading finite size errors are inverse linear and
inverse cubic in the supercell size, and b) finite size scaling over a series
of supercells gives reliable isolated charged defect formation energies to
around +-0.05 eV. The scaled results are used to test three correction methods.
The Makov-Payne method is insufficient, but combined with the scaling
parameters yields an ab initio dielectric constant of 11.6+-4.1 for InP. Gamma
point corrections for defect level dispersion are completely incorrect, even
for shallow levels, but re-aligning the total potential in real-space between
defect and bulk cells actually corrects the electrostatic defect-defect
interaction errors as well. Isolated defect energies to +-0.1 eV are then
obtained using a 64 atom supercell, though this does not improve for larger
cells. Finally, finite size scaling of known dopant levels shows how to treat
the band gap problem: in less than about 200 atom supercells with no
corrections, continuing to consider levels into the theoretical conduction band
(extended gap) comes closest to experiment. However, for larger cells or when
supercell approximation errors are removed, a scissors scheme stretching the
theoretical band gap onto the experimental one is in fact correct.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures (6 figure files). Accepted for Phys Rev
Ab Initio Calculation of Impurity Effects in Copper Oxide Materials
We describe a method for calculating, within density functional theory, the
electronic structure associated with typical defects which substitute for Cu in
the CuO2 planes of high-Tc superconducting materials. The focus is primarily on
Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8, the material on which most STM measurements of impurity
resonances in the superconducting state have been performed. The magnitudes of
the effective potentials found for Zn, Ni and vacancies on the in-plane Cu
sites in this host material are remarkably consistent with phenomenological
fits of potential scattering models to STM resonance energies. The effective
potential ranges are quite short, of order 1 A with weak long range tails, in
contrast to some current models of extended potentials which attempt to fit STM
data. For the case of Zn and Cu vacancies, the effective potentials are
strongly repulsive, and states on the impurity site near the Fermi level are
simply removed. The local density of states (LDOS) just above the impurity is
nevertheless found to be a maximum in the case of Zn and a local minimum in
case of the vacancy, in agreement with experiment. The Zn and Cu vacancy
patterns are explained as due to the long-range tails of the effective impurity
potential at the sample surface. The case of Ni is richer due to the Ni atom's
strong hybridization with states near the Fermi level; in particular, the short
range part of the potential is attractive, and the LDOS is found to vary
rapidly with distance from the surface and from the impurity site. We propose
that the current controversy surrounding the observed STM patterns can be
resolved by properly accounting for the effective impurity potentials and
wave-functions near the cuprate surface. Other aspects of the impurity states
for all three species are discussed.Comment: 37 pp. pdf including figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
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