Composite Nature of Layered Hybrid Perovskites: Assessment on Quantum and Dielectric Confinements and Band Alignment

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

Traore, Boubacar; Pedesseau, Laurent; Assam, Linda

Layered hybrid organic–inorganic perovskites (HOPs) have re-emerged as potential technological solutions for next-generation photovoltaic and optoelectronic applications. Their two-dimensional (2D) nature confers them a significant flexibility and results in the appearance of quantum and dielectric confinements. Such confinements are at the origin of their fascinating properties, and understanding them from a fundamental level is of paramount importance for optimization. Here, we provide an in-depth investigation of band alignments of 2D HOP allowing access to carriers’ confinement potentials. 2D HOPs are conceptualized as composite materials in which pseudoinorganic and -organic components are defined. In this way, computational modeling of band alignmentsmore » becomes affordable using first-principles methods. First, we show that the composite approach is suitable to study the position-dependent dielectric profiles and enables clear differentiation of the respective contributions of inorganic and organic components. Then we apply the composite approach to a variety of 2D HOPs, assessing the impact on the confinement potentials of well and barrier thickness, of the nature of the inorganic well, and of structural transitions. Using the deduced potentials, we further discuss the limitations of the effective mass approximation, scrutinizing the electronic properties of this family of composite materials. Our simulations demonstrate type-I dominant band alignment in 2D HOPs. Finally, we outline design principles on band alignment toward achieving specific optoelectronic properties. Furthermore, we present alternative theoretical methods to inspect the properties of 2D hybrid perovskites and expect that the composite approach will be applicable to other classes of layered materials.« less

Low-index discontinuity terahertz waveguides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagel, Michael; Marchewka, Astrid; Kurz, Heinrich

2006-10-01

A new type of dielectric THz waveguide based on recent approaches in the field of integrated optics is presented with theoretical and experimental results. Although the guiding mechanism of the low-index discontinuity (LID) THz waveguide is total internal reflection, the THz wave is predominantly confined in the virtually lossless low-index air gap within a high-index dielectric waveguide due to the continuity of electric flux density at the dielectric interface. Attenuation, dispersion and single-mode confinement properties of two LID structures are discussed and compared with other THz waveguide solutions. The new approach provides an outstanding combination of high mode confinement and low transmission losses currently not realizable with any other metal-based or photonic crystal approach. These exceptional properties might enable the breakthrough of novel integrated THz systems or endoscopy applications with sub-wavelength resolution.

Subwavelength hybrid terahertz waveguides.

PubMed

Nam, Sung Hyun; Taylor, Antoinette J; Efimov, Anatoly

2009-12-07

We introduce and present general properties of hybrid terahertz waveguides. Weakly confined Zenneck waves on a metal-dielectric interface at terahertz frequencies can be transformed to a strongly confined yet low-loss subwavelength mode through coupling with a photonic mode of a nearby high-index dielectric strip. We analyze confinement, attenuation, and dispersion properties of this mode. The proposed design is suitable for planar integration and allows easy fabrication on chip scale. The superior waveguiding properties at terahertz frequencies could enable the hybrid terahertz waveguides as building blocks for terahertz integrated circuits.

Anomalous response of supported few-layer hexagonal boron nitride to DC electric fields: a confined water effect?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliveira, Camilla; Matos, Matheus; Mazzoni, Mário; Chacham, Hélio; Neves, Bernardo

2013-03-01

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a two-dimensional compound from III-V family, with the atoms of boron and nitrogen arranged in a honeycomb lattice, similar to graphene. Unlike graphene though, h-BN is an insulator material, with a gap larger than 5 eV. Here, we use Electric Force Microscopy (EFM) to study the electrical response of mono and few-layers of h-BN to an electric field applied by the EFM tip. Our results show an anomalous behavior in the dielectric response for h-BN for different bias orientation: for a positive bias applied to the tip, h-BN layers respond with a larger dielectric constant than the dielectric constant of the silicon dioxide substrate; while for a negative bias, the h-BN dielectric constant is smaller than the dielectric constant of the substrate. Based on first-principles calculations, we showed that this anomalous response may be interpreted as a macroscopic consequence of confinement of a thin water layer between h-BN and substrate. These results were confirmed by sample annealing and also also by a comparative analysis with h-BN on a non-polar substrate. All the authors acknowledge financial support from CNPq, Fapemig, Rede Nacional de Pesquisa em Nanotubos de Carbono and INCT-Nano-Carbono.

Spatially resolved dielectric constant of confined water and its connection to the non-local nature of bulk water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaaf, Christian; Gekle, Stephan

2016-08-01

We use molecular dynamics simulations to compute the spatially resolved static dielectric constant of water in cylindrical and spherical nanopores as occurring, e.g., in protein water pockets or carbon nanotubes. For this, we derive a linear-response formalism which correctly takes into account the dielectric boundary conditions in the considered geometries. We find that in cylindrical confinement, the axial component behaves similar as the local density akin to what is known near planar interfaces. The radial dielectric constant shows some oscillatory features when approaching the surface if their radius is larger than about 2 nm. Most importantly, however, the radial component exhibits pronounced oscillations at the center of the cavity. These surprising features are traced back quantitatively to the non-local dielectric nature of bulk water.

Efficient Blue Electroluminescence Using Quantum-Confined Two-Dimensional Perovskites.

PubMed

Kumar, Sudhir; Jagielski, Jakub; Yakunin, Sergii; Rice, Peter; Chiu, Yu-Cheng; Wang, Mingchao; Nedelcu, Georgian; Kim, Yeongin; Lin, Shangchao; Santos, Elton J G; Kovalenko, Maksym V; Shih, Chih-Jen

2016-10-03

Solution-processed hybrid organic-inorganic lead halide perovskites are emerging as one of the most promising candidates for low-cost light-emitting diodes (LEDs). However, due to a small exciton binding energy, it is not yet possible to achieve an efficient electroluminescence within the blue wavelength region at room temperature, as is necessary for full-spectrum light sources. Here, we demonstrate efficient blue LEDs based on the colloidal, quantum-confined 2D perovskites, with precisely controlled stacking down to one-unit-cell thickness (n = 1). A variety of low-k organic host compounds are used to disperse the 2D perovskites, effectively creating a matrix of the dielectric quantum wells, which significantly boosts the exciton binding energy by the dielectric confinement effect. Through the Förster resonance energy transfer, the excitons down-convert and recombine radiatively in the 2D perovskites. We report room-temperature pure green (n = 7-10), sky blue (n = 5), pure blue (n = 3), and deep blue (n = 1) electroluminescence, with record-high external quantum efficiencies in the green-to-blue wavelength region.

All-dielectric metamaterials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jahani, Saman; Jacob, Zubin

2016-01-01

The ideal material for nanophotonic applications will have a large refractive index at optical frequencies, respond to both the electric and magnetic fields of light, support large optical chirality and anisotropy, confine and guide light at the nanoscale, and be able to modify the phase and amplitude of incoming radiation in a fraction of a wavelength. Artificial electromagnetic media, or metamaterials, based on metallic or polar dielectric nanostructures can provide many of these properties by coupling light to free electrons (plasmons) or phonons (phonon polaritons), respectively, but at the inevitable cost of significant energy dissipation and reduced device efficiency. Recently, however, there has been a shift in the approach to nanophotonics. Low-loss electromagnetic responses covering all four quadrants of possible permittivities and permeabilities have been achieved using completely transparent and high-refractive-index dielectric building blocks. Moreover, an emerging class of all-dielectric metamaterials consisting of anisotropic crystals has been shown to support large refractive index contrast between orthogonal polarizations of light. These advances have revived the exciting prospect of integrating exotic electromagnetic effects in practical photonic devices, to achieve, for example, ultrathin and efficient optical elements, and realize the long-standing goal of subdiffraction confinement and guiding of light without metals. In this Review, we present a broad outline of the whole range of electromagnetic effects observed using all-dielectric metamaterials: high-refractive-index nanoresonators, metasurfaces, zero-index metamaterials and anisotropic metamaterials. Finally, we discuss current challenges and future goals for the field at the intersection with quantum, thermal and silicon photonics, as well as biomimetic metasurfaces.

Transverse mode control in proton-implanted and oxide-confined VCSELs via patterned dielectric anti-phase filters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kesler, Benjamin; O'Brien, Thomas; Dallesasse, John M.

2017-02-01

A novel method for controlling the transverse lasing modes in both proton implanted and oxide-confined vertical- cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) with a multi-layer, patterned, dielectric anti-phase (DAP) filter is pre- sented. Using a simple photolithographic liftoff process, dielectric layers are deposited and patterned on individual VCSELs to modify (increase or decrease) the mirror reflectivity across the emission aperture via anti-phase reflections, creating spatially-dependent threshold material gain. The shape of the dielectric pattern can be tailored to overlap with specific transverse VCSEL modes or subsets of transverse modes to either facilitate or inhibit lasing by decreasing or increasing, respectively, the threshold modal gain. A silicon dioxide (SiO2) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) anti-phase filter is used to achieve a single-fundamental-mode, continuous-wave output power greater than 4.0 mW in an oxide-confined VCSEL at a lasing wavelength of 850 nm. A filter consisting of SiO2 and TiO2 is used to facilitate injection-current-insensitive fundamental mode and lower order mode lasing in proton implanted VCSELs at a lasing wavelength of 850 nm. Higher refractive index dielectric materials such as amorphous silicon (a-Si) can be used to increase the effectiveness of the anti-phase filter on proton implanted devices by reducing the threshold modal gain of any spatially overlapping modes. This additive, non-destructive method allows for mode selection at any lasing wavelength and for any VCSEL layer structure without the need for semiconductor etching or epitaxial regrowth. It also offers the capability of designing a filter based upon available optical coating materials.

Dielectric response of an inhomogeneous quasi-two-dimensional electron gas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernández-Velicia, F. J.; García-Moliner, F.; Velasco, V. R.

1996-01-01

The solution of the integral equation required to invert the dielectric function of a confined quasi-two-dimensional electron gas is studied by means of a formal analysis which yields a convergent algorithm. The dielectric function can then be inverted in real space for an arbitrary number of populated subbands and taking into account the effect of intersubband excitations involving empty subbands to any desired degree of accuracy. Plasma modes and screened potential can then be easily studied by using a basis which bears out explicitly the consequences of symmetry in symmetric systems. A model calculation of dynamical screening at frequencies of the order of those of confined polar optical modes in usual GaAs wells indicates that the empty states may play a quite significant role and the screened potential, explicitly obtained in real space, may exhibit a great variety of behaviors: the sign of the potential may change and its magnitude may be either reduced (ordinary screening) or enhanced (antiscreening).

Dielectric properties of magnetic-ferroelectric CoO-NaNO2-porous glass nanocomposite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koroleva, E. Yu.; Burdin, D. Yu.; Kumzerov, Yu. A.; Sysoeva, A. A.; Filimonov, A. V.; Vakhrushev, S. B.

2017-10-01

Dielectric properties of the nanostructured multiferroic composite on the basis of silicate porous glass simultaneously filled with ferromagnetic (cobalt oxide CoO) and ferroelectric (sodium nitrite) materials have been investigated in wide temperature (270-570 K) and frequency (10-1-107 Hz) ranges. The mean diameter of pores in the matrix is 7 ± 1 nm. The magnetic material particles are synthesized directly in the pores of the glass matrix and occupy about 10% of the pore volume. The porous glass is well wetted with NaNO2. The latter easily infiltrates into the glass and occupies 90% of the remaining unfilled pore volume. The dielectric response of matrices filled with both the components together and with each component separately is studied. An analysis of the obtained data makes it possible to reveal the contributions of individual components into the dielectric response of the composite and the influence of the confined geometry on their dielectric properties. It is found that the incorporation of CoO nanoparticles leads to an order of magnitude increase in the dielectric permittivity and electrical conductivity of the two-component composite in comparison with these values for the composite filled solely with sodium nitrite and to a decrease in the activation energy over the entire studied temperature range. These studies are of interest not only as a preliminary investigation prior to the study of the effect of a magnetic field on the dielectric properties of the synthesized composite, but are of independent physical interest as well, since they allow one to determine the influence of the confined geometry on the dielectric properties of magnetic metal oxides and on the of their phase transition parameters.

Elevated-Confined Phase-Change Random Access Memory Cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee; Koon, Hock; Shi; Luping; Zhao; Rong; Yang; Hongxin; Lim; Guan, Kian; Li; Jianming; Chong; Chong, Tow

2010-04-01

A new elevated-confined phase-change random access memory (PCRAM) cell structure to reduce power consumption was proposed. In this proposed structure, the confined phase-change region is sitting on top of a small metal column enclosed by a dielectric at the sides. Hence, more heat can be effectively sustained underneath the phase-change region. As for the conventional structure, the confined phase-change region is sitting directly above a large planar bottom metal electrode, which can easily conduct most of the induced heat away. From simulations, a more uniform temperature profile around the active region and a higher peak temperature at the phase-change layer (PCL) in an elevated-confined structure were observed. Experimental results showed that the elevated-confined PCRAM cell requires a lower programming power and has a better scalability than a conventional confined PCRAM cell.

Gate-tunable electron interaction in high-κ dielectric films

DOE PAGES

Kondovych, Svitlana; Luk’yanchuk, Igor; Baturina, Tatyana I.; ...

2017-02-20

The two-dimensional (2D) logarithmic character of Coulomb interaction between charges and the resulting logarithmic confinement is a remarkable inherent property of high dielectric constant (high-k) thin films with far reaching implications. Most and foremost, this is the charge Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition with the notable manifestation, low-temperature superinsulating topological phase. Here we show that the range of the confinement can be tuned by the external gate electrode and unravel a variety of electrostatic interactions in high-k films. Lastly, our findings open a unique laboratory for the in-depth study of topological phase transitions and a plethora of related phenomena, ranging from criticality ofmore » quantum metal- and superconductor-insulator transitions to the effects of charge-trapping and Coulomb scalability in memory nanodevices.« less

Anomalously low dielectric constant of confined water.

PubMed

Fumagalli, L; Esfandiar, A; Fabregas, R; Hu, S; Ares, P; Janardanan, A; Yang, Q; Radha, B; Taniguchi, T; Watanabe, K; Gomila, G; Novoselov, K S; Geim, A K

2018-06-22

The dielectric constant ε of interfacial water has been predicted to be smaller than that of bulk water (ε ≈ 80) because the rotational freedom of water dipoles is expected to decrease near surfaces, yet experimental evidence is lacking. We report local capacitance measurements for water confined between two atomically flat walls separated by various distances down to 1 nanometer. Our experiments reveal the presence of an interfacial layer with vanishingly small polarization such that its out-of-plane ε is only ~2. The electrically dead layer is found to be two to three molecules thick. These results provide much-needed feedback for theories describing water-mediated surface interactions and the behavior of interfacial water, and show a way to investigate the dielectric properties of other fluids and solids under extreme confinement. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Propagational characteristics in a warm hybrid plasmonic waveguide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahmodi Moghadam, M.; Shahmansouri, M.; Farokhi, B.

2017-12-01

We theoretically analyze the properties of guided modes in a warm planar conductor-gap-dielectric (CGD) system. The latter consists of a high index dielectric, separated from a warm metallic plasma with a low index nano-sized dielectric layer (gap) by using the hydrodynamic model coupled to Maxwell's equations. The effects of thermal pressure on the confinement and the propagation losses of Hybrid Plasmon Polariton (HPP) modes are studied. We found that the thermal effect leads to a reduction in the effective refractive index as well as in the propagation losses of the HPP mode. Furthermore, the cutoff thickness in the warm CGD waveguide is found to be smaller than that in a cold CGD waveguide. The results may be useful in understanding the essential physics of active/passive Plasmonic devices and chip-scale systems.

Ionic Structure at Dielectric Interfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jing, Yufei

The behavior of ions in liquids confined between macromolecules determines the outcome of many nanoscale assembly processes in synthetic and biological materials such as colloidal dispersions, emulsions, hydrogels, DNA, cell membranes, and proteins. Theoretically, the macromolecule-liquid boundary is often modeled as a dielectric interface and an important quantity of interest is the ionic structure in a liquid confined between two such interfaces. The knowledge gleaned from the study of ionic structure in such models can be useful in several industrial applications, such as biosensors, lithium-ion batteries double-layer supercapacitors for energy storage and seawater desalination. Electrostatics plays a critical role in the development of such functional materials. Many of the functions of these materials, result from charge and composition heterogeneities. There are great challenges in solving electrostatics problems in heterogeneous media with arbitrary shapes because electrostatic interactions remains unknown but depend on the particular density of charge distributions. Charged molecules in heterogeneous media affect the media's dielectric response and hence the interaction between the charges is unknown since it depends on the media and on the geometrical properties of the interfaces. To determine the properties of heterogeneous systems including crucial effects neglected in classical mean field models such as the hard core of the ions, the dielectric mismatch and interfaces with arbitrary shapes. The effect of hard core interactions accounts properly for short range interactions and the effect of local dielectric heterogeneities in the presence of ions and/or charged molecules for long-range interactions are both analyzed via an energy variational principle that enables to update charges and the medium's response in the same simulation time step. In particular, we compute the ionic structure in a model system of electrolyte confined by two planar dielectric interfaces using molecular dynamics(MD) simulations and compared it with liquid state theory result. We explore the effects of high electrolyte concentrations, multivalent ions, and dielectric contrasts on the ionic distributions. We observe the presence of non-monotonous ionic density profiles leading to structure deformation in the fluid which is attributed to the competition between electrostatic and steric (entropic) interactions. We find that thermal forces that arise from symmetry breaking at the interfaces can have a profound effect on the ionic structure and can oftentimes overwhelm the influence of dielectric discontinuity. The combined effect of ionic correlations and inhomogeneous dielectric permittivity significantly changes the character of effective interaction between two interfaces. We show that, in concentrated electrolytes with confinement, it is imperative to take into account the finite-size of the ions as well as proper description of electrostatic interactions in heterogeneous media, which is not fully fulfilled by Poisson-Boltzmann based approaches. The effect of electric field at interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions is studied as well. The classical Poisson-Boltzmann theory has been widely used to describe the corresponding ionic distribution, even though it neglects the polarization and ion correlations typical of these charged systems. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we provide an enhanced description of an oil-water interface in the presence of an electric field without needing any adjustable parameter, including realistic ionic sizes, ion correlations, and image charges. Our data agree with experimental measurements of excess surface tension for a wide range of electrolyte concentrations of LiCl and TBATPB (tetrabutylammonium-tetraphenylborate), contrasting with the result of the classical non-linear Poisson-Boltzmann theory. More importantly, we show that the size-asymmetry between small Li+ and large Cl- ions can significantly increase the electric field near the liquid interface, or can even reverse it locally, at high salt concentrations in the aqueous phase. These observations suggest a novel trapping/release mechanism of charged nanoparticles at oil-water interfaces in the vicinity of the point of zero charge. In addition, we study the effects of size asymmetry and charge asymmetry on ion distribution at a dielectric interface using coarse-grained MD based on an energy variational principle. The goal is to explore charge amplification with exact consideration of surface polarization. We find that both size asymmetry and charge asymmetry lead to charge separation at the interfaces. In addition, charge separation is enhanced by interface polarization. We are currently extending the research to charged interfaces that has broad applications such as batteries and supercapacitors for energy storage.

Quantum confinement and dielectric profiles of colloidal nanoplatelets of halide inorganic and hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sapori, Daniel; Kepenekian, Mikaël; Pedesseau, Laurent; Katan, Claudine; Even, Jacky

2016-03-01

Quantum confinement as well as high frequency ε∞ and static εs dielectric profiles are described for nanoplatelets of halide inorganic perovskites CsPbX3 (X = I, Br, Cl) and hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites (HOP) in two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) structures. 3D HOP are currently being sought for their impressive photovoltaic ability. Prior to this sudden popularity, 2D HOP materials were driving intense activity in the field of optoelectronics. Such developments have been enriched by the recent ability to synthesize colloidal nanostructures of controlled sizes of 2D and 3D HOP. This raises the need to achieve a thorough description of the electronic structure and dielectric properties of these systems. In this work, we go beyond the abrupt dielectric interface model and reach the atomic scale description. We examine the influence of the nature of the halogen and of the cation on the band structure and dielectric constants. Similarly, we survey the effect of dimensionality and shape of the perovskite. In agreement with recent experimental results, we show an increase of the band gap and a decrease of ε∞ when the size of a nanoplatelet reduces. By inspecting 2D HOP, we find that it cannot be described as a simple superposition of independent inorganic and organic layers. Finally, the dramatic impact of ionic contributions on the dielectric constant εs is analysed.Quantum confinement as well as high frequency ε∞ and static εs dielectric profiles are described for nanoplatelets of halide inorganic perovskites CsPbX3 (X = I, Br, Cl) and hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites (HOP) in two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) structures. 3D HOP are currently being sought for their impressive photovoltaic ability. Prior to this sudden popularity, 2D HOP materials were driving intense activity in the field of optoelectronics. Such developments have been enriched by the recent ability to synthesize colloidal nanostructures of controlled sizes of 2D and 3D HOP. This raises the need to achieve a thorough description of the electronic structure and dielectric properties of these systems. In this work, we go beyond the abrupt dielectric interface model and reach the atomic scale description. We examine the influence of the nature of the halogen and of the cation on the band structure and dielectric constants. Similarly, we survey the effect of dimensionality and shape of the perovskite. In agreement with recent experimental results, we show an increase of the band gap and a decrease of ε∞ when the size of a nanoplatelet reduces. By inspecting 2D HOP, we find that it cannot be described as a simple superposition of independent inorganic and organic layers. Finally, the dramatic impact of ionic contributions on the dielectric constant εs is analysed. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Complementary results on the electronic structure and dielectric constants of CsPbX3 and CH3NH3PbX3 (X = I, Br, Cl). See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr07175e

Dielectric response properties of parabolically-confined nanostructures in a quantizing magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sabeeh, Kashif

This thesis presents theoretical studies of dielectric response properties of parabolically-confined nanostructures in a magnetic field. We have determined the retarded Schrodinger Green's function for an electron in such a parabolically confined system in the presence of a time dependent electric field and an ambient magnetic field. Following an operator equation of motion approach developed by Schwinger, we calculate the result in closed form in terms of elementary functions in direct-time representation. From the retarded Schrodinger Green's function we construct the closed-form thermodynamic Green's function for a parabolically confined quantum-dot in a magnetic field to determine its plasmon spectrum. Due to confinement and Landau quantization this system is fully quantized, with an infinite number of collective modes. The RPA integral equation for the inverse dielectric function is solved using Fredholm theory in the nondegenerate and quantum limit to determine the frequencies with which the plasmons participate in response to excitation by an external potential. We exhibit results for the variation of plasmon frequency as a function of magnetic field strength and of confinement frequency. A calculation of the van der Waals interaction energy between two harmonically confined quantum dots is discussed in terms of the dipole-dipole correlation function. The results are presented as a function of confinement strength and distance between the dots. We also rederive a result of Fertig & Halperin [32] for the tunneling-scattering of an electron through a saddle potential which is also known as a quantum point contact (QPC), in the presence of a magnetic field. Using the retarded Green's function we confirm the result for the transmission coefficient and analyze it.

Dynamics of water in strawberry and red onion as studied by dielectric spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jansson, H.; Huldt, C.; Bergman, R.; Swenson, J.

2005-01-01

We have investigated the microscopic dynamics of strawberry and red onion by means of broadband dielectric spectroscopy. In contrast to most of the previous experiments on carbohydrate-rich biological materials, which have mainly considered the more global dynamics of the “biological matrix,” we are here focusing on the microscopic dynamics of mainly the associated water. The results for both strawberry and red onion show that the imaginary part of the permittivity contains one conductivity term and a clear dielectric loss peak, which was found to be similar to the strongest relaxation process of water in carbohydrate solutions. The temperature dependence of the relaxation process was analyzed for different water content. The relaxation process slows down, and its temperature dependence becomes more non-Arrhenius, with decreasing water content. The reason for this is most likely that, on average, the water molecules interact more strongly with carbohydrates and other biological materials at low water content, and the dynamical properties of this biological matrix changes substantially with increasing temperature (from an almost rigid matrix where the water is basically unable to perform long-range diffusion due to confinement effects, to a dynamic matrix with no static confinement effects), which also changes (i.e., reduces) the activation energy of the relaxation process with increasing temperature (i.e., causes a non-Arrhenius temperature dependence). This further changes the conductivity from mainly polarization effects at low temperatures, due to hindered ionic motions, to long-range diffusivity at T>250K . Thus, around this temperature ions in the carbohydrate solution no longer get stuck in confined cavities, since the motion of the biological matrix “opens up” the cavities and the ions are then able to perform long-range migration.

Analysis of hybrid dielectric-plasmonic slot waveguide structures with 3D Fourier Modal Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ctyroky, J.; Kwiecien, P.; Richter, I.

2013-03-01

Recently, plasmonic waveguides have been intensively studied as promising basic building blocks for the construction of extremely compact photonic devices with subwavelength characteristic dimensions. A number of different types of plasmonic waveguide structures have been recently proposed, theoretically analyzed, and their properties experimentally verified. The fundamental trade-off in the design of plasmonic waveguides for potential application in information technologies lies in the contradiction between their mode field confinement and propagation loss: the higher confinement, the higher loss, and vice versa. Various definitions of figures of merit of plasmonic waveguides have been also introduced for the characterization of their properties with a single quantity. In this contribution, we theoretically analyze one specific type of a plasmonic waveguide - the hybrid dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguide, or - as we call it in this paper - the hybrid dielectric-plasmonic slot waveguide, which exhibits very strong field confinement combined with acceptable losses allowing their application in some integrated plasmonic devices. In contrast to the structures analyzed previously, our structure makes use of a single low-index dielectric only. We first define the effective area of this waveguide type, and using waveguide parameters close to the optimum we analyze several waveguide devices as directional couplers, multimode interference couplers (MMI), and the Mach-Zehnder interferometer based on the MMI couplers. For the full-vector 3D analysis of these structures, we use modelling tools developed in-house on the basis of the Fourier Modal Method (FMM). Our results thus serve to a dual purpose: they confirm that (i) these structures represent promising building blocks of plasmonic devices, and (ii) our FMM codes are capable of efficient 3D vector modelling of plasmonic waveguide devices.

Giant enhancement of reflectance due to the interplay between surface confined wave modes and nonlinear gain in dielectric media.

PubMed

Kim, Sangbum; Kim, Kihong

2017-12-11

We study theoretically the interplay between the surface confined wave modes and the linear and nonlinear gain of the dielectric layer in the Otto configuration. The surface confined wave modes, such as surface plasmons or waveguide modes, are excited in the dielectric-metal bilayer by obliquely incident p waves. In the purely linear case, we find that the interplay between linear gain and surface confined wave modes can generate a large reflectance peak with its value much greater than 1. As the linear gain parameter increases, the peak appears at smaller incident angles, and the associated modes also change from surface plasmons to waveguide modes. When the nonlinear gain is turned on, the reflectance shows very strong multistability near the incident angles associated with surface confined wave modes. As the nonlinear gain parameter is varied, the reflectance curve undergoes complicated topological changes and sometimes displays separated closed curves. When the nonlinear gain parameter takes an optimally small value, a giant amplification of the reflectance by three orders of magnitude occurs near the incident angle associated with a waveguide mode. We also find that there exists a range of the incident angle where the wave is dissipated rather than amplified even in the presence of gain. We suggest that this can provide the basis for a possible new technology for thermal control in the subwavelength scale.

Physical mechanisms of SiN{sub x} layer structuring with ultrafast lasers by direct and confined laser ablation

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

Rapp, S., E-mail: rapp@hm.edu; Erlangen Graduate School in Advanced Optical Technologies; Heinrich, G.

2015-03-14

In the production process of silicon microelectronic devices and high efficiency silicon solar cells, local contact openings in thin dielectric layers are required. Instead of photolithography, these openings can be selectively structured with ultra-short laser pulses by confined laser ablation in a fast and efficient lift off production step. Thereby, the ultrafast laser pulse is transmitted by the dielectric layer and absorbed at the substrate surface leading to a selective layer removal in the nanosecond time domain. Thermal damage in the substrate due to absorption is an unwanted side effect. The aim of this work is to obtain a deepermore » understanding of the physical laser-material interaction with the goal of finding a damage-free ablation mechanism. For this, thin silicon nitride (SiN{sub x}) layers on planar silicon (Si) wafers are processed with infrared fs-laser pulses. Two ablation types can be distinguished: The known confined ablation at fluences below 300 mJ/cm{sup 2} and a combined partial confined and partial direct ablation at higher fluences. The partial direct ablation process is caused by nonlinear absorption in the SiN{sub x} layer in the center of the applied Gaussian shaped laser pulses. Pump-probe investigations of the central area show ultra-fast reflectivity changes typical for direct laser ablation. Transmission electron microscopy results demonstrate that the Si surface under the remaining SiN{sub x} island is not damaged by the laser ablation process. At optimized process parameters, the method of direct laser ablation could be a good candidate for damage-free selective structuring of dielectric layers on absorbing substrates.« less

Correlation of TEM data with confined phonons to determine strain and size of Ge nanocrystals embedded in SixNy matrix

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bahariqushchi, Rahim; Gündoğdu, Sinan; Aydinli, Atilla

2017-11-01

Models that use phonon confinement fail to provide consistent results for nanocrystal sizes in differing dielectric matrices due to varying stress experienced by nanocrystals in different dielectric environments. In cases where direct measurement of stress is difficult, the possibility of stress saturation as a function of size opens up a window for the use of phonon confinement to determine size. We report on a test of this possibility in Ge: SixNy system. Ge nanocrystals (NCs) embedded in silicon nitride matrix have been fabricated using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) followed by post annealing in Ar ambient. Nanocrystal size dependence of Raman spectra was studied taking into account associated stress and an improved phonon confinement approach. Our analysis show same stress for NCs which have sizes below 7.0 nm allowing the use of phonon confinement to determine the nanocrystal size. The results are compared with TEM data and good agreement is observed.

Ultra-confined surface phonon polaritons in molecular layers of van der Waals dielectrics.

PubMed

Dubrovkin, Alexander M; Qiang, Bo; Krishnamoorthy, Harish N S; Zheludev, Nikolay I; Wang, Qi Jie

2018-05-02

Improvements in device density in photonic circuits can only be achieved with interconnects exploiting highly confined states of light. Recently this has brought interest to highly confined plasmon and phonon polaritons. While plasmonic structures have been extensively studied, the ultimate limits of phonon polariton squeezing, in particular enabling the confinement (the ratio between the excitation and polariton wavelengths) exceeding 10 2 , is yet to be explored. Here, exploiting unique structure of 2D materials, we report for the first time that atomically thin van der Waals dielectrics (e.g., transition-metal dichalcogenides) on silicon carbide substrate demonstrate experimentally record-breaking propagating phonon polaritons confinement resulting in 190-times squeezed surface waves. The strongly dispersive confinement can be potentially tuned to greater than 10 3 near the phonon resonance of the substrate, and it scales with number of van der Waals layers. We argue that our findings are a substantial step towards infrared ultra-compact phonon polaritonic circuits and resonators, and would stimulate further investigations on nanophotonics in non-plasmonic atomically thin interface platforms.

Negative Pressure Vitrification of the Isochorically Confined Liquid in Nanopores.

PubMed

Adrjanowicz, K; Kaminski, K; Koperwas, K; Paluch, M

2015-12-31

Dielectric relaxation studies for model glass-forming liquids confined to nanoporous alumina matrices were examined together with high-pressure results. For confined liquids which show the deviation from bulk dynamics upon approaching the glass transition (the change from the Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann to the Arrhenius law), we have observed a striking agreement between the temperature dependence of the α-relaxation time in the Arrhenius-like region and the isochoric relaxation times extrapolated from the positive range of pressure to the negative pressure domain. Our finding provides strong evidence that glass-forming liquid confined to native nanopores enters the isochoric conditions once the mobility of the interfacial layer becomes frozen in. This results in the negative pressure effects on cooling. We also demonstrate that differences in the sensitivity of various glass-forming liquids to the "confinement effects" can be rationalized by considering the relative importance of thermal energy and density contributions in controlling the α-relaxation dynamics (the E(v)/E(p) ratio).

Effect of confinement potential on exciton diamagnetism in the perspective of constituent carriers in a Quantum Well

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vignesh, G.; Nithiananthi, P.

2018-03-01

Diamagnetic susceptibility of excitons is investigated in the perspective of the electron and hole separation along the lateral (ρ) and normal direction (z) of a GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum well. Using a variational technique, the spatial extensions of these carriers has been observed. The coulomb interaction of the carriers is investigated by subjecting the carriers to three confinement potentials, Square (SQW), Parabolic (PQW) and Triangular Quantum Wells (TQW). The stability of the exciton has been estimated by observing the diamagnetic susceptibility. The hole is very sensitive to confinement potential and has tremendous variations in spatial extension. Among the three confinements, TQW offers more localization and high stability to excitons. The anisotropy of band parameters and the dielectric constants of the well and barrier materials are taken into consideration.

Static dielectric constant of water within a bilayer using recent water models: a molecular dynamics study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meneses-Juárez, Efrain; Rivas-Silva, Juan Francisco; González-Melchor, Minerva

2018-05-01

The water confined within a surfactant bilayer is studied using different water models via molecular dynamics simulations. We considered four representative rigid models of water: the SPC/E and the TIP4P/2005, which are commonly used in numerical calculations and the more recent TIP4Q and SPC/ε models, developed to reproduce the dielectric behaviour of pure water. The static dielectric constant of the confined water was analyzed as a function of the temperature for the four models. In all cases it decreases as the temperature increases. Additionally, the static dielectric constant of the bilayer-water system was estimated through its expression in terms of the fluctuations in the total dipole moment, usually applied for isotropic systems. The estimated dielectric was compared with the available experimental data. We found that the TIP4Q and the SPC/ε produce closer values to the experimental data than the other models, particularly at room temperature. It was found that the probability of finding the sodium ion close to the head of the surfactant decreases as the temperature increases, thus the head of the surfactant is more exposed to the interaction with water when the temperature is higher.

Current density characteristics in the studies of electromagnetically induced transparency in a GaAs/GaAlAs quantum well

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jayarubi, J.; Peter, A. John

2017-05-01

Confinement potential profiles due to conduction and valence bands are obtained in a Ga0.7Al0.3As/ GaAs/ Ga0.7Al0.3As using variation formulism. The free electron distribution is carried out. The confined energy eigenvalue and its corresponding wavefunctions of charge carriers are found using self-consistent method. The confined energies with the geometrical confinement are computed. The potentials due to charges are done by Poisson equation. The effects of dielectric mismatch between the GaAs and GaAlAs semiconductors are introduced in the effective potential expressions. Transfer matrix method is employed to obtain the respective energies. The transmission probability is obtained for a constant well size. The high current density characteristics as a function of applied voltage is investigated. This investigation on the electromagnetically induced transparency in the photonic material will exploit in fabricating novel nonlinear optical devices in future.

The effect of nonlocal dielectric response on the surface-enhanced Raman and fluorescence spectra of molecular systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Yong; Pei, Huan; Li, Li; Zhu, Yanying

2018-06-01

We present a theoretical study on the influence of the nonlocal dielectric response on surface-enhanced resonant Raman scattering (SERRS) and fluorescence (SEF) spectra of a model molecule confined in the center of a Ag nanoparticle (NP) dimer. In the simulations, the nonlocal dielectric response caused by the electron–hole pair generation in Ag NPs was computed with the d-parameter theory, and the scattering spectra of a model molecule representing the commonly used fluorescent dye rhodamine 6G (R6G) were obtained by density-matrix calculations. The influence of the separation between Ag NP dimers on the damping rate and scattering spectra with and without the nonlocal response were systematically analyzed. The results show that the nonlocal dielectric response is very sensitive to the gap distance of the NP dimers, and it undergoes much faster decay with the increase of the separation than the radiative and energy transfer rates. The Raman and fluorescence peaks as simulated with the nonlocal dielectric response are relative weaker than that without the nonlocal effect for smaller NP separations because the extra decay rates of the nonlocal effect could reduce both the population of the excited state and the interband coherence between the ground and excited states. Our result also indicates that the nonlocal effect is more prominent on the SEF process than the SERRS process.

The effect of nonlocal dielectric response on the surface-enhanced Raman and fluorescence spectra of molecular systems.

PubMed

Wei, Yong; Pei, Huan; Li, Li; Zhu, Yanying

2018-05-04

We present a theoretical study on the influence of the nonlocal dielectric response on surface-enhanced resonant Raman scattering (SERRS) and fluorescence (SEF) spectra of a model molecule confined in the center of a Ag nanoparticle (NP) dimer. In the simulations, the nonlocal dielectric response caused by the electron-hole pair generation in Ag NPs was computed with the d-parameter theory, and the scattering spectra of a model molecule representing the commonly used fluorescent dye rhodamine 6G (R6G) were obtained by density-matrix calculations. The influence of the separation between Ag NP dimers on the damping rate and scattering spectra with and without the nonlocal response were systematically analyzed. The results show that the nonlocal dielectric response is very sensitive to the gap distance of the NP dimers, and it undergoes much faster decay with the increase of the separation than the radiative and energy transfer rates. The Raman and fluorescence peaks as simulated with the nonlocal dielectric response are relative weaker than that without the nonlocal effect for smaller NP separations because the extra decay rates of the nonlocal effect could reduce both the population of the excited state and the interband coherence between the ground and excited states. Our result also indicates that the nonlocal effect is more prominent on the SEF process than the SERRS process.

Anisotropic dynamics of water ultra-confined in macroscopically oriented channels of single-crystal beryl: A multi-frequency analysis

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

Anovitz, Lawrence; Mamontov, Eugene; Ishai, Paul ben

2013-01-01

The properties of fluids can be significantly altered by the geometry of their confining environments. While there has been significant work on the properties of such confined fluids, the properties of fluids under ultraconfinement, environments where, at least in one plane, the dimensions of the confining environment are similar to that of the confined molecule, have not been investigated. This paper investigates the dynamic properties of water in beryl (Be3Al2Si6O18), the structure of which contains approximately 5-A-diam channels parallel to the c axis. Three techniques, inelastic neutron scattering, quasielastic neutron scattering, and dielectric spectroscopy, have been used to quantify thesemore » properties over a dynamic range covering approximately 16 orders of magnitude. Because beryl can be obtained in large single crystals we were able to quantify directional variations, perpendicular and parallel to the channel directions, in the dynamics of the confined fluid. These are significantly anisotropic and, somewhat counterintuitively, show that vibrations parallel to the c-axis channels are significantly more hindered than those perpendicular to the channels. The effective potential for vibrations in the c direction is harder than the potential in directions perpendicular to it. There is evidence of single-file diffusion of water molecules along the channels at higher temperatures, but below 150 K this diffusion is strongly suppressed. No such suppression, however, has been observed in the channel-perpendicular direction. Inelastic neutron scattering spectra include an intramolecular stretching O-H peak at 465 meV. As this is nearly coincident with that known for free water molecules and approximately 30 meV higher than that in liquid water or ice, this suggests that there is no hydrogen bonding constraining vibrations between the channel water and the beryl structure. However, dielectric spectroscopic measurements at higher temperatures and lower frequencies yield an activation energy for the dipole reorientation of 16.4 0.14 kJ/mol, close to the energy required to break a hydrogen bond in bulk water. This may suggest the presence of some other form of bonding between the water molecules and the structure, but the resolution of the apparent contradiction between the inelastic neutron and dielectric spectroscopic results remains uncertain.« less

Power loss of a single electron charge distribution confined in a quantum plasma

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

Mehramiz, A.; Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, I. K. Int'l University, Qazvin 34149-16818; Mahmoodi, J.

2011-05-15

The dielectric tensor for a quantum plasma is derived by using a linearized quantum hydrodynamic theory. The wave functions for a nanostructure bound system have been investigated. Finally, the power loss for an oscillating charge distribution of a mixed state will be calculated, using the dielectric function formalism.

A mixed pseudospectral/finite difference method for a thermally driven fluid in a nonuniform gravitational field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Macaraeg, M. G.

1985-01-01

A numerical study of the steady, axisymmetric flow in a heated, rotating spherical shell is conducted to model the Atmospheric General Circulation Experiment (AGCE) proposed to run aboard a later Shuttle mission. The AGCE will consist of concentric rotating spheres confining a dielectric fluid. By imposing a dielectric field across the fluid a radial body force will be created. The numerical solution technique is based on the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. In the method a pseudospectral technique is used in the latitudinal direction, and a second-order accurate finite difference scheme discretizes time and radial derivatives. This paper discusses the development and performance of this numerical scheme for the AGCE which has been modeled in the past only by pure FD formulations. In addition, previous models have not investigated the effect of using a dielectric force to simulate terrestrial gravity. The effect of this dielectric force on the flow field is investigated as well as a parameter study of varying rotation rates and boundary temperatures. Among the effects noted are the production of larger velocities and enhanced reversals of radial temperature gradients for a body force generated by the electric field.

Pore Diameter Dependence and Segmental Dynamics of Poly-Z-L-lysine and Poly-L-alanine Confined in 1D Nanocylindrical Geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tuncel, Eylul; Suzuki, Yasuhito; Iossifidis, Agathaggelos; Steinhart, Martin; Butt, Hans-Jurgen; Floudas, George; Duran, Hatice

Structure formation, thermodynamic stability, phase and dynamic behaviors of polypeptides are strongly affected by confinement. Since understanding the changes in these behaviors will allow their rational design as functional devices with tunable properties, herein we investigated Poly-Z-L-lysine (PZLL) and Poly-L-alanine (PAla) homopolypeptides confined in nanoporous alumina containing aligned cylindrical nanopores as a function of pore size by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Solid-state NMR, X-ray diffraction, Dielectric spectroscopy(DS). Bulk PZLL exhibits a glass transition temperature (Tg) at about 301K while PZLL nanorods showed slightly lower Tg (294K). The dynamic investigation by DS also revealed a decrease (4K) in Tg between bulk and PZLL nanorods. DS is a very sensitive probe of the local and global secondary structure relaxation through the large dipole to study effect of confinement. The results revealed that the local segmental dynamics, associated with broken hydrogen bonds, and segmental dynamics speed-up on confinement.

Microslab - Waveguide medium for the future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sequeira, H. B.

1986-09-01

'Microslab' technology, which has the transmission properties of both microstrip and dielectric slab waveguides, and which is aimed for use in MIMIC devices, is described. The Microslab configuration consists of a guiding layer bonded to a metallized dielectric substrate (slab) and a metallized dielectric rod, with the dielectric material and thicknesses chosen for minimal loss and dispersion and for optimum control of the propagating energy. The propagating energy is confined mainly to the guiding layer. The new technology has been used to couple a GaAs Gunn oscillator directly to a GaAs Microslab network to produce 0.25 mW at 141 GHz.

Role of quantum fluctuations in structural dynamics of liquids of light molecules

DOE PAGES

Agapov, A.; Novikov, V. N.; Kisliuk, A.; ...

2016-12-16

A possible role of quantum effects, such as tunneling and zero-point energy, in the structural dynamics of supercooled liquids is studied by dielectric spectroscopy. Our results demonstrate that the liquids, bulk 3-methyl pentane and confined normal and deuterated water, have low glass transition temperature and unusually low for their class of materials steepness of the temperature dependence of structural relaxation (fragility). Although we do not find any signs of tunneling in the structural relaxation of these liquids, their unusually low fragility can be well described by the influence of the quantum fluctuations. Confined water presents an especially interesting case inmore » comparison to the earlier data on bulk low-density amorphous and vapor deposited water. Confined water exhibits a much weaker isotope effect than bulk water, although the effect is still significant. Here, we show that it can be ascribed to the change of the energy barrier for relaxation due to a decrease in the zeropoint energy upon D/H substitution. We observed a difference in the behavior of confined and bulk water demonstrates high sensitivity of quantum effects to the barrier heights and structure of water. Moreover, these results demonstrate that extrapolation of confined water properties to the bulk water behavior is questionable.« less

Tuning and Switching a Plasmonic Quantum Dot "Sandwich" in a Nematic Line Defect.

PubMed

Mundoor, Haridas; Sheetah, Ghadah H; Park, Sungoh; Ackerman, Paul J; Smalyukh, Ivan I; van de Lagemaat, Jao

2018-03-27

We study the quantum-mechanical effects arising in a single semiconductor core/shell quantum dot (QD) controllably sandwiched between two plasmonic nanorods. Control over the position and the "sandwich" confinement structure is achieved by the use of a linear-trap liquid crystal (LC) line defect and laser tweezers that "push" the sandwich together. This arrangement allows for the study of exciton-plasmon interactions in a single structure, unaltered by ensemble effects or the complexity of dielectric interfaces. We demonstrate the effect of plasmonic confinement on the photon antibunching behavior of the QD and its luminescence lifetime. The QD behaves as a single emitter when nanorods are far away from the QD but shows possible multiexciton emission and a significantly decreased lifetime when tightly confined in a plasmonic "sandwich". These findings demonstrate that LC defects, combined with laser tweezers, enable a versatile platform to study plasmonic coupling phenomena in a nanoscale laboratory, where all elements can be arranged almost at will.

Tuning and Switching a Plasmonic Quantum Dot “Sandwich” in a Nematic Line Defect

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

Mundoor, Haridas; Sheetah, Ghadah H.; Park, Sungoh

We study the quantum-mechanical effects arising in a single semiconductor core/shell quantum dot (QD) controllably sandwiched between two plasmonic nanorods. Control over the position and the 'sandwich' confinement structure is achieved by the use of a linear-trap liquid crystal (LC) line defect and laser tweezers that 'push' the sandwich together. This arrangement allows for the study of exciton-plasmon interactions in a single structure, unaltered by ensemble effects or the complexity of dielectric interfaces. We demonstrate the effect of plasmonic confinement on the photon antibunching behavior of the QD and its luminescence lifetime. The QD behaves as a single emitter whenmore » nanorods are far away from the QD but shows possible multiexciton emission and a significantly decreased lifetime when tightly confined in a plasmonic 'sandwich'. These findings demonstrate that LC defects, combined with laser tweezers, enable a versatile platform to study plasmonic coupling phenomena in a nanoscale laboratory, where all elements can be arranged almost at will.« less

Tuning and Switching a Plasmonic Quantum Dot “Sandwich” in a Nematic Line Defect

DOE PAGES

Mundoor, Haridas; Sheetah, Ghadah H.; Park, Sungoh; ...

2018-02-28

We study the quantum-mechanical effects arising in a single semiconductor core/shell quantum dot (QD) controllably sandwiched between two plasmonic nanorods. Control over the position and the 'sandwich' confinement structure is achieved by the use of a linear-trap liquid crystal (LC) line defect and laser tweezers that 'push' the sandwich together. This arrangement allows for the study of exciton-plasmon interactions in a single structure, unaltered by ensemble effects or the complexity of dielectric interfaces. We demonstrate the effect of plasmonic confinement on the photon antibunching behavior of the QD and its luminescence lifetime. The QD behaves as a single emitter whenmore » nanorods are far away from the QD but shows possible multiexciton emission and a significantly decreased lifetime when tightly confined in a plasmonic 'sandwich'. These findings demonstrate that LC defects, combined with laser tweezers, enable a versatile platform to study plasmonic coupling phenomena in a nanoscale laboratory, where all elements can be arranged almost at will.« less

Glassy dynamics of polymethylphenylsiloxane in one- and two-dimensional nanometric confinement—A comparison

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kipnusu, Wycliffe K.; Elsayed, Mohamed; Krause-Rehberg, Reinhard; Kremer, Friedrich

2017-05-01

Glassy dynamics of polymethylphenylsiloxane (PMPS) is studied by broadband dielectric spectroscopy in one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) nanometric confinement; the former is realized in thin polymer layers having thicknesses down to 5 nm, and the latter in unidirectional (thickness 50 μm) nanopores with diameters varying between 4 and 8 nm. Based on the dielectric measurements carried out in a broad spectral range at widely varying temperatures, glassy dynamics is analyzed in detail in 1D and in 2D confinements with the following results: (i) the segmental dynamics (dynamic glass transition) of PMPS in 1D confinement down to thicknesses of 5 nm is identical to the bulk in the mean relaxation rate and the width of the relaxation time distribution function; (ii) additionally a well separated surface induced relaxation is observed, being assigned to adsorption and desorption processes of polymer segments with the solid interface; (iii) in 2D confinement with native inner pore walls, the segmental dynamics shows a confinement effect, i.e., the smaller the pores are, the faster the segmental dynamics; on silanization, this dependence on the pore diameter vanishes, but the mean relaxation rate is still faster than in 1D confinement; (iv) in a 2D confinement, a pronounced surface induced relaxation process is found, the strength of which increases with the decreasing pore diameter; it can be fully removed by silanization of the inner pore walls; (v) the surface induced relaxation depends on its spectral position only negligibly on the pore diameter; (vi) comparing 1D and 2D confinements, the segmental dynamics in the latter is by about two orders of magnitude faster. All these findings can be comprehended by considering the density of the polymer; in 1D it is assumed to be the same as in the bulk, hence the dynamic glass transition is not altered; in 2D it is reduced due to a frustration of packaging resulting in a higher free volume, as proven by ortho-positronium annihilation lifetime spectroscopy.

Long-range dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguides operating at telecommunication wavelengths.

PubMed

Volkov, Valentyn S; Han, Zhanghua; Nielsen, Michael G; Leosson, Kristjan; Keshmiri, Hamid; Gosciniak, Jacek; Albrektsen, Ole; Bozhevolnyi, Sergey I

2011-11-01

We report on the realization of long-range dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguides (LR-DLSPPWs) consisting of straight and bent subwavelength dielectric ridges deposited on thin and narrow metal stripes supported by a dielectric buffer layer covering a low-index substrate. Using imaging with a near-field optical microscope and end-fire coupling with a tapered fiber connected to a tunable laser at telecommunication wavelengths (1425-1545 nm), we demonstrate low-loss (propagation length ∼500 μm) and well-confined (mode width ∼1 μm) LR-DLSPPW mode guiding and determine the propagation and bend loss.

Surface Plasmon-Mediated Nanoscale Localization of Laser-Driven sub-Terahertz Spin Dynamics in Magnetic Dielectrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chekhov, Alexander L.; Stognij, Alexander I.; Satoh, Takuya; Murzina, Tatiana V.; Razdolski, Ilya; Stupakiewicz, Andrzej

2018-05-01

Ultrafast all-optical control of spins with femtosecond laser pulses is one of the hot topics at the crossroads of photonics and magnetism with a direct impact on future magnetic recording. Unveiling light-assisted recording mechanisms for an increase of the bit density beyond the diffraction limit without excessive heating of the recording medium is an open challenge. Here we show that surface plasmon-polaritons in hybrid metal-dielectric structures can provide spatial confinement of the inverse Faraday effect, mediating the excitation of localized coherent spin precession with 0.41 THz frequency. We demonstrate a two orders of magnitude enhancement of the excitation efficiency at the surface plasmon resonance within the 100 nm layer in dielectric garnet. Our findings broaden the horizons of ultrafast spin-plasmonics and open pathways towards non-thermal opto-magnetic recording at the nano-scale.

Electronic, Mechanical, and Dielectric Properties of Two-Dimensional Atomic Layers of Noble Metals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kapoor, Pooja; Kumar, Jagdish; Kumar, Arun; Kumar, Ashok; Ahluwalia, P. K.

2017-01-01

We present density functional theory-based electronic, mechanical, and dielectric properties of monolayers and bilayers of noble metals (Au, Ag, Cu, and Pt) taken with graphene-like hexagonal structure. The Au, Ag, and Pt bilayers stabilize in AA-stacked configuration, while the Cu bilayer favors the AB stacking pattern. The quantum ballistic conductance of the noble-metal mono- and bilayers is remarkably increased compared with their bulk counterparts. Among the studied systems, the tensile strength is found to be highest for the Pt monolayer and bilayer. The noble metals in mono- and bilayer form show distinctly different electron energy loss spectra and reflectance spectra due to the quantum confinement effect on going from bulk to the monolayer limit. Such tunability of the electronic and dielectric properties of noble metals by reducing the degrees of freedom of electrons offers promise for their use in nanoelectronics and optoelectronics applications.

Quantum interference in plasmonic circuits.

PubMed

Heeres, Reinier W; Kouwenhoven, Leo P; Zwiller, Valery

2013-10-01

Surface plasmon polaritons (plasmons) are a combination of light and a collective oscillation of the free electron plasma at metal/dielectric interfaces. This interaction allows subwavelength confinement of light beyond the diffraction limit inherent to dielectric structures. As a result, the intensity of the electromagnetic field is enhanced, with the possibility to increase the strength of the optical interactions between waveguides, light sources and detectors. Plasmons maintain non-classical photon statistics and preserve entanglement upon transmission through thin, patterned metallic films or weakly confining waveguides. For quantum applications, it is essential that plasmons behave as indistinguishable quantum particles. Here we report on a quantum interference experiment in a nanoscale plasmonic circuit consisting of an on-chip plasmon beamsplitter with integrated superconducting single-photon detectors to allow efficient single plasmon detection. We demonstrate a quantum-mechanical interaction between pairs of indistinguishable surface plasmons by observing Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) interference, a hallmark non-classical interference effect that is the basis of linear optics-based quantum computation. Our work shows that it is feasible to shrink quantum optical experiments to the nanoscale and offers a promising route towards subwavelength quantum optical networks.

Active structuring of colloidal armour on liquid drops

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dommersnes, Paul; Rozynek, Zbigniew; Mikkelsen, Alexander; Castberg, Rene; Kjerstad, Knut; Hersvik, Kjetil; Otto Fossum, Jon

2013-06-01

Adsorption and assembly of colloidal particles at the surface of liquid droplets are at the base of particle-stabilized emulsions and templating. Here we report that electrohydrodynamic and electro-rheological effects in leaky-dielectric liquid drops can be used to structure and dynamically control colloidal particle assemblies at drop surfaces, including electric-field-assisted convective assembly of jammed colloidal ‘ribbons’, electro-rheological colloidal chains confined to a two-dimensional surface and spinning colloidal domains on that surface. In addition, we demonstrate the size control of ‘pupil’-like openings in colloidal shells. We anticipate that electric field manipulation of colloids in leaky dielectrics can lead to new routes of colloidosome assembly and design for ‘smart armoured’ droplets.

Active structuring of colloidal armour on liquid drops.

PubMed

Dommersnes, Paul; Rozynek, Zbigniew; Mikkelsen, Alexander; Castberg, Rene; Kjerstad, Knut; Hersvik, Kjetil; Otto Fossum, Jon

2013-01-01

Adsorption and assembly of colloidal particles at the surface of liquid droplets are at the base of particle-stabilized emulsions and templating. Here we report that electrohydrodynamic and electro-rheological effects in leaky-dielectric liquid drops can be used to structure and dynamically control colloidal particle assemblies at drop surfaces, including electric-field-assisted convective assembly of jammed colloidal 'ribbons', electro-rheological colloidal chains confined to a two-dimensional surface and spinning colloidal domains on that surface. In addition, we demonstrate the size control of 'pupil'-like openings in colloidal shells. We anticipate that electric field manipulation of colloids in leaky dielectrics can lead to new routes of colloidosome assembly and design for 'smart armoured' droplets.

A mixed pseudospectral/finite difference method for a thermally driven fluid in a nonuniform gravitational field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Macaraeg, M. G.

1985-01-01

A numerical study of the steady, axisymmetric flow in a heated, rotating spherical shell is conducted to model the Atmospheric General Circulation Experiment (AGCE) proposed to run aboard a later shuttle mission. The AGCE will consist of concentric rotating spheres confining a dielectric fluid. By imposing a dielectric field across the fluid a radial body force will be created. The numerical solution technique is based on the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. In the method a pseudospectral technique is based on the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. In the method a pseudospectral technique is used in the latitudinal direction, and a second-order accurate finite difference scheme discretizes time and radial derivatives. This paper discusses the development and performance of this numerical scheme for the AGCE which has been modelled in the past only by pure FD formulations. In addition, previous models have not investigated the effect of using a dielectric force to simulate terrestrial gravity. The effect of this dielectric force on the flow field is investigated as well as a parameter study of varying rotation rates and boundary temperatures. Among the effects noted are the production of larger velocities and enhanced reversals of radial temperature gradients for a body force generated by the electric field.

Terahertz Frequency Electron Driven Dielectric Wakefield in Cartesian Symmetric and Photonic Structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoang, Phuc Dinh

Recent works have established that electron beam driven wakefield not only can serve as a viable source for coherent narrow band terahertz radiation but also as a future candidate for high gradient compact linear accelerators. It has also been pointed out that concentric cylindrical dielectric structures, while being very efficient in extracting the energy of the drive beam, which leads to GeV/m gradient level, are susceptible to excitation of transverse modes which give unwanted trajectory kicks and cause beam breakup instabilities. At the same time, temporary high field induced dielectric conductivity was observed in the same system where in response to high field, charge carriers were injected to the conduction band of the dielectric resulting in anomalous dissipation of the wake. Evidence of this point shall be presented in this thesis. First, in order to address the issue of deflection modes, a solution was proposed to use slab structures. Exploiting the Cartesian symmetry, and the wakefield response thereof, a dielectric wakefield system, where both the structure and the beam are flat, may achieve zero net transverse deflection forces. Second, in order to confine high field to the vacuum region away from the dielectric, thus avoiding all high field related problems, photonic band gap materials may be used. Also known as photonic crystals, these structures give rise to defect modes which are confined only to the defect (vacuum) region. Further shaping of the vacuum/dielectric interface, for example by periodic corrugation, not only reduces the field across the interface on the dielectric side by 1/epsilon as consequence of boundary condition, but also brings about further options of tailoring the field. Motivated by these issues, in this thesis, through a series of relevant analytic calculations, simulations, and experiments, the possibility of using Cartesian symmetric, photonic structures for dielectric wakefield will be assessed.

Quantum confinement of zero-dimensional hybrid organic-inorganic polaritons at room temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, H. S.; Han, Z.; Abdel-Baki, K.; Lafosse, X.; Amo, A.; Lauret, J.-S.; Deleporte, E.; Bouchoule, S.; Bloch, J.

2014-02-01

We report on the quantum confinement of zero-dimensional polaritons in perovskite-based microcavity at room temperature. Photoluminescence of discrete polaritonic states is observed for polaritons localized in symmetric sphere-like defects which are spontaneously nucleated on the top dielectric Bragg mirror. The linewidth of these confined states is found much sharper (almost one order of magnitude) than that of photonic modes in the perovskite planar microcavity. Our results show the possibility to study organic-inorganic cavity polaritons in confined microstructure and suggest a fabrication method to realize integrated polaritonic devices operating at room temperature.

Absorption and emission spectroscopy of individual semiconductor nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McDonald, Matthew P.

The advent of controllable synthetic methods for the production of semiconductor nanostructures has led to their use in a host of applications, including light-emitting diodes, field effect transistors, sensors, and even television displays. This is, in part, due to the size, shape, and morphologically dependent optical and electrical properties that make this class of materials extremely customizable; wire-, rod- and sphere-shaped nanocrystals are readily synthesized through common wet chemical methods. Most notably, confining the physical dimension of the nanostructure to a size below its Bohr radius (aB) results in quantum confinement effects that increase its optical energy gap. Not only the size, but the shape of a particle can be exploited to tailor its optical and electrical properties. For example, confined CdSe quantum dots (QDs) and nanowires (NWs) of equivalent diameter possess significantly different optical gaps. This phenomenon has been ascribed to electrostatic contributions arising from dielectric screening effects that are more pronounced in an elongated (wire-like) morphology. Semiconducting nanostructures have thus received significant attention over the past two decades. However, surprisingly little work has been done to elucidate their basic photophysics on a single particle basis. What has been done has generally been accomplished through emission-based measurements, and thus does not fully capture the full breadth of these intriguing systems. What is therefore needed then are absorption-based studies that probe the size and shape dependent evolution of nanostructure photophysics. This thesis summarizes the single particle absorption spectroscopy that we have carried out to fill this knowledge gap. Specifically, the diameter-dependent progression of one-dimensional (1D) excitonic states in CdSe NWs has been revealed. This is followed by a study that focuses on the polarization selection rules of 1D excitons within single CdSe NWs. Finally, shape effects are explored by probing the absorption spectra of CdSe nanowires and nanorods of varying length. All experimental studies are complemented by theoretical predictions from an effective mass model that takes electrostatic interactions into account. Thus, this thesis seeks to show the delicate interplay between quantum confinement and dielectric screening effects in single CdSe nanostructures.

Development of Leaky Wave Antennas for Layered Ridge Dielectric Waveguide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ponchak, George E.; Katehi, Linda P. B.

1993-01-01

The millimeter wave, especially above 100 GHz, and the submillimeter wave frequency spectrum offers the possibility for narrow-beam, high-resolution antennas which are critical for high definition radars required for space debris tracking, airport ground avoidance radars, and missile tracking. In addition, the frequency which most atmospheric constituents may be detected lie in this part of the frequency spectrum. Therefore, the development of electronic components for millimeter/submillimeter wave passive sensors is required for environmental monitoring of the Earth's atmosphere. Typical microwave transmission lines such as microstrip and coplanar waveguide rely on two or more electrical conductors to concentrate and guide the electromagnetic energy. Unfortunately, the surface resistance of the conductors increases as the square root of frequency. In addition, the circuit dimensions must be decreased with increasing frequency to maintain a single mode transmission line which further increases the conductor loss. An alternative family of transmission lines are formed from two or more insulating materials and rely on the differences in the permittivities between the two materials to guide the wave. No metal conductors are required although some dielectric waveguides do utilize a metallic ground plane to facilitate the interconnections of active electrical elements or to reduce the transmission line size. Examples of such transmission lines are image guides, insulated image guides, trapped image guides, ridge guide, and layered ridge dielectric waveguide (LRDW). Although most dielectric waveguides have dimensions on the order of lambda to provide sufficient field confinement, the LRDW has been shown to provide good field confinement for electrically small lines. This offers an advantage in circuit integration. It has been shown that a periodic array of metallic strips placed either along or on top of a dielectric waveguide forms an effective radiator. This antenna is easy to fabricate and there is good background of microstrip type antenna design information in the literature. This paper reports the development of the first frequency scanning antenna fed by a LRDW.

Energies and densities of electrons confined in elliptical and ellipsoidal quantum dots

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

Halder, Avik; Kresin, Vitaly V.

Here, we consider a droplet of electrons confined within an external harmonic potential well of elliptical or ellipsoidal shape, a geometry commonly encountered in work with semiconductor quantum dots and other nanoscale or mesoscale structures. For droplet sizes exceeding the effective Bohr radius, the dominant contribution to average system parameters in the Thomas– Fermi approximation comes from the potential energy terms, which allows us to derive expressions describing the electron droplet’s shape and dimensions, its density, total and capacitive energy, and chemical potential. Our analytical results are in very good agreement with experimental data and numerical calculations, and make itmore » possible to follow the dependence of the properties of the system on its parameters (the total number of electrons, the axial ratios and curvatures of the confinement potential, and the dielectric constant of the material). One interesting feature is that the eccentricity of the electron droplet is not the same as that of its confining potential well.« less

Energies and densities of electrons confined in elliptical and ellipsoidal quantum dots

DOE PAGES

Halder, Avik; Kresin, Vitaly V.

2016-08-09

Here, we consider a droplet of electrons confined within an external harmonic potential well of elliptical or ellipsoidal shape, a geometry commonly encountered in work with semiconductor quantum dots and other nanoscale or mesoscale structures. For droplet sizes exceeding the effective Bohr radius, the dominant contribution to average system parameters in the Thomas– Fermi approximation comes from the potential energy terms, which allows us to derive expressions describing the electron droplet’s shape and dimensions, its density, total and capacitive energy, and chemical potential. Our analytical results are in very good agreement with experimental data and numerical calculations, and make itmore » possible to follow the dependence of the properties of the system on its parameters (the total number of electrons, the axial ratios and curvatures of the confinement potential, and the dielectric constant of the material). One interesting feature is that the eccentricity of the electron droplet is not the same as that of its confining potential well.« less

Temperature- and frequency-dependent dielectric behaviors of insulator/semiconductor (Al2O3/ZnO) nanolaminates with various ZnO thicknesses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jin; Bi, Xiaofang

2016-07-01

Al2O3/ZnO nanolaminates (NLs) with various ZnO sublayer thicknesses were prepared by atomic layer deposition. The Al2O3 sublayers are characterized as amorphous and the ZnO sublayers have an oriented polycrystalline structure. As the ZnO thickness decreases to a certain value, each NL exhibits a critical temperature at which its dielectric constant starts to rise quickly. Moreover, this temperature increases as the ZnO thickness is decreased further. On the other hand, the permittivity demonstrates a large value of several hundred at a frequency  ⩽1000 Hz, followed by a steplike decrease at a higher frequency. The change in the cut-off frequency with ZnO thickness is characterized by a hook function. It is revealed that the Coulomb confinement effect becomes predominant in the dielectric behaviors of the NLs with very thin ZnO. As the ZnO thickness decreases to about the same as or even smaller than the Bohr radius of ZnO, a great change in the carrier concentration and effective mass of ZnO is induced, which is shown to be responsible for the peculiar dielectric behaviors of Al2O3/ZnO with very thin ZnO. These findings provide insight into the prevailing mechanisms to optimize the dielectric properties of semiconductor/insulator laminates with nanoscale sublayer thickness.

Electric-field-induced association of colloidal particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fraden, Seth; Hurd, Alan J.; Meyer, Robert B.

1989-11-01

Dilute suspensions of micron diameter dielectric spheres confined to two dimensions are induced to aggregate linearly by application of an electric field. The growth of the average cluster size agrees well with the Smoluchowski equation, but the evolution of the measured cluster size distribution exhibits significant departures from theory at large times due to the formation of long linear clusters which effectively partition space into isolated one-dimensional strips.

Performance of thermally-chargeable supercapacitors in different solvents.

PubMed

Lim, Hyuck; Zhao, Cang; Qiao, Yu

2014-07-07

The influence of solvent on the temperature sensitivity of the electrode potential of thermally-chargeable supercapacitors (TCSs) is investigated. For large electrodes, the output voltage is positively correlated with the dielectric constant of solvent. When nanoporous carbon electrodes are used, different characteristics of system performance are observed, suggesting that possible size effects must be taken into consideration when the solvent molecules and solvated ions are confined in a nanoenvironment.

Surface Plasmon-Mediated Nanoscale Localization of Laser-Driven sub-Terahertz Spin Dynamics in Magnetic Dielectrics.

PubMed

Chekhov, Alexander L; Stognij, Alexander I; Satoh, Takuya; Murzina, Tatiana V; Razdolski, Ilya; Stupakiewicz, Andrzej

2018-05-09

We report spatial localization of the effective magnetic field generated via the inverse Faraday effect employing surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) at Au/garnet interface. Analyzing both numerically and analytically the electric field of the SPPs at this interface, we corroborate our study with a proof-of-concept experiment showing efficient SPP-driven excitation of coherent spin precession with 0.41 THz frequency. We argue that the subdiffractional confinement of the SPP electric field enables strong spatial localization of the SPP-mediated excitation of spin dynamics. We demonstrate two orders of magnitude enhancement of the excitation efficiency at the surface plasmon resonance within a 100 nm layer of a dielectric garnet. Our findings broaden the horizons of ultrafast spin-plasmonics and open pathways toward nonthermal opto-magnetic recording on the nanoscale.

Field quantization and squeezed states generation in resonators with time-dependent parameters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dodonov, V. V.; Klimov, A. B.; Nikonov, D. E.

1992-01-01

The problem of electromagnetic field quantization is usually considered in textbooks under the assumption that the field occupies some empty box. The case when a nonuniform time-dependent dielectric medium is confined in some space region with time-dependent boundaries is studied. The basis of the subsequent consideration is the system of Maxwell's equations in linear passive time-dependent dielectric and magnetic medium without sources.

Active structuring of colloidal armour on liquid drops

PubMed Central

Dommersnes, Paul; Rozynek, Zbigniew; Mikkelsen, Alexander; Castberg, Rene; Kjerstad, Knut; Hersvik, Kjetil; Otto Fossum, Jon

2013-01-01

Adsorption and assembly of colloidal particles at the surface of liquid droplets are at the base of particle-stabilized emulsions and templating. Here we report that electrohydrodynamic and electro-rheological effects in leaky-dielectric liquid drops can be used to structure and dynamically control colloidal particle assemblies at drop surfaces, including electric-field-assisted convective assembly of jammed colloidal ‘ribbons’, electro-rheological colloidal chains confined to a two-dimensional surface and spinning colloidal domains on that surface. In addition, we demonstrate the size control of ‘pupil’-like openings in colloidal shells. We anticipate that electric field manipulation of colloids in leaky dielectrics can lead to new routes of colloidosome assembly and design for ‘smart armoured’ droplets. PMID:23811716

An All-Dielectric Coaxial Waveguide.

PubMed

Ibanescu; Fink; Fan; Thomas; Joannopoulos

2000-07-21

An all-dielectric coaxial waveguide that can overcome problems of polarization rotation and pulse broadening in the transmission of optical light is presented here. It consists of a coaxial waveguiding region with a low index of refraction, bounded by two cylindrical, dielectric, multilayer, omnidirectional reflecting mirrors. The waveguide can be designed to support a single mode whose properties are very similar to the unique transverse electromagnetic mode of a traditional metallic coaxial cable. The new mode has radial symmetry and a point of zero dispersion. Moreover, because the light is not confined by total internal reflection, the waveguide can guide light around very sharp corners.

Nanowire-Intensified Metal-Enhanced Fluorescence in Hybrid Polymer-Plasmonic Electrospun Filaments.

PubMed

Camposeo, Andrea; Jurga, Radoslaw; Moffa, Maria; Portone, Alberto; Cardarelli, Francesco; Della Sala, Fabio; Ciracì, Cristian; Pisignano, Dario

2018-05-01

Hybrid polymer-plasmonic nanostructures might combine high enhancement of localized fields from metal nanoparticles with light confinement and long-range transport in subwavelength dielectric structures. Here, the complex behavior of fluorophores coupling to Au nanoparticles within polymer nanowires, which features localized metal-enhanced fluorescence (MEF) with unique characteristics compared to conventional structures, is reported. The intensification effect when the particle is placed in the organic filaments is remarkably higher with respect to thin films of comparable thickness, thus highlighting a specific, nanowire-related enhancement of MEF effects. A dependence on the confinement volume in the dielectric nanowire is also indicated, with MEF significantly increasing upon reduction of the wire diameter. These findings are rationalized by finite element simulations, predicting a position-dependent enhancement of the quantum yield of fluorophores embedded in the fibers. Calculation of the ensemble-averaged fluorescence enhancement unveils the possibility of strongly enhancing the overall emission intensity for structures with size twice the diameter of the embedded metal particles. These new, hybrid fluorescent systems with localized enhanced emission, and the general nanowire-enhanced MEF effects associated to them, are highly relevant for developing nanoscale light-emitting devices with high efficiency and intercoupled through nanofiber networks, highly sensitive optical sensors, and novel laser architectures. © 2018 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA Weinheim.

Highly confined surface plasmon polaritons in the ultraviolet region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chubchev, E. D.; Nechepurenko, I. A.; Dorofeenko, A. V.; Vinogradov, A. P.; Lisyansky, A. A.

2018-04-01

We study a surface plasmon polariton mode that is strongly confined in the transverse direction and propagates along a periodically nanostructured metal-dielectric interface. We show that the wavelength of this mode is determined by the period of the structure, and may therefore, be orders of magnitude smaller than the wavelength of a plasmon-polariton propagating along a flat surface. This plasmon polariton exists in the frequency region in which the sum of the real parts of the permittivities of the metal and dielectric is positive, a frequency region in which surface plasmon polaritons do not exist on a flat surface. The propagation length of the new mode can reach a several dozen wavelengths. This mode can be observed in materials that are uncommon in plasmonics, such as aluminum or sodium.

Observations of ETI under dielectric-overcoated aluminum pulsed to hundreds of Tesla

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hutchinson, Trevor; Bauer, Bruno; Fuelling, Stephan; Yates, Kevin; Awe, Thomas; Yelton, Graham

2016-10-01

MagLIF is an inertial confinement concept that takes advantage of relaxed fusion criteria due to premagnetized and preheated fuel. The drive surface is particularly susceptible to highly azimuthally correlated magneto-Rayleigh Taylor (MRT) instabilities, which section the liner wall and compromise confinement. This degree of azimuthal correlation is not due to residual lathe machining or surface roughness and a growing body of evidence suggest electrothermal instabilities (ETI) seed the MRT instability and allow for levels of azimuthal correlation that have been observed experimentally. Implementation of dielectric coatings on Sandia's Z accelerator has reduced MRT amplitudes by at least a factor of ten, which simulations suggest is due to mass tamping of the ETI. However, neither ETI nor its theorized suppression via an applied dielectric overcoat has been experimentally observed on a thick wire. We will report on experimental observations of ETI on the surface of 500 um radius aluminum rods with a 70 um parylene-N overcoat pulsed with 1 MA in 100 ns. This work was funded in part by Sandia's Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program (Project No. 178661).

Three-dimensional all-dielectric metamaterial solid immersion lens for subwavelength imaging at visible frequencies

PubMed Central

Fan, Wen; Yan, Bing; Wang, Zengbo; Wu, Limin

2016-01-01

Although all-dielectric metamaterials offer a low-loss alternative to current metal-based metamaterials to manipulate light at the nanoscale and may have important applications, very few have been reported to date owing to the current nanofabrication technologies. We develop a new “nano–solid-fluid assembly” method using 15-nm TiO2 nanoparticles as building blocks to fabricate the first three-dimensional (3D) all-dielectric metamaterial at visible frequencies. Because of its optical transparency, high refractive index, and deep-subwavelength structures, this 3D all-dielectric metamaterial-based solid immersion lens (mSIL) can produce a sharp image with a super-resolution of at least 45 nm under a white-light optical microscope, significantly exceeding the classical diffraction limit and previous near-field imaging techniques. Theoretical analysis reveals that electric field enhancement can be formed between contacting TiO2 nanoparticles, which causes effective confinement and propagation of visible light at the deep-subwavelength scale. This endows the mSIL with unusual abilities to illuminate object surfaces with large-area nanoscale near-field evanescent spots and to collect and convert the evanescent information into propagating waves. Our all-dielectric metamaterial design strategy demonstrates the potential to develop low-loss nanophotonic devices at visible frequencies. PMID:27536727

Review of effects of dielectric coatings on electrical exploding wires and Z pinches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Jian; Li, Xingwen; Li, Mo; Li, Yang; Qiu, Aici

2017-10-01

As the most powerful x-ray source in the laboratories, the wire array Z pinches have been of great relevance to inertial confinement fusions, laboratory astrophysics, and other high-energy density applications. In order to produce x-ray with greater power and higher efficiency, the dynamics of wire array has been investigated extensively, and various methods have been proposed to improve the implosion quality of the wire array. This review focuses on the experimental and theoretical investigations regarding the effects of the dielectric coatings on electrical exploding wires and Z pinches. Since the early 2000, the electrical wire explosion related to the first stage of the wire array Z pinches has been studied extensively, and the results indicated that the dielectric coatings can significantly increase the joule energy deposition into a wire in the initial stage, and even the corona free explosion of tungsten wires can be achieved. Recently, there is an increasing interest in the dynamics of insulated wire array Z pinches. By applying dielectric coatings, the ablation process is suppressed, the x-ray start time is delayed, and the possibility of multi-peak radiation is decreased. This review is organized by the evolution dynamics of wire array Z pinches, and a broad introduction to relevant scientific concepts and various other applications are presented. According to the current research status, the challenges, opportunities and further developments of Z pinch loads using dielectric coatings are proposed to further promote the researches and their applications.

Resonant cavity light-emitting diodes based on dielectric passive cavity structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ledentsov, N.; Shchukin, V. A.; Kropp, J.-R.; Zschiedrich, L.; Schmidt, F.; Ledentsov, N. N.

2017-02-01

A novel design for high brightness planar technology light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and LED on-wafer arrays on absorbing substrates is proposed. The design integrates features of passive dielectric cavity deposited on top of an oxide- semiconductor distributed Bragg reflector (DBR), the p-n junction with a light emitting region is introduced into the top semiconductor λ/4 DBR period. A multilayer dielectric structure containing a cavity layer and dielectric DBRs is further processed by etching into a micrometer-scale pattern. An oxide-confined aperture is further amended for current and light confinement. We study the impact of the placement of the active region into the maximum or minimum of the optical field intensity and study an impact of the active region positioning on light extraction efficiency. We also study an etching profile composed of symmetric rings in the etched passive cavity over the light emitting area. The bottom semiconductor is an AlGaAs-AlAs multilayer DBR selectively oxidized with the conversion of the AlAs layers into AlOx to increase the stopband width preventing the light from entering the semiconductor substrate. The approach allows to achieve very high light extraction efficiency in a narrow vertical angle keeping the reasonable thermal and current conductivity properties. As an example, a micro-LED structure has been modeled with AlGaAs-AlAs or AlGaAs-AlOx DBRs and an active region based on InGaAlP quantum well(s) emitting in the orange spectral range at 610 nm. A passive dielectric SiO2 cavity is confined by dielectric Ta2O5/SiO2 and AlGaAs-AlOx DBRs. Cylindrically-symmetric structures with multiple ring patterns are modeled. It is demonstrated that the extraction coefficient of light to the air can be increased from 1.3% up to above 90% in a narrow vertical angle (full width at half maximum (FWHM) below 20°). For very small oxide-confined apertures 100nm the narrowing of the FWHM for light extraction can be reduced down to 5°. Consequently high efficiency high brightness arrays of micro-LEDs becomes possible. For single emitters the approach is particularly interesting for oscillator strength engineering allowing high speed data transmission and for single photonics applying single quantum dot (QD) emitters and allowing >90% coupling of the emission into single mode fiber. We also note that for longer wavelength ( 1300nm) QDs the thickness of the layers and surface patterns significantly increase allowing greatly reduced processing tolerances and applying further simplifications due to the possibility of using high contrast GaAs-AlOx DBRs.

Melting/freezing behavior of a fluid confined in porous glasses and MCM-41: Dielectric spectroscopy and molecular simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sliwinska-Bartkowiak, Malgorzata; Dudziak, Grazyna; Sikorski, Roman; Gras, Roman; Radhakrishnan, Ravi; Gubbins, Keith E.

2001-01-01

We report both experimental measurements and molecular simulations of the melting and freezing behavior of fluids in nanoporous media. The experimental studies are for nitrobenzene in the silica-based pores of controlled pore glass, Vycor, and MCM-41. Dielectric relaxation spectroscopy is used to determine melting points and the orientational relaxation times of the nitrobenzene molecules in the bulk and the confined phase. Monte Carlo simulations, together with a bond orientational order parameter method, are used to determine the melting point and fluid structure inside cylindrical pores modeled on silica. Qualitative comparison between experiment and simulation are made for the shift in the freezing temperatures and the structure of confined phases. From both the experiments and the simulations, it is found that the confined fluid freezes into a single crystalline structure for average pore diameters greater than 20σ, where σ is the diameter of the fluid molecule. For average pore sizes between 20σ and 15σ, part of the confined fluid freezes into a frustrated crystal structure with the rest forming an amorphous region. For pore sizes smaller than 15σ, even the partial crystallization did not occur. Our measurements and calculations show clear evidence of a novel intermediate "contact layer" phase lying between liquid and crystal; the contact layer is the confined molecular layer adjacent to the pore wall and experiences a deeper fluid-wall potential energy compared to the inner layers. We also find evidence of a liquid to "hexatic" transition in the quasi-two-dimensional contact layer at high temperatures.

Bloch surface waves confined in one dimension with a single polymeric nanofibre

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ruxue; Xia, Hongyan; Zhang, Douguo; Chen, Junxue; Zhu, Liangfu; Wang, Yong; Yang, Erchan; Zang, Tianyang; Wen, Xiaolei; Zou, Gang; Wang, Pei; Ming, Hai; Badugu, Ramachandram; Lakowicz, Joseph R.

2017-02-01

Polymeric fibres with small radii (such as ≤125 nm) are delicate to handle and should be laid down on a solid substrate to obtain practical devices. However, placing these nanofibres on commonly used glass substrates prevents them from guiding light. In this study, we numerically and experimentally demonstrate that when the nanofibre is placed on a suitable dielectric multilayer, it supports a guided mode, a Bloch surface wave (BSW) confined in one dimension. The physical origin of this new mode is discussed in comparison with the typical two-dimensional BSW mode. Polymeric nanofibres are easily fabricated to contain fluorophores, which make the dielectric nanofibre and multilayer configuration suitable for developing a large range of new nanometric scale devices, such as processor-memory interconnections, devices with sensitivity to target analytes, incident polarization and multi-colour BSW modes.

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

Lereu, Aude L.; Zerrad, M.; Passian, Ali

In photonics, the field concentration and enhancement have been major objectives for achieving size reduction and device integration. Plasmonics offers resonant field confinement and enhancement, but ultra-sharp optical resonances in all-dielectric multi-layer thin films are emerging as a powerful contestant. Thus, applications capitalizing upon stronger and sharper optical resonances and larger field enhancements could be faced with a choice for the superior platform. Here in this paper, we present a comparison between plasmonic and dielectric multi-layer thin films for their resonance merits. We show that the remarkable characteristics of the resonance behavior of optimized dielectric multi-layers can outweigh those ofmore » their metallic counterpart.« less

The Relationship Between Chemical Structure and Dielectric Properties of Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposited Polymer Thin Films (Postprint)

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-01-01

C6H6, Aldrich Co., liquid , high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) grade with a purity of 99.9%) and octafluorocyclobutane (C4F8, OFCB...attributed to the lack of molecular mobility (confined by the crosslinking) and low ionic polarization of the molecular structures [6]. The frequency...in dielectric constant at low frequencies can be traced to orientational polarizations of trapped free radicals, unpaired electron sites, oligomeric

Electron transport in high aspect ratio semiconductor nanowires and metal-semiconductor interfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Zhuting

We are facing variability problems for modern semiconductor transistors due to the fact that the performances of nominally identical devices in the scale of 10 100 nm could be dramatically different attributed to the small manufacturing variations. Different doping strategies give statistical variations in the number of dopant atom density ND in the channel. The material size gives variations in wire diameter dW. And the immediate environment of the material leads to an additional level of variability. E.g. vacuum-semiconductor interface causes variations in surface state density Ds, metal-semiconductor interface causes variations in Schottky barrier and dielectric semiconductor interface induces dielectric confinement at small scales. To approach these variability problems, I choose Si-doped GaAs nanowires as an example. I investigate transport in Si-doped GaAs nanowire (NW) samples contacted by lithographically patterned Gold-Titanium films as function of temperature T. I find a drastically different temperature dependence between the wire resistance RW, which is relatively weak, and the zero bias resistance RC, which is strong. I show that the data are consistent with a model based on a sharp donor energy level slightly above the bottom of the semiconductor conduction band and develop a simple method for using transport measurements for estimates of the doping density after nanowire growth. I discuss the predictions of effective free carrier density n eff as function of the surface state density Ds and wire size dW. I also describe a correction to the widely used model of Schottky contacts that improves thermodynamic consistency of the Schottky tunnel barrier profile and show that the original theory may underestimate the barrier conductance under certain conditions. I also provide analytical calculations for shallow silicon dopant energy in GaAs crystals, and find the presence of dielectrics (dielectric screening) and free carriers (Coulomb screening) cause a reduction of ionization energy and shift the donor energy level ED upward, accompanying conduction band EC shift downward due to band gap narrowing for doped semiconductor material. The theoretical results are in a reasonable agreement with previous experimental data. I also find that when the material reduces to nanoscale, dielectric confinement and surface depletion compete with both Coulomb screening and dielectric screening that shift the donor level ED down towards the band gap. The calculation should be appropriate for all types of semiconductors and dopant species.

Si-nanocrystal-based nanofluids for nanothermometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cardona-Castro, M. A.; Morales-Sánchez, A.; Licea-Jiménez, L.; Alvarez-Quintana, J.

2016-06-01

The measurement of local temperature in nanoscale volumes is becoming a technological frontier. Photoluminescent nanoparticles and nanocolloids are the natural choice for nanoscale temperature probes. However, the influence of a surrounding liquid on the cryogenic behavior of oxidized Si-nanocrystals (Si-NCs) has never been investigated. In this work, the photoluminescence (PL) of oxidized Si-NCs/alcohol based nanocolloids is measured as a function of the temperature and the molecule length of monohydric alcohols above their melting-freezing point. The results unveil a progressive blue shift on the emission peak which is dependent on the temperature as well as the dielectric properties of the surrounding liquid. Such an effect is analyzed in terms of thermal changes of the Si-NCs bandgap, quantum confinement and the polarization effects of the embedding medium; revealing an important role of the dielectric constant of the surrounding liquid. These results are relevant because they offer a general insight to the fundamental behavior of photoluminescent nanocolloids under a cooling process and moreover, enabling PL tuning based on the dielectric properties of the surrounding liquid. Hence, the variables required to engineer PL of nanofluids are properly identified for use as temperature sensors at the nanoscale.

Bloch surface waves confined in one dimension with a single polymeric nanofibre

PubMed Central

Wang, Ruxue; Xia, Hongyan; Zhang, Douguo; Chen, Junxue; Zhu, Liangfu; Wang, Yong; Yang, Erchan; Zang, Tianyang; Wen, Xiaolei; Zou, Gang; Wang, Pei; Ming, Hai; Badugu, Ramachandram; Lakowicz, Joseph R.

2017-01-01

Polymeric fibres with small radii (such as ≤125 nm) are delicate to handle and should be laid down on a solid substrate to obtain practical devices. However, placing these nanofibres on commonly used glass substrates prevents them from guiding light. In this study, we numerically and experimentally demonstrate that when the nanofibre is placed on a suitable dielectric multilayer, it supports a guided mode, a Bloch surface wave (BSW) confined in one dimension. The physical origin of this new mode is discussed in comparison with the typical two-dimensional BSW mode. Polymeric nanofibres are easily fabricated to contain fluorophores, which make the dielectric nanofibre and multilayer configuration suitable for developing a large range of new nanometric scale devices, such as processor–memory interconnections, devices with sensitivity to target analytes, incident polarization and multi-colour BSW modes. PMID:28155871

Influence of the electron cyclotron resonance plasma confinement on reducing the bremsstrahlung production of an electron cyclotron resonance ion source with metal-dielectric structures.

PubMed

Schachter, L; Stiebing, K E; Dobrescu, S

2009-01-01

The influence of metal-dielectric (MD) layers (MD structures) inserted into the plasma chamber of an electron cyclotron resonance ion source (ECRIS) onto the production of electron bremsstrahlung radiation has been studied in a series of dedicated experiments at the 14 GHz ECRIS of the Institut für Kernphysik der Universität Frankfurt. The IKF-ECRIS was equipped with a MD liner, covering the inner walls of the plasma chamber, and a MD electrode, covering the plasma-facing side of the extraction electrode. On the basis of similar extracted currents of highly charged ions, significantly reduced yields of bremsstrahlung radiation for the "MD source" as compared to the standard (stainless steel) source have been measured and can be explained by the significantly better plasma confinement in a MD source as compared to an "all stainless steel" ECRIS.

Influence of the confinement potential on the size-dependent optical response of metallic nanometric particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zapata-Herrera, Mario; Camacho, Ángela S.; Ramírez, Hanz Y.

2018-06-01

In this paper, different confinement potential approaches are considered in the simulation of size effects on the optical response of silver spheres with radii at the few nanometer scale. By numerically obtaining dielectric functions from different sets of eigenenergies and eigenstates, we simulate the absorption spectrum and the field enhancement factor for nanoparticles of various sizes, within a quantum framework for both infinite and finite potentials. The simulations show significant dependence on the sphere radius of the dipolar surface plasmon resonance, as a direct consequence of energy discretization associated to the strong confinement experienced by conduction electrons in small nanospheres. Considerable reliance of the calculated optical features on the chosen wave functions and transition energies is evidenced, so that discrepancies in the plasmon resonance frequencies obtained with the three studied models reach up to above 30%. Our results are in agreement with reported measurements and shade light on the puzzling shift of the plasmon resonance in metallic nanospheres.

Interaction between confined phonons and photons in periodic silicon resonators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iskandar, A.; Gwiazda, A.; Younes, J.; Kazan, M.; Bruyant, A.; Tabbal, M.; Lerondel, G.

2018-03-01

In this paper, we demonstrate that phonons and photons of different momenta can be confined and interact with each other within the same nanostructure. The interaction between confined phonons and confined photons in silicon resonator arrays is observed by means of Raman scattering. The Raman spectra from large arrays of dielectric silicon resonators exhibited Raman enhancement accompanied with a downshift and broadening. The analysis of the Raman intensity and line shape using finite-difference time-domain simulations and a spatial correlation model demonstrated an interaction between photons confined in the resonators and phonons confined in highly defective regions prompted by the structuring process. It was shown that the Raman enhancement is due to collective lattice resonance inducing field confinement in the resonators, while the spectra downshift and broadening are signatures of the relaxation of the phonon wave vector due to phonon confinement in defective regions located in the surface layer of the Si resonators. We found that as the resonators increase in height and their shape becomes cylindrical, the amplitude of their coherent oscillation increases and hence their ability to confine the incoming electric field increases.

Surface plasmons and Bloch surface waves: Towards optimized ultra-sensitive optical sensors

DOE PAGES

Lereu, Aude L.; Zerrad, M.; Passian, Ali; ...

2017-07-07

In photonics, the field concentration and enhancement have been major objectives for achieving size reduction and device integration. Plasmonics offers resonant field confinement and enhancement, but ultra-sharp optical resonances in all-dielectric multi-layer thin films are emerging as a powerful contestant. Thus, applications capitalizing upon stronger and sharper optical resonances and larger field enhancements could be faced with a choice for the superior platform. Here in this paper, we present a comparison between plasmonic and dielectric multi-layer thin films for their resonance merits. We show that the remarkable characteristics of the resonance behavior of optimized dielectric multi-layers can outweigh those ofmore » their metallic counterpart.« less

Selective femtosecond laser structuring of dielectric thin films with different band gaps: a time-resolved study of ablation mechanisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rapp, Stephan; Schmidt, Michael; Huber, Heinz P.

2016-12-01

Ultrashort pulse lasers have been increasingly gaining importance for the selective structuring of dielectric thin films in industrial applications. In a variety of works the ablation of thin SiO2 and SiNx films from Si substrates has been investigated with near infrared laser wavelengths with photon energies of about 1.2 eV where both dielectrics are transparent (E_{{gap,SiO2}}≈ 8 eV; E_{{gap,SiN}x}≈ 2.5 eV). In these works it was found that few 100 nm thick SiO2 films are selectively ablated with a "lift-off" initiated by confined laser ablation whereas the SiN_{{x}} films are ablated by a combination of confined and direct laser ablation. In the work at hand, ultrafast pump-probe imaging was applied to compare the laser ablation dynamics of the two thin film systems directly with the uncoated Si substrate—on the same setup and under identical parameters. On the SiO2 sample, results show the pulse absorption in the Si substrate, leading to the confined ablation of the SiO2 layer by the expansion of the substrate. On the SiN_{{x}} sample, direct absorption in the layer is observed leading to its removal by evaporation. The pump-probe measurements combined with reflectivity corrected threshold fluence investigations suggest that melting of the Si substrate is sufficient to initiate the lift-off of an overlaying transparent film—evaporation of the substrate seems not to be necessary.

Simulations of Coulomb systems confined by polarizable surfaces using periodic Green functions.

PubMed

Dos Santos, Alexandre P; Girotto, Matheus; Levin, Yan

2017-11-14

We present an efficient approach for simulating Coulomb systems confined by planar polarizable surfaces. The method is based on the solution of the Poisson equation using periodic Green functions. It is shown that the electrostatic energy arising from the surface polarization can be decoupled from the energy due to the direct Coulomb interaction between the ions. This allows us to combine an efficient Ewald summation method, or any other fast method for summing over the replicas, with the polarization contribution calculated using Green function techniques. We apply the method to calculate density profiles of ions confined between the charged dielectric and metal surfaces.

Method of and apparatus for accelerating a projectile

DOEpatents

Goldstein, Yeshayahu S. A.; Tidman, Derek A.

1986-01-01

A projectile is accelerated along a confined path by supplying a pulsed high pressure, high velocity plasma jet to the rear of the projectile as the projectile traverses the path. The jet enters the confined path at a non-zero angle relative to the projectile path. The pulse is derived from a dielectric capillary tube having an interior wall from which plasma forming material is ablated in response to a discharge voltage. The projectile can be accelerated in response to the kinetic energy in the plasma jet or in response to a pressure increase of gases in the confined path resulting from the heat added to the gases by the plasma.

Wave propagation in and around negative-dielectric-constant discharge plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakai, Osamu; Iwai, Akinori; Omura, Yoshiharu; Iio, Satoshi; Naito, Teruki

2018-03-01

The modes of wave propagation in media with a negative dielectric constant are not simple, unlike those for electromagnetic waves in media with a positive dielectric constant (where modes propagate inside the media with positive phase velocity since the refractive index is usually positive). Instead, they depend on the permeability sign, either positive or negative, and exhibit completely different features. In this report, we investigated a wave confined on the surface of a negative-dielectric-constant and a positive-permeability plasma medium for which the refractive index is imaginary. The propagation mode is similar to surface plasmon polaritons on the metal containing free electrons, but its frequency band is different due to the significant spatial gradient of the dielectric constant and a different pressure term. We also studied a wave with a negative dielectric constant and negative permeability, where the refractive index is negative. This wave can propagate inside the media, but its phase velocity is negative. It also shares similar qualities with waves in plasmonic devices with negative permeability in the photon range.

Dielectric collapse at the LaAlO 3/SrTiO 3 (001) heterointerface under applied electric field

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

Minohara, M.; Hikita, Y.; Bell, C.

The fascinating interfacial transport properties at the LaAlO 3/SrTiO 3 heterointerface have led to intense investigations of this oxide system. Exploiting the large dielectric constant of SrTiO 3 at low temperatures, tunability in the interfacial conductivity over a wide range has been demonstrated using a back-gate device geometry. In order to understand the effect of back-gating, it is crucial to assess the interface band structure and its evolution with external bias. In this study, we report measurements of the gate-bias dependent interface band alignment, especially the confining potential profile, at the conducting LaAlO 3/SrTiO 3 (001) heterointerface using soft andmore » hard x-ray photoemission spectroscopy in conjunction with detailed model simulations. Depth-profiling analysis incorporating the electric field dependent dielectric constant in SrTiO 3 reveals that a significant potential drop on the SrTiO 3 side of the interface occurs within ~2 nm of the interface under negative gate-bias. These results demonstrate gate control of the collapse of the dielectric permittivity at the interface, and explain the dramatic loss of electron mobility with back-gate depletion.« less

Dielectric collapse at the LaAlO 3/SrTiO 3 (001) heterointerface under applied electric field

DOE PAGES

Minohara, M.; Hikita, Y.; Bell, C.; ...

2017-08-25

The fascinating interfacial transport properties at the LaAlO 3/SrTiO 3 heterointerface have led to intense investigations of this oxide system. Exploiting the large dielectric constant of SrTiO 3 at low temperatures, tunability in the interfacial conductivity over a wide range has been demonstrated using a back-gate device geometry. In order to understand the effect of back-gating, it is crucial to assess the interface band structure and its evolution with external bias. In this study, we report measurements of the gate-bias dependent interface band alignment, especially the confining potential profile, at the conducting LaAlO 3/SrTiO 3 (001) heterointerface using soft andmore » hard x-ray photoemission spectroscopy in conjunction with detailed model simulations. Depth-profiling analysis incorporating the electric field dependent dielectric constant in SrTiO 3 reveals that a significant potential drop on the SrTiO 3 side of the interface occurs within ~2 nm of the interface under negative gate-bias. These results demonstrate gate control of the collapse of the dielectric permittivity at the interface, and explain the dramatic loss of electron mobility with back-gate depletion.« less

Memory device using movement of protons

DOEpatents

Warren, William L.; Vanheusden, Karel J. R.; Fleetwood, Daniel M.; Devine, Roderick A. B.; Archer, Leo B.; Brown, George A.; Wallace, Robert M.

2000-01-01

An enhancement of an electrically written memory element utilizing the motion of protons within a dielectric layer surrounded by layers on either side to confine the protons within the dielectric layer with electrode means attached to the surrounding layers to change the spatial position of the protons within the dielectric layer. The device is preferably constructed as a silicon-silicon dioxide-silicon layered structure with the protons being introduced to the structure during an anneal in an atmosphere containing hydrogen gas. Device operation is enhanced by concluding this anneal step with a sudden cooling. The device operates at low power, is preferably nonvolatile, is radiation tolerant, and is compatible with convention silicon MOS processing for integration with other microelectronics elements on the same silicon substrate.

Image Charge and Electric Field Effects on Hydrogen-like Impurity-bound Polaron Energies and Oscillator Strengths in a Quantum Dot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vardanyan, L. A.; Vartanian, A. L.; Asatryan, A. L.; Kirakosyan, A. A.

2016-11-01

By using Landau-Pekar variational method, the ground and the first excited state energies and the transition frequencies between the ground and the first excited states of a hydrogen-like impurity-bound polaron in a spherical quantum dot (QD) have been studied by taking into account the image charge effect (ICE). We employ the dielectric continuum model to describe the phonon confinement effects. The oscillator strengths (OSs) of transitions from the 1 s-like state to excited states of 2 s, 2 p x , and 2 p z symmetries are calculated as functions of the applied electric field and strength of the confinement potential. We have shown that with and without image charge effect, the increase of the strength of the parabolic confinement potential leads to the increase of the oscillator strengths of 1 s - 2 p x and 1 s - 2 p z transitions. This indicates that the energy differences between 1 s- and 2 p x - as well as 1 s- and 2 p z -like states have a dominant role determining the oscillator strength. Although there is almost no difference in the oscillator strengths for transitions 1 s - 2 p x and 1 s -2 p z when the image charge effect is not taken into account, it becomes significant with the image charge effect.

Multimodal nonlinear nanophotonics (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kivshar, Yuri S.

2017-05-01

Nonlinear nanophotonics is a rapidly developing field of research with many potential applications for the design of nonlinear nanoantennas, light sources, nanolasers, and ultrafast miniature metadevices. A tight confinement of the local electromagnetic fields in resonant photonic nanostructures can boost nonlinear optical effects, thus offering versatile opportunities for the subwavelength control of light. To achieve the desired functionalities, it is essential to gain flexible control over the near- and far-field properties of nanostructures. To engineer nonlinear scattering from resonant nanoscale elements, both modal and multipolar control of the nonlinear response are widely exploited for enhancing the near-field interaction and optimizing the radiation directionality. Motivated by the recent progress of all-dielectric nanophotonics, where the electric and magnetic multipolar contributions may become comparable, here we review the advances in the recently emerged field of multipolar nonlinear nanophotonics, starting from earlier relevant studies of metallic and metal-dielectric structures supporting localized plasmonic resonances to then discussing the latest results for all-dielectric nanostructures driven by Mie-type multipolar resonances and optically induced magnetic response. These recent developments suggest intriguing opportunities for a design of nonlinear subwavelength light sources with reconfigurable radiation characteristics and engineering large effective optical nonlinearities at the nanoscale, which could have important implications for novel nonlinear photonic devices operating beyond the diffraction limit.

Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy and Quasi-Elastic Neutron Scattering on Single-Ion Polymer Conductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soles, Christopher; Peng, Hua-Gen; Page, Kirt; Snyder, Chad; Pandy, Ashoutosh; Jeong, Youmi; Runt, James; NIST Collaboration; Pennsylvania Collaboration

2011-03-01

The application of solid polymer electrolytes in rechargeable batteries has not been fully realized after decades of research due to its low conductivity. Dramatic increases of the ion conductivity are needed and this progress requires the understanding of conduction mechanism. We address this topic in two fronts, namely, the effect of plasticizer additives and geometric confinement on the charge transfer mechanism. To this end, we combine broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) to characterize the ion mobility and quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS) to quantify segmental motion on a single-ion model polymer electrolyte. Deuterated small molecules were used as plasticizers so that the segmental motion of the polymer electrolyte could be monitored by QENS to understand the mechanism behind the increased conductivity. Anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes with well defined channel sizes are used as the matrix to study the transport of ions solvated in a 1D polymer electrolyte.

Nanosize effect: Enhanced compensation temperature and existence of magnetodielectric coupling in SmFe O3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chaturvedi, Smita; Shyam, Priyank; Bag, Rabindranath; Shirolkar, Mandar M.; Kumar, Jitender; Kaur, Harleen; Singh, Surjeet; Awasthi, A. M.; Kulkarni, Sulabha

2017-07-01

In transition metal oxides, quantum confinement arising from a large surface to volume ratio often gives rise to novel physicochemical properties at nanoscale. Their size-dependent properties have potential applications in diverse areas, including therapeutics, imaging, electronic devices, communication systems, sensors, and catalysis. We have analyzed the structural, magnetic, dielectric, and thermal properties of weakly ferromagnetic SmFe O3 nanoparticles of sizes of about 55 and 500 nm. The nanometer-size particles exhibit several distinct features that are neither observed in their larger-size variants nor reported previously for the single crystals. In particular, for the 55-nm particle, we observe a sixfold enhancement of compensation temperature, an unusual rise in susceptibility in the temperature range 550 to 630 K due to spin pinning, and a coupled antiferromagnetic-ferroelectric transition, directly observed in the dielectric constant.

Electromagnetic Field Redistribution in Metal Nanoparticle on Graphene.

PubMed

Li, Keke; Liu, Anping; Wei, Dapeng; Yu, Keke; Sun, Xiaonan; Yan, Sheng; Huang, Yingzhou

2018-04-25

Benefiting from the induced image charge on metal film, the light energy is confined on a film surface under metal nanoparticle dimer, which is called electromagnetic field redistribution. In this work, electromagnetic field distribution of metal nanoparticle monomer or dimer on graphene is investigated through finite-difference time-domain method. The results point out that the electromagnetic field (EM) redistribution occurs in this nanoparticle/graphene hybrid system at infrared region where light energy could also be confined on a monolayer graphene surface. Surface charge distribution was analyzed using finite element analysis, and surface-enhanced Raman spectrum (SERS) was utilized to verify this phenomenon. Furthermore, the data about dielectric nanoparticle on monolayer graphene demonstrate this EM redistribution is attributed to strong coupling between light-excited surface charge on monolayer graphene and graphene plasmon-induced image charge on dielectric nanoparticle surface. Our work extends the knowledge of monolayer graphene plasmon, which has a wide range of applications in monolayer graphene-related film.

Reversible optical switching of highly confined phonon-polaritons with an ultrathin phase-change material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Peining; Yang, Xiaosheng; Maß, Tobias W. W.; Hanss, Julian; Lewin, Martin; Michel, Ann-Katrin U.; Wuttig, Matthias; Taubner, Thomas

2016-08-01

Surface phonon-polaritons (SPhPs), collective excitations of photons coupled with phonons in polar crystals, enable strong light-matter interaction and numerous infrared nanophotonic applications. However, as the lattice vibrations are determined by the crystal structure, the dynamical control of SPhPs remains challenging. Here, we realize the all-optical, non-volatile, and reversible switching of SPhPs by controlling the structural phase of a phase-change material (PCM) employed as a switchable dielectric environment. We experimentally demonstrate optical switching of an ultrathin PCM film (down to 7 nm, <λ/1,200) with single laser pulses and detect ultra-confined SPhPs (polariton wavevector kp > 70k0, k0 = 2π/λ) in quartz. Our proof of concept allows the preparation of all-dielectric, rewritable SPhP resonators without the need for complex fabrication methods. With optimized materials and parallelized optical addressing we foresee application potential for switchable infrared nanophotonic elements, for example, imaging elements such as superlenses and hyperlenses, as well as reconfigurable metasurfaces and sensors.

Surface induced phonon decay rates in thin film nano-structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Photiadis, D. M.

2007-12-01

Nano-scale structure significantly impacts phonon transport and related phonon relaxation rates, with order of magnitude effects on the thermal conductivity of dielectric thin films and quantum wires, and even larger effects on the lifetimes of ultrasonic phonons of micro- (nano-) oscillators. In both cases, efforts to explain the data have been hampered by our lack of knowledge of the effects of confined dimensionality on phonon-phonon scattering rates. Using a phonon Boltzmann equation with appropriate boundary conditions on the free surfaces to take surface roughness into account, we have obtained an expression yielding phonon lifetimes in 2-D dielectric nanostructures(thin films) resulting from phonon-phonon scattering in conjunction with phonon-surface scattering. We present these theoretical results and, in the limit in which surface induced losses dominate, obtain explicit predictions for the phonon lifetimes. The predicted temperature dependence of the ultrason! ic loss does not explain the observed saturation of the loss at low temperatures(τ(T) → const), but does give results of the order of magnitude of measured ultrasonic lifetimes.

Shaping the third-harmonic radiation from silicon nanodimers

DOE PAGES

Wang, Lei; Kruk, Sergey; Xu, Lei; ...

2017-01-23

Recent progress in the study of resonant light confinement in high-index dielectric nanostructures suggests a new route for achieving efficient control of both electric and magnetic components of light. It also leads to the enhancement of nonlinear effects near electric and magnetic Mie resonances with an engineered radiation directionality. Furthermore we study the third-harmonic generation from dimers composed of pairs of two identical silicon nanoparticles and demonstrate, both numerically and experimentally, that the multipolar harmonic modes generated by the dimers near the Mie resonances allow the shaping of the directionality of nonlinear radiation.

FIBER AND INTEGRATED OPTICS: Optimization of optical film waveguides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adamson, P. V.

1990-10-01

Theoretical investigations were made of the possibility of optimization of the effective thickness, of the optical confinement factor Γ1, and of the birefringence of a planar dielectric waveguide as a function of the waveguide parameter V and the waveguide asymmetry. For a given value of V it is possible to ensure higher values of Γ1, for an asymmetric waveguide than for a symmetric one. An approximate expression is proposed for the factor Γ1, of an asymmetric waveguide directly in terms of its thickness and the refractive indices of the layers.

Enhanced optical confinement of dye-doped dielectric nanoparticles using a picosecond-pulsed near-infrared laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kittiravechote, A.; Chiang, W.-Y.; Usman, A.; Liau, I.; Masuhara, H.

2014-07-01

We demonstrate a novel strategy to increase the capability of confining numerous dye-doped polymeric nanobeads (diameter 100 nm) with laser trapping. Unlike most classical works of optical trapping that address mainly the stiffness of the optical trap, our work concerns an increase in the number of particles confined near the laser focus. We developed an imaging system of light scattering in which a condenser lamp was employed to illuminate the focal plane of the objective lens, and the scattering of the incoherent light was specifically measured to determine the number of confined nanobeads. In contrast to preceding work that used mainly continuous-wave or femtosecond-pulsed lasers, we employed a picosecond-pulsed laser with the half-wavelength of the laser particularly falling within the absorption band of the dopant. Our results show that the number of doped nanobeads held by the laser is significantly greater than that of the bare nanobeads of the same dimension. In striking contrast, the confinement of the nanobeads of the two types was comparable when a continuous-wave laser of the same wavelength and power was employed. The number of confined dye-doped nanobeads increased nonlinearly with the power of the pulsed laser; this dependence was fitted satisfactorily with a second-order polynomial. Supported by theoretical analysis, we attribute the enhanced confinement of doped nanobeads in part to an increased effective refractive index resulting from two-photon resonance between the optical field of the laser and the dopant of the nanobead. We envisage that our findings would evoke applications that benefit from controlled confinement or aggregation of nanomaterials with the employment of near-infrared pulsed lasers.

Direct observation of terahertz surface modes in nanometer-sized liquid water pools.

PubMed

Boyd, J E; Briskman, A; Colvin, V L; Mittleman, D M

2001-10-01

The far-infrared absorption spectrum of nanometer-sized water pools at the core of AOT micelles exhibits a pronounced resonance which is absent in bulk water. The amplitude and spectral position of this resonance are sensitive to the size of the confined water core. This resonance results from size-dependent modifications in the vibrational density of states, and thus has far-reaching implications for chemical processes which involve water sequestered within small cavities. These data represent the first study of the terahertz dielectric properties of confined liquids.

Dynamics of Hyperbranched Polymers under Confinement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Androulaki, Krystallenia; Chrissopoulou, Kiriaki; Anastasiadis, Spiros H.; Prevosto, Daniele; Labardi, Massimiliano

2015-03-01

The effect of severe confinement on the dynamics of three different generations of hyperbranched polyesters (Boltorns) is investigated by Dielectric Spectroscopy. The polymers are intercalated within the galleries of natural Na+-MMT, thus, forming 1nm polymer films confined between solid walls. The Tg's of the polymers determined by DSC show a clear dependence on the generation whereas the transition is completely suppressed when all the polymer chains are intercalated. The dynamic investigation of the bulk polymers reveals two sub-Tg processes, with similar behavior for the three polymers with the segmental relaxation observed above the Tg of each. For the nanocomposites, where all polymers are severely confined, the dynamics show significant differences compared to that of the bulk polymers. The sub-Tg processes are similar for the three generations but significantly faster and with weaker temperature dependence than those in the bulk. The segmental process appears at temperatures below the bulk polymer Tg, it exhibits an Arrhenius temperature dependence and shows differences for the three generations. A slow process that appears at higher temperatures is due to interfacial polarization. Co-financed by the EU and Greek funds through the Operational Program ``Education and Lifelong Learning'' of the NSRF-Research Funding Program: THALES-Investing in knowledge society through the Eur. Social Fund (MIS 377278) and COST Action MP0902-COINAPO.

The effect of power-law body forces on a thermally driven flow between concentric rotating spheres

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Macaraeg, M. G.

1986-01-01

A numerical study is conducted to determine the effect of power-law body forces on a thermally-driven axisymmetric flow field confined between concentric co-rotating spheres. This study is motivated by Spacelab geophysical fluid-flow experiments, which use an electrostatic force on a dielectric fluid to simulate gravity; this force exhibits a (1/r)sup 5 distribution. Meridional velocity is found to increase when the electrostatic body force is imposed, relative to when the body force is uniform. Correlation among flow fields with uniform, inverse-square, and inverse-quintic force fields is obtained using a modified Grashof number.

The effect of power law body forces on a thermally-driven flow between concentric rotating spheres

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Macaraeg, M. G.

1985-01-01

A numerical study is conducted to determine the effect of power-law body forces on a thermally-driven axisymmetric flow field confined between concentric co-rotating spheres. This study is motivated by Spacelab geophysical fluid-flow experiments, which use an electrostatic force on a dielectric fluid to simulate gravity; this force exhibits a (1/r)sup 5 distribution. Meridional velocity is found to increase when the electrostatic body force is imposed, relative to when the body force is uniform. Correlation among flow fields with uniform, inverse-square, and inverse-quintic force fields is obtained using a modified Grashof number.

Probing the ultimate plasmon confinement limits with a van der Waals heterostructure.

PubMed

Alcaraz Iranzo, David; Nanot, Sébastien; Dias, Eduardo J C; Epstein, Itai; Peng, Cheng; Efetov, Dmitri K; Lundeberg, Mark B; Parret, Romain; Osmond, Johann; Hong, Jin-Yong; Kong, Jing; Englund, Dirk R; Peres, Nuno M R; Koppens, Frank H L

2018-04-20

The ability to confine light into tiny spatial dimensions is important for applications such as microscopy, sensing, and nanoscale lasers. Although plasmons offer an appealing avenue to confine light, Landau damping in metals imposes a trade-off between optical field confinement and losses. We show that a graphene-insulator-metal heterostructure can overcome that trade-off, and demonstrate plasmon confinement down to the ultimate limit of the length scale of one atom. This is achieved through far-field excitation of plasmon modes squeezed into an atomically thin hexagonal boron nitride dielectric spacer between graphene and metal rods. A theoretical model that takes into account the nonlocal optical response of both graphene and metal is used to describe the results. These ultraconfined plasmonic modes, addressed with far-field light excitation, enable a route to new regimes of ultrastrong light-matter interactions. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Generation and confinement of microwave gas-plasma in photonic dielectric microstructure.

PubMed

Debord, B; Jamier, R; Gérôme, F; Leroy, O; Boisse-Laporte, C; Leprince, P; Alves, L L; Benabid, F

2013-10-21

We report on a self-guided microwave surface-wave induced generation of ~60 μm diameter and 6 cm-long column of argon-plasma confined in the core of a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber. At gas pressure of 1 mbar, the micro-confined plasma exhibits a stable transverse profile with a maximum gas-temperature as high as 1300 ± 200 K, and a wall-temperature as low as 500 K, and an electron density level of 10¹⁴ cm⁻³. The fiber guided fluorescence emission presents strong Ar⁺ spectral lines in the visible and near UV. Theory shows that the observed combination of relatively low wall-temperature and high ionisation rate in this strongly confined configuration is due to an unprecedentedly wide electrostatic space-charge field and the subsequent ion acceleration dominance in the plasma-to-gas power transfer.

Memory device using movement of protons

DOEpatents

Warren, W.L.; Vanheusden, K.J.R.; Fleetwood, D.M.; Devine, R.A.B.

1998-11-03

An electrically written memory element is disclosed utilizing the motion of protons within a dielectric layer surrounded by layers on either side to confine the protons within the dielectric layer with electrode means attached to the surrounding layers to change the spatial position of the protons within the dielectric layer. The device is preferably constructed as a silicon-silicon dioxide-silicon layered structure with the protons being introduced to the structure laterally through the exposed edges of the silicon dioxide layer during a high temperature anneal in an atmosphere containing hydrogen gas. The device operates at low power, is preferably nonvolatile, is radiation tolerant, and is compatible with convention silicon MOS processing for integration with other microelectronic elements on the same silicon substrate. With the addition of an optically active layer, the memory element becomes an electrically written, optically read optical memory element. 19 figs.

Memory device using movement of protons

DOEpatents

Warren, William L.; Vanheusden, Karel J. R.; Fleetwood, Daniel M.; Devine, Roderick A. B.

1998-01-01

An electrically written memory element utilizing the motion of protons within a dielectric layer surrounded by layers on either side to confine the protons within the dielectric layer with electrode means attached to the surrounding layers to change the spatial position of the protons within the dielectric layer. The device is preferably constructed as a silicon-silicon dioxide-silicon layered structure with the protons being introduced to the structure laterally through the exposed edges of the silicon dioxide layer during a high temperature anneal in an atmosphere containing hydrogen gas. The device operates at low power, is preferably nonvolatile, is radiation tolerant, and is compatible with convention silicon MOS processing for integration with other microelectronic elements on the same silicon substrate. With the addition of an optically active layer, the memory element becomes an electrically written, optically read optical memory element.

Memory device using movement of protons

DOEpatents

Warren, William L.; Vanheusden, Karel J. R.; Fleetwood, Daniel M.; Devine, Roderick A. B.

2000-01-01

An electrically written memory element utilizing the motion of protons within a dielectric layer surrounded by layers on either side to confine the protons within the dielectric layer with electrode means attached to the surrounding layers to change the spatial position of the protons within the dielectric layer. The device is preferably constructed as a silicon-silicon dioxide-silicon layered structure with the protons being introduced to the structure laterally through the exposed edges of the silicon dioxide layer during a high temperature anneal in an atmosphere containing hydrogen gas. The device operates at low power, is preferably nonvolatile, is radiation tolerant, and is compatible with convention silicon MOS processing for integration with other microelectronic elements on the same silicon substrate. With the addition of an optically active layer, the memory element becomes an electrically written, optically read optical memory element.

Plasmonics of magnetic and topological graphene-based nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuzmin, Dmitry A.; Bychkov, Igor V.; Shavrov, Vladimir G.; Temnov, Vasily V.

2018-02-01

Graphene is a unique material in the study of the fundamental limits of plasmonics. Apart from the ultimate single-layer thickness, its carrier concentration can be tuned by chemical doping or applying an electric field. In this manner, the electrodynamic properties of graphene can be varied from highly conductive to dielectric. Graphene supports strongly confined, propagating surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in a broad spectral range from terahertz to mid-infrared frequencies. It also possesses a strong magneto-optical response and thus provides complimentary architectures to conventional magneto-plasmonics based on magneto-optically active metals or dielectrics. Despite a large number of review articles devoted to plasmonic properties and applications of graphene, little is known about graphene magneto-plasmonics and topological effects in graphene-based nanostructures, which represent the main subject of this review. We discuss several strategies to enhance plasmonic effects in topologically distinct closed surface landscapes, i.e. graphene nanotubes, cylindrical nanocavities and toroidal nanostructures. A novel phenomenon of the strongly asymmetric SPP propagation on chiral meta-structures and the fundamental relations between structural and plasmonic topological indices are reviewed.

Particle-in-cell modeling of gas-confined barrier discharge

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

Levko, Dmitry; Raja, Laxminarayan L.

2016-04-15

Gas-confined barrier discharge is studied using the one-dimensional Particle-in-Cell Monte Carlo Collisions model for the conditions reported by Guerra-Garcia and Martinez-Sanchez [Appl. Phys. Lett. 106, 041601 (2015)]. Depending on the applied voltage, two modes of discharge are observed. In the first mode, the discharge develops in the entire interelectrode gap. In the second mode, the discharge is ignited and develops only in the gas layer having smaller breakdown voltage. The one-dimensional model shows that for the conditions considered, there is no streamer stage of breakdown as is typical for a traditional dielectric barrier discharge.

Practical microstructured and plasmonic terahertz waveguides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Markov, Andrey

The terahertz frequency range, with frequencies lying between 100 GHz and 10 THz, has strong potential for various technological and scientific applications such as sensing, imaging, communications, and spectroscopy. Most terahertz (THz) sources are immobile and THz systems use free-space propagation in dry air where losses are minimal. Designing efficient THz waveguides for flexible delivery of broadband THz radiation is an important step towards practical applications of terahertz techniques. THz waveguides can be very useful on the system integration level when used for connection of the diverse THz point devices, such as sources, filters, sensor cells, detectors, etc. The most straightforward application of waveguides is to deliver electromagnetic waves from the source to the point of detection. Cumbersome free-space optics can be replaced by waveguides operating in the THz range, which could lead to the development of compact THz time domain spectroscopy systems. Other promising applications of THz waveguides are in sensing and imaging. THz waveguides have also been shown to operate in subwavelength regimes, offering mode confinement in waveguide structures with a size smaller than the diffraction limit, and thus, surpassing the resolution of free-space THz imaging systems. In order to design efficient terahertz waveguides, the frequency dependent loss and dispersion of the waveguide must be minimized. A possible solution would be to increase the fraction of mode power propagating through air. In this thesis, the usage of planar porous air/dielectric waveguides and metal wire/dielectric hybrid terahertz fibers will be discussed. First, I present a novel design of a planar porous low-loss waveguide, describe its fabrication, and characterize it in view of its potential applications as a low-loss waveguide and sensor in the THz spectral range. The waveguide structure features a periodic sequence of layers of thin (25-50 mum) polyethylene film that are separated by low-loss air layers of comparable thickness. A large fraction of the modal fields in these waveguides is guided in the low-loss air region, thus effectively reducing the waveguide transmission losses. I consider that such waveguides can be useful not only for low-loss THz wave delivery, but also for sensing of biological and chemical specimens in the terahertz region, by placing the recognition elements directly into the waveguide microstructure. The main advantage of the proposed planar porous waveguide is the convenient access to its optical mode, since the major portion of THz power launched into such a waveguide is confined within the air layers. Moreover, small spacing between the layers promotes rapid loading of the analyte into the waveguide due to strong capillary effect (< 1 s filling of a 10 cm long waveguide with an analyte). The transmission and absorption properties of such waveguides have been investigated both experimentally using THz-TDS spectroscopy and theoretically using finite element software. The modal refractive index of porous waveguides is smaller compared to pure polymer and it is easy to adjust by changing the air spacing between the layers, as well as the number of layers in the core. The porous waveguide exhibits considerably smaller transmission losses than bulk material. In the following chapters I review another promising approach towards designing of low-loss, low-dispersion THz waveguides. The hybrid metal/dielectric waveguides use a plasmonic mode guided in the gap between two parallel wires that are, in turn, encapsulated inside a low-loss, low-refractive index, micro-structured cladding that provides mechanical stability and isolation from the environment. I describe several promising techniques that can be used to encapsulate the two-wire waveguides, while minimizing the negative impact of dielectric cladding on the waveguide optical properties. In particular, I detail the use of low-density foams and microstructured plastic claddings as two enabling materials for the two-wire waveguide encapsulation. The hybrid fiber design is more convenient for practical applications than a classic two metal wire THz waveguide as it allows direct manipulations of the fiber without the risk of perturbing its core-guided mode. I present a detailed analysis of the modal properties of the hybrid metal/dielectric waveguides, compare them with the properties of a classic two-wire waveguide, and then present strategies for the improvement of hybrid waveguide performance by using higher cladding porosity or utilizing inherently porous cladding material. I study coupling efficiency into hybrid waveguides and conclude that it can be relatively high (>50%) in the broad frequency range ˜0.5 THz. Not surprisingly, optical properties of such fibers are inferior to those of a classic two-wire waveguide due to the presence of lossy dielectric near an inter-wire gap. At the same time, composite fibers outperform porous fibers of the same geometry both in bandwidth of operation and in lower dispersion. I demonstrate that hybrid metal/dielectric porous waveguides can have a very large operational bandwidth, while supporting tightly confined, air-bound modes both at high and low frequencies. This is possible as, at higher frequencies, hybrid fibers can support ARROW-like low-loss air-bound modes, while changing their guidance mechanism to plasmonic confinement in the inter-wire air gap at lower frequencies. Finally, I describe an intriguing resonant property of some hybrid plasmonic modes of metal / dielectric waveguides that manifests itself in the strong frequency dependent change in the modal confinement from dielectric-bound to air-bound. I discuss how this property can be used to construct THz refractometers. Introduction of even lossless analytes into the fiber core leads to significant changes in the modal losses, which is used as a transduction mechanism. The resolution of the refractometer has been investigated numerically as a function of the operation frequency and the geometric parameters of the fiber. With a refractive index resolution on the order of ˜10-3 RIU, the composite fiber-based sensor is capable of identifying various gaseous analytes and aerosols or measuring the concentration of dust particles in the air.

Waveguide apparatuses and methods

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

Spencer, James E.

2016-05-10

Optical fiber waveguides and related approaches are implemented to facilitate communication. As may be implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments, a waveguide has a substrate including a lattice structure having a plurality of lattice regions with a dielectric constant that is different than that of the substrate, a defect in the lattice, and one or more deviations from the lattice. The defect acts with trapped transverse modes (e.g., magnetic and/or electric modes) and facilitates wave propagation along a longitudinal direction while confining the wave transversely. The deviation(s) from the lattice produces additional modes and/or coupling effects.

Investigation of Jet Impingement Cooling Using High Prandtl Number Fluids and Ammonia for Military Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-03-01

interesting application of liquid jets impinging over a surface is for the cooling of microelectronics. Wadsworth and Mudawar [29] performed an...and I. Mudawar , Cooling of a Multiple Electronic Module by Means of Confined Two-Dimensional Jets of Dielectric Liquid, Journal of Heat Transfer, vol

Manipulation of metal-dielectric core-shell particles in optical fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chvátal, Lukáš; Šiler, Martin; Zemánek, Pavel

2014-12-01

Metal-dielectric core-shell particles represent promising tools in nanoplasmonics. In combination with optical tweezers they can be manipulated in a contactless way through fluid and their plasmonic properties can be used to probe or modify the local environment. We perform a numerical parametric study to find the particle geometry and material parameters under which such particle can be stably confined in optical tweezers. We use the theory based on Mie scattering in the focal field of an ideal water immersion objective of numerical aperture NA=1.2. For very thin metal layers we find that strong trapping on the optical axis can be achieved.

Monolithically integrated mid-infrared lab-on-a-chip using plasmonics and quantum cascade structures

PubMed Central

Schwarz, Benedikt; Reininger, Peter; Ristanić, Daniela; Detz, Hermann; Andrews, Aaron Maxwell; Schrenk, Werner; Strasser, Gottfried

2014-01-01

The increasing demand of rapid sensing and diagnosis in remote areas requires the development of compact and cost-effective mid-infrared sensing devices. So far, all miniaturization concepts have been demonstrated with discrete optical components. Here we present a monolithically integrated sensor based on mid-infrared absorption spectroscopy. A bi-functional quantum cascade laser/detector is used, where, by changing the applied bias, the device switches between laser and detector operation. The interaction with chemicals in a liquid is resolved via a dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguide. The thin dielectric layer enhances the confinement and enables efficient end-fire coupling from and to the laser and detector. The unamplified detector signal shows a slope of 1.8–7 μV per p.p.m., which demonstrates the capability to reach p.p.m. accuracy over a wide range of concentrations (0–60%). Without any hybrid integration or subwavelength patterning, our approach allows a straightforward and cost-saving fabrication. PMID:24905443

Fundamental limits to graphene plasmonics.

PubMed

Ni, G X; McLeod, A S; Sun, Z; Wang, L; Xiong, L; Post, K W; Sunku, S S; Jiang, B-Y; Hone, J; Dean, C R; Fogler, M M; Basov, D N

2018-05-01

Plasmon polaritons are hybrid excitations of light and mobile electrons that can confine the energy of long-wavelength radiation at the nanoscale. Plasmon polaritons may enable many enigmatic quantum effects, including lasing 1 , topological protection 2,3 and dipole-forbidden absorption 4 . A necessary condition for realizing such phenomena is a long plasmonic lifetime, which is notoriously difficult to achieve for highly confined modes 5 . Plasmon polaritons in graphene-hybrids of Dirac quasiparticles and infrared photons-provide a platform for exploring light-matter interaction at the nanoscale 6,7 . However, plasmonic dissipation in graphene is substantial 8 and its fundamental limits remain undetermined. Here we use nanometre-scale infrared imaging to investigate propagating plasmon polaritons in high-mobility encapsulated graphene at cryogenic temperatures. In this regime, the propagation of plasmon polaritons is primarily restricted by the dielectric losses of the encapsulated layers, with a minor contribution from electron-phonon interactions. At liquid-nitrogen temperatures, the intrinsic plasmonic propagation length can exceed 10 micrometres, or 50 plasmonic wavelengths, thus setting a record for highly confined and tunable polariton modes. Our nanoscale imaging results reveal the physics of plasmonic dissipation and will be instrumental in mitigating such losses in heterostructure engineering applications.

Experimental demonstration of subwavelength domino plasmon devices for compact high-frequency circuit.

PubMed

Ma, Y G; Lan, L; Zhong, S M; Ong, C K

2011-10-24

In optical frequency, surface plasmons of metal provide us a prominent way to build compact photonic devices or circuits with non-diffraction limit. It is attributed by their extraordinary electromagnetic confining effect. But in the counterpart of lower frequencies, plasmonics behavior of metal is screened by eddy current induced in a certain skin depth. To amend this, spoof plasmons engineered by artificial structures have been introduced to mimic surface plasmons in these frequencies. But it is less useful for practical application due to their weak field confinement as manifested by large field decaying length in the upper dielectric space. Recently, a new type of engineered plasmons, domino plasmon was theoretically proposed to produce unusual field confinement and waveguiding capabilities that make them very attractive for ultra-compact device applications [Opt. Exp. 18, 754-764 (2010)]. In this work, we implemented these ideas and built three waveguiding devices based on domino plasmons. Their strong capabilities to produce versatile and ultra-compact devices with multiple electromagnetic functions have been experimentally verified in microwaves. And that can be extended to THz regime to pave the way for a new class of integrated wave circuits. © 2011 Optical Society of America

Stabilization of the Amorphous Ezetimibe Drug by Confining Its Dimension.

PubMed

Knapik, J; Wojnarowska, Z; Grzybowska, K; Jurkiewicz, K; Stankiewicz, A; Paluch, M

2016-04-04

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of nanoconfinement on the molecular mobility, as well as on the physical stability, of amorphous ezetimibe drug. Two guest/host systems, ezetimibe-Aeroperl 300 and ezetimibe-Neusilin US2, were prepared and studied using various experimental techniques, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS). Our investigation has shown that the molecular mobility of the examined anticholesterol agent incorporated into nanopore matrices strongly depends on the pore size of the host system. Moreover, it was found that the amorphous ezetimibe confined in 30 nm pores of Aeroperl 300 has a tendency to recrystallize, while the drug incorporated into the smaller--5 nm--pores of Neusilin US2 is not able to crystallize. It has been shown that this significant stabilization of ezetimibe drug can be achieved by an interplay of three factors: changes in molecular dynamics of the confined amorphous drug, the immobilization effect of pore walls on a part of ezetimibe molecules, and the use of host materials with pores that are smaller than the critical size of the drug crystal nuclei.

Ground-state energy of an exciton-(LO) phonon system in a parabolic quantum well

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerlach, B.; Wüsthoff, J.; Smondyrev, M. A.

1999-12-01

This paper presents a variational study of the ground-state energy of an exciton-(LO) phonon system, which is spatially confined to a quantum well. The exciton-phonon interaction is of Fröhlich type, the confinement potentials are assumed to be parabolic functions of the coordinates. Making use of functional integral techniques, the phonon part of the problem can be eliminated exactly, leading us to an effective two-particle system, which has the same spectral properties as the original one. Subsequently, Jensen's inequality is applied to obtain an upper bound on the ground-state energy. The main intention of this paper is to analyze the influence of the quantum-well-induced localization of the exciton on its ground-state energy (or its binding energy, respectively). To do so, we neglect any mismatch of the masses or the dielectric constants, but admit an arbitrary strength of the confinement potentials. Our approach allows for a smooth interpolation of the ultimate limits of vanishing and infinite confinement, corresponding to the cases of a free three-dimensional and a free two-dimensional exciton-phonon system. The interpolation formula for the ground-state energy bound corresponds to similar formulas for the free polaron or the free exciton-phonon system. These bounds in turn are known to compare favorably with all previous ones, which we are aware of.

Dielectric anomaly and relaxation natures in a Zn-Cr pillar-layered metal-organic framework with cages and channels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xue, Chen; Yao, Zhi-Yuan; Liu, Shao-Xian; Luo, Hong-Bin; Zou, Yang; Li, Li; Ren, Xiao-Ming

2017-06-01

A bimetallic metal-organic framework (MOF) with the formula [Zn3btc2{Cr3O(isonic)6(H2O)2(OH)}]·(DMF)15.5(H2O)8 (H3btc=1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid; isonic=isonicotinicate) shows a pillar-layered structure. The monolayer consists of hexagon-like rings formed by the [Zn(isonic)2(btc)2] tetrahedral and the consecutive monolayers are pillared by trigonal-prismatic clusters of [Cr3O(isonic)6(H2O)2(OH)]through the remaining binding sites of the Zn2+ ions. DMF and water molecules are confined in the cages and channels. TGA indicates that the lattice DMF and water molecules begin to be released at temperatures above 363 K. Dielectric measurements were carried out in the range of 173-363 K and 1-107 Hz for three successive thermal cycles. The dielectric spectroscopy obtained in the first thermal cycle was different from that observed in the next two thermal cycles, while the dielectric spectra in the last two thermal cycles were almost identical. The dielectric nature of this MOF is discussed in detail for each thermal cycle. Since MOFs are unique host-guest systems in which the structure of the host framework is designable and the guests are exchangeable, it is no doubt those MOFs are materials with a variety of dielectric natures. This study gives a fresh impetus to achieve MOFs-based dielectric materials.

Yttrium oxide based three dimensional metamaterials for visible light cloaking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rai, Pratyush; Kumar, Prashanth S.; Varadan, Vijay K.; Ruffin, Paul; Brantley, Christina; Edwards, Eugene

2014-04-01

Metamaterial with negative refractive index is the key phenomenon behind the concept of a cloaking device to hide an object from light in visible spectrum. Metamaterials made of two and three dimensional lattices of periodically placed electromagnetic resonant cells can achieve absorption and propagation of incident electromagnetic radiation as confined electromagnetic fields confined to a waveguide as surface plasmon polaritons, which can be used for shielding an object from in-tune electromagnetic radiation. The periodicity and dimensions of resonant cavity determine the frequency, which are very small as compared to the wavelength of incident light. Till now the phenomena have been demonstrated only for lights in near infrared spectrum. Recent advancements in fabrication techniques have made it possible to fabricate array of three dimensional nanostructures with cross-sections as small as 25 nm that are required for negative refractive index for wavelengths in visible light spectrum of 400-700 nm and for wider view angle. Two types of metamaterial designs, three dimensional concentric split ring and fishnet, are considered. Three dimensional structures consisted of metal-dielectric-metal stacks. The metal is silver and dielectric is yttrium oxide, other than conventional materials such as FR4 and Duroid. High κ dielectric and high refractive index as well as large crystal symmetry of Yttrium oxide has been investigated as encapsulating medium. Dependence of refractive index on wavelength and bandwidth of negative refractive index region are analyzed for application towards cloaking from light in visible spectrum.

Laboratory Experiments for Exploring the Surface Plasmon Resonance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pluchery, Olivier; Vayron, Romain; Van, Kha-Man

2011-01-01

The surface plasmon wave is a surface wave confined at the interface between a dielectric and a metal. The excitation of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) on a gold thin film is discussed within the Kretschmann configuration, where the coupling with the excitation light is achieved by means of a prism in total reflection. The electromagnetic…

Mapping the electromagnetic field confinement in the gap of germanium nanoantennas with plasma wavelength of 4.5 micrometers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calandrini, Eugenio; Venanzi, Tommaso; Appugliese, Felice; Badioli, Michela; Giliberti, Valeria; Baldassarre, Leonetta; Biagioni, Paolo; De Angelis, Francesco; Klesse, Wolfgang M.; Scappucci, Giordano; Ortolani, Michele

2016-09-01

We study plasmonic nanoantennas for molecular sensing in the mid-infrared made of heavily doped germanium, epitaxially grown with a bottom-up doping process and featuring free carrier density in excess of 1020 cm-3. The dielectric function of the 250 nm thick germanium film is determined, and bow-tie antennas are designed, fabricated, and embedded in a polymer. By using a near-field photoexpansion mapping technique at λ = 5.8 μm, we demonstrate the existence in the antenna gap of an electromagnetic energy density hotspot of diameter below 100 nm and confinement volume 105 times smaller than λ3.

Transmission of isotropic light across a dielectric surface in two and three dimensions.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, W. A.

1973-01-01

Average transmittance of polarized diffuse light across a dielectric surface is calculated in both two and three dimensions. The incident light in both cases is confined to an angular range measured from the surface normal. Limiting values in three dimensions correspond to known results for two cases, (1) normal incidence, and (2) diffuse light incident from a 180 deg cone. The two-dimensional formulation is solvable in terms of elliptic functions and incomplete elliptic integrals of the first, second, and third kinds. Results are displayed graphically for values of transmittances in excess of 0.9 associated with relative indices of refraction in the range m = 1.0 to m = 2.6.

Numerical modelling of surface plasmonic polaritons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mansoor, Riyadh; AL-Khursan, Amin Habbeb

2018-06-01

Extending optoelectronics into the nano-regime seems problematic due to the relatively long wavelengths of light. The conversion of light into plasmons is a possible way to overcome this problem. Plasmon's wavelengths are much shorter than that of light which enables the propagation of signals in small size components. In this paper, a 3D simulation of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) excitation is performed. The Finite integration technique was used to solve Maxwell's equations in the dielectric-metal interface. The results show how the surface plasmon polariton was generated at the grating assisted dielectric-metal interface. SPP is a good candidate for signal confinement in small size optoelectronics which allow high density optical integrated circuits in all optical networks.

Advances and Promises of Layered Halide Hybrid Perovskite Semiconductors.

PubMed

Pedesseau, Laurent; Sapori, Daniel; Traore, Boubacar; Robles, Roberto; Fang, Hong-Hua; Loi, Maria Antonietta; Tsai, Hsinhan; Nie, Wanyi; Blancon, Jean-Christophe; Neukirch, Amanda; Tretiak, Sergei; Mohite, Aditya D; Katan, Claudine; Even, Jacky; Kepenekian, Mikaël

2016-11-22

Layered halide hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites (HOP) have been the subject of intense investigation before the rise of three-dimensional (3D) HOP and their impressive performance in solar cells. Recently, layered HOP have also been proposed as attractive alternatives for photostable solar cells and revisited for light-emitting devices. In this review, we combine classical solid-state physics concepts with simulation tools based on density functional theory to overview the main features of the optoelectronic properties of layered HOP. A detailed comparison between layered and 3D HOP is performed to highlight differences and similarities. In the same way as the cubic phase was established for 3D HOP, here we introduce the tetragonal phase with D 4h symmetry as the reference phase for 2D monolayered HOP. It allows for detailed analysis of the spin-orbit coupling effects and structural transitions with corresponding electronic band folding. We further investigate the effects of octahedral tilting on the band gap, loss of inversion symmetry and possible Rashba effect, quantum confinement, and dielectric confinement related to the organic barrier, up to excitonic properties. Altogether, this paper aims to provide an interpretive and predictive framework for 3D and 2D layered HOP optoelectronic properties.

Electric-Field Sensing with a Scanning Fiber-Coupled Quantum Dot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cadeddu, D.; Munsch, M.; Rossi, N.; Gérard, J.-M.; Claudon, J.; Warburton, R. J.; Poggio, M.

2017-09-01

We demonstrate the application of a fiber-coupled quantum dot (QD) in a tip as a scanning probe for electric-field imaging. We map the out-of-plane component of the electric field induced by a pair of electrodes by the measurement of the quantum-confined Stark effect induced on a QD spectral line. Our results are in agreement with finite-element simulations of the experiment. Furthermore, we present results from analytic calculations and simulations which are relevant to any electric-field sensor embedded in a dielectric tip. In particular, we highlight the impact of the tip geometry on both the resolution and sensitivity.

A Resonator for Low-Threshold Frequency Conversion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Iltchenko, Vladimir; Matsko, Andrey; Savchenkov, Anatoliy; Maleki, Lute

2004-01-01

A proposed toroidal or disklike dielectric optical resonator (dielectric optical cavity) would be made of an optically nonlinear material and would be optimized for use in parametric frequency conversion by imposition of a spatially periodic permanent electric polarization. The poling (see figure) would suppress dispersions caused by both the material and the geometry of the optical cavity, thereby effecting quasi-matching of the phases of high-resonance-quality (high-Q) whispering-gallery electromagnetic modes. The quasi-phase-matching of the modes would serve to maximize the interactions among them. Such a resonator might be a prototype of a family of compact, efficient nonlinear devices for operation over a broad range of optical wavelengths. A little background information is prerequisite to a meaningful description of this proposal: (1) Described in several prior NASA Tech Briefs articles, the whispering-gallery modes in a component of spheroidal, disklike, or toroidal shape are waveguide modes that propagate circumferentially and are concentrated in a narrow toroidal region centered on the equatorial plane and located near the outermost edge. (2) For the sake of completeness, it must be stated that even though optical resonators of the type considered here are solid dielectric objects and light is confined within them by total internal reflection at dielectric interfaces without need for mirrors, such components are sometimes traditionally called cavities because their effects upon the light propagating within them are similar to those of true cavities bounded by mirrors. (3) For a given set of electromagnetic modes interacting with each other in an optically nonlinear material (e.g., modes associated with the frequencies involved in a frequency-conversion scheme), the threshold power for oscillation depends on the mode volumes and the mode-overlap integral. (4) Whispering-gallery modes are attractive in nonlinear optics because they maximize the effects of nonlinearities by occupying small volumes and affording high Q values

Resonant Gain Singularities in 1D and 3D Metal/Dielectric Multilayered Nanostructures.

PubMed

Caligiuri, Vincenzo; Pezzi, Luigia; Veltri, Alessandro; De Luca, Antonio

2017-01-24

We present a detailed study on the resonant gain (RG) phenomena occurring in two nanostructures, in which the presence of dielectric singularities is used to reach a huge amplification of the emitted photons resonantly interacting with the system. The presence of gain molecules in the considered nanoresonator systems makes it possible to obtain optical features that are able to unlock several applications. Two noticeable cases have been investigated: a 1D nanoresonator based on hyperbolic metamaterials and a 3D metal/dielectric spherical multishell. The former has been designed in the framework of the effective medium theory, in order to behave as an epsilon-near-zero-and-pole metamaterial, showing extraordinary light confinement and collimation. Such a peculiarity represents the key to lead to a RG behavior, a condition in which the system is demonstrated to behave as a self-amplifying perfect lens. Very high enhancement and spectral sharpness of 1 nm of the emitted light are demonstrated by means of a transfer matrix method simulation. The latter system consists of a metal/doped-dielectric multishell. A dedicated theoretical approach has been set up to finely engineer its doubly tunable resonant nature. The RG condition has been demonstrated also in this case. Finite element method-based simulations, together with an analytical model, clarify the electric field distribution inside the multishell and suggest the opportunity to use this device as a self-enhanced loss compensated multishell, being a favorable scenario for low-threshold SPASER action. Counterintuitively, exceeding the resonant gain amount of molecules in both systems causes a significant drop in the amplitude of the resonance.

Polymer loaded microemulsions: Changeover from finite size effects to interfacial interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuttich, B.; Ivanova, O.; Grillo, I.; Stühn, B.

2016-10-01

Form fluctuations of microemulsion droplets are observed in experiments using dielectric spectroscopy (DS) and neutron spin echo spectroscopy (NSE). Previous work on dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate based water in oil microemulsions in the droplet phase has shown that adding a water soluble polymer (Polyethylene glycol M = 1500 g mol-1) modifies these fluctuations. While for small droplet sizes (water core radius rc < 37 Å) compared to the size of the polymer both methods consistently showed a reduction in the bending modulus of the surfactant shell as a result of polymer addition, dielectric spectroscopy suggests the opposite behaviour for large droplets. This observation is now confirmed by NSE experiments on large droplets. Structural changes due to polymer addition are qualitatively independent of droplet size. Dynamical properties, however, display a clear variation with the number of polymer chains per droplet, leading to the observed changes in the bending modulus. Furthermore, the contribution of structural and dynamical properties on the changes in bending modulus shifts in weight. With increasing droplet size, we initially find dominating finite size effects and a changeover to a system, where interactions between the confined polymer and the surfactant shell dominate the bending modulus.

Electron-phonon interactions in semiconductor nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Segi

In this dissertation, electron-phonon interactions are studied theoretically in semiconductor nanoscale heterostructures. Interactions of electrons with interface optical phonons dominate over other electron-phonon interactions in narrow width heterostructures. Hence, a transfer matrix method is used to establish a formalism for determining the dispersion relations and electrostatic potentials of the interface phonons for multiple-interface heterostructure within the macroscopic dielectric continuum model. This method facilitates systematic calculations for complex structures where the conventional method is difficult to implement. Several specific cases are treated to illustrate advantages of the formalism. Electrophonon resonance (EPR) is studied in cylindrical quantum wires using the confined/interface optical phonons representation and bulk phonon representation. It has been found that interface phonon contribution to EPR is small compared with confined phonon. Different selection rules for bulk phonons and confined phonons result in different EPR behaviors as the radius of cylindrical wire changes. Experiment is suggested to test which phonon representation is appropriate for EPR. The effects of phonon confinement on elect ron-acoustic-phonon scattering is studied in cylindrical and rectangular quantum wires. In the macroscopic elastic continuum model, the confined-phonon dispersion relations are obtained for several crystallographic directions with free-surface and clamped-surface boundary conditions in cylindrical wires. The scattering rates due to the deformation potential are obtained for these confined phonons and are compared with those of bulk-like phonons. The results show that the inclusion of acoustic phonon confinement may be crucial for calculating accurate low-energy electron scattering rates. Furthermore, it has been found that there is a scaling rule governing the directional dependence of the scattering rates. The Hamiltonian describing the deformation-potential of confined acoustic phonons is derived by quantizing the appropriate, experimentally verified approximate compressional acoustic-phonon modes in a free-standing rectangular quantum wire. The scattering rate is obtained for GaAs quantum wires with a range of cross-sectional dimensions. The results demonstrate that a proper treatment of confined acoustic phonons may be essential to correctly model electron scattering rates at low energies in nanoscale structures.

Influence of image charge effect on exciton fine structure in an organic-inorganic quantum well material

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

Takagi, Hidetsugu; Kunugita, Hideyuki; Ema, Kazuhiro

2013-12-04

We have investigated experimentally excitonic properties in organic-inorganic hybrid multi quantum well crystals, (C{sub 4}H{sub 9}NH{sub 3}){sub 2}PbBr{sub 4} and (C{sub 6}H{sub 5}−C{sub 2}H{sub 4}NH{sub 3}){sub 2}PbBr{sub 4}, by measuring photoluminescence, reflectance, photoluminescence excitation spectra. In these materials, the excitonic binding energies are enhanced not only by quantum confinement effect (QCE) but also by image charge effect (ICE), since the dielectric constant of the barrier layers is much smaller than that of the well layers. By comparing the 1s-exciton and 2s-exciton energies, we have investigated the influence of ICE with regard to the difference of the Bohr radius.

Quantum Electric Dipole Lattice - Water Molecules Confined to Nanocavities in Beryl

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dressel, Martin; Zhukova, Elena S.; Thomas, Victor G.; Gorshunov, Boris P.

2018-02-01

Water is subject to intense investigations due to its importance in biological matter but keeps many of its secrets. Here, we unveil an even other aspect by confining H2O molecules to nanosize cages. Our THz and infrared spectra of water in the gemstone beryl evidence quantum tunneling of H2O molecules in the crystal lattice. The water molecules are spread out when confined in a nanocage. In combination with low-frequency dielectric measurements, we were also able to show that dipolar coupling among the H2O molecules leads towards a ferroelectric state at low temperatures. Upon cooling, a ferroelectric soft mode shifts through the THz range. Only quantum fluctuations prevent perfect macroscopic order to be fully achieved. Beside the significance to life science and possible application, nanoconfined water may become the prime example of a quantum electric dipolar lattice.

Linear and ultrafast nonlinear plasmonics of single nano-objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crut, Aurélien; Maioli, Paolo; Vallée, Fabrice; Del Fatti, Natalia

2017-03-01

Single-particle optical investigations have greatly improved our understanding of the fundamental properties of nano-objects, avoiding the spurious inhomogeneous effects that affect ensemble experiments. Correlation with high-resolution imaging techniques providing morphological information (e.g. electron microscopy) allows a quantitative interpretation of the optical measurements by means of analytical models and numerical simulations. In this topical review, we first briefly recall the principles underlying some of the most commonly used single-particle optical techniques: near-field, dark-field, spatial modulation and photothermal microscopies/spectroscopies. We then focus on the quantitative investigation of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of metallic nano-objects using linear and ultrafast optical techniques. While measured SPR positions and spectral areas are found in good agreement with predictions based on Maxwell’s equations, SPR widths are strongly influenced by quantum confinement (or, from a classical standpoint, surface-induced electron scattering) and, for small nano-objects, cannot be reproduced using the dielectric functions of bulk materials. Linear measurements on single nano-objects (silver nanospheres and gold nanorods) allow a quantification of the size and geometry dependences of these effects in confined metals. Addressing the ultrafast response of an individual nano-object is also a powerful tool to elucidate the physical mechanisms at the origin of their optical nonlinearities, and their electronic, vibrational and thermal relaxation processes. Experimental investigations of the dynamical response of gold nanorods are shown to be quantitatively modeled in terms of modifications of the metal dielectric function enhanced by plasmonic effects. Ultrafast spectroscopy can also be exploited to unveil hidden physical properties of more complex nanosystems. In this context, two-color femtosecond pump-probe experiments performed on individual bimetallic heterodimers are discussed in the last part of the review, demonstrating the existence of Fano interferences in the optical absorption of a gold nanoparticle under the influence of a nearby silver one.

Thermodynamic confinement and alpha-helix persistence length in poly(gamma-benzyl-L-glutamate)-b-poly(dimethyl siloxane)-b-poly(gamma-benzyl-L-glutamate) triblock copolymers.

PubMed

Papadopoulos, P; Floudas, G; Schnell, I; Lieberwirth, I; Nguyen, T Q; Klok, H-A

2006-02-01

The structure and the associated dynamics of a series of poly(gamma-benzyl-L-glutamate)-b-poly(dimethyl siloxane)-b-poly(gamma-benzyl-L-glutamate) (PBLG-b-PDMS-b-PBLG) triblock copolymers were investigated using small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering, NMR, transmission electron microscopy, and dielectric spectroscopy, respectively. The structural analysis revealed phase separation in the case of the longer blocks with defected alpha-helical segments embedded within the block copolymer nanodomains. The alpha-helical persistence length was found to depend on the degree of segregation; thermodynamic confinement and chain stretching results in the partial annihilation of helical defects.

Plasmon confinement in fractal quantum systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Westerhout, Tom; van Veen, Edo; Katsnelson, Mikhail I.; Yuan, Shengjun

2018-05-01

Recent progress in the fabrication of materials has made it possible to create arbitrary nonperiodic two-dimensional structures in the quantum plasmon regime. This paves the way for exploring the quantum plasmonic properties of electron gases in complex geometries. In this work we study systems with a fractal dimension. We calculate the full dielectric functions of two prototypical fractals with different ramification numbers, namely the Sierpinski carpet and gasket. We show that the Sierpinski carpet has a dispersion comparable to a square lattice, but the Sierpinski gasket features highly localized plasmon modes with a flat dispersion. This strong plasmon confinement in finitely ramified fractals can provide a novel setting for manipulating light at the quantum level.

A survey on dielectric elastomer actuators for soft robots.

PubMed

Gu, Guo-Ying; Zhu, Jian; Zhu, Li-Min; Zhu, Xiangyang

2017-01-23

Conventional industrial robots with the rigid actuation technology have made great progress for humans in the fields of automation assembly and manufacturing. With an increasing number of robots needing to interact with humans and unstructured environments, there is a need for soft robots capable of sustaining large deformation while inducing little pressure or damage when maneuvering through confined spaces. The emergence of soft robotics offers the prospect of applying soft actuators as artificial muscles in robots, replacing traditional rigid actuators. Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) are recognized as one of the most promising soft actuation technologies due to the facts that: i) dielectric elastomers are kind of soft, motion-generating materials that resemble natural muscle of humans in terms of force, strain (displacement per unit length or area) and actuation pressure/density; ii) dielectric elastomers can produce large voltage-induced deformation. In this survey, we first introduce the so-called DEAs emphasizing the key points of working principle, key components and electromechanical modeling approaches. Then, different DEA-driven soft robots, including wearable/humanoid robots, walking/serpentine robots, flying robots and swimming robots, are reviewed. Lastly, we summarize the challenges and opportunities for the further studies in terms of mechanism design, dynamics modeling and autonomous control.

A comparative study of thermal characteristics of GaN-based VCSELs with three different typical structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mei, Yang; Xu, Rong-Bin; Xu, Huan; Ying, Lei-Ying; Zheng, Zhi-Wei; Zhang, Bao-Ping; Li, Mo; Zhang, Jian

2018-01-01

Thermal characteristics of GaN-based vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) with three typical structures were investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The simulation results based on a steady state quasi three-dimensional cylindrical model show that the thermal resistance (R th) is affected by cavity length, mesa size, as well as the bottom distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) size, and the detail further depends on different structures. Among different devices, GaN VCSEL with a hybrid cavity formed by one nitride bottom DBR and another dielectric top DBR is featured with lower R th, which is meanwhile affected strongly by the materials of the epitaxial bottom DBR. The main issues affecting the thermal dissipation in VCSELs with double dielectric DBRs are the bottom dielectric DBR and the dielectric current-confinement layer. To validate the simulation results, GaN-based VCSEL bonded on a copper plate was fabricated. R th of this device was measured and the results agreed well with the simulation. This work provides a better understanding of the thermal characteristics of GaN-based VCSELs and is useful in optimizing the structure design and improving the device performance.

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

Park, Jaehong; Reid, Obadiah G.; Blackburn, Jeffrey L.

The strong quantum confinement and low dielectric screening impart single-walled carbon nanotubes with exciton-binding energies substantially exceeding kBT at room temperature. Despite these large binding energies, reported photoluminescence quantum yields are typically low and some studies suggest that photoexcitation of carbon nanotube excitonic transitions can produce free charge carriers. Here we report the direct measurement of long-lived free-carrier generation in chirality-pure, single-walled carbon nanotubes in a low dielectric solvent. Time-resolved microwave conductivity enables contactless and quantitative measurement of the real and imaginary photoconductance of individually suspended nanotubes. We found that the conditions of the microwave conductivity measurement allow us tomore » avoid the complications of most previous measurements of nanotube free-carrier generation, including tube–tube/tube–electrode contact, dielectric screening by nearby excitons and many-body interactions. At low photon fluence (approximately 0.05 excitons per μm length of tubes), we directly observe free carriers on excitation of the first and second carbon nanotube exciton transitions.« less

Photoinduced Spontaneous Free-Carrier Generation in Semiconducting Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

DOE PAGES

Park, Jaehong; Reid, Obadiah G.; Blackburn, Jeffrey L.; ...

2015-11-04

The strong quantum confinement and low dielectric screening impart single-walled carbon nanotubes with exciton-binding energies substantially exceeding kBT at room temperature. Despite these large binding energies, reported photoluminescence quantum yields are typically low and some studies suggest that photoexcitation of carbon nanotube excitonic transitions can produce free charge carriers. Here we report the direct measurement of long-lived free-carrier generation in chirality-pure, single-walled carbon nanotubes in a low dielectric solvent. Time-resolved microwave conductivity enables contactless and quantitative measurement of the real and imaginary photoconductance of individually suspended nanotubes. We found that the conditions of the microwave conductivity measurement allow us tomore » avoid the complications of most previous measurements of nanotube free-carrier generation, including tube–tube/tube–electrode contact, dielectric screening by nearby excitons and many-body interactions. At low photon fluence (approximately 0.05 excitons per μm length of tubes), we directly observe free carriers on excitation of the first and second carbon nanotube exciton transitions.« less

Experimental Characterization of Electron-Beam-Driven Wakefield Modes in a Dielectric-Woodpile Cartesian Symmetric Structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoang, P. D.; Andonian, G.; Gadjev, I.; Naranjo, B.; Sakai, Y.; Sudar, N.; Williams, O.; Fedurin, M.; Kusche, K.; Swinson, C.; Zhang, P.; Rosenzweig, J. B.

2018-04-01

Photonic structures operating in the terahertz (THz) spectral region enable the essential characteristics of confinement, modal control, and electric field shielding for very high gradient accelerators based on wakefields in dielectrics. We report here an experimental investigation of THz wakefield modes in a three-dimensional photonic woodpile structure. Selective control in exciting or suppressing of wakefield modes with a nonzero transverse wave vector is demonstrated by using drive beams of varying transverse ellipticity. Additionally, we show that the wakefield spectrum is insensitive to the offset position of strongly elliptical beams. These results are consistent with analytic theory and three-dimensional simulations and illustrate a key advantage of wakefield systems with Cartesian symmetry: the suppression of transverse wakes by elliptical beams.

Temporal waveguides for optical pulses

DOE PAGES

Plansinis, Brent W.; Donaldson, William R.; Agrawal, Govind P.

2016-05-12

Here we discuss, temporal total internal reflection (TIR), in analogy to the conventional TIR of an optical beam at a dielectric interface, is the total reflection of an optical pulse inside a dispersive medium at a temporal boundary across which the refractive index changes. A pair of such boundaries separated in time acts as the temporal analog of planar dielectric waveguides. We study the propagation of optical pulses inside such temporal waveguides, both analytically and numerically, and show that the waveguide supports a finite number of temporal modes. We also discuss how a single-mode temporal waveguide can be created inmore » practice. In contrast with the spatial case, the confinement can occur even when the central region has a lower refractive index.« less

Wall charging of a helicon antenna wrapped plasma filled dielectric tube

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

Barada, Kshitish K., E-mail: kbarada@physics.ucla.edu; Chattopadhyay, P. K., E-mail: pkchatto@ipr.res.in; Ghosh, J.

2015-01-15

Dielectric wall charging of a cylindrical glass wall surrounded by a helicon antenna of 18 cm length is measured in a linear helicon plasma device with a diverging magnetic field. The ions because of their lesser mobility do not respond to the high frequency electric field and the electrons charge the wall to a negative DC potential also known as the DC self-bias. The wall potential in this device is characterized for different neutral pressure, magnetic field, and radio frequency (RF) power. Axial variation of wall potential shows higher self-bias potentials near the antenna rings. Ion magnetization in the source chambermore » increases both wall charging and plasma potential of the source due to confinement.« less

One-dimensional Tamm plasmons: Spatial confinement, propagation, and polarization properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chestnov, I. Yu.; Sedov, E. S.; Kutrovskaya, S. V.; Kucherik, A. O.; Arakelian, S. M.; Kavokin, A. V.

2017-12-01

Tamm plasmons are confined optical states at the interface of a metal and a dielectric Bragg mirror. Unlike conventional surface plasmons, Tamm plasmons may be directly excited by an external light source in both TE and TM polarizations. Here we consider the one-dimensional propagation of Tamm plasmons under long and narrow metallic stripes deposited on top of a semiconductor Bragg mirror. The spatial confinement of the field imposed by the stripe and its impact on the structure and energy of Tamm modes are investigated. We show that the Tamm modes are coupled to surface plasmons arising at the stripe edges. These plasmons form an interference pattern close to the bottom surface of the stripe that involves modification of both the energy and loss rate for the Tamm mode. This phenomenon is pronounced only in the case of TE polarization of the Tamm mode. These findings pave the way to application of laterally confined Tamm plasmons in optical integrated circuits as well as to engineering potential traps for both Tamm modes and hybrid modes of Tamm plasmons and exciton polaritons with meV depth.

Optical phonons in nanostructured thin films composed by zincblende zinc selenide quantum dots in strong size-quantization regime: Competition between phonon confinement and strain-related effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pejova, Biljana

2014-05-01

Raman scattering in combination with optical spectroscopy and structural studies by X-ray diffraction was employed to investigate the phonon confinement and strain-induced effects in 3D assemblies of variable-size zincblende ZnSe quantum dots close packed in thin film form. Nanostructured thin films were synthesized by colloidal chemical approach, while tuning of the nanocrystal size was enabled by post-deposition thermal annealing treatment. In-depth insights into the factors governing the observed trends of the position and half-width of the 1LO band as a function of the average QD size were gained. The overall shifts in the position of 1LO band were found to result from an intricate compromise between the influence of phonon confinement and lattice strain-induced effects. Both contributions were quantitatively and exactly modeled. Accurate assignments of the bands due to surface optical (SO) modes as well as of the theoretically forbidden transverse optical (TO) modes were provided, on the basis of reliable physical models (such as the dielectric continuum model of Ruppin and Englman). The size-dependence of the ratio of intensities of the TO and LO modes was studied and discussed as well. Relaxation time characterizing the phonon decay processes in as-deposited samples was found to be approximately 0.38 ps, while upon post-deposition annealing already at 200 °C it increases to about 0.50 ps. Both of these values are, however, significantly smaller than those characteristic for a macrocrystalline ZnSe sample.

Many-body formulation of carriers capture time in quantum dots applicable in device simulation codes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vallone, Marco

2010-03-01

We present an application of Green's functions formalism to calculate in a simplified but rigorous way electrons and holes capture time in quantum dots in closed form as function of carrier density, levels confinement potential, and temperature. Carrier-carrier (Auger) scattering and single LO-phonon emission are both addressed accounting for dynamic effects of the potential screening in the single plasmon pole approximation of the dielectric function. Regarding the LO-phonons interaction, the formulation evidences the role of the dynamic screening from wetting-layer carriers in comparison with its static limit, describes the interplay between screening and Fermi band filling, and offers simple expressions for capture time, suitable for modeling implementation.

Size and shape dependent optical properties of InAs quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Imran, Ali; Jiang, Jianliang; Eric, Deborah; Yousaf, Muhammad

2018-01-01

In this study Electronic states and optical properties of self assembled InAs quantum dots embedded in GaAs matrix have been investigated. Their carrier confinement energies for single quantum dot are calculated by time-independent Schrödinger equation in which hamiltonianian of the system is based on effective mass approximation and position dependent electron momentum. Transition energy, absorption coefficient, refractive index and high frequency dielectric constant for spherical, cylindrical and conical quantum dots with different sizes in different dimensions are calculated. Comparative studies have revealed that size and shape greatly affect the electronic transition energies and absorption coefficient. Peaks of absorption coefficients have been found to be highly shape dependent.

A semi-analytical analysis of electro-thermo-hydrodynamic stability in dielectric nanofluids using Buongiorno's mathematical model together with more realistic boundary conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wakif, Abderrahim; Boulahia, Zoubair; Sehaqui, Rachid

2018-06-01

The main aim of the present analysis is to examine the electroconvection phenomenon that takes place in a dielectric nanofluid under the influence of a perpendicularly applied alternating electric field. In this investigation, we assume that the nanofluid has a Newtonian rheological behavior and verifies the Buongiorno's mathematical model, in which the effects of thermophoretic and Brownian diffusions are incorporated explicitly in the governing equations. Moreover, the nanofluid layer is taken to be confined horizontally between two parallel plate electrodes, heated from below and cooled from above. In a fast pulse electric field, the onset of electroconvection is due principally to the buoyancy forces and the dielectrophoretic forces. Within the framework of the Oberbeck-Boussinesq approximation and the linear stability theory, the governing stability equations are solved semi-analytically by means of the power series method for isothermal, no-slip and non-penetrability conditions. In addition, the computational implementation with the impermeability condition implies that there exists no nanoparticles mass flux on the electrodes. On the other hand, the obtained analytical solutions are validated by comparing them to those available in the literature for the limiting case of dielectric fluids. In order to check the accuracy of our semi-analytical results obtained for the case of dielectric nanofluids, we perform further numerical and semi-analytical computations by means of the Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg method, the Chebyshev-Gauss-Lobatto spectral method, the Galerkin weighted residuals technique, the polynomial collocation method and the Wakif-Galerkin weighted residuals technique. In this analysis, the electro-thermo-hydrodynamic stability of the studied nanofluid is controlled through the critical AC electric Rayleigh number Rec , whose value depends on several physical parameters. Furthermore, the effects of various pertinent parameters on the electro-thermo-hydrodynamic stability of the nanofluidic system are discussed in more detail through graphical and tabular illustrations.

Dynamics of Ice/Water Confined in Nanoporous Alumina.

PubMed

Suzuki, Yasuhito; Steinhart, Martin; Graf, Robert; Butt, Hans-Jürgen; Floudas, George

2015-11-19

Dielectric (DS), IR spectroscopy, and (1)H MAS NMR are employed in the study of ice/water confined in nanoporous alumina with pore diameters ranging from 400 nm down to 25 nm. Within nanoporous alumina there is a transformation from heterogeneous nucleation of hexagonal ice in the larger pores to homogeneous nucleation of cubic ice in the smaller pores. DS and IR show excellent agreement in the temperature interval and pore size dependence of the transformation. DS further revealed two dynamic processes under confinement. The "fast" and "slow" processes with an Arrhenius temperature dependence are attributed to ice and supercooled water relaxation, respectively. The main relaxation process of ice under confinement ("slow" process) has an activation energy of 44 ± 2 kJ/mol. The latter is in agreement with the reported relaxation times and activation energy of cubic ice prepared following a completely different route (by pressure). (1)H MAS NMR provided new insight in the state of ice structures as well as of supercooled water. Under confinement, a layer of liquid-like water coexists with ice structures. In addition, both ice structures under confinement appear to be more ordered than bulk hexagonal ice. Supercooled water in the smaller pores is different from bulk water. It shows a shift of the signal toward higher chemical shift values which may suggest stronger hydrogen bonding between the water molecules or increasing interactions with the AAO walls.

Theory of activated glassy relaxation, mobility gradients, surface diffusion, and vitrification in free standing thin films

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

Mirigian, Stephen, E-mail: kschweiz@illinois.edu, E-mail: smirigian@gmail.com; Schweizer, Kenneth S., E-mail: kschweiz@illinois.edu, E-mail: smirigian@gmail.com

2015-12-28

We have constructed a quantitative, force level, statistical mechanical theory for how confinement in free standing thin films introduces a spatial mobility gradient of the alpha relaxation time as a function of temperature, film thickness, and location in the film. The crucial idea is that relaxation speeds up due to the reduction of both near-surface barriers associated with the loss of neighbors in the local cage and the spatial cutoff and dynamical softening near the vapor interface of the spatially longer range collective elasticity cost for large amplitude hopping. These two effects are fundamentally coupled. Quantitative predictions are made formore » how an apparent glass temperature depends on the film thickness and experimental probe technique, the emergence of a two-step decay and mobile layers in time domain measurements, signatures of confinement in frequency-domain dielectric loss experiments, the dependence of film-averaged relaxation times and dynamic fragility on temperature and film thickness, surface diffusion, and the relationship between kinetic experiments and pseudo-thermodynamic measurements such as ellipsometry.« less

Theory of activated glassy relaxation, mobility gradients, surface diffusion, and vitrification in free standing thin films.

PubMed

Mirigian, Stephen; Schweizer, Kenneth S

2015-12-28

We have constructed a quantitative, force level, statistical mechanical theory for how confinement in free standing thin films introduces a spatial mobility gradient of the alpha relaxation time as a function of temperature, film thickness, and location in the film. The crucial idea is that relaxation speeds up due to the reduction of both near-surface barriers associated with the loss of neighbors in the local cage and the spatial cutoff and dynamical softening near the vapor interface of the spatially longer range collective elasticity cost for large amplitude hopping. These two effects are fundamentally coupled. Quantitative predictions are made for how an apparent glass temperature depends on the film thickness and experimental probe technique, the emergence of a two-step decay and mobile layers in time domain measurements, signatures of confinement in frequency-domain dielectric loss experiments, the dependence of film-averaged relaxation times and dynamic fragility on temperature and film thickness, surface diffusion, and the relationship between kinetic experiments and pseudo-thermodynamic measurements such as ellipsometry.

Hybrid plasmonic electro-optical absorption modulator based on epsilon-near-zero characteristics of ITO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdelatty, M. Y.; Badr, M. M.; Swillam, M. A.

2018-03-01

Using transparent conducting oxides (TCOs), like indium-tin-oxide (ITO), for optical modulation attracted research interest because of their epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) characteristics at telecom wavelengths. Utilizing indium-tin-oxide (ITO) in multilayer structure modulators, optical absorption of the active ITO layer can be electrically modulated over a large spectrum range. Although they show advances over common silicon electro-optical modulators (EOMs), they suffer from high insertion losses. To reduce insertion losses and device footprints without sacrificing bandwidth and modulation strength, slot waveguides are promising options because of their high optical confinement. In this paper, we present the study and the design of an electro-optical absorption modulator based on electrically tuning ITO carrier density inside a MOS structure. The device structure is based on dielectric slot waveguide with an ITO plasmonic waveguide modulation section. By changing the dimensions, the effective refractive indices for the slot mode and the off-sate mode of the plasmonic section can be matched. When applying electric field to the plasmonic section (on-state), carriers are generated at the ITO-dielectric interface that result in changing the layer where the electric field is confined from a transparent layer into a lossy layer. A finite difference time domain method with perfect matching layer (PML) absorbing boundary conditions is taken up to simulate and analyze this design. An extinction ratio of 2.3 dB is achieved for a 1-μm-short modulation section, at the telecommunications wavelength (1.55 μm). This EOM has advantages of simple design, easy fabrication, compact size, compatibility with existing silicon photonics platforms, as well as broadband performance.

Surface plasmon mediated Raman scattering in metal nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bachelier, G.; Mlayah, A.

2004-05-01

The Raman scattering due to confined acoustic vibrations in metal particles is studied theoretically. Various coupling mechanisms between the surface plasmon polaritons and the confined vibrations are investigated. Their relative contribution to the light scattering is discussed. We found that two mechanisms play an important role: (i) modulation of the interband dielectric susceptibility via deformation potential due to pure radial vibrations and (ii) modulation of the surface polarization charges by quadripolar vibrations. The dependence of the Raman spectra on the nanoparticles size and size distribution and on the excitation energy is studied in connection with the nature of the excited plasmon-polariton states. We found a good agreement between calculated line shapes and relatives intensities of the Raman bands and the experimental spectra reported in the literature.

Enhanced confinement in electron cyclotron resonance ion source plasma.

PubMed

Schachter, L; Stiebing, K E; Dobrescu, S

2010-02-01

Power loss by plasma-wall interactions may become a limitation for the performance of ECR and fusion plasma devices. Based on our research to optimize the performance of electron cyclotron resonance ion source (ECRIS) devices by the use of metal-dielectric (MD) structures, the development of the method presented here, allows to significantly improve the confinement of plasma electrons and hence to reduce losses. Dedicated measurements were performed at the Frankfurt 14 GHz ECRIS using argon and helium as working gas and high temperature resistive material for the MD structures. The analyzed charge state distributions and bremsstrahlung radiation spectra (corrected for background) also clearly verify the anticipated increase in the plasma-electron density and hence demonstrate the advantage by the MD-method.

Dielectric response of asphaltene in solvents

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

Sheu, E.Y.; De Tar, M.M.; Storm, D.A.

1993-12-31

Asphaltenes derived from Ratawi (Neutral Zone) crude oil, by heptane extraction, self-associate in toluene. The structure of the disperse aggregates are similar to water-in-oil microemulsion droplets. The origin of the self-association is not yet understood, but has been speculated to be related to the electric properties of asphaltenes. In this study, the authors measured the dielectric response as a function of applied frequency from 1 kHz to 10 MHz. The results suggest that the charge dynamics is confined within a spatial length scale similar to the aggregate size. This indicates that the aggregates are more conductive than the continuous (toluene)more » phase. Additionally, the authors analyzed the loss modules using the Cole-Cole equation, form which the inter-aggregate interactions were determined.« less

Trapping of light by metal arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khardikov, Vyacheslav V.; Iarko, Ekaterina O.; Prosvirnin, Sergey L.

2010-04-01

The problem of the near-IR light reflection from and transmittance through a planar 2D periodic metal-dielectric structure with a square periodic cell of two complex-shaped asymmetric metal elements has been solved. Conditions of the light confinement by excitation of the trapped mode resonances in certain structures, both polarization-sensitive and polarization-insensitive, were studied. For the first time, the existence of a high-order trapped mode resonance with the greater quality factor than that of the lowest one has been shown. It was ascertained that the Babinet principle provides a good prediction of the resonance properties of the complementary structures, despite the very high Joule losses in the metal strips in near-IR, a finite thickness of the metal elements and the presence of a dielectric substrate.

Magnetic and Electric Transverse Spin Density of Spatially Confined Light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neugebauer, Martin; Eismann, Jörg S.; Bauer, Thomas; Banzer, Peter

2018-04-01

When a beam of light is laterally confined, its field distribution can exhibit points where the local magnetic and electric field vectors spin in a plane containing the propagation direction of the electromagnetic wave. The phenomenon indicates the presence of a nonzero transverse spin density. Here, we experimentally investigate this transverse spin density of both magnetic and electric fields, occurring in highly confined structured fields of light. Our scheme relies on the utilization of a high-refractive-index nanoparticle as a local field probe, exhibiting magnetic and electric dipole resonances in the visible spectral range. Because of the directional emission of dipole moments that spin around an axis parallel to a nearby dielectric interface, such a probe particle is capable of locally sensing the magnetic and electric transverse spin density of a tightly focused beam impinging under normal incidence with respect to said interface. We exploit the achieved experimental results to emphasize the difference between magnetic and electric transverse spin densities.

Tailoring the energy distribution and loss of 2D plasmons

DOE PAGES

Lin, Xiao; Rivera, Nicholas; Lopez, Josue J.; ...

2016-10-25

Here, the ability to tailor the energy distribution of plasmons at the nanoscale has many applications in nanophotonics, such as designing plasmon lasers, spasers, and quantum emitters. To this end, we analytically study the energy distribution and the proper field quantization of 2D plasmons with specific examples for graphene plasmons. We find that the portion of the plasmon energy contained inside graphene (energy confinement factor) can exceed 50%, despite graphene being infinitely thin. In fact, this very high energy confinement can make it challenging to tailor the energy distribution of graphene plasmons just by modifying the surrounding dielectric environment ormore » the geometry, such as changing the separation distance between two coupled graphene layers. However, by adopting concepts of parity-time symmetry breaking, we show that tuning the loss in one of the two coupled graphene layers can simultaneously tailor the energy confinement factor and propagation characteristics, causing the phenomenon of loss-induced plasmonic transparency.« less

INTERDISCIPLINARY PHYSICS AND RELATED AREAS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Polar Mixing Optical Phonon Spectra in Wurtzite GaN Cylindrical Quantum Dots: Quantum Size and Dielectric Effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Li; Liao, Jian-Shang

2010-05-01

The interface-optical-propagating (IO-PR) mixing phonon modes of a quasi-zero-dimensional (QoD) wurtzite cylindrical quantum dot (QD) structure are derived and studied by employing the macroscopic dielectric continuum model. The analytical phonon states of IO-PR mixing modes are given. It is found that there are two types of IO-PR mixing phonon modes, i.e. ρ-IO/z-PR mixing modes and the z-IO/ρ-PR mixing modes existing in QoD wurtzite QDs. And each IO-PR mixing modes also have symmetrical and antisymmetrical forms. Via a standard procedure of field quantization, the Fröhlich Hamiltonians of electron-(IO-PR) mixing phonons interaction are obtained. Numerical calculations on a wurtzite GaN cylindrical QD are performed. The results reveal that both the radial-direction size and the axial-direction size as well as the dielectric matrix have great influence on the dispersive frequencies of the IO-PR mixing phonon modes. The limiting features of dispersive curves of these phonon modes are discussed in depth. The phonon modes “reducing" behavior of wurtzite quantum confined systems has been observed obviously in the structures. Moreover, the degenerating behaviors of the IO-PR mixing phonon modes in wurtzite QoD QDs to the IO modes and PR modes in wurtzite Q2D QW and Q1D QWR systems are analyzed deeply from both of the viewpoints of physics and mathematics.

Analysis of 2D hyperbolic metamaterial dispersion by elementary excitation coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaianella, Fabio; Maes, Bjorn

2016-04-01

Hyperbolic metamaterials are examined for many applications thanks to the large density of states and extreme confinement of light they provide. For classical hyperbolic metal/dielectric multilayer structures, it was demon- strated that the properties originate from a specific coupling of the surface plasmon polaritons between the metal/dielectric interfaces. We show a similar analysis for 2D hyperbolic arrays of square (or rectangular) silver nanorods in a TiO2 host. In this case the properties derive from a specific coupling of the plasmons carried by the corners of the nanorods. The dispersion can be seen as the coupling of single rods for a through-metal connection of the corners, as the coupling of structures made of four semi-infinite metallic blocks separated by dielectric for a through-dielectric connection, or as the coupling of two semi-infinite rods for a through-metal and through-dielectric situation. For arrays of small square nanorods the elementary structure that explains the dispersion of the array is the single rod, and for arrays of large square nanorods it is four metallic corners. The medium size square nanorod case is more complicated, because the elementary structure can be one of the three basic designs, depending on the frequency and symmetry of the modes. Finally, we show that for arrays of rectangular nanorods the dispersion is explained by coupling of the two coupled rod structure. This work opens the way for a better understanding of a wide class of metamaterials via their elementary excitations.

Resonantly enhanced second-harmonic generation using III–V semiconductor all-dielectric metasurfaces

DOE PAGES

Liu, Sheng; Sinclair, Michael B.; Saravi, Sina; ...

2016-08-08

Nonlinear optical phenomena in nanostructured materials have been challenging our perceptions of nonlinear optical processes that have been explored since the invention of lasers. For example, the ability to control optical field confinement, enhancement, and scattering almost independently allows nonlinear frequency conversion efficiencies to be enhanced by many orders of magnitude compared to bulk materials. Also, the subwavelength length scale renders phase matching issues irrelevant. Compared with plasmonic nanostructures, dielectric resonator metamaterials show great promise for enhanced nonlinear optical processes due to their larger mode volumes. Here, we present, for the first time, resonantly enhanced second-harmonic generation (SHG) using galliummore » arsenide (GaAs) based dielectric metasurfaces. Using arrays of cylindrical resonators we observe SHG enhancement factors as large as 10 4 relative to unpatterned GaAs. At the magnetic dipole resonance, we measure an absolute nonlinear conversion efficiency of ~2 × 10 –5 with ~3.4 GW/cm 2 pump intensity. In conclusion, the polarization properties of the SHG reveal that both bulk and surface nonlinearities play important roles in the observed nonlinear process.« less

Ultrafast Plasmonic Control of Second Harmonic Generation

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

Davidson, Roderick B.; Yanchenko, Anna; Ziegler, Jed I.

Efficient frequency conversion techniques are crucial to the development of plasmonic metasurfaces for information processing and signal modulation. In principle, nanoscale electric-field confinement in nonlinear materials enables higher harmonic conversion efficiencies per unit volume than those attainable in bulk materials. Here we demonstrate efficient second-harmonic generation (SHG) in a serrated nanogap plasmonic geometry that generates steep electric field gradients on a dielectric metasurface. An ultrafast control pulse is used to control plasmon-induced electric fields in a thin-film material with inversion symmetry that, without plasmonic enhancement, does not exhibit an even-order nonlinear optical response. The temporal evolution of the plasmonic near-fieldmore » is characterized with ~100 as resolution using a novel nonlinear interferometric technique. The serrated nanogap is a unique platform in which to investigate optically controlled, plasmonically enhanced harmonic generation in dielectric materials on an ultrafast time scale. Lastly, this metamaterial geometry can also be readily extended to all-optical control of other nonlinear phenomena, such as four-wave mixing and sum- and difference-frequency generation, in a wide variety of dielectric materials.« less

Ultrafast Plasmonic Control of Second Harmonic Generation

DOE PAGES

Davidson, Roderick B.; Yanchenko, Anna; Ziegler, Jed I.; ...

2016-06-01

Efficient frequency conversion techniques are crucial to the development of plasmonic metasurfaces for information processing and signal modulation. In principle, nanoscale electric-field confinement in nonlinear materials enables higher harmonic conversion efficiencies per unit volume than those attainable in bulk materials. Here we demonstrate efficient second-harmonic generation (SHG) in a serrated nanogap plasmonic geometry that generates steep electric field gradients on a dielectric metasurface. An ultrafast control pulse is used to control plasmon-induced electric fields in a thin-film material with inversion symmetry that, without plasmonic enhancement, does not exhibit an even-order nonlinear optical response. The temporal evolution of the plasmonic near-fieldmore » is characterized with ~100 as resolution using a novel nonlinear interferometric technique. The serrated nanogap is a unique platform in which to investigate optically controlled, plasmonically enhanced harmonic generation in dielectric materials on an ultrafast time scale. Lastly, this metamaterial geometry can also be readily extended to all-optical control of other nonlinear phenomena, such as four-wave mixing and sum- and difference-frequency generation, in a wide variety of dielectric materials.« less

Tunable dielectric response, resistive switching, and unconventional transport in SrTiO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mikheev, Evgeny

The first section of this thesis discusses integration of SR TiO3 grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) in vertical device structures. One target application is as a tunable dielectric. Parallel plate capacitors based on epitaxial Pt(001) bottom electrodes and (Ba,Sr)TiO 3 dielectric layers grown by MBE are demonstrated. Optimization of structural quality of the vertical stack is shown to produce very low dielectric loss combined with very high tunability of the dielectric constant by DC bias. This results in considerable improvement of common figures of merit for varactor performance in comparison to previous reports. Another target application for transition metals oxides is in resistive switching memories, which are based on the hysteretic current-voltage response observed in many oxide-based Schottky junctions and capacitors. A study on the role of metal/oxide interface quality is presented. In particular, the use of epitaxial Pt(001) as Schottky contacts to Nb:SRTiO 3 is shown to suppress resistive switching hysteresis by eliminating unintentional contributions to interface capacitance. Such uncontrolled factors are discussed as a probable root cause for poor reproducibility in resistive switching memories, currently a ubiquitous challenge in the field. Potential routes towards stabilizing reproducible switching through intentional control of defect densities in high-quality structures are discussed, including a proof of concept demonstration using Schottky junctions incorporating intentionally non-stoichiometric SRTiO3 interlayers grown by MBE. The second section of this thesis is concerned with unconventional electronic transport in SRTiO3. A systematic description of scattering mechanisms will be presented for three related material systems: uniformly-doped SRTiO3, two-dimensional electron liquids (2DEL) at SRTiO3/RTiO 3 interfaces (R = Gd, Sm) and confined 2DELs in RTiO3/SRTiO3/ RTiO3 quantum wells. In particular, the prevalence of a well-defined T2 scattering rate in doped SRTiO3 will be discussed as being incompatible with its traditional assignment as electron-electron scattering in a Fermi liquid. In the case of ultrathin SRTiO3 quantum wells bound by RTiO3, evidence will be presented for the existence of a quantum critical point. This refers to a quantum phase transition at zero temperature towards an ordered phase in SRTiO 3. This transition is driven by increasing confinement of the 2DEL, with a critical point located at the 5 SrO layer thickness of SRTiO 3. It is manifested in anomalous temperature exponents of the power law resistivity. Additionally, a well-defined trend for the separation of the Hall and longitudinal scattering rates will be presented, analogously to a similar effect observed in the normal state of high-Tc superconductors. In particular, a unique pattern of residual scattering separation was documented, consistent with a quantum critical correction to the Hall lifetime that is divergent at the quantum critical point.

Evaluation of the electrical contact area in contact-mode scanning probe microscopy

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

Celano, Umberto, E-mail: celano@imec.be, E-mail: u.celano@gmail.com; Chintala, Ravi Chandra; Vandervorst, Wilfried

The tunneling current through an atomic force microscopy (AFM) tip is used to evaluate the effective electrical contact area, which exists between tip and sample in contact-AFM electrical measurements. A simple procedure for the evaluation of the effective electrical contact area is described using conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) in combination with a thin dielectric. We characterize the electrical contact area for coated metal and doped-diamond tips operated at low force (<200 nN) in contact mode. In both cases, we observe that only a small fraction (<10 nm{sup 2}) of the physical contact (∼100 nm{sup 2}) is effectively contributing to the transportmore » phenomena. Assuming this reduced area is confined to the central area of the physical contact, these results explain the sub-10 nm electrical resolution observed in C-AFM measurements.« less

Operation tools with dielectric elastomer pressure sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Böse, Holger; Müller, Dominik; Ehrlich, Johannes

2017-04-01

New sensors based on dielectric elastomers have recently been shown to exhibit high sensitivity for compression loads. The basic design of these sensors exhibits two profiled surfaces coated with electrode layers between which an elastomer film with the counter-electrode is confined. All components of the sensor are prepared with silicone whose stiffness can be varied in a wide range. Depending on the details of the sensor design, various effects contribute to the enhancement of the capacitance. The intermediate elastomer film is stretched upon compression, the elastomer profiles are deformed and the electrode layers on the elastomer profiles and in the elastomer film approach each other. Beside the detection of pressure, such sensors can also be used for operation tools in human-machine interfaces. To demonstrate this potential, a touch pad with six pressure-sensitive fields is presented. The corresponding sensors integrated in the touch fields detect the exerted forces of the finger, show them on a display and control the brightness of some LEDs. As a second example, the integration of sensor-based control fields on an automotive steering wheel is shown. Finally, the sensors can also be used in fabrics to control arbitrary functions of wearable electronic devices.

Crystal growth and transport properties of CuAlO2 single crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brahimi, R.; Rekhila, G.; Trari, M.; Bessekhouad, Y.

2014-12-01

The transport properties of the delafossite CuAlO2 single crystal, grown by the flux method, are confined in ∞[AlO2] layers extending in the (001) plans. The dielectric properties are measured up to 490 K in the frequency range (102-105 Hz). The small variation of the dielectric loss tan(δ) is attributed to the wide space charge region. The linear plot log (conductivity) vs. 1000/ T follows an Arrhenius type law and the results are discussed in terms of electron hopping among localized states. The activation energy (0.18 eV) gives an effective mass of 16 m 0 indicating that the levels in the vicinity of the Fermi level are strongly localized. Hence, the increase of the conductivity (σ) results from a thermal activation of the mobility (μ300 K = 1.2 × 10-5 cm-2 V-1 s-1). The sign of hole like small polarons is that of p type carriers originating from oxygen intercalation. The thermopower is little temperature dependent and characteristic of non degenerate conductivity with a low holes concentration and a large concentration of surface states within the gap region.

Metal carbonyl vapor generation coupled with dielectric barrier discharge to avoid plasma quench for optical emission spectrometry.

PubMed

Cai, Yi; Li, Shao-Hua; Dou, Shuai; Yu, Yong-Liang; Wang, Jian-Hua

2015-01-20

The scope of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) microplasma as a radiation source for optical emission spectrometry (OES) is extended by nickel carbonyl vapor generation. We proved that metal carbonyl completely avoids the extinguishing of plasma, and it is much more suitable for matching the DBD excitation and OES detection with respect to significant DBD quenching by concomitant hydrogen when hydride generation is used. A concentric quartz UV reactor allows sample solution to flow through the central channel wherein to efficiently receive the uniformly distributed UV irradiation in the confined cylindrical space between the concentric tubes, which facilitates effective carbonyl generation in a nickel solution. The carbonyl is transferred into the DBD excitation chamber by an argon stream for nickel excitation, and the characteristic emission of nickel at 232.0 nm is detected by a charge-coupled device (CCD) spectrometer. A 1.0 mL sample solution results in a linear range of 5-100 μg L(-1) along with a detection limit of 1.3 μg L(-1) and a precision of 2.4% RSD at 50 μg L(-1). The present DBD-OES system is validated by nickel in certified reference materials.

Propagation length enhancement of surface plasmon polaritons in gold nano-/micro-waveguides by the interference with photonic modes in the surrounding active dielectrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suárez, Isaac; Ferrando, Albert; Marques-Hueso, Jose; Díez, Antonio; Abargues, Rafael; Rodríguez-Cantó, Pedro J.; Martínez-Pastor, Juan P.

2017-02-01

In this work, the unique optical properties of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), i.e. subwavelength confinement or strong electric field concentration, are exploited to demonstrate the propagation of light signal at 600 nm along distances in the range from 17 to 150 μm for Au nanostripes 500 nm down to 100 nm wide (30 nm of height), respectively, both theoretically and experimentally. A low power laser is coupled into an optical fiber tip that is used to locally excite the photoluminescence of colloidal quantum dots (QDs) dispersed in their surroundings. Emitted light from these QDs is generating the SPPs that propagate along the metal waveguides. Then, the above-referred propagation lengths were directly extracted from this novel experimental technique by studying the intensity of light decoupled at the output edge of the waveguide. Furthermore, an enhancement of the propagation length up to 0.4 mm is measured for the 500-nm-wide metal nanostripe, for which this effect is maximum. For this purpose, a simultaneous excitation of the same QDs dispersed in poly(methyl methacrylate) waveguides integrated with the metal nanostructures is performed by end-fire coupling an excitation laser energy as low as 1 KW/cm2. The proposed mechanism to explain such enhancement is a non-linear interference effect between dielectric and plasmonic (super)modes propagating in the metal-dielectric structure, which can be apparently seen as an effective amplification or compensation effect of the gain material (QDs) over the SPPs, as previously reported in literature. The proposed system and the method to create propagating SPPs in metal waveguides can be of interest for the application field of sensors and optical communications at visible wavelengths, among other applications, using plasmonic interconnects to reduce the dimensions of photonic chips.

Electrically tunable robust edge states in graphene-based topological photonic crystal slabs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Zidong; Liu, HongJun; Huang, Nan; Wang, ZhaoLu

2018-03-01

Topological photonic crystals are optical structures supporting topologically protected unidirectional edge states that exhibit robustness against defects. Here, we propose a graphene-based all-dielectric photonic crystal slab structure that supports two-dimensionally confined topological edge states. These topological edge states can be confined in the out-of-plane direction by two parallel graphene sheets. In the structure, the excitation frequency range of topological edge states can be dynamically and continuously tuned by varying bias voltage across the two parallel graphene sheets. Utilizing this kind of architecture, we construct Z-shaped channels to realize topological edge transmission with diffrerent frequencies. The proposal provides a new degree of freedom to dynamically control topological edge states and potential applications for robust integrated photonic devices and optical communication systems.

Can p-channel tunnel field-effect transistors perform as good as n-channel?

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

Verhulst, A. S., E-mail: anne.verhulst@imec.be; Pourghaderi, M. A.; Collaert, N.

2014-07-28

We show that bulk semiconductor materials do not allow perfectly complementary p- and n-channel tunnel field-effect transistors (TFETs), due to the presence of a heavy-hole band. When tunneling in p-TFETs is oriented towards the gate-dielectric, field-induced quantum confinement results in a highest-energy subband which is heavy-hole like. In direct-bandgap IIIV materials, the most promising TFET materials, phonon-assisted tunneling to this subband degrades the subthreshold swing and leads to at least 10× smaller on-current than the desired ballistic on-current. This is demonstrated with quantum-mechanical predictions for p-TFETs with tunneling orthogonal to the gate, made out of InP, In{sub 0.53}Ga{sub 0.47}As, InAs,more » and a modified version of In{sub 0.53}Ga{sub 0.47}As with an artificially increased conduction-band density-of-states. We further show that even if the phonon-assisted current would be negligible, the build-up of a heavy-hole-based inversion layer prevents efficient ballistic tunneling, especially at low supply voltages. For p-TFET, a strongly confined n-i-p or n-p-i-p configuration is therefore recommended, as well as a tensily strained line-tunneling configuration.« less

Nanoscale confinement effects on the relaxation dynamics in networks of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A and low-molecular-weight poly(ethylene oxide).

PubMed

Kalogeras, Ioannis M; Stathopoulos, Andreas; Vassilikou-Dova, Aglaia; Brostow, Witold

2007-03-22

Thermoplastic poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) (Mw(PEO) approximately 4000) has been used to prepare thermosetting nanocomposites incorporating diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) epoxy oligomer. Blends with various PEO/DGEBA weight ratios were cured using stoichiometric portions of 4,4'-diaminodiphenylmethane. The resulting semi-interpenetrating polymer networks were studied by several techniques. Nanoscale confinement effects, thermal (glass transition, melting and crystallization temperatures) and structural features of our materials are similar to those for networks with much higher Mw(PEO) and different curing agents; however, the polyether crystallization onset occurs in our case at a lower PEO concentration; shorter PEO chains organize themselves more easily into crystalline domains. Very low estimates of the k parameter of the Gordon-Taylor equation, used to fit the compositional dependences of the dielectric and calorimetric glass transition temperatures, and a strong plasticization of the motion of the glyceryl segments (beta-relaxation) in the epoxy resin were observed. These illustrate an intensified weakening in the strength of the intermolecular interactions in the modified networks, as compared to the high strength of the self-association of hydroxyls in the neat resin. The significance of hydrogen-bonding interactions between the components for obtaining structurally homogeneous thermoset-i-thermoplastic networks is discussed.

Dielectric anomaly and relaxation natures in a Zn-Cr pillar−layered metal−organic framework with cages and channels

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

Xue, Chen; Yao, Zhi-Yuan; Liu, Shao-Xian

A bimetallic metal–organic framework (MOF) with the formula [Zn{sub 3}btc{sub 2}(Cr{sub 3}O(isonic){sub 6}(H{sub 2}O){sub 2}(OH))]·(DMF){sub 15.5}(H{sub 2}O){sub 8} (H{sub 3}btc=1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid; isonic=isonicotinicate) shows a pillar-layered structure. The monolayer consists of hexagon-like rings formed by the [Zn(isonic){sub 2}(btc){sub 2}] tetrahedral and the consecutive monolayers are pillared by trigonal–prismatic clusters of [Cr{sub 3}O(isonic){sub 6}(H{sub 2}O){sub 2}(OH)]through the remaining binding sites of the Zn{sup 2+} ions. DMF and water molecules are confined in the cages and channels. TGA indicates that the lattice DMF and water molecules begin to be released at temperatures above 363 K. Dielectric measurements were carried out in the rangemore » of 173–363 K and 1–10{sup 7} Hz for three successive thermal cycles. The dielectric spectroscopy obtained in the first thermal cycle was different from that observed in the next two thermal cycles, while the dielectric spectra in the last two thermal cycles were almost identical. The dielectric nature of this MOF is discussed in detail for each thermal cycle. Since MOFs are unique host–guest systems in which the structure of the host framework is designable and the guests are exchangeable, it is no doubt those MOFs are materials with a variety of dielectric natures. This study gives a fresh impetus to achieve MOFs–based dielectric materials. - Graphical abstract: The bimetallic MOF [Zn{sub 3}btc{sub 2}(Cr{sub 3}O(isonic){sub 6}(H{sub 2}O){sub 2}(OH))]·(DMF){sub 15.5}(H{sub 2}O){sub 8}1, shows a pillar-layered open-framework structure. The dielectric spectra of 1 are almost identical in the last two thermal cycles, whereas significantly different from that observed in the first thermal cycle. The novel dielectric anomaly associated with a stacked structure transformation of the disordered guests. - Highlights: • A bimetallic metal-organic framework shows a pillar-layered structure. • The MOF displays novel dielectric anomaly and relaxation behaviors. • The dielectric anomaly arises from the stacking structure transformation of guests. • The dielectric relaxation is related to the dipole dynamics of guests.« less

Electronic transport properties of single-crystal bismuth nanowire arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zhibo; Sun, Xiangzhong; Dresselhaus, M. S.; Ying, Jackie Y.; Heremans, J.

2000-02-01

We present here a detailed study of the electrical transport properties of single-crystal bismuth nanowire arrays embedded in a dielectric matrix. Measurements of the resistance of Bi nanowire arrays with different wire diameters (60-110 nm) have been carried out over a wide range of temperatures (2.0-300 K) and magnetic fields (0-5.4 T). The transport properties of a heavily Te-doped Bi nanowire array have also been studied. At low temperatures, we show that the wire boundary scattering is the dominant scattering process for carriers in the undoped single-crystal Bi nanowires, while boundary scattering is less important for a heavily Te-doped sample, consistent with general theoretical considerations. The temperature dependences of the zero-field resistivity and of the longitudinal magneto-coefficient of the Bi nanowires were also studied and were found to be sensitive to the wire diameter. The quantum confinement of carriers is believed to play an important role in determining the overall temperature dependence of the zero-field resistivity. Theoretical considerations of the quantum confinement effects on the electronic band structure and on the transport properties of Bi nanowires are discussed. Despite the evidence for localization effects and diffusive electron interactions at low temperatures (T<=4.0 K), localization effects are not the dominant mechanisms affecting the resistivity or the magnetoresistance in the temperature range of this study.

Breakdown of the Debye polarization ansatz at protein-water interfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernández Stigliano, Ariel

2013-06-01

The topographical and physico-chemical complexity of protein-water interfaces scales down to the sub-nanoscale range. At this level of confinement, we demonstrate that the dielectric structure of interfacial water entails a breakdown of the Debye ansatz that postulates the alignment of polarization with the protein electrostatic field. The tendencies to promote anomalous polarization are determined for each residue type and a particular kind of structural defect is shown to provide the predominant causal context.

Mode structure of planar optical antennas on dielectric substrates

DOE PAGES

Word, Robert C.; Konenkamp, Rolf

2016-08-08

Here, we report a numerical study, supported by photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM), of sub-micron planar optical antennas on transparent substrate. We find these antennas generate intricate near-field spatial field distributions with odd and even numbers of nodes. We show that the field distributions are primarily superpositions of planar surface plasmon polariton modes confined to the metal/substrate interface. The mode structure provides opportunities for coherent switching and optical control in sub-micron volumes.

High Flux Heat Exchanger

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-01-01

maximum jet velocity (6.36 m/s), and maximum number of jets (nine). Wadsworth and Mudawar [49] describe the use of a single slotted nozzle to provide...H00503 (ASME), pp. 121-128, 1989. 40 49. D. C. Wadsworth and I. Mudawar , "Cooling of a Multichip Electronic Module by Means of Confined Two-Dimensional...Jets of Dielectric Liquid," HTD-Vol. 111, Heat Transfer in Electrglif, Book No. H00503 (ASME), pp. 79-87, 1989. 50. D.C. Wadsworth and I. Mudawar

Relative merits of phononics vs. plasmonics: the energy balance approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khurgin, Jacob B.

2018-01-01

The common feature of various plasmonic schemes is their ability to confine optical fields of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) into subwavelength volumes and thus achieve a large enhancement of linear and nonlinear optical properties. This ability, however, is severely limited by the large ohmic loss inherent to even the best of metals. However, in the mid- and far-infrared ranges of the spectrum, there exists a viable alternative to metals - polar dielectrics and semiconductors, in which dielectric permittivity (the real part) turns negative in the Reststrahlen region. This feature engenders the so-called surface phonon polaritons, capable of confining the field in a way akin to their plasmonic analogs, the SPPs. Since the damping rate of polar phonons is substantially less than that of free electrons, it is not unreasonable to expect that phononic devices may outperform their plasmonic counterparts. Yet a more rigorous analysis of the comparative merits of phononics and plasmonics reveals a more nuanced answer, namely, that while phononic schemes do exhibit narrower resonances and can achieve a very high degree of energy concentration, most of the energy is contained in the form of lattice vibrations so that enhancement of the electric field and, hence, the Purcell factor is rather small compared to what can be achieved with metal nanoantennas. Still, the sheer narrowness of phononic resonances is expected to make phononics viable in applications where frequency selectivity is important.

Dynamics of aqueous binary glass-formers confined in MCM-41.

PubMed

Elamin, Khalid; Jansson, Helén; Swenson, Jan

2015-05-21

Dielectric permittivity measurements were performed on water solutions of propylene glycol (PG) and propylene glycol monomethyl ether (PGME) confined in 21 Å pores of the silica matrix MCM-41 C10 in wide frequency (10(-2)-10(6) Hz) and temperature (130-250 K) ranges. The aim was to elucidate how the formation of large hydrogen bonded structural entities, found in bulk solutions of PGME, was affected by the confined geometry, and to make comparisons with the dynamic behavior of the PG-water system. For all solutions the measurements revealed four almost concentration independent relaxation processes. The intensity of the fastest process is low compared to the other relaxation processes and might be caused by both hydroxyl groups of the pore surfaces and by local motions of water and solute molecules. The second fastest process contains contributions from both the main water relaxation as well as the intrinsic β-relaxation of the solute molecules. The third fastest process is the viscosity related α-relaxation. Its concentration independency is very different compared to the findings for the corresponding bulk systems, particularly for the PGME-water system. The experimental data suggests that the surface interactions induce a micro-phase separation of the two liquids, resulting in a full molecular layer of water molecules coordinating to the hydrophilic hydroxyl groups on the surfaces of the silica pores. This, in turn, increases the geometrical confinement effect for the remaining solution even more and prevents the building up of the same type of larger structural entities in the PGME-water system as in the corresponding bulk solutions. The slowest process is mainly hidden in the high conductivity contribution at low frequencies, but its temperature dependence can be extracted for the PGME-water system. However, its origin is not fully clear, as will be discussed.

Engineering photonic and plasmonic light emission enhancement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawrence, Nathaniel

Semiconductor photonic devices are a rapidly maturing technology which currently occupy multi-billion dollar markets in the areas of LED lighting and optical data communication. LEDs currently demonstrate the highest luminous efficiency of any light source for general lighting. Long-haul optical data communication currently forms the backbone of the global communication network. Proper design of light management is required for photonic devices, which can increase the overall efficiency or add new device functionality. In this thesis, novel methods for the control of light propagation and confinement are developed for the use in integrated photonic devices. The first part of this work focuses on the engineering of field confinement within deep subwavelength plasmonic resonators for the enhancement of light-matter interaction. In this section, plasmonic ring nanocavities are shown to form gap plasmon modes confined to the dielectric region between two metal layers. The scattering properties, near-field enhancement and photonic density of states of nanocavity devices are studied using analytic theory and 3D finite difference time domain simulations. Plasmonic ring nanocavities are fabricated and characterized using photoluminescence intensity and decay rate measurements. A 25 times increase in the radiative decay rate of Er:Si02 is demonstrated in nanocavities where light is confined to volumes as small as 0.01( ln )3. The potential to achieve lasing, due to the enhancement of stimulated emission rate in ring nanocavities, is studied as a route to Si-compatible plasmon-enhanced nanolasers. The second part of this work focuses on the manipulation of light generated in planar semiconductor devices using arrays of dielectric nanopillars. In particular, aperiodic arrays of nanopillars are engineered for omnidirectional light extraction enhancement. Arrays of Er:SiNx, nanopillars are fabricated and a ten times increase in light extraction is experimentally demonstrated, while simultaneously controlling far-field radiation patterns in ways not possible with periodic arrays. Additionally, analytical scalar diffraction theory is used to study light propagation from Vogel spiral arrays and demonstrate generation of OAM. Using phase shifting interferometry, the presence of OAM is experimentally verified. The use of Vogel spirals presents a new method for the generation of OAM with applications for secure optical communications.

Confined states in photonic-magnonic crystals with complex unit cell

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

Dadoenkova, Yu. S.; Novgorod State University, 173003 Veliky Novgorod; Donetsk Physical and Technical Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 83114 Donetsk

2016-08-21

We have investigated multifunctional periodic structures in which electromagnetic waves and spin waves can be confined in the same areas. Such simultaneous localization of both sorts of excitations can potentially enhance the interaction between electromagnetic waves and spin waves. The system we considered has a form of one dimensional photonic-magnonic crystal with two types of magnetic layers (thicker and thinner ones) separated by sections of the dielectric photonic crystals. We focused on the electromagnetic defect modes localized in the magnetic layers (areas where spin waves can be excited) and decaying in the sections of conventional (nonmagnetic) photonic crystals. We showedmore » how the change of relative thickness of two types of the magnetic layers can influence on the spectrum of spin waves and electromagnetic defect modes, both localized in magnetic parts of the system.« less

Localized surface plasmons in vibrating graphene nanodisks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Weihua; Li, Bo-Hong; Stassen, Erik; Mortensen, N. Asger; Christensen, Johan

2016-02-01

Localized surface plasmons are confined collective oscillations of electrons in metallic nanoparticles. When driven by light, the optical response is dictated by geometrical parameters and the dielectric environment and plasmons are therefore extremely important for sensing applications. Plasmons in graphene disks have the additional benefit of being highly tunable via electrical stimulation. Mechanical vibrations create structural deformations in ways where the excitation of localized surface plasmons can be strongly modulated. We show that the spectral shift in such a scenario is determined by a complex interplay between the symmetry and shape of the modal vibrations and the plasmonic mode pattern. Tuning confined modes of light in graphene via acoustic excitations, paves new avenues in shaping the sensitivity of plasmonic detectors, and in the enhancement of the interaction with optical emitters, such as molecules, for future nanophotonic devices.

Interaction of laser pulse with confined plasma during exit surface nanosecond laser damage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rubenchik, Alexander M.; Feit, Michael D.; Demos, Stavros G.

2013-12-01

Interpretation of spatial and time resolved images of rear surface ns laser damage in dielectrics requires understanding of the dynamic interaction of the incoming laser beam with the confined expanding plasma in the material. The detailed kinetics of the plasma, involving both expansion and retraction, depends on details of reflection and absorption in the hot material. The growth of the hot region is treated using a model previously developed to understand laser peening. The pressure is found to scale as the square root of laser intensity and drops off slowly after energy deposition is complete. For the conditions of our experimental observations in fused silica, our model predicts a pressure of about 9 GPa and a surface expansion velocity of about 1.5 km/sec, in good agreement with experimental observation.

Plasmon-Exciton Interactions Probed Using Spatial Coentrapment of Nanoparticles by Topological Singularities.

PubMed

Ackerman, Paul J; Mundoor, Haridas; Smalyukh, Ivan I; van de Lagemaat, Jao

2015-12-22

We study plasmon-exciton interaction by using topological singularities to spatially confine, selectively deliver, cotrap and optically probe colloidal semiconductor and plasmonic nanoparticles. The interaction is monitored in a single quantum system in the bulk of a liquid crystal medium where nanoparticles are manipulated and nanoconfined far from dielectric interfaces using laser tweezers and topological configurations containing singularities. When quantum dot-in-a-rod particles are spatially colocated with a plasmonic gold nanoburst particle in a topological singularity core, its fluorescence increases because blinking is significantly suppressed and the radiative decay rate increases by nearly an order of magnitude owing to the Purcell effect. We argue that the blinking suppression is the result of the radiative rate change that mitigates Auger recombination and quantum dot ionization, consequently reducing nonradiative recombination. Our work demonstrates that topological singularities are an effective platform for studying and controlling plasmon-exciton interactions.

Plasmon–Exciton Interactions Probed Using Spatial Coentrapment of Nanoparticles by Topological Singularities

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

Ackerman, Paul J.; Mundoor, Haridas; Smalyukh, Ivan I.

2015-12-22

We study plasmon-exciton interaction by using topological singularities to spatially confine, selectively deliver, cotrap and optically probe colloidal semiconductor and plasmonic nanoparticles. The interaction is monitored in a single quantum system in the bulk of a liquid crystal medium where nanoparticles are manipulated and nanoconfined far from dielectric interfaces using laser tweezers and topological configurations containing singularities. When quantum dot-in-a-rod particles are spatially colocated with a plasmonic gold nanoburst particle in a topological singularity core, its fluorescence increases because blinking is significantly suppressed and the radiative decay rate increases by nearly an order of magnitude owing to the Purcell effect.more » We argue that the blinking suppression is the result of the radiative rate change that mitigates Auger recombination and quantum dot ionization, consequently reducing nonradiative recombination. Our work demonstrates that topological singularities are an effective platform for studying and controlling plasmon-exciton interactions.« less

Temperature effects in contacts between a metal and a semiconductor nanowire near the degenerate doping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Zhuting; Burgess, Tim; Tan, H. H.; Jagadish, Chennupati; Kogan, Andrei

2018-04-01

We have investigated the nonlinear conductance in diffusion-doped Si:GaAs nanowires contacted by patterned metal films in a wide range of temperatures T. The wire resistance R W and the zero bias resistance R C, dominated by the contacts, exhibit very different responses to temperature changes. While R W shows almost no dependence on T, R C varies by several orders of magnitude as the devices are cooled from room temperature to T = 5 K. We develop a model that employs a sharp donor level very low in the GaAs conduction band and show that our observations are consistent with the model predictions. We then demonstrate that such measurements can be used to estimate carrier properties in nanostructured semiconductors and obtain an estimate for N D, the doping density in our samples. We also discuss the effects of surface states and dielectric confinement on carrier density in semiconductor nanowires.

Conformal surface plasmons propagating on ultrathin and flexible films

PubMed Central

Shen, Xiaopeng; Cui, Tie Jun; Martin-Cano, Diego; Garcia-Vidal, Francisco J.

2013-01-01

Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are localized surface electromagnetic waves that propagate along the interface between a metal and a dielectric. Owing to their inherent subwavelength confinement, SPPs have a strong potential to become building blocks of a type of photonic circuitry built up on 2D metal surfaces; however, SPPs are difficult to control on curved surfaces conformably and flexibly to produce advanced functional devices. Here we propose the concept of conformal surface plasmons (CSPs), surface plasmon waves that can propagate on ultrathin and flexible films to long distances in a wide broadband range from microwave to mid-infrared frequencies. We present the experimental realization of these CSPs in the microwave regime on paper-like dielectric films with a thickness 600-fold smaller than the operating wavelength. The flexible paper-like films can be bent, folded, and even twisted to mold the flow of CSPs. PMID:23248311

Magneto-optical Faraday rotation of semiconductor nanoparticles embedded in dielectric matrices.

PubMed

Savchuk, Andriy I; Stolyarchuk, Ihor D; Makoviy, Vitaliy V; Savchuk, Oleksandr A

2014-04-01

Faraday rotation has been studied for CdS, CdTe, and CdS:Mn semiconductor nanoparticles synthesized by colloidal chemistry methods. Additionally these materials were prepared in a form of semiconductor nanoparticles embedded in polyvinyl alcohol films. Transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy analyses served as confirmation of nanocrystallinity and estimation of the average size of the nanoparticles. Spectral dependence of the Faraday rotation for the studied nanocrystals and nanocomposites is correlated with a blueshift of the absorption edge due to the confinement effect in zero-dimensional structures. Faraday rotation spectra and their temperature behavior in Mn-doped nanocrystals demonstrates peculiarities, which are associated with s, p-d exchange interaction between Mn²⁺ ions and band carriers in diluted magnetic semiconductor nanostructures.

Ultrathin CsPbX3 Nanowire Arrays with Strong Emission Anisotropy.

PubMed

Gao, Yan; Zhao, Liyun; Shang, Qiuyu; Zhong, Yangguang; Liu, Zhen; Chen, Jie; Zhang, Zhepeng; Shi, Jia; Du, Wenna; Zhang, Yanfeng; Chen, Shulin; Gao, Peng; Liu, Xinfeng; Wang, Xina; Zhang, Qing

2018-06-19

1D nanowires of all-inorganic lead halide perovskites represent a good architecture for the development of polarization-sensitive optoelectronic devices due to their high absorption efficient, emission yield, and dielectric constants. However, among as-fabricated perovskite nanowires with the lateral dimensions of hundreds nanometers so far, the optical anisotropy is hindered and rarely explored owing to the invalidating of electrostatic dielectric mismatch in the physical dimensions. Here, well-aligned CsPbBr 3 and CsPbCl 3 nanowires with thickness T down to 15 and 7 nm, respectively, are synthesized using a vapor phase van der Waals epitaxial method. Strong emission anisotropy with polarization ratio up to ≈0.78 is demonstrated in the nanowires with T < 40 nm due to the electrostatic dielectric confinement. With the increasing of thickness, the polarization ratio remarkably reduces monotonously to ≈0.17 until T ≈140 nm; and further oscillates in a small amplitude owing to the wave characteristic of light. These findings not only represent a demonstration of perovskite-based polarization-sensitive light sources, but also advance fundamental understanding of their polarization properties of perovskite nanowires. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Dielectric elastomer vibrissal system for active tactile sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conn, Andrew T.; Pearson, Martin J.; Pipe, Anthony G.; Welsby, Jason; Rossiter, Jonathan

2012-04-01

Rodents are able to dexterously navigate confined and unlit environments by extracting spatial and textural information with their whiskers (or vibrissae). Vibrissal-based active touch is suited to a variety of applications where vision is occluded, such as search-and-rescue operations in collapsed buildings. In this paper, a compact dielectric elastomer vibrissal system (DEVS) is described that mimics the vibrissal follicle-sinus complex (FSC) found in rodents. Like the vibrissal FSC, the DEVS encapsulates all sensitive mechanoreceptors at the root of a passive whisker within an antagonistic muscular system. Typically, rats actively whisk arrays of macro-vibrissae with amplitudes of up to +/-25°. It is demonstrated that these properties can be replicated by exploiting the characteristic large actuation strains and passive compliance of dielectric elastomers. A prototype DEVS is developed using VHB 4905 and embedded strain gauges bonded to the root of a tapered whisker. The DEVS is demonstrated to produce a maximum rotational output of +/-22.8°. An electro-mechanical model of the DEVS is derived, which incorporates a hyperelastic material model and Euler- Bernoulli beam equations. The model is shown to predict experimental measurements of whisking stroke amplitude and whisker deflection.

Porous Materials with Ultralow Optical Constants for Integrated Optical Device Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Hsuen-Li; Hsieh, Chung-I; Cheng, Chao-Chia; Chang, Chia-Pin; Hsu, Wen-Hau; Wang, Way-Seen; Liu, Po-Tsun

2005-07-01

Ultralow dielectric constant (<2.0) porous materials have received much attention as next-generation dielectric materials. In this study, optical properties of porous-methyl-silsesquioxane(MSQ)-like films (porous polysilazane, PPSZ) were characterized for optical waveguide devices applications. Measured results indicate that the refractive index is decreased to approximately 1.320 as the hydration time exceeds 24 h. The measured refractive index is about 1.163 at a wavelength of 1550 nm. PPSZ films have low absorption in the 500 to 2000 nm wavelength regime. Because of their relatively low refractive index and low absorption over a large spectral regime, PPSZ films can be good cladding materials for use in optically integrated devices with many high-refractive-index materials such as silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon, and polymers. We demonstrate two structures, ridge waveguides and large-angle Y-branch power splitters, composed of PPSZ and SU8 films to illustrate the use of low dielectric constant (K) cladding materials. The simulation results indicate that the PPSZ films provide better confinement of light. Experimentally, a large-angle Y-branch power splitter with PPSZ cladding can be used to guide waves with the large branching angle of 33.58°.

Molecular quenching and relaxation in a plasmonic tunable system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baffou, Guillaume; Girard, Christian; Dujardin, Erik; Colas Des Francs, Gérard; Martin, Olivier J. F.

2008-03-01

Molecular fluorescence decay is significantly modified when the emitting molecule is located near a plasmonic structure. When the lateral sizes of such structures are reduced to nanometer-scale cross sections, they can be used to accurately control and amplify the emission rate. In this Rapid Communication, we extend Green’s dyadic method to quantitatively investigate both radiative and nonradiative decay channels experienced by a single fluorescent molecule confined in an adjustable dielectric-metal nanogap. The technique produces data in excellent agreement with current experimental work.

Plasmon resonant cavities in vertical nanowire arrays

DOEpatents

Bora, Mihail; Bond, Tiziana C.; Fasenfest, Benjamin J.; Behymer, Elaine M.

2014-07-15

Tunable plasmon resonant cavity arrays in paired parallel nanowire waveguides are presented. Resonances can be observed when the waveguide length is an odd multiple of quarter plasmon wavelengths, consistent with boundary conditions of node and antinode at the ends. Two nanowire waveguides can satisfy the dispersion relation of a planar metal-dielectric-metal waveguide of equivalent width equal to the square field average weighted gap. Confinement factors of over 10.sup.3 are possible due to plasmon focusing in the inter-wire space.

Spectroscopic Feedback for High Density Data Storage and Micromachining

DOEpatents

Carr, Christopher W.; Demos, Stavros; Feit, Michael D.; Rubenchik, Alexander M.

2008-09-16

Optical breakdown by predetermined laser pulses in transparent dielectrics produces an ionized region of dense plasma confined within the bulk of the material. Such an ionized region is responsible for broadband radiation that accompanies a desired breakdown process. Spectroscopic monitoring of the accompanying light in real-time is utilized to ascertain the morphology of the radiated interaction volume. Such a method and apparatus as presented herein, provides commercial realization of rapid prototyping of optoelectronic devices, optical three-dimensional data storage devices, and waveguide writing.

Dielectric relaxation of alkyl chains in graphite oxide and n-alkylammonium halides

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

Ai, Xiaoqian; Tian, Yuchen; Gu, Min, E-mail: mgu@nju.edu.cn

2016-05-15

The dynamic of n-alkylammonium halides and n-alkylammonium cations (n = 12, 14, 16, 18) intercalated in graphite oxide (GO) have been investigated with complex impedance spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis and thermogravimetry served to characterize the materials. The intercalated alkylammonium cations distributes as monolayers (when n = 12, 14 or 16) or bilayers (when n = 18), with their long axis parallel to GO layers, and with cations of headgroups bonded ionically to C-O{sup -} groups of GO; backbones of the confined molecules remain free. All halides and intercalation compounds suffer dielectric loss atmore » low temperature. Arrhenius plots of the thermal dependence of the loss peaks, which are asymmetric, produce apparent activation energies that rise with increasing n. Ngai’s correlated-state model helps to correct for effects of dipole-dipole interaction, leading to virtually identical values for actual activation energy of 110 meV ± 5%; the values are also almost the same as the barrier energy for internal rotation in the alkyl macromolecule. We conclude that the relaxation of the alkylammonium cations arises not from C{sub 3} reorientation of the CH{sub 3} at its headgroup, but from small-angle wobbling around its major axis, an intrinsic motion.« less

Influence of electrical properties of treated surface on RF-excited plasma needle at atmospheric pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakiyama, Y.; Graves, D. B.; Stoffels, E.

2008-05-01

We present a comparison of a finite element analysis of the atmospheric pressure RF-excited plasma needle interacting with different surfaces with corresponding experimental observations of light emission spatial profiles. The gas used is helium with 1 ppm nitrogen as an impurity. The needle has a point-to-plane geometry with a radius of 30 µm at the tip and an inter-electrode gap of 1 mm. We employ a fluid model in two-dimensional axisymmetric coordinates. Our simulation results indicate that the plasma structure strongly depends on the electrical properties of the treated surface as well as the discharge mode. In the lower power corona mode with a dielectric surface, the plasma is confined near the needle tip. As a result, particle fluxes to the dielectric surface are relatively low and follow a Gaussian-like radial profile. In the higher power glow mode with a dielectric surface, the particle fluxes to the surface are orders of magnitude higher and the spatial distribution of the particle fluxes becomes radially more uniform due to a uniform ionization layer just above the treated surface. When a conductive plate replaces the dielectric surface in the glow mode, a quite intense ionization spot appears near the surface closest to the needle tip. Consequently, the particle fluxes to the surface peak near the symmetry axis under these conditions. These simulation results are validated by experimental observation of light emission spatial profiles.

Polarity control at interfaces: Quantifying pseudo-solvent effects in nano-confined systems

DOE PAGES

Singappuli-Arachchige, Dilini; Manzano, J. Sebastian; Sherman, Lindy M.; ...

2016-08-02

Surface functionalization controls local environments and induces solvent-like effects at liquid–solid interfaces. We explored structure–property relationships between organic groups bound to pore surfaces of mesoporous silica nanoparticles and Stokes shifts of the adsorbed solvatochromic dye Prodan. Correlating shifts of the dye on the surfaces with its shifts in solvents resulted in a local polarity scale for functionalized pores. The scale was validated by studying the effects of pore polarity on quenching of Nile Red fluorescence and on the vibronic band structure of pyrene. Measurements were done in aqueous suspensions of porous particles, proving that the dielectric properties in the poresmore » are different from the bulk solvent. The precise control of pore polarity was used to enhance the catalytic activity of TEMPO in the aerobic oxidation of furfuryl alcohol in water. Furthermore, an inverse relationship was found between pore polarity and activity of TEMPO in the pores, demonstrating that controlling the local polarity around an active site allows modulating the activity of nanoconfined catalysts.« less

Structure, Nanomechanics and Dynamics of Dispersed Surfactant-Free Clay Nanocomposite Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xiao; Zhao, Jing; Snyder, Chad; Karim, Alamgir; National Institute of Standards; Technology Collaboration

Natural Montmorillonite particles were dispersed as tactoids in thin films of polycaprolactone (PCL) through a flow coating technique assisted by ultra-sonication. Wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), Grazing-incidence wide angle X-ray scattering (GI-WAXS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to confirm the level of dispersion. These characterization techniques are in conjunction with its nanomechanical properties via strain-induced buckling instability for modulus measurements (SIEBIMM), a high throughput technique to characterize thin film mechanical properties. The linear strengthening trend of the elastic modulus enhancements was fitted with Halpin-Tsai (HT) model, correlating the nanoparticle geometric effects and mechanical behaviors based on continuum theories. The overall aspect ratio of dispersed tactoids obtained through HT model fitting is in reasonable agreement with digital electron microscope image analysis. Moreover, glass transition behaviors of the composites were characterized using broadband dielectric relaxation spectroscopy. The segmental relaxation behaviors indicate that the associated mechanical property changes are due to the continuum filler effect rather than the interfacial confinement effect.

Confining standing waves in optical corrals.

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

Babayan, Y.; McMahon, J. M.; Li, S.

2009-03-01

Near-field scanning optical microscopy images of solid wall, circular, and elliptical microscale corrals show standing wave patterns confined inside the structures with a wavelength close to that of the incident light. The patterns inside the corrals can be tuned by changing the size and material of the walls, the wavelength of incident light, and polarization direction for elliptical corrals. Finite-difference time-domain calculations of the corral structures agree with the experimental observations and reveal that the electric and magnetic field intensities are out of phase inside the corral. A theoretical modal analysis indicates that the fields inside the corrals can bemore » attributed to p- and s-polarized waveguide modes, and that the superposition of the propagating and evanescent modes can explain the phase differences between the fields. These experimental and theoretical results demonstrate that electromagnetic fields on a dielectric surface can be controlled in a predictable manner.« less

Angular trapping of anisometric nano-objects in a fluid.

PubMed

Celebrano, Michele; Rosman, Christina; Sönnichsen, Carsten; Krishnan, Madhavi

2012-11-14

We demonstrate the ability to trap, levitate, and orient single anisometric nanoscale objects with high angular precision in a fluid. An electrostatic fluidic trap confines a spherical object at a spatial location defined by the minimum of the electrostatic system free energy. For an anisometric object and a potential well lacking angular symmetry, the system free energy can further strongly depend on the object's orientation in the trap. Engineering the morphology of the trap thus enables precise spatial and angular confinement of a single levitating nano-object, and the process can be massively parallelized. Since the physics of the trap depends strongly on the surface charge of the object, the method is insensitive to the object's dielectric function. Furthermore, levitation of the assembled objects renders them amenable to individual manipulation using externally applied optical, electrical, or hydrodynamic fields, raising prospects for reconfigurable chip-based nano-object assemblies.

Poly(methyl methacrylate) as a self-assembled gate dielectric for graphene field-effect transistors

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

Sanne, A.; Movva, H. C. P.; Kang, S.

We investigate poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) as a low thermal budget organic gate dielectric for graphene field effect-transistors (GFETs) based on a simple process flow. We show that high temperature baking steps above the glass transition temperature (∼130 °C) can leave a self-assembled, thin PMMA film on graphene, where we get a gate dielectric almost for “free” without additional atomic layer deposition type steps. Electrical characterization of GFETs with PMMA as a gate dielectric yields a dielectric constant of k = 3.0. GFETs with thinner PMMA dielectrics have a lower dielectric constant due to decreased polarization arising from neutralization of dipoles and charged carriersmore » as baking temperatures increase. The leakage through PMMA gate dielectric increases with decreasing dielectric thickness and increasing electric field. Unlike conventional high-k gate dielectrics, such low-k organic gate dielectrics are potentially attractive for devices such as the proposed Bilayer pseudoSpin Field-Effect Transistor or flexible high speed graphene electronics.« less

Theory of electrical conductivity and dielectric permittivity of highly aligned graphene-based nanocomposites.

PubMed

Xia, Xiaodong; Hao, Jia; Wang, Yang; Zhong, Zheng; Weng, George J

2017-05-24

Highly aligned graphene-based nanocomposites are of great interest due to their excellent electrical properties along the aligned direction. Graphene fillers in these composites are not necessarily perfectly aligned, but their orientations are highly confined to a certain angle, [Formula: see text] with 90° giving rise to the randomly oriented state and 0° to the perfectly aligned one. Recent experiments have shown that electrical conductivity and dielectric permittivity of highly aligned graphene-polymer nanocomposites are strongly dependent on this distribution angle, but at present no theory seems to exist to address this issue. In this work we present a new effective-medium theory that is derived from the underlying physical process including the effects of graphene orientation, filler loading, aspect ratio, percolation threshold, interfacial tunneling, and Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars polarization, to determine these two properties. The theory is formulated in the context of preferred orientational average. We highlight this new theory with an application to rGO/epoxy nanocomposites, and demonstrate that the calculated in-plane and out-of-plane conductivity and permittivity are in agreement with the experimental data as the range of graphene orientations changes from the randomly oriented to the highly aligned state. We also show that the percolation thresholds of highly aligned graphene nanocomposites are in general different along the planar and the normal directions, but they converge into a single one when the statistical distribution of graphene fillers is spherically symmetric.

Theory of Exciton Energy Transfer in Carbon Nanotube Composites

DOE PAGES

Davoody, A. H.; Karimi, F.; Arnold, M. S.; ...

2016-06-24

Here, we compute the exciton transfer (ET) rate between semiconducting single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). We show that the main reasons for the wide range of measured ET rates reported in the literature are (1) exciton confinement in local quantum wells stemming from disorder in the environment and (2) exciton thermalization between dark and bright states due to intratube scattering. The SWNT excitonic states are calculated by solving the Bethe–Salpeter equation using tight-binding basis functions. The ET rates due to intertube Coulomb interaction are computed via Fermi’s golden rule. In pristine samples, the ET rate between parallel (bundled) SWNTs of similarmore » chirality is very high (~10 14 s –1), while the ET rate for dissimilar or nonparallel tubes is considerably lower (~10 12 s –1). Exciton confinement reduces the ET rate between same-chirality parallel SWNTs by 2 orders of magnitude but has little effect otherwise. Consequently, the ET rate in most measurements will be on the order of 10 12 s –1, regardless of the tube relative orientation or chirality. Exciton thermalization between bright and dark states further reduces the ET rate to ~10 11 s –1. The ET rate also increases with increasing temperature and decreases with increasing dielectric constant of the surrounding medium.« less

Theory of Exciton Energy Transfer in Carbon Nanotube Composites

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

Davoody, A. H.; Karimi, F.; Arnold, M. S.

Here, we compute the exciton transfer (ET) rate between semiconducting single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). We show that the main reasons for the wide range of measured ET rates reported in the literature are (1) exciton confinement in local quantum wells stemming from disorder in the environment and (2) exciton thermalization between dark and bright states due to intratube scattering. The SWNT excitonic states are calculated by solving the Bethe–Salpeter equation using tight-binding basis functions. The ET rates due to intertube Coulomb interaction are computed via Fermi’s golden rule. In pristine samples, the ET rate between parallel (bundled) SWNTs of similarmore » chirality is very high (~10 14 s –1), while the ET rate for dissimilar or nonparallel tubes is considerably lower (~10 12 s –1). Exciton confinement reduces the ET rate between same-chirality parallel SWNTs by 2 orders of magnitude but has little effect otherwise. Consequently, the ET rate in most measurements will be on the order of 10 12 s –1, regardless of the tube relative orientation or chirality. Exciton thermalization between bright and dark states further reduces the ET rate to ~10 11 s –1. The ET rate also increases with increasing temperature and decreases with increasing dielectric constant of the surrounding medium.« less

Geometric confinement effects on the metal-insulator transition temperature and stress relaxation in VO2 thin films grown on silicon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viswanath, Changhyun Ko, B.; Yang, Zheng; Ramanathan, Shriram

2011-03-01

VO2 undergoes a sharp metal-insulator transition at ˜67 °C with several orders of change in conductivity and optical transmittance. Understanding and control of the properties of vanadium oxide layers grown on technologically relevant substrates such as Si (100) single crystals is therefore of great interest. In this work, we show tunability of metal-insulator transition temperature as well as recoverable stress in VO2 thin films grown on Si substrate by introducing nanoscale atomic layer deposited HfO2 interfacial layers with no degradation in the resistance ratio. For a confined VO2 film, the metal-insulator transition temperature is suppressed by ˜16 °C and the recoverable stress is 150 MPa, compared to 400 MPa for a bare film. These observations are further correlated with in situ variable temperature measurement of stress changes occurring during the phase transition. Structural and microstructural studies on the various samples have been carried out by x ray diffraction and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. The strategy of tuning the metal-insulator transition characteristics by nanoscale interfacial dielectrics is of broader relevance in design of programmable materials and integration into solid state devices for electronics.

Strongly Confined Spoof Surface Plasmon Polaritons Waveguiding Enabled by Planar Staggered Plasmonic Waveguides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Longfang; Xiao, Yifan; Liu, Yanhui; Zhang, Liang; Cai, Guoxiong; Liu, Qing Huo

2016-12-01

We demonstrate a novel route to achieving highly efficient and strongly confined spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) waveguides at subwavelength scale enabled by planar staggered plasmonic waveguides (PSPWs). The structure of these new waveguides consists of an ultrathin metallic strip with periodic subwavelength staggered double groove arrays supported by a flexible dielectric substrate, leading to unique staggered EM coupling and waveguiding phenomenon. The spoof SPP propagation properties, including dispersion relations and near field distributions, are numerically investigated. Furthermore, broadband coplanar waveguide (CPW) to planar staggered plasmonic waveguide (PSPW) transitions are designed to achieve smooth momentum matching and highly efficient spoof SPP mode conversion. By applying these transitions, a CPW-PSPW-CPW structure is designed, fabricated and measured to verify the PSPW’s propagation performance at microwave frequencies. The investigation results show the proposed PSPWs have excellent performance of deep subwavelength spoof SPPs confinement, long propagation length and low bend loss, as well as great design flexibility to engineer the propagation properties by adjusting their geometry dimensions and material parameters. Our work opens up a new avenue for development of various advanced planar integrated plasmonic devices and circuits in microwave and terahertz regimes.

Strongly Confined Spoof Surface Plasmon Polaritons Waveguiding Enabled by Planar Staggered Plasmonic Waveguides.

PubMed

Ye, Longfang; Xiao, Yifan; Liu, Yanhui; Zhang, Liang; Cai, Guoxiong; Liu, Qing Huo

2016-12-05

We demonstrate a novel route to achieving highly efficient and strongly confined spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) waveguides at subwavelength scale enabled by planar staggered plasmonic waveguides (PSPWs). The structure of these new waveguides consists of an ultrathin metallic strip with periodic subwavelength staggered double groove arrays supported by a flexible dielectric substrate, leading to unique staggered EM coupling and waveguiding phenomenon. The spoof SPP propagation properties, including dispersion relations and near field distributions, are numerically investigated. Furthermore, broadband coplanar waveguide (CPW) to planar staggered plasmonic waveguide (PSPW) transitions are designed to achieve smooth momentum matching and highly efficient spoof SPP mode conversion. By applying these transitions, a CPW-PSPW-CPW structure is designed, fabricated and measured to verify the PSPW's propagation performance at microwave frequencies. The investigation results show the proposed PSPWs have excellent performance of deep subwavelength spoof SPPs confinement, long propagation length and low bend loss, as well as great design flexibility to engineer the propagation properties by adjusting their geometry dimensions and material parameters. Our work opens up a new avenue for development of various advanced planar integrated plasmonic devices and circuits in microwave and terahertz regimes.

Low-temperature sol-gel oxide TFT with a fluoropolymer dielectric to enhance the effective mobility at low operation voltage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Shang-Yu; Wang, Kuan-Hsun; Zan, Hsiao-Wen; Soppera, Olivier

2017-06-01

In this article, we propose a solution-processed high-performance amorphous indium-zinc oxide (a-IZO) thin-film transistor (TFT) gated with a fluoropolymer dielectric. Compared with a conventional IZO TFT with a silicon nitride dielectric, a fluoropolymer dielectric effectively reduces the operation voltage to less than 3 V and greatly increases the effective mobility 40-fold. We suggest that the dipole layer formed at the dielectric surface facilitates electron accumulation and induces the electric double-layer effect. The dipole-induced hysteresis effect is also investigated.

Production and characterization of europium doped sol-gel yttrium oxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krebs, J. K.; Hobson, Christopher; Silversmith, Ann

2004-03-01

Sol-gel produced materials have recently gained attention for their use in producing nanoscale dielectric materials for confinement studies. Lanthanide impurities in the dielectric enable experimenters to optically probe the structure and dynamic properties of the nanoparticle hosts. We report on an alkoxide sol-gel production method used to produce trivalent europium doped yttrium oxide. Our process follows the standard hydrolysis of an alkoxide precursor with water containing the lanthanide ions. The sol is then aged and calcined at 800 ^oC to produce the powder samples. X-ray diffraction confirms the structure of the powder is that of Y_2O_3. The emission and excitation of the europium impurities is consistent with that of europium doped single crystal yttrium oxide, where it is known that the europium ions substitute for yttrium in the lattice. We therefore conclude that the sol-gel process enables the incorporation of europium ions into the yttrium oxide structure at temperatures far below the melting temperature. The results of preliminary dynamics measurements will also be discussed.

Probing nanoscale ion dynamics in ultrathin films of polymerized ionic liquids by broadband dielectric spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sangoro, Joshua; Heres, Maximilian; Cosby, Tyler

Continuous progress in energy storage and conversion technologies necessitates novel experimental approaches that can provide fundamental insights regarding the impact of reduced dimensions on the functional properties of materials. In this talk, a nondestructive experimental approach to probe nanoscale ion dynamics in ultrathin films of polymerized ionic liquids over a broad frequency range spanning over six orders of magnitude by broadband dielectric spectroscopy will be presented. The approach involves using an electrode configuration with lithographically patterned silica nanostructures, which allow for an air gap between the confined ion conductor and one of the electrodes. It is observed that the characteristic ion dynamics rates significantly slow down with decreasing film thicknesses above the calorimetric glass transition of the bulk polymer. However, the mean rates remain bulk-like at lower temperatures. These results highlight the increasing influence of the polymer/substrate interactions with decreasing film thickness on ion dynamics. The authors gratefully acknowledge the National Science Foundation for financial support through the Polymers Program award DMR-1508394.

Diffraction of electromagnetic waves by a metallic bar grating with a defect in dielectric filling of the slits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kochetova, Lyudmila A.; Prosvirnin, Sergey L.

2018-04-01

The problem of electromagnetic wave diffraction by the metallic bar grating with inhomogeneous dielectric filling of each slit between bars has been investigated by using the mode matching technique. The transmission and the inner field distribution have been analyzed for the structure which has a single defect in the periodic filling of slits. Such periodic structures are of particular interest for applications in optics, as they have the ability to concentrate a strong inner electromagnetic field and are characterized by high-Q transmission resonances. We use a simple approach to control the width and location of the stopband of the structure by placing a defect in the periodic filling of the grating slits. As a result, we observe the narrow resonance of transmission in terms of stopband width of the defect-free grating and confinement of strong inner electromagnetic field. By changing the permittivity of the defect layer we can shift the frequency of the resonant transmission.

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

Guo, Peijun; Weimer, Matthew S.; Emery, Jonathan D.

Actively tunable optical transmission through artificial metamaterials holds great promise for next-generation nanophotonic devices and metasurfaces. Plasmonic nanostructures and phase change materials have been extensively studied to this end due to their respective strong interactions with light and tunable dielectric constants under external stimuli. Seamlessly integrating plasmonic components with phase change materials, as demonstrated in the present work, can facilitate phase change by plasmonically enabled light confinement and meanwhile make use of the high sensitivity of plasmon resonances to the variation of dielectric constant associated with the phase change. The hybrid platform here is composed of plasmonic indium tin-oxide nanorodmore » arrays (ITO-NRAs) conformally coated with an ultrathin layer of a prototypical phase change material, vanadium dioxide (VO2), which enables all-optical modulation of the infrared as well as the visible spectral ranges. The interplay between the intrinsic plasmonic nonlinearity of ITO-NRAs and the phase transition induced permittivity change of VO2 gives rise to spectral and temporal responses that cannot be achieved with individual material components alone.« less

Improved Biomolecular Thin-Film Sensor based on Plasmon Waveguide Resonance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Byard, Courtney; Aslan, Mustafa; Mendes, Sergio

2009-05-01

The design, fabrication, and characterization of a plasmon waveguide resonance (PWR) sensor are presented. Glass substrates are coated with a 35 nm gold film using electron beam evaporation, and then covered with a 143 nm aluminum oxide waveguide using an atomic layer deposition process, creating a smooth, highly transparent dielectric film. When probed in the Kretschmann configuration, the structure allows for an efficient conversion of an incident optical beam into a surface wave, which is mainly confined in the dielectric layer and exhibits a deep and narrow angular resonance. The performance (reflectance vs. incidence angle in TE polarization) is modeled using a transfer-matrix approach implemented into a Mathematica code. Our simulations and experimental data are compared with that of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor using the same criteria. We show that the resolution of PWR is approximately ten times better than SPR, opening opportunities for more sensitive studies in various applications including research in protein interactions, pharmaceutical drug development, and food analysis.

Hollow-Core Photonic Band Gap Fibers for Particle Acceleration

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

Noble, Robert J.; Spencer, James E.; /SLAC

Photonic band gap (PBG) dielectric fibers with hollow cores are being studied both theoretically and experimentally for use as laser driven accelerator structures. The hollow core functions as both a longitudinal waveguide for the transverse-magnetic (TM) accelerating fields and a channel for the charged particles. The dielectric surrounding the core is permeated by a periodic array of smaller holes to confine the mode, forming a photonic crystal fiber in which modes exist in frequency pass-bands, separated by band gaps. The hollow core acts as a defect which breaks the crystal symmetry, and so-called defect, or trapped modes having frequencies inmore » the band gap will only propagate near the defect. We describe the design of 2-D hollow-core PBG fibers to support TM defect modes with high longitudinal fields and high characteristic impedance. Using as-built dimensions of industrially-made fibers, we perform a simulation analysis of the first prototype PBG fibers specifically designed to support speed-of-light TM modes.« less

Electric and Dielectric Properties of Au/ZnS-PVA/n-Si (MPS) Structures in the Frequency Range of 10-200 kHz

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baraz, Nalan; Yücedağ, İbrahim; Azizian-Kalandaragh, Yashar; Ersöz, Gülçin; Orak, İkram; Altındal, Şemsettin; Akbari, Bashir; Akbari, Hossein

2017-07-01

Pure polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) capped ZnS semiconductor nanocrystals were prepared by microwave-assisted method, and the optical and structural properties of the as-prepared materials were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) techniques. The XRD pattern shows the formation of ZnS nanocrystals, and the UV-Vis spectroscopy results show a blue shift of about 1.2 eV in its band gap due to the confinement of very small nanostructures. The concentration of donor atoms ( N D), diffusion potential ( V D), Fermi energy level ( E F), and barrier height (ΦB ( C- V)) values were obtained from the reverse bias C -2- V plots for each frequency. The voltage dependent profile of series resistance ( R s) and surface states ( N ss) were also obtained using admittance and low-high frequency methods, respectively. R s- V and N ss- V plots both have distinctive peaks in the depletion region due to the spatial distribution charge at the surface states. The effect of R s and interfacial layer on the C- V and G/ ω- V characteristics was found remarkable at high frequencies. Therefore, the high frequency C- V and G/ ω- V plots were corrected to eliminate the effect of R s. The real and imaginary parts of dielectric constant ( ɛ' and ɛ″) and electric modulus ( M' and M″), loss tangent (tan δ), and ac electrical conductivity ( σ ac) were also obtained using C and G/ ω data and it was found that these parameters are indeed strong functions of frequency and applied bias voltage. Experimental results confirmed that the N ss, R s , and interfacial layer of the MPS structure are important parameters that strongly influence both the electrical and dielectric properties. The low values of N ss ( 109 eV-1 cm-2) and the value of dielectric constant ( ɛ' = 1.3) of ZnS-PVA interfacial layer even at 10 kHz are very suitable for electronic devices when compared with the SiO2. These results confirmed that the ZnS-PVA considerably improves the performance of Au/n-Si (MS) structure and also allow it to work as a capacitor, which stores electric charges or energy.

Novel Superdielectric Materials: Aqueous Salt Solution Saturated Fabric

PubMed Central

Phillips, Jonathan

2016-01-01

The dielectric constants of nylon fabrics saturated with aqueous NaCl solutions, Fabric-Superdielectric Materials (F-SDM), were measured to be >105 even at the shortest discharge times (>0.001 s) for which reliable data could be obtained using the constant current method, thus demonstrating the existence of a third class of SDM. Hence, the present results support the general theoretical SDM hypothesis, which is also supported by earlier experimental work with powder and anodized foil matrices: Any material composed of liquid containing dissolved, mobile ions, confined in an electrically insulating matrix, will have a very high dielectric constant. Five capacitors, each composed of a different number of layers of salt solution saturated nylon fabric, were studied, using a galvanostat operated in constant current mode. Capacitance, dielectric constant, energy density and power density as a function of discharge time, for discharge times from ~100 s to nearly 0.001 s were recorded. The roll-off rate of the first three parameters was found to be nearly identical for all five capacitors tested. The power density increased in all cases with decreasing discharge time, but again the observed frequency response was nearly identical for all five capacitors. Operational limitations found for F-SDM are the same as those for other aqueous solution SDM, particularly a low maximum operating voltage (~2.3 V), and dielectric “constants” that are a function of voltage, decreasing for voltages higher than ~0.8 V. Extrapolations of the present data set suggest F-SDM could be the key to inexpensive, high energy density (>75 J/cm3) capacitors. PMID:28774037

Dielectric Characterization of Mylar and The Effects of Doping Processes.

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

Belcher, Cami Beth

2016-11-01

Mylar® polymer is a bi-axially oriented polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polymer film used widely as a dielectric, specifically in capacitors. The dielectric characteristics of Mylar have been well studied and documented over the years; however, many of the mechanisms responsible for dielectric breakdown and failure are not understood for modified versions of the material. Previous studies on Mylar confirm that factors such as temperature, humidity, and voltage ramp rates can also have a significant effect on the dielectric properties and measurement of the dielectric properties. This study seeks to determine how dielectric properties, including permittivity, dielectric loss, and breakdown strength, aremore » affected by doping of the polymer. To do this, two types of Mylar films, virgin film and film doped with a small-molecule electron-acceptor, are tested. Both types of materials are tested under a variety of environmental and experimental conditions, including testing at elevated temperatures, varying relative humidity, and varying ramp rates in dielectric breakdown testing. Analysis of permittivity, dielectric loss, and breakdown strength will be presented comparing virgin and doped Mylar to gain insight into the effects of doping with electron-acceptor molecules on dielectric properties under these varying environmental and test conditions.« less

Direct Effect of Dielectric Surface Energy on Carrier Transport in Organic Field-Effect Transistors.

PubMed

Zhou, Shujun; Tang, Qingxin; Tian, Hongkun; Zhao, Xiaoli; Tong, Yanhong; Barlow, Stephen; Marder, Seth R; Liu, Yichun

2018-05-09

The understanding of the characteristics of gate dielectric that leads to optimized carrier transport remains controversial, and the conventional studies applied organic semiconductor thin films, which introduces the effect of dielectric on the growth of the deposited semiconductor thin films and hence only can explore the indirect effects. Here, we introduce pregrown organic single crystals to eliminate the indirect effect (semiconductor growth) in the conventional studies and to undertake an investigation of the direct effect of dielectric on carrier transport. It is shown that the matching of the polar and dispersive components of surface energy between semiconductor and dielectric is favorable for higher mobility. This new empirical finding may show the direct relationship between dielectric and carrier transport for the optimized mobility of organic field-effect transistors and hence show a promising potential for the development of next-generation high-performance organic electronic devices.

Photo-ionization cross-section of donor-related in (In,Ga)N/GaN core/shell under hydrostatic pressure and electric field effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El Ghazi, Haddou; John Peter, A.

2017-04-01

Hydrogenic-like donor-impurity related self and induced polarizations, bending energy and photo-ionization cross section in spherical core/shell zinc blende (In,Ga)N/GaN are computed. Based on the variational approach and within effective-mass and one parabolic approximations, the calculations are made under finite potential barrier taking into account of the discontinuity of the effective-mass and the constant dielectric. The photo-ionization cross section is studied according to the photon incident energy considering the effects of hydrostatic pressure, applied electric field, structure's radius, impurity's position and indium composition in the core. It is obtained that the influences mentioned above lead to either blue shifts or redshifts of the resonant peak of the photo-ionization cross section spectrum. The unusual behavior related to the structure radius is discussed which is as a consequence of the finite potential confinement. We have shown that the photo-ionization cross section can be controlled with adjusting the internal and external factors. These properties can be useful for producing some device applications such as quantum dot infrared photodetectors.

Temperature-mediated transition from Dyakonov-Tamm surface waves to surface-plasmon-polariton waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiadini, Francesco; Fiumara, Vincenzo; Mackay, Tom G.; Scaglione, Antonio; Lakhtakia, Akhlesh

2017-08-01

The effect of changing the temperature on the propagation of electromagnetic surface waves (ESWs), guided by the planar interface of a homogeneous isotropic temperature-sensitive material (namely, InSb) and a temperature-insensitive structurally chiral material (SCM) was numerically investigated in the terahertz frequency regime. As the temperature rises, InSb transforms from a dissipative dielectric material to a dissipative plasmonic material. Correspondingly, the ESWs transmute from Dyakonov-Tamm surface waves into surface-plasmon-polariton waves. The effects of the temperature change are clearly observed in the phase speeds, propagation distances, angular existence domains, multiplicity, and spatial profiles of energy flow of the ESWs. Remarkably large propagation distances can be achieved; in such instances the energy of an ESW is confined almost entirely within the SCM. For certain propagation directions, simultaneous excitation of two ESWs with (i) the same phase speeds but different propagation distances or (ii) the same propagation distances but different phase speeds are also indicated by our results.

Engineering Localized Surface Plasmon Interactions in Gold by Silicon Nanowire for Enhanced Heating and Photocatalysis.

PubMed

Agarwal, Daksh; Aspetti, Carlos O; Cargnello, Matteo; Ren, MingLiang; Yoo, Jinkyoung; Murray, Christopher B; Agarwal, Ritesh

2017-03-08

The field of plasmonics has attracted considerable attention in recent years because of potential applications in various fields such as nanophotonics, photovoltaics, energy conversion, catalysis, and therapeutics. It is becoming increasing clear that intrinsic high losses associated with plasmons can be utilized to create new device concepts to harvest the generated heat. It is therefore important to design cavities, which can harvest optical excitations efficiently to generate heat. We report a highly engineered nanowire cavity, which utilizes a high dielectric silicon core with a thin plasmonic film (Au) to create an effective metallic cavity to strongly confine light, which when coupled with localized surface plasmons in the nanoparticles of the thin metal film produces exceptionally high temperatures upon laser irradiation. Raman spectroscopy of the silicon core enables precise measurements of the cavity temperature, which can reach values as high as 1000 K. The same Si-Au cavity with enhanced plasmonic activity when coupled with TiO 2 nanorods increases the hydrogen production rate by ∼40% compared to similar Au-TiO 2 system without Si core, in ethanol photoreforming reactions. These highly engineered thermoplasmonic devices, which integrate three different cavity concepts (high refractive index core, metallo-dielectric cavity, and localized surface plasmons) along with the ease of fabrication demonstrate a possible pathway for designing optimized plasmonic devices with applications in energy conversion and catalysis.

Primary and secondary relaxation process in plastically crystalline cyanocyclohexane studied by 2H nuclear magnetic resonance. II. Quantitative analysis.

PubMed

Micko, B; Kruk, D; Rössler, E A

2013-02-21

We analyze the results of our previously reported 2H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments in the plastically crystalline (PC) phase of cyanocyclohexane (Part I of this work) to study the fast secondary relaxation (or β-process) in detail. Both, the occurrence of an additional minimum in the spin-lattice relaxation T1 and the pronounced effects arising in the solid-echo spectrum above the glass transition temperature T(g) = 134 K, allow for a direct determination of the restricting geometry of the β-process in terms of the "wobbling-in-a-cone" model. Whereas at temperatures below T(g) the reorientation is confined to rather small solid angles (below 10°), the spatial restriction decreases strongly with temperature above T(g), i.e., the distribution of cone angles shifts continuously towards higher values. The β-process in the PC phase of cyanocyclohexane proceeds via the same mechanism as found in structural glass formers. This is substantiated by demonstrating the very similar behavior (for T < T(g)) of spin-lattice relaxation, stimulated echo decays, and spectral parameters when plotted as a function of (taken from dielectric spectroscopy). We do, however, not observe a clear-cut relation between the relaxation strength of the β-process observed by NMR (calculated within the wobbling-in-a-cone model) and dielectric spectroscopy.

Dynamics of tetrahydrofuran as minority component in a mixture with poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate): A neutron scattering and dielectric spectroscopy investigation

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

Goracci, G., E-mail: sckgorag@ehu.es; Arbe, A.; Alegría, A.

2015-09-07

We have investigated a mixture of poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) and tetrahydrofuran (THF) (70 wt. % PDMAEMA/30 wt. % THF) by combining dielectric spectroscopy and quasielastic neutron scattering (QENS) on a labelled sample, focusing on the dynamics of the THF molecules. Two independent processes have been identified. The “fast” one has been qualified as due to an internal motion of the THF ring leading to hydrogen displacements of about 3 Å with rather broadly distributed activation energies. The “slow” process is characterized by an Arrhenius-like temperature dependence of the characteristic time which persists over more than 9 orders of magnitude in time. Themore » QENS results evidence the confined nature of this process, determining a size of about 8 Å for the volume within which THF hydrogens’ motions are restricted. In a complementary way, we have also investigated the structural features of the sample. This study suggests that THF molecules are well dispersed among side-groups nano-domains in the polymer matrix, ruling out a significant presence of clusters of solvent. Such a good dispersion, together with a rich mobility of the local environment, would prevent cooperativity effects to develop for the structural relaxation of solvent molecules, frustrating thereby the emergence of Vogel-Fulcher-like behavior, at least in the whole temperature interval investigated.« less

A Solution-Processed Ultrafast Optical Switch Based on a Nanostructured Epsilon-Near-Zero Medium.

PubMed

Guo, Qiangbing; Cui, Yudong; Yao, Yunhua; Ye, Yuting; Yang, Yue; Liu, Xueming; Zhang, Shian; Liu, Xiaofeng; Qiu, Jianrong; Hosono, Hideo

2017-07-01

All the optical properties of materials are derived from dielectric function. In spectral region where the dielectric permittivity approaches zero, known as epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) region, the propagating light within the material attains a very high phase velocity, and meanwhile the material exhibits strong optical nonlinearity. The interplay between the linear and nonlinear optical response in these materials thus offers unprecedented pathways for all-optical control and device design. Here the authors demonstrate ultrafast all-optical modulation based on a typical ENZ material of indium tin oxide (ITO) nanocrystals (NCs), accessed by a wet-chemistry route. In the ENZ region, the authors find that the optical response in these ITO NCs is associated with a strong nonlinear character, exhibiting sub-picosecond response time (corresponding to frequencies over 2 THz) and modulation depth up to ≈160%. This large optical nonlinearity benefits from the highly confined geometry in addition to the ENZ enhancement effect of the ITO NCs. Based on these ENZ NCs, the authors successfully demonstrate a fiber optical switch that allows switching of continuous laser wave into femtosecond laser pulses. Combined with facile processibility and tunable optical properties, these solution-processed ENZ NCs may offer a scalable and printable material solution for dynamic photonic and optoelectronic devices. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Kondo effect with tunable spin-orbit interaction in LaTiO3/CeTiO3/SrTiO3 heterostructure.

PubMed

Ghising, Pramod; Das, Debarchan; Das, Shubhankar; Hossain, Z

2018-07-18

We have fabricated epitaxial films of CeTiO 3 (CTO) on (0 0 1) oriented SrTiO 3 (STO) substrates, which exhibit highly insulating and diamagnetic properties. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to establish the 3+  valence state of the Ce and Ti ions. Furthermore, we have also fabricated δ (CTO) doped LaTiO 3 (LTO)/SrTiO 3 thin films which exhibit variety of interesting properties including Kondo effect and spin-orbit interaction (SOI) at low temperatures. The SOI shows a non-monotonic behaviour as the thickness of the CTO layer is increased and is reflected in the value of characteristic SOI field ([Formula: see text]) obtained from weak anti-localization fitting. The maximum value of [Formula: see text] is 1.00 T for δ layer thickness of 6 u.c. This non-monotonic behaviour of SOI is attributed to the strong screening of the confining potential at the interface. The screening effect is enhanced by the CTO layer thickness and the dielectric constant of STO which increases at low temperatures. Due to the strong screening, electrons confined at the interface are spread deeper into the STO bulk where it starts to populate the Ti [Formula: see text] subbands; consequently the Fermi level crosses over from [Formula: see text] to the [Formula: see text] subbands. At the crossover region of [Formula: see text] where there is orbital mixing, SOI goes through a maximum.

Stark shift of impurity doped quantum dots: Role of noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arif, Sk. Md.; Bera, Aindrila; Ghosh, Anuja; Ghosh, Manas

2018-02-01

Present study makes a punctilious investigation of the profiles of Stark shift (SS) of doped GaAs quantum dot (QD) under the supervision of Gaussian white noise. A few physical parameters have been varied and the consequent variations in the SS profiles have been monitored. The said physical parameters comprise of magnetic field, confinement potential, dopant location, dopant potential, noise strength, aluminium concentration (only for AlxGa1-x As alloy QD), position-dependent effective mass (PDEM), position-dependent dielectric screening function (PDDSF), anisotropy, hydrostatic pressure (HP) and temperature. The SS profiles unfurl interesting features that heavily depend upon the particular physical quantity concerned, presence/absence of noise and the manner (additive/multiplicative) noise enters the system. The study highlights feasible means of maximizing SS of doped QD in presence of noise by suitable adjustment of several control parameters. The study deems importance in view of technological applications of QD devices where noise plays some prominent role.

Experimental observation of wave localization at the Dirac frequency in a two-dimensional photonic crystal microcavity.

PubMed

Hu, Lei; Xie, Kang; Hu, Zhijia; Mao, Qiuping; Xia, Jiangying; Jiang, Haiming; Zhang, Junxi; Wen, Jianxiang; Chen, Jingjing

2018-04-02

Trapping light within cavities or waveguides in photonic crystals is an effective technology in modern integrated optics. Traditionally, cavities rely on total internal reflection or a photonic bandgap to achieve field confinement. Recent investigations have examined new localized modes that occur at a Dirac frequency that is beyond any complete photonic bandgap. We design Al 2 O 3 dielectric cylinders placed on a triangular lattice in air, and change the central rod size to form a photonic crystal microcavity. It is predicted that waves can be localized at the Dirac frequency in this device without photonic bandgaps or total internal reflections. We perform a theoretical analysis of this new wave localization and verify it experimentally. This work paves the way for exploring localized defect modes at the Dirac point in the visible and infrared bands, with potential applicability to new optical devices.

Influence of Constraining and Confinement in the Molecular Mobility of Low Molecular Weight Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bras, Ana Rita Elias

Despite the importance that the glassy state has nowadays, the transition from liquid to the glass, glass transition, still remains a matter of debate which constitutes one of the great condensed matter physics challenges. Since this fact is closely related to the cooperativity dynamics, the study of this phenomenon in glass-forming liquids under confinement in the nanometer scale, has recently emerged as a strategy to clarify factors such as the existence of an inherent length scale of the cooperative dynamics that determines the glass transition temperature. In this context, this thesis represents an additional contribution to the study of molecular dynamics of glass-forming liquids under confinement in nanoporous inorganic materials. As target compounds the liquid crystal E7 and the drug Ibuprofen were selected. Since the first exhibit various transitions makes it more sensitive to perturbations and thus appears as the ideal candidate to evaluate confinement effects. The study of ibuprofen is of particular interest because confinement emerges as a method of stabilizing the amorphous phase that is mostly important in pharmaceutical applications. Dielectric Relaxation Spectroscopy (DRS) is the main technique used to obtain detailed information about the molecular mobility in a wide range of frequencies (10-2-109Hz) (Chapter I and II). The first part of the thesis is devoted to the characterization of the two target compounds in the bulk state. The combination of DRS with the specific heat spectroscopy allowed to determine which of the E7 observed relaxation processes (a process in the isotropic phase and two processes in the nematic phase: delta and tumbling) is responsible for the glass transition temperature Tg (tumbling process). Detailed studies of ibuprofen molecular mobility in the liquid, supercooled liquid and glassy states are also presented in this chapter, where four relaxation processes are detected: two secondary processes (gamma and beta), the cooperative process related to T g (alpha) and the Debye process (D), probably related to the hydrogen bonding dynamics. This study was preceded by an optimization of the conditions to obtain amorphous Ibuprofen which is a crystal in its natural state (Chapter III). In the next chapter (Chapter IV), the molecular dynamics of E7 confined to untreated and phospholipid lecithin treated rigid inorganic membranes with 20 nm pore diameter was evaluated. It was found that both the liquid crystal alignment, as well as the dynamics is influenced by confinement and treatment of the surface pores. Additionally, E7 was further studied confined to the mesoporous materials MCM-41 and SBA-15 type, 100% silica composition and pore size between the 2.8 and 6.8 nm. A multiplicity of relaxation processes was revealed by DRS, including the modes already observed in the bulk E7. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).

Frequency-Stable Ionic-Type Hybrid Gate Dielectrics for High Mobility Solution-Processed Metal-Oxide Thin-Film Transistors

PubMed Central

Heo, Jae Sang; Choi, Seungbeom; Jo, Jeong-Wan; Kang, Jingu; Park, Ho-Hyun; Kim, Yong-Hoon; Park, Sung Kyu

2017-01-01

In this paper, we demonstrate high mobility solution-processed metal-oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs) by using a high-frequency-stable ionic-type hybrid gate dielectric (HGD). The HGD gate dielectric, a blend of sol-gel aluminum oxide (AlOx) and poly(4-vinylphenol) (PVP), exhibited high dielectric constant (ε~8.15) and high-frequency-stable characteristics (1 MHz). Using the ionic-type HGD as a gate dielectric layer, an minimal electron-double-layer (EDL) can be formed at the gate dielectric/InOx interface, enhancing the field-effect mobility of the TFTs. Particularly, using the ionic-type HGD gate dielectrics annealed at 350 °C, InOx TFTs having an average field-effect mobility of 16.1 cm2/Vs were achieved (maximum mobility of 24 cm2/Vs). Furthermore, the ionic-type HGD gate dielectrics can be processed at a low temperature of 150 °C, which may enable their applications in low-thermal-budget plastic and elastomeric substrates. In addition, we systematically studied the operational stability of the InOx TFTs using the HGD gate dielectric, and it was observed that the HGD gate dielectric effectively suppressed the negative threshold voltage shift during the negative-illumination-bias stress possibly owing to the recombination of hole carriers injected in the gate dielectric with the negatively charged ionic species in the HGD gate dielectric. PMID:28772972

Effective Mass Theory of 2D Excitons Revisited

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzalez, Joseph; Oleynik, Ivan

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconducting materials possess an exceptionally unique set of electronic and excitonic properties due to the combined effects of quantum and dielectric confinement. Reliable determination of exciton binding energies from both first-principles many-body perturbation theory (GW/BSE) and experiment is very challenging due to the enormous computational expense as well as the tremendous technical difficulties in experiment.. Very recently, effective mass theories of 2D excitons have been developed as an attractive alternative for inexpensive and accurate evaluation of the exciton binding energies. In this presentation, we evaluate two effective mass theory approaches by Velizhanin et al and Olsen et al in predicting exciton binding energies across a wide range of 2D materials. We specifically analyze the trends related to the varying screening lengths and exciton effective masses. We also extended the effective mass theory of 2D excitons to include effects of electron and hole mass anisotropies (mx ≠ my) , the latter showing a substantial influence on exciton binding energies. The recent predictions of exciton binding energies being independent of the exciton effective mass and a linear correlation with the band gap of a specific material are also critically reexamined.

Effect of Mn doping on the temperature-dependent anomalous giant dielectric behavior of CaCu3Ti4O12

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, C. H.; Jang, Y. H.; Seo, S. J.; Song, C. H.; Son, J. Y.; Yang, Y. S.; Cho, J. H.

2012-06-01

We report dielectric properties and dielectric relaxation behaviors of Mn-substituted CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) on Cu sites. While CCTO exhibits the giant dielectric constant and low dielectric loss in a wide temperature range, drastic suppression of the dielectric constant in Mn-doped CCTO (CCMTO) samples have been observed in temperature and frequency dependencies of dielectric properties with two possible origins as Mn doping increases. The observed suppression of dielectric response in the low Mn doping differs from the heavy doping of Mn in CCMTO samples. The low-Mn-doped CCMTO samples (x=0.01 and 0.02) show that the relaxation time and the activation energy Ea were slightly reduced due to a decreased contribution from the density of the dipolar effect. However, in heavily doped CCMTO samples (x=0.03, 0.04, and 0.05), the dielectric response, relaxation time, and Ea were significantly decreased, suggesting Mn doping plays a significant role in the destruction of the intrinsic dipolar effect.

Dielectric relaxation of guest molecules in a clathrate structure of syndiotactic polystyrene.

PubMed

Urakawa, Osamu; Kaneko, Fumitoshi; Kobayashi, Hideo

2012-12-13

Structure and dynamics of semicrystalline polymer films composed of syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS) and 2-butanone were examined through X-ray diffraction, polarized FTIR, and dielectric relaxation measurements. The X-ray and FTIR measurements revealed its crystal structure to be δ-clathrate containing 2-butanone molecules inside. The carbonyl group of 2-butanone in the crystal was found to orient preferentially parallel to the ac plane of the crystal through the polarized ATR FTIR measurements. Dielectric measurements were also conducted on these film samples to see only the relaxation dynamics of 2-butanone thanks to the high dielectric intensity of 2-butanone compared to sPS. Two relaxation modes denoted by slow and fast modes appeared. The former was assigned to the motion of 2-butanone molecules entrapped in the cavities of the crystalline (δ-form) and the latter to those in the amorphous region. We focused on the slow mode in order to elucidate the specific dynamics of the guest molecule confined in the crystalline region. The relaxation time of the slow mode was about 4 orders of magnitude longer than that of liquid 2-butanone. This suggests that the dynamics of guest molecules is highly restricted due to the high barrier to conformational and/or orientational change of the guest molecule in the cavity of δ-crystal. Furthermore, the dielectric intensity Δε of the slow mode was much smaller than the one calculated from that of bulk liquid 2-butanone and the guest concentration in the crystalline region (the intensity was only 10% of the estimated value from the bulk liquid data). This result also indicates that the free rotational motion of 2-butanone molecules is restricted inside the crystal. This will be consistently related to the weak uniplanar orientation of the carbonyl group of 2-butanone parallel to the ac plane revealed by the X-ray and polarized ATR FTIR measurements.

Strong Coupling of Epsilon-Near-Zero Phonon Polaritons in Polar Dielectric Heterostructures.

PubMed

Passler, Nikolai Christian; Gubbin, Christopher R; Folland, Thomas Graeme; Razdolski, Ilya; Katzer, D Scott; Storm, David F; Wolf, Martin; De Liberato, Simone; Caldwell, Joshua D; Paarmann, Alexander

2018-06-18

We report the first observation of epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) phonon polaritons in an ultrathin AlN film fully hybridized with surface phonon polaritons (SPhP) supported by the adjacent SiC substrate. Employing a strong coupling model for the analysis of the dispersion and electric field distribution in these hybridized modes, we show that they share the most prominent features of the two precursor modes. The novel ENZ-SPhP coupled polaritons with a highly propagative character and deeply subwavelength light confinement can be utilized as building blocks for future infrared and terahertz nanophotonic integration and communication devices.

Electronic and Vibrational Spectra of InP Quantum Dots Formed by Sequential Ion Implantation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, C.; Mu, R.; Tung, Y. S.; Ueda, A.; Henderson, D. O.; White, C. W.

1997-01-01

We have performed sequential ion implantation of indium and phosphorus into silica combined with controlled thermal annealing to fabricate InP quantum dots in a dielectric host. Electronic and vibrational spectra were measured for the as-implanted and annealed samples. The annealed samples show a peak in the infrared spectra near 320/cm which is attributed to a surface phonon mode and is in good agreement with the value calculated from Frolich's theory of surface phonon polaritons. The electronic spectra show the development of a band near 390 nm that is attributed to quantum confined InP.

How the stiffness of the optical trap depends on the proximity of the dielectric interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jákl, Petr; Šerý, Mojmír; Liška, Miroslav; Zemánek, Pavel

2005-09-01

When a probe confined in a single focused laser beam approaches the surface, it is getting more influenced by the retroreflected beam. This beam interferes with the incident one and a weak standing wave (SW) is created, which slightly modulates the incident beam. We studied experimentally how this phenomena influences the optical trap properties if SW is created using surfaces of two different reflectivities. We used polystyrene probes of diameters 690 nm and 820 nm, tracked their positions with quadrant photodiode (QPD) and analysed their thermal motion to get the axial trap stiffness along optical axis.

Effect of surface moisture on dielectric behavior of ultrafine BaTiO3 particulates.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mountvala, A. J.

1971-01-01

The effects of adsorbed H2O on the dielectric properties of ultrafine BaTiO3 particulates of varying particle size and environmental history were determined. The dielectric behavior depends strongly on surface hydration. No particle size dependence of dielectric constant was found for dehydroxylated surfaces in ultrafine particulate (unsintered) BaTiO3 materials. For equivalent particle sizes, the ac conductivity is sensitive to surface morphology. Reactions with H2O vapor appear to account for the variations in dielectric properties. Surface dehydration was effectively accomplished by washing as-received powders in isopropanol.

Improved dielectric functions in metallic films obtained via template stripping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hyuk Park, Jong; Nagpal, Prashant; Oh, Sang-Hyun; Norris, David J.

2012-02-01

We compare the dielectric functions of silver interfaces obtained via thermal evaporation with those obtained with template stripping. Ellipsometry measurements show that the smoother template-stripped surfaces exhibit effective dielectric functions with a more negative real component and a smaller imaginary component, implying higher conductivity and less energy loss, respectively. These results agree with the relation between dielectric function and surface roughness derived from combining the effective-medium model and the Drude-Lorentz model. The improvement in the effective dielectric properties shows that metallic films prepared via template stripping can be favorable for applications in electronics, nanophotonics, and plasmonics.

Interfacial behavior of confined mesogens at smectic-C*-water boundary.

PubMed

Chandran, Achu; Khanna, P K; Haranath, D; Biradar, Ashok M

2018-02-01

In this paper, we have investigated the behavior of mesogens at smectic-C*-water interface confined in a liquid crystal (LC) cell with interfacial geometry. Polarized optical microscopy was used to probe the appearance of various smectic-C* domain patterns at water interface owing to the reorientation of mesogens. The undulated stripe domains observed at the air interface of smectic-C* meniscus vanished as the water entered into the smectic layers and focal conical domain patterns appeared at smectic-C*-water boundary. A spatially variable electro-optical switching of LC molecules was also observed outside the electrode area of the interfacial cell. The electrode region at the interface, as well as on the water side, was damaged upon application of an electric field of magnitude more than 150 kV/m. The change in dielectric parameters of mesogens was extensively studied at interface after evaporating the water. These studies give fundamental insights into smectic-C*-water interface and also will be helpful in fabricating better LC devices for electro-optical and sensing applications.

Interfacial behavior of confined mesogens at smectic-C*-water boundary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandran, Achu; Khanna, P. K.; Haranath, D.; Biradar, Ashok M.

2018-02-01

In this paper, we have investigated the behavior of mesogens at smectic-C*-water interface confined in a liquid crystal (LC) cell with interfacial geometry. Polarized optical microscopy was used to probe the appearance of various smectic-C* domain patterns at water interface owing to the reorientation of mesogens. The undulated stripe domains observed at the air interface of smectic-C* meniscus vanished as the water entered into the smectic layers and focal conical domain patterns appeared at smectic-C*-water boundary. A spatially variable electro-optical switching of LC molecules was also observed outside the electrode area of the interfacial cell. The electrode region at the interface, as well as on the water side, was damaged upon application of an electric field of magnitude more than 150 kV/m. The change in dielectric parameters of mesogens was extensively studied at interface after evaporating the water. These studies give fundamental insights into smectic-C*-water interface and also will be helpful in fabricating better LC devices for electro-optical and sensing applications.

Tailoring the Spectroscopic Properties of Semiconductor Nanowires via Surface-Plasmon-Based Optical Engineering

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Semiconductor nanowires, due to their unique electronic, optical, and chemical properties, are firmly placed at the forefront of nanotechnology research. The rich physics of semiconductor nanowire optics arises due to the enhanced light–matter interactions at the nanoscale and coupling of optical modes to electronic resonances. Furthermore, confinement of light can be taken to new extremes via coupling to the surface plasmon modes of metal nanostructures integrated with nanowires, leading to interesting physical phenomena. This Perspective will examine how the optical properties of semiconductor nanowires can be altered via their integration with highly confined plasmonic nanocavities that have resulted in properties such as orders of magnitude faster and more efficient light emission and lasing. The use of plasmonic nanocavities for tailored optical absorption will also be discussed in order to understand and engineer fundamental optical properties of these hybrid systems along with their potential for novel applications, which may not be possible with purely dielectric cavities. PMID:25396030

Ultra-fast transient plasmonics using transparent conductive oxides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferrera, Marcello; Carnemolla, Enrico G.

2018-02-01

During the last decade, plasmonic- and metamaterial-based applications have revolutionized the field of integrated photonics by allowing for deep subwavelength confinement and full control over the effective permittivity and permeability of the optical environment. However, despite the numerous remarkable proofs of principle that have been experimentally demonstrated, few key issues remain preventing a widespread of nanophotonic technologies. Among these fundamental limitations, we remind the large ohmic losses, incompatibility with semiconductor industry standards, and largely reduced dynamic tunability of the optical properties. In this article, in the larger context of the new emerging field of all-dielectric nanophotonics, we present our recent progresses towards the study of large optical nonlinearities in transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) also giving a general overview of the most relevant and recent experimental attainments using TCO-based technology. However, it is important to underline that the present article does not represent a review paper but rather an original work with a broad introduction. Our work lays in a sort of ‘hybrid’ zone in the middle between high index contrast systems, whose behaviour is well described by applying Mie scattering theory, and standard plasmonic elements where optical modes originate from the electromagnetic coupling with the electronic plasma at the metal-to-dielectric interface. Beside remaining in the context of plasmonic technologies and retaining all the fundamental peculiarities that promoted the success of plasmonics in the first place, our strategy has the additional advantage to allow for large and ultra-fast tunability of the effective complex refractive index by accessing the index-near-zero regime in bulk materials at telecom wavelength.

Role of dielectric constant in electrohydrodynamics of conducting fluids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rhodes, Percy H.; Snyder, Robert S.; Roberts, Glyn O.

1992-01-01

Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) flows are driven by the interaction of an electric field with variations in electric conductivity or dielectric constant. In reported EHD experiments on the deformation of drops of immiscible dielectric fluids, the role of conductivity has tended to overshadow the role of dielectric constant. Often, large conductivity contrasts were convenient because the conductivities of the dielectric fluid were relatively uncertain. As a result, the observed effects were always qualitatively the same as if there had been no contrast in dielectric constant. Our early experiments studying the EHC deformations of cylindrical streams readily showed the conductivity effect but the dielectric constant effect was not discernible. We have modified our flow chamber and improved our method of observation and can now see an unequivocal dielectric constant effect which is in agreement with the prior theory. In this paper we first give a brief description of the physics of charge buildup at the interface of an immersed spherical drop or flowing cylindrical sample stream and then show how these charge distributions lead to interface distortions and accompanying viscous flows which constitute EHD. We next review theory and experiment describing the deformation of spherical drops. We show that in the reported drop deformation experiments, the contrast in dielectric constant was never sufficient to reverse the deformation due to the conductivity contrast. We review our work describing the deformation of a cylindrical stream of one fluid flowing in a parallel flow of another, and we compare the deformation equations with those for spherical drops. Finally, we show a definite experimental dielectric constant effect for cylindrical stream of aqueous polystyrene latex suspension. The dielectric constant varies with the frequency of the imposed electric field, and the associated EHD flow change is very apparent.

Electrolytes in a nanometer slab-confinement: Ion-specific structure and solvation forces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalcher, Immanuel; Schulz, Julius C. F.; Dzubiella, Joachim

2010-10-01

We study the liquid structure and solvation forces of dense monovalent electrolytes (LiCl, NaCl, CsCl, and NaI) in a nanometer slab-confinement by explicit-water molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, implicit-water Monte Carlo (MC) simulations, and modified Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) theories. In order to consistently coarse-grain and to account for specific hydration effects in the implicit methods, realistic ion-ion and ion-surface pair potentials have been derived from infinite-dilution MD simulations. The electrolyte structure calculated from MC simulations is in good agreement with the corresponding MD simulations, thereby validating the coarse-graining approach. The agreement improves if a realistic, MD-derived dielectric constant is employed, which partially corrects for (water-mediated) many-body effects. Further analysis of the ionic structure and solvation pressure demonstrates that nonlocal extensions to PB (NPB) perform well for a wide parameter range when compared to MC simulations, whereas all local extensions mostly fail. A Barker-Henderson mapping of the ions onto a charged, asymmetric, and nonadditive binary hard-sphere mixture shows that the strength of structural correlations is strongly related to the magnitude and sign of the salt-specific nonadditivity. Furthermore, a grand canonical NPB analysis shows that the Donnan effect is dominated by steric correlations, whereas solvation forces and overcharging effects are mainly governed by ion-surface interactions. However, steric corrections to solvation forces are strongly repulsive for high concentrations and low surface charges, while overcharging can also be triggered by steric interactions in strongly correlated systems. Generally, we find that ion-surface and ion-ion correlations are strongly coupled and that coarse-grained methods should include both, the latter nonlocally and nonadditive (as given by our specific ionic diameters), when studying electrolytes in highly inhomogeneous situations.

Topological properties of microwave magnetoelectric fields.

PubMed

Berezin, M; Kamenetskii, E O; Shavit, R

2014-02-01

Collective excitations of electron spins in a ferromagnetic sample dominated by the magnetic dipole-dipole interaction strongly influence the field structure of microwave radiation. A small quasi-two-dimensional ferrite disk with magnetic-dipolar-mode (MDM) oscillation spectra can behave as a source of specific fields in vacuum, termed magnetoelectric (ME) fields. A coupling between the time-varying electric and magnetic fields in the ME-field structures is different from such a coupling in regular electromagnetic fields. The ME fields are characterized by strong energy confinement at a subwavelength region of microwave radiation, topologically distinctive power-flow vortices, and helicity parameters [E. O. Kamenetskii, R. Joffe, and R. Shavit, Phys. Rev. E 87, 023201 (2013)]. We study topological properties of microwave ME fields by loading a MDM ferrite particle with different dielectric samples. We establish a close connection between the permittivity parameters of dielectric environment and the topology of ME fields. We show that the topology of ME fields is strongly correlated with the Fano-resonance spectra observed at terminals of a microwave structure. We reveal specific thresholds in the Fano-resonance spectra appearing at certain permittivity parameters of dielectric samples. We show that ME fields originated from MDM ferrite disks can be distinguished by topological portraits of the helicity parameters and can have a torsion degree of freedom. Importantly, the ME-field phenomena can be viewed as implementations of space-time coordinate transformations on waves.

Method of doping organic semiconductors

DOEpatents

Kloc,; Christian Leo; Ramirez; Arthur Penn; So, Woo-Young

2010-10-26

An apparatus has a crystalline organic semiconducting region that includes polyaromatic molecules. A source electrode and a drain electrode of a field-effect transistor are both in contact with the crystalline organic semiconducting region. A gate electrode of the field-effect transistor is located to affect the conductivity of the crystalline organic semiconducting region between the source and drain electrodes. A dielectric layer of a first dielectric that is substantially impermeable to oxygen is in contact with the crystalline organic semiconducting region. The crystalline organic semiconducting region is located between the dielectric layer and a substrate. The gate electrode is located on the dielectric layer. A portion of the crystalline organic semiconducting region is in contact with a second dielectric via an opening in the dielectric layer. A physical interface is located between the second dielectric and the first dielectric.

Effect of Pentacene-dielectric Affinity on Pentacene Thin Film Growth Morphology in Organic Field-effect Transistors

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

S Kim; M Jang; H Yang

2011-12-31

Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) are fabricated by depositing a thin film of semiconductor on the functionalized surface of a SiO{sub 2} dielectric. The chemical and morphological structures of the interface between the semiconductor and the functionalized dielectric are critical for OFET performance. We have characterized the effect of the affinity between semiconductor and functionalized dielectric on the properties of the semiconductor-dielectric interface. The crystalline microstructure/nanostructure of the pentacene semiconductor layers, grown on a dielectric substrate that had been functionalized with either poly(4-vinyl pyridine) or polystyrene (to control hydrophobicity), and grown under a series of substrate temperatures and deposition rates, weremore » characterized by X-ray diffraction, photoemission spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. By comparing the morphological features of the semiconductor thin films with the device characteristics (field-effect mobility, threshold voltage, and hysteresis) of the OFET devices, the effect of affinity-driven properties on charge modulation, charge trapping, and charge carrier transport could be described.« less

Electroactive fluorinate-based polymers: Ferroelectric and dielectric properties

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

Yu Zhi; Chen Ang; Department of Physics and Department of Chemistry, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325

2004-12-15

The dielectric, ferroelectric, and electroactive strain behavior of poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) copolymers and poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene-chlorotrifluoroethylene) terpolymers is studied in a wide temperature and frequency range. The dielectric response from two dielectric polarization processes, modes A(A{sup '}) and B, and the dielectric-background contribution can be identified for these polymers by using the Cole-Cole plot method. Therefore physically reasonable parameters are obtained by fitting the relaxation time to the Vogel-Fulcher relation. On the other hand, the dielectric relaxation step and high strain decrease simultaneously with decreasing temperature; this indicates that the dielectric relaxation process and high strain behavior are strongly correlated. The electron-irradiationmore » effect in copolymers and the monomer effect in terpolymers are discussed.« less

Dielectric relaxation of high-k oxides

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Frequency dispersion of high-k dielectrics was observed and classified into two parts: extrinsic cause and intrinsic cause. Frequency dependence of dielectric constant (dielectric relaxation), that is the intrinsic frequency dispersion, could not be characterized before considering the effects of extrinsic frequency dispersion. Several mathematical models were discussed to describe the dielectric relaxation of high-k dielectrics. For the physical mechanism, dielectric relaxation was found to be related to the degree of polarization, which depended on the structure of the high-k material. It was attributed to the enhancement of the correlations among polar nanodomain. The effect of grain size for the high-k materials' structure mainly originated from higher surface stress in smaller grain due to its higher concentration of grain boundary. PMID:24180696

Effect of vacuum-ultraviolet irradiation on the dielectric constant of low-k organosilicate dielectrics

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

Zheng, H.; Shohet, J. L.; Ryan, E. T.

2014-11-17

Vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) irradiation is generated during plasma processing in semiconductor fabrications, while the effect of VUV irradiation on the dielectric constant (k value) of low-k materials is still an open question. To clarify this problem, VUV photons with a range of energies were exposed on low-k organosilicate dielectrics (SiCOH) samples at room temperature. Photon energies equal to or larger than 6.0 eV were found to decrease the k value of SiCOH films. VUV photons with lower energies do not have this effect. This shows the need for thermal heating in traditional ultraviolet (UV) curing since UV light sources do notmore » have sufficient energy to change the dielectric constant of SiCOH and additional energy is required from thermal heating. In addition, 6.2 eV photon irradiation was found to be the most effective in decreasing the dielectric constant of low-k organosilicate films. Fourier Transform Infra-red Spectroscopy shows that these 6.2 eV VUV exposures removed organic porogens. This contributes to the decrease of the dielectric constant. This information provides the range of VUV photon energies that could decrease the dielectric constant of low-k materials most effectively.« less

Effect of dielectric layers on device stability of pentacene-based field-effect transistors.

PubMed

Di, Chong-an; Yu, Gui; Liu, Yunqi; Guo, Yunlong; Sun, Xiangnan; Zheng, Jian; Wen, Yugeng; Wang, Ying; Wu, Weiping; Zhu, Daoben

2009-09-07

We report stable organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) based on pentacene. It was found that device stability strongly depends on the dielectric layer. Pentacene thin-film transistors based on the bare or polystyrene-modified SiO(2) gate dielectrics exhibit excellent electrical stabilities. In contrast, the devices with the octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS)-treated SiO(2) dielectric layer showed the worst stabilities. The effects of the different dielectrics on the device stabilities were investigated. We found that the surface energy of the gate dielectric plays a crucial role in determining the stability of the pentacene thin film, device performance and degradation of electrical properties. Pentacene aggregation, phase transfer and film morphology are also important factors that influence the device stability of pentacene devices. As a result of the surface energy mismatch between the dielectric layer and organic semiconductor, the electronic performance was degraded. Moreover, when pentacene was deposited on the OTS-treated SiO(2) dielectric layer with very low surface energy, pentacene aggregation occurred and resulted in a dramatic decrease of device performance. These results demonstrated that the stable OFETs could be obtained by using pentacene as a semiconductor layer.

Dielectric RheoSANS - Simultaneous Interrogation of Impedance, Rheology and Small Angle Neutron Scattering of Complex Fluids.

PubMed

Richards, Jeffrey J; Gagnon, Cedric V L; Krzywon, Jeffery R; Wagner, Norman J; Butler, Paul D

2017-04-10

A procedure for the operation of a new dielectric RheoSANS instrument capable of simultaneous interrogation of the electrical, mechanical and microstructural properties of complex fluids is presented. The instrument consists of a Couette geometry contained within a modified forced convection oven mounted on a commercial rheometer. This instrument is available for use on the small angle neutron scattering (SANS) beamlines at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Center for Neutron Research (NCNR). The Couette geometry is machined to be transparent to neutrons and provides for measurement of the electrical properties and microstructural properties of a sample confined between titanium cylinders while the sample undergoes arbitrary deformation. Synchronization of these measurements is enabled through the use of a customizable program that monitors and controls the execution of predetermined experimental protocols. Described here is a protocol to perform a flow sweep experiment where the shear rate is logarithmically stepped from a maximum value to a minimum value holding at each step for a specified period of time while frequency dependent dielectric measurements are made. Representative results are shown from a sample consisting of a gel composed of carbon black aggregates dispersed in propylene carbonate. As the gel undergoes steady shear, the carbon black network is mechanically deformed, which causes an initial decrease in conductivity associated with the breaking of bonds comprising the carbon black network. However, at higher shear rates, the conductivity recovers associated with the onset of shear thickening. Overall, these results demonstrate the utility of the simultaneous measurement of the rheo-electro-microstructural properties of these suspensions using the dielectric RheoSANS geometry.

Effect of a Dielectric Overlay on a Linearly Tapered Slot Antenna Excited by a Coplanar Waveguide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simons, Rainee N.; Lee, Richard Q.; Perl, Thomas D.; Silvestro, John

1993-01-01

The effect of a dielectric overlay on a linearly tapered slot antenna (LTSA) is studied. The LTSA under study has very wide bandwidth and excellent radiation patterns. A dielectric overlay improves the patterns and directivity of the antenna by increasing the electrical length and effective aperture of the antenna. A dielectric overlay can also be used to reduce the physical length of the antenna without compromising the pattern quality.

Control of Evaporation Behavior of an Inkjet-Printed Dielectric Layer Using a Mixed-Solvent System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Hak Soon; Kang, Byung Ju; Oh, Je Hoon

2016-01-01

In this study, the evaporation behavior and the resulting morphology of inkjet-printed dielectric layers were controlled using a mixed-solvent system to fabricate uniform poly-4-vinylphenol (PVP) dielectric layers without any pinholes. The mixed-solvent system consisted of two different organic solvents: 1-hexanol and ethanol. The effects of inkjet-printing variables such as overlap condition, substrate temperature, and different printing sequences (continuous and interlacing printing methods) on the inkjet-printed dielectric layer were also investigated. Increasing volume fraction of ethanol (VFE) is likely to reduce the evaporation rate gradient and the drying time of the inkjet-printed dielectric layer; this diminishes the coffee stain effect and thereby improves the uniformity of the inkjet-printed dielectric layer. However, the coffee stain effect becomes more severe with an increase in the substrate temperature due to the enhanced outward convective flow. The overlap condition has little effect on the evaporation behavior of the printed dielectric layer. In addition, the interlacing printing method results in either a stronger coffee stain effect or wavy structures of the dielectric layers depending on the VFE of the PVP solution. All-inkjet-printed capacitors without electrical short circuiting can be successfully fabricated using the optimized PVP solution (VFE = 0.6); this indicates that the mixed-solvent system is expected to play an important role in the fabrication of high-quality inkjet-printed dielectric layers in various printed electronics applications.

Charge renormalization and inversion of a highly charged lipid bilayer: effects of dielectric discontinuities and charge correlations.

PubMed

Taheri-Araghi, Sattar; Ha, Bae-Yeun

2005-08-01

We reexamine the problem of charge renormalization and inversion of a highly charged surface of a low dielectric constant immersed in ionic solutions. To be specific, we consider an asymmetrically charged lipid bilayer, in which only one layer is negatively charged. In particular, we study how dielectric discontinuities and charge correlations (among lipid charges and condensed counterions) influence the effective charge of the surface. When counterions are monovalent (e.g., Na+), our mean-field approach implies that dielectric discontinuities can enhance counterion condensation. A simple scaling picture shows how the effects of dielectric discontinuities and surface-charge distributions are intertwined: Dielectric discontinuities diminish condensation if the backbone charge is uniformly smeared out while counterions are localized in space; they can, however, enhance condensation when the backbone charge is discrete. In the presence of asymmetric salts such as CaCl2 , we find that the correlation effect, treated at the Gaussian level, is more pronounced when the surface has a lower dielectric constant, inverting the sign of the charge at a smaller value of Ca2+ concentration.

Calculation of longitudinal and transverse wake-field effects in dielectric structures

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

Gai, W.

1989-01-01

The electro-magnetic radiation of a charged particle passing through a dielectric structure has many applications to accelerator physics. Recently a new acceleration scheme, called the dielectric wake field accelerator, has been proposed. It also can be used as a pick up system for a storage ring because of its slow wave characteristics. In order to study these effects in detail, in this paper we will calculate the wake field effects produced in a dielectric structure by a charged particle. 8 refs., 2 figs.

Optically controlled dielectric properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes for terahertz wave applications.

PubMed

Smirnov, Serguei; Anoshkin, Ilya V; Demchenko, Petr; Gomon, Daniel; Lioubtchenko, Dmitri V; Khodzitsky, Mikhail; Oberhammer, Joachim

2018-06-21

Materials with tunable dielectric properties are valuable for a wide range of electronic devices, but are often lossy at terahertz frequencies. Here we experimentally report the tuning of the dielectric properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes under light illumination. The effect is demonstrated by measurements of impedance variations at low frequency as well as complex dielectric constant variations in the wide frequency range of 0.1-1 THz by time domain spectroscopy. We show that the dielectric constant is significantly modified for varying light intensities. The effect is also practically applied to phase shifters based on dielectric rod waveguides, loaded with carbon nanotube layers. The carbon nanotubes are used as tunable impedance surface controlled by light illumination, in the frequency range of 75-500 GHz. These results suggest that the effect of dielectric constant tuning with light, accompanied by low transmission losses of the carbon nanotube layer in such an ultra-wide band, may open up new directions for the design and fabrication of novel Terahertz and optoelectronic devices.

γ-rays irradiation effects on dielectric properties of Ti/Au/GaAsN Schottky diodes with 1.2%N

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teffahi, A.; Hamri, D.; Djeghlouf, A.; Abboun Abid, M.; Saidane, A.; Al Saqri, N.; Felix, J. F.; Henini, M.

2018-06-01

Dielectric properties of As grown and irradiated Ti /Au/GaAsN Schottky diodes with 1.2%N are investigated using capacitance/conductance-voltage measurements in 90-290 K temperature range and 50-2000 kHz frequency range. Extracted parameters are interface state density, series resistance, dielectric constant, dielectric loss, tangent loss and ac conductivity. It is shown that exposure to γ-rays irradiation leads to reduction in effective trap density believed to result from radiation-induced traps annulations. An increase in series resistance is attributed to a net doping reduction. Dielectric constant (ε') shows usual step-like transitions with corresponding relaxation peaks in dielectric loss. These peaks shift towards lower temperature as frequency decrease. Temperature dependant ac conductivity followed an Arrhenius relation with activation energy of 153 meV in the 200-290 K temperature range witch correspond to As vacancy. The results indicate that γ-rays irradiation improves the dielectric and electrical properties of the diode due to the defect annealing effect.

Strongly nonlinear composite dielectrics: A perturbation method for finding the potential field and bulk effective properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blumenfeld, Raphael; Bergman, David J.

1991-10-01

A class of strongly nonlinear composite dielectrics is studied. We develop a general method to reduce the scalar-potential-field problem to the solution of a set of linear Poisson-type equations in rescaled coordinates. The method is applicable for a large variety of nonlinear materials. For a power-law relation between the displacement and the electric fields, it is used to solve explicitly for the value of the bulk effective dielectric constant ɛe to second order in the fluctuations of its local value. A simlar procedure for the vector potential, whose curl is the displacement field, yields a quantity analogous to the inverse dielectric constant in linear dielectrics. The bulk effective dielectric constant is given by a set of linear integral expressions in the rescaled coordinates and exact bounds for it are derived.

Dispersion and decay rate of exciton-polaritons and radiative modes in transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alpeggiani, Filippo; Gong, Su-Hyun; Kuipers, L.

2018-05-01

The two-dimensional excitons of transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) monolayers make these materials extremely promising for optical and optoelectronic applications. When the excitons interact with the electromagnetic field, they will give rise to exciton-polaritons, i.e., modes that propagate in the material plane while being confined in the out-of-plane direction. In this work, we derive the characteristic equations that determine both radiative and polaritonic modes in TMDC monolayers and we analyze the dispersion and decay rate of the modes. The condition for the existence of exciton-polaritons can be described in terms of a strong-coupling regime for the interaction between the exciton and the three-dimensional continuum of free-space electromagnetic modes. We show that the threshold for the strong-coupling regime critically depends on the interplay between nonradiative losses and the dielectric function imbalance at the two sides of the monolayer. Our results illustrate that a fine control of the dielectric function of the embedding media is essential for realizing exciton-polaritons in the strong-coupling regime.

Conformal Coating of a Phase Change Material on Ordered Plasmonic Nanorod Arrays for Broadband All-Optical Switching.

PubMed

Guo, Peijun; Weimer, Matthew S; Emery, Jonathan D; Diroll, Benjamin T; Chen, Xinqi; Hock, Adam S; Chang, Robert P H; Martinson, Alex B F; Schaller, Richard D

2017-01-24

Actively tunable optical transmission through artificial metamaterials holds great promise for next-generation nanophotonic devices and metasurfaces. Plasmonic nanostructures and phase change materials have been extensively studied to this end due to their respective strong interactions with light and tunable dielectric constants under external stimuli. Seamlessly integrating plasmonic components with phase change materials, as demonstrated in the present work, can facilitate phase change by plasmonically enabled light confinement and meanwhile make use of the high sensitivity of plasmon resonances to the variation of dielectric constant associated with the phase change. The hybrid platform here is composed of plasmonic indium-tin-oxide nanorod arrays (ITO-NRAs) conformally coated with an ultrathin layer of a prototypical phase change material, vanadium dioxide (VO 2 ), which enables all-optical modulation of the infrared as well as the visible spectral ranges. The interplay between the intrinsic plasmonic nonlinearity of ITO-NRAs and the phase transition induced permittivity change of VO 2 gives rise to spectral and temporal responses that cannot be achieved with individual material components alone.

Au-nanoparticle-embedded cross-linked gelatin films synthesized on aqueous solution in contact with dielectric barrier discharge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shirafuji, Tatsuru; Nakamura, Yusuke; Azuma, Shiori; Sotoda, Naoya; Isshiki, Toshiyuki

2018-01-01

A wine-red free-standing thin film has been formed by irradiating dielectric barrier discharge plasma on an aqueous solution containing HAuCl4 and gelatin. The film has a fibrous structure with an inhomogeneous thickness profile and is composed of cross-linked gelatin, as confirmed by optical microscopy and infrared absorption spectroscopy. The film has embedded Au nanoparticles (GNPs), as confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. In the region with a relatively small film thickness, the number density of GNPs is relatively low, and the sizes of GNPs range from 5.3 to 34.3 nm. In the region with a relatively large film thickness, on the other hand, GNPs are highly accumulated, and the sizes of GNPs range from 10.0 to 26.7 nm. The aqueous solution remains transparent even after the film growth process, which indicates that the plasma-induced processes involving GNP formation and film growth are confined near the surface of the aqueous solution. A possible film growth mechanism is discussed on the basis of the experimental results of this study.

Spectroscopic investigation of a dielectric barrier discharge in modified atmosphere packaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milosavljević, Vladimir; Cullen, Patrick J.

2017-11-01

Diagnostics of a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), in a sealed package (with and without meat) filled with gas mixtures of oxygen and carbon-dioxide (O2-CO2), is reported. The generation and evaluation of the plasma chemistry induced within the confines of the sealed package is studied. The plasma discharges were analyzed by optical emission spectroscopy (OES) and optical absorption spectroscopy (OAS) over a range of plasma process parameters. The study includes a detailed experimental investigation of the spatial and temporal spectroscopic data and links them with plasma kinetics. The results from the spectral radiation from package provide information about the electron energy distribution function. The experimental data indicates that the humidity level in the package with and without meat is unchanged, and that the gas temperature was not significantly modified. Oxygen and nitrogen radicals (trapped gas atmosphere and modified atmosphere) are increased in the package containing meat; at the same time there is no evidence of the presence of carbon monoxide molecules. The role of the nitrogen molecule in the quenching of O2 and CO2 molecules is also evaluated.

Optimal width of quasicrystalline slabs of dielectric cylinders to microwave radiation transmission contrast

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

Andueza, Ángel; Sevilla, Joaquín; Smart Cities Institute, Universidad Pública de Navarra, 31006 Pamplona

2016-08-28

Light confinement induced by resonant states in aperiodic photonic structures is interesting for many applications. A particular case of these resonances can be found in 2D quasicrystalline arrangements of dielectric cylinders. These systems present a rather isotropic band gap as well as isolated in-gap photonic states (as a result of spatially localized resonances). These states are built by high symmetry polygonal clusters that can be regarded as photonic molecules. In this paper, we study the transmission properties of a slab of glass cylinders arranged in approximants of the decagonal quasicrystalline structure. In particular, we investigate the influence of the slabmore » width in the transmission contrast between the states and the gap. The study is both experimental and numerical in the microwave regime. We find that the best transmission contrast is found for a width of around three times the radiation wavelength. The transmission in the band gap region is mediated by the resonances of the photonic molecules. If the samples are thin enough, they become transparent except around a resonance of the photonic molecule which reflects the incoming light.« less

The effects of dielectric decrement and finite ion size on differential capacitance of electrolytically gated graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daniels, Lindsey; Scott, Matthew; Mišković, Z. L.

2018-06-01

We analyze the effects of dielectric decrement and finite ion size in an aqueous electrolyte on the capacitance of a graphene electrode, and make comparisons with the effects of dielectric saturation combined with finite ion size. We first derive conditions for the cross-over from a camel-shaped to a bell-shaped capacitance of the diffuse layer. We show next that the total capacitance is dominated by a V-shaped quantum capacitance of graphene at low potentials. A broad peak develops in the total capacitance at high potentials, which is sensitive to the ion size with dielectric saturation, but is stable with dielectric decrement.

Doping dependence of the contact resistivity of end-bonded metal contacts to thin heavily doped semiconductor nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shukkoor, Anvar A.; Karmalkar, Shreepad

2017-12-01

We study the resistivity, ρcN, of end-bonded contacts to semiconductor NanoWires (NWs) of radius R = 5-10 nm over doping Nd = 1018-1020 cm-3. The study is important for NW device design and characterization. It reports realistic calculations of ρcN and highlights and explains how ρcN differs significantly from the resistivity ρcB of bulk contacts. First, the space-charge width in NW contacts is increased by the surrounding field which depends on R, contact geometry, and ambient dielectric; this width also depends on surface charge and dielectric confinement which reduces dopant ionization. Second, thin NWs have a low effective lifetime, τN, due to surface recombination. Third, NW contacts have a lesser image force barrier lowering due to the higher space-charge width. Due to these factors, apart from tunneling (which decides ρcB), space-charge region generation-recombination current also affects ρcN. As Nd is raised from 1018 to 1020 cm-3, ρcB falls rapidly, but ρcN varies slowly and may even increase up to 3-5 × 1018 and then falls rapidly. Further, ρcN/ρcB can be ≪1 at Nd = 1 × 1018 cm-3, reaches a peak ≫1 around Nd = 1 × 1019 cm-3, and → 1 at Nd = 1 × 1020 cm-3, e.g., for 0.8 V contact barrier on 10 nm thick n-type silicon NWs with τN = 1 ps embedded in SiO2, at T = 300 K, even a 10 nm contact extension yields a peak of 75 at Nd = 8 × 1018 cm-3. We study changes in ρcN/ρcB versus Nd behavior with R, contact geometry, ambient dielectric, surface charge, τN, T, tunneling mass, and barrier height.

The effect of diamic acid additives on the dielectric constant of polyimides

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stoakley, Diane M.; St. Clair, Anne K.

1988-01-01

The effect of six selected diamic acids additives (including 2,2-prime bis(3,4-dicarboxyphenyl) hexafluoropropane dianhydride-aniline (An); 4,4-prime-oxydiphthalic anhydride-An, 3,3-prime diaminodiphenyl sulfone-phthalic anhydride (PA); 4,4-prime-oxydianiline-PA; 2,2-bis 4(4-aminophenoxy)phenyl hexafluoropropane-PA; and 2,2-bis 4(3-aminophenoxy)phenyl hexafluoropropane-PA) on the dielectric constants of low-dielectric-constant polyimide resins was evaluated. It was found that the effect of the incorporation of the diamic acids on reducing the dielectric constant of polyimides may be limited as the dielectric constant of the base resin itself becomes very low. The additives were found to lower the resin's values of glass transition temperature, with no effect on thermooxidative stability.

Concentration of atomic hydrogen in a dielectric barrier discharge measured by two-photon absorption fluorescence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dvořák, P.; Talába, M.; Obrusník, A.; Kratzer, J.; Dědina, J.

2017-08-01

Two-photon absorption laser-induced fluorescence (TALIF) was utilized for measuring the concentration of atomic hydrogen in a volume dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) ignited in mixtures of Ar, H2 and O2 at atmospheric pressure. The method was calibrated by TALIF of krypton diluted in argon at atmospheric pressure, proving that three-body collisions had a negligible effect on quenching of excited krypton atoms. The diagnostic study was complemented with a 3D numerical model of the gas flow and a zero-dimensional model of the chemistry in order to better understand the reaction kinetics and identify the key pathways leading to the production and destruction of atomic hydrogen. It was determined that the density of atomic hydrogen in Ar-H2 mixtures was in the order of 1021 m-3 and decreased when oxygen was added into the gas mixture. Spatially resolved measurements and simulations revealed a sharply bordered region with low atomic hydrogen concentration when oxygen was added to the gas mixture. At substoichiometric oxygen/hydrogen ratios, this H-poor region is confined to an area close to the gas inlet and it is shown that the size of this region is not only influenced by the chemistry but also by the gas flow patterns. Experimentally, it was observed that a decrease in H2 concentration in the feeding Ar-H2 mixture led to an increase in H production in the DBD.

Using COMSOL Multiphysics Software to Model Anisotropic Dielectric and Metamaterial Effects in Folded-Waveguide Traveling-Wave Tube Slow-Wave Circuits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Starinshak, David P.; Smith, Nathan D.; Wilson, Jeffrey D.

2008-01-01

The electromagnetic effects of conventional dielectrics, anisotropic dielectrics, and metamaterials were modeled in a terahertz-frequency folded-waveguide slow-wave circuit. Results of attempts to utilize these materials to increase efficiency are presented.

Effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles on dielectric behavior of nematic liquid crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Amit; Kumar, Pankaj; Malik, Praveen

2018-05-01

In this work, phase transition and dielectric behavior of nematic liquid crystal (NLC), E7 and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) doped nematic liquid crystals are investigated. Effect of nano-particles dispersion is analyzed and compared with the dielectric behavior of E7 and E7-ZnO. Frequency dependent dielectric permittivity at various temperatures in nematic phase for E7 and E7-ZnO sample is also studied.

A comparative study of nano-SiO2 and nano-TiO2 fillers on proton conductivity and dielectric response of a silicotungstic acid-H3PO4-poly(vinyl alcohol) polymer electrolyte.

PubMed

Gao, Han; Lian, Keryn

2014-01-08

The effects of nano-SiO2 and nano-TiO2 fillers on a thin film silicotungstic acid (SiWA)-H3PO4-poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) proton conducting polymer electrolyte were studied and compared with respect to their proton conductivity, environmental stability, and dielectric properties, across a temperature range from 243 to 323 K. Three major effects of these fillers have been identified: (a) barrier effect; (b) intrinsic dielectric constant effect; and (c) water retention effect. Dielectric analyses were used to differentiate these effects on polymer electrolyte-enabled capacitors. Capacitor performance was correlated to electrolyte properties through dielectric constant and dielectric loss spectra. Using a single-ion approach, proton density and proton mobility of each polymer electrolyte were derived as a function of temperature. The results allow us to deconvolute the different contributions to proton conductivity in SiWA-H3PO4-PVA-based electrolytes, especially in terms of the effects of fillers on the dynamic equilibrium of free protons and protonated water in the electrolytes.

Carrier injection engineering in nanowire transistors via dopant and shape monitoring of the access regions

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

Berrada, Salim, E-mail: s.berrada@insa.ueuromed.org; Bescond, Marc, E-mail: marc.bescond@im2np.fr; Cavassilas, Nicolas

2015-10-12

This work theoretically studies the influence of both the geometry and the discrete nature of dopants of the access regions in ultra-scaled nanowire transistors. By means of self-consistent quantum transport simulations, we show that discrete dopants induce quasi-localized states which govern carrier injection into the channel. Carrier injection can be enhanced by taking advantage of the dielectric confinement occurring in these access regions. We demonstrate that the optimization of access resistance can be obtained by a careful control of shape and dopant position. These results pave the way for contact resistance engineering in forthcoming device generations.

Structural, thermodynamic, and electrical properties of polar fluids and ionic solutions on a hypersphere: Results of simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caillol, J. M.; Levesque, D.

1992-01-01

The reliability and the efficiency of a new method suitable for the simulations of dielectric fluids and ionic solutions is established by numerical computations. The efficiency depends on the use of a simulation cell which is the surface of a four-dimensional sphere. The reliability originates from a charge-charge potential solution of the Poisson equation in this confining volume. The computation time, for systems of a few hundred molecules, is reduced by a factor of 2 or 3 compared to this of a simulation performed in a cubic volume with periodic boundary conditions and the Ewald charge-charge potential.

Guiding properties of asymmetric hybrid plasmonic waveguides on dielectric substrates

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

We proposed an asymmetric hybrid plasmonic waveguide which is placed on a substrate for practical applications by introducing an asymmetry into a symmetric hybrid plasmonic waveguide. The guiding properties of the asymmetric hybrid plasmonic waveguide are investigated using finite element method. The results show that, with proper waveguide sizes, the proposed waveguide can eliminate the influence of the substrate on its guiding properties and restore its broken symmetric mode. We obtained the maximum propagation length of 2.49 × 103 μm. It is approximately equal to that of the symmetric hybrid plasmonic waveguide embedded in air cladding with comparable nanoscale confinement. PMID:24406096

Colossal dielectric constant in PrFeO 3 semiconductor ceramics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prasad, Bandi Vittal; Rao, G. Narsinga; Chen, J. W.; Babu, D. Suresh

2012-02-01

The perovskite PrFeO 3 ceramics were synthesized via sol-gel method. The dielectric properties and impedance spectroscopy (IS) of these ceramics were studied in the frequency range from 100 Hz to 1000 kHz in the temperature range from 80 K to 300 K. These materials exhibited colossal dielectric constant value of ˜10 4 at room temperature. The response is similar to that observed for relaxorferroelectrics. IS data analysis indicates the ceramics to be electrically heterogeneous semiconductor consisting of semiconducting grains with dielectric constant 30 and more resistive grain boundaries with effective dielectric constant ˜10 4. We conclude, therefore that grain boundary effect is the primary source for the high effective permittivity in PrFeO 3 ceramics.

Cu-Induced Dielectric Breakdown of Porous Low-Dielectric-Constant Film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Yi-Lung; Lee, Chih-Yen; Huang, Yao-Liang; Sun, Chung-Ren; Lee, Wen-Hsi; Chen, Giin-Shan; Fang, Jau-Shiung; Phan, Bach Thang

2017-06-01

Dielectric breakdown induced by Cu ion migration in porous low- k dielectric films has been investigated in alternating-polarity bias conditions using a metal-insulator-metal capacitor with Cu top metal electrode. The experimental results indicated that Cu ions migrated into the dielectric film under stress with positive polarity, leading to weaker dielectric strength and shorter time to failure (TTF). In the alternating-polarity test, the measured TTFs increased with decreasing stressing frequency, implying backward migration of Cu ions during reverse-bias stress. Additionally, compared with a direct-current stress condition, the measured TTFs were higher as the frequency was decreased to 10-2 Hz. The electric-field acceleration factor for porous low- k dielectric film breakdown in the alternating-polarity test was also found to increase. This Cu backward migration effect is effective when the stressing time under negative polarity is longer than 0.1 s.

Optimization of shape control of a cantilever beam using dielectric elastomer actuators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Chong; Mao, Boyong; Huang, Gangting; Wu, Qichen; Xie, Shilin; Xu, Minglong

2018-05-01

Dielectric elastomer (DE) is a kind of smart soft material that has many advantages such as large deformation, fast response, lightweight and easy synthesis. These features make dielectric elastomer a suitable material for actuators. This article focuses on the shape control of a cantilever beam by using dielectric elastomer actuators. The shape control equation in finite element formulation of the cantilever beam partially covered with dielectric elastomer actuators is derived based on the constitutive equation of dielectric elastomer material by using Hamilton principle. The actuating forces produced by dielectric elastomer actuators depend on the number of layers, the position and the actuation voltage of dielectric elastomer actuators. First, effects of these factors on the shape control accuracy when one pair or multiple pairs of actuators are employed are simulated, respectively. The simulation results demonstrate that increasing the number of actuators or the number of layers can improve the control effect and reduce the actuation voltages effectively. Second, to achieve the optimal shape control effect, the position of the actuators and the drive voltages are all determined using a genetic algorithm. The robustness of the genetic algorithm is analyzed. Moreover, the implications of using one pair and multiple pairs of actuators to drive the cantilever beam to the expected shape are investigated. The results demonstrate that a small number of actuators with optimal placement and optimal voltage values can achieve the shape control of the beam effectively. Finally, a preliminary experimental verification of the control effect is carried out, which shows the correctness of the theoretical method.

Polymer chain collapse induced by many-body dipole correlations.

PubMed

Budkov, Yu A; Kalikin, N N; Kolesnikov, A L

2017-04-01

We present a simple analytical theory of a flexible polymer chain dissolved in a good solvent, carrying permanent freely oriented dipoles on the monomers. We take into account the dipole correlations within the random phase approximation (RPA), as well as a dielectric heterogeneity in the internal polymer volume relative to the bulk solution. We demonstrate that the dipole correlations of monomers can be taken into account as pairwise ones only when the polymer chain is in a coil conformation. In this case the dipole correlations manifest themselves through the Keesom interactions of the permanent dipoles. On the other hand, the dielectric heterogeneity effect (dielectric mismatch effect) leads to the effective interaction between the monomers of the polymeric coil. Both of these effects can be taken into account by renormalizing the second virial coefficient of the monomer-monomer volume interactions. We establish that in the case when the solvent dielectric permittivity exceeds the dielectric permittivity of the polymeric material, the dielectric mismatch effect competes with the dipole attractive interactions, leading to polymer coil expansion. In the opposite case, both the dielectric mismatch effect and the dipole attractive interaction lead to the polymer coil collapse. We analyse the coil-globule transition caused by the dipole correlations of monomers within the many-body theory. We demonstrate that accounting for the dipole correlations higher than the pairwise ones smooths this pure electrostatics driven coil-globule transition of the polymer chain.

Exciton diamagnetic shifts and valley Zeeman effects in monolayer WS2 and MoS2 to 65 Tesla

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stier, Andreas V.; McCreary, Kathleen M.; Jonker, Berend T.; Kono, Junichiro; Crooker, Scott A.

2016-02-01

In bulk and quantum-confined semiconductors, magneto-optical studies have historically played an essential role in determining the fundamental parameters of excitons (size, binding energy, spin, dimensionality and so on). Here we report low-temperature polarized reflection spectroscopy of atomically thin WS2 and MoS2 in high magnetic fields to 65 T. Both the A and B excitons exhibit similar Zeeman splittings of approximately -230 μeV T-1 (g-factor ~=-4), thereby quantifying the valley Zeeman effect in monolayer transition-metal disulphides. Crucially, these large fields also allow observation of the small quadratic diamagnetic shifts of both A and B excitons in monolayer WS2, from which radii of ~1.53 and ~1.16 nm are calculated. Further, when analysed within a model of non-local dielectric screening, these diamagnetic shifts also constrain estimates of the A and B exciton binding energies (410 and 470 meV, respectively, using a reduced A exciton mass of 0.16 times the free electron mass). These results highlight the utility of high magnetic fields for understanding new two-dimensional materials.

Tunable room-temperature spin-selective optical Stark effect in solution-processed layered halide perovskites.

PubMed

Giovanni, David; Chong, Wee Kiang; Dewi, Herlina Arianita; Thirumal, Krishnamoorthy; Neogi, Ishita; Ramesh, Ramamoorthy; Mhaisalkar, Subodh; Mathews, Nripan; Sum, Tze Chien

2016-06-01

Ultrafast spin manipulation for opto-spin logic applications requires material systems that have strong spin-selective light-matter interaction. Conventional inorganic semiconductor nanostructures [for example, epitaxial II to VI quantum dots and III to V multiple quantum wells (MQWs)] are considered forerunners but encounter challenges such as lattice matching and cryogenic cooling requirements. Two-dimensional halide perovskite semiconductors, combining intrinsic tunable MQW structures and large oscillator strengths with facile solution processability, can offer breakthroughs in this area. We demonstrate novel room-temperature, strong ultrafast spin-selective optical Stark effect in solution-processed (C6H4FC2H4NH3)2PbI4 perovskite thin films. Exciton spin states are selectively tuned by ~6.3 meV using circularly polarized optical pulses without any external photonic cavity (that is, corresponding to a Rabi energy of ~55 meV and equivalent to applying a 70 T magnetic field), which is much larger than any conventional system. The facile halide and organic replacement in these perovskites affords control of the dielectric confinement and thus presents a straightforward strategy for tuning light-matter coupling strength.

Energy loss of α-particle moving in warm dense deuterium plasma: Role of local field corrections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Zhen-Guo; Wang, Zhigang; Zhang, Ping

2017-11-01

We theoretically study the energy loss of α-particles traveling in the warm dense plasma (WDP) of deuterium (D) with temperatures from 10 to 100 eV and electron number densities from 1023 to 1024 cm-3. Beyond the random phase approximation (RPA) model, the extended Mermin dielectric function (MDF) model including the static and dynamic local field corrections (LFC) is employed in the calculations. Compared with the static LFC, the dynamic LFC introduced in the extended MDF model gives rise to a more significant departure from the RPA result. For the plasma conditions focused in this work, the departure induced by dynamic LFC reaches almost ˜ 30 % , which may be detected in the inertial confinement fusion (ICF) related experiment. Moreover, we find that the effect of static e-e collision may be of importance (unimportance) for the WDP of D with a temperature of tens (hundreds) of eV. Our findings may be important for ICF ignition since the uncertainty induced by the correlation effects between plasma component particles is crucial for the prediction of α-particle heating in fusion plasmas.

Effects of synthesis techniques on chemical composition, microstructure and dielectric properties of Mg-doped calcium titanate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jongprateep, Oratai; Sato, Nicha

2018-04-01

Calcium titanate (CaTiO3) has been recognized as a material for fabrication of dielectric components, owing to its moderate dielectric constant and excellent microwave response. Enhancement of dielectric properties of the material can be achieved through doping, compositional and microstructural control. This study, therefore, aimed at investigating effects of powder synthesis techniques on compositions, microstructure, and dielectric properties of Mg-doped CaTiO3. Solution combustion and solid-state reaction were powder synthesis techniques employed in preparation of undoped CaTiO3 and CaTiO3 doped with 5-20 at% Mg. Compositional analysis revealed that powder synthesis techniques did not exhibit a significant effect on formation of secondary phases. When Mg concentration did not exceed 5 at%, the powders prepared by both techniques contained only a single phase. An increase of MgO secondary phase was observed as Mg concentrations increased from 10 to 20 at%. Experimental results, on the contrary, revealed that powder synthesis techniques contributed to significant differences in microstructure. Solution combustion technique produced powders with finer particle sizes, which consequently led to finer grain sizes and density enhancement. High-density specimens with fine microstructure generally exhibit improved dielectric properties. Dielectric measurements revealed that dielectric constants of all samples ranged between 231 and 327 at 1 MHz, and that superior dielectric constants were observed in samples prepared by the solution combustion technique.

Focused beams of fast neutral atoms in glow discharge plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grigoriev, S. N.; Melnik, Yu. A.; Metel, A. S.; Volosova, M. A.

2017-06-01

Glow discharge with electrostatic confinement of electrons in a vacuum chamber allows plasma processing of conductive products in a wide pressure range of p = 0.01 - 5 Pa. To assist processing of a small dielectric product with a concentrated on its surface beam of fast neutral atoms, which do not cause charge effects, ions from the discharge plasma are accelerated towards the product and transformed into fast atoms. The beam is produced using a negatively biased cylindrical or a spherical grid immersed in the plasma. Ions accelerated by the grid turn into fast neutral atoms at p > 0.1 Pa due to charge exchange collisions with gas atoms in the space charge sheaths adjoining the grid. The atoms form a diverging neutral beam and a converging beam propagating from the grid in opposite directions. The beam propagating from the concave surface of a 0.24-m-wide cylindrical grid is focused on a target within a 10-mm-wide stripe, and the beam from the 0.24-m-diameter spherical grid is focused within a 10-mm-diameter circle. At the bias voltage U = 5 kV and p ˜ 0.1 Pa, the energy of fast argon atoms is distributed continuously from zero to eU ˜ 5 keV. The pressure increase to 1 Pa results in the tenfold growth of their equivalent current and a decrease in the mean energy by an order of magnitude, which substantially raises the efficiency of material etching. Sharpening by the beam of ceramic knife-blades proved that the new method for the generation of concentrated fast atom beams can be effectively used for the processing of dielectric materials in vacuum.

Electromagnetic interference reduction using electromagnetic bandgap structures in packages, enclosures, cavities, and antennas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohajer Iravani, Baharak

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) is a source of noise problems in electronic devices. The EMI is attributed to coupling between sources of radiation and components placed in the same media such as package or chassis. This coupling can be either through conducting currents or through radiation. The radiation of electromagnetic (EM) fields is supported by surface currents. Thus, minimizing these surface currents is considered a major and critical step to suppress EMI. In this work, we present novel strategies to confine surface currents in different applications including packages, enclosures, cavities, and antennas. The efficiency of present methods of EM noise suppression is limited due to different drawbacks. For example, the traditional use of lossy materials and absorbers suffers from considerable disadvantages including mechanical and thermal reliability leading to limited life time, cost, volume, and weight. In this work, we consider the use of Electromagnetic Band Gap (EBG) structures. These structures are suitable for suppressing surface currents within a frequency band denoted as the bandgap. Their design is straight forward, they are inexpensive to implement, and they do not suffer from the limitations of the previous methods. A new method of EM noise suppression in enclosures and cavity-backed antennas using mushroom-type EBG structures is introduced. The effectiveness of the EBG as an EMI suppresser is demonstrated using numerical simulations and experimental measurements. To allow integration of EBGs in printed circuit boards and packages, novel miniaturized simple planar EBG structures based on use of high-k dielectric material (epsilonr > 100) are proposed. The design consists of meander lines and patches. The inductive meander lines serve to provide current continuity bridges between the capacitive patches. The high-k dielectric material increases the effective capacitive load substantially in comparison to commonly used material with much lower dielectric constant. Meander lines can increase the effective inductive load which pushes down the lower edge of bandgap, thus resulting in a wider bandgap. Simulation results are included to show that the proposed EBG structures provide very wide bandgap (˜10GHz) covering the multiple harmonics of of currently available microprocessors and its harmonics. To speed up the design procedure, a model based on combination of lumped elements and transmission lines is proposed. The derived model predicts accurately the starting edge of bandgap. This result is verified with full-wave analysis. Finally, another novel compact wide band mushroom-type EBG structure using magneto-dielectric materials is designed. Numerical simulations show that the proposed EBG structure provides in-phase reflection bandgap which is several times greater than the one obtained from a conventional EBG operating at the same frequency while its cell size is smaller. This type of EBG structure can be used efficiently as a ground plane for low-profile wideband antennas.

Numerical investigation of dielectric barrier discharges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jing

1997-12-01

A dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is a transient discharge occurring between two electrodes in coaxial or planar arrangements separated by one or two layers of dielectric material. The charge accumulated on the dielectric barrier generates a field in a direction opposite to the applied field. The discharge is quenched before an arc is formed. It is one of the few non-thermal discharges that operates at atmospheric pressure and has the potential for use in pollution control. In this work, a numerical model of the dielectric barrier discharge is developed, along with the numerical approach. Adaptive grids based on the charge distribution is used. A self-consistent method is used to solve for the electric field and charge densities. The Successive Overrelaxation (SOR) method in a non-uniform grid spacing is used to solve the Poisson's equation in the cylindrically-symmetric coordinate. The Flux Corrected Transport (FCT) method is modified to solve the continuity equations in the non-uniform grid spacing. Parametric studies of dielectric barrier discharges are conducted. General characteristics of dielectric barrier discharges in both anode-directed and cathode-directed streamer are studied. Effects of the dielectric capacitance, the applied field, the resistance in external circuit and the type of gases (O2, air, N2) are investigated. We conclude that the SOR method in an adaptive grid spacing for the solution of the Poisson's equation in the cylindrically-symmetric coordinate is convergent and effective. The dielectric capacitance has little effect on the g-factor of radical production, but it determines the strength of the dielectric barrier discharge. The applied field and the type of gases used have a significant role on the current peak, current pulse duration and radical generation efficiency, discharge strength, and microstreamer radius, whereas the external series resistance has very little effect on the streamer properties. The results are helpful in further understanding the ozone generation and pollution control process in a dielectric barrier discharge.

Gate bias stress in pentacene field-effect-transistors: Charge trapping in the dielectric or semiconductor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Häusermann, R.; Batlogg, B.

2011-08-01

Gate bias stress instability in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) is a major conceptual and device issue. This effect manifests itself by an undesirable shift of the transfer characteristics and is associated with long term charge trapping. We study the role of the dielectric and the semiconductor separately by producing OFETs with the same semiconductor (pentacene) combined with different dielectrics (SiO2 and Cytop). We show that it is possible to fabricate devices which are immune to gate bias stress. For other material combinations, charge trapping occurs in the semiconductor alone or in the dielectric.

Temperature Effects of Dielectric Properties of ER Fluids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, Z. Y.; Hu, L.; Liu, M. W.; Bao, H. X.; Jiang, Y. G.; Zhou, L. W.; Tang, Y.; Gao, Z.; Sun, M.; Korobko, E. V.

Under the consideration of the role that energy transfer and dissipation play in ER effect, an improved theory frame for ER effects, polarization-dissipation-structure-rheology, is suggested. The theory frame is substantiated by the basic physical laws and certain critical experimental facts. The dielectric response of a diatomite ER fluid to temperature is measured in the temperature range of 140 K to 400 K. By comparison of the DC conductivity with the AC effective conductivity of the sample, we found that the AC dielectric loss consists of two parts. One part comes from the DC conductivity, the other from the response of the bound charges in scope of particle to AC field. It is suggested that the response of bound charges is very important to ER effects. Besides, the effect of temperature on shear stress is measured, and interpreted based on the dielectric measurements. The source of two loss peaks in the curve of the dielectric loss versus temperature is not clear.

The origin of excellent gate-bias stress stability in organic field-effect transistors employing fluorinated-polymer gate dielectrics.

PubMed

Kim, Jiye; Jang, Jaeyoung; Kim, Kyunghun; Kim, Haekyoung; Kim, Se Hyun; Park, Chan Eon

2014-11-12

Tuning of the energetic barriers to charge transfer at the semiconductor/dielectric interface in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) is achieved by varying the dielectric functionality. Based on this, the correlation between the magnitude of the energy barrier and the gate-bias stress stability of the OFETs is demonstrated, and the origin of the excellent device stability of OFETs employing fluorinated dielectrics is revealed. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

An integrated platform for surface forces measurements and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukhopadhyay, Ashis; Zhao, Jiang; Bae, Sung Chul; Granick, Steve

2003-06-01

We describe an apparatus to measure the diffusion of dilute fluorophores in molecularly thin liquid films within a surface forces apparatus (SFA). The design is a significant modification of the traditional SFA in that it allows one to combine nanorheology with the single-molecule sensitive technique of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. The primary enabling idea was to place a miniaturized SFA onto the stage of an optical microscope equipped with a long working distance objective and illuminated by a femtosecond laser. A secondary enabling idea was that the silver coating on the backside of mica, normally used in the traditional SFA design for interferometric measurements of the film thickness, was replaced by multilayer dielectric coatings that allowed simultaneous interferometry and fluorescence measurements in different regions of the optical spectrum. To illustrate the utility of this instrument, we contrast the translational diffusion of rhodamine dye molecules (in the solvent, 1,2-propane diol), in the unconfined bulk state and confined between mica sheets to the thickness 2.5 nm. The diffusion coefficient is found to decrease by 2 orders of magnitude under confinement.

Effect of dual-dielectric hydrogen-diffusion barrier layers on the performance of low-temperature processed transparent InGaZnO thin-film transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tari, Alireza; Wong, William S.

2018-02-01

Dual-dielectric SiOx/SiNx thin-film layers were used as back-channel and gate-dielectric barrier layers for bottom-gate InGaZnO (IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs). The concentration profiles of hydrogen, indium, gallium, and zinc oxide were analyzed using secondary-ion mass spectroscopy characterization. By implementing an effective H-diffusion barrier, the hydrogen concentration and the creation of H-induced oxygen deficiency (H-Vo complex) defects during the processing of passivated flexible IGZO TFTs were minimized. A bilayer back-channel passivation layer, consisting of electron-beam deposited SiOx on plasma-enhanced chemical vapor-deposition (PECVD) SiNx films, effectively protected the TFT active region from plasma damage and minimized changes in the chemical composition of the semiconductor layer. A dual-dielectric PECVD SiOx/PECVD SiNx gate-dielectric, using SiOx as a barrier layer, also effectively prevented out-diffusion of hydrogen atoms from the PECVD SiNx-gate dielectric to the IGZO channel layer during the device fabrication.

Effect of dead layer and strain on diffuse phase transition of PLZT relaxor thin films.

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

Tong, S.; Narayanan, M.; Ma, B.

2011-02-01

Bulk relaxor ferroelectrics exhibit excellent permittivity compared to their thin film counterpart, although both show diffuse phase transition (DPT) behavior unlike normal ferroelectrics. To better understand the effect of dead layer and strain on the observed anomaly in the dielectric properties, we have developed relaxor PLZT (lead lanthanum zirconate titanate) thin films with different thicknesses and measured their dielectric properties as a function of temperature and frequency. The effect of dead layer on thin film permittivity has been found to be independent of temperature and frequency, and is governed by the Schottky barrier between the platinum electrode and PLZT. Themore » total strain (thermal and intrinsic) in the film majorly determines the broadening, dielectric peak and temperature shift in the relaxor ferroelectric. The Curie-Weiss type law for relaxors has been further modified to incorporate these two effects to accurately predict the DPT behavior of thin film and bulk relaxor ferroelectrics. The dielectric behavior of thin film is predicted by using the bulk dielectric data from literature in the proposed equation, which agree well with the measured dielectric behavior.« less

Temperature dependence of the dielectric properties of rubber wood

Treesearch

Mohammed Firoz Kabir; Wan M. Daud; Kaida B. Khalid; Haji A.A. Sidek

2001-01-01

The effect of temperature on the dielectric properties of rubber wood was investigated in three anisotropic directions—longitudinal, radial, and tangential, and at different measurement frequencies. Low frequency measurements were conducted with a dielectric spectrometer, and high frequencies used microwave applied with open-ended coaxial probe sensors. Dielectric...

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

Chen, Zhuoyu; Yuan, Hongtao; Xie, Yanwu

Carrier density and disorder are two crucial parameters that control the properties of correlated two-dimensional electron systems. Furthermore, in order to disentangle their individual contributions to quantum phenomena, independent tuning of these two parameters is required. By utilizing a hybrid liquid/solid electric dual-gate geometry acting on the conducting LaAlO 3/SrTiO 3 heterointerface, we obtain an additional degree of freedom to strongly modify the electron confinement profile and thus the strength of interfacial scattering, independent from the carrier density. A dual-gate controlled nonlinear Hall effect is a direct manifestation of this profile, which can be quantitatively understood by a Poisson–Schrödinger sub-bandmore » model. In particular, the large nonlinear dielectric response of SrTiO 3 enables a very wide range of tunable density and disorder, far beyond that for conventional semiconductors. This study provides a broad framework for understanding various reported phenomena at the LaAlO 3/SrTiO 3 interface.« less

Modulation Doping of Silicon using Aluminium-induced Acceptor States in Silicon Dioxide

PubMed Central

König, Dirk; Hiller, Daniel; Gutsch, Sebastian; Zacharias, Margit; Smith, Sean

2017-01-01

All electronic, optoelectronic or photovoltaic applications of silicon depend on controlling majority charge carriers via doping with impurity atoms. Nanoscale silicon is omnipresent in fundamental research (quantum dots, nanowires) but also approached in future technology nodes of the microelectronics industry. In general, silicon nanovolumes, irrespective of their intended purpose, suffer from effects that impede conventional doping due to fundamental physical principles such as out-diffusion, statistics of small numbers, quantum- or dielectric confinement. In analogy to the concept of modulation doping, originally invented for III-V semiconductors, we demonstrate a heterostructure modulation doping method for silicon. Our approach utilizes a specific acceptor state of aluminium atoms in silicon dioxide to generate holes as majority carriers in adjacent silicon. By relocating the dopants from silicon to silicon dioxide, Si nanoscale doping problems are circumvented. In addition, the concept of aluminium-induced acceptor states for passivating hole selective tunnelling contacts as required for high-efficiency photovoltaics is presented and corroborated by first carrier lifetime and tunnelling current measurements. PMID:28425460

The Effect of Adjacent Materials on the Propagation of Phonon Polaritons in Hexagonal Boron Nitride.

PubMed

Kim, Kris S; Trajanoski, Daniel; Ho, Kevin; Gilburd, Leonid; Maiti, Aniket; van der Velden, Luuk; de Beer, Sissi; Walker, Gilbert C

2017-07-06

In order to apply the ability of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) to confine energy in the form of hyperbolic phonon polariton (HPhP) modes in photonic-electronic devices, approaches to finely control and leverage the sensitivity of these propagating waves must be investigated. Here, we show that by surrounding hBN with materials of lower/higher dielectric responses, such as air and silicon, lower/higher surface momenta of HPhPs can be achieved. Furthermore, an alternative method for preparing thin hBN crystals with minimum contamination is presented, which provides opportunities to study the sensitivity of the damping mechanism of HPhPs on adsorbed materials. Infrared scanning near-field optical microscopy (IR-SNOM) results suggest that the reflections at the upper and lower hBN interfaces are primary causes of the damping of HPhPs, and that the damping coefficients of propagating waves are highly sensitive to adjacent layers, suggesting opportunities for sensor applications.

Effect of DC bias on dielectric properties of nanocrystalline CuAlO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prakash, T.; Ramasamy, S.; Murty, B. S.

2013-03-01

Grain boundary effect on the room temperature dielectric behavior in mechanically alloyed nanocrystalline CuAlO2 has been investigated using impedance spectroscopy under the applied DC bias voltages 0 V to 4.8 V in a periodic interval of 0.2 V. Analysis of impedance data confirms the existence of double Schottky potential barrier heights ( Φ b ) between two adjacent grains (left and right side) with grain boundary and its influences in dielectric relaxation time ( τ), dielectric constant ( ɛ') and dielectric loss (tan δ) factor. Also, clear evidence on the suppression of Φ b was demonstrated in the higher applied bias voltages with the parameter τ. At equilibrium state, τ is 0.63 ms and it was reduced to 0.13 ms after the 3.2 V applied DC bias. These observed DC bias voltage effects are obeying `brick layer model' and also elucidates Φ b is playing a crucial role in controlling dielectric properties of nanomaterials.

Investigation of dielectric properties of different cake formulations during microwave and infrared-microwave combination baking.

PubMed

Sakiyan, Ozge; Sumnu, Gulum; Sahin, Serpil; Meda, Venkatesh

2007-05-01

Dielectric properties can be used to understand the behavior of food materials during microwave processing. Dielectric properties influence the level of interaction between food and high frequency electromagnetic energy. Dielectric properties are, therefore, important in the design of foods intended for microwave preparation. In this study, it was aimed to determine the variation of dielectric properties of different cake formulations during baking in microwave and infrared-microwave combination oven. In addition, the effects of formulation and temperature on dielectric properties of cake batter were examined. Dielectric constant and loss factor of cake samples were shown to be dependent on formulation, baking time, and temperature. The increase in baking time and temperature decreased dielectric constant and loss factor of all formulations. Fat content was shown to increase dielectric constant and loss factor of cakes.

Examination of Effective Dielectric Constants Derived from Non-Spherical Melting Hydrometeor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liao, L.; Meneghini, R.

2009-04-01

The bright band, a layer of enhanced radar echo associated with melting hydrometeors, is often observed in stratiform rain. Understanding the microphysical properties of melting hydrometeors and their scattering and propagation effects is of great importance in accurately estimating parameters of the precipitation from spaceborne radar and radiometers. However, one of the impediments in the study of the radar signature of the melting layer is the determination of effective dielectric constants of melting hydrometeors. Although a number of mixing formulas are available to compute the effective dielectric constants, their results vary to a great extent when water is a component of the mixture, such as in the case of melting snow. It is also physically unclear as to how to select among these various formulas. Furthermore, the question remains as to whether these mixing formulas can be applied to computations of radar polarimetric parameters from non-spherical melting particles. Recently, several approaches using numerical methods have been developed to derive the effective dielectric constants of melting hydrometeors, i.e., mixtures consisting of air, ice and water, based on more realistic melting models of particles, in which the composition of the melting hydrometeor is divided into a number of identical cells. Each of these cells is then assigned in a probabilistic way to be water, ice or air according to the distribution of fractional water contents for a particular particle. While the derived effective dielectric constants have been extensively tested at various wavelengths over a range of particle sizes, these numerical experiments have been restricted to the co-polarized scattering parameters from spherical particles. As polarimetric radar has been increasingly used in the study of microphysical properties of hydrometeors, an extension of the theory to polarimetric variables should provide additional information on melting processes. To account for polarimetric radar measurements from melting hydrometeors, it is necessary to move away from the restriction that the melting particles are spherical. In this study, our primary focus is on the derivation of the effective dielectric constants of non-spherical particles that are mixtures of ice and water. The computational model for the ice-water particle is described by a collection of 128x128x128 cubic cells of identical size. Because of the use of such a high-resolution model, the particles can be described accurately not only with regard to shape but with respect to structure as well. The Cartesian components of the mean internal electric field of particles, which are used to infer the effective dielectric constants, are calculated at each cell by the use of the Conjugate Gradient-Fast Fourier Transform (CG-FFT) numerical method. In this work we first check the validity of derived effective dielectric constant from a non-spherical mixed phase particle by comparing the polarimetric scattering parameters of an ice-water spheroid obtained from the CGFFT to those computed from the T-matrix for a homogeneous particle with the same geometry as that of the mixed phase particle (such as size, shape and orientation) and with an effective dielectric constant derived from the internal field of the mixed-phase particle. The accuracy of the effective dielectric constant can be judged by whether the scattering parameters of interest can accurately reproduce those of the exact solution, i.e., the T-matrix results. The purpose of defining an effective dielectric constant is to reduce the complexity of the scattering calculations in the sense that the effective dielectric constant, once obtained, may be applicable to a range of particle sizes, shapes and orientations. Conversely, if a different effective dielectric constant is needed for each particle size or shape, then its utility would be marginal. Having verified that the effective dielectric constant defined for a particular particle with a fixed shape, size, and orientation is valid, a check is performed to see if this effective dielectric constant can be used to characterize a class of particle types (with arbitrary sizes, shapes and orientations) if the fractional ice-water contents of melting particles remain the same. Among the scattering and polarimatric parameters used for examination of effective dielectric constant in this study, are the radar backscattering, extinction and scattering coefficients, asymmetry factor, differential reflectivity factor (ZDR), phase shift and linear polarization ratio (LDR). The goal is to determine whether the effective dielectric constant approach provides a means to compute accurately the radar polarimetric scattering parameters and radiometer brightness temperature quantities from the melting layer in a relatively simple and efficient way.

The effect of dopants on the microwave dielectric properties of Ba(Mg{sub 0.33}Ta{sub 0.67})O{sub 3} ceramics

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

Surendran, Kuzhichalil P.; Sebastian, Mailadil T.; Mohanan, Pezholil

2005-11-01

The effect of dopants with different valencies and ionic radii on the densification, structural ordering, and microwave dielectric properties of Ba(Mg{sub 1/3}Ta{sub 2/3})O{sub 3} (BMT) is investigated. It is found that dopants such as Sb{sub 2}O{sub 5}, MnO, ZrO{sub 2}, WO{sub 3}, and ZnO improve the microwave dielectric properties of BMT. Addition of trivalent dopants is detrimental to the cation ordering and dielectric properties of BMT. A correlation between the microwave dielectric properties of BMT and ionic radii of the dopant has been established. The variation of the dielectric properties of pure and doped BMT at cryogenic temperatures is alsomore » discussed.« less

Colossal dielectric permittivity in (Al + Nb) co-doped rutile SnO2 ceramics with low loss at room temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Yongli; Wang, Xianjie; Zhang, Xingquan; Qi, Xudong; Liu, Zhiguo; Zhang, Lingli; Zhang, Yu; Wang, Yang; Sui, Yu; Song, Bo

2016-10-01

The exploration of colossal dielectric permittivity (CP) materials with low dielectric loss in a wide range of frequencies/temperatures continues to attract considerable interest. In this paper, we report CP in (Al + Nb) co-doped rutile SnO2 ceramics with a low dielectric loss at room temperature. Al0.02Nb0.05Sn0.93O2 and Al0.03Nb0.05Sn0.92O2 ceramics exhibit high relative dielectric permittivities (above 103) and low dielectric losses (0.015 < tan δ < 0.1) in a wide range of frequencies and at temperatures from 140 to 400 K. Al doping can effectively modulate the dielectric behavior by increasing the grain and grain boundary resistances. The large differences in the resistance and conductive activation energy of the grains and grain boundaries suggest that the CP in co-doped SnO2 ceramics can be attributed to the internal barrier layer capacitor effect.

Exploring DC-Kerr effect of impurity doped quantum dots under the aegis of noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arif, Sk. Md.; Bera, Aindrila; Ghosh, Anuja; Ghosh, Manas

2018-02-01

Present study performs an extensive exploration of the profiles of DC-Kerr effect (DCKE) of doped GaAs quantum dot (QD) under the control of Gaussian white noise. A large number of important physical parameters have been varied over a range and the resultant changes in the DCKE profiles have been thoroughly analyzed. The said physical parameters comprise of electric field, magnetic field, confinement potential, dopant location, dopant potential, noise strength, aluminium concentration (only for Alx Ga1 - x As alloy QD), carrier density, relaxation time, position-dependent effective mass (PDEM), position-dependent dielectric screening function (PDDSF), anisotropy, hydrostatic pressure (HP) and temperature. The particular physical quantity being varied, presence of noise and its pathway of application, in combination, lead to emergence of diverse features in the DCKE profiles. As a technologically significant aspect we often find maximization of DCKE for some typical combinations as mentioned above. Presence of multiplicative noise, in general, causes greater shift and greater augmentation of DCKE profiles from a noise-free condition than its additive counterpart. The outcomes of the study indicate ample scope of tailoring DCKE of doped QD systems in presence of noise by minute adjustment of several control parameters.

Behavior of pentacene initial nucleation on various dielectrics and its effect on carrier transport in organic field-effect transistor.

PubMed

Qi, Qiong; Yu, Aifang; Wang, Liangmin; Jiang, Chao

2010-11-01

The influence of dielectric surface energy on the initial nucleation and the growth of pentacene films as well as the electrical properties of the pentacene-based field-effect transistors are investigated. We have examined a range of organic and inorganic dielectrics with different surface energies, such as polycarbonate/SiO2, polystyrene/SiO2, and PMMA/SiO2 bi-layered dielectrics and also the bare SiO2 dielectric. Atomic force microscopy measurements of sub-monolayer and thick pentacene films indicated that the growth of pentacene film was in Stranski-Kranstanow growth mode on all the dielectrics. However, the initial nucleation density and the size of the first-layered pentacene islands deposited on different dielectrics are drastically influenced by the dielectric surface energy. With the increasing of the surface energy, the nucleation density increased and thus the average size of pentacene islands for the first mono-layer deposition decreased. The performance of fabricated pentacene-based thin film transistors was found to be highly related to nucleation density and the island size of deposited Pentacene film, and it had no relationship to the final particle size of the thick pentacene film. The field effect mobility of the thin film transistor could be achieved as high as 1.38 cm2Ns with on/off ratio over 3 x 10(7) on the PS/SiO2 where the lowest surface energy existed among all the dielectrics. For comparison, the values of mobility and on/off ratio were 0.42 cm2Ns and 1 x 10(6) for thin film transistor deposited directly on bare SiO2 having the highest surface energy.

Analysis of the topochemical effects of dielectric-barrier discharge on cellulosic fibers

Treesearch

Lorraine C. Vander Wielen; Thomas Elder; Arthur J. Ragauskas

2005-01-01

This study investigates the fundamental topochemical effects of dielectric-barrier discharge treatment on bleached chemical pulp and unbleached mechanical pulp fiber surfaces. Fibers were treated with various levels of dielectric-barrier discharge treatment ranging from 0 to 9.27 kw/m2/min. Changes to the fiber surface topochemistry were investigated by atomic force...

Achievement of High-Response Organic Field-Effect Transistor NO₂ Sensor by Using the Synergistic Effect of ZnO/PMMA Hybrid Dielectric and CuPc/Pentacene Heterojunction.

PubMed

Han, Shijiao; Cheng, Jiang; Fan, Huidong; Yu, Junsheng; Li, Lu

2016-10-21

High-response organic field-effect transistor (OFET)-based NO₂ sensors were fabricated using the synergistic effect the synergistic effect of zinc oxide/poly(methyl methacrylate) (ZnO/PMMA) hybrid dielectric and CuPc/Pentacene heterojunction. Compared with the OFET sensors without synergistic effect, the fabricated OFET sensors showed a remarkable shift of saturation current, field-effect mobility and threshold voltage when exposed to various concentrations of NO₂ analyte. Moreover, after being stored in atmosphere for 30 days, the variation of saturation current increased more than 10 folds at 0.5 ppm NO₂. By analyzing the electrical characteristics, and the morphologies of organic semiconductor films of the OFET-based sensors, the performance enhancement was ascribed to the synergistic effect of the dielectric and organic semiconductor. The ZnO nanoparticles on PMMA dielectric surface decreased the grain size of pentacene formed on hybrid dielectric, facilitating the diffusion of CuPc molecules into the grain boundary of pentacene and the approach towards the conducting channel of OFET. Hence, NO₂ molecules could interact with CuPc and ZnO nanoparticles at the interface of dielectric and organic semiconductor. Our results provided a promising strategy for the design of high performance OFET-based NO₂ sensors in future electronic nose and environment monitoring.

Achievement of High-Response Organic Field-Effect Transistor NO2 Sensor by Using the Synergistic Effect of ZnO/PMMA Hybrid Dielectric and CuPc/Pentacene Heterojunction

PubMed Central

Han, Shijiao; Cheng, Jiang; Fan, Huidong; Yu, Junsheng; Li, Lu

2016-01-01

High-response organic field-effect transistor (OFET)-based NO2 sensors were fabricated using the synergistic effect the synergistic effect of zinc oxide/poly(methyl methacrylate) (ZnO/PMMA) hybrid dielectric and CuPc/Pentacene heterojunction. Compared with the OFET sensors without synergistic effect, the fabricated OFET sensors showed a remarkable shift of saturation current, field-effect mobility and threshold voltage when exposed to various concentrations of NO2 analyte. Moreover, after being stored in atmosphere for 30 days, the variation of saturation current increased more than 10 folds at 0.5 ppm NO2. By analyzing the electrical characteristics, and the morphologies of organic semiconductor films of the OFET-based sensors, the performance enhancement was ascribed to the synergistic effect of the dielectric and organic semiconductor. The ZnO nanoparticles on PMMA dielectric surface decreased the grain size of pentacene formed on hybrid dielectric, facilitating the diffusion of CuPc molecules into the grain boundary of pentacene and the approach towards the conducting channel of OFET. Hence, NO2 molecules could interact with CuPc and ZnO nanoparticles at the interface of dielectric and organic semiconductor. Our results provided a promising strategy for the design of high performance OFET-based NO2 sensors in future electronic nose and environment monitoring. PMID:27775653

The Cotton-Mouton effect of liquid water. Part I: The dielectric continuum model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruud, Kenneth; Helgaker, Trygve; Rizzo, Antonio; Coriani, Sonia; Mikkelsen, Kurt V.

1997-07-01

We present a gauge-origin independent method for calculating the electric-field dependence of the molecular magnetizability—that is, the hypermagnetizability, related to the Cotton-Mouton Effect (CME)—of solvated molecules. In our approach, the solvated molecule is placed in a spherical cavity surrounded by a linear, homogeneous, and polarizable dielectric medium. We apply the model to investigate the dielectric-medium effects on the CME of liquid water. The effects of electron correlation, molecular geometry, and the surrounding dielectric continuum on the hypermagnetizability and the CME are investigated. The change induced in the hypermagnetizability anisotropy by the dielectric medium is the dominating effect, being almost twice as large as the correlation contribution. The combined effect of electron correlation and the dielectric continuum leads to a doubling of the hypermagnetizability anisotropy when going from the SCF gas phase value (Δη=17.89 a.u.) to the value obtained for the MCSCF wave function in the dielectric medium (Δη=39.74 a.u.). The effects of change in geometry are shown to be small. Our result for the static Cotton-Mouton constant averaged in the temperature range 283.15 K to 293.15 K, mC=15.2×10-20 G-2 cm3 mol-1, differs from experiment still by the sign and by a factor of almost 8. The major reason for this discrepancy is the neglect of short-range interactions such as hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions not accounted for by the continuum model.

Photoelectric charging of partially sunlit dielectric surfaces in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

De, B. R.; Criswell, D. R.

1977-01-01

Sunlight-shadow effects may substantially alter the charging situation for a dielectric surface. The sunlight-shadow boundary tends to be the site of intense multipole electric fields. Charges on a sunlit dielectric surface have a finite effective mobility. The charge distribution tends to resemble that on a conducting surface. A boundary between a conducting and a dielectric surface may not represent a conductivity discontinuity when this boundary is sunlit; charges may migrate at a nontrivial rate across the boundary. A contracting or expanding sunlit area may experience a supercharging.

Research on the honeycomb restrain layer application to the high power microwave dielectric window

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Qingyuan; Shao, Hao; Huang, Wenhua; Guo, Letian

2018-01-01

Dielectric window breakdown is an important problem of high power microwave radiation. A honeycomb layer can suppress the multipactor in two directions to restrain dielectric window breakdown. This paper studies the effect of the honeycomb restrain layer on improving the dielectric window power capability. It also studies the multipactor suppression mechanism by using the electromagnetic particle-in-cell software, gives the design method, and accomplishes the test experiment. The experimental results indicated that the honeycomb restrain layer can effectively improve the power capability twice.

A model for the scattering of high-frequency electromagnetic fields from dielectrics exhibiting thermally-activated electrical losses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hann, Raiford E.

1991-01-01

An equivalent circuit model (ECM) approach is used to predict the scattering behavior of temperature-activated, electrically lossy dielectric layers. The total electrical response of the dielectric (relaxation + conductive) is given by the ECM and used in combination with transmission line theory to compute reflectance spectra for a Dallenbach layer configuration. The effects of thermally-activated relaxation processes on the scattering properties is discussed. Also, the effect of relaxation and conduction activation energy on the electrical properties of the dielectric is described.

Research on the honeycomb restrain layer application to the high power microwave dielectric window.

PubMed

Zhang, Qingyuan; Shao, Hao; Huang, Wenhua; Guo, Letian

2018-01-01

Dielectric window breakdown is an important problem of high power microwave radiation. A honeycomb layer can suppress the multipactor in two directions to restrain dielectric window breakdown. This paper studies the effect of the honeycomb restrain layer on improving the dielectric window power capability. It also studies the multipactor suppression mechanism by using the electromagnetic particle-in-cell software, gives the design method, and accomplishes the test experiment. The experimental results indicated that the honeycomb restrain layer can effectively improve the power capability twice.

The electromagnetic radiation from simple sources in the presence of a homogeneous dielectric sphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mason, V. B.

1973-01-01

In this research, the effect of a homogeneous dielectric sphere on the electromagnetic radiation from simple sources is treated as a boundary value problem, and the solution is obtained by the technique of dyadic Green's functions. Exact representations of the electric fields in the various regions due to a source located inside, outside, or on the surface of a dielectric sphere are formulated. Particular attention is given to the effect of sphere size, source location, dielectric constant, and dielectric loss on the radiation patterns and directivity of small spheres (less than 5 wavelengths in diameter) using the Huygens' source excitation. The computed results are found to closely agree with those measured for waveguide-excited plexiglas spheres. Radiation patterns for an extended Huygens' source and for curved electric dipoles located on the sphere's surface are also presented. The resonance phenomenon associated with the dielectric sphere is studied in terms of the modal representation of the radiated fields. It is found that when the sphere is excited at certain frequencies, much of the energy is radiated into the sidelobes. The addition of a moderate amount of dielectric loss, however, quickly attenuates this resonance effect. A computer program which may be used to calculate the directivity and radiation pattern of a Huygens' source located inside or on the surface of a lossy dielectric sphere is listed.

Fundamental Insight on Developing Low Dielectric Constant Polyimides

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simpson, J. O.; SaintClair, A. K.

1997-01-01

Thermally stable, durable, insulative polyimides are in great demand for the fabrication of microelectronic devices. In this investigation dielectric and optical properties have been studied for several series of aromatic polyimides. The effect of polarizability, fluorine content, and free volume on dielectric constant was examined. In general, minimizing polarizability, maximizing free volume and fluorination all lowered dielectric constants in the polyimides studied.

Open nonradiative cavities as millimeter wave single-mode resonators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Annino, G.; Cassettari, M.; Martinelli, M.

2005-06-01

Open single-mode metallic cavities operating in nonradiative configurations are proposed and demonstrated. Starting from well-known dielectric resonators, possible nonradiative cavities have been established; their behavior on the fundamental TE011 mode has been predicted on the basis of general considerations. As a result, very efficient confinement properties are expected for a wide variety of open structures having rotational invariance. Test cavities realized having in mind practical millimeter wave constraints have been characterized at microwave frequencies. The obtained results confirm the expected high performances on widely open configurations. A possible excitation of the proposed resonators exploiting their nonradiative character is discussed, and the resulting overall ease of realization enlightened in view of millimeter wave employments.

Effect of Bi doping on morphotropic phase boundary and dielectric properties of PZT

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

Joshi, Shraddha; Acharya, Smita, E-mail: saha275@yahoo.com

2016-05-23

In our present attempt, Pb{sub (1-x)}Bi{sub x}Zr{sub 0.52}Ti{sub 0.48}O{sub 3} [PBZT] {where x = 0, 0.05, 0.1} is synthesized by sol-gel route. Effect of Bi addition on structure, sinterability and dielectric properties are observed. The presence of morphotropic phase boundary (coexistence of tetragonal and rhombohedral symmetry) is confirmed by X-ray diffraction. Enhancement of sinterability after Bi doping is observed through a systematic sintering program. Frequency and temperature dependent dielectric constant are studied. Bi doping in PZT is found to enhance room temperature dielectric constant. However, at high temperature the dielectric constant of pure PZT is more than that of dopedmore » PZT.« less

Dielectric tensor elements for the description of waves in rotating inhomogeneous magnetized plasma spheroids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdoli-Arani, A.; Ramezani-Arani, R.

2012-11-01

The dielectric permittivity tensor elements of a rotating cold collisionless plasma spheroid in an external magnetic field with toroidal and axial components are obtained. The effects of inhomogeneity in the densities of charged particles and the initial toroidal velocity on the dielectric permittivity tensor and field equations are investigated. The field components in terms of their toroidal components are calculated and it is shown that the toroidal components of the electric and magnetic fields are coupled by two differential equations. The influence of thermal and collisional effects on the dielectric tensor and field equations in the rotating plasma spheroid are also investigated. In the limiting spherical case, the dielectric tensor of a stationary magnetized collisionless cold plasma sphere is presented.

Iterative Methods to Solve Linear RF Fields in Hot Plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spencer, Joseph; Svidzinski, Vladimir; Evstatiev, Evstati; Galkin, Sergei; Kim, Jin-Soo

2014-10-01

Most magnetic plasma confinement devices use radio frequency (RF) waves for current drive and/or heating. Numerical modeling of RF fields is an important part of performance analysis of such devices and a predictive tool aiding design and development of future devices. Prior attempts at this modeling have mostly used direct solvers to solve the formulated linear equations. Full wave modeling of RF fields in hot plasma with 3D nonuniformities is mostly prohibited, with memory demands of a direct solver placing a significant limitation on spatial resolution. Iterative methods can significantly increase spatial resolution. We explore the feasibility of using iterative methods in 3D full wave modeling. The linear wave equation is formulated using two approaches: for cold plasmas the local cold plasma dielectric tensor is used (resolving resonances by particle collisions), while for hot plasmas the conductivity kernel (which includes a nonlocal dielectric response) is calculated by integrating along test particle orbits. The wave equation is discretized using a finite difference approach. The initial guess is important in iterative methods, and we examine different initial guesses including the solution to the cold plasma wave equation. Work is supported by the U.S. DOE SBIR program.

Buckling of Dielectric Elastomeric Plates for Electrically Active Microfludic Pumps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holmes, Douglas; Tavakol, Behrouz; Bozlar, Michael; Froehlicher, Guillaume; Stone, Howard; Aksay, Ilhan

2013-11-01

Fluid flow can be directed and controlled by a variety of mechanisms within industrial and biological environments. Advances in microfluidic technology have required innovative ways to control fluid flow on a small scale, and the ability to actively control fluid flow within microfluidic devices is crucial for advancements in nanofluidics, biomedical fluidic devices, and digital microfluidics. In this work, we present a means for microfluidic control via the electrical actuation of thin, flexible valves within microfluidic channels. These structures consist of a dielectric elastomer confined between two compliant electrodes that can be actively and reversibly buckle out of plane to pump fluids from an applied voltage. The out-of-plane deformation can be quantified using two parameters: net change in surface area and the shape of deformation. Change in surface area depends on the voltage, while the deformation shape, which significantly affects the flow rate, is a function of voltage, and the pressure and volume of the chambers on each side of the thin plate. The use of solid electrodes enables a robust and reversible pumping mechanism that will have will enable advancements in rapid microfluidic diagnostics, adaptive materials, and artificial muscles.

Origin of colossal dielectric response in (In + Nb) co-doped TiO2 rutile ceramics: a potential electrothermal material.

PubMed

Ke, Shanming; Li, Tao; Ye, Mao; Lin, Peng; Yuan, Wenxiang; Zeng, Xierong; Chen, Lang; Huang, Haitao

2017-08-31

(In + Nb) co-doped TiO 2 (TINO) rutile is an emerging material with a colossal dielectric permittivity (CP) and a low dielectric loss over wide temperature and frequency ranges. The electrical inhomogeneous nature of TINO ceramics is demonstrated by direct local current probing with high-resolution conductive atomic force microscopy (cAFM). The CP response in TINO is found to originate from the electron-pinned defect dipole induced conductive cluster effect and the electrode effect. Two types of dielectric relaxations are simultaneously observed due to these two effects. With the given synthesis condition, we found TINO shows a highly leaky feature that impairs its application as a dielectric material. However, the fast-temperature-rising phenomenon found in this work may open a new door for TINO to be applied as a potential electrothermal material with high efficiency, oxidation-proof, high temperature stability, and energy saving.

Analog tree-organized multiplexer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crabbe, J. S.; Smith, D. M.; Turner, W. R.

1971-01-01

An analog tree-organized multiplexer (ATOM) which is intended for use in the telemetry system of an interplanetary spacecraft is designed. The ATOM will be fabricated by a monolithic, dielectric isolation process, and will contain silicon junction field effect transistors (JFET) as the active elements. The effect of the radiation environment on the performance of the ATOM is analyzed. The result indicates that the expected radiation environment will cause only minor changes in the preradiation characteristics of ATOM. The JFET in the ATOM is designed to meet the electrical requirements when fabricated by either the double poly-dielectric isolation process or the raised dielectric isolation process. The effect of the heat treatment required for the dielectric isolation process on the diffusion profile of the JFET is described. The layout of the ATOM circuit for fabrication by either the double poly or raised dielectric isolation process is also given.

Application of dielectric constant measurement in microwave sludge disintegration and wastewater purification processes.

PubMed

Kovács, Petra Veszelovszki; Lemmer, Balázs; Keszthelyi-Szabó, Gábor; Hodúr, Cecilia; Beszédes, Sándor

2018-05-01

It has been numerously verified that microwave radiation could be advantageous as a pre-treatment for enhanced disintegration of sludge. Very few data related to the dielectric parameters of wastewater of different origins are available; therefore, the objective of our work was to measure the dielectric constant of municipal and meat industrial wastewater during a continuous flow operating microwave process. Determination of the dielectric constant and its change during wastewater and sludge processing make it possible to decide on the applicability of dielectric measurements for detecting the organic matter removal efficiency of wastewater purification process or disintegration degree of sludge. With the measurement of dielectric constant as a function of temperature, total solids (TS) content and microwave specific process parameters regression models were developed. Our results verified that in the case of municipal wastewater sludge, the TS content has a significant effect on the dielectric constant and disintegration degree (DD), as does the temperature. The dielectric constant has a decreasing tendency with increasing temperature for wastewater sludge of low TS content, but an adverse effect was found for samples with high TS and organic matter contents. DD of meat processing wastewater sludge was influenced significantly by the volumetric flow rate and power level, as process parameters of continuously flow microwave pre-treatments. It can be concluded that the disintegration process of food industry sludge can be detected by dielectric constant measurements. From technical purposes the applicability of dielectric measurements was tested in the purification process of municipal wastewater, as well. Determination of dielectric behaviour was a sensitive method to detect the purification degree of municipal wastewater.

Effect of soil texture on the microwave emission from soils

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmugge, T. J.

1980-01-01

The intensity brightness temperature of the microwave emission from the soil is determined primarily by its dielectric properties. The large difference between the dielectric constant of water and that of dry soil produces a strong dependence of the soil's dielectric constant on its moisture content. This dependence is effected by the texture of the soil because the water molecules close to the particle surface are tightly bound and do not contribute significantly to the dielectric properties. Since this surface area is a function of the particle size distribution (soil texture), being larger for clay soils with small particles, and smaller for sandy soils with larger particles; the dielectric properties will depend on soil texture. Laboratory measurements of the dielectric constant for soils are summarized. The dependence of the microwave emission on texture is demonstrated by measurements of brightness temperature from an aircraft platform for a wide range of soil textures. It is concluded that the effect of soil texture differences on the observed values can be normalized by expressing the soil moisture values as a percent field capacity for the soil.

Giant dielectric constant in titania nanoparticles embedded in conducting polymer matrix.

PubMed

Dey, Ashis; De, Sukanta; De, Amitabha; De, S K

2006-05-01

Complex impedance and dielectric permittivity of titania-polypyrrole nanocomposites have been investigated as a function of frequency and temperature at different compositions. A very large dielectric constant of about 13,000 at room temperature has been observed. The colossal dielectric constant is mainly dominated by interfacial polarization due to Maxwell-Wagner relaxation effect. Two completely separate groups of dielectric relaxation have been observed. The low frequency dielectric relaxation arises from surface defect states of titania nanoparticles. The broad peak at high frequency region is attributed to Maxwell-Wagner type polarization originating from the inhomogeneous property of nanocomposite. An abrupt change in grain boundary conductivity and dielectric relaxation associated with titania was observed at around 150 K. Anomalous behavior in conductivity and dielectric relaxation is qualitatively explained by band tail structure of titania nanoparticle.

Exploratory studies of new avenues to achieve high electromechanical response and high dielectric constant in polymeric materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Cheng

High performance soft electronic materials are key elements in advanced electronic devices for broad range applications including capacitors, actuators, artificial muscles and organs, smart materials and structures, microelectromechanical (MEMS) and microfluidic devices, acoustic devices and sensors. This thesis exploits new approaches to improve the electromechanical response and dielectric response of these materials. By making use of novel material phenomena such as large anisotropy in dipolar response in liquid crystals (LCs) and all-organic composites in which high dielectric constant organic solids and conductive polymers are either physically blended into or chemically grafted to a polymer matrix, we demonstrate that high dielectric constant and high electromechanical conversion efficiency comparable to that in ceramic materials can be achieved. Nano-composite approach can also be utilized to improve the performance of the electronic electroactive polymers (EAPs) and composites, for example, exchange coupling between the fillers and matrix with very large dielectric contrast can lead to significantly enhance the dielectric response as well as electromechanical response when the heterogeneity size of the composite is comparable to the exchange length. In addition to the dielectric composites, in which high dielectric constant fillers raise the dielectric constant of composites, conductive percolation can also lead to high dielectric constant in polymeric materials. An all-polymer percolative composite is introduced which exhibits very high dielectric constant (>7,000). The flexible all-polymer composites with a high dielectric constant make it possible to induce a high electromechanical response under a much reduced electric field in the field effect electroactive polymer (EAP) actuators (a strain of 2.65% with an elastic energy density of 0.18 J/cm3 can be achieved under a field of 16 V/mum). Agglomeration of the particles can also be effectively prevented by in situ preparation. High dielectric constant copper phthalocyanine oligomer and conductive polyaniline oligomer were successfully bonded to polyurethane backbone to form fully functionalized nano-phase polymers. Improvement of dispersibility of oligomers in polymer matrix makes the system self-organize the nanocomposites possessing oligomer nanophase (below 30nm) within the fully functionalized polymers. The resulting nanophase polymers significantly enhance the interface effect, which through the exchange coupling raises the dielectric response markedly above that expected from simple mixing rules for dielectric composites. Consequently, these nano-phase polymers offer a high dielectric constant (a dielectric constant near 1,000 at 20 Hz), improve the breakdown field and mechanical properties, and exhibit high electromechanical response. A longitudinal strain of more than -14% can be induced under a much reduced field, 23 V/mum, with an elastic energy density of higher than 1 J/cm3. The elastic modulus is as high as 100MPa, and a transverse strain is 7% under the same field. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Dielectric spectroscopy of Ag-starch nanocomposite films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meena; Sharma, Annu

2018-04-01

In the present work Ag-starch nanocomposite films were fabricated via chemical reduction route. The formation of Ag nanoparticles was confirmed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Further the effect of varying concentration of Ag nanoparticles on the dielectric properties of starch has been studied. The frequency response of dielectric constant (ε‧), dielectric loss (ε″) and dissipation factor tan(δ) has been studied in the frequency range of 100 Hz to 1 MHz. Dielectric data was further analysed using Cole-Cole plots. The dielectric constant of starch was found to be 4.4 which decreased to 2.35 in Ag-starch nanocomposite film containing 0.50 wt% of Ag nanoparticles. Such nanocomposites with low dielectric constant have potential applications in microelectronic technologies.

Tunable surface plasmon devices

DOEpatents

Shaner, Eric A [Rio Rancho, NM; Wasserman, Daniel [Lowell, MA

2011-08-30

A tunable extraordinary optical transmission (EOT) device wherein the tunability derives from controlled variation of the dielectric constant of a semiconducting material (semiconductor) in evanescent-field contact with a metallic array of sub-wavelength apertures. The surface plasmon resonance wavelength can be changed by changing the dielectric constant of the dielectric material. In embodiments of this invention, the dielectric material is a semiconducting material. The dielectric constant of the semiconducting material in the metal/semiconductor interfacial region is controllably adjusted by adjusting one or more of the semiconductor plasma frequency, the concentration and effective mass of free carriers, and the background high-frequency dielectric constant in the interfacial region. Thermal heating and/or voltage-gated carrier-concentration changes may be used to variably adjust the value of the semiconductor dielectric constant.

Conservation of quantum efficiency in quantum well intermixing by stress engineering with dielectric bilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arslan, Seval; Demir, Abdullah; Şahin, Seval; Aydınlı, Atilla

2018-02-01

In semiconductor lasers, quantum well intermixing (QWI) with high selectivity using dielectrics often results in lower quantum efficiency. In this paper, we report on an investigation regarding the effect of thermally induced dielectric stress on the quantum efficiency of quantum well structures in impurity-free vacancy disordering (IFVD) process using photoluminescence and device characterization in conjunction with microscopy. SiO2 and Si x O2/SrF2 (versus SrF2) films were employed for the enhancement and suppression of QWI, respectively. Large intermixing selectivity of 75 nm (125 meV), consistent with the theoretical modeling results, with negligible effect on the suppression region characteristics, was obtained. Si x O2 layer compensates for the large thermal expansion coefficient mismatch of SrF2 with the semiconductor and mitigates the detrimental effects of SrF2 without sacrificing its QWI benefits. The bilayer dielectric approach dramatically improved the dielectric-semiconductor interface quality. Fabricated high power semiconductor lasers demonstrated high quantum efficiency in the lasing region using the bilayer dielectric film during the intermixing process. Our results reveal that stress engineering in IFVD is essential and the thermal stress can be controlled by engineering the dielectric strain opening new perspectives for QWI of photonic devices.

Study on temperature distribution effect on internal charging by computer simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yi, Zhong

2016-07-01

Internal charging (or deep dielectric charging) is a great threaten to spacecraft. Dielectric conductivity is an important parameter for internal charging and it is sensitive to temperature. Considering the exposed dielectric outside a spacecraft may experience a relatively large temperature range, temperature effect can't be ignored in internal charging assessment. We can see some reporters on techniques of computer simulation of internal charging, but the temperature effect has not been taken into accounts. In this paper, we realize the internal charging simulation with consideration of temperature distribution inside the dielectric. Geant4 is used for charge transportation, and a numerical method is proposed for solving the current reservation equation. The conductivity dependences on temperature, radiation dose rate and intense electric field are considered. Compared to the case of uniform temperature, the internal charging with temperature distribution is more complicated. Results show that temperature distribution can cause electric field distortion within the dielectric. This distortion refers to locally considerable enlargement of electric field. It usually corresponds to the peak electric field which is critical for dielectric breakdown judgment. The peak electric field can emerge inside the dielectric, or appear on the boundary. This improvement of internal charging simulation is beneficial for the assessment of internal charging under multiple factors.

Polymer Composite and Nanocomposite Dielectric Materials for Pulse Power Energy Storage †

PubMed Central

Barber, Peter; Balasubramanian, Shiva; Anguchamy, Yogesh; Gong, Shushan; Wibowo, Arief; Gao, Hongsheng; Ploehn, Harry J.; zur Loye, Hans-Conrad

2009-01-01

This review summarizes the current state of polymer composites used as dielectric materials for energy storage. The particular focus is on materials: polymers serving as the matrix, inorganic fillers used to increase the effective dielectric constant, and various recent investigations of functionalization of metal oxide fillers to improve compatibility with polymers. We review the recent literature focused on the dielectric characterization of composites, specifically the measurement of dielectric permittivity and breakdown field strength. Special attention is given to the analysis of the energy density of polymer composite materials and how the functionalization of the inorganic filler affects the energy density of polymer composite dielectric materials.

Approach to Fabricate Rigid Substrate for 2.4 GHz Inverted-F Antenna Using a Room Temperature Curable Dielectric Ink on Photo and Nanopaper

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sowpati, A. K.; Nelo, M.; Varghese, J.; Liimatainen, H.; Visanko, M.; Sebastian, M. T.; Jantunen, H.

2018-05-01

The effect of a room temperature curable dielectric ink (ZrSiO4) printed on commercial photo paper and prepared nanopaper on the dielectric properties at 2.4 GHz are studied. In both cases, the dielectric layer decreased the relative permittivity and dielectric loss and made the flexible substrates rigid. For the nanopaper, the permittivity decreased from 4.7 to 3.57 and the loss value from 0.12 to 0.04. The measured decreases for the photo paper were from 3.12 to 2.61 and from 0.09 to 0.05, respectively. In the performance of the simulated and fabricated inverted-F antennas, the effect of the dielectric layer could be observed in the decrease of its frequency with about 130 MHz mainly due to the thicker substrate. The measured total efficiency and gain were 83% and 3.4 dB. The proposed approach could be in the future used for further development of the antenna by modification of the dielectric ink with different additives.

Calcination temperature effect on the microstructure and dielectric properties of M-type strontium hexagonal ferrites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammed, J.; Sharma, Jyoti; Kumar, Sachin; Trudel, T. T. Carol; Srivastava, A. K.

2017-07-01

M-type hexagonal ferrites have found wide application in electronics industry due to the possibility of tuning properties such as dielectric properties. An improved dielectric property is useful in high frequency application. In this paper, we studied the effect of calcination temperature on structural and dielectric properties of Al-Mn substituted M-type strontium hexagonal ferrites with chemical composition Sr1-xAlxFe12-yMnyO19 (x=0.3 and y=0.6) synthesized by sol-gel auto-combustion method. The prepared sample was sintered at four different temperatures (T=750°C, 850°C, 950°C and 1050°C) for 5 hours. Characterisations of the synthesized samples were carried out using X-ray diffraction (XRD), impedance analyser, field emission electron microscope (FE-SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy. The dielectric properties were explained on the basis of Koop's phenomenological theory and Maxwell Wagner theory. The sample calcinated at 750°C shows the highest value of dielectric constant and AC conductivity whereas that calcinated at 1050°C exhibit the lowest dielectric losses.

Approach to Fabricate Rigid Substrate for 2.4 GHz Inverted-F Antenna Using a Room Temperature Curable Dielectric Ink on Photo and Nanopaper

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sowpati, A. K.; Nelo, M.; Varghese, J.; Liimatainen, H.; Visanko, M.; Sebastian, M. T.; Jantunen, H.

2018-07-01

The effect of a room temperature curable dielectric ink (ZrSiO4) printed on commercial photo paper and prepared nanopaper on the dielectric properties at 2.4 GHz are studied. In both cases, the dielectric layer decreased the relative permittivity and dielectric loss and made the flexible substrates rigid. For the nanopaper, the permittivity decreased from 4.7 to 3.57 and the loss value from 0.12 to 0.04. The measured decreases for the photo paper were from 3.12 to 2.61 and from 0.09 to 0.05, respectively. In the performance of the simulated and fabricated inverted-F antennas, the effect of the dielectric layer could be observed in the decrease of its frequency with about 130 MHz mainly due to the thicker substrate. The measured total efficiency and gain were 83% and 3.4 dB. The proposed approach could be in the future used for further development of the antenna by modification of the dielectric ink with different additives.

A wave-bending structure at Ka-band using 3D-printed metamaterial

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Junqiang; Liang, Min; Xin, Hao

2018-03-01

Three-dimensional printing technologies enable metamaterials of complex structures with arbitrary inhomogeneity. In this work, a 90° wave-bending structure at the Ka-band (26.5-40 GHz) based on 3D-printed metamaterials is designed, fabricated, and measured. The wave-bending effect is realized through a spatial distribution of varied effective dielectric constants. Based on the effective medium theory, different effective dielectric constants are accomplished by special, 3D-printable unit cells, which allow different ratios of dielectric to air at the unit cell level. In contrast to traditional, metallic-structure-included metamaterial designs, the reported wave-bending structure here is all dielectric and implemented by the polymer-jetting technique, which features rapid, low-cost, and convenient prototyping. Both simulation and experiment results demonstrate the effectiveness of the wave-bending structure.

Effect of the addition of B{sub 2}O{sub 3} and BaO-B{sub 2}O{sub 3}-SiO{sub 2} glasses on the microstructure and dielectric properties of giant dielectric constant material CaCu{sub 3}Ti{sub 4}O{sub 12}

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

Shri Prakash, B.; Varma, K.B.R.

2007-06-15

The effect of the addition of glassy phases on the microstructure and dielectric properties of CaCu{sub 3}Ti{sub 4}O{sub 12} (CCTO) ceramics was investigated. Both single-component (B{sub 2}O{sub 3}) and multi-component (30 wt% BaO-60 wt% B{sub 2}O{sub 3}-10 wt% SiO{sub 2} (BBS)) glass systems were chosen to study their effect on the density, microstructure and dielectric properties of CCTO. Addition of an optimum amount of B{sub 2}O{sub 3} glass facilitated grain growth and an increase in dielectric constant. However, further increase in the B{sub 2}O{sub 3} content resulted in its segregation at the grain boundaries associated with a reduction in themore » grain size. In contrast, BBS glass addition resulted in well-faceted grains and increase in the dielectric constant and decrease in the dielectric loss. An internal barrier layer capacitance (IBLC) model was invoked to correlate the dielectric constant with the grain size in these samples. - Graphical abstract: Scanning electron micrograph of 30 wt% BaO-60 wt% B{sub 2}O{sub 3}-10 wt% SiO{sub 2} (BBS) glass-added CaCu{sub 3}Ti{sub 4}O{sub 12} ceramic on sintering.« less

Effectiveness of “Thin-Layer” and “Effective Medium” Approximations in Numerical Simulation of Dielectric Spectra of Biological Cell Suspensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asami, Koji

2010-12-01

There are a few concerns in dielectric modeling of biological cells by the finite-element method (FEM) to simulate their dielectric spectra. Cells possess thin plasma membranes and membrane-bound intracellular organelles, requiring extra fine meshes and considerable computational tasks in the simulation. To solve the problems, the “thin-layer” approximation (TLA) and the “effective medium” approximation (EMA) were adopted. TLA deals with the membrane as an interface of the specific membrane impedance, and therefore it is not necessary to divide the membrane region. EMA regards the composite cytoplasm as an effective homogeneous phase whose dielectric properties are calculated separately. It was proved that TLA and EMA were both useful for greatly reducing computational tasks while accurately coinciding with analytical solutions.

Effect of annealing temperature on structural, morphology and dielectric properties of La0.75Ba0.25FeO3 perovskite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdallah, F. B.; Benali, A.; Triki, M.; Dhahri, E.; Graça, M. P. F.; Valente, M. A.

2018-05-01

The effect of annealing temperature on the structure, morphology and dielectric properties of La0.75Ba0.25FeO3 compound prepared by the sol-gel method was investigated. The increase of the annealing temperature from 900 to 1100 °C, promotes an increase of the average grain size value. Two dielectric relaxations are detected using the dielectric modulus formalism, attributed to grain and grain boundary relaxations. This behavior was confirmed by both Nyquist and Argand's plots of dielectric impedance and Modulus results at different measuring temperatures. The ac conductivity could be described by Jonscher's power law revealing the presence of both overlapping large polaron tunneling and non-overlapping small polaron tunneling mechanisms.

Microwave Propagation in Dielectric Fluids.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lonc, W. P.

1980-01-01

Describes an undergraduate experiment designed to verify quantitatively the effect of a dielectric fluid's dielectric constant on the observed wavelength of microwave radiation propagating through the fluid. The fluid used is castor oil, and results agree with the expected behavior within 5 percent. (Author/CS)

Thermal strain-induced dielectric anisotropy in Ba0.7Sr0.3TiO3 thin films grown on silicon-based substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, X. H.; Guigues, B.; Defaÿ, E.; Dubarry, C.; Aïd, M.

2009-07-01

Dielectric properties of Ba0.7Sr0.3TiO3 (BST) thin films, which were prepared on silicon-based substrates by ion beam sputtering and postdeposition annealing method, were systematically investigated in different electrode configurations of metal-insulator-metal and coplanar interdigital capacitors. It was found that a large dielectric anisotropy exists in the films with better in-plane dielectric properties (higher dielectric permittivity and tunability) than those along the out-of-plane direction. The observed anisotropic dielectric responses are explained qualitatively in terms of a thermal strain effect that is related to dissimilar film strains along the in-plane and out-of-plane directions. Another reason for the dielectric anisotropy is due to different influences of the interfacial low-dielectric layer between the BST film and the substrate (metal electrode).

Structure and performance of dielectric films based on self-assembled nanocrystals with a high dielectric constant.

PubMed

Huang, Limin; Liu, Shuangyi; Van Tassell, Barry J; Liu, Xiaohua; Byro, Andrew; Zhang, Henan; Leland, Eli S; Akins, Daniel L; Steingart, Daniel A; Li, Jackie; O'Brien, Stephen

2013-10-18

Self-assembled films built from nanoparticles with a high dielectric constant are attractive as a foundation for new dielectric media with increased efficiency and range of operation, due to the ability to exploit nanofabrication techniques and emergent electrical properties originating from the nanoscale. However, because the building block is a discrete one-dimensional unit, it becomes a challenge to capture potential enhancements in dielectric performance in two or three dimensions, frequently due to surface effects or the presence of discontinuities. This is a recurring theme in nanoparticle film technology when applied to the realm of thin film semiconductor and device electronics. We present the use of chemically synthesized (Ba,Sr)TiO3 nanocrystals, and a novel deposition-polymerization technique, as a means to fabricate the dielectric layer. The effective dielectric constant of the film is tunable according to nanoparticle size, and effective film dielectric constants of up to 34 are enabled. Wide area and multilayer dielectrics of up to 8 cm(2) and 190 nF are reported, for which the building block is an 8 nm nanocrystal. We describe models for assessing dielectric performance, and distinct methods for improving the dielectric constant of a nanocrystal thin film. The approach relies on evaporatively driven assembly of perovskite nanocrystals with uniform size distributions in a tunable 7-30 nm size range, coupled with the use of low molecular weight monomer/polymer precursor chemistry that can infiltrate the porous nanocrystal thin film network post assembly. The intercrystal void space (low k dielectric volume fraction) is minimized, while simultaneously promoting intercrystal connectivity and maximizing volume fraction of the high k dielectric component. Furfuryl alcohol, which has good affinity to the surface of (Ba,Sr)TiO3 nanocrystals and miscibility with a range of solvents, is demonstrated to be ideal for the production of nanocomposites. The nanocrystal/furfuryl alcohol dispersions are suitable for the fabrication of thin films by chemical deposition techniques, including spin-coating, printing or a spraying process. To demonstrate the application of this technique to device fabrication, a multilayer capacitor with capacitance of 0.83 nF mm(-2) at 1 MHz is presented.

High dielectric hyperbranched polyaniline materials.

PubMed

Yan, X Z; Goodson, T

2006-08-03

New organic materials for the purpose of high speed capacitor applications are discussed. The effect of the microcrystalline size dependence of different polyaniline polymeric systems on the dielectric constant is investigated. Two different methods are described for the preparation of the polyaniline dielectric materials. By sonication polymerization, the prepared polyaniline with a suggested hyperbranched structure showed much larger microcrystalline domains in comparison to the conventional linear polyaniline. Investigations of the dielectric constant and capacitance at a relatively high frequency (>100 kHz) suggested that the system with the larger microcrystalline domains (hyperbranched) gives rise to a larger dielectric constant. The mechanism of the increased dielectric response at higher frequencies is investigated by EPR spectroscopy, and these results suggest that delocalized polarons may provide a way to enhance the dielectric response at high frequency.

High-k dielectric Al2O3 nanowire and nanoplate field effect sensors for improved pH sensing

PubMed Central

Reddy, Bobby; Dorvel, Brian R.; Go, Jonghyun; Nair, Pradeep R.; Elibol, Oguz H.; Credo, Grace M.; Daniels, Jonathan S.; Chow, Edmond K. C.; Su, Xing; Varma, Madoo; Alam, Muhammad A.

2011-01-01

Over the last decade, field-effect transistors (FETs) with nanoscale dimensions have emerged as possible label-free biological and chemical sensors capable of highly sensitive detection of various entities and processes. While significant progress has been made towards improving their sensitivity, much is yet to be explored in the study of various critical parameters, such as the choice of a sensing dielectric, the choice of applied front and back gate biases, the design of the device dimensions, and many others. In this work, we present a process to fabricate nanowire and nanoplate FETs with Al2O3 gate dielectrics and we compare these devices with FETs with SiO2 gate dielectrics. The use of a high-k dielectric such as Al2O3 allows for the physical thickness of the gate dielectric to be thicker without losing sensitivity to charge, which then reduces leakage currents and results in devices that are highly robust in fluid. This optimized process results in devices stable for up to 8 h in fluidic environments. Using pH sensing as a benchmark, we show the importance of optimizing the device bias, particularly the back gate bias which modulates the effective channel thickness. We also demonstrate that devices with Al2O3 gate dielectrics exhibit superior sensitivity to pH when compared to devices with SiO2 gate dielectrics. Finally, we show that when the effective electrical silicon channel thickness is on the order of the Debye length, device response to pH is virtually independent of device width. These silicon FET sensors could become integral components of future silicon based Lab on Chip systems. PMID:21203849

Study of Some Dielectric Properties of Suspensions of Magnesium Particles in Mineral Oil

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Altshuller, Aubrey P

1954-01-01

The variation of dielectric constant has been measured as a function of the concentration of magnesium particles; the shape, size, and degree of oxidation of the particles; the temperature; and the frequency of oscillation. The variation of dielectric constant and settling rate was investigated as a function of time. Also investigated were the effects of particle concentration, shape and time on dielectric losses.

Electron Multipactor: Theory Review, Comparison and Modeling of Mitigation Techniques in ICEPIC

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-01

dielectric . This development includes space charge effects . 2.2.1 Conventions, Notations and Definitions...gigawatts, one percent of the RF energy would indeed be enough to cause failure in the dielectric window. For the case in which space charge effects are...buildup of the space - charges along the dielectric surface not allowing the number of multipactoring electrons to evolve beyond a certain point. 0 2 4 6

Nonlinear dielectric effects in liquids: a guided tour

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richert, Ranko

2017-09-01

Dielectric relaxation measurements probe how the polarization of a material responds to the application of an external electric field, providing information on structure and dynamics of the sample. In the limit of small fields and thus linear response, such experiments reveal the properties of the material in the same thermodynamic state it would have in the absence of the external field. At sufficiently high fields, reversible changes in enthalpy and entropy of the system occur even at constant temperature, and these will in turn alter the polarization responses. The resulting nonlinear dielectric effects feature field induced suppressions (saturation) and enhancements (chemical effect) of the amplitudes, as well as time constant shifts towards faster (energy absorption) and slower (entropy reduction) dynamics. This review focuses on the effects of high electric fields that are reversible and observed at constant temperature for single component glass-forming liquids. The experimental challenges involved in nonlinear dielectric experiments, the approaches to separating and identifying the different sources of nonlinear behavior, and the current understanding of how high electric fields affect dielectric materials will be discussed. Covering studies from Debye’s initial approach to the present state-of-the-art, it will be emphasized what insight can be gained from the nonlinear responses that are not available from dielectric relaxation results obtained in the linear regime.

Dielectric haloscopes: sensitivity to the axion dark matter velocity

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

Millar, Alexander J.; Redondo, Javier; Steffen, Frank D., E-mail: millar@mpp.mpg.de, E-mail: jredondo@unizar.es, E-mail: steffen@mpp.mpg.de

We study the effect of the axion dark matter velocity in the recently proposed dielectric haloscopes, a promising avenue to search for well-motivated high mass (40–400 μeV) axions. We describe non-zero velocity effects for axion-photon mixing in a magnetic field and for the phenomenon of photon emission from interfaces between different dielectric media. As velocity effects are only important when the haloscope is larger than about 20% of the axion de Broglie wavelength, for the planned MADMAX experiment with 80 dielectric disks the velocity dependence can safely be neglected. However, an augmented MADMAX or a second generation experiment would bemore » directionally sensitive to the axion velocity, and thus a sensitive measure of axion astrophysics.« less

Colossal intrinsic magnetoelectric effect in Pb(Fe2/3W1/3)0.83Ti0.17O3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fraygola, B.; Coelho, Adelino A.; Garcia, D.; Eiras, J. A.

2012-08-01

Dielectric and magnetic properties were investigated in Pb(Fe2/3W1/3)0.83Ti0.17O3 ceramics. The dielectric constant in these samples exhibits colossal changes at the magnetic ordering temperature under the presence of bias external electric fields, which presents a close connection with magnetoelectrics effects (ME), confirming the possibility to control magnetic proprieties with electric fields. The ferroelectromagnetoelastic coefficient was determined from the dielectric response as a function of the electric field. The analysis of magnetic and dielectric susceptibilities based on the Landau-Devonshire thermodynamic formalisms indicates that the ME effects is a contribution of intrinsic ME coupling and a field dependent term.

Fluorescence Quenching of Alpha-Fetoprotein by Gold Nanoparticles: Effect of Dielectric Shell on Non-Radiative Decay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Jian; Li, Jian-Jun; Wang, A.-Qing; Chen, Yu; Zhao, Jun-Wu

2010-09-01

Fluorescence quenching spectrometry was applied to study the interactions between gold colloidal nanoparticles and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). Experimental results show that the gold nanoparticles can quench the fluorescence emission of adsorbed AFP effectively. Furthermore, the intensity of fluorescence emission peak decreases monotonously with the increasing gold nanoparticles content. A mechanism based on surface plasmon resonance-induced non-radiative decay was investigated to illuminate the effect of a dielectric shell on the fluorescence quenching ability of gold nanoparticles. The calculation results show that the increasing dielectric shell thickness may improve the monochromaticity of fluorescence quenching. However, high energy transfer efficiency can be obtained within a wide wavelength band by coating a thinner dielectric shell.

Dielectric haloscopes: sensitivity to the axion dark matter velocity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Millar, Alexander J.; Redondo, Javier; Steffen, Frank D.

2017-10-01

We study the effect of the axion dark matter velocity in the recently proposed dielectric haloscopes, a promising avenue to search for well-motivated high mass (40-400 μeV) axions. We describe non-zero velocity effects for axion-photon mixing in a magnetic field and for the phenomenon of photon emission from interfaces between different dielectric media. As velocity effects are only important when the haloscope is larger than about 20% of the axion de Broglie wavelength, for the planned MADMAX experiment with 80 dielectric disks the velocity dependence can safely be neglected. However, an augmented MADMAX or a second generation experiment would be directionally sensitive to the axion velocity, and thus a sensitive measure of axion astrophysics.

Let's Measure the Dielectric Constant of a Piece of Paper!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karlow, Edwin A.

1991-01-01

Described is a simple circuit with which students can observe the effect of common dielectric materials in a capacitor and measure the dielectric constant of a piece of paper. Discussed are the theory, apparatus construction, and experimental procedures for this activity. (CW)

Ni-coated CaCu3Ti4O12/low density polyethylene composite material with ultra-high dielectric permittivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, L.; Wang, X.; Chen, Y.; Chi, Q. G.; Lei, Q. Q.

2015-08-01

We report a novel low-density polyethylene (LDPE) composite filled with nickel-coated CaCu3Ti4O12 ceramic (denoted as CCTO@Ni), prepared by a melt mixing technique, and its prominent dielectric characteristics. The effects of magnetic field treatment on the dielectric properties of CCTO@Ni/LDPE composite films with a low filler concentration of 10 vol.% were investigated. Our results show that the dielectric permittivity, loss tangent, and conductivity of the LDPE composite films initially improved and then decreased with increasing treatment time under the applied magnetic field. Magnetic field treatment for 60 min led to an ultra-high dielectric permittivity value of 1.57 × 104, four orders of magnitude higher than that of the pure LDPE material. Our results indicate that the magnetic treatment may have induced a percolation effect and enhanced the interfacial polarization of the CCTO@Ni/LDPE composite, resulting in the observed changes in its dielectric properties.

Dielectric properties of doping-free NaMn{sub 7}O{sub 12}: Origin of the observed colossal dielectric constant

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

Cabassi, R.; Bolzoni, F.; Gauzzi, A.

2006-07-15

The semiconducting NaMn{sub 7}O{sub 12} is a doping-free compound with several coexistent properties such as orbital ordering, charge ordering, and magnetic orderings of different types. We investigated its dielectric response by means of frequency impedance measurements in the range from 20 Hz to 1 MHz. Standard measurements on metallized samples exhibit an apparent colossal dielectric constant (CDC) with an {epsilon}{sub R} value of several thousands at low frequencies, but a careful equivalent circuit analysis allows one to ascribe the observed CDC to the effect of a depletion layer on the metal-semiconductor junctions. We bypass this effect by means of amore » nonstandard technique employing mica linings: the resulting dielectric behavior exhibits the presence of the charge ordering transition at T{sub CO}=176 K and shows a net bulk dielectric constant value {epsilon}{sub R}{approx_equal}68 at room temperature.« less

Aging dynamics in the polymer glass of poly(2-chlorostyrene): Dielectric susceptibility and volume

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fukao, Koji; Tahara, Daisuke

2009-11-01

Aging dynamics was investigated in the glassy states of poly(2-chlorostyrene) by measuring the complex electrical capacitance during aging below the glass transition temperature. The variations with time and temperature of the ac dielectric susceptibility and volume could be determined by simply measuring the variation in the complex electrical capacitance. Isothermal aging at a given temperature for several hours after an intermittent stop in constant-rate cooling is stored in the deviations of both the real and imaginary parts of the complex ac dielectric susceptibility and volume. During cooling after isothermal aging, the deviation of the ac dielectric susceptibility from the reference value decreases and almost vanishes at room temperature. By contrast, the deviation in volume induced during isothermal aging remains almost constant during cooling. The simultaneous measurement of ac dielectric susceptibility and volume clearly revealed that the ac dielectric susceptibility exhibits a full rejuvenation effect, whereas the volume does not show any rejuvenation effects. We discuss a plausible model that can reproduce the present experimental results.

Casimir stress in an inhomogeneous medium

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

Philbin, T.G.; Xiong, C.; Leonhardt, U.

2010-03-15

The Casimir effect in an inhomogeneous dielectric is investigated using Lifshitz's theory of electromagnetic vacuum energy. A permittivity function that depends continuously on one Cartesian coordinate is chosen, bounded on each side by homogeneous dielectrics. The result for the Casimir stress is infinite everywhere inside the inhomogeneous region, a divergence that does not occur for piece-wise homogeneous dielectrics with planar boundaries. A Casimir force per unit volume can be extracted from the infinite stress but it diverges on the boundaries between the inhomogeneous medium and the homogeneous dielectrics. An alternative regularization of the vacuum stress is considered that removes themore » contribution of the inhomogeneity over small distances, where macroscopic electromagnetism is invalid. The alternative regularization yields a finite Casimir stress inside the inhomogeneous region, but the stress and force per unit volume diverge on the boundaries with the homogeneous dielectrics. The case of inhomogeneous dielectrics with planar boundaries thus falls outside the current understanding of the Casimir effect.« less

Polyimide/nanosized CaCu3Ti4O12 functional hybrid films with high dielectric permittivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Yang; Zhu, Ben-Peng; Lu, Zhi-Hong; Wang, Zi-Yu; Fei, Chun-Long; Yin, Di; Xiong, Rui; Shi, Jing; Chi, Qing-Guo; Lei, Qing-Quan

2013-01-01

This work reports the high dielectric permittivity of polyimide (PI) embedded with CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) nanoparticles. The dielectric behavior has been investigated over a frequency of 100 Hz-1 MHz. High dielectric permittivity (ɛ = 171) and low dielectric loss (tan δ = 0.45) at 100 Hz have been observed near the percolation threshold. The experimental results fit well with the Percolation theory. We suggest that the high dielectric permittivity originates from the large interface area and the remarkable Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars effect at percolation in which nomadic charge carriers are blocked at internal interfaces between CCTO nanoparticles and the polyimide matrix.

Effect of Dielectric Interface on the Performance of MoS2 Transistors.

PubMed

Li, Xuefei; Xiong, Xiong; Li, Tiaoyang; Li, Sichao; Zhang, Zhenfeng; Wu, Yanqing

2017-12-27

Because of their wide bandgap and ultrathin body properties, two-dimensional materials are currently being pursued for next-generation electronic and optoelectronic applications. Although there have been increasing numbers of studies on improving the performance of MoS 2 field-effect transistors (FETs) using various methods, the dielectric interface, which plays a decisive role in determining the mobility, interface traps, and thermal transport of MoS 2 FETs, has not been well explored and understood. In this article, we present a comprehensive experimental study on the effect of high-k dielectrics on the performance of few-layer MoS 2 FETs from 300 to 4.3 K. Results show that Al 2 O 3 /HfO 2 could boost the mobility and drain current. Meanwhile, MoS 2 transistors with Al 2 O 3 /HfO 2 demonstrate a 2× reduction in oxide trap density compared to that of the devices with the conventional SiO 2 substrate. Also, we observe a negative differential resistance effect on the device with 1 μm-channel length when using conventional SiO 2 as the gate dielectric due to self-heating, and this is effectively eliminated by using the Al 2 O 3 /HfO 2 gate dielectric. This dielectric engineering provides a highly viable route to realizing high-performance transition metal dichalcogenide-based FETs.

Shellac Films as a Natural Dielectric Layer for Enhanced Electron Transport in Polymer Field-Effect Transistors.

PubMed

Baek, Seung Woon; Ha, Jong-Woon; Yoon, Minho; Hwang, Do-Hoon; Lee, Jiyoul

2018-06-06

Shellac, a natural polymer resin obtained from the secretions of lac bugs, was evaluated as a dielectric layer in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) on the basis of donor (D)-acceptor (A)-type conjugated semiconducting copolymers. The measured dielectric constant and breakdown field of the shellac layer were ∼3.4 and 3.0 MV/cm, respectively, comparable with those of a poly(4-vinylphenol) (PVP) film, a commonly used dielectric material. Bottom-gate/top-contact OFETs were fabricated with shellac or PVP as the dielectric layer and one of three different D-A-type semiconducting copolymers as the active layer: poly(cyclopentadithiophene- alt-benzothiadiazole) with p-type characteristics, poly(naphthalene-bis(dicarboximide)- alt-bithiophene) [P(NDI2OD-T2)] with n-type characteristics, and poly(dithienyl-diketopyrrolopyrrole- alt-thienothiophene) [P(DPP2T-TT)] with ambipolar characteristics. The electrical characteristics of the fabricated OFETs were then measured. For all active layers, OFETs with a shellac film as the dielectric layer exhibited a better mobility than those with PVP. For example, the mobility of the OFET with a shellac dielectric and n-type P(NDI2OD-T2) active layer was approximately 2 orders of magnitude greater than that of the corresponding OFET with a PVP insulating layer. When P(DPP2T-TT) served as the active layer, the OFET with shellac as the dielectric exhibited ambipolar characteristics, whereas the corresponding OFET with the PVP dielectric operated only in hole-accumulation mode. The total density of states was analyzed using technology computer-aided design simulations. The results revealed that compared with the OFETs with PVP as the dielectric, the OFETs with shellac as the dielectric had a lower trap-site density at the polymer semiconductor/dielectric interface and much fewer acceptor-like trap sites acting as electron traps. These results demonstrate that shellac is a suitable dielectric material for D-A-type semiconducting copolymer-based OFETs, and the use of shellac as a dielectric layer facilitates electron transport at the interface with D-A-type copolymer channels.

Evaluation of the influence of the internal aqueous solvent structure on electrostatic interactions at the protein-solvent interface by nonlocal continuum electrostatic approach.

PubMed

Rubinstein, Alexander; Sherman, Simon

The dielectric properties of the polar solvent on the protein-solvent interface at small intercharge distances are still poorly explored. To deconvolute this problem and to evaluate the pair-wise electrostatic interaction (PEI) energies of the point charges located at the protein-solvent interface we used a nonlocal (NL) electrostatic approach along with a static NL dielectric response function of water. The influence of the aqueous solvent microstructure (determined by a strong nonelectrostatic correlation effect between water dipoles within the orientational Debye polarization mode) on electrostatic interactions at the interface was studied in our work. It was shown that the PEI energies can be significantly higher than the energies evaluated by the classical (local) consideration, treating water molecules as belonging to the bulk solvent with a high dielectric constant. Our analysis points to the existence of a rather extended, effective low-dielectric interfacial water shell on the protein surface. The main dielectric properties of this shell (effective thickness together with distance- and orientation-dependent dielectric permittivity function) were evaluated. The dramatic role of this shell was demonstrated when estimating the protein association rate constants.

Effect of UV/ozone treatment on polystyrene dielectric and its application on organic field-effect transistors

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

The influence of UV/ozone treatment on the property of polystyrene (PS) dielectric surface was investigated, and pentacene organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) based on the treated dielectric was fabricated. The dielectric and pentacene active layers were characterized by atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that, at short UVO exposure time (<10 s), the chemical composition of PS dielectric surface remained the same. While at long UVO exposure time (>60 s), new chemical groups, including alcohol/ether, carbonyl, and carboxyl/ester groups, were formed. By adjusting the UVO exposure time to 5 s, the hole mobility of the OFETs increased to 0.52 cm2/Vs, and the threshold voltage was positively shifted to -12 V. While the time of UVO treatment exceeded 30 s, the mobility started to shrink, and the off-current was enlarged. These results indicate that, as a simple surface treatment method, UVO treatment could quantitatively modulate the property of PS dielectric surface by controlling the exposure time, and thus, pioneered a new way to modulate the characteristics of organic electronic devices. PMID:25258603

Electrical and Dielectric Properties of a n-Si Schottky Barrier Diode with Bismuth Titanate Interlayer: Effect of Temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yıldırım, M.; Şahin, C.; Altındal, Ş.; Durmuş, P.

2017-03-01

An Au/Bi4Ti3O12/ n-Si Schottky barrier diode (SBD) was fabricated with a 51 nm Bi4Ti3O12 interfacial layer. Admittance measurements of the fabricated SBD were carried out in the bias voltage ( V) range of -4 V and 6 V. Capacitance ( C) and conductance ( G/ω) measurements were carried out in a wide temperature range of 120-380 K so that temperature effects on electrical and dielectric properties of the SBD were investigated. Main electrical parameters were extracted from reverse bias C -2- V plots. It was found that variance of electrical and dielectric parameters of the SBD with temperature is basically different for low and high temperature regions. A fair number (˜1012 eV-1 cm-2) was obtained for surface states ( N ss); however, N ss first decreased then increased with temperature. This result was associated with increased defects with temperature and higher activation energy in the high temperature region. Dielectric parameters of the SBD were also extracted and the dielectric constant of SBD was found as ˜10 at room temperature. Application of modulus formalism to the admittance data revealed temperature-activated dielectric relaxation at 340 K. Results showed that the temperature has considerable effects on electrical and dielectric properties of Au/Bi4Ti3O12/ n-Si SBD.

The flexoelectric effect associated size dependent pyroelectricity in solid dielectrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bai, Gang; Liu, Zhiguo; Xie, Qiyun; Guo, Yanyan; Li, Wei; Yan, Xiaobing

2015-09-01

A phenomenological thermodynamic theory is used to investigate the effect of strain gradient on the pyroelectric effect in centrosymmetric dielectric solids. Direct pyroelectricity can exist as external mechanical stress is applied to non-pyroelectric dielectrics with shapes such as truncated pyramids, due to elastic strain gradient induced flexoelectric polarization. Effective pyroelectric coefficient was analyzed in truncated pyramids. It is found to be controlled by size, ambient temperature, stress, and aspect ratio and depends mainly on temperature sensitivity of flexoelectric coefficient (TSFC) and strain gradient of the truncated pyramids dielectric solids. These results show that the pyroelectric property of Ba0.67Sr0.33TiO3 above Tc similar to PZT and other lead-based ferroelectrics can be obtained. This feature might widely broaden the selection of materials for infrared detectors with preferable properties.

Exciton diamagnetic shifts and valley Zeeman effects in monolayer WS2 and MoS2 to 65 Tesla

PubMed Central

Stier, Andreas V.; McCreary, Kathleen M.; Jonker, Berend T.; Kono, Junichiro; Crooker, Scott A.

2016-01-01

In bulk and quantum-confined semiconductors, magneto-optical studies have historically played an essential role in determining the fundamental parameters of excitons (size, binding energy, spin, dimensionality and so on). Here we report low-temperature polarized reflection spectroscopy of atomically thin WS2 and MoS2 in high magnetic fields to 65 T. Both the A and B excitons exhibit similar Zeeman splittings of approximately −230 μeV T−1 (g-factor ≃−4), thereby quantifying the valley Zeeman effect in monolayer transition-metal disulphides. Crucially, these large fields also allow observation of the small quadratic diamagnetic shifts of both A and B excitons in monolayer WS2, from which radii of ∼1.53 and ∼1.16 nm are calculated. Further, when analysed within a model of non-local dielectric screening, these diamagnetic shifts also constrain estimates of the A and B exciton binding energies (410 and 470 meV, respectively, using a reduced A exciton mass of 0.16 times the free electron mass). These results highlight the utility of high magnetic fields for understanding new two-dimensional materials. PMID:26856412

Exciton diamagnetic shifts and valley Zeeman effects in monolayer WS 2 and MoS 2 to 65 Tesla

DOE PAGES

Stier, Andreas V.; McCreary, Kathleen M.; Jonker, Berend T.; ...

2016-02-09

In bulk and quantum-confined semiconductors, magneto-optical studies have historically played an essential role in determining the fundamental parameters of excitons (size, binding energy, spin, dimensionality and so on). Here we report low-temperature polarized reflection spectroscopy of atomically thin WS 2 and MoS 2 in high magnetic fields to 65 T. Both the A and B excitons exhibit similar Zeeman splittings of approximately –230 μeV T–1 (g-factor ≃–4), thereby quantifying the valley Zeeman effect in monolayer transition-metal disulphides. Crucially, these large fields also allow observation of the small quadratic diamagnetic shifts of both A and B excitons in monolayer WS 2,more » from which radii of ~1.53 and ~1.16 nm are calculated. Further, when analysed within a model of non-local dielectric screening, these diamagnetic shifts also constrain estimates of the A and B exciton binding energies (410 and 470 meV, respectively, using a reduced A exciton mass of 0.16 times the free electron mass). Lastly, these results highlight the utility of high magnetic fields for understanding new two-dimensional materials.« less

Exciton diamagnetic shifts and valley Zeeman effects in monolayer WS2 and MoS2 to 65 Tesla.

PubMed

Stier, Andreas V; McCreary, Kathleen M; Jonker, Berend T; Kono, Junichiro; Crooker, Scott A

2016-02-09

In bulk and quantum-confined semiconductors, magneto-optical studies have historically played an essential role in determining the fundamental parameters of excitons (size, binding energy, spin, dimensionality and so on). Here we report low-temperature polarized reflection spectroscopy of atomically thin WS2 and MoS2 in high magnetic fields to 65 T. Both the A and B excitons exhibit similar Zeeman splittings of approximately -230 μeV T(-1) (g-factor ≃-4), thereby quantifying the valley Zeeman effect in monolayer transition-metal disulphides. Crucially, these large fields also allow observation of the small quadratic diamagnetic shifts of both A and B excitons in monolayer WS2, from which radii of ∼1.53 and ∼1.16 nm are calculated. Further, when analysed within a model of non-local dielectric screening, these diamagnetic shifts also constrain estimates of the A and B exciton binding energies (410 and 470 meV, respectively, using a reduced A exciton mass of 0.16 times the free electron mass). These results highlight the utility of high magnetic fields for understanding new two-dimensional materials.

Nonlinear optical response in a zincblende GaN cylindrical quantum dot with donor impurity center

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoyos, Jaime H.; Correa, J. D.; Mora-Ramos, M. E.; Duque, C. A.

2016-03-01

We calculate the nonlinear optical absorption coefficient of a cylindrical zincblende GaN-based quantum dot. For this purpose, we consider Coulomb interactions between electrons and an impurity ionized donor atom. The electron-donor-impurity spectrum and the associated quantum states are calculated using the effective mass approximation with a parabolic potential energy model describing both the radial and axial electron confinement. We also include the effects of the hydrostatic pressure and external electrostatic fields. The energy spectrum is obtained through an expansion of the eigenstates as a linear combination of Gaussian-type functions which reduces the computational effort since all the matrix elements are obtained analytically. Therefore, the numerical problem is reduced to the direct diagonalization of the Hamiltonian. The obtained energies are used in the evaluation of the dielectric susceptibility and the nonlinear optical absorption coefficient within a modified two-level approach in a rotating wave approximation. This quantity is investigated as a function of the quantum dot dimensions, the impurity position, the external electric field intensity and the hydrostatic pressure. The results of this research could be important in the design and fabrication of zincblende GaN-quantum-dot-based electro-optical devices.

Tunable room-temperature spin-selective optical Stark effect in solution-processed layered halide perovskites

PubMed Central

Giovanni, David; Chong, Wee Kiang; Dewi, Herlina Arianita; Thirumal, Krishnamoorthy; Neogi, Ishita; Ramesh, Ramamoorthy; Mhaisalkar, Subodh; Mathews, Nripan; Sum, Tze Chien

2016-01-01

Ultrafast spin manipulation for opto–spin logic applications requires material systems that have strong spin-selective light-matter interaction. Conventional inorganic semiconductor nanostructures [for example, epitaxial II to VI quantum dots and III to V multiple quantum wells (MQWs)] are considered forerunners but encounter challenges such as lattice matching and cryogenic cooling requirements. Two-dimensional halide perovskite semiconductors, combining intrinsic tunable MQW structures and large oscillator strengths with facile solution processability, can offer breakthroughs in this area. We demonstrate novel room-temperature, strong ultrafast spin-selective optical Stark effect in solution-processed (C6H4FC2H4NH3)2PbI4 perovskite thin films. Exciton spin states are selectively tuned by ~6.3 meV using circularly polarized optical pulses without any external photonic cavity (that is, corresponding to a Rabi energy of ~55 meV and equivalent to applying a 70 T magnetic field), which is much larger than any conventional system. The facile halide and organic replacement in these perovskites affords control of the dielectric confinement and thus presents a straightforward strategy for tuning light-matter coupling strength. PMID:27386583

Evaluation of Dielectric-Barrier-Discharge Actuator Substrate Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilkinson, Stephen P.; Siochi, Emilie J.; Sauti, Godfrey; Xu, Tian-Bing; Meador, Mary Ann; Guo, Haiquan

2014-01-01

A key, enabling element of a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) actuator is the dielectric substrate material. While various investigators have studied the performance of different homogeneous materials, most often in the context of related DBD experiments, fundamental studies focused solely on the dielectric materials have received less attention. The purpose of this study was to conduct an experimental assessment of the body-force-generating performance of a wide range of dielectric materials in search of opportunities to improve DBD actuator performance. Materials studied included commonly available plastics and glasses as well as a custom-fabricated polyimide aerogel. Diagnostics included static induced thrust, electrical circuit parameters for 2D surface discharges and 1D volume discharges, and dielectric material properties. Lumped-parameter circuit simulations for the 1D case were conducted showing good correspondence to experimental data provided that stray capacitances are included. The effect of atmospheric humidity on DBD performance was studied showing a large influence on thrust. The main conclusion is that for homogeneous, dielectric materials at forcing voltages less than that required for streamer formation, the material chemical composition appears to have no effect on body force generation when actuator impedance is properly accounted for.

Organic/Inorganic Nano-hybrids with High Dielectric Constant for Organic Thin Film Transistor Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Yang-Yen; Jiang, Ai-Hua; Lee, Wen-Ya

2016-11-01

The organic material soluble polyimide (PI) and organic-inorganic hybrid PI-barium titanate (BaTiO3) nanoparticle dielectric materials (IBX, where X is the concentration of BaTiO3 nanoparticles in a PI matrix) were successfully synthesized through a sol-gel process. The effects of various BaTiO3 contents on the hybrid film performance and performance optimization were investigated. Furthermore, pentacene-based organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) with PI-BaTiO3/polymethylmethacrylate or cyclic olefin copolymer (COC)-modified gate dielectrics were fabricated and examined. The hybrid materials showed effective dispersion of BaTiO3 nanoparticles in the PI matrix and favorable thermal properties. X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that the BaTiO3 nanoparticles had a perovskite structure. The hybrid films exhibited high formability and planarity. The IBX hybrid dielectric films exhibited tunable insulating properties such as the dielectric constant value and capacitance in ranges of 4.0-8.6 and 9.2-17.5 nF cm-2, respectively. Adding the modified layer caused the decrease of dielectric constant values and capacitances. The modified dielectric layer without cross-linking displayed a hydrophobic surface. The electrical characteristics of the pentacene-based OTFTs were enhanced after the surface modification. The optimal condition for the dielectric layer was 10 wt% hybrid film with the COC-modified layer; moreover, the device exhibited a threshold voltage of 0.12 V, field-effect mobility of 4.32 × 10-1 cm2 V-1 s-1, and on/off current of 8.4 × 107.

Effects of oxygen deficiency on the transport and dielectric properties of NdSrNbO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hzez, W.; Benali, A.; Rahmouni, H.; Dhahri, E.; Khirouni, K.; Costa, B. F. O.

2018-06-01

In the present study, Nd0.7Sr0.3NbO3-y (y = 0.1, 0.15, 0.2) compounds were prepared via a solid-solid reaction route. The prepared samples were characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in order to establish the effects of temperature, frequency, and oxygen vacancies on both the transport and dielectric properties of NdSrNbO. We found that both the electrical and dielectric properties were highly sensitive to the concentration of oxygen vacancies. The conduction mechanism data were explained well according to the Mott model and adiabatic small polaronic hopping model. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis showed that one relaxation process was present in the Nd0.7Sr0.3NbO2.9 system whereas two relaxation processes were observed in the Nd0.7Sr0.3NbO2.85 and Nd0.7Sr0.3NbO2.8 systems, where the latter behavior indicated the presence of many active regions (due to the contributions of different microstructures). The temperature and frequency dependences of the dielectric constant confirmed the contributions of different polarization mechanisms. In particular, the high dielectric constant values at low frequencies and high temperatures were mainly related to the presence of different Schottky barriers, whereas the low dielectric constant values at high frequencies were essentially related to the intrinsic effect. The constant dielectric values obtained for the samples are greater than those in the NdSrFeO system, which makes them interesting materials for use in applications that require high dielectric constants.

The Effect of Multi Wall Carbon Nanotubes on Some Physical Properties of Epoxy Matrix

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Saadi, Tagreed M.; hammed Aleabi, Suad; Al-Obodi, Entisar E.; Abdul-Jabbar Abbas, Hadeel

2018-05-01

This research involves using epoxy resin as a matrix for making a composite material, while the multi wall carbon nanotubes (MWNCTs) is used as a reinforcing material with different fractions (0.0,0.02, 0.04, 0.06) of the matrix weight. The mechanical ( hardness ), electrical ( dielectric constant, dielectric loss factor, dielectric strength, electrical conductivity ), and thermal properties (thermal conductivity ) were studied. The results showed the increase of hardness, thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity and break down strength with the increase of MWCNT concentration, but the behavior of dielectric loss factor and dielectric constant is opposite that.

Optical studies of quantum confined nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vamivakas, Anthony Nickolas

Recent advances in material growth techniques have led to the laboratory realization of quantum confined nanostructures. By engineering the geometry of these systems it is possible to tailor their optical, electrical and vibrational properties. We now envision integrated electronic and optical devices potentially harnessing quantum mechanical properties of photons, electrons or even phonons. The realization of these next generation devices requires parallel advances in both electrical and optical characterization techniques. In this dissertation we study the optical properties of both zero-dimensional (0D) InAs/GaAs semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) and one-dimensional (1D) single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). We utilize high resolution optical microscopy and spectroscopy techniques to experimentally study both individual QDs and SWNTs. The effect of quantum confinement on light-matter interaction in SWNTs is theoretically investigated. InAs QDs grown by Stranski-Krastanow self-assembly are buried in a GaAs matrix. The planar barriers presented by the dielectric boundary between the GaAs and the host medium limits the optical access to the InAs QDs. Incorporating a numerical aperture increasing microlens (NAIL) into a fiber-based confocal microscope we demonstrate improved ability to couple photons to and from a single InAs QD. With such immersion lens techniques we measure a record 12% extinction of a far-field laser by a single InAs QD. Even typical QD extinction of 6% is visible using a dc power-meter without the need for phase sensitive lock-in detection. This experimental advance will make possible the study of single QDs interacting with engineered vector laser beams. In the optical characterization of SWNTs, one-phonon resonant Raman scattering is employed to measure a tube's electronic resonances and determine the physical diameter and chirality of the tube under study. Recent work has determined excitons dominate the optical response of semiconducting SWNTs. We develop a theory to model the exciton mediated resonant Raman scattering cross-section from a 1D system looking for excitonic signatures in the scattering line shape. Additionally, we theoretically study phonon confinement to a 1D SWNT and use these results to extract the electron-phonon coupling in SWNTs from our Raman measurements. Knowledge of the electron-phonon coupling is a crucial piece of information to characterize a SWNTs electrical transport properties.

RF-MEMS capacitive switches with high reliability

DOEpatents

Goldsmith, Charles L.; Auciello, Orlando H.; Carlisle, John A.; Sampath, Suresh; Sumant, Anirudha V.; Carpick, Robert W.; Hwang, James; Mancini, Derrick C.; Gudeman, Chris

2013-09-03

A reliable long life RF-MEMS capacitive switch is provided with a dielectric layer comprising a "fast discharge diamond dielectric layer" and enabling rapid switch recovery, dielectric layer charging and discharging that is efficient and effective to enable RF-MEMS switch operation to greater than or equal to 100 billion cycles.

Boosting infrared energy transfer in 3D nanoporous gold antennas.

PubMed

Garoli, D; Calandrini, E; Bozzola, A; Ortolani, M; Cattarin, S; Barison, S; Toma, A; De Angelis, F

2017-01-05

The applications of plasmonics to energy transfer from free-space radiation to molecules are currently limited to the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum due to the intrinsic optical properties of bulk noble metals that support strong electromagnetic field confinement only close to their plasma frequency in the visible/ultraviolet range. In this work, we show that nanoporous gold can be exploited as a plasmonic material for the mid-infrared region to obtain strong electromagnetic field confinement, co-localized with target molecules into the nanopores and resonant with their vibrational frequency. The effective optical response of the nanoporous metal enables the penetration of optical fields deep into the nanopores, where molecules can be loaded thus achieving a more efficient light-matter coupling if compared to bulk gold. In order to realize plasmonic resonators made of nanoporous gold, we develop a nanofabrication method based on polymeric templates for metal deposition and we obtain antenna arrays resonating at mid-infrared wavelengths selected by design. We then coat the antennas with a thin (3 nm) silica layer acting as the target dielectric layer for optical energy transfer. We study the strength of the light-matter coupling at the vibrational absorption frequency of silica at 1240 cm -1 through the analysis of the experimental Fano lineshape that is benchmarked against identical structures made of bulk gold. The boost in the optical energy transfer from free-space mid-infrared radiation to molecular vibrations in nanoporous 3D nanoantenna arrays can open new application routes for plasmon-enhanced physical-chemical reactions.

Microstructures and dielectric properties of CaCu3Ti4O12 ceramics via combustion method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, W. X.; Li, Z. J.

2012-01-01

CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) powder was synthesized by the combustion method. The effect of sintering temperature was studied on dielectric properties of the prepared ceramic samples. They have the dielectric constant of ~31 000 and 80 000 for the grain size of 0.3 and 30-100 μm. It is unusual for CCTO with a grain size of 0.3 μm to have a dielectric constant of ~31 000. Their giant dielectric constant could be explained by a two-step internal-barrier-layer-capacitor model, associated with grain boundaries and domain boundaries. The existence of domain boundaries helped to explain the contradiction of the dielectric mechanisms between polycrystalline and single-crystal CCTO.

Plasmon mediated inverse Faraday effect in a graphene-dielectric-metal structure.

PubMed

Bychkov, Igor V; Kuzmin, Dmitry A; Tolkachev, Valentine A; Plaksin, Pavel S; Shavrov, Vladimir G

2018-01-01

This Letter shows the features of inverse Faraday effect (IFE) in a graphene-dielectric-metal (GDM) structure. The constants of propagation and attenuation of the surface plasmon-polariton modes are calculated. The effective magnetic field induced by surface plasmon modes in the dielectric due to the IFE is estimated to reach above 1 tesla. The possibility to control the distribution of the magnetic field by chemical potential of graphene is shown. The concept of strain-driven control of the IFE in the structure has been proposed and investigated.

Fabrications of insulator-protected nanometer-sized electrode gaps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arima, Akihide; Tsutsui, Makusu; Morikawa, Takanori; Yokota, Kazumichi; Taniguchi, Masateru

2014-03-01

We developed SiO2-coated mechanically controllable break junctions for accurate tunneling current measurements in an ionic solution. By breaking the junction, we created dielectric-protected Au nanoprobes with nanometer separation. We demonstrated that the insulator protection was capable to suppress the ionic contribution to the charge transport through the electrode gap, thereby enabled reliable characterizations of liquid-mediated exponential decay of the tunneling conductance in an electrolyte solution. From this, we found distinct roles of charge points such as molecular dipoles and ion species on the tunneling decay constant, which was attributed to local structures of molecules and ions in the confined space between the sensing electrodes. The device described here would provide improved biomolecular sensing capability of tunneling current sensors.

The Electrochemical Society, Inc. Meeting Program (181st), Held in St. Louis, Missouri on May 17-22, 1992. Including: State-of-the-Art Program on Compound Semiconductors XVI, Fullerenes: Chemistry, Physics, and New Directions, Quantum Confinement, Micromachining and Microstructures, Electronics/Dielectric Science and Technology Joint Recent News Papers

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-04-28

evening. After the boat has crusied for Division Executive Committee a while, you will be served a buffet-style dinner of baked ham. chicken a Is...you would like to discuss. a The Pox Theatre and St. Louis Science Center are spectacular sites member of the Society Headquarters Staff will be...be no larger than 8 In 1929 by William Pox of 20th Century Pon fame, as crown jewel of 1" i 11’. ie empire, It be earned the name "The Fabulous Pox

Sub-diffraction Laser Synthesis of Silicon Nanowires

PubMed Central

Mitchell, James I.; Zhou, Nan; Nam, Woongsik; Traverso, Luis M.; Xu, Xianfan

2014-01-01

We demonstrate synthesis of silicon nanowires of tens of nanometers via laser induced chemical vapor deposition. These nanowires with diameters as small as 60 nm are produced by the interference between incident laser radiation and surface scattered radiation within a diffraction limited spot, which causes spatially confined, periodic heating needed for high resolution chemical vapor deposition. By controlling the intensity and polarization direction of the incident radiation, multiple parallel nanowires can be simultaneously synthesized. The nanowires are produced on a dielectric substrate with controlled diameter, length, orientation, and the possibility of in-situ doping, and therefore are ready for device fabrication. Our method offers rapid one-step fabrication of nano-materials and devices unobtainable with previous CVD methods. PMID:24469704

Note: Optimization of the numerical data analysis for conductivity percolation studies of drying moist porous systems

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

Moscicki, J. K.; Sokolowska, D.; Dziob, D.

2014-02-15

A simplified data analysis protocol, for dielectric spectroscopy use to study conductivity percolation in dehydrating granular media is discussed. To enhance visibility of the protonic conductivity contribution to the dielectric loss spectrum, detrimental effects of either low-frequency dielectric relaxation or electrode polarization are removed. Use of the directly measurable monofrequency dielectric loss factor rather than estimated DC conductivity to parameterize the percolation transition substantially reduces the analysis work and time.

Research Update: Polyimide/CaCu3Ti4O12 nanofiber functional hybrid films with improved dielectric properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Yang; Wang, Ziyu; Ding, Yi; Lu, Zhihong; Sun, Haoliang; Li, Ya; Wei, Jianhong; Xiong, Rui; Shi, Jing; Liu, Zhengyou; Lei, Qingquan

2013-11-01

This work reports the excellent dielectric properties of polyimide (PI) embedded with CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) nanofibers. The dielectric behaviors were investigated over a frequency of 100 Hz-1 MHz. It is shown that embedding CCTO nanofibers with high aspect ratio (67) is an effective means to enhance the dielectric permittivity and reduce the percolation threshold. The dielectric permittivity of PI/CCTO nanofiber composites is 85 with 1.5 vol.% loading of filler, also the dielectric loss is only 0.015 at 100 Hz. Monte Carlo simulation was used to investigate the percolation threshold of CCTO nanofibers reinforced polyimide matrix by using excluded volume theory and soft, hard-core models. The results are in good agreement with the percolation theory and the hard-core model can well explain the percolation phenomena in PI/CCTO nanofiber composites. The dielectric properties of the composites will meet the practical requirements for the application in high dielectric constant capacitors and high energy density materials.

Colossal dielectric behavior of semiconducting Sr2TiMnO6 ceramics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meher, K. R. S. Preethi; Varma, K. B. R.

2009-02-01

Manganitelike double perovskite Sr2TiMnO6 (STMO) ceramics fabricated from the powders synthesized via the solid-state reaction route, exhibited dielectric constants as high as ˜105 in the low frequency range (100 Hz-10 kHz) at room temperature. The Maxwell-Wagner type of relaxation mechanism was found to be more appropriate to rationalize such high dielectric constant values akin to that observed in materials such as KxTiyNi(1-x-y)O and CaCu3Ti4O12. The dielectric measurements carried out on the samples with different thicknesses and electrode materials reflected the influence of extrinsic effects. The impedance studies (100 Hz-10 MHz) in the 180-300 K temperature range revealed the presence of two dielectric relaxations corresponding to the grain boundary and the electrode. The dielectric response of the grain boundary was found to be weakly dependent on the dc bias field (up to 11 V/cm). However, owing to the electrode polarization, the applied ac/dc field had significant effect on the low frequency dielectric response. At low temperatures (100-180 K), the dc conductivity of STMO followed a variable range hopping behavior. Above 180 K, it followed the Arrhenius behavior because of the thermally activated conduction process. The bulk conductivity relaxation owing to the localized hopping of charge carriers obeyed the typical universal dielectric response.

Effect of mechanical alloying synthesis process on the dielectric properties of (Bi{sub 0.5}Na{sub 0.5}){sub 0.94}Ba{sub 0.06}TiO{sub 3} piezoceramics

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

Ghazanfari, Mohammad Reza, E-mail: Ghazanfari.mr@gmail.com; Amini, Rasool; Shams, Seyyedeh Fatemeh

Highlights: • MA samples show higher dielectric permittivity and Curie temperature. • In MA samples, dielectric loss is almost 27% less than conventional ones. • In MA samples, sintering time and temperature are lower than conventional ones. • In MA samples, particle morphology is more homogeneous conventional ones. • In MA samples, crystallite size is smaller conventional ones. - Abstract: In present work, in order to study the effects of synthesis techniques on dielectric properties, the BNBT lead-free piezoceramics with (Bi{sub 0.5}Na{sub 0.5}){sub 0.94}Ba{sub 0.06}TiO{sub 3} stoichiometry (called as BNBT6) were synthesized by mechanical alloying (MA) and conventional mixed oxidesmore » methods. The structural, microstructural, and dielectric properties were carried out by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and impedance analyzer LCR meter, respectively. Based on results, the density of MA samples is considerably higher than conventional samples owning to smaller particles size and more uniformity of particle shape of MA samples. Moreover, the dielectric properties of MA samples are comparatively improved in which the dielectric loss of these samples is almost 27% less than conventional ones. Furthermore, MA samples exhibit obviously higher dielectric permittivity and Curie temperature compared to the conventional samples.« less

Polyaniline coated cellulose fiber / polyvinyl alcohol composites with high dielectric permittivity and low percolation threshold

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anju, V. P.; Narayanankutty, Sunil K.

2016-01-01

Cost effective, high performance dielectric composites based on polyvinyl alcohol, cellulose fibers and polyaniline were prepared and the dielectric properties were studied as a function of fiber content, fiber dimensions and polyaniline content over a frequency range of 40 Hz to 30 MHz. The short cellulose fibers were size-reduced to micro and nano levels prior to coating with polyaniline. Fiber surface was coated with Polyaniline (PANI) by an in situ polymerization technique in aqueous medium. The composites were then prepared by solution casting method. Short cellulose fiber composites showed a dielectric constant (DEC) of 2.3 x 105 at 40 Hz. For the micro- and nano- cellulose fiber composites the DEC was increased to 4.5 x 105 and 1.3 x 108, respectively. To gain insight into the inflection point of the dielectric data polynomial regression analysis was carried out. The loss tangent of all the composites remained at less than 1.5. Further, AC conductivity, real and imaginary electric moduli of all the composites were evaluated. PVA nanocomposite attained an AC conductivity of 3 S/m. These showed that by controlling the size of the fiber used, it was possible to tune the permittivity and dielectric loss to desired values over a wide range. These novel nanocomposites, combining high dielectric constant and low dielectric loss, can be effectively used in applications such as high-charge storage capacitors.

Optical Studies of the Quantum Confined Stark Effect in ALUMINUM(0.3) GALLIUM(0.7) Arsenide/gallium Arsenide Coupled Double Quantum Wells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuroda, Roger Tokuichi

1992-01-01

The development of advanced epitaxical growth techniques such as molecular beam epitaxy has led to growth of high quality III-V layers with monolayer control in thickness. This permits design of new and novel heterointerface based electronic, optical and opto-electronic devices which exploit the new and tailorable electronic states in quantum wells. One such property is the Quantum Confined Stark Effect (QCSE) which, in uncoupled multiple quantum wells (MQW), has been used for the self-electro-optic effect device(SEED). Guided by a phenomenological model of the complex dielectric function for the Coupled Double Quantum Well (CDQW), we show results for the QCSE in CDQW show underlying physics differs from the uncoupled MQW in that symmetry forbidden transitions under flat band conditions become allowed under non-flat band conditions. The transfer of oscillator strength from symmetry allowed to the symmetry forbidden transitions offers potential for application as spatial light modulator (SLM). We show the CDQW lowest exciton peak Stark shifts twice as fast as the SQW with equivalent well width, which offers the SLM device a lower operating voltage than SQW. In addition we show the CDQW absorption band edge can blue shift with increasing electric field, which offers other potential for SLM. From transmission measurements, we verify these predictions and compare them with the phenomenological model. The optical device figure of merit Deltaalpha/alpha of the CDQW is comparable with the "best" SQW, but at lower electric field. From photocurrent measurements, we find that the calculated and measured Stark shifts agree. In addition, we extract a Deltaalpha/ alpha from photocurrent which agree with transmission measurements. From electroreflectance measurements, we calculated the aluminum concentration, and the built in electric field from the Franz-Keldysh oscillations due to the Al_{0.3}Ga _{0.7}As barrier regions in the CDQW. (Copies available exclusively from Micrographics Department, Doheny Library, USC, Los Angeles, CA 90089 -0182.).

Effects of Secondary Phases on the High-Performance Colossal Permittivity in Titanium Dioxide Ceramics.

PubMed

Zhao, Chunlin; Wu, Jiagang

2018-01-31

The intensive demands of microelectronics and energy-storage applications are driving the increasing investigations on the colossal permittivity (CP) materials. In this study, we designed a new system of Dy and Nb co-doped TiO 2 ceramics [(Dy 0.5 Nb 0.5 ) x Ti 1-x O 2 ] with the formation of secondary phases, and then the enhancement of overall dielectric properties (ε r ∼ 5.0-6.5 × 10 4 and tan δ < 8%) was realized in the broad composition range of 0.5 ≤ x ≤ 5%. More importantly, effects of secondary phases on microstructure, dielectric properties, and stability were explored from the views of defect-dipoles and internal barrier layer capacitance (IBLC) effect. According to the defect-dipoles theory, the CP should mainly originate from Nb 5+ , and the Dy 3+ largely contributes to the decreased dielectric loss. Both CP and low dielectric loss were obtained for co-doping with Dy 3+ and Nb 5+ . Besides, the Dy enrichment induced the formation of secondary phases, which were regarded as the low loss unit dispersed into the ceramic matrix, and largely facilitate the decreased dielectric loss. In particular, the analysis of temperature-dependent complex impedance spectra indicated that a stronger IBLC effect caused by the increased grain boundary resistance can also contribute to the optimized CP and low dielectric loss under appropriate contents of secondary phases.

Analysis of the Dielectric constant of saline-alkali soils and the effect on radar backscattering coefficient: a case study of soda alkaline saline soils in Western Jilin Province using RADARSAT-2 data.

PubMed

Li, Yang-yang; Zhao, Kai; Ren, Jian-hua; Ding, Yan-ling; Wu, Li-li

2014-01-01

Soil salinity is a global problem, especially in developing countries, which affects the environment and productivity of agriculture areas. Salt has a significant effect on the complex dielectric constant of wet soil. However, there is no suitable model to describe the variation in the backscattering coefficient due to changes in soil salinity content. The purpose of this paper is to use backscattering models to understand behaviors of the backscattering coefficient in saline soils based on the analysis of its dielectric constant. The effects of moisture and salinity on the dielectric constant by combined Dobson mixing model and seawater dielectric constant model are analyzed, and the backscattering coefficient is then simulated using the AIEM. Simultaneously, laboratory measurements were performed on ground samples. The frequency effect of the laboratory results was not the same as the simulated results. The frequency dependence of the ionic conductivity of an electrolyte solution is influenced by the ion's components. Finally, the simulated backscattering coefficients measured from the dielectric constant with the AIEM were analyzed using the extracted backscattering coefficient from the RADARSAT-2 image. The results show that RADARSAT-2 is potentially able to measure soil salinity; however, the mixed pixel problem needs to be more thoroughly considered.

A brief survey of radiation effects on polymer dielectrics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Laghari, Javaid R.; Hammoud, Ahmad N.

1990-01-01

Future space power needs are extrapolated to be at least three to four orders of magnitude more than is currently available. This long-term reliable power will be required on missions such as the Space Station, Pathfinder, Space Plane, and high-powered satellites, and for defense. Electrical insulation and dielectrics are the key electrical materials needed to support these power systems, where a single-point system failure could prove catastrophic or even fatal for the whole mission. Therefore, the impact of radiation, an environmental stress, on the properties and performance of insulation and dielectrics must be understood. The influence of radiation on polymer dielectrics, the insulating materials most commonly used for power transmission and storage, is reviewed. The effects of the type of radiation, dose, rate, and total exposure on the key electrical, mechanical, and physical properties of polymer dielectrics are described and explained.

Cos-Gaussian modal field of a terahertz rectangular metal waveguide filled with multiple slices of dielectric

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Kai; Cao, Qing; Zhang, Huifang; Shen, Pengcheng; Xing, Lujing

2018-06-01

Based on the TE01 mode of a rectangular metal waveguide and the Gaussian mode of a fiber, we propose the cos-Gaussian mode of a terahertz rectangular metal waveguide filled with multiple slices of dielectric. First, we consider a rectangular metal waveguide filled with an ideal graded-index dielectric along one direction. Furthermore, we replace the graded-index dielectric with multiple slices of dielectric according to the effective medium theory. The modal field, the effective index, and the coupling efficiency of this waveguide are investigated. It is found that the approximately linearly polarized electric field is Gaussian along one dimensionality and cosine along the other one. In addition, the low loss and high coupling efficiency with a Gaussian beam can be acquired at 0.9 THz. By optimization, the coupling efficiency could reach 88.5%.

Compton effect thermally activated depolarization dosimeter

DOEpatents

Moran, Paul R.

1978-01-01

A dosimetry technique for high-energy gamma radiation or X-radiation employs the Compton effect in conjunction with radiation-induced thermally activated depolarization phenomena. A dielectric material is disposed between two electrodes which are electrically short circuited to produce a dosimeter which is then exposed to the gamma or X radiation. The gamma or X-radiation impinging on the dosimeter interacts with the dielectric material directly or with the metal composing the electrode to produce Compton electrons which are emitted preferentially in the direction in which the radiation was traveling. A portion of these electrons becomes trapped in the dielectric material, consequently inducing a stable electrical polarization in the dielectric material. Subsequent heating of the exposed dosimeter to the point of onset of ionic conductivity with the electrodes still shorted through an ammeter causes the dielectric material to depolarize, and the depolarization signal so emitted can be measured and is proportional to the dose of radiation received by the dosimeter.

Sensitivity of Dielectric Properties to Wear Process on Carbon Nanofiber/High-Density Polyethylene Composites.

PubMed

Liu, Tian; Wood, Weston; Zhong, Wei-Hong

2011-12-01

We examined the correlation of wear effects with dielectric properties of carbon nanofibers (CNFs; untreated and organosilane-treated)-reinforced high-density polyethylene (HDPE) composites. Wear testing for the nanocomposites over up to 120 h was carried out, and then, dielectric permittivity and dielectric loss factor of the polymer composites with the increased wear time were studied. Scanning electron microscope and optical microscope observations were made to analyze the microstructure features of the nanocomposites. The results reveal that there exist approximate linear relationships of permittivity with wear coefficient for the nanocomposites. Composites containing silanized CNFs with the sufficiently thick coating exhibited high wear resistance. The change in permittivity was more sensitive to the increased wear coefficient for the nanocomposites with lower wear resistance. This work provides potential for further research on the application of dielectric signals to detect the effects of wear process on lifetime of polymeric materials.

Review of Slow-Wave Structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wallett, Thomas M.; Qureshi, A. Haq

1994-01-01

The majority of recent theoretical and experimental reports published in the literature dealing with helical slow-wave structures focus on the dispersion characteristics and their effects due to the finite helix wire thickness and attenuation, dielectric loading, metal loading, and the introduction of plasma. In many papers, an effective dielectric constant is used to take into account helix wire dimensions and conductivity losses, while the propagation constant of the signal and the interaction impedance of the structure are found to depend on the surface resistivity of the helix. Also, various dielectric supporting rods are simulated by one or several uniform cylinders having an effective dielectric constant, while metal vane loading and plasma effects are incorporated in the effective dielectric constant. The papers dealing with coupled cavities and folded or loaded wave guides describe equivalent circuit models, efficiency enhancement, and the prediction of instabilities for these structures. Equivalent circuit models of various structures are found using computer software programs SUPERFISH and TOUCHSTONE. Efficiency enhancement in tubes is achieved through dynamic velocity and phase adjusted tapers using computer techniques. The stability threshold of unwanted antisymmetric and higher order modes is predicted using SOS and MAGIC codes and the dependence of higher order modes on beam conductance, section length, and effective Q of a cavity is shown.

Structural, dielectric and impedance spectroscopy studies in Co doped La0.7Te0.3MnO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uthaman, Bhagya; Revathy, R.; Job, Rojerce Brown; Varma, Manoj Raama

2018-05-01

The effect of cobalt doping on the structural and dielectric properties of the electron-doped manganite La0.7Te0.3Mn1-xCoxO3 (x=0, 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5) has been investigated. Cobalt substitution induces a structural transition from rhombohedral structure (R-3 c space group) to orthorhombic structure (Pbnm space group). It is observed that, dielectric constant decreases with Co concentration which could be due to suppression of double exchange (DE) interaction between Mn2+ and Mn3+. Also, the effect of the grain and grain boundary density on the dielectric response is studied using Cole-Cole plots.

Glass transition and relaxation dynamics of propylene glycol-water solutions confined in clay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elamin, Khalid; Björklund, Jimmy; Nyhlén, Fredrik; Yttergren, Madeleine; Mârtensson, Lena; Swenson, Jan

2014-07-01

The molecular dynamics of aqueous solutions of propylene glycol (PG) and propylene glycol methylether (PGME) confined in a two-dimensional layer-structured Na-vermiculite clay has been studied by broadband dielectric spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. As typical for liquids in confined geometries the intensity of the cooperative α-relaxation becomes considerably more suppressed than the more local β-like relaxation processes. In fact, at high water contents the calorimetric glass transition and related structural α-relaxation cannot even be observed, due to the confinement. Thus, the intensity of the viscosity related α-relaxation is dramatically reduced, but its time scale as well as the related glass transition temperature Tg are for both systems only weakly influenced by the confinement. In the case of the PGME-water solutions it is an important finding since in the corresponding bulk system a pronounced non-monotonic concentration dependence of the glass transition related dynamics has been observed due to the growth of hydrogen bonded relaxing entities of water bridging between PGME molecules [J. Sjöström, J. Mattsson, R. Bergman, and J. Swenson, Phys. Chem. B 115, 10013 (2011)]. The present results suggest that the same type of structural entities are formed in the quasi-two-dimensional space between the clay platelets. It is also observed that the main water relaxation cannot be distinguished from the β-relaxation of PG or PGME in the concentration range up to intermediate water contents. This suggests that these two processes are coupled and that the water molecules affect the time scale of the β-relaxation. However, this is most likely true also for the corresponding bulk solutions, which exhibit similar time scales of this combined relaxation process below Tg. Finally, it is found that at higher water contents the water relaxation does not merge with, or follow, the α-relaxation above Tg, but instead crosses the α-relaxation, indicating that the two relaxation processes are independent of each other. This can only occur if the two processes do not occur in the same parts of the confined solutions. Most likely the hydration shell of the interlayer Na+ ions is causing this water relaxation, which does not participate in the α-relaxation at any temperature.

Glass transition and relaxation dynamics of propylene glycol-water solutions confined in clay.

PubMed

Elamin, Khalid; Björklund, Jimmy; Nyhlén, Fredrik; Yttergren, Madeleine; Mårtensson, Lena; Swenson, Jan

2014-07-21

The molecular dynamics of aqueous solutions of propylene glycol (PG) and propylene glycol methylether (PGME) confined in a two-dimensional layer-structured Na-vermiculite clay has been studied by broadband dielectric spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. As typical for liquids in confined geometries the intensity of the cooperative α-relaxation becomes considerably more suppressed than the more local β-like relaxation processes. In fact, at high water contents the calorimetric glass transition and related structural α-relaxation cannot even be observed, due to the confinement. Thus, the intensity of the viscosity related α-relaxation is dramatically reduced, but its time scale as well as the related glass transition temperature Tg are for both systems only weakly influenced by the confinement. In the case of the PGME-water solutions it is an important finding since in the corresponding bulk system a pronounced non-monotonic concentration dependence of the glass transition related dynamics has been observed due to the growth of hydrogen bonded relaxing entities of water bridging between PGME molecules [J. Sjöström, J. Mattsson, R. Bergman, and J. Swenson, Phys. Chem. B 115, 10013 (2011)]. The present results suggest that the same type of structural entities are formed in the quasi-two-dimensional space between the clay platelets. It is also observed that the main water relaxation cannot be distinguished from the β-relaxation of PG or PGME in the concentration range up to intermediate water contents. This suggests that these two processes are coupled and that the water molecules affect the time scale of the β-relaxation. However, this is most likely true also for the corresponding bulk solutions, which exhibit similar time scales of this combined relaxation process below Tg. Finally, it is found that at higher water contents the water relaxation does not merge with, or follow, the α-relaxation above Tg, but instead crosses the α-relaxation, indicating that the two relaxation processes are independent of each other. This can only occur if the two processes do not occur in the same parts of the confined solutions. Most likely the hydration shell of the interlayer Na(+) ions is causing this water relaxation, which does not participate in the α-relaxation at any temperature.

On the Dielectric Constant for Acetanilide: Experimental Measurements and Effect on Energy Transport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Careri, G.; Compatangelo, E.; Christiansen, P. L.; Halding, J.; Skovgaard, O.

1987-01-01

Experimental measurements of the dielectric constant for crystalline acetanilide powder for temperatures ranging from - 140°C to 20°C and for different hydration levels are presented. A Davydov-soliton computer model predicts dramatic changes in the energy transport and storage for typically increased values of the dielectric constant.

Polymer/metal oxide hybrid dielectrics for low voltage field-effect transistors with solution-processed, high-mobility semiconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Held, Martin; Schießl, Stefan P.; Miehler, Dominik; Gannott, Florentina; Zaumseil, Jana

2015-08-01

Transistors for future flexible organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display backplanes should operate at low voltages and be able to sustain high currents over long times without degradation. Hence, high capacitance dielectrics with low surface trap densities are required that are compatible with solution-processable high-mobility semiconductors. Here, we combine poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and atomic layer deposition hafnium oxide (HfOx) into a bilayer hybrid dielectric for field-effect transistors with a donor-acceptor polymer (DPPT-TT) or single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) as the semiconductor and demonstrate substantially improved device performances for both. The ultra-thin PMMA layer ensures a low density of trap states at the semiconductor-dielectric interface while the metal oxide layer provides high capacitance, low gate leakage and superior barrier properties. Transistors with these thin (≤70 nm), high capacitance (100-300 nF/cm2) hybrid dielectrics enable low operating voltages (<5 V), balanced charge carrier mobilities and low threshold voltages. Moreover, the hybrid layers substantially improve the bias stress stability of the transistors compared to those with pure PMMA and HfOx dielectrics.

On the scattering directionality of a dielectric particle dimer of High Refractive Index.

PubMed

Barreda, Ángela I; Saleh, Hassan; Litman, Amélie; González, Francisco; Geffrin, Jean-Michel; Moreno, Fernando

2018-05-22

Low-losses and directionality effects exhibited by High Refractive Index Dielectric particles make them attractive for applications where radiation direction control is relevant. For instance, isolated metallo-dielectric core-shell particles or aggregates (dimers) of High Refractive Index Dielectric particles have been proposed for building operational switching devices. Also, the possibility of using isolated High Refractive Index Dielectric particles for optimizing solar cells performance has been explored. Here, we present experimental evidence in the microwave range, that a High Refractive Index Dielectric dimer of spherical particles is more efficient for redirecting the incident radiation in the forward direction than the isolated case. In fact, we report two spectral regions in the dipolar spectral range where the incident intensity is mostly scattered in the forward direction. They correspond to the Zero-Backward condition (also observed for isolated particles) and to a new condition, denoted as "near Zero-Backward" condition, which comes from the interaction effects between the particles. The proposed configuration has implications in solar energy harvesting devices and in radiation guiding.

Dielectric relaxation and pinning phenomenon of (Sr,Pb)TiO3 ceramics for dielectric tunable device application.

PubMed

Huang, Xian-Xiong; Zhang, Tian-Fu; Tang, Xin-Gui; Jiang, Yan-Ping; Liu, Qiu-Xiang; Feng, Zu-Yong; Zhou, Qi-Fa

2016-09-15

The behavior of ferroelectric domain under applied electric field is very sensitive to point defects, which can lead to high temperature dielectric relaxation behaviors. In this work, the phases, dielectric properties and ferroelectric switching behavior of strontium lead titanate ceramics were investigated. The structural characterization is confirmed by X-ray diffraction. The high dielectric tunability and high figure of merit of ceramics, especially Sr0.7Pb0.3TiO3 (SPT), imply that SPT ceramics are promising materials for tunable capacitor applications. Oxygen vacancies induced dielectric relaxation phenomenon is observed. Pinched shape hysteresis loops appeared in low temperature, low electric field or high frequency, whereas these pinched hysteresis loops also can become normal by rising temperature, enhancing electric field or lowering frequency. The pinning and depinning effect can be ascribed to the interaction between oxygen vacancies and domain switching. A qualitative model and a quantitative model are used to explain this phenomenon. Besides, polarization and oxygen treated experiment can exert an enormous influence on pinning effect and the machanisms are also discussed in this work.

High Dielectric Performance of Solution-Processed Aluminum Oxide-Boron Nitride Composite Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Byoung-Soo; Ha, Tae-Jun

2018-04-01

The material compositions of oxide films have been extensively investigated in an effort to improve the electrical characteristics of dielectrics which have been utilized in various electronic devices such as field-effect transistors, and storage capacitors. Significantly, solution-based compositions have attracted considerable attention as a highly effective and practical technique to replace vacuum-based process in large-area. Here, we demonstrate solution-processed composite films consisting of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) and boron nitride (BN), which exhibit remarkable dielectric properties through the optimization process. The leakage current of the optimized Al2O3-BN thin films was decreased by a factor of 100 at 3V, compared to pristine Al2O3 thin film without a loss of the dielectric constant or degradation of the morphological roughness. The characterization by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements revealed that the incorporation of BN with an optimized concentration into the Al2O3 dielectric film reduced the density of oxygen vacancies which act as defect states, thereby improving the dielectric characteristics.

Controlling Crystal Microstructure to Minimize Loss in Polymer Dielectrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miranda, Daniel; Iacob, Ciprian; Zhang, Shihai; Runt, James

Polymer dielectric films are of great importance for high performance capacitors. For these films it is critical to reduce dielectric loss, as it diminishes efficiency and contributes to waste heat generation during device operation. Here, a model semi-crystalline polymer, poly(ethylene naphthalate) (PEN), was used to examine how morphological factors inhibit chain relaxations responsible for loss. This was achieved by manipulating the extent of crystallization and the crystalline microstructure through a combination of annealing and uniaxial drawing, and investigating their effects on dielectric performance. Varying crystallization conditions influenced the dynamic Tg and extent of rigid amorphous fraction formation, but had a limited effect on loss magnitude. Film orientation however greatly reduced loss, through strain-induced crystallization and development of oriented amorphous mesophasic regions. Post-drawing annealing conditions were capable of further refining the crystal microstructure and, in turn, the dielectric properties. These findings demonstrate that semi-crystalline polymer morphology has a very strong influence on amorphous chain relaxations, and understanding how processing conditions affect morphology is critical to the rational design of polymer dielectrics. Office of Naval Research.

Effect of Barium Titanate Particles on Dielectric and Electro-Optical Properties of a Smectic-a Liquid Crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramazanov, M. A.; Imamaliyev, A. R.; Humbatov, Sh. A.; Agamaliev, Z. A.

2018-02-01

The effect of submicron ferroelectric BaTiO3 particles on the dielectric and electro-optical properties of the smectic-A liquid crystal (LC) with a high negative dielectric anisotropy is investigated. It is shown that the addition of BaTiO3 particles with a weight amount of 1% reduces insignificantly the transverse dielectric permittivity component ɛ ⊥ of, but significantly increases the longitudinal dielectric permittivity component ɛ // of the smectic-A LC. As a result, the anisotropy of the dielectric permittivity Δɛ = ɛ // - ɛ ⊥ of the smectic-A LC decreases. The addition of BaTiO3 particles shifts the dispersion ɛ ⊥ toward lower frequencies. Both components of the electrical conductivity of LC colloid + BaTiO3 are an order of magnitude higher than of the pure LC. The threshold voltage of the homeotropic-planar transition of the colloid is twice smaller, and its velocity is 6 times higher in comparison with the pure LC. A simple model explaining qualitatively all results obtained is presented.

Improvement of MRR and surface roughness during electrical discharge machining (EDM) using aluminum oxide powder mixed dielectric fluid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, A. A.; Mohiuddin, A. K. M.; Latif, M. A. A.

2018-01-01

This paper discusses the effect of aluminium oxide (Al203) addition to dielectric fluid during electrical discharge machining (EDM). Aluminium oxide was added to the dielectric used in the EDM process to improve its performance when machining the stainless steel AISI 304, while copper was used as the electrode. Effect of the concentration of Al203 (0.3 mg/L) in dielectric fluid was compared with EDM without any addition of Al203. Surface quality of stainless steel and the material removal rate were investigated. Design of the experiment (DOE) was used for the experimental plan. Statistical analysis was done using ANOVA and then appropriate model was designated. The experimental results show that with dispersing of aluminium oxide in dielectric fluid surface roughness was improved while the material removal rate (MRR) was increased to some extent. These indicate the improvement of EDM performance using aluminium oxide in dielectric fluid. It was also found that with increase in pulse on time both MRR and surface roughness increase sharply.

Design and characterization of dielectric subwavelength focusing lens with polarization dependence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Sung W.; Pang, Lin; Fainman, Yeshaiahu

2016-03-01

We introduce and develop design, fabrication and characterization methodology for engineering the effective refractive index of a composite dielectric planar surface created by controlling the density of deeply subwavelength low index nanoholes (e.g., air) in a high index dielectric layer (e.g., Si). The nanoscale properties of a composite dielectric layer allows for full control of the optical wavefront phase by designing arbitrary space-variant refractive index profiles. We present the composite dielectric metasurface microlens exploiting symmetric design to achieve polarization invariant impulse response, and use asymmetric design to demonstrate polarization sensitive impulse response of the lens. This composite dielectric layers lenses were fabricated by patterning nanohole distributions on a dielectric surface and etching to submicron depths. Our dielectric microlens with asymmetric distribution of neff (neff x ≠ neff y) demonstrates a graded index lens with polarization dependent focusing with of 32um and 22 um for linearly x- and y-polarized light, respectively operating at a wavelength of λ = 1550nm. We also show numerically and demonstrate experimentally achromatic performance of the devices operating in the wavelength range of 1500nm - 1900nm with FWHM of the focal spots of about 4um. Namely, we have constructed a graded index lens that can overcome diffraction effects even when aperture/wavelength (D/λ) is smaller than 40. The demonstrated novel approach to engineer dielectric composite nanosurfaces has the potential to realize arbitrary phase functions with minimal insertion loss, submicron thickness and miniaturization to reduce element size and weight, and may have a significant impact on numerous miniature imaging systems applications.

Negative Dielectric Constant Material Based on Ion Conducting Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gordon, Keith L. (Inventor); Kang, Jin Ho (Inventor); Park, Cheol (Inventor); Lillehei, Peter T. (Inventor); Harrison, Joycelyn S. (Inventor)

2017-01-01

Metamaterials or artificial negative index materials (NIMs) have generated great attention due to their unique and exotic electromagnetic properties. One exemplary negative dielectric constant material, which is an essential key for creating the NIMs, was developed by doping ions into a polymer, a protonated poly (benzimidazole) (PBI). The doped PBI showed a negative dielectric constant at megahertz (MHz) frequencies due to its reduced plasma frequency and an induction effect. The magnitude of the negative dielectric constant and the resonance frequency were tunable by doping concentration. The highly doped PBI showed larger absolute magnitude of negative dielectric constant at just above its resonance frequency than the less doped PBI.

Functionalised graphene sheets as effective high dielectric constant fillers

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

A new functionalised graphene sheet (FGS) filled poly(dimethyl)siloxane insulator nanocomposite has been developed with high dielectric constant, making it well suited for applications in flexible electronics. The dielectric permittivity increased tenfold at 10 Hz and 2 wt.% FGS, while preserving low dielectric losses and good mechanical properties. The presence of functional groups on the graphene sheet surface improved the compatibility nanofiller/polymer at the interface, reducing the polarisation process. This study demonstrates that functionalised graphene sheets are ideal nanofillers for the development of new polymer composites with high dielectric constant values. PACS: 78.20.Ci, 72.80.Tm, 62.23.Kn PMID:21867505

Functionalised graphene sheets as effective high dielectric constant fillers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romasanta, Laura J.; Hernández, Marianella; López-Manchado, Miguel A.; Verdejo, Raquel

2011-08-01

A new functionalised graphene sheet (FGS) filled poly(dimethyl)siloxane insulator nanocomposite has been developed with high dielectric constant, making it well suited for applications in flexible electronics. The dielectric permittivity increased tenfold at 10 Hz and 2 wt.% FGS, while preserving low dielectric losses and good mechanical properties. The presence of functional groups on the graphene sheet surface improved the compatibility nanofiller/polymer at the interface, reducing the polarisation process. This study demonstrates that functionalised graphene sheets are ideal nanofillers for the development of new polymer composites with high dielectric constant values. PACS: 78.20.Ci, 72.80.Tm, 62.23.Kn

Negative Dielectric Constant Material Based on Ion Conducting Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gordon, Keith L. (Inventor); Kang, Jin Ho (Inventor); Harrison, Joycelyn S. (Inventor); Park, Cheol (Inventor); Lillehei, Peter T. (Inventor)

2014-01-01

Metamaterials or artificial negative index materials (NIMs) have generated great attention due to their unique and exotic electromagnetic properties. One exemplary negative dielectric constant material, which is an essential key for creating the NIMs, was developed by doping ions into a polymer, a protonated poly(benzimidazole) (PBI). The doped PBI showed a negative dielectric constant at megahertz (MHz) frequencies due to its reduced plasma frequency and an induction effect. The magnitude of the negative dielectric constant and the resonance frequency were tunable by doping concentration. The highly doped PBI showed larger absolute magnitude of negative dielectric constant at just above its resonance frequency than the less doped PBI.

Dual-Gate Modulation of Carrier Density and Disorder in an Oxide Two-Dimensional Electron System

DOE PAGES

Chen, Zhuoyu; Yuan, Hongtao; Xie, Yanwu; ...

2016-09-08

Carrier density and disorder are two crucial parameters that control the properties of correlated two-dimensional electron systems. Furthermore, in order to disentangle their individual contributions to quantum phenomena, independent tuning of these two parameters is required. By utilizing a hybrid liquid/solid electric dual-gate geometry acting on the conducting LaAlO 3/SrTiO 3 heterointerface, we obtain an additional degree of freedom to strongly modify the electron confinement profile and thus the strength of interfacial scattering, independent from the carrier density. A dual-gate controlled nonlinear Hall effect is a direct manifestation of this profile, which can be quantitatively understood by a Poisson–Schrödinger sub-bandmore » model. In particular, the large nonlinear dielectric response of SrTiO 3 enables a very wide range of tunable density and disorder, far beyond that for conventional semiconductors. This study provides a broad framework for understanding various reported phenomena at the LaAlO 3/SrTiO 3 interface.« less

ITO-TiN-ITO Sandwiches for Near-Infrared Plasmonic Materials.

PubMed

Chen, Chaonan; Wang, Zhewei; Wu, Ke; Chong, Haining; Xu, Zemin; Ye, Hui

2018-05-02

Indium tin oxide (ITO)-based sandwich structures with the insertion of ultrathin (<10 nm) titanium nitride (TiN) are investigated as near-infrared (NIR) plasmonic materials. The structural, electrical, and optical properties reveal the improvement of the sandwich structures stemmed from TiN insertion. TiN is a well-established alternative to noble metals such as gold, elevating the electron conductivity of sandwich structures as its thickness increases. Dielectric permittivities of TiN and top ITO layers show TiN-thickness-dependent properties, which lead to moderate and tunable effective permittivities for the sandwiches. The surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) of the ITO-TiN-ITO sandwich at the telecommunication window (1480-1570 nm) are activated by prism coupling using Kretschmann configuration. Compared with pure ITO films or sandwiches with metal insertion, the reflectivity dip for sandwiches with TiN is relatively deeper and wider, indicating the enhanced coupling ability in plasmonic materials for telecommunications. The SPP spatial profile, penetration depth, and degree of confinement, as well as the quality factors, demonstrate the applicability of such sandwiches for NIR plasmonic materials in various devices.

Surface plasmon polariton laser based on a metallic trench Fabry-Perot resonator

PubMed Central

Zhu, Wenqi; Xu, Ting; Wang, Haozhu; Zhang, Cheng; Deotare, Parag B.; Agrawal, Amit; Lezec, Henri J.

2017-01-01

Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in the development of small-footprint lasers for potential applications in small-volume sensing and on-chip optical communications. Surface plasmons—electromagnetic modes evanescently confined to metal-dielectric interfaces—offer an effective route to achieving lasing at nanometer-scale dimensions when resonantly amplified in contact with a gain medium. We achieve narrow-linewidth visible-frequency lasing at room temperature by leveraging surface plasmons propagating in an open Fabry-Perot cavity formed by a flat metal surface coated with a subwavelength-thick layer of optically pumped gain medium and orthogonally bound by a pair of flat metal sidewalls. We show how the lasing threshold and linewidth can be lowered by incorporating a low-profile tapered grating on the cavity floor to couple the excitation beam into a pump surface plasmon polariton providing a strong modal overlap with the gain medium. Low-perturbation transmission-configuration sampling of the lasing plasmon mode is achieved via an evanescently coupled recessed nanoslit, opening the way to high–figure of merit refractive index sensing of analytes interacting with the open metallic trench. PMID:28989962

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

Stier, Andreas V.; McCreary, Kathleen M.; Jonker, Berend T.

In bulk and quantum-confined semiconductors, magneto-optical studies have historically played an essential role in determining the fundamental parameters of excitons (size, binding energy, spin, dimensionality and so on). Here we report low-temperature polarized reflection spectroscopy of atomically thin WS 2 and MoS 2 in high magnetic fields to 65 T. Both the A and B excitons exhibit similar Zeeman splittings of approximately –230 μeV T–1 (g-factor ≃–4), thereby quantifying the valley Zeeman effect in monolayer transition-metal disulphides. Crucially, these large fields also allow observation of the small quadratic diamagnetic shifts of both A and B excitons in monolayer WS 2,more » from which radii of ~1.53 and ~1.16 nm are calculated. Further, when analysed within a model of non-local dielectric screening, these diamagnetic shifts also constrain estimates of the A and B exciton binding energies (410 and 470 meV, respectively, using a reduced A exciton mass of 0.16 times the free electron mass). Lastly, these results highlight the utility of high magnetic fields for understanding new two-dimensional materials.« less

Direct Observation of Electron-Phonon Coupling and Slow Vibrational Relaxation in Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Perovskites.

PubMed

Straus, Daniel B; Hurtado Parra, Sebastian; Iotov, Natasha; Gebhardt, Julian; Rappe, Andrew M; Subotnik, Joseph E; Kikkawa, James M; Kagan, Cherie R

2016-10-05

Quantum and dielectric confinement effects in 2D hybrid perovskites create excitons with a binding energy exceeding 150 meV. We exploit the large exciton binding energy to study exciton and carrier dynamics as well as electron-phonon coupling in hybrid perovskites using absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopies. At temperatures below 75 K, we resolve splitting of the excitonic absorption and PL into multiple regularly-spaced resonances every 40-46 meV, consistent with electron-phonon coupling to phonons located on the organic cation. We also resolve resonances with a 14 meV spacing, in accord with coupling to phonons with mixed organic and inorganic character, and these assignments are supported by density-functional theory calculations. Hot exciton PL and time-resolved PL measurements show that vibrational relaxation occurs on a picosecond timescale competitive with that for PL. At temperatures above 75 K, excitonic absorption and PL exhibit homogeneous broadening. While absorption remains homogeneous, PL becomes inhomogeneous below 75K, which we speculate is caused by the formation and subsequent dynamics of a polaronic exciton.

Structural characterization and observation of variable range hopping conduction mechanism at high temperature in CdSe quantum dot solids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sinha, Subhojyoti; Kumar Chatterjee, Sanat; Ghosh, Jiten; Kumar Meikap, Ajit

2013-03-01

We have used Rietveld refinement technique to extract the microstructural parameters of thioglycolic acid capped CdSe quantum dots. The quantum dot formation and its efficient capping are further confirmed by HR-TEM, UV-visible and FT-IR spectroscopy. Comparative study of the variation of dc conductivity with temperature (298 K ≤ T ≤ 460 K) is given considering Arrhenius formalism, small polaron hopping and Schnakenberg model. We observe that only Schnakenberg model provides good fit to the non-linear region of the variation of dc conductivity with temperature. Experimental variation of ac conductivity and dielectric parameters with temperature (298 K ≤ T ≤ 460 K) and frequency (80 Hz ≤ f ≤ 2 MHz) are discussed in the light of hopping theory and quantum confinement effect. We have elucidated the observed non-linearity in the I-V curves (measured within ±50 V), at dark and at ambient light, in view of tunneling mechanism. Tunnel exponents and non-linearity weight factors have also been evaluated in this regard.

The interface quality of Ge nanoparticles grown in thick silica matrix

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dasović, J.; Dubček, P.; Pucić, I.; Bernstorff, S.; Radić, N.; Pivac, B.

2017-08-01

Germanium nanoparticles, or Ge quantum dots (QDs), embedded in different transparent dielectric matrix exhibit properties significantly different from the same bulk semiconductor and therefore exhibit a considerable potential for applications in advanced electronic and optoelectronic devices. It is expected that the quantum confinement effect will tune the optical bandgap simply by varying the QDs size. Nevertheless, the question remains whether and how the defects often present in the matrix or at interfaces affect their properties. A thick (SiO2 + Ge) layer was deposited by magnetron sputtering and after suitable thermal treatment spherical Ge QDs were formed in SiO2 matrix with rather narrow size distribution, as confirmed by GIWAXS and GISAXS analysis. It is shown that the formed surface/interface of the QDs with the matrix was rough with fractal nature. Annealing in N2 atmosphere produced photoluminescence (PL) in the visible part of the spectrum which consists of three contributions. All are attributed to structural defects at or close to the Ge/SiOx interface. Time-resolved PL results support the assumption that the three components are dominant in the observed luminescence.

Single-mode tunable laser emission in the single-exciton regime from colloidal nanocrystals

PubMed Central

Grivas, Christos; Li, Chunyong; Andreakou, Peristera; Wang, Pengfei; Ding, Ming; Brambilla, Gilberto; Manna, Liberato; Lagoudakis, Pavlos

2013-01-01

Whispering-gallery-mode resonators have been extensively used in conjunction with different materials for the development of a variety of photonic devices. Among the latter, hybrid structures, consisting of dielectric microspheres and colloidal core/shell semiconductor nanocrystals as gain media, have attracted interest for the development of microlasers and studies of cavity quantum electrodynamic effects. Here we demonstrate single-exciton, single-mode, spectrally tuned lasing from ensembles of optical antenna-designed, colloidal core/shell CdSe/CdS quantum rods deposited on silica microspheres. We obtain single-exciton emission by capitalizing on the band structure of the specific core/shell architecture that strongly localizes holes in the core, and the two-dimensional quantum confinement of electrons across the elongated shell. This creates a type-II conduction band alignment driven by coulombic repulsion that eliminates non-radiative multi-exciton Auger recombination processes, thereby inducing a large exciton–bi-exciton energy shift. Their ultra-low thresholds and single-mode, single-exciton emission make these hybrid lasers appealing for various applications, including quantum information processing. PMID:23974520

Realization of a complementary medium using dielectric photonic crystals.

PubMed

Xu, Tao; Fang, Anan; Jia, Ziyuan; Ji, Liyu; Hang, Zhi Hong

2017-12-01

By exploiting the scaling invariance of photonic band diagrams, a complementary photonic crystal slab structure is realized by stacking two uniformly scaled double-zero-index dielectric photonic crystal slabs together. The space cancellation effect in complementary photonic crystals is demonstrated in both numerical simulations and microwave experiments. The refractive index dispersion of double-zero-index dielectric photonic crystal is experimentally measured. Using pure dielectrics, our photonic crystal structure will be an ideal platform to explore various intriguing properties related to a complementary medium.

Ultrahigh near infrared photoresponsive organic field-effect transistors with lead phthalocyanine/C60 heterojunction on poly(vinyl alcohol) gate dielectric.

PubMed

Sun, Lei; Zhang, Jianping; Zhao, Feiyu; Luo, Xiao; Lv, Wenli; li, Yao; Ren, Qiang; Wen, Zhanwei; Peng, Yingquan; Liu, Xingyuan

2015-05-08

Performances of photoresponsive organic field-effect transistors (photOFETs) operating in the near infrared (NIR) region utilizing SiO2 as the gate dielectric is generally low due to low carrier mobility of the channel. We report on NIR photOFETs based on lead phthalocyanine (PbPc)/C60 heterojunction with ultrahigh photoresponsivity by utilizing poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) as the gate dielectric. For 808 nm NIR illumination of 1.69 mW cm(-2), an ultrahigh photoresponsivity of 21 A W(-1), and an external quantum efficiency of 3230% were obtained at a gate voltage of 30 V and a drain voltage of 80 V, which are 124 times and 126 times as large as the reference device with SiO2 as the gate dielectric, respectively. The ultrahigh enhancement of photoresponsivity is resulted from the huge increase of electron mobility of C60 film grown on PVA dielectric. AFM investigations revealed that the C60 film grown on PVA is much smooth and uniform and the grain size is much larger than that grown on SiO2 dielectric, which together results in four orders of magnitude increase of the field-effect electron mobility of C60 film.

Bandlike Transport in Ferroelectric-Based Organic Field-Effect Transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laudari, A.; Guha, S.

2016-10-01

The dielectric constant of polymer-ferroelectric dielectrics may be tuned by changing the temperature, offering a platform for monitoring changes in interfacial transport with the polarization strength in organic field-effect transistors (FETs). Temperature-dependent transport studies of FETs are carried out from a solution-processed organic semiconductor, 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)pentacene (TIPS-pentacene), using both ferroelectric- and nonferroelectric-gate insulators. Nonferroelectric dielectric-based TIPS-pentacene FETs show a clear activated transport, in contrast to the ferroelectric dielectric polymer, poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene), where a negative temperature coefficient of the mobility is observed in the ferroelectric temperature range. The current-voltage (I -V ) characteristics from TIPS-pentacene diodes signal a space-charge-limited conduction (SCLC) for a discrete set of trap levels, suggesting that charge injection and transport occurs through regions of ordering in the semiconductor. The carrier mobility extracted from temperature-dependent I -V characteristics from the trap-free SCLC region shows a negative coefficient beyond 200 K, similar to the trend observed in FETs with the ferroelectric dielectric. At moderate temperatures, the polarization-fluctuation-dominant transport inherent in a ferroelectric dielectric, in conjunction with the nature of traps, results in an effective detrapping of the shallow-trap states into more mobile states in TIPS-pentacene.

Exciton-dominated dielectric function of atomically thin MoS 2 films

DOE PAGES

Yu, Yiling; Yu, Yifei; Cai, Yongqing; ...

2015-11-24

We systematically measure the dielectric function of atomically thin MoS 2 films with different layer numbers and demonstrate that excitonic effects play a dominant role in the dielectric function when the films are less than 5–7 layers thick. The dielectric function shows an anomalous dependence on the layer number. It decreases with the layer number increasing when the films are less than 5–7 layers thick but turns to increase with the layer number for thicker films. We show that this is because the excitonic effect is very strong in the thin MoS 2 films and its contribution to the dielectricmore » function may dominate over the contribution of the band structure. We also extract the value of layer-dependent exciton binding energy and Bohr radius in the films by fitting the experimental results with an intuitive model. The dominance of excitonic effects is in stark contrast with what reported at conventional materials whose dielectric functions are usually dictated by band structures. Lastly, the knowledge of the dielectric function may enable capabilities to engineer the light-matter interactions of atomically thin MoS 2 films for the development of novel photonic devices, such as metamaterials, waveguides, light absorbers, and light emitters.« less

Plasmonic metamaterials with tuneable optical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zayats, Anatoly

2008-03-01

Negative refraction in metamaterials has recently attracted significant attention due to its possible numerous applications in high-resolution imaging and photolithography with the so-called ``perfect lenses,'' for electromagnetic shielding (invisibility cloak), optical signal manipulation, etc. Among various realizations of negative index materials, plasmonic nanostructures play a prominent role as they allow negative refraction properties to be engineered in the visible and near infrared spectral ranges. The coupling of light to plasmonic modes, that are collective electronic excitations in metallic nanostructures, provides the possibility to confine the electromagnetic field on the sub-wavelength scale and manipulate it with high precision to achieve the desired mode dispersion and, thus, reflection, absorption and transmission properties of the nanostructures. In this talk we will discuss various pathways to control dispersion of the electromagnetic waves in plasmonic metamaterials, including plasmon polaritonic crystals and plasmonic nanorod arrays, and the approaches to active tuneability of their optical properties using optical and electric control signals. Both approaches take advantage of the very high sensitivity of surface plasmon mode dispersion on the refractive index of the dielectric adjacent to metallic nanostructure. Hybridization of plasmonic nanostructures with molecular species exhibiting nonlinear optical response allows the development of metamaterials with high effective nonlinear susceptibility due to the electromagnetic field enhancement related to plasmonic excitations. Signal and control light are then coupled to plasmonic modes that strongly interact via nonlinearity introduced by the hybridization. Concurrently, the use of electro-optically active dielectrics incorporated into plasmonic nanostructures provides the route to control optical signals electronically. Plasmonic metamaterials with tuneable optical properties can be used to control negative refraction and electromagnetic field propagation in various applications in nanophotonics, optoelectronics and optical communications.

Applications of pressure-sensitive dielectric elastomer sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Böse, Holger; Ocak, Deniz; Ehrlich, Johannes

2016-04-01

Dielectric elastomer sensors for the measurement of compression loads with high sensitivity are described. The basic design of the sensors exhibits two profiled surfaces between which an elastomer film is confined. All components of the sensor were prepared with silicone whose stiffness can be varied in a wide range. Depending on details of the sensor design, various effects contribute to the enhancement of the capacitance. The intermediate elastomer film is stretched upon compression and electrode layers on the elastomer profiles and in the elastomer film approach each other. Different designs of the pressure sensor give rise to very different sensor characteristics in terms of the dependence of electric capacitance on compression force. Due to their inherent flexibility, the pressure sensors can be used on compliant substrates such as seats or beds or on the human body. This gives rise to numerous possible applications. The contribution describes also some examples of possible sensor applications. A glove was equipped with various sensors positioned at the finger tips. When grabbing an object with the glove, the sensors can detect the gripping forces of the individual fingers with high sensitivity. In a demonstrator of the glove equipped with seven sensors, the capacitances representing the gripping forces are recorded on a display. In another application example, a lower limb prosthesis was equipped with a pressure sensor to detect the load on the remaining part of the leg and the load is displayed in terms of the measured capacitance. The benefit of such sensors is to detect an eventual overload in order to prevent possible pressure sores. A third example introduces a seat load sensor system based on four extended pressure sensor mats. The sensor system detects the load distribution of a person on the seat. The examples emphasize the high performance of the new pressure sensor technology.

The review of various synthesis methods of barium titanate with the enhanced dielectric properties

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

More, S. P., E-mail: smitalomte@gmail.com; Topare, R. J., E-mail: r-topare@yahoo.com

2016-05-06

The Barium Titanate is a very well known dielectric ceramic belongs to perovskite structure. It has very wide applications in the field of electronic, electro ceramic, electromechanical and electro-optical applications. Barium Titanate has very high dielectric constant as well as low dielectric loss. Substituted dielectrics are one of the most important technological compounds in modern electro ceramics. Its electrical properties can be tuned flexibly by a simple substitution technique. This has encouraged researchers to select a typical cation to be substituted at cationic sites. In the present paper, the review of various synthesis methods of Barium Titanate compound with themore » effect of different dopants, the grain size on the dielectric properties at various temperatures is discussed.« less

On the dielectric dispersion and absorption in nanosized manganese zinc mixed ferrites.

PubMed

Veena Gopalan, E; Malini, K A; Sakthi Kumar, D; Yoshida, Yasuhiko; Al-Omari, I A; Saravanan, S; Anantharaman, M R

2009-04-08

The temperature and frequency dependence of dielectric permittivity and dielectric loss of nanosized Mn(1-x)Zn(x)Fe(2)O(4) (for x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1) were investigated. The impact of zinc substitution on the dielectric properties of the mixed ferrite is elucidated. Strong dielectric dispersion and broad relaxation were exhibited by Mn(1-x)Zn(x)Fe(2)O(4). The variation of dielectric relaxation time with temperature suggests the involvement of multiple relaxation processes. Cole-Cole plots were employed as an effective tool for studying the observed phenomenon. The activation energies were calculated from relaxation peaks and Cole-Cole plots and found to be consistent with each other and indicative of a polaron conduction.

Extending Maxwell's equations for dielectric materials using analytical principles from viscoelasticity based on the fractional calculus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wharmby, Andrew William

Existing fractional calculus models having a non-empirical basis used to describe constitutive relationships between stress and strain in viscoelastic materials are modified to employ all orders of fractional derivatives between zero and one. Parallels between viscoelastic and dielectric theory are drawn so that these modified fractional calculus based models for viscoelastic materials may be used to describe relationships between electric flux density and electric field intensity in dielectric materials. The resulting fractional calculus based dielectric relaxation model is tested using existing complex permittivity data in the radio-frequency bandwidth of a wide variety of homogeneous materials. The consequences that the application of this newly developed fractional calculus based dielectric relaxation model has on Maxwell's equations are also examined through the effects of dielectric dissipation and dispersion.

Effect of nanocomposite gate-dielectric properties on pentacene microstructure and field-effect transistor characteristics.

PubMed

Lee, Wen-Hsi; Wang, Chun-Chieh

2010-02-01

In this study, the effect of surface energy and roughness of the nanocomposite gate dielectric on pentacene morphology and electrical properties of pentacene OTFT are reported. Nanoparticles TiO2 were added in the polyimide matrix to form a nanocomposite which has a significantly different surface characteristic from polyimide, leading to a discrepancy in the structural properties of pentacene growth. A growth mode of pentacene deposited on the nanocomposite is proposed to explain successfully the effect of surface properties of nanocomposite gate dielectric such as surface energy and roughness on the pentacene morphology and electrical properties of OTFT. To obtain the lower surface energy and smoother surface of nanocomposite gate dielectric that is responsible for the desired crystalline, microstructure of pentacene and electrical properties of device, a bottom contact OTFT-pentacene deposited on the double-layer nanocomposite gate dielectric consisting of top smoothing layer of the neat polyimide and bottom layer of (PI+ nano-TiO2 particles) nanocomposite has been successfully demonstrated to exhibit very promising performance including high current on to off ratio of about 6 x 10(5), threshold voltage of -10 V and moderately high filed mobility of 0.15 cm2V(-1)s(-1).

Effect of background dielectric on TE-polarized photonic bandgap of metallodielectric photonic crystals using Dirichlet-to-Neumann map method.

PubMed

Sedghi, Aliasghar; Rezaei, Behrooz

2016-11-20

Using the Dirichlet-to-Neumann map method, we have calculated the photonic band structure of two-dimensional metallodielectric photonic crystals having the square and triangular lattices of circular metal rods in a dielectric background. We have selected the transverse electric mode of electromagnetic waves, and the resulting band structures showed the existence of photonic bandgap in these structures. We theoretically study the effect of background dielectric on the photonic bandgap.

Experimental demonstration of an on-chip polarization splitter in a submicron asymmetric dielectric-coated metal slit

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

Chen, Jianjun, E-mail: jjchern@pku.edu.cn; Sun, Chengwei; Gong, Qihuang

A submicron asymmetric dielectric-coated metal slit with a Fabry–Perot (FP) nano-resonator is experimentally fabricated to realize an ultra-small on-chip polarization splitter. In the hybrid plasmonic structure, both of the transverse-electric (TE) and transverse-magnetic (TM) modes can be efficiently generated on the front metal surface. Based on the quite different resonant conditions and the different field confinements of the two orthogonal polarization modes in the FP resonator, the TM and TE modes are generated to propagate in the opposite directions along the metal surface. In this device, there are no coupling waveguide regions, and the excitation and the splitting of themore » TE and TM modes are integrated into the same asymmetric nano-slit. This considerably shrinks the device dimension to only about 850 nm (about one wavelength). In such a submicron asymmetric slit, the measured extinction ratios for the two opposite directions can reach up to (η{sub L}/η{sub R}){sup TM} ≈ 1:14 and (η{sub L}/η{sub R}){sup TE} ≈ 11:1 at λ = 820 nm. This on-chip submicron polarization splitter is of importance in highly integrated photonic circuits.« less

Properties of strong-coupling magneto-bipolaron qubit in quantum dot under magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu-Fang, Bai; Ying, Zhang; Wuyunqimuge; Eerdunchaolu

2016-07-01

Based on the variational method of Pekar type, we study the energies and the wave-functions of the ground and the first-excited states of magneto-bipolaron, which is strongly coupled to the LO phonon in a parabolic potential quantum dot under an applied magnetic field, thus built up a quantum dot magneto-bipolaron qubit. The results show that the oscillation period of the probability density of the two electrons in the qubit decreases with increasing electron-phonon coupling strength α, resonant frequency of the magnetic field ω c, confinement strength of the quantum dot ω 0, and dielectric constant ratio of the medium η the probability density of the two electrons in the qubit oscillates periodically with increasing time t, angular coordinate φ 2, and dielectric constant ratio of the medium η the probability of electron appearing near the center of the quantum dot is larger, and the probability of electron appearing away from the center of the quantum dot is much smaller. Project supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province, China (Grant No. E2013407119) and the Items of Institution of Higher Education Scientific Research of Hebei Province and Inner Mongolia, China (Grant Nos. ZD20131008, Z2015149, Z2015219, and NJZY14189).

Random-Defect Laser: Manipulating Lossy Two-Level Systems to Produce a Circuit with Coherent Gain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosen, Yaniv

Random two-level system (TLS) defects in dielectrics absorb energy and limit the coherence of superconducting quantum devices including qubits and resonators used in quantum computing applications. So far attempts to reduce this loss have been confined to device design and material optimization. In the present work we demonstrate the ability to control the loss of a dielectric by directly manipulating the population of its TLSs using a uniform swept dc electric field and two AC pump fields. The swept field shifts the TLS energies through a fixed-frequency pump field resulting in an inversion of the TLS population. After the sweep, the TLSs are brought into degeneracy with the resonator where they emit photons. The emission is found to be dependent on individual cavity-TLS interactions, and the narrowing linewidth at increasing photon occupancy indicates stimulated emission. Characterization with a microwave probe shows a transition from ordinary defect loss to negligible microwave absorption, and ultimately to coherent amplification. Thus, instead of absorbing microwave energy, the TLSs can be tuned to reduce loss and even amplify signals. This work was partially supported under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344 and LLNL LDRD SI 16-004.

Independence of the effective dielectric constant of an electrolytic solution on the ionic distribution in the linear Poisson-Nernst-Planck model.

PubMed

Alexe-Ionescu, A L; Barbero, G; Lelidis, I

2014-08-28

We consider the influence of the spatial dependence of the ions distribution on the effective dielectric constant of an electrolytic solution. We show that in the linear version of the Poisson-Nernst-Planck model, the effective dielectric constant of the solution has to be considered independent of any ionic distribution induced by the external field. This result follows from the fact that, in the linear approximation of the Poisson-Nernst-Planck model, the redistribution of the ions in the solvent due to the external field gives rise to a variation of the dielectric constant that is of the first order in the effective potential, and therefore it has to be neglected in the Poisson's equation that relates the actual electric potential across the electrolytic cell to the bulk density of ions. The analysis is performed in the case where the electrodes are perfectly blocking and the adsorption at the electrodes is negligible, and in the absence of any ion dissociation-recombination effect.

Utilizing self-assembled-monolayer-based gate dielectrics to fabricate molybdenum disulfide field-effect transistors

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

Kawanago, Takamasa, E-mail: kawanago.t.ab@m.titech.ac.jp; Oda, Shunri

In this study, we apply self-assembled-monolayer (SAM)-based gate dielectrics to the fabrication of molybdenum disulfide (MoS{sub 2}) field-effect transistors. A simple fabrication process involving the selective formation of a SAM on metal oxides in conjunction with the dry transfer of MoS{sub 2} flakes was established. A subthreshold slope (SS) of 69 mV/dec and no hysteresis were demonstrated with the ultrathin SAM-based gate dielectrics accompanied by a low gate leakage current. The small SS and no hysteresis indicate the superior interfacial properties of the MoS{sub 2}/SAM structure. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy revealed a sharp and abrupt interface of the MoS{sub 2}/SAM structure.more » The SAM-based gate dielectrics are found to be applicable to the fabrication of low-voltage MoS{sub 2} field-effect transistors and can also be extended to various layered semiconductor materials. This study opens up intriguing possibilities of SAM-based gate dielectrics in functional electronic devices.« less

Tunable frequency response of tunnel-type magneto-dielectric effect in Co-MgF2 granular films with different content of Co

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Y.; Umetsu, A.; Kobayashi, N.; Ohnuma, S.; Masumoto, H.

2017-09-01

We have demonstrated the frequency dependence of the tunnel-type magneto-dielectric (TMD) effect in superparamagnetic Cox-(MgF2)1-x granular nanostructures by precise variations of x from 0.06 to 0.2. The structures consist of the nanometer-sized Co granules embedded in a crystallized MgF2 dielectric matrix. We observed an increased peak dielectric change Δɛ'/ɛ'0 from 0.8% to 3% at a specific frequency fTMD, and tunable fTMD was achieved from 8 kHz to 6.6 MHz by increasing x. Theoretical fittings predict that the narrow distribution of relaxation time gave rise to an enhanced Δɛ'/ɛ'0 and the narrowing of fTMD; the position variation of fTMD was attributed to the change in the intergranular distance between a pair of two neighboring granules. This study may help understand the fundamental physics between the TMD effect and nanometric structure and indicate that the films may work at higher frequency for devices with tunable dielectrics.

Role of electron-phonon coupling in finite-temperature dielectric functions of Au, Ag, and Cu

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Meng; Yang, Jia-Yue; Zhang, Shangyu; Liu, Linhua

2017-09-01

Realistic representation of finite temperature dielectric functions of noble metals is crucial in describing the optical properties of advancing applications in plasmonics and optical metamaterials. However, the atomistic origins of the temperature dependence of noble metals' dielectric functions still lack full explanation. In this paper, we implement electronic structure calculations as well as ellipsometry experiments to study the finite temperature dielectric functions of noble metals Au, Ag, and Cu. Theoretically, the intraband dielectric function is described by the Drude model, of which the important quantity electron lifetime is obtained by considering the electron-phonon, electron-electron, and electron-surface scattering mechanism. The electron-phonon coupling is key to determining the temperature dependence of electron lifetime and intraband dielectric function. For the interband dielectric function, it arises from the electronic interband transition. Due to the limitation of incorporating electron-phonon coupling into the interband transition scheme, the temperature dependence of the interband dielectric function is mainly determined by the thermal expansion effect. Experimentally, variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry measures the dielectric functions of Au and Ag over the temperature range of 300-700 K and spectral range of 2-20 µm. Those experimental measurements are consistent with theoretical results and thus verify the theoretical models for the finite temperature dielectric function.

Spectra of confined positronium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Munjal, D.; Silotia, P.; Prasad, V.

2017-12-01

Positronium is studied under the effect of spherically confined plasma environment. Exponentially Cosine Screened Coulomb potential (ECSC) has been used to include the dense plasma screening effect on positronium. Time independent Schrodinger equation is solved numerically. Various physical parameters such as energy eigenvalues, radial matrix elements, oscillator strengths, and polarizability are well explored as a function of confinement parameters. Oscillator strength gets drastically modified under confinement. We have also obtained the results for Ps confined under spherically confined Debye potential and compared with results of ECSC potential. Also incidental degeneracy for different values of confinement parameters has been reported for the first time for positronium.

Automated general temperature correction method for dielectric soil moisture sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kapilaratne, R. G. C. Jeewantinie; Lu, Minjiao

2017-08-01

An effective temperature correction method for dielectric sensors is important to ensure the accuracy of soil water content (SWC) measurements of local to regional-scale soil moisture monitoring networks. These networks are extensively using highly temperature sensitive dielectric sensors due to their low cost, ease of use and less power consumption. Yet there is no general temperature correction method for dielectric sensors, instead sensor or site dependent correction algorithms are employed. Such methods become ineffective at soil moisture monitoring networks with different sensor setups and those that cover diverse climatic conditions and soil types. This study attempted to develop a general temperature correction method for dielectric sensors which can be commonly used regardless of the differences in sensor type, climatic conditions and soil type without rainfall data. In this work an automated general temperature correction method was developed by adopting previously developed temperature correction algorithms using time domain reflectometry (TDR) measurements to ThetaProbe ML2X, Stevens Hydra probe II and Decagon Devices EC-TM sensor measurements. The rainy day effects removal procedure from SWC data was automated by incorporating a statistical inference technique with temperature correction algorithms. The temperature correction method was evaluated using 34 stations from the International Soil Moisture Monitoring Network and another nine stations from a local soil moisture monitoring network in Mongolia. Soil moisture monitoring networks used in this study cover four major climates and six major soil types. Results indicated that the automated temperature correction algorithms developed in this study can eliminate temperature effects from dielectric sensor measurements successfully even without on-site rainfall data. Furthermore, it has been found that actual daily average of SWC has been changed due to temperature effects of dielectric sensors with a significant error factor comparable to ±1% manufacturer's accuracy.

Solvent Dependence of Double Proton Transfer in the Formic Acid-Formamidine Complex: Path Integral Molecular Dynamics Investigation.

PubMed

Kungwan, Nawee; Ngaojampa, Chanisorn; Ogata, Yudai; Kawatsu, Tsutomu; Oba, Yuki; Kawashima, Yukio; Tachikawa, Masanori

2017-10-05

Solvent dependence of double proton transfer in the formic acid-formamidine (FA-FN) complex at room temperature was investigated by means of ab initio path integral molecular dynamics (AIPIMD) simulation with taking nuclear quantum and thermal effects into account. The conductor-like screening model (COSMO) was applied for solvent effect. In comparison with gas phase, double proton delocalization between two heavy atoms (O and N) in FA-FN were observed with reduced proton transfer barrier height in low dielectric constant medium (<4.8). For dielectric constant medium at 4.8, the chance of finding these two protons are more pronounced due to the solvent effect which completely washes out the proton transfer barrier. In the case of higher dielectric constant medium (>4.8), the ionic species becomes more stable than the neutral ones and the formate anion and formamidium cation are thermodynamically stable. For ab initio molecular dynamics simulation, in low dielectric constant medium (<4.8) a reduction of proton transfer barrier with solvent effect is found to be less pronounced than the AIPIMD due to the absence of nuclear quantum effect. Moreover, the motions of FA-FN complex are significantly different with increasing dielectric constant medium. Such a difference is revealed in detail by the principal component analysis.

Study on the dielectric properties of Al2O3/TiO2 sub-nanometric laminates: effect of the bottom electrode and the total thickness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ben Elbahri, M.; Kahouli, A.; Mercey, B.; Lebedev, O.; Donner, W.; Lüders, U.

2018-02-01

Dielectrics based on amorphous sub-nanometric laminates of TiO2 and Al2O3 are subject to elevated dielectric losses and leakage currents, in large parts due to the extremely thin individual layer thickness chosen for the creation of the Maxwell-Wagner relaxation and therefore the high apparent dielectric constants. The optimization of performances of the laminate itself being strongly limited by this contradiction concerning its internal structure, we will show in this study that modifications of the dielectric stack of capacitors based on these sub-nanometric laminates can positively influence the dielectric losses and the leakage, as for example the nature of the electrodes, the introduction of thick insulating layers at the laminate/electrode interfaces and the modification of the total laminate thickness. The optimization of the dielectric stack leads to the demonstration of a capacitor with an apparent dielectric constant of 90, combined with low dielectric loss (tan δ) of 7 · 10-2 and with leakage currents smaller than 1  ×  10-6 A cm-2 at 10 MV m-1.

Polarization-induced transport in organic field-effect transistors: the role of ferroelectric dielectrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guha, Suchismita; Laudari, Amrit

2017-08-01

The ferroelectric nature of polymer ferroelectrics such as poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) has been known for over 45 years. However, its role in interfacial transport in organic/polymeric field-effect transistors (FETs) is not that well understood. Dielectrics based on PVDF and its copolymers are a perfect test-bed for conducting transport studies where a systematic tuning of the dielectric constant with temperature may be achieved. The charge transport mechanism in an organic semiconductor often occurs at the intersection of band-like coherent motion and incoherent hopping through localized states. By choosing two small molecule organic semiconductors - pentacene and 6,13 bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)pentacene (TIPS-pentacene) - along with a copolymer of PVDF (PVDF-TrFe) as the dielectric layer, the transistor characteristics are monitored as a function of temperature. A negative coefficient of carrier mobility is observed in TIPS-pentacene upwards of 200 K with the ferroelectric dielectric. In contrast, TIPS-pentacene FETs show an activated transport with non-ferroelectric dielectrics. Pentacene FETs, on the other hand, show a weak temperature dependence of the charge carrier mobility in the ferroelectric phase of PVDF-TrFE, which is attributed to polarization fluctuation driven transport resulting from a coupling of the charge carriers to the surface phonons of the dielectric layer. Further, we show that there is a strong correlation between the nature of traps in the organic semiconductor and interfacial transport in organic FETs, especially in the presence of a ferroelectric dielectric.

Dielectric Surface Effects on Transient Arcs in Lightning Arrester Devices

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-06-01

pp. 816– 823, 1971. [13] V. I. Gibalov and G. J. Pietsch , “The development of dielectric barrier discharges in gas gaps and on surfaces,” J. Phys. D...Appl. Phys., vol. 33, p. 2618, 2000. [14] D. Braun, V. Gibalov, and G. Pietsch , “Two-dimensional modelling of the dielectric barrier discharge in air

Unraveling the Dynamics of Nanoscopically Confined PVME in Thin Films of a Miscible PVME/PS Blend.

PubMed

Madkour, Sherif; Szymoniak, Paulina; Radnik, Jörg; Schönhals, Andreas

2017-10-25

Broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) was employed to investigate the glassy dynamics of thin films (7-200 nm) of a poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME)/polystyrene (PS) blend (50:50 wt %). For BDS measurements, nanostructured capacitors (NSCs) were employed, where films are allowed a free surface. This method was applied for film thicknesses up to 36 nm. For thicker films, samples were prepared between crossed electrode capacitors (CECs). The relaxation spectra of the films showed multiple processes. The first process was assigned to the α-relaxation of a bulklike layer. For films measured by NSCs, the rates of α-relaxation were higher compared to those of the bulk blend. This behavior was related to the PVME-rich free surface layer at the polymer/air interface. The second process was observed for all films measured by CECs (process X) and the 36 nm film measured by NSCs (process X2). This process was assigned to fluctuations of constraint PVME segments by PS. Its activation energy was found to be thickness-dependent because of the evidenced thickness dependency of the compositional heterogeneity. Finally, a third process with an activated temperature dependence was observed for all films measured by NSCs (process X1). It resembled the molecular fluctuations in an adsorbed layer found for thin films of pure PVME, and thus, it is assigned accordingly. This process undergoes an extra confinement because of frozen adsorbed PS segments at the polymer/substrate interface. To our knowledge, this is the first example where confinement-induced changes were observed by BDS for blend thin films.

Hopfield-Kerr model and analogue black hole radiation in dielectrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belgiorno, F.; Cacciatori, S. L.; Dalla Piazza, F.; Doronzo, M.

2017-11-01

In the context of the interaction between the electromagnetic field and a dielectric dispersive lossless medium, we present a nonlinear version of the relativistically covariant Hopfield model, which is suitable for the description of a dielectric Kerr perturbation propagating in a dielectric medium. The nonlinearity is introduced in the Lagrangian through a self-interacting term proportional to the fourth power of the polarization field. We find an exact solution for the nonlinear equations describing a propagating perturbation in the dielectric medium. Furthermore, the presence of an analogue Hawking effect, as well as the thermal properties of the model, are discussed, confirming and improving the results achieved in the scalar case.

Enhanced ZnO Thin-Film Transistor Performance Using Bilayer Gate Dielectrics.

PubMed

Alshammari, Fwzah H; Nayak, Pradipta K; Wang, Zhenwei; Alshareef, Husam N

2016-09-07

We report ZnO TFTs using Al2O3/Ta2O5 bilayer gate dielectrics grown by atomic layer deposition. The saturation mobility of single layer Ta2O5 dielectric TFT was 0.1 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1), but increased to 13.3 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) using Al2O3/Ta2O5 bilayer dielectric with significantly lower leakage current and hysteresis. We show that point defects present in ZnO film, particularly VZn, are the main reason for the poor TFT performance with single layer dielectric, although interfacial roughness scattering effects cannot be ruled out. Our approach combines the high dielectric constant of Ta2O5 and the excellent Al2O3/ZnO interface quality, resulting in improved device performance.

Heat treatment effects on dielectric properties of SRFe{sub 12}O{sub 19} hexaferrite prepared by an SHS route

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

Panchal, Nital R.; Jotania, Rajshree B., E-mail: natal_panchal@yahoo.co.in, E-mail: rbjotania@gmail.com

2011-07-01

The M-type Strontium Hexaferrite SRFe{sub 12}O{sub 19} particles were prepared by a Self propagating High temperature Synthesis (SHS) route. Precursors were heated under two different conditions: microwave heating for 30 minutes and sintered at 950 deg C for 4 hrs. The dielectric properties: dielectric constant ({epsilon}{sup '}), dielectric loss (tan {delta} ) and ac conductivity ({sigma}{sub ac}) were measured at room temperature in the frequency range from 100 Hz to 2 MHz. The samples present a non-linear behavior for the dielectric constant at 1 kHz, 100 kHz and 2 MHz. The dielectric properties of prepared Strontium Hexaferrite samples were discussedmore » in view of applications as a material for microwave devices, permanent magnets and high density magnetic recording media. (author)« less

Effects of high sound speed confiners on ANFO detonations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiyanda, Charles; Jackson, Scott; Short, Mark

2011-06-01

The interaction between high explosive (HE) detonations and high sound speed confiners, where the confiner sound speed exceeds the HE's detonation speed, has not been thoroughly studied. The subsonic nature of the flow in the confiner allows stress waves to travel ahead of the main detonation front and influence the upstream HE state. The interaction between the detonation wave and the confiner is also no longer a local interaction, so that the confiner thickness now plays a significant role in the detonation dynamics. We report here on larger scale experiments in which a mixture of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil (ANFO) is detonated in aluminium confiners with varying charge diameter and confiner thickness. The results of these large-scale experiments are compared with previous large-scale ANFO experiments in cardboard, as well as smaller-scale aluminium confined ANFO experiments, to characterize the effects of confiner thickness.

Effect of doping ions on the structural defect and the electrical behavior of CaCu{sub 3}Ti{sub 4}O{sub 12} ceramics

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

Xue, Renzhong; Department of Technology and Physics, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, Zhengzhou 450002; Zhao, Gaoyang, E-mail: zhaogy@xaut.edu.cn

Graphical abstract: The dielectric constant decreases with Ta doping, increases with Y doping and keeps almost constant with Zr doping compared with that of pure CCTO. - Highlights: • Y and Ta doping cause different defect types and concentration. • Defect influences the grain boundary mobility and results in different grain size. • Y doping increases the dielectric constant and decreases the nonlinear property. • Ta doping decreases the dielectric constant and enhances the nonlinear property. • Zr doped sample has nearly the defect type and dielectric properties as CaCu{sub 3}Ti{sub 4}O{sub 12}. - Abstract: The microstructure, dielectric and electricalmore » properties of CaCu{sub 3}Ti{sub 4−x}R{sub x}O{sub 12} (R = Y, Zr, Ta; x = 0 and 0.005) ceramics were investigated by XRD, Raman spectra, SEM and dielectric spectrum measurements. Positron annihilation measurements have been performed to investigate the influence of doping on the defects. The results show that all samples form a single crystalline phase. Y and Ta doping cause different defect types and increase the defect size and concentration, which influence the mobility of grain boundary and result in the different grain size. Y doping increases the dielectric constant and decreases the nonlinear property while Ta doping lead to an inverse result. Zr-doped sample has nearly the defect type, grain morphology and dielectric properties as pure CaCu{sub 3}Ti{sub 4}O{sub 12}. The effects of microstructure including the grain morphology and the vacancy defects on the mechanism of the dielectric and electric properties by doping are discussed.« less

Mechanistic study of plasma damage to porous low-k: Process development and dielectric recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Hualiang

Low-k dielectrics with porosity are being introduced to reduce the RC delay of Cu/low-k interconnect. However, during the O2 plasma ashing process, the porous low-k dielectrics tend to degrade due to methyl depletion, moisture uptake, and densification, increasing the dielectric constant and leakage current. This dissertation presents a study of the mechanisms of plasma damage and dielectric recovery. The kinetics of plasma interaction with low-k dielectrics was investigated both experimentally and theoretically. By using a gap structure, the roles of ion, photon, and radical in producing damage on low-k dielectrics were differentiated. Oxidative plasma induced damage was proportional to the oxygen radical density, enhanced by VUV photon, and increased with substrate temperature. Ion bombardment induced surface densification, blocking radical diffusion. Two analytical models were derived to quantify the plasma damage. Based on the radical diffusion, reaction, and recombination inside porous low-k dielectrics, a plasma altered layer model was derived to interpret the chemical effect in the low ion energy region. It predicted that oxidative plasma induced damage can be reduced by decreasing pore radius, substrate temperature, and oxygen radical density and increasing carbon concentration and surface recombination rate inside low-k dielectrics. The model validity was verified by experiments and Monte-Carlo simulations. This model was also extended to the patterned low-k structure. Based on the ion collision cascade process, a sputtering yield model was introduced to interpret the physical effect in the high ion energy region. The model validity was verified by checking the ion angular and energy dependences of sputtering yield using O2/He/Ar plasma, low-k dielectrics with different k values, and a Faraday cage. Low-k dielectrics and plasma process were optimized to reduce plasma damage, including increasing carbon concentration in low-k dielectrics, switching plasma generator from ICP to RIE, increasing hard mask thickness, replacing O2 by CO2 plasma, increasing CO addition in CO/O 2 plasma, and increasing N2 addition in CO2/N 2 plasma. By combining analytical techniques with the Kramers-Kronig dispersion relation and quantum chemistry calculation, the origin of dielectric loss was ascribed to the physisorbed water molecules. Post-ash CH4 plasma treatment, vapor silylation process, and UV radiation were developed to repair plasma damage.

Microstructure and dielectric properties of silver-barium titanate nanocomplex materials by wet chemical approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ueno, Shintaro; Sakamoto, Yasunao; Nakashima, Kouichi; Wada, Satoshi

2014-09-01

To develop ceramic capacitors with a high effective dielectric constant, we attempted to fabricate BaTiO3 (BT) complexes with embedded Ag nanoparticles by wet chemical processes. Ag nanoparticle-adsorbed dendritic BT particles, Ag-BT hybrid particles, were synthesized from the sol-gel-derived precursor gel powders containing Ag, Ba, and Ti by hydrothermal treatment. These particles were pressed with BT fillers and TiO2 precursor nanoparticles into green compacts, and then, the green compacts were chemically converted into the Ag/BT nanocomplex compacts in Ba(OH)2 aqueous solution under the hydrothermal condition at 160 °C. The effective dielectric constant of the resultant Ag/BT nanocomplexes increases with an increase in Ag content. The maximal effective dielectric constant of approximately 900 was recorded for the nanocomplex with the Ag content of 10.7 vol %.

Direct measurement of the effective infrared dielectric response of a highly doped semiconductor metamaterial.

PubMed

Al Mohtar, Abeer; Kazan, Michel; Taliercio, Thierry; Cerutti, Laurent; Blaize, Sylvain; Bruyant, Aurélien

2017-03-24

We have investigated the effective dielectric response of a subwavelength grating made of highly doped semiconductors (HDS) excited in reflection, using numerical simulations and spectroscopic measurement. The studied system can exhibit strong localized surface resonances and has, therefore, a great potential for surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) spectroscopy application. It consists of a highly doped InAsSb grating deposited on lattice-matched GaSb. The numerical analysis demonstrated that the resonance frequencies can be inferred from the dielectric function of an equivalent homogeneous slab by accounting for the complex reflectivity of the composite layer. Fourier transform infrared reflectivity (FTIR) measurements, analyzed with the Kramers-Kronig conversion technique, were used to deduce the effective response in reflection of the investigated system. From the knowledge of this phenomenological dielectric function, transversal and longitudinal energy-loss functions were extracted and attributed to transverse and longitudinal resonance modes frequencies.

Effect of organic flux on the colossal dielectric constant of CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Razdan, Vishnu; Singh, Abhishek; Arnold, Brad; Choa, Fow-Sen; Kelly, Lisa; Singh, N. B.

2015-05-01

We have used low temperature organics to achieve orientation of the grains of Ca2/3Cu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) compound to increase the resistivity. During the past fifteen years CCTO has been studied extensively for its performance as a dielectric capacitor. We have synthesized and grown large grains of pure Ca2/3Cu3Ti4O12 and doped compound, and studied the dielectric constant and resistivity. The grains were aligned by using a naphthalene-camphor eutectic. CCTO was mixed in the organic melt and oriented by the directional solidification method. This material has different characteristics than pure processed CCTO material. The effect of solidification conditions and its effect on the morphology and the dielectric constant, resistivity and loss tan delta of pure and doped CCTO are described in this article.

Model dielectric function for 2D semiconductors including substrate screening

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trolle, Mads L.; Pedersen, Thomas G.; Véniard, Valerie

2017-01-01

Dielectric screening of excitons in 2D semiconductors is known to be a highly non-local effect, which in reciprocal space translates to a strong dependence on momentum transfer q. We present an analytical model dielectric function, including the full non-linear q-dependency, which may be used as an alternative to more numerically taxing ab initio screening functions. By verifying the good agreement between excitonic optical properties calculated using our model dielectric function, and those derived from ab initio methods, we demonstrate the versatility of this approach. Our test systems include: Monolayer hBN, monolayer MoS2, and the surface exciton of a 2 × 1 reconstructed Si(111) surface. Additionally, using our model, we easily take substrate screening effects into account. Hence, we include also a systematic study of the effects of substrate media on the excitonic optical properties of MoS2 and hBN.

Aggregate linear properties of ferroelectric ceramics and polycrystalline thin films: Calculation by the method of effective piezoelectric medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pertsev, N. A.; Zembilgotov, A. G.; Waser, R.

1998-08-01

The effective dielectric, piezoelectric, and elastic constants of polycrystalline ferroelectric materials are calculated from single-crystal data by an advanced method of effective medium, which takes into account the piezoelectric interactions between grains in full measure. For bulk BaTiO3 and PbTiO3 polarized ceramics, the dependences of material constants on the remanent polarization are reported. Dielectric and elastic constants are computed also for unpolarized c- and a-textured ferroelectric thin films deposited on cubic or amorphous substrates. It is found that the dielectric properties of BaTiO3 and PbTiO3 polycrystalline thin films strongly depend on the type of crystal texture. The influence of two-dimensional clamping by the substrate on the dielectric and piezoelectric responses of polarized films is described quantitatively and shown to be especially important for the piezoelectric charge coefficient of BaTiO3 films.

Vacuum-processed polyethylene as a dielectric for low operating voltage organic field effect transistors

PubMed Central

Kanbur, Yasin; Irimia-Vladu, Mihai; Głowacki, Eric D.; Voss, Gundula; Baumgartner, Melanie; Schwabegger, Günther; Leonat, Lucia; Ullah, Mujeeb; Sarica, Hizir; Erten-Ela, Sule; Schwödiauer, Reinhard; Sitter, Helmut; Küçükyavuz, Zuhal; Bauer, Siegfried; Sariciftci, Niyazi Serdar

2012-01-01

We report on the fabrication and performance of vacuum-processed organic field effect transistors utilizing evaporated low-density polyethylene (LD-PE) as a dielectric layer. With C60 as the organic semiconductor, we demonstrate low operating voltage transistors with field effect mobilities in excess of 4 cm2/Vs. Devices with pentacene showed a mobility of 0.16 cm2/Vs. Devices using tyrian Purple as semiconductor show low-voltage ambipolar operation with equal electron and hole mobilities of ∼0.3 cm2/Vs. These devices demonstrate low hysteresis and operational stability over at least several months. Grazing-angle infrared spectroscopy of evaporated thin films shows that the structure of the polyethylene is similar to solution-cast films. We report also on the morphological and dielectric properties of these films. Our experiments demonstrate that polyethylene is a stable dielectric supporting both hole and electron channels. PMID:23483783

Broadening of Distribution of Trap States in PbS Quantum Dot Field-Effect Transistors with High-k Dielectrics

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

We perform a quantitative analysis of the trap density of states (trap DOS) in PbS quantum dot field-effect transistors (QD-FETs), which utilize several polymer gate insulators with a wide range of dielectric constants. With increasing gate dielectric constant, we observe increasing trap DOS close to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of the QDs. In addition, this increase is also consistently followed by broadening of the trap DOS. We rationalize that the increase and broadening of the spectral trap distribution originate from dipolar disorder as well as polaronic interactions, which are appearing at strong dielectric polarization. Interestingly, the increased polaron-induced traps do not show any negative effect on the charge carrier mobility in our QD devices at the highest applied gate voltage, giving the possibility to fabricate efficient low-voltage QD devices without suppressing carrier transport. PMID:28084725

Effect of solution combusted TiO2 nanopowder within commercial BaTiO3 dielectric layer on the photoelectric properties for AC powder electroluminescence devices.

PubMed

Park, Sung; Choi, Gil Rak; Kim, Youn Cheol; Lee, Jae Chun; Lee, Ju Hyeon

2013-05-01

A unique synthesis method was developed, which is called solution combustion method (SCM). TiO2 nanopowder was synthesized by this method. This SCM TiO2 nanopowder (-35 nm) was added to the dielectric layer of AC powder electroluminescence (EL) device. The dielectric layer was made of commercial BaTiO3 powder (-1.2 microm) and binding polymer. 0, 5, 10 and 15 wt% of SCM TiO2 nanopowder was added to the dielectric layer during fabrication of AC powder EL device respectively. Dielectric constant of these four kinds of dielectric layers was measured. The brightness and current density of AC powder EL device were also measured. When 10 wt% of SCM TiO2 nanopowder was added, dielectric constant and brightness were increased by 30% and 101% respectively. Furthermore, the current density was decreased by 71%. This means that the brightness was double and the power consumption was one third.

Effect of Temperature on Formation and Stability of Shallow Trap at a Dielectric Interface of the Multilayer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogti, F.

2015-12-01

Space-charge behavior at dielectric interfaces in multilayer low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) subjected to a direct-current (DC) field has been investigated as a function of temperature using the pulsed electroacoustic technique. A sandwich structure constituted by two nonidentical LDPE/FEP dielectric films was used to study the charging propensity of electrode/dielectric and dielectric/dielectric interfaces. The time dependence of the space-charge distribution was subsequently recorded at four temperatures, 20°C, 25°C, 40°C, and 60°C, under field (polarization) and short-circuit (depolarization) conditions. The experimental results demonstrate that temperature plays a significant role in the space-charge dynamics at the dielectric interface. It affects the charge injection, increases the charge mobility and electrical conductivity, and increases the density of shallow traps and trap filling. It is found that traps formed during polarization at high temperature do not remain stable after complete discharge of the multidielectric structure and when poled at low temperatures.

Enhanced dielectric performance of three phase percolative composites based on thermoplastic-ceramic composites and surface modified carbon nanotube

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Yang; Sun, Haoliang; Zhu, Benpeng; Wang, Ziyu; Wei, Jianhong; Xiong, Rui; Shi, Jing; Liu, Zhengyou; Lei, Qingquan

2015-01-01

Three-phase composites were prepared by embedding CaCu3Ti4O12(CCTO) nanoparticles and Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube (MWNT) into polyimide (PI) matrix via in-situ polymerization. The dependences of electric and dielectric properties of the resultant composites on volume fractions of filler and frequency were investigated. The dielectric permittivity of PI/CCTO-surface modified MWNT (MWNT-S) composite reached as high as 252 at 100 Hz at 0.1 vol. % filler (MWNT-S), which is about 63 times higher than that of pure PI. Also the dielectric loss is only 0.02 at 100 Hz. The results are in good agreement with the percolation theory. It is shown that embedding high aspect ratio MWNT-S in PI/CCTO composites is an effective means to enhance the dielectric permittivity and reduce the percolation threshold. The dielectric properties of the composites will meet the practical requirements for the application in high dielectric constant capacitors and high energy density materials.

Solution-processable alumina: PVP nanocomposite dielectric layer for high-performance organic thin-film transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Hui; Kong, Xiao; Li, Yiran; Kuang, Peng; Tao, Silu

2018-03-01

In this article, we have investigated the effect of nanocomposite gate dielectric layer built by alumina (Al2O3) and poly(4-vinyphenol) (PVP) with solution method which could enhance the dielectric capability and decrease the surface polarity. Then, we used modify layer to optimize the surface morphology of dielectric layer to further improve the insulation capability, and finally we fabricated the high-performance and low-voltage organic thin-film transistors by using this nanocomposite dielectric layer. The result shows that the devices with Al2O3:10%PVP dielectric layer with a modified layer exhibited a mobility of 0.49 cm2/Vs, I on/Ioff ratio of 7.8 × 104, threshold voltage of - 1.2 V, sub-threshold swing of 0.3 V/dec, and operating voltage as low as - 4 V. The improvement of devices performance was owing to the good insulation capability, appropriate capacitance of dielectric layer, and preferable interface contact, smaller crystalline size of active layer.

Streamer propagation in air near and on curved dielectrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dubinova, Anna; Ebert, Ute

2016-09-01

We simulate propagation of a positive streamer in air around a curved dielectric with a pronounced shading effect. In our setup a positive streamer is launched at the tip of a pin anode and propagates towards a grounded plate cathode. On the way of the streamer propagation path we place a curved dielectric body (e.g., a dielectric ball) of a diameter larger than the streamer diameter. This obstacle makes a streamer move around it. At the corner of the dielectric a surface streamer has a choice of moving along the surface or moving away from it. We explore physical mechanisms that can force a surface streamer to move all the way around a curved dielectric in air and nitrogen-oxygen mixtures. The potential candidates are secondary electron emission such as photoemission or field emission, higher dielectric permittivity, surface charge, lack of photoionization (in pure nitrogen). The problem is relevant for high-voltage technology, where surface streamers are often to be avoided. This research is supported by ABB Corporate Research.

Plasmon analysis and homogenization in plane layered photonic crystals and hyperbolic metamaterials

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

Davidovich, M. V., E-mail: davidovichmv@info.sgu.ru

2016-12-15

Dispersion equations are obtained and analysis and homogenization are carried out in periodic and quasiperiodic plane layered structures consisting of alternating dielectric layers, metal and dielectric layers, as well as graphene sheets and dielectric (SiO{sub 2}) layers. Situations are considered when these structures acquire the properties of hyperbolic metamaterials (HMMs), i.e., materials the real parts of whose effective permittivity tensor have opposite signs. It is shown that the application of solely dielectric layers is more promising in the context of reducing losses.

Resonant frequency of microstrip antennas calculated from TE-excitation of an infinite strip embedded in a grounded dielectric slab

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bailey, M. C.

1979-01-01

The calculation of currents induced by a plane wave normally incident upon an infinite strip embedded in a grounded dielectric slab is used to infer the resonant width (or frequency) of rectangular microstrip antennas. By placing the strip inside the dielectric, the effect of a dielectric cover of the same material as the substrate can be included in the calculation of resonant frequency. A comparison with measured results indicated agreement of 1 percent or better for rectangular microstrip antennas constructed on Teflon-fiberglass substrate.

Subwavelength dielectric nanorod chains for energy transfer in the visible range.

PubMed

Li, Dongdong; Zhang, Jingjing; Yan, Changchun; Xu, Zhengji; Zhang, Dao Hua

2017-10-15

We report a new type of energy transfer device, formed by a dielectric nanorod array embedded in a silver slab. Such dielectric chain structures allow surface plasmon wave guiding with large propagation length and highly suppressed crosstalk between adjacent transmission channels. The simulation results show that our proposed design can be used to enhance the energy transfer along the waveguide-like dielectric nanorod chains via coupled plasmons, where the energy spreading is effectively suppressed, and superior imaging properties in terms of resolution and energy transfer distance can be achieved.

Simulation Studies of the Dielectric Grating as an Accelerating and Focusing Structure

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

Soong, Ken; Peralta, E.A.; Byer, R.L.

A grating-based design is a promising candidate for a laser-driven dielectric accelerator. Through simulations, we show the merits of a readily fabricated grating structure as an accelerating component. Additionally, we show that with a small design perturbation, the accelerating component can be converted into a focusing structure. The understanding of these two components is critical in the successful development of any complete accelerator. The concept of accelerating electrons with the tremendous electric fields found in lasers has been proposed for decades. However, until recently the realization of such an accelerator was not technologically feasible. Recent advances in the semiconductor industry,more » as well as advances in laser technology, have now made laser-driven dielectric accelerators imminent. The grating-based accelerator is one proposed design for a dielectric laser-driven accelerator. This design, which was introduced by Plettner, consists of a pair of opposing transparent binary gratings, illustrated in Fig. 1. The teeth of the gratings serve as a phase mask, ensuring a phase synchronicity between the electromagnetic field and the moving particles. The current grating accelerator design has the drive laser incident perpendicular to the substrate, which poses a laser-structure alignment complication. The next iteration of grating structure fabrication seeks to monolithically create an array of grating structures by etching the grating's vacuum channel into a fused silica wafer. With this method it is possible to have the drive laser confined to the plane of the wafer, thus ensuring alignment of the laser-and-structure, the two grating halves, and subsequent accelerator components. There has been previous work using 2-dimensional finite difference time domain (2D-FDTD) calculations to evaluate the performance of the grating accelerator structure. However, this work approximates the grating as an infinite structure and does not accurately model a realizable structure. In this paper, we will present a 3-dimensional frequency-domain simulation of both the infinite and the finite grating accelerator structure. Additionally, we will present a new scheme for a focusing structure based on a perturbation of the accelerating structure. We will present simulations of this proposed focusing structure and quantify the quality of the focusing fields.« less

Pursuing Polymer Dielectric Interfacial Effect in Organic Transistors for Photosensing Performance Optimization.

PubMed

Wu, Xiaohan; Chu, Yingli; Liu, Rui; Katz, Howard E; Huang, Jia

2017-12-01

Polymer dielectrics in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) are essential to provide the devices with overall flexibility, stretchability, and printability and simultaneously introduce charge interaction on the interface with organic semiconductors (OSCs). The interfacial effect between various polymer dielectrics and OSCs significantly and intricately influences device performance. However, understanding of this effect is limited because the interface is buried and the interfacial charge interaction is difficult to stimulate and characterize. Here, this challenge is overcome by utilizing illumination to stimulate the interfacial effect in various OFETs and to characterize the responses of the effect by measuring photoinduced changes of the OFETs performances. This systemic investigation reveals the mechanism of the intricate interfacial effect in detail, and mathematically explains how the photosensitive OFETs characteristics are determined by parameters including polar group of the polymer dielectric and the OSC side chain. By utilizing this mechanism, performance of organic electronics can be precisely controlled and optimized. OFETs with strong interfacial effect can also show a signal additivity caused by repeated light pulses, which is applicable for photostimulated synapse emulator. Therefore, this work enlightens a detailed understanding on the interface effect and provides novel strategies for optimizing OFET photosensory performances.

A Spacecraft Charging Capability for SXTF.

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-01-17

surfaces can charge up. ’Iiiis differential charging of satellite surfaces can cause vacutum sparks , and dielectric breakdowns, and wi 11 effect the S...times required to reach steady charge state in the spacecraft internal dielectrics upon electron irradiation. In space , typical times (order of magni...WORDS (Continue on reverse side it necessary end Identify by block nunmber) Spacecraft charging Dielectric breakdown SGEMP Electron accelerators

Effect of argon ion implantation on the electrical and dielectric properties of CR-39

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

Chawla, Mahak, E-mail: mahak.chawla@gmail.com; Shekhawat, Nidhi; Goyal, Meetika

2016-05-23

The objective of the present work is to study the effect of 130 keV Ar{sup +} ions on the electrical and dielectric properties of CR-39 samples at various doses 5×10{sup 14}, 1×10{sup 15} and 1×10{sup 16} Ar{sup +} cm{sup −2}. Current-Voltage (I-V characteristics) measurements have been used to study the electrical properties of virgin and Ar{sup +} implanted CR-39 specimens. The current has been found to be increased with increasing voltage as well as with increasing ion dose. The dielectric spectroscopy of these specimens has been done in the frequency range of 100 kHz-100 MHz. The dielectric constant has been found tomore » be decreasing whereas dielectric loss factor increases with increasing ion fluence. These kind of behavior observed in the implanted specimens indicate towards the formation of carbonaceous clusters due to the cross linking, chemical bond cleavage, formation of free radicals. The changes observed in the dielectric behavior have been further correlated with the structural changes observed through I-V characteristics.« less

Ferroelectric polymer dielectrics: Emerging materials for future electrostatic energy storage applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panda, Maheswar

2018-05-01

In this manuscript, the dielectric behavior of a variety of ferroelectric polymer dielectrics (FPD), which may bethe materials for future electrostatic energy storage application shave been discussed. The variety of polymer dielectrics, comprising of ferroelectric polymer[polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)]/non-polarpolymer [low density polyethylene (LDPE)] and different sizes of metal particles (Ni, quasicrystal of Al-Cu-Fe) as filler, were prepared through different process conditions (cold press/hot press) and are investigated experimentally. Very high values of effective dielectric constants (ɛeff) with low loss tangent (Tan δ) were observed forall the prepared FPD at their respective percolation thresholds (fc). The enhancement of ɛeff and Tan δ at the insulator to metal transition (IMT) is explained through the boundary layer capacitor effect and the percolation theory respectively. The non-universal fc/critical exponents across the IMT have been explained through percolation theory andis attributed to the fillerparticle size& shape, interaction between the components, method of their preparation, adhesiveness, connectivity and homogeneity, etc. of the samples. Recent results on developed FPD with high ɛeff and low Tan δ prepared through cold press have proven themselves to be the better candidates for low frequency and static dielectric applications.

Polymer/metal oxide hybrid dielectrics for low voltage field-effect transistors with solution-processed, high-mobility semiconductors

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

Held, Martin; Schießl, Stefan P.; Gannott, Florentina

Transistors for future flexible organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display backplanes should operate at low voltages and be able to sustain high currents over long times without degradation. Hence, high capacitance dielectrics with low surface trap densities are required that are compatible with solution-processable high-mobility semiconductors. Here, we combine poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and atomic layer deposition hafnium oxide (HfO{sub x}) into a bilayer hybrid dielectric for field-effect transistors with a donor-acceptor polymer (DPPT-TT) or single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) as the semiconductor and demonstrate substantially improved device performances for both. The ultra-thin PMMA layer ensures a low density of trap states atmore » the semiconductor-dielectric interface while the metal oxide layer provides high capacitance, low gate leakage and superior barrier properties. Transistors with these thin (≤70 nm), high capacitance (100–300 nF/cm{sup 2}) hybrid dielectrics enable low operating voltages (<5 V), balanced charge carrier mobilities and low threshold voltages. Moreover, the hybrid layers substantially improve the bias stress stability of the transistors compared to those with pure PMMA and HfO{sub x} dielectrics.« less

Line of charges in electrolyte solution near a half-space I. Counterion condensation.

PubMed

Tang, Tian; Jagota, Anand; Hui, Chung-Yuen

2006-07-15

The effect of a half-space on counterion condensation around a line of charges in electrolyte solution is examined in the framework of Debye-Hückel electrostatics. The half-space substrate is allowed to be a conductor, a dielectric, or a semiconductor. Counterions are predicted to be released completely as the line of charges approaches a conducting substrate. When it approaches a dielectric substrate, depending on the ratio of solvent to substrate dielectric constant, there are three possibilities: (1) epsilon(sol)/epsilon(sub) < 1; the counterions are partially (or completely) released; (2) epsilon(sol)/epsilon(sub) = 1; the amount of condensation remains unchanged; and (3) epsilon(sol)/epsilon(sub) > 1; more counterions condense. Depending on the relative magnitude of screening lengths in the semiconductor and in the solution, its effect on condensation follows either that of a metal or that of a dielectric. For the case of a moderately doped silicon substrate, condensation is predicted to be similar to that for a dielectric.

High-performance, low-operating voltage, and solution-processable organic field-effect transistor with silk fibroin as the gate dielectric

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

Shi, Leilei; Xu, Xinjun, E-mail: xuxj@mater.ustb.edu.cn, E-mail: lidong@mater.ustb.edu.cn; Ma, Mingchao

2014-01-13

We report the use of silk fibroin as the gate dielectric material in solution-processed organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) with poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) as the semiconducting layer. Such OFETs exhibit a low threshold of −0.77 V and a low-operating voltage (0 to −3 V) compatible with the voltage level commonly-used in current electronic industry. The carrier mobility of such OFETs is as high as 0.21 cm{sup 2} V{sup −1} s{sup −1} in the saturation regime, comparable to the best value of P3HT-based OFETs with dielectric layer that is not solution-processed. The high-performance of this kind of OFET is related with the high contentmore » of β strands in fibroin dielectric which leads to an array of fibers in a highly ordered structure, thus reducing the trapping sites at the semiconductor/dielectric interface.« less

Influence of Frequency-Dependent Dielectric Loss on Electrorheology of Surface Modified ZnO Nanofluids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaid, H. M.; Adil, M.; Lee, KC; Latiff, N. R. A.

2018-05-01

The shear dependent viscosity change in dielectric nanofluids under the applied electric field, provide potentials for prospect applications especially in enhanced oil recovery. When nanofluids are activated by an applied electric field, it behaves as a non-Newtonian fluid under electrorheological effect (ER) by creating the chains of nanoparticles. In this research, the effect of dielectric loss on the electrorheological characteristic of dielectric nanofluids (NFs) was studied, corresponding to the applied frequency of 167 and 18.8 MHz. For this purpose, electrorheological characteristics of ZnO (55.7 and 117.1 nm) nanofluids with various nanoparticles (NPs) concentration (0.1, 0.05, 0.01 wt. %) were measured. The measurement was done via solenoid based EM transmitter under salt water as a propagation medium. The result shows that the applied electric field caused an apparent increase on the relative viscosity of ZnO NFs due to electrorheological effect. However, the relative viscosity shows a higher increment at 167 MHz due to the greater dielectric loss, compared to 18.8 MHz. The high dielectric loss allows the dipole moments to rotationally polarize at the interfaces of nanoparticles, which create stronger chains that align with the applied electric field. Additionally, the relative viscosity demonstrated an increment with the increase in particle size of ZnO nanoparticles from 55.7 to 117.1 nm. While the viscosity of nanofluid also indicated the high dependence on particle loading.

Dipole moment and polarizability of impurity doped quantum dots under anisotropy, spatially-varying effective mass and dielectric screening function: Interplay with noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, Anuja; Ghosh, Manas

2018-01-01

Present work explores the profiles of polarizability (αp) and electric dipole moment (μ) of impurity doped GaAs quantum dot (QD) under the aegis of spatially-varying effective mass, spatially-varying dielectric constant and anisotropy of the system. Presence of noise has also been invoked to examine how its intervention further tunes αp and μ. Noise term maintains a Gaussian white feature and it has been incorporated to the system through two different roadways; additive and multiplicative. The various facets of influence of spatially-varying effective mass, spatially-varying dielectric constant and anisotropy on αp and μ depend quite delicately on presence/absence of noise and also on the mode through which noise has been administered. The outcomes of the study manifest viable routes to harness the dipole moment and polarizability of doped QD system through the interplay between noise, anisotropy and variable effective mass and dielectric constant of the system.

Nonlinear dielectric effect in supercritical diethyl ether.

PubMed

Drozd-Rzoska, Aleksandra; Rzoska, Sylwester J; Martinez-Garcia, Julio Cesar

2014-09-07

Nonlinear dielectric effect (NDE) describes changes of dielectric permittivity induced by a strong electric field in a liquid dielectric. The most classical finding related to this magnitude is the negative sign of NDE in liquid diethyl ether (DEE), recalled by Peter Debye in his Nobel Prize lecture. This article shows that the positive sign of NDE in DEE is also possible, in the supercritical domain. Moreover, NDE on approaching the gas-liquid critical point exhibits a unique critical effect described by the critical exponent ψ ≈ 0.4 close to critical temperature (T(C)) and ψ ≈ 0.6 remote from T(C). This can be linked to the emergence of the mean-field behavior in the immediate vicinity of T(C), contrary to the typical pattern observed for critical phenomena. The multi-frequency mode of NDE measurements made it possible to estimate the evolution of lifetime of critical fluctuations. The new way of data analysis made it possible to describe the critical effect without a knowledge of the non-critical background contribution in prior.

Nonlinear dielectric effect in supercritical diethyl ether

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drozd-Rzoska, Aleksandra; Rzoska, Sylwester J.; Martinez-Garcia, Julio Cesar

2014-09-01

Nonlinear dielectric effect (NDE) describes changes of dielectric permittivity induced by a strong electric field in a liquid dielectric. The most classical finding related to this magnitude is the negative sign of NDE in liquid diethyl ether (DEE), recalled by Peter Debye in his Nobel Prize lecture. This article shows that the positive sign of NDE in DEE is also possible, in the supercritical domain. Moreover, NDE on approaching the gas-liquid critical point exhibits a unique critical effect described by the critical exponent ψ ≈ 0.4 close to critical temperature (TC) and ψ ≈ 0.6 remote from TC. This can be linked to the emergence of the mean-field behavior in the immediate vicinity of TC, contrary to the typical pattern observed for critical phenomena. The multi-frequency mode of NDE measurements made it possible to estimate the evolution of lifetime of critical fluctuations. The new way of data analysis made it possible to describe the critical effect without a knowledge of the non-critical background contribution in prior.

Controlling Chain Conformations of High-k Fluoropolymer Dielectrics to Enhance Charge Mobilities in Rubrene Single-Crystal Field-Effect Transistors.

PubMed

Adhikari, Jwala M; Gadinski, Matthew R; Li, Qi; Sun, Kaige G; Reyes-Martinez, Marcos A; Iagodkine, Elissei; Briseno, Alejandro L; Jackson, Thomas N; Wang, Qing; Gomez, Enrique D

2016-12-01

A novel photopatternable high-k fluoropolymer, poly(vinylidene fluoride-bromotrifluoroethylene) P(VDF-BTFE), with a dielectric constant (k) between 8 and 11 is demonstrated in thin-film transistors. Crosslinking P(VDF-BTFE) reduces energetic disorder at the dielectric-semiconductor interface by controlling the chain conformations of P(VDF-BTFE), thereby leading to approximately a threefold enhancement in the charge mobility of rubrene single-crystal field-effect transistors. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Effects of Cr/Zn Substitutions on Dielectric Properties of CaCu{sub 3}Ti{sub 4}O{sub 12}(CCTO) Ceramics

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

Rajmi, R.; Yahya, A. K.; Deni, M. S. M.

2010-07-07

Effects of Zn and Cr substitutions on dielectric properties of CaCu{sub 3-x}Zn{sub x}Ti{sub 4-y}Cr{sub y}O{sub 12} ceramics are reported. Dielectric measurements at room temperature for un-substituted CaCu{sub 3-x}Zn{sub x}Ti{sub 4-y}Cr{sub y}O{sub 12}(x = 0, y = 0) between 10{sup 2}-10{sup 6} Hz showed dielectric constant of 2.7x10{sup 4} at 10{sup 2} Hz. Substitution of Zn for Cu in CaCu{sub 3-x}Zn{sub xTi{sub 4{sub -{sub yCr{sub yO{sub 1{sub 2}}}}}}}(y = 0, x = 0.10, 0.50)caused dielectric constant to drop with increasing x. Cr substitution at Ti-site in CaCu{sub 3-x}Zn{sub xTi{sub 4{sub -{sub yCr{sub yO{sub 1{sub 2}}}}}}}(x = 0, x = 0,) alsomore » caused decrease in dielectric constant. However, at x = 0.50, the dielectric constant at low frequency was enhanced compared to the un-substituted sample. Our results indicate that Cu and Ti sites play an important role in the formation of Internal Barrier Layer Capacitance (IBLC) in CCTO.« less

Interfacial fields in organic field-effect transistors and sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dawidczyk, Thomas J.

Organic electronics are currently being commercialized and present a viable alternative to conventional electronics. These organic materials offer the ability to chemically manipulate the molecule, allowing for more facile mass processing techniques, which in turn reduces the cost. One application where organic semiconductors (OSCs) are being investigated is sensors. This work evaluates an assortment of n- and p-channel semiconductors as organic field-effect transistor (OFET) sensors. The sensor responses to dinitrotoluene (DNT) vapor and solid along with trinitrotoluene (TNT) solid were studied. Different semiconductor materials give different magnitude and direction of electrical current response upon exposure to DNT. Additional OFET parameters---mobility and threshold voltage---further refine the response to the DNT with each OFET sensor requiring a certain gate voltage for an optimized response to the vapor. The pattern of responses has sufficient diversity to distinguish DNT from other vapors. To effectively use these OFET sensors in a circuit, the threshold voltage needs to be tuned for each transistor to increase the efficiency of the circuit and maximize the sensor response. The threshold voltage can be altered by embedding charges into the dielectric layer of the OFET. To study the quantity and energy of charges needed to alter the threshold voltage, charge carriers were injected into polystyrene (PS) and investigated with scanning Kelvin probe microscopy (SKPM) and thermally stimulated discharge current (TSDC). Lateral heterojunctions of pentacene/PS were scanned using SKPM, effectively observing polarization along a side view of a lateral nonvolatile organic field-effect transistor dielectric interface. TSDC was used to observe charge migration out of PS films and to estimate the trap energy level inside the PS, using the initial rise method. The process was further refined to create lateral heterojunctions that were actual working OFETs, consisting of a PS or poly (3-trifluoro)styrene (F-PS) gate dielectric and a pentacene OSC. The charge storage inside the dielectric was visualized with SKPM, correlated to a threshold voltage shift in the transistor operation, and related to bias stress as well. The SKPM method allows the dielectric/OSC interface of the OFET to be visualized without any alteration of the OFET. Furthermore, this technique allows for the observation of charge distribution between the two dielectric interfaces, PS and F-PS. The SKPM is used to visualize the charge from conventional gate biasing and also as a result of embedding charges deliberately into the dielectric to shift the threshold voltage. Conventional gate biasing shows considerable residual charge in the PS dielectric, which results in gate bias stress. Gate bias stress is one of the major hurdles left in the commercialization of OFETs. To prevent this bias stress, additives of different energy levels were inserted into the dielectric to limit the gate bias stress. Additionally, the dielectrics were pre-charged to try and prevent further bias stress. Neither pre-charging the dielectric or the addition of additive has been used in gate bias prevention, but both methods offer improved resistance to gate bias stress, and help to further refine the dielectric design.

Wafer-scale solution-derived molecular gate dielectrics for low-voltage graphene electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sangwan, Vinod K.; Jariwala, Deep; Everaerts, Ken; McMorrow, Julian J.; He, Jianting; Grayson, Matthew; Lauhon, Lincoln J.; Marks, Tobin J.; Hersam, Mark C.

2014-02-01

Graphene field-effect transistors are integrated with solution-processed multilayer hybrid organic-inorganic self-assembled nanodielectrics (SANDs). The resulting devices exhibit low-operating voltage (2 V), negligible hysteresis, current saturation with intrinsic gain >1.0 in vacuum (pressure < 2 × 10-5 Torr), and overall improved performance compared to control devices on conventional SiO2 gate dielectrics. Statistical analysis of the field-effect mobility and residual carrier concentration demonstrate high spatial uniformity of the dielectric interfacial properties and graphene transistor characteristics over full 3 in. wafers. This work thus establishes SANDs as an effective platform for large-area, high-performance graphene electronics.

PLASMA DEVICE

DOEpatents

Baker, W.R.; Brathenahl, A.; Furth, H.P.

1962-04-10

A device for producing a confined high temperature plasma is described. In the device the concave inner surface of an outer annular electrode is disposed concentrically about and facing the convex outer face of an inner annular electrode across which electrodes a high potential is applied to produce an electric field there between. Means is provided to create a magnetic field perpendicular to the electric field and a gas is supplied at reduced pressure in the area therebetween. Upon application of the high potential, the gas between the electrodes is ionized, heated, and under the influence of the electric and magnetic fields there is produced a rotating annular plasma disk. The ionized plasma has high dielectric constant properties. The device is useful as a fast discharge rate capacitor, in controlled thermonuclear research, and other high temperature gas applications. (AEC)

Earthquake lights and the stress-activation of positive hole charge carriers in rocks

USGS Publications Warehouse

St-Laurent, F.; Derr, J.S.; Freund, F.T.

2006-01-01

Earthquake-related luminous phenomena (also known as earthquake lights) may arise from (1) the stress-activation of positive hole (p-hole) charge carriers in igneous rocks and (2) the accumulation of high charge carrier concentrations at asperities in the crust where the stress rates increase very rapidly as an earthquake approaches. It is proposed that, when a critical charge carrier concentration is reached, the p-holes form a degenerated solid state plasma that can break out of the confined rock volume and propagate as a rapidly expanding charge cloud. Upon reaching the surface the charge cloud causes dielectric breakdown at the air-rock interface, i.e. corona discharges, accompanied by the emission of light and high frequency electromagnetic radiation. ?? 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Enhanced and selective optical trapping in a slot-graphite photonic crystal.

PubMed

Krishnan, Aravind; Huang, Ningfeng; Wu, Shao-Hua; Martínez, Luis Javier; Povinelli, Michelle L

2016-10-03

Applicability of optical trapping tools for nanomanipulation is limited by the available laser power and trap efficiency. We utilized the strong confinement of light in a slot-graphite photonic crystal to develop high-efficiency parallel trapping over a large area. The stiffness is 35 times higher than our previously demonstrated on-chip, near field traps. We demonstrate the ability to trap both dielectric and metallic particles of sub-micron size. We find that the growth kinetics of nanoparticle arrays on the slot-graphite template depends on particle size. This difference is exploited to selectively trap one type of particle out of a binary colloidal mixture, creating an efficient optical sieve. This technique has rich potential for analysis, diagnostics, and enrichment and sorting of microscopic entities.

The influence of ambipolarity on plasma confinement and on the performance of electron cyclotron resonance ion sources.

PubMed

Schachter, L; Dobrescu, S; Stiebing, K E; Thuillier, T; Lamy, T

2008-02-01

Charge diffusion in an electron cyclotron resonance ion source (ECRIS) discharge is usually characterized by nonambipolar behavior. While the ions are transported to the radial walls, electrons are lost axially from the magnetic trap. Global neutrality is maintained via compensating currents in the conducting walls of the vacuum chamber. It is assumed that this behavior reduces the ion breeding times compared to a truly ambipolar plasma. We have carried out a series of dedicated experiments in which the ambipolarity of the ECRIS plasma was influenced by inserting special metal-dielectric structures (MD layers) into the plasma chamber of the Frankfurt 14 GHz ECRIS. The measurements demonstrate the positive influence on the source performance when the ECR plasma is changed toward more ambipolar behavior.

Dielectric response of Anderson and pseudogapped insulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feigel’man, M. V.; Ivanov, D. A.; Cuevas, E.

2018-05-01

Using a combination of analytic and numerical methods, we study the polarizability of a (non-interacting) Anderson insulator in one-, two-, and three-dimensions and demonstrate that, in a wide range of parameters, it scales proportionally to the square of the localization length, contrary to earlier claims based on the effective-medium approximation. We further analyze the effect of electron–electron interactions on the dielectric constant in quasi-1D, quasi-2D and 3D materials with large localization length, including both Coulomb repulsion and phonon-mediated attraction. The phonon-mediated attraction (in the pseudogapped state on the insulating side of the superconductor-insulator transition) produces a correction to the dielectric constant, which may be detected from a linear response of a dielectric constant to an external magnetic field.

Electrohydrodynamic pressure enhanced by free space charge for electrically induced structure formation with high aspect ratio.

PubMed

Tian, Hongmiao; Wang, Chunhui; Shao, Jinyou; Ding, Yucheng; Li, Xiangming

2014-10-28

Electrically induced structure formation (EISF) is an interesting and unique approach for generating a microstructured duplicate from a rheological polymer by a spatially modulated electric field induced by a patterned template. Most of the research on EISF have so far used various dielectric polymers (with an electrical conductivity smaller than 10(-10) S/m that can be considered a perfect dielectric), on which the electric field induces a Maxwell stress only due to the dipoles (or bounded charges) in the polymer molecules, leading to a structure with a small aspect ratio. This paper presents a different approach for improving the aspect ratio allowed in EISF by doping organic salt into the perfect dielectric polymer, i.e., turning the perfect dielectric into a leaky dielectric, considering the fact that the free space charges enriched in the leaky dielectric polymer can make an additional contribution to the Maxwell stress, i.e., electrohydrodynamic pressure, which is desirable for high aspect ratio structuring. Our numerical simulations and experimental tests have shown that a leaky dielectric polymer, with a small conductivity comparable to that of deionized water, can be much more effective at being electrohydrodynamically deformed into a high aspect ratio in comparison with a perfect dielectric polymer when both of them have roughly the same dielectric constant.

Origin of the colossal dielectric response of Pr0.6 Ca0.4 Mn O3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biškup, N.; de Andrés, A.; Martinez, J. L.; Perca, C.

2005-07-01

We report the detailed study of dielectric response of Pr0.6Ca0.4MnO3 (PCMO), a member of the manganite family showing colossal magnetoresistance. Measurements have been performed on four polycrystalline samples and four single crystals, allowing us to compare and extract the essence of dielectric response in the material. High-frequency dielectric function is found to be ɛHF=30 , as expected for the perovskite material. Dielectric relaxation is found in the frequency window of 20Hzto1MHz at temperatures of 50-200K that yields to colossal low-frequency dielectric function, i.e., the static dielectric constant. The static dielectric constant is always colossal, but varies considerably in different samples from ɛ(0)=103to105 . The measured data can be simulated very well by blocking (surface barrier) capacitance in series with sample resistance. This indicates that the large dielectric constant in PCMO arises from the Schottky barriers at electrical contacts. Measurements in magnetic field and with dc bias support this interpretation. Colossal magnetocapacitance observed in the title compound is thus attributed to extrinsic effects. Weak anomaly at the charge ordering temperature can also be attributed to interplay of sample and contact resistance. We comment on our results in the framework of related studies by other groups.

Dielectric relaxation and localized electron hopping in colossal dielectric (Nb,In)-doped TiO2 rutile nanoceramics.

PubMed

Tsuji, Kosuke; Han, HyukSu; Guillemet-Fritsch, Sophie; Randall, Clive A

2017-03-28

Dielectric spectroscopy was performed on a Nb and In co-doped rutile TiO 2 nano-crystalline ceramic (n-NITO) synthesized by a low-temperature spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique. The dielectric properties of the n-NITO were not largely affected by the metal electrode contacts. Huge dielectric relaxation was observed at a very low temperature below 35 K. Both the activation energy and relaxation time suggested that the electronic hopping motion is the underlying mechanism responsible for the colossal dielectric permittivity (CP) and its relaxation, instead of the internal barrier layer effect or a dipolar relaxation. With Havriliak-Negami (H-N) fitting, a relaxation time with a large distribution of dielectric relaxations was revealed. The broad distributed relaxation phenomena indicated that Nb and In were involved, controlling the dielectric relaxation by modifying the polarization mechanism and localized states. The associated distribution function is calculated and presented. The frequency-dependent a.c. conductance is successfully explained by a hopping conduction model of the localized electrons with the distribution function. It is demonstrated that the dielectric relaxation is strongly correlated with the hopping electrons in the localized states. The CP in SPS n-NITO is then ascribed to a hopping polarization.

A Review: Origins of the Dielectric Properties of Proteins and Potential Development as Bio-Sensors

PubMed Central

Bibi, Fabien; Villain, Maud; Guillaume, Carole; Sorli, Brice; Gontard, Nathalie

2016-01-01

Polymers can be classified as synthetic polymers and natural polymers, and are often characterized by their most typical functions namely their high mechanical resistivity, electrical conductivity and dielectric properties. This bibliography report consists in: (i) Defining the origins of the dielectric properties of natural polymers by reviewing proteins. Despite their complex molecular chains, proteins present several points of interest, particularly, their charge content conferring their electrical and dielectric properties; (ii) Identifying factors influencing the dielectric properties of protein films. The effects of vapors and gases such as water vapor, oxygen, carbon dioxide, ammonia and ethanol on the dielectric properties are put forward; (iii) Finally, potential development of protein films as bio-sensors coated on electronic devices for detection of environmental changes particularly humidity or carbon dioxide content in relation with dielectric properties variations are discussed. As the study of the dielectric properties implies imposing an electric field to the material, it was necessary to evaluate the impact of frequency on the polymers and subsequently on their structure. Characterization techniques, on the one hand dielectric spectroscopy devoted for the determination of the glass transition temperature among others, and on the other hand other techniques such as infra-red spectroscopy for structure characterization as a function of moisture content for instance are also introduced. PMID:27527179

Dielectric properties, optimum formulation and microwave baking conditions of chickpea cakes.

PubMed

Alifakı, Yaşar Özlem; Şakıyan, Özge

2017-03-01

The aim of this study was to correlate dielectric properties with quality parameters, and to optimize cake formulation and baking conditions by response surface methodology. Weight loss, color, specific volume, hardness and porosity were evaluated. The samples with different DATEM (0.4, 0.8 and 1.2%) and chickpea flour concentrations (30, 40 and 50%) were baked in microwave oven at different power (300, 350, 400 W) and baking times (2.50, 3.0, 3.50 min). It was found that microwave power showed significant effect on color, while baking time showed effect on weight loss, porosity, hardness, specific volume and dielectric properties. Emulsifier level affected porosity, specific volume and dielectric constant. Chickpea flour level affected porosity, color, hardness and dielectric properties of cakes. The optimum microwave power, baking time, DATEM level and chickpea flour level were found as 400 W, 2.84 min, 1.2% and 30%, respectively. The comparison between conventionally baked and the microwave baked cakes at optimum points showed that color difference, weight loss, specific volume and porosity values of microwave baked cakes were less than those of conventionally baked cakes, on the other hand, hardness values were higher. Moreover, a negative correlation between dielectric constant and porosity, and weight loss values were detected for microwave baked samples. A negative correlation between dielectric loss factor and porosity was observed. These correlations indicated that quality characteristics of a microwave baked cake sample can be assessed from dielectric properties. These correlations provides understanding on the behavior of food material during microwave processing.

Effects of Interphase Modification and Biaxial Orientation on Dielectric Properties of Poly(ethylene terephthalate)/Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) Multilayer Films.

PubMed

Yin, Kezhen; Zhou, Zheng; Schuele, Donald E; Wolak, Mason; Zhu, Lei; Baer, Eric

2016-06-01

Recently, poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)-based multilayer films have demonstrated enhanced dielectric properties, combining high energy density and high dielectric breakdown strength from the component polymers. In this work, further enhanced dielectric properties were achieved through interface/interphase modulation and biaxial orientation for the poly(ethylene terephthalate)/poly(methyl methacrylate)/poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) [PET/PMMA/P(VDF-HFP)] three-component multilayer films. Because PMMA is miscible with P(VDF-HFP) and compatible with PET, the interfacial adhesion between PET and P(VDF-HFP) layers should be improved. Biaxial stretching of the as-extruded multilayer films induced formation of highly oriented fibrillar crystals in both P(VDF-HFP) and PET, resulting in improved dielectric properties with respect to the unstretched films. First, the parallel orientation of PVDF crystals reduced the dielectric loss from the αc relaxation in α crystals. Second, biaxial stretching constrained the amorphous phase in P(VDF-HFP) and thus the migrational loss from impurity ions was reduced. Third, biaxial stretching induced a significant amount of rigid amorphous phase in PET, further enhancing the breakdown strength of multilayer films. Due to the synergistic effects of improved interfacial adhesion and biaxial orientation, the PET/PMMA/P(VDF-HFP) 65-layer films with 8 vol % PMMA exhibited optimal dielectric properties with an energy density of 17.4 J/cm(3) at breakdown and the lowest dielectric loss. These three-component multilayer films are promising for future high-energy-density film capacitor applications.

Large dielectric constant in zirconia polypyrrole hybrid nanocomposites.

PubMed

Dey, Ashis; De, S K

2007-06-01

Zirconia nanoparticles have been synthesized by a novel two-reverse emulsion technique and combined with polypyrrole (PPY) to form ZrO2-PPY nanocomposites. Complex impedance and dielectric permittivity of ZrO2-PPY nanocomposite have been investigated as a function of frequency and temperature for different compositions. The composite samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The composites reveal ordered semiconducting behaviour. Polypyrrole is the major component in electrical transport process of the samples. A very large dielectric constant of about 12,000 at room temperature has been observed. The colossal dielectric constant is mainly dominated by interfacial polarization due to Maxwell-Wagner relaxation effect. Two completely separate groups of dielectric relaxation have been observed. The low frequency dielectric relaxation arises from surface defect states of zirconia nanoparticles. The broad peak at high frequency is due to Maxwell-Wagner type polarization.