Anti-resonance scattering at defect levels in the quantum conductance of a one-dimensional system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Z. Z.; Wang, Y. P.; Wang, X. R.

2002-03-01

For the ballistic quantum transport, the conductance of one channel is quantized to a value of 2e^2/h described by the Landauer formula. In the presence of defects, electrons will be scattered by these defects. Thus the conductance will deviate from the values of the quantized conductance. We show that an anti-resonance scattering can occur when an extra defect level is introduced into a conduction band. At the anti-resonance scattering, exact one quantum conductance is destroyed. The conductance takes a non-zero value when the Fermi energy is away from the anti-resonance scattering. The result is consistent with recent numerical calculations given by H. J. Choi et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 2917(2000)) and P. L. McEuen et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 5098(1999)).

Unconventional transport in ultraclean graphene constriction devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pita Vidal, Marta; Ma, Qiong; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Jarillo-Herrero, Pablo

Under mesoscopic conditions, strong electron-electron interactions and weak electron-phonon coupling in graphene lead to hydrodynamic behavior of electrons, resulting in unusual and unexpected transport phenomena. Specifically, this hydrodynamical collective cooperation of electrons is predicted to enhance the flow of electrical current, leading to a striking higher-than-ballistic conductance through a narrow geometrical constriction. To access the hydrodynamic regime, we fabricated high-quality, low-disorder graphene nano-constriction devices encapsulated by hexagonal boron nitride, where electron-electron scattering dominates impurity scattering. We will report on our systematic four-probe conductance measurements on devices with different constriction widths as a function of number density and temperature. The observation of quantum transport phenomena that are inconsistent with the non-interacting ballistic free-fermion model would suggest a macroscopic transport signature of electron viscosity.

Development of an electron-ion coincidence apparatus for molecular-frame electron energy loss spectroscopy studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watanabe, Noboru; Hirayama, Tsukasa; Yamada, So; Takahashi, Masahiko

2018-04-01

We report details of an electron-ion coincidence apparatus, which has been developed for molecular-frame electron energy loss spectroscopy studies. The apparatus is mainly composed of a pulsed electron gun, an energy-dispersive electron spectrometer, and an ion momentum imaging spectrometer. Molecular-orientation dependence of the high-energy electron scattering cross section can be examined by conducting measurements of vector correlation between the momenta of the scattered electron and fragment ion. Background due to false coincidences is significantly reduced by introducing a pulsed electron beam and pulsing scheme of ion extraction. The experimental setup has been tested by measuring the inner-shell excitation of N2 at an incident electron energy of 1.5 keV and a scattering angle of 10.2°.

Electron-hole collision limited transport in charge-neutral bilayer graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nam, Youngwoo; Ki, Dong-Keun; Soler-Delgado, David; Morpurgo, Alberto F.

2017-12-01

Ballistic transport occurs whenever electrons propagate without collisions deflecting their trajectory. It is normally observed in conductors with a negligible concentration of impurities, at low temperature, to avoid electron-phonon scattering. Here, we use suspended bilayer graphene devices to reveal a new regime, in which ballistic transport is not limited by scattering with phonons or impurities, but by electron-hole collisions. The phenomenon manifests itself in a negative four-terminal resistance that becomes visible when the density of holes (electrons) is suppressed by gate-shifting the Fermi level in the conduction (valence) band, above the thermal energy. For smaller densities, transport is diffusive, and the measured conductivity is reproduced quantitatively, with no fitting parameters, by including electron-hole scattering as the only process causing velocity relaxation. Experiments on a trilayer device show that the phenomenon is robust and that transport at charge neutrality is governed by the same physics. Our results provide a textbook illustration of a transport regime that had not been observed previously and clarify the nature of conduction through charge-neutral graphene under conditions in which carrier density inhomogeneity is immaterial. They also demonstrate that transport can be limited by a fully electronic mechanism, originating from the same microscopic processes that govern the physics of Dirac-like plasmas.

Theoretical study of the criteria and consequences of hydrodynamic electron flow in graphene.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adam, Shaffique; Ho, Derek; Yudhistira, Indra; Chakraborty, Nilotpal

Experiments on graphene electrons have succeeded in entering the hydrodynamic regime, as demonstrated by successful observations of Wiedemann-Franz law violations, and evidence for electron vortices. The hydrodynamic regime is expected to occur when electron-electron interactions dominate over all other electron collision mechanisms. We calculate the electron-electron, electron-impurity and electron-phonon scattering rates as a function of temperature, charge doping and disorder (charge puddle) strength. We find that there exists a window in parameter space where electron-electron scattering dominates and hydrodynamic effects become observable. However, we also find that disorder induced carrier density inhomogeneity continues to play an important role in the vicinity of charge neutrality, even in the strongly interacting hydrodynamic regime. For example, although the ratio of thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity show a violation of the Wiedemann-Franz law in the aforementioned experiment, the electrical conductivity as a function of temperature still follows a disorder-driven universal scaling theory first predicted in This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Singapore (NRF-NRFF2012-01).

The Electronic Thermal Conductivity of Graphene.

PubMed

Kim, Tae Yun; Park, Cheol-Hwan; Marzari, Nicola

2016-04-13

Graphene, as a semimetal with the largest known thermal conductivity, is an ideal system to study the interplay between electronic and lattice contributions to thermal transport. While the total electrical and thermal conductivity have been extensively investigated, a detailed first-principles study of its electronic thermal conductivity is still missing. Here, we first characterize the electron-phonon intrinsic contribution to the electronic thermal resistivity of graphene as a function of doping using electronic and phonon dispersions and electron-phonon couplings calculated from first-principles at the level of density-functional theory and many-body perturbation theory (GW). Then, we include extrinsic electron-impurity scattering using low-temperature experimental estimates. Under these conditions, we find that the in-plane electronic thermal conductivity κe of doped graphene is ∼300 W/mK at room temperature, independently of doping. This result is much larger than expected and comparable to the total thermal conductivity of typical metals, contributing ∼10% to the total thermal conductivity of bulk graphene. Notably, in samples whose physical or domain sizes are of the order of few micrometers or smaller, the relative contribution coming from the electronic thermal conductivity is more important than in the bulk limit, because lattice thermal conductivity is much more sensitive to sample or grain size at these scales. Last, when electron-impurity scattering effects are included we find that the electronic thermal conductivity is reduced by 30 to 70%. We also find that the Wiedemann-Franz law is broadly satisfied at low and high temperatures but with the largest deviations of 20-50% around room temperature.

Absolute Negative Resistance Induced by Directional Electron-Electron Scattering in a Two-Dimensional Electron Gas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaya, Ismet I.

2007-03-01

A ballistic conductor is restricted to have positive three terminal resistance just as a Drude conductor. Intercarrier scattering does not influence the conductivity of the latter transport regime and does not exist in the former. However, as the electron energies increased, in the intermediate regime, single or few intercarrier scattering events starts to dominate the transport properties of a conductor with sufficiently small dimensions. A three-terminal device formed by two electrostatic barriers crossing an asymmetrically patterned two dimensional electron gas displays an unusual potential depression at the middle contact, yielding absolute negative resistance. The device displays momentum and current transfer ratios that far exceed unity. The observed reversal of the current or potential in the middle terminal is interpreted as the analog of Bernoulli's effect in a Fermi liquid. The results are explained by directional scattering of electrons in two dimensions.

Thermal conductivity engineering in width-modulated silicon nanowires and thermoelectric efficiency enhancement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zianni, Xanthippi

2018-03-01

Width-modulated nanowires have been proposed as efficient thermoelectric materials. Here, the electron and phonon transport properties and the thermoelectric efficiency are discussed for dimensions above the quantum confinement regime. The thermal conductivity decreases dramatically in the presence of thin constrictions due to their ballistic thermal resistance. It shows a scaling behavior upon the width-modulation rate that allows for thermal conductivity engineering. The electron conductivity also decreases due to enhanced boundary scattering by the constrictions. The effect of boundary scattering is weaker for electrons than for phonons and the overall thermoelectric efficiency is enhanced. A ZT enhancement by a factor of 20-30 is predicted for width-modulated nanowires compared to bulk silicon. Our findings indicate that width-modulated nanostructures are promising for developing silicon nanostructures with high thermoelectric efficiency.

Independent control of electrical and heat conduction by nanostructure designing for Si-based thermoelectric materials

PubMed Central

Yamasaka, Shuto; Watanabe, Kentaro; Sakane, Shunya; Takeuchi, Shotaro; Sakai, Akira; Sawano, Kentarou; Nakamura, Yoshiaki

2016-01-01

The high electrical and drastically-low thermal conductivities, a vital goal for high performance thermoelectric (TE) materials, are achieved in Si-based nanoarchitecture composed of Si channel layers and epitaxial Ge nanodots (NDs) with ultrahigh areal density (~1012 cm−2). In this nanoarchitecture, the ultrasmall NDs and Si channel layers play roles of phonon scattering sources and electrical conduction channels, respectively. Electron conductivity in n-type nanoacrhitecture shows high values comparable to those of epitaxial Si films despite the existence of epitaxial NDs. This is because Ge NDs mainly scattered not electrons but phonons selectively, which could be attributed to the small conduction band offset at the epitaxially-grown Si/Ge interface and high transmission probability through stacking faults. These results demonstrate an independent control of thermal and electrical conduction for phonon-glass electron-crystal TE materials by nanostructure designing and the energetic and structural interface control. PMID:26973092

Thermal transport across metal silicide-silicon interfaces: First-principles calculations and Green's function transport simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadasivam, Sridhar; Ye, Ning; Feser, Joseph P.; Charles, James; Miao, Kai; Kubis, Tillmann; Fisher, Timothy S.

2017-02-01

Heat transfer across metal-semiconductor interfaces involves multiple fundamental transport mechanisms such as elastic and inelastic phonon scattering, and electron-phonon coupling within the metal and across the interface. The relative contributions of these different transport mechanisms to the interface conductance remains unclear in the current literature. In this work, we use a combination of first-principles calculations under the density functional theory framework and heat transport simulations using the atomistic Green's function (AGF) method to quantitatively predict the contribution of the different scattering mechanisms to the thermal interface conductance of epitaxial CoSi2-Si interfaces. An important development in the present work is the direct computation of interfacial bonding from density functional perturbation theory (DFPT) and hence the avoidance of commonly used "mixing rules" to obtain the cross-interface force constants from bulk material force constants. Another important algorithmic development is the integration of the recursive Green's function (RGF) method with Büttiker probe scattering that enables computationally efficient simulations of inelastic phonon scattering and its contribution to the thermal interface conductance. First-principles calculations of electron-phonon coupling reveal that cross-interface energy transfer between metal electrons and atomic vibrations in the semiconductor is mediated by delocalized acoustic phonon modes that extend on both sides of the interface, and phonon modes that are localized inside the semiconductor region of the interface exhibit negligible coupling with electrons in the metal. We also provide a direct comparison between simulation predictions and experimental measurements of thermal interface conductance of epitaxial CoSi2-Si interfaces using the time-domain thermoreflectance technique. Importantly, the experimental results, performed across a wide temperature range, only agree well with predictions that include all transport processes: elastic and inelastic phonon scattering, electron-phonon coupling in the metal, and electron-phonon coupling across the interface.

Tuning the effective fine structure constant in graphene: opposing effects of dielectric screening on short- and long-range potential scattering.

PubMed

Jang, C; Adam, S; Chen, J-H; Williams, E D; Das Sarma, S; Fuhrer, M S

2008-10-03

We reduce the dimensionless interaction strength alpha in graphene by adding a water overlayer in ultrahigh vacuum, thereby increasing dielectric screening. The mobility limited by long-range impurity scattering is increased over 30%, due to the background dielectric constant enhancement leading to a reduced interaction of electrons with charged impurities. However, the carrier-density-independent conductivity due to short-range impurities is decreased by almost 40%, due to reduced screening of the impurity potential by conduction electrons. The minimum conductivity is nearly unchanged, due to canceling contributions from the electron-hole puddle density and long-range impurity mobility. Experimental data are compared with theoretical predictions with excellent agreement.

Conduction band fluctuation scattering due to alloy clustering in barrier layers in InAlN/GaN heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Qun; Chen, Qian; Chong, Jing

2017-12-01

In InAlN/GaN heterostructures, alloy clustering-induced InAlN conduction band fluctuations interact with electrons penetrating into the barrier layers and thus affect the electron transport. Based on the statistical description of InAlN compositional distribution, a theoretical model of the conduction band fluctuation scattering (CBFS) is presented. The model calculations show that the CBFS-limited mobility decreases with increasing two-dimensional electron gas sheet density and is inversely proportional to the squared standard deviation of In distribution. The AlN interfacial layer can effectively suppress the CBFS via decreasing the penetration probability. This model is directed towards understanding the transport properties in heterostructure materials with columnar clusters.

A first-principles analysis of ballistic conductance, grain boundary scattering and vertical resistance in aluminum interconnects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Tianji; Lanzillo, Nicholas A.; Bhosale, Prasad; Gall, Daniel; Quon, Roger

2018-05-01

We present an ab initio evaluation of electron scattering mechanisms in Al interconnects from a back-end-of-line (BEOL) perspective. We consider the ballistic conductance as a function of nanowire size, as well as the impact of surface oxidation on electron transport. We also consider several representative twin grain boundaries and calculate the specific resistivity and reflection coefficients for each case. Lastly, we calculate the vertical resistance across the Al/Ta(N)/Al and Cu/Ta(N)/Cu interfaces, which are representative of typical vertical interconnect structures with diffusion barriers. Despite a high ballistic conductance, the calculated specific resistivities at grain boundaries are 70-100% higher in Al than in Cu, and the vertical resistance across Ta(N) diffusion barriers are 60-100% larger for Al than for Cu. These results suggest that in addition to the well-known electromigration limitations in Al interconnects, electron scattering represents a major problem in achieving low interconnect line resistance at fine dimensions.

Electronic thermal conductivity and the Wiedemann-Franz law for unconventional superconductors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Graf, M.J.; Yip, S.; Sauls, J.A.

1996-06-01

We use the quasiclassical theory of superconductivity to calculate the electronic contribution to the thermal conductivity. The theory is formulated for low temperatures when heat transport is limited by electron scattering from random defects and for superconductors with nodes in the order parameter. We show that certain eigenvalues of the thermal conductivity tensor are universal at low temperature, {ital k}{sub {ital BT}}{lt}{gamma}, where {gamma} is the bandwidth of impurity bound states in the superconducting phase. The components of the electrical and thermal conductivity also obey a Wiedemann-Franz law with the Lorenz ratio {ital L}({ital T})={kappa}/{sigma}{ital T} given by the Sommerfeldmore » value of {ital L}{sub {ital S}}=({pi}{sup 2}/3)({ital k}{sub {ital B}}/{ital e}){sup 2} for {ital k}{sub {ital BT}}{lt}{gamma}. For intermediate temperatures the Lorenz ratio deviates significantly from {ital L}{sub {ital S}}, and is strongly dependent on the scattering cross section, and qualitatively different for resonant vs nonresonant scattering. We include comparisons with other theoretical calculations and the thermal conductivity data for the high-{ital T}{sub {ital c}} cuprate and heavy fermion superconductors. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}« less

Fractional conductance oscillations in quantum rings: wave packet picture of transport in a few-electron system.

PubMed

Chwiej, T; Szafran, B

2013-04-17

We study electron transfer across a two-terminal quantum ring using a time-dependent description of the scattering process. For the considered scattering event the quantum ring is initially charged with one or two electrons, with another electron incident to the ring from the input channel. We study the electron transfer probability (T) as a function of the external magnetic field. We determine the periodicity of T for a varied number of electrons confined within the ring. For that purpose we develop a method to describe the wave packet dynamics for a few electrons participating in the scattering process, taking into full account the electron-electron correlations. We find that electron transfer across the quantum ring initially charged by a single electron acquires a distinct periodicity of half of the magnetic flux quantum (Φ0/2), corresponding to the formation of a transient two-electron state inside the ring. In the case of a three-electron scattering problem with two electrons initially occupying the ring, a period of Φ0/3 for T is formed in the limit of thin channels. The effect of disorder present in the confinement potential of the ring is also discussed.

CDW fluctuations and the pseudogap in the single-particle conductivity of quasi-1D Peierls CDW systems: II.

PubMed

Kupčić, I; Rukelj, Z; Barišić, S

2014-05-14

The current-dipole Kubo formula for the dynamical conductivity of interacting multiband electronic systems derived in Kupčić et al (2013 J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 25 145602) is illustrated on the Peierls model for quasi-one-dimensional systems with the charge-density-wave (CDW) instability. Using the microscopic representation of the Peierls model, it is shown in which way the scattering of conduction electrons by CDW fluctuations affects the dynamical conductivity at temperatures above and well below the CDW transition temperature. The generalized Drude formula for the intraband conductivity is derived in the ordered CDW state well below the transition temperature. The natural extension of this formula to the case where the intraband memory function is dependent on frequency and wave vectors is also presented. It is shown that the main adventage of such a memory-function conductivity model is that it can be easily extended to study the dynamical conductivity and the electronic Raman scattering in more complicated multiband electronic systems in a way consistent with the law of conservation of energy. The incoherent interband conductivity in the CDW pseudogap state is briefly discussed as well.

Diffraction data of core-shell nanoparticles from an X-ray free electron laser

DOE PAGES

Li, Xuanxuan; Chiu, Chun -Ya; Wang, Hsiang -Ju; ...

2017-04-11

X-ray free-electron lasers provide novel opportunities to conduct single particle analysis on nanoscale particles. Coherent diffractive imaging experiments were performed at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Laboratory, exposing single inorganic core-shell nanoparticles to femtosecond hard-X-ray pulses. Each facetted nanoparticle consisted of a crystalline gold core and a differently shaped palladium shell. Scattered intensities were observed up to about 7 nm resolution. Analysis of the scattering patterns revealed the size distribution of the samples, which is consistent with that obtained from direct real-space imaging by electron microscopy. Furthermore, scattering patterns resulting from single particles were selected and compiledmore » into a dataset which can be valuable for algorithm developments in single particle scattering research.« less

The Effect of Precipitating Electrons and Ions on Ionospheric Conductance and Inner Magnetospheric Electric Fields 142106

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, M.; Lemon, C.; Hecht, J. H.; Evans, J. S.; Boyd, A. J.

2016-12-01

We investigate how scattering of electrons by waves and of ions by field-line curvature in the inner magnetosphere affect precipitating energy flux distributions and how the precipitating particles modify the ionospheric conductivity and electric potentials during magnetic storms. We examine how particle precipitation in the evening sector affects the development of the Sub-Auroral Polarization Stream (SAPS) electric field that is observed at sub-auroral latitudes in that sector as well as the electric field in the morning sector. Our approach is to use the magnetically and electrically self-consistent Rice Convection Model - Equilibrium (RCM-E) of the inner magnetosphere to simulate the stormtime precipitating particle distributions and the electric field. We use parameterized rates of whistler-generated electron pitch-angle scattering from Orlova and Shprits [JGR, 2014] that depend on equatorial radial distance, magnetic activity (Kp), and magnetic local time (MLT) outside the simulated plasmasphere. Inside the plasmasphere, parameterized scattering rates due to hiss [Orlova et al., GRL, 2014] are employed. Our description for the rate of ion scattering is more simplistic. We assume that the ions are scattered at a fraction of strong pitch-angle scattering where the fraction is scaled by epsilon, the ratio of the gyroradius to the field-line radius of curvature, when epsilon is greater than 0.1. We compare simulated trapped and precipitating electron/ion flux distributions with measurements from Van Allen Probes/MagEIS, POES and DMSP, respectively, to validate the particle loss models. DMSP observations of electric fields are compared with the simulation results. We discuss the effect of precipitating electrons and ions on the SAPS and the inner magnetospheric electric field through the data-model comparisons.

Validity criteria for Fermi's golden rule scattering rates applied to metallic nanowires.

PubMed

Moors, Kristof; Sorée, Bart; Magnus, Wim

2016-09-14

Fermi's golden rule underpins the investigation of mobile carriers propagating through various solids, being a standard tool to calculate their scattering rates. As such, it provides a perturbative estimate under the implicit assumption that the effect of the interaction Hamiltonian which causes the scattering events is sufficiently small. To check the validity of this assumption, we present a general framework to derive simple validity criteria in order to assess whether the scattering rates can be trusted for the system under consideration, given its statistical properties such as average size, electron density, impurity density et cetera. We derive concrete validity criteria for metallic nanowires with conduction electrons populating a single parabolic band subjected to different elastic scattering mechanisms: impurities, grain boundaries and surface roughness.

Hot Electron Injection into Uniaxially Strained Silicon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Hyun Soo

In semiconductor spintronics, silicon attracts great attention due to the long electron spin lifetime. Silicon is also one of the most commonly used semiconductor in microelectronics industry. The spin relaxation process of diamond crystal structure such as silicon is dominant by Elliot-Yafet mechanism. Yafet shows that intravalley scattering process is dominant. The conduction electron spin lifetime measured by electron spin resonance measurement and electronic measurement using ballistic hot electron method well agrees with Yafet's theory. However, the recent theory predicts a strong contribution of intervalley scattering process such as f-process in silicon. The conduction band minimum is close the Brillouin zone edge, X point which causes strong spin mixing at the conduction band. A recent experiment of electric field-induced hot electron spin relaxation also shows the strong effect of f-process in silicon. In uniaxially strained silicon along crystal axis [100], the suppression of f-process is predicted which leads to enhance electron spin lifetime. By inducing a change in crystal structure due to uniaxial strain, the six fold degeneracy becomes two fold degeneracy, which is valley splitting. As the valley splitting increases, intervalley scattering is reduced. A recent theory predicts 4 times longer electron spin lifetime in 0.5% uniaxially strained silicon. In this thesis, we demonstrate ballistic hot electron injection into silicon under various uniaxial strain. Spin polarized hot electron injection under strain is experimentally one of the most challenging part to measure conduction electron spin lifetime in silicon. Hot electron injection adopts tunnel junction which is a thin oxide layer between two conducting materials. Tunnel barrier, which is an oxide layer, is only 4 ˜ 5 nm thick. Also, two conducting materials are only tens of nanometer. Therefore, under high pressure to apply 0.5% strain on silicon, thin films on silicon substrate can be easily destroyed. In order to confirm the performance of tunnel junction, we use tunnel magnetoresistance(TMR). TMR consists of two kinds of ferromagnetic materials and an oxide layer as tunnel barrier in order to measure spin valve effect. Using silicon as a collector with Schottky barrier interface between metal and silicon, ballistic hot spin polarized electron injection into silicon is demonstrated. We also observed change of coercive field and magnetoresistance due to modification of local states in ferromagnetic materials and surface states at the interface between metal and silicon due to strain.

Thermal Conductivity in Nanoporous Gold Films during Electron-Phonon Nonequilibrium

DOE PAGES

Hopkins, Patrick E.; Norris, Pamela M.; Phinney, Leslie M.; ...

2008-01-01

The reduction of nanodevices has given recent attention to nanoporous materials due to their structure and geometry. However, the thermophysical properties of these materials are relatively unknown. In this article, an expression for thermal conductivity of nanoporous structures is derived based on the assumption that the finite size of the ligaments leads to electron-ligament wall scattering. This expression is then used to analyze the thermal conductivity of nanoporous structures in the event of electron-phonon nonequilibrium.

Temperature dependence of electron impact ionization coefficient in bulk silicon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmed, Mowfaq Jalil

2017-09-01

This work exhibits a modified procedure to compute the electron impact ionization coefficient of silicon for temperatures between 77 and 800K and electric fields ranging from 70 to 400 kV/cm. The ionization coefficients are computed from the electron momentum distribution function through solving the Boltzmann transport equation (BTE). The arrangement is acquired by joining Legendre polynomial extension with BTE. The resulting BTE is solved by differences-differential method using MATLAB®. Six (X) equivalent ellipsoidal and non-parabolic valleys of the conduction band of silicon are taken into account. Concerning the scattering mechanisms, the interval acoustic scattering, non-polar optical scattering and II scattering are taken into consideration. This investigation showed that the ionization coefficients decrease with increasing temperature. The overall results are in good agreement with previous experimental and theoretical reported data predominantly at high electric fields.

Four-phonon scattering significantly reduces intrinsic thermal conductivity of solids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Tianli; Lindsay, Lucas; Ruan, Xiulin

2017-10-01

For decades, the three-phonon scattering process has been considered to govern thermal transport in solids, while the role of higher-order four-phonon scattering has been persistently unclear and so ignored. However, recent quantitative calculations of three-phonon scattering have often shown a significant overestimation of thermal conductivity as compared to experimental values. In this Rapid Communication we show that four-phonon scattering is generally important in solids and can remedy such discrepancies. For silicon and diamond, the predicted thermal conductivity is reduced by 30% at 1000 K after including four-phonon scattering, bringing predictions in excellent agreement with measurements. For the projected ultrahigh-thermal conductivity material, zinc-blende BAs, a competitor of diamond as a heat sink material, four-phonon scattering is found to be strikingly strong as three-phonon processes have an extremely limited phase space for scattering. The four-phonon scattering reduces the predicted thermal conductivity from 2200 to 1400 W/m K at room temperature. The reduction at 1000 K is 60%. We also find that optical phonon scattering rates are largely affected, being important in applications such as phonon bottlenecks in equilibrating electronic excitations. Recognizing that four-phonon scattering is expensive to calculate, in the end we provide some guidelines on how to quickly assess the significance of four-phonon scattering, based on energy surface anharmonicity and the scattering phase space. Our work clears the decades-long fundamental question of the significance of higher-order scattering, and points out ways to improve thermoelectrics, thermal barrier coatings, nuclear materials, and radiative heat transfer.

Orbitally-driven giant phonon anharmonicity in SnSe

DOE PAGES

Li, Chen W.; Hong, Jiawang; May, Andrew F.; ...

2015-10-19

We understand that elementary excitations and their couplings in condensed matter systems is critical to develop better energy-conversion devices. In thermoelectric materials, the heat-to-electricity conversion efficiency is directly improved by suppressing the propagation of phonon quasiparticles responsible for macroscopic thermal transport. The material with the current record for thermoelectric conversion efficiency, SnSe, achieves an ultra-low thermal conductivity, but the mechanism enabling this strong phonon scattering remains largely unknown. Using inelastic neutron scattering measurements and first-principles simulations, we mapped the four-dimensional phonon dispersion surfaces of SnSe, and revealed the origin of ionic-potential anharmonicity responsible for the unique properties of SnSe. Wemore » show that the giant phonon scattering arises from an unstable electronic structure, with orbital interactions leading to a ferroelectric-like lattice instability. Our results provide a microscopic picture connecting electronic structure and phonon anharmonicity in SnSe, and offers precious insights on how electron-phonon and phononphonon interactions may lead to the realization of ultra-low thermal conductivity.« less

Anomalous satellite inductive peaks in alternating current response of defective carbon nanotubes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hirai, Daisuke; Watanabe, Satoshi; Yamamoto, Takahiro

2014-05-07

AC response of defective metallic carbon nanotubes is investigated from first principles. We found that capacitive peaks appear at electron scattering states. Moreover, we show that satellite inductive peaks are seen adjacent to a main capacitive peak, which is in contrast to the conductance spectra having no satellite features. The appearance of satellite inductive peaks seems to depend on the scattering states. Our analysis with a simple resonant scattering model reveals that the origin of the satellite inductive peaks can be understood by just one parameter, i.e., the lifetime of electrons at a defect state.

Validity criteria for Fermi’s golden rule scattering rates applied to metallic nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moors, Kristof; Sorée, Bart; Magnus, Wim

2016-09-01

Fermi’s golden rule underpins the investigation of mobile carriers propagating through various solids, being a standard tool to calculate their scattering rates. As such, it provides a perturbative estimate under the implicit assumption that the effect of the interaction Hamiltonian which causes the scattering events is sufficiently small. To check the validity of this assumption, we present a general framework to derive simple validity criteria in order to assess whether the scattering rates can be trusted for the system under consideration, given its statistical properties such as average size, electron density, impurity density et cetera. We derive concrete validity criteria for metallic nanowires with conduction electrons populating a single parabolic band subjected to different elastic scattering mechanisms: impurities, grain boundaries and surface roughness.

Optimizing the thermoelectric performance of graphene nano-ribbons without degrading the electronic properties.

PubMed

Tran, Van-Truong; Saint-Martin, Jérôme; Dollfus, Philippe; Volz, Sebastian

2017-05-24

The enhancement of thermoelectric figure of merit ZT requires to either increase the power factor or reduce the phonon conductance, or even both. In graphene, the high phonon thermal conductivity is the main factor limiting the thermoelectric conversion. The common strategy to enhance ZT is therefore to introduce phonon scatterers to suppress the phonon conductance while retaining high electrical conductance and Seebeck coefficient. Although thermoelectric performance is eventually enhanced, all studies based on this strategy show a significant reduction of the electrical conductance. In this study we demonstrate that appropriate sources of disorder, including isotopes and vacancies at lowest electron density positions, can be used as phonon scatterers to reduce the phonon conductance in graphene ribbons without degrading the electrical conductance, particularly in the low-energy region which is the most important range for device operation. By means of atomistic calculations we show that the natural electronic properties of graphene ribbons can be fully preserved while their thermoelectric efficiency is strongly enhanced. For ribbons of width M = 5 dimer lines, room-temperature ZT is enhanced from less than 0.26 to more than 2.5. This study is likely to set the milestones of a new generation of nano-devices with dual electronic/thermoelectric functionalities.

Quantum Critical Quasiparticle Scattering within the Superconducting State of CeCoIn_{5}.

PubMed

Paglione, Johnpierre; Tanatar, M A; Reid, J-Ph; Shakeripour, H; Petrovic, C; Taillefer, Louis

2016-07-01

The thermal conductivity κ of the heavy-fermion metal CeCoIn_{5} was measured in the normal and superconducting states as a function of temperature T and magnetic field H, for a current and field parallel to the [100] direction. Inside the superconducting state, when the field is lower than the upper critical field H_{c2}, κ/T is found to increase as T→0, just as in a metal and in contrast to the behavior of all known superconductors. This is due to unpaired electrons on part of the Fermi surface, which dominate the transport above a certain field. The evolution of κ/T with field reveals that the electron-electron scattering (or transport mass m^{⋆}) of those unpaired electrons diverges as H→H_{c2} from below, in the same way that it does in the normal state as H→H_{c2} from above. This shows that the unpaired electrons sense the proximity of the field-tuned quantum critical point of CeCoIn_{5} at H^{⋆}=H_{c2} even from inside the superconducting state. The fact that the quantum critical scattering of the unpaired electrons is much weaker than the average scattering of all electrons in the normal state reveals a k-space correlation between the strength of pairing and the strength of scattering, pointing to a common mechanism, presumably antiferromagnetic fluctuations.

Non Fermi Liquid Crossovers in a Quasi-One-Dimensional Conductor in an Inclined Magnetic Field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lebed, Andrei

We consider a theoretical problem of electron-electron scattering time in a quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) conductor in a magnetic field, perpendicular to its conducting axis. We show that inverse electron-electron scattering time becomes of the order of characteristic electron energy, 1 / τ ~ ɛ ~ T , in a high magnetic field, directed far from the main crystallographic axes, which indicates breakdown of the Fermi liquid theory. In a magnetic field, directed close to one of the main crystallographic axis, inverse electron-electron scattering time becomes much smaller than characteristic electron energy and, thus, applicability of Fermi liquid theory restores. We suggest that there exist crossovers between Fermi liquid and some non Fermi liquid states in a strong enough inclined magnetic field. Application of our results to the Q1D conductor (Per)2Au(mnt)2 shows that it has to be possible to observe the above mentioned phenomenon in feasibly high magnetic fields of the order of H >=H* ~= 25 T . It was partially supported by NFS grant DMR-1104512.

Electride Mediated Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, Mark S. (Inventor)

2016-01-01

An electride may provide surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The electride, a compound where the electrons serve as anions, may be a ceramic electride, such as a conductive ceramic derived from mayenite, or an organic electride, for example. The textured electride surface or electride particles may strongly enhance the Raman scattering of organic or other Raman active analytes. This may also provide a sensitive method for monitoring the chemistry and electronic environment at the electride surface. The results are evidence of a new class of polariton (i.e., a surface electride-polariton resonance mechanism) that is analogous to the surface plasmon-polariton resonance that mediates conventional SERS.

Comparison of the ultrafast hot electron dynamics of titanium nitride and gold for plasmonic applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doiron, Brock; Li, Yi; Mihai, Andrei P.; Cohen, Lesley F.; Petrov, Peter K.; Alford, Neil M.; Oulton, Rupert F.; Maier, Stefan A.

2017-08-01

With similar optical properties to gold and high thermal stability, titanium nitride continues to prove itself as a promising plasmonic material for high-temperature applications in the visible and near-infrared. In this work, we use transient pump probe differential reflection measurements to compare the electron energy decay channels in titanium nitride and gold thin films. Using an extended two temperature model to incorporate the photoexcited electrons, it is possible to separate the electron-electron and electron-phonon scattering contributions immediately following the arrival of the pump pulse. This model allows for incredibly accurate determination of the internal electronic properties using only optical measurements. As the electronic properties are key in hot electron applications, we show that titanium nitide has substantially longer electron thermalization and electron-phonon scattering times. With this, we were also able to resolve electron thermal conduction in the film using purely optical measurements.

Modeling long recovery early events (LOREs) produced by lightning-induced ionization of the nighttime upper mesosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kotovsky, D. A.; Moore, R. C.

2017-07-01

We present results of a cylindrically symmetric, coupled electrodynamic, and photochemical model which simulates diffuse ionization of the middle atmosphere induced by strong lightning discharges (peak currents >150 kA). Scattering of subionospherically propagating, very low frequency radio waves is then evaluated using the Long-Wave Propagation Capability code. Some modeled sprite halos exhibit continued electron density growth up to timescales of seconds due to O- detachment, though it is not yet clear how this might relate to the slower onset durations (>20 ms) of some early VLF events. Modeled electron density enhancements in sprite halos, capable of strong VLF scattering, can persist for long periods of time (greater than hundreds of seconds) even at lower altitudes where their recovery is initially controlled by fast attachment processes. Consequently, our modeling results indicate that both typical recovery (20 to 240 s) and long recovery (LOREs, >300 s) VLF scattering events can be explained by scattering from conductivity changes associated with sprite halos. In contrast, modeled scattered fields resulting from elve-associated conductivity changes, though exhibiting long recovery times, are too weak to sufficiently explain typical LORE observations. Theoretical scattering from structured ionization events (e.g., sprites columns and gigantic jets) is not considered in this work.

Diffusive charge transport in graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Jianhao

The physical mechanisms limiting the mobility of graphene on SiO 2 are studied and printed graphene devices on a flexible substrate are realized. Intentional addition of charged scattering impurities is used to study the effects of charged impurities. Atomic-scale defects are created by noble-gas ions irradiation to study the effect of unitary scatterers. The results show that charged impurities and atomic-scale defects both lead to conductivity linear in density in graphene, with a scattering magnitude that agrees quantitatively with theoretical estimates. While charged impurities cause intravalley scattering and induce a small change in the minimum conductivity, defects in graphene scatter electrons between the valleys and suppress the minimum conductivity below the metallic limit. Temperature-dependent measurements show that longitudinal acoustic phonons in graphene produce a small resistivity which is linear in temperature and independent of carrier density; at higher temperatures, polar optical phonons of the SiO2 substrate give rise to an activated, carrier density-dependent resistivity. Graphene is also made into high mobility transparent and flexible field effect device via the transfer-printing method. Together the results paint a complete picture of charge carrier transport in graphene on SiO2 in the diffusive regime, and show the promise of graphene as a novel electronic material that have potential applications not only on conventional inorganic substrates, but also on flexible substrates.

Electron Scattering and Doping Mechanisms in Solid-Phase-Crystallized In2O3:H Prepared by Atomic Layer Deposition.

PubMed

Macco, Bart; Knoops, Harm C M; Kessels, Wilhelmus M M

2015-08-05

Hydrogen-doped indium oxide (In2O3:H) has recently emerged as an enabling transparent conductive oxide for solar cells, in particular for silicon heterojunction solar cells because its high electron mobility (>100 cm(2)/(V s)) allows for a simultaneously high electrical conductivity and optical transparency. Here, we report on high-quality In2O3:H prepared by a low-temperature atomic layer deposition (ALD) process and present insights into the doping mechanism and the electron scattering processes that limit the carrier mobility in such films. The process consists of ALD of amorphous In2O3:H at 100 °C and subsequent solid-phase crystallization at 150-200 °C to obtain large-grained polycrystalline In2O3:H films. The changes in optoelectronic properties upon crystallization have been monitored both electrically by Hall measurements and optically by analysis of the Drude response. After crystallization, an excellent carrier mobility of 128 ± 4 cm(2)/(V s) can be obtained at a carrier density of 1.8 × 10(20) cm(-3), irrespective of the annealing temperature. Temperature-dependent Hall measurements have revealed that electron scattering is dominated by unavoidable phonon and ionized impurity scattering from singly charged H-donors. Extrinsic defect scattering related to material quality such as grain boundary and neutral impurity scattering was found to be negligible in crystallized films indicating that the carrier mobility is maximized. Furthermore, by comparison of the absolute H-concentration and the carrier density in crystallized films, it is deduced that <4% of the incorporated H is an active dopant in crystallized films. Therefore, it can be concluded that inactive H atoms do not (significantly) contribute to defect scattering, which potentially explains why In2O3:H films are capable of achieving a much higher carrier mobility than conventional In2O3:Sn (ITO).

Suppression of Electron Thermal Conduction by Whistler Turbulence in a Sustained Thermal Gradient

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roberg-Clark, G. T.; Drake, J. F.; Reynolds, C. S.; Swisdak, M.

2018-01-01

The dynamics of weakly magnetized collisionless plasmas in the presence of an imposed temperature gradient along an ambient magnetic field is explored with particle-in-cell simulations and modeling. Two thermal reservoirs at different temperatures drive an electron heat flux that destabilizes off-angle whistler-type modes. The whistlers grow to large amplitude, δ B /B0≃1 , and resonantly scatter the electrons, significantly reducing the heat flux. Surprisingly, the resulting steady-state heat flux is largely independent of the thermal gradient. The rate of thermal conduction is instead controlled by the finite propagation speed of the whistlers, which act as mobile scattering centers that convect the thermal energy of the hot reservoir. The results are relevant to thermal transport in high-β astrophysical plasmas such as hot accretion flows and the intracluster medium of galaxy clusters.

Quantum critical quasiparticle scattering within the superconducting state of CeCoIn 5

DOE PAGES

Paglione, Johnpierre; Tanatar, M. A.; Reid, J.-Ph.; ...

2016-06-27

Here, the thermal conductivity κ of the heavy-fermion metal CeCoIn 5 was measured in the normal and superconducting states as a function of temperature T and magnetic field H, for a current and field parallel to the [100] direction. Inside the superconducting state, when the field is lower than the upper critical field H c2, κ/T is found to increase as T→0, just as in a metal and in contrast to the behavior of all known superconductors. This is due to unpaired electrons on part of the Fermi surface, which dominate the transport above a certain field. The evolution ofmore » κ/T with field reveals that the electron-electron scattering (or transport mass m*) of those unpaired electrons diverges as H→H c2 from below, in the same way that it does in the normal state as H→H c2 from above. This shows that the unpaired electrons sense the proximity of the field-tuned quantum critical point of CeCoIn 5 at H*=H c2 even from inside the superconducting state. In conclusion, the fact that the quantum critical scattering of the unpaired electrons is much weaker than the average scattering of all electrons in the normal state reveals a k-space correlation between the strength of pairing and the strength of scattering, pointing to a common mechanism, presumably antiferromagnetic fluctuations.« less

Effect of asymmetric interface on charge and spin transport across two dimensional electron gas with Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling/ferromagnet junction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srisongmuang, B.; Pasanai, K.

2018-04-01

We theoretically studied the effect of interfacial scattering on the transport of charge and spin across the junction of a two-dimensional electron gas with Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling and ferromagnetic material junction, via the conductance (G) and the spin-polarization of the conductance spectra (P) using the scattering method. At the interface, not only were the effects of spin-conserving (Z0) and spin-flip scattering (Zf) considered, but also the interfacial Rashba spin-orbit coupling scattering (ZRSOC) , which was caused by the asymmetry of the interface, was taken into account, and all of them were modeled by the delta potential. It was found that G was suppressed with increasing Z0 , as expected. Interestingly, a particular value of Zf can cause G and P to reach a maximum value. In particular, ZRSOC plays a crucial role to reduce G and P in the metallic limit, but its influence on the tunneling limit was quite weak. On the other hand, the effect of ZRSOC was diminished in the tunneling limit of the magnetic junction.

Vibrational inelastic scattering effects in molecular electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ness, H.; Fisher, A. J.

2005-06-01

We describe how to treat the interaction of traveling electrons with localized vibrational modes in nanojunctions. We present a multichannel scattering technique, which can be applied to calculate the transport properties for realistic systems, and we show how it is related to other methods that are useful in particular cases. We apply our technique to describe recent experiments on the conductance through molecular junctions. Author contributions: H.N. and A.J.F. designed research and wrote the paper; and H.N. performed research and analyzed data.This paper was submitted directly (Track II) to the PNAS office.Abbreviations: IETS, inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy; SSSM, single-site, single-vibrational mode; e-ph, electron-phonon.

Enhanced electron mobility at the two-dimensional metallic surface of BaSnO3 electric-double-layer transistor at low temperatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujiwara, Kohei; Nishihara, Kazuki; Shiogai, Junichi; Tsukazaki, Atsushi

2017-05-01

Wide-bandgap oxides exhibiting high electron mobility hold promise for the development of useful electronic and optoelectronic devices as well as for basic research on two-dimensional electron transport phenomena. A perovskite-type tin oxide, BaSnO3, is currently one of such targets owing to distinctly high mobility at room temperature. The challenge to overcome towards the use of BaSnO3 thin films in applications is suppression of dislocation scattering, which is one of the dominant scattering origins for electron transport. Here, we show that the mobility of the BaSnO3 electric-double-layer transistor reaches 300 cm2 V-1 s-1 at 50 K. The improved mobility indicates that charged dislocation scattering is effectively screened by electrostatically doped high-density charge carriers. We also observed metallic conduction persisting down to 2 K, which is attributed to the transition to the degenerate semiconductor. The experimental verification of bulk-level mobility at the densely accumulated surface sheds more light on the importance of suppression of dislocation scattering by interface engineering in doped BaSnO3 thin films for transparent electrode applications.

Substitution of Ni for Fe in superconducting Fe 0.98 Te 0.5 Se 0.5 depresses the normal-state conductivity but not the magnetic spectral weight

DOE PAGES

Wang, Jinghui; Zhong, Ruidan; Li, Shichao; ...

2015-01-05

We have performed systematic resistivity and inelastic neutron scattering measurements on Fe₀.₉₈₋ zNi zTe₀.₅Se₀.₅ samples to study the impact of Ni substitution on the transport properties and the low-energy (≤ 12 meV) magnetic excitations. It is found that, with increasing Ni doping, both the conductivity and superconductivity are gradually suppressed; in contrast, the low-energy magnetic spectral weight changes little. Comparing with the impact of Co and Cu substitution, we find that the effects on conductivity and superconductivity for the same degree of substitution grow systematically as the atomic number of the substituent deviates from that of Fe. The impact ofmore » the substituents as scattering centers appears to be greater than any contribution to carrier concentration. The fact that low-energy magnetic spectral weight is not reduced by increased electron scattering indicates that the existence of antiferromagnetic correlations does not depend on electronic states close to the Fermi energy.« less

Directly Characterizing the Relative Strength and Momentum Dependence of Electron-Phonon Coupling Using Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Devereaux, T. P.; Shvaika, A. M.; Wu, K.

The coupling between lattice and charge degrees of freedom in condensed matter materials is ubiquitous and can often result in interesting properties and ordered phases, including conventional superconductivity, charge-density wave order, and metal-insulator transitions. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and both neutron and nonresonant x-ray scattering serve as effective probes for determining the behavior of appropriate, individual degrees of freedom—the electronic structure and lattice excitation, or phonon dispersion, respectively. However, each provides less direct information about the mutual coupling between the degrees of freedom, usually through self-energy effects, which tend to renormalize and broaden spectral features precisely where the coupling is strong,more » impacting one’s ability to quantitatively characterize the coupling. Here, we demonstrate that resonant inelastic x-ray scattering, or RIXS, can be an effective tool to directly determine the relative strength and momentum dependence of the electron-phonon coupling in condensed matter systems. Using a diagrammatic approach for an eight-band model of copper oxides, we study the contributions from the lowest-order diagrams to the full RIXS intensity for a realistic scattering geometry, accounting for matrix element effects in the scattering cross section, as well as the momentum dependence of the electron-phonon coupling vertex. A detailed examination of these maps offers a unique perspective into the characteristics of electron-phonon coupling, which complements both neutron and nonresonant x-ray scattering, as well as Raman and infrared conductivity.« less

Directly Characterizing the Relative Strength and Momentum Dependence of Electron-Phonon Coupling Using Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering

DOE PAGES

Devereaux, T. P.; Shvaika, A. M.; Wu, K.; ...

2016-10-25

The coupling between lattice and charge degrees of freedom in condensed matter materials is ubiquitous and can often result in interesting properties and ordered phases, including conventional superconductivity, charge-density wave order, and metal-insulator transitions. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and both neutron and nonresonant x-ray scattering serve as effective probes for determining the behavior of appropriate, individual degrees of freedom—the electronic structure and lattice excitation, or phonon dispersion, respectively. However, each provides less direct information about the mutual coupling between the degrees of freedom, usually through self-energy effects, which tend to renormalize and broaden spectral features precisely where the coupling is strong,more » impacting one’s ability to quantitatively characterize the coupling. Here, we demonstrate that resonant inelastic x-ray scattering, or RIXS, can be an effective tool to directly determine the relative strength and momentum dependence of the electron-phonon coupling in condensed matter systems. Using a diagrammatic approach for an eight-band model of copper oxides, we study the contributions from the lowest-order diagrams to the full RIXS intensity for a realistic scattering geometry, accounting for matrix element effects in the scattering cross section, as well as the momentum dependence of the electron-phonon coupling vertex. A detailed examination of these maps offers a unique perspective into the characteristics of electron-phonon coupling, which complements both neutron and nonresonant x-ray scattering, as well as Raman and infrared conductivity.« less

Scattering of charge and spin excitations and equilibration of a one-dimensional Wigner crystal

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Matveev, K. A.; Andreev, A. V.; Klironomos, A. D.

2014-07-01

We study scattering of charge and spin excitations in a system of interacting electrons in one dimension. At low densities, electrons form a one-dimensional Wigner crystal. To a first approximation, the charge excitations are the phonons in the Wigner crystal, and the spin excitations are described by the Heisenberg model with nearest-neighbor exchange coupling. This model is integrable and thus incapable of describing some important phenomena, such as scattering of excitations off each other and the resulting equilibration of the system. We obtain the leading corrections to this model, including charge-spin coupling and the next-nearest-neighbor exchange in the spin subsystem.more » We apply the results to the problem of equilibration of the one-dimensional Wigner crystal and find that the leading contribution to the equilibration rate arises from scattering of spin excitations off each other. We discuss the implications of our results for the conductance of quantum wires at low electron densities« less

Coherent Diffractive Imaging: From Nanometric Down to Picometric Resolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Caro, Liberato; Carlino, Elvio; Siliqi, Dritan; Giannini, Cinzia

Coherent diffractive imaging (CDI) is a novel technique for inspecting (crystalline and non-crystalline) matter from nanometric down to picometric resolution. It was used originally with X-rays and, more recently, with electrons (so-called electron diffractive imaging, or EDI). This chapter introduces basic concepts concerning CDI and addresses the different types of X-ray CDI experiments that have been conducted, namely plane wave CDI from isolated objects in forward scattering, focused-beam Fresnel CDI from isolated objects in forward scattering, Bragg CDI from nanocrystals, and keyhole CDI and ptychography from extended objects. A CDI experiment with a transmission electron microscope, alternatively named an EDI experiment, is also introduced.

Coulomb scattering rates of excited states in monolayer electron-doped germanene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shih, Po-Hsin; Chiu, Chih-Wei; Wu, Jhao-Ying; Do, Thi-Nga; Lin, Ming-Fa

2018-05-01

Excited conduction electrons, conduction holes, and valence holes in monolayer electron-doped germanene exhibit unusual Coulomb decay rates. The deexcitation processes are studied using the screened exchange energy. They might utilize the intraband single-particle excitations (SPEs), the interband SPEs, and the plasmon modes, depending on the quasiparticle states and the Fermi energies. The low-lying valence holes can decay through the undamped acoustic plasmon, so that they present very fast Coulomb deexcitations, nonmonotonous energy dependence, and anisotropic behavior. However, the low-energy conduction electrons and holes are similar to those in a two-dimensional electron gas. The higher-energy conduction states and the deeper-energy valence ones behave similarly in the available deexcitation channels and have a similar dependence of decay rate on the wave vector k .

Electronic transport properties of intermediately coupled superconductors: PdTe2 and Cu0.04PdTe2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hooda, M. K.; Yadav, C. S.

2018-01-01

We have investigated the electrical resistivity (1.8-480 K), Seebeck coefficient (2.5-300 K) and thermal conductivity (2.5-300 K) of PdTe2 and 4% Cu intercalated PdTe2 compounds. The electrical resistivity for the compounds shows a Bloch-Gruneisen-type linear temperature (T) dependence for 100 \\text{K}, and Fermi liquid behavior (ρ (T) \\propto T2) for T<50 \\text{K} . Seebeck coefficient data exhibit a strong competition between Normal (N) and Umklapp (U) scattering processes at low T. The low-T, thermal conductivity (κ) of the compounds is strongly dominated by the electronic contribution, and exhibits a rare linear T-dependence below 10 K. However, high-T, κ (T) shows the usual 1/T -dependence, dominated by the U-scattering process. The electron-phonon coupling parameters, estimated from the low-T, specific-heat data and first-principle electronic structure calculations suggest that PdTe2 and Cu0.04PdTe2 are intermediately coupled superconductors.

Calculation of the conductance of two dimensional narrow wires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kander, Ilan

1989-05-01

There is an interest in the quantum transport of electrons in systems where the sample dimensions are less than a phase coherence length L(sub phi) which is the distance across which the electrons lose phase memory (typically by inelastic scattering). The two-contact conductance is examined of 2-D systems (strips) as functions of Fermi energy system dimensions as is the amount of disorder at zero temperature. Under these conditions all scattering processes are elastic. The term channel is used in order to describe a quantum state with a given transverse quantum number and the appropriate longitudinal momentum. A channel is considered conducting if its longitudinal momentum is real, and decaying if its longitudinal momentum is imaginary. The calculation of the conductance is done in two ways. Transfer matrix for very long systems and Green's function for relatively short ones. The conductance curve in an ordered system is quantized and in a disordered system it is smeared. Interesting changes in the conductance near the thresholds for changes in the quantized value of the conductance are observed.

Role of charged impurities in thermoelectric transport in molybdenum disulfide monolayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patil, Sukanya B.; Sankeshwar, N. S.; Mulimani, B. G.

2017-12-01

A theoretical study of the electronic properties, namely, electrical conductivity (EC), electronic thermal conductivity (ETC) and thermoelectric power (TEP) in 2D MoS2 monolayers (MLs), over a wide range of temperatures (10  <  T  <  300 K), is presented employing Boltzmann transport formalism. Considering the electrons to be scattered by screened charged impurities and the acoustic, optical and remote phonons, the transport equation is solved using Ritz iterative method. Numerical calculations of EC, ETC and TEP presented for supported and free-standing MLs with high electron concentrations, as a function of temperature, bring out the relative importance of the various scattering mechanisms operative. The role of CIs, with regard to both concentration and separation from the substrate-ML interface, in determining the properties of supported MLs is demonstrated for the first time. Validity of Wiedemann-Franz law and Mott formula are examined for supported and free standing MLs. Calculations are in consonance with recent experimental data on mobility and TEP of exfoliated SiO2-supported MoS2 ML samples. In the case of TEP it is found that though the diffusion contribution is dominant the inclusion of the drag component, incorporating contributions from all relevant phonon scattering mechanisms, is needed to obtain good agreement with the data.

The effect of driven electron-phonon coupling on the electronic conductance of a polar nanowire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mardaani, Mohammad; Rabani, Hassan; Esmaili, Esmat; Shariati, Ashrafalsadat

2015-08-01

A semi-classical model is proposed to explore the effect of electron-phonon coupling on the coherent electronic transport of a polar chain which is confined between two rigid leads in the presence of an external electric field. To this end, we construct the model by means of Green's function technique within the nearest neighbor tight-binding and harmonic approximations. For a time-periodic electric field, the atomic displacements from the equilibrium positions are obtained precisely. The result is then used to compute the electronic transport properties of the chain within the Peierls-type model. The numerical results indicate that the conductance of the system shows interesting behavior in some special frequencies. For each special frequency, there is an electronic quasi-state in which the scattering of electrons by vibrating atoms reaches maximum. The system electronic conductance decreases dramatically at the strong electron-phonon couplings and low electron energies. In the presence of damping forces, the electron-phonon interaction has a less significant effect on the conductance.

Impact of finite temperatures on the transport properties of Gd from first principles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chadova, K.; Mankovsky, S.; Minár, J.; Ebert, H.

2017-03-01

Finite-temperature effects have a pronounced impact on the transport properties of solids. In magnetic systems, besides the scattering of conduction electrons by impurities and phonons, an additional scattering source coming from the magnetic degrees of freedom must be taken into account. A first-principle scheme which treats all these scattering effects on equal footing was recently suggested within the framework of the multiple scattering formalism. Employing the alloy analogy model treated by means of the CPA, thermal lattice vibrations and spin fluctuations are effectively taken into account. In the present work the temperature dependence of the longitudinal resistivity and the anomalous Hall effect in the strongly correlated metal Gd is considered. The comparison with experiments demonstrates that the proposed numerical scheme does provide an adequate description of the electronic transport at finite temperatures.

Electronic transport property in Weyl semimetal with local Weyl cone tilt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Liwei; Feng, Lanting; Yao, Haibo; Zheng, Yisong

2018-03-01

In realistic materials of Weyl semimetal (WSM), the Weyl cone tilt (WCT) is allowed due to the absence of Lorentz invariance in condensed matter physics. In this context, we theoretically study the electronic transport property in WSM with the local WCT as the scattering mechanism. In so doing, we establish an electronic transport structure of WSM with the WCT occurring only in the central region sandwiched between two pieces of semi-infinite WSM without the WCT. By means of two complementary theoretical approaches, i.e. the continuum-model method and the lattice-model method, the electronic transmission probability, the conductivity and the Fano factor as functions of the incident electron energy are calculated respectively. We find that the WCT can give rise to nontrivial intervalley scattering, as a result, the Klein tunneling is notably suppressed. More importantly, the minimal conductivity of a WSM shifts in energy from the Weyl nodal point. The Fano factor of the shot noise deviates obviously from the sub-Poissonian value in a two dimensional WSM with the WCT.

Electron radiography

DOEpatents

Merrill, Frank E.; Morris, Christopher

2005-05-17

A system capable of performing radiography using a beam of electrons. Diffuser means receive a beam of electrons and diffuse the electrons before they enter first matching quadrupoles where the diffused electrons are focused prior to the diffused electrons entering an object. First imaging quadrupoles receive the focused diffused electrons after the focused diffused electrons have been scattered by the object for focusing the scattered electrons. Collimator means receive the scattered electrons and remove scattered electrons that have scattered to large angles. Second imaging quadrupoles receive the collimated scattered electrons and refocus the collimated scattered electrons and map the focused collimated scattered electrons to transverse locations on an image plane representative of the electrons' positions in the object.

Average-atom treatment of relaxation time in x-ray Thomson scattering from warm dense matter.

PubMed

Johnson, W R; Nilsen, J

2016-03-01

The influence of finite relaxation times on Thomson scattering from warm dense plasmas is examined within the framework of the average-atom approximation. Presently most calculations use the collision-free Lindhard dielectric function to evaluate the free-electron contribution to the Thomson cross section. In this work, we use the Mermin dielectric function, which includes relaxation time explicitly. The relaxation time is evaluated by treating the average atom as an impurity in a uniform electron gas and depends critically on the transport cross section. The calculated relaxation rates agree well with values inferred from the Ziman formula for the static conductivity and also with rates inferred from a fit to the frequency-dependent conductivity. Transport cross sections determined by the phase-shift analysis in the average-atom potential are compared with those evaluated in the commonly used Born approximation. The Born approximation converges to the exact cross sections at high energies; however, differences that occur at low energies lead to corresponding differences in relaxation rates. The relative importance of including relaxation time when modeling x-ray Thomson scattering spectra is examined by comparing calculations of the free-electron dynamic structure function for Thomson scattering using Lindhard and Mermin dielectric functions. Applications are given to warm dense Be plasmas, with temperatures ranging from 2 to 32 eV and densities ranging from 2 to 64 g/cc.

Average-atom treatment of relaxation time in x-ray Thomson scattering from warm dense matter

DOE PAGES

Johnson, W. R.; Nilsen, J.

2016-03-14

Here, the influence of finite relaxation times on Thomson scattering from warm dense plasmas is examined within the framework of the average-atom approximation. Presently most calculations use the collision-free Lindhard dielectric function to evaluate the free-electron contribution to the Thomson cross section. In this work, we use the Mermin dielectric function, which includes relaxation time explicitly. The relaxation time is evaluated by treating the average atom as an impurity in a uniform electron gas and depends critically on the transport cross section. The calculated relaxation rates agree well with values inferred from the Ziman formula for the static conductivity andmore » also with rates inferred from a fit to the frequency-dependent conductivity. Transport cross sections determined by the phase-shift analysis in the average-atom potential are compared with those evaluated in the commonly used Born approximation. The Born approximation converges to the exact cross sections at high energies; however, differences that occur at low energies lead to corresponding differences in relaxation rates. The relative importance of including relaxation time when modeling x-ray Thomson scattering spectra is examined by comparing calculations of the free-electron dynamic structure function for Thomson scattering using Lindhard and Mermin dielectric functions. Applications are given to warm dense Be plasmas, with temperatures ranging from 2 to 32 eV and densities ranging from 2 to 64 g/cc.« less

Orbitally driven giant phonon anharmonicity in SnSe

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, C. W.; Hong, J.; May, A. F.

Understanding elementary excitations and their couplings in condensed matter systems is critical for developing better energy-conversion devices. In thermoelectric materials, the heat-to-electricity conversion efficiency is directly improved by suppressing the propagation of phonon quasiparticles responsible for macroscopic thermal transport. The current record material for thermoelectric conversion efficiency, SnSe, has an ultralow thermal conductivity, but the mechanism behind the strong phonon scattering remains largely unknown. From inelastic neutron scattering measurements and first-principles simulations, we mapped the four-dimensional phonon dispersion surfaces of SnSe, and found the origin of the ionic-potential anharmonicity responsible for the unique properties of SnSe. We show that themore » giant phonon scattering arises from an unstable electronic structure, with orbital interactions leading to a ferroelectric-like lattice instability. The present results provide a microscopic picture connecting electronic structure and phonon anharmonicity in SnSe, and offers new insights on how electron–phonon and phonon–phonon interactions may lead to the realization of ultralow thermal conductivity.« less

Effects of Electron Scattering at Metal-Nonmetal Interfaces on Electron-Phonon Equilibration in Gold Films

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-01-26

dielectrics is a major concern in thermal boundary conductance studies . This aspect of energy transfer has been extensively studied and modeled on long...electron-phonon coupling in the particle. There have been only a small number of studies looking at electron-phonon relaxation around interfaces in thin...film systems. These studies avoid complications due to nanopar- ticle geometries i.e., capillary modes on determining the electron-phonon-interfacial

Subterahertz gyrotron developments for collective Thomson scattering in LHDa)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Notake, T.; Saito, T.; Tatematsu, Y.; Kubo, S.; Shimozuma, T.; Tanaka, K.; Nishiura, M.; Fujii, A.; Agusu, La; Ogawa, I.; Idehara, T.

2008-10-01

Collective Thomson scattering (CTS) is expected to provide the spatially resolved velocity distribution functions of not only thermal and tail ions but also alpha particles resulting from fusion reactions. CTS using gyrotrons with frequency higher than the conventional ones used for plasma heating would have advantages to alleviate refraction, cutoff effects, and background electron cyclotron emission noise. Therefore, a high-power pulse gyrotron operating at approximately 400 GHz is being developed for CTS in Large Helical Device (LHD). A single-mode oscillation with a frequency greater than 400 GHz, applying the second-harmonic resonance, was successfully demonstrated in the first stage. At the same time, concrete feasibility study based on ray tracing, scattering spectra, and electron cyclotron emission calculations has been conducted.

Low-temperature charged impurity scattering-limited conductivity in relatively high doped bilayer graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Bo

2015-08-01

Based on semiclassical Boltzamnn transport theory in random phase approximation, we develop a theoretical model to investigate low-temperature carrier transport properties in relatively high doped bilayer graphene. In the presence of both electron-hole puddles and band gap induced by charged impurities, we calculate low-temperature charged impurity scattering-limited conductivity in relatively high doped bilayer graphene. Our calculated conductivity results are in excellent agreement with published experimental data in all compensated gate voltage regime of study by using potential fluctuation parameter as only one free fitting parameter, indicating that both electron-hole puddles and band gap induced by charged impurities play an important role in carrier transport. More importantly, we also find that the conductivity not only depends strongly on the total charged impurity density, but also on the top layer charged impurity density, which is different from that obtained by neglecting the opening of band gap, especially for bilayer graphene with high top layer charged impurity density.

Ultrafast chemical interface scattering as an additional decay channel for nascent nonthermal electrons in small metal nanoparticles.

PubMed

Bauer, Christophe; Abid, Jean-Pierre; Fermin, David; Girault, Hubert H

2004-05-15

The use of 4.2 nm gold nanoparticles wrapped in an adsorbates shell and embedded in a TiO2 metal oxide matrix gives the opportunity to investigate ultrafast electron-electron scattering dynamics in combination with electronic surface phenomena via the surface plasmon lifetimes. These gold nanoparticles (NPs) exhibit a large nonclassical broadening of the surface plasmon band, which is attributed to a chemical interface damping. The acceleration of the loss of surface plasmon phase coherence indicates that the energy and the momentum of the collective electrons can be dissipated into electronic affinity levels of adsorbates. As a result of the preparation process, gold NPs are wrapped in a shell of sulfate compounds that gives rise to a large density of interfacial molecules confined between Au and TiO2, as revealed by Fourier-transform-infrared spectroscopy. A detailed analysis of the transient absorption spectra obtained by broadband femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy allows separating electron-electron and electron-phonon interaction. Internal thermalization times (electron-electron scattering) are determined by probing the decay of nascent nonthermal electrons (NNEs) and the build-up of the Fermi-Dirac electron distribution, giving time constants of 540 to 760 fs at 0.42 and 0.34 eV from the Fermi level, respectively. Comparison with literature data reveals that lifetimes of NNEs measured for these small gold NPs are more than four times longer than for silver NPs with similar sizes. The surprisingly long internal thermalization time is attributed to an additional decay mechanism (besides the classical e-e scattering) for the energy loss of NNEs, identified as the ultrafast chemical interface scattering process. NNEs experience an inelastic resonant scattering process into unoccupied electronic states of adsorbates, that directly act as an efficient heat bath, via the excitation of molecular vibrational modes. The two-temperature model is no longer valid for this system because of (i) the temporal overlap between the internal and external thermalization process is very important; (ii) a part of the photonic energy is directly transferred toward the adsorbates (not among "cold" conduction band electrons). These findings have important consequence for femtochemistry on metal surfaces since they show that reactions can be initiated by nascent nonthermal electrons (as photoexcited, out of a Fermi-Dirac distribution) besides of the hot electron gas.

Symposium N: Materials and Devices for Thermal-to-Electric Energy Conversion

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-08-24

X - ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and dynamic light scattering. Thermal conductivity measurements...SEM), X - ray diffraction (XRD) measurements as well as Raman spectroscopy. The results from these techniques indicate a clear modification...was examined by using scanning electron microscope (SEM; HITACHI S-4500 model) attached with an energy dispersive x - ray spectroscopy. The electrical

Electron thermal confinement in a partially stochastic magnetic structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morton, L. A.; Young, W. C.; Hegna, C. C.; Parke, E.; Reusch, J. A.; Den Hartog, D. J.

2018-04-01

Using a high-repetition-rate Thomson scattering diagnostic, we observe a peak in electron temperature Te coinciding with the location of a large magnetic island in the Madison Symmetric Torus. Magnetohydrodynamic modeling of this quasi-single helicity plasma indicates that smaller adjacent islands overlap with and destroy the large island flux surfaces. The estimated stochastic electron thermal conductivity ( ≈30 m 2/s ) is consistent with the conductivity inferred from the observed Te gradient and ohmic heating power. Island-shaped Te peaks can result from partially stochastic magnetic islands.

Theory of thermal conductivity in the disordered electron liquid

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schwiete, G., E-mail: schwiete@uni-mainz.de; Finkel’stein, A. M.

2016-03-15

We study thermal conductivity in the disordered two-dimensional electron liquid in the presence of long-range Coulomb interactions. We describe a microscopic analysis of the problem using the partition function defined on the Keldysh contour as a starting point. We extend the renormalization group (RG) analysis developed for thermal transport in the disordered Fermi liquid and include scattering processes induced by the long-range Coulomb interaction in the sub-temperature energy range. For the thermal conductivity, unlike for the electrical conductivity, these scattering processes yield a logarithmic correction that may compete with the RG corrections. The interest in this correction arises from themore » fact that it violates the Wiedemann–Franz law. We checked that the sub-temperature correction to the thermal conductivity is not modified either by the inclusion of Fermi liquid interaction amplitudes or as a result of the RG flow. We therefore expect that the answer obtained for this correction is final. We use the theory to describe thermal transport on the metallic side of the metal–insulator transition in Si MOSFETs.« less

Conductance spectra of asymmetric ferromagnet/ferromagnet/ferromagnet junctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pasanai, K.

2017-01-01

A theory of tunneling spectroscopy of ferromagnet/ferromagnet/ferromagnet junctions was studied. We applied a delta-functional approximation for the interface scattering properties under a one-dimensional system of a free electron approach. The reflection and transmission probabilities were calculated in the ballistic regime, and the conductance spectra were then calculated using the Landauer formulation. The magnetization directions were set to be either parallel (P) or anti-parallel (AP) alignments, for comparison. We found that the conductance spectra was suppressed when increasing the interfacial scattering at the interfaces. Moreover, the electron could exhibit direct transmission when the thickness was rather thin. Thus, there was no oscillation in this case. However, in the case of a thick layer the conductance spectra oscillated, and this oscillation was most prominent when the middle layer thickness increased. In the case of direct transmission, the conductance spectra of P and AP systems were definitely suppressed with increased exchange energy of the middle ferromagnet. This also refers to an increase in the magnetoresistance of the junction. In the case of oscillatory behavior, the positions of the resonance peaks were changed as the exchange energy was changed.

Comparisons of Simulated and Observed Sub-Auroral Polarization Stream (SAPS) during the 17 March 2013 Storm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, M.; Lemon, C.; Sazykin, S. Y.; Wolf, R.; Anderson, P. C.

2016-12-01

Sub-Auroral Polarization Streams (SAPS), characterized by large subauroral E x B velocities that span from dusk to the early morning sector for high magnetic activity, result from strong magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling. We investigate how electron and ion precipitation and the ionospheric conductance affect the simulated development of the SAPS electric field for the 17 March 2013 storm. Our approach is to use the magnetically and electrically self-consistent Rice Convection Model - Equilibrium (RCM-E) of the inner magnetosphere to simulate the SAPS. We use parameterized rates of whistler-generated electron pitch-angle scattering from Orlova and Shprits [JGR, 2014] that depend on equatorial radial distance, magnetic activity (Kp), and magnetic local time (MLT) outside the simulated plasmasphere. Inside the plasmasphere, parameterized scattering rates due to hiss [Orlova et al., GRL, 2014] are used. Ions are scattered at a fraction of strong pitch-angle scattering where the fraction is scaled by epsilon, the ratio of the gyroradius to the field-line radius of curvature, when epsilon is greater than 0.1. The electron and proton contributions to the auroral conductance in the RCM-E are calculated using the empirical Robinson et al. [JGR, 1987] and Galand and Richmond [JGR, 2001] equations, respectively. The "background" ionospheric conductance is based on parameters from the International Reference Ionosphere [Bilitza and Reinisch, JASR, 2008] but modified to include the effect of specified ionospheric troughs. Parameterized simulations will aid in understanding the underlying physical process. We compare simulated precipitating particle energy flux and E x B velocities with DMSP observations where SAPS are observed during the 17 March 2013 storm. Analysis of discerpancies between the simulation results and data will aid us in assessing needed improvements in the model.

Size- and temperature-dependent Hamaker constants for heterogeneous systems of interacting nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pinchuk, P.; Pinchuk, A. O.

2016-09-01

Hamaker-Lifshitz constants are used to calculate van der Waals interaction forces between small particles in solution. Typically, these constants are size-independent and material specific. According to the Lifshitz theory, the Hamaker-Lifshitz constants can be calculated by taking integrals that include the dielectric permittivity, as a function of frequency, of the interacting particles and the medium around particles. The dielectric permittivity of interacting metal nanoparticles can be calculated using the free-electron Drude model for metals. For bulk metals, the Drude model does is size independent. However, the conducting electrons in small metal nanoparticles exhibit surface scattering, which changes the complex dielectric permittivity function. Additionally, the Drude model can be modified to include temperature dependence. That is, an increase in temperature leads to thermal volume expansion and increased phonon population, which affect the scattering rate of the electrons and the plasma frequency. Both of these terms contribute significantly to the Drude model for the dielectric permittivity of the particles. In this work, we show theoretically that scattering of the free conducting electrons inside noble metal nanoparticles with the size of 1 - 50 nm leads to size-dependent dielectric permittivity and Hamaker-Lifshitz constants. In addition, we calculate numerically the Hamaker-Lifshitz constants for a variety of temperatures. The results of the study might be of interest for understanding colloidal stability of metal nanoparticles.

A method to investigate the electron scattering characteristics of ultrathin metallic films by in situ electrical resistance measurements.

PubMed

Trindade, I G; Fermento, R; Leitão, D; Sousa, J B

2009-07-01

In this article, a method to measure the electrical resistivity/conductivity of metallic thin films during layer growth on specific underlayers is described. The in situ monitoring of an underlayer electrical resistance, its change upon the incoming of new material atoms/molecules, and the growth of a new layer are presented. The method is easy to implement and allows obtaining in situ experimental curves of electrical resistivity dependence upon film thickness with a subatomic resolution, providing insight in film growth microstructure characteristics, specular/diffuse electron scattering surfaces, and optimum film thicknesses.

Electrical transport properties in indium tin oxide films prepared by electron-beam evaporation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, X. D.; Jiang, E. Y.; Zhang, D. X.

2008-10-01

Amorphous and polycrystalline indium tin oxide films have been prepared by electron-beam evaporation method. The amorphous films exhibit semiconductor behavior, while metallic conductivity is observed in the polycrystalline samples. The magnetoconductivities of the polycrystalline films are positive at low temperatures and can be well described by the theory of three-dimensional weak-localization effect. In addition, the electron phase-breaking rate is proportional to T3/2. Comparing the experimental results with theory, we find that the electron-electron scattering is the dominant destroyer of the constructive interference in the films. In addition, the Coulomb interaction is the main contribution to the nontrivial corrections for the electrical conductivity at low temperatures.

Quantized magnetoresistance in atomic-size contacts.

PubMed

Sokolov, Andrei; Zhang, Chunjuan; Tsymbal, Evgeny Y; Redepenning, Jody; Doudin, Bernard

2007-03-01

When the dimensions of a metallic conductor are reduced so that they become comparable to the de Broglie wavelengths of the conduction electrons, the absence of scattering results in ballistic electron transport and the conductance becomes quantized. In ferromagnetic metals, the spin angular momentum of the electrons results in spin-dependent conductance quantization and various unusual magnetoresistive phenomena. Theorists have predicted a related phenomenon known as ballistic anisotropic magnetoresistance (BAMR). Here we report the first experimental evidence for BAMR by observing a stepwise variation in the ballistic conductance of cobalt nanocontacts as the direction of an applied magnetic field is varied. Our results show that BAMR can be positive and negative, and exhibits symmetric and asymmetric angular dependences, consistent with theoretical predictions.

Size effect on thermoelectric properties of Bi2Te3 nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choudhary, K. K.; Sharma, Uttam; Lodhi, Pavitra Devi; Kaurav, Netram

2018-05-01

Bi2Te3 nanoparticles exhibit size dependent thermoelectric properties which gives an opportunity to tune the size for optimization of the thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT). We have quantitatively analyzed the thermoelectric properties of Bi2Te3 using phonon scattering mechanism by incorporating the scattering of phonons with defects, grain boundaries, electrons and Umklapp phonon scatterings. The maximum value of ZT = 0.92 is obtained at T = 400 K for 30 nm Bi2Te3 nanoparticles in comparison to ZT = 0.45 for 150 nm nanoparticles at the same temperature. With decrease in size of nanoparticles interface volume ratio increases which increase the phonon scatterings with grain boundaries and point defects, results in decrease in thermal conductivity due to reduction in mean free path of phonons. As a result of decrease in thermal conductivity (κ), Seeback coefficient (S) and ZT increases.

The effect of X-ray scattering by water in the irradiation of cell cultures for the dosimetric characterization of a new prototype of IORT (Intra-Operative Radiation Therapy) device: Monte Carlo simulation and experimental validation.

PubMed

Ceccolini, E; Ferrari, P; Castelluccio, D M; Mostacci, D; Sumini, M

2013-10-01

The electron beam emitted backward by plasma focus devices is being considered as a radiation source for Intra-Operative Radiation Therapy (IORT) applications. Radiobiological investigations have been conducted to assess the potential of this new prototype of IORT device. A standard x-ray beam, ISO-H60, was used for comparison, irradiating cell cultures in a holder filled with an aqueous solution. The influence of scattering by the culture water and by the walls of the holder was investigated to determine their influence on the dose delivered to the cell culture. MCNPX simulations were run and experimental measurements conducted. The effect of scattering by the holder was found to be negligible; scattering by the culture water was determined to give an increase in dose of the order of 10%.

Effect of Precipitating Electrons on Stormtime Inner Magnetospheric Electric Fields during the 17 March 2013 Storm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, M.; Lemon, C. L.; Sazykin, S. Y.; Wolf, R.; Hecht, J. H.; Walterscheid, R. L.; Boyd, A. J.; Turner, D. L.

2015-12-01

We investigate how scattering of electrons by waves in the plasma sheet and plasmasphere affects precipitating energy flux distributions and how the precipitating electrons modify the ionospheric conductivity and electric potentials during the large 17 March 2013 magnetic storm. Of particular interest is how electron precipitation in the evening sector affects the development of the Sub-auroral Polarization Stream (SAPS) electric field that is observed at sub-auroral latitudes in that sector. Our approach is to use the magnetically and electrically self-consistent Rice Convection Model - Equilibrium (RCM-E) of the inner magnetosphere to simulate the stormtime precipitating electron distributions and the electric field. We use parameterized rates of whistler-generated electron pitch-angle scattering from Orlova and Shprits [JGR, 2014] that depend on equatorial radial distance, magnetic activity (Kp), and magnetic local time (MLT) outside the simulated plasmasphere. Inside the plasmasphere, parameterized scattering rates due to hiss [Orlova et al., GRL, 2014] are used. We compare simulated trapped and precipitating electron flux distributions with measurements from Van Allen Probes/MagEIS, POES/TED and MEPED, respectively, to validate the electron loss model. Ground-based (SuperDARN) and in-situ (Van Allen Probes/EFW) observations of electric fields are compared with the simulation results. We discuss the effect of precipitating electrons on the SAPS and inner magnetospheric electric field through the data-model comparisons.

Time Evolution of Charge Carriers & Phonons after Photo-Excitation by an Ultra-Short Light Pulse in Bulk Germanium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fahy, Stephen; Murphy-Armando, Felipe; Trigo, Mariano; Savic, Ivana; Murray, Eamonn; Reis, David

We have calculated the time-evolution of carriers and generated phonons in Ge after ultrafast photo-excitation above the direct band-gap. The relevant electron-phonon and anharmonic phonon scattering rates are obtained from first-principles electronic structure calculations. Measurements of the x-ray diffuse scattering after excitation near the L point in the Brillouin zone find a relatively slow (5 ps, compared to the typical electron-phonon energy relaxation of the Gamma-L phonon) increase of the phonon population. We find this is due to emission caused by the scattering of electrons between the Delta and L valleys, after the initial depopulation of the Gamma valley. The relative slowness of this process is due to a combination of causes: (i) the finite time for the initial depopulation of the conduction Gamma valley; (ii) the associated electron-phonon coupling is relatively weaker (compared to Gamma-L, Gamma-Delta and Delta-Delta couplings) ; (iii) the TA associated phonon has a long lifetime and (iv) the depopulation of the Delta valley suppresses the phonon emission. Supported by Science Foundation Ireland, Grant 12/1A/1601.

Electron Transport in SrTio3 Accumulation Layers and Semiconductor Nanocrystal Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Han

In this thesis, we study two subjects: SrTiO3 (STO) accumulation layers and films made of semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs), which are important for technological applications. We start from the low temperature conductivity of electron accumulation layers induced by the very strong electric field at the surface of STO sample. Due to the strongly nonlinear lattice dielectric response, the three-dimensional density of electrons n(z) in such a layer decays with the distance from the surface z very slowly as n(z) ≃ 1/z12/7 . We show that when the mobility is limited by the surface scattering the contribution of such a tail to the conductivity diverges at large z because of growing time electrons need to reach the surface. We explore truncation of this divergence by the finite sample width, by the bulk scattering rate, by the back gate voltage, or by the crossover to the bulk linear dielectric response with the dielectric constant kappa. As a result we arrive at the anomalously large mobility, which depends not only on the rate of the surface scattering, but also on the physics of truncation. Similar anomalous behavior is found for the Hall factor, the magnetoresistance, and the thermopower. For the second part, we extend to the cases of spherical and cylindrical geometries, and more complicated planar structures. For the planar case, we study overlapping accumulation layers in GdTiO3/STO/GdTiO 3 quantum wells and electron gases created by spill-out from NSTO (heavily n-type doped STO) layers into STO. Generalization of our approach to a spherical donor cluster creating a big Thomas-Fermi atom with electrons in STO brings us to the problem of supercharged nuclei. It is known that for an atom with nuclear charge Ze, where Z > 170, electrons collapse onto the nucleus resulting in a net charge Zn < Z. Here, instead of relativistic physics, the collapse is caused by the nonlinear dielectric response. Electrons collapse into the charged spherical donor cluster with radius R when its total charge number Z exceeds the critical value Zc ≃ R/a, where a is the lattice constant. The net charge eZ n grows with Z until Z exceeds Z*≃ (R/a)9/7. After this point, the charge number of the compact core Zn remains ≃ Z*, with the rest Z electrons forming a sparse Thomas-Fermi atom with it. We also study the case of long cylindrical clusters. In the third part, we look at the details of the surface scattering by roughness of accumulation layers. To connect with previous works on surface roughness scattering, we focus on conventional semiconductors with the linear dielectric response where accumulation layers with very large concentrations of electrons and many subbands filled became recently available due to ionic liquid and other new methods of gating. The low temperature mobility in such layers is limited by the surface roughness scattering. However theories of roughness scattering so far dealt only with the small-density single subband two-dimensional (2D) electron gas. Here we develop a theory of roughness scattering limited mobility for the multisubband large concentration case. We show that with growing 2D electron concentration N the surface dimensionless conductivity sigma/(2e2/h) first decreases as ≃ N-6/5 and then saturates as ˜ (LambdaaB/Delta 2) >> 1, where Lambda and Delta are the characteristic length and height of the surface roughness, aB is the effective Bohr radius. This means that in spite of the shrinkage of the 2D electron gas width and the related increase of the scattering rate, the 2D electron gas remains a good metal. Thus, there is no re-entrant metal-insulator transition at high concentrations conjectured by Das Sarma and Hwang [PRB 89, 121413 (2014)]. The expression of surface relaxation time can be generalized to the STO case where the dielectric response is nonlinear. We find that there is no reentrant metal-insulator transition, either, in STO accumulation layers at experimentally available large N.. Finally, we switch to the study of NC films. We focus on the variable-range hopping of electrons in semiconductor NC films below the critical doping concentration nc at which films become metallic. The hopping conductivity is then described by the Efros-Shklovskii law which depends on the localization length of electrons. We study how the localization length grows with the doping concentration n in the film of touching NCs. For that we calculate the electron transfer matrix element t(n) between neighboring NCs for two models when NCs touch by small facets or just one point. We study two sources of disorder: variations of NC diameters and random Coulomb potentials originating from random numbers of donors in NCs. We use the ratio of t(n) to the disorder-induced NC level dispersion to find the localization length of electrons due to the multi-step elastic co-tunneling process. We find three different phases at n < nc depending on the strength of disorder, the material, sizes of NCs and their facets: 1) "insulator" where the localization length of electrons increases monotonically with n and 2) "oscillating insulator" when the localization length (and the conductivity) oscillates with n from the insulator base and 3) "blinking metal" where the localization length periodically diverges. The first two phases were seen experimentally and we discuss how one can see the more exotic third one. In all three the localization length diverges at n = nc. This allows us to find nc..

Nanostructure design for drastic reduction of thermal conductivity while preserving high electrical conductivity.

PubMed

Nakamura, Yoshiaki

2018-01-01

The design and fabrication of nanostructured materials to control both thermal and electrical properties are demonstrated for high-performance thermoelectric conversion. We have focused on silicon (Si) because it is an environmentally friendly and ubiquitous element. High bulk thermal conductivity of Si limits its potential as a thermoelectric material. The thermal conductivity of Si has been reduced by introducing grains, or wires, yet a further reduction is required while retaining a high electrical conductivity. We have designed two different nanostructures for this purpose. One structure is connected Si nanodots (NDs) with the same crystal orientation. The phonons scattering at the interfaces of these NDs occurred and it depended on the ND size. As a result of phonon scattering, the thermal conductivity of this nanostructured material was below/close to the amorphous limit. The other structure is Si films containing epitaxially grown Ge NDs. The Si layer imparted high electrical conductivity, while the Ge NDs served as phonon scattering bodies reducing thermal conductivity drastically. This work gives a methodology for the independent control of electron and phonon transport using nanostructured materials. This can bring the realization of thermoelectric Si-based materials that are compatible with large scale integrated circuit processing technologies.

Size-dependent Hamaker constants for silver and gold nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pinchuk, Pavlo; Jiang, Ke

2015-08-01

Hamaker-Lifshitz constants are material specific constants that are used to calculate van der Waals interaction forces between small particles in solution. Typically, these constants are size-independent and material specific. According to the Lifshitz theory, the Hamaker-Lifshitz constants can be calculated by taking integrals that include the dielectric permittivity, as a function of frequency, of the interacting particles and the medium around particles. The dielectric permittivity of interacting metal nanoparticles can be calculated using the Drude model, which is based on the assumption of motion of free conducting electrons. For bulk metals, the Drude model does not predict any sizedependence of the dielectric permittivity. However, the conducting electrons in small noble metal nanoparticles (R ~ 10nm) exhibit surface scattering, which changes the complex permittivity function. In this work, we show theoretically that scattering of the free conducting electrons inside silver and gold nanoparticles with the size of 1 - 50 nm leads to size-dependent dielectric permittivity and Hamaker-Lifshitz constants. We calculate numerically the Hamaker-Lifshitz constants for silver and gold nanoparticles with different diameters. The results of the study might be of interests for understanding colloidal stability of metal nanoparticles.

Magnetotransport of multiple-band nearly antiferromagnetic metals due to hot-spot scattering

DOE PAGES

Koshelev, A. E.

2016-09-30

Multiple-band electronic structure and proximity to antiferromagnetic (AF) instability are the key properties of iron-based superconductors. In this paper, we explore the influence of scattering by the AF spin fluctuations on transport of multiple-band metals above the magnetic transition. A salient feature of scattering on the AF fluctuations is that it is strongly enhanced at the Fermi surface locations where the nesting is perfect (“hot spots” or “hot lines”). We review derivation of the collision integral for the Boltzmann equation due to AF-fluctuations scattering. In the paramagnetic state, the enhanced scattering rate near the hot lines leads to anomalous behaviormore » of electronic transport in magnetic field. We explore this behavior by analytically solving the Boltzmann transport equation with approximate transition rates. This approach accounts for return scattering events and is more accurate than the relaxation-time approximation. The magnetic-field dependences are characterized by two very different field scales: the lower scale is set by the hot-spot width and the higher scale is set by the total scattering amplitude. A conventional magnetotransport behavior is limited to magnetic fields below the lower scale. In the wide range in-between these two scales, the longitudinal conductivity has linear dependence on the magnetic field and the Hall conductivity has quadratic dependence. The linear dependence of the diagonal component reflects growth of the Fermi-surface area affected by the hot spots proportional to the magnetic field. Finally, we discuss applicability of this theoretical framework for describing of anomalous magnetotransport properties in different iron pnictides and chalcogenides in the paramagnetic state.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Koshelev, A. E.

Multiple-band electronic structure and proximity to antiferromagnetic (AF) instability are the key properties of iron-based superconductors. In this paper, we explore the influence of scattering by the AF spin fluctuations on transport of multiple-band metals above the magnetic transition. A salient feature of scattering on the AF fluctuations is that it is strongly enhanced at the Fermi surface locations where the nesting is perfect (“hot spots” or “hot lines”). We review derivation of the collision integral for the Boltzmann equation due to AF-fluctuations scattering. In the paramagnetic state, the enhanced scattering rate near the hot lines leads to anomalous behaviormore » of electronic transport in magnetic field. We explore this behavior by analytically solving the Boltzmann transport equation with approximate transition rates. This approach accounts for return scattering events and is more accurate than the relaxation-time approximation. The magnetic-field dependences are characterized by two very different field scales: the lower scale is set by the hot-spot width and the higher scale is set by the total scattering amplitude. A conventional magnetotransport behavior is limited to magnetic fields below the lower scale. In the wide range in-between these two scales, the longitudinal conductivity has linear dependence on the magnetic field and the Hall conductivity has quadratic dependence. The linear dependence of the diagonal component reflects growth of the Fermi-surface area affected by the hot spots proportional to the magnetic field. Finally, we discuss applicability of this theoretical framework for describing of anomalous magnetotransport properties in different iron pnictides and chalcogenides in the paramagnetic state.« less

Anomalous Hall effect in epitaxial permalloy thin films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Y. Q.; Sun, N. Y.; Shan, R.

2013-10-28

Anomalous Hall effect (AHE) of epitaxial permalloy thin films grown on MgO (001) substrates is investigated. The longitudinal conductivity independent term (i.e., the sum of intrinsic and side-jump contributions) of the anomalous Hall conductivity (AHC) is found to be much smaller than those of Fe and Ni films. Band theoretical calculations of the intrinsic AHC as a function of the number of valence electrons (band filling) indicate that the AHC of the permalloy is in the vicinity of sign change, thus resulting in the smallness of the intrinsic AHC. The contribution of the phonon scattering is found to be comparablemore » to that of the impurity scattering. This work suggests that the permalloy films are ideal systems to understand the AHE mechanisms induced by impurity scattering.« less

Dyakonov-Perel Effect on Spin Dephasing in n-Type GaAs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ning, C. Z.; Wu, M. W.

2003-01-01

A paper presents a study of the contribution of the Dyakonov-Perel (DP) effect to spin dephasing in electron-donor-doped bulk GaAs in the presence of an applied steady, moderate magnetic field perpendicular to the growth axis of the GaAs crystal. (The DP effect is an electron-wave-vector-dependent spin-state splitting of the conduction band, caused by a spin/orbit interaction in a crystal without an inversion center.) The applicable Bloch equations of kinetics were constructed to include terms accounting for longitudinal optical and acoustic phonon scattering as well as impurity scattering. The contributions of the aforementioned scattering mechanisms to spin-dephasing time in the presence of DP effect were examined by solving the equations numerically. Spin-dephasing time was obtained from the temporal evolution of the incoherently summed spin coherence. Effects of temperature, impurity level, magnetic field, and electron density on spin-dephasing time were investigated. Spin-dephasing time was found to increase with increasing magnetic field. Contrary to predictions of previous simplified treatments of the DP effect, spin-dephasing time was found to increase with temperature in the presence of impurity scattering. These results were found to agree qualitatively with results of recent experiments.

Electron energy balance and ionization in the channel of a stationary plasma thruster

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Veselovzorov, A. N., E-mail: Veselovzorov-AN@nrcki.ru; Pogorelov, A. A.; Svirskiy, E. B.

2016-03-15

The paper presents results of numerical simulations of the electron dynamics in the field of the azimuthal and longitudinal waves excited in the channel of a stationary plasma thruster (SPT). The simulations are based on the experimentally determined wave characteristics. The simulation results show that the azimuthal wave displayed as ionization instability enhances electron transport along the thruster channel. It is established that the electron transport rate in the azimuthal wave increases as compared to the rate of diffusion caused by electron scattering from neutral atoms in proportion to the ratio between the times of electron− neutral collisions responsible formore » ionization and elastic electron scattering, respectively. An expression governing the plasma conductivity is derived with allowance for electron interaction with the azimuthal wave. The Hall parameter, the electron component of the discharge current, and the electron heating power in the thruster channel are calculated for two model SPTs operating with krypton and xenon. The simulation results agree well with the results of experimental studies of these two SPTs.« less

Electron scattering by molecules. II - Experimental methods and data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trajmar, S.; Chutjian, A.; Register, D. F.

1983-01-01

Experimental techniques for measuring electron-molecule collision cross sections are briefly summarized. A survey of the available experimental cross section data is presented. The emphasis here is on elastic scattering, rotational, vibrational and electronic excitations, total electron scattering, and momentum transfer in the few eV to few hundred eV impact energy range. Reference is made to works concerned with high energy electron scattering, innershell and multi-electron excitations, conicidence methods and electron scattering in laser fields.

Dynamic conductivity and plasmon profile of aluminum in the ultra-fast-matter regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dharma-wardana, M. W. C.

2016-06-01

We use an explicitly isochoric two-temperature theory to analyze recent x-ray laser scattering data for aluminum in the ultra-fast-matter (UFM) regime up to 6 eV. The observed surprisingly low conductivities are explained by including strong electron-ion scattering effects using the phase shifts calculated via the neutral-pseudo-atom model. The difference between the static conductivity for UFM-Al and equilibrium aluminum in the warm-dense matter state is clearly brought out by comparisons with available density-fucntional+molecular-dynamics simulations. Thus the applicability of the Mermin model to UFM is questioned. The static and dynamic conductivity, collision frequency, and the plasmon line shape, evaluated within the simplest Born approximation for UFM aluminum, are in good agreement with experiment.

Quantum transport properties of carbon nanotube field-effect transistors with electron-phonon coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishii, Hiroyuki; Kobayashi, Nobuhiko; Hirose, Kenji

2007-11-01

We investigated the electron-phonon coupling effects on the electronic transport properties of metallic (5,5)- and semiconducting (10,0)-carbon nanotube devices. We calculated the conductance and mobility of the carbon nanotubes with micron-order lengths at room temperature, using the time-dependent wave-packet approach based on the Kubo-Greenwood formula within a tight-binding approximation. We investigated the scattering effects of both longitudinal acoustic and optical phonon modes on the transport properties. The electron-optical phonon coupling decreases the conductance around the Fermi energy for the metallic carbon nanotubes, while the conductance of semiconductor nanotubes is decreased around the band edges by the acoustic phonons. Furthermore, we studied the Schottky-barrier effects on the mobility of the semiconducting carbon nanotube field-effect transistors for various gate voltages. We clarified how the electron mobilities of the devices are changed by the acoustic phonon.

Thermal invisibility based on scattering cancellation and mantle cloaking

PubMed Central

Farhat, M.; Chen, P.-Y.; Bagci, H.; Amra, C.; Guenneau, S.; Alù, A.

2015-01-01

We theoretically and numerically analyze thermal invisibility based on the concept of scattering cancellation and mantle cloaking. We show that a small object can be made completely invisible to heat diffusion waves, by tailoring the heat conductivity of the spherical shell enclosing the object. This means that the thermal scattering from the object is suppressed, and the heat flow outside the object and the cloak made of these spherical shells behaves as if the object is not present. Thermal invisibility may open new vistas in hiding hot spots in infrared thermography, military furtivity, and electronics heating reduction. PMID:25928664

Electronic transport properties of inner and outer shells in near ohmic-contacted double-walled carbon nanotube transistors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Yuchun; Zhou, Liyan; Zhao, Shangqian

2014-06-14

We investigate electronic transport properties of field-effect transistors based on double-walled carbon nanotubes, of which inner shells are metallic and outer shells are semiconducting. When both shells are turned on, electron-phonon scattering is found to be the dominant phenomenon. On the other hand, when outer semiconducting shells are turned off, a zero-bias anomaly emerges in the dependence of differential conductance on the bias voltage, which is characterized according to the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid model describing tunneling into one-dimensional materials. We attribute these behaviors to different contact conditions for outer and inner shells of the double-walled carbon nanotubes. A simple model combiningmore » Luttinger liquid model for inner metallic shells and electron-phonon scattering in outer semiconducting shells is given here to explain our transport data at different temperatures.« less

Hydrodynamic description of transport in strongly correlated electron systems.

PubMed

Andreev, A V; Kivelson, Steven A; Spivak, B

2011-06-24

We develop a hydrodynamic description of the resistivity and magnetoresistance of an electron liquid in a smooth disorder potential. This approach is valid when the electron-electron scattering length is sufficiently short. In a broad range of temperatures, the dissipation is dominated by heat fluxes in the electron fluid, and the resistivity is inversely proportional to the thermal conductivity, κ. This is in striking contrast to the Stokes flow, in which the resistance is independent of κ and proportional to the fluid viscosity. We also identify a new hydrodynamic mechanism of spin magnetoresistance.

Thermoelectric properties of periodic quantum structures in the Wigner-Rode formalism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kommini, Adithya; Aksamija, Zlatan

2018-01-01

Improving the thermoelectric Seebeck coefficient, while simultaneously reducing thermal conductivity, is required in order to boost thermoelectric (TE) figure of merit (ZT). A common approach to improve the Seebeck coefficient is electron filtering where ‘cold’ (low energy) electrons are restricted from participating in transport by an energy barrier (Kim and Lundstrom 2011 J. Appl. Phys. 110 034511, Zide et al 2010 J. Appl. Phys. 108 123702). However, the impact of electron tunneling through thin barriers and resonant states on TE properties has been given less attention, despite the widespread use of quantum wells and superlattices (SLs) in TE applications. In our work, we develop a comprehensive transport model using the Wigner-Rode formalism. We include the full electronic bandstructure and all the relevant scattering mechanisms, allowing us to simulate both energy relaxation and quantum effects from periodic potential barriers. We study the impact of barrier shape on TE performance and find that tall, sharp barriers with small period lengths lead to the largest increase in both Seebeck coefficient and conductivity, thus boosting power factor and TE efficiency. Our findings are robust against additional elastic scattering such as atomic-scale roughness at side-walls of SL nanowires.

Quantum State-Resolved Collision Dynamics of Nitric Oxide at Ionic Liquid and Molten Metal Surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zutz, Amelia Marie

Detailed molecular scale interactions at the gas-liquid interface are explored with quantum state-to-state resolved scattering of a jet-cooled beam of NO(2pi1/2; N = 0) from ionic liquid and molten metal surfaces. The scattered distributions are probed via laser-induced fluorescence methods, which yield rotational and spin-orbit state populations that elucidate the dynamics of energy transfer at the gas-liquid interface. These collision dynamics are explored as a function of incident collision energy, surface temperature, scattering angle, and liquid identity, all of which are found to substantially affect the degree of rotational, electronic and vibrational excitation of NO via collisions at the liquid surface. Rotational distributions observed reveal two distinct scattering pathways, (i) molecules that trap, thermalize and eventually desorb from the surface (trapping-desorption, TD), and (ii) those that undergo prompt recoil (impulsive scattering, IS) prior to complete equilibration with the liquid surface. Thermally desorbing NO molecules are found to have rotational temperatures close to, but slightly cooler than the surface temperature, indicative of rotational dependent sticking probabilities on liquid surfaces. Nitric oxide is a radical with multiple low-lying electronic states that serves as an ideal candidate for exploring nonadiabatic state-changing collision dynamics at the gas-liquid interface, which induce significant excitation from ground (2pi1/2) to excited (2pi 3/2) spin-orbit states. Molecular beam scattering of supersonically cooled NO from hot molten metals (Ga and Au, Ts = 300 - 1400 K) is also explored, which provide preliminary evidence for vibrational excitation of NO mediated by thermally populated electron-hole pairs in the hot, conducting liquid metals. The results highlight the presence of electronically nonadiabatic effects and build toward a more complete characterization of energy transfer dynamics at gas-liquid interfaces.

Profiling of back-scattered electrons in opposed magnetic field of a Twin Electron Beam Gun

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sethi, S.; Gupta, Anchal; Dileep Kumar, V.; Mukherjee, Jaya; Gantayet, L. M.

2012-11-01

Electron gun is extensively used in material processing, physical vapour deposition and atomic vapour based laser processes. In these processes where the electron beam is incident on the substrate, a significant fraction of electron beam gets back-scattered from the target surface. The trajectory of this back scattered electron beam depends on the magnetic field in the vicinity. The fraction of back-scattered depends on the atomic number of the target metal and can be as high as ~40% of the incident beam current. These back-scattered electrons can cause undesired hot spots and also affect the overall process. Hence, the study of the trajectory of these back-scattered electrons is important. This paper provides the details of experimentally mapped back-scattered electrons of a 2×20kW Twin Electron Beam Gun (TEBG) in opposed magnetic field i.e. with these guns placed at 180° to each other.

Optical and electronic properties of conductive ternary nitrides with rare- or alkaline-earth elements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kassavetis, S.; Hodroj, A.; Metaxa, C.; Logothetidis, S.; Pierson, J. F.; Patsalas, P.

2016-12-01

Conductive nitrides, such as TiN, are key engineering materials for electronics, photonics, and plasmonics; one of the essential issues for such applications is the ability of tuning the conduction electron density, the resistivity, and the electron scattering. While enhancing the conduction electron density and blueshifting the intraband absorption towards the UV were easily achieved previously, reducing the conduction electron density and redshifting the intraband absorption into the infrared are still an open issue. The latter is achieved in this work by alloying TiN by rare earth (RE = Sc, Y, La) or alkaline earth (AE = Mg, Ca) atoms in Ti substitutional positions. The produced TixRE1-xN and TixAE1-xN thin film samples were grown by a hybrid arc evaporation/sputtering process, and most of them are stable in the B1 cubic structure. Their optical properties were studied in an extensive spectral range by spectroscopic ellipsometry. The ellipsometric spectra were analyzed and quantified by the Drude-Lorentz model, which provided the conduction electron density, the electron mean free path, and the resistivity. The observed interband transitions are firmly assigned, and the optical and electrical properties of TixRE1-xN and TixAE1-xN are quantitatively correlated with their composition and crystal structure.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Johnson, W. R.; Nilsen, J.

Here, the influence of finite relaxation times on Thomson scattering from warm dense plasmas is examined within the framework of the average-atom approximation. Presently most calculations use the collision-free Lindhard dielectric function to evaluate the free-electron contribution to the Thomson cross section. In this work, we use the Mermin dielectric function, which includes relaxation time explicitly. The relaxation time is evaluated by treating the average atom as an impurity in a uniform electron gas and depends critically on the transport cross section. The calculated relaxation rates agree well with values inferred from the Ziman formula for the static conductivity andmore » also with rates inferred from a fit to the frequency-dependent conductivity. Transport cross sections determined by the phase-shift analysis in the average-atom potential are compared with those evaluated in the commonly used Born approximation. The Born approximation converges to the exact cross sections at high energies; however, differences that occur at low energies lead to corresponding differences in relaxation rates. The relative importance of including relaxation time when modeling x-ray Thomson scattering spectra is examined by comparing calculations of the free-electron dynamic structure function for Thomson scattering using Lindhard and Mermin dielectric functions. Applications are given to warm dense Be plasmas, with temperatures ranging from 2 to 32 eV and densities ranging from 2 to 64 g/cc.« less

Effects of Fe3O4 Magnetic Nanoparticles on the Thermoelectric Properties of Heavy-Fermion YbAl3 Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Danqi; Mu, Xin; Zhou, Hongyu; Li, Cuncheng; Ma, Shifang; Ji, Pengxia; Hou, Weikang; Wei, Ping; Zhu, Wanting; Nie, Xiaolei; Zhao, Wenyu

2018-06-01

The magnetic nanocomposite thermoelectric materials xFe3O4/YbAl3 ( x = 0%, 0.3%, 0.6%, 1.0%, and 1.5%) have been prepared by the combination of ultrasonic dispersion and spark plasma sintering process. The nanocomposites retain good chemical stability in the presence of the second-phase Fe3O4. The second-phase Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles are distributed on the interfaces and boundaries of the matrix. The x dependences of thermoelectric properties indicate that Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles can significantly decrease the thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity. The magnetic nanoparticles embedded in YbAl3 matrix are not only the phonon scattering centers of nanostructures, but also the electron scattering centers due to the Kondo-like effect between the magnetic moment of Fe3O4 nanoparticles and the spin of electrons. The ZT values of the composites are first increased in the x range 0%-1.0% and then decreased when x > 1.0%. The highest ZT value reaches 0.3 at 300 K for the nanocomposite with x = 1.0%. Our work demonstrates that the Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles can greatly increase the thermoelectric performance of heavy-fermion YbAl3 thermoelectric materials through simultaneously scattering electrons and phonons.

Comparative analysis of characteristic electron energy loss spectra and inelastic scattering cross-section spectra of Fe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parshin, A. S.; Igumenov, A. Yu.; Mikhlin, Yu. L.; Pchelyakov, O. P.; Zhigalov, V. S.

2016-05-01

The inelastic electron scattering cross section spectra of Fe have been calculated based on experimental spectra of characteristic reflection electron energy loss as dependences of the product of the inelastic mean free path by the differential inelastic electron scattering cross section on the electron energy loss. It has been shown that the inelastic electron scattering cross-section spectra have certain advantages over the electron energy loss spectra in the analysis of the interaction of electrons with substance. The peaks of energy loss in the spectra of characteristic electron energy loss and inelastic electron scattering cross sections have been determined from the integral and differential spectra. It has been shown that the energy of the bulk plasmon is practically independent of the energy of primary electrons in the characteristic electron energy loss spectra and monotonically increases with increasing energy of primary electrons in the inelastic electron scattering cross-section spectra. The variation in the maximum energy of the inelastic electron scattering cross-section spectra is caused by the redistribution of intensities over the peaks of losses due to various excitations. The inelastic electron scattering cross-section spectra have been analyzed using the decomposition of the spectra into peaks of the energy loss. This method has been used for the quantitative estimation of the contributions from different energy loss processes to the inelastic electron scattering cross-section spectra of Fe and for the determination of the nature of the energy loss peaks.

Scattering and transport statistics at the metal-insulator transition: A numerical study of the power-law banded random-matrix model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Méndez-Bermúdez, J. A.; Gopar, Victor A.; Varga, Imre

2010-09-01

We study numerically scattering and transport statistical properties of the one-dimensional Anderson model at the metal-insulator transition described by the power-law banded random matrix (PBRM) model at criticality. Within a scattering approach to electronic transport, we concentrate on the case of a small number of single-channel attached leads. We observe a smooth crossover from localized to delocalized behavior in the average-scattering matrix elements, the conductance probability distribution, the variance of the conductance, and the shot noise power by varying b (the effective bandwidth of the PBRM model) from small (b≪1) to large (b>1) values. We contrast our results with analytic random matrix theory predictions which are expected to be recovered in the limit b→∞ . We also compare our results for the PBRM model with those for the three-dimensional (3D) Anderson model at criticality, finding that the PBRM model with bɛ[0.2,0.4] reproduces well the scattering and transport properties of the 3D Anderson model.

UHF Radar observations at HAARP with HF pump frequencies near electron gyro-harmonics and associated ionospheric effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watkins, Brenton; Fallen, Christopher; Secan, James

Results for HF modification experiments at the HAARP facility in Alaska are presented for experiments with the HF pump frequency near third and fourth electron gyro-harmonics. A UHF diagnostic radar with range resolution of 600 m was used to determine time-dependent altitudes of scattering from plasma turbulence during heating experiments. Experiments were conducted with multiple HF frequencies stepped by 20 kHz above and below the gyro-harmonic values. During times of HF heating the HAARP facility has sufficient power to enhance large-scale ionospheric densities in the lower ionosphere (about 150-200 km altitude) and also in the topside ionosphere (above about 350 km). In the lower ionosphere, time-dependent decreases of the altitude of radar scatter result from electron density enhancements. The effects are substantially different even for relatively small frequency steps of 20 kHz. In all cases the time-varying altitude decrease of radar scatter stops about 5-10 km below the gyro-harmonic altitude that is frequency dependent; we infer that electron density enhancements stop at this altitude where the radar signals stop decreasing with altitude. Experiments with corresponding total electron content (TEC) data show that for HF interaction altitudes above about 170 km there is substantial topside electron density increases due to upward electron thermal conduction. For lower altitudes of HF interaction the majority of the thermal energy is transferred to the neutral gas and no significant topside density increases are observed. By selecting an appropriate HF frequency a little greater than the gyro-harmonic value we have demonstrated that the ionospheric response to HF heating is a self-oscillating mode where the HF interaction altitude moves up and down with a period of several minutes. If the interaction region is above about 170 km this also produces a continuously enhanced topside electron density and upward plasma flux. Experiments using an FM scan with the HF frequency increasing near the gyro-harmonic value were conducted. The FM scan rate was sufficiently slow that the electron density was approximately in an equilibrium state. For these experiments the altitude of the HF interaction follows a near straight line downward parallel to the altitude-dependent gyro-harmonic level.

Electron-molecule scattering in a strong laser field: Two-center interference effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dakić, J.; Habibović, D.; Čerkić, A.; Busuladžić, M.; Milošević, D. B.

2017-10-01

Laser-assisted scattering of electrons on diatomic molecules is considered using the S -matrix theory within the second Born approximation. The first term of the expansion in powers of the scattering potential corresponds to the direct or single laser-assisted scattering of electrons on molecular targets, while the second term of this expansion corresponds to the laser-assisted rescattering or double scattering. The rescattered electrons may have considerably higher energies in the final state than those that scattered only once. For multicenter polyatomic molecules scattering and rescattering may happen at any center and in any order. All these cases contribute to the scattering amplitude and the interference of different contributions leads to an increase or a decrease of the differential cross section in particular electron energy regions. For diatomic molecules there are two such contributions for single scattering and four contributions for double scattering. Analyzing the spectra of the scattered electrons, we find two interesting effects. For certain molecular orientations, the plateaus in the electron energy spectrum, characteristic of laser-assisted electron-atom scattering, are replaced by a sequence of gradually declining maxima, caused by the two-center interference effects. The second effect is the appearance of symmetric U -shaped structures in the angle-resolved energy spectra, which are described very well by the analytical formulas we provide.

Modeling inelastic phonon scattering in atomic- and molecular-wire junctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paulsson, Magnus; Frederiksen, Thomas; Brandbyge, Mads

2005-11-01

Computationally inexpensive approximations describing electron-phonon scattering in molecular-scale conductors are derived from the nonequilibrium Green’s function method. The accuracy is demonstrated with a first-principles calculation on an atomic gold wire. Quantitative agreement between the full nonequilibrium Green’s function calculation and the newly derived expressions is obtained while simplifying the computational burden by several orders of magnitude. In addition, analytical models provide intuitive understanding of the conductance including nonequilibrium heating and provide a convenient way of parameterizing the physics. This is exemplified by fitting the expressions to the experimentally observed conductances through both an atomic gold wire and a hydrogen molecule.

Nonequilibrium spintronic transport through an artificial Kondo impurity: conductance, magnetoresistance, and shot noise.

PubMed

López, Rosa; Sánchez, David

2003-03-21

We investigate the nonequilibrium transport properties of a quantum dot when spin flip processes compete with the formation of a Kondo resonance in the presence of ferromagnetic leads. Based upon the Anderson Hamiltonian in the strongly interacting limit, we predict a splitting of the differential conductance when the spin flip scattering amplitude is of the order of the Kondo temperature. We discuss how the relative orientation of the lead magnetizations strongly influences the electronic current and the shot noise in a nontrivial way. Furthermore, we find that the zero-bias tunneling magnetoresistance becomes negative with increasing spin flip scattering amplitude.

Impurity and phonon scattering in silicon nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, W.; Persson, M. P.; Mera, H.; Delerue, C.; Niquet, Y. M.; Allan, G.; Wang, E.

2011-03-01

We model the scattering of electrons by phonons and dopant impurities in ultimate [110]-oriented gate-all-around silicon nanowires with an atomistic valence force field and tight-binding approach. All electron-phonons interactions are included. We show that impurity scattering can reduce with decreasing nanowire diameter due to the enhanced screening by the gate. Donors and acceptors however perform very differently : acceptors behave as tunnel barriers for the electrons, while donors behave as quantum wells which introduce Fano resonances in the conductance. As a consequence the acceptors are much more limiting the mobility than the donors. The resistances of single acceptors are also very dependent on their radial position in the nanowire, which might be a significant source of variability in ultimate silicon nanowire devices. Concerning phonons, we show that, as a result of strong confinement, i) electrons couple to a wide and complex distribution of phonons modes, and ii) the mobility has a non-monotonic variation with wire diameter and is strongly reduced with respect to bulk. French National Research Agency ANR project QUANTAMONDE Contract No. ANR-07-NANO-023-02 and by the Délégation Générale pour l'Armement, French Ministry of Defense under Grant No. 2008.34.0031.

Superparamagnetic enhancement of thermoelectric performance.

PubMed

Zhao, Wenyu; Liu, Zhiyuan; Sun, Zhigang; Zhang, Qingjie; Wei, Ping; Mu, Xin; Zhou, Hongyu; Li, Cuncheng; Ma, Shifang; He, Danqi; Ji, Pengxia; Zhu, Wanting; Nie, Xiaolei; Su, Xianli; Tang, Xinfeng; Shen, Baogen; Dong, Xiaoli; Yang, Jihui; Liu, Yong; Shi, Jing

2017-09-13

The ability to control chemical and physical structuring at the nanometre scale is important for developing high-performance thermoelectric materials. Progress in this area has been achieved mainly by enhancing phonon scattering and consequently decreasing the thermal conductivity of the lattice through the design of either interface structures at nanometre or mesoscopic length scales or multiscale hierarchical architectures. A nanostructuring approach that enables electron transport as well as phonon transport to be manipulated could potentially lead to further enhancements in thermoelectric performance. Here we show that by embedding nanoparticles of a soft magnetic material in a thermoelectric matrix we achieve dual control of phonon- and electron-transport properties. The properties of the nanoparticles-in particular, their superparamagnetic behaviour (in which the nanoparticles can be magnetized similarly to a paramagnet under an external magnetic field)-lead to three kinds of thermoelectromagnetic effect: charge transfer from the magnetic inclusions to the matrix; multiple scattering of electrons by superparamagnetic fluctuations; and enhanced phonon scattering as a result of both the magnetic fluctuations and the nanostructures themselves. We show that together these effects can effectively manipulate electron and phonon transport at nanometre and mesoscopic length scales and thereby improve the thermoelectric performance of the resulting nanocomposites.

Role of electron-electron interference in ultrafast time-resolved imaging of electronic wavepackets

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dixit, Gopal; Santra, Robin; Department of Physics, University of Hamburg, D-20355 Hamburg

2013-04-07

Ultrafast time-resolved x-ray scattering is an emerging approach to image the dynamical evolution of the electronic charge distribution during complex chemical and biological processes in real-space and real-time. Recently, the differences between semiclassical and quantum-electrodynamical (QED) theory of light-matter interaction for scattering of ultrashort x-ray pulses from the electronic wavepacket were formally demonstrated and visually illustrated by scattering patterns calculated for an electronic wavepacket in atomic hydrogen [G. Dixit, O. Vendrell, and R. Santra, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 109, 11636 (2012)]. In this work, we present a detailed analysis of time-resolved x-ray scattering from a sample containing a mixturemore » of non-stationary and stationary electrons within both the theories. In a many-electron system, the role of scattering interference between a non-stationary and several stationary electrons to the total scattering signal is investigated. In general, QED and semiclassical theory provide different results for the contribution from the scattering interference, which depends on the energy resolution of the detector and the x-ray pulse duration. The present findings are demonstrated by means of a numerical example of x-ray time-resolved imaging for an electronic wavepacket in helium. It is shown that the time-dependent scattering interference vanishes within semiclassical theory and the corresponding patterns are dominated by the scattering contribution from the time-independent interference, whereas the time-dependent scattering interference contribution do not vanish in the QED theory and the patterns are dominated by the scattering contribution from the non-stationary electron scattering.« less

Role of electron-electron interference in ultrafast time-resolved imaging of electronic wavepackets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dixit, Gopal; Santra, Robin

2013-04-01

Ultrafast time-resolved x-ray scattering is an emerging approach to image the dynamical evolution of the electronic charge distribution during complex chemical and biological processes in real-space and real-time. Recently, the differences between semiclassical and quantum-electrodynamical (QED) theory of light-matter interaction for scattering of ultrashort x-ray pulses from the electronic wavepacket were formally demonstrated and visually illustrated by scattering patterns calculated for an electronic wavepacket in atomic hydrogen [G. Dixit, O. Vendrell, and R. Santra, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 109, 11636 (2012)], 10.1073/pnas.1202226109. In this work, we present a detailed analysis of time-resolved x-ray scattering from a sample containing a mixture of non-stationary and stationary electrons within both the theories. In a many-electron system, the role of scattering interference between a non-stationary and several stationary electrons to the total scattering signal is investigated. In general, QED and semiclassical theory provide different results for the contribution from the scattering interference, which depends on the energy resolution of the detector and the x-ray pulse duration. The present findings are demonstrated by means of a numerical example of x-ray time-resolved imaging for an electronic wavepacket in helium. It is shown that the time-dependent scattering interference vanishes within semiclassical theory and the corresponding patterns are dominated by the scattering contribution from the time-independent interference, whereas the time-dependent scattering interference contribution do not vanish in the QED theory and the patterns are dominated by the scattering contribution from the non-stationary electron scattering.

Role of electron-electron interference in ultrafast time-resolved imaging of electronic wavepackets.

PubMed

Dixit, Gopal; Santra, Robin

2013-04-07

Ultrafast time-resolved x-ray scattering is an emerging approach to image the dynamical evolution of the electronic charge distribution during complex chemical and biological processes in real-space and real-time. Recently, the differences between semiclassical and quantum-electrodynamical (QED) theory of light-matter interaction for scattering of ultrashort x-ray pulses from the electronic wavepacket were formally demonstrated and visually illustrated by scattering patterns calculated for an electronic wavepacket in atomic hydrogen [G. Dixit, O. Vendrell, and R. Santra, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 109, 11636 (2012)]. In this work, we present a detailed analysis of time-resolved x-ray scattering from a sample containing a mixture of non-stationary and stationary electrons within both the theories. In a many-electron system, the role of scattering interference between a non-stationary and several stationary electrons to the total scattering signal is investigated. In general, QED and semiclassical theory provide different results for the contribution from the scattering interference, which depends on the energy resolution of the detector and the x-ray pulse duration. The present findings are demonstrated by means of a numerical example of x-ray time-resolved imaging for an electronic wavepacket in helium. It is shown that the time-dependent scattering interference vanishes within semiclassical theory and the corresponding patterns are dominated by the scattering contribution from the time-independent interference, whereas the time-dependent scattering interference contribution do not vanish in the QED theory and the patterns are dominated by the scattering contribution from the non-stationary electron scattering.

Oscillations of kinks on dislocation lines in crystals and low-temperature transport anomalies as a ``passport'' of newly-induced defects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mezhov-Deglin, L. P.; Mukhin, S. I.

2011-10-01

The possible interpretation of experimental data on low-temperature anomalies in weakly deformed metallic crystals prepared form ultra-pure lead, copper, and silver, as well as in crystals of 4He is discussed within the previously proposed theoretical picture of dislocations with dynamical kinks. In the case of pure metals the theoretical predictions give a general picture of interaction of conduction electrons in a sample with newly-introduced dislocations, containing dynamic kinks in the Peierls potential relief. In the field of random stresses appearing due to plastic deformation of a sample, kinks on the dislocation line form a set of one-dimensional oscillators in potential wells of different shapes. In the low temperature region at low enough density of defects pinning kinks the inelastic scattering of electrons on kinks should lead to deviations from the Wiedemann-Franz law. In particular, the inelastic scattering on kinks should result in a quadratic temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity in a metallic sample along preferential directions of dislocation axes. In the plane normal to the dislocation axis the elastic large-angle scattering of electrons is prevalent. The kink pinning by a point defect or by additional dislocations as well as the sample annealing leading to the disappearance of kinks should induce suppression of transport anomalies. Thus, the energy interval for the spectrum of kink oscillations restricted by characteristic amplitude of the Peierls relief is a "passport of deformation history" for each specific sample. For instance, in copper the temperature/energy region of the order of 1 K corresponds to it. It is also planned to discuss in the other publication applicability of mechanism of phonon scattering on mobile dislocation kinks and pinning of kinks by impurities in order to explain anomalies of phonon thermal conductivity of 4He crystals and deformed crystals of pure lead in a superconducting state.

Thermoelectric properties of nano-granular indium-tin-oxide within modified electron filtering model with chemisorption-type potential barriers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brinzari, V.; Nika, D. L.; Damaskin, I.; Cho, B. K.; Korotcenkov, G.

2016-07-01

In this work, an approach to the numerical study of the thermoelectric parameters of nanoscale indium tin oxide (ITO, Sn content<10 at%) based on an electron filtering model (EFM) was developed. Potential barriers at grain boundaries were assumed to be responsible for a filtering effect. In the case of the dominant inelastic scattering of electrons, the maximal distance between potential barriers was limited in this modified model. The algorithm for such characteristic length calculation was proposed, and its value was evaluated for ITO. In addition, the contributions of different scattering mechanisms (SMs) in electron transport were examined. It was confirmed that in bulk ITO, the scattering on polar optical phonons (POPs) and ionized impurities dominates, limiting electron transport. In the framework of the filtering model, the basic thermoelectric parameters (i.e., electrical conductivity, mobility, Seebeck coefficient, and power factor (PF)) were calculated for ITO in the temperature range of 100-500 °C as a function of potential barrier height. The results demonstrated a sufficient rise of the Seebeck coefficient with an increase in barrier height and specific behavior of PF. It was found that PF is very sensitive to barrier height, and at its optimal value for granular ITO, it may exceed the PF for bulk ITO by 3-5 times. The PF maximum was achieved by band bending, slightly exceeding Fermi energy. The nature of surface potential barriers in nano-granular ITO with specific grains is due to the oxygen chemisorption effect, and this can be observed despite of the degeneracy of the conduction band (CB). This hypothesis and the corresponding calculations are in good agreement with recent experimental studies [Brinzari et al. Thin Solid Films 552 (2014) 225].

Electron Mobility in γ -Al2O3/SrTiO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christensen, D. V.; Frenkel, Y.; Schütz, P.; Trier, F.; Wissberg, S.; Claessen, R.; Kalisky, B.; Smith, A.; Chen, Y. Z.; Pryds, N.

2018-05-01

One of the key issues in engineering oxide interfaces for electronic devices is achieving high electron mobility. SrTiO3 -based interfaces with high electron mobility have gained a lot of interest due to the possibility of combining quantum phenomena with the many functionalities exhibited by SrTiO3 . To date, the highest electron mobility (140 000 cm2/V s at 2 K) is obtained by interfacing perovskite SrTiO3 with spinel γ -Al2O3 . The origin of the high mobility, however, remains poorly understood. Here, we investigate the scattering mechanisms limiting the mobility in γ -Al2O3/SrTiO3 at temperatures between 2 and 300 K and over a wide range of sheet carrier densities. For T >150 K , we find that the mobility is limited by longitudinal optical phonon scattering. For large sheet carrier densities (>8 ×1013 cm-2 ), the screened electron-phonon coupling leads to room-temperature mobilities up to μ ˜12 cm2/V s . For 5 K

Stacking of 2D electron gases in Ge probed at the atomic level and its correlation to low-temperature magnetotransport.

PubMed

Scappucci, G; Klesse, W M; Hamilton, A R; Capellini, G; Jaeger, D L; Bischof, M R; Reidy, R F; Gorman, B P; Simmons, M Y

2012-09-12

Stacking of two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) obtained by δ-doping of Ge and patterned by scanning probe lithography is a promising approach to realize ultrascaled 3D epitaxial circuits, where multiple layers of active electronic components are integrated both vertically and horizontally. We use atom probe tomography and magnetotransport to correlate the real space 3D atomic distribution of dopants in the crystal with the quantum correction to the conductivity observed at low temperatures, probing if closely stacked δ-layers in Ge behave as independent 2DEGs. We find that at a separation of 9 nm the stacked-2DEGs, while interacting, still maintain their individuality in terms of electron transport and show long phase coherence lengths (∼220 nm). Strong vertical electron confinement is crucial to this finding, resulting in an interlayer scattering time much longer (∼1000 × ) than the scattering time within the dopant plane.

Thermal transport in nanocrystalline Si and SiGe by ab initio based Monte Carlo simulation.

PubMed

Yang, Lina; Minnich, Austin J

2017-03-14

Nanocrystalline thermoelectric materials based on Si have long been of interest because Si is earth-abundant, inexpensive, and non-toxic. However, a poor understanding of phonon grain boundary scattering and its effect on thermal conductivity has impeded efforts to improve the thermoelectric figure of merit. Here, we report an ab-initio based computational study of thermal transport in nanocrystalline Si-based materials using a variance-reduced Monte Carlo method with the full phonon dispersion and intrinsic lifetimes from first-principles as input. By fitting the transmission profile of grain boundaries, we obtain excellent agreement with experimental thermal conductivity of nanocrystalline Si [Wang et al. Nano Letters 11, 2206 (2011)]. Based on these calculations, we examine phonon transport in nanocrystalline SiGe alloys with ab-initio electron-phonon scattering rates. Our calculations show that low energy phonons still transport substantial amounts of heat in these materials, despite scattering by electron-phonon interactions, due to the high transmission of phonons at grain boundaries, and thus improvements in ZT are still possible by disrupting these modes. This work demonstrates the important insights into phonon transport that can be obtained using ab-initio based Monte Carlo simulations in complex nanostructured materials.

Thermal transport in nanocrystalline Si and SiGe by ab initio based Monte Carlo simulation

PubMed Central

Yang, Lina; Minnich, Austin J.

2017-01-01

Nanocrystalline thermoelectric materials based on Si have long been of interest because Si is earth-abundant, inexpensive, and non-toxic. However, a poor understanding of phonon grain boundary scattering and its effect on thermal conductivity has impeded efforts to improve the thermoelectric figure of merit. Here, we report an ab-initio based computational study of thermal transport in nanocrystalline Si-based materials using a variance-reduced Monte Carlo method with the full phonon dispersion and intrinsic lifetimes from first-principles as input. By fitting the transmission profile of grain boundaries, we obtain excellent agreement with experimental thermal conductivity of nanocrystalline Si [Wang et al. Nano Letters 11, 2206 (2011)]. Based on these calculations, we examine phonon transport in nanocrystalline SiGe alloys with ab-initio electron-phonon scattering rates. Our calculations show that low energy phonons still transport substantial amounts of heat in these materials, despite scattering by electron-phonon interactions, due to the high transmission of phonons at grain boundaries, and thus improvements in ZT are still possible by disrupting these modes. This work demonstrates the important insights into phonon transport that can be obtained using ab-initio based Monte Carlo simulations in complex nanostructured materials. PMID:28290484

Nanostructure design for drastic reduction of thermal conductivity while preserving high electrical conductivity

PubMed Central

Nakamura, Yoshiaki

2018-01-01

Abstract The design and fabrication of nanostructured materials to control both thermal and electrical properties are demonstrated for high-performance thermoelectric conversion. We have focused on silicon (Si) because it is an environmentally friendly and ubiquitous element. High bulk thermal conductivity of Si limits its potential as a thermoelectric material. The thermal conductivity of Si has been reduced by introducing grains, or wires, yet a further reduction is required while retaining a high electrical conductivity. We have designed two different nanostructures for this purpose. One structure is connected Si nanodots (NDs) with the same crystal orientation. The phonons scattering at the interfaces of these NDs occurred and it depended on the ND size. As a result of phonon scattering, the thermal conductivity of this nanostructured material was below/close to the amorphous limit. The other structure is Si films containing epitaxially grown Ge NDs. The Si layer imparted high electrical conductivity, while the Ge NDs served as phonon scattering bodies reducing thermal conductivity drastically. This work gives a methodology for the independent control of electron and phonon transport using nanostructured materials. This can bring the realization of thermoelectric Si-based materials that are compatible with large scale integrated circuit processing technologies. PMID:29371907

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mikheev, Evgeny; Himmetoglu, Burak; Kajdos, Adam P.

We analyze and compare the temperature dependence of the electron mobility of two- and three-dimensional electron liquids in SrTiO{sub 3}. The contributions of electron-electron scattering must be taken into account to accurately describe the mobility in both cases. For uniformly doped, three-dimensional electron liquids, the room temperature mobility crosses over from longitudinal optical (LO) phonon-scattering-limited to electron-electron-scattering-limited as a function of carrier density. In high-density, two-dimensional electron liquids, LO phonon scattering is completely screened and the mobility is dominated by electron-electron scattering up to room temperature. The possible origins of the observed behavior and the consequences for approaches to improvemore » the mobility are discussed.« less

Electron localization and magnetism in SrRuO3 with non-magnetic cation substitution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tong, W.; Huang, F.-Q.; Chen, I.-W.

2011-03-01

The destruction of the ferromagnetism of alloyed SrRuO3 can be caused by electron localization at the substitution sites. Among all the non-magnetic cations that enter the B site, Zr4 + is the least disruptive to conductivity and ferromagnetism. This is because Zr4 + does not cause any charge disorder, and its empty d electron states which are poorly matched in energy with the Ru t2g4 states cause the least resonance scattering of Ru's d electrons. Conducting Sr(Ru, Zr)O3 may be used as an electrode for perovskite-based thin film devices, while its insulating counterpart provides unprecedented magnetoresistance, seldom seen in other non-manganite and non-cobaltite perovskites.

Effects of Mn Substitution on the Thermoelectric Properties and Thermal Excitations of the Electron-doped Perovskite Sr1-xLaxTiO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okuda, Tetsuji; Hata, Hiroto; Eto, Takahiro; Sobaru, Shogo; Oda, Ryosuke; Kaji, Hiroki; Nishina, Kousuke; Kuwahara, Hideki; Nakamura, Mitsutaka; Kajimoto, Ryoichi

2016-09-01

We studied how Mn substitution affects the thermoelectric properties and thermal excitations of the electron-doped perovskite Sr1-xLaxTiO3 by measuring its electrical and thermal transport properties, magnetization, specific heat, and inelastic neutron scattering. Slight Mn substitution with the lattice defects enhanced the Seebeck coefficient, perhaps because of coupling between itinerant electrons and localized spins or between itinerant electrons and local lattice distortion around Mn3+ ions, while it enhanced anharmonic lattice vibrations, which effectively suppressed thermal conductivity in a state of high electrical conductivity. Consequently, slight Mn substitution increased the dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit for Sr1-xLaxTiO3 near room temperature.

Optical conductivity of cuprates in the pseudogap state: Yang-Rice-Zhang model and antiferromagnetic spin waves

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Singh, Navinder; Sharma, Raman

In the underdoped regime of the cuprate phase diagram, the modified version of the Resonance Valence Bond (RVB) model by Yang, Rice and Zhang (YRZ) captures the strong electronic correlation effects very well as corroborated by the ARPES and many other experiments. However, under a non-equilibrium transport setting, YRZ says nothing about the scattering mechanisms of the charge carriers. In the present investigation we include, in a very simplified way, the scattering of charge carriers due to antiferromagnetic type spin waves (ASW). The effect of ASW excitations on conductivity has been studied by changing combined life times of the includedmore » process. It has been found that there is a qualitative change in the conductivity in the right direction. The theoretical conductivity reproduces qualitatively the experimental one.« less

Electronic confining effects in Sierpiński triangle fractals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Hao; Zhang, Xue; Jiang, Zhuoling; Wang, Yongfeng; Hou, Shimin

2018-03-01

Electron confinement in fractal Sierpiński triangles (STs) on Ag(111) is investigated using scanning tunneling spectroscopy and theoretically simulated by employing an improved two-dimensional (2D) multiple scattering theory in which the energy-dependent phase shifts are explicitly calculated from the electrostatic potentials of the molecular building block of STs. Well-defined bound surface states are observed in three kinds of triangular cavities with their sides changing at a scale factor of 2. The decrease in length of the cavities results in an upshift of the resonances that deviates from an expected inverse quadratic dependence on the cavity length due to the less efficient confinement of smaller triangular cavities. Differential conductance maps at some specific biases present a series of alternative bright and dark rounded triangles preserving the symmetry of the boundary. Our improved 2D multiple scattering model reproduces the characteristics of the standing wave patterns and all features in the differential conductance spectra measured in experiments, illustrating that the elastic loss boundary scattering dominates the resonance broadening in these ST quantum corrals. Moreover, the self-similar structure of STs, that a larger central cavity is surrounded by three smaller ones with a half side length, gives rise to interactions of surface states confined in neighboring cavities, which are helpful for the suppression of the linewidth in differential conductance spectra.

Using X-ray Thomson Scattering to Characterize Highly Compressed, Near-Degenerate Plasmas at the NIF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doeppner, Tilo; Kraus, D.; Neumayer, P.; Bachmann, B.; Divol, L.; Kritcher, A. L.; Landen, O. L.; Fletcher, L.; Glenzer, S. H.; Falcone, R. W.; MacDonald, M. J.; Saunders, A.; Witte, B.; Redmer, R.; Chapman, D.; Baggott, R.; Gericke, D. O.; Yi, S. A.

2017-10-01

We are developing x-ray Thomson scattering for implosion experiments at the National Ignition Facility to characterize plasma conditions in plastic and beryllium capsules near stagnation, reaching more than 20x compression and electron densities of 1025 cm-3, corresponding to a Fermi energy of 170 eV. Using a zinc He- α x-ray source at 9 keV, experiments at a large scattering angle of 120° measure non-collective scattering spectra with high sensitivity to K-shell ionization, and find higher charge states than predicted by widely used ionization models. Reducing the scattering angle to 30° probes the collective scattering regime with sensitivity to collisions and conductivity. We will discuss recent results and future plans. This work was performed under the auspices of the US Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

Band-selective filter in a zigzag graphene nanoribbon.

PubMed

Nakabayashi, Jun; Yamamoto, Daisuke; Kurihara, Susumu

2009-02-13

Electric transport of a zigzag graphene nanoribbon through a steplike potential and a barrier potential is investigated by using the recursive Green's function method. In the case of the steplike potential, we demonstrate numerically that scattering processes obey a selection rule for the band indices when the number of zigzag chains is even; the electrons belonging to the "even" ("odd") bands are scattered only into the even (odd) bands so that the parity of the wave functions is preserved. In the case of the barrier potential, by tuning the barrier height to be an appropriate value, we show that it can work as the "band-selective filter", which transmits electrons selectively with respect to the indices of the bands to which the incident electrons belong. Finally, we suggest that this selection rule can be observed in the conductance by applying two barrier potentials.

Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy of Carbon Nanomembranes from Aromatic Self-Assembled Monolayers.

PubMed

Zhang, Xianghui; Mainka, Marcel; Paneff, Florian; Hachmeister, Henning; Beyer, André; Gölzhäuser, Armin; Huser, Thomas

2018-02-27

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy (SERS) was employed to investigate the formation of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of biphenylthiol, 4'-nitro-1,1'-biphenyl-4-thiol, and p-terphenylthiol on Au surfaces and their structural transformations into carbon nanomembranes (CNMs) induced by electron irradiation. The high sensitivity of SERS allows us to identify two types of Raman scattering in electron-irradiated SAMs: (1) Raman-active sites exhibit similar bands as those of pristine SAMs in the fingerprint spectral region, but with indications of an amorphization process and (2) Raman-inactive sites show almost no Raman-scattering signals, except a very weak and broad D band, indicating a lack of structural order but for the presence of graphitic domains. Statistical analysis showed that the ratio of the number of Raman-active sites to the total number of measurement sites decreases exponentially with increasing the electron irradiation dose. The maximum degree of cross-linking ranged from 97 to 99% for the three SAMs. Proof-of-concept experiments were conducted to demonstrate potential applications of Raman-inactive CNMs as a supporting membrane for Raman analysis.

Thermoelectric Transport in Nanocomposites

PubMed Central

Liu, Bin; Hu, Jizhu; Zhou, Jun; Yang, Ronggui

2017-01-01

Thermoelectric materials which can convert energies directly between heat and electricity are used for solid state cooling and power generation. There is a big challenge to improve the efficiency of energy conversion which can be characterized by the figure of merit (ZT). In the past two decades, the introduction of nanostructures into bulk materials was believed to possibly enhance ZT. Nanocomposites is one kind of nanostructured material system which includes nanoconstituents in a matrix material or is a mixture of different nanoconstituents. Recently, nanocomposites have been theoretically proposed and experimentally synthesized to be high efficiency thermoelectric materials by reducing the lattice thermal conductivity due to phonon-interface scattering and enhancing the electronic performance due to manipulation of electron scattering and band structures. In this review, we summarize the latest progress in both theoretical and experimental works in the field of nanocomposite thermoelectric materials. In particular, we present various models of both phonon transport and electron transport in various nanocomposites established in the last few years. The phonon-interface scattering, low-energy electrical carrier filtering effect, and miniband formation, etc., in nanocomposites are discussed. PMID:28772777

Quasiparticle scattering spectroscopy (QPS) of Kondo lattice heavy fermions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greene, L. H.; Narasiwodeyar, S. M.; Banerjee, P.; Park, W. K.; Bauer, E. D.; Tobash, P. H.; Baumbach, R. E.; Ronning, F.; Sarrao, J. L.; Thompson, J. D.

2013-03-01

Point-contact spectroscopy (PCS) is a powerful technique to study electronic properties via measurements of non-linear current-voltage characteristic across a ballistic junction. It has been frequently adopted to investigate novel and/or unconventional superconductors by detecting the energy-dependent Andreev scattering. PCS of non-superconducting materials has been much rarely reported. From our recent studies on heavy fermions, we have frequently observed strongly bias-dependent and asymmetric conductance behaviors. Based on a Fano resonance model in a Kondo lattice, we attribute them to energy-dependent quasiparticle scattering off hybridized renormalized electronic states, dubbing it QPS. We will present our QPS results on several heavy-fermion systems and discuss QPS as a novel technique to probe the bulk spectroscopic properties of the electronic structure. For instance, it reveals that the hybridization gap in URu2Si2 opens well above the hidden order transition. The work at UIUC is supported by the U.S. DOE under Award No. DE-FG02-07ER46453 and the NSF DMR 12-06766, and the work at LANL is carried out under the auspices of the U.S. DOE, Office of Science.

Thermoelectric Transport in Nanocomposites.

PubMed

Liu, Bin; Hu, Jizhu; Zhou, Jun; Yang, Ronggui

2017-04-15

Thermoelectric materials which can convert energies directly between heat and electricity are used for solid state cooling and power generation. There is a big challenge to improve the efficiency of energy conversion which can be characterized by the figure of merit ( ZT ). In the past two decades, the introduction of nanostructures into bulk materials was believed to possibly enhance ZT . Nanocomposites is one kind of nanostructured material system which includes nanoconstituents in a matrix material or is a mixture of different nanoconstituents. Recently, nanocomposites have been theoretically proposed and experimentally synthesized to be high efficiency thermoelectric materials by reducing the lattice thermal conductivity due to phonon-interface scattering and enhancing the electronic performance due to manipulation of electron scattering and band structures. In this review, we summarize the latest progress in both theoretical and experimental works in the field of nanocomposite thermoelectric materials. In particular, we present various models of both phonon transport and electron transport in various nanocomposites established in the last few years. The phonon-interface scattering, low-energy electrical carrier filtering effect, and miniband formation, etc., in nanocomposites are discussed.

Analysis of improvement in performance and design parameters for enhancing resolution in an atmospheric scanning electron microscope.

PubMed

Yoon, Yeo Hun; Kim, Seung Jae; Kim, Dong Hwan

2015-12-01

The scanning electron microscope is used in various fields to go beyond diffraction limits of the optical microscope. However, the electron pathway should be conducted in a vacuum so as not to scatter electrons. The pretreatment of the sample is needed for use in the vacuum. To directly observe large and fully hydrophilic samples without pretreatment, the atmospheric scanning electron microscope (ASEM) is needed. We developed an electron filter unit and an electron detector unit for implementation of the ASEM. The key of the electron filter unit is that electrons are transmitted while air molecules remain untransmitted through the unit. The electron detector unit collected the backscattered electrons. We conducted experiments using the selected materials with Havar foil, carbon film and SiN film. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Japanese Society of Microscopy. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Anisotropic transport properties of the two-dimensional electron gas in ordered-disordered GaInP2 homojunctions: The structure of ordered domains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Driessen, F. A. J. M.; Bauhuis, G. J.; Hageman, P. R.; van Geelen, A.; Giling, L. J.

1994-12-01

The modulation-doped ordered-GaInP2/disordered-GaInP2 homojunction is presented. Capacitance-voltage (CV) profiling techniques, temperature-dependent Hall and resistivity measurements, cross-sectional transverse electron micrographs (TEM), and high-field magnetotransport have been used to characterize this structure grown by metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy. The CV measurements showed a narrow profile at the homointerface with an order of magnitude reduction in carrier density within 3 nm. Typical two-dimensional behavior was observed from Hall data showing sheet carrier densities as high as 3.6×1013 cm-2 without carrier freeze-out, and constant mobilities around 900 cm2 V-1 s-1 below T=100 K. The 300-K channel conductivity of this junction is 3.2×10-3 Ω-1, which is higher than reported for other two-dimensional electron gases. By proper choice of the substrate orientation, domains of only the (111¯) ordering variant were present. TEM showed elongated shapes of average thickness 3.5-6 nm and length 75 nm in the (011) plane. By using Hall bars with different current directions, an asymmetry is observed for the contributions to the scattering mechanisms which determine the mobility: ``mesoscopic'' interface-roughness scattering for T<100 K and cluster scattering for 100300 K indicates strong electron-phonon coupling. This asymmetry shows that the domain length in the (011) plane is larger than that in the (011¯) plane. The magnetoresistance ρxx and the Hall resistance ρxy show oscillations in reciprocal magnetic field involving an excited subband i with ni2D=7.6×1011 cm-2, where 2D denotes two dimensional. The ρxy versus B curve shows features of a slight parallel conduction.

Hydrodynamic theory of thermoelectric transport and negative magnetoresistance in Weyl semimetals

PubMed Central

Lucas, Andrew; Davison, Richard A.

2016-01-01

We present a theory of thermoelectric transport in weakly disordered Weyl semimetals where the electron–electron scattering time is faster than the electron–impurity scattering time. Our hydrodynamic theory consists of relativistic fluids at each Weyl node, coupled together by perturbatively small intervalley scattering, and long-range Coulomb interactions. The conductivity matrix of our theory is Onsager reciprocal and positive semidefinite. In addition to the usual axial anomaly, we account for the effects of a distinct, axial–gravitational anomaly expected to be present in Weyl semimetals. Negative thermal magnetoresistance is a sharp, experimentally accessible signature of this axial–gravitational anomaly, even beyond the hydrodynamic limit. PMID:27512042

Optical Orientation of Mn2+ Ions in GaAs in Weak Longitudinal Magnetic Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akimov, I. A.; Dzhioev, R. I.; Korenev, V. L.; Kusrayev, Yu. G.; Sapega, V. F.; Yakovlev, D. R.; Bayer, M.

2011-04-01

We report on optical orientation of Mn2+ ions in bulk GaAs subject to weak longitudinal magnetic fields (B≤100mT). A manganese spin polarization of 25% is directly evaluated by using spin-flip Raman scattering. The dynamical Mn2+ polarization occurs due to the s-d exchange interaction with optically oriented conduction band electrons. Time-resolved photoluminescence reveals a nontrivial electron spin dynamics, where the oriented Mn2+ ions tend to stabilize the electron spins.

Optical orientation of Mn2+ ions in GaAs in weak longitudinal magnetic fields.

PubMed

Akimov, I A; Dzhioev, R I; Korenev, V L; Kusrayev, Yu G; Sapega, V F; Yakovlev, D R; Bayer, M

2011-04-08

We report on optical orientation of Mn2+ ions in bulk GaAs subject to weak longitudinal magnetic fields (B≤100  mT). A manganese spin polarization of 25% is directly evaluated by using spin-flip Raman scattering. The dynamical Mn2+ polarization occurs due to the s-d exchange interaction with optically oriented conduction band electrons. Time-resolved photoluminescence reveals a nontrivial electron spin dynamics, where the oriented Mn2+ ions tend to stabilize the electron spins.

Silicon superlattices. 2: Si-Ge heterostructures and MOS systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moriarty, J. A.

1983-01-01

Five main areas were examined: (1) the valence-and conduction-band-edge electronic structure of the thin layer ( 11 A) silicon-superlattice systems; (2) extension of thin-layer calculations to layers of thickness 11 A, where most potential experimental interest lies; (3) the electronic structure of thicker-layer (11 to 110 A) silicon superlattices; (4) preliminary calculations of impurity-scattering-limited electron mobility in the thicker-layer superlattices; and (5) production of the fine metal lines that would be required to produce on MOS superlattice.

Role of inter-tube coupling and quantum interference on electrical transport in carbon nanotube junctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tripathy, Srijeet; Bhattacharyya, Tarun Kanti

2016-09-01

Due to excellent transport properties, Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) show a lot of promise in sensor and interconnect technology. However, recent studies indicate that the conductance in CNT/CNT junctions are strongly affected by the morphology and orientation between the tubes. For proper utilization of such junctions in the development of CNT based technology, it is essential to study the electronic properties of such junctions. This work presents a theoretical study of the electrical transport properties of metallic Carbon nanotube homo-junctions. The study focuses on discerning the role of inter-tube interactions, quantum interference and scattering on the transport properties on junctions between identical tubes. The electronic structure and transport calculations are conducted with an Extended Hückel Theory-Non Equilibrium Green's Function based model. The calculations indicate conductance to be varying with a changing crossing angle, with maximum conductance corresponding to lattice registry, i.e. parallel configuration between the two tubes. Further calculations for such parallel configurations indicate onset of short and long range oscillations in conductance with respect to changing overlap length. These oscillations are attributed to inter-tube coupling effects owing to changing π orbital overlap, carrier scattering and quantum interference of the incident, transmitted and reflected waves at the inter-tube junction.

Ionic scattering factors of atoms that compose biological molecules

PubMed Central

Matsuoka, Rei; Yamashita, Yoshiki; Yamane, Tsutomu; Kidera, Akinori; Maki-Yonekura, Saori

2018-01-01

Ionic scattering factors of atoms that compose biological molecules have been computed by the multi-configuration Dirac–Fock method. These ions are chemically unstable and their scattering factors had not been reported except for O−. Yet these factors are required for the estimation of partial charges in protein molecules and nucleic acids. The electron scattering factors of these ions are particularly important as the electron scattering curves vary considerably between neutral and charged atoms in the spatial-resolution range explored in structural biology. The calculated X-ray and electron scattering factors have then been parameterized for the major scattering curve models used in X-ray and electron protein crystallography and single-particle cryo-EM. The X-ray and electron scattering factors and the fitting parameters are presented for future reference. PMID:29755750

Thermal conductivity of III-V semiconductor superlattices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mei, S., E-mail: song.mei@wisc.edu; Knezevic, I., E-mail: irena.knezevic@wisc.edu

2015-11-07

This paper presents a semiclassical model for the anisotropic thermal transport in III-V semiconductor superlattices (SLs). An effective interface rms roughness is the only adjustable parameter. Thermal transport inside a layer is described by the Boltzmann transport equation in the relaxation time approximation and is affected by the relevant scattering mechanisms (three-phonon, mass-difference, and dopant and electron scattering of phonons), as well as by diffuse scattering from the interfaces captured via an effective interface scattering rate. The in-plane thermal conductivity is obtained from the layer conductivities connected in parallel. The cross-plane thermal conductivity is calculated from the layer thermal conductivitiesmore » in series with one another and with thermal boundary resistances (TBRs) associated with each interface; the TBRs dominate cross-plane transport. The TBR of each interface is calculated from the transmission coefficient obtained by interpolating between the acoustic mismatch model (AMM) and the diffuse mismatch model (DMM), where the weight of the AMM transmission coefficient is the same wavelength-dependent specularity parameter related to the effective interface rms roughness that is commonly used to describe diffuse interface scattering. The model is applied to multiple III-arsenide superlattices, and the results are in very good agreement with experimental findings. The method is both simple and accurate, easy to implement, and applicable to complicated SL systems, such as the active regions of quantum cascade lasers. It is also valid for other SL material systems with high-quality interfaces and predominantly incoherent phonon transport.« less

Thermal conductivity anisotropy in holey silicon nanostructures and its impact on thermoelectric cooling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, Zongqing; Lee, Jaeho

2018-01-01

Artificial nanostructures have improved prospects of thermoelectric systems by enabling selective scattering of phonons and demonstrating significant thermal conductivity reductions. While the low thermal conductivity provides necessary temperature gradients for thermoelectric conversion, the heat generation is detrimental to electronic systems where high thermal conductivity are preferred. The contrasting needs of thermal conductivity are evident in thermoelectric cooling systems, which call for a fundamental breakthrough. Here we show a silicon nanostructure with vertically etched holes, or holey silicon, uniquely combines the low thermal conductivity in the in-plane direction and the high thermal conductivity in the cross-plane direction, and that the anisotropy is ideal for lateral thermoelectric cooling. The low in-plane thermal conductivity due to substantial phonon boundary scattering in small necks sustains large temperature gradients for lateral Peltier junctions. The high cross-plane thermal conductivity due to persistent long-wavelength phonons effectively dissipates heat from a hot spot to the on-chip cooling system. Our scaling analysis based on spectral phonon properties captures the anisotropic size effects in holey silicon and predicts the thermal conductivity anisotropy ratio up to 20. Our numerical simulations demonstrate the thermoelectric cooling effectiveness of holey silicon is at least 30% greater than that of high-thermal-conductivity bulk silicon and 400% greater than that of low-thermal-conductivity chalcogenides; these results contrast with the conventional perception preferring either high or low thermal conductivity materials. The thermal conductivity anisotropy is even more favorable in laterally confined systems and will provide effective thermal management solutions for advanced electronics.

Thermal conductivity anisotropy in holey silicon nanostructures and its impact on thermoelectric cooling.

PubMed

Ren, Zongqing; Lee, Jaeho

2018-01-26

Artificial nanostructures have improved prospects of thermoelectric systems by enabling selective scattering of phonons and demonstrating significant thermal conductivity reductions. While the low thermal conductivity provides necessary temperature gradients for thermoelectric conversion, the heat generation is detrimental to electronic systems where high thermal conductivity are preferred. The contrasting needs of thermal conductivity are evident in thermoelectric cooling systems, which call for a fundamental breakthrough. Here we show a silicon nanostructure with vertically etched holes, or holey silicon, uniquely combines the low thermal conductivity in the in-plane direction and the high thermal conductivity in the cross-plane direction, and that the anisotropy is ideal for lateral thermoelectric cooling. The low in-plane thermal conductivity due to substantial phonon boundary scattering in small necks sustains large temperature gradients for lateral Peltier junctions. The high cross-plane thermal conductivity due to persistent long-wavelength phonons effectively dissipates heat from a hot spot to the on-chip cooling system. Our scaling analysis based on spectral phonon properties captures the anisotropic size effects in holey silicon and predicts the thermal conductivity anisotropy ratio up to 20. Our numerical simulations demonstrate the thermoelectric cooling effectiveness of holey silicon is at least 30% greater than that of high-thermal-conductivity bulk silicon and 400% greater than that of low-thermal-conductivity chalcogenides; these results contrast with the conventional perception preferring either high or low thermal conductivity materials. The thermal conductivity anisotropy is even more favorable in laterally confined systems and will provide effective thermal management solutions for advanced electronics.

Reliability of Raman measurements of thermal conductivity of single-layer graphene due to selective electron-phonon coupling: A first-principles study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vallabhaneni, Ajit K.; Singh, Dhruv; Bao, Hua; Murthy, Jayathi; Ruan, Xiulin

2016-03-01

Raman spectroscopy has been widely used to measure thermal conductivity (κ ) of two-dimensional (2D) materials such as graphene. This method is based on a well-accepted assumption that different phonon polarizations are in near thermal equilibrium. However, in this paper, we show that, in laser-irradiated single-layer graphene, different phonon polarizations are in strong nonequilibrium, using predictive simulations based on first principles density functional perturbation theory and a multitemperature model. We first calculate the electron cooling rate due to phonon scattering as a function of the electron and phonon temperatures, and the results clearly illustrate that optical phonons dominate the hot electron relaxation process. We then use these results in conjunction with the phonon scattering rates computed using perturbation theory to develop a multitemperature model and resolve the spatial temperature distributions of the energy carriers in graphene under steady-state laser irradiation. Our results show that electrons, optical phonons, and acoustic phonons are in strong nonequilibrium, with the flexural acoustic (ZA) phonons showing the largest nonequilibrium to other phonon modes, mainly due to their weak coupling to other carriers in suspended graphene. Since ZA phonons are the main heat carriers in graphene, we estimate that neglecting this nonequilibrium leads to underestimation of thermal conductivity in experiments at room temperature by a factor of 1.35 to 2.6, depending on experimental conditions and assumptions used. Underestimation is also expected in Raman measurements of other 2D materials when the optical-acoustic phonon coupling is weak.

Electrical and thermal transport through low densified copper doped PbSe for thermoelectric application

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gayner, Chhatrasal; Malik, Iram; Das, Malay K.

2016-05-06

In this paper, Cu doped PbSe is successfully synthesized by solid state reaction. Theinfluence of porosity on thermal and electrical transport in Cu doped PbSe is investigated in this study. Low densified material significantly scatters the electrons as well as phonons through the high number of scattering sites (like pores, cracks, disorder, etc). As a result, the drastic reduction in thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity isnoticed. Additionally, Seebeck coefficient enhances in a low densified materials. Furthermore, Pb{sub 1-x}Cu{sub x}Se (x ∼ 0 to 0.06) has high Seebeck coefficient due to the energy filtering effect and lower charge carrier concentration.

Prediction of a mobile two-dimensional electron gas at the LaSc O3 /BaSn O3 (001) interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paudel, Tula R.; Tsymbal, Evgeny Y.

2017-12-01

Two-dimensional electron gases (2DEG) at oxide interfaces, such as LaAl O3 /SrTi O3 (001), have aroused significant interest due to their high carrier density (˜1014c m-2 ) and strong lateral confinement (˜1 nm). However, these 2DEGs are normally hosted by the weakly dispersive and degenerate d bands (e.g., Ti -3 d bands), which are strongly coupled to the lattice, causing mobility of such 2DEGs to be relatively low at room temperature (˜1 c m2/Vs ). Here, we propose using oxide host materials with the conduction bands formed from s electrons to increase carrier mobility and soften its temperature dependence. Using first-principles density functional theory calculations, we investigate LaSc O3 /BaSn O3 (001) heterostructure and as a model system, where the conduction band hosts the s -like carriers. We find that the polar discontinuity at this interface leads to electronic reconstruction resulting in the formation of the 2DEG at this interface. The conduction electrons reside in the highly dispersive Sn -5 s bands, which have a large band width and a low effective mass. The predicted 2DEG is expected to be highly mobile even at room temperature due to the reduced electron-phonon scattering via the inter-band scattering channel. A qualitatively similar behavior is predicted for a doped BaSn O3 , where a monolayer of BaO is replaced with LaO. We anticipate that the quantum phenomena associated with these 2DEGs to be more pronounced owing to the high mobility of the carriers.

Characterization of conductive nanobiomaterials derived from viral assemblies by low-voltage STEM imaging and Raman scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plascencia-Villa, Germán; Carreño-Fuentes, Liliana; Bahena, Daniel; José-Yacamán, Miguel; Palomares, Laura A.; Ramírez, Octavio T.

2014-09-01

New technologies require the development of novel nanomaterials that need to be fully characterized to achieve their potential. High-resolution low-voltage scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) has proven to be a very powerful technique in nanotechnology, but its use for the characterization of nanobiomaterials has been limited. Rotavirus VP6 self-assembles into nanotubular assemblies that possess an intrinsic affinity for Au ions. This property was exploited to produce hybrid nanobiomaterials by the in situ functionalization of recombinant VP6 nanotubes with gold nanoparticles. In this work, Raman spectroscopy and advanced analytical electron microscopy imaging with spherical aberration-corrected (Cs) STEM and nanodiffraction at low-voltage doses were employed to characterize nanobiomaterials. STEM imaging revealed the precise structure and arrangement of the protein templates, as well as the nanostructure and atomic arrangement of gold nanoparticles with high spatial sub-Angstrom resolution and avoided radiation damage. The imaging was coupled with backscattered electron imaging, ultra-high resolution scanning electron microscopy and x-ray spectroscopy. The hybrid nanobiomaterials that were obtained showed unique properties as bioelectronic conductive devices and showed enhanced Raman scattering by their precise arrangement into superlattices, displaying the utility of viral assemblies as functional integrative self-assembled nanomaterials for novel applications.

Thermoelectric properties of Co4Sb12 with Bi2Te3 nanoinclusions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, Sanyukta; Bisht, Anuj; Karati, Anirudha; Rogl, Gerda; Rogl, Peter; Murty, B. S.; Suwas, Satyam; Mallik, Ramesh Chandra

2018-03-01

The figure of merit (zT) of a thermoelectric material can be enhanced by incorporation of nanoinclusions into bulk material. The presence of bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) nanoinclusions in Co4Sb12 leads to lower phonon thermal conductivity by introducing interfaces and defects; it enhances the average zT between 300-700 K. In the current study, Bi2Te3 nanoparticles were dispersed into bulk Co4Sb12 by ball-milling. The bulk was fabricated by spark plasma sintering. The presence of Bi2Te3 dispersion in Co4Sb12 was confirmed by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and electron back scattered diffraction technique. Energy dispersive spectroscopy showed antimony (Sb) as an impurity phase for higher contents of Bi2Te3 in the sample. The Seebeck coefficient (S) and electrical conductivity (σ) were measured in the temperature range of 350-673 K. The negative value of S indicates that most of the charge carriers were electrons. A decrease in S and increase in σ with Bi2Te3 content are due to the increased carrier concentration, as confirmed by Hall measurement. The thermal conductivity, measured between 423-673 K, decreased due to the increased phonon scattering at interfaces. A maximum zT of 0.17 was achieved at 523 K and it did not vary much throughout the temperature range. The experimental results of composites were compared by using effective medium theories.

Thermoelectric properties of Co4Sb12 with Bi2Te3 nanoinclusions.

PubMed

Ghosh, Sanyukta; Bisht, Anuj; Karati, Anirudha; Rogl, Gerda; Rogl, Peter; Murty, B S; Suwas, Satyam; Mallik, Ramesh Chandra

2018-02-12

The figure of merit (zT) of a thermoelectric material can be enhanced by incorporation of nanoinclusions into bulk material. The presence of bismuth telluride (Bi 2 Te 3 ) nanoinclusions in Co 4 Sb 12 leads to lower phonon thermal conductivity by introducing interfaces and defects; it enhances the average zT between 300-700 K. In the current study, Bi 2 Te 3 nanoparticles were dispersed into bulk Co 4 Sb 12 by ball-milling. The bulk was fabricated by spark plasma sintering. The presence of Bi 2 Te 3 dispersion in Co 4 Sb 12 was confirmed by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and electron back scattered diffraction technique. Energy dispersive spectroscopy showed antimony (Sb) as an impurity phase for higher contents of Bi 2 Te 3 in the sample. The Seebeck coefficient (S) and electrical conductivity (σ) were measured in the temperature range of 350-673 K. The negative value of S indicates that most of the charge carriers were electrons. A decrease in S and increase in σ with Bi 2 Te 3 content are due to the increased carrier concentration, as confirmed by Hall measurement. The thermal conductivity, measured between 423-673 K, decreased due to the increased phonon scattering at interfaces. A maximum zT of 0.17 was achieved at 523 K and it did not vary much throughout the temperature range. The experimental results of composites were compared by using effective medium theories.

Kinetics of Electrons from Plasma Discharge in a Latent Track Region Induced by Swift Heavy ION Irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minárik, Stanislav

2015-08-01

While passing swift heavy ion through a material structure, it produces a region of radiation affected material which is known as a "latent track". Scattering motions of electrons interacting with a swift heavy ion are dominant in the latent track region. These phenomena include the electron impurity and phonon scattering processes modified by the interaction with the ion projectile as well as the Coulomb scattering between two electrons. In this paper, we provide detailed derivation of a 3D Boltzmann scattering equation for the description of the relative scattering motion of such electrons. Phase-space distribution function for this non-equilibrioum system of scattering electrons can be found by the solution of mentioned equation.

Conduction in fully ionized liquid metals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stevenson, D. J.; Ashcroft, N. W.

1973-01-01

Electron transport is considered in high density fully ionized liquid metals. Ionic structure is described in terms of hard-sphere correlation functions and the scattering is determined from self-consistently screened point ions. Applications to the physical properties of the deep interior of Jupiter are briefly considered.

Ultrafast surface carrier dynamics in the topological insulator Bi₂Te₃.

PubMed

Hajlaoui, M; Papalazarou, E; Mauchain, J; Lantz, G; Moisan, N; Boschetto, D; Jiang, Z; Miotkowski, I; Chen, Y P; Taleb-Ibrahimi, A; Perfetti, L; Marsi, M

2012-07-11

We discuss the ultrafast evolution of the surface electronic structure of the topological insulator Bi(2)Te(3) following a femtosecond laser excitation. Using time and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, we provide a direct real-time visualization of the transient carrier population of both the surface states and the bulk conduction band. We find that the thermalization of the surface states is initially determined by interband scattering from the bulk conduction band, lasting for about 0.5 ps; subsequently, few picoseconds are necessary for the Dirac cone nonequilibrium electrons to recover a Fermi-Dirac distribution, while their relaxation extends over more than 10 ps. The surface sensitivity of our measurements makes it possible to estimate the range of the bulk-surface interband scattering channel, indicating that the process is effective over a distance of 5 nm or less. This establishes a correlation between the nanoscale thickness of the bulk charge reservoir and the evolution of the ultrafast carrier dynamics in the surface Dirac cone.

SU-E-T-489: Quantum versus Classical Trajectory Monte Carlo Simulations of Low Energy Electron Transport.

PubMed

Thomson, R; Kawrakow, I

2012-06-01

Widely-used classical trajectory Monte Carlo simulations of low energy electron transport neglect the quantum nature of electrons; however, at sub-1 keV energies quantum effects have the potential to become significant. This work compares quantum and classical simulations within a simplified model of electron transport in water. Electron transport is modeled in water droplets using quantum mechanical (QM) and classical trajectory Monte Carlo (MC) methods. Water droplets are modeled as collections of point scatterers representing water molecules from which electrons may be isotropically scattered. The role of inelastic scattering is investigated by introducing absorption. QM calculations involve numerically solving a system of coupled equations for the electron wavefield incident on each scatterer. A minimum distance between scatterers is introduced to approximate structured water. The average QM water droplet incoherent cross section is compared with the MC cross section; a relative error (RE) on the MC results is computed. RE varies with electron energy, average and minimum distances between scatterers, and scattering amplitude. The mean free path is generally the relevant length scale for estimating RE. The introduction of a minimum distance between scatterers increases RE substantially (factors of 5 to 10), suggesting that the structure of water must be modeled for accurate simulations. Inelastic scattering does not improve agreement between QM and MC simulations: for the same magnitude of elastic scattering, the introduction of inelastic scattering increases RE. Droplet cross sections are sensitive to droplet size and shape; considerable variations in RE are observed with changing droplet size and shape. At sub-1 keV energies, quantum effects may become non-negligible for electron transport in condensed media. Electron transport is strongly affected by the structure of the medium. Inelastic scatter does not improve agreement between QM and MC simulations of low energy electron transport in condensed media. © 2012 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Resistivity scaling and electron relaxation times in metallic nanowires

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moors, Kristof, E-mail: kristof@itf.fys.kuleuven.be; Imec, Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven; Sorée, Bart

2014-08-14

We study the resistivity scaling in nanometer-sized metallic wires due to surface roughness and grain-boundaries, currently the main cause of electron scattering in nanoscaled interconnects. The resistivity has been obtained with the Boltzmann transport equation, adopting the relaxation time approximation of the distribution function and the effective mass approximation for the conducting electrons. The relaxation times are calculated exactly, using Fermi's golden rule, resulting in a correct relaxation time for every sub-band state contributing to the transport. In general, the relaxation time strongly depends on the sub-band state, something that remained unclear with the methods of previous work. The resistivitymore » scaling is obtained for different roughness and grain-boundary properties, showing large differences in scaling behavior and relaxation times. Our model clearly indicates that the resistivity is dominated by grain-boundary scattering, easily surpassing the surface roughness contribution by a factor of 10.« less

Model improvements to simulate charging in SEM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arat, K. T.; Klimpel, T.; Hagen, C. W.

2018-03-01

Charging of insulators is a complex phenomenon to simulate since the accuracy of the simulations is very sensitive to the interaction of electrons with matter and electric fields. In this study, we report model improvements for a previously developed Monte-Carlo simulator to more accurately simulate samples that charge. The improvements include both modelling of low energy electron scattering and charging of insulators. The new first-principle scattering models provide a more realistic charge distribution cloud in the material, and a better match between non-charging simulations and experimental results. Improvements on charging models mainly focus on redistribution of the charge carriers in the material with an induced conductivity (EBIC) and a breakdown model, leading to a smoother distribution of the charges. Combined with a more accurate tracing of low energy electrons in the electric field, we managed to reproduce the dynamically changing charging contrast due to an induced positive surface potential.

Parametric dependence of ion temperature and electron density in the SUMMA hot-ion plasma using laser light scattering and emission spectroscopy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Snyder, A.; Patch, R. W.; Lauver, M. R.

1980-01-01

Hot-ion plasma experiments were conducted in the NASA Lewis SUMMA facility. A steady-state modified Penning discharge was formed by applying a radially inward dc electric field of several kilovolts near the magnetic mirror maxima. Results are reported for a hydrogen plasma covering a wide range in midplane magnetic flux densities from 0.5 to 3.37 T. Input power greater than 45 kW was obtained with water-cooled cathodes. Steady-state plasmas with ion kinetic temperatures from 18 to 830 eV were produced and measured spectroscopically. These ion temperatures were correlated with current, voltage, and magnetic flux density as the independent variables. Electron density measurements were made using an unusually sensitive Thomson scattering apparatus. The measured electron densities range from 2.1 x 10 to the 11th to 6.8 x 10 to the 12th per cu cm.

Effect of spin fluctuations on the electronic structure in iron-based superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heimes, Andreas; Grein, Roland; Eschrig, Matthias

2012-08-01

Magnetic inelastic neutron scattering studies of iron-based superconductors reveal a strongly temperature-dependent spin-fluctuation spectrum in the normal conducting state, which develops a prominent low-energy resonance feature when entering the superconducting state. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) allow us to study the fingerprints of fluctuation modes via their interactions with electronic quasiparticles. We calculate such fingerprints in 122 iron pnictides using an experimentally motivated spin-fluctuation spectrum and make a number of predictions that can be tested in ARPES and STS experiments. This includes discussions of the quasiparticle scattering rate and the superconducting order parameter. In quantitative agreement with experiment we reproduce the quasiparticle dispersions obtained from momentum distribution curves as well as energy distribution curves. We discuss the relevance of the coupling between spin fluctuations and electronic excitations for the superconducting mechanism.

Detailed investigation of thermal and electron transport properties in strongly correlated compound Ce6Pd12In5 and its nonmagnetic analog La6Pd12In5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Falkowski, M.; Krychowski, D.; Strydom, A. M.

2016-11-01

An in-depth study of thermal and electron transport properties including thermal conductivity κ(T), thermoelectric power S(T), and electrical resistivity ρ(T) of the heavy fermion Kondo lattice Ce6Pd12In5 and its nonmagnetic reference compound La6Pd12In5 is presented. The absolute κ(T) value of Ce6Pd12In5 is smaller that than of La6Pd12In5, which indicates that conduction electron-4f electron scattering has a large impact on the reduction of thermal conductivity. The isolated 4f electron contributions to the electrical resistivity ρ 4 f (T), electronic thermal resistivity displayed in the form W e l , 4 f (T) .T, and thermoelectric power S 4 f (T) reveal a low- and high-temperature -lnT behaviour characteristic of Kondo systems with strong crystal-electric field (CEF) interactions. The analysis of phonon scattering processes of lattice thermal conductivity κph(T) in (Ce, La)6Pd12In5 was performed over the whole accessible temperature range according to the Callaway model. In the scope of a theoretical approach based on the perturbation type calculation, we were able to describe our experimental data of ρ 4 f (T) and W e l , 4 f (T) .T by using the model incorporating simultaneously the Kondo effect in the presence of the CEF splitting, as it is foreseen in the framework of the Cornut-Coqblin and Bhattacharjee-Coqblin theory. Considering the fact that there are not many cases of similar studies at all, we also show the numerical calculations of temperature-dependent behaviour of spin-disorder resistivity ρs(T), magnetic resistivity ρ 4 f (T), and occupation number ⟨ N i ⟩ due to the various types of degeneracy of the ground state multiplet of Ce 3 + (J = 5/2).

Thermoelectric Properties of Complex Zintl Phases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Snyder, G. Jeffrey

2008-03-01

Complex Zintl phases make ideal thermoelectric materials because they can exhibit the necessary ``electron-crystal, phonon-glass'' properties required for high thermoelectric efficiency. Complex crystal structures can lead to high thermoelectric figure of merit (zT) by having extraordinarily low lattice thermal conductivity. A recent example is the discovery that Yb14MnSb11, a complex Zintl compound, has twice the zT as the SiGe based material currently in use at NASA. The high temperature (300K - 1300K) electronic properties of Yb14MnSb11 can be understood using models for heavily doped semiconductors. The free hole concentration, confirmed by Hall effect measurements, is set by the electron counting rules of Zintl and the valence of the transition metal (Mn^+2). Substitution of nonmagnetic Zn^+2 for the magnetic Mn^+2 reduces the spin-disorder scattering and leads to increased zT (10%). The reduction of spin-disorder scattering is consistent with the picture of Yb14MnSb11 as an underscreened Kondo lattice as derived from low temperature measurements. The hole concentration can be reduced by the substitution of Al^+3 for Mn^+2, which leads to an increase in the Seebeck coefficient and electrical resistivity consistent with models for degenerate semiconductors. This leads to further improvements (about 25%) in zT and a reduction in the temperature where the zT peaks. The peak in zT is due to the onset of minority carrier conduction and can be correlated with reduction in Seebeck coefficient, increase in electrical conductivity and increase in thermal conductivity due to bipolar thermal conduction.

Antimonene: Experiments and theory of surface conductivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palacios, Juan Jose; Ares, Pablo; Pakdel, Sahar; Paz, Wendel; Zamora, Felix; Gomez-Herrero, Julio

Very recently antimony has been demonstrated to be amenable to standard exfoliation procedures opening the possibility of studying the electronic properties of isolated few-layers flakes of this material, a.k.a. antimonene. Antimony is a topological semimetal, meaning that its electronic structure presents spin-split helical states (or Dirac cones) on the surface, but it is still trivially metallic in bulk. Antimonene, on the other hand, may present a much reduced electronic bulk contribution for a small number of layers. A novel technique to make electrical contacts on the surface of individual thin flakes (5-10 monolayers) has allowed us to measure the (surface) conductivity of these in ambient conditions. Our measurements show a high conductivity in the range of 1 - 2e2 / h , which we attribute to the surface Dirac electrons. We have also carried out theoretical work to address the origin of this value, in particular, the importance of scattering between the Dirac electrons and the bulk bands. Our calculations are based on density functional theory for the electronic structure and Kubo formalism for the conductivity, the latter considering random disorder and the presence of water. Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Grant FIS2016-80434-P.

Büttiker probes for dissipative phonon quantum transport in semiconductor nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miao, K.; Sadasivam, S.; Charles, J.; Klimeck, G.; Fisher, T. S.; Kubis, T.

2016-03-01

Theoretical prediction of phonon transport in modern semiconductor nanodevices requires atomic resolution of device features and quantum transport models covering coherent and incoherent effects. The nonequilibrium Green's function method is known to serve this purpose well but is numerically expensive in simulating incoherent scattering processes. This work extends the efficient Büttiker probe approach widely used in electron transport to phonons and considers salient implications of the method. Different scattering mechanisms such as impurity, boundary, and Umklapp scattering are included, and the method is shown to reproduce the experimental thermal conductivity of bulk Si and Ge over a wide temperature range. Temperature jumps at the lead/device interface are captured in the quasi-ballistic transport regime consistent with results from the Boltzmann transport equation. Results of this method in Si/Ge heterojunctions illustrate the impact of atomic relaxation on the thermal interface conductance and the importance of inelastic scattering to activate high-energy channels for phonon transport. The resultant phonon transport model is capable of predicting the thermal performance in the heterostructure efficiently.

Genuine binding energy of the hydrated electron

PubMed Central

Luckhaus, David; Yamamoto, Yo-ichi; Suzuki, Toshinori; Signorell, Ruth

2017-01-01

The unknown influence of inelastic and elastic scattering of slow electrons in water has made it difficult to clarify the role of the solvated electron in radiation chemistry and biology. We combine accurate scattering simulations with experimental photoemission spectroscopy of the hydrated electron in a liquid water microjet, with the aim of resolving ambiguities regarding the influence of electron scattering on binding energy spectra, photoelectron angular distributions, and probing depths. The scattering parameters used in the simulations are retrieved from independent photoemission experiments of water droplets. For the ground-state hydrated electron, we report genuine values devoid of scattering contributions for the vertical binding energy and the anisotropy parameter of 3.7 ± 0.1 eV and 0.6 ± 0.2, respectively. Our probing depths suggest that even vacuum ultraviolet probing is not particularly surface-selective. Our work demonstrates the importance of quantitative scattering simulations for a detailed analysis of key properties of the hydrated electron. PMID:28508051

The role of polarization coulomb field scattering in the electron mobility of AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yan; Lin, Zhaojun; Zhao, Jingtao; Yang, Ming; Shi, Wenjing; Lv, Yuanjie; Feng, Zhihong

2016-04-01

The electron mobility for the prepared AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistor (HFET) with the ratio of the gate length to the drain-to-source distance being less than 1/2 has been studied by comparing the measured electron mobility with the theoretical value. The measured electron mobility is derived from the measured capacitance-voltage (C-V) and current-voltage (I-V) characteristics, and the theoretical mobility is determined by using Matthiessen's law, involving six kinds of important scattering mechanisms. For the prepared device at room temperature, longitudinal optical phonon scattering (LO scattering) was found to have a remarkable effect on the value of the electron mobility, and polarization Coulomb field scattering (PCF scattering ) was found to be important to the changing trend of the electron mobility versus the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) density.

Strong constraints on sub-GeV dark sectors from SLAC beam dump E137.

PubMed

Batell, Brian; Essig, Rouven; Surujon, Ze'ev

2014-10-24

We present new constraints on sub-GeV dark matter and dark photons from the electron beam-dump experiment E137 conducted at SLAC in 1980-1982. Dark matter interacting with electrons (e.g., via a dark photon) could have been produced in the electron-target collisions and scattered off electrons in the E137 detector, producing the striking, zero-background signature of a high-energy electromagnetic shower that points back to the beam dump. E137 probes new and significant ranges of parameter space and constrains the well-motivated possibility that dark photons that decay to light dark-sector particles can explain the ∼3.6σ discrepancy between the measured and standard model value of the muon anomalous magnetic moment. It also restricts the parameter space in which the relic density of dark matter in these models is obtained from thermal freeze-out. E137 also convincingly demonstrates that (cosmic) backgrounds can be controlled and thus serves as a powerful proof of principle for future beam-dump searches for sub-GeV dark-sector particles scattering off electrons in the detector.

Electron and phonon transport in Co-doped FeV0.6Nb0.4Sb half-Heusler thermoelectric materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Chenguang; Liu, Yintu; Xie, Hanhui; Liu, Xiaohua; Zhao, Xinbing; Jeffrey Snyder, G.; Xie, Jian; Zhu, Tiejun

2013-10-01

The electron and phonon transport characteristics of n-type Fe1-xCoxV0.6Nb0.4Sb half-Heusler thermoelectric compounds is analyzed. The acoustic phonon scattering is dominant in the carrier transport. The deformation potential of Edef = 14.1 eV and the density of state effective mass m* ≈ 2.0 me are derived under a single parabolic band assumption. The band gap is calculated to be ˜0.3 eV. Electron and phonon mean free paths are estimated based on the low and high temperature measurements. The electron mean free path is higher than the phonon one above room temperature, which is consistent with the experimental result that the electron mobility decreases more than the lattice thermal conductivity by grain refinement to enhance boundary scattering. A maximum ZT value of ˜0.33 is obtained at 650 K for x = 0.015, an increase by ˜60% compared with FeVSb. The optimal doping level is found to be ˜3.0 × 1020 cm-3 at 600 K.

Phonon Scattering in Thermoelectrics: Thermal Transport, Strong Anharmonicity, and Emergent Quasiparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delaire, Olivier

Modern neutron and x-ray spectrometers can map phonon dispersions and scattering rates throughout reciprocal space, providing unique insights into microscopic scattering mechanisms, including anharmonicity, electron-phonon coupling, or scattering by defects and nanostructures. In addition, first-principles simulations enable the rationalization of extensive experimental datasets. In particular, ab-initio molecular dynamics simulations can capture striking effects of anharmonicity near lattice instabilities. A number of high-performance thermoelectric materials are found in the vicinity of lattice instabilities, including Pb chalcogenides PbX, SnSe, Cu2Se, among others. The large phonon anharmonicity found in such compounds suppresses the lattice thermal conductivity, enhancing their thermoelectric efficiency. In this presentation, I will present results from our investigations of phonons in these materials using neutron and x-ray scattering combined with first-principles simulations, focusing on anharmonic effects near lattice instabilities. I will show how strong anharmonicity can lead to emergent quasiparticles qualitatively different from harmonic phonons, which we probe in our measurements and simulations of the phonon self-energy. Commonalities between systems will be highlighted, including connections between strong anharmonicity and the electronic structure. Funding from US DOE, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Science and Engineering Division, Office of Science Early Career program (DE-SC0016166), and as part of the S3TEC EFRC (DE-SC0001299).

Nonlinear optical response in narrow graphene nanoribbons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karimi, Farhad; Knezevic, Irena

We present an iterative method to calculate the nonlinear optical response of armchair graphene nanoribbons (aGNRs) and zigzag graphene nanoribbons (zGNRs) while including the effects of dissipation. In contrast to methods that calculate the nonlinear response in the ballistic (dissipation-free) regime, here we obtain the nonlinear response of an electronic system to an external electromagnetic field while interacting with a dissipative environment (to second order). We use a self-consistent-field approach within a Markovian master-equation formalism (SCF-MMEF) coupled with full-wave electromagnetic equations, and we solve the master equation iteratively to obtain the higher-order response functions. We employ the SCF-MMEF to calculate the nonlinear conductance and susceptibility, as well as to calculate the dependence of the plasmon dispersion and plasmon propagation length on the intensity of the electromagnetic field in GNRs. The electron scattering mechanisms included in this work are scattering with intrinsic phonons, ionized impurities, surface optical phonons, and line-edge roughness. Unlike in wide GNRs, where ionized-impurity scattering dominates dissipation, in ultra-narrow nanoribbons on polar substrates optical-phonon scattering and ionized-impurity scattering are equally prominent. Support by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering under Award DE-SC0008712.

Room scatter effects in Total Skin Electron Irradiation: Monte Carlo simulation study.

PubMed

Nevelsky, Alexander; Borzov, Egor; Daniel, Shahar; Bar-Deroma, Raquel

2017-01-01

Total Skin Electron Irradiation (TSEI) is a complex technique which usually involves the use of large electron fields and the dual-field approach. In this situation, many electrons scattered from the treatment room floor are produced. However, no investigations of the effect of scattered electrons in TSEI treatments have been reported. The purpose of this work was to study the contribution of floor scattered electrons to skin dose during TSEI treatment using Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. All MC simulations were performed with the EGSnrc code. Influence of beam energy, dual-field angle, and floor material on the contribution of floor scatter was investigated. Spectrum of the scattered electrons was calculated. Measurements of dose profile were performed in order to verify MC calculations. Floor scatter dependency on the floor material was observed (at 20 cm from the floor, scatter contribution was about 21%, 18%, 15%, and 12% for iron, concrete, PVC, and water, respectively). Although total dose profiles exhibited slight variation as functions of beam energy and dual-field angle, no dependence of the floor scatter contribution on the beam energy or dual-field angle was found. The spectrum of the scattered electrons was almost uniform between a few hundred KeV to 4 MeV, and then decreased linearly to 6 MeV. For the TSEI technique, dose contribution due to the electrons scattered from the room floor may be clinically significant and should be taken into account during design and commissioning phases. MC calculations can be used for this task. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Terahertz pulse induced intervalley scattering in photoexcited GaAs.

PubMed

Su, F H; Blanchard, F; Sharma, G; Razzari, L; Ayesheshim, A; Cocker, T L; Titova, L V; Ozaki, T; Kieffer, J-C; Morandotti, R; Reid, M; Hegmann, F A

2009-06-08

Nonlinear transient absorption bleaching of intense few-cycle terahertz (THz) pulses is observed in photoexcited GaAs using opticalpump--THz-probe techniques. A simple model of the electron transport dynamics shows that the observed nonlinear response is due to THz-electric- field-induced intervalley scattering over sub-picosecond time scales as well as an increase in the intravalley scattering rate attributed to carrier heating. Furthermore, the nonlinear nature of the THz pulse transmission at high peak fields leads to a measured terahertz conductivity in the photoexcited GaAs that deviates significantly from the Drude behavior observed at low THz fields, emphasizing the need to explore nonlinear THz pulse interactions with materials in the time domain.

Generalized Landauer equation: Absorption-controlled diffusion processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Godoy, Salvador; García-Colín, L. S.; Micenmacher, Victor

1999-05-01

The exact expression of the one-dimensional Boltzmann multiple-scattering coefficients, for the passage of particles through a slab of a given material, is obtained in terms of the single-scattering cross section of the material, including absorption. The remarkable feature of the result is that for multiple scattering in a metal, free from absorption, one recovers the well-known Landauer result for conduction electrons. In the case of particles, such as neutrons, moving through a weak absorbing media, Landuer's formula is modified due to the absorption cross section. For photons, in a strong absorbing media, one recovers the Lambert-Beer equation. In this latter case one may therefore speak of absorption-controlled diffusive processes.

A new measurement of electron transverse polarization in polarized nuclear β-decay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawamura, H.; Akiyama, T.; Hata, M.; Hirayama, Y.; Ikeda, M.; Ikeda, Y.; Ishii, T.; Kameda, D.; Mitsuoka, S.; Miyatake, H.; Nagae, D.; Nakaya, Y.; Ninomiya, K.; Nitta, M.; Ogawa, N.; Onishi, J.; Seitaibashi, E.; Tanaka, S.; Tanuma, R.; Totsuka, Y.; Toyoda, T.; Watanabe, Y. X.; Murata, J.

2017-03-01

The Mott polarimetry for T-violation (MTV) experiment tests time-reversal symmetry in polarized nuclear β-decay by measuring an electron’s transverse polarization as a form of angular asymmetry in Mott scattering using a thin metal foil. A Mott scattering analyzer system developed using a tracking detector to measure scattering angles offers better event selectivity than conventional counter experiments. In this paper, we describe a pilot experiment conducted at KEK-TRIAC using a prototype system with a polarized 8Li beam. The experiment confirmed the sound performance of our Mott analyzer system to measure T-violating triple correlation (R correlation), and therefore recommends its use in higher-precision experiments at the TRIUMF-ISAC.

Atomic-scale Visualization of Electronic Nematicity and Cooper Pairing in Iron-based Superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allan, Milan P.

2013-03-01

The mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity in the relatively novel iron-based high-Tc superconductors is unresolved, both in terms of how the phases evolve with doping, and in terms of the actual Cooper pairing process. To explore these issues, we used spectroscopic-imaging scanning tunneling microscopy to study the electronic structure of CaFe2As2 in the antiferromagnetic-orthorhombic `parent' state from which the superconductivity emerges. We discovered and visualized the now widely studied electronic `nematicity' of this phase, whose suppression is associated with the emergence of superconductivity (Science 327, 181, 2010). As subsequent transport experiments discovered a related anisotropic conductance which increases with dopant concentration, the interplay between the electronic structure surrounding each dopant atom, quasiparticle scattering therefrom, and the transport nematicity has become a pivotal focus of research. We find that substituting Co for Fe atoms in underdoped Ca(Fe1-xCox)2As2 generates a dense population of identical and strongly anisotropic impurity states that are distributed randomly but aligned with the antiferromagnetic a-axis. We also demonstrate, by imaging their surrounding interference patterns, that these impurity states scatter quasiparticles and thus influence transport in a highly anisotropic manner (M.P. Allan et al., 2013). Next, we studied the momentum dependence of the energy gaps of iron-based superconductivity, now focusing on LiFeAs. If strong electron-electron interactions mediate the Cooper pairing, then momentum-space anisotropic superconducting energy gaps Δi (k) were predicted by multiple techniques to appear on the different electronic bands i. We introduced intraband Bogoliubov quasiparticle scattering interference (QPI) techniques for the determination of anisotropic energy gaps to test these hypotheses and discovered the anisotropy, magnitude, and relative orientations of the energy gaps on multiple bands (Science 336, 563 (2012)). Finally, the electron-electron interactions generating Cooper pairing are often conjectured to involve bosonic spin fluctuations generated by interband scattering of electrons. We explore the STM signatures of both the interband scattering and the electron-boson coupling self-energy in LiFeAs, and detect the signatures of the electron-boson coupling (M.P. Allan et al., in preparation). In collaboration with A.W. Rost, T.-M. Chuang, F. Massee, M.S. Golden, Y. Xie, M.H. Fisher, E.-A. Kim, K. Lee, Ni Ni, S.L. Bud'ko, P.C. Canfield, Q. Wang, D.S. Dessau, K. Kihou, C.H. Lee, A. Iyo, H. Eisaki, D.J. Scalapino, A.P. Mackenzie and J.C. Davis

Specific features of electron scattering in uniaxially deformed n-Ge single crystals in the presence of radiation defects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luniov, S. V.; Zimych, A. I.; Nazarchuk, P. F.; Maslyuk, V. T.; Megela, I. G.

2016-12-01

Temperature dependencies for concentration of electrons and the Hall mobility for unirradiated and irradiated by the flow of electrons ? single crystals ?, with the energy of ?, for different values of uniaxial pressures along the crystallographic directions ?, ? and ? are obtained on the basis of piezo-Hall effect measurements. Non-typical growth of the Hall mobility of electrons for irradiated single crystals ? in comparison with unirradiated with the increasing of value of uniaxial pressures along the crystallographic directions ? (for the entire range of the investigated temperatures) and ? (to temperatures ?) has been revealed. Such an effect of the Hall mobility increase for uniaxially deformed single crystals ? is explained by the reduction of gradients of a resistance as a result of reduction in the amplitude of a large-scale potential with deformation and concentration of charged A-centers in the process of their recharge by the increasing of uniaxial pressure and consequently the probability of scattering on these centers. Theoretical calculations for temperature dependencies of the Hall mobility for uniaxially deformed single crystals ? in terms of the electrons scattering on the ions of shallow donors, acoustic, optical and intervalley phonons, regions of disordering and large-scale potential is good conformed to the corresponding experimental results at temperatures T<220 K for the case of uniaxial pressures along the crystallographic directions ? and ? and for temperatures ? when the uniaxial pressure is directed along the crystallographic directions ?. The mechanism of electron scattering on a charged radiation defects (which correspond to the deep energy levels of A-centers) 'is turned off' for the given temperatures due to the uniaxial pressure. Reduction of the Hall mobility in transition through a maximum of dependence ? with the increasing temperature for cases of the uniaxial deformation of the irradiated single crystals ? along the crystallographic directions ? and ? is explained by the deforming redistribution of electrons between the minima of conduction band of germanium with different mobility.

Thermal Conductivity of Wurtzite Zinc-Oxide from First-Principles Lattice Dynamics - a Comparative Study with Gallium Nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Xufei; Lee, Jonghoon; Varshney, Vikas; Wohlwend, Jennifer L.; Roy, Ajit K.; Luo, Tengfei

2016-03-01

Wurtzite Zinc-Oxide (w-ZnO) is a wide bandgap semiconductor that holds promise in power electronics applications, where heat dissipation is of critical importance. However, large discrepancies exist in the literature on the thermal conductivity of w-ZnO. In this paper, we determine the thermal conductivity of w-ZnO using first-principles lattice dynamics and compare it to that of wurtzite Gallium-Nitride (w-GaN) - another important wide bandgap semiconductor with the same crystal structure and similar atomic masses as w-ZnO. However, the thermal conductivity values show large differences (400 W/mK of w-GaN vs. 50 W/mK of w-ZnO at room temperature). It is found that the much lower thermal conductivity of ZnO originates from the smaller phonon group velocities, larger three-phonon scattering phase space and larger anharmonicity. Compared to w-GaN, w-ZnO has a smaller frequency gap in phonon dispersion, which is responsible for the stronger anharmonic phonon scattering, and the weaker interatomic bonds in w-ZnO leads to smaller phonon group velocities. The thermal conductivity of w-ZnO also shows strong size effect with nano-sized grains or structures. The results from this work help identify the cause of large discrepancies in w-ZnO thermal conductivity and will provide in-depth understanding of phonon dynamics for the design of w-ZnO-based electronics.

Thermal Conductivity of Wurtzite Zinc-Oxide from First-Principles Lattice Dynamics – a Comparative Study with Gallium Nitride

PubMed Central

Wu, Xufei; Lee, Jonghoon; Varshney, Vikas; Wohlwend, Jennifer L.; Roy, Ajit K.; Luo, Tengfei

2016-01-01

Wurtzite Zinc-Oxide (w-ZnO) is a wide bandgap semiconductor that holds promise in power electronics applications, where heat dissipation is of critical importance. However, large discrepancies exist in the literature on the thermal conductivity of w-ZnO. In this paper, we determine the thermal conductivity of w-ZnO using first-principles lattice dynamics and compare it to that of wurtzite Gallium-Nitride (w-GaN) – another important wide bandgap semiconductor with the same crystal structure and similar atomic masses as w-ZnO. However, the thermal conductivity values show large differences (400 W/mK of w-GaN vs. 50 W/mK of w-ZnO at room temperature). It is found that the much lower thermal conductivity of ZnO originates from the smaller phonon group velocities, larger three-phonon scattering phase space and larger anharmonicity. Compared to w-GaN, w-ZnO has a smaller frequency gap in phonon dispersion, which is responsible for the stronger anharmonic phonon scattering, and the weaker interatomic bonds in w-ZnO leads to smaller phonon group velocities. The thermal conductivity of w-ZnO also shows strong size effect with nano-sized grains or structures. The results from this work help identify the cause of large discrepancies in w-ZnO thermal conductivity and will provide in-depth understanding of phonon dynamics for the design of w-ZnO-based electronics. PMID:26928396

2014 TMS RF Mehl Medal Symposium on Frontiers in Nanostructured Electronic and Structural Materials and Their Application

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-05-19

ParentUNID=F69F9CDC6E94E67B85257BC80073A589[12/13/2013 11:32:15 AM] thermal conductivity and achieve increased figure of merit. For photovoltaic solar cells...matrix systems but significantly reduces lattice thermal conductivity to enhance the overall figure of merit, ZT. An emerging strategy involves...significantly reduce the lattice thermal conductivity via phonon scattering pathways. Here, there are exciting opportunities for understanding and tailoring

Energy shift and conduction-to-valence band transition mediated by a time-dependent potential barrier in graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chaves, Andrey; da Costa, D. R.; de Sousa, G. O.; Pereira, J. M.; Farias, G. A.

2015-09-01

We investigate the scattering of a wave packet describing low-energy electrons in graphene by a time-dependent finite-step potential barrier. Our results demonstrate that, after Klein tunneling through the barrier, the electron acquires an extra energy which depends on the rate of change of the barrier height with time. If this rate is negative, the electron loses energy and ends up as a valence band state after leaving the barrier, which effectively behaves as a positively charged quasiparticle.

Thermal and thermoelectric transport measurements of an individual boron arsenide microstructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jaehyun; Evans, Daniel A.; Sellan, Daniel P.; Williams, Owen M.; Ou, Eric; Cowley, Alan H.; Shi, Li

2016-05-01

Recent first principles calculations have predicted that boron arsenide (BAs) can possess an unexpectedly high thermal conductivity that depends sensitively on the crystal size and defect concentration. However, few experimental results have been obtained to verify these predictions. In the present work, we report four-probe thermal and thermoelectric transport measurements of an individual BAs microstructure that was synthesized via a vapor transport method. The measured thermal conductivity was found to decrease slightly with temperature in the range between 250 K and 350 K. The temperature dependence suggests that the extrinsic phonon scattering processes play an important role in addition to intrinsic phonon-phonon scattering. The room temperature value of (186 ± 46) W m-1 K-1 is higher than that of bulk silicon but still a factor of four lower than the calculated result for a defect-free, non-degenerate BAs rod with a similar diameter of 1.15 μm. The measured p-type Seebeck coefficient and thermoelectric power factor are comparable to those of bismuth telluride, which is a commonly used thermoelectric material. The foregoing results also suggest that it is necessary to not only reduce defect and boundary scatterings but also to better understand and control the electron scattering of phonons in order to achieve the predicted ultrahigh intrinsic lattice thermal conductivity of BAs.

Electron-impact excitation of the low-lying electronic states of HCN

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chutjian, A.; Tanaka, H.; Srivastava, S. K.; Wicke, B. G.

1977-01-01

The first study of the low-energy electron-impact excitation of low-lying electronic transitions in the HCN molecule is reported. Measurements were made at incident electron energies of 11.6 and 21.6 eV in the energy-loss range of 3-10 eV, and at scattering angles of 20-130 deg. Inelastic scattering spectra were placed on the absolute cross-section scale by determining first the ratio of inelastic-to-elastic scattering cross sections, and then separately measuring the absolute elastic scattering cross section. Several new electronic transitions are observed which are intrinsically overlapped in the molecule itself. Assignments of these electronic transitions are suggested. These assignments are based on present spectroscopic and cross-sections measurements, high-energy electron scattering spectra, optical absorption spectra, and ab initio molecular orbital calculations.

Polymeric and Molecular Materials for Advanced Organic Electronics

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-10-20

x - ray reflectivity, grazing incidence x - ray scattering, cyclic voltam- metry...6). ix These materials are characterized by AFM, conducting AFM, XPS, x - ray reflectivity (XRR), standing wave x - ray reflectivity (SWXRR), x - ray ...radiation hard - ness measurements, and quantum chemical computation of dielectric constants. Remark- ably, for semiconductors as diverse

Thermal conductivity of graphene with defects induced by electron beam irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malekpour, Hoda; Ramnani, Pankaj; Srinivasan, Srilok; Balasubramanian, Ganesh; Nika, Denis L.; Mulchandani, Ashok; Lake, Roger K.; Balandin, Alexander A.

2016-07-01

We investigate the thermal conductivity of suspended graphene as a function of the density of defects, ND, introduced in a controllable way. High-quality graphene layers are synthesized using chemical vapor deposition, transferred onto a transmission electron microscopy grid, and suspended over ~7.5 μm size square holes. Defects are induced by irradiation of graphene with the low-energy electron beam (20 keV) and quantified by the Raman D-to-G peak intensity ratio. As the defect density changes from 2.0 × 1010 cm-2 to 1.8 × 1011 cm-2 the thermal conductivity decreases from ~(1.8 +/- 0.2) × 103 W mK-1 to ~(4.0 +/- 0.2) × 102 W mK-1 near room temperature. At higher defect densities, the thermal conductivity reveals an intriguing saturation-type behavior at a relatively high value of ~400 W mK-1. The thermal conductivity dependence on the defect density is analyzed using the Boltzmann transport equation and molecular dynamics simulations. The results are important for understanding phonon - point defect scattering in two-dimensional systems and for practical applications of graphene in thermal management.We investigate the thermal conductivity of suspended graphene as a function of the density of defects, ND, introduced in a controllable way. High-quality graphene layers are synthesized using chemical vapor deposition, transferred onto a transmission electron microscopy grid, and suspended over ~7.5 μm size square holes. Defects are induced by irradiation of graphene with the low-energy electron beam (20 keV) and quantified by the Raman D-to-G peak intensity ratio. As the defect density changes from 2.0 × 1010 cm-2 to 1.8 × 1011 cm-2 the thermal conductivity decreases from ~(1.8 +/- 0.2) × 103 W mK-1 to ~(4.0 +/- 0.2) × 102 W mK-1 near room temperature. At higher defect densities, the thermal conductivity reveals an intriguing saturation-type behavior at a relatively high value of ~400 W mK-1. The thermal conductivity dependence on the defect density is analyzed using the Boltzmann transport equation and molecular dynamics simulations. The results are important for understanding phonon - point defect scattering in two-dimensional systems and for practical applications of graphene in thermal management. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Additional thermal conductivity measurements data. See DOI: 10.1039/c6nr03470e

Plasma characterization using ultraviolet Thomson scattering from ion-acoustic and electron plasma waves (invited).

PubMed

Follett, R K; Delettrez, J A; Edgell, D H; Henchen, R J; Katz, J; Myatt, J F; Froula, D H

2016-11-01

Collective Thomson scattering is a technique for measuring the plasma conditions in laser-plasma experiments. Simultaneous measurements of ion-acoustic and electron plasma-wave spectra were obtained using a 263.25-nm Thomson-scattering probe beam. A fully reflective collection system was used to record light scattered from electron plasma waves at electron densities greater than 10 21 cm -3 , which produced scattering peaks near 200 nm. An accurate analysis of the experimental Thomson-scattering spectra required accounting for plasma gradients, instrument sensitivity, optical effects, and background radiation. Practical techniques for including these effects when fitting Thomson-scattering spectra are presented and applied to the measured spectra to show the improvements in plasma characterization.

Relationship between field-aligned currents and inverted-V parallel potential drops observed at midaltitudes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakanoi, T.; Fukunishi, H.; Mukai, T.

1995-10-01

The inverted-V field-aligned acceleration region existing in the altitude range of several thousand kilometers plays an essential role for the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling system. The adiabatic plasma theory predicts a linear relationship between field-aligned current density (J∥) and parallel potential drop (Φ∥), that is, J∥=KΦ∥, where K is the field-aligned conductance. We examined this relationship using the charged particle and magnetic field data obtained from the Akebono (Exos D) satellite. The potential drop above the satellite was derived from the peak energy of downward electrons, while the potential drop below the satellite was derived from two different methods: the peak energy of upward ions and the energy-dependent widening of electron loss cone. On the other hand, field-aligned current densities in the inverted-V region were estimated from the Akebono magnetometer data. Using these potential drops and field-aligned current densities, we estimated the linear field-aligned conductance KJΦ. Further, we obtained the corrected field-aligned conductance KCJΦ by applying the full Knight's formula to the current-voltage relationship. We also independently estimated the field-aligned conductance KTN from the number density and the thermal temperature of magnetospheric source electrons which were obtained by fitting accelerated Maxwellian functions for precipitating electrons. The results are summarized as follows: (1) The latitudinal dependence of parallel potential drops is characterized by a narrow V-shaped structure with a width of 0.4°-1.0°. (2) Although the inverted-V potential region exactly corresponds to the upward field aligned current region, the latitudinal dependence of upward current intensity is an inverted-U shape rather than an inverted-V shape. Thus it is suggested that the field-aligned conductance KCJΦ changes with a V-shaped latitudinal dependence. In many cases, KCJΦ values at the edge of the inverted-V region are about 5-10 times larger than those at the center. (3) By comparing KCJΦ with KTN, KCJΦ is found to be about 2-20 times larger than KTN. These results suggest that low-energy electrons such as trapped electrons, secondary and back-scattered electrons, and ionospheric electrons significantly contribute to upward field-aligned currents in the inverted-V region. It is therefore inferred that non adiabatic pitch angle scattering processes play an important role in the inverted-V region. .

Positronium collisions with atoms and molecules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fabrikant, I. I.; Gribakin, G. F.; Wilde, R. S.

2017-11-01

We review recent theoretical efforts to explain observed similarities between electron-atom and positronium(Ps)-atom scattering which also extends to molecular targets. In the range of the projectile velocities above the threshold for Ps ionization (break-up) this similarity can be explained in terms of quasi-free electron scattering and impulse approximation. However, for lower Ps velocities more sophisticated methods should be developed. Our calculations of Ps scattering by heavy noble-gas atoms agree well with experiments at Ps velocities above the Ps ionization threshold. However, in contrast to electron scattering cross sections, at lower velocities they exhibit maxima whereas the experimental cross sections tend to decrease toward lower velocities indicating the same similarity with electron scattering cross section observed above the threshold. Our preliminary results for Ps-N2 scattering confirm experimental observation of a resonance similar to the ∏ g resonance in electron-N2 scattering.

Electron-exchange and quantum screening effects on the Thomson scattering process in quantum Fermi plasmas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, Gyeong Won; Jung, Young-Dae; Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 Eighth Street, Troy, New York 12180-3590

2013-06-15

The influence of the electron-exchange and quantum screening on the Thomson scattering process is investigated in degenerate quantum Fermi plasmas. The Thomson scattering cross section in quantum plasmas is obtained by the plasma dielectric function and fluctuation-dissipation theorem as a function of the electron-exchange parameter, Fermi energy, plasmon energy, and wave number. It is shown that the electron-exchange effect enhances the Thomson scattering cross section in quantum plasmas. It is also shown that the differential Thomson scattering cross section has a minimum at the scattering angle Θ=π/2. It is also found that the Thomson scattering cross section increases with anmore » increase of the Fermi energy. In addition, the Thomson scattering cross section is found to be decreased with increasing plasmon energy.« less

Electron density inversed by plasma lines induced by suprathermal electron in the ionospheric modification experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xiang; Zhou, Chen

2018-05-01

Incoherent scatter radar (ISR) is the most powerful ground-based measurement facility to study the ionosphere. The plasma lines are not routinely detected by the incoherent scatter radar due to the low intensity, which falls below the measured spectral noise level of the incoherent scatter radar. The plasma lines are occasionally enhanced by suprathermal electrons through the Landau damping process and detectable to the incoherent scatter radar. In this study, by using the European Incoherent Scatter Association (EISCAT) UHF incoherent scatter radar, the experiment observation presents that the enhanced plasma lines were observed. These plasma lines were considered as manifest of the suprathermal electrons generated by the high-frequency heating wave during the ionospheric modification. The electron density profile is also obtained from the enhanced plasma lines. This study can be a promising technique for obtaining the accurate electron density during ionospheric modification experiment.

High mobility and high concentration Type-III heterojunction FET

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsu, R.; Fiddy, M. A.; Her, T.

2018-02-01

The PN junction was introduced in transistors by doping, resulting in high losses due to Coulomb scattering from the dopants. The MOSFET introduced carriers in the form of electrons and holes with an applied bias to the oxide barrier, resulting in carrier transfer without doping. This avoids high scattering losses and dominates the IC industries. With heterojunctions having valence-band maxima near and even above the conduction-band minimum in the formation of Type-III superlattices, very useful devices, introduced by Tsu, Sai-Halacz, and Esaki, soon followed. If the layer thicknesses are more than the carrier mean-free-path, incoherent scattering results in the formation of carrier transfer via diffusion instead of opening up new energy gaps. The exploitation of carriers without scattering represents a new and significant opportunity in what we call a Broken Gap Heterojunction FET.

Acceptor Percolation Determines How Electron-Accepting Additives Modify Transport of Ambipolar Polymer Organic Field-Effect Transistors.

PubMed

Ford, Michael J; Wang, Ming; Bustillo, Karen C; Yuan, Jianyu; Nguyen, Thuc-Quyen; Bazan, Guillermo C

2018-06-18

Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) that utilize ambipolar polymer semiconductors can benefit from the ability of both electron and hole conduction, which is necessary for complementary circuits. However, simultaneous hole and electron transport in organic field-effect transistors result in poor ON/OFF ratios, limiting potential applications. Solution processing methods have been developed to control charge transport properties and transform ambipolar conduction to hole-only conduction. The electron-acceptor phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PC 61 BM), when mixed in solution with an ambipolar semiconducting polymer, can reduce electron conduction. Unipolar p-type OFETs with high, well-defined ON/OFF ratios and without detrimental effects on hole conduction are achieved for a wide range of blend compositions, from 95:5 to 5:95 wt % semiconductor polymer:PC 61 BM. When introducing the alternative acceptor N, N'-bis(1-ethylpropyl)-3,4:9,10-perylenediimide (PDI), high ON/OFF ratios are achieved for 95:5 wt % semiconductor polymer:PDI; however, electron conduction increases for 50:50 and 5:95 wt % semiconductor polymer:PDI. As described within, we show that electron conduction is practically eliminated when additive domains do not percolate across the OFET channel, that is, electrons are "morphologically trapped". Morphologies were characterized by optical, electron, and atomic force microscopy as well as X-ray scattering techniques. PC 61 BM was substituted with an endohedral Lu 3 N fullerene, which enhanced contrast in electron microscopy and allowed for more detailed insight into the blend morphologies. Blends with alternative, nonfullerene acceptors further emphasize the importance of morphology and acceptor percolation, providing insights for such blends that control ambipolar transport and ON/OFF ratios.

Monte Carlo calculation of large and small-angle electron scattering in air

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, B. I.; Higginson, D. P.; Eng, C. D.; Farmer, W. A.; Friedman, A.; Grote, D. P.; Larson, D. J.

2017-11-01

A Monte Carlo method for angle scattering of electrons in air that accommodates the small-angle multiple scattering and larger-angle single scattering limits is introduced. The algorithm is designed for use in a particle-in-cell simulation of electron transport and electromagnetic wave effects in air. The method is illustrated in example calculations.

Thermoelectric properties of Co₄Sb₁₂ with Bi₂Te₃ nanoinclusions.

PubMed

Ghosh, Sanyukta; Bisht, Anuj; Karati, Anirudha; Rogl, Gerda; Rogl, Peter F; Murty, B S; Suwas, Satyam; Mallik, Ramesh Chandra

2018-01-08

The figure of merit (zT) of a thermoelectric material can be enhanced by incorporation of nanoinclusions into bulk material. The presence of bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) nanoinclusions in Co4Sb12 leads to lower phonon thermal conductivity by introducing interfaces and defects; it enhances the average zT between 300-700 K. In the current study, Bi2Te3 nanoparticles were dispersed into bulk Co4Sb12 by ball-milling. The bulk was fabricated by spark plasma sintering (SPS). The presence of Bi2Te3 dispersion in Co4Sb12 was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD) technique. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) showed antimony (Sb) as an impurity phase for higher contents of Bi2Te3 in the sample. The Seebeck coefficient (S) and electrical conductivity () were measured in the temperature range of 350 - 673 K. The negative value of S indicates that most of the charge carriers were electrons. A decrease in S and increase in with Bi2Te3 content are due to the increased carrier concentration, as confirmed by Hall measurement. The thermal conductivity, measured between 423 - 673 K, decreased due to the increased phonon scattering at interfaces. A maximum zT of 0.17 was achieved at 523 K and it did not vary much throughout the temperature range. The experimental results of composites were compared by using effective medium theories. © 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Elastic scattering and vibrational excitation for electron impact on para-benzoquinone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, D. B.; Blanco, F.; García, G.; da Costa, R. F.; Kossoski, F.; Varella, M. T. do N.; Bettega, M. H. F.; Lima, M. A. P.; White, R. D.; Brunger, M. J.

2017-12-01

We report on theoretical elastic and experimental vibrational-excitation differential cross sections (DCSs) for electron scattering from para-benzoquinone (C6H4O2), in the intermediate energy range 15-50 eV. The calculations were conducted with two different theoretical methodologies, the Schwinger multichannel method with pseudopotentials (SMCPP) and the independent atom method with screening corrected additivity rule (IAM-SCAR) that also now incorporates a further interference (I) term. The SMCPP with N energetically open electronic states (Nopen) at the static-exchange-plus-polarisation (Nopench-SEP) level was used to calculate the scattering amplitudes using a channel coupling scheme that ranges from 1ch-SE up to the 89ch-SEP level of approximation. We found that in going from the 38ch-SEP to the 89ch-SEP, at all energies considered here, the elastic DCSs did not change significantly in terms of both their shapes and magnitudes. This is a good indication that our SMCPP 89ch-SEP elastic DCSs are converged with respect to the multichannel coupling effect for the investigated intermediate energies. While agreement between our IAM-SCAR+I and SMCPP 89ch-SEP computations improves as the incident electron energy increases from 15 eV, overall the level of accord is only marginal. This is particularly true at middle scattering angles, suggesting that our SCAR and interference corrections are failing somewhat for this molecule below 50 eV. We also report experimental DCS results, using a crossed-beam apparatus, for excitation of some of the unresolved ("hybrid") vibrational quanta (bands I-III) of para-benzoquinone. Those data were derived from electron energy loss spectra that were measured over a scattered electron angular range of 10°-90° and put on an absolute scale using our elastic SMCPP 89ch-SEP DCS results. The energy resolution of our measurements was ˜80 meV, which is why, at least in part, the observed vibrational features were only partially resolved. To the best of our knowledge, there are no other experimental or theoretical vibrational excitation results against which we might compare the present measurements.

Spectrum bandwidth narrowing of Thomson scattering X-rays with energy chirped electron beams from laser wakefield acceleration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu, Tong; Chen, Min, E-mail: minchen@sjtu.edu.cn; Li, Fei-Yu

2014-01-06

We study incoherent Thomson scattering between an ultrashort laser pulse and an electron beam accelerated from a laser wakefield. The energy chirp effects of the accelerated electron beam on the final radiation spectrum bandwidth are investigated. It is found that the scattered X-ray radiation has the minimum spectrum width and highest intensity as electrons are accelerated up to around the dephasing point. Furthermore, it is proposed that the electron acceleration process inside the wakefield can be studied by use of 90° Thomson scattering. The dephasing position and beam energy chirp can be deduced from the intensity and bandwidth of themore » scattered radiation.« less

Plasma characterization using ultraviolet Thomson scattering from ion-acoustic and electron plasma waves (invited)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Follett, R. K., E-mail: rfollett@lle.rochester.edu; Delettrez, J. A.; Edgell, D. H.

2016-11-15

Collective Thomson scattering is a technique for measuring the plasma conditions in laser-plasma experiments. Simultaneous measurements of ion-acoustic and electron plasma-wave spectra were obtained using a 263.25-nm Thomson-scattering probe beam. A fully reflective collection system was used to record light scattered from electron plasma waves at electron densities greater than 10{sup 21} cm{sup −3}, which produced scattering peaks near 200 nm. An accurate analysis of the experimental Thomson-scattering spectra required accounting for plasma gradients, instrument sensitivity, optical effects, and background radiation. Practical techniques for including these effects when fitting Thomson-scattering spectra are presented and applied to the measured spectra tomore » show the improvements in plasma characterization.« less

Enhanced phonon scattering by nanovoids in high thermoelectric power factor polysilicon thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dunham, Marc T.; Lorenzi, Bruno; Andrews, Sean C.; Sood, Aditya; Asheghi, Mehdi; Narducci, Dario; Goodson, Kenneth E.

2016-12-01

The ability to tune the thermal conductivity of semiconductor materials is of interest for thermoelectric applications, in particular, for doped silicon, which can be readily integrated in electronic microstructures and have a high thermoelectric power factor. Here, we examine the impact of nanovoids on the thermal conductivity of highly doped, high-power factor polysilicon thin films using time-domain thermoreflectance. Voids are formed through ion implantation and annealing, evolving from many small (˜4 nm mean diameter) voids after 500 °C anneal to fewer, larger (˜29 nm mean diameter) voids with a constant total volume fraction after staged thermal annealing to 1000 °C. The thermal conductivity is reduced to 65% of the non-implanted reference film conductivity after implantation and 500 °C anneal, increasing with anneal temperature until fully restored after 800 °C anneal. The void size distributions are determined experimentally using small-angle and wide-angle X-ray scattering. While we believe multiple physical mechanisms are at play, we are able to corroborate the positive correlation between measurements of thermal conductivity and void size with Monte Carlo calculations and a scattering probability based on Matthiessen's rule. The data suggest an opportunity for thermal conductivity suppression combined with the high power factor for increased material zT and efficiency of nanostructured polysilicon as a thermoelectric material.

Relativistic electron scattering by magnetosonic waves: Effects of discrete wave emission and high wave amplitudes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Artemyev, A. V., E-mail: ante0226@gmail.com; Mourenas, D.; Krasnoselskikh, V. V.

2015-06-15

In this paper, we study relativistic electron scattering by fast magnetosonic waves. We compare results of test particle simulations and the quasi-linear theory for different spectra of waves to investigate how a fine structure of the wave emission can influence electron resonant scattering. We show that for a realistically wide distribution of wave normal angles θ (i.e., when the dispersion δθ≥0.5{sup °}), relativistic electron scattering is similar for a wide wave spectrum and for a spectrum consisting in well-separated ion cyclotron harmonics. Comparisons of test particle simulations with quasi-linear theory show that for δθ>0.5{sup °}, the quasi-linear approximation describes resonantmore » scattering correctly for a large enough plasma frequency. For a very narrow θ distribution (when δθ∼0.05{sup °}), however, the effect of a fine structure in the wave spectrum becomes important. In this case, quasi-linear theory clearly fails in describing accurately electron scattering by fast magnetosonic waves. We also study the effect of high wave amplitudes on relativistic electron scattering. For typical conditions in the earth's radiation belts, the quasi-linear approximation cannot accurately describe electron scattering for waves with averaged amplitudes >300 pT. We discuss various applications of the obtained results for modeling electron dynamics in the radiation belts and in the Earth's magnetotail.« less

Phonon transport properties of two-dimensional group-IV materials from ab initio calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Bo; Zhang, Hao; Shao, Hezhu; Xu, Yuanfeng; Ni, Gang; Zhang, Rongjun; Zhu, Heyuan

2016-12-01

It has been argued that stanene has lowest lattice thermal conductivity among two-dimensional (2D) group-IV materials because of its largest atomic mass, weakest interatomic bonding, and enhanced ZA phonon scattering due to the breaking of an out-of-plane symmetry selection rule. However, we show that, although the lattice thermal conductivity κ for graphene, silicene, and germanene decreases monotonically with decreasing Debye temperature, unexpected higher κ is observed in stanene. By enforcing all the invariance conditions in 2D materials and including Ge 3 d and Sn 4 d electrons as valence electrons for germanene and stanene, respectively, the lattice dynamics in these materials are accurately described. A large acoustic-optical gap and the bunching of the acoustic-phonon branches significantly reduce phonon scattering in stanene, leading to higher thermal conductivity than germanene. The vibrational origin of the acoustic-optical gap can be attributed to the buckled structure. Interestingly, a buckled system has two competing influences on phonon transport: the breaking of the symmetry selection rule leads to reduced thermal conductivity, and the enlarging of the acoustic-optical gap results in enhanced thermal conductivity. The size dependence of thermal conductivity is investigated as well. In nanoribbons, the κ of silicene, germanene, and stanene is much less sensitive to size effect due to their short intrinsic phonon mean-free paths. This work sheds light on the nature of phonon transport in buckled 2D materials.

A novel analytical model for scattering limited electron transport in nano-dimensional InAlAs/InGaAs heterostructure for cryogenic applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Neetika; Verma, Neha; Jogi, Jyotika

2017-11-01

This paper models the scattering limited electron transport in a nano-dimensional In0.52Al0.48As/In0.53Ga0.47As/InP heterostructure. An analytical model for temperature dependent sheet carrier concentration and carrier mobility in a two dimensional electron gas, confined in a triangular potential well has been developed. The model accounts for all the major scattering process including ionized impurity scattering and lattice scattering. Quantum mechanical variational technique is employed for studying the intrasubband scattering mechanism in the two dimensional electron gas. Results of various scattering limited structural parameters such as energy band-gap and functional parameters such as sheet carrier concentration, scattering rate and mobility are presented. The model corroborates the dominance of ionized impurity scattering mechanism at low temperatures and that of lattice scattering at high temperatures, both in turn limiting the carrier mobility. Net mobility obtained taking various scattering mechanisms into account has been found in agreement with earlier reported results, thus validating the model.

Monte Carlo calculation of large and small-angle electron scattering in air

DOE PAGES

Cohen, B. I.; Higginson, D. P.; Eng, C. D.; ...

2017-08-12

A Monte Carlo method for angle scattering of electrons in air that accommodates the small-angle multiple scattering and larger-angle single scattering limits is introduced. In this work, the algorithm is designed for use in a particle-in-cell simulation of electron transport and electromagnetic wave effects in air. The method is illustrated in example calculations.

The Effect of Neutral Winds on Simulated Inner Magnetospheric Electric Fields During the 17 March 2013 Storm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, M.; Lemon, C.; Walterscheid, R. L.; Hecht, J. H.; Sazykin, S. Y.; Wolf, R.

2017-12-01

We investigate how neutral winds and particle precipitation affect the simulated development of electric fields including Sub-Auroral Polarization Streams (SAPS) during the 17 March 2013 storm. Our approach is to use the magnetically and electrically self-consistent Rice Convection Model - Equilibrium (RCM-E) to simulate the inner magnetospheric electric field. We use parameterized rates of whistler-generated electron pitch-angle scattering from Orlova and Shprits [JGR, 2014] that depend on equatorial radial distance, magnetic activity (Kp), and magnetic local time (MLT) outside the simulated plasmasphere. Inside the plasmasphere, parameterized scattering rates due to hiss [Orlova et al., GRL, 2014] are used. Ions are scattered at a fraction of strong pitch-angle scattering where the fraction is scaled by epsilon, the ratio of the gyroradius to the field-line radius of curvature, when epsilon is greater than 0.1. The electron and proton contributions to the auroral conductance in the RCM-E are calculated using the empirical Robinson et al. [JGR, 1987] and Galand and Richmond [JGR, 2001] equations, respectively. The "background" ionospheric conductance is based on parameters from the International Reference Ionosphere [Bilitza and Reinisch, JASR, 2008] but modified to include the effect of specified ionospheric troughs. Neutral winds are modeled by the empirical Horizontal Wind Model (HWM07) in the RCM-E. We compare simulated precipitating particle energy flux, E x B velocities with DMSP observations during the 17 March 2013 storm with and without the inclusion of neutral winds. Discrepancies between the simulations and observations will aid us in assessing needed improvements in the model.

Comparative electron temperature measurements of Thomson scattering and electron cyclotron emission diagnostics in TCABR plasmas.

PubMed

Alonso, M P; Figueiredo, A C A; Borges, F O; Elizondo, J I; Galvão, R M O; Severo, J H F; Usuriaga, O C; Berni, L A; Machida, M

2010-10-01

We present the first simultaneous measurements of the Thomson scattering and electron cyclotron emission radiometer diagnostics performed at TCABR tokamak with Alfvén wave heating. The Thomson scattering diagnostic is an upgraded version of the one previously installed at the ISTTOK tokamak, while the electron cyclotron emission radiometer employs a heterodyne sweeping radiometer. For purely Ohmic discharges, the electron temperature measurements from both diagnostics are in good agreement. Additional Alfvén wave heating does not affect the capability of the Thomson scattering diagnostic to measure the instantaneous electron temperature, whereas measurements from the electron cyclotron emission radiometer become underestimates of the actual temperature values.

The Radiation Belt Electron Scattering by Magnetosonic Wave: Dependence on Key Parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lei, Mingda; Xie, Lun; Li, Jinxing; Pu, Zuyin; Fu, Suiyan; Ni, Binbin; Hua, Man; Chen, Lunjin; Li, Wen

2017-12-01

Magnetosonic (MS) waves have been found capable of creating radiation belt electron butterfly distributions in the inner magnetosphere. To investigate the physical nature of the interactions between radiation belt electrons and MS waves, and to explore a preferential condition for MS waves to scatter electrons efficiently, we performed a comprehensive parametric study of MS wave-electron interactions using test particle simulations. The diffusion coefficients simulated by varying the MS wave frequency show that the scattering effect of MS waves is frequency insensitive at low harmonics (f < 20 fcp), which has great implications on modeling the electron scattering caused by MS waves with harmonic structures. The electron scattering caused by MS waves is very sensitive to wave normal angles, and MS waves with off 90° wave normal angles scatter electrons more efficiently. By simulating the diffusion coefficients and the electron phase space density evolution at different L shells under different plasma environment circumstances, we find that MS waves can readily produce electron butterfly distributions in the inner part of the plasmasphere where the ratio of electron plasma-to-gyrofrequency (fpe/fce) is large, while they may essentially form a two-peak distribution outside the plasmapause and in the inner radiation belt where fpe/fce is small.

Ionospheric E-region electron density and neutral atmosphere variations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stick, T. L.

1976-01-01

Electron density deviations from a basic variation with the solar zenith angle were investigated. A model study was conducted in which the effects of changes in neutral and relative densities of atomic and molecular oxygen on calculated electron densities were compared with incoherent scatter measurements in the height range 100-117 km at Arecibo, Puerto Rico. The feasibility of determining tides in the neutral atmosphere from electron density profiles was studied. It was determined that variations in phase between the density and temperature variation and the comparable magnitudes of their components make it appear improbable that the useful information on tidal modes can be obtained in this way.

First-principles prediction of phononic thermal conductivity of silicene: A comparison with graphene

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gu, Xiaokun; Yang, Ronggui, E-mail: Ronggui.Yang@Colorado.Edu

2015-01-14

There has been great interest in two-dimensional materials, beyond graphene, for both fundamental sciences and technological applications. Silicene, a silicon counterpart of graphene, has been shown to possess some better electronic properties than graphene. However, its thermal transport properties have not been fully studied. In this paper, we apply the first-principles-based phonon Boltzmann transport equation to investigate the thermal conductivity of silicene as well as the phonon scattering mechanisms. Although both graphene and silicene are two-dimensional crystals with similar crystal structure, we find that phonon transport in silicene is quite different from that in graphene. The thermal conductivity of silicenemore » shows a logarithmic increase with respect to the sample size due to the small scattering rates of acoustic in-plane phonon modes, while that of graphene is finite. Detailed analysis of phonon scattering channels shows that the linear dispersion of the acoustic out-of-plane (ZA) phonon modes, which is induced by the buckled structure, makes the long-wavelength longitudinal acoustic phonon modes in silicene not as efficiently scattered as that in graphene. Compared with graphene, where most of the heat is carried by the acoustic out-of-plane (ZA) phonon modes, the ZA phonon modes in silicene only have ∼10% contribution to the total thermal conductivity, which can also be attributed to the buckled structure. This systematic comparison of phonon transport and thermal conductivity of silicene and graphene using the first-principle-based calculations shed some light on other two-dimensional materials, such as two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides.« less

General mechanism involved in subwavelength optics of conducting microstructures: charge-oscillation-induced light emission and interference.

PubMed

Huang, Xian-Rong; Peng, Ru-Wen

2010-04-01

Interactions between light and conducting microstructures or nanostructures can result in a variety of novel phenomena, but their underlying mechanisms have not been completely understood. From calculations of surface charge density waves on conducting gratings and by comparing them with classical surface plasmons, we revealed a general yet concrete picture regarding the coupling of light to free electron oscillation on structured conducting surfaces that can lead to oscillating subwavelength charge patterns (i.e., structured surface plasmons). New wavelets emitted from these light sources then destructively interfere to form evanescent waves. This principle, usually combined with other mechanisms, is mainly a geometrical effect that can be universally involved in light scattering from all periodic and non-periodic structures containing free electrons. This picture may provide clear guidelines for developing conductor-based nano-optical devices.

Novel plasmonic polarimeter for biomedical imaging applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheney, Alec; Chen, Borui; Cartwright, Alexander; Thomay, Tim

2018-02-01

Using polarized light in medical imaging is a valuable tool for diagnostic purposes since light traveling through scattering tissues such as skin, blood, or cartilage may be subject to changes in polarization. We present a new detection scheme and sensor that allows for directly measuring the polarization of light electronically using a plasmonic sensor. The sensor we fabricated consists of a plasmonic nano-grating that is embedded in a Wheatstone circuit. Using resistive losses induced by optically excited plasmons has shown promise as a CMOScompatible plasmonic light detector. Since the plasmonic response is sensitive to polarization with respect to the grating orientation, measuring the resistance change under incident light supplies a direct electronic measure of the polarization of light without polarization optics. Increased electron scattering introduced by plasmons in an applied current results in a measurable decrease in electrical conductance of a grating, allowing a purely electronic readout of a plasmonic excitation. Accordingly, because of its plasmonic nature, such a detector is dependent on both the wavelength and polarization of incident light with a response time limited by the surface plasmon lifetime.

Spin-to-charge conversion for hot photoexcited electrons in germanium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zucchetti, C.; Bottegoni, F.; Isella, G.; Finazzi, M.; Rortais, F.; Vergnaud, C.; Widiez, J.; Jamet, M.; Ciccacci, F.

2018-03-01

We investigate the spin-to-charge conversion in highly doped germanium as a function of the kinetic energy of the carriers. Spin-polarized electrons are optically generated in the Ge conduction band, and their kinetic energy is varied by changing the photon energy in the 0.7-2.2 eV range. The spin detection scheme relies on spin-dependent scattering inside Ge, which yields an inverse spin-Hall electromotive force. The detected signal shows a sign inversion for h ν ≈1 eV which can be related to an interplay between the spin relaxation of high-energy electrons photoexcited from the heavy-hole and light-hole bands and that of low-energy electrons promoted from the split-off band. The inferred spin-Hall angle increases by about 3 orders of magnitude within the analyzed photon energy range. Since, for increasing photon energies, the phonon contribution to spin scattering exceeds that of impurities, our result indicates that the spin-to-charge conversion mediated by phonons is much more efficient than the one mediated by impurities.

Effective electron mass and phonon modes in n-type hexagonal InN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kasic, A.; Schubert, M.; Saito, Y.; Nanishi, Y.; Wagner, G.

2002-03-01

Infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry and micro-Raman scattering are used to study vibrational and electronic properties of high-quality hexagonal InN. The 0.22-μm-thick highly n-conductive InN film was grown on c-plane sapphire by radio-frequency molecular-beam epitaxy. Combining our results from the ellipsometry data analysis with Hall-effect measurements, the isotropically averaged effective electron mass in InN is determined as 0.14m0. The resonantly excited zone center E1 (TO) phonon mode is observed at 477 cm-1 in the ellipsometry spectra. Despite the high electron concentration in the film, a strong Raman mode occurs in the spectral range of the unscreened A1(LO) phonon. Because an extended carrier-depleted region at the sample surface can be excluded from the ellipsometry-model analysis, we assign this mode to the lower branch of the large-wave-vector LO-phonon-plasmon coupled modes arising from nonconserving wave-vector scattering processes. The spectral position of this mode at 590 cm-1 constitutes a lower limit for the unscreened A1(LO) phonon frequency.

Band gap tuning of amorphous Al oxides by Zr alloying

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Canulescu, S., E-mail: stec@fotonik.dtu.dk; Schou, J.; Jones, N. C.

2016-08-29

The optical band gap and electronic structure of amorphous Al-Zr mixed oxides with Zr content ranging from 4.8 to 21.9% were determined using vacuum ultraviolet and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The light scattering by the nano-porous structure of alumina at low wavelengths was estimated based on the Mie scattering theory. The dependence of the optical band gap of the Al-Zr mixed oxides on the Zr content deviates from linearity and decreases from 7.3 eV for pure anodized Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} to 6.45 eV for Al-Zr mixed oxides with a Zr content of 21.9%. With increasing Zr content, the conduction band minimum changes non-linearlymore » as well. Fitting of the energy band gap values resulted in a bowing parameter of ∼2 eV. The band gap bowing of the mixed oxides is assigned to the presence of the Zr d-electron states localized below the conduction band minimum of anodized Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}.« less

Two-potential approach for electron-molecular collisions at intermediate and high energies - Application to e-N2 scatterings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Choi, B. H.; Poe, R. T.; Sun, J. C.; Shan, Y.

1979-01-01

A general theoretical approach is proposed for the calculation of elastic, vibrational, and rotational transitions for electron-molecule scattering at intermediate and high-electron-impact energies. In this formulation, contributions to the scattering process come from the incoherent sum of two dominant potentials: a short-range shielded nuclear Coulomb potential from individual atomic centers, and a permanent/induced long-range potential. Application to e-N2 scattering from 50-500 eV incident electron energies has yielded good agreement with absolutely calibrated experiments. Comparisons with other theoretical approaches are made. The physical picture as well as the general features of electron-molecule scattering process are discussed within the framework of the two-potential approach.

Precision calculation of the lowest 1S resonance in e-H scattering. [electron-hydrogen scattering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ho, Y. K.; Bhatia, A. K.; Temkin, A.

1977-01-01

The position and width of the lowest resonance in electron-hydrogen scattering have been calculated using a Hylleraas correlation function with up to 95 terms in the optical potential formalism. The results should be useful as calibration points for experimental electron scattering purposes. A formula relating the conventional (Breit-Wigner) width with the Feschbach formalism is derived.

Investigation of superelastic electron scattering by laser-excited Ba - Experimental procedures and results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Register, D. F.; Trajmar, S.; Fineman, M. A.; Poe, R. T.; Csanak, G.; Jensen, S. W.

1983-01-01

Differential (in angle) electron scattering experiments on laser-excited Ba-138 1P were carried out at 30- and 100-eV impact energies. The laser light was linearly polarized and located in the scattering plane. The superelastic scattering signal was measured as a function of polarization direction of the laser light with respect to the scattering plane. It was found at low electron scattering angles that the superelastic scattering signal was asymmetric to reflection of the polarization vector with respect to the scattering plane. This is in contradiction with theoretical predictions. An attempt was made to pinpoint the reason for this observation, and a detailed investigation of the influence of experimental conditions on the superelastic scattering was undertaken. No explanation for the asymmetry has as yet been found.

Measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry in inclusive electroproduction of π - near the Delta 0 resonance

DOE PAGES

Androic, D.; Armstrong, D. S.; Bailey, S. L.; ...

2012-03-20

The parity-violating (PV) asymmetry of inclusive π - production in electron scattering from a liquid deuterium target was measured at backward angles. The measurement was conducted as a part of the G0 experiment, at a beam energy of 360 MeV. The physics process dominating pion production for these kinematics is quasi-free photoproduction off the neutron via the Δ 0 resonance. In the context of heavy-baryon chiral perturbation theory (HBχPT), this asymmetry is related to a low energy constant d Δ - that characterizes the parity-violating γNΔ coupling. Zhu et al. calculated d Δ - in a model benchmarked by themore » large asymmetries seen in hyperon weak radiative decays, and predicted potentially large asymmetries for this process, ranging from A γ - = -5.2 to +5.2 ppm. The measurement performed in this work leads to A γ - = -0.36 ± 1.06 ± 0.37 ± 0.03 ppm (where sources of statistical, systematic and theoretical uncertainties are included), which would disfavor enchancements considered by Zhu et al. proportional to V ud/V us. The measurement is part of a program of inelastic scattering measurements that were conducted by the G0 experiment, seeking to determine the N-Δ axial transition form-factors using PV electron scattering.« less

Precision determination of electron scattering angle by differential nuclear recoil energy method

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liyanage, N.; Saenboonruang, K.

2015-12-01

The accurate determination of the scattered electron angle is crucial to electron scattering experiments, both with open-geometry large-acceptance spectrometers and ones with dipole-type magnetic spectrometers for electron detection. In particular, for small central-angle experiments using dipole-type magnetic spectrometers, in which surveys are used to measure the spectrometer angle with respect to the primary electron beam, the importance of the scattering angle determination is emphasized. However, given the complexities of large experiments and spectrometers, the accuracy of such surveys is limited and insufficient to meet demands of some experiments. In this article, we present a new technique for determination of themore » electron scattering angle based on an accurate measurement of the primary beam energy and the principle of differential nuclear recoil. This technique was used to determine the scattering angle for several experiments carried out at the Experimental Hall A, Jefferson Lab. Results have shown that the new technique greatly improved the accuracy of the angle determination compared to surveys.« less

Precision Determination of Electron Scattering Angle by Differential Nuclear Recoil Energy Method

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liyanage, Nilanga; Saenboonruang, Kiadtisak

2015-09-01

The accurate determination of the scattered electron angle is crucial to electron scattering experiments, both with open-geometry large-acceptance spectrometers and ones with dipole-type magnetic spectrometers for electron detection. In particular, for small central-angle experiments using dipole-type magnetic spectrometers, in which surveys are used to measure the spectrometer angle with respect to the primary electron beam, the importance of the scattering angle determination is emphasized. However, given the complexities of large experiments and spectrometers, the accuracy of such surveys is limited and insufficient to meet demands of some experiments. In this article, we present a new technique for determination of themore » electron scattering angle based on an accurate measurement of the primary beam energy and the principle of differential nuclear recoil. This technique was used to determine the scattering angle for several experiments carried out at the Experimental Hall A, Jefferson Lab. Results have shown that the new technique greatly improved the accuracy of the angle determination compared to surveys.« less

Comptonization of thermal photons by relativistic electron beams

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Daugherty, Joseph K.; Harding, Alice K.

1989-01-01

This paper presents a numerical calculation of gamma-ray emission produced by Compton scattering of relativistic electron beams on background thermal radiation, which includes spatial dependence of electron energy losses and cyclotron resonance scattering in a strong magnetic field. In the first version, the scattering is described by the fully relativistic Klein-Nishina cross section, but the magnetic field is neglected. In the second version, the scattering is described by the magnetic resonant cross section in the Thomson limit. It is found that when the magnetic field is not included, electron energy losses are important only at higher neutron star surface temperatures (T about 3,000,000 K). In the presence of a strong magnetic field, (10 to the 12th G), resonant scattering greatly increases electron energy losses, making scattering very efficient even at lower surface temperatures. Resulting photon and electron spectra for both cases ae discussed in relation to models for pulsar X-ray and gamma-ray emission.

Complete solution of electronic excitation and ionization in electron-hydrogen molecule scattering

DOE PAGES

Zammit, Mark C.; Savage, Jeremy S.; Fursa, Dmitry V.; ...

2016-06-08

The convergent close-coupling method has been used to solve the electron-hydrogen molecule scattering problem in the fixed-nuclei approximation. Excellent agreement with experiment is found for the grand total, elastic, electronic-excitation, and total ionization cross sections from the very low to the very high energies. This shows that for the electronic degrees of freedom the method provides a complete treatment of electron scattering on molecules as it does for atoms.

Experimental Study of Electron and Phonon Dynamics in Nanoscale Materials by Ultrafast Laser Time-Domain Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Xiaohan

With the rapid advances in the development of nanotechnology, nowadays, the sizes of elementary unit, i.e. transistor, of micro- and nanoelectronic devices are well deep into nanoscale. For the pursuit of cheaper and faster nanoscale electronic devices, the size of transistors keeps scaling down. As the miniaturization of the nanoelectronic devices, the electrical resistivity increases dramatically, resulting rapid growth in the heat generation. The heat generation and limited thermal dissipation in nanoscale materials have become a critical problem in the development of the next generation nanoelectronic devices. Copper (Cu) is widely used conducting material in nanoelectronic devices, and the electron-phonon scattering is the dominant contributor to the resistivity in Cu nanowires at room temperature. Meanwhile, phonons are the main carriers of heat in insulators, intrinsic and lightly doped semiconductors. The thermal transport is an ensemble of phonon transport, which strongly depends on the phonon frequency. In addition, the phonon transport in nanoscale materials can behave fundamentally different than in bulk materials, because of the spatial confinement. However, the size effect on electron-phonon scattering and frequency dependent phonon transport in nanoscale materials remain largely unexplored, due to the lack of suitable experimental techniques. This thesis is mainly focusing on the study of carrier dynamics and acoustic phonon transport in nanoscale materials. The weak photothermal interaction in Cu makes thermoreflectance measurement difficult, we rather measured the reflectivity change of Cu induced by absorption variation. We have developed a method to separately measure the processes of electron-electron scattering and electron-phonon scattering in epitaxial Cu films by monitoring the transient reflectivity signal using the resonant probe with particular wavelengths. The enhancement on electron-phonon scattering in epitaxial Cu films with thickness less than 100 nm was observed. The longitudinal acoustic phonon transport in silicon (Si) nanorod with confined diameter and length was investigated. The guided phonon modes in Si nanorod with different frequencies and wave vectors were observed. The mean-free-path of the guided phonons in Si nanorod was found to be larger than the effective phonon mean-free-path in Si film, because of the limited phonon scattering channels in Si nanorod. The phonon density of states and dispersion relation strongly depend on the size and boundary conditions of nanorod. Our work demonstrates the possibility of modifying the phonon transport properties in nanoscale materials by designing the size and boundary conditions, hence the control of thermal conductivity. In addition, the periodicity effect of nanostructures on acoustic phonon transport was investigated in silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanorod arrays. The lattice modes and mechanical eigenmodes were observed, and the pitch effect on lattice modes was discussed. A narrowband acoustic phonon spectroscopic technique with tunable frequency and spectral width throughout GHz frequency range has been developed to investigate the frequency-dependent acoustic phonon transport in nanoscale materials. The quadratic frequency dependence of acoustic attenuation of SiO2 and indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films was observed, and the acoustic attenuation of ITO was found to be larger than SiO2. Moreover, the acoustic control on mechanical resonance of nanoscale materials using the narrowband acoustic phonon source was demonstrated in tungsten thin film.

Transport Properties of Earth's Core

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, R. E.; Zhang, P.; Xu, J.

2016-12-01

One of the most important parameters governing the original heat that drives all processes in the Earth is the thermal conductivity of Earth's core. Heat is transferred through the core by convection and conduction, and the convective component provides energy to drive the geodynamo. Sha and Cohen (2011) found that the electrical conductivity of solid hcp-iron was much higher than had been assumed by geophysicists, based on electronic structure computations for electron-phonon scattering (e-p) within density functional theory [1]. Thermal conductivity is related to electrical conductivity through the empirical Wiedmann-Franz law of 1853 [2]. Pozzo et al. [3] found that the high electrical conductivity of liquid iron alloys was too high for conventional dynamo models to work—there simply is not enough energy, so O'Rourke and Stevenson proposed a model driven by participation of Mg from the core [4], supported by recent experients [5]. Recent measurements by Ohta et al. show even lower resistivities than predicted by DFT e-p, and invoked a saturation model to account for this, [6] whereas, Konopkova et al. found thermal conductivities consistent with earlier geophysical estimates. [7] We are using first-principles methods, including dynamical mean field theory for electron-electron scattering, and highly converged e-p computations, and find evidence for strong anisotropy in solid hcp-Fe that may help explain some experimental results. The current status of the field will be discussed along with our recent results. This work is supported by the ERC Advanced grant ToMCaT, the NSF, and the Carnegie Institution for Science.[1] X. Sha and R. E. Cohen, J.Phys.: Condens.Matter 23, 075401 (2011).[2] R. Franz and G. Wiedemann, Annalen Physik 165, 497 (1853).[3] M. Pozzo, C. Davies, D. Gubbins, and D. Alfe, Nature 485, 355 (2012).[4] J. G. O'Rourke and D. J. Stevenson, Nature 529, 387 (2016).[5] J. Badro, J. Siebert, and F. Nimmo, Nature (2016).[6] K. Ohta, Y. Kuwayama, K. Hirose, K. Shimizu, and Y. Ohishi, Nature 534, 95 (2016).[7] Z. Konopkova, R. S. McWilliams, N. Gomez-Perez, and A. F. Goncharov, Nature 534, 99 (2016).

On the widths of Stokes lines in Raman scattering from molecules adsorbed at metal surfaces and in molecular conduction junctions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gao, Yi, E-mail: yig057@ucsd.edu; Galperin, Michael, E-mail: migalperin@ucsd.edu; Nitzan, Abraham, E-mail: nitzan@post.tau.ac.il

Within a generic model we analyze the Stokes linewidth in surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) from molecules embedded as bridges in molecular junctions. We identify four main contributions to the off-resonant Stokes signal and show that under zero voltage bias (a situation pertaining also to standard SERS experiments) and at low bias junctions only one of these contributions is pronounced. The linewidth of this component is determined by the molecular vibrational relaxation rate, which is dominated by interactions with the essentially bosonic thermal environment when the relevant molecular electronic energy is far from the metal(s) Fermi energy(ies). It increases whenmore » the molecular electronic level is close to the metal Fermi level so that an additional vibrational relaxation channel due to electron-hole (eh) exciton in the molecule opens. Other contributions to the Raman signal, of considerably broader linewidths, can become important at larger junction bias.« less

Thermoelectric properties of PbTe with indium and bismuth secondary phase

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bali, A.; Chetty, R.; Mallik, R. C.

2016-06-01

Lead telluride (PbTe) with indium (In) and bismuth (Bi) as micrometer sized secondary phases dispersed throughout the bulk has been prepared by matrix encapsulation method. In and Bi are not found to substitute in PbTe as shown by Rietveld and room temperature Raman studies but are present as secondary phases. Increased values of temperature dependent electrical resistivity and Seebeck coefficient show the effect of interfaces on electronic transport. As expected, thermal conductivity is found to reduce on addition of secondary phases due to a reduced electronic contribution, further confirming that electron scattering at interfaces is more important than phonon scattering in such systems for thermoelectric properties. However, due to the reduction in the power factor of the In and Bi added samples from that of the parent PbTe, the overall thermoelectric figure of merit ( zT) does not increase beyond that of PbTe, for which the highest value of 0.7 is obtained at 778 K.

Dark trions and biexcitons in WS2 and WSe2 made bright by e-e scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Danovich, Mark; Zólyomi, Viktor; Fal'Ko, Vladimir I.

2017-04-01

The direct band gap character and large spin-orbit splitting of the valence band edges (at the K and K’ valleys) in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides have put these two-dimensional materials under the spot-light of intense experimental and theoretical studies. In particular, for Tungsten dichalcogenides it has been found that the sign of spin splitting of conduction band edges makes ground state excitons radiatively inactive (dark) due to spin and momentum mismatch between the constituent electron and hole. One might similarly assume that the ground states of charged excitons and biexcitons in these monolayers are also dark. Here, we show that the intervalley (K ⇆ K‧) electron-electron scattering mixes bright and dark states of these complexes, and estimate the radiative lifetimes in the ground states of these “semi-dark” trions and biexcitons to be ~10 ps, and analyse how these complexes appear in the temperature-dependent photoluminescence spectra of WS2 and WSe2 monolayers.

Analysis of Scanned Probe Images for Magnetic Focusing in Graphene

DOE PAGES

Bhandari, Sagar; Lee, Gil-Ho; Kim, Philip; ...

2017-02-21

We have used cooled scanning probe microscopy (SPM) to study electron motion in nanoscale devices. The charged tip of the microscope was raster-scanned at constant height above the surface as the conductance of the device was measured. The image charge scatters electrons away, changing the path of electrons through the sample. Using this technique, we imaged cyclotron orbits that flow between two narrow contacts in the magnetic focusing regime for ballistic hBN–graphene–hBN devices. We present herein an analysis of our magnetic focusing imaging results based on the effects of the tip-created charge density dip on the motion of ballistic electrons.more » The density dip locally reduces the Fermi energy, creating a force that pushes electrons away from the tip. When the tip is above the cyclotron orbit, electrons are deflected away from the receiving contact, creating an image by reducing the transmission between contacts. The data and our analysis suggest that the graphene edge is rather rough, and electrons scattering off the edge bounce in random directions. However, when the tip is close to the edge, it can enhance transmission by bouncing electrons away from the edge, toward the receiving contact. Our results demonstrate that cooled SPM is a promising tool to investigate the motion of electrons in ballistic graphene devices.« less

Analysis of Scanned Probe Images for Magnetic Focusing in Graphene

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bhandari, Sagar; Lee, Gil-Ho; Kim, Philip

We have used cooled scanning probe microscopy (SPM) to study electron motion in nanoscale devices. The charged tip of the microscope was raster-scanned at constant height above the surface as the conductance of the device was measured. The image charge scatters electrons away, changing the path of electrons through the sample. Using this technique, we imaged cyclotron orbits that flow between two narrow contacts in the magnetic focusing regime for ballistic hBN–graphene–hBN devices. We present herein an analysis of our magnetic focusing imaging results based on the effects of the tip-created charge density dip on the motion of ballistic electrons.more » The density dip locally reduces the Fermi energy, creating a force that pushes electrons away from the tip. When the tip is above the cyclotron orbit, electrons are deflected away from the receiving contact, creating an image by reducing the transmission between contacts. The data and our analysis suggest that the graphene edge is rather rough, and electrons scattering off the edge bounce in random directions. However, when the tip is close to the edge, it can enhance transmission by bouncing electrons away from the edge, toward the receiving contact. Our results demonstrate that cooled SPM is a promising tool to investigate the motion of electrons in ballistic graphene devices.« less

Numerical investigation of electron localization in polymer chains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paulsson, Magnus; Stafström, Sven

1998-01-01

Using finite-size scaling, we have calculated the localization-delocalization phase diagrams for electronic wave functions in different disordered polymeric systems. The disorder considered here simulates finite polymer chain lengths, breaks in the conjugation, and disorder in an external potential. It is shown that a system of interacting chains, even at rather weak interchain interactions, allows for enough flexibility for the scattered waves to avoid dephasing and localization. Localization and the metal-insulator transition in highly conducting polymers are discussed in view of these results.

The high-pressure electronic structure of magnesiowustite (Mg, Fe)O: applications to the physics and chemistry of the lower mantle

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sherman, David M.

1991-01-01

The electronic structure of magnesiowustite is investigated using self-consistent field X?? scattered wave (SCF-X??-SW) molecular orbital calculations on (FeO6)10- and (FeMg12O14)2- clusters. Calculated one-electron transition energies are used to interpret the optical spectrum of (Mg, Fe)O. The results are applied to the electrical and thermal conductivity of the lower mantle. This is especially true if Fe2+ adopts the low-spin configuration. The geophysically significant properties of (Fe, Mg)O probably result from defect Fe3+. -from Author

Data Quality Control and Maintenance for the Qweak Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heiner, Nicholas; Spayde, Damon

2014-03-01

The Qweak collaboration seeks to quantify the weak charge of a proton through the analysis of the parity-violating electron asymmetry in elastic electron-proton scattering. The asymmetry is calculated by measuring how many electrons deflect from a hydrogen target at the chosen scattering angle for aligned and anti-aligned electron spins, then evaluating the difference between the numbers of deflections that occurred for both polarization states. The weak charge can then be extracted from this data. Knowing the weak charge will allow us to calculate the electroweak mixing angle for the particular Q2 value of the chosen electrons, which the Standard Model makes a firm prediction for. Any significant deviation from this prediction would be a prime indicator of the existence of physics beyond what the Standard Model describes. After the experiment was conducted at Jefferson Lab, collected data was stored within a MySQL database for further analysis. I will present an overview of the database and its functions as well as a demonstration of the quality checks and maintenance performed on the data itself. These checks include an analysis of errors occurring throughout the experiment, specifically data acquisition errors within the main detector array, and an analysis of data cuts.

Electron scattering effects at physisorbed hydrogen molecules on break-junction electrodes and nanowires formation in hydrogen environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Maas, M.; Vasnyov, S.; Hendriksen, B. L. M.; Shklyarevskii, O. I.; Speller, S.

2012-06-01

Physisorption of hydrogen molecules on the surface of gold and other coinage metals has been studied using distance tunneling spectroscopy. We have observed that the distance dependence of the tunnel current (resistance) displays a strong N-shaped deviation from exponential behavior. Such deviations are difficult to explain within the Tersoff-Hamann approximation. We suggest the scattering of tunneling electrons by H2 molecules as an origin for the observed effect. We have found that this phenomenon is also common for strongly adsorbed organic molecules with a single anchoring group. Pulling Au, Cu and Pt nanowires at 22 K in hydrogen environment shows that the break-junction electrodes are still connected through hydrogen-metal monoatomic chains down to very low conductance values of 10-4-10-6 G0.

Thermal and thermoelectric transport measurements of an individual boron arsenide microstructure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, Jaehyun; Sellan, Daniel P.; Ou, Eric

2016-05-16

Recent first principles calculations have predicted that boron arsenide (BAs) can possess an unexpectedly high thermal conductivity that depends sensitively on the crystal size and defect concentration. However, few experimental results have been obtained to verify these predictions. In the present work, we report four-probe thermal and thermoelectric transport measurements of an individual BAs microstructure that was synthesized via a vapor transport method. The measured thermal conductivity was found to decrease slightly with temperature in the range between 250 K and 350 K. The temperature dependence suggests that the extrinsic phonon scattering processes play an important role in addition to intrinsic phonon-phononmore » scattering. The room temperature value of (186 ± 46) W m{sup −1 }K{sup −1} is higher than that of bulk silicon but still a factor of four lower than the calculated result for a defect-free, non-degenerate BAs rod with a similar diameter of 1.15 μm. The measured p-type Seebeck coefficient and thermoelectric power factor are comparable to those of bismuth telluride, which is a commonly used thermoelectric material. The foregoing results also suggest that it is necessary to not only reduce defect and boundary scatterings but also to better understand and control the electron scattering of phonons in order to achieve the predicted ultrahigh intrinsic lattice thermal conductivity of BAs.« less

Dynamic conductivity and partial ionization in dense fluid hydrogen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaghoo, Mohamed

2018-04-01

A theoretical description for optical conduction experiments in dense fluid hydrogen is presented. Different quantum statistical approaches are used to describe the mechanism of electronic transport in hydrogen's high-temperature dense phase. We show that at the onset of the metallic transition, optical conduction could be described by a strong rise in atomic polarizability, due to increased ionization, whereas in the highly degenerate limit, the Ziman weak scattering model better accounts for the observed saturation of reflectance. The inclusion of effects of partial ionization in the highly degenerate region provides great agreement with experimental results. Hydrogen's fluid metallic state is revealed to be a partially ionized free-electron plasma. Our results provide some of the first theoretical transport models that are experimentally benchmarked, as well as an important guide for future studies.

Terahertz spectroscopic evidence of non-Fermi-liquid-like behavior in structurally modulated PrNi O3 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phanindra, V. Eswara; Agarwal, Piyush; Rana, D. S.

2018-01-01

The intertwined and competing energy scales of various interactions in rare-earth nickelates R Ni O3 (R =La to Lu) hold potential for a wide range of exotic ground states realized upon structural modulation. Using terahertz (THz) spectroscopy, the low-energy dynamics of a novel non-Fermi liquid (NFL) metallic phase induced in compressive PrNi O3 thin film was studied by evaluating the quasiparticle scattering rate in the light of two distinct models over a wide temperature range. First, evaluating THz conductivity in the framework of extended Drude model, the frequency-dependent scattering rate is found to deviate from the Landau Fermi liquid (LFL) behavior, thus, suggesting NFL-like phase at THz frequencies. Second, fitting THz conductivity to the multiband Drude-Lorentz model reveals the band-dependent scattering rates and provides microscopic interpretation of the carriers contributing to the Drude modes. This is first evidence of NFL-like behavior in nickelates at THz frequencies consistent with dc conductivity, which also suggests that THz technology is indispensable in understanding emerging electronic phases and associated phenomena. We further demonstrate that the metal-insulator transition in nickelates has the potential to design efficient THz modulators.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jana, R. N.; Meikap, A. K.

The results of a comprehensive study of weak electron localization (WEL) and electron-electron interaction (EEI) effects in disordered V{sub 75}X{sub 25} (X = Pd, Al) alloys has been reported. The resistivity in absence of magnetic field shows a minimum at temperature T = T{sub m} and follows T{sup 1/2} law within the temperature range 5 K ≤ T ≤ T{sub m}, which suggests predominant EEI effect. Magnetoresistivity is positive due to strong spin-orbit interaction. The dephasing scattering time is dominated by the electron-phonon scattering. The electron-phonon scattering rate shows quadratic temperature dependence behavior, which is explained by the theory ofmore » incomplete dragging at the random scattering potential by phonons. The zero temperature scattering time strongly depends on the disorder and its magnitude decreases with increasing disorder.« less

Soft phonon modes driven huge difference on lattice thermal conductivity between topological semimetal WC and WN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, San-Dong; Chen, Peng

2018-04-01

Topological semimetals are currently attracting increasing interest due to their potential applications in topological qubits and low-power electronics, which are closely related to their thermal transport properties. Recently, the triply degenerate nodal points near the Fermi level of WC are observed by using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. In this work, by solving the Boltzmann transport equation based on first-principles calculations, we systematically investigate the phonon transport properties of topological semimetals WC and WN. The predicted room-temperature lattice thermal conductivities of WC (WN) along the a and c directions are 1140.64 (7.47) W m-1 K-1 and 1214.69 (5.39) W m-1 K-1. Considering the similar crystal structure of WC and WN, it is quite interesting to find that the thermal conductivity of WC is more than two orders of magnitude higher than that of WN. It is found that, different from WN, the large acoustic-optical (a-o) gap prohibits the acoustic+acoustic → optical (aao) scattering, which gives rise to very long phonon lifetimes, leading to ultrahigh lattice thermal conductivity in WC. For WN, the lack of an a-o gap is due to soft phonon modes in optical branches, which can provide more scattering channels for aao scattering, producing very short phonon lifetimes. Further deep insight can be attained from their different electronic structures. Distinctly different from that in WC, the density of states of WN at the Fermi level becomes very sharp, which leads to destabilization of WN, producing soft phonon modes. It is found that the small shear modulus G and C44 limit the stability of WN, compared with WC. Our studies provide valuable information for phonon transports in WC and WN, and motivate further experimental studies to study their lattice thermal conductivities.

Photoconductivity study of acid on Zinc phthalocyanine pyridine thin films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Singh, Sukhwinder, E-mail: ss7667@gmail.com; Saini, G. S. S.; Tripathi, S. K.

2016-05-06

The Metal Phthalocyanine (MPc) have attracted much interest because of chemical and high thermal stability. Molecules forming a crystal of MPc are held together by weak attractive Vander Waals forces. Organic semiconductors have π conjugate bonds which allow electrons to move via π-electron cloud overlaps. Conduction mechanisms for organic semiconductor are mainly through tunneling; hopping between localized states, mobility gaps, and phonon assisted hopping. The photo conductivity of thin films of these complexes changes when exposed to oxidizing and reducing gases. Arrhenius plot is used to find the thermal activation energy in the intrinsic region and impurity scattering region. Arrheniusmore » plotsare used to find the thermal activation energy.« less

Reggi-Leduc and Maggi-Reggi-Leduc effects in conducting films with an anisotropic dispersion law

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Askerov, B. M.; Guseinov, G. I.; Kuliev, B. I.; Figarova, S. R.

1989-06-01

The influence of the spectrum and bulk scattering anisotropies on the Reggi-Leduc and Maggi-Reggi-Leduc effects is investigated in semiconducting films of the electronic silicon type under classical dimensional effect conditions. It is shown that in contrast to a massive specimen these effects depend not only on a single parameter, the ratio between the anisotropy coefficients of the effective mass and the relaxation time but also on each of them separately, which permit their direct determination. It is also established that the Reggi-Leduc coefficient depends differently on the film thickness, depending on the relationship between the electron and phonon parts of the crystal heat conductivity.

Universal linear and nonlinear electrodynamics of a Dirac fluid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Zhiyuan; Basov, Dmitry N.; Fogler, Michael M.

2018-03-01

A general relation is derived between the linear and second-order nonlinear ac conductivities of an electron system in the hydrodynamic regime of frequencies below the interparticle scattering rate. The magnitude and tensorial structure of the hydrodynamic nonlinear conductivity are shown to differ from their counterparts in the more familiar kinetic regime of higher frequencies. Due to universality of the hydrodynamic equations, the obtained formulas are valid for systems with an arbitrary Dirac-like dispersion, ranging from solid-state electron gases to free-space plasmas, either massive or massless, at any temperature, chemical potential, or space dimension. Predictions for photon drag and second-harmonic generation in graphene are presented as one application of this theory.

Measurement of Tensor Analyzing Powers for Elastic Electron Scattering from a Polarized 2H Target Internal to a Storage Ring

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

M. Ferro-Luzzi; M. Bouwhuis; E. Passchier

1996-09-23

We report an absolute measurement of the tensor analyzing powers T20 and T22 in elastic electron-deuteron scattering at a momentum transfer of 1.6 fm{sup -1}. The novel approach of this measurement is the use of a tensor polarized 2H target internal to an electron storage ring, with in situ measurement of the polarization of the target gas. Scattered electrons and recoil deuterons were detected in coincidence with two large acceptance nonmagnetic detectors. The techniques demonstrated have broad applicability to further measurements of spin-dependent electron scattering.

Electron scattering by highly polar molecules. III - CsCl

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vuskovic, L.; Srivastava, S. K.

1981-01-01

Utilizing a crossed electron-beam-molecular-beam scattering geometry, relative values of differential electron scattering cross sections for cesium chloride at 5 and 20 eV electron impact energies and at scattering angles between 10 and 120 deg have been measured. These relative cross sections have been normalized to the cross section at 15 deg scattering angle calculated by the hybrid S-matrix technique. In the angular range between 0 and 10 deg and between 120 and 180 deg extrapolations have been made to obtain integral and momentum transfer cross sections. An energy-loss spectrum is also presented which gives various spectral features lying between the 4 and 10 eV regions in CsCl.

Solution-processed assembly of ultrathin transparent conductive cellulose nanopaper embedding AgNWs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Yuanyuan; Jiang, Yaoquan; Shi, Liyi; Cao, Shaomei; Feng, Xin; Miao, Miao; Fang, Jianhui

2015-08-01

Natural biomass based cellulose nanopaper is becoming a promising transparent substrate to supersede traditional petroleum based polymer films in realizing future flexible paper-electronics. Here, ultrathin, highly transparent, outstanding conductive hybrid nanopaper with excellent mechanical flexibility was synthesized by the assembly of nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) and silver nanowires (AgNWs) using a pressured extrusion paper-making technique. The hybrid nanopaper with a thickness of 4.5 μm has a good combination of transparent conductive performance and mechanical stability using bamboo/hemp NFC and AgNWs cross-linked by hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose (HPMC). The heterogeneous fibrous structure of BNFC/HNFC/AgNWs endows a uniform distribution and an enhanced forward light scattering, resulting in high electrical conductivity and optical transmittance. The hybrid nanopaper with an optimal weight ratio of BNFC/HNFC to AgNWs shows outstanding synergistic properties with a transmittance of 86.41% at 550 nm and a sheet resistance of 1.90 ohm sq-1, equal to the electronic conductivity, which is about 500 S cm-1. The BNFC/HNFC/AgNW hybrid nanopaper maintains a stable electrical conductivity after the peeling test and bending at 135° for 1000 cycles, indicating remarkably strong adhesion and mechanical flexibility. Of importance here is that the high-performance and low-cost hybrid nanopaper shows promising potential for electronics application in solar cells, flexible displays and other high-technology products.Natural biomass based cellulose nanopaper is becoming a promising transparent substrate to supersede traditional petroleum based polymer films in realizing future flexible paper-electronics. Here, ultrathin, highly transparent, outstanding conductive hybrid nanopaper with excellent mechanical flexibility was synthesized by the assembly of nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) and silver nanowires (AgNWs) using a pressured extrusion paper-making technique. The hybrid nanopaper with a thickness of 4.5 μm has a good combination of transparent conductive performance and mechanical stability using bamboo/hemp NFC and AgNWs cross-linked by hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose (HPMC). The heterogeneous fibrous structure of BNFC/HNFC/AgNWs endows a uniform distribution and an enhanced forward light scattering, resulting in high electrical conductivity and optical transmittance. The hybrid nanopaper with an optimal weight ratio of BNFC/HNFC to AgNWs shows outstanding synergistic properties with a transmittance of 86.41% at 550 nm and a sheet resistance of 1.90 ohm sq-1, equal to the electronic conductivity, which is about 500 S cm-1. The BNFC/HNFC/AgNW hybrid nanopaper maintains a stable electrical conductivity after the peeling test and bending at 135° for 1000 cycles, indicating remarkably strong adhesion and mechanical flexibility. Of importance here is that the high-performance and low-cost hybrid nanopaper shows promising potential for electronics application in solar cells, flexible displays and other high-technology products. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr03218k

Electronically cloaked nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Wenqing

The concept of electronic cloaking is to design objects invisible to conduction electrons. The approach of electronic cloaking has been recently suggested to design invisible nanoparticle dopants with electronic scattering cross section smaller than 1% of the physical cross section (pi a2), and therefore to enhance the carrier mobility of bulk materials. The proposed nanoparticles have core-shell structures. The dopants are incorporated inside the core, while the shell layer serves both as a spacer to separate the charge carriers from their parent atoms and as a cloaking shell to minimize the scattering cross section of the electrons from the ionized nanoparticles. Thermoelectric materials are usually highly doped to have enough carrier density. Using invisible dopants could achieve larger thermoelectric power factors by enhancing the electronic mobility. Core-shell nanoparticles show an advantage over one-layer nanoparticles, which are proposed in three-dimensional modulation doping. However designing such nanoparticles is not easy as there are too many parameters to be considered. This thesis first shows an approach to design hollow nanoparticles by applying constrains on variables. In the second part, a simple mapping approach is introduced where one can identify possible core-shell particles by comparing the dimensionless parameters of chosen materials with provided maps. In both parts of this work, several designs with realistic materials were made and proven to achieve electronic cloaking. Improvement in the thermoelectric power factor compared to the traditional impurity doping method was demonstrated in several cases.

Electron mobility of two-dimensional electron gas in InGaN heterostructures: Effects of alloy disorder and random dipole scatterings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoshino, Tomoki; Mori, Nobuya

2018-04-01

InGaN has a smaller electron effective mass and is expected to be used as a channel material for high-electron-mobility transistors. However, it is an alloy semiconductor with a random distribution of atoms, which introduces additional scattering mechanisms: alloy disorder and random dipole scatterings. In this work, we calculate the electron mobility in InGaN- and GaN-channel high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) while taking into account acoustic deformation potential, polar optical phonon, alloy disorder, and random dipole scatterings. For InGaN-channel HEMTs, we find that not only alloy disorder but also random dipole scattering has a strong impact on the electron mobility and it significantly decreases as the In mole fraction of the channel increases. Our calculation also shows that the channel thickness w dependence of the mobility is rather weak when w > 1 nm for In0.1Ga0.9N-channel HEMTs.

Currents and Associated Electron Scattering and Bouncing Near the Diffusion Region at Earth's Magnetopause

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lavraud, B.; Zhang, Y. C.; Vernisse, Y.; Gershman, D. J.; Dorelli, J.; Cassak, P. A.; Dargent, J.; Pollock, C.; Giles, B.; Aunai, N.;

Experimental electron energy-loss spectra and cross sections for the 4/2/S - 4/2/P transition in Zn II

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chutjian, A.; Newell, W. R.

1982-01-01

Electron energy-loss spectra and differential cross sections are reported for inelastic scattering from Zn II. Measurements were carried out in a crossed electron beam-ion beam apparatus, at incident electron energies of 30, 40, 50, 60, 75, 85, and 100 eV, and at a scattering angle of 14 deg. The present results are the first reported measurements of inelastic electron scattering from an ion.

Surface roughness scattering of electrons in bulk mosfets

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zuverink, Amanda Renee

2015-11-01

Surface-roughness scattering of electrons at the Si-SiO 2 interface is a very important consideration when analyzing Si metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). Scattering reduces the mobility of the electrons and degrades the device performance. 250-nm and 50-nm bulk MOSFETs were simulated with varying device parameters and mesh sizes in order to compare the effects of surface-roughness scattering in multiple devices. The simulation framework includes the ensemble Monte Carlo method used to solve the Boltzmann transport equation coupled with a successive over-relaxation method used to solve the two-dimensional Poisson's equation. Four methods for simulating the surface-roughness scattering of electrons were implemented onmore » both devices and compared: the constant specularity parameter, the momentum-dependent specularity parameter, and the real-space-roughness method with both uniform and varying electric fields. The specularity parameter is the probability of an electron scattering speculariy from a rough surface. It can be chosen as a constant, characterizing partially diffuse scattering of all electrons from the surface the same way, or it can be momentum dependent, where the size of rms roughness and the normal component of the electron wave number determine the probability of electron-momentum randomization. The real-space rough surface method uses the rms roughness height and correlation length of an actual MOSFET to simulate a rough interface. Due to their charge, electrons scatter from the electric field and not directly from the surface. If the electric field is kept uniform, the electrons do not perceive the roughness and scatter as if from a at surface. However, if the field is allowed to vary, the electrons scatter from the varying electric field as they would in a MOSFET. These methods were implemented for both the 50-nm and 250-nm MOSFETs, and using the rms roughness heights and correlation lengths for real devices. The current-voltage and mobility-electric field curves were plotted for each method on the two devices and compared. The conclusion is that the specularity-parameter methods are valuable as simple models for relatively smooth interfaces. However, they have limitations, as they cannot accurately describe the drastic reduction in the current and the electron mobility that occur in MOSFETs with very rough Si-SiO 2 interfaces.« less

High energy Coulomb-scattered electrons for relativistic particle beams and diagnostics

DOE PAGES

Thieberger, P.; Altinbas, Z.; Carlson, C.; ...

2016-03-29

A new system used for monitoring energetic Coulomb-scattered electrons as the main diagnostic for accurately aligning the electron and ion beams in the new Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) electron lenses is described in detail. The theory of electron scattering from relativistic ions is developed and applied to the design and implementation of the system used to achieve and maintain the alignment. Commissioning with gold and 3He beams is then described as well as the successful utilization of the new system during the 2015 RHIC polarized proton run. Systematic errors of the new method are then estimated. Lastly, some possiblemore » future applications of Coulomb-scattered electrons for beam diagnostics are briefly discussed.« less

Ultrahigh lattice thermal conductivity in topological semimetal TaN caused by a large acoustic-optical gap.

PubMed

Guo, San-Dong; Liu, Bang-Gui

2018-03-14

Topological semimetals may have potential applications such as in topological qubits, spintronics and quantum computations. Efficient heat dissipation is a key factor for the reliability and stability of topological semimetal-based nano-electronics devices, which is closely related to high thermal conductivity. In this work, the elastic properties and lattice thermal conductivity of TaN are investigated using first-principles calculations and the linearized phonon Boltzmann equation within the single-mode relaxation time approximation. According to the calculated bulk modulus, shear modulus and C 44 , TaN can be regarded as a potential incompressible and hard material. The room-temperature lattice thermal conductivity is predicted to be 838.62 [Formula: see text] along the a axis and 1080.40 [Formula: see text] along the c axis, showing very strong anisotropy. It is found that the lattice thermal conductivity of TaN is several tens of times higher than other topological semimetals, such as TaAs, MoP and ZrTe, which is due to the very longer phonon lifetimes for TaN than other topological semimetals. The very different atomic masses of Ta and N atoms lead to a very large acoustic-optical band gap, and then prohibit the scattering between acoustic and optical phonon modes, which gives rise to very long phonon lifetimes. Calculated results show that isotope scattering has little effect on lattice thermal conductivity, and that phonons with mean free paths larger than 20 (80) [Formula: see text] along the c direction at 300 K have little contribution to the total lattice thermal conductivity. This work implies that TaN-based nano-electronics devices may be more stable and reliable due to efficient heat dissipation, and motivates further experimental works to study lattice thermal conductivity of TaN.

Ultrahigh lattice thermal conductivity in topological semimetal TaN caused by a large acoustic-optical gap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, San-Dong; Liu, Bang-Gui

2018-03-01

Topological semimetals may have potential applications such as in topological qubits, spintronics and quantum computations. Efficient heat dissipation is a key factor for the reliability and stability of topological semimetal-based nano-electronics devices, which is closely related to high thermal conductivity. In this work, the elastic properties and lattice thermal conductivity of TaN are investigated using first-principles calculations and the linearized phonon Boltzmann equation within the single-mode relaxation time approximation. According to the calculated bulk modulus, shear modulus and C 44, TaN can be regarded as a potential incompressible and hard material. The room-temperature lattice thermal conductivity is predicted to be 838.62 W~m-1~K^{-1} along the a axis and 1080.40 W~m-1~K^{-1} along the c axis, showing very strong anisotropy. It is found that the lattice thermal conductivity of TaN is several tens of times higher than other topological semimetals, such as TaAs, MoP and ZrTe, which is due to the very longer phonon lifetimes for TaN than other topological semimetals. The very different atomic masses of Ta and N atoms lead to a very large acoustic-optical band gap, and then prohibit the scattering between acoustic and optical phonon modes, which gives rise to very long phonon lifetimes. Calculated results show that isotope scattering has little effect on lattice thermal conductivity, and that phonons with mean free paths larger than 20 (80) μm along the c direction at 300 K have little contribution to the total lattice thermal conductivity. This work implies that TaN-based nano-electronics devices may be more stable and reliable due to efficient heat dissipation, and motivates further experimental works to study lattice thermal conductivity of TaN.

Electrical and thermal properties of Cu-Ta films prepared by magnetron sputtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Wen; Fu, Licai; Zhu, Jiajun; Yang, Wulin; Sang, Jianquan; Li, Deyi; Zhou, Lingping

2018-06-01

The microstructure, electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity of the sputtering deposited Cu-Ta films were investigated as a function of Ta content. The results showed that the amorphous phase formed between 20 at.% and 60 at.% Ta, and out of this range α-Cu(Ta) and β-Ta(Cu) solid solutions formed. Because the lattice distortion and β-Ta structure could significantly increase the probability of electron scattering, the electrical resistivity of the Cu-Ta films shows a 'N' type change with the increase of Ta content, and the inflection point appears at 50 at.% Ta and 60 at.% Ta respectively. As the thermal conductance is also dominated by electrons in metals films, an opposite variation tendency is found in the thermal conductivity of the Cu-Ta films. According to our knowledge, this is the first time to measure the thermal conductivity of Cu-Ta thin films.

Carrier interactions and porosity initiated reversal of temperature dependence of thermal conduction in nanoscale tin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaul, Pankaj B.; Prakash, Vikas

2014-01-01

Recently, tin has been identified as an attractive electrode material for energy storage/conversion technologies. Tin thin films have also been utilized as an important constituent of thermal interface materials in thermal management applications. In this regards, in the present paper, we investigate thermal conductivity of two nanoscale tin films, (i) with thickness 500 ± 50 nm and 0.45% porosity and (ii) with thickness 100 ± 20 nm and 12.21% porosity. Thermal transport in these films is characterized over the temperature range from 40 K-310 K, using a three-omega method for multilayer configurations. The experimental results are compared with analytical predictions obtained by considering both phonon and electron contributions to heat conduction as described by existing frequency-dependent phenomenological models and BvK dispersion for phonons. The thermal conductivity of the thicker tin film (500 nm) is measured to be 46.2 W/m-K at 300 K and is observed to increase with reduced temperatures; the mechanisms for thermal transport are understood to be governed by strong phonon-electron interactions in addition to the normal phonon-phonon interactions within the temperature range 160 K-300 K. In the case of the tin thin film with 100 nm thickness, porosity and electron-boundary scattering supersede carrier interactions, and a reversal in the thermal conductivity trend with reduced temperatures is observed; the thermal conductivity falls to 1.83 W/m-K at 40 K from its room temperature value of 36.1 W/m-K. In order to interpret the experimental results, we utilize the existing analytical models that account for contributions of electron-boundary scattering using the Mayadas-Shatzkes and Fuchs-Sondheimer models for the thin and thick films, respectively. Moreover, the effects of porosity on carrier transport are included using a previous treatment based on phonon radiative transport involving frequency-dependent mean free paths and the morphology of the nanoporous channels. The systematic modeling approach presented in here can, in general, also be utilized to understand thermal transport in semi-metals and semiconductor nano-porous thin films and/or phononic nanocrystals.

Correlated Electrons in Carbon Nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Odintsov, Arkadi A.; Yoshioka, Hideo

Single-wall carbon nanotubes are almost ideal systems for the investigation of exotic many-body effects due to non-Fermi liquid behavior of interacting electrons in one dimension. Recent theoretical and experimental results are reviewed with a focus on electron correlations. Starting from a microscopic lattice model we derive an effective phase Hamiltonian for conducting single-wall nanotubes with arbitrary chirality. The parameters of the Hamiltonian show very weak dependence on the chiral angle, which makes the low-energy physics of conducting nanotubes universal. The temperature-dependent resistivity and frequency-dependent optical conductivity of nanotubes with impurities are evaluated within the Luttinger-like model. Localization effects are studied. In particular, we found that intra-valley and inter-valley electron scattering can not coexist at low energies. Low-energy properties of clean nanotubes are studied beyond the Luttinger liquid approximation. The strongest Mott-like electron instability occurs at half filling. In the Mott insulating phase electrons at different atomic sublattices form characteristic bound states. The energy gaps occur in all modes of elementary excitations and estimate at 0.01-0.1 eV. We finally discuss observability of the Mott insulating phase in transport experiments. The accent is made on the charge transfer from external electrodes which results in a deviation of the electron density from half-filling.

Interfacial phonon scattering and transmission loss in >1 μm thick silicon-on-insulator thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Puqing; Lindsay, Lucas; Huang, Xi; Koh, Yee Kan

2018-05-01

Scattering of phonons at boundaries of a crystal (grains, surfaces, or solid/solid interfaces) is characterized by the phonon wavelength, the angle of incidence, and the interface roughness, as historically evaluated using a specularity parameter p formulated by Ziman [Electrons and Phonons (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1960)]. This parameter was initially defined to determine the probability of a phonon specularly reflecting or diffusely scattering from the rough surface of a material. The validity of Ziman's theory as extended to solid/solid interfaces has not been previously validated. To better understand the interfacial scattering of phonons and to test the validity of Ziman's theory, we precisely measured the in-plane thermal conductivity of a series of Si films in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers by time-domain thermoreflectance (TDTR) for a Si film thickness range of 1-10 μm and a temperature range of 100-300 K. The Si /SiO2 interface roughness was determined to be 0.11 ±0.04 nm using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Furthermore, we compared our in-plane thermal conductivity measurements to theoretical calculations that combine first-principles phonon transport with Ziman's theory. Calculations using Ziman's specularity parameter significantly overestimate values from the TDTR measurements. We attribute this discrepancy to phonon transmission through the solid/solid interface into the substrate, which is not accounted for by Ziman's theory for surfaces. The phonons that are specularly transmitted into an amorphous layer will be sufficiently randomized by the time they come back to the crystalline Si layer, the effect of which is practically equivalent to a diffuse reflection at the interface. We derive a simple expression for the specularity parameter at solid/amorphous interfaces and achieve good agreement between calculations and measurement values.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Differential electron scattering from the (010) excited vibrational mode of N2O

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akther, P.; Johnstone, W. M.; El-Zein, A. A. A.; Campbell, L.; Teubner, P. J. O.; Brunger, M. J.; Newell, W. R.

2002-11-01

In this letter we report differential superelastic, elastic and inelastic electron scattering measurements from nitrous oxide (N2O) in its (010)* excited vibrational quantum. The incident electron energy was 2.5 eV and the scattered electron angular range was 10°- 40°. Unlike our previous results (1999 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 32 5779) with the isoelectronic molecule carbon dioxide (CO2), where the elastic differential cross sections (DCSs) for scattering from the (010)* mode were 2.3 times larger than those for elastic scattering from the ground (000) state, in N2O the corresponding (010)* elastic cross sections are usually only a fraction of those for the ground state. To the best of our knowledge, the present data are the first DCSs which have been reported in the literature for electron scattering from an excited vibrational level of the N2O molecule.

Incipient 2D Mott insulators in extreme high electron density, ultra-thin GdTiO3/SrTiO3/GdTiO3 quantum wells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allen, S. James; Ouellette, Daniel G.; Moetakef, Pouya; Cain, Tyler; Chen, Ru; Balents, Leon; Stemmer, Susanne

2013-03-01

By reducing the number of SrO planes in a GdTiO3 /SrTiO3/ GdTiO3 quantum well heterostructure, an electron gas with ~ fixed 2D electron density can be driven close to the Mott metal insulator transition - a quantum critical point at ~1 electron per unit cell. A single interface between the Mott insulator GdTiO3 and band insulator SrTiO3 has been shown to introduce ~ 1/2 electron per interface unit cell. Two interfaces produce a quantum well with ~ 7 1014 cm-2 electrons: at the limit of a single SrO layer it may produce a 2D magnetic Mott insulator. We use temperature and frequency dependent (DC - 3eV) conductivity and temperature dependent magneto-transport to understand the relative importance of electron-electron interactions, electron-phonon interactions, and surface roughness scattering as the electron gas is compressed toward the quantum critical point. Terahertz time-domain and FTIR spectroscopies, measure the frequency dependent carrier mass and scattering rate, and the mid-IR polaron absorption as a function of quantum well thickness. At the extreme limit of a single SrO plane, we observe insulating behavior with an optical gap substantially less than that of the surrounding GdTiO3, suggesting a novel 2D Mott insulator. MURI program of the Army Research Office - Grant No. W911-NF-09-1-0398

Characterization of Lorenz number with Seebeck coefficient measurement

DOE PAGES

Kim, Hyun -Sik; Gibbs, Zachary M.; Tang, Yinglu; ...

2015-04-01

In analyzing zT improvements due to lattice thermal conductivity (κ L ) reduction, electrical conductivity (σ) and total thermal conductivity (κ Total ) are often used to estimate the electronic component of the thermal conductivity (κ E ) and in turn κ L from κ L = ~ κ Total - LσT. The Wiedemann-Franz law, κ E = LσT, where L is Lorenz number, is widely used to estimate κ E from σ measurements. It is a common practice to treat L as a universal factor with 2.44 × 10⁻⁸ WΩK⁻² (degenerate limit). However, significant deviations from the degenerate limitmore » (approximately 40% or more for Kane bands) are known to occur for non-degenerate semiconductors where L converges to 1.5 × 10⁻⁸ WΩK⁻² for acoustic phonon scattering. The decrease in L is correlated with an increase in thermopower (absolute value of Seebeck coefficient (S)). Thus, a first order correction to the degenerate limit of L can be based on the measured thermopower, |S|, independent of temperature or doping. We propose the equation: (where L is in 10⁻⁸ WΩK⁻² and S in μV/K) as a satisfactory approximation for L. This equation is accurate within 5% for single parabolic band/acoustic phonon scattering assumption and within 20% for PbSe, PbS, PbTe, Si₀.₈Ge₀.₂ where more complexity is introduced, such as non-parabolic Kane bands, multiple bands, and/or alternate scattering mechanisms. The use of this equation for L rather than a constant value (when detailed band structure and scattering mechanism is not known) will significantly improve the estimation of lattice thermal conductivity. L = 1.5 + exp [-|S|116]« less

Thomson scattering from a three-component plasma.

PubMed

Johnson, W R; Nilsen, J

2014-02-01

A model for a three-component plasma consisting of two distinct ionic species and electrons is developed and applied to study x-ray Thomson scattering. Ions of a specific type are assumed to be identical and are treated in the average-atom approximation. Given the plasma temperature and density, the model predicts mass densities, effective ionic charges, and cell volumes for each ionic type, together with the plasma chemical potential and free-electron density. Additionally, the average-atom treatment of individual ions provides a quantum-mechanical description of bound and continuum electrons. The model is used to obtain parameters needed to determine the dynamic structure factors for x-ray Thomson scattering from a three-component plasma. The contribution from inelastic scattering by free electrons is evaluated in the random-phase approximation. The contribution from inelastic scattering by bound electrons is evaluated using the bound-state and scattering wave functions obtained from the average-atom calculations. Finally, the partial static structure factors for elastic scattering by ions are evaluated using a two-component version of the Ornstein-Zernike equations with hypernetted chain closure, in which electron-ion interactions are accounted for using screened ion-ion interaction potentials. The model is used to predict the x-ray Thomson scattering spectrum from a CH plasma and the resulting spectrum is compared with experimental results obtained by Feltcher et al. [Phys. Plasmas 20, 056316 (2013)].

The interaction of low-energy electrons with fructose molecules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chernyshova, I. V.; Kontrosh, E. E.; Markush, P. P.; Shpenik, O. B.

2017-11-01

Using a hypocycloidal electronic spectrometer, the interactions of low energy electrons (0-8.50 eV) with fructose molecules, namely, electron scattering and dissociative attachment, are studied. The results of these studies showed that the fragmentation of fructose molecules occurs effectively even at an electron energy close to zero. In the total electron-scattering cross section by molecules, resonance features (at energies 3.10 and 5.00 eV) were first observed near the formation thresholds of light ion fragments OH- and H-. The correlation of the features observed in the cross sections of electron scattering and dissociative attachment is analyzed.

A generalization of the Drude-Smith formula for magneto-optical conductivities in Faraday geometry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Han, F. W.; University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026; Xu, W., E-mail: wenxu-issp@aliyun.com

2016-06-28

In this study, we generalize the impulse response approach and Poisson statistics proposed by Smith [Phys. Rev. B 64, 155106 (2001)] to evaluate the longitudinal and transverse magneto-optical conductivities in an electron gas system in Faraday geometry. Comparing with the standard Drude model, the coefficients a{sub n} are introduced in the Drude-Smith formula to describe the backscattering or localization effect for the nth electronic scattering event. Such a formula can also be applied to study the elements of the dielectric function matrix in the presence of magnetic and radiation fields in electron gas systems. This theoretical work is primely motivatedmore » by recent experimental activities in measuring the real and imaginary parts of longitudinal and transverse magneto-optical conductivities in condensed matter materials and electronic devices using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. We believe that the results obtained from this study can provide an appropriate theoretical tool in reproducing the experimental findings and in fitting with experimental data to determine the important sample and material parameters.« less

Low-energy electron scattering from atomic hydrogen. II. Elastic and inelastic scattering

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

James, K.E. Jr.; Childers, J.G.; Khakoo, M.A.

2004-02-01

We present measurements of differential cross sections for elastic electron scattering from atomic hydrogen at 20 eV and 40 eV incident electron energies and ratios of differential cross sections for electron-impact excitation of atomic hydrogen to the n=2, 3, and 4 levels at incident electron energies of 14.6 eV, 15.6 eV, 17.6 eV, 20 eV, 25 eV, and 40 eV with scattering angles ranging from 10 deg. to 130 deg. We compare our results to available experimental measurements and recent convergent close-coupling calculations. Our results resolve significant discrepancies that existed between theory and past experiments.

An analytic formula for the relativistic incoherent Thomson backscattering spectrum for a drifting bi-Maxwellian plasma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Naito, O.

2015-08-15

An analytic formula has been derived for the relativistic incoherent Thomson backscattering spectrum for a drifting anisotropic plasma when the scattering vector is parallel to the drifting direction. The shape of the scattering spectrum is insensitive to the electron temperature perpendicular to the scattering vector, but its amplitude may be modulated. As a result, while the measured temperature correctly represents the electron distribution parallel to the scattering vector, the electron density may be underestimated when the perpendicular temperature is higher than the parallel temperature. Since the scattering spectrum in shorter wavelengths is greatly enhanced by the existence of drift, themore » diagnostics might be used to measure local electron current density in fusion plasmas.« less

Warm Dense Matter Demonstrating Non-Drude Conductivity from Observations of Nonlinear Plasmon Damping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Witte, Bastian B. L.

2017-10-01

The thermal and electrical conductivity, equation of state and the spectral opacity in warm dense matter (WDM) are essential properties for modeling, e.g., fusion experiments or the magnetic field generation in planets. In the last decade it has been shown that x-ray Thomson scattering (XRTS) is an effective tool to determine plasma parameters like temperature and density in the WDM regime. Recently, the electrical conductivity was extracted from XRTS experiments for the first time. The spectrally resolved scattering data of aluminum, isochorically heated by the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), show strong dependence on electron correlations. Therefore, the damping of plasmons, the collective electron oscillations, has to be treated beyond perturbation theory. We present results for the dynamic transport properties in warm dense aluminum using density-functional-theory molecular dynamics (DFT-MD) simulations. The choice of the exchange-correlation (XC) functional, describing the interactions in the electronic subsystem, has significant impact on the ionization energy of bound electrons and the dynamic dielectric function. Our newly developed method for the calculation of XRTS signals including plasmon and bound-free transitions is based on transition matrix elements together with ionic contributions using uniquely DFT-MD simulations. The results show excellent agreement with the LCLS data if hybrid functionals are applied. The experimental finding of nonlinear plasmon damping is caused by the non-Drude conductivity in warm dense aluminum. Here, we show further validation by comparing with x-ray absorption data. These findings enable new insights into the impact of XC functionals on calculated properties of WDM and allow detailed predictions for future experiments at the unprecedented densities on the NIF. This work was performed in collaboration with P. Sperling, S.H. Glenzer, R. Redmer and was supported by the DFG via the Collaborative Research Center SFB 652 and the DOE Office of Science, Fusion Energy Science under Grant No. FWP 100182.

Time-resolved terahertz dynamics in thin films of the topological insulator Bi 2Se 3

DOE PAGES

Valdés Aguilar, R.; Qi, J.; Brahlek, M.; ...

2015-01-07

We use optical pump–THz probe spectroscopy at low temperatures to study the hot carrier response in thin Bi 2Se 3 films of several thicknesses, allowing us to separate the bulk from the surface transient response. We find that for thinner films the photoexcitation changes the transport scattering rate and reduces the THz conductivity, which relaxes within 10 picoseconds (ps). For thicker films, the conductivity increases upon photoexcitation and scales with increasing both the film thickness and the optical fluence, with a decay time of approximately 5 ps as well as a much higher scattering rate. Furthermore, these different dynamics aremore » attributed to the surface and bulk electrons, respectively, and demonstrate that long-lived mobile surface photo-carriers can be accessed independently below certain film thicknesses for possible optoelectronic applications.« less

Electronic transport in highly conducting Si-doped ZnO thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kuznetsov, Vladimir L.; Vai, Alex T.; Edwards, Peter P., E-mail: peter.edwards@chem.ox.ac.uk

2015-12-07

Highly conducting (ρ = 3.9 × 10{sup −4} Ωcm) and transparent (83%) polycrystalline Si-doped ZnO (SiZO) thin films have been deposited onto borosilicate glass substrates by pulsed laser deposition from (ZnO){sub 1−x}(SiO{sub 2}){sub x} (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.05) ceramic targets prepared using a sol-gel technique. Along with their structural, chemical, and optical properties, the electronic transport within these SiZO samples has been investigated as a function of silicon doping level and temperature. Measurements made between 80 and 350 K reveal an almost temperature-independent carrier concentration consistent with degenerate metallic conduction in all of these samples. The temperature-dependent Hall mobility has been modeled by considering the varying contribution of grainmore » boundary and electron-phonon scattering in samples with different nominal silicon concentrations.« less

A United Effort for Crystal Growth, Neutron Scattering, and X-ray Scattering Studies of Novel Correlated Electron Materials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, Young S.

2015-02-12

The research accomplishments during the award involved experimental studies of correlated electron systems and quantum magnetism. The techniques of crystal growth, neutron scattering, x-ray scattering, and thermodynamic & transport measurements were employed, and graduate students and postdoctoral research associates were trained in these techniques.

Spin-dependence of the electron scattering cross section by a magnetic layer system and the magneto-resistance

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, J.T.; Tang, F.; Brown, W.D.

1998-12-20

The authors present a theoretical model for calculating the spin-dependent cross section of the scattering of electrons by a magnetic layer system. The model demonstrates that the cross sections of the scattering are different for spin up and spin down electrons. The model assumes that the electrical resistivity in a conductor is proportional to the scattering cross section of the electron in it. It is believed to support the two channel mechanism in interpreting magneto-resistance (MR). Based on the model without considering the scattering due to the interfacial roughness and the spin flipping scattering, the authors have established a relationshipmore » between MR and the square of the magnetic moment in the bulk sample without considering the scattering due to the interfacial roughness and the spin flipping scattering. It can also qualitatively explain the MR difference between the current in plane (CIP) and current perpendicular to the plane (CPP) configurations. The predictions by the model agree well with the experimental findings.« less

Electron scattering in large water clusters from photoelectron imaging with high harmonic radiation.

PubMed

Gartmann, Thomas E; Hartweg, Sebastian; Ban, Loren; Chasovskikh, Egor; Yoder, Bruce L; Signorell, Ruth

2018-06-06

Low-energy electron scattering in water clusters (H2O)n with average cluster sizes of n < 700 is investigated by angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy using high harmonic radiation at photon energies of 14.0, 20.3, and 26.5 eV for ionization from the three outermost valence orbitals. The measurements probe the evolution of the photoelectron anisotropy parameter β as a function of cluster size. A remarkably steep decrease of β with increasing cluster size is observed, which for the largest clusters reaches liquid bulk values. Detailed electron scattering calculations reveal that neither gas nor condensed phase scattering can explain the cluster data. Qualitative agreement between experiment and simulations is obtained with scattering calculations that treat cluster scattering as an intermediate case between gas and condensed phase scattering.

Excitation of phonons in medium-energy electron diffraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alvarez, M. A. Vicente; Ascolani, H.; Zampieri, G.

1996-03-01

The ``elastic'' backscattering of electrons from crystalline surfaces presents two regimes: a low-energy regime, in which the characteristic low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) pattern is observed, and a medium-energy regime, in which the diffraction pattern is similar to those observed in x-ray photoemission diffraction (XPD) and Auger electron diffraction (AED) experiments. We present a model for the electron scattering which, including the vibrational degrees of freedom of the crystal, contains both regimes and explains the passage from one regime to the other. Our model is based on a separation of the electron and atomic motions (adiabatic approximation) and on a cluster-type formulation of the multiple scattering of the electron. The inelastic scattering events (excitation and/or absorption of phonons) are treated as coherent processes and no break of the phase relation between the incident and the exit paths of the electron is assumed. The LEED and the medium-energy electron diffraction regimes appear naturally in this model as the limit cases of completely elastic scattering and of inelastic scattering with excitation and/or absorption of multiple phonons. Intensity patterns calculated with this model are in very good agreement with recent experiments of electron scattering on Cu(001) at low and medium energies. We show that there is a correspondence between the type of intensity pattern and the mean number of phonons excited and/or absorbed during the scattering: a LEED-like pattern is observed when this mean number is less than 2, LEED-like and XPD/AED-like features coexist when this number is 3-4, and a XPD/AED-like pattern is observed when this number is greater than 5-6.

Disorder dependence electron phonon scattering rate of V82Pd18 - xFex alloys at low temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jana, R. N.; Meikap, A. K.

2018-04-01

We have systematically investigated the disorder dependence electron phonon scattering rate in three dimensional disordered V82Pd18 - xFex alloys. A minimum in temperature dependence resistivity curve has been observed at low temperature T =Tm. In the temperature range 5 K ≤ T ≤Tm the resistivity correction follows ρo 5 / 2T 1 / 2 law. The dephasing scattering time has been calculated from analysis of magnetoresistivity by weak localization theory. The electron dephasing time is dominated by electron-phonon scattering and follows anomalous temperature (T) and disorder (ρ0) dependence behaviour like τe-ph-1 ∝T2 /ρ0, where ρ0 is the impurity resistivity. The magnitude of the saturated dephasing scattering time (τ0) at zero temperature decreases with increasing disorder of the samples. Such anomalous behaviour of dephasing scattering rate is still unresolved.

Electron and positron interaction with pyrimidine: A theoretical investigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sinha, Nidhi; Antony, Bobby

2018-03-01

Pyrimidine (C4H4N2) is considered as the building block of nucleobases, viz., cytosine, thymine and uracil. They provide a blueprint for probing the scattering of radiation by DNA and RNA bases. In this article, we report the elastic and total scattering cross-sections for electron and positron scattering from the pyrimidine molecule, employing a spherical complex optical potential (SCOP) formalism for an extensive energy range of 10 eV to 5 keV. In the case of positron scattering, the original SCOP formalism is modified to adequately solve the positron-target dynamics. Moreover, a reasonable agreement is observed between the present results and other available datasets, for both electron and positron scattering. The cross-sections for electron and positron impact scattering by pyrimidine are necessary input data for codes that seek to simulate radiation damage, and hence are useful to model biomolecular systems.

Backward scattering effect of aligned carbon nanotube arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Pengfei; Ren, Zhifeng; Wang, Michael R.

2009-02-01

In terms of operational bandwidth and speed, photonic components are superior to electronic ones. However, it is difficult to control photons on nanoscale structures for data processing and interconnection. Nanophotonic device using surface plasmon (SP) offers an ideal solution to combine the superior technical advantages of both photonics and electronics on the same chip. The SP wavelength is much shorter than that of the exciting light, allowing the use of SP in various techniques that overcome diffraction limits. In this paper, we report an interesting plasmonic effect, enhanced backward scattering, by using a periodically-aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) array. The CNTs are grown on a transparent glass substrate with an average diameter of 50 nm and a length of about 1 μm. To enhance the conductivity, the CNTs are also coated with 10-nm Au layer by using E-beam CVD technique. By shining a laser beam to the CNT array, we found that the scattering intensity is maximally enhanced at the backward incident direction. The enhanced backward incident scattering is observed by using both periodic and nonperiodic CNT samples. The experimental results suggest that the backward scattering effect is due to the SP excitation and coupling. The proposed technique exploiting aligned carbon-nanotube arrays to manipulate surface plasmon will lead to useful optical features such as optical antennae effects, retro-reflection, switching, wavelength add/drop multiplexing, and may be particularly useful for optical sensing, smart target identification and optical wireless secure communication applications.

Electron scattering from gas phase cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II): Quantum analysis of resonance dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carey, Ralph; Lucchese, Robert R.; Gianturco, F. A.

2013-05-01

We present scattering calculations of electron collisions with the platinum-containing compound cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (CDDP), commonly known as cisplatin, between 0.5 eV and 6 eV, and the corresponding isolated Pt atom from 0.1 eV to 10 eV. We find evidence of resonances in e--CDDP scattering, using an ab initio description of the target. We computed scattering matrix elements from equations incorporating exchange and polarization effects through the use of the static-exchange plus density functional correlation potential. Additionally, we made use of a purely local adiabatic model potential that allows Siegert eigenstates to be calculated, thereby allowing inspection of the possible resonant scattering wave functions. The total cross section for electron scattering from (5d10) 1S Pt displays a large magnitude, monotonic decay from the initial collision energies, with no apparent resonance scattering features in any scattering symmetry. By contrast, the e--CDDP scattering cross section shows a small feature near 3.8 eV, which results from a narrow, well localized resonance of b2 symmetry. These findings are then related to the possible electron-mediated mechanism of the action of CDDP on DNA replication as suggested by recent experiments.

Electron- and positron-molecule scattering: development of the molecular convergent close-coupling method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zammit, Mark C.; Fursa, Dmitry V.; Savage, Jeremy S.; Bray, Igor

2017-06-01

Starting from first principles, this tutorial describes the development of the adiabatic-nuclei convergent close-coupling (CCC) method and its application to electron and (single-centre) positron scattering from diatomic molecules. We give full details of the single-centre expansion CCC method, namely the formulation of the molecular target structure; solving the momentum-space coupled-channel Lippmann-Schwinger equation; deriving adiabatic-nuclei cross sections and calculating V-matrix elements. Selected results are presented for electron and positron scattering from molecular hydrogen H2 and electron scattering from the vibrationally excited molecular hydrogen ion {{{H}}}2+ and its isotopologues (D2 +, {{{T}}}2+, HD+, HT+ and TD+). Convergence in both the close-coupling (target state) and projectile partial-wave expansions of fixed-nuclei electron- and positron-molecule scattering calculations is demonstrated over a broad energy-range and discussed in detail. In general, the CCC results are in good agreement with experiments.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Peng, Hua; College of Physics and Optoelectronics, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024; Kioussis, Nicholas, E-mail: nick.kioussis@csun.edu

Using ab initio based calculations, we have calculated the intrinsic lattice thermal conductivity of chiral tellurium. We show that the interplay between the strong covalent intrachain and weak van der Waals interchain interactions gives rise to the phonon band gap between the lower and higher optical phonon branches. The underlying mechanism of the large anisotropy of the thermal conductivity is the anisotropy of the phonon group velocities and of the anharmonic interatomic force constants (IFCs), where large interchain anharmonic IFCs are associated with the lone electron pairs. We predict that tellurium has a large three-phonon scattering phase space that resultsmore » in low thermal conductivity. The thermal conductivity anisotropy decreases under applied hydrostatic pressure.« less

Scatterings and Quantum Effects in (Al ,In )N /GaN Heterostructures for High-Power and High-Frequency Electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Leizhi; Yin, Ming; Khan, Asif; Muhtadi, Sakib; Asif, Fatima; Choi, Eun Sang; Datta, Timir

2018-02-01

Charge transport in the wide-band-gap (Al ,In )N /GaN heterostructures with high carrier density approximately 2 ×1013 cm-2 is investigated over a large range of temperature (270 mK ≤T ≤280 K ) and magnetic field (0 ≤B ≤18 T ). We observe the first evidence of weak localization in the two-dimensional electron gas in this system. From the Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations a relatively light effective mass of 0.23 me is determined. Furthermore, the linear dependence with temperature (T <20 K ) of the inelastic scattering rate (τi-1∝T ) is attributed to the phase breaking by electron-electron scattering. Also in the same temperature range the less-than unit ratio of quantum lifetime to Hall transport time (τq/τt<1 ) is taken to signify the dominance of small-angle scattering. Above 20 K, with increasing temperature scattering changes from acoustic phonon to optical phonon scattering, resulting in a rapid decrease in carrier mobility and increase in sheet resistance. Suppression of such scatterings will lead to higher mobility and a way forward to high-power and high-frequency electronics.

Electron transport in some transition metal di-chalcogenides: MoS2 and WS2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferry, D. K.

2017-08-01

The transition metal di-chalcogenides are promising single monolayer materials that hold promise for applications in several fields, including nanoelectronics. Here, I study the transport of electrons in two of these materials, MoS2 and WS2. While the low-field behavior shows very low mobility, due mostly to impurity scattering, the high-field behavior shows a relatively high saturated velocity and a high breakdown field. Complications arise due to the relative narrowness of the conduction band, and the effect of this on the transport is discussed.

Diffraction of a plane wave on two-dimensional conductive structures and a surface wave

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davidovich, Mikhael V.

2018-04-01

We consider the structures type of two-dimensional electron gas in the form of a thin conductive, in particular, graphene films described by tensor conductivity, which are isolated or located on the dielectric layers. The dispersion equation for hybrid modes, as well as scattering parameters. We show that free wave (eigenwaves) problem follow from the problem of diffraction when linking the amplitude of the current of the linear equations are unsolvable, i.e., the determinant of this system is zero. As a particular case the dispersion equation follow from the conditions of matching (with zero reflection coefficient).

Electronic properties of crystalline Ge1-xSbxTey thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fallica, Roberto; Volpe, Flavio; Longo, Massimo; Wiemer, Claudia; Salicio, Olivier; Abrutis, Adulfas

2012-09-01

Ge1-xSbxTey thin films, grown by metalorganic and hot-wire liquid injection chemical vapor deposition in different crystalline phases, are investigated to determine resistivity, carrier density, and carrier mobility in the 4.2-300 K temperature range. It is found that all these chalcogenides exhibit p-type conduction, high carrier density (>2 . 1020 cm-3), and no carrier freeze-out, regardless of composition. Low-temperature mobility data show that both chemical composition and growth technique affect the defect density and, in turn, the carrier scattering mechanisms. In this regard, charge carrier mobility is analyzed according to semi-empirical scattering models and an interpretation is provided.

Radar cross section lectures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuhs, A. E.

A comprehensive account is given of the principles that can be applied in military aircraft configuration studies to minimize the radar cross section (RCS) that will be presented by the resulting design to advanced radars under various mission circumstances. It is noted that, while certain ECM techniques can be nullified by improved enemy electronics in a very short time, RCS reductions may require as much as a decade of radar development before prior levels of detectability can be reestablished by enemy defenses. Attention is given to RCS magnitude determinants, inverse scattering, the polarization and scattering matrix, the RCSs of flat plates and conducting cylinders, and antenna geometry and beam patterns.

Transport Properties in Nuclear Pasta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caplan, Matthew; Horowitz, Charles; Berry, Donald; da Silva Schneider, Andre

2016-09-01

At the base of the inner crust of neutron stars, where matter is near the nuclear saturation density, nuclear matter arranges itself into exotic shapes such as cylinders and slabs, called `nuclear pasta.' Lepton scattering from these structures may govern the transport properties of the inner crust; electron scattering from protons in the pasta determines the thermal and electrical conductivity, as well as the shear viscosity of the inner crust. These properties may vary in pasta structures which form at various densities, temperatures, and proton fractions. In this talk, we report on our calculations of lepton transport in nuclear pasta and the implication for neutron star observables.

Anomalous Electron Spectrum and Its Relation to Peak Structure of Electron Scattering Rate in Cuprate Superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Deheng; Mou, Yingping; Feng, Shiping

2018-02-01

The recent discovery of a direct link between the sharp peak in the electron quasiparticle scattering rate of cuprate superconductors and the well-known peak-dip-hump structure in the electron quasiparticle excitation spectrum is calling for an explanation. Within the framework of the kinetic-energy-driven superconducting mechanism, the complicated line-shape in the electron quasiparticle excitation spectrum of cuprate superconductors is investigated. It is shown that the interaction between electrons by the exchange of spin excitations generates a notable peak structure in the electron quasiparticle scattering rate around the antinodal and nodal regions. However, this peak structure disappears at the hot spots, which leads to that the striking peak-dip-hump structure is developed around the antinodal and nodal regions, and vanishes at the hot spots. The theory also confirms that the sharp peak observed in the electron quasiparticle scattering rate is directly responsible for the remarkable peak-dip-hump structure in the electron quasiparticle excitation spectrum of cuprate superconductors.

Influence of local-field corrections on Thomson scattering in collision-dominated two-component plasmas.

PubMed

Fortmann, Carsten; Wierling, August; Röpke, Gerd

2010-02-01

The dynamic structure factor, which determines the Thomson scattering spectrum, is calculated via an extended Mermin approach. It incorporates the dynamical collision frequency as well as the local-field correction factor. This allows to study systematically the impact of electron-ion collisions as well as electron-electron correlations due to degeneracy and short-range interaction on the characteristics of the Thomson scattering signal. As such, the plasmon dispersion and damping width is calculated for a two-component plasma, where the electron subsystem is completely degenerate. Strong deviations of the plasmon resonance position due to the electron-electron correlations are observed at increasing Brueckner parameters r(s). These results are of paramount importance for the interpretation of collective Thomson scattering spectra, as the determination of the free electron density from the plasmon resonance position requires a precise theory of the plasmon dispersion. Implications due to different approximations for the electron-electron correlation, i.e., different forms of the one-component local-field correction, are discussed.

A new ionospheric electron precipitation module coupled with RAM-SCB within the geospace general circulation model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yu, Yiqun; Jordanova, Vania K.; Ridley, Aaron J.

Electron precipitation down to the atmosphere due to wave-particle scattering in the magnetosphere contributes significantly to the auroral ionospheric conductivity. In order to obtain the auroral conductivity in global MHD models that are incapable of capturing kinetic physics in the magnetosphere, MHD parameters are often used to estimate electron precipitation flux for the conductivity calculation. Such an MHD approach, however, lacks self-consistency in representing the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling processes. In this study we improve the coupling processes in global models with a more physical method. We calculate the physics-based electron precipitation from the ring current and map it to the ionosphericmore » altitude for solving the ionospheric electrodynamics. In particular, we use the BATS-R-US (Block Adaptive Tree Scheme-Roe type-Upstream) MHD model coupled with the kinetic ring current model RAM-SCB (Ring current-Atmosphere interaction Model with Self-Consistent Magnetic field (B)) that solves pitch angle-dependent electron distribution functions, to study the global circulation dynamics during the 25–26 January 2013 storm event. Since the electron precipitation loss is mostly governed by wave-particle resonant scattering in the magnetosphere, we further investigate two loss methods of specifying electron precipitation loss associated with wave-particle interactions: (1) using pitch angle diffusion coefficients D αα(E,α) determined from the quasi-linear theory, with wave spectral and plasma density obtained from statistical observations (named as “diffusion coefficient method”) and (2) using electron lifetimes τ(E) independent on pitch angles inferred from the above diffusion coefficients (named as “lifetime method”). We found that both loss methods demonstrate similar temporal evolution of the trapped ring current electrons, indicating that the impact of using different kinds of loss rates is small on the trapped electron population. Furthermore, for the precipitated electrons, the lifetime method hardly captures any precipitation in the large L shell (i.e., 4 < L < 6.5) region, while the diffusion coefficient method produces much better agreement with NOAA/POES measurements, including the spatial distribution and temporal evolution of electron precipitation in the region from the premidnight through the dawn to the dayside. Further comparisons of the precipitation energy flux to DMSP observations indicates that the new physics-based precipitation approach using diffusion coefficients for the ring current electron loss can explain the diffuse electron precipitation in the dawn sector, such as the enhanced precipitation flux at auroral latitudes and flux drop near the subauroral latitudes, but the traditional MHD approach largely overestimates the precipitation flux at lower latitudes.« less

A new ionospheric electron precipitation module coupled with RAM-SCB within the geospace general circulation model

DOE PAGES

Yu, Yiqun; Jordanova, Vania K.; Ridley, Aaron J.; ...

2016-09-01

Electron precipitation down to the atmosphere due to wave-particle scattering in the magnetosphere contributes significantly to the auroral ionospheric conductivity. In order to obtain the auroral conductivity in global MHD models that are incapable of capturing kinetic physics in the magnetosphere, MHD parameters are often used to estimate electron precipitation flux for the conductivity calculation. Such an MHD approach, however, lacks self-consistency in representing the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling processes. In this study we improve the coupling processes in global models with a more physical method. We calculate the physics-based electron precipitation from the ring current and map it to the ionosphericmore » altitude for solving the ionospheric electrodynamics. In particular, we use the BATS-R-US (Block Adaptive Tree Scheme-Roe type-Upstream) MHD model coupled with the kinetic ring current model RAM-SCB (Ring current-Atmosphere interaction Model with Self-Consistent Magnetic field (B)) that solves pitch angle-dependent electron distribution functions, to study the global circulation dynamics during the 25–26 January 2013 storm event. Since the electron precipitation loss is mostly governed by wave-particle resonant scattering in the magnetosphere, we further investigate two loss methods of specifying electron precipitation loss associated with wave-particle interactions: (1) using pitch angle diffusion coefficients D αα(E,α) determined from the quasi-linear theory, with wave spectral and plasma density obtained from statistical observations (named as “diffusion coefficient method”) and (2) using electron lifetimes τ(E) independent on pitch angles inferred from the above diffusion coefficients (named as “lifetime method”). We found that both loss methods demonstrate similar temporal evolution of the trapped ring current electrons, indicating that the impact of using different kinds of loss rates is small on the trapped electron population. Furthermore, for the precipitated electrons, the lifetime method hardly captures any precipitation in the large L shell (i.e., 4 < L < 6.5) region, while the diffusion coefficient method produces much better agreement with NOAA/POES measurements, including the spatial distribution and temporal evolution of electron precipitation in the region from the premidnight through the dawn to the dayside. Further comparisons of the precipitation energy flux to DMSP observations indicates that the new physics-based precipitation approach using diffusion coefficients for the ring current electron loss can explain the diffuse electron precipitation in the dawn sector, such as the enhanced precipitation flux at auroral latitudes and flux drop near the subauroral latitudes, but the traditional MHD approach largely overestimates the precipitation flux at lower latitudes.« less

Nucleon Form Factors above 6 GeV

DOE R&D Accomplishments Database

Taylor, R. E.

1967-09-01

This report describes the results from a preliminary analysis of an elastic electron-proton scattering experiment... . We have measured cross sections for e-p scattering in the range of q{sup 2} from 0.7 to 25.0 (GeV/c){sup 2}, providing a large region of overlap with previous measurements. In this experiment we measure the cross section by observing electrons scattered from a beam passing through a liquid hydrogen target. The scattered particles are momentum analyzed by a magnetic spectrometer and identified as electrons in a total absorption shower counter. Data have been obtained with primary electron energies from 4.0 to 17.9 GeV and at scattering angles from 12.5 to 35.0 degrees. In general, only one measurement of a cross section has been made at each momentum transfer.

Measurement of Tensor Analyzing Powers for Elastic Electron Scattering from a Polarized {sup 2}H Target Internal to a Storage Ring

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ferro-Luzzi, M.; Bouwhuis, M.; Passchier, E.

1996-09-01

We report an absolute measurement of the tensor analyzing powers {ital T}{sub 20} and {ital T}{sub 22} in elastic electron-deuteron scattering at a momentum transfer of 1.6 fm{sup {minus}1}. The novel approach of this measurement is the use of a tensor polarized {sup 2}H target internal to an electron storage ring, with {ital in} {ital situ} measurement of the polarization of the target gas. Scattered electrons and recoil deuterons were detected in coincidence with two large acceptance nonmagnetic detectors. The techniques demonstrated have broad applicability to further measurements of spin-dependent electron scattering. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}

First results from the Thomson scattering diagnostic on Proto-MPEX

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Biewer, Theodore M; Meitner, Steven J; Rapp, Juergen

2016-01-01

A Thomson scattering diagnostic has been successfully implemented on the prototype Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment (Proto-MPEX) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The diagnostic collects the light scattered by plasma electrons and spectroscopically resolves the Doppler shift imparted to the light by the velocity of the electrons. The spread in velocities is proportional to the electron temperature, while the total number of photons is proportional to the electron density. Thomson scattering is a technique used on many devices to measure the electron temperature (Te) and electron density (ne) of the plasma. A challenging aspect of the technique is to discriminate themore » small number of Thomson scattered photons against the large peak of background photons from the high-power laser used to probe the plasma. A variety of methods are used to mitigate the background photons in Proto-MPEX, including Brewster angled windows, viewing dumps, and light baffles. With these methods, first results were measured from Argon plasmas in Proto-MPEX, indicating Te ~ 2 eV and ne ~ 1x1019 m-3. The configuration of the Proto-MPEX Thomson scattering diagnostic will be described and plans for improvement will be given.« less

Detecting ultralight bosonic dark matter via absorption in superconductors

DOE PAGES

Hochberg, Yonit; Lin, Tongyan; Zurek, Kathryn M.

2016-07-18

Superconducting targets have recently been proposed for the direct detection of dark matter as light as a keV, via elastic scattering off conduction electrons in Cooper pairs. Detecting such light dark matter requires sensitivity to energies as small as the superconducting gap of O(meV). Here we show that these same superconducting devices can detect much lighter DM, of meV to eV mass, via dark matter absorption on a conduction electron, followed by emission of an athermal phonon. Lastly, we demonstrate the power of this setup for relic kinetically mixed hidden photons, pseudoscalars, and scalars, showing that the reach can exceedmore » current astrophysical and terrestrial constraints with only a moderate exposure.« less

Transport Properties of Thin Bismuth Films on InP (110) Surfaces by Scanning Tunneling Potentiometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feenstra, R. M.; Briner, B. G.; Chin, T. P.; Woodall, J. M.

1996-03-01

Charge transport in 20--30 Å thick Bi-films is studied by scanning tunneling potentiometry (STP) at room temperature. The Bi is deposited on cleaved InP(110) surfaces at temperatures near 140 K, yielding atomically flat films interspersed with 12 Å deep holes. The InP substrates contain conducting/insulating/conducting layers, which in cross-section are used to form contacts to the film, thus enabling lateral current densities as high as 8 × 10^6 A/cm^2 . Potential variations due to scattering of this lateral current is detected using STP, by locating the zero-crossing of current-voltage characteristics at each pixel in an image. Potential images reveal, on a coarse scale, a smooth ramp arising from the electric field due to phonon scattering in the film, from which an electron-phonon scattering length of >1000 Å is deduced. On a finer scale, potential steps 2--10 mV high are seen near surface holes and grain boundaries in the film. Detailed study of the ballistic scattering near the holes reveals a dipole shaped feature, which is identified as a residual resistivity dipole. *present address: Physics, Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh PA 15213 **now at: Fritz-Haber-Institut, 14195 Berlin, briner@fhi-berlin.mpg.de

Energy dissipation in Ni-containing concentrated solid solutions.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samolyuk, German; Mu, Sai; Jin, Ke; Bei, Hongbin; Stocks, G. Malcolm

Due to high disorder the diffusion processes are noticeably suppressed concentrated solid solution, so called high entropy alloys. It makes these alloys promising candidate for energy application under extreme conditions. Understanding of the energy dissipation in these alloys during the irradiation or interaction with laser bean is extremely important. In the metals and alloys the main channel of energy dissipation is provided by the electronic subsystem. The first principles approach was used to investigate the electronic structure properties of the alloys. The obtained results were used to calculate the electronic part of thermal resistivity caused by scattering of electrons on atomic disorder, magnetic and phonon excitations The contribution of last two excitations to the temperature dependence of thermal resistivity is discussed. The importance of magnetism in 3d transition metals based alloy was demonstrated. In particular, it was shown that antiferromagnetic ordering of chromium or manganese leads to significant increase of electron scattering in alloy containing these elements. It results in significant reduction of conductivity in chromium or manganese containing alloys. The comparison with the existing experimental data is discussed. This work was supported as part of the Energy Dissipation to Defect Evolution (EDDE), an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences.

Ultrafast Hot Carrier Dynamics in GaN and Its Impact on the Efficiency Droop.

PubMed

Jhalani, Vatsal A; Zhou, Jin-Jian; Bernardi, Marco

2017-08-09

GaN is a key material for lighting technology. Yet, the carrier transport and ultrafast dynamics that are central in GaN light-emitting devices are not completely understood. We present first-principles calculations of carrier dynamics in GaN, focusing on electron-phonon (e-ph) scattering and the cooling and nanoscale dynamics of hot carriers. We find that e-ph scattering is significantly faster for holes compared to electrons and that for hot carriers with an initial 0.5-1 eV excess energy, holes take a significantly shorter time (∼0.1 ps) to relax to the band edge compared to electrons, which take ∼1 ps. The asymmetry in the hot carrier dynamics is shown to originate from the valence band degeneracy, the heavier effective mass of holes compared to electrons, and the details of the coupling to different phonon modes in the valence and conduction bands. We show that the slow cooling of hot electrons and their long ballistic mean free paths (over 3 nm at room temperature) are a possible cause of efficiency droop in GaN light-emitting diodes. Taken together, our work sheds light on the ultrafast dynamics of hot carriers in GaN and the nanoscale origin of efficiency droop.

Means and method for calibrating a photon detector utilizing electron-photon coincidence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Srivastava, S. K. (Inventor)

1984-01-01

An arrangement for calibrating a photon detector particularly applicable for the ultraviolet and vacuum ultraviolet regions is based on electron photon coincidence utilizing crossed electron beam atom beam collisions. Atoms are excited by electrons which lose a known amount of energy and scatter with a known remaining energy, while the excited atoms emit photons of known radiation. Electrons of the known remaining energy are separated from other electrons and are counted. Photons emitted in a direction related to the particular direction of scattered electrons are detected to serve as a standard. Each of the electrons is used to initiate the measurements of a time interval which terminates with the arrival of a photon exciting the photon detector. Only the number of time intervals related to the coincidence correlation and of electrons scattered in the particular direction with the known remaining energy and photons of a particular radiation level emitted due to the collisions of such scattered electrons are counted. The detector calibration is related to the number of counted electrons and photons.

Transient thermal and nonthermal electron and phonon relaxation after short-pulsed laser heating of metals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Giri, Ashutosh; Hopkins, Patrick E., E-mail: phopkins@virginia.edu

2015-12-07

Several dynamic thermal and nonthermal scattering processes affect ultrafast heat transfer in metals after short-pulsed laser heating. Even with decades of measurements of electron-phonon relaxation, the role of thermal vs. nonthermal electron and phonon scattering on overall electron energy transfer to the phonons remains unclear. In this work, we derive an analytical expression for the electron-phonon coupling factor in a metal that includes contributions from equilibrium and nonequilibrium distributions of electrons. While the contribution from the nonthermal electrons to electron-phonon coupling is non-negligible, the increase in the electron relaxation rates with increasing laser fluence measured by thermoreflectance techniques cannot bemore » accounted for by only considering electron-phonon relaxations. We conclude that electron-electron scattering along with electron-phonon scattering have to be considered simultaneously to correctly predict the transient nature of electron relaxation during and after short-pulsed heating of metals at elevated electron temperatures. Furthermore, for high electron temperature perturbations achieved at high absorbed laser fluences, we show good agreement between our model, which accounts for d-band excitations, and previous experimental data. Our model can be extended to other free electron metals with the knowledge of the density of states of electrons in the metals and considering electronic excitations from non-Fermi surface states.« less

Anisotropic in-plane thermal conductivity observed in few-layer black phosphorus

PubMed Central

Luo, Zhe; Maassen, Jesse; Deng, Yexin; Du, Yuchen; Garrelts, Richard P.; Lundstrom, Mark S; Ye, Peide D.; Xu, Xianfan

2015-01-01

Black phosphorus has been revisited recently as a new two-dimensional material showing potential applications in electronics and optoelectronics. Here we report the anisotropic in-plane thermal conductivity of suspended few-layer black phosphorus measured by micro-Raman spectroscopy. The armchair and zigzag thermal conductivities are ∼20 and ∼40 W m−1 K−1 for black phosphorus films thicker than 15 nm, respectively, and decrease to ∼10 and ∼20 W m−1 K−1 as the film thickness is reduced, exhibiting significant anisotropy. The thermal conductivity anisotropic ratio is found to be ∼2 for thick black phosphorus films and drops to ∼1.5 for the thinnest 9.5-nm-thick film. Theoretical modelling reveals that the observed anisotropy is primarily related to the anisotropic phonon dispersion, whereas the intrinsic phonon scattering rates are found to be similar along the armchair and zigzag directions. Surface scattering in the black phosphorus films is shown to strongly suppress the contribution of long mean-free-path acoustic phonons. PMID:26472191

Phonon thermal transport in 2H, 4H and 6H silicon carbide from first principles

DOE PAGES

Protik, Nakib Haider; Katre, Ankita; Lindsay, Lucas R.; ...

2017-06-07

Here, silicon carbide (SiC) is a wide band gap semiconductor with a variety of industrial applications. Among its many useful properties is its high thermal conductivity, which makes it advantageous for thermal management applications. In this paper we present ab initio calculations of the in-plane and cross-plane thermal conductivities, κ in and κ out, of three common hexagonal polytypes of SiC: 2H, 4H and 6H. The phonon Boltzmann transport equation is solved iteratively using as input interatomic force constants determined from density functional theory. Both κ in and κ out decrease with increasing n in nH SiC because of additionalmore » low-lying optic phonon branches. These optic branches are characterized by low phonon group velocities, and they increase the phase space for phonon-phonon scattering of acoustic modes. Also, for all n, κ in is found to be larger than κ out in the temperature range considered. At electron concentrations present in experimental samples, scattering of phonons by electrons is shown to be negligible except well below room temperature where it can lead to a significant reduction of the lattice thermal conductivity. This work highlights the power of ab initio approaches in giving quantitative, predictive descriptions of thermal transport in materials. It helps explain the qualitative disagreement that exists among different sets of measured thermal conductivity data and provides information of the relative quality of samples from which measured data was obtained.« less

Phonon thermal transport in 2H, 4H and 6H silicon carbide from first principles

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Protik, Nakib Haider; Katre, Ankita; Lindsay, Lucas R.

Here, silicon carbide (SiC) is a wide band gap semiconductor with a variety of industrial applications. Among its many useful properties is its high thermal conductivity, which makes it advantageous for thermal management applications. In this paper we present ab initio calculations of the in-plane and cross-plane thermal conductivities, κ in and κ out, of three common hexagonal polytypes of SiC: 2H, 4H and 6H. The phonon Boltzmann transport equation is solved iteratively using as input interatomic force constants determined from density functional theory. Both κ in and κ out decrease with increasing n in nH SiC because of additionalmore » low-lying optic phonon branches. These optic branches are characterized by low phonon group velocities, and they increase the phase space for phonon-phonon scattering of acoustic modes. Also, for all n, κ in is found to be larger than κ out in the temperature range considered. At electron concentrations present in experimental samples, scattering of phonons by electrons is shown to be negligible except well below room temperature where it can lead to a significant reduction of the lattice thermal conductivity. This work highlights the power of ab initio approaches in giving quantitative, predictive descriptions of thermal transport in materials. It helps explain the qualitative disagreement that exists among different sets of measured thermal conductivity data and provides information of the relative quality of samples from which measured data was obtained.« less

Fully relativistic form factor for Thomson scattering.

PubMed

Palastro, J P; Ross, J S; Pollock, B; Divol, L; Froula, D H; Glenzer, S H

2010-03-01

We derive a fully relativistic form factor for Thomson scattering in unmagnetized plasmas valid to all orders in the normalized electron velocity, beta[over ]=v[over ]/c. The form factor is compared to a previously derived expression where the lowest order electron velocity, beta[over], corrections are included [J. Sheffield, (Academic Press, New York, 1975)]. The beta[over ] expansion approach is sufficient for electrostatic waves with small phase velocities such as ion-acoustic waves, but for electron-plasma waves the phase velocities can be near luminal. At high phase velocities, the electron motion acquires relativistic corrections including effective electron mass, relative motion of the electrons and electromagnetic wave, and polarization rotation. These relativistic corrections alter the scattered emission of thermal plasma waves, which manifest as changes in both the peak power and width of the observed Thomson-scattered spectra.

Elastic and transport properties of topological semimetal ZrTe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, San-Dong; Wang, Yue-Hua; Lu, Wan-Li

2017-11-01

Topological semimetals may have substantial applications in electronics, spintronics, and quantum computation. Recently, ZrTe was predicted as a new type of topological semimetal due to the coexistence of Weyl fermions and massless triply degenerate nodal points. In this work, the elastic and transport properties of ZrTe are investigated by combining the first-principles calculations and semiclassical Boltzmann transport theory. Calculated elastic constants prove the mechanical stability of ZrTe, and the bulk modulus, shear modulus, Young’s modulus, and Poisson’s ratio also are calculated. It is found that spin-orbit coupling (SOC) has slightly enhanced effects on the Seebeck coefficient, which along the a(b) and c directions for pristine ZrTe at 300 K is 46.26 μVK-1 and 80.20 μVK-1, respectively. By comparing the experimental electrical conductivity of ZrTe (300 K) with the calculated value, the scattering time is determined as 1.59 × 10-14 s. The predicted room-temperature electronic thermal conductivity along the a(b) and c directions is 2.37 {{Wm}}-1{{{K}}}-1 and 2.90 {{Wm}}-1{{{K}}}-1, respectively. The room-temperature lattice thermal conductivity is predicted as 17.56 {{Wm}}-1{{{K}}}-1 and 43.08 {{Wm}}-1{{{K}}}-1 along the a(b) and c directions, showing very strong anisotropy. Calculated results show that isotope scattering produces an observable effect on lattice thermal conductivity. To observably reduce lattice thermal conductivity by nanostructures, the characteristic length should be smaller than 70 nm, based on cumulative lattice thermal conductivity with respect to the phonon mean free path (MFP) at 300 K. It is noted that the average room-temperature lattice thermal conductivity of ZrTe is slightly higher than that of isostructural MoP, which is due to larger phonon lifetimes and smaller Grüneisen parameters. Finally, the total thermal conductivity as a function of temperature is predicted for pristine ZrTe. Our works provide valuable information for ZrTe-based nano-electronics devices, and motivate further experimental works to study elastic and transport properties of ZrTe.

Thermal conductivity of graphene with defects induced by electron beam irradiation.

PubMed

Malekpour, Hoda; Ramnani, Pankaj; Srinivasan, Srilok; Balasubramanian, Ganesh; Nika, Denis L; Mulchandani, Ashok; Lake, Roger K; Balandin, Alexander A

2016-08-14

We investigate the thermal conductivity of suspended graphene as a function of the density of defects, ND, introduced in a controllable way. High-quality graphene layers are synthesized using chemical vapor deposition, transferred onto a transmission electron microscopy grid, and suspended over ∼7.5 μm size square holes. Defects are induced by irradiation of graphene with the low-energy electron beam (20 keV) and quantified by the Raman D-to-G peak intensity ratio. As the defect density changes from 2.0 × 10(10) cm(-2) to 1.8 × 10(11) cm(-2) the thermal conductivity decreases from ∼(1.8 ± 0.2) × 10(3) W mK(-1) to ∼(4.0 ± 0.2) × 10(2) W mK(-1) near room temperature. At higher defect densities, the thermal conductivity reveals an intriguing saturation-type behavior at a relatively high value of ∼400 W mK(-1). The thermal conductivity dependence on the defect density is analyzed using the Boltzmann transport equation and molecular dynamics simulations. The results are important for understanding phonon - point defect scattering in two-dimensional systems and for practical applications of graphene in thermal management.

Dynamic conductivity modified by impurity resonant states in doping three-dimensional Dirac semimetals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Shuai; Wang, Chen; Zheng, Shi-Han; Wang, Rui-Qiang; Li, Jun; Yang, Mou

2018-04-01

The impurity effect is studied in three-dimensional Dirac semimetals in the framework of a T-matrix method to consider the multiple scattering events of Dirac electrons off impurities. It has been found that a strong impurity potential can significantly restructure the energy dispersion and the density of states of Dirac electrons. An impurity-induced resonant state emerges and significantly modifies the pristine optical response. It is shown that the impurity state disturbs the common longitudinal optical conductivity by creating either an optical conductivity peak or double absorption jumps, depending on the relative position of the impurity band and the Fermi level. More importantly, these conductivity features appear in the forbidden region between the Drude and interband transition, completely or partially filling the Pauli block region of optical response. The underlying physics is that the appearance of resonance states as well as the broadening of the bands leads to a more complicated selection rule for the optical transitions, making it possible to excite new electron-hole pairs in the forbidden region. These features in optical conductivity provide valuable information to understand the impurity behaviors in 3D Dirac materials.

Thomson scattering diagnostics of thermal plasmas: Laser heating of electrons and the existence of local thermodynamic equilibrium.

PubMed

Murphy, A B

2004-01-01

A number of assessments of electron temperatures in atmospheric-pressure arc plasmas using Thomson scattering of laser light have recently been published. However, in this method, the electron temperature is perturbed due to strong heating of the electrons by the incident laser beam. This heating was taken into account by measuring the electron temperature as a function of the laser pulse energy, and linearly extrapolating the results to zero pulse energy to obtain an unperturbed electron temperature. In the present paper, calculations show that the laser heating process has a highly nonlinear dependence on laser power, and that the usual linear extrapolation leads to an overestimate of the electron temperature, typically by 5000 K. The nonlinearity occurs due to the strong dependence on electron temperature of the absorption of laser energy and of the collisional and radiative cooling of the heated electrons. There are further problems in deriving accurate electron temperatures from laser scattering due to necessary averages that have to be made over the duration of the laser pulse and over the finite volume from which laser light is scattered. These problems are particularly acute in measurements in which the laser beam is defocused in order to minimize laser heating; this can lead to the derivation of electron temperatures that are significantly greater than those existing anywhere in the scattering volume. It was concluded from the earlier Thomson scattering measurements that there were significant deviations from equilibrium between the electron and heavy-particle temperatures at the center of arc plasmas of industrial interest. The present calculations indicate that such deviations are only of the order of 1000 K in 20 000 K, so that the usual approximation that arc plasmas are approximately in local thermodynamic equilibrium still applies.

Hybridization gap and dual nature of the heavy-fermion compound UPd 2Al 3 via quasiparticle scattering spectroscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jaggi, N. K.; Mehio, O.; Dwyer, M.

We present results from point-contact spectroscopy of the antiferromagnetic heavy-fermion superconductor UPd 2Al 3 : Conductance spectra are taken from single crystals with two major surface orientations as a function of temperature and magnetic field and analyzed using a theory of cotunneling into an Anderson lattice. Spectroscopic signatures are clearly identified, including the distinct asymmetric double-peak structure arising from the opening of a hybridization gap when a coherent heavy-Fermi liquid is formed. Both the hybridization gap, found to be 7.2 ± 0.3 meV at 4 K, and the conductance enhancement above a flat background decrease upon increasing temperature. While themore » hybridization gap is extrapolated to remain finite up to ~28 K, close to the temperature around which the magnetic susceptibility displays a broad peak, the conductance enhancement vanishes at ~18 K, slightly above the antiferromagnetic transition temperature (T N ≈ 14 K) . This rapid decrease of the conductance enhancement is understood as a consequence of the junction drifting away from the ballistic regime due to increased scattering off magnons associated with the localized U 5 f electrons. This shows that while the hybridization gap opening is not directly associated with the antiferromagnetic ordering, its visibility in the conductance is greatly affected by the temperature-dependent magnetic excitations. Our findings are not only consistent with the 5 f dual-nature picture in the literature but also shed new light on the interplay between the itinerant and localized electrons in UPd 2Al 3 .« less

Hybridization gap and dual nature of the heavy-fermion compound UPd 2Al 3 via quasiparticle scattering spectroscopy

DOE PAGES

Jaggi, N. K.; Mehio, O.; Dwyer, M.; ...

2017-04-17

We present results from point-contact spectroscopy of the antiferromagnetic heavy-fermion superconductor UPd 2Al 3 : Conductance spectra are taken from single crystals with two major surface orientations as a function of temperature and magnetic field and analyzed using a theory of cotunneling into an Anderson lattice. Spectroscopic signatures are clearly identified, including the distinct asymmetric double-peak structure arising from the opening of a hybridization gap when a coherent heavy-Fermi liquid is formed. Both the hybridization gap, found to be 7.2 ± 0.3 meV at 4 K, and the conductance enhancement above a flat background decrease upon increasing temperature. While themore » hybridization gap is extrapolated to remain finite up to ~28 K, close to the temperature around which the magnetic susceptibility displays a broad peak, the conductance enhancement vanishes at ~18 K, slightly above the antiferromagnetic transition temperature (T N ≈ 14 K) . This rapid decrease of the conductance enhancement is understood as a consequence of the junction drifting away from the ballistic regime due to increased scattering off magnons associated with the localized U 5 f electrons. This shows that while the hybridization gap opening is not directly associated with the antiferromagnetic ordering, its visibility in the conductance is greatly affected by the temperature-dependent magnetic excitations. Our findings are not only consistent with the 5 f dual-nature picture in the literature but also shed new light on the interplay between the itinerant and localized electrons in UPd 2Al 3 .« less

Thin-Film Phase Plates for Transmission Electron Microscopy Fabricated from Metallic Glasses.

PubMed

Dries, Manuel; Hettler, Simon; Schulze, Tina; Send, Winfried; Müller, Erich; Schneider, Reinhard; Gerthsen, Dagmar; Luo, Yuansu; Samwer, Konrad

2016-10-01

Thin-film phase plates (PPs) have become an interesting tool to enhance the contrast of weak-phase objects in transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The thin film usually consists of amorphous carbon, which suffers from quick degeneration under the intense electron-beam illumination. Recent investigations have focused on the search for alternative materials with an improved material stability. This work presents thin-film PPs fabricated from metallic glass alloys, which are characterized by a high electrical conductivity and an amorphous structure. Thin films of the zirconium-based alloy Zr65.0Al7.5Cu27.5 (ZAC) were fabricated and their phase-shifting properties were evaluated. The ZAC film was investigated by different TEM techniques, which reveal beneficial properties compared with amorphous carbon PPs. Particularly favorable is the small probability for inelastic plasmon scattering, which results from the combined effect of a moderate inelastic mean free path and a reduced film thickness due to a high mean inner potential. Small probability plasmon scattering improves contrast transfer at high spatial frequencies, which makes the ZAC alloy a promising material for PP fabrication.

Temperature Dependence of Electric Transport in Few-layer Graphene under Large Charge Doping Induced by Electrochemical Gating

PubMed Central

Gonnelli, R. S.; Paolucci, F.; Piatti, E.; Sharda, Kanudha; Sola, A.; Tortello, M.; Nair, Jijeesh R.; Gerbaldi, C.; Bruna, M.; Borini, S.

2015-01-01

The temperature dependence of electric transport properties of single-layer and few-layer graphene at large charge doping is of great interest both for the study of the scattering processes dominating the conductivity at different temperatures and in view of the theoretically predicted possibility to reach the superconducting state in such extreme conditions. Here we present the results obtained in 3-, 4- and 5-layer graphene devices down to 3.5 K, where a large surface charge density up to about 6.8·1014 cm−2 has been reached by employing a novel polymer electrolyte solution for the electrochemical gating. In contrast with recent results obtained in single-layer graphene, the temperature dependence of the sheet resistance between 20 K and 280 K shows a low-temperature dominance of a T2 component – that can be associated with electron-electron scattering – and, at about 100 K, a crossover to the classic electron-phonon regime. Unexpectedly, this crossover does not show any dependence on the induced charge density, i.e. on the large tuning of the Fermi energy. PMID:25906088

Energy and Momentum Relaxation Times of 2D Electrons Due to Near Surface Deformation Potential Scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pipa, Viktor; Vasko, Fedor; Mitin, Vladimir

1997-03-01

The low temperature energy and momentum relaxation rates of 2D electron gas placed near the free or clamped surface of a semi-infinit sample are calculated. To describe the electron-acoustic phonon interaction with allowance of the surface effect the method of elasticity theory Green functions was used. This method allows to take into account the reflection of acoustic waves from the surface and related mutual conversion of LA and TA waves. It is shown that the strength of the deformation potential scattering at low temperatures substantially depends on the mechanical conditions at the surface: relaxation rates are suppressed for the free surface while for the rigid one the rates are enhanced. The dependence of the conductivity on the distance between the 2D layer and the surface is discussed. The effect is most pronounced in the range of temperatures 2 sl pF < T < (2 hbar s_l)/d, where pF is the Fermi momentum, sl is the velocity of LA waves, d is the width of the quantum well.

Low-energy electron scattering from CO. 2: Ab-initio study using the frame-transformation theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chandra, N.

1976-01-01

The Wigner-Eisenbud R matrix method has been combined with the frame transformation theory to study electron scattering from molecular systems. The R matrix, calculated at the boundary point of the molecular core radius, has been transformed to the space frame in order to continue the solution of the scattering equations in the outer region where rotational motion of the nuclei is taken into account. This procedure has been applied to a model calculation of thermal energy electron scattering from CO.

Electron density of Rhizophora spp. wood using Compton scattering technique at 15.77, 17.48 and 22.16 keV XRF energies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shakhreet, B. Z.; Bauk, S.; Shukri, A.

2015-02-01

Compton (incoherently) scattered photons which are directly proportional to the electron density of the scatterer, have been employed in characterizing Rhizophora spp. as breast tissue equivalent. X-ray fluorescent scattered incoherently from Rhizophora spp. sample was measured using Si-PIN detector and three XRF energy values 15.77, 17.48 and 22.16 keV. This study is aimed at providing electron density information in support of the introduction of new tissue substitute materials for mammography phantoms.

Monte Carlo study of the effective Sherman function for electron polarimetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drągowski, M.; Włodarczyk, M.; Weber, G.; Ciborowski, J.; Enders, J.; Fritzsche, Y.; Poliszczuk, A.

2016-12-01

The PEBSI Monte Carlo simulation was upgraded towards usefulness for electron Mott polarimetry. The description of Mott scattering was improved and polarisation transfer in Møller scattering was included in the code. An improved agreement was achieved between the simulation and available experimental data for a 100 keV polarised electron beam scattering off gold foils of various thicknesses. The dependence of the effective Sherman function on scattering angle and target thickness, as well as the method of finding optimal conditions for Mott polarimetry measurements were analysed.

Effect of Isovalent Substitution on the Electronic Structure and Thermoelectric Properties of the Solid Solution α-As2Te3-xSex (0 ≤ x ≤ 1.5).

PubMed

Vaney, Jean-Baptiste; Delaizir, Gaëlle; Wiendlocha, Bartlomiej; Tobola, Janusz; Alleno, Eric; Piarristeguy, Andrea; Gonçalves, Antonio Pereira; Gendarme, Christine; Malaman, Bernard; Dauscher, Anne; Candolfi, Christophe; Lenoir, Bertrand

2017-02-20

We report on the influence of Se substitution on the electronic band structure and thermoelectric properties (5-523 K) of the solid solution α-As 2 Te 3-x Se x (0 ≤ x ≤ 1.5). All of the polycrystalline compounds α-As 2 Te 3-x Se x crystallize isostructurally in the monoclinic space group C2/m (No. 12, Z = 4). Regardless of the Se content, chemical analyses performed by scanning electron microscopy and electron probe microanalysis indicate a good chemical homogeneity, with only minute amounts of secondary phases for some compositions. In agreement with electronic band structure calculations, neutron powder diffraction suggests that Se does not randomly substitute for Te but exhibits a site preference. These theoretical calculations further predict a monotonic increase in the band gap energy with the Se content, which is confirmed experimentally by absorption spectroscopy measurements. Increasing x up to x = 1.5 leaves unchanged both the p-type character and semiconducting nature of α-As 2 Te 3 . The electrical resistivity and thermopower gradually increase with x as a result of the progressive increase in the band gap energy. Despite the fact that α-As 2 Te 3 exhibits very low lattice thermal conductivity κ L , the substitution of Se for Te further lowers κ L to 0.35 W m -1 K -1 at 300 K. The compositional dependence of the lattice thermal conductivity closely follows classical models of phonon alloy scattering, indicating that this decrease is due to enhanced point-defect scattering.

Modeling of projection electron lithography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mack, Chris A.

2000-07-01

Projection Electron Lithography (PEL) has recently become a leading candidate for the next generation of lithography systems after the successful demonstration of SCAPEL by Lucent Technologies and PREVAIL by IBM. These systems use a scattering membrane mask followed by a lens with limited angular acceptance range to form an image of the mask when illuminated by high energy electrons. This paper presents an initial modeling system for such types of projection electron lithography systems. Monte Carlo modeling of electron scattering within the mask structure creates an effective mask 'diffraction' pattern, to borrow the standard optical terminology. A cutoff of this scattered pattern by the imaging 'lens' provides an electron energy distribution striking the wafer. This distribution is then convolved with a 'point spread function,' the results of a Monte Carlo scattering calculation of a point beam of electrons striking the resist coated substrate and including the effects of beam blur. Resist exposure and development models from standard electron beam lithography simulation are used to simulate the final three-dimensional resist profile.

Geometries and focal properties of two electron-lens systems useful in low-energy electron or ion scattering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chutjian, A.

1979-01-01

Geometries and focal properties are given for two types of electron-lens system commonly needed in electron scattering. One is an electron gun that focuses electrons from a thermionic emitter onto a fixed point (target) over a wide range of final energies. The other is an electron analyzer system that focuses scattered electrons of variable energy onto a fixed position (e.g., the entrance plane of an analyzer) at fixed energy with a zero final beam angle. Analyzer-system focusing properties are given for superelastically, elastically, and inelastically scattered electrons. Computer calculations incorporating recent accurate tube-lens focal properties are used to compute lens voltages, locations and diameters of all pupils and windows, filling factors, and asymptotic rays throughout each lens system. Focus voltages as a function of electron energy and energy change are given, and limits of operation of each system discussed. Both lens systems have been in routine use for several years, and good agreement has been consistently found between calculated and operating lens voltages.

Nanometres-resolution Kikuchi patterns from materials science specimens with transmission electron forward scatter diffraction in the scanning electron microscope.

PubMed

Brodusch, N; Demers, H; Gauvin, R

2013-04-01

A charge-coupled device camera of an electron backscattered diffraction system in a scanning electron microscope was positioned below a thin specimen and transmission Kikuchi patterns were collected. Contrary to electron backscattered diffraction, transmission electron forward scatter diffraction provides phase identification and orientation mapping at the nanoscale. The minimum Pd particle size for which a Kikuchi diffraction pattern was detected and indexed reliably was 5.6 nm. An orientation mapping resolution of 5 nm was measured at 30 kV. The resolution obtained with transmission electron forward scatter diffraction was of the same order of magnitude than that reported in electron nanodiffraction in the transmission electron microscope. An energy dispersive spectrometer X-ray map and a transmission electron forward scatter diffraction orientation map were acquired simultaneously. The high-resolution chemical, phase and orientation maps provided at once information on the chemical form, orientation and coherency of precipitates in an aluminium-lithium 2099 alloy. © 2013 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2013 Royal Microscopical Society.

Low-energy positron scattering upon endohedrals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amusia, M. Ya.; Chernysheva, L. V.

2017-07-01

We investigate positron scattering upon endohedrals and compare it with electron-endohedral scattering. We show that the polarization of the fullerene shell considerably alters the polarization potential of an atom, stuffed inside a fullerene. This essentially affects both the positron and electron elastic scattering phases as well as corresponding cross sections. Of great importance is also the interaction between the incoming positron and the target electrons that leads to formation of the virtual positronium P˜s. We illustrate the general trend by concrete examples of positron and electron scattering upon endohedrals He@C60 and Ar@C60, and compare it to scattering upon fullerene C60. To obtain the presented results, we have employed new simplified approaches that permit to incorporate the effect of fullerenes polarizability into the He@C60 and Ar@C60 polarization potential and to take into account the virtual positronium formation. Using these approaches, we obtained numeric results that show strong variations in shape and magnitudes of scattering phases and cross sections due to effect of endohedral polarization and P˜s formation.

Electron scattering by highly polar molecules. II - LiF

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vuskovic, L.; Srivastavas, S. K.; Trajmar, S.

1978-01-01

The crossed electron-beam - molecular-beam scattering technique has been used to measure relative values of differential 'elastic' scattering cross sections at electron impact energies of 5.4 and 20 eV for the angular range from 20 to 130 deg. The absolute values of these cross sections have been obtained by normalization to the classical perturbation theory of Dickinson (1977) at a scattering angle of 40 deg. These differential cross sections have then been used to calculate the integral and momentum-transfer cross sections. An energy-loss spectrum at 100 eV electron impact energy and 15 deg scattering angle has also been obtained. Two weak features at the energy losses of 6.74 and 8.82 eV appear. Their energy positions are compared with the recent calculations of Kahn et al. (1974).

Visualizing redox orbitals and their potentials in advanced lithium-ion battery materials using high-resolution x-ray Compton scattering

PubMed Central

Hafiz, Hasnain; Suzuki, Kosuke; Barbiellini, Bernardo; Orikasa, Yuki; Callewaert, Vincent; Kaprzyk, Staszek; Itou, Masayoshi; Yamamoto, Kentaro; Yamada, Ryota; Uchimoto, Yoshiharu; Sakurai, Yoshiharu; Sakurai, Hiroshi; Bansil, Arun

2017-01-01

Reduction-oxidation (redox) reactions are the key processes that underlie the batteries powering smartphones, laptops, and electric cars. A redox process involves transfer of electrons between two species. For example, in a lithium-ion battery, current is generated when conduction electrons from the lithium anode are transferred to the redox orbitals of the cathode material. The ability to visualize or image the redox orbitals and how these orbitals evolve under lithiation and delithiation processes is thus of great fundamental and practical interest for understanding the workings of battery materials. We show that inelastic scattering spectroscopy using high-energy x-ray photons (Compton scattering) can yield faithful momentum space images of the redox orbitals by considering lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4 or LFP) as an exemplar cathode battery material. Our analysis reveals a new link between voltage and the localization of transition metal 3d orbitals and provides insight into the puzzling mechanism of potential shift and how it is connected to the modification of the bond between the transition metal and oxygen atoms. Our study thus opens a novel spectroscopic pathway for improving the performance of battery materials. PMID:28845452

Visualizing redox orbitals and their potentials in advanced lithium-ion battery materials using high-resolution x-ray Compton scattering.

PubMed

Hafiz, Hasnain; Suzuki, Kosuke; Barbiellini, Bernardo; Orikasa, Yuki; Callewaert, Vincent; Kaprzyk, Staszek; Itou, Masayoshi; Yamamoto, Kentaro; Yamada, Ryota; Uchimoto, Yoshiharu; Sakurai, Yoshiharu; Sakurai, Hiroshi; Bansil, Arun

2017-08-01

Reduction-oxidation (redox) reactions are the key processes that underlie the batteries powering smartphones, laptops, and electric cars. A redox process involves transfer of electrons between two species. For example, in a lithium-ion battery, current is generated when conduction electrons from the lithium anode are transferred to the redox orbitals of the cathode material. The ability to visualize or image the redox orbitals and how these orbitals evolve under lithiation and delithiation processes is thus of great fundamental and practical interest for understanding the workings of battery materials. We show that inelastic scattering spectroscopy using high-energy x-ray photons (Compton scattering) can yield faithful momentum space images of the redox orbitals by considering lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO 4 or LFP) as an exemplar cathode battery material. Our analysis reveals a new link between voltage and the localization of transition metal 3d orbitals and provides insight into the puzzling mechanism of potential shift and how it is connected to the modification of the bond between the transition metal and oxygen atoms. Our study thus opens a novel spectroscopic pathway for improving the performance of battery materials.

Influence of scattering processes on electron quantum states in nanowires

PubMed Central

Galenchik, Vadim; Borzdov, Andrei; Borzdov, Vladimir; Komarov, Fadei

2007-01-01

In the framework of quantum perturbation theory the self-consistent method of calculation of electron scattering rates in nanowires with the one-dimensional electron gas in the quantum limit is worked out. The developed method allows both the collisional broadening and the quantum correlations between scattering events to be taken into account. It is an alternativeper seto the Fock approximation for the self-energy approach based on Green’s function formalism. However this approach is free of mathematical difficulties typical to the Fock approximation. Moreover, the developed method is simpler than the Fock approximation from the computational point of view. Using the approximation of stable one-particle quantum states it is proved that the electron scattering processes determine the dependence of electron energy versus its wave vector.

Observations of the scatter-free solar-flare electrons in the energy range 20-1000 keV

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, J. R.; Fisk, L. A.; Lin, R. P.

1971-01-01

Observations of the scatter-free electron events from solar active region McMath No. 8905 are presented. The measurements were made on Explorer 33 satellite. The data show that more than 80% of the electrons from these events undergo no or little scattering and that these electrons travel only approximately 1.5 a.u. between the sun and the earth. The duration of these events cannot be accounted fully by velocity dispersion alone. It is suggested that these electrons could be continuously injected into interplanetary medium for a time interval of approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Energy spectra of these electrons are discussed.

ITER Plasma at Electron Cyclotron Frequency Domain: Stimulated Raman Scattering off Gould-Trivelpiece Modes and Generation of Suprathermal Electrons and Energetic Ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stefan, V. Alexander

2011-04-01

Stimulated Raman scattering in the electron cyclotron frequency range of the X-Mode and O-Mode driver with the ITER plasma leads to the ``tail heating'' via the generation of suprathermal electrons and energetic ions. The scattering off Trivelpiece-Gould (T-G) modes is studied for the gyrotron frequency of 170GHz; X-Mode and O-Mode power of 24 MW CW; on-axis B-field of 10T. The synergy between the two-plasmon decay and Raman scattering is analyzed in reference to the bulk plasma heating. Supported in part by Nikola TESLA Labs, La Jolla, CA

Thickness dependence of scattering cross-sections in quantitative scanning transmission electron microscopy.

PubMed

Martinez, G T; van den Bos, K H W; Alania, M; Nellist, P D; Van Aert, S

2018-04-01

In quantitative scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), scattering cross-sections have been shown to be very sensitive to the number of atoms in a column and its composition. They correspond to the integrated intensity over the atomic column and they outperform other measures. As compared to atomic column peak intensities, which saturate at a given thickness, scattering cross-sections increase monotonically. A study of the electron wave propagation is presented to explain the sensitivity of the scattering cross-sections. Based on the multislice algorithm, we analyse the wave propagation inside the crystal and its link to the scattered signal for the different probe positions contained in the scattering cross-section for detector collection in the low-, middle- and high-angle regimes. The influence to the signal from scattering of neighbouring columns is also discussed. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Thermal properties of Pr2/3Sr1/3MnO3 manganites:PdO composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rao, Ashok; Manjunatha, S. O.; Bhatt, Ramesh Chandra; Awana, V. P. S.; Lin, C. F.; Kuo, Y. K.; Poornesh, P.

2017-10-01

In the present communication the results on thermal conductivity, Seebeck coefficient and specific heat of Pr2/3Sr1/3MnO3:PdO composites are reported. All the samples exhibit a pronounced anomaly in thermal conductivity (κ) at their respective Curie temperatures, TC of the samples. It is also observed that the overall magnitude of κ decreases with increasing Pd content. The observed reduction of the total k(T) is discussed with various thermal scattering mechanisms. The temperature-dependent Seebeck coefficient data S(T) in the high temperature region is analyzed within the framework of Mott's polaron hopping model. The analysis of low-temperature S(T) data reveals that the electron-magnon scattering contribution dominates the thermoelectric transport at low temperatures. The magnetic contribution for the CP and change in entropy (ΔS) during the magnetic phase transition is also evaluated.

Inelastic scattering in metal- H2 -metal junctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kristensen, I. S.; Paulsson, M.; Thygesen, K. S.; Jacobsen, K. W.

2009-06-01

We present first-principles calculations of the dI/dV characteristics of an H2 molecule sandwiched between Au and Pt electrodes in the presence of electron-phonon interactions. The conductance is found to decrease by a few percentages at threshold voltages corresponding to the excitation energy of longitudinal vibrations of the H2 molecule. In the case of Pt electrodes, the transverse vibrations can mediate transport through otherwise nontransmitting Ptd channels leading to an increase in the differential conductance even though the hydrogen junction is characterized predominately by a single almost fully open transport channel. In the case of Au, the transverse modes do not affect the dI/dV because the Aud states are too far below the Fermi level. A simple explanation of the first-principles results is given using scattering theory. Finally, we compare and discuss our results in relation to experimental data.

First results of electron temperature measurements by the use of multi-pass Thomson scattering system in GAMMA 10

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yoshikawa, M., E-mail: yosikawa@prc.tsukuba.ac.jp; Nagasu, K.; Shimamura, Y.

2014-11-15

A multi-pass Thomson scattering (TS) has the advantage of enhancing scattered signals. We constructed a multi-pass TS system for a polarisation-based system and an image relaying system modelled on the GAMMA 10 TS system. We undertook Raman scattering experiments both for the multi-pass setting and for checking the optical components. Moreover, we applied the system to the electron temperature measurements in the GAMMA 10 plasma for the first time. The integrated scattering signal was magnified by approximately three times by using the multi-pass TS system with four passes. The electron temperature measurement accuracy is improved by using this multi-pass system.

First results of electron temperature measurements by the use of multi-pass Thomson scattering system in GAMMA 10.

PubMed

Yoshikawa, M; Yasuhara, R; Nagasu, K; Shimamura, Y; Shima, Y; Kohagura, J; Sakamoto, M; Nakashima, Y; Imai, T; Ichimura, M; Yamada, I; Funaba, H; Kawahata, K; Minami, T

2014-11-01

A multi-pass Thomson scattering (TS) has the advantage of enhancing scattered signals. We constructed a multi-pass TS system for a polarisation-based system and an image relaying system modelled on the GAMMA 10 TS system. We undertook Raman scattering experiments both for the multi-pass setting and for checking the optical components. Moreover, we applied the system to the electron temperature measurements in the GAMMA 10 plasma for the first time. The integrated scattering signal was magnified by approximately three times by using the multi-pass TS system with four passes. The electron temperature measurement accuracy is improved by using this multi-pass system.

Electron scattering intensities and Patterson functions of Skyrmions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karliner, M.; King, C.; Manton, N. S.

2016-06-01

The scattering of electrons off nuclei is one of the best methods of probing nuclear structure. In this paper we focus on electron scattering off nuclei with spin and isospin zero within the Skyrme model. We consider two distinct methods and simplify our calculations by use of the Born approximation. The first method is to calculate the form factor of the spherically averaged Skyrmion charge density; the second uses the Patterson function to calculate the scattering intensity off randomly oriented Skyrmions, and spherically averages at the end. We compare our findings with experimental scattering data. We also find approximate analytical formulae for the first zero and first stationary point of a form factor.

Low-energy Auger electron diffraction: influence of multiple scattering and angular momentum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chassé, A.; Niebergall, L.; Kucherenko, Yu.

2002-04-01

The angular dependence of Auger electrons excited from single-crystal surfaces is treated theoretically within a multiple-scattering cluster model taking into account the full Auger transition matrix elements. In particular the model has been used to discuss the influence of multiple scattering and angular momentum of the Auger electron wave on Auger electron diffraction (AED) patterns in the region of low kinetic energies. Theoretical results of AED patterns are shown and discussed in detail for Cu(0 0 1) and Ni(0 0 1) surfaces, respectively. Even though Cu and Ni are very similar in their electronic and scattering properties recently strong differences have been found in AED patterns measured in the low-energy region. It is shown that the differences may be caused to superposition of different electron diffraction effects in an energy-integrated experiment. A good agreement between available experimental and theoretical results has been achieved.

Dependence of mobility on the electron concentration upon scattering at polar optical phonons in A{sup III}–N nitrides

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Borisenko, S. I., E-mail: sib@tpu.ru

2016-04-15

The dependence of the effective relaxation time on the electron concentration in A{sup III}–N nitrides in the case of electron scattering at polar longitudinal optical phonons is calculated by the marching method. The method takes into account the inelasticity of electron scattering at polar optical phonons for nitrides in the zinc-blende approximation. The calculations show a substantial increase in mobility in samples with a degenerate electron gas, if screening of the long-range potential of polar longitudinal optical phonons is taken into account.

Dirac electrons in quantum rings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gioia, L.; Zülicke, U.; Governale, M.; Winkler, R.

2018-05-01

We consider quantum rings realized in materials where the dynamics of charge carriers mimics that of two-dimensional (2D) Dirac electrons. A general theoretical description of the ring-subband structure is developed that applies to a range of currently available 2D systems, including graphene, transition-metal dichalcogenides, and narrow-gap semiconductor quantum wells. We employ the scattering-matrix approach to calculate the electronic two-terminal conductance through the ring and investigate how it is affected by Dirac-electron interference. The interplay of pseudospin chirality and hard-wall confinement is found to distinctly affect the geometric phase that is experimentally accessible in mesoscopic-conductance measurements. We derive an effective Hamiltonian for the azimuthal motion of charge carriers in the ring that yields deeper insight into the physical origin of the observed transport effects, including the unique behavior exhibited by the lowest ring subband in the normal and topological (i.e., band-inverted) regimes. Our paper provides a unified approach to characterizing confined Dirac electrons, which can be used to explore the design of valley- and spintronic devices based on quantum interference and the confinement-tunable geometric phase.

A reflective optical transport system for ultraviolet Thomson scattering from electron plasma waves on OMEGA.

PubMed

Katz, J; Boni, R; Sorce, C; Follett, R; Shoup, M J; Froula, D H

2012-10-01

A reflective optical transport system has been designed for the OMEGA Thomson-scattering diagnostic. A Schwarzschild objective that uses two concentric spherical mirrors coupled to a Pfund objective provides diffraction-limited imaging across all reflected wavelengths. This enables the operator to perform Thomson-scattering measurements of ultraviolet (0.263 μm) light scattered from electron plasma waves.

Theoretical modeling of electronic transport in molecular devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piccinin, Simone

In this thesis a novel approach for simulating electronic transport in nanoscale structures is introduced. We consider an open quantum system (the electrons of structure) accelerated by an external electromotive force and dissipating energy through inelastic scattering with a heat bath (phonons) acting on the electrons. This method can be regarded as a quantum-mechanical extension of the semi-classical Boltzmann transport equation. We use periodic boundary conditions and employ Density Functional Theory to recast the many-particle problem in an effective single-particle mean-field problem. By explicitly treating the dissipation in the electrodes, the behavior of the potential is an outcome of our method, at variance with the scattering approaches based on the Landauer formalism. We study the self-consistent steady-state solution, analyzing the out-of-equilibrium electron distribution, the electrical characteristics, the behavior of the self-consistent potential and the density of states of the system. We apply the method to the study of electronic transport in several molecular devices, consisting of small organic molecules or atomic wires sandwiched between gold surfaces. For gold wires we recover the experimental evidence that transport in short wires is ballistic, independent of the length of the wire and with conductance of one quantum. In benzene-1,4-dithiol we find that the delocalization of the frontier orbitals of the molecule is responsible for the high value of conductance and that, by inserting methylene groups to decouple the sulfur atoms from the carbon ring, the current is reduced, in agreement with the experimental measurements. We study the effect a geometrical distortion in a molecular device, namely the relative rotation of the carbon rings in a biphenyl-4,4'-dithiol molecule. We find that the reduced coupling between pi orbitals of the rings induced by the rotation leads to a reduction of the conductance and that this behavior is captured by a simple two level model. Finally the transport properties of alkanethiol monolayers are analyzed by means of the local density of states at the Fermi energy: we find an exponential dependence of the current on the length of the chain, in quantitative agreement with the corresponding experiments.

A Magnetoresistive Heat Switch for the Continuous ADR

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Canavan, E. R.; Dipirro, M. J.; Jackson, M.; Panek, J.; Shirron, P. J.; Tuttle, J. G.; Krebs, C. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

In compensated elemental metals at low temperature, a several Tesla field can suppress electronic heat conduction so thoroughly that heat is effectively carried by phonons alone. In approximately one mm diameter single crystal samples with impurity concentrations low enough that electron conduction is limited by surface scattering, the ratio of zerofield to high-field thermal conductivity can exceed ten thousand. We have used this phenomenon to build a compact, solid-state heat switch with no moving parts and no enclosed fluids. The time scale for switching states is limited by time scale for charging the magnet that supplies the controlling field. Our design and fabrication techniques overcome the difficulties associated with manufacturing and assembling parts from single crystal tungsten. A clear disadvantage of the magnetoresistive switch is the mass and complexity of the magnet system for the controlling field. We have discovered a technique of minimizing this mass and complexity, applicable to the continuous adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator.

Dynamic Conductivity and Partial Ionization in Warm, Dense Hydrogen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaghoo, M.; Silvera, I. F.

2017-10-01

A theoretical description for optical conduction experiments in dense fluid hydrogen is presented. Different quantum statistical approaches are used to describe the mechanism of electron transport in hydrogen's high-temperature dense phase. We show that at the onset of the metallic transition, optical conduction could be described by a strong rise in the atomic polarizability, resulting from increased ionization; whereas in the highly degenerate limit, the Ziman weak-scattering model better describes the observed saturation of reflectance. In the highly degenerate region, the inclusion of partial ionization effects provides excellent agreement with experimental results. Hydrogen's fluid metallic state is revealed to be a partially ionized free-electron plasma. These results provide a crucial benchmark for ab initio calculations as well as an important guide for future experiments. Research supported by DOE Stockpile Stewardship Academic Alliance Program, Grant DE-FG52-10NA29656, and NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship Program, Award NNX14AP17H.

Conductive scanning probe microscopy of the semicontinuous gold film and its SERS enhancement toward two-step photo-induced charge transfer and effect of the supportive layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sinthiptharakoon, K.; Sapcharoenkun, C.; Nuntawong, N.; Duong, B.; Wutikhun, T.; Treetong, A.; Meemuk, B.; Kasamechonchung, P.; Klamchuen, A.

2018-05-01

The semicontinuous gold film, enabling various electronic applications including development of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate, is investigated using conductive atomic force microscopy (CAFM) and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) to reveal and investigate local electronic characteristics potentially associated with SERS generation of the film material. Although the gold film fully covers the underlying silicon surface, CAFM results reveal that local conductivity of the film is not continuous with insulating nanoislands appearing throughout the surface due to incomplete film percolation. Our analysis also suggests the two-step photo-induced charge transfer (CT) play the dominant role in the enhancement of SERS intensity with strong contribution from free electrons of the silicon support. Silicon-to-gold charge transport is illustrated by KPFM results showing that Fermi level of the gold film is slightly inhomogeneous and far below the silicon conduction band. We propose that inhomogeneity of the film workfunction affecting chemical charge transfer between gold and Raman probe molecule is associated with the SERS intensity varying across the surface. These findings provide deeper understanding of charge transfer mechanism for SERS which can help in design and development of the semicontinuous gold film-based SERS substrate and other electronic applications.

Thermal Conductivity and Large Isotope Effect in GaN from First Principles

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-08-28

August 2012) We present atomistic first principles results for the lattice thermal conductivity of GaN and compare them to those for GaP, GaAs, and GaSb ...weak scattering results from stiff atomic bonds and the large Ga to N mass ratio, which give phonons high frequencies and also a pronounced energy gap...66.70.f, 63.20.kg, 71.15.m Introduction.—Gallium nitride (GaN) is a wide band gap semiconductor and a promising candidate for use in opto- electronic

Test of New Readout Electronics for the Bonus12 Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ehrhart, Mathieu

For decades, electron-proton scattering experiments have been providing a large amount of data on the proton structure function. However, because of the instability of free neutrons, fewer experiments have been able to study the neutron structure function. The BONuS collaboration at Jefferson Laboratory addresses this challenge by scattering electrons off a deuterium target, using a RTPC capable of detecting the low-momentum spectator protons near the target. Events of electrons scattering on almost free neutrons are selected by constraining the spectator protons to very low momenta and very backward scattering angles. In 2005, BONuS successfully measured the neutron structure with scattering electrons of up to 5.3 GeV energy. An extension of this measurement has been approved using the newly upgraded 12 GeV electron beam and CLAS12 (CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer). For this new set of measurements, a new RTPC detector using GEM trackers is being developed to allow measurements of spectator protons with momenta as low as 70 MeV/c. The new RTPC will use a new readout electronic system, which is also used by other trackers in CLAS12. This thesis will present the first tests of this electronics using a previously built RTPC of similar design.

Prediction of Spin-Polarization Effects in Quantum Wire Transport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fasol, Gerhard; Sakaki, Hiroyuki

1994-01-01

We predict a new effect for transport in quantum wires: spontaneous spin polarization. Most work on transport in mesoscopic devices has assumed a model of non interacting, spin-free electrons. We introduce spin, electron pair scattering and microscopic crystal properties into the design of mesoscopic devices. The new spin polarization effect results from the fact that in a single mode quantum wire, electron and hole bands still have two spin subbands. In general, these two spin subbands are expected to be split even in zero magnetic field. At sufficiently low temperatures the electron pair scattering rates for one spin subband ( e.g., the spin-down) can be much larger than for the other spin subband. This effect can be used for an active spin polarizer device: hot electrons in one subband ( e.g., `spin up') pass with weak pair scattering, while electrons in the opposite subband ( e.g., `spin down'), have high probability of scattering into the `spin-up' subband, resulting in spin polarization of a hot electron beam.

“Glass-like” thermal conductivity gradually induced in thermoelectric Sr{sub 8}Ga{sub 16}Ge{sub 30} clathrate by off-centered guest atoms

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Christensen, Sebastian; Schmøkel, Mette Stokkebro; Borup, Kasper Andersen

The origin of the “glass-like” plateau in thermal conductivity of inorganic type I clathrates has been debated for more than a decade. Here, it is demonstrated that the low temperature thermal conductivity of Sr{sub 8}Ga{sub 16}Ge{sub 30} can be controlled by the synthesis method: A flux-grown sample has a “glass-like” plateau in thermal conductivity at low temperature, while a zone-melted sample instead has a crystalline peak. A combination of flux-growth and zone-melting produces an intermediate thermal conductivity. In a comprehensive study of three single crystal samples, it is shown by neutron diffraction that the transition from crystalline peak to “glass-like”more » plateau is related to an increase in Sr guest atom off-centering distance from 0.24 Å to 0.43 Å. By modifying ab initio calculated force constants for the guest atom to an isotropic model, we reproduce both measured heat capacity and inelastic neutron scattering data. The transition from peak to plateau in the thermal conductivity can be modeled by a combined increase of Rayleigh and disorder scattering. Measurement of heat capacity refutes simple models for tunneling of Sr between off-center sites. Furthermore, the electronic properties of the same samples are characterized by Hall carrier density, Seebeck coefficient, and resistivity. The present comprehensive analysis excludes tunneling and charge carrier scattering as dominant contributors to the “glass-like” plateau. The increased guest atom off-centering distance controlled by synthesis provides a possible microscopic mechanism for reducing the low temperature thermal conductivity of clathrates.« less

Mechanism behind the high thermoelectric power factor of SrTiO3 by calculating the transport coefficients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shirai, Koun; Yamanaka, Kazunori

2013-02-01

The thermoelectric power factor of SrTiO3 is unusually high with respect to its mobility and band gap. Good thermoelectrics usually have high mobility and a narrow band gap, but such properties are not found in SrTiO3. We have determined the mechanism behind the high power factor by calculating the transport coefficients. The key to understanding the power factor is that different effective masses contribute to different transport phenomena. The discrepancy between the effective mass for the conductivity and the thermoelectric power showed that the conductivity and thermoelectric power are conveyed by electrons with different effective masses in the Brillouin zone. Light electrons were responsible for the high conductivity, whereas heavy electrons were responsible for the high thermoelectric power. The high carrier concentrations of more than 1020 cm-3 did not reduce the thermoelectric power of SrTiO3 above the classical limit. This indicates that the electrons carrying the thermoelectric power were not degenerate. This is achieved by a decrease in the Fermi energy and the contribution of the heavy electrons to the Seebeck coefficient. The strong dielectric screening also contributed to the high power factor. The Coulomb scattering by ionized impurities, which would usually reduce the carrier mobility, was effectively screened. These results clarify the mechanism behind the contribution of different types of electrons, and show that high thermoelectric power does not necessarily reduce conductivity. Our findings provide a new direction for the band engineering of thermoelectric materials.

Solar Wind Strahl Observations and Their Implication to the Core-Halo Formation due to Scattering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vinas, Adolfo F.

2011-01-01

A study of the kinetic properties of the strahl electron velocity distribution functions (VDF?s) in the solar wind is presented. This study focuses on the mechanisms that control and regulate the electron VDF?s and the stability of the strahl electrons in the solar wind; mechanisms that are not yet well understood. Various parameters are investigated such as the strahl-electron density, temperature anisotropy, and electron heat-flux. These parameters are used to investigate the stability of the strahl population. The analysis check for whether the strahl electrons are constrained by some instability (e.g., the whistler or KAW instabilities), or are maintained by other types of processes. The electron heat-flux and temperature anisotropy are determined by modeling of the 3D-VDF?s from which the moments properties of the various populations are obtained. The results of this study have profound implication on the current hypothesis about the probable formation of the solar wind halo electrons produced from the scattering of the strahl population. This hypothesis is strengthened by direct observations of the strahl electrons being scattered into the core-halo in an isolated event. The observation implies that the scattering of the strahl is not a continuous process but occurs in bursts in regions where conditions for wave growth providing the scattering are optimum. Sometimes, observations indicate that the strahl component is anisotropic (Tper/Tpal approx. 2). This provides a possible free energy source for the excitation of whistler waves as a possible scattering mechanism, however this condition is not always observed. The study is based on high time resolution data from the Cluster/PEACE electron spectrometer.

Spin-dependent electron scattering at graphene edges on Ni(111).

PubMed

Garcia-Lekue, A; Balashov, T; Olle, M; Ceballos, G; Arnau, A; Gambardella, P; Sanchez-Portal, D; Mugarza, A

2014-02-14

We investigate the scattering of surface electrons by the edges of graphene islands grown on Ni(111). By combining local tunneling spectroscopy and ab initio electronic structure calculations we find that the hybridization between graphene and Ni states results in strongly reflecting graphene edges. Quantum interference patterns formed around the islands reveal a spin-dependent scattering of the Shockley bands of Ni, which we attribute to their distinct coupling to bulk states. Moreover, we find a strong dependence of the scattering amplitude on the atomic structure of the edges, depending on the orbital character and energy of the surface states.

Energetic electron precipitation associated with pulsating aurora: EISCAT and Van Allen Probe observations

DOE PAGES

Miyoshi, Y.; Oyama, S.; Saito, S.; ...

2015-04-21

Pulsating auroras show quasi-periodic intensity modulations caused by the precipitation of energetic electrons of the order of tens of keV. It is expected theoretically that not only these electrons but also subrelativistic/relativistic electrons precipitate simultaneously into the ionosphere owing to whistler mode wave-particle interactions. The height-resolved electron density profile was observed with the European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT) Tromsø VHF radar on 17 November 2012. Electron density enhancements were clearly identified at altitudes >68 km in association with the pulsating aurora, suggesting precipitation of electrons with a broadband energy range from ~10 keV up to at least 200 keV. The riometermore » and network of subionospheric radio wave observations also showed the energetic electron precipitations during this period. During this period, the footprint of the Van Allen Probe-A satellite was very close to Tromsø and the satellite observed rising tone emissions of the lower band chorus (LBC) waves near the equatorial plane. Considering the observed LBC waves and electrons, we conducted a computer simulation of the wave-particle interactions. This showed simultaneous precipitation of electrons at both tens of keV and a few hundred keV, which is consistent with the energy spectrum estimated by the inversion method using the EISCAT observations. This result revealed that electrons with a wide energy range simultaneously precipitate into the ionosphere in association with the pulsating aurora, providing the evidence that pulsating auroras are caused by whistler chorus waves. We suggest that scattering by propagating whistler simultaneously causes both the precipitations of subrelativistic electrons and the pulsating aurora.« less

Energetic electron precipitation associated with pulsating aurora: EISCAT and Van Allen Probe observations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Miyoshi, Y.; Oyama, S.; Saito, S.

Pulsating auroras show quasi-periodic intensity modulations caused by the precipitation of energetic electrons of the order of tens of keV. It is expected theoretically that not only these electrons but also subrelativistic/relativistic electrons precipitate simultaneously into the ionosphere owing to whistler mode wave-particle interactions. The height-resolved electron density profile was observed with the European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT) Tromsø VHF radar on 17 November 2012. Electron density enhancements were clearly identified at altitudes >68 km in association with the pulsating aurora, suggesting precipitation of electrons with a broadband energy range from ~10 keV up to at least 200 keV. The riometermore » and network of subionospheric radio wave observations also showed the energetic electron precipitations during this period. During this period, the footprint of the Van Allen Probe-A satellite was very close to Tromsø and the satellite observed rising tone emissions of the lower band chorus (LBC) waves near the equatorial plane. Considering the observed LBC waves and electrons, we conducted a computer simulation of the wave-particle interactions. This showed simultaneous precipitation of electrons at both tens of keV and a few hundred keV, which is consistent with the energy spectrum estimated by the inversion method using the EISCAT observations. This result revealed that electrons with a wide energy range simultaneously precipitate into the ionosphere in association with the pulsating aurora, providing the evidence that pulsating auroras are caused by whistler chorus waves. We suggest that scattering by propagating whistler simultaneously causes both the precipitations of subrelativistic electrons and the pulsating aurora.« less

Phase transformation in multiferroic Bi5Ti3FeO15 ceramics by temperature-dependent ellipsometric and Raman spectra: An interband electronic transition evidence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, P. P.; Duan, Z. H.; Xu, L. P.; Zhang, X. L.; Li, Y. W.; Hu, Z. G.; Chu, J. H.

2014-02-01

Thermal evolution and an intermediate phase between ferroelectric orthorhombic and paraelectric tetragonal phase of multiferroic Bi5Ti3FeO15 ceramic have been investigated by temperature-dependent spectroscopic ellipsometry and Raman scattering. Dielectric functions and interband transitions extracted from the standard critical-point model show two dramatic anomalies in the temperature range of 200-873 K. It was found that the anomalous temperature dependence of electronic transition energies and Raman mode frequencies around 800 K can be ascribed to intermediate phase transformation. Moreover, the disappearance of electronic transition around 3 eV at 590 K is associated with the conductive property.

Influence of chemical ordering on the thermal conductivity and electronic relaxation in FePt thin films in heat assisted magnetic recording applications

DOE PAGES

Giri, Ashutosh; Wee, Sung Hun; Jain, Shikha; ...

2016-08-26

Here, we report on the out-of-plane thermal conductivities of tetragonal L1 0 FePt (001) easy-axis and cubic A1 FePt thin films via time-domain thermoreflectance over a temperature range from 133 K to 500 K. The out-of-plane thermal conductivity of the chemically ordered L10 phase with alternating Fe and Pt layers is ~23% greater than the thermal conductivity of the disordered A1 phase at room temperature and below. However, as temperature is increased above room temperature, the thermal conductivities of the two phases begin to converge. Molecular dynamics simulations on model FePt structures support our experimental findings and help shed moremore » light into the relative vibrational thermal transport properties of the L1 0 and A1 phases. Furthermore, unlike the varying temperature trends in the thermal conductivities of the two phases, the electronic scattering rates in the out-of-plane direction of the two phases are similar for the temperature range studied in this work.« less

Thomson-scattering measurements in the collective and noncollective regimes in laser produced plasmas (invited).

PubMed

Ross, J S; Glenzer, S H; Palastro, J P; Pollock, B B; Price, D; Tynan, G R; Froula, D H

2010-10-01

We present simultaneous Thomson-scattering measurements of light scattered from ion-acoustic and electron-plasma fluctuations in a N(2) gas jet plasma. By varying the plasma density from 1.5×10(18) to 4.0×10(19) cm(-3) and the temperature from 100 to 600 eV, we observe the transition from the collective regime to the noncollective regime in the high-frequency Thomson-scattering spectrum. These measurements allow an accurate local measurement of fundamental plasma parameters: electron temperature, density, and ion temperature. Furthermore, experiments performed in the high densities typically found in laser produced plasmas result in scattering from electrons moving near the phase velocity of the relativistic plasma waves. Therefore, it is shown that even at low temperatures relativistic corrections to the scattered power must be included.

Modified stimulated Raman scattering of a laser induced by trapped electrons in a plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baliyan, Sweta; Rafat, Mohd.; Ahmad, Nafis; Sajal, Vivek

2017-10-01

The plasma wave, generated in stimulated Raman scattering process by an intense laser in the plasmas, traps a significant number of electrons in its potential energy minima. These electrons travel with the phase velocity of plasma wave and oscillate with bounce frequency. When the bounce frequency of electrons becomes equal to the growth rate of Raman process, resonance takes place. Now, Raman scattering gets modified by parametrically exciting a trapped electron mode and an electromagnetic sideband. The ponderomotive force due to the pump and sideband drives the plasma wave, whereas the density perturbation due to the trapped electron mode couples with the oscillating velocity of electrons due to the laser to produce a nonlinear current, driving the sideband.

Modified Monte Carlo method for study of electron transport in degenerate electron gas in the presence of electron-electron interactions, application to graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borowik, Piotr; Thobel, Jean-Luc; Adamowicz, Leszek

2017-07-01

Standard computational methods used to take account of the Pauli Exclusion Principle into Monte Carlo (MC) simulations of electron transport in semiconductors may give unphysical results in low field regime, where obtained electron distribution function takes values exceeding unity. Modified algorithms were already proposed and allow to correctly account for electron scattering on phonons or impurities. Present paper extends this approach and proposes improved simulation scheme allowing including Pauli exclusion principle for electron-electron (e-e) scattering into MC simulations. Simulations with significantly reduced computational cost recreate correct values of the electron distribution function. Proposed algorithm is applied to study transport properties of degenerate electrons in graphene with e-e interactions. This required adapting the treatment of e-e scattering in the case of linear band dispersion relation. Hence, this part of the simulation algorithm is described in details.

Scattering of an electronic wave packet by a one-dimensional electron-phonon-coupled structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brockt, C.; Jeckelmann, E.

2017-02-01

We investigate the scattering of an electron by phonons in a small structure between two one-dimensional tight-binding leads. This model mimics the quantum electron transport through atomic wires or molecular junctions coupled to metallic leads. The electron-phonon-coupled structure is represented by the Holstein model. We observe permanent energy transfer from the electron to the phonon system (dissipation), transient self-trapping of the electron in the electron-phonon-coupled structure (due to polaron formation and multiple reflections at the structure edges), and transmission resonances that depend strongly on the strength of the electron-phonon coupling and the adiabaticity ratio. A recently developed TEBD algorithm, optimized for bosonic degrees of freedom, is used to simulate the quantum dynamics of a wave packet launched against the electron-phonon-coupled structure. Exact results are calculated for a single electron-phonon site using scattering theory and analytical approximations are obtained for limiting cases.

Enhanced proton transport in nanostructured polymer electrolyte/ionic liquid membranes under water-free conditions.

PubMed

Kim, Sung Yeon; Kim, Suhan; Park, Moon Jeong

2010-10-05

Proton exchange fuel cells (PEFCs) have the potential to provide power for a variety of applications ranging from electronic devices to transportation vehicles. A major challenge towards economically viable PEFCs is finding an electrolyte that is both durable and easily passes protons. In this article, we study novel anhydrous proton-conducting membranes, formed by incorporating ionic liquids into synthetic block co-polymer electrolytes, poly(styrenesulphonate-b-methylbutylene) (S(n)MB(m)), as high-temperature PEFCs. The resulting membranes are transparent, flexible and thermally stable up to 180 °C. The increases in the sulphonation level of S(n)MB(m) co-polymers (proton supplier) and the concentration of the ionic liquid (proton mediator) produce an overall increase in conductivity. Morphology effects were studied by X-ray scattering and electron microscopy. Compared with membranes having discrete ionic domains (including Nafion 117), the nanostructured membranes revealed over an order of magnitude increase in conductivity with the highest conductivity of 0.045 S cm(-1) obtained at 165 °C.

Demonstration of a novel technique to measure two-photon exchange effects in elastic e±p scattering

DOE PAGES

Moteabbed, Maryam; Niroula, Megh; Raue, Brian A.; ...

2013-08-30

The discrepancy between proton electromagnetic form factors extracted using unpolarized and polarized scattering data is believed to be a consequence of two-photon exchange (TPE) effects. However, the calculations of TPE corrections have significant model dependence, and there is limited direct experimental evidence for such corrections. The TPE contributions depend on the sign of the lepton charge in e±p scattering, but the luminosities of secondary positron beams limited past measurement at large scattering angles, where the TPE effects are believe to be most significant. We present the results of a new experimental technique for making direct e±p comparisons, which has themore » potential to make precise measurements over a broad range in Q 2 and scattering angles. We use the Jefferson Laboratory electron beam and the Hall B photon tagger to generate a clean but untagged photon beam. The photon beam impinges on a converter foil to generate a mixed beam of electrons, positrons, and photons. A chicane is used to separate and recombine the electron and positron beams while the photon beam is stopped by a photon blocker. This provides a combined electron and positron beam, with energies from 0.5 to 3.2 GeV, which impinges on a liquid hydrogen target. The large acceptance CLAS detector is used to identify and reconstruct elastic scattering events, determining both the initial lepton energy and the sign of the scattered lepton. The data were collected in two days with a primary electron beam energy of only 3.3 GeV, limiting the data from this run to smaller values of Q 2 and scattering angle. Nonetheless, this measurement yields a data sample for e±p with statistics comparable to those of the best previous measurements. We have shown that we can cleanly identify elastic scattering events and correct for the difference in acceptance for electron and positron scattering. Because we ran with only one polarity for the chicane, we are unable to study the difference between the incoming electron and positron beams. This systematic effect leads to the largest uncertainty in the final ratio of positron to electron scattering: R=1.027±0.005±0.05 for < Q 2 >=0.206 GeV 2 and 0.830 ≤ ε ≤ 0.943. We have demonstrated that the tertiary e ± beam generated using this technique provides the opportunity for dramatically improved comparisons of e±p scattering, covering a significant range in both Q 2 and scattering angle. Combining data with different chicane polarities will allow for detailed studies of the difference between the incoming e + and e - beams.« less

Demonstration of a novel technique to measure two-photon exchange effects in elastic e±p scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moteabbed, M.; Niroula, M.; Raue, B. A.; Weinstein, L. B.; Adikaram, D.; Arrington, J.; Brooks, W. K.; Lachniet, J.; Rimal, Dipak; Ungaro, M.; Afanasev, A.; Adhikari, K. P.; Aghasyan, M.; Amaryan, M. J.; Anefalos Pereira, S.; Avakian, H.; Ball, J.; Baltzell, N. A.; Battaglieri, M.; Batourine, V.; Bedlinskiy, I.; Bennett, R. P.; Biselli, A. S.; Bono, J.; Boiarinov, S.; Briscoe, W. J.; Burkert, V. D.; Carman, D. S.; Celentano, A.; Chandavar, S.; Cole, P. L.; Collins, P.; Contalbrigo, M.; Cortes, O.; Crede, V.; D'Angelo, A.; Dashyan, N.; De Vita, R.; De Sanctis, E.; Deur, A.; Djalali, C.; Doughty, D.; Dupre, R.; Egiyan, H.; Fassi, L. El; Eugenio, P.; Fedotov, G.; Fegan, S.; Fersch, R.; Fleming, J. A.; Gevorgyan, N.; Gilfoyle, G. P.; Giovanetti, K. L.; Girod, F. X.; Goetz, J. T.; Gohn, W.; Golovatch, E.; Gothe, R. W.; Griffioen, K. A.; Guidal, M.; Guler, N.; Guo, L.; Hafidi, K.; Hakobyan, H.; Hanretty, C.; Harrison, N.; Heddle, D.; Hicks, K.; Ho, D.; Holtrop, M.; Hyde, C. E.; Ilieva, Y.; Ireland, D. G.; Ishkhanov, B. S.; Isupov, E. L.; Jo, H. S.; Joo, K.; Keller, D.; Khandaker, M.; Kim, A.; Klein, F. J.; Koirala, S.; Kubarovsky, A.; Kubarovsky, V.; Kuhn, S. E.; Kuleshov, S. V.; Lewis, S.; Lu, H. Y.; MacCormick, M.; MacGregor, I. J. D.; Martinez, D.; Mayer, M.; McKinnon, B.; Mineeva, T.; Mirazita, M.; Mokeev, V.; Montgomery, R. A.; Moriya, K.; Moutarde, H.; Munevar, E.; Munoz Camacho, C.; Nadel-Turonski, P.; Nasseripour, R.; Niccolai, S.; Niculescu, G.; Niculescu, I.; Osipenko, M.; Ostrovidov, A. I.; Pappalardo, L. L.; Paremuzyan, R.; Park, K.; Park, S.; Phelps, E.; Phillips, J. J.; Pisano, S.; Pogorelko, O.; Pozdniakov, S.; Price, J. W.; Procureur, S.; Protopopescu, D.; Puckett, A. J. R.; Ripani, M.; Rosner, G.; Rossi, P.; Sabatié, F.; Saini, M. S.; Salgado, C.; Schott, D.; Schumacher, R. A.; Seder, E.; Seraydaryan, H.; Sharabian, Y. G.; Smith, E. S.; Smith, G. D.; Sober, D. I.; Sokhan, D.; Stepanyan, S.; Strauch, S.; Tang, W.; Taylor, C. E.; Tian, Ye; Tkachenko, S.; Voskanyan, H.; Voutier, E.; Walford, N. K.; Wood, M. H.; Zachariou, N.; Zana, L.; Zhang, J.; Zhao, Z. W.; Zonta, I.

2013-08-01

Background: The discrepancy between proton electromagnetic form factors extracted using unpolarized and polarized scattering data is believed to be a consequence of two-photon exchange (TPE) effects. However, the calculations of TPE corrections have significant model dependence, and there is limited direct experimental evidence for such corrections.Purpose: The TPE contributions depend on the sign of the lepton charge in e±p scattering, but the luminosities of secondary positron beams limited past measurement at large scattering angles, where the TPE effects are believe to be most significant. We present the results of a new experimental technique for making direct e±p comparisons, which has the potential to make precise measurements over a broad range in Q2 and scattering angles.Methods: We use the Jefferson Laboratory electron beam and the Hall B photon tagger to generate a clean but untagged photon beam. The photon beam impinges on a converter foil to generate a mixed beam of electrons, positrons, and photons. A chicane is used to separate and recombine the electron and positron beams while the photon beam is stopped by a photon blocker. This provides a combined electron and positron beam, with energies from 0.5 to 3.2 GeV, which impinges on a liquid hydrogen target. The large acceptance CLAS detector is used to identify and reconstruct elastic scattering events, determining both the initial lepton energy and the sign of the scattered lepton.Results: The data were collected in two days with a primary electron beam energy of only 3.3 GeV, limiting the data from this run to smaller values of Q2 and scattering angle. Nonetheless, this measurement yields a data sample for e±p with statistics comparable to those of the best previous measurements. We have shown that we can cleanly identify elastic scattering events and correct for the difference in acceptance for electron and positron scattering. Because we ran with only one polarity for the chicane, we are unable to study the difference between the incoming electron and positron beams. This systematic effect leads to the largest uncertainty in the final ratio of positron to electron scattering: R=1.027±0.005±0.05 for =0.206 GeV2 and 0.830⩽ɛ⩽0.943.Conclusions: We have demonstrated that the tertiary e± beam generated using this technique provides the opportunity for dramatically improved comparisons of e±p scattering, covering a significant range in both Q2 and scattering angle. Combining data with different chicane polarities will allow for detailed studies of the difference between the incoming e+ and e- beams.

Electron Scattering Measurements applied to Neutrino Interactions on Nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christy, M. Eric

2013-04-01

The extraction of neutrino mass differences and flavor mixing parameters from oscillation experiments requires models of neutrino-nucleus scattering as input. With the reduction of other systematics, the uncertainties stemming from such models are expected to be one of the larger contributions to the systematic uncertainties for next generation oscillation experiments. The neutrino energy range sensitive to oscillations in long baseline experiments is typically the few GeV range, where the interactions with the nucleus and the subsequent production and propagation of hadrons within the nucleus is in the regime studied by nuclear physics experiments at facilities such as Jefferson Lab. While processes such as resonance production have been well studied in electron scattering, there is currently precious little corresponding data from neutrino scattering. Results from electron scattering experiments, therefore, have an important role to play in both building and constraining models for neutrino scattering. On the other hand, the study of nucleon structure via weak probes is very complementary to the program at Jefferson Lab utilizing electromagnetic probes. Neutrino scattering experiments such at MINERvA are expected to provide new experimental information on axial elastic and resonance transition form factors and on medium modifications via the axial coupling. This talk will focus on the application of electron scattering measurements to neutrino interactions on nuclei, but will also touch on where neutrino scattering measurements can add to our understanding of the nucleus.

Potential of mean force for electrical conductivity of dense plasmas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Starrett, C. E.

The electrical conductivity in dense plasmas can be calculated with the relaxation-time approximation provided that the interaction potential between the scattering electron and the ion is known. To date there has been considerable uncertainty as to the best way to define this interaction potential so that it correctly includes the effects of ionic structure, screening by electrons and partial ionization. The current approximations lead to significantly different results with varying levels of agreement when compared to bench-mark calculations and experiments. Here, we present a new way to define this potential, drawing on ideas from classical fluid theory to define amore » potential of mean force. This new potential results in significantly improved agreement with experiments and bench-mark calculations, and includes all the aforementioned physics self-consistently.« less

Potential of mean force for electrical conductivity of dense plasmas

DOE PAGES

Starrett, C. E.

2017-09-28

The electrical conductivity in dense plasmas can be calculated with the relaxation-time approximation provided that the interaction potential between the scattering electron and the ion is known. To date there has been considerable uncertainty as to the best way to define this interaction potential so that it correctly includes the effects of ionic structure, screening by electrons and partial ionization. The current approximations lead to significantly different results with varying levels of agreement when compared to bench-mark calculations and experiments. Here, we present a new way to define this potential, drawing on ideas from classical fluid theory to define amore » potential of mean force. This new potential results in significantly improved agreement with experiments and bench-mark calculations, and includes all the aforementioned physics self-consistently.« less

Potential of mean force for electrical conductivity of dense plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Starrett, C. E.

2017-12-01

The electrical conductivity in dense plasmas can be calculated with the relaxation-time approximation provided that the interaction potential between the scattering electron and the ion is known. To date there has been considerable uncertainty as to the best way to define this interaction potential so that it correctly includes the effects of ionic structure, screening by electrons and partial ionization. Current approximations lead to significantly different results with varying levels of agreement when compared to bench-mark calculations and experiments. We present a new way to define this potential, drawing on ideas from classical fluid theory to define a potential of mean force. This new potential results in significantly improved agreement with experiments and bench-mark calculations, and includes all the aforementioned physics self-consistently.

Transmission electron microscopy of polymer blends and block copolymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gomez, Enrique Daniel

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of soft matter is a field that warrants further investigation. Developments in sample preparation, imaging and spectroscopic techniques could lead to novel experiments that may further our understanding of the structure and the role structure plays in the functionality of various organic materials. Unlike most hard materials, TEM of organic molecules is limited by the amount of radiation damage the material can withstand without changing its structure. Despite this limitation, TEM has been and will be a powerful tool to study polymeric materials and other soft matter. In this dissertation, an introduction of TEM for polymer scientists is presented. The fundamentals of interactions of electrons with matter are described using the Schrodinger wave equation and scattering cross-sections to fully encompass coherent and incoherent scattering. The intensity, which is the product of the wave function and its complex conjugate, shows no perceptible change due to the sample. Instead, contrast is generated through the optical system of the microscope by removing scattered electrons or by generating interference due to material-induced phase changes. Perhaps the most challenging aspect of taking TEM images, however, is sample preparation, because TEM experiments require materials with approximately 50 nm thickness. Although ultramicrotomy is a well-established powerful tool for preparing biological and polymeric sections for TEM, the development of cryogenic Focused Ion Beam may enable unprecedented cross-sectional TEM studies of polymer thin films on arbitrary substrates with nanometer precision. Two examples of TEM experiments of polymeric materials are presented. The first involves quantifying the composition profile across a lamellar phase obtained in a multicomponent blend of saturated poly(butadiene) and poly(isobutylene), stabilized by a saturated poly(butadiene) copolymer serving as a surfactant, using TEM and self-consistent field theory (SCFT). The liquid-like nature of this system at room temperature makes traditional staining methods for the enhancement of contrast ineffective. As an alternative, we take advantage of the large inelastic scattering cross-section of soft materials to generate contrast in zero-loss TEM images. Independent spatially resolved thickness measurements enable quantification of electron scattering. This enabled a comparison between the TEM data and predictions based on SCFT without any adjustable parameters. The second example involves the utilization of energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM) to compute elemental maps by taking advantage of ionization events. Elemental mapping of lithium is used to determine the distribution of salt in nanostructured poly(styrene-block-ethylene oxide) (SEO) copolymer/lithium salt electrolytes. Surprisingly, the concentration of lithium within a poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) domain is found to be inhomogeneous; the salt is localized to the middle of the channels. Self-consistent field theory simulations suggest that localization of lithium is due to chain stretching at the interface, which increases with molecular weight. EFTEM and SCFT results show that the segregation of lithium salt to the middle of the PEO lamellae is greater for higher molecular weight polymers. This is correlated with the ionic conductivity of the copolymer electrolyte, which is found to show a higher conductivity for thinner lithium lamellae.

Mach-Zehnder interferometry using broken symmetry quantum Hall edges in graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Di; van der Sar, Toeno; Sanchez-Yamagishi, Javier; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Jarillo-Herrero, Pablo; Halperin, Bertrand; Yacoby, Amir

Graphene has emerged as a unique platform for studying electron optics, particularly in the presence of a magnetic field. Here, we engineer a Mach-Zehnder interferometer using quantum Hall edge states that co-propagate along a single gate-defined NP interface. We use encapsulated monolayer graphene, clean enough to lift the four-fold spin and valley degeneracy. In order to create two separate co-propagating paths, we exploit the suppression of edge state scattering along gate defined edges, and use scattering sites at the ends of the NP interface to form our beam splitters. We observe conductance oscillations as a function of magnetic and electric field indicative of coherent transport, and measure values consistent with spin-selective scattering. We can tune our interferometer to regimes of high visibility (>98 %), surpassing the values reported for GaAs quantum-well Mach-Zehnder interferometers. These results demonstrate a promising method to observe interference between fractional charges in graphene.

Suppression of Quasiparticle Scattering Signals in Bilayer Graphene Due to Layer Polarization and Destructive Interference

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jolie, Wouter; Lux, Jonathan; Pörtner, Mathias; Dombrowski, Daniela; Herbig, Charlotte; Knispel, Timo; Simon, Sabina; Michely, Thomas; Rosch, Achim; Busse, Carsten

2018-03-01

We study chemically gated bilayer graphene using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy complemented by tight-binding calculations. Gating is achieved by intercalating Cs between bilayer graphene and Ir(111), thereby shifting the conduction band minima below the chemical potential. Scattering between electronic states (both intraband and interband) is detected via quasiparticle interference. However, not all expected processes are visible in our experiment. We uncover two general effects causing this suppression: first, intercalation leads to an asymmetrical distribution of the states within the two layers, which significantly reduces the scanning tunneling spectroscopy signal of standing waves mainly present in the lower layer; second, forward scattering processes, connecting points on the constant energy contours with parallel velocities, do not produce pronounced standing waves due to destructive interference. We present a theory to describe the interference signal for a general n -band material.

Suppression of Quasiparticle Scattering Signals in Bilayer Graphene Due to Layer Polarization and Destructive Interference.

PubMed

Jolie, Wouter; Lux, Jonathan; Pörtner, Mathias; Dombrowski, Daniela; Herbig, Charlotte; Knispel, Timo; Simon, Sabina; Michely, Thomas; Rosch, Achim; Busse, Carsten

2018-03-09

We study chemically gated bilayer graphene using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy complemented by tight-binding calculations. Gating is achieved by intercalating Cs between bilayer graphene and Ir(111), thereby shifting the conduction band minima below the chemical potential. Scattering between electronic states (both intraband and interband) is detected via quasiparticle interference. However, not all expected processes are visible in our experiment. We uncover two general effects causing this suppression: first, intercalation leads to an asymmetrical distribution of the states within the two layers, which significantly reduces the scanning tunneling spectroscopy signal of standing waves mainly present in the lower layer; second, forward scattering processes, connecting points on the constant energy contours with parallel velocities, do not produce pronounced standing waves due to destructive interference. We present a theory to describe the interference signal for a general n-band material.

Spin relaxation in quantum dots due to electron exchange with leads.

PubMed

Vorontsov, A B; Vavilov, M G

2008-11-28

We calculate spin relaxation rates in lateral quantum dot systems due to electron exchange between dots and leads. Using rate equations, we develop a theoretical description of the experimentally observed electric current in the spin blockade regime of double quantum dots. A single expression fits the entire current profile and describes the structure of both the conduction peaks and the suppressed ("valley") region. Extrinsic rates calculated here have to be taken into account for accurate extraction of intrinsic relaxation rates due to the spin-orbit and hyperfine spin scattering mechanisms from spin blockade measurements.

Evidence for the absence of electron-electron Coulomb interaction quantum correction to the anomalous Hall effect in Co2FeSi Heusler-alloy thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hazra, Binoy Krishna; Kaul, S. N.; Srinath, S.; Raja, M. Manivel; Rawat, R.; Lakhani, Archana

2017-11-01

Electrical (longitudinal) resistivity ρx x, at H =0 and H =80 kOe, anomalous Hall resistivity ρxy A H, and magnetization M , have been measured at different temperatures in the range 5-300 K on the Co2FeSi (CFS) Heusler-alloy thin films, grown on Si(111) substrate, with thickness ranging from 12 to 100 nm. At fixed fields H =0 and H =80 kOe, ρx x(T ) goes through a minimum at T =Tmin (which depends on the film thickness) in all the CFS thin films. In sharp contrast, both the anomalous Hall coefficient RA and ρxy A H monotonously increase with temperature without exhibiting a minimum. Elaborate analyses of ρx x, RA, and ρxy A H establishes the following. (i) The enhanced electron-electron Coulomb interaction (EEI) quantum correction (QC) is solely responsible for the upturn in "zero-field" and "in-field" ρx x(T ) at T

SU-E-T-25: Real Time Simulator for Designing Electron Dual Scattering Foil Systems.

PubMed

Carver, R; Hogstrom, K; Price, M; Leblanc, J; Harris, G

2012-06-01

To create a user friendly, accurate, real time computer simulator to facilitate the design of dual foil scattering systems for electron beams on radiotherapy accelerators. The simulator should allow for a relatively quick, initial design that can be refined and verified with subsequent Monte Carlo (MC) calculations and measurements. The simulator consists of an analytical algorithm for calculating electron fluence and a graphical user interface (GUI) C++ program. The algorithm predicts electron fluence using Fermi-Eyges multiple Coulomb scattering theory with a refined Moliere formalism for scattering powers. The simulator also estimates central-axis x-ray dose contamination from the dual foil system. Once the geometry of the beamline is specified, the simulator allows the user to continuously vary primary scattering foil material and thickness, secondary scattering foil material and Gaussian shape (thickness and sigma), and beam energy. The beam profile and x-ray contamination are displayed in real time. The simulator was tuned by comparison of off-axis electron fluence profiles with those calculated using EGSnrc MC. Over the energy range 7-20 MeV and using present foils on the Elekta radiotherapy accelerator, the simulator profiles agreed to within 2% of MC profiles from within 20 cm of the central axis. The x-ray contamination predictions matched measured data to within 0.6%. The calculation time was approximately 100 ms using a single processor, which allows for real-time variation of foil parameters using sliding bars. A real time dual scattering foil system simulator has been developed. The tool has been useful in a project to redesign an electron dual scattering foil system for one of our radiotherapy accelerators. The simulator has also been useful as an instructional tool for our medical physics graduate students. © 2012 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Conductance of closed and open long Aharonov-Bohm-Kondo rings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Zheng; Komijani, Yashar

2017-02-01

We calculate the finite temperature linear dc conductance of a generic single-impurity Anderson model containing an arbitrary number of Fermi liquid leads, and apply the formalism to closed and open long Aharonov-Bohm-Kondo (ABK) rings. We show that, as with the short ABK ring, there is a contribution to the conductance from the connected four-point Green's function of the conduction electrons. At sufficiently low temperatures this contribution can be eliminated, and the conductance can be expressed as a linear function of the T matrix of the screening channel. For closed rings we show that at temperatures high compared to the Kondo temperature, the conductance behaves differently for temperatures above and below vF/L , where vF is the Fermi velocity and L is the circumference of the ring. For open rings, when the ring arms have both a small transmission and a small reflection, we show from the microscopic model that the ring behaves like a two-path interferometer, and that the Kondo temperature is unaffected by details of the ring. Our findings confirm that ABK rings are potentially useful in the detection of the size of the Kondo screening cloud, the π /2 scattering phase shift from the Kondo singlet, and the suppression of Aharonov-Bohm oscillations due to inelastic scattering.

Comparative study of inelastic squared form factors of the vibronic states of B 1Σu+ , C 1Πu , and E F 1Σg+ for molecular hydrogen: Inelastic x-ray and electron scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Long-Quan; Kang, Xu; Peng, Yi-Geng; Xu, Xin; Liu, Ya-Wei; Wu, Yong; Yang, Ke; Hiraoka, Nozomu; Tsuei, Ku-Ding; Wang, Jian-Guo; Zhu, Lin-Fan

2018-03-01

A joint experimental and theoretical investigation of the valence-shell excitations of hydrogen has been performed by the high-resolution inelastic x-ray scattering and electron scattering as well as the multireference single- and double-excitation configuration-interaction method. Momentum-transfer-dependent inelastic squared form factors for the vibronic series belonging to the B 1Σu+ ,C 1Πu , and E F 1Σg+ electronic states of molecular hydrogen have been derived from the inelastic x-ray scattering method at an impact photon energy around 10 keV, and the electron energy-loss spectra measured at an incident electron energy of 1500 eV. It is found that both the present and the previous calculations cannot satisfactorily reproduce the inelastic squared form-factor profiles for the higher vibronic transitions of the B 1Σu+ state of molecular hydrogen, which may be due to the electronic-vibrational coupling for the higher vibronic states. For the C 1Πu state and some vibronic excitations of E F 1Σg+ state, the present experimental results are in good agreement with the present and previous calculations, while the slight differences between the inelastic x-ray scattering and electron energy-loss spectroscopy results in the larger squared momentum-transfer region may be attributed to the increasing role of the higher-order Born terms in the electron-scattering process.

Proposal and verification numerical simulation for a microwave forward scattering technique at upper hybrid resonance for the measurement of electron gyroscale density fluctuations in the electron cyclotron frequency range in magnetized plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawamori, E.; Igami, H.

2017-11-01

A diagnostic technique for detecting the wave numbers of electron density fluctuations at electron gyro-scales in an electron cyclotron frequency range is proposed, and the validity of the idea is checked by means of a particle-in-cell (PIC) numerical simulation. The technique is a modified version of the scattering technique invented by Novik et al. [Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 36, 357-381 (1994)] and Gusakov et al., [Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 41, 899-912 (1999)]. The novel method adopts forward scattering of injected extraordinary probe waves at the upper hybrid resonance layer instead of the backward-scattering adopted by the original method, enabling the measurement of the wave-numbers of the fine scale density fluctuations in the electron-cyclotron frequency band by means of phase measurement of the scattered waves. The verification numerical simulation with the PIC method shows that the technique has a potential to be applicable to the detection of electron gyro-scale fluctuations in laboratory plasmas if the upper-hybrid resonance layer is accessible to the probe wave. The technique is a suitable means to detect electron Bernstein waves excited via linear mode conversion from electromagnetic waves in torus plasma experiments. Through the numerical simulations, some problems that remain to be resolved are revealed, which include the influence of nonlinear processes such as the parametric decay instability of the probe wave in the scattering process, and so on.

Demonstration of Confined Electron Gas and Steep-Slope Behavior in Delta-Doped GaAs-AlGaAs Core-Shell Nanowire Transistors.

PubMed

Morkötter, S; Jeon, N; Rudolph, D; Loitsch, B; Spirkoska, D; Hoffmann, E; Döblinger, M; Matich, S; Finley, J J; Lauhon, L J; Abstreiter, G; Koblmüller, G

2015-05-13

Strong surface and impurity scattering in III-V semiconductor-based nanowires (NW) degrade the performance of electronic devices, requiring refined concepts for controlling charge carrier conductivity. Here, we demonstrate remote Si delta (δ)-doping of radial GaAs-AlGaAs core-shell NWs that unambiguously exhibit a strongly confined electron gas with enhanced low-temperature field-effect mobilities up to 5 × 10(3) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1). The spatial separation between the high-mobility free electron gas at the NW core-shell interface and the Si dopants in the shell is directly verified by atom probe tomographic (APT) analysis, band-profile calculations, and transport characterization in advanced field-effect transistor (FET) geometries, demonstrating powerful control over the free electron gas density and conductivity. Multigated NW-FETs allow us to spatially resolve channel width- and crystal phase-dependent variations in electron gas density and mobility along single NW-FETs. Notably, dc output and transfer characteristics of these n-type depletion mode NW-FETs reveal excellent drain current saturation and record low subthreshold slopes of 70 mV/dec at on/off ratios >10(4)-10(5) at room temperature.

Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy of silanized silicon quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuntermann, Volker; Cimpean, Carla; Brehm, Georg; Sauer, Guido; Kryschi, Carola; Wiggers, Hartmut

2008-03-01

Excitonic properties of colloidal silicon quantum dots (Si qdots) with mean sizes of 4nm were examined using stationary and time-resolved optical spectroscopy. Chemically stable silicon oxide shells were prepared by controlled surface oxidation and silanization of HF-etched Si qdots. The ultrafast relaxation dynamics of photogenerated excitons in Si qdot colloids were studied on the picosecond time scale from 0.3psto2.3ns using femtosecond-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy. The time evolution of the transient absorption spectra of the Si qdots excited with a 150fs pump pulse at 390nm was observed to consist of decays of various absorption transitions of photoexcited electrons in the conduction band which overlap with both the photoluminescence and the photobleaching of the valence band population density. Gaussian deconvolution of the spectroscopic data allowed for disentangling various carrier relaxation processes involving electron-phonon and phonon-phonon scatterings or arising from surface-state trapping. The initial energy and momentum relaxation of hot carriers was observed to take place via scattering by optical phonons within 0.6ps . Exciton capturing by surface states forming shallow traps in the amorphous SiOx shell was found to occur with a time constant of 4ps , whereas deeper traps presumably localized in the Si-SiOx interface gave rise to exciton trapping processes with time constants of 110 and 180ps . Electron transfer from initially populated, higher-lying surface states to the conduction band of Si qdots (>2nm) was observed to take place within 400 or 700fs .

A model calculation of coherence effects in the elastic backscattering of very low energy electrons (1-20 eV) from amorphous ice.

PubMed

Liljequist, David

2012-01-01

Backscattering of very low energy electrons in thin layers of amorphous ice is known to provide experimental data for the elastic and inelastic cross sections and indicates values to be expected in liquid water. The extraction of cross sections was based on a transport analysis consistent with Monte Carlo simulation of electron trajectories. However, at electron energies below 20 eV, quantum coherence effects may be important and trajectory-based methods may be in significant error. This possibility is here investigated by calculating quantum multiple elastic scattering of electrons in a simple model of a very small, thin foil of amorphous ice. The average quantum multiple elastic scattering of electrons is calculated for a large number of simulated foils, using a point-scatterer model for the water molecule and taking inelastic absorption into account. The calculation is compared with a corresponding trajectory simulation. The difference between average quantum scattering and trajectory simulation at energies below about 20 eV is large, in particular in the forward scattering direction, and is found to be almost entirely due to coherence effects associated with the short-range order in the amorphous ice. For electrons backscattered at the experimental detection angle (45° relative to the surface normal) the difference is however small except at electron energies below about 10 eV. Although coherence effects are in general found to be strong, the mean free path values derived by trajectory-based analysis may actually be in fair agreement with the result of an analysis based on quantum scattering, at least for electron energies larger than about 10 eV.

Investigations and Applications of Field- and Photo-emitted Electron Beams from a Radio Frequency Gun

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Panuganti, SriHarsha

Production of quality electron bunches using e cient ways of generation is a crucial aspect of accelerator technology. Radio frequency electron guns are widely used to generate and rapidly accelerate electron beams to relativistic energies. In the current work, we primarily study the charge generation processes of photoemission and eld emission inside an RF gun installed at Fermilab's High Brightness Electron Source Laboratory (HBESL). Speci cally, we study and characterize second-order nonlinear photoemission from a Cesium Telluride (Cs 2Te) semiconductor photocathode, and eld emission from carbon based cathodes including diamond eld emission array (DFEA) and carbon nanotube (CNT) cathodes locatedmore » in the RF gun's cavity. Finally, we discuss the application experiments conducted at the facility to produce soft x-rays via inverse Compton scattering (ICS), and to generate uniformly lled ellipsoidal bunches and temporally shaped electron beams from the Cs 2Te photocathode.« less

Effects of magnetic field on electron-electron intersubband scattering rates in quantum wells.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kempa, K.; Zhou, Y.; Engelbrecht, J.; Bakshi, P.

2001-03-01

Electron-electron scattering dominates the physics of carrier relaxation in quantum nano-structures used as active regions of THz radiation sources. This is the limiting mechanism in achieving population inversion, and reducing its deleterious effects could clear the way to a THz laser. We study here the inter-subband relaxation processes due to the electron-electron scattering in quantum well structures, in a magnetic field. We obtain the scattering rate from the imaginary part of the electron self-energy in the random phase approximation, extending our earlier studies [1] to nonzero magnetic fields. We find that the scattering rate is peaked at two possible sets of arrangements of the Landau levels (LL) of the two subbands of interest. The first set occurs when the LL of both subbands align, and the other when the LL misalign, so that the LL of one subband lie exactly in the middle between those of the other subband. Experiments on various quantum cascade structures show that the misaligned set of transitions is completely suppressed. >From our calculations this implies that there is no population inversion in those structures. Work supported by US Army Research Office. [1] K. Kempa, P. Bakshi, J. R. Engelbrecht, and Y. Zhou, Phys. Rev. B61, 11083 (2000).

Characterization and analysis of thermoelectric transport using SPB model in nanostructured aluminum doped zinc tellurium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhaskar, Ankam; Pai, Yi-Hsuan; Liu, Chia-Jyi

2017-11-01

Low-temperature electronic and thermal transport measurements are carried out on nanostructured Zn1-x Al x Te (0  ⩽  x  ⩽  0.15) fabricated using hydrothermal synthesis followed by evacuated-and-encapsulated sintering. A single parabolic band with acoustic phonon scattering is used to analyze thermoelectric transport data. It is found that reduced Fermi energy gets closer to the valence band edge and density of states effective mass, effective density of states, and Hall factor decrease with increasing x in doped samples. The chemical carrier concentration, carrier density independent mobility, β, and theoretical zT values increase with increasing x in doped samples. The nanostructured Zn1-x Al x Te exhibits significant reduction of thermal conductivity at 300 K (1.82-3.71 W m-1 K-1) as compared to bulk ZnTe (18 W m-1 K-1). The point-defect scattering and phonon-grain scattering play an important role in reducing the lattice thermal conductivity. In addition, partial substitution of Al3+ for Zn2+ significantly improves both the power factor and zT values.

High Electron Mobility and Insights into Temperature-Dependent Scattering Mechanisms in InAsSb Nanowires.

PubMed

Boland, Jessica L; Amaduzzi, Francesca; Sterzl, Sabrina; Potts, Heidi; Herz, Laura M; Fontcuberta I Morral, Anna; Johnston, Michael B

2018-06-13

InAsSb nanowires are promising elements for thermoelectric devices, infrared photodetectors, high-speed transistors, as well as thermophotovoltaic cells. By changing the Sb alloy fraction the mid-infrared bandgap energy and thermal conductivity may be tuned for specific device applications. Using both terahertz and Raman noncontact probes, we show that Sb alloying increases the electron mobility in the nanowires by over a factor of 3 from InAs to InAs 0.65 Sb 0.35 . We also extract the temperature-dependent electron mobility via both terahertz and Raman spectroscopy, and we report the highest electron mobilities for InAs 0.65 Sb 0.35 nanowires to date, exceeding 16,000 cm 2 V -1 s -1 at 10 K.

Optically detected cyclotron resonance investigations on 4H and 6H SiC: Band-structure and transport properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, B. K.; Hofmann, D. M.; Volm, D.; Chen, W. M.; Son, N. T.; Janzén, E.

2000-02-01

We present experimental data on the band-structure and high-mobility transport properties of 6H and 4H-SiC epitaxial films based on optically detected cyclotron resonance investigations. From the orientational dependence of the electron effective mass in 6H-SiC we obtain direct evidence for the camels back nature of the conduction band between the M and L points. The broadening of the resonance signal in 4H-SiC as a function of temperature is used to extract information on electron mobilities and to conclude on the role of the different scattering mechanisms. Under high microwave powers an enhancement of the electron effective mass is found which is explained by a coupling of the electrons with longitudinal optical phonons.

Laser-induced free-free transitions in elastic electron scattering from CO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Musa, Mohamed; MacDonald, Amy; Tidswell, Lisa; Holmes, Jim; St. Francis Xavier Laser Scattering Lab Team

2011-03-01

This report presents measurements of laser-induced free-free transitions of electrons scattered from CO2 molecules in the ground electronic state at incident electron energies of 3.8 and 5.8 eV under pulsed CO2 laser field. The differential cross section of free-free transitions involving absorption and emission of up to two photons were measured at various scattering angles with the polarization of the laser either parallel with or perpendicular to the the momentum change vector of the scattered electrons. The results of the parallel geometry are found to be in qualitative agreement with the predictions of the Kroll-Watson approximation within the experimental uncertainty whereas those of the perpendicular geometry show marked discrepancy with the Kroll-Watson predictions. This work was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the St. Francis Xavier University Council for Research.

Diffuse Surface Scattering in the Plasmonic Resonances of Ultralow Electron Density Nanospheres.

PubMed

Monreal, R Carmina; Antosiewicz, Tomasz J; Apell, S Peter

2015-05-21

Localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) have recently been identified in extremely diluted electron systems obtained by doping semiconductor quantum dots. Here, we investigate the role that different surface effects, namely, electronic spill-out and diffuse surface scattering, play in the optical properties of these ultralow electron density nanosystems. Diffuse scattering originates from imperfections or roughness at a microscopic scale on the surface. Using an electromagnetic theory that describes this mechanism in conjunction with a dielectric function including the quantum size effect, we find that the LSPRs show an oscillatory behavior in both position and width for large particles and a strong blue shift in energy and an increased width for smaller radii, consistent with recent experimental results for photodoped ZnO nanocrystals. We thus show that the commonly ignored process of diffuse surface scattering is a more important mechanism affecting the plasmonic properties of ultralow electron density nanoparticles than the spill-out effect.

Electron-cyclotron wave scattering by edge density fluctuations in ITER

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsironis, Christos; Peeters, Arthur G.; Isliker, Heinz; Strintzi, Dafni; Chatziantonaki, Ioanna; Vlahos, Loukas

2009-11-01

The effect of edge turbulence on the electron-cyclotron wave propagation in ITER is investigated with emphasis on wave scattering, beam broadening, and its influence on localized heating and current drive. A wave used for electron-cyclotron current drive (ECCD) must cross the edge of the plasma, where density fluctuations can be large enough to bring on wave scattering. The scattering angle due to the density fluctuations is small, but the beam propagates over a distance of several meters up to the resonance layer and even small angle scattering leads to a deviation of several centimeters at the deposition location. Since the localization of ECCD is crucial for the control of neoclassical tearing modes, this issue is of great importance to the ITER design. The wave scattering process is described on the basis of a Fokker-Planck equation, where the diffusion coefficient is calculated analytically as well as computed numerically using a ray tracing code.

Solar flare ionization in the mesosphere observed by coherent-scatter radar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, J. W.; Bowhill, S. A.

1986-01-01

The coherent-scatter technique, as used with the Urbana radar, is able to measure relative changes in electron density at one altitude during the progress of a solar flare when that altitude contains a statistically steady turbulent layer. This work describes the analysis of Urbana coherent-scatter data from the times of 13 solar flares in the period from 1978 to 1983. Previous methods of measuring electron density changes in the D-region are summarized. Models of X-ray spectra, photoionization rates, and ion-recombination reaction schemes are reviewed. The coherent-scatter technique is briefly described, and a model is developed which relates changes in scattered power to changes in electron density. An analysis technique is developed using X-ray flux data from geostationary satellites and coherent scatter data from the Urbana radar which empirically distinguishes between proposed D-region ion-chemical schemes, and estimates the nonflare ion-pair production rate.

Thermoelectric band engineering: The role of carrier scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Witkoske, Evan; Wang, Xufeng; Lundstrom, Mark; Askarpour, Vahid; Maassen, Jesse

2017-11-01

Complex electronic band structures, with multiple valleys or bands at the same or similar energies, can be beneficial for thermoelectric performance, but the advantages can be offset by inter-valley and inter-band scattering. In this paper, we demonstrate how first-principles band structures coupled with recently developed techniques for rigorous simulation of electron-phonon scattering provide the capabilities to realistically assess the benefits and trade-offs associated with these materials. We illustrate the approach using n-type silicon as a model material and show that intervalley scattering is strong. This example shows that the convergence of valleys and bands can improve thermoelectric performance, but the magnitude of the improvement depends sensitively on the relative strengths of intra- and inter-valley electron scattering. Because anisotropy of the band structure also plays an important role, a measure of the benefit of band anisotropy in the presence of strong intervalley scattering is presented.

Correction of scatter in megavoltage cone-beam CT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spies, L.; Ebert, M.; Groh, B. A.; Hesse, B. M.; Bortfeld, T.

2001-03-01

The role of scatter in a cone-beam computed tomography system using the therapeutic beam of a medical linear accelerator and a commercial electronic portal imaging device (EPID) is investigated. A scatter correction method is presented which is based on a superposition of Monte Carlo generated scatter kernels. The kernels are adapted to both the spectral response of the EPID and the dimensions of the phantom being scanned. The method is part of a calibration procedure which converts the measured transmission data acquired for each projection angle into water-equivalent thicknesses. Tomographic reconstruction of the projections then yields an estimate of the electron density distribution of the phantom. It is found that scatter produces cupping artefacts in the reconstructed tomograms. Furthermore, reconstructed electron densities deviate greatly (by about 30%) from their expected values. The scatter correction method removes the cupping artefacts and decreases the deviations from 30% down to about 8%.

Electrical resistivity of CuAlMo thin films grown at room temperature by dc magnetron sputtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Birkett, Martin; Penlington, Roger

2016-07-01

We report on the thickness dependence of electrical resistivity of CuAlMo films grown by dc magnetron sputtering on glass substrates at room temperature. The electrical resistance of the films was monitored in situ during their growth in the thickness range 10-1000 nm. By theoretically modelling the evolution of resistivity during growth we were able to gain an insight into the dominant electrical conduction mechanisms with increasing film thickness. For thicknesses in the range 10-25 nm the electrical resistivity is found to be a function of the film surface roughness and is well described by Namba’s model. For thicknesses of 25-40 nm the experimental data was most accurately fitted using the Mayadas and Shatkes model which accounts for grain boundary scattering of the conduction electrons. Beyond 40 nm, the thickness of the film was found to be the controlling factor and the Fuchs-Sonheimer (FS) model was used to fit the experimental data, with diffuse scattering of the conduction electrons at the two film surfaces. By combining the Fuchs and Namba (FN) models a suitable correlation between theoretical and experimental resistivity can be achieved across the full CuAlMo film thickness range of 10-1000 nm. The irreversibility of resistance for films of thickness >200 nm, which demonstrated bulk conductivity, was measured to be less than 0.03% following subjection to temperature cycles of -55 and +125 °C and the temperature co-efficient of resistance was less than ±15 ppm °C-1.

Direct observation and theory of trajectory-dependent electronic energy losses in medium-energy ion scattering.

PubMed

Hentz, A; Parkinson, G S; Quinn, P D; Muñoz-Márquez, M A; Woodruff, D P; Grande, P L; Schiwietz, G; Bailey, P; Noakes, T C Q

2009-03-06

The energy spectrum associated with scattering of 100 keV H+ ions from the outermost few atomic layers of Cu(111) in different scattering geometries provides direct evidence of trajectory-dependent electronic energy loss. Theoretical simulations, combining standard Monte Carlo calculations of the elastic scattering trajectories with coupled-channel calculations to describe inner-shell ionization and excitation as a function of impact parameter, reproduce the effects well and provide a means for far more complete analysis of medium-energy ion scattering data.

Investigation of the effect of scattering centers on low dimensional nanowire channel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cariappa, K. S.; Shukla, Raja; Sarkar, Niladri

2018-05-01

In this work, we studied the effect of scattering centers on the electron density profiles of a one dimensional Nanowire channel. Density Matrix Formalism is used for calculating the local electron densities at room temperature. Various scattering centers have been simulated in the channel. The nearest neighbor tight binding method is applied to construct the Hamiltonian of nanoscale devices. We invoke scattering centers by adding local scattering potentials to the Hamiltonian. This analysis could give an insight into the understanding and utilization of defects for device engineering.

Electrostatic Levitation Technique for Investigations of Physical Properties of Liquid States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okada, Junpei; Ishikawa, Takehiko; Paradis, Paul-Francois; Yoda, Shinichi

Electrostatic levitator (ESL) levitates a charged sample in a high vacuum using computer con-trolled electrostatic fields [1]. It can levitate materials such as metals, semiconductors, and some insulators. Sample temperature can be varied over a wide range, and samples can be deeply undercooled. We have been engaged in the research and development of the electro-static levitation technique with the aim of performing levitation dissolution experiments in the International Space Station (ISS). Our device for the electrostatic levitation dissolution test has been developed for experiments on the ISS. To this end, the system is designed to be compact and portable so that it can be launched by rocket and used for experiments in the limited space on the ISS. Accordingly, the device can be installed not just on the ISS or our research laboratory, but also in various external sites. We devised a plan to install the electrostatic levitation system in a site other than the ISS to study atomic structure and electron structure of ultra-high-temperature liquids. We mounted our system on third generation synchrotron radiation facility "SPring-8" in Japan, to investigate the atomic and electron structures of high-temperature liquids. The SPring-8 is an experimental facility that allows use of the most powerful X-rays in the world. We conducted a variety of experiments on ultra-high-temperature liquids using SPring-8. The X-ray is ideal for exploring atomic structure and electron structure. Since the X-ray is an electromagnetic wave, it interacts with electrons. In addition, most electrons gather around the atomic nucleus. By close analysis of the scattered x-rays, we can determine its atomic structure and electron structure in detail. In this talk, we introduce an x-ray Compton scattering and x-ray Raman scattering measurements on liquid aluminum and silicon. [1] W. -K. Rhim, et al, Rev. Sci. Instrum. (1985) 56 307.

Measuring the Weak Charge of the Proton via Elastic Electron-Proton Scattering

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jones, Donald C.

2015-10-01

The Qweak experiment which ran in Hall C at Jefferson Lab in Newport News, VA, and completed data taking in May 2012, measured the weak charge of the proton Q p W via elastic electron-proton scattering. Longitudinally polarized electrons were scattered from an unpolarized liquid hydrogen target. The helicity of the electron beam was flipped at approximately 1 kHz between left and right spin states. The Standard Model predicts a small parity-violating asymmetry of scattering rates between right and left helicity states due to the weak interaction. An initial result using 4% of the data was published in October 2013more » [1] with a measured parity-violating asymmetry of -279 ± 35(stat) ± 31 (syst) ppb. This asymmetry, along with other data from parity-violating electron scattering experiments, provided the world's first determination of the weak charge of the proton. The weak charge of the proton was found to be p W = 0.064 ± 0.012, in good agreement with the Standard Model prediction of p W(SM) = 0.0708 ± 0.0003[2].« less

Precision Møller Polarimetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henry, William; Jefferson Lab Hall A Collaboration

2017-09-01

Jefferson Lab's cutting-edge parity-violating electron scattering program has increasingly stringent requirements for systematic errors. Beam polarimetry is often one of the dominant systematic errors in these experiments. A new Møller Polarimeter in Hall A of Jefferson Lab (JLab) was installed in 2015 and has taken first measurements for a polarized scattering experiment. Upcoming parity violation experiments in Hall A include CREX, PREX-II, MOLLER and SOLID with the latter two requiring <0.5% precision on beam polarization measurements. The polarimeter measures the Møller scattering rates of the polarized electron beam incident upon an iron target placed in a saturating magnetic field. The spectrometer consists of four focusing quadrapoles and one momentum selection dipole. The detector is designed to measure the scattered and knock out target electrons in coincidence. Beam polarization is extracted by constructing an asymmetry from the scattering rates when the incident electron spin is parallel and anti-parallel to the target electron spin. Initial data will be presented. Sources of systematic errors include target magnetization, spectrometer acceptance, the Levchuk effect, and radiative corrections which will be discussed. National Science Foundation.

Electron kinetic effects on interferometry, polarimetry and Thomson scattering measurements in burning plasmas (invited).

PubMed

Mirnov, V V; Brower, D L; Den Hartog, D J; Ding, W X; Duff, J; Parke, E

2014-11-01

At anticipated high electron temperatures in ITER, the effects of electron thermal motion on Thomson scattering (TS), toroidal interferometer/polarimeter (TIP), and poloidal polarimeter (PoPola) diagnostics will be significant and must be accurately treated. The precision of the previous lowest order linear in τ = Te/mec(2) model may be insufficient; we present a more precise model with τ(2)-order corrections to satisfy the high accuracy required for ITER TIP and PoPola diagnostics. The linear model is extended from Maxwellian to a more general class of anisotropic electron distributions that allows us to take into account distortions caused by equilibrium current, ECRH, and RF current drive effects. The classical problem of the degree of polarization of incoherent Thomson scattered radiation is solved analytically exactly without any approximations for the full range of incident polarizations, scattering angles, and electron thermal motion from non-relativistic to ultra-relativistic. The results are discussed in the context of the possible use of the polarization properties of Thomson scattered light as a method of Te measurement relevant to ITER operational scenarios.

Picosecond Thermal Dynamics in an Underdense Plasma Measured with Thomson Scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haberberger, D.; Katz, J.; Bucht, S.; Davies, A.; Bromage, J.; Zuegel, J. D.; Froula, D. H.; Trines, R.; Bingham, R.; Sadler, J.; Norreys, P. A.

2017-10-01

Field-ionized underdense plasmas have many promising applications within the laser-plasma interaction field: nuclear fusion, particle accelerators, x-ray sources, and laser-plasma amplification. Having complete knowledge of the plasma dynamics is essential to establishing optimal parameters for a given application. Here picosecond-resolved Thomson scattering measurements have been used to determine the electron thermal dynamics of an underdense ( 1019/cm) H2 plasma irradiated by a 60-ps, 1053-nm laser pulse with an intensity of 2 × 1014 W/cm2. The picosecond-resolved spectra were obtained with a novel pulse-front tilt compensated streaked optical spectrometer. The electron temperature was observed to rise from an initial 5 eV to a density-dependent plateau in 23 ps. Simulation results indicate that inverse bremsstrahlung heating, radiative cooling, and radial conduction cooling all play an important role in modeling the thermal dynamics. This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration under Award Number DE-NA0001944.

X-ray Raman spectroscopy of lithium-ion battery electrolyte solutions in a flow cell.

PubMed

Ketenoglu, Didem; Spiekermann, Georg; Harder, Manuel; Oz, Erdinc; Koz, Cevriye; Yagci, Mehmet C; Yilmaz, Eda; Yin, Zhong; Sahle, Christoph J; Detlefs, Blanka; Yavaş, Hasan

2018-03-01

The effects of varying LiPF 6 salt concentration and the presence of lithium bis(oxalate)borate additive on the electronic structure of commonly used lithium-ion battery electrolyte solvents (ethylene carbonate-dimethyl carbonate and propylene carbonate) have been investigated. X-ray Raman scattering spectroscopy (a non-resonant inelastic X-ray scattering method) was utilized together with a closed-circle flow cell. Carbon and oxygen K-edges provide characteristic information on the electronic structure of the electrolyte solutions, which are sensitive to local chemistry. Higher Li + ion concentration in the solvent manifests itself as a blue-shift of both the π* feature in the carbon edge and the carbonyl π* feature in the oxygen edge. While these oxygen K-edge results agree with previous soft X-ray absorption studies on LiBF 4 salt concentration in propylene carbonate, carbon K-edge spectra reveal a shift in energy, which can be explained with differing ionic conductivities of the electrolyte solutions.

Electron scattering wings on lines in interacting supernovae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Chenliang; Chevalier, Roger A.

2018-03-01

We consider the effect of electron scattering on lines emitted as a result of supernova interaction with a circumstellar medium, assuming that the scattering occurs in ionized gas in the pre-shock circumstellar medium. The single scattering case gives the broad component in the limit of low optical depth, showing a velocity full width half-maximum that is close to the thermal velocities of electrons. The line shape is approximately exponential at low velocities and steepens at higher velocities. At higher optical depths, the line profile remains exponential at low velocities, but wings strengthen with increasing optical depth. In addition to the line width, the ratio of narrow to broad (scattered) line strength is a possible diagnostic of the gas. The results depend on the density profile of the circumstellar gas, especially if the scattering and photon creation occur in different regions. We apply the scattering model to a number of supernovae, including Type IIn and Type Ia-circumstellar medium (CSM) events. The asymmetry to the red found in some cases can be explained by scattering in a fast wind region that is indicated by observations.

Heat-Flux Measurements from Collective Thomson-Scattering Spectra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henchen, R. J.; Hu, S. X.; Katz, J.; Froula, D. H.; Rozmus, W.

2015-11-01

Collective Thomson scattering was used to measure heat flux in coronal plasmas. The relative amplitude of the Thomson-scattered power into the up- and downshifted electron plasma wave features was used to determine the flux of electrons moving along the temperature gradient at three to four times the electron thermal velocity. Simultaneously, the ion-acoustic wave features were measured. Their relative amplitude is used to measure the flux of the return-current electrons. The frequencies of these ion-acoustic and electron plasma wave features provide local measurements of the electron temperature and density. These spectra were obtained at five locations along the temperature gradient in a laser-produced blowoff plasma. These measurements of plasma parameters are used to infer the Spitzer -Härm flux qSH = - κ∇Te and are in good agreement with the values of the heat flux measured from the scattering-feature asymmetries. This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration under Award Number DE-NA0001944.

Exact Time-Dependent Exchange-Correlation Potential in Electron Scattering Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suzuki, Yasumitsu; Lacombe, Lionel; Watanabe, Kazuyuki; Maitra, Neepa T.

2017-12-01

We identify peak and valley structures in the exact exchange-correlation potential of time-dependent density functional theory that are crucial for time-resolved electron scattering in a model one-dimensional system. These structures are completely missed by adiabatic approximations that, consequently, significantly underestimate the scattering probability. A recently proposed nonadiabatic approximation is shown to correctly capture the approach of the electron to the target when the initial Kohn-Sham state is chosen judiciously, and it is more accurate than standard adiabatic functionals but ultimately fails to accurately capture reflection. These results may explain the underestimation of scattering probabilities in some recent studies on molecules and surfaces.

Analysis method for Thomson scattering diagnostics in GAMMA 10/PDX.

PubMed

Ohta, K; Yoshikawa, M; Yasuhara, R; Chikatsu, M; Shima, Y; Kohagura, J; Sakamoto, M; Nakasima, Y; Imai, T; Ichimura, M; Yamada, I; Funaba, H; Minami, T

2016-11-01

We have developed an analysis method to improve the accuracies of electron temperature measurement by employing a fitting technique for the raw Thomson scattering (TS) signals. Least square fitting of the raw TS signals enabled reduction of the error in the electron temperature measurement. We applied the analysis method to a multi-pass (MP) TS system. Because the interval between the MPTS signals is very short, it is difficult to separately analyze each Thomson scattering signal intensity by using the raw signals. We used the fitting method to obtain the original TS scattering signals from the measured raw MPTS signals to obtain the electron temperatures in each pass.

Characterization of Lorenz number with Seebeck coefficient measurement

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, Hyun-Sik; Materials Research Center, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Samsung Electronics, Suwon 443-803; Gibbs, Zachary M.

2015-04-01

In analyzing zT improvements due to lattice thermal conductivity (κ{sub L}) reduction, electrical conductivity (σ) and total thermal conductivity (κ{sub Total}) are often used to estimate the electronic component of the thermal conductivity (κ{sub E}) and in turn κ{sub L} from κ{sub L} = ∼ κ{sub Total} − LσT. The Wiedemann-Franz law, κ{sub E} = LσT, where L is Lorenz number, is widely used to estimate κ{sub E} from σ measurements. It is a common practice to treat L as a universal factor with 2.44 × 10{sup −8} WΩK{sup −2} (degenerate limit). However, significant deviations from the degenerate limit (approximatelymore » 40% or more for Kane bands) are known to occur for non-degenerate semiconductors where L converges to 1.5 × 10{sup −8} WΩK{sup −2} for acoustic phonon scattering. The decrease in L is correlated with an increase in thermopower (absolute value of Seebeck coefficient (S)). Thus, a first order correction to the degenerate limit of L can be based on the measured thermopower, |S|, independent of temperature or doping. We propose the equation: L=1.5+exp[−(|S|)/(116) ] (where L is in 10{sup −8} WΩK{sup −2} and S in μV/K) as a satisfactory approximation for L. This equation is accurate within 5% for single parabolic band/acoustic phonon scattering assumption and within 20% for PbSe, PbS, PbTe, Si{sub 0.8}Ge{sub 0.2} where more complexity is introduced, such as non-parabolic Kane bands, multiple bands, and/or alternate scattering mechanisms. The use of this equation for L rather than a constant value (when detailed band structure and scattering mechanism is not known) will significantly improve the estimation of lattice thermal conductivity.« less

Electron-beam conditioning by thomson scattering.

PubMed

Schroeder, C B; Esarey, E; Leemans, W P

2004-11-05

A method is proposed for conditioning electron beams via Thomson scattering. The conditioning provides a quadratic correlation between the electron energy deviation and the betatron amplitude of the electrons, which results in enhanced gain in free-electron lasers. Quantum effects imply conditioning must occur at high laser fluence and moderate electron energy. Conditioning of x-ray free-electron lasers should be achievable with present laser technology, leading to significant size and cost reductions of these large-scale facilities.

DROPOUT OF DIRECTIONAL ELECTRON INTENSITIES IN LARGE SOLAR ENERGETIC PARTICLE EVENTS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tan, Lun C.; Reames, Donald V., E-mail: ltan@umd.edu

2016-01-10

In the “gradual” solar energetic particle (SEP) event during solar cycle 23 we have observed the dispersionless modulation (“dropout”) in directional intensities of nonrelativistic electrons. The average duration of dropout periods is ∼0.8 hr, which is consistent with the correlation scale of solar wind turbulence. During the dropout period electrons could display scatter-free transport in an intermittent way. Also, we have observed a decrease in the anisotropic index of incident electrons with increasing electron energy (E{sub e}), while the index of scattered/reflected electrons is nearly independent of E{sub e}. We hence perform an observational examination of the correlation between the anisotropicmore » index of low-energy scattered/reflected electrons and the signature of the locally measured solar wind turbulence in the dissipation range, which is responsible for resonant scattering of nonrelativistic electrons. Since during the dropout period the slab turbulence fraction is dominant (0.8 ± 0.1), we pay close attention to the effect of slab fraction on the correlation examined. Our observation is consistent with the simulation result that in the dominance of the slab turbulence component there should exist a dispatched structure of magnetic flux tubes, along which electrons could be transported in a scatter-free manner. Since a similar phenomenon is exhibited in the “impulsive” SEP event, electron dropout should be a transport effect. Therefore, being different from most ion dropout events, which are due to a compact flare source, the dropout of directional electron intensities should be caused by the change of turbulence status in the solar wind.« less

Cross sections for electron collisions with nitric oxide

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Itikawa, Yukikazu, E-mail: yukitikawa@nifty.com

Cross section data are reviewed for electron collisions with nitric oxide. Collision processes considered are total scattering, elastic scattering, momentum transfer, excitations of rotational, vibrational, and electronic states, ionization, and dissociative electron attachment. After a survey of the literature (up to the end of 2015), recommended values of the cross section are determined, as far as possible.

Generalized pseudopotential approach for electron-atom scattering.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zarlingo, D. G.; Ishihara, T.; Poe, R. T.

1972-01-01

A generalized many-electron pseudopotential approach is presented for electron-neutral-atom scattering problems. A calculation based on this formulation is carried out for the singlet s-wave and p-wave electron-hydrogen phase shifts with excellent results. We compare the method with other approaches as well as discuss its applications for inelastic and rearrangement collision problems.

Vibrational excitation functions for inelastic and superelastic electron scattering from the ground-electronic state in hot CO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kato, H.; Kawahara, H.; Hoshino, M.; Tanaka, H.; Campbell, L.; Brunger, M. J.

2008-11-01

We report inelastic and superelastic excitation function measurements for electron scattering from the ground vibrational quantum (0 0 0), the bending vibrational quantum (0 1 0) and the unresolved first bending overtone (0 2 0) and symmetric stretch (1 0 0) modes of the ground-electronic state in hot (700 K) carbon dioxide ( CO) molecules. The incident electron energy range of these measurements was 1-9 eV, with the relevant excitation functions being measured at the respective electron scattering angles of 30°, 60°, 90° and 120°. Where possible comparison is made to the often quite limited earlier data, with satisfactory agreement typically being found to within the cited experimental errors.

Inelastic neutron scattering cross-section measurements on 7Li and 63,65Cu

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nyman, Markus; Belloni, Francesca; Ichinkhorloo, Dagvadorj; Pirovano, Elisa; Plompen, Arjan; Rouki, Chariklia

2017-09-01

The γ-ray production cross section for the 477.6-keV transition in 7Li following inelastic neutron scattering has been measured from the reaction threshold up to 18 MeV. This cross section is interesting as a possible standard for other inelastic scattering measurements. The experiment was conducted at the Geel Electron LINear Accelerator (GELINA) pulsed white neutron source with the Gamma Array for Inelastic Neutron Scattering (GAINS) spectrometer. Previous measurements of this cross section are reviewed and compared with our results. Recently, this cross section has also been calculated using the continuum discretized coupled-channels (CDCC) method. Experiments for studying neutrinoless double-β decay (2β0ν) or other very rare processes require greatly reducing the background radiation level (both intrinsic and external). Copper is a common shielding and structural material, used extensively in experiments such as COBRA, CUORE, EXO, GERDA, and MAJORANA. Understanding the background contribution arising from neutron interactions in Cu is important when searching for very weak experimental signals. Neutron inelastic scattering on natCu was investigated with GAINS. The results are compared with previous experimental data and evaluated nuclear data libraries.

Proposed imaging of the ultrafast electronic motion in samples using x-ray phase contrast.

PubMed

Dixit, Gopal; Slowik, Jan Malte; Santra, Robin

2013-03-29

Tracing the motion of electrons has enormous relevance to understanding ubiquitous phenomena in ultrafast science, such as the dynamical evolution of the electron density during complex chemical and biological processes. Scattering of ultrashort x-ray pulses from an electronic wave packet would appear to be the most obvious approach to image the electronic motion in real time and real space with the notion that such scattering patterns, in the far-field regime, encode the instantaneous electron density of the wave packet. However, recent results by Dixit et al. [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 109, 11636 (2012)] have put this notion into question and have shown that the scattering in the far-field regime probes spatiotemporal density-density correlations. Here, we propose a possible way to image the instantaneous electron density of the wave packet via ultrafast x-ray phase contrast imaging. Moreover, we show that inelastic scattering processes, which plague ultrafast scattering in the far-field regime, do not contribute in ultrafast x-ray phase contrast imaging as a consequence of an interference effect. We illustrate our general findings by means of a wave packet that lies in the time and energy range of the dynamics of valence electrons in complex molecular and biological systems. This present work offers a potential to image not only instantaneous snapshots of nonstationary electron dynamics, but also the laplacian of these snapshots which provide information about the complex bonding and topology of the charge distributions in the systems.

Proposed Imaging of the Ultrafast Electronic Motion in Samples using X-Ray Phase Contrast

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dixit, Gopal; Slowik, Jan Malte; Santra, Robin

2013-03-01

Tracing the motion of electrons has enormous relevance to understanding ubiquitous phenomena in ultrafast science, such as the dynamical evolution of the electron density during complex chemical and biological processes. Scattering of ultrashort x-ray pulses from an electronic wave packet would appear to be the most obvious approach to image the electronic motion in real time and real space with the notion that such scattering patterns, in the far-field regime, encode the instantaneous electron density of the wave packet. However, recent results by Dixit et al. [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 109, 11 636 (2012)] have put this notion into question and have shown that the scattering in the far-field regime probes spatiotemporal density-density correlations. Here, we propose a possible way to image the instantaneous electron density of the wave packet via ultrafast x-ray phase contrast imaging. Moreover, we show that inelastic scattering processes, which plague ultrafast scattering in the far-field regime, do not contribute in ultrafast x-ray phase contrast imaging as a consequence of an interference effect. We illustrate our general findings by means of a wave packet that lies in the time and energy range of the dynamics of valence electrons in complex molecular and biological systems. This present work offers a potential to image not only instantaneous snapshots of nonstationary electron dynamics, but also the Laplacian of these snapshots which provide information about the complex bonding and topology of the charge distributions in the systems.

Interfacial phonon scattering and transmission loss in > 1 µm thick silicon-on-insulator thin films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jiang, Puqing; Lindsay, Lucas R.; Huang, Xi

Scattering of phonons at boundaries of a crystal (grains, surfaces, or solid/solid interfaces) is characterized by the phonon wavelength, the angle of incidence, and the interface roughness, as historically evaluated using a specularity parameter p formulated by Ziman [Electrons and Phonons (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1960)]. This parameter was initially defined to determine the probability of a phonon specularly reflecting or diffusely scattering from the rough surface of a material. The validity of Ziman's theory as extended to solid/solid interfaces has not been previously validated. Here, to better understand the interfacial scattering of phonons and to test the validity of Ziman'smore » theory, we precisely measured the in-plane thermal conductivity of a series of Si films in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers by time-domain thermoreflectance (TDTR) for a Si film thickness range of 1–10 μm and a temperature range of 100–300 K. The Si/SiO 2 interface roughness was determined to be 0.11±0.04nm using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Furthermore, we compared our in-plane thermal conductivity measurements to theoretical calculations that combine first-principles phonon transport with Ziman's theory. Calculations using Ziman's specularity parameter significantly overestimate values from the TDTR measurements. We attribute this discrepancy to phonon transmission through the solid/solid interface into the substrate, which is not accounted for by Ziman's theory for surfaces. The phonons that are specularly transmitted into an amorphous layer will be sufficiently randomized by the time they come back to the crystalline Si layer, the effect of which is practically equivalent to a diffuse reflection at the interface. Finally, we derive a simple expression for the specularity parameter at solid/amorphous interfaces and achieve good agreement between calculations and measurement values.« less

Interfacial phonon scattering and transmission loss in > 1 µm thick silicon-on-insulator thin films

DOE PAGES

Jiang, Puqing; Lindsay, Lucas R.; Huang, Xi; ...

2018-05-17

Scattering of phonons at boundaries of a crystal (grains, surfaces, or solid/solid interfaces) is characterized by the phonon wavelength, the angle of incidence, and the interface roughness, as historically evaluated using a specularity parameter p formulated by Ziman [Electrons and Phonons (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1960)]. This parameter was initially defined to determine the probability of a phonon specularly reflecting or diffusely scattering from the rough surface of a material. The validity of Ziman's theory as extended to solid/solid interfaces has not been previously validated. Here, to better understand the interfacial scattering of phonons and to test the validity of Ziman'smore » theory, we precisely measured the in-plane thermal conductivity of a series of Si films in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers by time-domain thermoreflectance (TDTR) for a Si film thickness range of 1–10 μm and a temperature range of 100–300 K. The Si/SiO 2 interface roughness was determined to be 0.11±0.04nm using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Furthermore, we compared our in-plane thermal conductivity measurements to theoretical calculations that combine first-principles phonon transport with Ziman's theory. Calculations using Ziman's specularity parameter significantly overestimate values from the TDTR measurements. We attribute this discrepancy to phonon transmission through the solid/solid interface into the substrate, which is not accounted for by Ziman's theory for surfaces. The phonons that are specularly transmitted into an amorphous layer will be sufficiently randomized by the time they come back to the crystalline Si layer, the effect of which is practically equivalent to a diffuse reflection at the interface. Finally, we derive a simple expression for the specularity parameter at solid/amorphous interfaces and achieve good agreement between calculations and measurement values.« less

Electron elastic scattering off endo-fullerenes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dolmatov, Valeriy

2017-04-01

The given presentation highlights the physically transparent, relatively simple, and yet reasonably complete approximation to the problem of low-energy electron elastic scattering off endohedral fullerenes A@CN along with corresponding findings unraveled on its basis. It is believed that, as of today, the highlighted results provide the most complete information about features of e + A @CN elastic scattering brought about by the fullerene-cage-related, correlation-related, and polarization-related impacts of the individual and coupled members of the A@C60 target on the scattering process. Each of the impacts is shown to bring spectacular features into e + A @C60 scattering. A remarkable inherent quality of the developed approximation is its ability to account for mutual coupling between electronic excited configurations of CN with those of the encapsulated atom A without reference to complicated details of the electronic structure of CN itself. Spectacular effects in the scattering process, primarily associated with polarization of A@C60 by an incident electron, are thoughtfully detailed both quantitatively and qualitatively in a physically transparent manner for ease of understanding and convenience of the audience. This study was performed in collaboration with Professors M. Ya. Amusia, L. V. Chernysheva, and UNA undergraduate students. The past support by the NSF Grant PHY-1305085 is acknowledged.

Dual Vacancies: An Effective Strategy Realizing Synergistic Optimization of Thermoelectric Property in BiCuSeO.

PubMed

Li, Zhou; Xiao, Chong; Fan, Shaojuan; Deng, Yu; Zhang, Wenshuai; Ye, Bangjiao; Xie, Yi

2015-05-27

Vacancy is a very important class of phonon scattering center to reduce thermal conductivity for the development of high efficient thermoelectric materials. However, conventional monovacancy may also act as an electron or hole acceptor, thereby modifying the electrical transport properties and even worsening the thermoelectric performance. This issue urges us to create new types of vacancies that scatter phonons effectively while not deteriorating the electrical transport. Herein, taking BiCuSeO as an example, we first reported the successful synergistic optimization of electrical and thermal parameters through Bi/Cu dual vacancies. As expected, as compared to its pristine and monovacancy samples, these dual vacancies further increase the phonon scattering, which results in an ultra low thermal conductivity of 0.37 W m(-1) K(-1) at 750 K. Most importantly, the clear-cut evidence in positron annihilation unambiguously confirms the interlayer charge transfer between these Bi/Cu dual vacancies, which results in the significant increase of electrical conductivity with relatively high Seebeck coefficient. As a result, BiCuSeO with Bi/Cu dual vacancies shows a high ZT value of 0.84 at 750 K, which is superior to that of its native sample and monovacancies-dominant counterparts. These findings undoubtedly elucidate a new strategy and direction for rational design of high performance thermoelectric materials.

Using high pressure to study thermal transport and phonon scattering mechanisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hohensee, Gregory Thomas

The aerospace industry studies nanocomposites for heat dissipation and moderation of thermal expansion, and the semiconductor industry faces a Joule heating barrier in devices with high power density. My primary experimental tools are the diamond anvil cell (DAC) coupled with time-domain thermoreflectance (TDTR). TDTR is a precise optical method well-suited to measuring thermal conductivities and conductances at the nanoscale and across interfaces. The DAC-TDTR method yields thermal property data as a function of pressure, rather than temperature. This relatively unexplored independent variable can separate the components of thermal conductance and serve as an independent test for phonon-defect scattering models. I studied the effect of non-equilibrium thermal transport at the aluminum-coated surface of an exotic cuprate material Ca9La5Cu 24O41, which boasts a tenfold enhanced thermal conductivity along one crystalline axis where two-leg copper-oxygen spin-ladder structures carry heat in the form of thermalized magnetic excitations. Highly anisotropic materials are of interest for controlled thermal management applications, and the spin-ladder magnetic heat carriers ("magnons") are not well understood. I found that below room temperature, the apparent thermal conductivity of Ca9La5Cu24O41 depends on the frequency of the applied surface heating in TDTR. This occurs because the thermal penetration depth in the TDTR experiment is comparable to the length-scale for the equilibration of the magnons that are the dominant channel for heat conduction and the phonons that dominate the heat capacity. I applied a two-temperature model to analyze the TDTR data and extracted an effective volumetric magnon-phonon coupling parameter g for Ca9La5Cu24O 41 at temperatures from 75 K to 300 K; g varies by approximately two orders of magnitude over this range of temperature and has the value g = 1015 W m-3 K-1 near the peak of the thermal conductivity at T ≈ 180 K. To examine intrinsic phonon-mediated interface conductance between dissimilar materials, I applied DAC-TDTR to measure the thermal conductance of a series of metal-diamond interfaces as a function of pressure up to 50 GPa. The thermal conductance of interfaces between metals and diamond, which has a comparatively high Debye temperature, is often greater than can be accounted for by two phonon-processes, and the nature of heat transport between such dissimilar materials is central to the thermal design of composite materials. The high pressures achievable in a diamond anvil cell can significantly extend the metal phonon density of states to higher frequencies, and can also suppress extrinsic effects by greatly stiffening interface bonding. I measured the interface thermal conductances of Pb, Au0.95Pd0.05, Pt, and Al films deposited on Type 1A natural [100] and Type 2A synthetic [110] diamond anvils, from ambient pressure to 50 GPa. In all cases, the thermal conductances increase weakly or saturate to similar values at high pressure. My results suggest that anharmonic conductance at metal-diamond interfaces is controlled by partial transmission processes, where a diamond phonon that inelastically scatters at the interface absorbs or emits a metal phonon. The thermal conductivity and absolute electrical resistivity of metallic silicon have not been measured previously. I performed regular and beam-offset TDTR to establish the thermal conductivities of Si and Si0.991Ge 0.009 across the semiconductor-metal phase transition and up to 45 GPa. The thermal conductivities of metallic Si and Si(Ge) are comparable to aluminum and indicative of predominantly electronic heat carriers. Metallic Si and Si(Ge) have a transport anisotropy of approximately 1.4, similar to that of beryllium, due to the primitive hexagonal crystal structure. I used the Wiedemann-Franz law to derive the associated electrical resistivity, and found it consistent with the Bloch-Gruneisen model. Not all crystalline point defects are alike in how they scatter phonons and reduce the thermal conductivity of mixed crystals. Heat-carrying phonons in iron (Fe) doped MgO, or [Mg,Fe]O ferropericlase, are known to be resonantly scattered by interaction with a 3.3 THz electronic transition in the high-spin state of the Fe impurities. At sufficiently high pressures, the Fe atoms transition from a high-spin to a low-spin state, which eliminates the resonant interaction and reduces the Fe atoms to simpler point defect phonon scatterers. To study the behavior of phonon-defect scattering with and without this resonant scattering process, I measured the thermal conductivity of Mg0.92Fe0.08 O ferropericlase up to and above the 40--60 GPa spin transition. Fe-doped MgO (ferropericlase) is also a model system relevant to geophysical modeling of the Earth's core-mantle boundary, so data on its thermal transport under pressure is valuable in itself. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).

Reflective small angle electron scattering to characterize nanostructures on opaque substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Friedman, Lawrence H.; Wu, Wen-Li; Fu, Wei-En; Chien, Yunsan

2017-09-01

Feature sizes in integrated circuits (ICs) are often at the scale of 10 nm and are ever shrinking. ICs appearing in today's computers and hand held devices are perhaps the most prominent examples. These smaller feature sizes demand equivalent advances in fast and accurate dimensional metrology for both development and manufacturing. Techniques in use and continuing to be developed include X-ray based techniques, optical scattering, and of course the electron and scanning probe microscopy techniques. Each of these techniques has their advantages and limitations. Here, the use of small angle electron beam scattering measurements in a reflection mode (RSAES) to characterize the dimensions and the shape of nanostructures on flat and opaque substrates is demonstrated using both experimental and theoretical evidence. In RSAES, focused electrons are scattered at angles smaller than 1 ° with the assistance of electron optics typically used in transmission electron microscopy. A proof-of-concept experiment is combined with rigorous electron reflection simulations to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of RSAES as a method of non-destructive measurement of shapes of features less than 10 nm in size on flat and opaque substrates.

Reflective Small Angle Electron Scattering to Characterize Nanostructures on Opaque Substrates.

PubMed

Friedman, Lawrence H; Wu, Wen-Li; Fu, Wei-En; Chien, Yunsan

2017-09-01

Features sizes in integrated circuits (ICs) are often at the scale of 10 nm and are ever shrinking. ICs appearing in today's computers and hand held devices are perhaps the most prominent examples. These smaller feature sizes demand equivalent advances in fast and accurate dimensional metrology for both development and manufacturing. Techniques in use and continuing to be developed include X-ray based techniques, optical scattering and of course the electron and scanning probe microscopy techniques. Each of these techniques have their advantages and limitations. Here the use of small angle electron beam scattering measurements in a reflection mode (RSAES) to characterize the dimensions and the shape of nanostructures on flat and opaque substrates is demonstrated using both experimental and theoretical evidence. In RSAES, focused electrons are scattered at angles smaller than 1° with the assistance of electron optics typically used in transmission electron microscopy. A proof-of-concept experiment is combined with rigorous electron reflection simulations to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of RSAES as a method of non-destructive measurement of shapes of features less than 10 nm in size on flat and opaque substrates.

Disorder-driven metal-insulator-transition assisted by interband Coulomb repulsion in a surface transfer doped electron system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Francisco Sánchez-Royo, Juan

2012-12-01

The two-dimensional conducting properties of the Si(111) \\sqrt {3} \\times \\sqrt {3} surface doped by the charge surface transfer mechanism have been calculated in the frame of a semiclassical Drude-Boltzmann model considering donor scattering mechanisms. To perform these calculations, the required values of the carrier effective mass were extracted from reported angle-resolved photoemission results. The calculated doping dependence of the surface conductance reproduces experimental results reported and reveals an intricate metallization process driven by disorder and assisted by interband interactions. The system should behave as an insulator even at relatively low doping due to disorder. However, when doping increases, the system achieves to attenuate the inherent localization effects introduced by disorder and to conduct by percolation. The mechanism found by the system to conduct appears to be connected with the increasing of the carrier effective mass observed with doping, which seems to be caused by interband interactions involving the conducting band and deeper ones. This mass enhancement reduces the donor Bohr radius and, consequently, promotes the screening ability of the donor potential by the electron gas.

Nanowire electron scattering spectroscopy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hunt, Brian D. (Inventor); Bronikowski, Michael (Inventor); Wong, Eric W. (Inventor); von Allmen, Paul (Inventor); Oyafuso, Fabiano A. (Inventor)

2009-01-01

Methods and devices for spectroscopic identification of molecules using nanoscale wires are disclosed. According to one of the methods, nanoscale wires are provided, electrons are injected into the nanoscale wire; and inelastic electron scattering is measured via excitation of low-lying vibrational energy levels of molecules bound to the nanoscale wire.

Hybrid Theory of Electron-Hydrogenic Systems Elastic Scattering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bhatia, A. K.

2007-01-01

Accurate electron-hydrogen and electron-hydrogenic cross sections are required to interpret fusion experiments, laboratory plasma physics and properties of the solar and astrophysical plasmas. We have developed a method in which the short-range and long-range correlations can be included at the same time in the scattering equations. The phase shifts have rigorous lower bounds and the scattering lengths have rigorous upper bounds. The phase shifts in the resonance region can be used to calculate very accurately the resonance parameters.

The influence of current neutralization and multiple Coulomb scattering on the spatial dynamics of resistive sausage instability of a relativistic electron beam propagating in ohmic plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolesnikov, E. K.; Manuilov, A. S.; Petrov, V. S.; Klyushnikov, G. N.; Chernov, S. V.

2017-06-01

The influence of the current neutralization process, the phase mixing of the trajectories of electrons and multiple Coulomb scattering of electrons beam on the atoms of the background medium on the spatial increment of the growth of sausage instability of a relativistic electron beam propagating in ohmic plasma channel has been considered. It has been shown that the amplification of the current neutralization leads to a significant increase in this instability, and phase mixing and the process of multiple scattering of electrons beam on the atoms of the background medium are the stabilizing factor.

Relativistic Electron Beams, Forward Thomson Scattering, and ``Raman'' Scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simon, A.

1999-11-01

Experiments at LLE (see abstract by D. Hicks at this meeting) show that surprisingly high potentials (+0.5 to 2.0 MV) develop in plasmas irradiated by high-energy lasers. The highly conducting plasma will be a near equipotential and should attract return-current electrons in a radial beam-like distribution, especially in the outer low-density regions. This will initiate the BOT instability, creating large plasma waves with phase velocities close to c. Coherent Thomson scattering of the interaction beam from these waves must occur primarily in the forward direction. This will appear to be ``backward SRS'' upon reflection from a critical surface. We will show that the resulting spectrum is fairly broad and at short wavelengths. Collisional absorption of the scattered EM wave limits the reflectivity to low values (depending on the density scale length). Thus, a distinct difference exists between the spectrum for thick targets (nc surface present) and thin targets (gasbags, etc., from which primarily a narrow absolute-SRS backward emission occurs, at the peak density). The thick-target, reflected-wave angular distribution will be concentrated in the backward direction. The corresponding plasma-wave k-vector will be a fraction of k_0. The variation of the spectrum with potential and angle will be discussed. Comparison will be made with recent results at LLE and LLNL. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Inertial Confinement Fusion under Cooperative Agreement No. DE-FC03-92SF19460, UR, and NYSERDA.

Electron– and positron–molecule scattering: development of the molecular convergent close-coupling method

DOE PAGES

Zammit, Mark C.; Fursa, Dmitry V.; Savage, Jeremy S.; ...

2017-05-22

Starting from first principles, this tutorial describes the development of the adiabatic-nuclei convergent close-coupling (CCC) method and its application to electron and (single-centre) positron scattering from diatomic molecules. In this paper, we give full details of the single-centre expansion CCC method, namely the formulation of the molecular target structure; solving the momentum-space coupled-channel Lippmann-Schwinger equation; deriving adiabatic-nuclei cross sections and calculatingmore » $V$-matrix elements. Selected results are presented for electron and positron scattering from molecular hydrogen H$$_2$$ and electron scattering from the vibrationally excited molecular hydrogen ion H$$_2^+$$ and its isotopologues (D$$_2^+$$, T$$_2^+$$, HD$^+$, HT$^+$ and TD$^+$). Finally, convergence in both the close-coupling (target state) and projectile partial-wave expansions of fixed-nuclei electron- and positron-molecule scattering calculations is demonstrated over a broad energy-range and discussed in detail. In general the CCC results are in good agreement with experiments.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kyriakou, Ioanna; Emfietzoglou, Dimitris; Nojeh, Alireza

A systematic study of electron-beam penetration and backscattering in multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) materials for beam energies of {approx}0.3 to 30 keV is presented based on event-by-event Monte Carlo simulation of electron trajectories using state-of-the-art scattering cross sections. The importance of different analytic approximations for computing the elastic and inelastic electron-scattering cross sections for MWCNTs is emphasized. We offer a simple parameterization for the total and differential elastic-scattering Mott cross section, using appropriate modifications to the Browning formula and the Thomas-Fermi screening parameter. A discrete-energy-loss approach to inelastic scattering based on dielectric theory is adopted using different descriptions of themore » differential cross section. The sensitivity of electron penetration and backscattering parameters to the underlying scattering models is examined. Our simulations confirm the recent experimental backscattering data on MWCNT forests and, in particular, the steep increase of the backscattering yield at sub-keV energies as well as the sidewalls escape effect at high-beam energies.« less

The Charged Aerosol Release Experiment (CARE)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernhardt, P. A.; Ganguli, G.; Lampe, M.; Scales, W. A.

2005-12-01

The physics of radar scatter from charged particulates in the upper atmosphere will be studied with the Charged Aerosol Release Experiment (CARE). In 2008, two rocket payloads are being designed for launch North America. The purpose of the CARE program is to identify the mechanisms for radar scatter from polar mesospheric clouds. Polar mesospheric summer echoes (PMSE) are observed at high latitudes when small concentrations of electrons (one-thousand per cubic cm) become attached to sub-micron dust particles. Radar in the VHF (30-300 MHz) frequency range have seen 30 dB enhancements in radar echoes coincident with formation of ice near 85 km altitude. Radar echoes from electrons in the vicinity of charged dust have been observed for frequencies exceeding 1 GHz. Some fundamental questions that remain about the scatting process are: (1) What is the relative importance of turbulent scatter versus incoherent (i.e., Thompson) scatter from individual electrons? (2) What produces the inhomogeneous electron/dust plasma? (3) How is the radar scatter influenced by the density of background electrons, plasma instabilities and turbulence, and photo detachment of electrons from the particulates? These questions will be addressed when the CARE program releases 50 kg of dust particles in an expanding shell at about 300 km altitude. The dust will be manufactured by the chemical release payload to provide particulate sizes in the 10 to 1000 nm range. The expanding dust shell will collect electrons making dense, heavy particles the move the negative charges across magnetic field lines. Plasma turbulence and electron acceleration will be formed from the charge separation between the magnetized oxygen ions in the background ionosphere and the streaming negatively charged dust. Simulations of this process provide estimates of plasma structure which can scatter radar. As the particulates settle through the lower thermosphere into the mesosphere, artificial mesospheric clouds will be formed. Radar scatter form this artificial layer will be compared with natural PMSE observations. Along with the chemical release rocket, in situ probes with a separate instrumented payload will be used to measure dust density, electric fields, plasma density and velocity, and radio wave scattering.

Modeling and design of radiative hydrodynamic experiments with X-ray Thomson Scattering measurements on NIF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, K. H.; Lefevre, H. J.; Belancourt, P. X.; MacDonald, M. J.; Doeppner, T.; Keiter, P. A.; Kuranz, C. C.; Johnsen, E.

2017-10-01

Recent experiments at the National Ignition Facility studied the effect of radiation on shock-driven hydrodynamic instability growth. X-ray radiography images from these experiments indicate that perturbation growth is lower in highly radiative shocks compared to shocks with negligible radiation flux. The reduction in instability growth is attributed to ablation from higher temperatures in the foam for highly radiative shocks. The proposed design implements the X-ray Thomson Scattering (XRTS) technique in the radiative shock tube platform to measure electron temperatures and densities in the shocked foam. We model these experiments with CRASH, an Eulerian radiation hydrodynamics code with block-adaptive mesh refinement, multi-group radiation transport and electron heat conduction. Simulations are presented with SiO2 and carbon foams for both the high temperature, radiative shock and the low-temperature, hydrodynamic shock cases. Calculations from CRASH give estimations for shock speed, electron temperature, effective ionization, and other quantities necessary for designing the XRTS diagnostic measurement. This work is funded by the LLNL under subcontract B614207, and was performed under the auspices of the U.S. DOE by LLNL under Contract No. DE-AC52-07NA27344.

Positron Production in Multiphoton Light-by-Light Scattering

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Koffas, Thomas

2003-07-28

We present the results of an experimental study on e{sup +}e{sup -} pair production during the collision of a low emittance 46.6 GeV electron beam with terawatt laser pulses from a Nd:glass laser at 527 nm wavelength and with linear polarization. The experiment was conducted at the Final Focus Test Beam facility in the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. Results with a 49.1 GeV electron beam are also included. A signal of 106 {+-} 14 positrons for the 46.6 GeV electron beam case and of 22 {+-} 10 positrons for the 49.1 GcV case above background, has been detected. We interpretmore » the positrons as the products of a two-step process during which laser photons are backscattered to high energy gamma photons that absorb in their turn several laser photons in order to produce a e{sup +}e{sup -} pair. The data compare well with the existing theoretical models. This is the first observation in the laboratory of inelastic Light-by-Light scattering with only real photons. Alternatively, the data are interpreted as a manifestation of the spontaneous breakdown of the vacuum under the influence of an intense external alternating electric field.« less

Electrospun Conjugated Polymer/Fullerene Hybrid Fibers: Photoactive Blends, Conductivity through Tunneling-AFM, Light Scattering, and Perspective for Their Use in Bulk-Heterojunction Organic Solar Cells

DOE PAGES

Yang, Zhenhua; Moffa, Maria; Liu, Ying; ...

2018-01-25

Hybrid conjugated polymer/fullerene filaments based on MEH-PPV/PVP/PCBM were prepared by electrospinning, and their properties were assessed by scanning electron, atomic and lateral-force, tunneling, and confocal microscopies, as well as by attenuated-total-reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, photoluminescence quantum yield, and spatially resolved fluorescence. Highlighted features include the ribbon shape of the realized fibers and the persistence of a network serving as a template for heterogeneous active layers in solar cell devices. A set of favorable characteristics is evidenced in this way in terms of homogeneous charge-transport behavior and formation of effective interfaces for diffusion and dissociation of photogenerated excitons. The interactionmore » of the organic filaments with light, exhibiting specific light-scattering properties of the nanofibrous mat, might also contribute to spreading incident radiation across the active layers, thus potentially enhancing photovoltaic performance. Finally, this method might be applied to other electron donor–electron acceptor material systems for the fabrication of solar cell devices enhanced by nanofibrillar morphologies embedding conjugated polymers and fullerene compounds.« less

Electrospun Conjugated Polymer/Fullerene Hybrid Fibers: Photoactive Blends, Conductivity through Tunneling-AFM, Light Scattering, and Perspective for Their Use in Bulk-Heterojunction Organic Solar Cells

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, Zhenhua; Moffa, Maria; Liu, Ying

Hybrid conjugated polymer/fullerene filaments based on MEH-PPV/PVP/PCBM were prepared by electrospinning, and their properties were assessed by scanning electron, atomic and lateral-force, tunneling, and confocal microscopies, as well as by attenuated-total-reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, photoluminescence quantum yield, and spatially resolved fluorescence. Highlighted features include the ribbon shape of the realized fibers and the persistence of a network serving as a template for heterogeneous active layers in solar cell devices. A set of favorable characteristics is evidenced in this way in terms of homogeneous charge-transport behavior and formation of effective interfaces for diffusion and dissociation of photogenerated excitons. The interactionmore » of the organic filaments with light, exhibiting specific light-scattering properties of the nanofibrous mat, might also contribute to spreading incident radiation across the active layers, thus potentially enhancing photovoltaic performance. Finally, this method might be applied to other electron donor–electron acceptor material systems for the fabrication of solar cell devices enhanced by nanofibrillar morphologies embedding conjugated polymers and fullerene compounds.« less

Huygens-Fresnel picture for electron-molecule elastic scattering★

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baltenkov, Arkadiy S.; Msezane, Alfred Z.

2017-11-01

The elastic scattering cross sections for a slow electron by C2 and H2 molecules have been calculated within the framework of the non-overlapping atomic potential model. For the amplitudes of the multiple electron scattering by a target the wave function of the molecular continuum is represented as a combination of a plane wave and two spherical waves generated by the centers of atomic spheres. This wave function obeys the Huygens-Fresnel principle according to which the electron wave scattering by a system of two centers is accompanied by generation of two spherical waves; their interaction creates a diffraction pattern far from the target. Each of the Huygens waves, in turn, is a superposition of the partial spherical waves with different orbital angular momenta l and their projections m. The amplitudes of these partial waves are defined by the corresponding phases of electron elastic scattering by an isolated atomic potential. In numerical calculations the s- and p-phase shifts are taken into account. So the number of interfering electron waves is equal to eight: two of which are the s-type waves and the remaining six waves are of the p-type with different m values. The calculation of the scattering amplitudes in closed form (rather than in the form of S-matrix expansion) is reduced to solving a system of eight inhomogeneous algebraic equations. The differential and total cross sections of electron scattering by fixed-in-space molecules and randomly oriented ones have been calculated as well. We conclude by discussing the special features of the S-matrix method for the case of arbitrary non-spherical potentials. Contribution to the Topical Issue "Low energy positron and electron interactions", edited by James Sullivan, Ron White, Michael Bromley, Ilya Fabrikant, and David Cassidy.

Surface conduction of topological Dirac electrons in bulk insulating Bi2Se3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuhrer, Michael

2013-03-01

The three dimensional strong topological insulator (STI) is a new phase of electronic matter which is distinct from ordinary insulators in that it supports on its surface a conducting two-dimensional surface state whose existence is guaranteed by topology. I will discuss experiments on the STI material Bi2Se3, which has a bulk bandgap of 300 meV, much greater than room temperature, and a single topological surface state with a massless Dirac dispersion. Field effect transistors consisting of thin (3-20 nm) Bi2Se3 are fabricated from mechanically exfoliated from single crystals, and electrochemical and/or chemical gating methods are used to move the Fermi energy into the bulk bandgap, revealing the ambipolar gapless nature of transport in the Bi2Se3 surface states. The minimum conductivity of the topological surface state is understood within the self-consistent theory of Dirac electrons in the presence of charged impurities. The intrinsic finite-temperature resistivity of the topological surface state due to electron-acoustic phonon scattering is measured to be ~60 times larger than that of graphene largely due to the smaller Fermi and sound velocities in Bi2Se3, which will have implications for topological electronic devices operating at room temperature. As samples are made thinner, coherent coupling of the top and bottom topological surfaces is observed through the magnitude of the weak anti-localization correction to the conductivity, and, in the thinnest Bi2Se3 samples (~ 3 nm), in thermally-activated conductivity reflecting the opening of a bandgap.

Nanoscale femtosecond imaging of transient hot solid density plasmas with elemental and charge state sensitivity using resonant coherent diffraction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kluge, T., E-mail: t.kluge@hzdr.de; Bussmann, M.; Huang, L. G., E-mail: lingen.huang@hzdr.de

Here, we propose to exploit the low energy bandwidth, small wavelength, and penetration power of ultrashort pulses from XFELs for resonant Small Angle Scattering (SAXS) on plasma structures in laser excited plasmas. Small angle scattering allows to detect nanoscale density fluctuations in forward scattering direction. Typically, the SAXS signal from laser excited plasmas is expected to be dominated by the free electron distribution. We propose that the ionic scattering signal becomes visible when the X-ray energy is in resonance with an electron transition between two bound states (resonant coherent X-ray diffraction). In this case, the scattering cross-section dramatically increases somore » that the signal of X-ray scattering from ions silhouettes against the free electron scattering background which allows to measure the opacity and derived quantities with high spatial and temporal resolution, being fundamentally limited only by the X-ray wavelength and timing. Deriving quantities such as ion spatial distribution, charge state distribution, and plasma temperature with such high spatial and temporal resolution will make a vast number of processes in shortpulse laser-solid interaction accessible for direct experimental observation, e.g., hole-boring and shock propagation, filamentation and instability dynamics, electron transport, heating, and ultrafast ionization dynamics.« less

Visualizing redox orbitals and their potentials in advanced lithium-ion battery materials using high-resolution x-ray Compton scattering

DOE PAGES

Hafiz, Hasnain; Suzuki, Kosuke; Barbiellini, Bernardo; ...

2017-08-02

Reduction-oxidation (redox) reactions are the key processes that underlie the batteries powering smartphones, laptops, and electric cars. A redox process involves transfer of electrons between two species. For example, in a lithium-ion battery, current is generated when conduction electrons from the lithium anode are transferred to the redox orbitals of the cathode material. The ability to visualize or image the redox orbitals and how these orbitals evolve under lithiation and delithiation processes is thus of great fundamental and practical interest for understanding the workings of battery materials. In this study, we show that inelastic scattering spectroscopy using high-energy x-ray photonsmore » (Compton scattering) can yield faithful momentum space images of the redox orbitals by considering lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO 4 or LFP) as an exemplar cathode battery material. Our analysis reveals a new link between voltage and the localization of transition metal 3d orbitals and provides insight into the puzzling mechanism of potential shift and how it is connected to the modification of the bond between the transition metal and oxygen atoms. Our study thus opens a novel spectroscopic pathway for improving the performance of battery materials.« less

Visualizing redox orbitals and their potentials in advanced lithium-ion battery materials using high-resolution x-ray Compton scattering

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hafiz, Hasnain; Suzuki, Kosuke; Barbiellini, Bernardo

Reduction-oxidation (redox) reactions are the key processes that underlie the batteries powering smartphones, laptops, and electric cars. A redox process involves transfer of electrons between two species. For example, in a lithium-ion battery, current is generated when conduction electrons from the lithium anode are transferred to the redox orbitals of the cathode material. The ability to visualize or image the redox orbitals and how these orbitals evolve under lithiation and delithiation processes is thus of great fundamental and practical interest for understanding the workings of battery materials. In this study, we show that inelastic scattering spectroscopy using high-energy x-ray photonsmore » (Compton scattering) can yield faithful momentum space images of the redox orbitals by considering lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO 4 or LFP) as an exemplar cathode battery material. Our analysis reveals a new link between voltage and the localization of transition metal 3d orbitals and provides insight into the puzzling mechanism of potential shift and how it is connected to the modification of the bond between the transition metal and oxygen atoms. Our study thus opens a novel spectroscopic pathway for improving the performance of battery materials.« less

A 3% Measurement of the Beam Normal Single Spin Asymmetry in Forward Angle Elastic Electron-Proton Scattering using the Qweak Setup

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Waidyawansa, Dinayadura Buddhini

2013-08-01

The beam normal single spin asymmetry generated in the scattering of transversely polarized electrons from unpolarized nucleons is an observable of the imaginary part of the two-photon exchange process. Moreover, it is a potential source of false asymmetry in parity violating electron scattering experiments. The Q{sub weak} experiment uses parity violating electron scattering to make a direct measurement of the weak charge of the proton. The targeted 4% measurement of the weak charge of the proton probes for parity violating new physics beyond the Standard Model. The beam normal single spin asymmetry at Q{sub weak} kinematics is at least threemore » orders of magnitude larger than 5 ppb precision of the parity violating asymmetry. To better understand this parity conserving background, the Q{sub weak} Collaboration has performed elastic scattering measurements with fully transversely polarized electron beam on the proton and aluminum. This dissertation presents the analysis of the 3% measurement (1.3% statistical and 2.6% systematic) of beam normal single spin asymmetry in electronproton scattering at a Q2 of 0.025 (GeV/c)2. It is the most precise existing measurement of beam normal single spin asymmetry available at the time. A measurement of this precision helps to improve the theoretical models on beam normal single spin asymmetry and thereby our understanding of the doubly virtual Compton scattering process.« less

Nonlinear X-Ray and Auger Spectroscopy at X-Ray Free-Electron Laser Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rohringer, Nina

2015-05-01

X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) open the pathway to transfer non-linear spectroscopic techniques to the x-ray domain. A promising all x-ray pump probe technique is based on coherent stimulated electronic x-ray Raman scattering, which was recently demonstrated in atomic neon. By tuning the XFEL pulse to core-excited resonances, a few seed photons in the spectral tail of the XFEL pulse drive an avalanche of resonant inelastic x-ray scattering events, resulting in exponential amplification of the scattering signal by of 6-7 orders of magnitude. Analysis of the line profile of the emitted radiation permits to demonstrate the cross over from amplified spontaneous emission to coherent stimulated resonance scattering. In combination with statistical covariance mapping, a high-resolution spectrum of the resonant inelastic scattering process can be obtained, opening the path to coherent stimulated x-ray Raman spectroscopy. An extension of these ideas to molecules and a realistic feasibility study of stimulated electronic x-ray Raman scattering in CO will be presented. Challenges to realizing stimulated electronic x-ray Raman scattering at present-day XFEL sources will be discussed, corroborated by results of a recent experiment at the LCLS XFEL. Due to the small gain cross section in molecular targets, other nonlinear spectroscopic techniques such as nonlinear Auger spectroscopy could become a powerful alternative. Theory predictions of a novel pump probe technique based on resonant nonlinear Auger spectroscopic will be discussed and the method will be compared to stimulated x-ray Raman spectroscopy.

Electrical transport, electrothermal transport, and effective electron mass in single-crystalline In2O3 films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Preissler, Natalie; Bierwagen, Oliver; Ramu, Ashok T.; Speck, James S.

2013-08-01

A comprehensive study of the room-temperature electrical and electrothermal transport of single-crystalline indium oxide (In2O3) and indium tin oxide (ITO) films over a wide range of electron concentrations is reported. We measured the room-temperature Hall mobility μH and Seebeck coefficient S of unintentionally doped and Sn-doped high-quality, plasma-assisted molecular-beam-epitaxy-grown In2O3 for volume Hall electron concentrations nH from 7×1016 cm-3 (unintentionally doped) to 1×1021 cm-3 (highly Sn-doped, ITO). The resulting empirical S(nH) relation can be directly used in other In2O3 samples to estimate the volume electron concentration from simple Seebeck coefficient measurements. The mobility and Seebeck coefficient were modeled by a numerical solution of the Boltzmann transport equation. Ionized impurity scattering and polar optical phonon scattering were found to be the dominant scattering mechanisms. Acoustic phonon scattering was found to be negligible. Fitting the temperature-dependent mobility above room temperature of an In2O3 film with high mobility allowed us to find the effective Debye temperature (ΘD=700 K) and number of phonon modes (NOPML=1.33) that best describe the polar optical phonon scattering. The modeling also yielded the Hall scattering factor rH as a function of electron concentration, which is not negligible (rH≈1.4) at nondegenerate electron concentrations. Fitting the Hall-scattering-factor corrected concentration-dependent Seebeck coefficient S(n) for nondegenerate samples to the numerical solution of the Boltzmann transport equation and to widely used, simplified equations allowed us to extract an effective electron mass of m*=(0.30±0.03)me (with free electron mass me). The modeled mobility and Seebeck coefficient based on polar optical phonon and ionized impurity scattering describes the experimental results very accurately up to electron concentrations of 1019 cm-3, and qualitatively explains a mobility plateau or local maximum around 1020 cm-3. Ionized impurity scattering with doubly charged donors best describes the mobility in our unintentionally doped films, consistent with oxygen vacancies as unintentional shallow donors, whereas singly charged donors best describe our Sn-doped films. Our modeling yields a (phonon-limited) maximum theoretical drift mobility and Hall mobility of μ=190 cm2/Vs and μH=270 cm2/Vs, respectively. Simplified equations for the Seebeck coefficient describe the measured values in the nondegenerate regime using a Seebeck scattering parameter of r=-0.55 (which is consistent with the determined Debye temperature), and provide an estimate of the Seebeck coefficient to lower electron concentrations. The simplified equations fail to describe the Seebeck coefficient around the Mott transition (nMott=5.5×1018 cm-3) from nondegenerate to degenerate electron concentrations, whereas the numerical modeling accurately describes this region.

Influence of nanotube length and density on the plasmonic terahertz response of single-walled carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karlsen, P.; Shuba, M. V.; Beckerleg, C.; Yuko, D. I.; Kuzhir, P. P.; Maksimenko, S. A.; Ksenevich, V.; Viet, Ho; Nasibulin, A. G.; Tenne, R.; Hendry, E.

2018-01-01

We measure the conductivity spectra of thin films comprising bundled single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) of different average lengths in the frequency range 0.3-1000 THz and temperature interval 10-530 K. The observed temperature-induced changes in the terahertz conductivity spectra are shown to depend strongly on the average CNT length, with a conductivity around 1 THz that increases/decreases as the temperature increases for short/long tubes. This behaviour originates from the temperature dependence of the electron scattering rate, which we obtain from Drude fits of the measured conductivity in the range 0.3-2 THz for 10 μm length CNTs. This increasing scattering rate with temperature results in a subsequent broadening of the observed THz conductivity peak at higher temperatures and a shift to lower frequencies for increasing CNT length. Finally, we show that the change in conductivity with temperature depends not only on tube length, but also varies with tube density. We record the effective conductivities of composite films comprising mixtures of WS2 nanotubes and CNTs versus CNT density for frequencies in the range 0.3-1 THz, finding that the conductivity increases/decreases for low/high density films as the temperature increases. This effect arises due to the density dependence of the effective length of conducting pathways in the composite films, which again leads to a shift and temperature dependent broadening of the THz conductivity peak.

Metal to insulator transition in Sb doped SnO2 monocrystalline nanowires thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Costa, I. M.; Bernardo, E. P.; Marangoni, B. S.; Leite, E. R.; Chiquito, A. J.

2016-12-01

We report on the growth and transport properties of single crystalline Sb doped SnO2 wires grown from chemical vapour deposition. While undoped samples presented semiconducting behaviour, doped ones clearly undergo a transition from an insulating state ( d R /d T <0 ) to a metallic one ( d R /d T >0 ) around 130 -150 K depending on the doping level. Data analysis in the framework of the metal-to-insulator transition theories allowed us to investigate the underlying physics: electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions were identified as the scattering mechanisms present in the metallic phase, while the conduction mechanism of the semiconducting phase (undoped sample) was characterized by thermal activation and variable range hopping mechanisms.

Quantum theory of terahertz conductivity of semiconductor nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ostatnický, T.; Pushkarev, V.; Němec, H.; Kužel, P.

2018-02-01

Efficient and controlled charge carrier transport through nanoelements is currently a primordial question in the research of nanoelectronic materials and structures. We develop a quantum-mechanical theory of the conductivity spectra of confined charge carriers responding to an electric field from dc regime up to optical frequencies. The broken translation symmetry induces a broadband drift-diffusion current, which is not taken into account in the analysis based on Kubo formula and relaxation time approximation. We show that this current is required to ensure that the dc conductivity of isolated nanostructures correctly attains zero. It causes a significant reshaping of the conductivity spectra up to terahertz or multiterahertz spectral ranges, where the electron scattering rate is typically comparable to or larger than the probing frequency.

Spin in Compton scattering with pronounced polarization dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahrens, Sven; Sun, Chang-Pu

2017-12-01

We theoretically investigate a scattering configuration in Compton scattering, in which the orientation of the electron spin is reversed and, simultaneously, the photon polarization changes from linear polarization into circular polarization. The intrinsic angular momentum of electron and photon are computed along the coincident propagation direction of the incoming and outgoing photon. We find that this intrinsic angular momentum is not conserved in the considered scattering process. We also discuss the generation of entanglement for the considered scattering setup and present an angle-dependent investigation of the corresponding differential cross section, Stokes parameters, and spin expectation.

Development of KSTAR Thomson scattering system.

PubMed

Lee, J H; Oh, S T; Wi, H M

2010-10-01

To measure the electron temperature (T(e)) and electron density (n(e)) profiles in the Korean Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) device for the KSTAR third campaign (September 2010), we designed and installed a Thomson scattering system. The KSTAR Thomson scattering system is designed as a tangential Thomson scattering system and utilizes the N-, L-, and B-ports. The N-port is designed for the collection optics with a cassette system, the L-port is the laser input port, and the B-port is the location of the beam dump. In this paper, we will describe the final design of the KSTAR Thomson scattering system.

Nonlinear transport theory in the metal with tunnel barrier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zubov, E. E.

2018-02-01

Within the framework of the scattering matrix formalism, the nonlinear Kubo theory for electron transport in the metal with a tunnel barrier has been considered. A general expression for the mean electrical current was obtained. It significantly simplifies the calculation of nonlinear contributions to the conductivity of various hybrid structures. In the model of the tunnel Hamiltonian, all linear and nonlinear contributions to a mean electrical current are evaluated. The linear approximation agrees with results of other theories. For effective barrier transmission ?, the ballistic transport is realised with a value of the Landauer conductivity equal to ?.

Temperature Ddependence of Anomalous Hall Conductivity in Rashba-type Ferromagnets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakuma, Akimasa

2018-03-01

We theoretically investigated the anomalous Hall conductivity (AHC) of Rashba-type ferromagnets at a finite temperature, taking into account spin fluctuation. We observed that the intrinsic AHC increases with increasing temperature. This can be understood from the characteristic nature of the spin chirality in the k-space, which increases with decreasing exchange splitting (EXS) when the spin-orbit interaction is much smaller than the EXS. The extrinsic part of the AHC also increases with temperature owing to the enhancement of the scattering strength of electrons due to the thermal fluctuation of the exchange field.

Influence of defects on the absorption edge of InN thin films: The band gap value

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thakur, J. S.; Danylyuk, Y. V.; Haddad, D.; Naik, V. M.; Naik, R.; Auner, G. W.

2007-07-01

We investigate the optical-absorption spectra of InN thin films whose electron density varies from ˜1017tõ1021cm-3 . The low-density films are grown by molecular-beam-epitaxy deposition while highly degenerate films are grown by plasma-source molecular-beam epitaxy. The optical-absorption edge is found to increase from 0.61to1.90eV as the carrier density of the films is increased from low to high density. Since films are polycrystalline and contain various types of defects, we discuss the band gap values by studying the influence of electron degeneracy, electron-electron, electron-ionized impurities, and electron-LO-phonon interaction self-energies on the spectral absorption coefficients of these films. The quasiparticle self-energies of the valence and conduction bands are calculated using dielectric screening within the random-phase approximation. Using one-particle Green’s function analysis, we self-consistently determine the chemical potential for films by coupling equations for the chemical potential and the single-particle scattering rate calculated within the effective-mass approximation for the electron scatterings from ionized impurities and LO phonons. By subtracting the influence of self-energies and chemical potential from the optical-absorption edge energy, we estimate the intrinsic band gap values for the films. We also determine the variations in the calculated band gap values due to the variations in the electron effective mass and static dielectric constant. For the lowest-density film, the estimated band gap energy is ˜0.59eV , while for the highest-density film, it varies from ˜0.60tõ0.68eV depending on the values of electron effective mass and dielectric constant.

Muon-Neutrino Electron Elastic Scattering and a Search for the Muon-Neutrino Magnetic Moment in the NOvA Near Detector

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Biao

We use the NOvA near detector and the NuMI beam at Fermilab to study the neutrino- electron elastic scattering and the muon neutrino magnetic process beyond the Standard Model physics. The particle identications of neutrino on electron elastic scattering are trained by using the multi-layer neural networks. This thesis provides a general discussion of this technique and shows a good agreement between data and MC for the neutrino-electron elastic weak scattering. So that beneting from the precise cross-section of this channel, we are able to tune the neutrino beam ux simulation in the future. Giving the exposure of 3:62 1020more » POT in the NOvA near detector, we report 1:58 10« less

High thermoelectric power factor in two-dimensional crystals of Mo S2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hippalgaonkar, Kedar; Wang, Ying; Ye, Yu; Qiu, Diana Y.; Zhu, Hanyu; Wang, Yuan; Moore, Joel; Louie, Steven G.; Zhang, Xiang

2017-03-01

The quest for high-efficiency heat-to-electricity conversion has been one of the major driving forces toward renewable energy production for the future. Efficient thermoelectric devices require high voltage generation from a temperature gradient and a large electrical conductivity while maintaining a low thermal conductivity. For a given thermal conductivity and temperature, the thermoelectric power factor is determined by the electronic structure of the material. Low dimensionality (1D and 2D) opens new routes to a high power factor due to the unique density of states (DOS) of confined electrons and holes. The 2D transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) semiconductors represent a new class of thermoelectric materials not only due to such confinement effects but especially due to their large effective masses and valley degeneracies. Here, we report a power factor of Mo S2 as large as 8.5 mW m-1K-2 at room temperature, which is among the highest measured in traditional, gapped thermoelectric materials. To obtain these high power factors, we perform thermoelectric measurements on few-layer Mo S2 in the metallic regime, which allows us to access the 2D DOS near the conduction band edge and exploit the effect of 2D confinement on electron scattering rates, resulting in a large Seebeck coefficient. The demonstrated high, electronically modulated power factor in 2D TMDCs holds promise for efficient thermoelectric energy conversion.

Theory of waves incoherently scattered

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bauer, P.

1974-01-01

Electromagnetic waves impinging upon a plasma at frequencies larger than the plasma frequency, suffer weak scattering. The scattering arises from the existence of electron density fluctuations. The received signal corresponds to a particular spatial Fourier component of the fluctuations, the wave vector of which is a function of the wavelength of the radiowave. Wavelengths short with respect to the Debye length of the medium relate to fluctuations due to non-interacting Maxwellian electrons, while larger wavelengths relate to fluctuations due to collective Coulomb interactions. In the latter case, the scattered signal exhibits a spectral distribution which is characteristic of the main properties of the electron and ion gases and, therefore, provides a powerful diagnosis of the state of the ionosphere.

Ab initio calculation of the ion feature in x-ray Thomson scattering.

PubMed

Plagemann, Kai-Uwe; Rüter, Hannes R; Bornath, Thomas; Shihab, Mohammed; Desjarlais, Michael P; Fortmann, Carsten; Glenzer, Siegfried H; Redmer, Ronald

2015-07-01

The spectrum of x-ray Thomson scattering is proportional to the dynamic structure factor. An important contribution is the ion feature which describes elastic scattering of x rays off electrons. We apply an ab initio method for the calculation of the form factor of bound electrons, the slope of the screening cloud of free electrons, and the ion-ion structure factor in warm dense beryllium. With the presented method we can calculate the ion feature from first principles. These results will facilitate a better understanding of x-ray scattering in warm dense matter and an accurate measurement of ion temperatures which would allow determining nonequilibrium conditions, e.g., along shock propagation.

Observation of the Second Harmonic in Thomson Scattering from Relativistic Electrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babzien, Marcus; Ben-Zvi, Ilan; Kusche, Karl; Pavlishin, Igor V.; Pogorelsky, Igor V.; Siddons, David P.; Yakimenko, Vitaly; Cline, David; Zhou, Feng; Hirose, Tachishige; Kamiya, Yoshio; Kumita, Tetsuro; Omori, Tsunehiko; Urakawa, Junji; Yokoya, Kaoru

2006-02-01

A free relativistic electron in an electromagnetic field is a pure case of a light-matter interaction. In the laboratory environment, this interaction can be realized by colliding laser pulses with electron beams produced from particle accelerators. The process of single photon absorption and reemission by the electron, so-called linear Thomson scattering, results in radiation that is Doppler shifted into the x-ray and γ-ray regions. At elevated laser intensity, nonlinear effects should come into play when the transverse motion of the electrons induced by the laser beam is relativistic. In the present experiment, we achieved this condition and characterized the second harmonic of Thomson x-ray scattering using the counterpropagation of a 60 MeV electron beam and a subterawatt CO2 laser beam.

Observation of the second harmonic in Thomson scattering from relativistic electrons.

PubMed

Babzien, Marcus; Ben-Zvi, Ilan; Kusche, Karl; Pavlishin, Igor V; Pogorelsky, Igor V; Siddons, David P; Yakimenko, Vitaly; Cline, David; Zhou, Feng; Hirose, Tachishige; Kamiya, Yoshio; Kumita, Tetsuro; Omori, Tsunehiko; Urakawa, Junji; Yokoya, Kaoru

2006-02-10

A free relativistic electron in an electromagnetic field is a pure case of a light-matter interaction. In the laboratory environment, this interaction can be realized by colliding laser pulses with electron beams produced from particle accelerators. The process of single photon absorption and reemission by the electron, so-called linear Thomson scattering, results in radiation that is Doppler shifted into the x-ray and gamma-ray regions. At elevated laser intensity, nonlinear effects should come into play when the transverse motion of the electrons induced by the laser beam is relativistic. In the present experiment, we achieved this condition and characterized the second harmonic of Thomson x-ray scattering using the counterpropagation of a 60 MeV electron beam and a subterawatt CO2 laser beam.

Visualizing electron pockets in cuprate superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, Tanmoy; Markiewicz, R. S.; Bansil, A.; Balatsky, A. V.

2012-06-01

Fingerprints of the electron pocket in cuprates have been obtained only in numerous magnetotransport measurements, but its absence in spectroscopic observations poses a long-standing mystery. We develop a theoretical tool to provide ways to detect electron pockets via spectroscopies including scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) spectra, inelastic neutron scattering (INS), and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). We show that the quasiparticle-interference (QPI) pattern, measured by STM, shows an additional seven q vectors associated with the scattering on the electron pocket than that on the hole pocket. Furthermore, the Bogolyubov quasiparticle scatterings of the electron pocket lead to a second magnetic resonance mode in the INS spectra at a higher resonance energy. Finally, we reanalyze some STM, INS, and ARPES experimental data of several cuprates which dictates the direct fingerprints of electron pockets in these systems.

Prospective high thermoelectric performance of the heavily p -doped half-Heusler compound CoVSn

DOE PAGES

Shi, Hongliang; Ming, Wenmei; Parker, David S.; ...

2017-05-11

The electronic structure and transport properties of the half-Heusler compound CoVSn are studied in this paper systematically by combining first-principles electronic structure calculations and Boltzmann transport theory. The band structure at the valence-band edge is complex with multiple maxima derived from hybridized transition element d states. The result is a calculated thermopower larger than 200 μV /Κ within a wide range of doping concentrations and temperatures for heavily doped p-type CoVSn. The thermoelectric properties additionally benefit from the corrugated shapes of the hole pockets in our calculated isoenergy surfaces. Our calculated power factor S 2σ/τ (with respect to an averagemore » unknown scattering time) of CoVSn is comparable to that of FeNbSb. A smaller lattice thermal conductivity can be expected from the smaller group velocities of acoustical modes compared to FeNbSb. Finally, overall, good thermoelectric performance for CoVSn can be expected by considering the electronic transport and lattice thermal conductivity.« less

Band Structure Engineering and Thermoelectric Properties of Charge-Compensated Filled Skutterudites

PubMed Central

Shi, Xiaoya; Yang, Jiong; Wu, Lijun; Salvador, James R.; Zhang, Cheng; Villaire, William L.; Haddad, Daad; Yang, Jihui; Zhu, Yimei; Li, Qiang

2015-01-01

Thermoelectric properties of semiconductors are intimately related to their electronic band structure, which can be engineered via chemical doping. Dopant Ga in the cage-structured skutterudite Co4Sb12 substitutes Sb sites while occupying the void sites. Combining quantitative scanning transmission electron microscopy and first-principles calculations, we show that Ga dual-site occupancy breaks the symmetry of the Sb-Sb network, splits the deep triply-degenerate conduction bands, and drives them downward to the band edge. The charge-compensating nature of the dual occupancy Ga increases overall filling fraction limit. By imparting this unique band structure feature, and judiciously doping the materials by increasing the Yb content, we promote the Fermi level to a point where carriers are in energetic proximity to these features. Increased participation of these heavier bands in electronic transport leads to increased thermopower and effective mass. Further, the localized distortion from Ga/Sb substitution enhances the phonon scattering to reduce the thermal conductivity effectively. PMID:26456013

Prospective high thermoelectric performance of the heavily p -doped half-Heusler compound CoVSn

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shi, Hongliang; Ming, Wenmei; Parker, David S.

The electronic structure and transport properties of the half-Heusler compound CoVSn are studied in this paper systematically by combining first-principles electronic structure calculations and Boltzmann transport theory. The band structure at the valence-band edge is complex with multiple maxima derived from hybridized transition element d states. The result is a calculated thermopower larger than 200 μV /Κ within a wide range of doping concentrations and temperatures for heavily doped p-type CoVSn. The thermoelectric properties additionally benefit from the corrugated shapes of the hole pockets in our calculated isoenergy surfaces. Our calculated power factor S 2σ/τ (with respect to an averagemore » unknown scattering time) of CoVSn is comparable to that of FeNbSb. A smaller lattice thermal conductivity can be expected from the smaller group velocities of acoustical modes compared to FeNbSb. Finally, overall, good thermoelectric performance for CoVSn can be expected by considering the electronic transport and lattice thermal conductivity.« less

Band structure engineering and thermoelectric properties of charge-compensated filled skutterudites

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shi, Xiaoya; Yang, Jiong; Wu, Lijun

2015-10-12

Thermoelectric properties of semiconductors are intimately related to their electronic band structure, which can be engineered via chemical doping. Dopant Ga in the cage-structured skutterudite Co 4Sb 12 substitutes Sb sites while occupying the void sites. Combining quantitative scanning transmission electron microscopy and first-principles calculations, we show that Ga dual-site occupancy breaks the symmetry of the Sb-Sb network, splits the deep triply-degenerate conduction bands, and drives them downward to the band edge. The charge-compensating nature of the dual occupancy Ga increases overall filling fraction limit. By imparting this unique band structure feature, and judiciously doping the materials by increasing themore » Yb content, we promote the Fermi level to a point where carriers are in energetic proximity to these features. Increased participation of these heavier bands in electronic transport leads to increased thermopower and effective mass. Further, the localized distortion from Ga/Sb substitution enhances the phonon scattering to reduce the thermal conductivity effectively.« less

Band Structure Engineering and Thermoelectric Properties of Charge-Compensated Filled Skutterudites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Xiaoya; Yang, Jiong; Wu, Lijun; Salvador, James R.; Zhang, Cheng; Villaire, William L.; Haddad, Daad; Yang, Jihui; Zhu, Yimei; Li, Qiang

2015-10-01

Thermoelectric properties of semiconductors are intimately related to their electronic band structure, which can be engineered via chemical doping. Dopant Ga in the cage-structured skutterudite Co4Sb12 substitutes Sb sites while occupying the void sites. Combining quantitative scanning transmission electron microscopy and first-principles calculations, we show that Ga dual-site occupancy breaks the symmetry of the Sb-Sb network, splits the deep triply-degenerate conduction bands, and drives them downward to the band edge. The charge-compensating nature of the dual occupancy Ga increases overall filling fraction limit. By imparting this unique band structure feature, and judiciously doping the materials by increasing the Yb content, we promote the Fermi level to a point where carriers are in energetic proximity to these features. Increased participation of these heavier bands in electronic transport leads to increased thermopower and effective mass. Further, the localized distortion from Ga/Sb substitution enhances the phonon scattering to reduce the thermal conductivity effectively.

Oxide Thermoelectric Materials: A Structure-Property Relationship

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nag, Abanti; Shubha, V.

2014-04-01

Recent demand for thermoelectric materials for power harvesting from automobile and industrial waste heat requires oxide materials because of their potential advantages over intermetallic alloys in terms of chemical and thermal stability at high temperatures. Achievement of thermoelectric figure of merit equivalent to unity ( ZT ≈ 1) for transition-metal oxides necessitates a second look at the fundamental theory on the basis of the structure-property relationship giving rise to electron correlation accompanied by spin fluctuation. Promising transition-metal oxides based on wide-bandgap semiconductors, perovskite and layered oxides have been studied as potential candidate n- and p-type materials. This paper reviews the correlation between the crystal structure and thermoelectric properties of transition-metal oxides. The crystal-site-dependent electronic configuration and spin degeneracy to control the thermopower and electron-phonon interaction leading to polaron hopping to control electrical conductivity is discussed. Crystal structure tailoring leading to phonon scattering at interfaces and nanograin domains to achieve low thermal conductivity is also highlighted.

Solution-processed assembly of ultrathin transparent conductive cellulose nanopaper embedding AgNWs.

PubMed

Song, Yuanyuan; Jiang, Yaoquan; Shi, Liyi; Cao, Shaomei; Feng, Xin; Miao, Miao; Fang, Jianhui

2015-08-28

Natural biomass based cellulose nanopaper is becoming a promising transparent substrate to supersede traditional petroleum based polymer films in realizing future flexible paper-electronics. Here, ultrathin, highly transparent, outstanding conductive hybrid nanopaper with excellent mechanical flexibility was synthesized by the assembly of nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) and silver nanowires (AgNWs) using a pressured extrusion paper-making technique. The hybrid nanopaper with a thickness of 4.5 μm has a good combination of transparent conductive performance and mechanical stability using bamboo/hemp NFC and AgNWs cross-linked by hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose (HPMC). The heterogeneous fibrous structure of BNFC/HNFC/AgNWs endows a uniform distribution and an enhanced forward light scattering, resulting in high electrical conductivity and optical transmittance. The hybrid nanopaper with an optimal weight ratio of BNFC/HNFC to AgNWs shows outstanding synergistic properties with a transmittance of 86.41% at 550 nm and a sheet resistance of 1.90 ohm sq(-1), equal to the electronic conductivity, which is about 500 S cm(-1). The BNFC/HNFC/AgNW hybrid nanopaper maintains a stable electrical conductivity after the peeling test and bending at 135° for 1000 cycles, indicating remarkably strong adhesion and mechanical flexibility. Of importance here is that the high-performance and low-cost hybrid nanopaper shows promising potential for electronics application in solar cells, flexible displays and other high-technology products.

Quantum Transport Theory of Optical and Plasmonic Response of Nanomaterials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karimi, Farhad

The light-matter interaction is the cornerstone of photonics and optoelectronics. Advances in the fabrication techniques that has enabled the miniaturization of the semiconductor devices, along with emergence of nanomaterials such as graphene, have brought the fields of photonics and optoelectronics down to the nanoscale. Controlling the light-matter interaction at the nanoscale will impact on the development and improvement of many technologies, ranging from solar-energy harvesting to biosensing. However, the quantum confinement at the nanoscale makes nanostructured devices behave significantly differently than their larger counterparts, which turns the nanoscale control into a grand challenge. In order to pave the path toward it, we need to have a clear and accurate picture of how electrons interact with light at the nanoscale. This dissertation presents a rigorous quantum-transport method for studying the optical and plasmonic properties of nanomaterials. This method is based on a self-consistent-field approach within a Markovian master equation formalism (SCF-MMEF) coupled with the full-wave electromagnetic equations. The SCF-MMEF captures the interband electron-hole generation, as well as the interband and intraband transitions due to multiple competing scattering mechanisms, where the transition rates can have pronounced and widely differing dependencies on both carrier energy and momentum. The SCF-MMEF is applicable to any type of material with an arbitrary band dispersion and Bloch wave functions. We employ the SCF-MMEF to calculate the dielectric function, complex conductivity, and loss function for supported graphene. From the loss-function maximum, we obtain the plasmon dispersion and propagation length for different substrate types [nonpolar diamondlike carbon (DLC) and polar SiO2 and hBN], impurity densities, carrier densities, and temperatures. We find that plasmon propagation lengths are comparable on polar and nonpolar substrates and are on the order of tens of nanometers, considerably shorter than previously reported. In pursuit of finding less dissipative plasmonic materials, we calculate the dielectric function and plasmonic response of armchair (aGNRs)and zigzag (zGNRs) graphene nanoribbons via the SCF-MMEF. Supported GNRs provide almost the same interesting plasmonic features as graphene, with the added benefit of a less dissipative environment for electrons, owing to the low electronic density of states and thus lower electron scattering rates. Midinfrared plasmons in supported (3N+2)-aGNRs can propagate as far as several microns at room temperature, with 4-5-nm-wide ribbons having the longest propagation length. In other types of aGNRs and in zGNRs, the plasmon propagation length seldom exceeds 100 nm. Plasmon propagation lengths are much greater on nonpolar (e.g., diamondlike carbon) than on polar substrates (e.g., SiO2 or hBN), where electrons scatter strongly with surface optical phonons. Another advantage of the SCF-MMEF is that it can be used perturbatively to calculate the nonlinear optical response. We perturbatively employ the SCF-MMEF to calculate the GNRs optical nonlinearity. We show that graphene nanoribbons have a remarkably strong nonlinear optical response in the long-wavelength regime and over a broad frequency range, from terahertz to the nearinfrared. In the retarded regime, electron scattering has a critical effect on the optical nonlinearity of graphene nanoribbons, which cannot be captured via the commonly used relaxation-time approximation. At terahertz frequencies, where intrasubband optical transitions dominate, the strong nonlinearity (in particular, third-order Kerr nonlinearity) stems from the jagged shape of the electron energy distribution, caused by the interband electron scattering mechanisms along with the intraband inelastic scattering mechanisms. At the midinfrared to nearinfrared frequencies, where interband optical transitions dominate, the Kerr nonlinearity is significantly overestimated within the relaxation-time approximation. These findings unveil the critical effect of electron scattering on the optical nonlinearity of nanostructured graphene, and also underscore the capability of this class of materials for nonlinear nanophotonic applications.

Study of light backgrounds from relativistic electrons in air light-guides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riordan, S.; Zhao, Y. X.; Baunack, S.; Becker, D.; Clarke, C.; Dehmelt, K.; Deshpande, A.; Gericke, M.; Gläser, B.; Imai, K.; Kutz, T.; Maas, F. E.; McNulty, D.; Pan, J.; Park, S.; Rahman, S.; Souder, P. A.; Wang, P.; Wellman, B.; Kumar, K. S.

2018-07-01

The MOLLER experiment proposed at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility plans a precision low energy determination of the weak mixing angle via the measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry in the scattering of high energy longitudinally polarized electrons from electrons bound in a liquid hydrogen target (Møller scattering). A relative measure of the scattering rate is planned to be obtained by intercepting the Møller scattered electrons with a circular array of thin fused silica tiles attached to air light guides, which facilitate the transport of Cherenkov photons generated within the tiles to photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). The scattered flux will also pass through the light guides of downstream tiles, generating additional Cherenkov as well as scintillation light and is a potential background. In order to estimate the rate of these backgrounds, a gas-filled tube detector was designed and deployed in an electron beam at the MAMI facility at Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany. Described in this paper is the design of a detector to measure separately the scintillation and Cherenkov responses of gas mixtures from relativistic electrons, the results of studies of several gas mixtures with comparisons to simulations, and conclusions about the implications for the design of the MOLLER detector apparatus.

Development of a Hydrogen Møller Polarimeter for Precision Parity-Violating Electron Scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gray, Valerie M.

2013-10-01

Parity-violating electron scattering experiments allow for testing the Standard Model at low energy accelerators. Future parity-violating electron scattering experiments, like the P2 experiment at the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany, and the MOLLER and SoLID experiments at Jefferson Lab will measure observables predicted by the Standard Model to high precision. In order to make these measurements, we will need to determine the polarization of the electron beam to sub-percent precision. The present way of measuring the polarization, with Møller scattering in iron foils or using Compton laser backscattering, will not easily be able to reach this precision. The novel Hydrogen Møller Polarimeter presents a non-invasive way to measure the electron polarization by scattering the electron beam off of atomic hydrogen gas polarized in a 7 Tesla solenoidal magnetic trap. This apparatus is expected to be operational by 2016 in Mainz. Currently, simulations of the polarimeter are used to develop the detection system at College of William & Mary, while the hydrogen trap and superconducting solenoid magnet are being developed at the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz. I will discuss the progress of the design and development of this novel polarimeter system. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. PHY-1206053.

Experimental observation of multiphoton Thomson scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Wenchao; Golovin, Grigory; Fruhling, Colton; Haden, Daniel; Zhang, Ping; Zhang, Jun; Zhao, Baozhen; Liu, Cheng; Chen, Shouyuan; Banerjee, Sudeep; Umstadter, Donald

2016-10-01

With the advent of high-power lasers, several multiphoton processes have been reported involving electrons in strong fields. For electrons that were initially bound to atoms, both multiphoton ionization and scattering have been reported. However, for free electrons, only low-order harmonic generation has been observed until now. This limitation stems from past difficulty in achieving the required ultra-high-field strengths in scattering experiments. Highly relativistic laser intensities are required to reach the multiphoton regime of Thomson scattering, and generate high harmonics from free electrons. The scaling parameter is the normalized vector potential (a0). Previous experiments have observed phenomena in the weakly relativistic case (a0 >> 1). In ultra-intense fields (a0 >>1), the anomalous electron trajectory is predicted to produce a spectrum characterized by the merging of multiple high-order harmonic generation into a continuum. This may be viewed as the multiphoton Thomson scattering regime analogous to the wiggler of a synchrotron. Thus, the light produced reflects the electrons behavior in an ultra-intense lase field. We discuss the first experiments in the highly relativistic case (a0 15). This material is based upon work supported by NSF No. PHY-153700; US DOE, Office of Science, BES, # DE-FG02-05ER15663; AFOSR # FA9550-11-1-0157; and DHS DNDO # HSHQDC-13-C-B0036.

Substrate-induced reduction of graphene thermal conductivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koniakhin, S. V.; Utesov, O. I.; Terterov, I. N.; Nalitov, A. V.

2017-01-01

We develop a theory of heat conductivity in supported graphene, accounting for coherent phonon scattering on disorder induced by an amorphous substrate. We derive spectra for in-plane and out-of-plane phonons in the framework of Green's function approach. The energy parameters of the theory are obtained using molecular dynamics simulations for graphene on a SiO2 substrate. The heat conductivity is calculated by the Boltzmann transport equation. We find that the interaction with the substrate drastically reduces the phonon lifetime and completely suppresses the contribution of flexural (ZA) phonons to the heat conductivity. As a result, the total heat conductivity is reduced by several times, which matches with the tendency observed in the available experimental data. The considered effect is important for managing the thermal properties of graphene-based electronic devices.

Conductance of graphene-based double-barrier nanostructures.

PubMed

Setare, M R; Jahani, D

2010-12-22

The effect of a mass gap on the conductance of graphene double-barrier heterojunctions is studied. By obtaining the 2D expression for the electronic transport of the low energy excitations of pure graphene through double-barrier systems, it is found that the conductivity of these structures does not depend on the type of charge carriers in the zones of the electric field. However, a finite induced gap in the graphene spectrum makes conductivity dependent on the energy band index. We also discuss a few controversies concerning double-barrier systems stemming from an improper choice of the scattering angle. Then it is observed that, for some special values of the incident energy and potential's height, graphene junctions behave like left-handed materials, resulting in a maximum value for the conductivity.

Natural nanostructure and superlattice nanodomains in AgSbTe{sub 2}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carlton, Christopher E.; De Armas, Ricardo; Shao-Horn, Yang, E-mail: delaireoa@ornl.gov, E-mail: shaohorn@mit.edu

2014-04-14

AgSbTe{sub 2} has long been of interest for thermoelectric applications because of its favorable electronic properties and its low lattice thermal conductivity of ∼0.7 W/mK. In this work, we report new findings from a high-resolution transmission electron microscopy study revealing two nanostructures in single crystal Ag{sub 1−x}Sb{sub 1+x}Sb{sub 2+x} (with x = 0, 0.1, 0.2); (i) a rippled natural nanostructure with a period of ∼2.5–5 nm and (ii) superlattice ordered nanodomains consistent with cation ordering predicted in previous density functional theory studies. These nanostructures, combined with point-defects, probably serve as sources of scattering for phonons, thereby yielding a low lattice thermal conductivity over amore » wide temperature range.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xian, Fenglin; Department of Electronic Materials Engineering, Research School of Physics and Engineering, The Australian National University, Canberra 2601; Ye, Jiandong, E-mail: yejd@nju.edu.cn

In this work, anion alloying is engineered in ZnON nanocrystalline films, and the resultant evolution of the structural transition, subgap states, and carrier transport is investigated. A broad distribution of sub-gap states above the valence band maximum is introduced by nitrogen due to the hybridization of N 2p and O 2p orbitals. The phase transition from partially amorphous states to full crystallinity occurs above a characteristic growth temperature of 100 °C, and the localized states are suppressed greatly due to the reduction of nitrogen composition. The electronic properties are dominated by grain boundary scattering and electron transport across boundary barriers throughmore » thermal activation at band edge states at high temperatures. The conductivity below 130 K exhibits a weak temperature dependence, which is a signature of variable-range hopping conduction between localized states introduced by nitrogen incorporation.« less

Electron Scattering by Plasmaspheric Hiss in a Nightside Plume

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Wenxun; Fu, Song; Gu, Xudong; Ni, Binbin; Xiang, Zheng; Summers, Danny; Zou, Zhengyang; Cao, Xing; Lou, Yuequn; Hua, Man

2018-05-01

Plasmaspheric hiss is known to play an important role in radiation belt electron dynamics in high plasma density regions. We present observations of two crossings of a plasmaspheric plume by the Van Allen Probes on 26 December 2012, which occurred unusually at the post-midnight-to-dawn sector between L 4-6 during a geomagnetically quiet period. This plume exhibited pronounced electron densities higher than those of the average plume level. Moderate hiss emissions accompanied the two plume crossings with the peak power at about 100 Hz. Quantification of quasi-linear bounce-averaged electron scattering rates by hiss in the plume demonstrates that the waves are efficient to pitch angle scatter 10-100 keV electrons at rates up to 10-4 s-1 near the loss cone but become gradually insignificant to scatter the higher energy electron population. The resultant timescales of electron loss due to hiss in the nightside plume vary largely with electron kinetic energy over 3 orders of magnitude, that is, from several hours for tens of keV electrons to a few days for hundreds of keV electrons to well above 100 days for >1 MeV electrons. Changing slightly with L-shell and the multiquartile profile of hiss spectral intensity, these electron loss timescales suggest that hiss emissions in the nightside plume act as a viable candidate for the fast loss of the ≲100 keV electrons and the slow decay of higher energy electrons.

ProbeZT: Simulation of transport coefficients of molecular electronic junctions under environmental effects using Büttiker's probes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korol, Roman; Kilgour, Michael; Segal, Dvira

2018-03-01

We present our in-house quantum transport package, ProbeZT. This program provides linear response coefficients: electrical and electronic thermal conductances, as well as the thermopower of molecular junctions in which electrons interact with the surrounding thermal environment. Calculations are performed based on the Büttiker probe method, which introduces decoherence, energy exchange and dissipation effects phenomenologically using virtual electrode terminals called probes. The program can realize different types of probes, each introducing various environmental effects, including elastic and inelastic scattering of electrons. The molecular system is described by an arbitrary tight-binding Hamiltonian, allowing the study of different geometries beyond simple one-dimensional wires. Applications of the program to study the thermoelectric performance of molecular junctions are illustrated. The program also has a built-in functionality to simulate electron transport in double-stranded DNA molecules based on a tight-binding (ladder) description of the junction.

Effect of Phase-Breaking Events on Electron Transport in Mesoscopic and Nanodevices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Meunier, Vincent; Mintmire, John W; Thushari, Jayasekera

2008-01-01

Existing ballistic models for electron transport in mesoscopic and nanoscale systems break down as the size of the device becomes longer than the phase coherence length of electrons in the system. Krstic et al. experimentally observed that the current in single-wall carbon nanotube systems can be regarded as a combination of a coherent part and a noncoherent part. In this article, we discuss the use of Buettiker phase-breaking technique to address partially coherent electron transport, generalize that to a multichannel problem, and then study the effect of phase-breaking events on the electron transport in two-terminal graphene nanoribbon devices. We alsomore » investigate the difference between the pure-phase randomization and phase/momentum randomization boundary conditions. While momentum randomization adds an extra resistance caused by backward scattering, pure-phase randomization smooths the conductance oscillations because of interference.« less

Elastic electron scattering from formamide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buk, M. V.; Bardela, F. P.; da Silva, L. A.; Iga, I.; Homem, M. G. P.

2018-05-01

Differential cross sections for elastic electron scattering by formamide (NH2CHO) were measured in the 30–800 eV and 10°–120° ranges. The angular distribution of scattered electrons was obtained using a crossed electron beam-molecular beam geometry. The relative flow technique was applied to normalize our data. Integral and momentum-transfer cross sections were derived from the measured differential cross sections. Theoretical results in the framework of the independent-atom model at the static-exchange-polarization plus absorption level of approximation are also given. The present measured and calculated results are compared with those available in the literature showing a generally good agreement.

Electronic scattering, focusing, and resonance by a spherical barrier in Weyl semimetals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Ming; Zhang, Xiao-Xiao

2018-05-01

We solve the Weyl electron scattered by a spherical step potential barrier. Tuning the incident energy and the potential radius, one can enter both quasiclassical and quantum regimes. Transport features related to far-field currents and integrated cross sections are studied to reveal the preferred forward scattering. In the quasiclassical regime, a strong focusing effect along the incident spherical axis is found in addition to optical caustic patterns. In the quantum regime, at energies of successive angular momentum resonances, a polar aggregation of electron density is found inside the potential. The findings will be useful in transport studies and electronic lens applications in Weyl systems.

Electron scattering characteristics of polycrystalline metal transition films by in-situ electrical resistance measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trindade, I. G.; Leitão, D.; Fermento, R.; Pogorelev, Y.; Sousa, J. B.

2009-08-01

In-situ electrical resistance measurements were performed to obtain the scattering characteristics of very thin polycrystalline metal transition magnetic alloys grown by ion beam deposition (IBD) on specific underlayers. The experimental curves show size effects at small film thicknesses and important differences between Co 85Fe 15 and Ni 81Fe 19 thin layers grown on identical underlayers of Ta70 Å/Ru13 Å. The largest difference was observed in Ni 81Fe 19 films grown on underlayers of amorphous Ta70 Å. The experimental curves of electrical resistivity/conductivity variation with layer thickness were well fit within the Mayadas and Shatzkes (M-S) model, assuming specific formulations for grain growth with layer thickness.

Charge-Carrier-Scattering Spectroscopy With BEEM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hecht, Michael H.; Bell, Lloyd D.; Kaiser, William J.

1992-01-01

Ballistic-electron-emission microscopy (BEEM) constitutes basis of new spectroscopy of scattering of electrons and holes. Pointed tip electrode scans near surface of metal about 100 angstrom thick on semiconductor. Principle similar to scanning tunneling microscope, except metal acts as third electrode. Used to investigate transport phenomena, scattering phenomena, and creation of hot charge carriers in Au/Si and Au/GaAs metal/semiconductor microstructures.

Determination of Rest Mass Energy of the Electron by a Compton Scattering Experiment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prasannakumar, S.; Krishnaveni, S.; Umesh, T. K.

2012-01-01

We report here a simple Compton scattering experiment which may be carried out in graduate and undergraduate laboratories to determine the rest mass energy of the electron. In the present experiment, we have measured the energies of the Compton scattered gamma rays with a NaI(Tl) gamma ray spectrometer coupled to a 1 K multichannel analyzer at…

Heat-Flux Measurements in Laser-Produced Plasmas Using Thomson Scattering from Electron Plasma Waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henchen, R. J.; Goncharov, V. N.; Cao, D.; Katz, J.; Froula, D. H.; Rozmus, W.

2017-10-01

An experiment was designed to measure heat flux in coronal plasmas using collective Thomson scattering. Adjustments to the electron distribution function resulting from heat flux affect the shape of the collective Thomson scattering features through wave-particle resonance. The amplitude of the Spitzer-Härm electron distribution function correction term (f1) was varied to match the data and determines the value of the heat flux. Independent measurements of temperature and density obtained from Thomson scattering were used to infer the classical heat flux (q = - κ∇Te) . Time-resolved Thomson-scattering data were obtained at five locations in the corona along the target normal in a blowoff plasma formed from a planar Al target with 1.5 kJ of 351-nm laser light in a 2-ns square pulse. The flux measured through the Thomson-scattering spectra is a factor of 5 less than the κ∇Te measurements. The lack of collisions of heat-carrying electrons suggests a nonlocal model is needed to accurately describe the heat flux. This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration under Award Number DE-NA0001944.

Observations of non-linear plasmon damping in dense plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Witte, B. B. L.; Sperling, P.; French, M.; Recoules, V.; Glenzer, S. H.; Redmer, R.

2018-05-01

We present simulations using finite-temperature density-functional-theory molecular-dynamics to calculate dynamic dielectric properties in warm dense aluminum. The comparison between exchange-correlation functionals in the Perdew, Burke, Ernzerhof approximation, Strongly Constrained and Appropriately Normed Semilocal Density Functional, and Heyd, Scuseria, Ernzerhof (HSE) approximation indicates evident differences in the electron transition energies, dc conductivity, and Lorenz number. The HSE calculations show excellent agreement with x-ray scattering data [Witte et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 225001 (2017)] as well as dc conductivity and absorption measurements. These findings demonstrate non-Drude behavior of the dynamic conductivity above the Cooper minimum that needs to be taken into account to determine optical properties in the warm dense matter regime.

Doping dependence of charge order in electron-doped cuprate superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mou, Yingping; Feng, Shiping

2017-12-01

In the recent studies of the unconventional physics in cuprate superconductors, one of the central issues is the interplay between charge order and superconductivity. Here the mechanism of the charge-order formation in the electron-doped cuprate superconductors is investigated based on the t-J model. The experimentally observed momentum dependence of the electron quasiparticle scattering rate is qualitatively reproduced, where the scattering rate is highly anisotropic in momentum space, and is intriguingly related to the charge-order gap. Although the scattering strength appears to be weakest at the hot spots, the scattering in the antinodal region is stronger than that in the nodal region, which leads to the original electron Fermi surface is broken up into the Fermi pockets and their coexistence with the Fermi arcs located around the nodal region. In particular, this electron Fermi surface instability drives the charge-order correlation, with the charge-order wave vector that matches well with the wave vector connecting the hot spots, as the charge-order correlation in the hole-doped counterparts. However, in a striking contrast to the hole-doped case, the charge-order wave vector in the electron-doped side increases in magnitude with the electron doping. The theory also shows the existence of a quantitative link between the single-electron fermiology and the collective response of the electron density.

Improved surface-roughness scattering and mobility models for multi-gate FETs with arbitrary cross-section and biasing scheme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lizzit, D.; Badami, O.; Specogna, R.; Esseni, D.

2017-06-01

We present a new model for surface roughness (SR) scattering in n-type multi-gate FETs (MuGFETs) and gate-all-around nanowire FETs with fairly arbitrary cross-sections, its implementation in a complete device simulator, and the validation against experimental electron mobility data. The model describes the SR scattering matrix elements as non-linear transformations of interface fluctuations, which strongly influences the root mean square value of the roughness required to reproduce experimental mobility data. Mobility simulations are performed via the deterministic solution of the Boltzmann transport equation for a 1D-electron gas and including the most relevant scattering mechanisms for electronic transport, such as acoustic, polar, and non-polar optical phonon scattering, Coulomb scattering, and SR scattering. Simulation results show the importance of accounting for arbitrary cross-sections and biasing conditions when compared to experimental data. We also discuss how mobility is affected by the shape of the cross-section as well as by its area in gate-all-around and tri-gate MuGFETs.

A comparative study of transport properties of monolayer graphene and AlGaN-GaN heterostructure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ozdemir, M. D.; Atasever, O.; Ozdemir, B.

2015-07-15

The electronic transport properties of monolayer graphene are presented with an Ensemble Monte Carlo method where a rejection technique is used to account for the occupancy of the final states after scattering. Acoustic and optic phonon scatterings are considered for intrinsic graphene and in addition, ionized impurity and surface roughness scatterings are considered for the case of dirty graphene. The effect of screening is considered in the ionized impurity scattering of electrons. The time dependence of drift velocity of carriers is obtained where overshoot and undershoot effects are observed for certain values of applied field and material parameters for intrinsicmore » graphene. The field dependence of drift velocity of carriers showed negative differential resistance and disappeared as acoustic scattering becomes dominant for intrinsic graphene. The variation of electron mobility with temperature is calculated for intrinsic (suspended) and dirty monolayer graphene sheets separately and they are compared. These are also compared with the mobility of two dimensional electrons at an AlGaN/GaN heterostructure. It is observed that interface roughness may become very effective in limiting the mobility of electrons in graphene.« less

Electron kinetic effects on interferometry, polarimetry and Thomson scattering measurements in burning plasmas (invited)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mirnov, V. V.; Hartog, D. J. Den; Duff, J.

2014-11-15

At anticipated high electron temperatures in ITER, the effects of electron thermal motion on Thomson scattering (TS), toroidal interferometer/polarimeter (TIP), and poloidal polarimeter (PoPola) diagnostics will be significant and must be accurately treated. The precision of the previous lowest order linear in τ = T{sub e}/m{sub e}c{sup 2} model may be insufficient; we present a more precise model with τ{sup 2}-order corrections to satisfy the high accuracy required for ITER TIP and PoPola diagnostics. The linear model is extended from Maxwellian to a more general class of anisotropic electron distributions that allows us to take into account distortions caused bymore » equilibrium current, ECRH, and RF current drive effects. The classical problem of the degree of polarization of incoherent Thomson scattered radiation is solved analytically exactly without any approximations for the full range of incident polarizations, scattering angles, and electron thermal motion from non-relativistic to ultra-relativistic. The results are discussed in the context of the possible use of the polarization properties of Thomson scattered light as a method of T{sub e} measurement relevant to ITER operational scenarios.« less

Ultrafast electron-optical phonon scattering and quasiparticle lifetime in CVD-grown graphene.

PubMed

Shang, Jingzhi; Yu, Ting; Lin, Jianyi; Gurzadyan, Gagik G

2011-04-26

Ultrafast quasiparticle dynamics in graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has been studied by UV pump/white-light probe spectroscopy. Transient differential transmission spectra of monolayer graphene are observed in the visible probe range (400-650 nm). Kinetics of the quasiparticle (i.e., low-energy single-particle excitation with renormalized energy due to electron-electron Coulomb, electron-optical phonon (e-op), and optical phonon-acoustic phonon (op-ap) interactions) was monitored with 50 fs resolution. Extending the probe range to near-infrared, we find the evolution of quasiparticle relaxation channels from monoexponential e-op scattering to double exponential decay due to e-op and op-ap scattering. Moreover, quasiparticle lifetimes of mono- and randomly stacked graphene films are obtained for the probe photon energies continuously from 1.9 to 2.3 eV. Dependence of quasiparticle decay rate on the probe energy is linear for 10-layer stacked graphene films. This is due to the dominant e-op intervalley scattering and the linear density of states in the probed electronic band. A dimensionless coupling constant W is derived, which characterizes the scattering strength of quasiparticles by lattice points in graphene.

A Hydrodynamic Theory for Spatially Inhomogeneous Semiconductor Lasers: Microscopic Approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Jianzhong; Ning, C. Z.; Biegel, Bryan A. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Starting from the microscopic semiconductor Bloch equations (SBEs) including the Boltzmann transport terms in the distribution function equations for electrons and holes, we derived a closed set of diffusion equations for carrier densities and temperatures with self-consistent coupling to Maxwell's equation and to an effective optical polarization equation. The coherent many-body effects are included within the screened Hartree-Fock approximation, while scatterings are treated within the second Born approximation including both the in- and out-scatterings. Microscopic expressions for electron-hole (e-h) and carrier-LO (c-LO) phonon scatterings are directly used to derive the momentum and energy relaxation rates. These rates expressed as functions of temperatures and densities lead to microscopic expressions for self- and mutual-diffusion coefficients in the coupled density-temperature diffusion equations. Approximations for reducing the general two-component description of the electron-hole plasma (EHP) to a single-component one are discussed. In particular, we show that a special single-component reduction is possible when e-h scattering dominates over c-LO phonon scattering. The ambipolar diffusion approximation is also discussed and we show that the ambipolar diffusion coefficients are independent of e-h scattering, even though the diffusion coefficients of individual components depend sensitively on the e-h scattering rates. Our discussions lead to new perspectives into the roles played in the single-component reduction by the electron-hole correlation in momentum space induced by scatterings and the electron-hole correlation in real space via internal static electrical field. Finally, the theory is completed by coupling the diffusion equations to the lattice temperature equation and to the effective optical polarization which in turn couples to the laser field.

A collective scattering system for measuring electron gyroscale fluctuations on the National Spherical Torus Experiment.

PubMed

Smith, D R; Mazzucato, E; Lee, W; Park, H K; Domier, C W; Luhmann, N C

2008-12-01

A collective scattering system has been installed on the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) to measure electron gyroscale fluctuations in NSTX plasmas. The system measures fluctuations with k( perpendicular)rho(e) less, similar0.6 and k( perpendicular) less, similar20 cm(-1). Up to five distinct wavenumbers are measured simultaneously, and the large toroidal curvature of NSTX plasmas provides enhanced spatial localization. Steerable optics can position the scattering volume throughout the plasma from the magnetic axis to the outboard edge. Initial measurements indicate rich turbulent dynamics on the electron gyroscale. The system will be a valuable tool for investigating the connection between electron temperature gradient turbulence and electron thermal transport in NSTX plasmas.

Photoelectron spectroscopy of Ar/Cu(100) interface states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rohleder, M.; Berthold, W.; Güdde, J.; Höfer, U.

2007-08-01

Buried interface states in Ar/Cu(100) were studied by means of one- and two-photon photoemission experiments. With increasing Ar overlayer thickness, a transition from broad electron scattering resonances in the Ar conduction band into a hydrogen-like series of quasi-bound states at the Ar/Cu interface was observed. The thickness dependence of energies and lifetimes is compared to theoretical resonance positions and linewidths derived from a parameterized one-dimensional potential.

Differential Cross Sections for Ionization of Argon by 1 keV Positron and Electron Impact

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gavin, J.; DuBois, R. D.; de Lucio, O. G.

2014-04-01

Differential information was generated by establishing coincidences and imposing conditions on data recorded for target ions, scattered projectiles, and ejected electrons, as a function of projectile energy loss and scattering angles; in order to describe the interaction between a positron (electron) 1 keV beam and a simple Ar jet. Single ionization triply differential cross section (TDCS) results exhibit two distinct regions (lobes) for which binary (events arising from 2-body interaction) and recoil (events which can only be produced by many-body interactions) interactions are associated. Results indicate that binary events are significantly larger for positron impact, in accordance with theoretical predictions. A similar feature is found for different energy losses and scattering angles. Intensity of the recoil lobe for both projectiles, positron and electron, is observed to depend on the energy loss and scattering angle. Also, it can be noticed that for positron impact the recoil interactions intensity is larger than that observed for electron impact.

Neutron production in the interaction of 12 and 18 MeV electrons with a scattering foil inside a simple LINAC head.

PubMed

Soto-Bernal, Tzinnia Gabriela; Baltazar-Raigosa, Antonio; Medina-Castro, Diego; Vega-Carrillo, Hector Rene

2018-04-18

The characteristics of photons and neutrons produced during the interaction between a monoenergetic (12 and 18 MeV) electron beam and a tungsten scattering foil enclosed into a 10 cm-thick tungsten shell have been determined using Monte Carlo methods. This model was used aiming to represent a linac head working in electron-mode for cancer treatment. Photon and neutron spectra were determined around the scattering foil and to 50 and 100 cm below the electron source. Induced photons are mainly produced along the direction of the incoming electron beam. On the other hand, neutrons are produced in two sites, mainly in the inner surface of the linac head and in less extent in the scattering foil. The neutron spectra are evaporation neutrons which are emitted isotropically from the site where are produced leaking out from the linac head, reaching locations were the patient is allocated. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Robert Hofstadter, Electron Scattering, the Structure of the Nucleons, and

Science.gov Websites

, Electron Scattering, the Structure of the Nucleons, and Scintillation Counters Resources with Additional -point particles and therefore possessed structure. For this work Hofstadter was awarded the Nobel Prize structure of the nucleons, and scintillation counters is available in electronic documents and on the Web

Diffusive and inelastic scattering in ballistic-electron-emission spectroscopy and ballistic-electron-emission microscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, E.Y.; Turner, B.R.; Schowalter, L.J.

1993-07-01

Ballistic-electron-emission microscopy (BEEM) of Au/Si(001) n type was done to study whether elastic scattering in the Au overlayer is dominant. It was found that there is no dependence of the BEEM current on the relative gradient of the Au surface with respect to the Si interface, and this demonstrates that significant elastic scattering must occur in the Au overlayer. Ballistic-electron-emission spectroscopy (BEES) was also done, and, rather than using the conventional direct-current BEES, alternating-current (ac) BEES was done on Au/Si and also on Au/PtSi/Si(001) n type. The technique of ac BEES was found to give linear threshold for the Schottkymore » barrier, and it also clearly showed the onset of electron-hole pair creation and other inelastic scattering events. The study of device quality PtSi in Au/PtSi/Si(001) yielded an attenuation length of 4 nm for electrons of energy 1 eV above the PtSi Fermi energy. 20 refs., 5 figs.« less

Hot electrons injection in carbon nanotubes under the influence of quasi-static ac-field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amekpewu, M.; Mensah, S. Y.; Musah, R.; Mensah, N. G.; Abukari, S. S.; Dompreh, K. A.

2016-07-01

The theory of hot electrons injection in carbon nanotubes (CNTs) where both dc electric field (Ez), and a quasi-static ac field exist simultaneously (i.e. when the frequency ω of ac field is much less than the scattering frequency v (ω ⪡ v or ωτ ⪡ 1, v =τ-1) where τ is relaxation time) is studied. The investigation is done theoretically by solving semi-classical Boltzmann transport equation with and without the presence of the hot electrons source to derive the current densities. Plots of the normalized current density versus dc field (Ez) applied along the axis of the CNTs in the presence and absence of hot electrons reveal ohmic conductivity initially and finally negative differential conductivity (NDC) provided ωτ ⪡ 1 (i.e. quasi- static case). With strong enough axial injection of the hot electrons, there is a switch from NDC to positive differential conductivity (PDC) about Ez ≥ 75 kV / cm and Ez ≥ 140 kV / cm for a zigzag CNT and an armchair CNT respectively. Thus, the most important tough problem for NDC region which is the space charge instabilities can be suppressed due to the switch from the NDC behaviour to the PDC behaviour predicting a potential generation of terahertz radiations whose applications are relevance in current-day technology, industry, and research.

Vibrational excitation of water by electron impact

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Khakoo, M. A.; Winstead, C.; McKoy, V.

2009-05-15

Experimental and calculated differential cross sections (DCSs) for electron-impact excitation of the (010) bending mode and unresolved (100) symmetric and (001) antisymmetric stretching modes of water are presented. Measurements are reported at incident energies of 1-100 eV and scattering angles of 10 deg. - 130 deg. and are normalized to the elastic-scattering DCSs for water determined earlier by our group. The calculated cross sections are obtained in the adiabatic approximation from fixed-nuclei, electronically elastic scattering calculations using the Schwinger multichannel method. The present results are compared to available experimental and theoretical data.

Partial Wave Dispersion Relations: Application to Electron-Atom Scattering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Temkin, A.; Drachman, Richard J.

1999-01-01

In this Letter we propose the use of partial wave dispersion relations (DR's) as the way of solving the long-standing problem of correctly incorporating exchange in a valid DR for electron-atom scattering. In particular a method is given for effectively calculating the contribution of the discontinuity and/or poles of the partial wave amplitude which occur in the negative E plane. The method is successfully tested in three cases: (i) the analytically solvable exponential potential, (ii) the Hartree potential, and (iii) the S-wave exchange approximation for electron-hydrogen scattering.

Molecular electronics: some views on transport junctions and beyond.

PubMed

Joachim, Christian; Ratner, Mark A

2005-06-21

The field of molecular electronics comprises a fundamental set of issues concerning the electronic response of molecules as parts of a mesoscopic structure and a technology-facing area of science. We will overview some important aspects of these subfields. The most advanced ideas in the field involve the use of molecules as individual logic or memory units and are broadly based on using the quantum state space of the molecule. Current work in molecular electronics usually addresses molecular junction transport, where the molecule acts as a barrier for incoming electrons: This is the fundamental Landauer idea of "conduction as scattering" generalized to molecular junction structures. Another point of view in terms of superexchange as a guiding mechanism for coherent electron transfer through the molecular bridge is discussed. Molecules generally exhibit relatively strong vibronic coupling. The last section of this overview focuses on vibronic effects, including inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy, hysteresis in junction charge transport, and negative differential resistance in molecular transport junctions.

Negative differential resistance in oxidized zigzag graphene nanoribbons.

PubMed

Wang, Min; Li, Chang Ming

2011-01-28

A theoretical study of zigzag graphene nanoribbons (ZGNRs) with an epoxy-pair chain (ZGO) is performed. The electronic transport properties are mainly evaluated by non-equilibrium Green's functions using the TRANSIESTA package. The results indicate that the graphene oxide can have a negative differential resistance (NDR) phenomenon, supported by bias-dependent transmission curves of different spin orientations. Applying non-zero bias voltages makes the density of states (DOS) of the right electrodes shift down. Due to an energy gap between the LUMO and LUMO+1 in ZGOs, with a certain bias, the conduction band of the right electrode cannot match the LUMO of the scattering region, then NDR occurs. With a larger bias, NDR ends when the second conduction band of the right electrode's DOS covers the LUMO of the scattering region. Since most of proposed ZGO systems possess such a gap between the LUMO and LUMO+1, NDR can be widely observed and this discovery may provide great potential applications in NDR-based nanoelectronics by using modified graphene materials.

A lightweight scalable agarose-gel-synthesized thermoelectric composite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jin Ho; Fernandes, Gustavo E.; Lee, Do-Joong; Hirst, Elizabeth S.; Osgood, Richard M., III; Xu, Jimmy

2018-03-01

Electronic devices are now advancing beyond classical, rigid systems and moving into lighweight flexible regimes, enabling new applications such as body-wearables and ‘e-textiles’. To support this new electronic platform, composite materials that are highly conductive yet scalable, flexible, and wearable are needed. Materials with high electrical conductivity often have poor thermoelectric properties because their thermal transport is made greater by the same factors as their electronic conductivity. We demonstrate, in proof-of-principle experiments, that a novel binary composite can disrupt thermal (phononic) transport, while maintaining high electrical conductivity, thus yielding promising thermoelectric properties. Highly conductive Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotube (MWCNT) composites are combined with a low-band gap semiconductor, PbS. The work functions of the two materials are closely matched, minimizing the electrical contact resistance within the composite. Disparities in the speed of sound in MWCNTs and PbS help to inhibit phonon propagation, and boundary layer scattering at interfaces between these two materials lead to large Seebeck coefficient (> 150 μV/K) (Mott N F and Davis E A 1971 Electronic Processes in Non-crystalline Materials (Oxford: Clarendon), p 47) and a power factor as high as 10 μW/(K2 m). The overall fabrication process is not only scalable but also conformal and compatible with large-area flexible hosts including metal sheets, films, coatings, possibly arrays of fibers, textiles and fabrics. We explain the behavior of this novel thermoelectric material platform in terms of differing length scales for electrical conductivity and phononic heat transfer, and explore new material configurations for potentially lightweight and flexible thermoelectric devices that could be networked in a textile.

Low-temperature thermal transport and thermopower of monolayer transition metal dichalcogenide semiconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sengupta, Parijat; Tan, Yaohua; Klimeck, Gerhard; Shi, Junxia

2017-10-01

We study the low temperature thermal conductivity of single-layer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs). In the low temperature regime where heat is carried primarily through transport of electrons, thermal conductivity is linked to electrical conductivity through the Wiedemann-Franz law (WFL). Using a k.p Hamiltonian that describes the K and K{\\prime} valley edges, we compute the zero-frequency electric (Drude) conductivity using the Kubo formula to obtain a numerical estimate for the thermal conductivity. The impurity scattering determined transit time of electrons which enters the Drude expression is evaluated within the self-consistent Born approximation. The analytic expressions derived show that low temperature thermal conductivity (1) is determined by the band gap at the valley edges in monolayer TMDCs and (2) in presence of disorder which can give rise to the variable range hopping regime, there is a distinct reduction. Additionally, we compute the Mott thermopower and demonstrate that under a high frequency light beam, a valley-resolved thermopower can be obtained. A closing summary reviews the implications of results followed by a brief discussion on applicability of the WFL and its breakdown in context of the presented calculations.

Magneto thermal conductivity of superconducting Nb with intermediate level of impurity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

L.S. Sharath Chandra, M.K. Chattopadhyay, S.B. Roy, V.C. Sahni, G.R. Myneni

2012-03-01

Niobium materials with intermediate purity level are used for fabrication of superconducting radio frequency cavities (SCRF), and thermal conductivity is an important parameter influencing the performance of such SCRF cavities. We report here the temperature and magnetic field dependence of thermal conductivity {kappa} for superconducting niobium (Nb) samples, for which the electron mean free path I{sub e}, the phonon mean free path I{sub g}, and the vortex core diameter 2r{sub C} are of the same order of magnitude. The measured thermal conductivity is analyzed using the effective gap model (developed for I{sub e} >> 2r{sub C} (Dubeck et al 1963more » Phys. Rev. Lett. 10 98)) and the normal core model (developed for I{sub e} << 2r{sub C} (Ward and Dew-Hughes 1970 J. Phys. C: Solid St. Phys. 3 2245)). However, it is found that the effective gap model is not suitable for low temperatures when I{sub e} {approx} 2r{sub C}. The normal core model, on the other hand, is able to describe {kappa}(T,H) over the entire temperature range except in the field regime between H{sub C1} and H{sub C2} i.e. in the mixed state. It is shown that to understand the complete behavior of {kappa} in the mixed state, the scattering of quasi-particles from the vortex cores and the intervortex quasi-particle tunneling are to be invoked. The quasi-particle scattering from vortices for the present system is understood in terms of the framework of Sergeenkov and Ausloos (1995 Phys. Rev. B 52 3614) extending their approach to the case of Nb. The intervortex tunneling is understood within the framework of Schmidbauer et al (1970 Z. Phys. 240 30). Analysis of the field dependence of thermal conductivity shows that while the quasi-particle scattering from vortices dominates in the low fields, the intervortex quasi-particle tunneling dominates in high fields. Analysis of the temperature dependence of thermal conductivity shows that while the quasi-particle scattering is dominant at low temperatures, the intervortex quasi-particle tunneling is dominant at high temperatures.« less

Beam energy spread in FERMI@elettra gun and linac induced by intrabeam scattering

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zholents, Alexander A; Zholents, Alexander A; Zolotorev, Max S.

Intrabeam scattering (IBS) of electrons in the pre-cathode area in the electron guns know in the literature as Boersh effect is responsible for a growth of the electron beam energy spread there. Albeit most visible within the electron gun where the electron beam density is large and the energy spread is small, the IBS acts all along the entire electron beam pass through the Linac. In this report we calculate the energy spread induced by IBS in the FERMI@elettra electron gun.

Electron tunneling transport across heterojunctions between europium sulfide and indium arsenide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kallaher, Raymond L.

This dissertation presents research done on utilizing the ferromagnetic semiconductor europium sulfide (EuS) to inject spin polarized electrons into the non-magnetic semiconductor indium arsenide (InAs). There is great interest in expanding the functionality of modern day electronic circuits by creating devices that depend not only on the flow of charge in the device, but also on the transport of spin through the device. Within this mindset, there is a concerted effort to establish an efficient means of injecting and detecting spin polarized electrons in a two dimensional electron system (2DES) as the first step in developing a spin based field effect transistor. Thus, the research presented in this thesis has focused on the feasibility of using EuS, in direct electrical contact with InAs, as a spin injecting electrode into an InAs 2DES. Doped EuS is a concentrated ferromagnetic semiconductor, whose conduction band undergoes a giant Zeeman splitting when the material becomes ferromagnetic. The concomitant difference in energy between the spin-up and spin-down energy bands makes the itinerant electrons in EuS highly spin polarized. Thus, in principle, EuS is a good candidate to be used as an injector of spin polarized electrons into non-magnetic materials. In addition, the ability to adjust the conductivity of EuS by varying the doping level in the material makes EuS particularly suited for injecting spins into non-magnetic semiconductors and 2DES. For this research, thin films of EuS have been grown via e-beam evaporation of EuS powder. This growth technique produces EuS films that are sulfur deficient; these sulfur vacancies act as intrinsic electron donors and the resulting EuS films behave like heavily doped ferromagnetic semiconductors. The growth parameters and deposition procedures were varied and optimized in order to fabricate films that have minimal crystalline defects. Various properties and characteristics of these EuS films were measured and compared to those characteristics found in previous reported work on doped EuS crystals. In particular, the magnetic switching behavior of individual micro-fabricated EuS structures was investigated to determine what types of spintronic devices EuS is best suited for. These studies found that the crystalline anisotropy of EuS dominates the switching behavior in EuS thin film structures with minimum feature sizes greater than ˜5 mum. This, in conjunction with the relatively high resistance of junctions between EuS and semiconductors, restricts the use of two tandem EuS electrodes in all semiconductor spintronic devices that require independently switching ferromagnetic electrodes. Spin transport studies in InAs 2DES are particularly interesting because of the heterostructure's high electron mobility and tunable spin-orbit interactions. Detailed measurements of the electrical transport characteristics across the heterojunction formed between EuS and InAs were taken in order to investigate the spin transport characteristics across the junction. These measurements show that the electrical transport across the heterojunction, below the ferromagnetic transition temperature, is directly related to the magnetization of the EuS layer and thus the transport is dominated by the spin-dependent Schottky barrier formed in EuS. Using a simple theory developed for these junctions, the magnitude of the change in barrier height---half the Zeeman splitting of the conduction band in EuS---as found to be ˜0.22 eV. The electrical transport measurements of the heterojunction between EuS and InAs at temperatures well above the ferromagnetic transition temperature of EuS shows that there are at least two separate scattering mechanisms in these junctions. As expected, critical scattering is the dominate scattering mechanism in the strongly paramagnetic regime; however, unexpectedly, the data show that critical scattering is not the dominate mechanism at temperatures greater than ˜100 K. The high temperature electrical transport measurements of the EuS/InAs heterojunction, in conjunction with low temperature zero-bias conductance measurements on junctions between EuS and gold (Au), suggest that there exists an interfacial layer in series with the magnetic Schottky barrier in these EuS junctions. This interfacial layer is modeled and explained as resulting from a rather high concentration of defects at the interface between EuS and the counter electrode.

Theoretical determination of hydrodynamic window in monolayer and bilayer graphene from scattering rates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ho, Derek Y. H.; Yudhistira, Indra; Chakraborty, Nilotpal; Adam, Shaffique

2018-03-01

Electrons behave like a classical fluid with a momentum distribution function that varies slowly in space and time when the quantum-mechanical carrier-carrier scattering dominates over all other scattering processes. Recent experiments in monolayer and bilayer graphene have reported signatures of such hydrodynamic electron behavior in ultraclean devices. In this theoretical work, starting from a microscopic treatment of electron-electron, electron-phonon, and electron-impurity interactions within the random phase approximation, we demonstrate that monolayer and bilayer graphene both host two different hydrodynamic regimes. We predict that the hydrodynamic window in bilayer graphene is stronger than in monolayer graphene, and has a characteristic "v shape" as opposed to a "lung shape." Finally, we collapse experimental data onto a universal disorder-limited theory, demonstrating that the observed violation of the Wiedemann-Franz law in monolayers occurs in a regime dominated by impurity-induced electron-hole puddles.

RELATIVISTIC THOMSON SCATTERING EXPERIMENT AT BNL - STATUS REPORT.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

POGORELSKY,I.V.; BEN ZVI,I.; KUSCHE,K.

2001-12-03

1.7 x 10{sup 8} x-ray photons per 3.5 ps pulse have been produced in Thomson scattering by focusing CO{sub 2} laser pulse on counter-propagating relativistic electron beam. We explore a possibility of further enhancement of process efficiency by propagating both beams in a plasma capillary. Conventional synchrotron light sources based on using giga-electron-volt electron synchrotron accelerators and magnetic wigglers generate x-ray radiation for versatile application in multi-disciplinary research. An intense laser beam causes relativistic electron oscillations similar to a wiggler. However, because the laser wavelength is thousand times shorter than a wiggler period, very moderate electron energy is needed tomore » produce hard x-rays via Thomson scattering. This allows using relatively compact mega-electron-volt linear accelerators instead of giga-electron-volt synchrotrons. Another important advantage of Thomson sources is a possibility to generate femtosecond x-ray pulses whereas conventional synchrotron sources have typically {approx}300 ps pulse duration. This promises to revolutionize x-ray research in chemistry, physics, and biology expanding it to ultra-fast processes. Thomson sources do not compete in repetition rate and average intensity with conventional light sources that operate at the megahertz frequency. However, Thomson sources have a potential to produce much higher photon numbers per pulse. This may allow developing a single shot exposure important for structural analysis of live biological objects. The BNL Thomson source is a user's experiment conducted at the Accelerator Test Facility since 1998 by an international collaboration in High Energy Physics. Since inception, the ATF source produces the record peak x-ray yield, intensity and brightness among other similar proof-of-principle demonstrations attempted elsewhere. Note that this result is achieved with a moderate laser power of 15 GW. A key to this achievement is in choosing right apparatus and efficient interaction geometry. We use a CO{sub 2} laser that delivers 10 times more photons per unit energy than the 1-{micro}m laser, a high-brightness linac, and the most energy-efficient backscattering interaction geometry. The purpose of this report is to give an update on new results obtained during this year and our near-term plans.« less

Investigations on the electronic transport and piezoresistivity properties of Ni{sub 2−X}Mn{sub 1+X}Ga (X = 0 and 0.15) Heusler alloys under hydrostatic pressure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Devarajan, U.; Kalai Selvan, G.; Sivaprakash, P.

2014-12-22

The resisitivity of Ni{sub 2−X}Mn{sub 1+X}Ga (X = 0 and 0.15) magnetic shape memory alloys has been investigated as a function of temperature (4–300 K) and hydrostatic pressure up to 30 kilobars. The resistivity is suppressed (X = 0) and enhanced (X = 0.15) with increasing pressure. A change in piezoresistivity with respect to pressure and temperature is observed. The negative and positive piezoresistivity increases with pressure for both the alloys. The residual resistivity and electron-electron scattering factor as a function of pressure reveal that for Ni{sub 2}MnGa the electron-electron scattering is predominant, while the X = 0.15 specimen is dominated by the electron-magnon scattering. The value of electron-electronmore » scattering factor is positive for both the samples, and it is decreasing (negative trend) for Ni{sub 2}MnGa and increasing (positive trend) for X = 0.15 with pressure. The martensite transition temperature is found to be increased with the application of external pressure for both samples.« less