201 research outputs found
Photoconductance Quantization in a Single-Photon Detector
We have made a single-photon detector that relies on photoconductive gain in
a narrow electron channel in an AlGaAs/GaAs 2-dimensional electron gas. Given
that the electron channel is 1-dimensional, the photo-induced conductance has
plateaus at multiples of the quantum conductance 2e/h. Super-imposed on
these broad conductance plateaus are many sharp, small, conductance steps
associated with single-photon absorption events that produce individual
photo-carriers. This type of photoconductive detector could measure a single
photon, while safely storing and protecting the spin degree of freedom of its
photo-carrier. This function is valuable for a quantum repeater that would
allow very long distance teleportation of quantum information.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Optimized local modes for lattice dynamical applications
We present a new scheme for the construction of highly localized lattice
Wannier functions. The approach is based on a heuristic criterion for
localization and takes the symmetry constraints into account from the start. We
compare the local modes thus obtained with those generated by other schemes and
find that they also provide a better description of the relevant vibrational
subspace.Comment: 6 pages, ReVTeX, plus four postscript files for figure
Electronic Structure of Te and As Covered Si(211)
Electronic and atomic structures of the clean, and As and Te covered Si(211)
surface are studied using pseudopotential density functional method. The clean
surface is found to have (2 X 1) and rebonded (1 X 1) reconstructions as stable
surface structures, but no \pi-bonded chain reconstruction. Binding energies of
As and Te adatoms at a number of symmetry sites on the ideal and (2 X 1)
reconstructed surfaces have been calculated because of their importance in the
epitaxial growth of CdTe and other materials on the Si(211) surface. The
special symmetry sites on these surfaces having the highest binding energies
for isolated As and Te adatoms are identified. But more significantly, several
sites are found to be nearly degenerate in binding energy values. This has
important consequences for epitaxial growth processes. Optimal structures
calculated for 0.5 ML of As and Te coverage reveal that the As adatoms dimerize
on the surface while the Te adatoms do not. However, both As and Te covered
surfaces are found to be metallic in nature.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Surfactant effect in heteroepitaxial growth. The Pb - Co/Cu(111) case
A MonteCarlo simulations study has been performed in order to study the
effect of Pb as surfactant on the initial growth stage of Co/Cu(111). The main
characteristics of Co growing over Cu(111) face, i.e. the decorated double
layer steps, the multiple layer islands and the pools of vacancies, disappear
with the pre-evaporation of a Pb monolayer. Through MC simulations, a full
picture of these complex processes is obtained. Co quickly diffuses through the
Pb monolayer exchanging place with Cu atoms at the substrate. The exchange
process diffusion inhibits the formation of pure Co islands, reducing the
surface stress and then the formation of multilayer islands and the pools of
vacancies. On the other hand, the random exchange also suppress the nucleation
preferential sites generated by Co atoms at Cu steps, responsible of the step
decoration.Comment: 4 pages, latex, 2 figures embedded in the tex
An Effective-Medium Tight-Binding Model for Silicon
A new method for calculating the total energy of Si systems is presented. The
method is based on the effective-medium theory concept of a reference system.
Instead of calculating the energy of an atom in the system of interest a
reference system is introduced where the local surroundings are similar. The
energy of the reference system can be calculated selfconsistently once and for
all while the energy difference to the reference system can be obtained
approximately. We propose to calculate it using the tight-binding LMTO scheme
with the Atomic-Sphere Approximation(ASA) for the potential, and by using the
ASA with charge-conserving spheres we are able to treat open system without
introducing empty spheres. All steps in the calculational method is {\em ab
initio} in the sense that all quantities entering are calculated from first
principles without any fitting to experiment. A complete and detailed
description of the method is given together with test calculations of the
energies of phonons, elastic constants, different structures, surfaces and
surface reconstructions. We compare the results to calculations using an
empirical tight-binding scheme.Comment: 26 pages (11 uuencoded Postscript figures appended), LaTeX,
CAMP-090594-
Tight-binding g-Factor Calculations of CdSe Nanostructures
The Lande g-factors for CdSe quantum dots and rods are investigated within
the framework of the semiempirical tight-binding method. We describe methods
for treating both the n-doped and neutral nanostructures, and then apply these
to a selection of nanocrystals of variable size and shape, focusing on
approximately spherical dots and rods of differing aspect ratio. For the
negatively charged n-doped systems, we observe that the g-factors for
near-spherical CdSe dots are approximately independent of size, but show strong
shape dependence as one axis of the quantum dot is extended to form rod-like
structures. In particular, there is a discontinuity in the magnitude of
g-factor and a transition from anisotropic to isotropic g-factor tensor at
aspect ratio ~1.3. For the neutral systems, we analyze the electron g-factor of
both the conduction and valence band electrons. We find that the behavior of
the electron g-factor in the neutral nanocrystals is generally similar to that
in the n-doped case, showing the same strong shape dependence and discontinuity
in magnitude and anisotropy. In smaller systems the g-factor value is dependent
on the details of the surface model. Comparison with recent measurements of
g-factors for CdSe nanocrystals suggests that the shape dependent transition
may be responsible for the observations of anomalous numbers of g-factors at
certain nanocrystal sizes.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures. Fixed typos to match published versio
Determination of the parameters of semiconducting CdF2:In with Schottky barriers from radio-frequency measurements
Physical properties of semiconducting CdF_2 crystals doped with In are
determined from measurements of the radio-frequency response of a sample with
Schottky barriers at frequencies 10 - 10^6 Hz. The dc conductivity, the
activation energy of the amphoteric impurity, and the total concentration of
the active In ions in CdF_2 are found through an equivalent-circuit analysis of
the frequency dependencies of the sample complex impedance at temperatures from
20 K to 300 K. Kinetic coefficients determining the thermally induced
transitions between the deep and the shallow states of the In impurity and the
barrier height between these states are obtained from the time-dependent
radio-frequency response after illumination of the material. The results on the
low-frequency conductivity in CdF_2:In are compared with submillimeter (10^{11}
- 10^{12} Hz) measurements and with room-temperature infrared measurements of
undoped CdF_2. The low-frequency impedance measurements of semiconductor
samples with Schottky barriers are shown to be a good tool for investigation of
the physical properties of semiconductors.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure
Spin-orbit coupling and crystal-field splitting in the electronic and optical properties of nitride quantum dots with a wurtzite crystal structure
We present an tight-binding model for the calculation of the
electronic and optical properties of wurtzite semiconductor quantum dots (QDs).
The tight-binding model takes into account strain, piezoelectricity, spin-orbit
coupling and crystal-field splitting. Excitonic absorption spectra are
calculated using the configuration interaction scheme. We study the electronic
and optical properties of InN/GaN QDs and their dependence on structural
properties, crystal-field splitting, and spin-orbit coupling.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
Atomic-scale perspective on the origin of attractive step interactions on Si(113)
Recent experiments have shown that steps on Si(113) surfaces self-organize
into bunches due to a competition between long-range repulsive and short-range
attractive interactions. Using empirical and tight-binding interatomic
potentials, we investigate the physical origin of the short-range attraction,
and report the formation and interaction energies of steps. We find that the
short-range attraction between steps is due to the annihilation of force
monopoles at their edges as they combine to form bunches. Our results for the
strengths of the attractive interactions are consistent with the values
determined from experimental studies on kinetics of faceting.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev B, Rapid Communication
Electronic states and optical properties of GaAs/AlAs and GaAs/vacuum superlattices by the linear combination of bulk bands method
The linear combination of bulk bands method recently introduced by Wang,
Franceschetti and Zunger [Phys. Rev. Lett.78, 2819 (1997)] is applied to a
calculation of energy bands and optical constants of (GaAs)/(AlAs) and
(GaAs)/(vacuum) (001) superlattices with n ranging from 4 to 20.
Empirical pseudopotentials are used for the calculation of the bulk energy
bands. Quantum-confined induced shifts of critical point energies are
calculated and are found to be larger for the GaAs/vacuum system. The
peak in the absorption spectra has a blue shift and splits into two peaks for
decreasing superlattice period; the transition instead is found to be
split for large-period GaAs/AlAs superlattices. The band contribution to linear
birefringence of GaAs/AlAs superlattices is calculated and compared with recent
experimental results of Sirenko et al. [Phys. Rev. B 60, 8253 (1999)]. The
frequency-dependent part reproduces the observed increase with decreasing
superlattice period, while the calculated zero-frequency birefringence does not
account for the experimental results and points to the importance of
local-field effects.Comment: 10 pages, 11 .eps figures, 1 tabl
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