Electron-Phonon Coupling and Resonant Relaxation from 1D and 1P States in PbS Quantum Dots.

PubMed

Kennehan, Eric R; Doucette, Grayson S; Marshall, Ashley R; Grieco, Christopher; Munson, Kyle T; Beard, Matthew C; Asbury, John B

2018-05-31

Observations of the hot-phonon bottleneck, which is predicted to slow the rate of hot carrier cooling in quantum confined nanocrystals, have been limited to date for reasons that are not fully understood. We used time-resolved infrared spectroscopy to directly measure higher energy intraband transitions in PbS colloidal quantum dots. Direct measurements of these intraband transitions permitted detailed analysis of the electronic overlap of the quantum confined states that may influence their relaxation processes. In smaller PbS nanocrystals, where the hot-phonon bottleneck is expected to be most pronounced, we found that relaxation of parity selection rules combined with stronger electron-phonon coupling led to greater spectral overlap of transitions among the quantum confined states. This created pathways for fast energy transfer and relaxation that may bypass the predicted hot-phonon bottleneck. In contrast, larger, but still quantum confined nanocrystals did not exhibit such relaxation of the parity selection rules and possessed narrower intraband states. These observations were consistent with slower relaxation dynamics that have been measured in larger quantum confined systems. These findings indicated that, at small radii, electron-phonon interactions overcome the advantageous increase in energetic separation of the electronic states for PbS quantum dots. Selection of appropriately sized quantum dots, which minimize spectral broadening due to electron-phonon interactions while maximizing electronic state separation, is necessary to observe the hot-phonon bottleneck. Such optimization may provide a framework for achieving efficient hot carrier collection and multiple exciton generation.

Size-dependent energy levels of InSb quantum dots measured by scanning tunneling spectroscopy.

PubMed

Wang, Tuo; Vaxenburg, Roman; Liu, Wenyong; Rupich, Sara M; Lifshitz, Efrat; Efros, Alexander L; Talapin, Dmitri V; Sibener, S J

2015-01-27

The electronic structure of single InSb quantum dots (QDs) with diameters between 3 and 7 nm was investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS). In this size regime, InSb QDs show strong quantum confinement effects which lead to discrete energy levels on both valence and conduction band states. Decrease of the QD size increases the measured band gap and the spacing between energy levels. Multiplets of equally spaced resonance peaks are observed in the tunneling spectra. There, multiplets originate from degeneracy lifting induced by QD charging. The tunneling spectra of InSb QDs are qualitatively different from those observed in the STS of other III-V materials, for example, InAs QDs, with similar band gap energy. Theoretical calculations suggest the electron tunneling occurs through the states connected with L-valley of InSb QDs rather than through states of the Γ-valley. This observation calls for better understanding of the role of indirect valleys in strongly quantum-confined III-V nanomaterials.

Effect of temperature on the single-particle ground-state energy of a polar quantum dot with Gaussian confinement

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

Jahan, Luhluh K., E-mail: luhluhjahan@gmail.com; Chatterjee, Ashok

2016-05-23

The temperature and size dependence of the ground-state energy of a polaron in a Gaussian quantum dot have been investigated by using a variational technique. It is found that the ground-state energy increases with increasing temperature and decreases with the size of the quantum dot. Also, it is found that the ground-state energy is larger for a three-dimensional quantum dot as compared to a two-dimensional dot.

Quasi-one-dimensional density of states in a single quantum ring.

PubMed

Kim, Heedae; Lee, Woojin; Park, Seongho; Kyhm, Kwangseuk; Je, Koochul; Taylor, Robert A; Nogues, Gilles; Dang, Le Si; Song, Jin Dong

2017-01-05

Generally confinement size is considered to determine the dimensionality of nanostructures. While the exciton Bohr radius is used as a criterion to define either weak or strong confinement in optical experiments, the binding energy of confined excitons is difficult to measure experimentally. One alternative is to use the temperature dependence of the radiative recombination time, which has been employed previously in quantum wells and quantum wires. A one-dimensional loop structure is often assumed to model quantum rings, but this approximation ceases to be valid when the rim width becomes comparable to the ring radius. We have evaluated the density of states in a single quantum ring by measuring the temperature dependence of the radiative recombination of excitons, where the photoluminescence decay time as a function of temperature was calibrated by using the low temperature integrated intensity and linewidth. We conclude that the quasi-continuous finely-spaced levels arising from the rotation energy give rise to a quasi-one-dimensional density of states, as long as the confined exciton is allowed to rotate around the opening of the anisotropic ring structure, which has a finite rim width.

Influence of the nanoparticles agglomeration state in the quantum-confinement effects: Experimental evidences

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

Lorite, I., E-mail: lorite@physik.uni-leipzig.de; Division of Superconductivity and Magnetism, Faculty of Physics and Earth Sciences, Linnestrasse 5, D-04103 Leipzig; Romero, J. J.

2015-03-15

The agglomeration state facilitates particle-particle interaction which produces important effects in the phonon confinement effects at the nanoscale. A partial phonon transmission between close nanoparticles yields a lower momentum conservation relaxation than in a single isolated nanoparticle. It means a larger red shift and broadening of the Raman modes than the expected ones for Raman quantum confinement effects. This particle-particle interaction can drive to error when Raman responses are used to estimate the size of the nanoscaled materials. In this work different corrections are suggested to overtake this source of error.

Design and Synthesis of Antiblinking and Antibleaching Quantum Dots in Multiple Colors via Wave Function Confinement.

PubMed

Cao, Hujia; Ma, Junliang; Huang, Lin; Qin, Haiyan; Meng, Renyang; Li, Yang; Peng, Xiaogang

2016-12-07

Single-molecular spectroscopy reveals that photoluminescence (PL) of a single quantum dot blinks, randomly switching between bright and dim/dark states under constant photoexcitation, and quantum dots photobleach readily. These facts cast great doubts on potential applications of these promising emitters. After ∼20 years of efforts, synthesis of nonblinking quantum dots is still challenging, with nonblinking quantum dots only available in red-emitting window. Here we report synthesis of nonblinking quantum dots covering most part of the visible window using a new synthetic strategy, i.e., confining the excited-state wave functions of the core/shell quantum dots within the core quantum dot and its inner shells (≤ ∼5 monolayers). For the red-emitting ones, the new synthetic strategy yields nonblinking quantum dots with small sizes (∼8 nm in diameter) and improved nonblinking properties. These new nonblinking quantum dots are found to be antibleaching. Results further imply that the PL blinking and photobleaching of quantum dots are likely related to each other.

Electron Spin Coherence Times in Si/SiGe Quantum Dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jock, R. M.; He, Jianhua; Tyryshkin, A. M.; Lyon, S. A.; Lee, C.-H.; Huang, S.-H.; Liu, C. W.

2014-03-01

Single electron spin states in silicon have shown a great deal of promise as qubits due to their long spin relaxation (T1) and coherence (T2) times. Recent results exhibit a T2 of 250 us for electrons confined in Si/SiGe quantum dots at 350 mK. These experiments used conventional X-band (10 GHz) pulsed Electron Spin Resonance on a large area (3.5 mm x 20 mm), dual-gated, undoped Si/SiGe heterostructure quantum dots. These dots are induced in a natural Si quantum well by e-beam defined gates having a lithographic radius of 150 nm and pitch of 700 nm. The relatively large size of these dots led to closely spaced energy levels and long T2's could only be measured at sub-Kelvin temperatures. At 2K confined electrons displayed a 3 us T2, which is comparable to that of 2D electrons at that temperature. Decreasing the quantum dot size increases the electron confinement and reduces the effects of valley-splitting and spin-orbit coupling on the electron spin coherence times. We will report results on dots with 80 nm lithographic radii and a 375 nm pitch. This device displays an extended electron coherence time of 30 us at 2K, suggesting tighter confinement of electrons. Further measurements at lower temperatures are in progress. This work was supported in part by NSF through the Materials World Network program (DMR-1107606) and the Princeton MRSEC (DMR-0819860), and in part by the U.S. Army Research Office (W911NF-13-1-0179).

Effects of hydrostatic pressure on the donor impurity in a cylindrical quantum dot with Morse confining potential

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayrapetyan, David B.; Kotanjyan, Tigran V.; Tevosyan, Hovhannes Kh.; Kazaryan, Eduard M.

2016-12-01

The effects of hydrostatic pressure and size quantization on the binding energies of a hydrogen-like donor impurity in cylindrical GaAs quantum dot (QD) with Morse confining potential are studied using the variational method and effective-mass approximation. In the cylindrical QD, the effect of hydrostatic pressure on the binding energy of electron has been investigated and it has been found that the application of the hydrostatic pressure leads to the blue shift. The dependence of the absorption edge on geometrical parameters of cylindrical QD is obtained. Selection rules are revealed for transitions between levels with different quantum numbers. It is shown that for the radial quantum number, transitions are allowed between the levels with the same quantum numbers, and any transitions between different levels are allowed for the principal quantum number.

Size dependent Raman and absorption studies of single walled carbon nanotubes synthesized by pulse laser deposition at room temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dixit, Saurabh; Singhal, Sonal; Vankar, V. D.; Shukla, A. K.

2017-10-01

In this article, size dependent correlation of acoustic states is established for radial breathing mode (RBM). Single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are synthesized along with carbon encapsulated iron nanoparticles by pulse laser deposition at room temperature. Ferrocene is used as a catalyst for growth of SWCNTs. Various studies such as HR-TEM, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and NIR-Absorption spectroscopy are utilized to confirm the presence of SWCNTs in the as-synthesized and purified samples. RBM of SWCNTs can be differentiated here from Raman modes of carbon encapsulated iron nanoparticles by comparing their line shape asymmetry as well as oscillator strength. Furthermore, a quantum confinement model is proposed for RBM. It is invoked here that RBM is manifestation of quantum confinement of acoustic phonons. Well reported analytical relation of RBM is utilized to explore the nature of phonons responsible for RBM on the basis of quantum confinement model. Diameters of SWCNTs estimated by Raman studies are found to be in reasonably good agreement with that of NIR-absorption studies.

Observability of localized magnetoplasmons in quantum dots: Scrutinizing the eligibility of far-infrared, Raman, and electron-energy-loss spectroscopies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kushwaha, Manvir S.

2016-03-01

We investigate a one-component, quasi-zero dimensional, quantum plasma exposed to a parabolic potential and an applied magnetic field in the symmetric gauge. If the size of such a system as can be realized in the semiconducting quantum dots is on the order of the de-Broglie wavelength, the electronic and optical properties become highly tunable. Then the quantum size effects challenge the observation of many-particle phenomena such as the magneto-optical absorption, Raman intensity, and electron energy-loss spectrum. An exact analytical solution of the problem leads us to infer that these many-particle phenomena are, in fact, dictated by the generalized Kohn's theorem (GKT) in the long-wavelength limit. Maneuvering the confinement and/or the magnetic field furnishes the resonance energies capable of being explored with the FIR, Raman, and/or electron-energy-loss spectroscopy. This implies that either of these probes is competent in observing the localized magnetoplasmons in the system. As an application of the rigorous analytical diagnosis of the system, we have presented various pertinent single-particle, such as Fock-Darwin spectrum, Fermi energy, zigzag excitation spectrum, and magneto-optical transitions, and the many-particle phenomena, such as magneto-optical absorption, Raman intensity, and electron energy-loss probability. In the latter, the energy position of the resonance peaks is observed to be independent of the electron-electron interactions and hence of the number of electrons in the quantum dot in compliance with the GKT. It is found that both confinement potential and magnetic field play a decisive role in influencing the aforementioned many-particle phenomena. Specifically, increasing (decreasing) the strength of the confining potential is found to be analogous to shrinking (expanding) the size of the quantum dots and results into a blue (red) shift in the respective spectra. Intensifying the magnetic field has two-fold effects in the resonance spectra associated with all three spectroscopies considered here: the lower resonance peak observes a red shift, whereas the higher one experiences a blue shift. This is a unique and intriguing behavior observed in the quantum dots with complete confinement. A deeper insight into the physics of the quantum dots is paving the way for their implementation in such diverse fields as quantum computing and medical imaging.

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

Saxena, Shailendra K., E-mail: phd1211512@iiti.ac.in; Sahu, Gayatri; Sagdeo, Pankaj R.

Quantum confinement effect has been studied in cheese like silicon nano-structures (Ch-SiNS) fabricated by metal induced chemical etching using different etching times. Scanning electron microscopy is used for the morphological study of these Ch-SiNS. A visible photoluminescence (PL) emission is observed from the samples under UV excitation at room temperature due to quantum confinement effect. The average size of Silicon Nanostructures (SiNS) present in the samples has been estimated by bond polarizability model using Raman Spectroscopy from the red-shift observed from SiNSs as compared to its bulk counterpart. The sizes of SiNS present in the samples decreases as etching timemore » increase from 45 to 75 mintunes.« less

Quantum confinement-induced tunable exciton states in graphene oxide.

PubMed

Lee, Dongwook; Seo, Jiwon; Zhu, Xi; Lee, Jiyoul; Shin, Hyeon-Jin; Cole, Jacqueline M; Shin, Taeho; Lee, Jaichan; Lee, Hangil; Su, Haibin

2013-01-01

Graphene oxide has recently been considered to be a potential replacement for cadmium-based quantum dots due to its expected high fluorescence. Although previously reported, the origin of the luminescence in graphene oxide is still controversial. Here, we report the presence of core/valence excitons in graphene-based materials, a basic ingredient for optical devices, induced by quantum confinement. Electron confinement in the unreacted graphitic regions of graphene oxide was probed by high resolution X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy and first-principles calculations. Using experiments and simulations, we were able to tune the core/valence exciton energy by manipulating the size of graphitic regions through the degree of oxidation. The binding energy of an exciton in highly oxidized graphene oxide is similar to that in organic electroluminescent materials. These results open the possibility of graphene oxide-based optoelectronic device technology.

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.

Graphene quantum blisters: A tunable system to confine charge carriers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdullah, H. M.; Van der Donck, M.; Bahlouli, H.; Peeters, F. M.; Van Duppen, B.

2018-05-01

Due to Klein tunneling, electrostatic confinement of electrons in graphene is not possible. This hinders the use of graphene for quantum dot applications. Only through quasi-bound states with finite lifetime has one achieved to confine charge carriers. Here, we propose that bilayer graphene with a local region of decoupled graphene layers is able to generate bound states under the application of an electrostatic gate. The discrete energy levels in such a quantum blister correspond to localized electron and hole states in the top and bottom layers. We find that this layer localization and the energy spectrum itself are tunable by a global electrostatic gate and that the latter also coincides with the electronic modes in a graphene disk. Curiously, states with energy close to the continuum exist primarily in the classically forbidden region outside the domain defining the blister. The results are robust against variations in size and shape of the blister which shows that it is a versatile system to achieve tunable electrostatic confinement in graphene.

Spatially confined synthesis of SiOx nano-rod with size-controlled Si quantum dots in nano-porous anodic aluminum oxide membrane.

PubMed

Pai, Yi-Hao; Lin, Gong-Ru

2011-01-17

By depositing Si-rich SiOx nano-rod in nano-porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane using PECVD, the spatially confined synthesis of Si quantum-dots (Si-QDs) with ultra-bright photoluminescence spectra are demonstrated after low-temperature annealing. Spatially confined SiOx nano-rod in nano-porous AAO membrane greatly increases the density of nucleated positions for Si-QD precursors, which essentially impedes the route of thermally diffused Si atoms and confines the degree of atomic self-aggregation. The diffusion controlled growth mechanism is employed to determine the activation energy of 6.284 kJ mole(-1) and diffusion length of 2.84 nm for SiO1.5 nano-rod in nano-porous AAO membrane. HRTEM results verify that the reduced geometric dimension of the SiOx host matrix effectively constrain the buried Si-QD size at even lower annealing temperature. The spatially confined synthesis of Si-QD essentially contributes the intense PL with its spectral linewidth shrinking from 210 to 140 nm and its peak intensity enhancing by two orders of magnitude, corresponding to the reduction on both the average Si-QD size and its standard deviation from 2.6 to 2.0 nm and from 25% to 12.5%, respectively. The red-shifted PL wavelength of the Si-QD reveals an inverse exponential trend with increasing temperature of annealing, which is in good agree with the Si-QD size simulation via the atomic diffusion theory.

Combining ligand-induced quantum-confined stark effect with type II heterojunction bilayer structure in CdTe and CdSe nanocrystal-based solar cells.

PubMed

Yaacobi-Gross, Nir; Garphunkin, Natalia; Solomeshch, Olga; Vaneski, Aleksandar; Susha, Andrei S; Rogach, Andrey L; Tessler, Nir

2012-04-24

We show that it is possible to combine several charge generation strategies in a single device structure, the performance of which benefits from all methods used. Exploiting the inherent type II heterojunction between layered structures of CdSe and CdTe colloidal quantum dots, we systematically study different ways of combining such nanocrystals of different size and surface chemistry and with different linking agents in a bilayer solar cell configuration. We demonstrate the beneficial use of two distinctly different sizes of NCs not only to improve the solar spectrum matching but also to reduce exciton binding energy, allowing their efficient dissociation at the interface. We further make use of the ligand-induced quantum-confined Stark effect in order to enhance charge generation and, hence, overall efficiency of nanocrystal-based solar cells.

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

Kushwaha, Manvir S.

We investigate a one-component, quasi-zero dimensional, quantum plasma exposed to a parabolic potential and an applied magnetic field in the symmetric gauge. If the size of such a system as can be realized in the semiconducting quantum dots is on the order of the de-Broglie wavelength, the electronic and optical properties become highly tunable. Then the quantum size effects challenge the observation of many-particle phenomena such as the magneto-optical absorption, Raman intensity, and electron energy-loss spectrum. An exact analytical solution of the problem leads us to infer that these many-particle phenomena are, in fact, dictated by the generalized Kohn’s theoremmore » (GKT) in the long-wavelength limit. Maneuvering the confinement and/or the magnetic field furnishes the resonance energies capable of being explored with the FIR, Raman, and/or electron-energy-loss spectroscopy. This implies that either of these probes is competent in observing the localized magnetoplasmons in the system. As an application of the rigorous analytical diagnosis of the system, we have presented various pertinent single-particle, such as Fock-Darwin spectrum, Fermi energy, zigzag excitation spectrum, and magneto-optical transitions, and the many-particle phenomena, such as magneto-optical absorption, Raman intensity, and electron energy-loss probability. In the latter, the energy position of the resonance peaks is observed to be independent of the electron-electron interactions and hence of the number of electrons in the quantum dot in compliance with the GKT. It is found that both confinement potential and magnetic field play a decisive role in influencing the aforementioned many-particle phenomena. Specifically, increasing (decreasing) the strength of the confining potential is found to be analogous to shrinking (expanding) the size of the quantum dots and results into a blue (red) shift in the respective spectra. Intensifying the magnetic field has two-fold effects in the resonance spectra associated with all three spectroscopies considered here: the lower resonance peak observes a red shift, whereas the higher one experiences a blue shift. This is a unique and intriguing behavior observed in the quantum dots with complete confinement. A deeper insight into the physics of the quantum dots is paving the way for their implementation in such diverse fields as quantum computing and medical imaging.« less

Quantum confined Stark effects of single dopant in polarized hemispherical quantum dot: Two-dimensional finite difference approach and Ritz-Hassé variation method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El Harouny, El Hassan; Nakra Mohajer, Soukaina; Ibral, Asmaa; El Khamkhami, Jamal; Assaid, El Mahdi

2018-05-01

Eigenvalues equation of hydrogen-like off-center single donor impurity confined in polarized homogeneous hemispherical quantum dot deposited on a wetting layer, capped by insulated matrix and submitted to external uniform electric field is solved in the framework of the effective mass approximation. An infinitely deep potential is used to describe effects of quantum confinement due to conduction band offsets at surfaces where quantum dot and surrounding materials meet. Single donor ground state total and binding energies in presence of electric field are determined via two-dimensional finite difference approach and Ritz-Hassé variation principle. For the latter method, attractive coulomb correlation between electron and ionized single donor is taken into account in the expression of trial wave function. It appears that off-center single dopant binding energy, spatial extension and radial probability density are strongly dependent on hemisphere radius and single dopant position inside quantum dot. Influence of a uniform electric field is also investigated. It shows that Stark effect appears even for very small size dots and that single dopant energy shift is more significant when the single donor is near hemispherical surface.

Quantum confinement-induced tunable exciton states in graphene oxide

PubMed Central

Lee, Dongwook; Seo, Jiwon; Zhu, Xi; Lee, Jiyoul; Shin, Hyeon-Jin; Cole, Jacqueline M.; Shin, Taeho; Lee, Jaichan; Lee, Hangil; Su, Haibin

2013-01-01

Graphene oxide has recently been considered to be a potential replacement for cadmium-based quantum dots due to its expected high fluorescence. Although previously reported, the origin of the luminescence in graphene oxide is still controversial. Here, we report the presence of core/valence excitons in graphene-based materials, a basic ingredient for optical devices, induced by quantum confinement. Electron confinement in the unreacted graphitic regions of graphene oxide was probed by high resolution X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy and first-principles calculations. Using experiments and simulations, we were able to tune the core/valence exciton energy by manipulating the size of graphitic regions through the degree of oxidation. The binding energy of an exciton in highly oxidized graphene oxide is similar to that in organic electroluminescent materials. These results open the possibility of graphene oxide-based optoelectronic device technology. PMID:23872608

Ensemble brightening and enhanced quantum yield in size-purified silicon nanocrystals

DOE PAGES

Miller, Joseph B.; Van Sickle, Austin R.; Anthony, Rebecca J.; ...

2012-07-18

Here, we report on the quantum yield, photoluminescence (PL) lifetime and ensemble photoluminescent stability of highly monodisperse plasma-synthesized silicon nanocrystals (SiNCs) prepared though density-gradient ultracentrifugation in mixed organic solvents. Improved size uniformity leads to a reduction in PL line width and the emergence of entropic order in dry nanocrystal films. We find excellent agreement with the anticipated trends of quantum confinement in nanocrystalline silicon, with a solution quantum yield that is independent of nanocrystal size for the larger fractions but decreases dramatically with size for the smaller fractions. We also find a significant PL enhancement in films assembled from themore » fractions, and we use a combination of measurement, simulation and modeling to link this ‘brightening’ to a temporally enhanced quantum yield arising from SiNC interactions in ordered ensembles of monodisperse nanocrystals. Using an appropriate excitation scheme, we exploit this enhancement to achieve photostable emission.« less

Silicon coupled with plasmon nanocavities generates bright visible hot luminescence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cho, Chang-Hee; Aspetti, Carlos O.; Park, Joohee; Agarwal, Ritesh

2013-04-01

To address the limitations in device speed and performance in silicon-based electronics, there have been extensive studies on silicon optoelectronics with a view to achieving ultrafast optical data processing. The biggest challenge has been to develop an efficient silicon-based light source, because the indirect bandgap of silicon gives rise to extremely low emission efficiencies. Although light emission in quantum-confined silicon at sub-10 nm length scales has been demonstrated, there are difficulties in integrating quantum structures with conventional electronics. It is desirable to develop new concepts to obtain emission from silicon at length scales compatible with current electronic devices (20-100 nm), which therefore do not utilize quantum-confinement effects. Here, we demonstrate an entirely new method to achieve bright visible light emission in `bulk-sized' silicon coupled with plasmon nanocavities at room temperature, from non-thermalized carrier recombination. The highly enhanced emission (internal quantum efficiency of >1%) in plasmonic silicon, together with its size compatibility with current silicon electronics, provides new avenues for developing monolithically integrated light sources on conventional microchips.

Size dependence in tunneling spectra of PbSe quantum-dot arrays.

PubMed

Ou, Y C; Cheng, S F; Jian, W B

2009-07-15

Interdot Coulomb interactions and collective Coulomb blockade were theoretically argued to be a newly important topic, and experimentally identified in semiconductor quantum dots, formed in the gate confined two-dimensional electron gas system. Developments of cluster science and colloidal synthesis accelerated the studies of electron transport in colloidal nanocrystal or quantum-dot solids. To study the interdot coupling, various sizes of two-dimensional arrays of colloidal PbSe quantum dots are self-assembled on flat gold surfaces for scanning tunneling microscopy and scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurements at both room and liquid-nitrogen temperatures. The tip-to-array, array-to-substrate, and interdot capacitances are evaluated and the tunneling spectra of quantum-dot arrays are analyzed by the theory of collective Coulomb blockade. The current-voltage of PbSe quantum-dot arrays conforms properly to a scaling power law function. In this study, the dependence of tunneling spectra on the sizes (numbers of quantum dots) of arrays is reported and the capacitive coupling between quantum dots in the arrays is explored.

Robust tunable excitonic features in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenide quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fouladi-Oskouei, J.; Shojaei, S.; Liu, Z.

2018-04-01

The effects of quantum confinement on excitons in parabolic quantum dots of monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDC QDs) are investigated within a massive Dirac fermion model. A giant spin-valley coupling of the TMDC QDs is obtained, larger than that of monolayer TMDC sheets and consistent with recent experimental measurements. The exciton transition energy and the binding energy are calculated, and it is found that the strong quantum confinement results in extremely high exciton binding energies. The enormously large exciton binding energy in TMDC QDs (({{E}{{B2D}}}∼ 500 meV)<{{E}{{BQD}}}~≲ 1800 meV for different kinds of TMDC QDs) ensures that the many body interactions play a significant role in the investigation of the optical properties of these novel nanostructures. The estimated oscillator strength and radiative lifetime of excitons are strongly size-dependent and indicate a giant oscillator strength enhancement and ultrafast radiative annihilation of excitons, varying from a few tens of femtoseconds to a few picoseconds. We found that the spin-dependent band gap, spin-valley coupling, binding energy and excitonic effects can be tuned by quantum confinements, leading to tunable quantum dots in monolayer TMDCs. This finding offers new functionality in engineering the interaction of a 2D material with light and creates promise for the quantum manipulation of spin and valley degrees of freedom in TMDC nanostructures, enabling versatile novel 2D quantum photonic and optoelectronic nanodevices.

Optical properties of Si and Ge nanocrystals: Parameter-free calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramos, L. E.; Weissker, H.-Ch.; Furthmüller, J.; Bechstedt, F.

2005-12-01

The cover picture of the current issue refers to the Edi-tor's Choice article of Ramos et al. [1]. The paper gives an overview of the electronic and optical properties of silicon and germanium nanocrystals determined by state-of-the-art ab initio methods. Nanocrystals have promising applications in opto-electronic devices, since they can be used to confine electrons and holes and facilitate radiative recombination. Since meas-urements for single nanoparticles are difficult to make, ab initio theoretical investigations become important to understand the mechanisms of luminescence.The cover picture shows nanocrystals of four sizes with tetrahedral coordination whose dangling bonds at the surface are passivated with hydrogen. As often observed in experiments, the nanocrystals are not perfectly spherical, but contain facets. Apart from the size of the nanocrystals, which determines the quantum confinement, the way their dangling bonds are passivated is relevant for their electronic and optical properties. For instance, the passivation with hydroxyls reduces the quantum confine-ment. On the other hand, the oxidation of the silicon nanocrys-tals increases the quantum confinement and reduces the effect of single surface terminations on the gap. Due to the oscillator strengths of the lowest-energy optical transitions, Ge nanocrys-tals are in principle more suitable for opto-electronic applica-tions than Si nanocrystals.The first author, Luis E. Ramos, is a postdoc at the Institute of Solid-State Physics and Optics (IFTO), Friedrich-Schiller University Jena, Germany. He investigates electronic and optical properties of semiconductor nanocrystallites and is a member of the European Network of Excellence NANO-QUANTA and of the European Theoretical Spectroscopy Facility (ETSF).

Stark-shift of impurity fundamental state in a lens shaped quantum dot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aderras, L.; Bah, A.; Feddi, E.; Dujardin, F.; Duque, C. A.

2017-05-01

We calculate the Stark effect and the polarisability of shallow-donor impurity located in the centre of lens shaped quantum dot by a variational method and in the effective-mass approximation. Our theoretical model assumes an infinite confinement to describe the barriers at the dot boundaries and the electric field is considered to be applied in the z-direction. The systematic theoretical investigation contains results with the quantum dot size and the strength of the external field. Our calculations reveal that the interval wherein the polarisability varies depends strongly on the dot size.

Synthesis and characterization of graphene quantum dots and their size reduction using swift heavy ion beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishra, Praveen; Bhat, Badekai Ramchandra

2018-04-01

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) are nanosized fragments of graphene displaying quantum confinement effect. They have shown to be prepared from various methods which include ion beam etching of graphene. However, recently the modification of the GQDs has garnered tremendous attention owing to its suitability for various applications. Here, we have studied the effect of swift ion beam irradiation on the properties of GQDs. The ion beam treatment on the GQDs exhibited the change in observed photoluminescence of GQDs as they exhibited a blue luminescence on excitation with longwave UV (≈365 nm) due to the reduction in size and removal of the ethoxy (-C-O-C-) groups present on the quantum dots. This was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy, particle size analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.

Precise Control of Quantum Confinement in Cesium Lead Halide Perovskite Quantum Dots via Thermodynamic Equilibrium.

PubMed

Dong, Yitong; Qiao, Tian; Kim, Doyun; Parobek, David; Rossi, Daniel; Son, Dong Hee

2018-05-09

Cesium lead halide (CsPbX 3 ) nanocrystals have emerged as a new family of materials that can outperform the existing semiconductor nanocrystals due to their superb optical and charge-transport properties. However, the lack of a robust method for producing quantum dots with controlled size and high ensemble uniformity has been one of the major obstacles in exploring the useful properties of excitons in zero-dimensional nanostructures of CsPbX 3 . Here, we report a new synthesis approach that enables the precise control of the size based on the equilibrium rather than kinetics, producing CsPbX 3 quantum dots nearly free of heterogeneous broadening in their exciton luminescence. The high level of size control and ensemble uniformity achieved here will open the door to harnessing the benefits of excitons in CsPbX 3 quantum dots for photonic and energy-harvesting applications.

Manipulating topological-insulator properties using quantum confinement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kotulla, M.; Zülicke, U.

2017-07-01

Recent discoveries have spurred the theoretical prediction and experimental realization of novel materials that have topological properties arising from band inversion. Such topological insulators are insulating in the bulk but have conductive surface or edge states. Topological materials show various unusual physical properties and are surmised to enable the creation of exotic Majorana-fermion quasiparticles. How the signatures of topological behavior evolve when the system size is reduced is interesting from both a fundamental and an application-oriented point of view, as such understanding may form the basis for tailoring systems to be in specific topological phases. This work considers the specific case of quantum-well confinement defining two-dimensional layers. Based on the effective-Hamiltonian description of bulk topological insulators, and using a harmonic-oscillator potential as an example for a softer-than-hard-wall confinement, we have studied the interplay of band inversion and size quantization. Our model system provides a useful platform for systematic study of the transition between the normal and topological phases, including the development of band inversion and the formation of massless-Dirac-fermion surface states. The effects of bare size quantization, two-dimensional-subband mixing, and electron-hole asymmetry are disentangled and their respective physical consequences elucidated.

Quantum confinement of exciton-polaritons in a structured (Al,Ga)As microcavity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuznetsov, Alexander S.; Helgers, Paul L. J.; Biermann, Klaus; Santos, Paulo V.

2018-05-01

The realization of quantum functionalities with polaritons in an all-semiconductor platform requires the control of the energy and spatial overlap of the wave functions of single polaritons trapped in potentials with precisely controlled shape and size. In this study we reach the confinement of microcavity polaritons in traps with an effective potential width down to 1 µm, produced by patterning the active region of the (Al,Ga)As microcavity between two molecular beam epitaxy growth runs. We correlate spectroscopic and structural data to show that the smooth surface relief of the patterned traps translates into a graded confinement potential characterized by lateral interfaces with a finite lateral width. We show that the structuring method is suitable for the fabrication of arrays of proximal traps, supporting hybridization between adjacent lattice sites.

One-dimensional carrier confinement in “Giant” CdS/CdSe excitonic nanoshells

DOE PAGES

Razgoniaeva, Natalia; Moroz, Pavel; Yang, Mingrui; ...

2017-05-23

Here, the emerging generation of quantum dot optoelectronic devices offers an appealing prospect of a size-tunable band gap. The confinement-enabled control over electronic properties, however, requires nanoparticles to be sufficiently small, which leads to a large area of interparticle boundaries in a film. Such interfaces lead to a high density of surface traps which ultimately increase the electrical resistance of a solid. To address this issue, we have developed an inverse energy-gradient core/shell architecture supporting the quantum confinement in nanoparticles larger than the exciton Bohr radius. The assembly of such nanostructures exhibits a relatively low surface-to-volume ratio, which was manifestedmore » in this work through the enhanced conductance of solution-processed films. The reported core/shell geometry was realized by growing a narrow gap semiconductor layer (CdSe) on the surface of a wide-gap core material (CdS) promoting the localization of excitons in the shell domain, as was confirmed by ultrafast transient absorption and emission lifetime measurements. The band gap emission of fabricated nanoshells, ranging from 15 to 30 nm in diameter, has revealed a characteristic size-dependent behavior tunable via the shell thickness with associated quantum yields in the 4.4–16.0% range.« less

Intraband magneto-optical absorption in InAs/GaAs quantum dots: Orbital Zeeman splitting and the Thomas-Reiche-Kuhn sum rule

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, J.-Z.; Galbraith, I.

2008-05-01

Using perturbation theory, intraband magneto-optical absorption is calculated for InAs/GaAs truncated pyramidal quantum dots in a magnetic field applied parallel to the growth direction z . The effects of the magnetic field on the electronic states as well as the intraband transitions are systematically studied. Selection rules governing the intraband transitions are discussed based on the symmetry properties of the electronic states. While the broadband z -polarized absorption is almost insensitive to the magnetic field, the orbital Zeeman splitting is the dominant feature in the in-plane polarized spectrum. Strong in-plane polarized magneto-absorption features are located in the far-infrared region, while z -polarized absorption occurs at higher frequencies. This is due to the dot geometry (the base length is much larger than the height) yielding different quantum confinement in the vertical and lateral directions. The Thomas-Reiche-Kuhn sum rule, including the magnetic field effect, is applied together with the selection rules to the absorption spectra. The orbital Zeeman splitting depends on both the dot size and the confining potential—the splitting decreases as the dot size or the confining potential decreases. Our calculated Zeeman splittings are in agreement with experimental data.

One-dimensional carrier confinement in “Giant” CdS/CdSe excitonic nanoshells

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

Razgoniaeva, Natalia; Moroz, Pavel; Yang, Mingrui

Here, the emerging generation of quantum dot optoelectronic devices offers an appealing prospect of a size-tunable band gap. The confinement-enabled control over electronic properties, however, requires nanoparticles to be sufficiently small, which leads to a large area of interparticle boundaries in a film. Such interfaces lead to a high density of surface traps which ultimately increase the electrical resistance of a solid. To address this issue, we have developed an inverse energy-gradient core/shell architecture supporting the quantum confinement in nanoparticles larger than the exciton Bohr radius. The assembly of such nanostructures exhibits a relatively low surface-to-volume ratio, which was manifestedmore » in this work through the enhanced conductance of solution-processed films. The reported core/shell geometry was realized by growing a narrow gap semiconductor layer (CdSe) on the surface of a wide-gap core material (CdS) promoting the localization of excitons in the shell domain, as was confirmed by ultrafast transient absorption and emission lifetime measurements. The band gap emission of fabricated nanoshells, ranging from 15 to 30 nm in diameter, has revealed a characteristic size-dependent behavior tunable via the shell thickness with associated quantum yields in the 4.4–16.0% range.« less

``New'' energy states lead to phonon-less optoelectronic properties in nanostructured silicon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Vivek; Yu, Yixuan; Korgel, Brian; Nagpal, Prashant

2014-03-01

Silicon is arguably one of the most important technological material for electronic applications. However, indirect bandgap of silicon semiconductor has prevented optoelectronic applications due to phonon assistance required for photon light absorption/emission. Here we show, that previously unexplored surface states in nanostructured silicon can couple with quantum-confined energy levels, leading to phonon-less exciton-recombination and photoluminescence. We demonstrate size dependence (2.4 - 8.3 nm) of this coupling observed in small uniform silicon nanocrystallites, or quantum-dots, by direct measurements of their electronic density of states and low temperature measurements. To enhance the optical absorption of the these silicon quantum-dots, we utilize generation of resonant surface plasmon polariton waves, which leads to several fold increase in observed spectrally-resolved photocurrent near the quantum-confined bandedge states. Therefore, these enhanced light emission and absorption enhancement can have important implications for applications of nanostructured silicon for optoelectronic applications in photovoltaics and LEDs.

Influence of polarization and self-polarization charges on impurity binding energy in spherical quantum dot with parabolic confinement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarkar, Supratik; Sarkar, Samrat; Bose, Chayanika

2018-07-01

We present a general formulation of the ground state binding energy of a shallow hydrogenic impurity in spherical quantum dot with parabolic confinement, considering the effects of polarization and self energy. The variational approach within the effective mass approximation is employed here. The binding energy of an on-center impurity is computed for a GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum dot as a function of the dot size with the dot barrier as parameter. The influence of polarization and self energy are also treated separately. Results indicate that the binding energy increases due to the presence of polarization charge, while decreases due to the self energy of the carrier. An overall enhancement in impurity binding energy, especially for small dots is noted.

Theory of a peristaltic pump for fermionic quantum fluids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romeo, F.; Citro, R.

2018-05-01

Motivated by the recent developments in fermionic cold atoms and in nanostructured systems, we propose the model of a peristaltic quantum pump. Differently from the Thouless paradigm, a peristaltic pump is a quantum device that generates a particle flux as the effect of a sliding finite-size microlattice. A one-dimensional tight-binding Hamiltonian model of this quantum machine is formulated and analyzed within a lattice Green's function formalism on the Keldysh contour. The pump observables, as, e.g., the pumped particles per cycle, are studied as a function of the pumping frequency, the width of the pumping potential, the particles mean free path, and system temperature. The proposed analysis applies to arbitrary peristaltic potentials acting on fermionic quantum fluids confined to one dimension. These confinement conditions can be realized in nanostructured systems or, in a more controllable way, in cold atoms experiments. In view of the validation of the theoretical results, we describe the outcomes of the model considering a fermionic cold atoms system as a paradigmatic example.

Structural Investigation of Cesium Lead Halide Perovskites for High-Efficiency Quantum Dot Light-Emitting Diodes.

PubMed

Le, Quyet Van; Kim, Jong Beom; Kim, Soo Young; Lee, Byeongdu; Lee, Dong Ryeol

2017-09-07

We have investigated the effect of reaction temperature of hot-injection method on the structural properties of CsPbX 3 (X: Br, I, Cl) perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) using small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering. It is confirmed that the size of the NCs decreased as the reaction temperature decreased, resulting in stronger quantum confinement. The cubic-phase perovskite NCs formed despite the fact that the reaction temperatures increased from 140 to 180 °C; however, monodispersive NC cubes that are required for densely packing self-assembly film were formed only at lower temperatures. From the X-ray scattering measurements, the spin-coated film from more monodispersive perovskite nanocubes synthesized at lower temperatures resulted in more preferred orientation. This dense-packing perovskite film with preferred orientation yielded efficient light-emitting diode (LED) performance. Thus the dense-packing structure of NC assemblies formed after spin-coating should be considered for high-efficient LEDs based on perovskite quantum dots in addition to quantum confinement effect of the quantum dots.

Coexistence of strongly and weakly confined energy levels in (Cd,Zn)Se quantum dots: Tailoring the near-band-edge and defect-levels for white light emission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, Tapan Kumar; Ilaiyaraja, P.; Sudakar, C.

2017-05-01

We demonstrate white light emission (WLE) from (Cd,Zn)Se system, which is a composite of Zn alloyed CdSe quantum dot and ZnSe-amorphous (ZnSe-a) phase. Detailed structural and photoluminescence emission studies on pure CdSe and (Cd,Zn)Se show cubic zinc blende structure in the size range of 2.5 to 5 nm. (Cd,Zn)Se quantum dots (QDs) also have a significant fraction of ZnSe-a phase. The near-band-edge green-emission in crystalline CdSe and (Cd,Zn)Se is tunable between 500 to 600 nm. The (Cd,Zn)Se system also exhibits a broad, deep defect level (DL) red-emission in the range 600 to 750 nm and a sharp ZnSe near-band-edge blue-emission (ZS-NBE) between 445 to 465 nm. While DL and CdSe near-band-edge (CS-NBE) emissions significantly shift with the size of QD due to strong confinement effect, the ZS-NBE show minimal change in peak position indicating a weak confinement effect. The intensities of ZS-NBE and DL emissions also exhibit a strong dependence on the QD size. A gamut of emission colors is obtained by combining the CS-NBE with the ZS-NBE emission and broad DL emission in (Cd,Zn)Se system. Interestingly, we find the convergence of Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates towards the white light with increasing Zn concentration in CdSe. We demonstrate by combining these three emissions in a proper weight ratio WLE can be achieved. Cd1-yZnySe (y = 0. 5; QD size ˜4.9 nm) alloy with a maximum quantum yield of 57% exhibits CIE coordinates of (0.39, 0.4), color rendering index (CRI) of 82, correlated color temperature (CCT) of 3922 K, and Duv of 0.0078 which is very promising for white light applications.

Electronic Structure of Helium Atom in a Quantum Dot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saha, Jayanta K.; Bhattacharyya, S.; Mukherjee, T. K.

2016-03-01

Bound and resonance states of helium atom have been investigated inside a quantum dot by using explicitly correlated Hylleraas type basis set within the framework of stabilization method. To be specific, precise energy eigenvalues of bound 1sns (1Se) (n = 1-6) states and the resonance parameters i.e. positions and widths of 1Se states due to 2sns (n = 2-5) and 2pnp (n = 2-5) configurations of confined helium below N = 2 ionization threshold of He+ have been estimated. The two-parameter (Depth and Width) finite oscillator potential is used to represent the confining potential due to the quantum dot. It has been explicitly demonstrated that the electronic structural properties become sensitive functions of the dot size. It is observed from the calculations of ionization potential that the stability of an impurity ion within a quantum dot may be manipulated by varying the confinement parameters. A possibility of controlling the autoionization lifetime of doubly excited states of two-electron ions by tuning the width of the quantum cavity is also discussed here. TKM Gratefully Acknowledges Financial Support under Grant No. 37(3)/14/27/2014-BRNS from the Department of Atomic Energy, BRNS, Government of India. SB Acknowledges Financial Support under Grant No. PSW-160/14-15(ERO) from University Grants Commission, Government of India

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

Thermoelectric device with multiple, nanometer scale, elements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fleurial, Jean-Pierre (Inventor); Ryan, Margaret A. (Inventor); Borshchevsky, Alexander (Inventor); Herman, Jennifer (Inventor)

2006-01-01

A thermoelectric device formed of nanowires on the nm scale. The nanowires are preferably of a size that causes quantum confinement effects within the wires. The wires are connected together into a bundle to increase the power density.

Study on Locally Confined Deposition of Si Nanocrystals in High-Aspect-Ratio Si Nano-Pillar Arrays for Nano-Electronic and Nano-Photonic Applications II

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-12-03

photoluminescence characteristics of equivalent-size controlled silicon quantum dots by employing a nano-porous aluminum oxide membrane as the template for growing...synthesis of Si quantum dots (Si-QDs) embedded in low-temperature (500oC) annealed Si-rich SiOx nano-rod deposited in nano-porous anodic aluminum oxide ...characteristics of the equivalent-size controlled Si-QDs by employing the nano-porous AAO membrane as the template for growing Si-rich SiOx nano-rods

Size-tunable Lateral Confinement in Monolayer Semiconductors

DOE PAGES

Wei, Guohua; Czaplewski, David A.; Lenferink, Erik J.; ...

2017-06-12

Three-dimensional confinement allows semiconductor quantum dots to exhibit size-tunable electronic and optical properties that enable a wide range of opto-electronic applications from displays, solar cells and bio-medical imaging to single-electron devices. Additional modalities such as spin and valley properties in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides provide further degrees of freedom requisite for information processing and spintronics. In nanostructures, however, spatial confinement can cause hybridization that inhibits the robustness of these emergent properties. Here in this paper, we show that laterally-confined excitons in monolayer MoS 2 nanodots can be created through top-down nanopatterning with controlled size tunability. Unlike chemically-exfoliated monolayer nanoparticles, themore » lithographically patterned monolayer semiconductor nanodots down to a radius of 15 nm exhibit the same valley polarization as in a continuous monolayer sheet. The inherited bulk spin and valley properties, the size dependence of excitonic energies, and the ability to fabricate MoS 2 nanostructures using semiconductor-compatible processing suggest that monolayer semiconductor nanodots have potential to be multimodal building blocks of integrated optoelectronics and spintronics systems« less

Unity quantum yield of photogenerated charges and band-like transport in quantum-dot solids.

PubMed

Talgorn, Elise; Gao, Yunan; Aerts, Michiel; Kunneman, Lucas T; Schins, Juleon M; Savenije, T J; van Huis, Marijn A; van der Zant, Herre S J; Houtepen, Arjan J; Siebbeles, Laurens D A

2011-09-25

Solid films of colloidal quantum dots show promise in the manufacture of photodetectors and solar cells. These devices require high yields of photogenerated charges and high carrier mobilities, which are difficult to achieve in quantum-dot films owing to a strong electron-hole interaction and quantum confinement. Here, we show that the quantum yield of photogenerated charges in strongly coupled PbSe quantum-dot films is unity over a large temperature range. At high photoexcitation density, a transition takes place from hopping between localized states to band-like transport. These strongly coupled quantum-dot films have electrical properties that approach those of crystalline bulk semiconductors, while retaining the size tunability and cheap processing properties of colloidal quantum dots.

CdS quantum dots in a novel glass with a very low activation energy and its variation of diffusivity with temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagpal, Swati

2011-07-01

CdS quantum dots of different average sizes in the range 2 to 3.8 nm were grown by diffusion-limited growth process in indigenously made silicate glass. The absorption spectra showed a strong quantum confinement effect with a blue shift of the order of 500 meV depending on the average size. Critical radius of quantum dots was found to be 1.8 nm. The size dispersion decreased from 15.2 to 12.5% with a 20% increase in the particle size. The activation energy for diffusion was found to be very low i.e. 193 kJ mol-1 and the diffusion coefficient increased by 60% for 10 K rise in temperature. The PL emission spectra showed the presence of only deep traps around 600 nm with a red shift of 200 nm. No shallow traps or band edge emission was observed. The PL peak position changed from 560 to 640 nm with a 35 K increase in annealing temperature.

Using Quantum Confinement to Uniquely Identify Devices

PubMed Central

Roberts, J.; Bagci, I. E.; Zawawi, M. A. M.; Sexton, J.; Hulbert, N.; Noori, Y. J.; Young, M. P.; Woodhead, C. S.; Missous, M.; Migliorato, M. A.; Roedig, U.; Young, R. J.

2015-01-01

Modern technology unintentionally provides resources that enable the trust of everyday interactions to be undermined. Some authentication schemes address this issue using devices that give a unique output in response to a challenge. These signatures are generated by hard-to-predict physical responses derived from structural characteristics, which lend themselves to two different architectures, known as unique objects (UNOs) and physically unclonable functions (PUFs). The classical design of UNOs and PUFs limits their size and, in some cases, their security. Here we show that quantum confinement lends itself to the provision of unique identities at the nanoscale, by using fluctuations in tunnelling measurements through quantum wells in resonant tunnelling diodes (RTDs). This provides an uncomplicated measurement of identity without conventional resource limitations whilst providing robust security. The confined energy levels are highly sensitive to the specific nanostructure within each RTD, resulting in a distinct tunnelling spectrum for every device, as they contain a unique and unpredictable structure that is presently impossible to clone. This new class of authentication device operates with minimal resources in simple electronic structures above room temperature. PMID:26553435

Photoionization cross section and binding energy of single dopant in hollow cylindrical core/shell quantum dot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feddi, E.; El-Yadri, M.; Dujardin, F.; Restrepo, R. L.; Duque, C. A.

2017-02-01

In this study, we have investigated the confined donor impurity in a hollow cylindrical-shell quantum dot. The charges are assumed to be completely confined to the interior of the shell with rigid walls. Within the framework of the effective-mass approximation and by using a simple variational approach, we have computed the donor binding energy as a function of the shell sizes in order to study the behavior of the electron-impurity attraction for a very small thickness. Our results show that the binding energy of a donor impurity placed at the center of cylindrical core/shell dots depends strongly on the shell size. The binding energy increases when the shell-wideness becomes smaller and shows the same behavior as in a simple cylindrical quantum dot. A special case has been studied, which corresponds to the ratio between the inner and outer radii near to one (a/b → 1) for which our model gives a non-significant behavior of the impurity binding energy. This fact implies the existence of a critical value (a/b) for which the binding energy of the donor impurity tends to the limit value of 4 effective Rydbergs as in a 2D quantum well. We also analyse the photoionization cross section considering only the in-plane incident radiation polarization. We determine its behavior as a function of photon energy, shell size, and donor position. The measurement of photoionization in such systems would be of great interest to understand the optical properties of carriers in quantum dots.

Low temperature synthesis of silicon quantum dots with plasma chemistry control in dual frequency non-thermal plasmas.

PubMed

Sahu, Bibhuti Bhusan; Yin, Yongyi; Han, Jeon Geon; Shiratani, Masaharu

2016-06-21

The advanced materials process by non-thermal plasmas with a high plasma density allows the synthesis of small-to-big sized Si quantum dots by combining low-temperature deposition with superior crystalline quality in the background of an amorphous hydrogenated silicon nitride matrix. Here, we make quantum dot thin films in a reactive mixture of ammonia/silane/hydrogen utilizing dual-frequency capacitively coupled plasmas with high atomic hydrogen and nitrogen radical densities. Systematic data analysis using different film and plasma characterization tools reveals that the quantum dots with different sizes exhibit size dependent film properties, which are sensitively dependent on plasma characteristics. These films exhibit intense photoluminescence in the visible range with violet to orange colors and with narrow to broad widths (∼0.3-0.9 eV). The observed luminescence behavior can come from the quantum confinement effect, quasi-direct band-to-band recombination, and variation of atomic hydrogen and nitrogen radicals in the film growth network. The high luminescence yields in the visible range of the spectrum and size-tunable low-temperature synthesis with plasma and radical control make these quantum dot films good candidates for light emitting applications.

Size-confined fixed-composition and composition-dependent engineered band gap alloying induces different internal structures in L-cysteine-capped alloyed quaternary CdZnTeS quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adegoke, Oluwasesan; Park, Enoch Y.

2016-06-01

The development of alloyed quantum dot (QD) nanocrystals with attractive optical properties for a wide array of chemical and biological applications is a growing research field. In this work, size-tunable engineered band gap composition-dependent alloying and fixed-composition alloying were employed to fabricate new L-cysteine-capped alloyed quaternary CdZnTeS QDs exhibiting different internal structures. Lattice parameters simulated based on powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) revealed the internal structure of the composition-dependent alloyed CdxZnyTeS QDs to have a gradient nature, whereas the fixed-composition alloyed QDs exhibited a homogenous internal structure. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis confirmed the size-confined nature and monodispersity of the alloyed nanocrystals. The zeta potential values were within the accepted range of colloidal stability. Circular dichroism (CD) analysis showed that the surface-capped L-cysteine ligand induced electronic and conformational chiroptical changes in the alloyed nanocrystals. The photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield (QY) values of the gradient alloyed QDs were 27-61%, whereas for the homogenous alloyed QDs, the PL QY values were spectacularly high (72-93%). Our work demonstrates that engineered fixed alloying produces homogenous QD nanocrystals with higher PL QY than composition-dependent alloying.

Confinement properties of 2D porous molecular networks on metal surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Müller, Kathrin; Enache, Mihaela; Stöhr, Meike

2016-04-01

Quantum effects that arise from confinement of electronic states have been extensively studied for the surface states of noble metals. Utilizing small artificial structures for confinement allows tailoring of the surface properties and offers unique opportunities for applications. So far, examples of surface state confinement include thin films, artificial nanoscale structures, vacancy and adatom islands, self-assembled 1D chains, vicinal surfaces, quantum dots and quantum corrals. In this review we summarize recent achievements in changing the electronic structure of surfaces by adsorption of nanoporous networks whose design principles are based on the concepts of supramolecular chemistry. Already in 1993, it was shown that quantum corrals made from Fe atoms on a Cu(1 1 1) surface using single atom manipulation with a scanning tunnelling microscope confine the Shockley surface state. However, since the atom manipulation technique for the construction of corral structures is a relatively time consuming process, the fabrication of periodic two-dimensional (2D) corral structures is practically impossible. On the other side, by using molecular self-assembly extended 2D porous structures can be achieved in a parallel process, i.e. all pores are formed at the same time. The molecular building blocks are usually held together by non-covalent interactions like hydrogen bonding, metal coordination or dipolar coupling. Due to the reversibility of the bond formation defect-free and long-range ordered networks can be achieved. However, recently also examples of porous networks formed by covalent coupling on the surface have been reported. By the choice of the molecular building blocks, the dimensions of the network (pore size and pore to pore distance) can be controlled. In this way, the confinement properties of the individual pores can be tuned. In addition, the effect of the confined state on the hosting properties of the pores will be discussed in this review article.

Confinement properties of 2D porous molecular networks on metal surfaces.

PubMed

Müller, Kathrin; Enache, Mihaela; Stöhr, Meike

2016-04-20

Quantum effects that arise from confinement of electronic states have been extensively studied for the surface states of noble metals. Utilizing small artificial structures for confinement allows tailoring of the surface properties and offers unique opportunities for applications. So far, examples of surface state confinement include thin films, artificial nanoscale structures, vacancy and adatom islands, self-assembled 1D chains, vicinal surfaces, quantum dots and quantum corrals. In this review we summarize recent achievements in changing the electronic structure of surfaces by adsorption of nanoporous networks whose design principles are based on the concepts of supramolecular chemistry. Already in 1993, it was shown that quantum corrals made from Fe atoms on a Cu(1 1 1) surface using single atom manipulation with a scanning tunnelling microscope confine the Shockley surface state. However, since the atom manipulation technique for the construction of corral structures is a relatively time consuming process, the fabrication of periodic two-dimensional (2D) corral structures is practically impossible. On the other side, by using molecular self-assembly extended 2D porous structures can be achieved in a parallel process, i.e. all pores are formed at the same time. The molecular building blocks are usually held together by non-covalent interactions like hydrogen bonding, metal coordination or dipolar coupling. Due to the reversibility of the bond formation defect-free and long-range ordered networks can be achieved. However, recently also examples of porous networks formed by covalent coupling on the surface have been reported. By the choice of the molecular building blocks, the dimensions of the network (pore size and pore to pore distance) can be controlled. In this way, the confinement properties of the individual pores can be tuned. In addition, the effect of the confined state on the hosting properties of the pores will be discussed in this review article.

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

Le, Quyet Van; Kim, Jong Beom; Kim, Soo Young

We have investigated the effect of reaction temperature of hot-injection method on the structural properties of CsPbX3 (X: Br, I, Cl) perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) using the small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering. It is confirmed that the size of the NCs decreased as the reaction temperature decreased, resulting stronger quantum confinement. The cubic-phase perovskite NCs were formed despite the reaction temperatures increased from 140 to 180 °C. However, monodispersive NC cubes which are required for densely packing self-assembly film were only formed at lower temperatures. From the X-ray scattering measurements, the spin-coated film from more monodispersive perovskite nanocubes synthesized at lowermore » temperatures resulted in more preferred orientation. This dense-packing perovskite film with preferred orientation yielded efficient light-emitting diode (LED) performance. Thus, the dense-packing structure of NC assemblies formed after spin-coating should be considered for high-efficient LEDs based on perovskite quantum dots in addition to quantum confinement effect of the quantum dots.« less

Temperature and hydrostatic pressure effects on single dopant states in hollow cylindrical core-shell quantum dot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El-Yadri, M.; Aghoutane, N.; El Aouami, A.; Feddi, E.; Dujardin, F.; Duque, C. A.

2018-05-01

This work reports on theoretical investigation of the temperature and hydrostatic pressure effects on the confined donor impurity in a AlGaAs-GaAs hollow cylindrical core-shell quantum dot. The charges are assumed to be completely confined to the interior of the shell with approximately rigid walls. Within the framework of the effective-mass approximation and by using a variational approach, we have computed the donor binding energies as a function of the shell size in order to study the behavior of the electron-impurity attraction for a very small thickness under the influence of both temperature and hydrostatic pressure. Our results show that the temperature and hydrostatic pressure have a significant influence on the impurity binding energy for large shell quantum dots. It will be shown that the binding energy is more pronounced with increasing pressure and decreasing temperature for any impurity position and quantum dot size. The photoionization cross section is also analyzed by considering only the in-plane incident radiation polarization. Its behavior is investigated as a function of photon energy for different values of pressure and temperature. The opposite effects caused by temperature and hydrostatic pressure reveal a big practical interest and offer an alternative way to tuning of correlated electron-impurity transitions in optoelectronic devices.

First-principles real-space study of electronic and optical excitations in rutile TiO 2 nanocrystals

DOE PAGES

Hung, Linda; Baishya, Kopinjol; Öğüt, Serdar

2014-10-17

We model rutile titanium dioxide nanocrystals (NCs) up to ~1.5 nm in size to study the effects of quantum confinement on their electronic and optical properties. Ionization potentials (IPs) and electron affinities (EAs) are obtained via the perturbative GW approximation (G 0W 0) and ΔSCF method for NCs up to 24 and 64 TiO 2 formula units, respectively. These demanding GW computations are made feasible by using a real-space framework that exploits quantum confinement to reduce the number of empty states needed in GW summations. Time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) is used to predict the optical properties of NCs upmore » to 64 TiO 2 units. For a NC containing only 2 TiO 2 units, the offsets of the IP and the EA from the corresponding bulk limits are of similar magnitude. However, as NC size increases, the EA is found to converge more slowly to the bulk limit than the IP. The EA values computed at the G 0W 0 and ΔSCF levels of theory are found to agree fairly well with each other, while the IPs computed with ΔSCF are consistently smaller than those computed with G 0W 0 by a roughly constant amount. TDDFT optical gaps exhibit weaker size dependence than GW quasiparticle gaps, and result in exciton binding energies on the order of eV. Finally, altering the dimensions of a fixed-size NC can change electronic and optical excitations up to several tenths of an eV. The largest NCs modeled are still quantum confined and do not yet have quasiparticle levels or optical gaps at bulk values. Nevertheless, we find that classical Mie-Gans theory can quite accurately reproduce the line shape of TDDFT absorption spectra, even for (anisotropic) TiO 2 NCs of subnanometer size.« less

First-principles real-space study of electronic and optical excitations in rutile TiO2 nanocrystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hung, Linda; Baishya, Kopinjol; Ã-ǧüt, Serdar

2014-10-01

We model rutile titanium dioxide nanocrystals (NCs) up to ˜1.5 nm in size to study the effects of quantum confinement on their electronic and optical properties. Ionization potentials (IPs) and electron affinities (EAs) are obtained via the perturbative GW approximation (G0W0) and ΔSCF method for NCs up to 24 and 64 TiO2 formula units, respectively. These demanding GW computations are made feasible by using a real-space framework that exploits quantum confinement to reduce the number of empty states needed in GW summations. Time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) is used to predict the optical properties of NCs up to 64 TiO2 units. For a NC containing only 2 TiO2 units, the offsets of the IP and the EA from the corresponding bulk limits are of similar magnitude. However, as NC size increases, the EA is found to converge more slowly to the bulk limit than the IP. The EA values computed at the G0W0 and ΔSCF levels of theory are found to agree fairly well with each other, while the IPs computed with ΔSCF are consistently smaller than those computed with G0W0 by a roughly constant amount. TDDFT optical gaps exhibit weaker size dependence than GW quasiparticle gaps, and result in exciton binding energies on the order of eV. Altering the dimensions of a fixed-size NC can change electronic and optical excitations up to several tenths of an eV. The largest NCs modeled are still quantum confined and do not yet have quasiparticle levels or optical gaps at bulk values. Nevertheless, we find that classical Mie-Gans theory can quite accurately reproduce the line shape of TDDFT absorption spectra, even for (anisotropic) TiO2 NCs of subnanometer size.

A Confined Fabrication of Perovskite Quantum Dots in Oriented MOF Thin Film.

PubMed

Chen, Zheng; Gu, Zhi-Gang; Fu, Wen-Qiang; Wang, Fei; Zhang, Jian

2016-10-26

Organic-inorganic hybrid lead organohalide perovskites are inexpensive materials for high-efficiency photovoltaic solar cells, optical properties, and superior electrical conductivity. However, the fabrication of their quantum dots (QDs) with uniform ultrasmall particles is still a challenge. Here we use oriented microporous metal-organic framework (MOF) thin film prepared by liquid phase epitaxy approach as a template for CH 3 NH 3 PbI 2 X (X = Cl, Br, and I) perovskite QDs fabrication. By introducing the PbI 2 and CH 3 NH 3 X (MAX) precursors into MOF HKUST-1 (Cu 3 (BTC) 2 , BTC = 1,3,5-benzene tricarboxylate) thin film in a stepwise approach, the resulting perovskite MAPbI 2 X (X = Cl, Br, and I) QDs with uniform diameters of 1.5-2 nm match the pore size of HKUST-1. Furthermore, the photoluminescent properties and stability in the moist air of the perovskite QDs loaded HKUST-1 thin film were studied. This confined fabrication strategy demonstrates that the perovskite QDs loaded MOF thin film will be insensitive to air exposure and offers a novel means of confining the uniform size of the similar perovskite QDs according to the oriented porous MOF materials.

Study on Locally Confined Deposition of Si Nanocrystals in High-Aspect-Ratio Si Nano-Pillar Array for Nano-Electronic and Nano-Photonic Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-02-23

reflection, thus increasing the quantum efficiency by one order of magnitude and improving the light extraction from the nano-roughened device surface by...respectively. At a biased current of 400 A, the highest external quantum efficiency is over 0.2% to obtain the maximum EL power of >1 W. In...processing techniques for improving the internal and external quantum efficiencies of Si MOSLEDs via detuning the size and density of high-aspect-ratio Si

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.

n/a

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-06-10

Cadmium selenium Quantum Dots (QDs) are metal nanoparticles that fluoresce in a variety of colors determined by their size. QDs are solid state structures made of semiconductors or metals that confine a countable, small number of electrons into a small space. The confinement of electrons is achieved by the placement of some insulating material(s) around a central, well conducted region. Coupling QDs with antibodies can be used to make spectrally multiplexed immunoassays that test for a number of microbial contaminants using a single test.

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.

Polyaniline/carbon nanotube/CdS quantum dot composites with enhanced optical and electrical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goswami, Mrinmoy; Ghosh, Ranajit; Maruyama, Takahiro; Meikap, Ajit Kumar

2016-02-01

A new kind of polyaniline/carbon nanotube/CdS quantum dot composites have been developed via in-situ polymerization of aniline monomer in the presence of dispersed CdS quantum dots (size: 2.7-4.8 nm) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT), which exhibits enhanced optical and electrical properties. The existences of 1st order, 2nd order, and 3rd order longitudinal optical phonon modes, strongly indicate the high quality of synthesized CdS quantum dots. The occurrence of red shift of free exciton energy in photoluminescence is due to size dependent quantum confinement effect of CdS. The conductivity of the composites (for example PANI/CNT/CdS (2 wt.% CdS)) is increased by about 7 of magnitude compared to that of pure PANI indicating a charge transfer between CNT and polymer via CdS quantum dots. This advanced material has a great potential for high-performance of electro-optical applications.

Quantum Dots and Their Multimodal Applications: A Review

PubMed Central

Bera, Debasis; Qian, Lei; Tseng, Teng-Kuan; Holloway, Paul H.

2010-01-01

Semiconducting quantum dots, whose particle sizes are in the nanometer range, have very unusual properties. The quantum dots have band gaps that depend in a complicated fashion upon a number of factors, described in the article. Processing-structure-properties-performance relationships are reviewed for compound semiconducting quantum dots. Various methods for synthesizing these quantum dots are discussed, as well as their resulting properties. Quantum states and confinement of their excitons may shift their optical absorption and emission energies. Such effects are important for tuning their luminescence stimulated by photons (photoluminescence) or electric field (electroluminescence). In this article, decoupling of quantum effects on excitation and emission are described, along with the use of quantum dots as sensitizers in phosphors. In addition, we reviewed the multimodal applications of quantum dots, including in electroluminescence device, solar cell and biological imaging.

Cadmium Selenium Testing for Microbial Contaminants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

Cadmium selenium Quantum Dots (QDs) are metal nanoparticles that fluoresce in a variety of colors determined by their size. QDs are solid state structures made of semiconductors or metals that confine a countable, small number of electrons into a small space. The confinement of electrons is achieved by the placement of some insulating material(s) around a central, well conducted region. Coupling QDs with antibodies can be used to make spectrally multiplexed immunoassays that test for a number of microbial contaminants using a single test.

Gate-defined Quantum Confinement in Suspended Bilayer Graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allen, Monica

2013-03-01

Quantum confined devices in carbon-based materials offer unique possibilities for applications ranging from quantum computation to sensing. In particular, nanostructured carbon is a promising candidate for spin-based quantum computation due to the ability to suppress hyperfine coupling to nuclear spins, a dominant source of spin decoherence. Yet graphene lacks an intrinsic bandgap, which poses a serious challenge for the creation of such devices. We present a novel approach to quantum confinement utilizing tunnel barriers defined by local electric fields that break sublattice symmetry in suspended bilayer graphene. This technique electrostatically confines charges via band structure control, thereby eliminating the edge and substrate disorder that hinders on-chip etched nanostructures to date. We report clean single electron tunneling through gate-defined quantum dots in two regimes: at zero magnetic field using the energy gap induced by a perpendicular electric field and at finite magnetic fields using Landau level confinement. The observed Coulomb blockade periodicity agrees with electrostatic simulations based on local top-gate geometry, a direct demonstration of local control over the band structure of graphene. This technology integrates quantum confinement with pristine device quality and access to vibrational modes, enabling wide applications from electromechanical sensors to quantum bits. More broadly, the ability to externally tailor the graphene bandgap over nanometer scales opens a new unexplored avenue for creating quantum devices.

Quantum dots and nanocomposites.

PubMed

Mansur, Herman Sander

2010-01-01

Quantum dots (QDs), also known as semiconducting nanoparticles, are promising zero-dimensional advanced materials because of their nanoscale size and because they can be engineered to suit particular applications such as nonlinear optical devices (NLO), electro-optical devices, and computing applications. QDs can be joined to polymers in order to produce nanocomposites which can be considered a scientific revolution of the 21st century. One of the fastest moving and most exciting interfaces of nanotechnology is the use of QDs in medicine, cell and molecular biology. Recent advances in nanomaterials have produced a new class of markers and probes by conjugating semiconductor QDs with biomolecules that have affinities for binding with selected biological structures. The nanoscale of QDs ensures that they do not scatter light at visible or longer wavelengths, which is important in order to minimize optical losses in practical applications. Moreover, at this scale, quantum confinement and surface effects become very important and therefore manipulation of the dot diameter or modification of its surface allows the properties of the dot to be controlled. Quantum confinement affects the absorption and emission of photons from the dot. Thus, the absorption edge of a material can be tuned by control of the particle size. This paper reviews developments in the myriad of possibilities for the use of semiconductor QDs associated with molecules producing novel hybrid nanocomposite systems for nanomedicine and bioengineering applications.

States of direct and indirect excitons in strained zinc-blende GaN/InGaN asymmetric quantum wells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rojas-Briseño, J. G.; Martínez-Orozco, J. C.; Mora-Ramos, M. E.

2017-12-01

The total and binding energies of excitons in step-like asymmetric quantum wells made of zincblende GaN/InxlGa(1-xl)N/InxrGa(1-xr)N/GaN are theoretically reported. It is discussed how the asymmetry in the carrier confinement leads to singular behaviors in the exciton binding energy, allowing to observe both direct and indirect exciton states in the heterostructure. The study is carried out with the use of the effective mass approximation. The effects of strain are taken into account and a comparison of the results obtained for both strained and unstrained situations is presented. Exciton energy shows a decreasing behavior when the size of the effective confinement region is augmented. The total exciton energy as well as the binding energy are reported as functions of the indium concentration and quantum well width. In addition, the results of the calculation of the photoluminescence peak are presented. For this latter quantity, our results for the limiting case of a single zinc-blende GaN/InGaN quantum well show very good agreement with published experimental ones.

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

Wei, Guohua; Czaplewski, David A.; Lenferink, Erik J.

Three-dimensional confinement allows semiconductor quantum dots to exhibit size-tunable electronic and optical properties that enable a wide range of opto-electronic applications from displays, solar cells and bio-medical imaging to single-electron devices. Additional modalities such as spin and valley properties in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides provide further degrees of freedom requisite for information processing and spintronics. In nanostructures, however, spatial confinement can cause hybridization that inhibits the robustness of these emergent properties. Here in this paper, we show that laterally-confined excitons in monolayer MoS 2 nanodots can be created through top-down nanopatterning with controlled size tunability. Unlike chemically-exfoliated monolayer nanoparticles, themore » lithographically patterned monolayer semiconductor nanodots down to a radius of 15 nm exhibit the same valley polarization as in a continuous monolayer sheet. The inherited bulk spin and valley properties, the size dependence of excitonic energies, and the ability to fabricate MoS 2 nanostructures using semiconductor-compatible processing suggest that monolayer semiconductor nanodots have potential to be multimodal building blocks of integrated optoelectronics and spintronics systems« less

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.

Enhanced photoluminescence of multilayer Ge quantum dots on Si(001) substrates by increased overgrowth temperature.

PubMed

Liu, Zhi; Cheng, Buwen; Hu, Weixuan; Su, Shaojian; Li, Chuanbo; Wang, Qiming

2012-07-11

Four-bilayer Ge quantum dots (QDs) with Si spacers were grown on Si(001) substrates by ultrahigh vacuum chemical vapor deposition. In three samples, all Ge QDs were grown at 520 °C, while Si spacers were grown at various temperatures (520 °C, 550 °C, and 580 °C). Enhancement and redshift of room temperature photoluminescence (PL) were observed from the samples in which Si spacers were grown at a higher temperature. The enhancement of PL is explained by higher effective electrons capturing in the larger size Ge QDs. Quantum confinement of the Ge QDs is responsible for the redshift of PL spectra. The Ge QDs' size and content were investigated by atomic force microscopy and Raman scattering measurements.

Analytical model for the threshold voltage of III-V nanowire transistors including quantum effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marin, E. G.; Ruiz, F. G.; Tienda-Luna, I. M.; Godoy, A.; Gámiz, F.

2014-02-01

In this work we propose an analytical model for the threshold voltage (VT) of III-V cylindrical nanowires, that takes into consideration the two dimensional quantum confinement of the carriers, the Fermi-Dirac statistics, the wave-function penetration into the gate insulator and the non-parabolicity of the conduction band structure. A simple expression for VT is obtained assuming some suitable approximations. The model results are compared to those of a 2D self consistent Schrödinger-Poisson solver, demonstrating a good fit for different III-V materials, insulator thicknesses and nanowire sizes with diameter down to 5 nm. The VT dependence on the confinement effective mass is discussed. The different contributions to VT are analyzed showing significant variations among different III-V materials.

Linear and nonlinear magneto-optical properties of an off-center single dopant in a spherical core/shell quantum dot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feddi, E.; Talbi, A.; Mora-Ramos, M. E.; El Haouari, M.; Dujardin, F.; Duque, C. A.

2017-11-01

Using the effective mass approximation and a variational procedure, we have investigated the nonlinear optical absorption coefficient and the relative refractive index changes associated to a single dopant confined in core/shell quantum dots considering the influences of the core/shell dimensions, externally applied magnetic field, and dielectric mismatch. The results show that the optical absorption coefficient and the coefficients of relative refractive index change depend strongly on the core/shell sizes and they are blue shifted when the spatial confinement increases so this effect is magnified by higher structural dimensions. Additionally, it is obtained that both studied optical properties are sensitive to the dielectric environment in such a way that their amplitudes are very affected by the local field corrections.

Slow Auger Relaxation in HgTe Colloidal Quantum Dots.

PubMed

Melnychuk, Christopher; Guyot-Sionnest, Philippe

2018-05-03

The biexciton lifetimes in HgTe colloidal quantum dots are measured as a function of particle size. Samples produced by two synthetic methods, leading to partially aggregated or well-dispersed particles, exhibit markedly different dynamics. The relaxation characteristics of partially aggregated HgTe inhibit reliable determinations of the Auger lifetime. In well-dispersed HgTe quantum dots, the biexciton lifetime increases approximately linearly with particle volume, confirming trends observed in other systems. The extracted Auger coefficient is three orders of magnitude smaller than that for bulk HgCdTe materials with similar energy gaps. We discuss these findings in the context of understanding Auger relaxation in quantum-confined systems and their relevance to mid-infrared optoelectronic devices based on HgTe colloidal quantum dots.

"On the Dot"-The Timing of Self-Assembled Growth to the Quantum Scale.

PubMed

Sonkaria, Sanjiv; Ahn, Sung-Hoon; Lee, Caroline S; Khare, Varsha

2017-06-16

Understanding the complex world of material growth and tunability has mystified the minds of material scientists and has been met with increasing efforts to close the gap between controllability and applicability. The reality of this journey is frustratingly tortuous but is being eased through better conceptual appreciation of metal crystalline frameworks that originate from shape and size dependent solvent responsive growth patterns. The quantum confinement of TiO 2 in the range of 0.8-2 nm has been synthetically challenging to achieve but lessons from biomineralization processes have enabled alternative routes to be explored via self-induced pre-nucleation events. In driving this concept, we have incorporated many of these key features integrating aspects of low temperature annealing at the interface of complex heterogeneous nucleation between hard and soft materials to arrest the biomimetic amorphous phase of TiO 2 to a tunable crystalline quantumized state. The stabilization of metastable states of quantum sized TiO 2 driven by kinetic and thermodynamic processes show hallmarks of biomineralized controlled events that suggest the inter-play between new pathways and interfacial energies that preferentially favor low dimensionality at the quantum scale. This provides the potential to re-direct synthetic assemblies under tightly controlled parameters to generate a host of new materials with size, shape and anisotropic properties as smart stimuli responsive materials. These new stabilities leading to the growth arrest of TiO 2 are discussed in terms of molecular interactions and structural frameworks that were previously inaccessible via conventional routes. There exists an undiscovered parallel between synthetic and biomineralized routes enabling unprecedented access to the availability and tunability of novel quantum confined materials. The parametrics of complex material design at the crossroads of synthetically and biologically driven processes is only now surfacing. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Magnetic field effect on the energy levels of an exciton in a GaAs quantum dot: Application for excitonic lasers.

PubMed

Jahan, K Luhluh; Boda, A; Shankar, I V; Raju, Ch Narasimha; Chatterjee, Ashok

2018-03-22

The problem of an exciton trapped in a Gaussian quantum dot (QD) of GaAs is studied in both two and three dimensions in the presence of an external magnetic field using the Ritz variational method, the 1/N expansion method and the shifted 1/N expansion method. The ground state energy and the binding energy of the exciton are obtained as a function of the quantum dot size, confinement strength and the magnetic field and compared with those available in the literature. While the variational method gives the upper bound to the ground state energy, the 1/N expansion method gives the lower bound. The results obtained from the shifted 1/N expansion method are shown to match very well with those obtained from the exact diagonalization technique. The variation of the exciton size and the oscillator strength of the exciton are also studied as a function of the size of the quantum dot. The excited states of the exciton are computed using the shifted 1/N expansion method and it is suggested that a given number of stable excitonic bound states can be realized in a quantum dot by tuning the quantum dot parameters. This can open up the possibility of having quantum dot lasers using excitonic states.

Confinement and surface effects on the physical properties of rhombohedral-shape hematite (α-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}) nanocrystals

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

Luna, Carlos, E-mail: carlos.lunacd@uanl.edu.mx; Cuan-Guerra, Aída D.; Barriga-Castro, Enrique D.

2016-08-15

Highlights: • Uniform rhombohedral hematite nanocrystals (RHNCs) have been obtained. • A detailed formation mechanism of these HNCS has been proposed. • Phonon confinement effects were revealed in the RHNCS vibrational bands. • Quantum confinement effects on the optical and electronic properties were found. - Abstract: Morphological, microstructural and vibrational properties of hematite (α-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}) nanocrystals with a rhombohedral shape and rounded edges, obtained by forced hydrolysis of iron(III) solutions under a fast nucleation, have been investigated in detail as a function of aging time. These studies allowed us to propose a detailed formation mechanism and revealed that thesemore » nanocrystals are composed of four {104} side facets, two {110} faces at the edges of the long diagonal of the nanocrystals and two {−441} facets as the top and bottom faces. Also, the presence of nanoscopic pores and fissures was evidenced. The vibrational bands of such nanocrystals were shifted to lower frequencies in comparison with bulk hematite ones as the nanocrystal size was reduced due to phonon confinement effects. Also, the indirect and direct transition band gaps displayed interesting dependences on the aging time arising from quantum confinement and surface effects.« less

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

Fischer, C G; Denison, A B; Weber, M H

We employed the two detector coincident Doppler Broadening Technique (coPAS) to investigate Ag, Au and Ag/Au alloy quantum dots of varying sizes which were deposited in thin layers on glass slides. The Ag quantum dots range from 2 to 3 nm in diameter, while the Ag/Au alloy quantum dots exhibit Ag cores of 2 nm and 3 nm and Au shells of varying thickness. We investigate the possibility of positron confinement in the Ag core due to positron affinity differences between Ag and Au. We describe the results and their significance to resolving the issue of whether positrons annihilate withinmore » the quantum dot itself or whether surface and positron escape effects play an important role.« less

The ground state magnetic moment and susceptibility of a two electron Gaussian quantum dot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boda, Aalu; Chatterjee, Ashok

2018-04-01

The problem of two interacting electrons moving in a two-dimensional semiconductor quantum dot with Gaussian confinement under the influence of an external magnetic field is studied by using a method of numerical diagonalization of the Hamiltonian matrix with in the effective-mass approximation. The energy spectrum is calculated as a function of the magnetic field. We find the ground state magnetic moment and the magnetic susceptibility show zero temperature diamagnetic peaks due to exchange induced singlet-triplet oscillations. The position and the number of these peaks depend on the size of the quantum dot and also strength of the electro-electron interaction. The theory is applied to a GaAs quantum dot.

Inelastic light and electron scattering in parabolic quantum dots in magnetic field: Implications of generalized Kohn's theorem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kushwaha, Manvir S.

2016-03-01

We investigate a one-component, quasi-zero-dimensional, quantum plasma exposed to a parabolic potential and an applied magnetic field in the symmetric gauge. If the size of such a system as can be realized in the semiconducting quantum dots is on the order of the de Broglie wavelength, the electronic and optical properties become highly tunable. Then the quantum size effects challenge the observation of many-particle phenomena such as the magneto-optical absorption, Raman intensity, and electron energy loss spectrum. An exact analytical solution of the problem leads us to infer that these many-particle phenomena are, in fact, dictated by the generalized Kohn's theorem in the long-wavelength limit. Maneuvering the confinement and/or the magnetic field furnishes the resonance energy capable of being explored with the FIR, Raman, or electron energy loss spectroscopy. This implies that either of these probes should be competent in observing the localized magnetoplasmons in the system. A deeper insight into the physics of quantum dots is paving the way for their implementation in diverse fields such as quantum computing and medical imaging.

Localized magnetoplasmons in quantum dots: Magneto-optical absorption, Raman scattering, and inelastic electron scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kushwaha, M. S.

We investigate a one-component, quasi-zero dimensional, quantum plasma exposed to a parabolic potential and an applied magnetic field in the symmetric gauge. If the size of such a system as can be realized in the semiconducting quantum dots is on the order of the de-Broglie wavelength, the electronic and optical properties become highly tunable. Then the quantum size effects challenge the observation of many-particle phenomena such as the magneto-optical absorption, Raman intensity, and electron-energy-loss spectrum. An exact analytical solution of the problem leads us to infer that these many-particle phenomena are, in fact, dictated by the generalized Kohn's theorem in the long-wavelength limit. Maneuvering the confinement and/or the magnetic field furnishes the resonance energy capable of being explored with the FIR, Raman, or electron-energy-loss spectroscopy. This implies that either of these probes should be competent in observing the localized magnetoplasmons in the system. A deeper insight into the physics of quantum dots is paving the way for their implementation in such diverse fields as quantum computing and medical imaging.

Size effect in thermoelectric materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mao, Jun; Liu, Zihang; Ren, Zhifeng

2016-12-01

Thermoelectric applications have attracted increasing interest recently due to its capability of converting waste heat into electricity without hazardous emissions. Materials with enhanced thermoelectric performance have been reported in recent two decades. The revival of research for thermoelectric materials began in early 1990s when the size effect is considered. Low-dimensional materials with exceptionally high thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) have been presented, which broke the limit of ZT around unity. The idea of size effect in thermoelectric materials even inspired the later nanostructuring and band engineering strategies, which effectively enhanced the thermoelectric performance of bulk materials. In this overview, the size effect in low-dimensional thermoelectric materials is reviewed. We first discuss the quantum confinement effect on carriers, including the enhancement of electronic density of states, semimetal to semiconductor transition and carrier pocket engineering. Then, the effect of assumptions on theoretical calculations is presented. Finally, the effect of phonon confinement and interface scattering on lattice thermal conductivity is discussed.

Quantum Computation with Neutral Atoms at Addressable Optical Lattice Sites and Atoms in Confined Geometries

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-10-13

include doublon dissolution, quantum distillation , and confinement of vacancies in a doublon sea, can be 1. REPORT DATE (DD-MM-YYYY) 4. TITLE AND...include doublon dissolution, quantum distillation , and confinement of vacancies in a doublon sea, can be qualitatively understood even in the intermediate...with a deep enough lattice that isolated doublons are stable; the quantum distillation of singlons out of the doublon sea; and the long term

A review of finite size effects in quasi-zero dimensional superconductors.

PubMed

Bose, Sangita; Ayyub, Pushan

2014-11-01

Quantum confinement and surface effects (SEs) dramatically modify most solid state phenomena as one approaches the nanometer scale, and superconductivity is no exception. Though we may expect significant modifications from bulk superconducting properties when the system dimensions become smaller than the characteristic length scales for bulk superconductors-such as the coherence length or the penetration depth-it is now established that there is a third length scale which ultimately determines the critical size at which Cooper pairing is destroyed. In quasi-zero-dimensional (0D) superconductors (e.g. nanocrystalline materials, isolated or embedded nanoparticles), one may define a critical particle diameter below which the mean energy level spacing arising from quantum confinement becomes equal to the bulk superconducting energy gap. The so-called Anderson criterion provides a remarkably accurate estimate of the limiting size for the destabilization of superconductivity in nanosystems. This review of size effects in quasi-0D superconductors is organized as follows. A general summary of size effects in nanostructured superconductors (section 1) is followed by a brief overview of their synthesis (section 2) and characterization using a variety of techniques (section 3). Section 4 reviews the size-evolution of important superconducting parameters-the transition temperature, critical fields and critical current-as the Anderson limit is approached from above. We then discuss the effect of thermodynamic fluctuations (section 5), which become significant in confined systems. Improvements in fabrication methods and the increasing feasibility of addressing individual nanoparticles using scanning probe techniques have lately opened up new directions in the study of nanoscale superconductivity. Section 6 reviews both experimental and theoretical aspects of the recently discovered phenomena of 'parity effect' and 'shell effect' that lead to a strong, non-monotonic size dependence of the superconducting energy gap and associated properties. Finally, we discuss in section 7 the properties of ordered heterostructures (bilayers and multilayers of alternating superconducting and normal phases) and disordered heterostructures (nanocomposites consisting of superconducting and normal phases), which are primarily controlled by the proximity effect.

Electrical control of charged carriers and excitons in atomically thin materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ke; De Greve, Kristiaan; Jauregui, Luis A.; Sushko, Andrey; High, Alexander; Zhou, You; Scuri, Giovanni; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; Lukin, Mikhail D.; Park, Hongkun; Kim, Philip

2018-02-01

Electrical confinement and manipulation of charge carriers in semiconducting nanostructures are essential for realizing functional quantum electronic devices1-3. The unique band structure4-7 of atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) offers a new route towards realizing novel 2D quantum electronic devices, such as valleytronic devices and valley-spin qubits8. 2D TMDs also provide a platform for novel quantum optoelectronic devices9-11 due to their large exciton binding energy12,13. However, controlled confinement and manipulation of electronic and excitonic excitations in TMD nanostructures have been technically challenging due to the prevailing disorder in the material, preventing accurate experimental control of local confinement and tunnel couplings14-16. Here we demonstrate a novel method for creating high-quality heterostructures composed of atomically thin materials that allows for efficient electrical control of excitations. Specifically, we demonstrate quantum transport in the gate-defined, quantum-confined region, observing spin-valley locked quantized conductance in quantum point contacts. We also realize gate-controlled Coulomb blockade associated with confinement of electrons and demonstrate electrical control over charged excitons with tunable local confinement potentials and tunnel couplings. Our work provides a basis for novel quantum opto-electronic devices based on manipulation of charged carriers and excitons.

A Pearson Effective Potential for Monte Carlo Simulation of Quantum Confinement Effects in nMOSFETs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaud, Marie-Anne; Barraud, Sylvain; Saint-Martin, Jérôme; Bournel, Arnaud; Dollfus, Philippe; Jaouen, Hervé

2008-12-01

A Pearson Effective Potential model for including quantization effects in the simulation of nanoscale nMOSFETs has been developed. This model, based on a realistic description of the function representing the non zero-size of the electron wave packet, has been used in a Monte-Carlo simulator for bulk, single gate SOI and double-gate SOI devices. In the case of SOI capacitors, the electron density has been computed for a large range of effective field (between 0.1 MV/cm and 1 MV/cm) and for various silicon film thicknesses (between 5 nm and 20 nm). A good agreement with the Schroedinger-Poisson results is obtained both on the total inversion charge and on the electron density profiles. The ability of an Effective Potential approach to accurately reproduce electrostatic quantum confinement effects is clearly demonstrated.

Synthesis and Size Dependent Reflectance Study of Water Soluble SnS Nanoparticles

PubMed Central

Xu, Ying; Al-Salim, Najeh; Tilley, Richard D.

2012-01-01

Near-monodispersed water soluble SnS nanoparticles in the diameter range of 3–6 nm are synthesized by a facile, solution based one-step approach using ethanolamine ligands. The optimal amount of triethanolamine is investigated. The effect of further heat treatment on the size of these SnS nanoparticles is discussed. Diffuse reflectance study of SnS nanoparticles agrees with predictions from quantum confinement model. PMID:28348295

Efficient Multi-Dimensional Simulation of Quantum Confinement Effects in Advanced MOS Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Biegel, Bryan A.; Rafferty, Conor S.; Ancona, Mario G.; Yu, Zhi-Ping

2000-01-01

We investigate the density-gradient (DG) transport model for efficient multi-dimensional simulation of quantum confinement effects in advanced MOS devices. The formulation of the DG model is described as a quantum correction to the classical drift-diffusion model. Quantum confinement effects are shown to be significant in sub-100nm MOSFETs. In thin-oxide MOS capacitors, quantum effects may reduce gate capacitance by 25% or more. As a result, the inclusion or quantum effects in simulations dramatically improves the match between C-V simulations and measurements for oxide thickness down to 2 nm. Significant quantum corrections also occur in the I-V characteristics of short-channel (30 to 100 nm) n-MOSFETs, with current drive reduced by up to 70%. This effect is shown to result from reduced inversion charge due to quantum confinement of electrons in the channel. Also, subthreshold slope is degraded by 15 to 20 mV/decade with the inclusion of quantum effects via the density-gradient model, and short channel effects (in particular, drain-induced barrier lowering) are noticeably increased.

ZnO nanorods for electronic and photonic device applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yi, Gyu-Chul; Yoo, Jinkyoung; Park, Won Il; Jung, Sug Woo; An, Sung Jin; Kim, H. J.; Kim, D. W.

2005-11-01

We report on catalyst-free growth of ZnO nanorods and their nano-scale electrical and optical device applications. Catalyst-free metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE) enables fabrication of size-controlled high purity ZnO single crystal nanorods. Various high quality nanorod heterostructures and quantum structures based on ZnO nanorods were also prepared using the MOVPE method and characterized using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and optical spectroscopy. From the photoluminescence spectra of ZnO/Zn 0.8Mg 0.2O nanorod multi-quantum-well structures, in particular, we observed a systematic blue-shift in their PL peak position due to quantum confinement effect of carriers in nanorod quantum structures. For ZnO/ZnMgO coaxial nanorod heterostructures, photoluminescence intensity was significantly increased presumably due to surface passivation and carrier confinement. In addition to the growth and characterizations of ZnO nanorods and their quantum structures, we fabricated nanoscale electronic devices based on ZnO nanorods. We report on fabrication and device characteristics of metal-oxidesemiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs), Schottky diodes, and metal-semiconductor field effect transistors (MESFETs) as examples of the nanodevices. In addition, electroluminescent devices were fabricated using vertically aligned ZnO nanorods grown p-type GaN substrates, exhibiting strong visible electroluminescence.

Gate-defined quantum confinement in suspended bilayer graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allen, M. T.; Martin, J.; Yacoby, A.

2012-07-01

Quantum-confined devices that manipulate single electrons in graphene are emerging as attractive candidates for nanoelectronics applications. Previous experiments have employed etched graphene nanostructures, but edge and substrate disorder severely limit device functionality. Here we present a technique that builds quantum-confined structures in suspended bilayer graphene with tunnel barriers defined by external electric fields that open a bandgap, thereby eliminating both edge and substrate disorder. We report clean quantum dot formation in two regimes: at zero magnetic field B using the energy gap induced by a perpendicular electric field and at B>0 using the quantum Hall ν=0 gap for confinement. Coulomb blockade oscillations exhibit periodicity consistent with electrostatic simulations based on local top-gate geometry, a direct demonstration of local control over the band structure of graphene. This technology integrates single electron transport with high device quality and access to vibrational modes, enabling broad applications from electromechanical sensors to quantum bits.

Iii-V Compound Multiple Quantum Well Based Modulator and Switching Devices.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Songcheol

A general formalism to study the absorption and photocurrent in multiple quantum well is provided with detailed consideration of quantum confined Stark shift, exciton binding energy, line broadening, tunneling, polarization, and strain effects. Results on variation of exciton size, binding energies and transition energies as a function electric field and well size have been presented. Inhomogeneous line broadening of exciton lines due to interface roughness, alloy disorder and well to well size fluctuation is calculated. The potential of material tailoring by introducing strain for specific optical response is discussed. Theoretical and experimental results on excitonic and band-to-band absorption spectra in strained multi-quantum well structures are shown. I also report on polarization dependent optical absorption for excitonic and interband transitions in lattice matched and strained multiquantum well structures in presence of transverse electric field. Photocurrent in a p-i(MQW)-n diode with monochromatic light is examined with respect to different temperatures and intensities. The negative resistance of I-V characteristic of the p-i-n diode is based on the quantum confined Stark effect of the heavy hole excitonic transition in a multiquantum well. This exciton based photocurrent characteristic allows efficient switching. A general purpose low power optical logic device using the controller-modulator concept bas been proposed and realized. The controller is a heterojunction phototransistor with multiquantum wells in the base-collector depletion region. This allows an amplified photocurrent controlled voltage feedback with low light intensity levels. Detailed analysis of the sensitivity of this device in various modes of operation is studied. Studies are also presented on the cascadability of the device as well as its integrating -thresholding properties. A multiquantum well heterojunction bipolar transistor (MHBT), which has N^+ -p^+-i(MQW)-N structure has been fabricated to test the concept. Gain (>30) is obtained in the MBE grown devices and efficient switching occurs due to the amplification of the exciton based photocurrent. The level shift operation of the base contacted MHBT are demonstrated.

Quantum confinement effect in 6H-SiC quantum dots observed via plasmon-exciton coupling-induced defect-luminescence quenching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Xiaoxiao; Zhang, Yumeng; Fan, Baolu; Fan, Jiyang

2017-03-01

The quantum confinement effect is one of the crucial physical effects that discriminate a quantum material from its bulk material. It remains a mystery why the 6H-SiC quantum dots (QDs) do not exhibit an obvious quantum confinement effect. We study the photoluminescence of the coupled colloidal system of SiC QDs and Ag nanoparticles. The experimental result in conjunction with the theoretical calculation reveals that there is strong coupling between the localized electron-hole pair in the SiC QD and the localized surface plasmon in the Ag nanoparticle. It results in resonance energy transfer between them and resultant quenching of the blue surface-defect luminescence of the SiC QDs, leading to uncovering of a hidden near-UV emission band. This study shows that this emission band originates from the interband transition of the 6H-SiC QDs and it exhibits a remarkable quantum confinement effect.

Image simulations of quantum dots.

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

Lang, C.; Liao, Xiaozhou; Cockayne, D. J.

2001-01-01

Quantum dot (QD) nanostructures have drawn increased interest in recent years. Their small size leads to quantum confinement of the electrons, which is responsible for their unique electronic and optical properties. They promise to find use in a wide range of devices ranging from semiconductor lasers (Bimberg et al (2001), Ribbat et al (2001)) to quantum computing. The properties of QDs are also determined by their shape and composition. All three parameters (size, shape and composition) have a significant impact on their contrast in the transmission electron microscope (TEM), and consequently the possibility arises that these parameters can be extractedmore » from the images. Zone axis plan view images are especially sensitive to the composition of QDs, and image simulation is an important way to understand how the composition determines the contrast. This paper outlines a method of image simulation of QDs developed by Liao et. al. (1999) and presents an application of the method to QDs in wurtzite InN/GaN.« less

Efficient Multi-Dimensional Simulation of Quantum Confinement Effects in Advanced MOS Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Biegel, Bryan A.; Ancona, Mario G.; Rafferty, Conor S.; Yu, Zhiping

2000-01-01

We investigate the density-gradient (DG) transport model for efficient multi-dimensional simulation of quantum confinement effects in advanced MOS devices. The formulation of the DG model is described as a quantum correction ot the classical drift-diffusion model. Quantum confinement effects are shown to be significant in sub-100nm MOSFETs. In thin-oxide MOS capacitors, quantum effects may reduce gate capacitance by 25% or more. As a result, the inclusion of quantum effects may reduce gate capacitance by 25% or more. As a result, the inclusion of quantum effects in simulations dramatically improves the match between C-V simulations and measurements for oxide thickness down to 2 nm. Significant quantum corrections also occur in the I-V characteristics of short-channel (30 to 100 nm) n-MOSFETs, with current drive reduced by up to 70%. This effect is shown to result from reduced inversion charge due to quantum confinement of electrons in the channel. Also, subthreshold slope is degraded by 15 to 20 mV/decade with the inclusion of quantum effects via the density-gradient model, and short channel effects (in particular, drain-induced barrier lowering) are noticeably increased.

Confining metal-halide perovskites in nanoporous thin films

PubMed Central

Demchyshyn, Stepan; Roemer, Janina Melanie; Groiß, Heiko; Heilbrunner, Herwig; Ulbricht, Christoph; Apaydin, Dogukan; Böhm, Anton; Rütt, Uta; Bertram, Florian; Hesser, Günter; Scharber, Markus Clark; Sariciftci, Niyazi Serdar; Nickel, Bert; Bauer, Siegfried; Głowacki, Eric Daniel; Kaltenbrunner, Martin

2017-01-01

Controlling the size and shape of semiconducting nanocrystals advances nanoelectronics and photonics. Quantum-confined, inexpensive, solution-derived metal halide perovskites offer narrowband, color-pure emitters as integral parts of next-generation displays and optoelectronic devices. We use nanoporous silicon and alumina thin films as templates for the growth of perovskite nanocrystallites directly within device-relevant architectures without the use of colloidal stabilization. We find significantly blue-shifted photoluminescence emission by reducing the pore size; normally infrared-emitting materials become visibly red, and green-emitting materials become cyan and blue. Confining perovskite nanocrystals within porous oxide thin films drastically increases photoluminescence stability because the templates auspiciously serve as encapsulation. We quantify the template-induced size of the perovskite crystals in nanoporous silicon with microfocus high-energy x-ray depth profiling in transmission geometry, verifying the growth of perovskite nanocrystals throughout the entire thickness of the nanoporous films. Low-voltage electroluminescent diodes with narrow, blue-shifted emission fabricated from nanocrystalline perovskites grown in embedded nanoporous alumina thin films substantiate our general concept for next-generation photonic devices. PMID:28798959

Confinement-Driven Phase Separation of Quantum Liquid Mixtures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prisk, T. R.; Pantalei, C.; Kaiser, H.; Sokol, P. E.

2012-08-01

We report small-angle neutron scattering studies of liquid helium mixtures confined in Mobil Crystalline Material-41 (MCM-41), a porous silica glass with narrow cylindrical nanopores (d=3.4nm). MCM-41 is an ideal model adsorbent for fundamental studies of gas sorption in porous media because its monodisperse pores are arranged in a 2D triangular lattice. The small-angle scattering consists of a series of diffraction peaks whose intensities are determined by how the imbibed liquid fills the pores. Pure He4 adsorbed in the pores show classic, layer-by-layer film growth as a function of pore filling, leaving the long range symmetry of the system intact. In contrast, the adsorption of He3-He4 mixtures produces a structure incommensurate with the pore lattice. Neither capillary condensation nor preferential adsorption of one helium isotope to the pore walls can provide the symmetry-breaking mechanism. The scattering is consistent with the formation of randomly distributed liquid-liquid microdomains ˜2.3nm in size, providing evidence that confinement in a nanometer scale capillary can drive local phase separation in quantum liquid mixtures.

The impact of disorder on charge transport in three dimensional quantum dot resonant tunneling structures

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

Puthen-Veettil, B., E-mail: b.puthen-veettil@unsw.edu.au; Patterson, R.; König, D.

Efficient iso-entropic energy filtering of electronic waves can be realized through nanostructures with three dimensional confinement, such as quantum dot resonant tunneling structures. Large-area deployment of such structures is useful for energy selective contacts but such configuration is susceptible to structural disorders. In this work, the transport properties of quantum-dot-based wide-area resonant tunneling structures, subject to realistic disorder mechanisms, are studied. Positional variations of the quantum dots are shown to reduce the resonant transmission peaks while size variations in the device are shown to reduce as well as broaden the peaks. Increased quantum dot size distribution also results in amore » peak shift to lower energy which is attributed to large dots dominating transmission. A decrease in barrier thickness reduces the relative peak height while the overall transmission increases dramatically due to lower “series resistance.” While any shift away from ideality can be intuitively expected to reduce the resonance peak, quantification allows better understanding of the tolerances required for fabricating structures based on resonant tunneling phenomena/.« less

Near-infrared emission from mesoporous crystalline germanium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boucherif, Abderraouf; Korinek, Andreas; Aimez, Vincent; Arès, Richard

2014-10-01

Mesoporous crystalline germanium was fabricated by bipolar electrochemical etching of Ge wafer in HF-based electrolyte. It yields uniform mesoporous germanium layers composed of high density of crystallites with an average size 5-7 nm. Subsequent extended chemical etching allows tuning of crystallites size while preserving the same chemical composition. This highly controllable nanostructure exhibits photoluminescence emission above the bulk Ge bandgap, in the near-infrared range (1095-1360nm) with strong evidence of quantum confinement within the crystallites.

Tuning a circular p-n junction in graphene from quantum confinement to optical guiding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Yuhang; Mao, Jinhai; Moldovan, Dean; Masir, Massoud Ramezani; Li, Guohong; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Peeters, Francois M.; Andrei, Eva Y.

2017-11-01

The photon-like propagation of the Dirac electrons in graphene, together with its record-high electronic mobility, can lead to applications based on ultrafast electronic response and low dissipation. However, the chiral nature of the charge carriers that is responsible for the high mobility also makes it difficult to control their motion and prevents electronic switching. Here, we show how to manipulate the charge carriers by using a circular p-n junction whose size can be continuously tuned from the nanometre to the micrometre scale. The junction size is controlled with a dual-gate device consisting of a planar back gate and a point-like top gate made by decorating a scanning tunnelling microscope tip with a gold nanowire. The nanometre-scale junction is defined by a deep potential well created by the tip-induced charge. It traps the Dirac electrons in quantum-confined states, which are the graphene equivalent of the atomic collapse states (ACSs) predicted to occur at supercritically charged nuclei. As the junction size increases, the transition to the optical regime is signalled by the emergence of whispering-gallery modes, similar to those observed at the perimeter of acoustic or optical resonators, and by the appearance of a Fabry-Pérot interference pattern for junctions close to a boundary.

Transport spin dependent in nanostructures: Current and geometry effect of quantum dots in presence of spin-orbit interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paredes-Gutiérrez, H.; Pérez-Merchancano, S. T.; Beltran-Rios, C. L.

2017-12-01

In this work, we study the quantum electron transport through a Quantum Dots Structure (QDs), with different geometries, embedded in a Quantum Well (QW). The behaviour of the current through the nanostructure (dot and well) is studied considering the orbital spin coupling of the electrons and the Rashba effect, by means of the second quantization theory and the standard model of Green’s functions. Our results show the behaviour of the current in the quantum system as a function of the electric field, presenting resonant states for specific values of both the external field and the spin polarization. Similarly, the behaviour of the current on the nanostructure changes when the geometry of the QD and the size of the same are modified as a function of the polarization of the electron spin and the potential of quantum confinement.

Localized magnetoplasmons in quantum dots: Scrutinizing the eligibility of FIR, Raman, and electron energy-loss spectroscopies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kushwaha, M.

We report on a one-component, quasi-zero dimensional, quantum plasma exposed to a parabolic potential and an applied magnetic field in the symmetric gauge. If the size of such a system as can be realized in the semiconducting quantum dots is on the order of the de-Broglie wavelength, the electronic and optical properties become highly tunable. Then the quantum size effects challenge the observation of many-particle phenomena such as the magneto-optical absorption, Raman intensity, and electron-energy-loss spectrum. An exact analytical solution of the problem leads us to infer that these many-particle phenomena are, in fact, dictated by the generalized Kohn's theorem in the long-wavelength limit. Maneuvering the confinement and/or the magnetic field furnishes the resonance energy capable of being explored with the FIR, Raman, or electron-energy-loss spectroscopy. This implies that either of these probes should be competent in observing the localized magnetoplasmons in the system. A deeper insight into the physics of quantum dots is paving the way for their implementation in such diverse fields as quantum computing and medical imaging1. 1. M.S. Kushwaha, Unpublished.

Effects of quantum confinement and shape on band gap of core/shell quantum dots and nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Faming

2011-05-01

A quantum confinement model for nanocrystals developed is extended to study for the optical gap shifts in core/shell quantum dots and nanowires. The chemical bond properties and gap shifts in the InP/ZnS, CdSe/CdS, CdSe/ZnS, and CdTe/ZnS core/shell quantum dots are calculated in detail. The calculated band gaps are in excellent agreement with experimental values. The effects of structural taping and twinning on quantum confinement of InP and Si nanowires are elucidated. It is found theoretically that a competition between the positive Kubo energy-gap shift and the negative surface energy shift plays the crucial role in the optical gaps of these nanosystems.

Single nickel-related defects in molecular-sized nanodiamonds for multicolor bioimaging: an ab initio study.

PubMed

Thiering, Gergő; Londero, Elisa; Gali, Adam

2014-10-21

Fluorescent nanodiamonds constitute an outstanding alternative to semiconductor quantum dots and dye molecules for in vivo biomarker applications, where the fluorescence comes from optically active point defects acting as color centers in the nanodiamonds. For practical purposes, these color centers should be photostable as a function of the laser power or the surface termination of nanodiamonds. Furthermore, they should exhibit a sharp and nearly temperature-independent zero-phonon line. In this study, we show by hybrid density functional theory calculations that nickel doped nanodiamonds exhibit the desired properties, thus opening the avenue to practical applications. In particular, harnessing the strong quantum confinement effect in molecule-sized nanodiamonds is very promising for achieving multicolor imaging by single nickel-related defects.

Single nickel-related defects in molecular-sized nanodiamonds for multicolor bioimaging: an ab initio study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thiering, Gergő; Londero, Elisa; Gali, Adam

2014-09-01

Fluorescent nanodiamonds constitute an outstanding alternative to semiconductor quantum dots and dye molecules for in vivo biomarker applications, where the fluorescence comes from optically active point defects acting as color centers in the nanodiamonds. For practical purposes, these color centers should be photostable as a function of the laser power or the surface termination of nanodiamonds. Furthermore, they should exhibit a sharp and nearly temperature-independent zero-phonon line. In this study, we show by hybrid density functional theory calculations that nickel doped nanodiamonds exhibit the desired properties, thus opening the avenue to practical applications. In particular, harnessing the strong quantum confinement effect in molecule-sized nanodiamonds is very promising for achieving multicolor imaging by single nickel-related defects.

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

Ramírez-Morales, A.; Martínez-Orozco, J. C.; Rodríguez-Vargas, I.

The main characteristics of the quantum confined Stark effect (QCSE) are studied theoretically in quantum wells of Gaussian profile. The semi-empirical tight-binding model and the Green function formalism are applied in the numerical calculations. A comparison of the QCSE in quantum wells with different kinds of confining potential is presented.

Photonic engineering of highly linearly polarized quantum dot emission at telecommunication wavelengths

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mrowiński, P.; Emmerling, M.; Schneider, C.; Reithmaier, J. P.; Misiewicz, J.; Höfling, S.; Sek, G.

2018-04-01

In this work, we discuss a method to control the polarization anisotropy of spontaneous emission from neutral excitons confined in quantum-dot-like nanostructures, namely single epitaxial InAs quantum dashes emitting at telecom wavelengths. The nanostructures are embedded inside lithographically defined, in-plane asymmetric photonic mesa structures, which generate polarization-dependent photonic confinement. First, we study the influence of the photonic confinement on the polarization anisotropy of the emission by photoluminescence spectroscopy, and we find evidence of different contributions to a degree of linear polarization (DOLP), i.e., from the quantum dash and the photonic mesa, in total giving rise to DOLP =0.85 . Then, we perform finite-difference time-domain simulations of photonic confinement, and we calculate the DOLP in a dipole approximation showing well-matched results for the established model. Furthermore, by using numerical calculations, we demonstrate several types of photonic confinements where highly linearly polarized emission with DOLP of about 0.9 is possible by controlling the position of a quantum emitter inside the photonic structure. Then, we elaborate on anisotropic quantum emitters allowing for exceeding DOLP =0.95 in an optimized case, and we discuss the ways towards efficient linearly polarized single photon source at telecom bands.

Quantum control of quasi-collision states: A protocol for hybrid fusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vilela Mendes, R.

2018-04-01

When confined to small regions quantum systems exhibit electronic and structural properties different from their free space behavior. These properties are of interest, for example, for molecular insertion, hydrogen storage and the exploration of new pathways for chemical and nuclear reactions. Here, a confined three-body problem is studied, with emphasis on the study of the “quantum scars” associated to dynamical collisions. For the particular case of nuclear reactions, it is proposed that a molecular cage might simply be used as a confining device with the collision states accessed by quantum control techniques.

Superconducting nanoribbon with a constriction: A quantum-confined Josephson junction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flammia, L.; Zhang, L.-F.; Covaci, L.; Perali, A.; Milošević, M. V.

2018-04-01

Extended defects are known to strongly affect nanoscale superconductors. Here, we report the properties of superconducting nanoribbons with a constriction formed between two adjacent step edges by solving the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations self-consistently in the regime where quantum confinement is important. Since the quantum resonances of the superconducting gap in the constricted area are different from the rest of the nanoribbon, such constriction forms a quantum-confined S-S'-S Josephson junction, with a broadly tunable performance depending on the length and width of the constriction with respect to the nanoribbon, and possible gating. These findings provide an intriguing approach to further tailor superconducting quantum devices where Josephson effect is of use.

Quantum engineering. Confining the state of light to a quantum manifold by engineered two-photon loss.

PubMed

Leghtas, Z; Touzard, S; Pop, I M; Kou, A; Vlastakis, B; Petrenko, A; Sliwa, K M; Narla, A; Shankar, S; Hatridge, M J; Reagor, M; Frunzio, L; Schoelkopf, R J; Mirrahimi, M; Devoret, M H

2015-02-20

Physical systems usually exhibit quantum behavior, such as superpositions and entanglement, only when they are sufficiently decoupled from a lossy environment. Paradoxically, a specially engineered interaction with the environment can become a resource for the generation and protection of quantum states. This notion can be generalized to the confinement of a system into a manifold of quantum states, consisting of all coherent superpositions of multiple stable steady states. We have confined the state of a superconducting resonator to the quantum manifold spanned by two coherent states of opposite phases and have observed a Schrödinger cat state spontaneously squeeze out of vacuum before decaying into a classical mixture. This experiment points toward robustly encoding quantum information in multidimensional steady-state manifolds. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Confining the state of light to a quantum manifold by engineered two-photon loss

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leghtas, Z.; Touzard, S.; Pop, I. M.; Kou, A.; Vlastakis, B.; Petrenko, A.; Sliwa, K. M.; Narla, A.; Shankar, S.; Hatridge, M. J.; Reagor, M.; Frunzio, L.; Schoelkopf, R. J.; Mirrahimi, M.; Devoret, M. H.

2015-02-01

Physical systems usually exhibit quantum behavior, such as superpositions and entanglement, only when they are sufficiently decoupled from a lossy environment. Paradoxically, a specially engineered interaction with the environment can become a resource for the generation and protection of quantum states. This notion can be generalized to the confinement of a system into a manifold of quantum states, consisting of all coherent superpositions of multiple stable steady states. We have confined the state of a superconducting resonator to the quantum manifold spanned by two coherent states of opposite phases and have observed a Schrödinger cat state spontaneously squeeze out of vacuum before decaying into a classical mixture. This experiment points toward robustly encoding quantum information in multidimensional steady-state manifolds.

Temperature induced CuInSe2 nanocrystal formation in the Cu2Se-In3Se2 multilayer thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohan, A.; Rajesh, S.

2017-04-01

The paper deals with the impact of annealing on Cu2Se-In3Se2 multilayer structure and discusses the quantum confinements. Thermal evaporation technique was used to prepare multilayer films over the glass substrates. The films were annealed at different temperatures (150 °C-350 °C) under vacuum atmosphere. The XRD pattern reveals that the films exhibit (112) peaks with CuInSe2 Chalcopyrite structure and upon annealing crystallinity improved. The grain size comes around 13-19 nm. The optical band gap value was found to be 2.21 to 2.09 eV and band gap splitting was observed for higher annealing temperatures. The increase in the band gap is related to quantum confinement effect. SEM image shows nano crystals spread over the entire surface for higher annealing temperatures. Optical absorption and PL spectra shows the blue shift during annealing. The HR-TEM shows the particle size in the nano range and which confirms the CuInSe2 nanocrystal formation. AFM image shows the rough surface with homogenous grains for the as deposited films and smooth surface for annealed films.

A Review of Quantum Confinement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Connerade, Jean-Patrick

2009-12-01

A succinct history of the Confined Atom problem is presented. The hydrogen atom confined to the centre of an impenetrable sphere counts amongst the exactly soluble problems of physics, alongside much more noted exact solutions such as Black Body Radiation and the free Hydrogen atom in absence of any radiation field. It shares with them the disadvantage of being an idealisation, while at the same time encapsulating in a simple way particular aspects of physical reality. The problem was first formulated by Sommerfeld and Welker [1]—henceforth cited as SW—in connection with the behaviour of atoms at very high pressures, and the solution was published on the occasion of Pauli's 60th birthday celebration. At the time, it seemed that there was not much other connection with physical reality beyond a few simple aspects connected to the properties of atoms in solids, for which more appropriate models were soon developed. Thus, confined atoms attracted little attention until the advent of the metallofullerene, which provided the first example of a confined atom with properties quite closely related to those originally considered by SW. Since then, the problem has received much more attention, and many more new features of quantum confinement, quantum compression, the quantum Faraday cage, electronic reorganisation, cavity resonances, etc have been described, which are relevant to real systems. Also, a number of other situations have been uncovered experimentally to which quantum confinement is relevant. Thus, studies of the confined atom are now more numerous, and have been extended both in terms of the models used and the systems to which they can be applied. Connections to thermodynamics are explored through the properties of a confined two-level atom adapted from Einstein's celebrated model, and issues of dynamical screening of electromagnetic radiation by the confining shell are discussed in connection with the Faraday cage produced by a confining conducting shell. The conclusions are shown to be relevant to a proposed `quantum computer'. The description of the actual geometry of C60, as opposed to a purely spherical approximation, leads to some qualification of the computed results.

Molecular engineering with artificial atoms: designing a material platform for scalable quantum spintronics and photonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doty, Matthew F.; Ma, Xiangyu; Zide, Joshua M. O.; Bryant, Garnett W.

2017-09-01

Self-assembled InAs Quantum Dots (QDs) are often called "artificial atoms" and have long been of interest as components of quantum photonic and spintronic devices. Although there has been substantial progress in demonstrating optical control of both single spins confined to a single QD and entanglement between two separated QDs, the path toward scalable quantum photonic devices based on spins remains challenging. Quantum Dot Molecules, which consist of two closely-spaced InAs QDs, have unique properties that can be engineered with the solid state analog of molecular engineering in which the composition, size, and location of both the QDs and the intervening barrier are controlled during growth. Moreover, applied electric, magnetic, and optical fields can be used to modulate, in situ, both the spin and optical properties of the molecular states. We describe how the unique photonic properties of engineered Quantum Dot Molecules can be leveraged to overcome long-standing challenges to the creation of scalable quantum devices that manipulate single spins via photonics.

Cryo-mediated exfoliation and fracturing of layered materials into 2D quantum dots

PubMed Central

Wang, Yan; Liu, Yang; Zhang, Jianfang; Wu, Jingjie; Xu, Hui; Wen, Xiewen; Zhang, Xiang; Tiwary, Chandra Sekhar; Yang, Wei; Vajtai, Robert; Zhang, Yong; Chopra, Nitin; Odeh, Ihab Nizar; Wu, Yucheng; Ajayan, Pulickel M.

2017-01-01

Atomically thin quantum dots from layered materials promise new science and applications, but their scalable synthesis and separation have been challenging. We demonstrate a universal approach for the preparation of quantum dots from a series of materials, such as graphite, MoS2, WS2, h-BN, TiS2, NbS2, Bi2Se3, MoTe2, Sb2Te3, etc., using a cryo-mediated liquid-phase exfoliation and fracturing process. The method relies on liquid nitrogen pretreatment of bulk layered materials before exfoliation and breakdown into atomically thin two-dimensional quantum dots of few-nanometer lateral dimensions, exhibiting size-confined optical properties. This process is efficient for a variety of common solvents with a wide range of surface tension parameters and eliminates the use of surfactants, resulting in pristine quantum dots without surfactant covering or chemical modification. PMID:29250597

Piezo-Phototronic Effect in a Quantum Well Structure.

PubMed

Huang, Xin; Du, Chunhua; Zhou, Yongli; Jiang, Chunyan; Pu, Xiong; Liu, Wei; Hu, Weiguo; Chen, Hong; Wang, Zhong Lin

2016-05-24

With enhancements in the performance of optoelectronic devices, the field of piezo-phototronics has attracted much attention, and several theoretical works have been reported based on semiclassical models. At present, the feature size of optoelectronic devices are rapidly shrinking toward several tens of nanometers, which results in the quantum confinement effect. Starting from the basic piezoelectricity equation, Schrödinger equation, Poisson equation, and Fermi's golden rule, a self-consistent theoretical model is proposed to study the piezo-phototronic effect in the framework of perturbation theory in quantum mechanics. The validity and universality of this model are well-proven with photoluminescence measurements in a single GaN/InGaN quantum well and multiple GaN/InGaN quantum wells. This study provides important insight into the working principle of nanoscale piezo-phototronic devices as well as guidance for the future device design.

Nanotechnology: Colourful Particles for Spectrometry

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

Anheier, Norman C.

2015-07-01

In 1857 Michael Faraday gave a well-attended lecture at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, in which he presented his pioneering experimental work that investigated the interaction of light with matter. Faraday’s study probed the fundamental properties of light as it was reflected and absorbed by progressively smaller particles. Very fine gold particles dispersed in liquid were shown to produce vivid colors not seen in larger particles. Faraday did not know he had created colloidal suspensions of quantum dots, but his insight correctly concluded that the distinct colors were somehow due to the minute size of the gold particles. Thismore » great experimental physicist had actually glimpsed a special condition where the particle’s quantum nature was expressed. This work set the future course for nanoscience and quantum theory, but it would take another 125 years before the physical basis of this phenomenon would be explained by quantum size effects. It is now known that when quantum dots are exposed to UV light, some of the electrons are excited as they gain energy, however they remain confined to discrete energy levels not observed in larger particles and solid materials. When the electrons relax and lose their energy, the quantum dot emits light at a specific color that varies with the size of the quantum dot. Bao and Bawendi have cleverly exploited the unique optical properties intrinsic to colloidal quantum dots to develop an innovative compact optical spectrometer that could be integrated with a smart phone camera or as a versatile miniature handheld sensing tool.« less

Determination of band structure parameters and the quasi-particle gap of CdSe quantum dots by cyclic voltammetry.

PubMed

Inamdar, Shaukatali N; Ingole, Pravin P; Haram, Santosh K

2008-12-01

Band structure parameters such as the conduction band edge, the valence band edge and the quasi-particle gap of diffusing CdSe quantum dots (Q-dots) of various sizes were determined using cyclic voltammetry. These parameters are strongly dependent on the size of the Q-dots. The results obtained from voltammetric measurements are compared to spectroscopic and theoretical data. The fit obtained to the reported calculations based on the semi-empirical pseudopotential method (SEPM)-especially in the strong size-confinement region, is the best reported so far, according to our knowledge. For the smallest CdSe Q-dots, the difference between the quasi-particle gap and the optical band gap gives the electron-hole Coulombic interaction energy (J(e1,h1)). Interband states seen in the photoluminescence spectra were verified with cyclic voltammetry measurements.

Non-injection synthesis of monodisperse Cu-Fe-S nanocrystals and their size dependent properties.

PubMed

Gabka, Grzegorz; Bujak, Piotr; Żukrowski, Jan; Zabost, Damian; Kotwica, Kamil; Malinowska, Karolina; Ostrowski, Andrzej; Wielgus, Ireneusz; Lisowski, Wojciech; Sobczak, Janusz W; Przybylski, Marek; Pron, Adam

2016-06-01

It is demonstrated that ternary Cu-Fe-S nanocrystals differing in composition (from Cu-rich to Fe-rich), structure (chalcopyrite or high bornite) and size can be obtained from a mixture of CuCl, FeCl3, thiourea and oleic acid (OA) in oleylamine (OLA) using the heating up procedure. This new preparation method yields the smallest Cu-Fe-S nanocrystals ever reported to date (1.5 nm for the high bornite structure and 2.7 nm for the chalcopyrite structure). A comparative study of nanocrystals of the same composition (Cu1.6Fe1.0S2.0) but different in size (2.7 nm and 9.3 nm) revealed a pronounced quantum confinement effect, confirmed by three different techniques: UV-vis spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The optical band gap increased from 0.60 eV in the bulk material to 0.69 eV in the nanocrystals of 9.3 nm size and to 1.39 eV in nanocrystals of 2.7 nm size. The same trend was observed in the electrochemical band gaps, derived from cyclic voltammetry studies (band gaps of 0.74 eV and 1.54 eV). The quantum effect was also manifested in Mössbauer spectroscopy by an abrupt change in the spectrum from a quadrupole doublet to a Zeeman sextet below 10 K, which could be interpreted in terms of the well defined energy states in these nanoparticles, resulting from quantum confinement. The Mössbauer spectroscopic data confirmed, in addition to the results of XPS spectroscopy, the co-existence of Fe(iii) and Fe(ii) in the synthesized nanocrystals. The organic shell composition was investigated by NMR (after dissolution of the inorganic core) and IR spectroscopy. Both methods identified oleylamine (OLA) and 1-octadecene (ODE) as surfacial ligands, the latter being formed in situ via an elimination-hydrogenation reaction occurring between OLA and the nanocrystal surface.

Nanocrystal Size-Dependent Efficiency of Quantum Dot Sensitized Solar Cells in the Strongly Coupled CdSe Nanocrystals/TiO2 System.

PubMed

Yun, Hyeong Jin; Paik, Taejong; Diroll, Benjamin; Edley, Michael E; Baxter, Jason B; Murray, Christopher B

2016-06-15

Light absorption and electron injection are important criteria determining solar energy conversion efficiency. In this research, monodisperse CdSe quantum dots (QDs) are synthesized with five different diameters, and the size-dependent solar energy conversion efficiency of CdSe quantum dot sensitized solar cell (QDSSCs) is investigated by employing the atomic inorganic ligand, S(2-). Absorbance measurements and transmission electron microscopy show that the diameters of the uniform CdSe QDs are 2.5, 3.2, 4.2, 6.4, and 7.8 nm. Larger CdSe QDs generate a larger amount of charge under the irradiation of long wavelength photons, as verified by the absorbance results and the measurements of the external quantum efficiencies. However, the smaller QDs exhibit faster electron injection kinetics from CdSe QDs to TiO2 because of the high energy level of CBCdSe, as verified by time-resolved photoluminescence and internal quantum efficiency results. Importantly, the S(2-) ligand significantly enhances the electronic coupling between the CdSe QDs and TiO2, yielding an enhancement of the charge transfer rate at the interfacial region. As a result, the S(2-) ligand helps improve the new size-dependent solar energy conversion efficiency, showing best performance with 4.2-nm CdSe QDs, whereas conventional ligand, mercaptopropionic acid, does not show any differences in efficiency according to the size of the CdSe QDs. The findings reported herein suggest that the atomic inorganic ligand reinforces the influence of quantum confinement on the solar energy conversion efficiency of QDSSCs.

Quantum confined stark effect on the binding energy of exciton in type II quantum heterostructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suseel, Rahul K.; Mathew, Vincent

2018-05-01

In this work, we have investigated the effect of external electric field on the strongly confined excitonic properties of CdTe/CdSe/CdTe/CdSe type-II quantum dot heterostructures. Within the effective mass approximation, we solved the Poisson-Schrodinger equations of the exciton in nanostructure using relaxation method in a self-consistent iterative manner. We changed both the external electric field and core radius of the quantum dot, to study the behavior of binding energy of exciton. Our studies show that the external electric field destroys the positional flipped state of exciton by modifying the confining potentials of electron and hole.

Metallic tin quantum sheets confined in graphene toward high-efficiency carbon dioxide electroreduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lei, Fengcai; Liu, Wei; Sun, Yongfu; Xu, Jiaqi; Liu, Katong; Liang, Liang; Yao, Tao; Pan, Bicai; Wei, Shiqiang; Xie, Yi

2016-09-01

Ultrathin metal layers can be highly active carbon dioxide electroreduction catalysts, but may also be prone to oxidation. Here we construct a model of graphene confined ultrathin layers of highly reactive metals, taking the synthetic highly reactive tin quantum sheets confined in graphene as an example. The higher electrochemical active area ensures 9 times larger carbon dioxide adsorption capacity relative to bulk tin, while the highly-conductive graphene favours rate-determining electron transfer from carbon dioxide to its radical anion. The lowered tin-tin coordination numbers, revealed by X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, enable tin quantum sheets confined in graphene to efficiently stabilize the carbon dioxide radical anion, verified by 0.13 volts lowered potential of hydroxyl ion adsorption compared with bulk tin. Hence, the tin quantum sheets confined in graphene show enhanced electrocatalytic activity and stability. This work may provide a promising lead for designing efficient and robust catalysts for electrolytic fuel synthesis.

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

Li Shun; School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083; Lin Yuanhua

Nanostructured BiFeO{sub 3} particles have been synthesized by a hydrothermal method, and the effects of particle size on photocatalytic activity and magnetic property of BiFeO{sub 3} were investigated. The optical absorption spectra indicate that the band-gap energy increases with decreasing crystalline size due to the quantum-size effect. The enhancement of room-temperature weak ferromagnetism can be observed in nanoscale BiFeO{sub 3} particles, which should be attributed to the size-confinement effect on the magnetic ordering. In addition, BiFeO{sub 3} nanoparticles with diameter about 5 nm show good photocatalytic performance by photodegradation of Congo red under visible-light ({lambda}>400 nm) irradiation.

Atomistic Design of CdSe/CdS Core-Shell Quantum Dots with Suppressed Auger Recombination.

PubMed

Jain, Ankit; Voznyy, Oleksandr; Hoogland, Sjoerd; Korkusinski, Marek; Hawrylak, Pawel; Sargent, Edward H

2016-10-12

We design quasi-type-II CdSe/CdS core-shell colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) exhibiting a suppressed Auger recombination rate. We do so using fully atomistic tight-binding wave functions and microscopic Coulomb interactions. The recombination rate as a function of the core and shell size and shape is tested against experiments. Because of a higher density of deep hole states and stronger hole confinement, Auger recombination is found to be up to six times faster for positive trions compared to negative ones in 4 nm core/10 nm shell CQDs. Soft-confinement at the interface results in weak suppression of Auger recombination compared to same-bandgap sharp-interface CQDs. We find that the suppression is due to increased volume of the core resulting in delocalization of the wave functions, rather than due to soft-confinement itself. We show that our results are consistent with previous effective mass models with the same system parameters. Increasing the dot volume remains the most efficient way to suppress Auger recombination. We predict that a 4-fold suppression of Auger recombination can be achieved in 10 nm CQDs by increasing the core volume by using rodlike cores embedded in thick shells.

Quantum gas in the fast forward scheme of adiabatically expanding cavities: Force and equation of state

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babajanova, Gulmira; Matrasulov, Jasur; Nakamura, Katsuhiro

2018-04-01

With use of the scheme of fast forward which realizes quasistatic or adiabatic dynamics in shortened timescale, we investigate a thermally isolated ideal quantum gas confined in a rapidly dilating one-dimensional (1D) cavity with the time-dependent size L =L (t ) . In the fast-forward variants of equation of states, i.e., Bernoulli's formula and Poisson's adiabatic equation, the force or 1D analog of pressure can be expressed as a function of the velocity (L ˙) and acceleration (L ̈) of L besides rapidly changing state variables like effective temperature (T ) and L itself. The force is now a sum of nonadiabatic (NAD) and adiabatic contributions with the former caused by particles moving synchronously with kinetics of L and the latter by ideal bulk particles insensitive to such a kinetics. The ratio of NAD and adiabatic contributions does not depend on the particle number (N ) in the case of the soft-wall confinement, whereas such a ratio is controllable in the case of hard-wall confinement. We also reveal the condition when the NAD contribution overwhelms the adiabatic one and thoroughly changes the standard form of the equilibrium equation of states.

Tailoring growth conditions for efficient tuning of band edge of CdS nanoparticles

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

Susha, N.; Nair, Swapna S., E-mail: swapna.s.nair@gmail.com; Aravind, P. B.

2015-06-24

CdS nanoparticles are successively synthesized by chemical precipitation method. The samples prepared at different reaction time and temperature are characterized by X-ray diffraction, Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, Photoluminescence spectroscopy ans Energy dispersive x-ray analysis. Visible color variation is noted from light yellow to orange, indicates the quantum confinement effect and the results are again got confirmed from the optical studies. A shift in absorption peak is observed towards the lower region of the visible spectra - the “blue shift”- upon decrease in reaction time and temperature. Blue emission observed in the photoluminescence spectrum confirms the grain size induced confinement.

Nanometer-scale monitoring of quantum-confined Stark effect and emission efficiency droop in multiple GaN/AlN quantum disks in nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zagonel, L. F.; Tizei, L. H. G.; Vitiello, G. Z.; Jacopin, G.; Rigutti, L.; Tchernycheva, M.; Julien, F. H.; Songmuang, R.; Ostasevicius, T.; de la Peña, F.; Ducati, C.; Midgley, P. A.; Kociak, M.

2016-05-01

We report on a detailed study of the intensity dependent optical properties of individual GaN/AlN quantum disks (QDisks) embedded into GaN nanowires (NW). The structural and optical properties of the QDisks were probed by high spatial resolution cathodoluminescence (CL) in a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). By exciting the QDisks with a nanometric electron beam at currents spanning over three orders of magnitude, strong nonlinearities (energy shifts) in the light emission are observed. In particular, we find that the amount of energy shift depends on the emission rate and on the QDisk morphology (size, position along the NW and shell thickness). For thick QDisks (>4 nm), the QDisk emission energy is observed to blueshift with the increase of the emission intensity. This is interpreted as a consequence of the increase of carriers density excited by the incident electron beam inside the QDisks, which screens the internal electric field and thus reduces the quantum confined Stark effect (QCSE) present in these QDisks. For thinner QDisks (<3 nm ), the blueshift is almost absent in agreement with the negligible QCSE at such sizes. For QDisks of intermediate sizes there exists a current threshold above which the energy shifts, marking the transition from unscreened to partially screened QCSE. From the threshold value we estimate the lifetime in the unscreened regime. These observations suggest that, counterintuitively, electrons of high energy can behave ultimately as single electron-hole pair generators. In addition, when we increase the current from 1 to 10 pA the light emission efficiency drops by more than one order of magnitude. This reduction of the emission efficiency is a manifestation of the "efficiency droop" as observed in nitride-based 2D light emitting diodes, a phenomenon tentatively attributed to the Auger effect.

Observation of quantum oscillation of work function in ultrathin-metal/semiconductor junctions

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

Takhar, Kuldeep; Meer, Mudassar; Khachariya, Dolar

2015-09-15

Quantization in energy level due to confinement is generally observed for semiconductors. This property is used for various quantum devices, and it helps to improve the characteristics of conventional devices. Here, the authors have demonstrated the quantum size effects in ultrathin metal (Ni) layers sandwiched between two large band-gap materials. The metal work function is found to oscillate as a function of its thickness. The thermionic emission current bears the signature of the oscillating work function, which has a linear relationship with barrier heights. This methodology allows direct observation of quantum oscillations in metals at room temperature using a Schottkymore » diode and electrical measurements using source-measure-units. The observed phenomena can provide additional mechanism to tune the barrier height of metal/semiconductor junctions, which are used for various electronic devices.« less

Electrostatically confined quantum rings in bilayer graphene.

PubMed

Zarenia, M; Pereira, J M; Peeters, F M; Farias, G A

2009-12-01

We propose a new system where electron and hole states are electrostatically confined into a quantum ring in bilayer graphene. These structures can be created by tuning the gap of the graphene bilayer using nanostructured gates or by position-dependent doping. The energy levels have a magnetic field (B(0)) dependence that is strikingly distinct from that of usual semiconductor quantum rings. In particular, the eigenvalues are not invariant under a B(0) --> -B(0) transformation and, for a fixed total angular momentum index m, their field dependence is not parabolic, but displays two minima separated by a saddle point. The spectra also display several anticrossings, which arise due to the overlap of gate-confined and magnetically confined states.

Nanostructured Coatings of Inner Surfaces in Microporous Matrixes

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-01-01

SURFACE ENERGY _.I", DISPERSED MATERIAL............................ ,BULK MATERIp,’ t. i02 10’ iol LM Figure 1. a) Surface arising due to process of...material dispersion . b) Surface energy per cm3 of dispersed material versus characteristic size of dispersed particles - nanostructures with different...growth and lateral microstructuring techniques have made it possible to realise low-dimensional electronic systems with quantum confined energy structure

Dye-sensitization of CdS nano-cage - A density functional theory approach

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

Jain, Kalpna; Singh, Kh. S.; Kishor, Shyam

2016-05-23

Quantum dots a few nanometer in size exhibit unique properties in comparison to bulk due to quantum confinement. Their properties can be tuned according to their sizes. Dye sensitized quantum dot (DSQD) solar cells are based on the same principle with surface dangling bonds as a challenge. Researches have shown the existence and stability of nano-cages which are assembled such as to minimize the surface dangling bonds and hence maximize stability. Here, we report a first principles DFT study of optical and electronic properties of CdS-cage (Cd{sub 34}S{sub 34}) sensitized with nkx-2388 dye in three different geometric configurations of dyemore » attachment. A significant distortion is found to occur in the geometric structure of the cage when it interacts strongly with the dye. The relative positioning of dye and cage energy levels is found to be different in different configurations. The absorption spectrum has been analyzed with the help of natural transition orbitals (NTO).« less

Oscillator strength and quantum-confined Stark effect of excitons in a thin PbS quantum disk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oukerroum, A.; El-Yadri, M.; El Aouami, A.; Feddi, E.; Dujardin, F.; Duque, C. A.; Sadoqi, M.; Long, G.

2018-01-01

In this paper, we report a study of the effect of a lateral electric field on a quantum-confined exciton in a thin PbS quantum disk. Our approach was performed in the framework of the effective mass theory and adiabatic approximation. The ground state energy and the stark shift were determined by using a variational method with an adequate trial wavefunction, by investigating a 2D oscillator strength under simultaneous consideration of the geometrical confinement and the electric field strength. Our results showed a strong dependence of the exciton binding and the Stark shift on the disk dimensions in both axial and longitudinal directions. On the other hand, our results also showed that the Stark shift’s dependence on the electric field is not purely quadratic but the linear contribution is also important and cannot be neglected, especially when the confinement gets weaker.

Semiconductor Seeded Nanorods with Graded Composition Exhibiting High Quantum-Yield, High Polarization, and Minimal Blinking.

PubMed

Hadar, Ido; Philbin, John P; Panfil, Yossef E; Neyshtadt, Shany; Lieberman, Itai; Eshet, Hagai; Lazar, Sorin; Rabani, Eran; Banin, Uri

2017-04-12

Seeded semiconductor nanorods represent a unique family of quantum confined materials that manifest characteristics of mixed dimensionality. They show polarized emission with high quantum yield and fluorescence switching under an electric field, features that are desirable for use in display technologies and other optical applications. So far, their robust synthesis has been limited mainly to CdSe/CdS heterostructures, thereby constraining the spectral tunability to the red region of the visible spectrum. Herein we present a novel synthesis of CdSe/Cd 1-x Zn x S seeded nanorods with a radially graded composition that show bright and highly polarized green emission with minimal intermittency, as confirmed by ensemble and single nanorods optical measurements. Atomistic pseudopotential simulations elucidate the importance of the Zn atoms within the nanorod structure, in particular the effect of the graded composition. Thus, the controlled addition of Zn influences and improves the nanorods' optoelectronic performance by providing an additional handle to manipulate the degree confinement beyond the common size control approach. These nanorods may be utilized in applications that require the generation of a full, rich spectrum such as energy-efficient displays and lighting.

Charge carrier localised in zero-dimensional (CH3NH3)3Bi2I9 clusters.

PubMed

Ni, Chengsheng; Hedley, Gordon; Payne, Julia; Svrcek, Vladimir; McDonald, Calum; Jagadamma, Lethy Krishnan; Edwards, Paul; Martin, Robert; Jain, Gunisha; Carolan, Darragh; Mariotti, Davide; Maguire, Paul; Samuel, Ifor; Irvine, John

2017-08-01

A metal-organic hybrid perovskite (CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 ) with three-dimensional framework of metal-halide octahedra has been reported as a low-cost, solution-processable absorber for a thin-film solar cell with a power-conversion efficiency over 20%. Low-dimensional layered perovskites with metal halide slabs separated by the insulating organic layers are reported to show higher stability, but the efficiencies of the solar cells are limited by the confinement of excitons. In order to explore the confinement and transport of excitons in zero-dimensional metal-organic hybrid materials, a highly orientated film of (CH 3 NH 3 ) 3 Bi 2 I 9 with nanometre-sized core clusters of Bi 2 I 9 3- surrounded by insulating CH 3 NH 3 + was prepared via solution processing. The (CH 3 NH 3 ) 3 Bi 2 I 9 film shows highly anisotropic photoluminescence emission and excitation due to the large proportion of localised excitons coupled with delocalised excitons from intercluster energy transfer. The abrupt increase in photoluminescence quantum yield at excitation energy above twice band gap could indicate a quantum cutting due to the low dimensionality.Understanding the confinement and transport of excitons in low dimensional systems will aid the development of next generation photovoltaics. Via photophysical studies Ni et al. observe 'quantum cutting' in 0D metal-organic hybrid materials based on methylammonium bismuth halide (CH 3 NH 3 )3Bi 2 I 9 .

Quantum-size-induced phase transitions in quantum dots: Indirect-band gap GaAs nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zunger, Alex; Luo, Jun-Wei; Franceschetti, Alberto

2008-03-01

Quantum nanostructures are often advertised as having stronger absorption than the bulk material from which they are made, to the potential benefit of nanotechnology. However, nanostructures made of direct gap materials such as GaAs can convert to indirect-gap, weakly-aborbing systems when the quantum size becomes small. This is the case for spherical GaAs dots of radius 15 å or less (about 1000 atoms) embedded in a wide-gap matrix. The nature of the transition: γ-to-X or γ-to-L is however, controversial. The distinction can not be made on the basis of electronic structure techniques that misrepresent the magnitude of the various competing effective mass tensors (e.g, LDA or GGA) or wavefunction coupling (e.g, tight-binding). Using a carefully fit screened pseudopotential method we show that the transition occurs from γ to X, and, more importantly, that the transition involves a finite V (γ-X) interband coupling, manifested as an ``anti-crossing'' between the confined electron states of GaAs as the dot size crosses 15 å. The physics of this reciprocal-space γ-X transition, as well as the real-space (type II) transition in GaAs/AlGaAs will be briefly discussed.

Graphene: Nanostructure engineering and applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Tingting; Wu, Shuang; Yang, Rong; Zhang, Guangyu

2017-02-01

Graphene has attracted extensive research interest in recent years because of its fascinating physical properties and its potential for various applications. The band structure or electronic properties of graphene are very sensitive to its geometry, size, and edge structures, especially when the size of graphene is below the quantum confinement limit. Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) can be used as a model system to investigate such structure-sensitive parameters. In this review, we examine the fabrication of GNRs via both top-down and bottom-up approaches. The edge-related electronic and transport properties of GNRs are also discussed.

FINAL REPORT: Scalable Methods for Electronic Excitations and Optical Responses of Nanostructures: Mathematics to Algorithms to Observables

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

Chelikowsky, James R.

2013-04-01

Work in nanoscience has increased substantially in recent years owing to its potential technological applications and to fundamental scientific interest. A driving force for this activity is to capitalize on new phenomena that occurs at the nanoscale. For example, the physical confinement of electronic states, i.e., quantum confinement, can dramatically alter the electronic and optical properties of matter. A prime example of this occurs for the optical properties of nanoscale crystals such as those composed of elemental silicon. Silicon in the bulk state is optically inactive due to the small size of the optical gap, which can only be accessedmore » by indirect transitions. However, at the nanoscale, this material becomes optically active. The size of the optical gap is increased by confinement and the conservation of crystal momentum ceases to hold, resulting in the viability of indirect transitions. Our work associated with this grant has focused on developing new scalable algorithms for describing the electronic and optical properties of matter at the nanoscale such as nano structures of silicon and related semiconductor properties.« less

Exciton lifetime and emission polarization dispersion in strongly in-plane asymmetric nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gawełczyk, M.; Syperek, M.; Maryński, A.; Mrowiński, P.; Dusanowski, Ł.; Gawarecki, K.; Misiewicz, J.; Somers, A.; Reithmaier, J. P.; Höfling, S.; Sek, G.

2017-12-01

We present a theoretical and experimental investigation of exciton recombination dynamics and the related polarization of emission in highly in-plane asymmetric nanostructures. Considering general asymmetry- and size-driven effects, we illustrate them with a detailed analysis of InAs/AlGaInAs/InP elongated quantum dots. These offer widely varied confinement characteristics tuned by size and geometry that are tailored during the growth process, which leads to emission in the application-relevant spectral range of 1.25-1.65 μ m . By exploring the interplay of the very shallow hole confining potential and widely varying structural asymmetry, we show that a transition from the strong through intermediate to even weak confinement regime is possible in nanostructures of this kind. This has a significant impact on exciton recombination dynamics and the polarization of emission, which are shown to depend not only on the details of the calculated excitonic states but also on excitation conditions in the photoluminescence experiments. We estimate the impact of the latter and propose a way to determine the intrinsic polarization-dependent exciton light-matter coupling based on kinetic characteristics.

Competing ν = 5/2 fractional quantum Hall states in confined geometry.

PubMed

Fu, Hailong; Wang, Pengjie; Shan, Pujia; Xiong, Lin; Pfeiffer, Loren N; West, Ken; Kastner, Marc A; Lin, Xi

2016-11-01

Some theories predict that the filling factor 5/2 fractional quantum Hall state can exhibit non-Abelian statistics, which makes it a candidate for fault-tolerant topological quantum computation. Although the non-Abelian Pfaffian state and its particle-hole conjugate, the anti-Pfaffian state, are the most plausible wave functions for the 5/2 state, there are a number of alternatives with either Abelian or non-Abelian statistics. Recent experiments suggest that the tunneling exponents are more consistent with an Abelian state rather than a non-Abelian state. Here, we present edge-current-tunneling experiments in geometrically confined quantum point contacts, which indicate that Abelian and non-Abelian states compete at filling factor 5/2. Our results are consistent with a transition from an Abelian state to a non-Abelian state in a single quantum point contact when the confinement is tuned. Our observation suggests that there is an intrinsic non-Abelian 5/2 ground state but that the appropriate confinement is necessary to maintain it. This observation is important not only for understanding the physics of the 5/2 state but also for the design of future topological quantum computation devices.

AlGaAs-GaAs quantum-well lasers for direct solar photopumping

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Unnikrishnan, Sreenath; Anderson, Neal G.

1991-01-01

The paper theoretically examines the solar power requirements for low-threshold AlGaAs-GaAs quantum-well lasers directly photopumped by focused sunlight. A model of separate-confinement quantum-well-heterostructure (SCQWH) lasers was developed, which explicitly treats absorption and transport phenomena relevant to solar pumping. The model was used to identify separate-confinement single-quantum-well laser structures which should operate at photoexcitation intensities of less than 10,000 suns.

Nanostructure and optoelectronic phenomena in germanium-transparent conductive oxide (Ge:TCO) composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shih, Grace Hwei-Pyng

Nanostructured composites are attracting intense interest for electronic and optoelectronic device applications, specifically as active elements in thin film photovoltaic (PV) device architectures. These systems implement fundamentally different concepts of enhancing energy conversion efficiencies compared to those seen in current commercial devices. This is possible through considerable flexibility in the manipulation of device-relevant properties through control of the interplay between the nanostructure and the optoelectronic response. In the present work, inorganic nanocomposites of semiconductor Ge embedded in transparent conductive indium tin oxide (ITO) as well as Ge in zinc oxide (ZnO) were produced by a single step RF-magnetron sputter deposition process. It is shown that, by controlling the design of the nanocomposites as well as heat treatment conditions, decreases in the physical dimensions of Ge nanophase size provided an effective tuning of the optical absorption and charge transport properties. This effect of changes in the optical properties of nanophase semiconductors with respect to size is known as the quantum confinement effect. Variation in the embedding matrix material between ITO and ZnO with corresponding characterization of optoelectronic properties exhibit notable differences in the presence and evolution of an interfacial oxide within these composites. Further studies of interfacial structures were performed using depth-profiling XPS and Raman spectroscopy, while study of the corresponding electronic effects were performed using room temperature and temperature-dependent Hall Effect. Optical absorption was noted to shift to higher onset energies upon heat treatment with a decrease in the observed Ge domain size, indicating quantum confinement effects within these systems. This contrasts to previous investigations that have involved the introduction of nanoscale Ge into insulating, amorphous oxides. Comparison of these different matrix chemistries highlights the overarching role of interfacial structures on quantum-size characteristics. The opportunity to tune the spectral response of these PV materials, via control of semiconductor phase assembly in the nanocomposite, directly impacts the potential for the use of these materials as sensitizing elements for enhanced solar cell conversion efficiency.

Microscopic origin of the fast blue-green luminescence of chemically synthesized non-oxidized silicon quantum dots.

PubMed

Dohnalová, Kateřina; Fučíková, Anna; Umesh, Chinnaswamy P; Humpolíčková, Jana; Paulusse, Jos M J; Valenta, Jan; Zuilhof, Han; Hof, Martin; Gregorkiewicz, Tom

2012-10-22

The microscopic origin of the bright nanosecond blue-green photoluminescence (PL), frequently reported for synthesized organically terminated Si quantum dots (Si-QDs), has not been fully resolved, hampering potential applications of this interesting material. Here a comprehensive study of the PL from alkyl-terminated Si-QDs of 2-3 nm size, prepared by wet chemical synthesis is reported. Results obtained on the ensemble and those from the single nano-object level are compared, and they provide conclusive evidence that efficient and tunable emission arises due to radiative recombination of electron-hole pairs confined in the Si-QDs. This understanding paves the way towards applications of chemical synthesis for the development of Si-QDs with tunable sizes and bandgaps. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Spectral properties of finite two dimensional quantum dot arrays.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cota, Ernesto; Ramírez, Felipe; Ulloa, Sergio E.

1997-08-01

Motivated by recent proposed geometries in cellular automata, we study arrays of four or five coupled quantum dots located at the corners and at the center of a square. We calculate the addition spectrum for dots with equal or different sizes at each site and compare with the case of linear arrays. We obtain the numerically exact solution for arrays with two electrons and study the properties of this system as a cell or building block of quantum dot cellular automata. We obtain the ``polarization" for each state and discuss its possible use as a two-state system or ``qubit," as proposed recently(C. S. Lent, P. D. Tougaw, and W. Porod, Appl. Phys. Lett. 62) 714, (1993). An extended Hubbard Hamiltonian is used which takes into account quantum confinement, intra- an inter-dot Coulomb interaction as well as tunneling between neighboring dots.

Spectral properties of finite two dimensional quantum dot arrays.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramirez, Felipe; Cota, Ernesto; Ulloa, Sergio E.

1997-03-01

Motivated by recent proposed geometries in cellular automata, we study arrays of four or five coupled quantum dots located at the corners and at the center of a square. We calculate the addition spectrum for dots with equal or different sizes at each site and compare with the case of linear arrays. We obtain the numerically exact solution for arrays with two electrons and study the properties of this system as a cell or building block of quantum dot cellular automata. We obtain the ``polarization" for each state and discuss its possible use as a two-state system or ``qubit," as proposed recently(C. S. Lent, P. D. Tougaw, and W. Porod, Appl. Phys. Lett. 62) 714, (1993). An extended Hubbard Hamiltonian is used which takes into account quantum confinement, intra- an inter-dot Coulomb interaction as well as tunneling between neighboring dots.

Visible Quantum Nanophotonics.

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

Subramania, Ganapathi Subramanian; Wang, George T.; Fischer, Arthur J.

2017-09-01

The goal of this LDRD is to develop a quantum nanophotonics capability that will allow practical control over electron (hole) and photon confinement in more than one dimension. We plan to use quantum dots (QDs) to control electrons, and photonic crystals to control photons. InGaN QDs will be fabricated using quantum size control processes, and methods will be developed to add epitaxial layers for hole injection and surface passivation. We will also explore photonic crystal nanofabrication techniques using both additive and subtractive fabrication processes, which can tailor photonic crystal properties. These two efforts will be combined by incorporating the QDsmore » into photonic crystal surface emitting lasers (PCSELs). Modeling will be performed using finite-different time-domain and gain analysis to optimize QD-PCSEL designs that balance laser performance with the ability to nano-fabricate structures. Finally, we will develop design rules for QD-PCSEL architectures, to understand their performance possibilities and limits.« less

Self-Bound Quantum Droplets of Atomic Mixtures in Free Space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Semeghini, G.; Ferioli, G.; Masi, L.; Mazzinghi, C.; Wolswijk, L.; Minardi, F.; Modugno, M.; Modugno, G.; Inguscio, M.; Fattori, M.

2018-06-01

Self-bound quantum droplets are a newly discovered phase in the context of ultracold atoms. In this Letter, we report their experimental realization following the original proposal by Petrov [Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 155302 (2015), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.155302], using an attractive bosonic mixture. In this system, spherical droplets form due to the balance of competing attractive and repulsive forces, provided by the mean-field energy close to the collapse threshold and the first-order correction due to quantum fluctuations. Thanks to an optical levitating potential with negligible residual confinement, we observe self-bound droplets in free space, and we characterize the conditions for their formation as well as their size and composition. This work sets the stage for future studies on quantum droplets, from the measurement of their peculiar excitation spectrum to the exploration of their superfluid nature.

Grain-Size-Dependent Thermoelectric Properties of SrTiO3 3D Superlattice Ceramics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Rui-zhi; Koumoto, Kunihito

2013-07-01

The thermoelectric (TE) performance of SrTiO3 (STO) 3D superlattice ceramics with 2D electron gas grain boundaries (GBs) was theoretically investigated. The grain size dependence of the power factor, lattice thermal conductivity, and ZT value were calculated by using Boltzmann transport equations. It was found that nanostructured STO ceramics with smaller grain size have larger ZT value. This is because the quantum confinement effect, energy filtering effect, and interfacial phonon scattering at GBs all become stronger with decreasing grain size, resulting in higher power factor and lower lattice thermal conductivity. These findings will aid the design of nanostructured oxide ceramics with high TE performance.

Fabrication of multilayered Ge nanocrystals embedded in SiO xGeN y films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Fei; Green, Martin A.; Conibeer, Gavin; Cho, Eun-Chel; Huang, Yidan; Perez-Wurfl, Ivan; Flynn, Chris

2008-09-01

Multilayered Ge nanocrystals embedded in SiO xGeN y films have been fabricated on Si substrate by a (Ge + SiO 2)/SiO xGeN y superlattice approach, using a rf magnetron sputtering technique with a Ge + SiO 2 composite target and subsequent thermal annealing in N 2 ambient at 750 °C for 30 min. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement indicated the formation of Ge nanocrystals with an average size estimated to be 5.4 nm. Raman scattering spectra showed a peak of the Ge-Ge vibrational mode downward shifted to 299.4 cm -1, which was caused by quantum confinement of phonons in the Ge nanocrystals. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that Ge nanocrystals were confined in (Ge + SiO 2) layers. This superlattice approach significantly improved both the size uniformity of Ge nanocrystals and their uniformity of spacing on the 'Z' growth direction.

Tuning the Quantum Efficiency of Random Lasers - Intrinsic Stokes-Shift and Gain

PubMed Central

Lubatsch, Andreas; Frank, Regine

2015-01-01

We report the theoretical analysis for tuning the quantum efficiency of solid state random lasers. Vollhardt-Wölfle theory of photonic transport in disordered non-conserving and open random media, is coupled to lasing dynamics and solved positionally dependent. The interplay of non-linearity and homogeneous non-radiative frequency conversion by means of a Stokes-shift leads to a reduction of the quantum efficiency of the random laser. At the threshold a strong decrease of the spot-size in the stationary state is found due to the increase of non-radiative losses. The coherently emitted photon number per unit of modal surface is also strongly reduced. This result allows for the conclusion that Stokes-shifts are not sufficient to explain confined and extended mode regimes. PMID:26593237

Tuning the Quantum Efficiency of Random Lasers - Intrinsic Stokes-Shift and Gain.

PubMed

Lubatsch, Andreas; Frank, Regine

2015-11-23

We report the theoretical analysis for tuning the quantum efficiency of solid state random lasers. Vollhardt-Wölfle theory of photonic transport in disordered non-conserving and open random media, is coupled to lasing dynamics and solved positionally dependent. The interplay of non-linearity and homogeneous non-radiative frequency conversion by means of a Stokes-shift leads to a reduction of the quantum efficiency of the random laser. At the threshold a strong decrease of the spot-size in the stationary state is found due to the increase of non-radiative losses. The coherently emitted photon number per unit of modal surface is also strongly reduced. This result allows for the conclusion that Stokes-shifts are not sufficient to explain confined and extended mode regimes.

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.

Exciton shelves for charge and energy transport in third-generation quantum-dot devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodman, Samuel; Singh, Vivek; Noh, Hyunwoo; Casamada, Josep; Chatterjee, Anushree; Cha, Jennifer; Nagpal, Prashant

2014-03-01

Quantum dots are semiconductor nanocrystallites with size-dependent quantum-confined energy levels. While they have been intensively investigated to utilize hot-carriers for photovoltaic applications, to bridge the mismatch between incident solar photons and finite bandgap of semiconductor photocells, efficient charge or exciton transport in quantum-dot films has proven challenging. Here we show development of new coupled conjugated molecular wires with ``exciton shelves'', or different energy levels, matched with the multiple energy levels of quantum dots. Using single nanoparticle and ensemble device measurements we show successful extraction and transport of both bandedge and high-energy charge carriers, and energy transport of excitons. We demonstrate using measurements of electronic density of states, that careful matching of energy states of quantum-dot with molecular wires is important, and any mismatch can generate midgap states leading to charge recombination and reduced efficiency. Therefore, these exciton-shelves and quantum dots can lead to development of next-generation photovoltaic and photodetection devices using simultaneous transport of bandedge and hot-carriers or energy transport of excitons in these nanostructured solution-processed films.

The Interplay of Quantum Confinement and Hydrogenation in Amorphous Silicon Quantum Dots.

PubMed

Askari, Sadegh; Svrcek, Vladmir; Maguire, Paul; Mariotti, Davide

2015-12-22

Hydrogenation in amorphous silicon quantum dots (QDs) has a dramatic impact on the corresponding optical properties and band energy structure, leading to a quantum-confined composite material with unique characteristics. The synthesis of a-Si:H QDs is demonstrated with an atmospheric-pressure plasma process, which allows for accurate control of a highly chemically reactive non-equilibrium environment with temperatures well below the crystallization temperature of Si QDs. © 2015 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Smooth interface effects on the confinement properties of GaSb/Al xGa 1- xSb quantum wells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adib, Artur B.; de Sousa, Jeanlex S.; Farias, Gil A.; Freire, Valder N.

2000-10-01

A theoretical investigation on the confinement properties of GaSb/Al xGa 1- xSb single quantum wells (QWs) with smooth interfaces is performed. Error function ( erf)-like interfacial aluminum molar fraction variations in the QWs, from which it is possible to obtain the carriers effective masses and confinement potential profiles, are assumed. It is shown that the existence of smooth interfaces blue shifts considerably the confined carriers and exciton energies, an effect which is stronger in thin QWs.

Structural, optical, electrochemical and photovoltaic studies of spider web like Silver Indium Diselenide Quantum dots synthesized by ligand mediated colloidal sol-gel approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adhikari, Tham; Pathak, Dinesh; Wagner, Tomas; Jambor, Roman; Jabeen, Uzma; Aamir, Muhammad; Nunzi, Jean-Michel

2017-11-01

Silver indium diselenide quantum dots were successively synthesized by colloidal sol-gel method by chelating with organic ligand oleylamine (OLA). The particle size was studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and the size was found about 10 nm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to study crystalline structure of the nanocrystals. The grain size and morphology were further studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The elemental composition was studied by X-ray photon electron spectroscopy (XPS) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDAX). The capping property of OLA in nanocrystal was also demonstrated by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The band gap was calculated from both cyclic voltammetry and optical absorption and suggest quantum confinement. The solution processed bilayer thin film solar cells were fabricated with n-type Zinc oxide using doctor blading/spin coating method and their photovoltaic performance was studied. The best device sintered at 450 °C showed an efficiency 0.75% with current density of 4.54 mAcm-2, open-circuit voltage 0.44 V and fill factor 39.4%.

Tuning Surface Energy Landscapes in Metallic Quantum Films using Alkali Adsorbates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khajetoorians, Alexander; Qin, Shengyong; Zhu, Wenguang; Eisele, Holger; Zhang, Zhenyu; Shih, Chih-Kang

2008-03-01

Quantum confinement shows a strong interplay with growth and kinetics in thin metal systems where the Fermi wavelength has a special relationship to the surface normal lattice constant. In the case of Pb/Si(111) systems, this relationship reveals an interesting thickness-dependent bilayer oscillation in the density of states and surface energy up to a phase. In this paper, we report on a novel effect: tuning of the energy landscape of a flat-top quantum Pb mesa using Cs adsorbates. Using STM/STS, we show that depositing Cs adsorbates on a thin Pb mesa promotes quantum stable Pb nanoislands on preferentially unstable thicknesses. Thickness-dependent nanoisland densities show a strong bilayer oscillation correlating with quantum stability. By modifying the Cs coverage on the mesa surface, we can tune the lateral size distribution of the nanoislands and the overall amplitude of the island density oscillation. Nanoisland formation is linked to a step decoration of Cs adatoms along the step edge of the nanoisland.

Carbon-electroluminescence: An organic approach to lighting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumari, Sonali; Chaudhary, Tarun; Chandran, Vivek; Lokeshwari, M.; Shastry, K.

2018-05-01

Over the recent years, quantum dots have garnered massive following and peaked in interest among the scientific community due to their versatility, exotic properties, ease of preparation and low cost. As the demand for faster, reliable and energy efficient electronic devices intensifies, extra emphasis is laid on the development of smart materials capable of satiating this need. Electroluminescent organic quantum dots have emerged as one of the prime contenders in addressing the ecological, economic and technological constraints. Application of such luminescent nanoparticles as fluorescent light converters in LEDs is touted as one of the reliable and easiest avenues in realizing and developing newer energy efficient technologies for the next millennia. One promising candidate is zig-zag graphene quantum dots, which exhibits high electro-luminescence due to a phenomenon known as quantum confinement (where size of the nano-particle is of the same order or less than that of Bohr exciton radius). In this paper, we aim to provide a review of past and present research in the synthesis and development of luminescence using organic quantum dots.

Aqueous synthesis of III-V semiconductor GaP and InP exhibiting pronounced quantum confinement.

PubMed

Gao, Shanmin; Lu, Jun; Chen, Nan; Zhao, Yan; Xie, Yi

2002-12-21

A mild aqueous synthesis route was successfully established to synthesize well crystallized and monodisperse GaP and InP nanocrystals, which were proved to exhibit pronounced quantum confinement by room-temperature UV/Vis adsorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectra.

Colloidal Synthesis of Te-Doped Bi Nanoparticles: Low-Temperature Charge Transport and Thermoelectric Properties.

PubMed

Gu, Da Hwi; Jo, Seungki; Jeong, Hyewon; Ban, Hyeong Woo; Park, Sung Hoon; Heo, Seung Hwae; Kim, Fredrick; Jang, Jeong In; Lee, Ji Eun; Son, Jae Sung

2017-06-07

Electronically doped nanoparticles formed by incorporation of impurities have been of great interest because of their controllable electrical properties. However, the development of a strategy for n-type or p-type doping on sub-10 nm-sized nanoparticles under the quantum confinement regime is very challenging using conventional processes, owing to the difficulty in synthesis. Herein, we report the colloidal chemical synthesis of sub-10 nm-sized tellurium (Te)-doped Bismuth (Bi) nanoparticles with precisely controlled Te content from 0 to 5% and systematically investigate their low-temperature charge transport and thermoelectric properties. Microstructural characterization of nanoparticles demonstrates that Te ions are successfully incorporated into Bi nanoparticles rather than remaining on the nanoparticle surfaces. Low-temperature Hall measurement results of the hot-pressed Te-doped Bi-nanostructured materials, with grain sizes ranging from 30 to 60 nm, show that the charge transport properties are governed by the doping content and the related impurity and nanoscale grain boundary scatterings. Furthermore, the low-temperature thermoelectric properties reveal that the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient expectedly change with the Te content, whereas the thermal conductivity is significantly reduced by Te doping because of phonon scattering at the sites arising from impurities and nanoscale grain boundaries. Accordingly, the 1% Te-doped Bi sample exhibits a higher figure-of-merit ZT by ∼10% than that of the undoped sample. The synthetic strategy demonstrated in this study offers the possibility of electronic doping of various quantum-confined nanoparticles for diverse applications.

"Size-Independent" Single-Electron Tunneling.

PubMed

Zhao, Jianli; Sun, Shasha; Swartz, Logan; Riechers, Shawn; Hu, Peiguang; Chen, Shaowei; Zheng, Jie; Liu, Gang-Yu

2015-12-17

Incorporating single-electron tunneling (SET) of metallic nanoparticles (NPs) into modern electronic devices offers great promise to enable new properties; however, it is technically very challenging due to the necessity to integrate ultrasmall (<10 nm) particles into the devices. The nanosize requirements are intrinsic for NPs to exhibit quantum or SET behaviors, for example, 10 nm or smaller, at room temperature. This work represents the first observation of SET that defies the well-known size restriction. Using polycrystalline Au NPs synthesized via our newly developed solid-state glycine matrices method, a Coulomb Blockade was observed for particles as large as tens of nanometers, and the blockade voltage exhibited little dependence on the size of the NPs. These observations are counterintuitive at first glance. Further investigations reveal that each observed SET arises from the ultrasmall single crystalline grain(s) within the polycrystal NP, which is (are) sufficiently isolated from the nearest neighbor grains. This work demonstrates the concept and feasibility to overcome orthodox spatial confinement requirements to achieve quantum effects.

Performance analysis and optimization for generalized quantum Stirling refrigeration cycle with working substance of a particle confined in a general 1D potential

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Yong; Chen, Lingen; Wu, Feng

2018-03-01

A generalized irreversible quantum Stirling refrigeration cycle (GIQSRC) is proposed. The working substance of the GIQSRC is a particle confined in a general 1D potential which energy spectrum can be expressed as εn = ℏωnσ . Heat leakage and non-ideal regeneration loss are taken into account. The expressions of coefficient of performance (COP) and dimensionless cooling load are obtained. The different practical cases of the energy spectrum are analyzed. The results of this paper are meaningful to understand the quantum thermodynamics cycles with a particle confined in different potential as working substance.

Cobalt-doped ZnO nanocrystals: quantum confinement and surface effects from ab initio methods.

PubMed

Schoenhalz, Aline L; Dalpian, Gustavo M

2013-10-14

Cobalt-doped ZnO nanocrystals were studied through ab initio methods based on the Density Functional Theory. Both quantum confinement and surface effects were explicitly taken into account. When only quantum confinement effects are considered, Co atoms interact through a superexchange mechanism, stabilizing an antiferromagnetic ground state. Usually, this is the case for high quality nanoparticles with perfect surface saturation. When the surfaces were considered, a strong hybridization between the Co atoms and surfaces was observed, strongly changing their electronic and magnetic properties. Our results indicated that the surfaces might qualitatively change the properties of impurities in semiconductor nanocrystals.

Theoretical Studies of Liquid He-4 Near the Superfluid Transition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Manousakis, Efstratios

2002-01-01

We performed theoretical studies of liquid helium by applying state of the art simulation and finite-size scaling techniques. We calculated universal scaling functions for the specific heat and superfluid density for various confining geometries relevant for experiments such as the confined helium experiment and other ground based studies. We also studied microscopically how the substrate imposes a boundary condition on the superfluid order parameter as the superfluid film grows layer by layer. Using path-integral Monte Carlo, a quantum Monte Carlo simulation method, we investigated the rich phase diagram of helium monolayer, bilayer and multilayer on a substrate such as graphite. We find excellent agreement with the experimental results using no free parameters. Finally, we carried out preliminary calculations of transport coefficients such as the thermal conductivity for bulk or confined helium systems and of their scaling properties. All our studies provide theoretical support for various experimental studies in microgravity.

Magnetically Defined Qubits on 3D Topological Insulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferreira, Gerson J.; Loss, Daniel

2014-03-01

We explore potentials that break time-reversal symmetry to confine the surface states of 3D topological insulators into quantum wires and quantum dots. A magnetic domain wall on a ferromagnet insulator cap layer provides interfacial states predicted to show the quantum anomalous Hall effect. Here, we show that confinement can also occur at magnetic domain heterostructures, with states extended in the inner domain, as well as interfacial QAHE states at the surrounding domain walls. The proposed geometry allows the isolation of the wire and dot from spurious circumventing surface states. For the quantum dots, we find that highly spin-polarized quantized QAHE states at the dot edge constitute a promising candidate for quantum computing qubits. See [Ferreira and Loss, Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 106802 (2013)]. We explore potentials that break time-reversal symmetry to confine the surface states of 3D topological insulators into quantum wires and quantum dots. A magnetic domain wall on a ferromagnet insulator cap layer provides interfacial states predicted to show the quantum anomalous Hall effect. Here, we show that confinement can also occur at magnetic domain heterostructures, with states extended in the inner domain, as well as interfacial QAHE states at the surrounding domain walls. The proposed geometry allows the isolation of the wire and dot from spurious circumventing surface states. For the quantum dots, we find that highly spin-polarized quantized QAHE states at the dot edge constitute a promising candidate for quantum computing qubits. See [Ferreira and Loss, Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 106802 (2013)]. We acknowledge support from the Swiss NSF, NCCR Nanoscience, NCCR QSIT, and the Brazillian Research Support Center Initiative (NAP Q-NANO) from Pró-Reitoria de Pesquisa (PRP/USP).

Methods for modeling non-equilibrium degenerate statistics and quantum-confined scattering in 3D ensemble Monte Carlo transport simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crum, Dax M.; Valsaraj, Amithraj; David, John K.; Register, Leonard F.; Banerjee, Sanjay K.

2016-12-01

Particle-based ensemble semi-classical Monte Carlo (MC) methods employ quantum corrections (QCs) to address quantum confinement and degenerate carrier populations to model tomorrow's ultra-scaled metal-oxide-semiconductor-field-effect-transistors. Here, we present the most complete treatment of quantum confinement and carrier degeneracy effects in a three-dimensional (3D) MC device simulator to date, and illustrate their significance through simulation of n-channel Si and III-V FinFETs. Original contributions include our treatment of far-from-equilibrium degenerate statistics and QC-based modeling of surface-roughness scattering, as well as considering quantum-confined phonon and ionized-impurity scattering in 3D. Typical MC simulations approximate degenerate carrier populations as Fermi distributions to model the Pauli-blocking (PB) of scattering to occupied final states. To allow for increasingly far-from-equilibrium non-Fermi carrier distributions in ultra-scaled and III-V devices, we instead generate the final-state occupation probabilities used for PB by sampling the local carrier populations as function of energy and energy valley. This process is aided by the use of fractional carriers or sub-carriers, which minimizes classical carrier-carrier scattering intrinsically incompatible with degenerate statistics. Quantum-confinement effects are addressed through quantum-correction potentials (QCPs) generated from coupled Schrödinger-Poisson solvers, as commonly done. However, we use these valley- and orientation-dependent QCPs not just to redistribute carriers in real space, or even among energy valleys, but also to calculate confinement-dependent phonon, ionized-impurity, and surface-roughness scattering rates. FinFET simulations are used to illustrate the contributions of each of these QCs. Collectively, these quantum effects can substantially reduce and even eliminate otherwise expected benefits of considered In0.53Ga0.47 As FinFETs over otherwise identical Si FinFETs despite higher thermal velocities in In0.53Ga0.47 As. It also may be possible to extend these basic uses of QCPs, however calculated, to still more computationally efficient drift-diffusion and hydrodynamic simulations, and the basic concepts even to compact device modeling.

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.

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.

Highly crystalline carbon dots from fresh tomato: UV emission and quantum confinement.

PubMed

Liu, Weijian; Li, Chun; Sun, Xiaobo; Pan, Wei; Yu, Guifeng; Wang, Jinping

2017-12-01

In this article, fresh tomatoes are explored as a low-cost source to prepare high-performance carbon dots by using microwave-assisted pyrolysis. Given that amino groups might act as nucleophiles for cleaving covalent bridging ester or ether in the crosslinked macromolecules in the biomass bulk, ethylenediamine (EDA) and urea with amino groups were applied as nucleophiles to modulate the chemical composites of the carbon nanoparticles in order to tune their fluorescence emission and enhance their quantum yields. Very interestingly, the carbon dots synthesized in the presence of urea had a highly crystalline nature, a low-degree amorphous surface and were smaller than 5 nm. Moreover, the doped N contributed to the formation of a cyclic form of core that resulted in a strong electron-withdrawing ability within the conjugated C plane. Therefore, this type of carbon dot exhibited marked quantum confinement, with the maximum fluorescence peak located in the UV region. Carbon nanoparticles greater than 20 nm in size, prepared using pristine fresh tomato and in the presence of EDA, emitted surface state controlled fluorescence. Additionally, carbon nanoparticles synthesized using fresh tomato pulp in the presence of EDA and urea were explored for bioimaging of plant pathogenic fungi and the detection of vanillin.

Highly crystalline carbon dots from fresh tomato: UV emission and quantum confinement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Weijian; Li, Chun; Sun, Xiaobo; Pan, Wei; Yu, Guifeng; Wang, Jinping

2017-12-01

In this article, fresh tomatoes are explored as a low-cost source to prepare high-performance carbon dots by using microwave-assisted pyrolysis. Given that amino groups might act as nucleophiles for cleaving covalent bridging ester or ether in the crosslinked macromolecules in the biomass bulk, ethylenediamine (EDA) and urea with amino groups were applied as nucleophiles to modulate the chemical composites of the carbon nanoparticles in order to tune their fluorescence emission and enhance their quantum yields. Very interestingly, the carbon dots synthesized in the presence of urea had a highly crystalline nature, a low-degree amorphous surface and were smaller than 5 nm. Moreover, the doped N contributed to the formation of a cyclic form of core that resulted in a strong electron-withdrawing ability within the conjugated C plane. Therefore, this type of carbon dot exhibited marked quantum confinement, with the maximum fluorescence peak located in the UV region. Carbon nanoparticles greater than 20 nm in size, prepared using pristine fresh tomato and in the presence of EDA, emitted surface state controlled fluorescence. Additionally, carbon nanoparticles synthesized using fresh tomato pulp in the presence of EDA and urea were explored for bioimaging of plant pathogenic fungi and the detection of vanillin.

Broadband infrared light emitting waveguides based on UV curable PbS quantum dot composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Kai; Baig, Sarfaraz; Jiang, Guomin; Paik, Young-hun; Kim, Sung Jin; Wang, Michael R.

2018-02-01

We present herein the active PbS-photopolymer waveguide fabricated by vacuum assisted microfluidic (VAM) soft lithography technique. The PbS Quantum Dots (QDs) were synthesized using colloidal chemistry methods with tunable sizes and emission wavelengths, resulting in efficient light emission around 1000 nm center wavelength. The PbS QDs have demonstrated much better solubility in our newly synthesized UV curable polymer than SU-8 photoresist, verified by Photoluminescence (PL) testing. Through refractive index control, the PbS QDs-polymer core material and polymer cladding material can efficiently confine the infrared emitting light with a broad spectral bandwidth of 180 nm. Both single-mode and multi-mode light emitting waveguides have been realized.

Spin interactions in InAs quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doty, M. F.; Ware, M. E.; Stinaff, E. A.; Scheibner, M.; Bracker, A. S.; Gammon, D.; Ponomarev, I. V.; Reinecke, T. L.; Korenev, V. L.

2006-03-01

Fine structure splittings in optical spectra of self-assembled InAs quantum dots (QDs) generally arise from spin interactions between particles confined in the dots. We present experimental studies of the fine structure that arises from multiple charges confined in a single dot [1] or in molecular orbitals of coupled pairs of dots. To probe the underlying spin interactions we inject particles with a known spin orientation (by using polarized light to perform photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy experiments) or use a magnetic field to orient and/or mix the spin states. We develop a model of the spin interactions that aids in the development of quantum information processing applications based on controllable interactions between spins confined to QDs. [1] Polarized Fine Structure in the Photoluminescence Excitation Spectrum of a Negatively Charged Quantum Dot, Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 177403 (2005)

Two-dimensional quantum ring in a graphene layer in the presence of a Aharonov–Bohm flux

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

Amaro Neto, José; Bueno, M.J.; Furtado, Claudio, E-mail: furtado@fisica.ufpb.br

2016-10-15

In this paper we study the relativistic quantum dynamics of a massless fermion confined in a quantum ring. We use a model of confining potential and introduce the interaction via Dirac oscillator coupling, which provides ring confinement for massless Dirac fermions. The energy levels and corresponding eigenfunctions for this model in graphene layer in the presence of Aharonov–Bohm flux in the centre of the ring and the expression for persistent current in this model are derived. We also investigate the model for quantum ring in graphene layer in the presence of a disclination and a magnetic flux. The energy spectrummore » and wave function are obtained exactly for this case. We see that the persistent current depends on parameters characterizing the topological defect.« less

Analysis of single quantum-dot mobility inside 1D nanochannel devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoang, H. T.; Segers-Nolten, I. M.; Tas, N. R.; van Honschoten, J. W.; Subramaniam, V.; Elwenspoek, M. C.

2011-07-01

We visualized individual quantum dots using a combination of a confining nanochannel and an ultra-sensitive microscope system, equipped with a high numerical aperture lens and a highly sensitive camera. The diffusion coefficients of the confined quantum dots were determined from the experimentally recorded trajectories according to the classical diffusion theory for Brownian motion in two dimensions. The calculated diffusion coefficients were three times smaller than those in bulk solution. These observations confirm and extend the results of Eichmann et al (2008 Langmuir 24 714-21) to smaller particle diameters and more narrow confinement. A detailed analysis shows that the observed reduction in mobility cannot be explained by conventional hydrodynamic theory.

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.

Liquid-solid phase transition of hydrogen and deuterium in silica aerogel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Cleve, E.; Worsley, M. A.; Kucheyev, S. O.

2014-10-01

Behavior of hydrogen isotopes confined in disordered low-density nanoporous solids remains essentially unknown. Here, we use relaxation calorimetry to study freezing and melting of H2 and D2 in an ˜85%-porous base-catalyzed silica aerogel. We find that liquid-solid transition temperatures of both isotopes inside the aerogel are depressed. The phase transition takes place over a wide temperature range of ˜4 K and non-trivially depends on the liquid filling fraction, reflecting the broad pore size distribution in the aerogel. Undercooling is observed for both H2 and D2 confined inside the aerogel monolith. Results for H2 and D2 are extrapolated to tritium-containing hydrogens with the quantum law of corresponding states.

Effective tuning of electron charge and spin distribution in a dot-ring nanostructure at the ZnO interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chakraborty, Tapash; Manaselyan, Aram; Barseghyan, Manuk

2018-05-01

Electronic states and the Aharonov-Bohm effect in ZnO quantum dot-ring nanostructures containing few interacting electrons reveal several unique features. We have shown here that in contrast to the dot-rings made of conventional semiconductors, such as InAs or GaAs, the dot-rings in ZnO heterojunctions demonstrate several unique characteristics due to the unusual properties of quantum dots and rings in ZnO. In particular the energy spectra of the ZnO dot-ring and the Aharnov-Bohm oscillations are strongly dependant on the electron number in the dot or in the ring. Therefore even small changes of the confinement potential, sizes of the dot-ring or the magnetic field can drastically change the energy spectra and the behavior of Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in the system. Due to this interesting phenomena it is possible to effectively control with high accuracy the electron charge and spin distribution inside the dot-ring structure. This controlling can be achieved either by changing the magnetic field or the confinement potentials.

Two-dimensional lattice gauge theories with superconducting quantum circuits

PubMed Central

Marcos, D.; Widmer, P.; Rico, E.; Hafezi, M.; Rabl, P.; Wiese, U.-J.; Zoller, P.

2014-01-01

A quantum simulator of U(1) lattice gauge theories can be implemented with superconducting circuits. This allows the investigation of confined and deconfined phases in quantum link models, and of valence bond solid and spin liquid phases in quantum dimer models. Fractionalized confining strings and the real-time dynamics of quantum phase transitions are accessible as well. Here we show how state-of-the-art superconducting technology allows us to simulate these phenomena in relatively small circuit lattices. By exploiting the strong non-linear couplings between quantized excitations emerging when superconducting qubits are coupled, we show how to engineer gauge invariant Hamiltonians, including ring-exchange and four-body Ising interactions. We demonstrate that, despite decoherence and disorder effects, minimal circuit instances allow us to investigate properties such as the dynamics of electric flux strings, signaling confinement in gauge invariant field theories. The experimental realization of these models in larger superconducting circuits could address open questions beyond current computational capability. PMID:25512676

Role of confinements on the melting of Wigner molecules in quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharya, Dyuti; Filinov, Alexei V.; Ghosal, Amit; Bonitz, Michael

2016-03-01

We explore the stability of a Wigner molecule (WM) formed in confinements with different geometries emulating the role of disorder and analyze the melting (or crossover) of such a system. Building on a recent calculation [D. Bhattacharya, A. Ghosal, Eur. Phys. J. B 86, 499 (2013)] that discussed the effects of irregularities on the thermal crossover in classical systems, we expand our studies in the untested territory by including both the effects of quantum fluctuations and of disorder. Our results, using classical and quantum (path integral) Monte Carlo techniques, unfold complementary mechanisms that drive the quantum and thermal crossovers in a WM and show that the symmetry of the confinement plays no significant role in determining the quantum crossover scale n X . This is because the zero-point motion screens the boundary effects within short distances. The phase diagram as a function of thermal and quantum fluctuations determined from independent criteria is unique, and shows "melting" from the WM to both the classical and quantum "liquids". An intriguing signature of weakening liquidity with increasing temperature, T, is found in the extreme quantum regime. The crossover is associated with production of defects. However, these defects appear to play distinct roles in driving the quantum and thermal "melting". Our analyses carry serious implications for a variety of experiments on many-particle systems - semiconductor heterostructure quantum dots, trapped ions, nanoclusters, colloids and complex plasma.

An environment-dependent semi-empirical tight binding model suitable for electron transport in bulk metals, metal alloys, metallic interfaces, and metallic nanostructures. II. Application—Effect of quantum confinement and homogeneous strain on Cu conductance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hegde, Ganesh; Povolotskyi, Michael; Kubis, Tillmann; Charles, James; Klimeck, Gerhard

2014-03-01

The Semi-Empirical tight binding model developed in Part I Hegde et al. [J. Appl. Phys. 115, 123703 (2014)] is applied to metal transport problems of current relevance in Part II. A systematic study of the effect of quantum confinement, transport orientation, and homogeneous strain on electronic transport properties of Cu is carried out. It is found that quantum confinement from bulk to nanowire boundary conditions leads to significant anisotropy in conductance of Cu along different transport orientations. Compressive homogeneous strain is found to reduce resistivity by increasing the density of conducting modes in Cu. The [110] transport orientation in Cu nanowires is found to be the most favorable for mitigating conductivity degradation since it shows least reduction in conductance with confinement and responds most favorably to compressive strain.

Lack of quantum confinement in Ga2O3 nanolayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peelaers, Hartwin; Van de Walle, Chris G.

2017-08-01

β -Ga2Ox3 is a wide-band-gap semiconductor with promising applications in transparent electronics and in power devices. β -Ga2O3 has monoclinic crystal symmetry and does not display a layered structured characteristic of 2D materials in the bulk; nevertheless, monolayer-thin Ga2O3 layers can be created. We used first-principles techniques to investigate the structural and electronic properties of these nanolayers. Surprisingly, freestanding films do not exhibit any signs of quantum confinement and exhibit the same electronic structure as bulk material. A detailed examination reveals that this can be attributed to the presence of states that are strongly confined near the surface. When the Ga2O3 layers are embedded in a wider band-gap material such as Al2O3 , the expected effects of quantum confinement can be observed. The effective mass of electrons in all the nanolayers is small, indicating promising device applications.

Synthesis characterisation series of newly fabricated type II CdSe CdSe/CdTe nanocrystals and their optical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmed, A. S.; Christopher, W.

2018-03-01

Nanocrystalline semiconductors exhibit different properties due to two basic factors. They possess high surface to volume ratio and the actual size of particle can determine the electronic and physical properties of the material. The small size results in an observable quantum confinement effect, defined by the increasing bandgap accompanied by the quantization of the energy levels to discrete values. In present work we have synthesized the series of cadmium selenide/cadmium telluride (CdSe/CdTe) core/shell and CdSe/CdTe/CdS core/shell/shell to investigate the biexciton energy through transient absorption measurements. These structures are type II nanocrystals are with a hole in the shell and the electron confined to the core. We specifically investigate the effect of nanoparticle shape on the electronic structure and ultrafast electronic dynamics in the band-edge exciton states of CdSe quantum dots, nanorods, and nanoplatelets. Particle size was chosen to enable straightforward comparisons of the effects of particle shape on the spectra and dynamics without retuning the laser source. In our results the Uv-vis showed only a mild redshift in the first excitonic an elongated tail with increasing shell thickness. High resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) shows the slight agglomeration of the nanocrystals but still the size distribution was calculate able. Spherical small crystals ranging from 5.9 nm to 10 nm are observed. CdTe/CdSe structures were quasi spherical with a rough diameter 6 nm with some little agglomerated structure. . The spherical nanocrystals could be peanut shaped oriented along the c axis or the spherical only, which could explain the two peak emission. p-XRD results indicate the predominant wurtzite structure throughout.

Pseudo-direct bandgap transitions in silicon nanocrystals: effects on optoelectronics and thermoelectrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Vivek; Yu, Yixuan; Sun, Qi-C.; Korgel, Brian; Nagpal, Prashant

2014-11-01

While silicon nanostructures are extensively used in electronics, the indirect bandgap of silicon poses challenges for optoelectronic applications like photovoltaics and light emitting diodes (LEDs). Here, we show that size-dependent pseudo-direct bandgap transitions in silicon nanocrystals dominate the interactions between (photoexcited) charge carriers and phonons, and hence the optoelectronic properties of silicon nanocrystals. Direct measurements of the electronic density of states (DOS) for different sized silicon nanocrystals reveal that these pseudo-direct transitions, likely arising from the nanocrystal surface, can couple with the quantum-confined silicon states. Moreover, we demonstrate that since these transitions determine the interactions of charge carriers with phonons, they change the light emission, absorption, charge carrier diffusion and phonon drag (Seebeck coefficient) in nanoscaled silicon semiconductors. Therefore, these results can have important implications for the design of optoelectronics and thermoelectric devices based on nanostructured silicon.While silicon nanostructures are extensively used in electronics, the indirect bandgap of silicon poses challenges for optoelectronic applications like photovoltaics and light emitting diodes (LEDs). Here, we show that size-dependent pseudo-direct bandgap transitions in silicon nanocrystals dominate the interactions between (photoexcited) charge carriers and phonons, and hence the optoelectronic properties of silicon nanocrystals. Direct measurements of the electronic density of states (DOS) for different sized silicon nanocrystals reveal that these pseudo-direct transitions, likely arising from the nanocrystal surface, can couple with the quantum-confined silicon states. Moreover, we demonstrate that since these transitions determine the interactions of charge carriers with phonons, they change the light emission, absorption, charge carrier diffusion and phonon drag (Seebeck coefficient) in nanoscaled silicon semiconductors. Therefore, these results can have important implications for the design of optoelectronics and thermoelectric devices based on nanostructured silicon. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr04688a

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

Soft exfoliation of 2D SnO with size-dependent optical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Mandeep; Della Gaspera, Enrico; Ahmed, Taimur; Walia, Sumeet; Ramanathan, Rajesh; van Embden, Joel; Mayes, Edwin; Bansal, Vipul

2017-06-01

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have recently gained unprecedented attention as potential candidates for next-generation (opto)electronic devices due to their fascinating optical and electrical properties. Tin monoxide, SnO, is an important p-type semiconductor with applications across photocatalysis (water splitting) and electronics (transistors). However, despite its potential in several important technological applications, SnO remains underexplored in its 2D form. Here we present a soft exfoliation strategy to produce 2D SnO nanosheets with tunable optical and electrical properties. Our approach involves the initial synthesis of layered SnO microspheres, which are readily exfoliated through a low-power sonication step to form high quality SnO nanosheets. We demonstrate that the properties of 2D SnO are strongly dependent on its dimensions. As verified through optical absorption and photoluminescence studies, a strong size-dependent quantum confinement effect in 2D SnO leads to substantial variation in its optical and electrical properties. This results in a remarkable (>1 eV) band gap widening in atomically thin SnO. Through photoconductivity measurements, we further validate a strong correlation between the quantum-confined properties of 2D SnO and the selective photoresponse of atomically thin sheets in the high energy UV light. Such tunable semiconducting properties of 2D SnO could be exploited for a variety of applications including photocatalysis, photovoltaics and optoelectronics in general.

Quantum-mechanical engines working with an ideal gas with a finite number of particles confined in a power-law trap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Jianhui; Ma, Yongli; He, Jizhou

2015-07-01

Based on quantum thermodynamic processes, we make a quantum-mechanical (QM) extension of the typical heat engine cycles, such as the Carnot, Brayton, Otto, Diesel cycles, etc., with no introduction of the concept of temperature. When these QM engine cycles are implemented by an ideal gas confined in an arbitrary power-law trap, a relation between the quantum adiabatic exponent and trap exponent is found. The differences and similarities between the efficiency of a given QM engine cycle and its classical counterpart are revealed and discussed.

Reduced graphene oxide-germanium quantum dot nanocomposite: electronic, optical and magnetic properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amollo, Tabitha A.; Mola, Genene T.; Nyamori, Vincent O.

2017-12-01

Graphene provides numerous possibilities for structural modification and functionalization of its carbon backbone. Localized magnetic moments can, as well, be induced in graphene by the formation of structural defects which include vacancies, edges, and adatoms. In this work, graphene was functionalized using germanium atoms, we report the effect of the Ge ad atoms on the structural, electrical, optical and magnetic properties of graphene. Reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-germanium quantum dot nanocomposites of high crystalline quality were synthesized by the microwave-assisted solvothermal reaction. Highly crystalline spherical shaped germanium quantum dots, of diameter ranging between 1.6-9.0 nm, are anchored on the basal planes of rGO. The nanocomposites exhibit high electrical conductivity with a sheet resistance of up to 16 Ω sq-1. The electrical conductivity is observed to increase with the increase in Ge content in the nanocomposites. High defect-induced magnetization is attained in the composites via germanium adatoms. The evolution of the magnetic moments in the nanocomposites and the coercivity showed marked dependence on the Ge quantum dots size and concentration. Quantum confinement effects is evidenced in the UV-vis absorbance spectra and photoluminescence emission spectra of the nanocomposites which show marked size-dependence. The composites manifest strong absorption in the UV region, strong luminescence in the near UV region, and a moderate luminescence in the visible region.

Facile production of ZnS quantum dot nanoparticles by Saccharomyces cerevisiae MTCC 2918.

PubMed

Sandana Mala, John Geraldine; Rose, Chellan

2014-01-20

Microbial synthesis of nanoparticles is a green route towards ecofriendly measures to overcome the toxicity and non-applicability of nanomaterials in clinical uses obtained by conventional physical and chemical approaches. Nanoparticles in the quantum regime have remarkable characteristics with excellent applicability in bioimaging. Yeasts have been commercially exploited for several industrial applications. ZnS nanoparticles as semiconductor quantum dots have mostly been synthesized by bacterial species. Here in, we have attempted to produce ZnS nanoparticles in quantum regime by Saccharomyces cerevisiae MTCC 2918 fungus and characterize its size and spectroscopic properties. Intracellular ZnS nanoparticles were produced by a facile procedure and freeze thaw extraction using 1mM zinc sulfate. The ZnS nanoparticles showed surface plasmon resonance band at 302.57nm. The ZnS nanoparticles were in low yield and in the size range of 30-40nm. Powder XRD analysis revealed that the nanoparticles were in the sphalerite phase. Photoluminescence spectra excited at 280nm and 325nm revealed quantum confinement effects. This suggests that yeasts have inherent sulfate metabolizing systems and are capable fungal sources to assimilate sulfate. Further insights are required to identify the transport/reducing processes that may have caused the synthesis of ZnS nanoparticles such as an oxidoreductase enzyme-mediated mechanism. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multimode Bose-Hubbard model for quantum dipolar gases in confined geometries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cartarius, Florian; Minguzzi, Anna; Morigi, Giovanna

2017-06-01

We theoretically consider ultracold polar molecules in a wave guide. The particles are bosons: They experience a periodic potential due to an optical lattice oriented along the wave guide and are polarized by an electric field orthogonal to the guide axis. The array is mechanically unstable by opening the transverse confinement in the direction orthogonal to the polarizing electric field and can undergo a transition to a double-chain (zigzag) structure. For this geometry we derive a multimode generalized Bose-Hubbard model for determining the quantum phases of the gas at the mechanical instability, taking into account the quantum fluctuations in all directions of space. Our model limits the dimension of the numerically relevant Hilbert subspace by means of an appropriate decomposition of the field operator, which is obtained from a field theoretical model of the linear-zigzag instability. We determine the phase diagrams of small systems using exact diagonalization and find that, even for tight transverse confinement, the aspect ratio between the two transverse trap frequencies controls not only the classical but also the quantum properties of the ground state in a nontrivial way. Convergence tests at the linear-zigzag instability demonstrate that our multimode generalized Bose-Hubbard model can catch the essential features of the quantum phases of dipolar gases in confined geometries with a limited computational effort.

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.

From the S U (2 ) quantum link model on the honeycomb lattice to the quantum dimer model on the kagome lattice: Phase transition and fractionalized flux strings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banerjee, D.; Jiang, F.-J.; Olesen, T. Z.; Orland, P.; Wiese, U.-J.

2018-05-01

We consider the (2 +1 ) -dimensional S U (2 ) quantum link model on the honeycomb lattice and show that it is equivalent to a quantum dimer model on the kagome lattice. The model has crystalline confined phases with spontaneously broken translation invariance associated with pinwheel order, which is investigated with either a Metropolis or an efficient cluster algorithm. External half-integer non-Abelian charges [which transform nontrivially under the Z (2 ) center of the S U (2 ) gauge group] are confined to each other by fractionalized strings with a delocalized Z (2 ) flux. The strands of the fractionalized flux strings are domain walls that separate distinct pinwheel phases. A second-order phase transition in the three-dimensional Ising universality class separates two confining phases: one with correlated pinwheel orientations, and the other with uncorrelated pinwheel orientations.

Evaporation-Induced Assembly of Quantum Dots into Nanorings

PubMed Central

Chen, Jixin; Liao, Wei-Ssu; Chen, Xin; Yang, Tinglu; Wark, Stacey E.; Son, Dong Hee; Batteas, James D.; Cremer, Paul S.

2011-01-01

Herein, we demonstrate the controlled formation of two-dimensional periodic arrays of ring-shaped nanostructures assembled from CdSe semiconductor quantum dots (QDs). The patterns were fabricated by using an evaporative templating method. This involves the introduction of an aqueous solution containing both quantum dots and polystyrene microspheres onto the surface of a planar hydrophilic glass substrate. The quantum dots became confined to the meniscus of the microspheres during evaporation, which drove ring assembly via capillary forces at the polystyrene sphere/glass substrate interface. The geometric parameters for nanoring formation could be controlled by tuning the size of the microspheres and the concentration of the QDs employed. This allowed hexagonal arrays of nanorings to be formed with thicknesses ranging from single dot necklaces to thick multilayer structures over surface areas of many square millimeters. Moreover, the diameter of the ring structures could be simultaneously controlled. A simple model was employed to explain the forces involved in the formation of nanoparticle nanorings. PMID:19206264

Electronic and transport properties of zigzag carbon nanotubes with the presence of periodical antidot and boron/nitride doping defects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zoghi, Milad; Yazdanpanah Goharrizi, Arash; Mirjalili, Seyed Mohammad; Kabir, M. Z.

2018-06-01

Electronic and transport properties of Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are affected by the presence of physical or chemical defects in their structures. In this paper, we present novel platforms of defected zigzag CNTs (Z-CNTs) in which two topologies of antidot and Boron/Nitride (BN) doping defects are periodically imposed throughout the length of perfect tubes. Using the tight binding model and the non-equilibrium Green’s function method, it is realized that the quantum confinement of Z-CNTs is modified by the presence of such defects. This new quantum confinement results in the appearance of mini bands and mini gaps in the transmission spectra, as well as a modified band structure and band gap size. The modified band gap could be either larger or smaller than the intrinsic band gap of a perfect tube, which is determined by the category of Z-CNT. The in-depth analysis shows that the size of the modified band gap is the function of several factors consisting of: the radii of tube (D r), the distance between adjacent defects (d d), the utilized defect topology, and the kind of defect (antidot or BN doping). Furthermore, taking advantage of the tunable band gap size of Z-CNT with the presence of periodical defects, new platforms of defect-based Z-CNT resonant tunneling diode (RTD) are proposed for the first time. Our calculations demonstrate the apparition of resonances in transmission spectra and the negative differential resistance in the I-V characteristics for such RTD platforms.

Tuning Confinement in Colloidal Silicon Nanocrystals with Saturated Surface Ligands.

PubMed

Carroll, Gerard M; Limpens, Rens; Neale, Nathan R

2018-05-09

The optical properties of silicon nanocrystals (Si NCs) are a subject of intense study and continued debate. In particular, Si NC photoluminescence (PL) properties are known to depend strongly on the surface chemistry, resulting in electron-hole recombination pathways derived from the Si NC band-edge, surface-state defects, or combined NC-conjugated ligand hybrid states. In this Letter, we perform a comparison of three different saturated surface functional groups-alkyls, amides, and alkoxides-on nonthermal plasma-synthesized Si NCs. We find a systematic and size-dependent high-energy (blue) shift in the PL spectrum of Si NCs with amide and alkoxy functionalization relative to alkyl. Time-resolved photoluminescence and transient absorption spectroscopies reveal no change in the excited-state dynamics between Si NCs functionalized with alkyl, amide, or alkoxide ligands, showing for the first time that saturated ligands-not only surface-derived charge-transfer states or hybridization between NC and low-lying ligand orbitals-are responsible for tuning the Si NC optical properties. To explain these PL shifts we propose that the atom bound to the Si NC surface strongly interacts with the Si NC electronic wave function and modulates the Si NC quantum confinement. These results reveal a potentially broadly applicable correlation between the optoelectronic properties of Si NCs and related quantum-confined structures based on the interaction between NC surfaces and the ligand binding group.

Tuning Confinement in Colloidal Silicon Nanocrystals with Saturated Surface Ligands

DOE PAGES

Carroll, Gerard M.; Limpens, Rens; Neale, Nathan R.

2018-04-16

The optical properties of silicon nanocrystals (Si NCs) are a subject of intense study and continued debate. In particular, Si NC photoluminescence (PL) properties are known to depend strongly on the surface chemistry, resulting in electron-hole recombination pathways derived from the Si NC band-edge, surface-state defects, or combined NC-conjugated ligand hybrid states. In this Letter, we perform a comparison of three different saturated surface functional groups - alkyls, amides, and alkoxides - on nonthermal plasma-synthesized Si NCs. We find a systematic and size-dependent high-energy (blue) shift in the PL spectrum of Si NCs with amide and alkoxy functionalization relative tomore » alkyl. Time-resolved photoluminescence and transient absorption spectroscopies reveal no change in the excited-state dynamics between Si NCs functionalized with alkyl, amide, or alkoxide ligands, showing for the first time that saturated ligands - not only surface-derived charge-transfer states or hybridization between NC and low-lying ligand orbitals - are responsible for tuning the Si NC optical properties. To explain these PL shifts we propose that the atom bound to the Si NC surface strongly interacts with the Si NC electronic wave function and modulates the Si NC quantum confinement. Furthermore, these results reveal a potentially broadly applicable correlation between the optoelectronic properties of Si NCs and related quantum-confined structures based on the interaction between NC surfaces and the ligand binding group.« less

Quantum sized gold nanoclusters with atomic precision.

PubMed

Qian, Huifeng; Zhu, Manzhou; Wu, Zhikun; Jin, Rongchao

2012-09-18

Gold nanoparticles typically have a metallic core, and the electronic conduction band consists of quasicontinuous energy levels (i.e. spacing δ ≪ k(B)T, where k(B)T is the thermal energy at temperature T (typically room temperature) and k(B) is the Boltzmann constant). Electrons in the conduction band roam throughout the metal core, and light can collectively excite these electrons to give rise to plasmonic responses. This plasmon resonance accounts for the beautiful ruby-red color of colloidal gold first observed by Faraday back in 1857. On the other hand, when gold nanoparticles become extremely small (<2 nm in diameter), significant quantization occurs to the conduction band. These quantum-sized nanoparticles constitute a new class of nanomaterial and have received much attention in recent years. To differentiate quantum-sized nanoparticles from conventional plasmonic gold nanoparticles, researchers often refer to the ultrasmall nanoparticles as nanoclusters. In this Account, we chose several typical sizes of gold nanoclusters, including Au(25)(SR)(18), Au(38)(SR)(24), Au(102)(SR)(44), and Au(144)(SR)(60), to illustrate the novel properties of metal nanoclusters imparted by quantum size effects. In the nanocluster size regime, many of the physical and chemical properties of gold nanoparticles are fundamentally altered. Gold nanoclusters have discrete electronic energy levels as opposed to the continuous band in plasmonic nanoparticles. Quantum-sized nanoparticles also show multiple optical absorption peaks in the optical spectrum versus a single surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak at 520 nm for spherical gold nanocrystals. Although larger nanocrystals show an fcc structure, nanoclusters often have non-fcc atomic packing structures. Nanoclusters also have unique fluorescent, chiral, and magnetic properties. Due to the strong quantum confinement effect, adding or removing one gold atom significantly changes the structure and the electronic and optical properties of the nanocluster. Therefore, precise atomic control of nanoclusters is critically important: the nanometer precision typical of conventional nanoparticles is not sufficient. Atomically precise nanoclusters are represented by molecular formulas (e.g. Au(n)(SR)(m) for thiolate-protected ones, where n and m denote the respective number of gold atoms and ligands). Recently, major advances in the synthesis and structural characterization of molecular purity gold nanoclusters have made in-depth investigations of the size evolution of metal nanoclusters possible. Metal nanoclusters lie in the intermediate regime between localized atomic states and delocalized band structure in terms of electronic properties. We anticipate that future research on quantum-sized nanoclusters will stimulate broad scientific and technological interests in this special type of metal nanomaterial.

Ultrafast exciton fine structure relaxation dynamics in lead chalcogenide nanocrystals.

PubMed

Johnson, Justin C; Gerth, Kathrine A; Song, Qing; Murphy, James E; Nozik, Arthur J; Scholes, Gregory D

2008-05-01

The rates of fine structure relaxation in PbS, PbSe, and PbTe nanocrystals were measured on a femtosecond time scale as a function of temperature with no applied magnetic field by cross-polarized transient grating spectroscopy (CPTG) and circularly polarized pump-probe spectroscopy. The relaxation rates among exciton fine structure states follow trends with nanocrystal composition and size that are consistent with the expected influence of material dependent spin-orbit coupling, confinement enhanced electron-hole exchange interaction, and splitting between L valleys that are degenerate in the bulk. The size dependence of the fine structure relaxation rate is considerably different from what is observed for small CdSe nanocrystals, which appears to result from the unique material properties of the highly confined lead chalcogenide quantum dots. Modeling and qualitative considerations lead to conclusions about the fine structure of the lowest exciton absorption band, which has a potentially significant bearing on photophysical processes that make these materials attractive for practical purposes.

Size-dependent optical properties of colloidal PbS quantum dots.

PubMed

Moreels, Iwan; Lambert, Karel; Smeets, Dries; De Muynck, David; Nollet, Tom; Martins, José C; Vanhaecke, Frank; Vantomme, André; Delerue, Christophe; Allan, Guy; Hens, Zeger

2009-10-27

We quantitatively investigate the size-dependent optical properties of colloidal PbS nanocrystals or quantum dots (Qdots), by combining the Qdot absorbance spectra with detailed elemental analysis of the Qdot suspensions. At high energies, the molar extinction coefficient epsilon increases with the Qdot volume d(3) and agrees with theoretical calculations using the Maxwell-Garnett effective medium theory and bulk values for the Qdot dielectric function. This demonstrates that quantum confinement has no influence on epsilon in this spectral range, and it provides an accurate method to calculate the Qdot concentration. Around the band gap, epsilon only increases with d(1.3), and values are comparable to the epsilon of PbSe Qdots. The data are related to the oscillator strength f(if) of the band gap transition and results agree well with theoretical tight-binding calculations, predicting a linear dependence of f(if) on d. For both PbS and PbSe Qdots, the exciton lifetime tau is calculated from f(if). We find values ranging between 1 and 3 mus, in agreement with experimental literature data from time-resolved luminescence spectroscopy. Our results provide a thorough general framework to calculate and understand the optical properties of suspended colloidal quantum dots. Most importantly, it highlights the significance of the local field factor in these systems.

Fabrication of green dye-sensitized solar cell based on ZnO nanoparticles as a photoanode and graphene quantum dots as a photo-sensitizer.

PubMed

Zamiri, Golnoush; Bagheri, Samira

2018-02-01

Zero-dimensional graphene quantum dots (GQDs) consist of single- or few-layer graphene with a size less than 20 nm and stand for a new type of QDs with unique properties combining the graphene nature and size-resulted quantum effects. GQDs possess unique optical and electronic properties, and in particular possess a band-gap less than 2.0 eV because of quantum confinement and edge effects. In this study, we investigated the performance of DSSCs using different thicknesses of ZnO nanoparticles as a photo-anode and GQDs as a green photosensitizer. The current voltage (I-V) test results indicate that the performance of DSSCs is improved by increasing the thickness of the photo-anode and the thickness of 40 μm shows the highest efficiency for DSSC device based on ZnO nanoparticles photo-anodes. The DSSC using ZnO nanoparticles as a photo-anode with thickness of 40 μm shows almost same efficiency when we replaced N-719 with GQDs which is confirmed that using GQDs as an alternative to ruthenium based dyes is a new approach for DSSCs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Biomolecule-assisted hydrothermal synthesis of silver bismuth sulfide with nanostructures

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

Kaowphong, Sulawan, E-mail: sulawank@gmail.com; Materials Science Research Center, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200

2012-05-15

Silver bismuth sulfide (AgBiS{sub 2}) nanostructures were successfully prepared via a simple biomolecule-assisted hydrothermal synthesis at 200 Degree-Sign C for 12-72 h. Silver nitrate, bismuth nitrate and L-cysteine were used as starting materials. Here, the biomolecule, L-cysteine, was served as the sulfide source and a complexing agent. The products, characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), were cubic AgBiS{sub 2} nanoparticles with a diameter range of about 20-75 nm. It was found that their crystallinity and particle size increased with increasing reaction time. The energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and inductively coupledmore » plasma optical emission spectrophotometry (ICP-OES) analyses were used to confirm the stoichiometry of AgBiS{sub 2}. The optical band gap of the AgBiS{sub 2} nanoparticles, calculated from UV-vis spectra, was 3.0 eV which indicated a strong blue shift because of the quantum confinement effect. A possible formation mechanism of the AgBiS{sub 2} nanoparticles was also discussed. - Graphical abstract: The optical band gap of the as-prepared AgBiS{sub 2} nanoparticles displays a strong blue shift comparing to the 2.46 eV of bulk AgBiS{sub 2} caused by the quantum confinement effects. Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A simple biomolecule-assisted hydrothermal method is developed to prepare AgBiS{sub 2}. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer L-Cysteine is served as the sulfide source and a complexing agent. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Increase in band gap of the AgBiS{sub 2} nanoparticles attributes to the quantum confinement effects.« less

Effects of annealing temperature on shape transformation and optical properties of germanium quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alireza, Samavati; Othaman, Z.; K. Ghoshal, S.; K. Mustafa, M.

2015-02-01

The influences of thermal annealing on the structural and optical features of radio frequency (rf) magnetron sputtered self-assembled Ge quantum dots (QDs) on Si (100) are investigated. Preferentially oriented structures of Ge along the (220) and (111) directions together with peak shift and reduced strain (4.9% to 2.7%) due to post-annealing at 650 °C are discerned from x-ray differaction (XRD) measurement. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images for both pre-annealed and post-annealed (650 °C) samples reveal pyramidal-shaped QDs (density ˜ 0.26× 1011 cm-2) and dome-shape morphologies with relatively high density ˜ 0.92 × 1011 cm-2, respectively. This shape transformation is attributed to the mechanism of inter-diffusion of Si in Ge interfacial intermixing and strain non-uniformity. The annealing temperature assisted QDs structural evolution is explained using the theory of nucleation and growth kinetics where free energy minimization plays a pivotal role. The observed red-shift ˜ 0.05 eV in addition to the narrowing of the photoluminescence peaks results from thermal annealing, and is related to the effect of quantum confinement. Furthermore, the appearance of a blue-violet emission peak is ascribed to the recombination of the localized electrons in the Ge-QDs/SiO2 or GeOx and holes in the ground state of Ge dots. Raman spectra of both samples exhibit an intense Ge-Ge optical phonon mode which shifts towards higher frequency compared with those of the bulk counterpart. An experimental Raman profile is fitted to the models of phonon confinement and size distribution combined with phonon confinement to estimate the mean dot sizes. A correlation between thermal annealing and modifications of the structural and optical behavior of Ge QDs is established. Tunable growth of Ge QDs with superior properties suitable for optoelectronic applications is demonstrated. Project supported by Ibnu Sina Institute for Fundamental Science Study, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia through Vote Q.J130000.2526.02H94, O5 and Postdoctoral Research Grant.

Excitonic Transitions and Off-resonant Optical Limiting in CdS Quantum Dots Stabilized in a Synthetic Glue Matrix

PubMed Central

2007-01-01

Stable films containing CdS quantum dots of mean size 3.4 nm embedded in a solid host matrix are prepared using a room temperature chemical route of synthesis. CdS/synthetic glue nanocomposites are characterized using high resolution transmission electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. Significant blue shift from the bulk absorption edge is observed in optical absorption as well as photoacoustic spectra indicating strong quantum confinement. The exciton transitions are better resolved in photoacoustic spectroscopy compared to optical absorption spectroscopy. We assign the first four bands observed in photoacoustic spectroscopy to 1se–1sh, 1pe–1ph, 1de–1dhand 2pe–2phtransitions using a non interacting particle model. Nonlinear absorption studies are done using z-scan technique with nanosecond pulses in the off resonant regime. The origin of optical limiting is predominantly two photon absorption mechanism.

Wetting layer effect on impurity-related electronic properties of different (In,Ga)N QD-shapes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El Ghazi, Haddou; Jorio, Anouar; Zorkani, Izeddine; Feddi, El Mustapha; El Mouchtachi, Ahmed

2018-05-01

In this paper, we have investigated the electronic properties of (In,Ga)N/GaN coupled wetting layer-quantum dot system using the numerical approach. The finite element method code is used to solve the Schrödinger equation, in the presence of the impurity. In our model, parallelepiped-shape, circular and square based-pyramidal and their wetting layers embedded in GaN matrix were considered. Based on the single band parabolic and the effective mass approximations, the envelop function and its corresponding energy eigenvalue are obtained assuming a finite potential barrier. Our results reveal that: (1) the wetting layer has a great influence on the electronic properties especially for a small quantum dot and acts in the opposite sense of the geometrical confinement, (2) a wetting layer-dependent critical QD-size is obtained limiting two different behaviors and (3) its effect is strongly-dependent on the quantum dot-shape.

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

Mohiyaddin, Fahd A.; Kalra, Rachpon; Laucht, Arne

The ability to transport quantum information across some distance can facilitate the design and operation of a quantum processor. One-dimensional spin chains provide a compact platform to realize scalable spin transport for a solid-state quantum computer. Here, we model odd-sized donor chains in silicon under a range of experimental nonidealities, including variability of donor position within the chain. We show that the tolerance against donor placement inaccuracies is greatly improved by operating the spin chain in a mode where the electrons are confined at the Si-SiO 2 interface. We then estimate the required time scales and exchange couplings, and themore » level of noise that can be tolerated to achieve high-fidelity transport. As a result, we also propose a protocol to calibrate and initialize the chain, thereby providing a complete guideline for realizing a functional donor chain and utilizing it for spin transport.« less

Transport of spin qubits with donor chains under realistic experimental conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohiyaddin, Fahd A.; Kalra, Rachpon; Laucht, Arne; Rahman, Rajib; Klimeck, Gerhard; Morello, Andrea

2016-07-01

The ability to transport quantum information across some distance can facilitate the design and operation of a quantum processor. One-dimensional spin chains provide a compact platform to realize scalable spin transport for a solid-state quantum computer. Here, we model odd-sized donor chains in silicon under a range of experimental nonidealities, including variability of donor position within the chain. We show that the tolerance against donor placement inaccuracies is greatly improved by operating the spin chain in a mode where the electrons are confined at the Si-SiO2 interface. We then estimate the required time scales and exchange couplings, and the level of noise that can be tolerated to achieve high-fidelity transport. We also propose a protocol to calibrate and initialize the chain, thereby providing a complete guideline for realizing a functional donor chain and utilizing it for spin transport.

Transport of spin qubits with donor chains under realistic experimental conditions

DOE PAGES

Mohiyaddin, Fahd A.; Kalra, Rachpon; Laucht, Arne; ...

2016-07-25

The ability to transport quantum information across some distance can facilitate the design and operation of a quantum processor. One-dimensional spin chains provide a compact platform to realize scalable spin transport for a solid-state quantum computer. Here, we model odd-sized donor chains in silicon under a range of experimental nonidealities, including variability of donor position within the chain. We show that the tolerance against donor placement inaccuracies is greatly improved by operating the spin chain in a mode where the electrons are confined at the Si-SiO 2 interface. We then estimate the required time scales and exchange couplings, and themore » level of noise that can be tolerated to achieve high-fidelity transport. As a result, we also propose a protocol to calibrate and initialize the chain, thereby providing a complete guideline for realizing a functional donor chain and utilizing it for spin transport.« less

Computational studies of photoluminescence from disordered nanocrystalline systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

John, George

2000-03-01

The size (d) dependence of emission energies from semiconductor nanocrystallites have been shown to follow an effective exponent ( d^-β) determined by the disorder in the system(V.Ranjan, V.A.Singh and G.C.John, Phys. Rev B 58), 1158 (1998). Our earlier calculation was based on a simple quantum confinement model assuming a normal distribution of crystallites. This model is now extended to study the effects of realistic systems with a lognormal distribution in particle size, accounting for carrier hopping and nonradiative transitions. Computer simulations of this model performed using the Microcal Origin software can explain several conflicting experimental results reported in literature.

First Principles Study of Nanodiamond Optical and Electronic Properties

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

Raty, J; Galli, G

2004-10-21

Nanometer sized diamond has been found in meteorites, proto-planetary nebulae and interstellar dusts, as well as in residues of detonation and in diamond films. Remarkably, the size distribution of diamond nanoparticles appears to be peaked around 2-5 nm, and to be largely independent of preparation conditions. Using ab-initio calculations, we have shown that in this size range nanodiamond has a fullerene-like surface and, unlike silicon and germanium, exhibits very weak quantum confinement effects. We called these carbon nanoparticles bucky-diamonds: their atomic structure, predicted by simulations, is consistent with many experimental findings. In addition, we carried out calculations of the stabilitymore » of nanodiamond which provided a unifying explanation of its size distribution in extra-terrestrial samples, and in ultra-crystalline diamond films.« less

Surface defect assisted broad spectra emission from CdSe quantum dots for white LED application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samuel, Boni; Mathew, S.; Anand, V. R.; Correya, Adrine Antony; Nampoori, V. P. N.; Mujeeb, A.

2018-02-01

This paper reports, broadband photoluminescence from CdSe quantum dots (QDs) under the excitation of 403 nm using fluorimeter and 403 nm CW laser excitation. The broad spectrum obtained from the colloidal quantum dots was ranges from 450 nm to 800 nm. The broadness of the spectra was attributed to the merging of band edge and defect driven emissions from the QDs. Six different sizes of particles were prepared via kinetic growth method by using CdO and elemental Se as sources of Cd and Se respectively. The particle sizes were measured from TEM images. The size dependent effect on broad emission was also studied and the defect state emission was found to be predominant in very small QDs. The defect driven emission was also observed to be redshifted, similar to the band edge emission, due to quantum confinement effect. The emission corresponding to different laser power was also studied and a linear relation was obtained. In order to study the colour characteristics of the emission, CIE chromaticity coordinate, CRI and CCT of the prepared samples were measured. It is observed that, these values were tunable by the addition of suitable intensity of blue light from the excitation source to yield white light of various colour temperatures. The broad photoluminescence spectrum of the QDs, were compared with that of a commercially available white LED. It was found that the prepared QDs are good alternatives for the phosphor in phosphor converted white LEDs, to provide good spectral tunability.

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.

Electronic quantum confinement in cylindrical potential well

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baltenkov, Arkadiy S.; Msezane, Alfred Z.

2016-04-01

The effects of quantum confinement on the momentum distribution of electrons confined within a cylindrical potential well have been analyzed. The motivation is to understand specific features of the momentum distribution of electrons when the electron behavior is completely controlled by the parameters of a non-isotropic potential cavity. It is shown that studying the solutions of the wave equation for an electron confined in a cylindrical potential well offers the possibility to analyze the confinement behavior of an electron executing one- or two-dimensional motion in the three-dimensional space within the framework of the same mathematical model. Some low-lying electronic states with different symmetries have been considered and the corresponding wave functions have been calculated; the behavior of their nodes and their peak positions with respect to the parameters of the cylindrical well has been analyzed. Additionally, the momentum distributions of electrons in these states have been calculated. The limiting cases of the ratio of the cylinder length H and its radius R0 have been considered; when the cylinder length H significantly exceeds its radius R0 and when the cylinder radius is much greater than its length. The cylindrical quantum confinement effects on the momentum distribution of electrons in these potential wells have been analyzed. The possible application of the results obtained here for the description of the general features in the behavior of electrons in nanowires with metallic type of conductivity (or nanotubes) and ultrathin epitaxial films (or graphene sheets) are discussed. Possible experiments are suggested where the quantum confinement can be manifested. Contribution to the Topical Issue "Atomic Cluster Collisions (7th International Symposium)", edited by Gerardo Delgado Barrio, Andrey Solov'Yov, Pablo Villarreal, Rita Prosmiti.

Thermal and quantum fluctuations of confined Bose–Einstein condensate beyond the Bogoliubov approximation

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

Nakamura, Y., E-mail: yusuke.n@asagi.waseda.jp; Nagano Prefectural Kiso Seiho High School, Nagano 397-8571; Kawaguchi, T., E-mail: pionelish30@toki.waseda.jp

The formulation for zero mode of a Bose–Einstein condensate beyond the Bogoliubov approximation at zero temperature [Y. Nakamura et al., Phys. Rev. A 89 (2014) 013613] is extended to finite temperature. Both thermal and quantum fluctuations are considered in a manner consistent with a concept of spontaneous symmetry breakdown for a finite-size system. Therefore, we need a proper treatment of the zero mode operators, which invoke non-trivial enhancements in depletion condensate and thermodynamical quantities such as the specific heat. The enhancements are visible in the weak interaction case. Our approach reproduces the results of a homogeneous system in the Bogoliubovmore » approximation in a large particle number limit.« less

Accidental degeneracies in nonlinear quantum deformed systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aleixo, A. N. F.; Balantekin, A. B.

2011-09-01

We construct a multi-parameter nonlinear deformed algebra for quantum confined systems that includes many other deformed models as particular cases. We demonstrate that such systems exhibit the property of accidental pairwise energy level degeneracies. We also study, as a special case of our multi-parameter deformation formalism, the extension of the Tamm-Dancoff cutoff deformed oscillator and the occurrence of accidental pairwise degeneracy in the energy levels of the deformed system. As an application, we discuss the case of a trigonometric Rosen-Morse potential, which is successfully used in models for quantum confined systems, ranging from electrons in quantum dots to quarks in hadrons.

Determination of the electronic energy levels of colloidal nanocrystals using field-effect transistors and Ab-initio calculations.

PubMed

Bisri, Satria Zulkarnaen; Degoli, Elena; Spallanzani, Nicola; Krishnan, Gopi; Kooi, Bart Jan; Ghica, Corneliu; Yarema, Maksym; Heiss, Wolfgang; Pulci, Olivia; Ossicini, Stefano; Loi, Maria Antonietta

2014-08-27

Colloidal nanocrystals electronic energy levels are determined by strong size-dependent quantum confinement. Understanding the configuration of the energy levels of nanocrystal superlattices is vital in order to use them in heterostructures with other materials. A powerful method is reported to determine the energy levels of PbS nanocrystal assemblies by combining the utilization of electric-double-layer-gated transistors and advanced ab-initio theory. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Quantum confinement and magnetic field effects on the electron Landé g factor in GaAs-(Ga,Al)As double quantum wells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perea, J. Darío; Mejía-Salazar, J. R.; Porras-Montenegro, N.

2011-12-01

Nowadays the spin-related phenomena have attracted great attention for the possible spintronic and optoelectronic applications. The manipulation of the Landé g factor by means of the control of the electron confinement, applied magnetic field and hydrostatic pressure offers the possibility of having a wide range of ways to control single qubit operation and to have pure spin states to guarantee that no losses occur when the electron spins transport information. In this work we have performed a theoretical study of the quantum confinement (geometrical and barrier potential confinements) and growth direction applied magnetic field effects on the conduction-electron effective Landé g factor in GaAs-(Ga,Al)As double quantum wells. Our calculations of the Landé g factor are performed by using the Ogg-McCombe effective Hamiltonian, which includes non-parabolicity and anisotropy effects for the conduction-band electrons. Our theoretical results are given as function of the central barrier widths for different values of the applied magnetic fields. We have found that in this type of heterostructure the geometrical confinement commands the behavior of the electron effective Landé g factor as compared to the effect of the applied magnetic field. Present theoretical reports are in very good agreement with previous experimental and theoretical results.

Single-particle and collective excitations in quantum wires made up of vertically stacked quantum dots: zero magnetic field.

PubMed

Kushwaha, Manvir S

2011-09-28

We report on the theoretical investigation of the elementary electronic excitations in a quantum wire made up of vertically stacked self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots. The length scales (of a few nanometers) involved in the experimental setups prompt us to consider an infinitely periodic system of two-dimensionally confined (InAs) quantum dot layers separated by GaAs spacers. The resultant quantum wire is characterized by a two-dimensional harmonic confining potential in the x-y plane and a periodic (Kronig-Penney) potential along the z (or the growth) direction within the tight-binding approximation. Since the wells and barriers are formed from two different materials, we employ the Bastard's boundary conditions in order to determine the eigenfunctions along the z direction. These wave functions are then used to generate the Wannier functions, which, in turn, constitute the legitimate Bloch functions that govern the electron dynamics along the direction of periodicity. Thus, the Bloch functions and the Hermite functions together characterize the whole system. We then make use of the Bohm-Pines' (full) random-phase approximation in order to derive a general nonlocal, dynamic dielectric function. Thus, developed theoretical framework is then specified to work within a (lowest miniband and) two-subband model that enables us to scrutinize the single-particle as well as collective responses of the system. We compute and discuss the behavior of the eigenfunctions, band-widths, density of states, Fermi energy, single-particle and collective excitations, and finally size up the importance of studying the inverse dielectric function in relation with the quantum transport phenomena. It is remarkable to notice how the variation in the barrier- and well-widths can allow us to tailor the excitation spectrum in the desired energy range. Given the advantage of the vertically stacked quantum dots over the planar ones and the foreseen applications in the single-electron devices and in the quantum computation, it is quite interesting and important to explore the electronic, optical, and transport phenomena in such systems. © 2011 American Institute of Physics

Quantum Confined Semiconductors for High Efficiency Photovoltaics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beard, Matthew

2014-03-01

Semiconductor nanostructures, where at least one dimension is small enough to produce quantum confinement effects, provide new pathways for controlling energy flow and therefore have the potential to increase the efficiency of the primary photon-to-free energy conversion step. In this discussion, I will present the current status of research efforts towards utilizing the unique properties of colloidal quantum dots (NCs confined in three dimensions) in prototype solar cells and demonstrate that these unique systems have the potential to bypass the Shockley-Queisser single-junction limit for solar photon conversion. The solar cells are constructed using a low temperature solution based deposition of PbS or PbSe QDs as the absorber layer. Different chemical treatments of the QD layer are employed in order to obtain good electrical communication while maintaining the quantum-confined properties of the QDs. We have characterized the transport and carrier dynamics using a transient absorption, time-resolved THz, and temperature-dependent photoluminescence. I will discuss the interplay between carrier generation, recombination, and mobility within the QD layers. A unique aspect of our devices is that the QDs exhibit multiple exciton generation with an efficiency that is ~ 2 to 3 times greater than the parental bulk semiconductor.

Interband emission energy in a dilute nitride quaternary semiconductor quantum dot for longer wavelength applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mageshwari, P. Uma; Peter, A. John; Lee, Chang Woo; Duque, C. A.

2016-07-01

Excitonic properties are studied in a strained Ga1-xInxNyAs1-y/GaAs cylindrical quantum dot. The optimum condition for the desired band alignment for emitting wavelength 1.55 μm is investigated using band anticrossing model and the model solid theory. The band gap and the band discontinuities of a Ga1-xInxNyAs1-y/GaAs quantum dot on GaAs are computed with the geometrical confinement effect. The binding energy of the exciton, the oscillator strength and its radiative life time for the optimum condition are found taking into account the spatial confinement effect. The effects of geometrical confinement and the nitrogen incorporation on the interband emission energy are brought out. The result shows that the desired band alignment for emitting wavelength 1.55 μm is achieved for the inclusion of alloy contents, y=0.0554% and x=0.339% in Ga1-xInxNyAs1-y/GaAs quantum dot. And the incorporation of nitrogen and indium shows the red-shift and the geometrical confinement shows the blue-shift. And it can be applied for fibre optical communication networks.

Liquid–solid phase transition of hydrogen and deuterium in silica aerogel

DOE PAGES

Van Cleve, E.; Worsley, M. A.; Kucheyev, S. O.

2014-10-30

Behavior of hydrogen isotopes confined in disordered low-density nanoporous solids remains essentially unknown. Here, we use relaxation calorimetry to study freezing and melting of H 2 and D 2 in an ~85%-porous base-catalyzed silica aerogel. In this work, we find that liquid–solid transition temperatures of both isotopes inside the aerogel are depressed. The phase transition takes place over a wide temperature range of ~4 K and non-trivially depends on the liquid filling fraction, reflecting the broad pore size distribution in the aerogel. Undercooling is observed for both H 2 and D 2 confined inside the aerogel monolith. Lastly, results formore » H 2 and D 2 are extrapolated to tritium-containing hydrogens with the quantum law of corresponding states.« less

Tunneling-Electron-Induced Light Emission from Single Gold Nanoclusters.

PubMed

Yu, Arthur; Li, Shaowei; Czap, Gregory; Ho, W

2016-09-14

The coupling of tunneling electrons with the tip-nanocluster-substrate junction plasmon was investigated by monitoring light emission in a scanning tunneling microscope (STM). Gold atoms were evaporated onto the ∼5 Å thick Al2O3 thin film grown on the NiAl (110) surface where they formed nanoclusters 3-7 nm wide. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) of these nanoclusters revealed quantum-confined electronic states. Spatially resolved photon imaging showed localized emission hot spots. Size dependent study and light emission from nanocluster dimers further support the viewpoint that coupling of tunneling electrons to the junction plasmon is the main radiative mechanism. These results showed the potential of the STM to reveal the electronic and optical properties of nanoscale metallic systems in the confined geometry of the tunnel junction.

Melting of Boltzmann particles in different 2D trapping potential

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharya, Dyuti; Filinov, Alexei; Ghosal, Amit; Bonitz, Michael

2015-03-01

We analyze the quantum melting of two dimensional Wigner solid in several confined geometries and compare them with corresponding thermal melting in a purely classical system. Our results show that the geometry play little role in deciding the crossover quantum parameter nX, as the effects from boundary is well screened by the quantum zero point motion. The unique phase diagram in the plane of thermal and quantum fluctuations determined from independent melting criteria separates out the Wigner molecule ``phase'' from the classical and quantum ``liquids''. An intriguing signature of weakening liquidity with increasing temperature T have been found in the extreme quantum regime (n). This crossover is associated with production of defects, just like in case of thermal melting, though the role of them in determining the mechanism of the crossover appears different. Our study will help comprehending melting in a variety of experimental realization of confined system - from quantum dots to complex plasma.

Confined states of individual type-II GaSb/GaAs quantum rings studied by cross-sectional scanning tunneling spectroscopy.

PubMed

Timm, Rainer; Eisele, Holger; Lenz, Andrea; Ivanova, Lena; Vossebürger, Vivien; Warming, Till; Bimberg, Dieter; Farrer, Ian; Ritchie, David A; Dähne, Mario

2010-10-13

Combined cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy results reveal the interplay between the atomic structure of ring-shaped GaSb quantum dots in GaAs and the corresponding electronic properties. Hole confinement energies between 0.2 and 0.3 eV and a type-II conduction band offset of 0.1 eV are directly obtained from the data. Additionally, the hole occupancy of quantum dot states and spatially separated Coulomb-bound electron states are observed in the tunneling spectra.

Decoherence of spin states induced by Rashba coupling for an electron confined to a semiconductor quantum dot in the presence of a magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poszwa, A.

2018-05-01

We investigate quantum decoherence of spin states caused by Rashba spin-orbit (SO) coupling for an electron confined to a planar quantum dot (QD) in the presence of a magnetic field (B). The Schrödinger equation has been solved in a frame of second-order perturbation theory. The relationship between the von Neumann (vN) entropy and the spin polarization is obtained. The relation is explicitly demonstrated for the InSb semiconductor QD.

Excitonic effects and related properties in semiconductor nanostructures: roles of size and dimensionality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Shudong; Cheng, Liwen; Wang, Qiang

2017-08-01

The size- and dimensionality-dependence of excitonic effects and related properties in semiconductor nanostructures are theoretically studied in detail within the effective-mass approximation. When nanostructure sizes become smaller than the bulk exciton Bohr radius, excitonic effects are significantly enhanced with reducing size or dimensionality. This is as a result of quantum confinement in more directions leading to larger exciton binding energies and normalized exciton oscillator strengths. These excitonic effects originate from electron-hole Coulombic interactions, which strongly enhance the oscillator strength between the electron and hole. It is also established that the universal scaling of exciton binding energy versus the inverse of the exciton Bohr radius follows a linear scaling law. Herein, we propose a stretched exponential law for the size scaling of optical gap, which is in good agreement with the calculated data. Due to differences in the confinement dimensionality, the radiative lifetime of low-dimensional excitons becomes shorter than that of bulk excitons. The size dependence of the exciton radiative lifetimes is in good agreement with available experimental data. This strongly enhanced electron-hole exchange interaction is expected in low-dimensional structures due to enriched excitonic effects. The main difference in nanostructures compared to the bulk can be interpreted in terms of the enhanced excitonic effects induced by exciton localization. The enhanced excitonic effects are expected to be of importance in developing stable and high-efficiency nanoscale excitonic optoelectronic devices.

Facile synthesis of uniform large-sized InP nanocrystal quantum dots using tris(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)phosphine

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Colloidal III-V semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots [NQDs] have attracted interest because they have reduced toxicity compared with II-VI compounds. However, the study and application of III-V semiconductor nanocrystals are limited by difficulties in their synthesis. In particular, it is difficult to control nucleation because the molecular bonds in III-V semiconductors are highly covalent. A synthetic approach of InP NQDs was presented using newly synthesized organometallic phosphorus [P] precursors with different functional moieties while preserving the P-Si bond. Introducing bulky side chains in our study improved the stability while facilitating InP formation with strong confinement at a readily low temperature regime (210°C to 300°C). Further shell coating with ZnS resulted in highly luminescent core-shell materials. The design and synthesis of P precursors for high-quality InP NQDs were conducted for the first time, and we were able to control the nucleation by varying the reactivity of P precursors, therefore achieving uniform large-sized InP NQDs. This opens the way for the large-scale production of high-quality Cd-free nanocrystal quantum dots. PMID:22289352

Photoinduced Single- and Multiple-Electron Dynamics Processes Enhanced by Quantum Confinement in Lead Halide Perovskite Quantum Dots

DOE PAGES

Vogel, Dayton J.; Kryjevski, Andrei; Inerbaev, Talgat; ...

2017-03-21

Methylammonium lead iodide perovskite (MAPbI 3) is a promising material for photovoltaic devices. A modification of MAPbI 3 into confined nanostructures is expected to further increase efficiency of solar energy conversion. Photoexcited dynamic processes in a MAPbI3 quantum dot (QD) have been modeled by many-body perturbation theory and nonadiabatic dynamics. A photoexcitation is followed by either exciton cooling (EC), its radiative (RR) or nonradiative recombination (NRR), or multiexciton generation (MEG) processes. Computed times of these processes fall in the order of MEG < EC < RR < NRR, where MEG is on the order of a few femtoseconds, EC ismore » in the picosecond range, while RR and NRR are on the order of nanoseconds. Computed time scales indicate which electronic transition pathways can contribute to increase in charge collection efficiency. Simulated mechanisms of relaxation and their rates show that quantum confinement promotes MEG in MAPbI 3 QDs.« less

Hidden symmetry in the confined hydrogen atom problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pupyshev, Vladimir I.; Scherbinin, Andrei V.

2002-07-01

The classical counterpart of the well-known quantum mechanical model of a spherically confined hydrogen atom is examined in terms of the Lenz vector, a dynamic variable featuring the conventional Kepler problem. It is shown that a conditional conservation law associated with the Lenz vector is true, in fair agreement with the corresponding quantum problem previously found to exhibit a hidden symmetry as well.

Quantum simulation of a Fermi-Hubbard model using a semiconductor quantum dot array.

PubMed

Hensgens, T; Fujita, T; Janssen, L; Li, Xiao; Van Diepen, C J; Reichl, C; Wegscheider, W; Das Sarma, S; Vandersypen, L M K

2017-08-02

Interacting fermions on a lattice can develop strong quantum correlations, which are the cause of the classical intractability of many exotic phases of matter. Current efforts are directed towards the control of artificial quantum systems that can be made to emulate the underlying Fermi-Hubbard models. Electrostatically confined conduction-band electrons define interacting quantum coherent spin and charge degrees of freedom that allow all-electrical initialization of low-entropy states and readily adhere to the Fermi-Hubbard Hamiltonian. Until now, however, the substantial electrostatic disorder of the solid state has meant that only a few attempts at emulating Fermi-Hubbard physics on solid-state platforms have been made. Here we show that for gate-defined quantum dots this disorder can be suppressed in a controlled manner. Using a semi-automated and scalable set of experimental tools, we homogeneously and independently set up the electron filling and nearest-neighbour tunnel coupling in a semiconductor quantum dot array so as to simulate a Fermi-Hubbard system. With this set-up, we realize a detailed characterization of the collective Coulomb blockade transition, which is the finite-size analogue of the interaction-driven Mott metal-to-insulator transition. As automation and device fabrication of semiconductor quantum dots continue to improve, the ideas presented here will enable the investigation of the physics of ever more complex many-body states using quantum dots.

Critical quench dynamics in confined systems.

PubMed

Collura, Mario; Karevski, Dragi

2010-05-21

We analyze the coherent quantum evolution of a many-particle system after slowly sweeping a power-law confining potential. The amplitude of the confining potential is varied in time along a power-law ramp such that the many-particle system finally reaches or crosses a critical point. Under this protocol we derive general scaling laws for the density of excitations created during the nonadiabatic sweep of the confining potential. It is found that the mean excitation density follows an algebraic law as a function of the sweeping rate with an exponent that depends on the space-time properties of the potential. We confirm our scaling laws by first order adiabatic calculation and exact results on the Ising quantum chain with a varying transverse field.

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.

Quantum Hall signatures of dipolar Mahan excitons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schinner, G. J.; Repp, J.; Kowalik-Seidl, K.; Schubert, E.; Stallhofer, M. P.; Rai, A. K.; Reuter, D.; Wieck, A. D.; Govorov, A. O.; Holleitner, A. W.; Kotthaus, J. P.

2013-01-01

We explore the photoluminescence of spatially indirect, dipolar Mahan excitons in a gated double quantum well diode containing a mesoscopic electrostatic trap for neutral dipolar excitons at low temperatures down to 250 mK and in quantizing magnetic fields. Mahan excitons in the surrounding of the trap, consisting of individual holes interacting with a degenerate two-dimensional electron system confined in one of the quantum wells, exhibit strong quantum Hall signatures at integer filling factors and related anomalies around filling factor ν=(2)/(3),(3)/(5), and (1)/(2), reflecting the formation of composite fermions. Interactions across the trap perimeter are found to influence the energy of the confined neutral dipolar excitons by the presence of the quantum Hall effects in the two-dimensional electron system surrounding the trap.

Quantum-confined Stark effect at 1.3 μm in Ge/Si(0.35)Ge(0.65) quantum-well structure.

PubMed

Rouifed, Mohamed Said; Chaisakul, Papichaya; Marris-Morini, Delphine; Frigerio, Jacopo; Isella, Giovanni; Chrastina, Daniel; Edmond, Samson; Le Roux, Xavier; Coudevylle, Jean-René; Vivien, Laurent

2012-10-01

Room-temperature quantum-confined Stark effect in a Ge/SiGe quantum-well structure is reported at the wavelength of 1.3 μm. The operating wavelength is tuned by the use of strain engineering. Low-energy plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition is used to grow 20 periods of strain-compensated quantum wells (8 nm Ge well and 12 nm Si(0.35)Ge(0.65) barrier) on Si(0.21)Ge(0.79) virtual substrate. The fraction of light absorbed per well allows for a strong modulation around 1.3 μm. The half-width at half-maximum of the excitonic peak of only 12 meV allows for a discussion on physical mechanisms limiting the performances of such devices.

Evaporation-induced self-assembly of quantum dots-based concentric rings on polymer-based nanocomposite films.

PubMed

Zhang, Shaofu; Luan, Weiling; Zhong, Qixin; Yin, Shaofeng; Yang, Fuqian

2016-10-12

The "ball-on-film" template is used to construct concentric rings on the surface of PMMA-QDs (polymethyl methacrylate - quantum dots) nanocomposite films via the evaporation of pure chloroform droplets, which are confined by a steel ball. The concentric rings consist of QDs, as revealed by the fluorescence images of the concentric rings. The photoluminescence intensity of the concentric rings increases with the increase of the distance to the ball center, suggesting that the amount of QDs accumulated around the contact line at individual stick state increases with the increase of the distance to the ball center. Both the wavelength and cross-sectional area (width) of the concentric rings increase approximately linearly with increasing distance to the ball center, independent of the ball size, the film thickness and the QDs concentration. For the PMMA-QDs nanocomposite films prepared from the same QDs concentration in chloroform, the thicker the PMMA-QDs nanocomposite film, the larger the wavelength for the same distance to the ball center. The effect of confinement of two steel balls on the surface patterns over the PMMA-QDs nanocomposite films is studied via a template of "two spheres on film". Symmetric surface patterns are formed. There exist two types of featureless zone between the two balls, depending on the distance between the two balls: one is the inner featureless zone and the other is the outer featureless zone. The size of both featureless zones increases with the increase of the ball distance.

Electronic state and photoionization cross section of a single dopant in GaN/InGaN core/shell quantum dot under magnetic field and hydrostatic pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aouami, A. El; Feddi, E.; Talbi, A.; Dujardin, F.; Duque, C. A.

2018-06-01

In this study, we have investigated the simultaneous influence of magnetic field combined to the hydrostatic pressure and the geometrical confinement on the behavior of a single dopant confined in GaN/InGaN core/shell quantum dots. Within the scheme of the effective-mass approximation, the eigenvalues equation has solved by using the variational method with one-parameter trial wavefunctions. Variation of the ground state binding energy of the single dopant is determined according to the magnetic field and hydrostatic pressure for several dimensions of the heterostructure. The results show that the binding energy is strongly dependent on the core/shell sizes, the magnetic field, and the hydrostatic pressure. The analysis of the photoionization cross section, corresponding to optical transitions associated to the first donor energy level and the conduction band, shows clearly that the reduction of the dot dimensions and/or the simultaneous influences of applied magnetic field, combined to the hydrostatic pressure strength, cause a shift in resonance peaks towards the higher energies with important variations in the magnitude of the resonant peaks.

Changes in luminescence emission induced by proton irradiation: InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells and quantum dots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leon, R.; Swift, G. M.; Magness, B.; Taylor, W. A.; Tang, Y. S.; Wang, K. L.; Dowd, P.; Zhang, Y. H.

2000-01-01

The photoluminescence emission from InGaAs/GaAs quantum-well and quantum-dot (QD) structures are compared after controlled irradiation with 1.5 MeV proton fluxes. Results presented here show a significant enhancement in radiation tolerance with three-dimensional quantum confinement.

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.

Size-Dependent Optoelectronic Properties and Controlled Doping of Semiconductor Quantum Dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Engel, Jesse Hart

Given a rapidly developing world, the need exists for inexpensive renewable energy alternatives to help avoid drastic climate change. Photovoltaics have the potential to fill the energy needs of the future, but significant cost decreases are necessary for widespread adoption. Semiconductor nanocrystals, also known as quantum dots, are a nascent technology with long term potential to enable inexpensive and high efficiency photovoltaics. When deposited as a film, quantum dots form unique nanocomposites whose electronic and optical properties can be broadly tuned through manipulation of their individual constituents. The contents of this thesis explore methods to understand and optimize the optoelectronic properties of PbSe quantum dot films for use in photovoltaic applications. Systematic optimization of photovoltaic performance is demonstrated as a function of nanocrystal size, establishing the potential for utilizing extreme quantum confinement to improve device energetics and alignment. Detailed investigations of the mechanisms of electrical transport are performed, revealing that electronic coupling in quantum dot films is significantly less than often assumed based on optical shifts. A method is proposed to employ extended regions of built-in electrical field, through controlled doping, to sidestep issues of poor transport. To this end, treatments with chemical redox agents are found to effect profound and reversible doping within nanocrystal films, sufficient to enable their use as chemical sensors, but lacking the precision required for optoelectronic applications. Finally, a novel doping method employing "redox buffers" is presented to enact precise, stable, and reversible charge-transfer doping in porous semiconductor films. An example of oxidatively doping PbSe quantum dot thin films is presented, and the future potential for redox buffers in photovoltaic applications is examined.

Enhanced positron trapping by Ag nanoclusters at low temperatures: A challenge of positron sensitivity to quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, B.; Qi, N.; Liu, Z. W.; Chen, Z. Q.; Liu, H. Q.; Yi, D. Q.; Tang, Z.

2017-03-01

Microstructure evolution of three Al-Ag alloys with different Ag contents (1 wt. % Ag, 5 wt. % Ag, and 15 wt. % Ag) was studied by positron annihilation spectroscopy during the aging process. In situ measurements of the positron lifetime and Doppler broadening of annihilation radiation indicate the fast formation of Ag-rich clusters during natural aging of the alloys. The formation of Ag-rich clusters was further confirmed by coincidence Doppler broadening measurements. The Ag signal reflected by the Coincidence Doppler broadening spectrum increases with increasing Ag content and is further enhanced after subsequent artificial aging at 140 °C. This might be due to the increase in the size of Ag clusters. The temperature dependence of the Doppler broadening spectra between 10 K and 290 K was measured for the Al-Ag alloys after natural and artificial aging. Detrapping of positrons from Ag clusters with increasing temperature was observed for all the three Al-Ag alloys after natural aging and for the Al-1 wt. % Ag after artificial aging. This indicates that Ag clusters act as shallow positron trapping centers. The thermal detrapping of positrons becomes ambiguous with increasing Ag content in the alloy and is nearly invisible in the artificially aged Al-5 wt. % Ag and Al-15 wt. % Ag. The positron binding energy of the Ag cluster is roughly estimated to be about 18.8 meV and 50 meV in the Al-1 wt. % Ag sample after natural aging and artificial aging at 140 °C, respectively, which suggests that the confinement of positrons in the quantum-dot like state depends on the size or chemical composition of clusters. Theoretical calculations confirm positron trapping by Ag nanoclusters, and the confinement of positrons is enhanced with increasing Ag cluster size.

Observation of quantum entanglement between a photon and a single electron spin confined to an InAs quantum dot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaibley, John; Burgers, Alex; McCracken, Greg; Duan, Luming; Berman, Paul; Steel, Duncan; Bracker, Allan; Gammon, Daniel; Sham, Lu

2013-03-01

A single electron spin confined to a single InAs quantum dot (QD) can serve as a qubit for quantum information processing. By utilizing the QD's optically excited trion states in the presence of an externally applied magnetic field, the QD spin can be rapidly initialized, manipulated and read out. A key resource for quantum information is the ability to entangle distinct QD spins. One approach relies on intermediate spin-photon entanglement to mediate the entanglement between distant QD spin qubits. We report a demonstration of quantum entanglement between a photon's polarization state and the spin state of a single electron confined to a single QD. Here, the photon is spontaneously emitted from one of the QD's trion states. The emitted photon's polarization along the detection axis is entangled with the resulting spin state of the QD. By performing projective measurements on the photon's polarization state and correlating these measurements with the state of the QD spin in two different bases, we obtain a lower bound on the entanglement fidelity of 0.59 (after background correction). The fidelity bound is limited almost entirely by the timing resolution of our single photon detector. The spin-photon entanglement generation rate is 3 ×103 s-1. Supported by: NSF, MURI, AFOSR, DARPA, ARO.

Longitudinal wave function control in single quantum dots with an applied magnetic field

PubMed Central

Cao, Shuo; Tang, Jing; Gao, Yunan; Sun, Yue; Qiu, Kangsheng; Zhao, Yanhui; He, Min; Shi, Jin-An; Gu, Lin; Williams, David A.; Sheng, Weidong; Jin, Kuijuan; Xu, Xiulai

2015-01-01

Controlling single-particle wave functions in single semiconductor quantum dots is in demand to implement solid-state quantum information processing and spintronics. Normally, particle wave functions can be tuned transversely by an perpendicular magnetic field. We report a longitudinal wave function control in single quantum dots with a magnetic field. For a pure InAs quantum dot with a shape of pyramid or truncated pyramid, the hole wave function always occupies the base because of the less confinement at base, which induces a permanent dipole oriented from base to apex. With applying magnetic field along the base-apex direction, the hole wave function shrinks in the base plane. Because of the linear changing of the confinement for hole wave function from base to apex, the center of effective mass moves up during shrinking process. Due to the uniform confine potential for electrons, the center of effective mass of electrons does not move much, which results in a permanent dipole moment change and an inverted electron-hole alignment along the magnetic field direction. Manipulating the wave function longitudinally not only provides an alternative way to control the charge distribution with magnetic field but also a new method to tune electron-hole interaction in single quantum dots. PMID:25624018

Longitudinal wave function control in single quantum dots with an applied magnetic field.

PubMed

Cao, Shuo; Tang, Jing; Gao, Yunan; Sun, Yue; Qiu, Kangsheng; Zhao, Yanhui; He, Min; Shi, Jin-An; Gu, Lin; Williams, David A; Sheng, Weidong; Jin, Kuijuan; Xu, Xiulai

2015-01-27

Controlling single-particle wave functions in single semiconductor quantum dots is in demand to implement solid-state quantum information processing and spintronics. Normally, particle wave functions can be tuned transversely by an perpendicular magnetic field. We report a longitudinal wave function control in single quantum dots with a magnetic field. For a pure InAs quantum dot with a shape of pyramid or truncated pyramid, the hole wave function always occupies the base because of the less confinement at base, which induces a permanent dipole oriented from base to apex. With applying magnetic field along the base-apex direction, the hole wave function shrinks in the base plane. Because of the linear changing of the confinement for hole wave function from base to apex, the center of effective mass moves up during shrinking process. Due to the uniform confine potential for electrons, the center of effective mass of electrons does not move much, which results in a permanent dipole moment change and an inverted electron-hole alignment along the magnetic field direction. Manipulating the wave function longitudinally not only provides an alternative way to control the charge distribution with magnetic field but also a new method to tune electron-hole interaction in single quantum dots.

In Situ Preparation of Metal Halide Perovskite Nanocrystal Thin Films for Improved Light-Emitting Devices.

PubMed

Zhao, Lianfeng; Yeh, Yao-Wen; Tran, Nhu L; Wu, Fan; Xiao, Zhengguo; Kerner, Ross A; Lin, YunHui L; Scholes, Gregory D; Yao, Nan; Rand, Barry P

2017-04-25

Hybrid organic-inorganic halide perovskite semiconductors are attractive candidates for optoelectronic applications, such as photovoltaics, light-emitting diodes, and lasers. Perovskite nanocrystals are of particular interest, where electrons and holes can be confined spatially, promoting radiative recombination. However, nanocrystalline films based on traditional colloidal nanocrystal synthesis strategies suffer from the use of long insulating ligands, low colloidal nanocrystal concentration, and significant aggregation during film formation. Here, we demonstrate a facile method for preparing perovskite nanocrystal films in situ and that the electroluminescence of light-emitting devices can be enhanced up to 40-fold through this nanocrystal film formation strategy. Briefly, the method involves the use of bulky organoammonium halides as additives to confine crystal growth of perovskites during film formation, achieving CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 and CH 3 NH 3 PbBr 3 perovskite nanocrystals with an average crystal size of 5.4 ± 0.8 nm and 6.4 ± 1.3 nm, respectively, as confirmed through transmission electron microscopy measurements. Additive-confined perovskite nanocrystals show significantly improved photoluminescence quantum yield and decay lifetime. Finally, we demonstrate highly efficient CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 red/near-infrared LEDs and CH 3 NH 3 PbBr 3 green LEDs based on this strategy, achieving an external quantum efficiency of 7.9% and 7.0%, respectively, which represent a 40-fold and 23-fold improvement over control devices fabricated without the additives.

Effect of non-parabolicity and confinement potential on exciton binding energy in a quantum well

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vignesh, G.; Nithiananthi, P.

2018-04-01

The effect of non-parabolicity(NP) (both conduction and valance band) on the binding energy(EB) of a ground state exciton in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs single Quantum Well(QW) has been calculated using variational method. Confinement of a light hole(LH-CB1-X) and heavy hole(HH-CB1-X) exciton have been numerically evaluated as a function of well width and barrier heights by imposing three different confinement potentials such as square(SQW), parabolic(PQW) and triangular(TQW). Due to NP effects, EB of exciton is increasedin the narrow well region irrespective of the type of exciton, barrier height and nature of the confinement potentials applied. Non-parabolicity effect is prominent in abrupt(SQW) and linearlyvarying(TQW) confinement potentials. All these effects are attributed to be an inter-play between the Coulombic interaction and NP effects among the subband structures.

Quantum Dots Based Rad-Hard Computing and Sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fijany, A.; Klimeck, G.; Leon, R.; Qiu, Y.; Toomarian, N.

2001-01-01

Quantum Dots (QDs) are solid-state structures made of semiconductors or metals that confine a small number of electrons into a small space. The confinement of electrons is achieved by the placement of some insulating material(s) around a central, well-conducting region. Thus, they can be viewed as artificial atoms. They therefore represent the ultimate limit of the semiconductor device scaling. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

International Workshop on Light Emission and Electronic Properties of Nanoscale Silicon

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-04-01

matrix elements, quantum confinement, surface effects ? CHARLOTFE STANDARD R. Tsu Comparison of Luminescence Efficiency ROLE OF NANOSCALE Si-DEVICES...confinement effects in microcrystalline silicon [2,3] may lead to revolutionary advances in speed and dramatically reduced energy consumption of silicon...Formation: A Quantum Wire Effect ," Avpl. Phys. Lett., 58, 856 (1991). 5. R. Tsu, H. Shen, and M. Dutta, "Correlation of Raman and Photoluminescence

Non-singular cloaks allow mimesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diatta, André; Guenneau, Sébastien

2011-02-01

We design non-singular cloaks enabling objects to scatter waves like objects with smaller size and very different shapes. We consider the Schrödinger equation, which is valid, for example, in the contexts of geometrical and quantum optics. More precisely, we introduce a generalized non-singular transformation for star domains, and numerically demonstrate that an object of nearly any given shape surrounded by a given cloak scatters waves in exactly the same way as a smaller object of another shape. When a source is located inside the cloak, it scatters waves as if it were located some distance away from a small object. Moreover, the invisibility region actually hosts almost trapped eigenstates. Mimetism is numerically shown to break down for the quantified energies associated with confined modes. If we further allow for non-isomorphic transformations, our approach leads to the design of quantum super-scatterers: a small size object surrounded by a quantum cloak described by a negative anisotropic heterogeneous effective mass and a negative spatially varying potential scatters matter waves like a larger nano-object of different shape. Potential applications might be, for instance, in quantum dots probing. The results in this paper, as well as the corresponding derived constitutive tensors, are valid for cloaks with any arbitrary star-shaped boundary cross sections, although for numerical simulations we use examples with piecewise linear or elliptic boundaries.

Silicon quantum dots embedded in a SiO2 matrix: From structural study to carrier transport properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garcia-Castello, Nuria; Illera, Sergio; Guerra, Roberto; Prades, Joan Daniel; Ossicini, Stefano; Cirera, Albert

2013-08-01

We study the details of electronic transport related to the atomistic structure of silicon quantum dots embedded in a silicon dioxide matrix using ab initio calculations of the density of states. Several structural and composition features of quantum dots (QDs), such as diameter and amorphization level, are studied and correlated with transport under transfer Hamiltonian formalism. The current is strongly dependent on the QD density of states and on the conduction gap, both dependent on the dot diameter. In particular, as size increases, the available states inside the QD increase, while the QD band gap decreases due to relaxation of quantum confinement. Both effects contribute to increasing the current with the dot size. Besides, valence band offset between the band edges of the QD and the silica, and conduction band offset in a minor grade, increases with the QD diameter up to the theoretical value corresponding to planar heterostructures, thus decreasing the tunneling transmission probability and hence the total current. We discuss the influence of these parameters on electron and hole transport, evidencing a correlation between the electron (hole) barrier value and the electron (hole) current, and obtaining a general enhancement of the electron (hole) transport for larger (smaller) QD. Finally, we show that crystalline and amorphous structures exhibit enhanced probability of hole and electron current, respectively.

Far-infrared response of spherical quantum dots: Dielectric effects and the generalized Kohn's theorem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Movilla, J. L.; Planelles, J.

2007-05-01

The influence of the dielectric environment on the far-infrared (FIR) absorption spectra of two-electron spherical quantum dots is theoretically studied. Effective mass and envelope function approaches with realistic steplike confining potentials are used. Special attention is paid to absorptions that are induced by the electron-electron interaction. High confining barriers make the FIR absorption coefficients almost independent of the quantum dot dielectric environment. Low barrier heights and strong dielectric mismatches preserve the strong fundamental (Kohn) mode but yield the cancellation of excited absorptions, thus monitoring dielectrically induced phase transitions from volume to surface states.

Quantum bright solitons in a quasi-one-dimensional optical lattice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barbiero, Luca; Salasnich, Luca

2014-06-01

We study a quasi-one-dimensional attractive Bose gas confined in an optical lattice with a superimposed harmonic potential by analyzing the one-dimensional Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian of the system. Starting from the three-dimensional many-body quantum Hamiltonian, we derive strong inequalities involving the transverse degrees of freedom under which the one-dimensional Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian can be safely used. To have a reliable description of the one-dimensional ground state, which we call a quantum bright soliton, we use the density-matrix-renormalization-group (DMRG) technique. By comparing DMRG results with mean-field (MF) ones, we find that beyond-mean-field effects become relevant by increasing the attraction between bosons or by decreasing the frequency of the harmonic confinement. In particular, we find that, contrary to the MF predictions based on the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation, average density profiles of quantum bright solitons are not shape-invariant. We also use the time-evolving-block-decimation method to investigate the dynamical properties of bright solitons when the frequency of the harmonic potential is suddenly increased. This quantum quench induces a breathing mode whose period crucially depends on the final strength of the superimposed harmonic confinement.

Generating atomically sharp p -n junctions in graphene and testing quantum electron optics on the nanoscale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bai, Ke-Ke; Zhou, Jiao-Jiao; Wei, Yi-Cong; Qiao, Jia-Bin; Liu, Yi-Wen; Liu, Hai-Wen; Jiang, Hua; He, Lin

2018-01-01

Creation of high-quality p -n junctions in graphene monolayer is vital in studying many exotic phenomena of massless Dirac fermions. However, even with the fast progress of graphene technology for more than ten years, it remains conspicuously difficult to generate nanoscale and atomically sharp p -n junctions in graphene. Here, we realized nanoscale p -n junctions with atomically sharp boundaries in graphene monolayer by using monolayer vacancy island of Cu surface. The generated sharp p -n junctions with the height as high as 660 meV isolate the graphene above the Cu monolayer vacancy island as nanoscale graphene quantum dots (GQDs) in a continuous graphene sheet. Massless Dirac fermions are confined by the p -n junctions for a finite time to form quasibound states in the GQDs. By using scanning tunneling microscopy, we observe resonances of quasibound states in the GQDs with various sizes and directly visualize effects of geometries of the GQDs on the quantum interference patterns of the quasibound states, which allow us to test the quantum electron optics based on graphene in atomic scale.

Physics. Creating and probing electron whispering-gallery modes in graphene.

PubMed

Zhao, Yue; Wyrick, Jonathan; Natterer, Fabian D; Rodriguez-Nieva, Joaquin F; Lewandowski, Cyprian; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Levitov, Leonid S; Zhitenev, Nikolai B; Stroscio, Joseph A

2015-05-08

The design of high-finesse resonant cavities for electronic waves faces challenges due to short electron coherence lengths in solids. Complementing previous approaches to confine electronic waves by carefully positioned adatoms at clean metallic surfaces, we demonstrate an approach inspired by the peculiar acoustic phenomena in whispering galleries. Taking advantage of graphene's gate-tunable light-like carriers, we create whispering-gallery mode (WGM) resonators defined by circular pn junctions, induced by a scanning tunneling probe. We can tune the resonator size and the carrier concentration under the probe in a back-gated graphene device over a wide range. The WGM-type confinement and associated resonances are a new addition to the quantum electron-optics toolbox, paving the way to develop electronic lenses and resonators. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Quantum coherence and temperature dependence of the anomalous state of nanoconfined water in carbon nanotubes

DOE PAGES

Reiter, George F.; Deb, Aniruddha; Sakurai, Y.; ...

2016-10-17

X-ray Compton scattering measurements of the electron momentum distribution in water confined in both single-walled and double-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT and DWNT), as a function of temperature and confinement size are presented here together with earlier measurements of the proton momentum distribution in the same systems using neutron Compton scattering. These studies provide a coherent picture of an anomalous state of water that exists because of nanoconfinement. This state cannot be described by the weakly interacting molecule picture. It has unique transport properties for both protons and water molecules. In conclusion, we suggest that knowledge of the excitation spectrum ofmore » this state is needed to understand the enhanced flow of water in cylinders with diameters on the order of 20 Å.« less

Liquid–solid phase transition of hydrogen and deuterium in silica aerogel

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

Van Cleve, E.; Worsley, M. A.; Kucheyev, S. O., E-mail: kucheyev@llnl.gov

2014-10-28

Behavior of hydrogen isotopes confined in disordered low-density nanoporous solids remains essentially unknown. Here, we use relaxation calorimetry to study freezing and melting of H{sub 2} and D{sub 2} in an ∼85%-porous base-catalyzed silica aerogel. We find that liquid–solid transition temperatures of both isotopes inside the aerogel are depressed. The phase transition takes place over a wide temperature range of ∼4 K and non-trivially depends on the liquid filling fraction, reflecting the broad pore size distribution in the aerogel. Undercooling is observed for both H{sub 2} and D{sub 2} confined inside the aerogel monolith. Results for H{sub 2} and D{sub 2}more » are extrapolated to tritium-containing hydrogens with the quantum law of corresponding states.« less

Influence of the quantum dot geometry on p -shell transitions in differently charged quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holtkemper, M.; Reiter, D. E.; Kuhn, T.

2018-02-01

Absorption spectra of neutral, negatively, and positively charged semiconductor quantum dots are studied theoretically. We provide an overview of the main energetic structure around the p -shell transitions, including the influence of nearby nominally dark states. Based on the envelope function approximation, we treat the four-band Luttinger theory as well as the direct and short-range exchange Coulomb interactions within a configuration interaction approach. The quantum dot confinement is approximated by an anisotropic harmonic potential. We present a detailed investigation of state mixing and correlations mediated by the individual interactions. Differences and similarities between the differently charged quantum dots are highlighted. Especially large differences between negatively and positively charged quantum dots become evident. We present a visualization of energetic shifts and state mixtures due to changes in size, in-plane asymmetry, and aspect ratio. Thereby we provide a better understanding of the experimentally hard to access question of quantum dot geometry effects. Our findings show a method to determine the in-plane asymmetry from photoluminescence excitation spectra. Furthermore, we supply basic knowledge for tailoring the strength of certain state mixtures or the energetic order of particular excited states via changes of the shape of the quantum dot. Such knowledge builds the basis to find the optimal QD geometry for possible applications and experiments using excited states.

White light emitting diode based on InGaN chip with core/shell quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Changyu; Hong, Yan; Ma, Jiandong; Ming, Jiangzhou

2009-08-01

Quantum dots have many applications in optoelectronic device such as LEDs for its many superior properties resulting from the three-dimensional confinement effect of its carrier. In this paper, single chip white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs) were fabricated by combining blue InGaN chip with luminescent colloidal quantum dots (QDs). Two kinds of QDs of core/shell CdSe /ZnS and core/shell/shell CdSe /ZnS /CdS nanocrystals were synthesized by thermal deposition using cadmium oxide and selenium as precursors in a hot lauric acid and hexadecylamine trioctylphosphine oxide hybrid. This two kinds of QDs exhibited high photoluminescence efficiency with a quantum yield more than 41%, and size-tunable emission wavelengths from 500 to 620 nm. The QDs LED mainly consists of flip luminescent InGaN chip, glass ceramic protective coating, glisten cup, QDs using as the photoluminescence material, pyroceram, gold line, electric layer, dielectric layer, silicon gel and bottom layer for welding. The WLEDs had the CIE coordinates of (0.319, 0.32). The InGaN chip white-light-emitting diodes with quantum dots as the emitting layer are potentially useful in illumination and display applications.

Quantum Dots: An Experiment for Physical or Materials Chemistry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winkler, L. D.; Arceo, J. F.; Hughes, W. C.; DeGraff, B. A.; Augustine, B. H.

2005-01-01

An experiment is conducted for obtaining quantum dots for physical or materials chemistry. This experiment serves to both reinforce the basic concept of quantum confinement and providing a useful bridge between the molecular and solid-state world.

Self-assembled InN quantum dots on side facets of GaN nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bi, Zhaoxia; Ek, Martin; Stankevic, Tomas; Colvin, Jovana; Hjort, Martin; Lindgren, David; Lenrick, Filip; Johansson, Jonas; Wallenberg, L. Reine; Timm, Rainer; Feidenhans'l, Robert; Mikkelsen, Anders; Borgström, Magnus T.; Gustafsson, Anders; Ohlsson, B. Jonas; Monemar, Bo; Samuelson, Lars

2018-04-01

Self-assembled, atomic diffusion controlled growth of InN quantum dots was realized on the side facets of dislocation-free and c-oriented GaN nanowires having a hexagonal cross-section. The nanowires were synthesized by selective area metal organic vapor phase epitaxy. A 3 Å thick InN wetting layer was observed after growth, on top of which the InN quantum dots formed, indicating self-assembly in the Stranski-Krastanow growth mode. We found that the InN quantum dots can be tuned to nucleate either preferentially at the edges between GaN nanowire side facets, or directly on the side facets by tuning the adatom migration by controlling the precursor supersaturation and growth temperature. Structural characterization by transmission electron microscopy and reciprocal space mapping show that the InN quantum dots are close to be fully relaxed (residual strain below 1%) and that the c-planes of the InN quantum dots are tilted with respect to the GaN core. The strain relaxes mainly by the formation of misfit dislocations, observed with a periodicity of 3.2 nm at the InN and GaN hetero-interface. The misfit dislocations introduce I1 type stacking faults (…ABABCBC…) in the InN quantum dots. Photoluminescence investigations of the InN quantum dots show that the emissions shift to higher energy with reduced quantum dot size, which we attribute to increased quantum confinement.

XANES: observation of quantum confinement in the conduction band of colloidal PbS quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demchenko, I. N.; Chernyshova, M.; He, X.; Minikayev, R.; Syryanyy, Y.; Derkachova, A.; Derkachov, G.; Stolte, W. C.; Piskorska-Hommel, E.; Reszka, A.; Liang, H.

2013-04-01

The presented investigations aimed at development of inexpensive method for synthesized materials suitable for utilization of solar energy. This important issue was addressed by focusing, mainly, on electronic local structure studies with supporting x-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis of colloidal galena nano-particles (NPs) and quantum dots (QDs) synthesized using wet chemistry under microwave irradiation. Performed x-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) analysis revealed an evidence of quantum confinement for the sample with QDs, where the bottom of the conduction band was shifted to higher energy. The QDs were found to be passivated with oxides at the surface. Existence of sulfate/sulfite and thiosulfate species in pure PbS and QDs, respectively, was identified.

20007: Quantum particle displacement by a moving localized potential trap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Granot, E.; Marchewka, A.

2009-04-01

We describe the dynamics of a bound state of an attractive δ-well under displacement of the potential. Exact analytical results are presented for the suddenly moved potential. Since this is a quantum system, only a fraction of the initially confined wave function remains confined to the moving potential. However, it is shown that besides the probability to remain confined to the moving barrier and the probability to remain in the initial position, there is also a certain probability for the particle to move at double speed. A quasi-classical interpretation for this effect is suggested. The temporal and spectral dynamics of each one of the scenarios is investigated.

Nanostructuring-induced modification of optical properties of p-GaAs (1 0 0)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naddaf, M.; Saloum, S.

2009-10-01

A pulsed anodic etching method has been utilized for nanostructuring of p-type GaAs (1 0 0) surface, using HCl-based solution as electrolyte. The resulting porous GaAs layer is characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), room temperature photoluminescence (PL), Raman spectroscopy and optical reflectance measurements. AFM imaging reveals that the porous GaAs layer is consisted of a pillar-like of few nm in width distributed between more-reduced size nanostructures. In addition to the “infrared” PL band of un-etched GaAs, a strong “green” PL band is observed in the etched sample. The broad visible PL band of a high-energy (3.82 eV) excitation is found to compose of two PL band attributed to excitons confinement in two different sizes distribution of GaAs nanocrystals. The quantum confinement effects in GaAs nanocrystallites is also evidenced from Raman spectroscopy through the pronounced appearance of the transverse optical (TO) phonon line in the spectra of the porous sample. Porosity-induced a significant reduction of the specular reflection, in the spectral range (400-800 nm), is also demonstrated.

Heterostructure Quantum Confined Stark Effect Electrooptic Modulators Operating at 938 nm

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-12-01

type of modulator, suitable for use in optical interconnects, is an asymmetric Fabry-Perot reflection modulator (ARM). This type of an intensity ...calibrated spectrometer/diode array (Princeton Instruments Model ST-100) used in conjunction with an optical multichannel analyzer (OMA). The transmission...AD-A279 342 -" RL-TR-93-259 In -House Report December 1993N~I HETEROSTRUCTURE QUANTUM CONFINED STARK EFFECT ELECTRO- OPTIC MODULATORS OPERATING AT 938

pH-dependent optical properties of N-acetyl-L-cysteine-capped ZnSe(S) nanocrystals with intense/stable emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soheyli, Ehsan; Sahraei, Reza; Nabiyouni, Gholamreza

2017-03-01

In the present study, a series of aqueous-based ZnSe(S) nanocrystals (NCs) was prepared at different solution pH ranging from 8 to 11.9, and using N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) as capping agent. In addition to zinc blende structure, the X-ray diffraction studies demonstrated the quantum size regime of the ZnSe(S) NCs. To gain further insight toward the influence of the quantum confinement and pH values on optical properties of the as-prepared NCs, their UV-visible absorption and photoluminescence spectra were systematically analyzed. The absorption spectra experienced a red shift from 340 to 382 nm as the pH increased from 8.0 to 11.9, indicating the growth of the as-prepared ZnSe(S) NCs. The emission spectra also show the obvious red shift and the relative area of excitonic to trap emission, firstly increases from pH = 8.0 to 10.7, and then decreases by further increasing of the solution pH. The initial behavior might be due to the improved surface passivation of the trap dangling states by better deprotonation of thiol groups in NAC, whereas at pH >10.7, the faster growth rate of the ZnSe(s) NCs may lead to the formation of many defect sites. All of these phenomena were combined in the scheme which displays the effect of quantum confinement and solution pH on variation of the excitonic and trap-related emissions.

Toric-boson model: Toward a topological quantum memory at finite temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamma, Alioscia; Castelnovo, Claudio; Chamon, Claudio

2009-06-01

We discuss the existence of stable topological quantum memory at finite temperature. At stake here is the fundamental question of whether it is, in principle, possible to store quantum information for macroscopic times without the intervention from the external world, that is, without error correction. We study the toric code in two dimensions with an additional bosonic field that couples to the defects, in the presence of a generic environment at finite temperature: the toric-boson model. Although the coupling constants for the bare model are not finite in the thermodynamic limit, the model has a finite spectrum. We show that in the topological phase, there is a finite temperature below which open strings are confined and therefore the lifetime of the memory can be made arbitrarily (polynomially) long in system size. The interaction with the bosonic field yields a long-range attractive force between the end points of open strings but leaves closed strings and topological order intact.

Spontaneous formation of three-dimensionally ordered Bi-rich nanostructures within GaAs1-x Bi x /GaAs quantum wells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luna, E.; Wu, M.; Hanke, M.; Puustinen, J.; Guina, M.; Trampert, A.

2016-08-01

In this work, we report on the spontaneous formation of ordered arrays of nanometer-sized Bi-rich structures due to lateral composition modulations in Ga(As,Bi)/GaAs quantum wells grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The overall microstructure and chemical distribution is investigated using transmission electron microscopy. The information is complemented by synchrotron x-ray grazing incidence diffraction, which provides insight into the in-plane arrangement. Due to the vertical inheritance of the lateral modulation, the Bi-rich nanostructures eventually shape into a three-dimensional assembly. Whereas the Bi-rich nanostructures are created via two-dimensional phase separation at the growing surface, our results suggest that the process is assisted by Bi segregation which is demonstrated to be strong and more complex than expected, implying both lateral and vertical (surface segregation) mass transport. As demonstrated here, the inherent thermodynamic miscibility gap of Ga(As,Bi) alloys can be exploited to create highly uniform Bi-rich units embedded in a quantum confinement structure.

Localized surface plasmon and exciton interaction in silver-coated cadmium sulphide quantum dots

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

Ghosh, P.; Rustagi, K. C.; Vasa, P.

2015-05-15

Localized surface plasmon and exciton coupling has been investigated on colloidal solutions of silver-coated CdS nanoparticles (NPs), synthesized by gamma irradiation. Two broad photoluminescence (PL) bands (blue/red) corresponding to band to band and defect state transitions have been observed for the bare and coated samples. In case of bare CdS NPs, the intensity of the red PL peak is about ten times higher than the blue PL peak intensity. However, on coating the CdS NPs with silver, the peak intensity of the blue PL band gets enhanced and becomes equal to that of the red PL band. High-resolution transmission electronmore » microscopic (HRTEM) images adequately demonstrate size distribution of these metal/semiconductor nanocomposites. UV-Vis absorption studies show quantum confinement effect in these semiconductor quantum dot (SQD) systems. Absorption spectrum of silver-coated SQDs shows signature of surface plasmon-exciton coupling which has been theoretically verified.« less

Dispersion of the electron g factor anisotropy in InAs/InP self-assembled quantum dots

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

Belykh, V. V., E-mail: vasilii.belykh@tu-dortmund.de; P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119991; Yakovlev, D. R.

The electron g factor in an ensemble of InAs/InP quantum dots with emission wavelengths around 1.4 μm is measured using time-resolved pump-probe Faraday rotation spectroscopy in different magnetic field orientations. Thereby, we can extend recent single dot photoluminescence measurements significantly towards lower optical transition energies through 0.86 eV. This allows us to obtain detailed insight into the dispersion of the recently discovered g factor anisotropy in these infrared emitting quantum dots. We find with decreasing transition energy over a range of 50 meV a strong enhancement of the g factor difference between magnetic field normal and along the dot growth axis, namely, frommore » 1 to 1.7. We argue that the g factor cannot be solely determined by the confinement energy, but the dot asymmetry underlying this anisotropy therefore has to increase with increasing dot size.« less

Dirac electrons in quantum rings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2018-05-01

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

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.

Ideal quantum gas in an expanding cavity: nature of nonadiabatic force.

PubMed

Nakamura, K; Avazbaev, S K; Sobirov, Z A; Matrasulov, D U; Monnai, T

2011-04-01

We consider a quantum gas of noninteracting particles confined in the expanding cavity and investigate the nature of the nonadiabatic force which is generated from the gas and acts on the cavity wall. First, with use of the time-dependent canonical transformation, which transforms the expanding cavity to the nonexpanding one, we can define the force operator. Second, applying the perturbative theory, which works when the cavity wall begins to move at time origin, we find that the nonadiabatic force is quadratic in the wall velocity and thereby does not break the time-reversal symmetry, in contrast with general belief. Finally, using an assembly of the transitionless quantum states, we obtain the nonadiabatic force exactly. The exact result justifies the validity of both the definition of the force operator and the issue of the perturbative theory. The mysterious mechanism of nonadiabatic transition with the use of transitionless quantum states is also explained. The study is done for both cases of the hard- and soft-wall confinement with the time-dependent confining length. ©2011 American Physical Society

Tuning nonlinear optical absorption properties of WS₂ nanosheets.

PubMed

Long, Hui; Tao, Lili; Tang, Chun Yin; Zhou, Bo; Zhao, Yuda; Zeng, Longhui; Yu, Siu Fung; Lau, Shu Ping; Chai, Yang; Tsang, Yuen Hong

2015-11-14

To control the optical properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials is a long-standing goal, being of both fundamental and technological significance. Tuning nonlinear optical absorption (NOA) properties of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides in a cost effective way has emerged as an important research topic because of its possibility to custom design NOA properties, implying enormous applications including optical computers, communications, bioimaging, and so on. In this study, WS2 with different size and thickness distributions was fabricated. The results demonstrate that both NOA onset threshold, F(ON), and optical limiting threshold, F(OL), of WS2 under the excitation of a nanosecond pulsed laser can be tuned over a wide range by controlling its size and thickness. The F(ON) and F(OL) show a rapid decline with the decrease of size and thickness. Due to the edge and quantum confinement effect, WS2 quantum dots (2.35 nm) exhibit the lowest F(ON) (0.01 J cm(-2)) and F(OL) (0.062 J cm(-2)) among all the samples, which are comparable to the lowest threshold achieved in graphene based materials, showing great potential as NOA materials with tunable properties.

Spin Polarization and Quantum Spins in Au Nanoparticles

PubMed Central

Li, Chi-Yen; Karna, Sunil K.; Wang, Chin-Wei; Li, Wen-Hsien

2013-01-01

The present study focuses on investigating the magnetic properties and the critical particle size for developing sizable spontaneous magnetic moment of bare Au nanoparticles. Seven sets of bare Au nanoparticle assemblies, with diameters from 3.5 to 17.5 nm, were fabricated with the gas condensation method. Line profiles of the X-ray diffraction peaks were used to determine the mean particle diameters and size distributions of the nanoparticle assemblies. The magnetization curves M(Ha) reveal Langevin field profiles. Magnetic hysteresis was clearly revealed in the low field regime even at 300 K. Contributions to the magnetization from different size particles in the nanoparticle assemblies were considered when analyzing the M(Ha) curves. The results show that the maximum particle moment will appear in 2.4 nm Au particles. A similar result of the maximum saturation magnetization appearing in 2.3 nm Au particles is also concluded through analysis of the dependency of the saturation magnetization MP on particle size. The MP(d) curve departs significantly from the 1/d dependence, but can be described by a log-normal function. Magnetization can be barely detected for Au particles larger than 27 nm. Magnetic field induced Zeeman magnetization from the quantum confined Kubo gap opening appears in Au nanoparticles smaller than 9.5 nm in diameter. PMID:23989607

Spin coherence in silicon/silicon-germanium nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Truitt, James L.

This thesis investigates the spin coherence of electrons in silicon/silicon-germanium (Si/SiGe) quantum wells. With a long spin coherence time, an electron trapped in a quantum dot in Si/SiGe is a prime candidate for a quantum bit (qubit) in a solid state implementation of a quantum computer. In particular, the mechanisms responsible for decoherence are examined in a variety of Si/SiGe quantum wells, and it is seen that their behavior does not correspond to published theories of decoherence in these structures. Transport data are analyzed for all samples to determine the electrical properties of each, taking into account a parallel conduction path seen in all samples. Furthermore, the effect of confining the electrons into nanostructures of varying size in one of the samples is studied. All but one of the samples examined are grown by ultrahigh vacuum chemical vapor deposition at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. The nanostructures are patterned on a sample provided by IBM using the Nabity Pattern Generation Software (NPGS) on a LEO1530 Scanning Electron Microscope, and etched using SF6 in an STS reactive ion etcher. Continuous-wave electron spin resonance studies are done using a Bruker ESP300E spectrometer, with a 4.2K continuous flow cryostat and X-band cavity. In order to fully characterize the sample, electrical measurements were done. Hall bars are etched into the 2DEGs, and Ohmic contacts are annealed in to provide a current path through the 2DEG. Measurements are made both from room temperature down to 2K in a Physical Property Measurement System (PPMS), and at 300mK using a custom built probe in a one shot 3He cryostat made by Oxford Instruments. The custom built probe also allows high frequency excitations, facilitating electrically detected magnetic resonance (EDMR) experiments. In many of the samples, an orientationally dependent electron spin resonance linewidth is seen whose anisotropy is much larger at small angles than that predicted by published theories. The anisotropy is further increased through lateral confinement of the electrons, and a change in the coherence and relaxation times may be seen as a function of dot size as well. Finally, an outlook on the direction the lab is taking from 2DEGs to dots with electron spin resonance is given, with some promising electrically detected magnetic resonance results shown.

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.

Aharonov–Anandan quantum phases and Landau quantization associated with a magnetic quadrupole moment

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

Fonseca, I.C.; Bakke, K., E-mail: kbakke@fisica.ufpb.br

The arising of geometric quantum phases in the wave function of a moving particle possessing a magnetic quadrupole moment is investigated. It is shown that an Aharonov–Anandan quantum phase (Aharonov and Anandan, 1987) can be obtained in the quantum dynamics of a moving particle with a magnetic quadrupole moment. In particular, it is obtained as an analogue of the scalar Aharonov–Bohm effect for a neutral particle (Anandan, 1989). Besides, by confining the quantum particle to a hard-wall confining potential, the dependence of the energy levels on the geometric quantum phase is discussed and, as a consequence, persistent currents can arisemore » from this dependence. Finally, an analogue of the Landau quantization is discussed. -- Highlights: •Scalar Aharonov–Bohm effect for a particle possessing a magnetic quadrupole moment. •Aharonov–Anandan quantum phase for a particle with a magnetic quadrupole moment. •Dependence of the energy levels on the Aharonov–Anandan quantum phase. •Landau quantization associated with a particle possessing a magnetic quadrupole moment.« less

Deep-UV emission at 219 nm from ultrathin MBE GaN/AlN quantum heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Islam, S. M.; Protasenko, Vladimir; Lee, Kevin; Rouvimov, Sergei; Verma, Jai; Xing, Huili Grace; Jena, Debdeep

2017-08-01

Deep ultraviolet (UV) optical emission below 250 nm (˜5 eV) in semiconductors is traditionally obtained from high aluminum containing AlGaN alloy quantum wells. It is shown here that high-quality epitaxial ultrathin binary GaN quantum disks embedded in an AlN matrix can produce efficient optical emission in the 219-235 nm (˜5.7-5.3 eV) spectral range, far above the bulk bandgap (3.4 eV) of GaN. The quantum confinement energy in these heterostructures is larger than the bandgaps of traditional semiconductors, made possible by the large band offsets. These molecular beam epitaxy-grown extreme quantum-confinement GaN/AlN heterostructures exhibit an internal quantum efficiency of 40% at wavelengths as short as 219 nm. These observations together with the ability to engineer the interband optical matrix elements to control the direction of photon emission in such binary quantum disk active regions offer unique advantages over alloy AlGaN quantum well counterparts for the realization of deep-UV light-emitting diodes and lasers.

Tuning direct bandgap GeSn/Ge quantum dots' interband and intraband useful emission wavelength: Towards CMOS compatible infrared optical devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baira, Mourad; Salem, Bassem; Madhar, Niyaz Ahamad; Ilahi, Bouraoui

2018-05-01

In this work, interband and intraband optical transitions from direct bandgap strained GeSn/Ge quantum dots are numerically tuned by evaluating the confined energies for heavy holes and electrons in D- and L-valley. The practically exploitable emission wavelength ranges for efficient use in light emission and sensing should fulfill specific criteria imposing the electrons confined states in D-valley to be sufficiently below those in L-valley. This study shows that GeSn quantum dots offer promising opportunity towards high efficient group IV based infrared optical devices operating in the mid-IR and far-IR wavelength regions.

Structural and Electronic Properties of Isolated Nanodiamonds: A Theoretical Perspective

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

Raty, J; Galli, G

2004-09-09

Nanometer sized diamond has been found in meteorites, proto-planetary nebulae and interstellar dusts, as well as in residues of detonation and in diamond films. Remarkably, the size distribution of diamond nanoparticles appears to be peaked around 2-5 nm, and to be largely independent of preparation conditions. Using ab-initio calculations, we have shown that in this size range nanodiamond has a fullerene-like surface and, unlike silicon and germanium, exhibit very weak quantum confinement effects. We called these carbon nanoparticles bucky-diamonds: their atomic structure, predicted by simulations, is consistent with many experimental findings. In addition, we carried out calculations of the stabilitymore » of nanodiamond which provided a unifying explanation of its size distribution in extra-terrestrial samples, and in ultra-crystalline diamond films. Here we present a summary of our theoretical results and we briefly outline work in progress on doping of nanodiamond with nitrogen.« less

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.

Demonstration of Quantum Entanglement between a Single Electron Spin Confined to an InAs Quantum Dot and a Photon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaibley, J. R.; Burgers, A. P.; McCracken, G. A.; Duan, L.-M.; Berman, P. R.; Steel, D. G.; Bracker, A. S.; Gammon, D.; Sham, L. J.

2013-04-01

The electron spin state of a singly charged semiconductor quantum dot has been shown to form a suitable single qubit for quantum computing architectures with fast gate times. A key challenge in realizing a useful quantum dot quantum computing architecture lies in demonstrating the ability to scale the system to many qubits. In this Letter, we report an all optical experimental demonstration of quantum entanglement between a single electron spin confined to a single charged semiconductor quantum dot and the polarization state of a photon spontaneously emitted from the quantum dot’s excited state. We obtain a lower bound on the fidelity of entanglement of 0.59±0.04, which is 84% of the maximum achievable given the timing resolution of available single photon detectors. In future applications, such as measurement-based spin-spin entanglement which does not require sub-nanosecond timing resolution, we estimate that this system would enable near ideal performance. The inferred (usable) entanglement generation rate is 3×103s-1. This spin-photon entanglement is the first step to a scalable quantum dot quantum computing architecture relying on photon (flying) qubits to mediate entanglement between distant nodes of a quantum dot network.

Demonstration of quantum entanglement between a single electron spin confined to an InAs quantum dot and a photon.

PubMed

Schaibley, J R; Burgers, A P; McCracken, G A; Duan, L-M; Berman, P R; Steel, D G; Bracker, A S; Gammon, D; Sham, L J

2013-04-19

The electron spin state of a singly charged semiconductor quantum dot has been shown to form a suitable single qubit for quantum computing architectures with fast gate times. A key challenge in realizing a useful quantum dot quantum computing architecture lies in demonstrating the ability to scale the system to many qubits. In this Letter, we report an all optical experimental demonstration of quantum entanglement between a single electron spin confined to a single charged semiconductor quantum dot and the polarization state of a photon spontaneously emitted from the quantum dot's excited state. We obtain a lower bound on the fidelity of entanglement of 0.59±0.04, which is 84% of the maximum achievable given the timing resolution of available single photon detectors. In future applications, such as measurement-based spin-spin entanglement which does not require sub-nanosecond timing resolution, we estimate that this system would enable near ideal performance. The inferred (usable) entanglement generation rate is 3×10(3) s(-1). This spin-photon entanglement is the first step to a scalable quantum dot quantum computing architecture relying on photon (flying) qubits to mediate entanglement between distant nodes of a quantum dot network.

Molecular dynamic heterogeneity of confined lipid films by 1H magnetization-exchange nuclear magnetic resonance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buda, A.; Demco, D. E.; Jagadeesh, B.; Blümich, B.

2005-01-01

The molecular dynamic heterogeneity of monolayer to submonolayer thin lecithin films confined to submicron cylindrical pores were investigated by 1H magnetization exchange nuclear magnetic resonance. In this experiment a z-magnetization gradient was generated by a double-quantum dipolar filter. The magnetization-exchange decay and buildup curves were interpreted with the help of a theoretical model based on the approximation of a one-dimensional spin-diffusion process in a three-domain morphology. The dynamic heterogeneity of the fatty acid chains and the effects of the surface area per molecule, the diameter of the pores, and the temperature were characterized with the help of local spin-diffusion coefficients. The effect of various parameters on the molecular dynamics of the mobile region of the fatty acid chains was quantified by introducing an ad hoc Gaussian distribution function of the 1H residual dipolar couplings. For the lipid films investigated in this study, the surface induced order and the geometrical confinement affect the chain dynamics of the entire molecule. Therefore, each part of the chain independently reflects the effect of surface coverage, pore size, and temperature.

Electric Field Controlled Spin Interference in a System with Rashba Spin-Orbit Coupling

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-08-29

conducting semi-circular channels. The strength of the confinement energy on the quantum dots is tuned by gate potentials that allow “ leakage ” of electrons...interesting applications. A detectable SO effect requires a strong electric field (as well as a semiconductor host for the electrons that satisfies a...quantum dots (which may be considered identical) are confined by an electrostatically created potential that can be tuned to allow “ leakage ” of

Engineering 1D Quantum Stripes from Superlattices of 2D Layered Materials

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

Gruenewald, John H.; Kim, Jungho; Kim, Heung Sik

Dimensional tunability from two dimensions to one dimension is demonstrated for the first time using an artificial superlattice method in synthesizing 1D stripes from 2D layered materials. The 1D confinement of layered Sr2IrO4 induces distinct 1D quantum-confined electronic states, as observed from optical spectroscopy and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering. This 1D superlattice approach is generalizable to a wide range of layered materials.

Ultra-broadband photodetectors based on epitaxial graphene quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El Fatimy, Abdel; Nath, Anindya; Kong, Byoung Don; Boyd, Anthony K.; Myers-Ward, Rachael L.; Daniels, Kevin M.; Jadidi, M. Mehdi; Murphy, Thomas E.; Gaskill, D. Kurt; Barbara, Paola

2018-03-01

Graphene is an ideal material for hot-electron bolometers due to its low heat capacity and weak electron-phonon coupling. Nanostructuring graphene with quantum-dot constrictions yields detectors of electromagnetic radiation with extraordinarily high intrinsic responsivity, higher than 1×109 V W-1 at 3 K. The sensing mechanism is bolometric in nature: the quantum confinement gap causes a strong dependence of the electrical resistance on the electron temperature. Here, we show that this quantum confinement gap does not impose a limitation on the photon energy for light detection and these quantum-dot bolometers work in a very broad spectral range, from terahertz through telecom to ultraviolet radiation, with responsivity independent of wavelength. We also measure the power dependence of the response. Although the responsivity decreases with increasing power, it stays higher than 1×108 V W-1 in a wide range of absorbed power, from 1 pW to 0.4 nW.

Persistent Spin Current in a Hard-Wall Confining Quantum Wire with Weak Dresselhaus Spin-Orbit Coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Xi; Zhou, Guang-Hui

2009-02-01

We investigate theoretically the spin current in a quantum wire with weak Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling connected to two normal conductors. Both the quantum wire and conductors are described by a hard-wall confining potential. Using the electron wave-functions in the quantum wire and a new definition of spin current, we have calculated the elements of linear spin current density js,xiT and js,yiT (i = x, y, z). We find that the elements jTs,xx and jTs,yy have a antisymmetrical relation and the element jTs,yz has the same amount level as js,xxT and js,yyT. We also find a net linear spin current density, which has peaks at the center of quantum wire. The net linear spin current can induce a linear electric field, which may imply a way of spin current detection.

Preparation of nanocrystals and nanocomposites of nanocrystal-conjugated polymer, and their photophysical properties in confined geometries

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

Xu, Jun

2007-01-01

Semiconductors nanocrystals (NCs), also called quantum dots (QDs), have attracted tremendous interest over the past decade in the fields of physics, chemistry, and engineering. Due to the quantum-confined nature of QDs, the variation of particle size provides continuous and predictable changes in fluorescence emission. On the other hand, conjugated polymers (CPs) have been extensively studied for two decades due to their semiconductor-like optical and electronic properties. The electron and energy transfer between NCs and CPs occur in solar cells and light emitting diodes (LEDs), respectively. Placing CPs in direct contact with a NC (i.e., preparing NC-CP nanocomposites) carries advantage overmore » cases where NC aggregation dominates. Such NC-CP nanocomposites possess a well-defined interface that significantly promotes the charge or energy transfer between these two components. However, very few studies have centered on such direct integration. We prepared NCs and NC-CP nanocomposites based on heck coupling and investigated the energy and charge transfer between semiconductor NCs (i.e., CdSe QDs), CPs (i.e., poly(3-hexyl thiophene) (P3HT)) in the nanocomposites in confined geometries. Two novel strategies were used to confine NC and/or NC-CP nanocomposites: (a) directly immobilizing nanohybrids, QDs and nanorods in nanoscopic porous alumina membrane (PAM) , and (b) confining the QDs and CPs in sphere-on-flat geometry to induce self-assembly. While investigating the confinement effect, gradient concentric ring patterns of high regularity form spontaneously simply by allowing a droplet of solution containing either conjugated polymer or semiconductor nanocrystal in a consecutive stick-slip mothion in a confined geometry. Such constrained evaporation can be utilized as a simple, cheap, and robust strategy for self-assembling various materials with easily tailored optical and electronic properties into spatially ordered, two-dimensional patterns. These self-organized patterns of functional nanoscale materials over large areas offer a tremendous potential for applications in optoelectronic devices, LEDs, solar cells, and biosensors. Meanwhile, spherical nanocrystals (i.e. CdSe/ZnS core/shell QDs) were placed in a hexagonal array of highly ordered cylindrical nanopores of PAMs by a simple dip-coating method and vacuum suction process, respectively. The fluorescence of CdSe/ZnS QD was retained after being filled inside PAMs and the filling contents were obtained via transmission UV-vis measurements.« less

Luminescence and transient lifetime studies for energy transfer of PbS QD films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Joanna S.; Ullrich, Bruno; Dass, Chandriker K.; Das, Anirban; Wai, Chien M.; Brown, Gail J.; Hendrickson, Joshua R.

2017-08-01

Quantum confined semiconductor materials in colloidal form have drawn great attention in scientific communities due to the size-tunability, which controls their optical properties. PbS quantum dots (QDs) are exciting candidates for quantum optics, particularly due to the control of the QD sizes during the synthetic process enabling the realization of precisely tunable emission properties in the near-infrared region. Differently sized pairs of PbS QDs were deposited onto glass substrates to form thin films using supercritical CO2 (sc-CO2) deposition and solvent deposition methods (SDM). The fluorescence and photoluminescence (PL) spectra obtained from these closely packed films prepared by the sc-CO2 method reveal effective Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between two different sized dots, while the films composed of three different QD sizes show an even more effective FRET from the smallest to the largest ones. Energy transfer can be observed more directly by temporally resolved PL decay of mixed dots. By means of transient lifetime measurements, a mixed PbS film with 3.1 and 4.7 nm QDs was studied for FRET by time correlated single photon counting. The PL peak of the 3.1 nm QDs is quenched with respect to the emission of the 4.7 nm QDs and decays faster, and the best fit for the lifetime (decay constant)-1 is a biexponential decay mode. The long wavelength decay (4.7 nm QDs) is best fit by a mono-exponential equation. More theoretical and experimental work is required for a thorough understanding of the radiative lifetimes of PbS QDs in mixed QD systems.

Resonant inelastic light scattering and photoluminescence in isolated nc-Si/SiO{sub 2} quantum dots

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

Bairamov, F. B., E-mail: Bairamov@mail.ioffe.ru; Toporov, V. V.; Poloskin, E. D.

2013-05-15

Observation at the room temperature the spectra of the resonant inelastic light scattering by the spatially confined optical phonons as well as the excitonic luminescence caused by confinement effects in the ensemble of isolated quantum dots (QDs) nc-Si/SiO{sub 2} is reported. It is shown that the samples investigated are high purity and high crystalline perfection quality nc-Si/SiO{sub 2} QDs without amorphous phase {alpha}-Si and contaminants. Comparison between the experimental data obtained and phenomenological model of the strong space confinement of optical phonons revealed the need of the more accurate form of the weighted function for the confinement of optical phonons.more » It is shown that simultaneous detection of the inelastic light scattering by the confinement of phonons and the excitonic luminescence spectra by the confined electron-hole pairs in the nc-Si/SiO{sub 2} QDs allows selfconsistently to determine more accurate values of the diameter of the nc-Si/SiO{sub 2} QDs.« less

Generalized description of few-electron quantum dots at zero and nonzero magnetic fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ciftja, Orion

2007-01-01

We introduce a generalized ground state variational wavefunction for parabolically confined two-dimensional quantum dots that equally applies to both cases of weak (or zero) and strong magnetic field. The wavefunction has a Laughlin-like form in the limit of infinite magnetic field, but transforms into a Jastrow-Slater wavefunction at zero magnetic field. At intermediate magnetic fields (where a fraction of electrons is spin-reversed) it resembles Halperin's spin-reversed wavefunction for the fractional quantum Hall effect. The properties of this variational wavefunction are illustrated for the case of two-dimensional quantum dot helium (a system of two interacting electrons in a parabolic confinement potential) where we find the description to be an excellent representation of the true ground state for the whole range of magnetic fields.

Single-step synthesis of crystalline h-BN quantum- and nanodots embedded in boron carbon nitride films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsoso, Boitumelo J.; Ranganathan, Kamalakannan; Mutuma, Bridget K.; Lerotholi, Tsenolo; Jones, Glenn; Coville, Neil J.

2017-03-01

Herein we report on the synthesis and characterization of novel crystalline hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) quantum- and nanodots embedded in large-area boron carbon nitride (BCN) films. The films were grown on a Cu substrate by an atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition technique. Methane, ammonia, and boric acid were used as precursors for C, N and B to grow these few atomic layer thick uniform films. We observed that both the size of the h-BN quantum/nanodots and thickness of the BCN films were influenced by the vaporization temperature of boric acid as well as the H3BO3 (g) flux over the Cu substrate. These growth conditions were easily achieved by changing the position of the solid boric acid in the reactor with respect to the Cu substrate. Atomic force microscope (AFM) and TEM analyses show a variation in the h-BN dot size distribution, ranging from nanodots (˜224 nm) to quantum dots (˜11 nm) as the B-source is placed further away from the Cu foil. The distance between the B-source and the Cu foil gave an increase in the C atomic composition (42 at% C-65 at% C) and a decrease in both B and N contents (18 at% B and 14 at% N to 8 at% B and 7 at% N). UV-vis absorption spectra showed a higher band gap energy for the quantum dots (5.90 eV) in comparison with the nanodots (5.68 eV) due to a quantum confinement effect. The results indicated that the position of the B-source and its reaction with ammonia plays a significant role in controlling the nucleation of the h-BN quantum- and nanodots. The films are proposed to be used in solar cells. A mechanism to explain the growth of h-BN quantum/nanodots in BCN films is reported.

Evaluation of quantum confinement effect in nanocrystal Si dot layer by Raman spectroscopy.

PubMed

Mizukami, Y; Kosemura, D; Numasawa, Y; Ohshita, Y; Ogura, A

2012-11-01

Quantum confinement effect in the nanocrystal-Si (nc-Si) was evaluated by Raman spectroscopy. The nc-Si dot layers were fabricated by the H2 plasma treatment for the nucleation site formation followed by the SiH4 irradiation for the nc-Si growth. Post-oxidation annealing was also performed to improve the crystalline quality. After post-oxidation annealing for 5 or 10 min, the asymmetric broadening on the lower frequency sides in Raman spectra were obtained, which can be attributed to the phonon confinement effect in nc-Si. Furthermore we confirmed that hydrostatic stress of approximately 500 MPa was induced in nc-Si after post-oxidation annealing.

Surface chemistry and density distribution influence on visible luminescence of silicon quantum dots: an experimental and theoretical approach.

PubMed

Dutt, Ateet; Matsumoto, Yasuhiro; Santana-Rodríguez, G; Ramos, Estrella; Monroy, B Marel; Santoyo Salazar, J

2017-01-04

The impact of the surface reconstruction of the density distribution and photoluminescence of silicon quantum dots (QDs) embedded in a silicon oxide matrix (SiO x ) has been studied. Annealing treatments carried out on the as-deposited samples provoked the effusion of hydrogen species. Moreover, depending on the surrounding density and coalescence of QDs, they resulted in a change in the average size of the particles depending on the initial local environment. The shift in the luminescence spectra all over the visible region (blue, green and red) shows a strong dependence on the resultant change in the size and/or the passivation environment of QDs. Density functional theoretical (DFT) calculations support this fact and explain the possible electronic transitions (HOMO-LUMO gap) involved. Passivation in the presence of oxygen species lowers the band gap of Si 29 and Si 35 nanoclusters up to 1.7 eV, whereas, surface passivation in the environment of hydrogen species increases the band gap up to 4.4 eV. These results show a good agreement with the quantum confinement model described in this work and explain the shift in the luminescence all over the visible region. The results reported here offer vital insight into the mechanism of emission from silicon quantum dots which has been one of the most debated topics in the last two decades. QDs with multiple size distribution in different local environments (band gap) observed in this work could be used for the fabrication of light emission diodes (LEDs) or shift-conversion thin films in third generation efficient tandem solar cells for the maximum absorption of the solar spectrum in different wavelength regions.

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

Fromm, Andrea; Bonitz, Michael; Dufty, James

The idea of treating quantum systems by semiclassical representations using effective quantum potentials (forces) has been successfully applied in equilibrium by many authors, see e.g. [D. Bohm, Phys. Rev. 85 (1986) 166 and 180; D.K. Ferry, J.R. Zhou, Phys. Rev. B 48 (1993) 7944; A.V. Filinov, M. Bonitz, W. Ebeling, J. Phys. A 36 (2003) 5957 and references cited therein]. Here, this idea is extended to nonequilibrium quantum systems in an external field. A gauge-invariant quantum kinetic theory for weakly inhomogeneous charged particle systems in a strong electromagnetic field is developed within the framework of nonequilibrium Green's functions. The equationmore » for the spectral density is simplified by introducing a classical (local) form for the kinetics. Nonlocal quantum effects are accounted for in this way by replacing the bare external confinement potential with an effective quantum potential. The equation for this effective potential is identified and solved for weak inhomogeneity in the collisionless limit. The resulting nonequilibrium spectral function is used to determine the density of states and the modification of the Born collision operator in the kinetic equation for the Wigner function due to quantum confinement effects.« less

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.

Metal colloids and semiconductor quantum dots: Linear and nonlinear optical properties

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Henderson, D. O.; My, R.; Tung, Y.; Ueda, A.; Zhu, J.; Collins, W. E.; Hall, Christopher

1995-01-01

One aspect of this project involves a collaborative effort with the Solid State Division of ORNL. The thrust behind this research is to develop ion implantion for synthesizing novel materials (quantum dots wires and wells, and metal colloids) for applications in all optical switching devices, up conversion, and the synthesis of novel refractory materials. In general the host material is typically a glass such as optical grade silica. The ions of interest are Au, Ag, Cd, Se, In, P, Sb, Ga and As. An emphasis is placed on host guest interactions between the matrix and the implanted ion and how the matrix effects and implantation parameters can be used to obtain designer level optical devices tailored for specific applications. The specific materials of interest are: CdSe, CdTe, InAs, GaAs, InP, GaP, InSb, GaSb and InGaAs. A second aspect of this research program involves using porous glass (25-200 A) for fabricating materials of finite size. In this part of the program, we are particularly interested in characterizing the thermodynamic and optical properties of these non-composite materials. We also address how phase diagram of the confined material is altered by the interfacial properties between the confined material and the pore wall.

Spontaneous brightening of dark excitons in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots near a cleaved facet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huo, Y. H.; Křápek, V.; Schmidt, O. G.; Rastelli, A.

2017-04-01

Dark excitons (DEs) confined in epitaxial quantum dots (QDs) are interesting because of their long lifetime compared to bright excitons (BEs). For the same reason they are usually difficult to access in optical experiments. Here we report on the observation of vertically polarized light emission from DEs confined in high-quality epitaxial GaAs/AlGaAs QDs located in proximity of a cleaved facet of the QD specimen. Calculations based on the eight-band k.p method and configuration interaction allow us to attribute the brightening of the DE to the anisotropic strain present at the sample edge, which breaks the symmetry of the system and enhances valence-band mixing. The mechanism of DE brightening is discussed in detail by inspecting both the Bloch and envelope wave functions of the involved hole states. In addition, by investigating experimentally and theoretically QDs with different sizes, we find that the energy separation between DE and BEs tends to decrease with increasing QD height. Finally, the presence of a cleaved facet is found also to enhance the BE fine structure splitting. This work provides a simple method to optically probe dark excitonic states in QDs and shows that the properties of QDs can be significantly affected by the presence of nearby edges.

Dense Ge nanocrystals embedded in TiO2 with exponentially increased photoconduction by field effect.

PubMed

Lepadatu, A-M; Slav, A; Palade, C; Dascalescu, I; Enculescu, M; Iftimie, S; Lazanu, S; Teodorescu, V S; Ciurea, M L; Stoica, T

2018-03-20

Si and Ge nanocrystals in oxides are of a large interest for photo-effect applications due to the fine-tuning of the optical bandgap by quantum confinement in nanocrystals. In this work, dense Ge nanocrystals suitable for enhanced photoconduction were fabricated from 60% Ge in TiO 2 amorphous layers by low temperature rapid thermal annealing at 550 °C. An exponential increase of the photocurrent with the applied voltage was observed in coplanar structure of Ge nanocrystals composite films deposited on oxidized Si wafers. The behaviour was explained by field effect control of the Fermi level at the Ge nanocrystals-TiO 2 layer/substrate interfaces. The blue-shift of the absorption gap from bulk Ge value to 1.14 eV was evidenced in both photocurrent spectra and optical reflection-transmission experiments, in good agreement with quantum confinement induced bandgap broadening in Ge nanocrystal with sizes of about 5 nm as found from HRTEM and XRD investigations. A nonmonotonic spectral dependence of the refractive index is associated to the Ge nanocrystals formation. The nanocrystal morphology is also in good agreement with the Coulomb gap hopping mechanism of T -1/2 -type explaining the temperature dependence of the dark conduction.

A Semimetal Nanowire Rectifier: Balancing Quantum Confinement and Surface Electronegativity.

PubMed

Sanchez-Soares, Alfonso; Greer, James C

2016-12-14

For semimetal nanowires with diameters on the order of 10 nm, a semimetal-to-semiconductor transition is observed due to quantum confinement effects. Quantum confinement in a semimetal lifts the degeneracy of the conduction and valence bands in a "zero" gap semimetal or shifts energy levels with a "negative" overlap to form conduction and valence bands. For semimetal nanowires with diameters less than 10 nm, the band gap energy can be significantly larger than the thermal energy at room temperature resulting in a new class of semiconductors suitable for nanoelectronics. As a nanowire's diameter is reduced, its surface-to-volume ratio increases rapidly leading to an increased impact of surface chemistry on its electronic structure. Energy level shifts to states in the vicinity of the Fermi energy with varying surface electronegativity are shown to be comparable in magnitude to quantum confinement effects arising in nanowires with diameters of a few nanometer; these two effects can counteract one another leading to semimetallic behavior at nanowire cross sections at which confinement effects would otherwise dominate. Abruptly changing the surface terminating species along the length of a nanowire can lead to an abrupt change in the surface electronegativity. This can result in the formation of a semimetal-semiconductor junction within a monomaterial nanowire without impurity doping nor requiring the formation of a heterojunction. Using density functional theory in tandem with a Green's function approach to determine electronic structure and charge transport, respectively, current rectification is calculated for such a junction. Current rectification ratios of the order of 10 3 -10 5 are predicted at applied biases as low as 300 mV. It is concluded that rectification can be achieved at essentially molecular length scales with conventional biasing, while rivaling the performance of macroscopic semiconductor diodes.

Gate-Defined Quantum Confinement in InSe-based van der Waals Heterostructures.

PubMed

Hamer, Matthew J; Tóvári, Endre; Zhu, Mengjian; Thompson, Michael Dermot; Mayorov, Alexander S; Prance, Jonathan; Lee, Yongjin; Haley, Richard; Kudrynskyi, Zakhar R; Patanè, Amalia; Terry, Daniel; Kovalyuk, Zakhar D; Ensslin, Klaus; Kretinin, Andrey V; Geim, Andre K; Gorbachev, Roman Vladislavovich

2018-05-15

Indium selenide, a post-transition metal chalcogenide, is a novel two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor with interesting electronic properties. Its tunable band gap and high electron mobility have already attracted considerable research interest. Here we demonstrate strong quantum confinement and manipulation of single electrons in devices made from few-layer crystals of InSe using electrostatic gating. We report on gate-controlled quantum dots in the Coulomb blockade regime as well as one-dimensional quantization in point contacts, revealing multiple plateaus. The work represents an important milestone in the development of quality devices based on 2D materials and makes InSe a prime candidate for relevant electronic and optoelectronic applications.

Interplay between quantum confinement and surface effects in thickness selective stability of thin Ag and Eu films

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

Liu, Xiaojie; Wang, Cai -Zhuang

Using first-principles calculations, we show that both face-centered cubic (fcc) Ag (1 1 0) ultrathin films and body-centered cubic (bcc) Eu(1 1 0) ultrathin films exhibit thickness selective stability. Furthermore, the origin of such thickness selection is different. While the thickness selective stability in fcc Ag(1 1 0) films is mainly due to the well-known quantum well states ascribed to the quantum confinement effects in free-electron-like metal films, the thickness selection in bcc Eu(1 1 0) films is more complex and also strongly correlated with the occupation of the surface and surface resonance states.

Strain-induced fundamental optical transition in (In,Ga)As/GaP quantum dots

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

Robert, C., E-mail: cedric.robert@insa-rennes.fr, E-mail: cedric.robert@tyndall.ie; Pedesseau, L.; Cornet, C.

The nature of the ground optical transition in an (In,Ga)As/GaP quantum dot is thoroughly investigated through a million atoms supercell tight-binding simulation. Precise quantum dot morphology is deduced from previously reported scanning-tunneling-microscopy images. The strain field is calculated with the valence force field method and has a strong influence on the confinement potentials, principally, for the conduction band states. Indeed, the wavefunction of the ground electron state is spatially confined in the GaP matrix, close to the dot apex, in a large tensile strain region, having mainly Xz character. Photoluminescence experiments under hydrostatic pressure strongly support the theoretical conclusions.

Intraband Raman laser gain in a boron nitride coupled quantum well

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

Moorthy, N. Narayana; Peter, A. John, E-mail: a.john.peter@gmail.com

2016-05-23

On-centre impurity related electronic and optical properties are studied in a Boron nitride coupled quantum well. Confined energies for the intraband transition are investigated by studying differential cross section of electron Raman scattering taking into consideration of spatial confinement in a B{sub 0.3}Ga{sub 0.7}N/BN coupled quantum well. Raman gain as a function of incident optical pump intensity is computed for constant well width. The enhancement of Raman gain is observed with the application of pump power. The results can be applied for the potential applications for fabricating some optical devices such as optical switches, infrared photo-detectors and electro-optical modulator.

Interplay between quantum confinement and surface effects in thickness selective stability of thin Ag and Eu films

DOE PAGES

Liu, Xiaojie; Wang, Cai -Zhuang

2017-04-03

Using first-principles calculations, we show that both face-centered cubic (fcc) Ag (1 1 0) ultrathin films and body-centered cubic (bcc) Eu(1 1 0) ultrathin films exhibit thickness selective stability. Furthermore, the origin of such thickness selection is different. While the thickness selective stability in fcc Ag(1 1 0) films is mainly due to the well-known quantum well states ascribed to the quantum confinement effects in free-electron-like metal films, the thickness selection in bcc Eu(1 1 0) films is more complex and also strongly correlated with the occupation of the surface and surface resonance states.

Integration of micro-/nano-/quantum-scale photonic devices: scientific and technological considerations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, El-Hang; Lee, Seung-Gol; O, Beom Hoan; Park, Se Geun

2004-08-01

Scientific and technological issues and considerations regarding the integration of miniaturized microphotonic devices, circuits and systems in micron, submicron, and quantum scale, are presented. First, we examine the issues regarding the miniaturization of photonic devices including the size effect, proximity effect, energy confinement effect, microcavity effect, optical and quantum interference effect, high field effect, nonlinear effect, noise effect, quantum optical effect, and chaotic effect. Secondly, we examine the issues regarding the interconnection including the optical alignment, minimizing the interconnection losses, and maintaining optical modes. Thirdly, we address the issues regarding the two-dimensional or three-dimensional integration either in a hybrid format or in a monolithic format between active devices and passive devices of varying functions. We find that the concept of optical printed circuit board (O-PCB) that we propose is highly attractive as a platform for micro/nano/quantum-scale photonic integration. We examine the technological issues to be addressed in the process of fabrication, characterization, and packaging for actual implementation of the miniaturization, interconnection and integration. Devices that we have used for our study include: mode conversion schemes, micro-ring and micro-racetrack resonator devices, multimode interference devices, lasers, vertical cavity surface emitting microlasers, and their arrays. Future prospects are also discussed.

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

Bagraev, N. T., E-mail: bagraev@mail.ioffe.ru; Grigoryev, V. Yu.; Klyachkin, L. E.

The negative-U impurity stripes confining the edge channels of semiconductor quantum wells are shown to allow the effective cooling inside in the process of the spin-dependent transport. The aforesaid also promotes the creation of composite bosons and fermions by the capture of single magnetic flux quanta at the edge channels under the conditions of low sheet density of carriers, thus opening new opportunities for the registration of quantum kinetic phenomena in weak magnetic fields at high temperatures up to the room temperature. As a certain version noted above, we present the first findings of the high temperature de Haas–van Alphenmore » (300 K) and quantum Hall (77 K) effects in the silicon sandwich structure that represents the ultranarrow, 2 nm, p-type quantum well (Si-QW) confined by the delta barriers heavily doped with boron on the n-type Si (100) surface. These data appear to result from the low density of single holes that are of small effective mass in the edge channels of p-type Si-QW because of the impurity confinement by the stripes consisting of the negative-U dipole boron centers which seems to give rise to the efficiency reduction of the electron–electron interaction.« less

Engineered long-range interactions on a 2D array of trapped ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Britton, Joseph W.; Sawyer, Brian C.; Bollinger, John J.; Freericks, James K.

2014-03-01

Ising interactions are one paradigm used to model quantum magnetism in condensed matter systems. At NIST Boulder we confine and Doppler laser cool hundreds of 9Be+ ions in a Penning trap. The valence electron of each ion behaves as an ideal spin-1/2 particle and, in the limit of weak radial confinement relative to axial confinement, the ions naturally form a two-dimensional triangular lattice. A variable-range anti-ferromagnetic Ising interaction is engineered with a spin-dependent optical dipole force (ODF) through spin-dependent excitation of collective modes of ion motion. We have also exploited this spin-dependent force to perform spectroscopy and thermometry of the normal modes of the trapped ion crystal. The high spin-count and long-range spin-spin couplings achievable in the NIST Penning trap brings within reach simulation of computationally intractable problems in quantum magnetism. Examples include modeling quantum magnetic phase transitions and propagation of spin correlations resulting from a quantum quench. The Penning system may also be amenable to observation of spin-liquid behavior thought to arise in systems where the underlying lattice structure can frustrate long-range ordering. Supported by DARPA OLE and NIST.

Real-Time Reciprocal Space Mapping of Nano-Islands Induced by Quantum Confinement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Hawoong; Gray, Aaron; Chiang, T.-C.

2011-01-01

The effects of quantum confinement have been observed pronouncedly in the island morphology of Pb thin films. The evolution of these nano-islands on Si (111)-(7 × 7) and sapphire (001) surfaces has been studied with a new X-ray diffraction method. A charge-coupled device (CCD) camera was used to collect two- and three-dimensional (2-D and 3-D, respectively) maps of the surface X-ray diffraction in real time. Large ranges of the reflectivity curves, with rocking curves at every point on the reflectivity curves, could be measured continuously in a relatively short amount of time. The abundance of information from 2-D k-space maps reveals clear changes in the growth modes of these thin Pb films. With the 3-D extension of this method, it was possible to observe the ordering of the islands. The islands maintain a nearly uniform interisland distance but lack any angular correlation. The interisland ordering is correlated well with the development of "magic" island heights caused by quantum confinement.

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

Octoxy capped Si nanoparticles synthesized by homogeneous reduction of SiCl4 with crown ether alkalide.

PubMed

Sletnes, M; Maria, J; Grande, T; Lindgren, M; Einarsrud, M-A

2014-02-07

Blue-green luminescent octoxy capped Si nanoparticles were synthesized via homogeneous reduction of SiCl4 with the crown ether alkalide K(+)(15-crown-5)2K(-) in tetrahydrofuran. The Si nanoparticles were characterized with respect to size, crystal structure, morphology, surface termination, optical properties and stability. Si diamond structure nanoparticles with narrow size distributions, and average diameters ranging from 3 to 7 nm were obtained. A finite-size effect on the lattice dimensions was observed, in the form of an expansion of the [220] lattice planes of smaller Si nanoparticles. The concentration of SiCl4 was found to be the most important parameter governing the particle size and size distribution. The octoxy capped particles were stable under an ambient atmosphere for at least one month, but exposure to water made them prone to oxidation. An average radiative recombination lifetime of 8.8 ns was measured for the blue-green luminescence. The luminescence appears to originate from surface defects, rather than from quantum confinement.

Improved photoluminescence characteristics of order-disorder AlGaInP quantum wells at room and elevated temperatures

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

Mukherjee, Kunal; Fitzgerald, Eugene A.; Deotare, Parag B.

2015-04-06

A set of nominally undoped CuPt-B type ordered (Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1−x}){sub 0.5}In{sub 0.5}P quantum-wells with disordered (Al{sub 0.7}Ga{sub 0.3}){sub 0.5}In{sub 0.5}P barriers were grown and characterized using transmission electron microscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. Such structures are potentially beneficial for light emitting devices due to the possibility of greater carrier confinement, reduced scattering into the indirect valleys, and band-offset adjustment beyond what is possible with strain and composition. Furthermore, the possibility of independently tuning the composition and the order-parameter of the quantum-well allows for the decoupling of the carrier confinement and the aluminum content and aids in the identification of carriermore » loss mechanisms. In this study, sharp order-disorder interfaces were achieved via the control of growth temperature between 650 °C and 750 °C using growth pauses. Improved high-temperature (400 K) photoluminescence intensity was obtained from quantum-wells with ordered Ga{sub 0.5}In{sub 0.5}P as compared to disordered Ga{sub 0.5}In{sub 0.5}P due to greater confinement. Additionally, in the ordered samples with a higher Al/Ga ratio to counter the band-gap reduction, the photoluminescence intensity at high temperature was as bright as that from conventional disordered heterostructures and had slightly improved wavelength stability. Room-temperature time-resolved luminescence measurements indicated a longer radiative lifetime in the ordered quantum-well with reduced scattering into the barrier. These results show that in samples of good material quality, the property controlling the luminescence intensity is the carrier confinement and not the presence of ordering or the aluminum content.« less

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

DUFTY J W

This is the final report for the project 'Correlations in Confined Quantum Plasmas', NSF-DOE Partnership Grant DE FG02 07ER54946, 8/1/2007 - 7/30/2010. The research was performed in collaboration with a group at Christian Albrechts University (CAU), Kiel, Germany. That collaboration, almost 15 years old, was formalized during the past four years under this NSF-DOE Partnership Grant to support graduate students at the two institutions and to facilitate frequent exchange visits. The research was focused on exploring the frontiers of charged particle physics evolving from new experimental access to unusual states associated with confinement. Particular attention was paid to combined effectsmore » of quantum mechanics and confinement. A suite of analytical and numerical tools tailored to the specific inquiry has been developed and employed« less

Thickness dependent thermoelectric properties of SrTiO3/SrLaTiO3 and SrZrO3/SrLaTiO3 heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishii, Masatoshi; Baniecki, John; Schafranek, Robert; Kerman, Kian; Kurihara, Kazuaki

2013-03-01

Thermoelectric power generators will be required for future sensor network systems. SrTiO3 (STO) is one candidate thermoelectric material due to its non-toxicity and comparable power factor to Bismuth telluride. The energy conversion efficiency of SrTiO3-based thermoelectric energy conversion elements has been reported to be enhanced by quantum size effects, such as the two dimensional (2D) electron gas in SrTiO3/SrTi0.8Nb0.2O3/SrTiO3. Nevertheless, a complete understanding of the mechanisms for the reported increase in efficiency are missing owing to a lack of understanding of the thickness dependence of the transport properties. In the talk, we will present a study of the thickness dependence of the transport properties of SrTiO3/SrLaTiO3 and SrZrO3/SrLaTiO3 heterostructures. The SrZrO3/SrLaTiO3 interface has a large conduction band off-set of 1.9 eV which can be utilized to confine electrons in a 2D quantum well. Characterization of the thermopower, conductivity, and Hall effect will be presented as a function of the SrLaTiO3 thickness down to a few unit cells and the implications of the thickness dependence of the transport properties on carrier confinement and increasing the efficiency STO-based 2DEG quantum well structures will be discussed.

Quantum Effects of Magnons Confined in Multilayered CoPd Ferromagnets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nwokoye, Chidubem; Siddique, Abid; Bennett, Lawrence; Della Torre, Edward; IMR Team

Quantum entanglement is a unique quantum mechanical effect that arises from the correlation between two or more quantum systems. The fundamental aspects of magnon entanglement has been theoretical studied and the interest in developing technologies that exploits quantum entanglement is growing. We discuss the results of an experimental study of magnon entanglement in multilayered CoPd ferromagnets. Our findings are interesting and will aid in developing novel magnonic devices. Office of Naval Research.

Linearly polarized emission from an embedded quantum dot using nanowire morphology control.

PubMed

Foster, Andrew P; Bradley, John P; Gardner, Kirsty; Krysa, Andrey B; Royall, Ben; Skolnick, Maurice S; Wilson, Luke R

2015-03-11

GaAs nanowires with elongated cross sections are formed using a catalyst-free growth technique. This is achieved by patterning elongated nanoscale openings within a silicon dioxide growth mask on a (111)B GaAs substrate. It is observed that MOVPE-grown vertical nanowires with cross section elongated in the [21̅1̅] and [1̅12] directions remain faithful to the geometry of the openings. An InGaAs quantum dot with weak radial confinement is realized within each nanowire by briefly introducing indium into the reactor during nanowire growth. Photoluminescence emission from an embedded nanowire quantum dot is strongly linearly polarized (typically >90%) with the polarization direction coincident with the axis of elongation. Linearly polarized PL emission is a result of embedding the quantum dot in an anisotropic nanowire structure that supports a single strongly confined, linearly polarized optical mode. This research provides a route to the bottom-up growth of linearly polarized single photon sources of interest for quantum information applications.

Coulomb Oscillations in a Gate-Controlled Few-Layer Graphene Quantum Dot.

PubMed

Song, Yipu; Xiong, Haonan; Jiang, Wentao; Zhang, Hongyi; Xue, Xiao; Ma, Cheng; Ma, Yulin; Sun, Luyan; Wang, Haiyan; Duan, Luming

2016-10-12

Graphene quantum dots could be an ideal host for spin qubits and thus have been extensively investigated based on graphene nanoribbons and etched nanostructures; however, edge and substrate-induced disorders severely limit device functionality. Here, we report the confinement of quantum dots in few-layer graphene with tunable barriers, defined by local strain and electrostatic gating. Transport measurements unambiguously reveal that confinement barriers are formed by inducing a band gap via the electrostatic gating together with local strain induced constriction. Numerical simulations according to the local top-gate geometry confirm the band gap opening by a perpendicular electric field. We investigate the magnetic field dependence of the energy-level spectra in these graphene quantum dots. Experimental results reveal a complex evolution of Coulomb oscillations with the magnetic field, featuring kinks at level crossings. The simulation of energy spectrum shows that the kink features and the magnetic field dependence are consistent with experimental observations, implying the hybridized nature of energy-level spectrum of these graphene quantum dots.

Study of effects of size and Ga mole content of In1-xGax As / GaAs quantum ring on excitonic properties using the variational calculation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ben Mansour, Afef; Kehili, Mohamed Souhail; Melliti, Adnen; Maaref, Mohamed Ali

2017-10-01

This work aims to calculate the energy spectrum of semiconductor In1-xGax As / GaAs Quantum Ring (QR) using a three-dimensional model. The latter is modeled by a truncated torus residing on a thin In1-xWLGaxWL As wetting layer (WL). The main novelty of this work is to calculate electron and hole ground state energy using a variational method. The lattice-mismatch strain effect and the charge carrier confinement profile were considered in the calculation. For electron, the energy dependence of the effective mass was taken into account in solving the Schrödinger equation using the single band effective mass approximation. Moreover, variational estimate of the excitonic binding energy and the oscillator strength as a function of the QR radial width and Ga mole content were reported.

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.

Musical Example to Visualize Abstract Quantum Mechanical Ideas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eagle, Forrest W.; Seaney, Kyser D.; Grubb, Michael P.

2017-01-01

Quantum mechanics is a notoriously difficult subject to learn, due to a lack of real-world analogies that might help provide an intuitive grasp of the underlying ideas. Discrete energy levels and absorption and emission wavelengths in atoms are sometimes described as uniquely quantum phenomena, but are actually general to spatially confined waves…

Synthesis, characterization and photovoltaic performance of Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots- P3HT hybrid bulk heterojunction solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jabeen, Uzma; Adhikari, Tham; Shah, Syed Mujtaba; Pathak, Dinesh; Nunzi, Jean-Michel

2017-11-01

Zinc sulphide (ZnS) and transition metal-doped ZnS nanocrystals were synthesized by co-precipitation method. Further the synthesized nanocrystals were characterized by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM), High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope (HRTEM), Fluorescence, UV-Visible, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transformed Infra-red (FTIR) Spectrometer (FTIR). Scanning electron microscope supplemented with EDAX was employed to attain grain size and chemical composition of the nanomaterials. A considerable blue shift of absorption band was noted by the manganese concentration (0.5 M) in the doped sample in comparison with ZnS quantum dots because of the decrease in the size of nanoparticles which may be due to quantum confinement. The photoluminescence emission observed at 596 nm is due to the emission of divalent manganese and can be ascribed to a 4T1→6A1 transition within the 3d shell. Though, the broad blue emission band was observed at 424 nm which may originates from the radiative recombination comprising defect states in the un-doped zinc sulphide quantum dots. XRD analysis exhibited that the synthesized nanomaterial endured in cubic structure. The synthesized nanomaterial combined with organic polymer P3HT, poly (3-hexyl thiophene) and worked in the construction of inverted solar cells. The photovoltaic devices with un-doped zinc sulphide quantum dots showed power conversion efficiency of 0.48% without annealing and 0.52% with annealing. By doping with manganese, the efficiency was enhanced by a factor of 0.52 without annealing and 0.59 with annealing. The morphology and packing behavior of blend of nanocrystals with organic polymer were explored using Atomic Force Microscopy.

Confinement control mechanism for two-electron Hulthen quantum dots in plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bahar, M. K.; Soylu, A.

2018-05-01

In this study, for the first time, the energies of two-electron Hulthen quantum dots (TEHQdots) embedded in Debye and quantum plasmas modeled by the more general exponential cosine screened Coulomb (MGECSC) potential under the combined influence of electric and magnetic fields are investigated by numerically solving the Schrödinger equation using the asymptotic iteration method. To do this, the four different forms of the MGECSC potential, which set through the different cases of the potential parameters, are taken into consideration. We propose that plasma environments form considerable quantum mechanical effects for quantum dots and other atomic systems and that plasmas are important experimental arguments. In this study, by considering the quantum dot parameters, the external field parameters, and the plasma screening parameters, a control mechanism of the confinement on energies of TEHQdots and the frequency of the radiation emitted by TEHQdots as a result of any excitation is discussed. In this mechanism, the behaviors, similarities, the functionalities of the control parameters, and the influences of plasmas on these quantities are explored.

Control of exciton confinement in quantum dot-organic complexes through energetic alignment of interfacial orbitals.

PubMed

Frederick, Matthew T; Amin, Victor A; Swenson, Nathaniel K; Ho, Andrew Y; Weiss, Emily A

2013-01-09

This paper describes a method to control the quantum confinement, and therefore the energy, of excitonic holes in CdSe QDs through adsorption of the hole-delocalizing ligand phenyldithiocarbamate, PTC, and para substitutions of the phenyl ring of this ligand with electron-donating or -withdrawing groups. These substitutions control hole delocalization in the QDs through the energetic alignment of the highest occupied orbitals of PTC with the highest density-of-states region of the CdSe valence band, to which PTC couples selectively.

Engineering 1D Quantum Stripes from Superlattices of 2D Layered Materials.

PubMed

Gruenewald, John H; Kim, Jungho; Kim, Heung Sik; Johnson, Jared M; Hwang, Jinwoo; Souri, Maryam; Terzic, Jasminka; Chang, Seo Hyoung; Said, Ayman; Brill, Joseph W; Cao, Gang; Kee, Hae-Young; Seo, Sung S Ambrose

2017-01-01

Dimensional tunability from two dimensions to one dimension is demonstrated for the first time using an artificial superlattice method in synthesizing 1D stripes from 2D layered materials. The 1D confinement of layered Sr 2 IrO 4 induces distinct 1D quantum-confined electronic states, as observed from optical spectroscopy and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering. This 1D superlattice approach is generalizable to a wide range of layered materials. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Ultrafast exciton dynamics and light-driven H2 evolution in colloidal semiconductor nanorods and Pt-tipped nanorods.

PubMed

Wu, Kaifeng; Zhu, Haiming; Lian, Tianquan

2015-03-17

Colloidal quantum confined one-dimensional (1D) semiconductor nanorods (NRs) and related semiconductor-metal heterostructures are promising new materials for efficient solar-to-fuel conversion because of their unique physical and chemical properties. NRs can simultaneously exhibit quantum confinement effects in the radial direction and bulk like carrier transport in the axial direction. The former implies that concepts well-established in zero-dimensional quantum dots, such as size-tunable energetics and wave function engineering through band alignment in heterostructures, can also be applied to NRs; while the latter endows NRs with fast carrier transport to achieve long distance charge separation. Selective growth of catalytic metallic nanoparticles, such as Pt, at the tips of NRs provides convenient routes to multicomponent heterostructures with photocatalytic capabilities and controllable charge separation distances. The design and optimization of such materials for efficient solar-to-fuel conversion require the understanding of exciton and charge carrier dynamics. In this Account, we summarize our recent studies of ultrafast charge separation and recombination kinetics and their effects on steady-state photocatalytic efficiencies of colloidal CdS and CdSe/CdS NRs and related NR-Pt heterostructures. After a brief introduction of their electronic structure, we discuss exciton dynamics of CdS NRs. By transient absorption and time-resolved photoluminescence decay, it is shown that although the conduction band electrons are long-lived, photogenerated holes in CdS NRs are trapped on an ultrafast time scale (∼0.7 ps), which forms localized excitons due to strong Coulomb interaction in 1D NRs. In quasi-type II CdSe/CdS dot-in-rod NRs, a large valence band offset drives the ultrafast localization of holes to the CdSe core, and the competition between this process and ultrafast hole trapping on a CdS rod leads to three types of exciton species with distinct spatial distributions. The effect of the exciton dynamics on photoreduction reactions is illustrated using methyl viologen (MV(2+)) as a model electron acceptor. The steady-state MV(2+) photoreduction quantum yield of CdSe/CdS dot-in-rod NRs approaches unity under rod excitation, much larger than CdSe QDs and CdSe/CdS core/shell QDs. Detailed time-resolved studies show that in quasi-type II CdSe/CdS NRs and type II ZnSe/CdS NRs strong quantum confinement in the radial direction facilitates fast electron transfer and hole removal, whereas the fast carrier mobility along the axial direction enables long distance charge separation and slow charge recombination, which is essential for efficient MV(2+) photoreduction. The NR/MV(2+) relay system can be coupled to Pt nanoparticles in solution for light-driven H2 generation. Alternatively, Pt-tipped CdS and CdSe/CdS NRs provide fully integrated all inorganic systems for light-driven H2 generation. In CdS-Pt and CdSe/CdS-Pt hetero-NRs, ultrafast hole trapping on the CdS rod surface or in CdSe core enables efficient electron transfer from NRs to Pt tips by suppressing hole and energy transfer. It is shown that the quantum yields of photodriven H2 generation using these heterostructures correlate well with measured hole transfer rates from NRs to sacrificial donors, revealing that hole removal is the key efficiency-limiting step. These findings provide important insights for designing more efficient quantum confined NR and NR-Pt based systems for solar-to-fuel conversion.

Overflow of a dipolar exciton trap at high magnetic fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dietl, Sebastian; Kowalik-Seidl, Katarzyna; Hammer, Lukas; Schuh, Dieter; Wegscheider, Werner; Holleitner, Alexander; Wurstbauer, Ursula

We study the photoluminescence of trapped dipolar excitons (IX) in coupled double GaAs quantum wells at low temperatures and high magnetic fields. A voltage-tunable electrode geometry controls the strength of the quantum confined Stark effect and defines the lateral trapping potential. Furthermore, it enhances the IX lifetime, enabling them to cool down to lattice temperature. We show that a magnetic field in Faraday configuration effectively prevents the escape of unbound photogenerated charge carriers from the trap area, thus increasing the density of dipolar excitons. For large magnetic fields, we observe an overflow of the IX trap and an effectively suppressed quantum confined Stark effect. We acknowledge financial support by the German Excellence Initiative via the Nanosystems Initiative Munich (NIM).

Potential effect of CuInS2/ZnS core-shell quantum dots on P3HT/PEDOT:PSS heterostructure based solar cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jindal, Shikha; Giripunje, S. M.

2018-07-01

Nanostructured quantum dots (QDs) are quite promising in the solar cell application due to quantum confinement effect. QDs possess multiple exciton generation and large surface area. The environment friendly CuInS2/ZnS core-shell QDs were prepared by solvothermal method. Thus, the 3 nm average sized CuInS2/ZnS QDs were employed in the bulk heterojunction device and the active blend layer consisting of the P3HT and CuInS2/ZnS QDs was investigated. The energy level information of CuInS2/ZnS QDs as an electron acceptor was explored by ultra violet photoelectron spectroscopy. Bulk heterojunction hybrid device of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/P3HT: (CuInS2/ZnS QDs)/ZnO/Ag was designed by spin coating approach and its electrical characterization was investigated by solar simulator. Current density - voltage characteristics shows the enhancement in power conversion efficiency with increasing concentration of CuInS2/ZnS QDs in bulk heterojunction device.

Multi-excitonic (N=1,2 and 3) quantum dots in magnetic field: Analytical mapping of correlations (exchange) by multipole expansion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Sunny; Kaur, Harsimran; Sharma, Shivalika; Aggarwal, Priyanka; Hazra, Ram Kuntal

2017-04-01

The understanding of the physics of exciton, bi-exciton, tri-exciton and the subsequent insight into controlling the properties of mesoscopic systems holds the key to various exotic optical, electrical and magnetic phenomena like superconductivity, Mott insulation, Quantum Hall effect etc. Many of exciton properties are similar to atomic hydrogen that attracts researchers to explore electronic structure of exciton in quantum dots, but nontriviality arises due to coulombic interactions among electrons and holes. We propose an exact integral of coulomb (exchange) correlation in terms of finitely summed Lauricella functions to examine 3-D exciton of harmonic dots confined in zero and non-zero arbitrary magnetic field. The highlight of our work is the use of exact variational solution for coloumbic interaction between the hole and the electron and evaluation of the cross terms arising out of the coupling among centre-of-mass and relative coordinates. We also have extended the size of the system to generalized N-body problem with N=3,4 for tri-exciton (e-e-h/e-h-h)

Structural and optical properties of Mg doped ZnS quantum dots and biological applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashokkumar, M.; Boopathyraja, A.

2018-01-01

Zn1-xMgxS (x = 0, 0.2 and 0.4) quantum dots (QDs) were prepared by co-precipitation method. The Mg dopant did not modify the cubic blende structure of ZnS QDs. The Mg related secondary phase was not detected even for 40% of Mg doping. The size mismatch between host Zn ion and dopant Mg ion created distortion around the dopant. The creation of distortion centres produced small changes in the lattice parameters and diffraction peak position. All the QDs showed small sulfur deficiency and the deficiency level were increased by Mg doping. Band gap of the QD was decreased due to the dominated quantum confinement effect over compositional effect at initial doping of Mg. But at higher doping the band gap was increased due to compositional effect, since there was no change in average crystallite size. The prepared QDs had three emission bands in the UV and Visible regions corresponding to near band edge emission and defect related emissions. The electron transport reaction chain which forms free radicals was broken by sulfur vacancy trap sites. Therefore, the ZnS QDs had better antioxidant activity and the antioxidant behaviour was enhanced by Mg doping. The enhanced UV absorption and emission of 20% of Mg doped ZnS QDs let to maximize the zone of inhibition against E. Coli bacterial strain.

Two-electrons quantum dot in plasmas under the external fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bahar, M. K.; Soylu, A.

2018-02-01

In this study, for the first time, the combined effects of the external electric field, magnetic field, and confinement frequency on energies of two-electron parabolic quantum dots in Debye and quantum plasmas modeled by more general exponential cosine screened Coulomb (MGECSC) potential are investigated by numerically solving the Schrödinger equation using the asymptotic iteration method. The MGECSC potential includes four different potential forms when considering different sets of the parameters in potential. Since the plasma is an important experimental argument for quantum dots, the influence of plasmas modeled by the MGECSC potential on quantum dots is probed. The confinement frequency of quantum dots and the external fields created significant quantum restrictions on quantum dot. In this study, as well as discussion of the functionalities of the quantum restrictions for experimental applications, the parameters are also compared with each other in terms of influence and behaviour. In this manner, the motivation points of this study are summarized as follows: Which parameter can be alternative to which parameter, in terms of experimental applications? Which parameters exhibit similar behaviour? What is the role of plasmas on the corresponding behaviours? In the light of these research studies, it can be said that obtained results and performed discussions would be important in experimental and theoretical research related to plasma physics and/or quantum dots.

Quantum entanglement and spin control in silicon nanocrystal.

PubMed

Berec, Vesna

2012-01-01

Selective coherence control and electrically mediated exchange coupling of single electron spin between triplet and singlet states using numerically derived optimal control of proton pulses is demonstrated. We obtained spatial confinement below size of the Bohr radius for proton spin chain FWHM. Precise manipulation of individual spins and polarization of electron spin states are analyzed via proton induced emission and controlled population of energy shells in pure (29)Si nanocrystal. Entangled quantum states of channeled proton trajectories are mapped in transverse and angular phase space of (29)Si <100> axial channel alignment in order to avoid transversal excitations. Proton density and proton energy as impact parameter functions are characterized in single particle density matrix via discretization of diagonal and nearest off-diagonal elements. We combined high field and low densities (1 MeV/92 nm) to create inseparable quantum state by superimposing the hyperpolarizationed proton spin chain with electron spin of (29)Si. Quantum discretization of density of states (DOS) was performed by the Monte Carlo simulation method using numerical solutions of proton equations of motion. Distribution of gaussian coherent states is obtained by continuous modulation of individual spin phase and amplitude. Obtained results allow precise engineering and faithful mapping of spin states. This would provide the effective quantum key distribution (QKD) and transmission of quantum information over remote distances between quantum memory centers for scalable quantum communication network. Furthermore, obtained results give insights in application of channeled protons subatomic microscopy as a complete versatile scanning-probe system capable of both quantum engineering of charged particle states and characterization of quantum states below diffraction limit linear and in-depth resolution.PACS NUMBERS: 03.65.Ud, 03.67.Bg, 61.85.+p, 67.30.hj.

Computer simulation of liquid-vapor coexistence of confined quantum fluids

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

Trejos, Víctor M.; Gil-Villegas, Alejandro, E-mail: gil@fisica.ugto.mx; Martinez, Alejandro

2013-11-14

The liquid-vapor coexistence (LV) of bulk and confined quantum fluids has been studied by Monte Carlo computer simulation for particles interacting via a semiclassical effective pair potential V{sub eff}(r) = V{sub LJ} + V{sub Q}, where V{sub LJ} is the Lennard-Jones 12-6 potential (LJ) and V{sub Q} is the first-order Wigner-Kirkwood (WK-1) quantum potential, that depends on β = 1/kT and de Boer's quantumness parameter Λ=h/σ√(mε), where k and h are the Boltzmann's and Planck's constants, respectively, m is the particle's mass, T is the temperature of the system, and σ and ε are the LJ potential parameters. The non-conformalmore » properties of the system of particles interacting via the effective pair potential V{sub eff}(r) are due to Λ, since the LV phase diagram is modified by varying Λ. We found that the WK-1 system gives an accurate description of the LV coexistence for bulk phases of several quantum fluids, obtained by the Gibbs Ensemble Monte Carlo method (GEMC). Confinement effects were introduced using the Canonical Ensemble (NVT) to simulate quantum fluids contained within parallel hard walls separated by a distance L{sub p}, within the range 2σ ⩽ L{sub p} ⩽ 6σ. The critical temperature of the system is reduced by decreasing L{sub p} and increasing Λ, and the liquid-vapor transition is not longer observed for L{sub p}/σ < 2, in contrast to what has been observed for the classical system.« less

Single step deposition of an interacting layer of a perovskite matrix with embedded quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ngo, Thi Tuyen; Suarez, Isaac; Sanchez, Rafael S.; Martinez-Pastor, Juan P.; Mora-Sero, Ivan

2016-07-01

Hybrid lead halide perovskite (PS) derivatives have emerged as very promising materials for the development of optoelectronic devices in the last few years. At the same time, inorganic nanocrystals with quantum confinement (QDs) possess unique properties that make them suitable materials for the development of photovoltaics, imaging and lighting applications, among others. In this work, we report on a new methodology for the deposition of high quality, large grain size and pinhole free PS films (CH3NH3PbI3) with embedded PbS and PbS/CdS core/shell Quantum Dots (QDs). The strong interaction between both semiconductors is revealed by the formation of an exciplex state, which is monitored by photoluminescence and electroluminescence experiments. The radiative exciplex relaxation is centered in the near infrared region (NIR), ~1200 nm, which corresponds to lower energies than the corresponding band gap of both perovskite (PS) and QDs. Our approach allows the fabrication of multi-wavelength light emitting diodes (LEDs) based on a PS matrix with embedded QDs, which show considerably low turn-on potentials. The presence of the exciplex state of PS and QDs opens up a broad range of possibilities with important implications in both LEDs and solar cells.Hybrid lead halide perovskite (PS) derivatives have emerged as very promising materials for the development of optoelectronic devices in the last few years. At the same time, inorganic nanocrystals with quantum confinement (QDs) possess unique properties that make them suitable materials for the development of photovoltaics, imaging and lighting applications, among others. In this work, we report on a new methodology for the deposition of high quality, large grain size and pinhole free PS films (CH3NH3PbI3) with embedded PbS and PbS/CdS core/shell Quantum Dots (QDs). The strong interaction between both semiconductors is revealed by the formation of an exciplex state, which is monitored by photoluminescence and electroluminescence experiments. The radiative exciplex relaxation is centered in the near infrared region (NIR), ~1200 nm, which corresponds to lower energies than the corresponding band gap of both perovskite (PS) and QDs. Our approach allows the fabrication of multi-wavelength light emitting diodes (LEDs) based on a PS matrix with embedded QDs, which show considerably low turn-on potentials. The presence of the exciplex state of PS and QDs opens up a broad range of possibilities with important implications in both LEDs and solar cells. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c6nr04082a

Local Gate Control of a Carbon Nanotube Double Quantum Dot

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-04-04

Nanotube Double Quantum Dot N. Mason,*† M. J. Biercuk,* C. M. Marcus† We have measured carbon nanotube quantum dots with multiple electro- static gates and...computation. Carbon nanotubes have been considered lead- ing candidates for nanoscale electronic applica- tions (1, 2). Previous measurements of nano- tube...electronics have shown electron confine- ment (quantum dot) effects such as single- electron charging and energy-level quantization (3–5). Nanotube

Enabling two-dimensional fourier transform electronic spectroscopy on quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hill, Robert John, Jr.

Colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals exhibit unique properties not seen in their bulk counterparts. Quantum confinement of carriers causes a size-tunable bandgap, making them attractive candidates for solar cells. Fundamental understanding of their spectra and carrier dynamics is obscured by inhomogeneous broadening arising from the size distribution. Because quantum dots have long excited state lifetimes and are sensitive to both air and moisture, there are many potential artifacts in femtosecond experiments. Two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy promises insight into the photo-physics, but required key instrumental advances. Optics that can process a broad bandwidth without distortion are required for a two-dimensional optical spectrometer. To control pathlength differences for femtosecond time delays, hollow retro-reflectors are used on actively stabilized delay lines in interferometers. The fabrication of rigid, lightweight, precision hollow rooftop retroreflectors that allow beams to be stacked while preserving polarization is described. The rigidity and low mass enable active stabilization of an interferometer to within 0.6 nm rms displacement, while the return beam deviation is sufficient for Fourier transform spectroscopy with a frequency precision of better than 1 cm -1. Keeping samples oxygen and moisture free while providing fresh sample between laser shots is challenging in an interferometer. A low-vibration spinning sample cell was designed and built to keep samples oxygen free for days while allowing active stabilization of interferometer displacement to ˜1 nm. Combining these technologies has enabled 2D short-wave infrared spectroscopy on colloidal PbSe nanocrystals. 2D spectra demonstrate the advantages of this key instrumentation while providing valuable insight into the low-lying electronic states of colloidal quantum dots.

Xenon NMR of liquid crystals confined to cylindrical nanocavities: a simulation study.

PubMed

Karjalainen, Jouni; Vaara, Juha; Straka, Michal; Lantto, Perttu

2015-03-21

Applications of liquid crystals (LCs), such as smart windows and the ubiquitous display devices, are based on controlling the orientational and translational order in a small volume of LC medium. Hence, understanding the effects of confinement to the liquid crystal phase behaviour is essential. The NMR shielding of (129)Xe atoms dissolved in LCs constitutes a very sensitive probe to the details of LC environment. Linking the experimental results to microscopic phenomena calls for molecular simulations. In this work, the NMR shielding of atomic (129)Xe dissolved in a uniaxial thermotropic LC confined to nanosized cylindrical cavities is computed from coarse-grained (CG) isobaric Monte Carlo (MC) simulations with a quantum-chemically (QC) pre-parameterised pairwise-additive model for the Xe nuclear shielding tensor. We report the results for the (129)Xe nuclear shielding and its connection to the structure and order of the LC appropriate to two different cavity sizes, as well as a comparison to the results of bulk (non-confined) simulations. We find that the confinement changes the LC phase structure dramatically and gives rise to the coexistence of varying degrees of LC order, which is reflected in the Xe shielding. Furthermore, we qualitatively reproduce the behaviour of the mean (129)Xe chemical shift with respect to temperature for atomic Xe dissolved in LC confined to controlled-pore glass materials. In the small-radius cavity the nematic - paranematic phase transition is revealed only by the anisotropic component of the (129)Xe nuclear shielding. In the larger cavity, the nematic - paranematic - isotropic transition is clearly seen in the Xe shielding. The simulated (129)Xe NMR shielding is insensitive to the smectic-A - nematic transition, since in the smectic-A phase, the Xe atoms largely occupy the imperfect layer structure near the cavity walls. The direct contribution of the cavity wall to (129)Xe nuclear shielding is dependent on the cavity size but independent of temperature. Our results show that the combination of CG simulations and a QC pre-parameterised (129)Xe NMR shielding allows efficient studies of the phase behaviour and structure of complex systems containing thousands of molecules, and brings us closer to the simulation of NMR experiments.

Size, surface, and compositional tuning of the electronic and photocatalytic properties of II-VI quantum-size semiconductor nanocrystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korgel, Brian Allan

1997-11-01

Phosphatidylcholine vesicles provide reaction compartments for synthesis of size-quantized CdS nanocrystals of dimension predicted to within ±2 A based on initial encapsulated CdClsb2 concentration and vesicle diameter. Vesicle formation by detergent dialysis of phosphatidylcholine/hexylglucoside mixed micelles yields highly monodisperse lipid capsules within which monodisperse CdS nanoparticles are precipitated with sulfide. Size-quantized CdS nanocrystals, with diameters ranging from 20 to 60 A, have been produced with typical standard deviations about the mean diameter of ±8% as measured by transmission electron microscopy. By including ZnClsb2 or HgClsb2 in the dialyzate prior to vesicle formation, quantum-sized Znsb{y}Cdsb{1-y}S or Hgsb{y}Cdsb{1-y}S nanocrystal alloys with controlled stoichiometry are generated. Spectrophotometric and spectrofluorimetric measurements are consistent with highly crystalline, monodisperse particles with few core or surface defects. The alloyed nanocrystal spectra shift consistently with composition indicating a high degree of compositional control. Measured exciton energies for CdS show excellent agreement with data in the literature. The empirical pseudopotential model presented by Ramakrishna and Friesner for a cubic CdS lattice, correcting for experimentally measured lattice contractions, best fits the data. Size-quantized CdS nanocrystals serve as photocatalysts for nitrate reduction at neutral pH under conditions that mimic illumination by sunlight with overall product quantum yields of up to 4% for {˜}20 A, amine-terminated particles. Due to the effects of quantum confinement on electron and hole redox potentials, photocatalyzed nitrate reduction rates depend strongly on the particle size, and the fastest reduction rates are observed with the smallest nanocrystals. Using a Tafel plot and the empirical pseudopotential model to estimate electron redox potentials, the apparent electron transfer coefficient and the apparent standard rate constant is estimated at 0.23 and 4.0× 10sp{-12} cm/sec, respectively, for amine-terminated particles. Nitrate adsorption is important in this system and the effect on photoreduction rates is described well by a Langmuir-Hinschelwood expression. Nitrate reduction rates are reduced two-fold or more on negatively charged, carboxy-terminated nanocrystals that electrostatically repel nitrate. Reaction rates are additionally influenced by competetive chloride adsorption and surface charge modification due to solution pH.

Final Report: Hot Carrier Collection in Thin Film Silicon with Tailored Nanocrystalline/Amorphous Structure

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

Collins, Reuben T.

This project developed, characterized, and perfected a new type of highly tunable nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) incorporating quantum confined silicon nanoparticles (SiNPs). A dual zone deposition process and system were developed and demonstrated. The depositions of SiNPs, the amorphous phase, and co-deposited material were characterized and optimized. Material design and interpretation of results were guided by new theoretical tools that examined both the electronic structure and carrier dynamics of this hybrid material. Heterojunction and p-i-n solar cells were demonstrated and characterized. Photo-thin-film-transistors allowed mobility to be studied as a function SiNP density in the films. Rapid (hot) transfer of carriers frommore » the amorphous matrix to the quantum confined SiNPs was observed and connected to reduced photo-degradation. The results carry quantum confined Si dots from a novelty to materials that can be harnessed for PV and optoelectronic applications. The growth process is broadly extendable with alternative amorphous matrices, novel layered structures, and alternative NPs easily accessible. The hot carrier effects hold the potential for third generation photovoltaics.« less

The emission wavelength dependent photoluminescence lifetime of the N-doped graphene quantum dots

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

Deng, Xingxia; School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 201210; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049

2015-12-14

Aromatic nitrogen doped graphene quantum dots were investigated by steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) techniques. The PL lifetime was found to be dependent on the emission wavelength and coincident with the PL spectrum, which is different from most semiconductor quantum dots and fluorescent dyes. This result shows the synergy and competition between the quantum confinement effect and edge functional groups, which may have the potential to guide the synthesis and expand the applications of graphene quantum dots.

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

Neale, Nathan R; Carroll, Gerard; Limpens, Rens

The optical properties of silicon nanocrystals (Si NCs) are a subject of intense study and continued debate. In particular, Si NC photoluminescence (PL) properties are known to depend strongly on the surface chemistry, resulting in electron-hole recombination pathways derived from the Si NC band-edge, surface-state defects, or combined NC-conjugated ligand hybrid states. In this Letter, we perform a comparison of three different saturated surface functional groups - alkyls, amides, and alkoxides - on nonthermal plasma-synthesized Si NCs. We find a systematic and size-dependent high-energy (blue) shift in the PL spectrum of Si NCs with amide and alkoxy functionalization relative tomore » alkyl. Time-resolved photoluminescence and transient absorption spectroscopies reveal no change in the excited-state dynamics between Si NCs functionalized with alkyl, amide, or alkoxide ligands, showing for the first time that saturated ligands - not only surface-derived charge-transfer states or hybridization between NC and low-lying ligand orbitals - are responsible for tuning the Si NC optical properties. To explain these PL shifts we propose that the atom bound to the Si NC surface strongly interacts with the Si NC electronic wave function and modulates the Si NC quantum confinement. These results reveal a potentially broadly applicable correlation between the optoelectronic properties of Si NCs and related quantum-confined structures based on the interaction between NC surfaces and the ligand binding group.« less

Study of extending carrier lifetime in ZnTe quantum dots coupled with ZnCdSe quantum well

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, W. C.; Chou, W. C.; Lee, J. D.; Lee, Ling; Phu, Nguyen Dang; Hoang, Luc Huy

2018-03-01

We demonstrated the growth of a self-assembled type-II ZnTe/ZnSe quantum dot (QD) structure coupled with a type-I Zn0.88Cd0.12Se/ZnSe quantum well (QW) on the (001) GaAs substrate by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). As the spacer thickness is less than 2 nm, the carrier lifetime increasing from 20 ns to nearly 200 ns was successfully achieved. By utilizing the time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) and PL with different excitation power, we identify the PL emission from the coupled QDs consisting of two recombination mechanisms. One is the recombination between electrons in ZnSe barrier and holes confined within ZnTe QDs, and the other is between electrons confined in Zn0.88Cd0.12Se QW and holes confined within ZnTe QDs. According to the band diagram and power-dependent PL, both of the two recombinations reveal the type-II transition. In addition, the second recombination mechanism dominates the whole carrier recombination as the spacer thickness is less than 2 nm. A significant extension of carrier lifetime by increasing the electron and hole separation is illustrated in a type-II ZnTe/ZnSe QD structure coupling with a type-I ZnCdSe/ZnSe QW. Current sample structure could be used to increase the quantum efficient of solar cell based on the II-VI compound semiconductors.

Absence of confinement in (SrTiO3)/( SrTi0.8Nb0.2O3 ) superlattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bouzerar, G.; Thébaud, S.; Bouzerar, R.; Pailhès, S.; Adessi, Ch.

2018-03-01

The reduction of dimensionality is considered an efficient pathway to boost the performances of thermoelectric materials. Quantum confinement of the carriers is expected to induce large Seebeck coefficients (S ) and it also suppresses the thermal conductivity by increasing the phonon scattering processes. However, quantum confinement in superlattices is not always easy to achieve and needs to be carefully validated. In the past decade, large values of S have been measured in (SrTiO3)/(SrTi0.8Nb0.2O3 ) superlattices [H. Ohta et al., Nat. Mater. 6, 129 (2007), 10.1038/nmat1821; Y. Mune et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 91, 192105 (2007), 10.1063/1.2809364]. In the δ -doped compound, the reported S was almost six times larger than that of the bulk material. This huge increase has been attributed to the two-dimensional carrier confinement in the doped regions. Here, we demonstrate that the experimental data are well explained quantitatively assuming delocalized electrons in both in-plane and growth directions. Moreover, we rule out the confined electron hypothesis whose signature would be the suppression of the Seebeck coefficient. This strongly suggests that the presupposed confinement picture in these superlattices is unlikely.

Synthesis and Characterizations of Pb-modified CdSe Aqueous Quantum Dots and Their Applications in Quantum Dot-Sensitized Solar Cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Cheng-Hsin

Quantum Dots (QDs) are semiconductor nanocrystals with typical size ranges around 1-20 nm. They exhibit distinctive size-dependent photoluminescence (PL) properties due to the quantum confinement effect. QDs have great potentials in display, lighting, lasing, bioimaging, fluorescent label, sensor, photodetector, and photovoltaic applications, and have been widely studied in the past decades. Cadmium selenide (CdSe) QDs have been synthesized using an environmentally friendly, aqueous method under low temperature. While traditional QDs synthesized by hot injection method using organic solvent generally exhibit edge-state emission with narrow peaks, aqueous quantum dots (AQDs) tend to have trap-state emissions with broad peaks. The objective of this thesis is to investigate how Pb modifications in CdSe AQDs synthesis can affect the optoelectronic properties of the QDs and how these modifications affect their corresponding photovoltaic performance in quantum dot-sensitized solar cell (QDSSC) applications. Lead (Pb) precursor has been introduced either during the synthesis or after the synthesis of CdSe AQDs forming either Pb-doped or Pb-coated CdSe QDs, respectively. Pb-doped CdSe QDs exhibit red-shift in both absorption and emission spectra while Pb-coated CdSe QDs exhibit blue-shift in both absorption and emission spectra along with the generation of more surface defects. Although blue-shifted absorption indicating a narrower absorption range and the surface defects providing undesired recombination pathways are detrimental to solar cell performance, however surprisingly, we found that QDSSCs made from Pb-coated CdSe QDs actually had better solar cell performance than that made from Pb-doped CdSe QDs. We attributed this finding to a protection/passivation layer formed in-situ when the coated Pb react with the iodide/triiodide electrolyte during solar cell operation resulting in QDSSCs with better charge injection and stability.

Boron doped Si rich oxide/SiO{sub 2} and silicon rich nitride/SiN{sub x} bilayers on molybdenum-fused silica substrates for vertically structured Si quantum dot solar cells

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

Lin, Ziyun, E-mail: z.lin@unsw.edu.au; Wu, Lingfeng; Jia, Xuguang

2015-07-28

Vertically structured Si quantum dots (QDs) solar cells with molybdenum (Mo) interlayer on quartz substrates would overcome current crowding effects found in mesa-structured cells. This study investigates the compatibility between boron (B) doped Si QDs bilayers and Mo-fused silica substrate. Both Si/SiO{sub 2} and Si/SiN{sub x} based QDs bilayers were studied. The material compatibility under high temperature treatment was assessed by examining Si crystallinity, microstress, thin film adhesion, and Mo oxidation. It was observed that the presence of Mo interlayer enhanced the Si QDs size confinement, crystalline fraction, and QDs size uniformity. The use of B doping was preferred comparedmore » to phosphine (PH{sub 3}) doping studied previously in terms of better surface and interface properties by reducing oxidized spots on the film. Though crack formation due to thermal mismatch after annealing remained, methods to overcome this problem were proposed in this paper. Schematic diagram to fabricate full vertical structured Si QDs solar cells was also suggested.« less

Considerable fluorescence enhancement upon supramolecular complex formation between berberine and p-sulfonated calixarenes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Megyesi, Mónika; Biczók, László

2006-06-01

Remarkably strong binding of berberine to 4-sulfonatocalix[8]arene was found in aqueous solution, which led to fluorescence quantum yield increase of a factor about 40 at pH 2. The hypsochromic shift of the fluorescence maximum implied that berberine sensed less polar microenvironment when confined to SCX8. The stability of the supramolecular complex significantly diminished when sulfocalixarenes of smaller ring size served as host compounds but the pH affected the association strength to a much lesser extent. All berberine complexes proved to be barely fluorescent at pH 12.2 because of excited state quenching by the hosts via electron transfer.

Quantum confinement effects in lithographic sub-5 nm Silicon nanowire fets and integration of si nanograting fet biosensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trivedi, Krutarth B.

In recent years, widespread accessibility to reliable nanofabrication techniques such as high resolution electron beam lithography as well as development of innovative techniques such as nanoimprint lithography and chemically grown nano-materials like carbon nanotubes and graphene have spurred a boom in many fields of research involving nanoscale features and devices. The breadth of fields in which nanoscale features represent a new paradigm is staggering. Scaling down device dimensions to nanoscale enables non-classical quantum behavior and allows for interaction with similarly sized natural materials, like proteins and DNA, as never before, affording an unprecedented level of performance and control and fostering a seemingly boundless array of unique applications. Much of the research effort has been directed toward understanding such interactions to leverage the potential of nanoscale devices to enhance electronic and medical technology. In keeping with the spirit of application based research, my graduate research career has spanned the development of nanoimprint techniques and devices for novel applications, demonstration and study of sub-5 nm Si nanowire FETs exhibiting tangible performance enhancement over conventional MOSFETs, and development of an integrated Si nanograting FET based biosensor and related framework. The following dissertation details my work in fabrication of sub-5 nm Si nanowire FETs and characterization of quantum confinement effects in charge transport of FETs with 2D and 1D channel geometry, fabrication and characterization of schottky contact Si nanograting FET sensors, integration of miniaturized Si nanograting FET biosensors into Chip-in-Strip(c) packaging, development of an automated microfluidic sensing system, and investigation of electrochemical considerations in the Si nanograting FET biosensor gate stack followed by development of a novel patent-pending strategy for a lithographically patterned on-chip gate electrode.

On-Surface Synthesis and Characterization of Honeycombene Oligophenylene Macrocycles.

PubMed

Chen, Min; Shang, Jian; Wang, Yongfeng; Wu, Kai; Kuttner, Julian; Hilt, Gerhard; Hieringer, Wolfgang; Gottfried, J Michael

2017-01-24

We report the on-surface formation and characterization of [30]-honeycombene, a cyclotriacontaphenylene, which consists of 30 phenyl rings (C 180 H 120 ) and has a diameter of 4.0 nm. This shape-persistent, conjugated, and unsubstituted hexagonal hydrocarbon macrocycle was obtained by solvent-free synthesis on a silver (111) single-crystal surface, making solubility-enhancing alkyl side groups unnecessary. Side products include strained macrocycles with square, pentagonal, and heptagonal shape. The molecules were characterized by scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. On the Ag(111) surface, the macrocycles act as molecular quantum corrals and lead to the confinement of surface-state electrons inside the central cavity. The energy of the confined surface state correlates with the size of the macrocycle and is well described by a particle-in-the-box model. Tunneling spectroscopy suggests conjugation within the planar rings and reveals influences of self-assembly on the electronic structure. While the adsorbed molecules appear to be approximately planar, the free molecules have nonplanar conformation, according to DFT.

Exciton-polariton trapping and potential landscape engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, C.; Winkler, K.; Fraser, M. D.; Kamp, M.; Yamamoto, Y.; Ostrovskaya, E. A.; Höfling, S.

2017-01-01

Exciton-polaritons in semiconductor microcavities have become a model system for the studies of dynamical Bose-Einstein condensation, macroscopic coherence, many-body effects, nonclassical states of light and matter, and possibly quantum phase transitions in a solid state. These low-mass bosonic quasiparticles can condense at comparatively high temperatures up to 300 K, and preserve the fundamental properties of the condensate, such as coherence in space and time domain, even when they are out of equilibrium with the environment. Although the presence of a confining potential is not strictly necessary in order to observe Bose-Einstein condensation, engineering of the polariton confinement is a key to controlling, shaping, and directing the flow of polaritons. Prototype polariton-based optoelectronic devices rely on ultrafast photon-like velocities and strong nonlinearities exhibited by polaritons, as well as on their tailored confinement. Nanotechnology provides several pathways to achieving polariton confinement, and the specific features and advantages of different methods are discussed in this review. Being hybrid exciton-photon quasiparticles, polaritons can be trapped via their excitonic as well as photonic component, which leads to a wide choice of highly complementary trapping techniques. Here, we highlight the almost free choice of the confinement strengths and trapping geometries that provide powerful means for control and manipulation of the polariton systems both in the semi-classical and quantum regimes. Furthermore, the possibilities to observe effects of the polariton blockade, Mott insulator physics, and population of higher-order energy bands in sophisticated lattice potentials are discussed. Observation of such effects could lead to realization of novel polaritonic non-classical light sources and quantum simulators.

Influences of temperature and impurity on excited state of bound polaron in the parabolic quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Jing-Lin

2014-06-01

On the condition of strong electron-LO phonon coupling in parabolic quantum dot (QD), the first excited state energy, the excitation energy and the transition frequency between the first excited and the ground states of the bound polaron are calculated by using the linear combination operator and the unitary transformation methods. The variation of the above quantities with the temperature, the Coulombic impurity potential and the QD confinement strength are studied in detail. We find that (1) These physical quantities will increase with increasing temperature. (2) They are increasing functions of the confinement strength due to the existence of the Coulombic impurity potential between the electron and the hydrogen-like impurity. (3) We obtain three ways of tuning them via controlling the temperature, the Coulombic impurity potential and the confinement strength.

Single-mode light source fabrication based on colloidal quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Jianfeng; Chen, Bing; Baig, Sarfaraz; Wang, Michael R.

2009-02-01

There are huge market demands for innovative, cheap and efficient light sources, including light emitting devices, such as LEDs and lasers. However, the light source development in the visible spectral range encounters significant difficulties these years. The available visible wavelength LEDs or lasers are few, large and expensive. The main challenge lies at the lack of efficient light media. Semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots (QDs) have recently commanded considerable attention. As a result of quantum confinement effect, the emission color of these QDs covers the whole visible spectral range and can be modified dramatically by simply changing their size. Such spectral tunability, together with large photoluminescence quantum yield and photostability, make QDs attractive for potential applications in a variety of light emitting technologies. However, there are still several technical problems that hinder their application as light sources. One main issue is how to fabricate these QDs into a solid state device while still retaining their original optical emission properties. A vacuum assisted micro-fluidic fabrication of guided wave devices has demonstrated low waveguide propagation loss, lower crosstalk, and improved waveguide structures. We report herein the combination of the excellent emission properties of QDs and novel vacuum assisted micro-fluidic photonic structure fabrication technique to realize single-mode efficient light sources.

Computation of the influence of scanning probe microscope (SPM) on quantum dot eigenstates and 2DEG potential

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stopa, Michael

2005-03-01

We calculate the electronic structure of GaAs-AlGaAs two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) devices, such as quantum dots and quantum point contacts (QPCs) in the presence of a tip of a scanning probe microscope at some distance above the surface. The calculation employs standard density functional theory with exchange and correlation treated in the local density approximation. The position and voltage on the tip are varied and the conditions for depletion of the 2DEG are shown to compare favorably to experiment [1]. We show that the size of the depletion region created (by a negative tip voltage) is unexpectedly small due to focusing of the potential lines by the higher dielectric. We study the interaction of the tip with an isolated quantum dot that contains one or two electrons. The raster pattern of the difference between single particle energies reveals that the tip distorts the shape of the confining potential and suggests that excited state properties, if they can be measured experimentally, can contribute to the resolution of spatial information. [1] M.A. Topinka, R.M. Westervelt, E.J. Heller, ``http://meso.deas.harvard.edu/papers/Topinka, PT 56 12 (2003)'' (Imaging Electron Flow), Physics Today 56, 12 (2003).

Deep UV Narrow-Band Photodetector Based on Ion Beam Synthesized Indium Oxide Quantum Dots in Al2O3 Matrix.

PubMed

Rajamani, Saravanan; Arora, Kanika; Konakov, Anton; Belov, Alexey; Korolev, Dmitry; Nikolskaya, Alyona; Mikhaylov, Alexey N; Surodin, Sergey; Kryukov, Ruslan; Nikolichev, Dmitri; Sushkov, Artem; Pavlov, Dmitry; Tetelbaum, David; Kumar, Mukesh; Kumar, Mahesh

2018-04-20

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have attracted tremendous attention owing to their novel electrical and optical properties due to the size dependent quantum confinement effects. This provides an advantage of tunable wavelength detection, which is essential to realize spectrally selective photodetectors. We report the fabrication and characterization of high performance narrow band ultraviolet photodetector (UV-B) based on In2O3 nanocrystals embedded in Al2O3 matrices. The In2O3 nanocrystals are synthesized in Al2O3 matrix by sequential implantation of In+ and N2+ ions and post-implantation annealing. The photodetector exhibits excellent optoelectronic performances with high spectral responsivity and external quantum efficiency. The spectral response showed a band-selective nature with a full width half maximum of ∼ 60 nm, and the responsivity reaches up to 70 A/W under 290 nm at 5 V bias. The corresponding rejection ratio to visible region was as high as 8400. The high performance of this photodetector makes it highly suitable for practical applications such as narrow-band spectrum-selective photodetectors. The device design based on ion-synthesized nanocrystals would provide a new approach for realizing a visible-blind photodetector. © 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd.

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

Crystal Phase Quantum Well Emission with Digital Control.

PubMed

Assali, S; Lähnemann, J; Vu, T T T; Jöns, K D; Gagliano, L; Verheijen, M A; Akopian, N; Bakkers, E P A M; Haverkort, J E M

2017-10-11

One of the major challenges in the growth of quantum well and quantum dot heterostructures is the realization of atomically sharp interfaces. Nanowires provide a new opportunity to engineer the band structure as they facilitate the controlled switching of the crystal structure between the zinc-blende (ZB) and wurtzite (WZ) phases. Such a crystal phase switching results in the formation of crystal phase quantum wells (CPQWs) and quantum dots (CPQDs). For GaP CPQWs, the inherent electric fields due to the discontinuity of the spontaneous polarization at the WZ/ZB junctions lead to the confinement of both types of charge carriers at the opposite interfaces of the WZ/ZB/WZ structure. This confinement leads to a novel type of transition across a ZB flat plate barrier. Here, we show digital tuning of the visible emission of WZ/ZB/WZ CPQWs in a GaP nanowire by changing the thickness of the ZB barrier. The energy spacing between the sharp emission lines is uniform and is defined by the addition of single ZB monolayers. The controlled growth of identical quantum wells with atomically flat interfaces at predefined positions featuring digitally tunable discrete emission energies may provide a new route to further advance entangled photons in solid state quantum systems.

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.

Gain-switching characteristics and fast transient response of three-terminal size-effect modulation laser

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

Suemune, I.; Takeoka, T.; Yamanashi, M.

1986-09-01

Gain-switching characteristics of the proposed size-effect modulation light sources are investigated. For realizing the laser operation, the consideration of the screening effect on the applied electric fields due to the high concentration of carriers is indispensable. In this respect, the authors propose a separate-confinement-hereto-multiple-quantum-well (SCH-MQW) structure as the most suitable one for gain switching. The key point of the structure is the sufficiently high heterobarriers at the clad-barrier interfaces to prevent carrier leakage. The examinations of the transient response clarify that they are principally photon-lifetime limited. Employing the three-terminal character of the proposed laser, the fast pulse modulation up tomore » 12 Gbits/s, which is almost free from the relaxation oscillations and the pattern effects, is predicted.« less

Can Tauc plot extrapolation be used for direct-band-gap semiconductor nanocrystals?

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

Feng, Y., E-mail: yu.feng@unsw.edu.au; Lin, S.; Huang, S.

Despite that Tauc plot extrapolation has been widely adopted for extracting bandgap energies of semiconductors, there is a lack of theoretical support for applying it to nanocrystals. In this paper, direct-allowed optical transitions in semiconductor nanocrystals have been formulated based on a purely theoretical approach. This result reveals a size-dependant transition of the power factor used in Tauc plot, increasing from one half used in the 3D bulk case to one in the 0D case. This size-dependant intermediate value of power factor allows a better extrapolation of measured absorption data. Being a material characterization technique, the generalized Tauc extrapolation givesmore » a more reasonable and accurate acquisition of the intrinsic bandgap, while the unjustified purpose of extrapolating any elevated bandgap caused by quantum confinement is shown to be incorrect.« less

Strong quantum-confined Stark effect in a lattice-matched GeSiSn/GeSn multi-quantum-well structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Ruizhi; Chunfuzhang; Han, Genquan; Hao, Yue

2017-06-01

This paper presents modeling and simulation of a multiple quantum well structure formed with Ge0.95Sn0.05 quantum wells separated by Ge0.51Si0.35Sn0.14 barriers for the applications. These alloy compositions are chosen to satisfy two conditions simultaneously: type-I band alignment between Ge0.95Sn0.05/Ge0.51Si0.35Sn0.14 and a lattice match between wells and barriers. This lattice match ensures that the strain-free structure can be grown upon a relaxed Ge0.51Si0.35Sn0.14 buffer on a silicon substrate - a CMOS compatible process. A electro-absorption modulator with the Ge0.95Sn0.05/Ge0.51Si0.35Sn0.14 multiple quantum well structure based on quantum-confined Stark effect(QCSE) is demonstrated in theory. The energy band diagrams of the GeSiSn/GeSn multi-quantum-well structure at 0 and 0.5V bias are calculated, respectively. And the corresponding absorption coefficients as a function of cut-off energy for this multiple quantum well structure at 0 and 0.5Vbias are also obtained, respectively. The reduction of cut-off energy is observed with the applying of the external electric field, indicating a strong QCSE in the structure.

Compact quantum gates on electron-spin qubits assisted by diamond nitrogen-vacancy centers inside cavities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Hai-Rui; Deng, Fu-Guo

2013-10-01

Constructing compact quantum circuits for universal quantum gates on solid-state systems is crucial for quantum computing. We present some compact quantum circuits for a deterministic solid-state quantum computing, including the cnot, Toffoli, and Fredkin gates on the diamond NV centers confined inside cavities, achieved by some input-output processes of a single photon. Our quantum circuits for these universal quantum gates are simple and economic. Moreover, additional electron qubits are not employed, but only a single-photon medium. These gates have a long coherent time. We discuss the feasibility of these universal solid-state quantum gates, concluding that they are feasible with current technology.

Influence of quantum confinement and strain on orbital polarization of four-layer LaNiO 3 superlattices: A DFT+DMFT study

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

Park, Hyowon; Millis, Andrew J.; Marianetti, Chris A.

Atomically precise superlattices involving transition metal oxides provide a unique opportunity to engineer correlated electron physics using strain (modulated by choice of substate) and quantum confinement (controlled by layer thickness). We use the combination of density functional theory and dynamical mean field theory (DFT+DMFT) to study Ni E g d-orbital polarization in strained LaNiO 3/LaAlO 3 superlattices consisting of four layers of nominally metallic NiO 2 and four layers of insulating AlO 2 separated by LaO layers. The layer-resolved orbital polarization is calculated as a function of strain and analyzed in terms of structural, quantum confinement, and correlation effects. Wemore » determined that the effect of strain is from the dependence of the results on the Ni-O bondlength ratio and the octahedral rotation angles; quantum confinement is studied by comparison to bulk calculations with similar degrees of strain; correlation effects are inferred by varying interaction parameters within our DFT+DMFT calculations. The calculated dependence of orbital polarization on strain in superlattices is qualitatively consistent with recent X-ray absorption spectroscopy and resonant reflectometry data. But, interesting differences of detail are found between theory and experiment. Under tensile strain, the two inequivalent Ni ions display orbital polarization similar to that calculated for strained bulk LaNiO 3 and observed in experiment. Compressive strain produces a larger dependence of orbital polarization on Ni position and even the inner Ni layer exhibits orbital polarization different from that calculated for strained bulk LaNiO 3.« less

Influence of quantum confinement and strain on orbital polarization of four-layer LaNiO 3 superlattices: A DFT+DMFT study

DOE PAGES

Park, Hyowon; Millis, Andrew J.; Marianetti, Chris A.

2016-06-07

Atomically precise superlattices involving transition metal oxides provide a unique opportunity to engineer correlated electron physics using strain (modulated by choice of substate) and quantum confinement (controlled by layer thickness). We use the combination of density functional theory and dynamical mean field theory (DFT+DMFT) to study Ni E g d-orbital polarization in strained LaNiO 3/LaAlO 3 superlattices consisting of four layers of nominally metallic NiO 2 and four layers of insulating AlO 2 separated by LaO layers. The layer-resolved orbital polarization is calculated as a function of strain and analyzed in terms of structural, quantum confinement, and correlation effects. Wemore » determined that the effect of strain is from the dependence of the results on the Ni-O bondlength ratio and the octahedral rotation angles; quantum confinement is studied by comparison to bulk calculations with similar degrees of strain; correlation effects are inferred by varying interaction parameters within our DFT+DMFT calculations. The calculated dependence of orbital polarization on strain in superlattices is qualitatively consistent with recent X-ray absorption spectroscopy and resonant reflectometry data. But, interesting differences of detail are found between theory and experiment. Under tensile strain, the two inequivalent Ni ions display orbital polarization similar to that calculated for strained bulk LaNiO 3 and observed in experiment. Compressive strain produces a larger dependence of orbital polarization on Ni position and even the inner Ni layer exhibits orbital polarization different from that calculated for strained bulk LaNiO 3.« less

Strong confinement-induced engineering of the g factor and lifetime of conduction electron spins in Ge quantum wells

PubMed Central

Giorgioni, Anna; Paleari, Stefano; Cecchi, Stefano; Vitiello, Elisa; Grilli, Emanuele; Isella, Giovanni; Jantsch, Wolfgang; Fanciulli, Marco; Pezzoli, Fabio

2016-01-01

Control of electron spin coherence via external fields is fundamental in spintronics. Its implementation demands a host material that accommodates the desirable but contrasting requirements of spin robustness against relaxation mechanisms and sizeable coupling between spin and orbital motion of the carriers. Here, we focus on Ge, which is a prominent candidate for shuttling spin quantum bits into the mainstream Si electronics. So far, however, the intrinsic spin-dependent phenomena of free electrons in conventional Ge/Si heterojunctions have proved to be elusive because of epitaxy constraints and an unfavourable band alignment. We overcome these fundamental limitations by investigating a two-dimensional electron gas in quantum wells of pure Ge grown on Si. These epitaxial systems demonstrate exceptionally long spin lifetimes. In particular, by fine-tuning quantum confinement we demonstrate that the electron Landé g factor can be engineered in our CMOS-compatible architecture over a range previously inaccessible for Si spintronics. PMID:28000670

Rydberg atoms in hollow-core photonic crystal fibres.

PubMed

Epple, G; Kleinbach, K S; Euser, T G; Joly, N Y; Pfau, T; Russell, P St J; Löw, R

2014-06-19

The exceptionally large polarizability of highly excited Rydberg atoms-six orders of magnitude higher than ground-state atoms--makes them of great interest in fields such as quantum optics, quantum computing, quantum simulation and metrology. However, if they are to be used routinely in applications, a major requirement is their integration into technically feasible, miniaturized devices. Here we show that a Rydberg medium based on room temperature caesium vapour can be confined in broadband-guiding kagome-style hollow-core photonic crystal fibres. Three-photon spectroscopy performed on a caesium-filled fibre detects Rydberg states up to a principal quantum number of n=40. Besides small energy-level shifts we observe narrow lines confirming the coherence of the Rydberg excitation. Using different Rydberg states and core diameters we study the influence of confinement within the fibre core after different exposure times. Understanding these effects is essential for the successful future development of novel applications based on integrated room temperature Rydberg systems.

Cooling the Motion of Diamond Nanocrystals in a Magneto-Gravitational Trap in High Vacuum.

PubMed

Hsu, Jen-Feng; Ji, Peng; Lewandowski, Charles W; D'Urso, Brian

2016-07-22

Levitated diamond nanocrystals with nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centres in high vacuum have been proposed as a unique system for experiments in fundamental quantum mechanics, including the generation of large quantum superposition states and tests of quantum gravity. This system promises extreme isolation from its environment while providing quantum control and sensing through the NV centre spin. While optical trapping has been the most explored method of levitation, recent results indicate that excessive optical heating of the nanodiamonds under vacuum may make the method impractical with currently available materials. Here, we study an alternative magneto-gravitational trap for diamagnetic particles, such as diamond nanocrystals, with stable levitation from atmospheric pressure to high vacuum. Magnetic field gradients from permanent magnets confine the particle in two dimensions, while confinement in the third dimension is gravitational. We demonstrate that feedback cooling of the centre-of-mass motion of a trapped nanodiamond cluster results in cooling of one degree of freedom to less than 1 K.

Cooling the motion of diamond nanocrystals in a magneto-gravitational trap in high vacuum

DOE PAGES

Hsu, Jen -Feng; Ji, Peng; Lewandowski, Charles W.; ...

2016-07-22

Levitated diamond nanocrystals with nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centres in high vacuum have been proposed as a unique system for experiments in fundamental quantum mechanics, including the generation of large quantum superposition states and tests of quantum gravity. This system promises extreme isolation from its environment while providing quantum control and sensing through the NV centre spin. While optical trapping has been the most explored method of levitation, recent results indicate that excessive optical heating of the nanodiamonds under vacuum may make the method impractical with currently available materials. Here, we study an alternative magneto-gravitational trap for diamagnetic particles, such as diamondmore » nanocrystals, with stable levitation from atmospheric pressure to high vacuum. Magnetic field gradients from permanent magnets confine the particle in two dimensions, while confinement in the third dimension is gravitational. Furthermore, we demonstrate that feedback cooling of the centre-of-mass motion of a trapped nanodiamond cluster results in cooling of one degree of freedom to less than 1 K.« less

Quantum dot behavior in transition metal dichalcogenides nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Gang; Zhang, Zhuo-Zhi; Li, Hai-Ou; Song, Xiang-Xiang; Deng, Guang-Wei; Cao, Gang; Xiao, Ming; Guo, Guo-Ping

2017-08-01

Recently, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) semiconductors have been utilized for investigating quantum phenomena because of their unique band structures and novel electronic properties. In a quantum dot (QD), electrons are confined in all lateral dimensions, offering the possibility for detailed investigation and controlled manipulation of individual quantum systems. Beyond the definition of graphene QDs by opening an energy gap in nanoconstrictions, with the presence of a bandgap, gate-defined QDs can be achieved on TMDCs semiconductors. In this paper, we review the confinement and transport of QDs in TMDCs nanostructures. The fabrication techniques for demonstrating two-dimensional (2D) materials nanostructures such as field-effect transistors and QDs, mainly based on e-beam lithography and transfer assembly techniques are discussed. Subsequently, we focus on electron transport through TMDCs nanostructures and QDs. With steady improvement in nanoscale materials characterization and using graphene as a springboard, 2D materials offer a platform that allows creation of heterostructure QDs integrated with a variety of crystals, each of which has entirely unique physical properties.

Cooling the Motion of Diamond Nanocrystals in a Magneto-Gravitational Trap in High Vacuum

PubMed Central

Hsu, Jen-Feng; Ji, Peng; Lewandowski, Charles W.; D’Urso, Brian

2016-01-01

Levitated diamond nanocrystals with nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centres in high vacuum have been proposed as a unique system for experiments in fundamental quantum mechanics, including the generation of large quantum superposition states and tests of quantum gravity. This system promises extreme isolation from its environment while providing quantum control and sensing through the NV centre spin. While optical trapping has been the most explored method of levitation, recent results indicate that excessive optical heating of the nanodiamonds under vacuum may make the method impractical with currently available materials. Here, we study an alternative magneto-gravitational trap for diamagnetic particles, such as diamond nanocrystals, with stable levitation from atmospheric pressure to high vacuum. Magnetic field gradients from permanent magnets confine the particle in two dimensions, while confinement in the third dimension is gravitational. We demonstrate that feedback cooling of the centre-of-mass motion of a trapped nanodiamond cluster results in cooling of one degree of freedom to less than 1 K. PMID:27444654

Effects of strain and quantum confinement in optically pumped nuclear magnetic resonance in GaAs: Interpretation guided by spin-dependent band structure calculations

DOE PAGES

Wood, R. M.; Saha, D.; McCarthy, L. A.; ...

2014-10-29

A combined experimental-theoretical study of optically pumped NMR (OPNMR) has been performed in a GaAs/Al 0.1Ga 0.9As quantum well film with thermally induced biaxial strain. The photon energy dependence of the Ga-71 OPNMR signal was recorded at magnetic fields of 4.9 and 9.4 T at a temperature of 4.8-5.4 K. The data were compared to the nuclear spin polarization calculated from differential absorption to spin-up and spin-down states of the conduction band using a modified Pidgeon Brown model. Reasonable agreement between theory and experiment is obtained, facilitating assignment of features in the OPNMR energy dependence to specific interband transitions. Despitemore » the approximations made in the quantum-mechanical model and the inexact correspondence between the experimental and calculated observables, the results provide insight into how effects of strain and quantum confinement are manifested in OPNMR signals« less

Quantum versus classical hyperfine-induced dynamics in a quantum dota)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coish, W. A.; Loss, Daniel; Yuzbashyan, E. A.; Altshuler, B. L.

2007-04-01

In this article we analyze spin dynamics for electrons confined to semiconductor quantum dots due to the contact hyperfine interaction. We compare mean-field (classical) evolution of an electron spin in the presence of a nuclear field with the exact quantum evolution for the special case of uniform hyperfine coupling constants. We find that (in this special case) the zero-magnetic-field dynamics due to the mean-field approximation and quantum evolution are similar. However, in a finite magnetic field, the quantum and classical solutions agree only up to a certain time scale t <τc, after which they differ markedly.

The influence of bio-conjugation on photoluminescence of CdSe/ZnS quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Torchynska, Tetyana V.; Vorobiev, Yuri V.; Makhniy, Victor P.; Horley, Paul P.

2014-11-01

We report a considerable blue shift in the luminescence spectra of CdSe/ZnS quantum dots conjugated to anti-interleukin-10 antibodies. This phenomenon can be explained theoretically by accounting for bio-conjugation as a process causing electrostatic interaction between a quantum dot and an antibody, which reduces effective volume of the dot core. To solve the Schrödinger equation for an exciton confined in the quantum dot, we use mirror boundary conditions that were successfully tested for different geometries of quantum wells.

Optical Properties of III-V Semiconductor Nanostructures and Quantum Wells

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-12-31

measurements were made using a BOMEM Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer in conjunction with a continuous flow cryostat. A low- noise current...infrared photodetector ( QWIP ). Quantum well infrared photodetectors are designed from wide bandgap (III-V) semiconductor materials in such a way where...quantum confinement is created. Unlike HgCdTe which utilizes electronic transitions across the fundamental bandgap, QWIPs relies on transitions between

Extremely efficient internal exciton dissociation through edge states in layered 2D perovskites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blancon, J.-C.; Tsai, H.; Nie, W.; Stoumpos, C. C.; Pedesseau, L.; Katan, C.; Kepenekian, M.; Soe, C. M. M.; Appavoo, K.; Sfeir, M. Y.; Tretiak, S.; Ajayan, P. M.; Kanatzidis, M. G.; Even, J.; Crochet, J. J.; Mohite, A. D.

2017-03-01

Understanding and controlling charge and energy flow in state-of-the-art semiconductor quantum wells has enabled high-efficiency optoelectronic devices. Two-dimensional (2D) Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites are solution-processed quantum wells wherein the band gap can be tuned by varying the perovskite-layer thickness, which modulates the effective electron-hole confinement. We report that, counterintuitive to classical quantum-confined systems where photogenerated electrons and holes are strongly bound by Coulomb interactions or excitons, the photophysics of thin films made of Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites with a thickness exceeding two perovskite-crystal units (>1.3 nanometers) is dominated by lower-energy states associated with the local intrinsic electronic structure of the edges of the perovskite layers. These states provide a direct pathway for dissociating excitons into longer-lived free carriers that substantially improve the performance of optoelectronic devices.

Controlled synthesis of quantum confined CsPbBr3 perovskite nanocrystals under ambient conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Huimei; Tang, Bing; Ma, Ying

2018-02-01

Room temperature recrystallization is a simple and convenient method for synthesis of all-inorganic perovskite nanomaterials with excellent luminescent properties. However, the fast crystallization usually brings the colloidal stability and uncontrollable synthesis issues in the formation of all-inorganic perovskite. In the present study, we present a new strategy to prepare the quantum confined CsPbBr3 nanocrystals with controlled morphology under ambient condition. With the assist of fatty acid-capped precursor, the crystallization and the following growth rate can be retarded. Thanks to the retarded reaction, the morphology can be varied from nanowires to nanoplates and the thickness can be controlled from 5-7 monolayers by simply adjusting the amount of octylammonium cations and oleic acid. The nanoplates exhibit a higher photoluminescence quantum yield than the nanowires possibly due to fewer defects in the nanoplates.

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

Blancon, Jean -Christophe Robert; Tsai, Hsinhan; Nie, Wanyi

Understanding and controlling charge and energy flow in state-of-the-art semiconductor quantum wells has enabled high-efficiency optoelectronic devices. Two-dimensional (2D) Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites are solution-processed quantum wells wherein the band gap can be tuned by varying the perovskite-layer thickness, which modulates the effective electron-hole confinement. We report that, counterintuitive to classical quantum-confined systems where photogenerated electrons and holes are strongly bound by Coulomb interactions or excitons, the photophysics of thin films made of Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites with a thickness exceeding two perovskite-crystal units (>1.3 nanometers) is dominated by lower-energy states associated with the local intrinsic electronic structure of the edges of the perovskitemore » layers. Furthermore, these states provide a direct pathway for dissociating excitons into longer-lived free carriers that substantially improve the performance of optoelectronic devices.« less

A comparison of the optical properties of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well structures grown with and without Si-doped InGaN prelayers

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

Davies, M. J., E-mail: Matthew.Davies-2@Manchester.ac.uk; Hammersley, S.; Dawson, P.

In this paper, we report on a detailed spectroscopic study of the optical properties of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well structures, both with and without a Si-doped InGaN prelayer. In photoluminescence and photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy, a 2nd emission band, occurring at a higher energy, was identified in the spectrum of the multiple quantum well structure containing the InGaN prelayer, originating from the first quantum well in the stack. Band structure calculations revealed that a reduction in the resultant electric field occurred in the quantum well immediately adjacent to the InGaN prelayer, therefore leading to a reduction in the strength of themore » quantum confined Stark effect in this quantum well. The partial suppression of the quantum confined Stark effect in this quantum well led to a modified (higher) emission energy and increased radiative recombination rate. Therefore, we ascribed the origin of the high energy emission band to recombination from the 1st quantum well in the structure. Study of the temperature dependent recombination dynamics of both samples showed that the decay time measured across the spectrum was strongly influenced by the 1st quantum well in the stack (in the sample containing the prelayer) leading to a shorter average room temperature lifetime in this sample. The room temperature internal quantum efficiency of the prelayer containing sample was found to be higher than the reference sample (36% compared to 25%) which was thus attributed to the faster radiative recombination rate of the 1st quantum well providing a recombination pathway that is more competitive with non-radiative recombination processes.« less

Extraordinary Effects in Quasi-Periodic Gold Nanocavities: Enhanced Transmission and Polarization Control of Cavity Modes.

PubMed

Dhama, Rakesh; Caligiuri, Vincenzo; Petti, Lucia; Rashed, Alireza R; Rippa, Massimo; Lento, Raffaella; Termine, Roberto; Caglayan, Humeyra; De Luca, Antonio

2018-01-23

Plasmonic quasi-periodic structures are well-known to exhibit several surprising phenomena with respect to their periodic counterparts, due to their long-range order and higher rotational symmetry. Thanks to their specific geometrical arrangement, plasmonic quasi-crystals offer unique possibilities in tailoring the coupling and propagation of surface plasmons through their lattice, a scenario in which a plethora of fascinating phenomena can take place. In this paper we investigate the extraordinary transmission phenomenon occurring in specifically patterned Thue-Morse nanocavities, demonstrating noticeable enhanced transmission, directly revealed by near-field optical experiments, performed by means of a scanning near-field optical microscope (SNOM). SNOM further provides an intuitive picture of confined plasmon modes inside the nanocavities and confirms that localization of plasmon modes is based on size and depth of nanocavities, while cross talk between close cavities via propagating plasmons holds the polarization response of patterned quasi-crystals. Our performed numerical simulations are in good agreement with the experimental results. Thus, the control on cavity size and incident polarization can be used to alter the intensity and spatial properties of confined cavity modes in such structures, which can be exploited in order to design a plasmonic device with customized optical properties and desired functionalities, to be used for several applications in quantum plasmonics.

Nanofiber quantum photonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nayak, Kali P.; Sadgrove, Mark; Yalla, Ramachandrarao; Le Kien, Fam; Hakuta, Kohzo

2018-07-01

Recent advances in the coherent control of single quanta of light, photons, is a topic of prime interest, and is discussed under the banner of quantum photonics. In the last decade, the subwavelength diameter waist of a tapered optical fiber, referred to as an optical nanofiber, has opened promising new avenues in the field of quantum optics, paving the way toward a versatile platform for quantum photonics applications. The key feature of the technique is that the optical field can be tightly confined in the transverse direction while propagating over long distances as a guided mode and enabling strong interaction with the surrounding medium in the evanescent region. This feature has led to surprising possibilities to manipulate single atoms and fiber-guided photons, e.g. the efficient channeling of emission from single atoms and solid-state quantum emitters into the fiber-guided modes, high optical depth with a few atoms around the nanofiber, trapping atoms around a nanofiber, and atomic memories for fiber-guided photons. Furthermore, implementing a moderate longitudinal confinement in nanofiber cavities has enabled the strong coupling regime of cavity quantum electrodynamics to be reached, and the long-range dipole–dipole interaction between quantum emitters mediated by the nanofiber offers a platform for quantum nonlinear optics with an ensemble of atoms. In addition, the presence of a longitudinal component of the guided field has led to unique capabilities for chiral light–matter interactions on nanofibers. In this article, we review the key developments of the nanofiber technology toward a vision for quantum photonics on an all-fiber interface.

Quantum non demolition measurement of cyclotron excitations in a Penning trap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marzoli, Irene; Tombesi, Paolo

1993-01-01

The quantum non-demolition measurement of the cyclotron excitations of an electron confined in a Penning trap could be obtained by measuring the resonance frequency of the axial motion, which is coupled to the cyclotron motion through the relativistic shift of the electron mass.

High electron mobility and quantum oscillations in non-encapsulated ultrathin semiconducting Bi 2O 2Se

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

Wu, Jinxiong; Yuan, Hongtao; Meng, Mengmeng

Identifying new two-dimensional (2D) materials with both high carrier mobility and a large electronic band gap is critical for novel electronics and optoelectronics applications. Here, we demonstrated a new air-stable ultrahigh-mobility layered Bi 2O 2Se semiconductor with a large band gap of ~ 0.8 eV and a low effective mass of ~ 0.14 m 0. High-quality 2D Bi2O2Se crystals with a thickness down to a monolayer and a domain size greater than 200 μm were readily grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Size-tunable band gap of Bi 2O 2Se was found to increase as thinning down to the monolayer duemore » to the quantum confinement effect. An ultrahigh Hall mobility of > 20,000 cm 2 V -1 s -1 was achieved in as-grown Bi 2O 2Se flakes at 1.9 K, which allows for the observation of Shubnikov–de Haas quantum oscillations. Top-gated field-effect transistors based on CVD-grown 2D Bi 2O 2Se crystals (down to bilayer) exhibited high Hall mobility (up to 450 cm 2 V -1 s -1), large current on/off ratios (>106) and near-ideal subthreshold swings (~65 mV/dec) at room temperature. Our results make the high-mobility 2D Bi 2O 2Se semiconductor a promising candidate for future high-speed and low-power electronic applications.« less

High electron mobility and quantum oscillations in non-encapsulated ultrathin semiconducting Bi 2O 2Se

DOE PAGES

Wu, Jinxiong; Yuan, Hongtao; Meng, Mengmeng; ...

2017-04-03

Identifying new two-dimensional (2D) materials with both high carrier mobility and a large electronic band gap is critical for novel electronics and optoelectronics applications. Here, we demonstrated a new air-stable ultrahigh-mobility layered Bi 2O 2Se semiconductor with a large band gap of ~ 0.8 eV and a low effective mass of ~ 0.14 m 0. High-quality 2D Bi2O2Se crystals with a thickness down to a monolayer and a domain size greater than 200 μm were readily grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Size-tunable band gap of Bi 2O 2Se was found to increase as thinning down to the monolayer duemore » to the quantum confinement effect. An ultrahigh Hall mobility of > 20,000 cm 2 V -1 s -1 was achieved in as-grown Bi 2O 2Se flakes at 1.9 K, which allows for the observation of Shubnikov–de Haas quantum oscillations. Top-gated field-effect transistors based on CVD-grown 2D Bi 2O 2Se crystals (down to bilayer) exhibited high Hall mobility (up to 450 cm 2 V -1 s -1), large current on/off ratios (>106) and near-ideal subthreshold swings (~65 mV/dec) at room temperature. Our results make the high-mobility 2D Bi 2O 2Se semiconductor a promising candidate for future high-speed and low-power electronic applications.« less

Control of Wigner localization and electron cavity effects in near-field emission spectra of In(Ga)P/GaInP quantum-dot structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mintairov, A. M.; Kapaldo, J.; Merz, J. L.; Rouvimov, S.; Lebedev, D. V.; Kalyuzhnyy, N. A.; Mintairov, S. A.; Belyaev, K. G.; Rakhlin, M. V.; Toropov, A. A.; Brunkov, P. N.; Vlasov, A. S.; Zadiranov, Yu. M.; Blundell, S. A.; Mozharov, A. M.; Mukhin, I.; Yakimov, M.; Oktyabrsky, S.; Shelaev, A. V.; Bykov, V. A.

2018-05-01

Structural and emission properties of few-electron In(Ga)P/GaInP quantum dots (QDs) representing natural Wigner molecules (WM) and whispering gallery mode (WGM) electron (e ) cavities have been investigated. QD structures were grown using self-organized metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy and deposition from ˜3 to 7 monolayers of InP at 700 °C. Using atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM), and μ -photoluminescence (μ -PL) spectra we obtained In(Ga)P/GaInP QDs having lateral size 80-180 nm, height 5-30 nm, Ga content 0.0-0.4, density 2 -10 μm-2 , and electron population up to 20 and demonstrated control of their density and size distribution. Using high-spatial-resolution low-temperature PL spectra, NSOM imaging, and calculations of charge density distributions we observed Wigner localization and e -cavity effects for a series of dots having quantum confinement ℏ ω0=0.5 -6 meV . We used these data together with time-resolved PL measurements to clarify the effect of Coulomb interaction and WM formation on emission spectra of few-electron QDs. We present direct observation of 2 e , 6 e , and 9 e WMs; 2 e and 4 e WGMs; and Fabry-Perot e modes and establish conditions of e -WGM-cavity formation in these QDs.

Growth of delta-doped layers on silicon CCD/S for enhanced ultraviolet response

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoenk, Michael E. (Inventor); Grunthaner, Paula J. (Inventor); Grunthaner, Frank J. (Inventor); Terhune, Robert W. (Inventor); Hecht, Michael H. (Inventor)

1994-01-01

The backside surface potential well of a backside-illuminated CCD is confined to within about half a nanometer of the surface by using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) to grow a delta-doped silicon layer on the back surface. Delta-doping in an MBE process is achieved by temporarily interrupting the evaporated silicon source during MBE growth without interrupting the evaporated p+ dopant source (e.g., boron). This produces an extremely sharp dopant profile in which the dopant is confined to only a few atomic layers, creating an electric field high enough to confine the backside surface potential well to within half a nanometer of the surface. Because the probability of UV-generated electrons being trapped by such a narrow potential well is low, the internal quantum efficiency of the CCD is nearly 100% throughout the UV wavelength range. Furthermore, the quantum efficiency is quite stable.

In-situ confined formation of NiFe layered double hydroxide quantum dots in expanded graphite for active electrocatalytic oxygen evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Jinxue; Li, Xiaoyan; Sun, Yanfang; Liu, Qingyun; Quan, Zhenlan; Zhang, Xiao

2018-06-01

Development of noble-metal-free catalysts towards highly efficient electrochemical oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is critical but challenging in the renewable energy area. Herein, we firstly embed NiFe LDHs quantum dots (QDs) into expanded graphite (NiFe LDHs/EG) via in-situ confined formation process. The interlayer spacing of EG layers acts as nanoreactors for spatially confined formation of NiFe LDHs QDs. The QDs supply huge catalytic sites for OER. The in-situ decoration endows the strong affinity between QDs with EG, thus inducing fast charge transfer. Based on the aforementioned benefits, the designed catalyst exhibits outstanding OER properties, in terms of small overpotential (220 mV required to generate 10 mA cm-2), low Tafel slope, and good durable stability, making it a promising candidate for inexpensive OER catalyst.

Current-Current Interactions, Dynamical Symmetry - and Quantum Chromodynamics.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neuenschwander, Dwight Edward, Jr.

Quantum Chromodynamics with massive gluons (gluon mass (TBOND) xm(,p)) in a contact-interaction limit called CQCD (strong coupling g (--->) (INFIN); x (--->) (INFIN)), despite its non-renormalizability and lack of hope of confinement, is nevertheless interesting for at least two reasons. (1) Some authors have suggested a relation between 4-Fermi and Yang-Mills theories. If g/x('2) << 1, then CQCD is not merely a 4-Fermi interaction, but includes 4, 6, 8, ...-Fermi non-Abelian contact interactions. (2) With the possibility of infrared slavery, perturbative evaluation of QCD in the infrared is a dubious practice. However, if g('2)/x('2) << 1 in CQCD, then the simplest 4-Fermi interaction is dominant, and CQCD admits perturbative treatment, but only in the infrared. With the dominant interaction, a dynamical Nambu-Goldstone realization of chiral symmetry -breaking (XSB) is found. Although in QCD the relation between confinement and XSB is controversial, XSB occurs in CQCD provided confinement is sacrificed.

Study of the nature of the confinement in the GlueX experiment

DOE PAGES

Somov, S.; Berdnikov, Vladmir; Tolstukhin, Ivan; ...

2015-11-03

Confinement is a fundamental property of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) associated with the unique role of the gluonic field responsible for binding quarks in hadrons. Understanding the role of gluons in the confinement of quarks is one of the most tantalizing topics in modern particle physics to be explored. The new experiment GlueX has been recently constructed at Jefferson Lab. The experiment was designed to search for hybrid mesons with exotic quantum numbers using a beam of linearly polarized photons incident on a liquid hydrogen target. The spectrum of these states and their mass splitting from normal mesons may yield informationmore » on confinement. In addition, these observations in combination with detailed chromodynamics calculations such as on the Lattice can provide important tests for our understanding of the role of gluons. The production of exotic mesons is expected to be enhanced in p interactions, where the experimental data is very limited. We present the description of the GlueX detector, beam line, and first results of the commissioning with photon beam.« less

Semiconductor quantum dot scintillation under gamma-ray irradiation

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

Letant, S E; Wang, T

2006-08-23

We recently demonstrated the ability of semiconductor quantum dots to convert alpha radiation into visible photons. In this letter, we report on the scintillation of quantum dots under gamma-ray irradiation, and compare the energy resolution of the 59 keV line of Americium 241 obtained with our quantum dot-glass nanocomposite material to that of a standard sodium iodide scintillator. A factor 2 improvement is demonstrated experimentally and interpreted theoretically using a combination of energy-loss and photon transport models. These results demonstrate the potential of quantum dots for room-temperature gamma-ray detection, which has applications in medical imaging, environmental monitoring, as well asmore » security and defense. Present technology in gamma radiation detection suffers from flexibility and scalability issues. For example, bulk Germanium provides fine energy resolution (0.2% energy resolution at 1.33 MeV) but requires operation at liquid nitrogen temperature. On the other hand, Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride is a good room temperature detector ( 1% at 662 keV) but the size of the crystals that can be grown is limited to a few centimeters in each direction. Finally, the most commonly used scintillator, Sodium Iodide (NaI), can be grown as large crystals but suffers from a lack of energy resolution (7% energy resolution at 662 keV). Recent advancements in nanotechnology6-10 have provided the possibility of controlling materials synthesis at the molecular level. Both morphology and chemical composition can now be manipulated, leading to radically new material properties due to a combination of quantum confinement and surface to volume ratio effects. One of the main consequences of reducing the size of semiconductors down to nanometer dimensions is to increase the energy band gap, leading to visible luminescence, which suggests that these materials could be used as scintillators. The visible band gap of quantum dots would also ensure both efficient photon counting (better coupling with photomultipliers optimized for the visible region), and high photon output (smaller individual photon energy results in more photons produced) at room temperature, which is essential for effective Poisson counting (the energy resolution {Delta}E/E is inversely proportional to the square root of the number of photons collected).« less

Reducing Threshold of Multi Quantum Wells InGaN Laser Diode by Using InGaN/GaN Waveguide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdullah, Rafid A.; Ibrahim, Kamarulazizi

2010-07-01

ISE TCAD (Integrated System Engineering Technology Computer Aided Design) software simulation program has been utilized to help study the effect of using InGaN/GaN as a waveguide instead of conventional GaN waveguide for multi quantum wells violet InGaN laser diode (LD). Simulation results indicate that the threshold of the LD has been reduced by using InGaN/GaN waveguide where InGaN/GaN waveguide increases the optical confinement factor which leads to increase the confinement carriers at the active region of the LD.

Effects of hydrogen-like impurity and electromagnetic field on quantum transition of an electron in a Gaussian potential with QD thickness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xin, Wei; Zhao, Yu-Wei; Sudu; Eerdunchaolu

2018-05-01

Considering Hydrogen-like impurity and the thickness effect, the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the electronic ground and first exited states in a quantum dot (QD) are derived by using the Lee-Low-Pins-Pekar variational method with the harmonic and Gaussian potentials as the transverse and longitudinal confinement potentials, respectively. A two-level system is constructed on the basis of those two states, and the electronic quantum transition affected by an electromagnetic field is discussed in terms of the two-level system theory. The results indicate the Gaussian potential reflects the real confinement potential more accurately than the parabolic one; the influence of the thickness of the QD on the electronic transition probability is interesting and significant, and cannot be ignored; the electronic transition probability Γ is influenced significantly by some physical quantities, such as the strength of the electron-phonon coupling α, the electric-field strength F, the magnetic-field cyclotron frequency ωc , the barrier height V0 and confinement range L of the asymmetric Gaussian potential, suggesting the transport and optical properties of the QD can be manipulated further though those physical quantities.

Integration of Quantum Confinement and Alloy Effect to Modulate Electronic Properties of RhW Nanocrystals for Improved Catalytic Performance toward CO2 Hydrogenation.

PubMed

Zhang, Wenbo; Wang, Liangbing; Liu, Haoyu; Hao, Yiping; Li, Hongliang; Khan, Munir Ullah; Zeng, Jie

2017-02-08

The d-band center and surface negative charge density generally determine the adsorption and activation of CO 2 , thus serving as important descriptors of the catalytic activity toward CO 2 hydrogenation. Herein, we engineered the d-band center and negative charge density of Rh-based catalysts by tuning their dimensions and introducing non-noble metals to form an alloy. During the hydrogenation of CO 2 into methanol, the catalytic activity of Rh 75 W 25 nanosheets was 5.9, 4.0, and 1.7 times as high as that of Rh nanoparticles, Rh nanosheets, and Rh 73 W 27 nanoparticles, respectively. Mechanistic studies reveal that the remarkable activity of Rh 75 W 25 nanosheets is owing to the integration of quantum confinement and alloy effect. Specifically, the quantum confinement in one dimension shifts up the d-band center of Rh 75 W 25 nanosheets, strengthening the adsorption of CO 2 . Moreover, the alloy effect not only promotes the activation of CO 2 to form CO 2 δ- but also enhances the adsorption of intermediates to facilitate further hydrogenation of the intermediates into methanol.

Polarizability and binding energy of a shallow donor in spherical quantum dot-quantum well (QD-QW)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahmani, K.; Chrafih, Y.; M’Zred, S.; Janati, S.; Zorkani, I.; Jorio, A.; Mmadi, A.

2018-03-01

The polarizability and the binding energy is estimated for a shallow donor confined to move in inhomogeneous quantum dots (CdS/HgS/CdS). In this work, the Hass variational method within the effective mass approximation in used in the case of an infinitely deep well. The polarizability and the binding energy depend on the inner and the outer radius of the QDQW, also it depends strongly on the donor position. It’s found that the stark effect is more important when the impurity is located at the center of the (QDQW) and becomes less important when the donor moves toward the extremities of the spherical layer. When the electric field increases, the binding energy and the polarizability decreases. Its effects is more pronounced when the impurity is placed on the center of the spherical layer and decrease when the donor move toward extremities of this spherical layer. We have demonstrated the existence of a critical value {≤ft( {{{{R_1}} \\over {{R_2}}}} \\right)cri} which can be used to distinguish the tree dimension confinement from the spherical surface confinement and it’s may be important for the nanofabrication techniques.

Enhanced Hole Mobility and Density in GaSb Quantum Wells

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-01

Keywords: Molecular beam epitaxy Quantum wells Semiconducting III–V materials Field-effect transistors GaSb a b s t r a c t Modulation-doped quantum wells...QWs) of GaSb clad by AlAsSb were grown by molecular beam epitaxy on InP substrates. By virtue of quantum confinement and compressive strain of the...heterostructures studied here are grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on semi-insulating (001) InP substrates using a Riber Compact 21T MBE system. A cross

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

Babac, Gulru

Gas flow in micro/nano scale systems has been generally studied for the Maxwell gases. In the limits of very low temperature and very confined domains, the Maxwellian approximation can break down and the quantum character of the gases becomes important. In these cases, Knudsen law, which is one of the important equations to analyze rarefied gas flows is invalid and should be reanalyzed for quantum gases. In this work, the availability of quantum gas conditions in the high Knudsen number cases is discussed and Knudsen law is analyzed for quantum gases.

ZnO nanostructures with different morphology for enhanced photocatalytic activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peter, I. John; Praveen, E.; Vignesh, G.; Nithiananthi, P.

2017-12-01

ZnO nanomaterials of different morphologies have been synthesized and the effect of morphology on Photocatalytic activity on natural dye has been investigated. Crystalline size and lattice strain of the synthesized particles are determined by XRD analysis and Williamson-Hall (W-H) method respectively. All other important physical parameters such as strain, stress and energy density values are also calculated using W-H analysis using different models such as uniform deformation model, uniform deformation stress model and uniform deformation energy density model. A shift in the peak of FTIR spectrum of ZnO is observed due to morphology effects. The SEM analysis reveals that the synthesized ZnO nanoparticles appear as flake, rod and dot. ZnO quantum dot exhibits higher photocatalytic activity comparing to the other morphologies. Larger surface area, high adsorption rate, large charge separation and the slow recombination of electrons/holes in ZnO dots establish dots as favorable morphology for good photocatalysis. Among the three, ZnO quantum dot shows three-times enhancement in the kinetic rate constants of photocatalysis. The results confirm that availability of specific (active) surface area, photocatalytic potential and quantum confinement of photo-induced carriers differ with morphology.

Investigation of thioglycerol stabilized ZnS quantum dots in electroluminescent device performance

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

Ethiraj, Anita Sagadevan, E-mail: anita.ethiraj@vit.ac.in; Center for Nanotechnology Research, VIT University, Vellore, TamilNadu-632014; Rhen, Dani

2016-05-06

The present work is focused on the investigation of thioglycerol (TG) stabilized Zinc Sulfide Quantum dots (ZnS QDs) in the hybrid electroluminescence (EL) device. Optical absorption spectroscopy clearly indicates the formation of narrow size distributed ZnS in the quantum confinement regime. X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Photoluminescence (PL), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) data supports the same. The hybrid EL device with structure of ITO (indium tin oxide)//PEDOT:PSS ((poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrene sulfonate)//HTL (α NPD- N,N′-diphenyl-N,N′-bis(1-naphthyl)-(1,1′-phenyl)-4,4′-diamine// PVK:ZnS QDs//ETL(PBD- 2-tert-butylphenyl- 5-biphenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole)//LiF:Al (Device 1) was fabricated. Reference device without the ZnS QDs were also prepared (Device 2). The results show that the ZnS QDs based device exhibitedmore » bright electroluminescence emission of 24 cd/m{sup 2} at a driving voltage of 16 Volts under the forward bias conditions as compared to the reference device without the ZnS QDs, which showed 6 cd/m{sup 2} at ∼22 Volts.« less

Tuning the photoluminescence of graphene quantum dots through the charge transfer effect of functional groups.

PubMed

Jin, Sung Hwan; Kim, Da Hye; Jun, Gwang Hoon; Hong, Soon Hyung; Jeon, Seokwoo

2013-02-26

The band gap properties of graphene quantum dots (GQDs) arise from quantum confinement effects and differ from those in semimetallic graphene sheets. Tailoring the size of the band gap and understanding the band gap tuning mechanism are essential for the applications of GQDs in opto-electronics. In this study, we observe that the photoluminescence (PL) of the GQDs shifts due to charge transfers between functional groups and GQDs. GQDs that are functionalized with amine groups and are 1-3 layers thick and less than 5 nm in diameter were successfully fabricated using a two-step cutting process from graphene oxides (GOs). The functionalized GQDs exhibit a redshift of PL emission (ca. 30 nm) compared to the unfunctionalized GQDs. Furthermore, the PL emissions of the GQDs and the amine-functionalized GQDs were also shifted by changes in the pH due to the protonation or deprotonation of the functional groups. The PL shifts resulted from charge transfers between the functional groups and GQDs, which can tune the band gap of the GQDs. Calculations from density functional theory (DFT) are in good agreement with our proposed mechanism for band gap tuning in the GQDs through the use of functionalization.

Thickness dependent quantum oscillations of transport properties in topological insulator Bi2Te3 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogacheva, E. I.; Budnik, A. V.; Sipatov, A. Yu.; Nashchekina, O. N.; Dresselhaus, M. S.

2015-02-01

The dependences of the electrical conductivity, the Hall coefficient, and the Seebeck coefficient on the layer thickness d (d = 18-600 nm) of p-type topological insulator Bi2Te3 thin films grown by thermal evaporation in vacuum on glass substrates were obtained at room temperature. In the thickness range of d = 18-100 nm, sustained oscillations with a substantial amplitude were revealed. The observed oscillations are well approximated by a harmonic function with a period Δd = (9.5 ± 0.5) nm. At d > 100 nm, the transport coefficients practically do not change as d is increased. The oscillations of the kinetic properties are attributed to the quantum size effects due to the hole confinement in the Bi2Te3 quantum wells. The results of the theoretical calculations of Δd within the framework of a model of an infinitely deep potential well are in good agreement with the experimental results. It is suggested that the substantial amplitude of the oscillations and their sustained character as a function of d are connected with the topologically protected gapless surface states of Bi2Te3 and are inherent to topological insulators.

Influence of hydrostatic pressure on the built-in electric field in ZnO/ZnMgO quantum wells

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

Teisseyre, Henryk, E-mail: teiss@ifpan.edu.pl; Institute of High Pressure, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sokołowska 29/37, 01-142 Warsaw; Kaminska, Agata

We used high hydrostatic pressure to perform photoluminescence measurements on polar ZnO/ZnMgO quantum well structures. Our structure oriented along the c-direction (polar direction) was grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on a-plane sapphire. Due to the intrinsic electric field, which exists in polar wurtzite structure at ambient pressure, we observed a red shift of the emission related to the quantum-confined Stark effect. In the high hydrostatic pressure experiment, we observed a strong decrease of the quantum well pressure coefficients with increased thickness of the quantum wells. Generally, a narrower quantum well gave a higher pressure coefficient, closer to the band-gapmore » pressure coefficient of bulk material 20 meV/GPa for ZnO, while for wider quantum wells it is much lower. We observed a pressure coefficient of 19.4 meV/GPa for a 1.5 nm quantum well, while for an 8 nm quantum well the pressure coefficient was equal to 8.9 meV/GPa only. This is explained by taking into account the pressure-induced increase of the strain in our structure. The strain was calculated taking in to account that in-plane strain is not equal (due to fact that we used a-plane sapphire as a substrate) and the potential distribution in the structure was calculated self-consistently. The pressure induced increase of the built-in electric field is the same for all thicknesses of quantum wells, but becomes more pronounced for thicker quantum wells due to the quantum confined Stark effect lowering the pressure coefficients.« less

Application of path-integral quantization to indistinguishable particle systems topologically confined by a magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacak, Janusz E.

2018-01-01

We demonstrate an original development of path-integral quantization in the case of a multiply connected configuration space of indistinguishable charged particles on a 2D manifold and exposed to a strong perpendicular magnetic field. The system occurs to be exceptionally homotopy-rich and the structure of the homotopy essentially depends on the magnetic field strength resulting in multiloop trajectories at specific conditions. We have proved, by a generalization of the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization rule, that the size of a magnetic field flux quantum grows for multiloop orbits like (2 k +1 ) h/c with the number of loops k . Utilizing this property for electrons on the 2D substrate jellium, we have derived upon the path integration a complete FQHE hierarchy in excellent consistence with experiments. The path integral has been next developed to a sum over configurations, displaying various patterns of trajectory homotopies (topological configurations), which in the nonstationary case of quantum kinetics, reproduces some unclear formerly details in the longitudinal resistivity observed in experiments.

Size Control of Porous Silicon-Based Nanoparticles via Pore-Wall Thinning.

PubMed

Secret, Emilie; Leonard, Camille; Kelly, Stefan J; Uhl, Amanda; Cozzan, Clayton; Andrew, Jennifer S

2016-02-02

Photoluminescent silicon nanocrystals are very attractive for biomedical and electronic applications. Here a new process is presented to synthesize photoluminescent silicon nanocrystals with diameters smaller than 6 nm from a porous silicon template. These nanoparticles are formed using a pore-wall thinning approach, where the as-etched porous silicon layer is partially oxidized to silica, which is dissolved by a hydrofluoric acid solution, decreasing the pore-wall thickness. This decrease in pore-wall thickness leads to a corresponding decrease in the size of the nanocrystals that make up the pore walls, resulting in the formation of smaller nanoparticles during sonication of the porous silicon. Particle diameters were measured using dynamic light scattering, and these values were compared with the nanocrystallite size within the pore wall as determined from X-ray diffraction. Additionally, an increase in the quantum confinement effect is observed for these particles through an increase in the photoluminescence intensity of the nanoparticles compared with the as-etched nanoparticles, without the need for a further activation step by oxidation after synthesis.

Nano sulfide and oxide semiconductors as promising materials for studies by positron annihilation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nambissan, P. M. G.

2013-06-01

A number of wide band gap sulfide and oxide semiconducting nanomaterial systems were investigated using the experimental techniques of positron lifetime and coincidence Doppler broadening measurements. The results indicated several features of the nanomaterial systems, which were found strongly related to the presence of vacancy-type defects and their clusters. Quantum confinement effects were displayed in these studies as remarkable changes in the positron lifetimes and the lineshape parameters around the same grain sizes below which characteristic blue shifts were observed in the optical absorption spectra. Considerable enhancement in the band gap and significant rise of the positron lifetimes were found occurring when the particle sizes were reduced to very low sizes. The results of doping or substitutions by other cations in semiconductor nanosystems were also interesting. Variously heat-treated TiO2 nanoparticles were studied recently and change of positron annihilation parameters across the anatase to rutile structural transition are carefully analyzed. Preliminary results of positron annihilation studies on Eu-doped CeO nanoparticles are also presented.

Energy spectrum and transport in narrow HgTe quantum wells

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

Germanenko, A. V., E-mail: Alexander.Germanenko@urfu.ru; Minkov, G. M.; Rut, O. E.

The results of an experimental study of the transport phenomena and the hole energy spectrum of two-dimensional systems in the quantum well of HgTe zero-gap semiconductor with normal arrangement of quantum-confinement subbands are presented. An analysis of the experimental data allows us to reconstruct the carrier energy spectrum near the hole subband extrema. The results are interpreted using the standard kP model.

Single particle tracking with sterol modulation reveals the cholesterol-mediated diffusion properties of integrin receptors.

PubMed

Arora, Neha; Syed, Aleem; Sander, Suzanne; Smith, Emily A

2014-10-07

A combination of sterol modulation with cyclodextrins plus fluorescence microscopy revealed a biophysical mechanism behind cholesterol's influence on the diffusion of a ubiquitous class of receptors called integrins. The heterogeneous diffusion of integrins bound to ligand-coated quantum dots was measured using single particle tracking (SPT), and the ensemble changes in integrin diffusion were measured by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP). A 25 ± 1% reduction of membrane cholesterol resulted in three significant changes to the diffusion of ligand-bound αPS2CβPS integrins as measured by SPT. There was a 23% increase in ligand-bound mobile integrins; there was a statistically significant increase in the average diffusion coefficient inside zones of confined diffusion, and histograms of confined integrin trajectories showed an increased frequency in the range of 0.1-1 μm(2) s(-1) and a decreased frequency in the 0.001-0.1 μm(2) s(-1) range. No statistical change was measured in the duration of confinement nor the size of confined zones. Restoring the cholesterol-depleted cells with exogenous cholesterol or exogenous epicholesterol resulted in similar diffusion properties. Epicholesterol differs from cholesterol in the orientation of a single hydroxyl group. The ability of epicholesterol to substitute for cholesterol suggests a biophysical mechanism for cholesterol's effect on integrin diffusion. Influences of bilayer thickness, viscosity and organization are discussed as possible explanations for the measured changes in integrin diffusion when the membrane cholesterol concentration is reduced.

Fan-out Estimation in Spin-based Quantum Computer Scale-up.

PubMed

Nguyen, Thien; Hill, Charles D; Hollenberg, Lloyd C L; James, Matthew R

2017-10-17

Solid-state spin-based qubits offer good prospects for scaling based on their long coherence times and nexus to large-scale electronic scale-up technologies. However, high-threshold quantum error correction requires a two-dimensional qubit array operating in parallel, posing significant challenges in fabrication and control. While architectures incorporating distributed quantum control meet this challenge head-on, most designs rely on individual control and readout of all qubits with high gate densities. We analysed the fan-out routing overhead of a dedicated control line architecture, basing the analysis on a generalised solid-state spin qubit platform parameterised to encompass Coulomb confined (e.g. donor based spin qubits) or electrostatically confined (e.g. quantum dot based spin qubits) implementations. The spatial scalability under this model is estimated using standard electronic routing methods and present-day fabrication constraints. Based on reasonable assumptions for qubit control and readout we estimate 10 2 -10 5 physical qubits, depending on the quantum interconnect implementation, can be integrated and fanned-out independently. Assuming relatively long control-free interconnects the scalability can be extended. Ultimately, the universal quantum computation may necessitate a much higher number of integrated qubits, indicating that higher dimensional electronics fabrication and/or multiplexed distributed control and readout schemes may be the preferredstrategy for large-scale implementation.

Hydrogenic molecular transitions in double concentric quantum donuts by changing geometrical parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ospina-Londoño, D. A.; Fulla, M. R.; Marín, J. H.

2013-03-01

In this work it is considered a versatile model to study two different ionization processes starting from a D20 homonuclear hydrogenic molecule confined in double concentric quantum donuts. Very narrow quantum donut circular cross sections are considered to separate the radial and angular variables in the D20 Hamiltonian by using the well-known adiabatic approximation D20 total energy as a function of the inter donor spacing and the outer donut center line radius is calculated. The salient features of an artificial D20 hydrogenic molecule such as the dissociation energy and the equilibrium length are strongly dependent on the quantum donut geometrical parameters. By increasing systematically the quantum donut outer center line radius, it is possible to understand a first ionization process: D20→D2++e-. A second ionization process D20→D-+D+ can be carried out by fixing the first donor position and gradually moving away the second one. The results obtained in this study are in good agreement with those previously obtained in the limiting cases of very large inter donor separation. The model proposed here is computationally economical and provides a realistic description of both ionization processes and the few-particle system confined in double concentric quantum donuts.

The Properties of Confined Water and Fluid Flow at the Nanoscale

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

Schwegler, E; Reed, J; Lau, E

This project has been focused on the development of accurate computational tools to study fluids in confined, nanoscale geometries, and the application of these techniques to probe the structural and electronic properties of water confined between hydrophilic and hydrophobic substrates, including the presence of simple ions at the interfaces. In particular, we have used a series of ab-initio molecular dynamics simulations and quantum Monte Carlo calculations to build an understanding of how hydrogen bonding and solvation are modified at the nanoscale. The properties of confined water affect a wide range of scientific and technological problems - including protein folding, cell-membranemore » flow, materials properties in confined media and nanofluidic devices.« 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.

Pauli structures arising from confined particles interacting via a statistical potential

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Batle, Josep; Ciftja, Orion; Farouk, Ahmed; Alkhambashi, Majid; Abdalla, Soliman

2017-09-01

There have been suggestions that the Pauli exclusion principle alone can lead a non-interacting (free) system of identical fermions to form crystalline structures dubbed Pauli crystals. Single-shot imaging experiments for the case of ultra-cold systems of free spin-polarized fermionic atoms in a two-dimensional harmonic trap appear to show geometric arrangements that cannot be characterized as Wigner crystals. This work explores this idea and considers a well-known approach that enables one to treat a quantum system of free fermions as a system of classical particles interacting with a statistical interaction potential. The model under consideration, though classical in nature, incorporates the quantum statistics by endowing the classical particles with an effective interaction potential. The reasonable expectation is that possible Pauli crystal features seen in experiments may manifest in this model that captures the correct quantum statistics as a first order correction. We use the Monte Carlo simulated annealing method to obtain the most stable configurations of finite two-dimensional systems of confined particles that interact with an appropriate statistical repulsion potential. We consider both an isotropic harmonic and a hard-wall confinement potential. Despite minor differences, the most stable configurations observed in our model correspond to the reported Pauli crystals in single-shot imaging experiments of free spin-polarized fermions in a harmonic trap. The crystalline configurations observed appear to be different from the expected classical Wigner crystal structures that would emerge should the confined classical particles had interacted with a pair-wise Coulomb repulsion.

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

PubMed

Chwiej, T; Szafran, B

2013-04-17

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

From rotating atomic rings to quantum Hall states.

PubMed

Roncaglia, M; Rizzi, M; Dalibard, J

2011-01-01

Considerable efforts are currently devoted to the preparation of ultracold neutral atoms in the strongly correlated quantum Hall regime. However, the necessary angular momentum is very large and in experiments with rotating traps this means spinning frequencies extremely near to the deconfinement limit; consequently, the required control on parameters turns out to be too stringent. Here we propose instead to follow a dynamic path starting from the gas initially confined in a rotating ring. The large moment of inertia of the ring-shaped fluid facilitates the access to large angular momenta, corresponding to giant vortex states. The trapping potential is then adiabatically transformed into a harmonic confinement, which brings the interacting atomic gas in the desired quantum-Hall regime. We provide numerical evidence that for a broad range of initial angular frequencies, the giant-vortex state is adiabatically connected to the bosonic ν = 1/2 Laughlin state.

Band-to-band tunneling distance analysis in the heterogate electron–hole bilayer tunnel field-effect transistor

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

Padilla, J. L., E-mail: jose.padilladelatorre@epfl.ch; Departamento de Electrónica y Tecnología de los Computadores, Universidad de Granada, Avda. Fuentenueva s/n, 18071 Granada; Palomares, A.

In this work, we analyze the behavior of the band-to-band tunneling distance between electron and hole subbands resulting from field-induced quantum confinement in the heterogate electron–hole bilayer tunnel field-effect transistor. We show that, analogously to the explicit formula for the tunneling distance that can be easily obtained in the semiclassical framework where the conduction and valence band edges are allowed states, an equivalent analytical expression can be derived in the presence of field-induced quantum confinement for describing the dependence of the tunneling distance on the body thickness and material properties of the channel. This explicit expression accounting for quantum confinementmore » holds valid provided that the potential wells for electrons and holes at the top and bottom of the channel can be approximated by triangular profiles. Analytical predictions are compared to simulation results showing very accurate agreement.« less

Extremely efficient internal exciton dissociation through edge states in layered 2D perovskites

DOE PAGES

Blancon, Jean -Christophe Robert; Tsai, Hsinhan; Nie, Wanyi; ...

2017-03-09

Understanding and controlling charge and energy flow in state-of-the-art semiconductor quantum wells has enabled high-efficiency optoelectronic devices. Two-dimensional (2D) Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites are solution-processed quantum wells wherein the band gap can be tuned by varying the perovskite-layer thickness, which modulates the effective electron-hole confinement. We report that, counterintuitive to classical quantum-confined systems where photogenerated electrons and holes are strongly bound by Coulomb interactions or excitons, the photophysics of thin films made of Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites with a thickness exceeding two perovskite-crystal units (>1.3 nanometers) is dominated by lower-energy states associated with the local intrinsic electronic structure of the edges of the perovskitemore » layers. Furthermore, these states provide a direct pathway for dissociating excitons into longer-lived free carriers that substantially improve the performance of optoelectronic devices.« less

Optical response in a laser-driven quantum pseudodot system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kilic, D. Gul; Sakiroglu, S.; Ungan, F.; Yesilgul, U.; Kasapoglu, E.; Sari, H.; Sokmen, I.

2017-03-01

We investigate theoretically the intense laser-induced optical absorption coefficients and refractive index changes in a two-dimensional quantum pseudodot system under an uniform magnetic field. The effects of non-resonant, monochromatic intense laser field upon the system are treated within the framework of high-frequency Floquet approach in which the system is supposed to be governed by a laser-dressed potential. Linear and nonlinear absorption coefficients and relative changes in the refractive index are obtained by means of the compact-density matrix approach and iterative method. The results of numerical calculations for a typical GaAs quantum dot reveal that the optical response depends strongly on the magnitude of external magnetic field and characteristic parameters of the confinement potential. Moreover, we have demonstrated that the intense laser field modifies the confinement and thereby causes remarkable changes in the linear and nonlinear optical properties of the system.

Invited Article: Autonomous assembly of atomically perfect nanostructures using a scanning tunneling microscope.

PubMed

Celotta, Robert J; Balakirsky, Stephen B; Fein, Aaron P; Hess, Frank M; Rutter, Gregory M; Stroscio, Joseph A

2014-12-01

A major goal of nanotechnology is to develop the capability to arrange matter at will by placing individual atoms at desired locations in a predetermined configuration to build a nanostructure with specific properties or function. The scanning tunneling microscope has demonstrated the ability to arrange the basic building blocks of matter, single atoms, in two-dimensional configurations. An array of various nanostructures has been assembled, which display the quantum mechanics of quantum confined geometries. The level of human interaction needed to physically locate the atom and bring it to the desired location limits this atom assembly technology. Here we report the use of autonomous atom assembly via path planning technology; this allows atomically perfect nanostructures to be assembled without the need for human intervention, resulting in precise constructions in shorter times. We demonstrate autonomous assembly by assembling various quantum confinement geometries using atoms and molecules and describe the benefits of this approach.

Spontaneous decoherence of coupled harmonic oscillators confined in a ring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gong, ZhiRui; Zhang, ZhenWei; Xu, DaZhi; Zhao, Nan; Sun, ChangPu

2018-04-01

We study the spontaneous decoherence of coupled harmonic oscillators confined in a ring container, where the nearest-neighbor harmonic potentials are taken into consideration. Without any external symmetry-breaking field or surrounding environment, the quantum superposition state prepared in the relative degrees of freedom gradually loses its quantum coherence spontaneously. This spontaneous decoherence is interpreted by the gauge couplings between the center-of-mass and the relative degrees of freedoms, which actually originate from the symmetries of the ring geometry and the corresponding nontrivial boundary conditions. In particular, such spontaneous decoherence does not occur at all at the thermodynamic limit because the nontrivial boundary conditions become the trivial Born-von Karman boundary conditions when the perimeter of the ring container tends to infinity. Our investigation shows that a thermal macroscopic object with certain symmetries has a chance for its quantum properties to degrade even without applying an external symmetry-breaking field or surrounding environment.

Luminescence of quantum-well exciton polaritons from microstructured AlxGa1-xAs-GaAs multiple quantum wells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohl, M.; Heitmann, D.; Grambow, P.; Ploog, K.

1988-06-01

Periodic multiple-quantum-well wires have been prepared by etching five-layer quantum-well structures through a holographically prepared mask. The periodicity was 380 nm, the lateral confinement 180 nm, and the quantum-well width 13, nm. The luminescence from these microstructured systems in the frequency regime of the one-electron-one-heavy-hole transition was strongly polarized with the electric field perpendicular to the periodic structure. This effect was caused by the resonantly enhanced emission of quantum-well-exciton (QWE) polaritons. Excitation of QWE polaritons was also observed in reflection measurements on the microstructured samples.

Photoconductive gain and quantum efficiency of remotely doped Ge/Si quantum dot photodetectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yakimov, A. I.; Kirienko, V. V.; Armbrister, V. A.; Bloshkin, A. A.; Dvurechenskii, A. V.; Shklyaev, A. A.

2016-10-01

We study the effect of quantum dot charging on the mid-infrared photocurrent, optical gain, hole capture probability, and absorption quantum efficiency in remotely delta-doped Ge/Si quantum dot photodetectors. The dot occupation with holes is controlled by varying dot and doping densities. From our investigations of samples doped to contain from about one to nine holes per dot we observe an over 10 times gain enhancement and similar suppression of the hole capture probability with increased carrier population. The data are explained by quenching the capture process and increasing the photoexcited hole lifetime due to formation of the repulsive Coulomb potential of the extra holes inside the quantum dots. The normal incidence quantum efficiency is found to be strongly asymmetric with respect to applied bias polarity. Based on the polarization-dependent absorption measurements it is concluded that, at a positive voltage, when holes move toward the nearest δ-doping plane, photocurrent is originated from the bound-to-continuum transitions of holes between the ground state confined in Ge dots and the extended states of the Si matrix. At a negative bias polarity, the photoresponse is caused by optical excitation to a quasibound state confined near the valence band edge with subsequent tunneling to the Si valence band. In a latter case, the possibility of hole transfer into continuum states arises from the electric field generated by charge distributed between quantum dots and delta-doping planes.

Formation of nanoporous Si upon self-organized growth of Al and Si nanostructures.

PubMed

Thøgersen, Annett; Jensen, Ingvild J T; Stange, Marit; Kjeldstad, Torunn; Martinez-Martinez, Diego; Løvvik, Ole Martin; Ulyashin, Alexander G; Diplas, Spyros

2018-08-03

Nanostructured materials offer unique electronic and optical properties compared to their bulk counterparts. The challenging part of the synthesis is to create a balance between the control of design, size limitations, up-scalability and contamination. In this work we show that self-organized Al nanowires in amorphous Si can be produced at room temperature by magnetron co-sputtering using two individual targets. Nanoporous Si, containing nanotunnels with dimensions within the quantum confinement regime, were then made by selective etching of Al. The material properties, film growth, and composition of the films were investigated for different compositions. In addition, the reflectance of the etched film has been measured.

Photon-induced formation of CdS nanocrystals in selected areas of polymer matrices

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

Athanassiou, Athanassia; Cingolani, Roberto; Tsiranidou, Elsa

2007-10-08

We demonstrate light-induced formation of semiconductor quantum dots in TOPAS registered polymer matrix with very high control of their size and their spatial localization. Irradiation with UV laser pulses of polymer films embedding Cd thiolate precursors results in the formation of cadmium sulfide nanocrystals well confined in the irradiation area, through a macroscopically nondestructive procedure for the host matrix. With increasing number of laser pulses, we accomplish the formation of nanoparticles with gradually increasing dimensions, resulting in the dynamic change of the spectra emitted by the formed nanocomposite areas. The findings are supported by x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopymore » measurements.« less

Impact of geometric, thermal and tunneling effects on nano-transistors

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

Hu, Langhua; Chen, Duan, E-mail: dchen10@uncc.edu; Wei, Guo-Wei

Electronic transistors are fundamental building blocks of large scale integrated circuits in modern advanced electronic equipments, and their sizes have been down-scaled to nanometers. Modeling and simulations in the framework of quantum dynamics have emerged as important tools to study functional characteristics of these nano-devices. This work explores the effects of geometric shapes of semiconductor–insulator interfaces, phonon–electron interactions, and quantum tunneling of three-dimensional (3D) nano-transistors. First, we propose a two-scale energy functional to describe the electron dynamics in a dielectric continuum of device material. Coupled governing equations, i.e., Poisson–Kohn–Sham (PKS) equations, are derived by the variational principle. Additionally, it ismore » found that at a given channel cross section area and gate voltage, the geometry that has the smallest perimeter of the channel cross section offers the largest channel current, which indicates that ultra-thin nanotransistors may not be very efficient in practical applications. Moreover, we introduce a new method to evaluate quantum tunneling effects in nanotransistors without invoking the comparison of classical and quantum predictions. It is found that at a given channel cross section area and gate voltage, the geometry that has the smallest perimeter of the channel cross section has the smallest quantum tunneling ratio, which indicates that geometric defects can lead to higher geometric confinement and larger quantum tunneling effect. Furthermore, although an increase in the phonon–electron interaction strength reduces channel current, it does not have much impact to the quantum tunneling ratio. Finally, advanced numerical techniques, including second order elliptic interface methods, have been applied to ensure computational accuracy and reliability of the present PKS simulation.« less

Pseudo-direct bandgap transitions in silicon nanocrystals: effects on optoelectronics and thermoelectrics.

PubMed

Singh, Vivek; Yu, Yixuan; Sun, Qi-C; Korgel, Brian; Nagpal, Prashant

2014-12-21

While silicon nanostructures are extensively used in electronics, the indirect bandgap of silicon poses challenges for optoelectronic applications like photovoltaics and light emitting diodes (LEDs). Here, we show that size-dependent pseudo-direct bandgap transitions in silicon nanocrystals dominate the interactions between (photoexcited) charge carriers and phonons, and hence the optoelectronic properties of silicon nanocrystals. Direct measurements of the electronic density of states (DOS) for different sized silicon nanocrystals reveal that these pseudo-direct transitions, likely arising from the nanocrystal surface, can couple with the quantum-confined silicon states. Moreover, we demonstrate that since these transitions determine the interactions of charge carriers with phonons, they change the light emission, absorption, charge carrier diffusion and phonon drag (Seebeck coefficient) in nanoscaled silicon semiconductors. Therefore, these results can have important implications for the design of optoelectronics and thermoelectric devices based on nanostructured silicon.

Level Anticrossing of Impurity States in Semiconductor Nanocrystals

PubMed Central

Baimuratov, Anvar S.; Rukhlenko, Ivan D.; Turkov, Vadim K.; Ponomareva, Irina O.; Leonov, Mikhail Yu.; Perova, Tatiana S.; Berwick, Kevin; Baranov, Alexander V.; Fedorov, Anatoly V.

2014-01-01

The size dependence of the quantized energies of elementary excitations is an essential feature of quantum nanostructures, underlying most of their applications in science and technology. Here we report on a fundamental property of impurity states in semiconductor nanocrystals that appears to have been overlooked—the anticrossing of energy levels exhibiting different size dependencies. We show that this property is inherent to the energy spectra of charge carriers whose spatial motion is simultaneously affected by the Coulomb potential of the impurity ion and the confining potential of the nanocrystal. The coupling of impurity states, which leads to the anticrossing, can be induced by interactions with elementary excitations residing inside the nanocrystal or an external electromagnetic field. We formulate physical conditions that allow a straightforward interpretation of level anticrossings in the nanocrystal energy spectrum and an accurate estimation of the states' coupling strength. PMID:25369911

Band-gap engineering by molecular mechanical strain-induced giant tuning of the luminescence in colloidal amorphous porous silicon nanostructures.

PubMed

Mughal, A; El Demellawi, J K; Chaieb, Sahraoui

2014-12-14

Nano-silicon is a nanostructured material in which quantum or spatial confinement is the origin of the material's luminescence. When nano-silicon is broken into colloidal crystalline nanoparticles, its luminescence can be tuned across the visible spectrum only when the sizes of the nanoparticles, which are obtained via painstaking filtration methods that are difficult to scale up because of low yield, vary. Bright and tunable colloidal amorphous porous silicon nanostructures have not yet been reported. In this letter, we report on a 100 nm modulation in the emission of freestanding colloidal amorphous porous silicon nanostructures via band-gap engineering. The mechanism responsible for this tunable modulation, which is independent of the size of the individual particles and their distribution, is the distortion of the molecular orbitals by a strained silicon-silicon bond angle. This mechanism is also responsible for the amorphous-to-crystalline transformation of silicon.

Facile Synthesis and Optical Properties of Small Selenium Nanocrystals and Nanorods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Fengrui; Cai, Weiquan; Tan, Guolong

2017-06-01

Selenium is an important element for human's health, small size is very helpful for Se nanoparticles to be absorbed by human's body. Here, we present a facile approach to fabrication of small selenium nanoparticles (Nano-Se) as well as nanorods by dissolving sodium selenite (Na2SeO3) in glycerin and using glucose as the reduction agent. The as-prepared selenium nanoparticles have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM). The morphology of small Se nanoparticles and nanorods have been demonstrated in the TEM images. A small amount of 3-mercaptoproprionic acid (MPA) and glycerin play a key role on controlling the particle size and stabilize the dispersion of Nano-Se in the glycerin solution. In this way, we obtained very small and uniform Se nanoparticles; whose size ranges from 2 to 6 nm. This dimension is much smaller than the best value (>20 nm) ever reported in the literatures. Strong quantum confinement effect has been observed upon the size-dependent optical spectrum of these Se nanoparticles.

Chiral anomaly and anomalous finite-size conductivity in graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Shun-Qing; Li, Chang-An; Niu, Qian

2017-09-01

Graphene is a monolayer of carbon atoms packed into a hexagon lattice to host two spin degenerate pairs of massless two-dimensional Dirac fermions with different chirality. It is known that the existence of non-zero electric polarization in reduced momentum space which is associated with a hidden chiral symmetry will lead to the zero-energy flat band of a zigzag nanoribbon and some anomalous transport properties. Here it is proposed that the Adler-Bell-Jackiw chiral anomaly or non-conservation of chiral charges of Dirac fermions at different valleys can be realized in a confined ribbon of finite width, even in the absence of a magnetic field. In the laterally diffusive regime, the finite-size correction to conductivity is always positive and is inversely proportional to the square of the lateral dimension W, which is different from the finite-size correction inversely proportional to W from the boundary modes. This anomalous finite-size conductivity reveals the signature of the chiral anomaly in graphene, and it is measurable experimentally. This finding provides an alternative platform to explore the purely quantum mechanical effect in graphene.

Effect of the deposition of cobalt on the optoelectronic properties of quantum-confined In(Ga)As/GaAs heteronanostructures

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

Volkova, N. S., E-mail: volkovans88@mail.ru; Gorshkov, A. P.; Zdoroveyshchev, A. V.

2015-12-15

The systematic features of the inf luence of defect formation during the deposition of a cobalt contact on the optoelectronic characteristics of structures containing InAs/GaAs quantum dots and In{sub x}Ga{sub 1–x}As/GaAs quantum wells are studied. From analysis of the temperature dependences of the photosensitivity of the InAs/GaAs quantum-dot structures, the values of the resultant recombination lifetime of photoexcited charge carriers in quantum dots at different conditions of Co deposition and at different structural parameters are determined.

Quantum confinement engineering on a novel two dimensional electron gas based on KTaO3 oxide interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miao, Ludi; Wang, Jing; Du, Renzhong; Bedford, Bailey; Huber, Nathan; Zhao, Weiwei; Li, Qi; Qi Li's Research Group Team

The discovery of two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) at transition metal oxide (TMO) surfaces and interfaces has opened up broad interest due to their exotic properties such as quantum Hall effect, 2D superconductivity and gate controlled ground states. Recently, 5 d TMOs are hotly investigated due to their strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC), a key element of topological materials. Among them, KTaO3 (KTO) not only hosts 2DEGs but also involves strong SOC. Here we report the discovery of electron gas based on KTO oxide interface, with low temperature mobility as large as 8000cm2V-1s-1. Strong Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillation in magnetoresistance is observed at 350 mK. Based on this playground we demonstrate a novel technique to perform quantum confinement engineering by inserting an insulating spacing layer into the interface. Indeed, we observed a drastic change in SdH oscillation from 3D-like behavior to 2D-like behavior. In addition, Fermi surface reconstruction due to the quantum confinement is also observed from SdH oscillation. Our results not only provide a novel playground for condensed matter physics and all-oxide device applications, but also open a promising new route in tailoring the dimensionality of electron gas systems. The research was supported in part by the DOE (Grant No. DE-FG02-08ER4653) on measurements and the NSF (Grant No. DMR-1411166) on nanofabrications.

Time-Resolved Photoluminescence Spectroscopy Of The Carrier Dynamics In GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs Quantum Wells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Polland, Hans J.; Kuhl, Jurgen; Gobel, Ernst O.

1988-08-01

Picosecond photoluminescence experiments at low temperature (6K) have been employed to study the trapping dynamics of photoexcited carriers in GaAs/AlGaAs single quantum wells for different shapes of the AlxGai_xAs confinement layers. We have obtained the following results by analyzing the spectral and temporal distribution of the photoluminescence after picosecond pulse excitation: Trapping efficiency is ==, 40% for a standard ungraded cladding layer (A10.3G1.7As with constant band gap and 5nm thick wells) but increases to ,-, 60% and 100% for samp es with a spatially parabolic or linear band gap profile of the confinement layers, respectively. Trapping times are appreciably shorter than the luminescence risetime which is between 60ps to 100ps. Thus carrier trapping does not impose severe limitations on the modulation speed of single quantum well devices up to frequencies in the order of 10GHz. Similar results are obtained for a well with a width of 1.2nm. Inhomogeneities in the carrier trapping mechanism due to well width fluctuations are not observed in our samples. In the second part we describe the photoluminescence properties of GaAs/A1,Gai_x As quantum wells (x=0.3) under the influence of electric fields perpendicular to the layers. We observe a drastic red shift and a concomitant strong increase of the electron-hole recombination lifetime for well widths > lOnm due to the quantum-confined Stark effect. At high fields (50-100kV/cm) field ionization due to tunneling leads to a decrease of both the photoluminescence yield and decay time, in accordance with a simple WKB theory

Topological order, entanglement, and quantum memory at finite temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mazáč, Dalimil; Hamma, Alioscia

2012-09-01

We compute the topological entropy of the toric code models in arbitrary dimension at finite temperature. We find that the critical temperatures for the existence of full quantum (classical) topological entropy correspond to the confinement-deconfinement transitions in the corresponding Z2 gauge theories. This implies that the thermal stability of topological entropy corresponds to the stability of quantum (classical) memory. The implications for the understanding of ergodicity breaking in topological phases are discussed.

Bioengineered II-VI semiconductor quantum dot-carboxymethylcellulose nanoconjugates as multifunctional fluorescent nanoprobes for bioimaging live cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mansur, Alexandra A. P.; Mansur, Herman S.; Mansur, Rafael L.; de Carvalho, Fernanda G.; Carvalho, Sandhra M.

2018-01-01

Colloidal semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are light-emitting ultra-small nanoparticles, which have emerged as a new class of nanoprobes with unique optical properties for bioimaging and biomedical diagnostic. However, to be used for most biomedical applications the biocompatibility and water-solubility are mandatory that can achieved through surface modification forming QD-nanoconjugates. In this study, semiconductor II-VI quantum dots of type MX (M = Cd, Pb, Zn, X = S) were directly synthesized in aqueous media and at room temperature using carboxymethylcellulose sodium salt (CMC) behaving simultaneously as stabilizing and surface biofunctional ligand. These nanoconjugates were extensively characterized using UV-visible spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering and zeta potential. The results demonstrated that the biopolymer was effective on nucleating and stabilizing the colloidal nanocrystals of CdS, ZnS, and PbS with the average diameter ranging from 2.0 to 5.0 nm depending on the composition of the semiconductor core, which showed quantum-size confinement effect. These QD/polysaccharide conjugates showed luminescent activity from UV-visible to near-infrared range of the spectra under violet laser excitation. Moreover, the bioassays performed proved that these novel nanoconjugates were biocompatible and behaved as composition-dependent fluorescent nanoprobes for in vitro live cell bioimaging with very promising perspectives to be used in numerous biomedical applications and nanomedicine.

In-plane, commensurate GaN/AlN junctions: single-layer composite structures, multiple quantum wells and quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Durgun, Engin; Onen, Abdullatif; Kecik, Deniz; Ciraci, Salim

In-plane composite structures constructed of the stripes or core/shells of single-layer GaN and AlN, which are joined commensurately display diversity of electronic properties, that can be tuned by the size of their constituents. In heterostructures, the dimensionality of electrons change from 2D to 1D upon their confinements in wide constituent stripes leading to the type-I band alignment and hence multiple quantum well structure in the direct space. The δ-doping of one wide stripe by other narrow stripe results in local narrowing or widening of the band gap. The direct-indirect transition of the fundamental band gap of composite structures can be attained depending on the odd or even values of formula unit in the armchair edged heterojunction. In a patterned array of GaN/AlN core/shells, the dimensionality of the electronic states are reduced from 2D to 0D forming multiple quantum dots in large GaN-cores, while 2D electrons propagate in multiply connected AlN shell as if they are in a supercrystal. These predictions are obtained from first-principles calculations based on density functional theory on single-layer GaN and AlN compound semiconductors which were synthesized recently. This work was supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) under Project No 115F088.

Color-Pure Violet-Light-Emitting Diodes Based on Layered Lead Halide Perovskite Nanoplates

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

Liang, Dong; Peng, Yuelin; Fu, Yongping

Violet electroluminescence is rare in both inorganic and organic light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Low-cost and room- temperature solution-processed lead halide perovskites with high- efficiency and color-tunable photoluminescence are promising for LEDs. Here, we report room-temperature color-pure violet LEDs based on a two-dimensional lead halide perovskite material, namely, 2-phenylethylammonium (C 6H 5CH 2CH 2NH 3 +, PEA) lead bromide [(PEA) 2PbBr 4]. The natural quantum confinement of two-dimen- sional layered perovskite (PEA) 2PbBr 4 allows for photoluminescence of shorter wavelength (410 nm) than its three-dimensional counterpart. By converting as-deposited polycrystalline thin films to micrometer-sized (PEA) 2PbBr 4 nanoplates using solvent vapor annealing,more » we successfully integrated this layered perovskite material into LEDs and achieved efficient room-temperature violet electroluminescence at 410 nm with a narrow bandwidth. This conversion to nanoplates significantly enhanced the crystallinity and photophysical properties of the (PEA) 2PbBr 4 samples and the external quantum efficiency of the violet LED. Finally, the solvent vapor annealing method reported herein can be generally applied to other perovskite materials to increase their grain size and, ultimately, improve the performance of optoelectronic devices based on perovskite materials.« less

Color-Pure Violet-Light-Emitting Diodes Based on Layered Lead Halide Perovskite Nanoplates

DOE PAGES

Liang, Dong; Peng, Yuelin; Fu, Yongping; ...

2016-06-23

Violet electroluminescence is rare in both inorganic and organic light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Low-cost and room- temperature solution-processed lead halide perovskites with high- efficiency and color-tunable photoluminescence are promising for LEDs. Here, we report room-temperature color-pure violet LEDs based on a two-dimensional lead halide perovskite material, namely, 2-phenylethylammonium (C 6H 5CH 2CH 2NH 3 +, PEA) lead bromide [(PEA) 2PbBr 4]. The natural quantum confinement of two-dimen- sional layered perovskite (PEA) 2PbBr 4 allows for photoluminescence of shorter wavelength (410 nm) than its three-dimensional counterpart. By converting as-deposited polycrystalline thin films to micrometer-sized (PEA) 2PbBr 4 nanoplates using solvent vapor annealing,more » we successfully integrated this layered perovskite material into LEDs and achieved efficient room-temperature violet electroluminescence at 410 nm with a narrow bandwidth. This conversion to nanoplates significantly enhanced the crystallinity and photophysical properties of the (PEA) 2PbBr 4 samples and the external quantum efficiency of the violet LED. Finally, the solvent vapor annealing method reported herein can be generally applied to other perovskite materials to increase their grain size and, ultimately, improve the performance of optoelectronic devices based on perovskite materials.« less

The role of the surfaces in the photon absorption in Ge nanoclusters embedded in silica.

PubMed

Cosentino, Salvatore; Mirabella, Salvatore; Miritello, Maria; Nicotra, Giuseppe; Lo Savio, Roberto; Simone, Francesca; Spinella, Corrado; Terrasi, Antonio

2011-02-11

The usage of semiconductor nanostructures is highly promising for boosting the energy conversion efficiency in photovoltaics technology, but still some of the underlying mechanisms are not well understood at the nanoscale length. Ge quantum dots (QDs) should have a larger absorption and a more efficient quantum confinement effect than Si ones, thus they are good candidate for third-generation solar cells. In this work, Ge QDs embedded in silica matrix have been synthesized through magnetron sputtering deposition and annealing up to 800°C. The thermal evolution of the QD size (2 to 10 nm) has been followed by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques, evidencing an Ostwald ripening mechanism with a concomitant amorphous-crystalline transition. The optical absorption of Ge nanoclusters has been measured by spectrophotometry analyses, evidencing an optical bandgap of 1.6 eV, unexpectedly independent of the QDs size or of the solid phase (amorphous or crystalline). A simple modeling, based on the Tauc law, shows that the photon absorption has a much larger extent in smaller Ge QDs, being related to the surface extent rather than to the volume. These data are presented and discussed also considering the outcomes for application of Ge nanostructures in photovoltaics.PACS: 81.07.Ta; 78.67.Hc; 68.65.-k.

Intrinsic optical confinement for ultrathin InAsN quantum well superlattices

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

Sakri, A.; Robert, C.; Pedesseau, L.

We study energy-band engineering with InAsN monolayer in GaAs/GaP quantum well structure. A tight-binding calculation indicates that both type I alignment along with direct band-gap behavior can be obtained. We show that the optical transitions are less sensitive to the position of the probe.

Optical Field-Strength Polarization of Two-Mode Single-Photon States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Linares, J.; Nistal, M. C.; Barral, D.; Moreno, V.

2010-01-01

We present a quantum analysis of two-mode single-photon states based on the probability distributions of the optical field strength (or position quadrature) in order to describe their quantum polarization characteristics, where polarization is understood as a significative confinement of the optical field-strength values on determined regions of…

Magneto-exciton transitions in laterally coupled quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barticevic, Zdenka; Pacheco, Monica; Duque, Carlos A.; Oliveira, Luiz E.

2008-03-01

We present a study of the electronic and optical properties of laterally coupled quantum dots. The excitonic spectra of this system under the effects of an external magnetic field applied perpendicular to the plane of the dots is obtained, with the potential of every individual dot taken as the superposition of a quantum well potential along the axial direction with a lateral parabolic confinement potential, and the coupled two- dot system then modeled by a superposition of the potentials of each dot, with their minima at different positions and truncated at the intersection plane. The wave functions and eigenvalues are obtained in the effective-mass approximation by using an extended variational approach in which the magneto- exciton states are simultaneously obtained [1]. The allowed magneto-exciton transitions are investigated by using circularly polarized radiation in the plane perpendicular to the magnetic field. We present results on the excitonic absorption coefficient as a function of the photon energy for different geometric quantum-dot confinement and magnetic-field values. Reference: [1] Z. Barticevic, M. Pacheco, C. A. Duque and L. E. Oliveira, Phys. Rev. B 68, 073312 (2003).

Surface induced molecular dynamics of thin lipid films confined to submicron cavities: A 1H multiple-quantum NMR study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jagadeesh, B.; Prabhakar, A.; Demco, D. E.; Buda, A.; Blümich, B.

2005-03-01

The dynamics and molecular order of thin lipid (lecithin) films confined to 200, 100 and 20 nm cylindrical pores with varying surface coverage, were investigated by 1H multiple-quantum NMR. The results show that the molecular dynamics in the surface controlled layers are less hindered compared to those in the bulk. Dynamic heterogeneity among terminal CH 3 groups is evident. Enhanced dynamic freedom is observed for films with area per molecule, ˜ 128 Å 2. The results are discussed in terms of changes in the lipid molecular organization with respect to surface concentration, its plausible motional modes and dynamic heterogeneity.

Universal Expression of Efficiency at Maximum Power: A Quantum-Mechanical Brayton Engine Working with a Single Particle Confined in a Power-Law Trap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Zhuo-Lin; Li, Wei-Sheng; Lai, Yi-Ming; He, Ji-Zhou; Wang, Jian-Hui

2015-12-01

We propose a quantum-mechanical Brayton engine model that works between two superposed states, employing a single particle confined in an arbitrary power-law trap as the working substance. Applying the superposition principle, we obtain the explicit expressions of the power and efficiency, and find that the efficiency at maximum power is bounded from above by the function: η+ = θ/(θ + 1), with θ being a potential-dependent exponent. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos. 11505091, 11265010, and 11365015, and the Jiangxi Provincial Natural Science Foundation under Grant No. 20132BAB212009

Effect of organic materials used in the synthesis on the emission from CdSe quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Jae-Won; Yang, Ho-Soon; Hong, K. S.; Kim, S. M.

2013-12-01

Quantum-dot nanocrystals have particular optical properties due to the quantum confinement effect and the surface effect. This study focuses on the effect of surface conditions on the emission from quantum dots. The quantum dots prepared with 1-hexadecylamine (HDA) in the synthesis show strong emission while the quantum dots prepared without HDA show weak emission, as well as emission from surface energy traps. The comparison of the X-ray patterns of these two sets of quantum dots reveals that HDA forms a layer on the surface of quantum dot during the synthesis. This surface passivation with a layer of HDA reduces surface energy traps, therefore the emission from surface trap levels is suppressed in the quantum dots synthesized with HDA.

Spin relaxation in semiconductor quantum rings and dots--a comparative study.

PubMed

Zipper, Elżbieta; Kurpas, Marcin; Sadowski, Janusz; Maśka, Maciej M

2011-03-23

We calculate spin relaxation times due to spin-orbit-mediated electron-phonon interactions for experimentally accessible semiconductor quantum ring and dot architectures. We elucidate the differences between the two systems due to different confinement. The estimated relaxation times (at B = 1 T) are in the range between a few milliseconds to a few seconds. This high stability of spin in a quantum ring allows us to test it as a spin qubit. A brief discussion of quantum state manipulations with such a qubit is presented.

Efficiency at Maximum Power Output of a Quantum-Mechanical Brayton Cycle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Yuan; He, Ji-Zhou; Gao, Yong; Wang, Jian-Hui

2014-03-01

The performance in finite time of a quantum-mechanical Brayton engine cycle is discussed, without introduction of temperature. The engine model consists of two quantum isoenergetic and two quantum isobaric processes, and works with a single particle in a harmonic trap. Directly employing the finite-time thermodynamics, the efficiency at maximum power output is determined. Extending the harmonic trap to a power-law trap, we find that the efficiency at maximum power is independent of any parameter involved in the model, but depends on the confinement of the trapping potential.

Characteristics of gradient-interface-structured ZnCdSSe quantum dots with modified interface and its application to quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeong, Da-Woon; Kim, Jae-Yup; Seo, Han Wook; Lim, Kyoung-Mook; Ko, Min Jae; Seong, Tae-Yeon; Kim, Bum Sung

2018-01-01

Colloidal quantum dots (QDs) are attractive materials for application in photovoltaics, LEDs, displays, and bio devices owing to their unique properties. In this study, we synthesized gradient-interface-structured ZnCdSSe QDs and modified the interface based on a thermodynamic simulation to investigate its optical and physical properties. In addition, the interface was modified by increasing the molar concentration of Se. QDs at the modified interface were applied to QD-sensitized solar cells, which showed a 25.5% increase in photoelectric conversion efficiency owing to the reduced electron confinement effect. The increase seems to be caused by the excited electrons being relatively easily transferred to the level of TiO2 owing to the reduced electron confinement effect. Consequently, the electron confinement effect was observed to be reduced by increasing the ZnSe (or Zn1-xCdxSe)-rich phase at the interface. This means that, based on the thermodynamic simulation, the interface between the core QDs and the surface of the QDs can be controlled. The improvement of optical and electronic properties by controlling interfaces and surfaces during the synthesis of QDs, as reported in this work, can be useful for many applications beyond solar cells.

Equation of motion approach for describing allowed transitions in Ne and Al3+ under classical and quantum plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chaudhuri, Supriya K.; Mukherjee, Prasanta K.; Chaudhuri, Rajat K.; Chattopadhyay, Sudip

2018-04-01

The equation of motion coupled cluster methodology within relativistic framework has been applied to analyze the electron correlation effects on the low lying dipole allowed excited states of Ne and Al3+ under classical and quantum plasma environments. The effect of confinement due to classical plasma has been incorporated through screened Coulomb potential, while that of quantum plasma has been treated by exponential cosine screened Coulomb potential. The confined structural properties investigated are the depression of ionization potential, low lying excitation energies (dipole allowed), oscillator strengths, transition probabilities, and frequency dependent polarizabilities under systematic variation of the plasma-atom coupling strength determined through the screening parameter. Specific atomic systems are chosen for their astrophysical importance and availability of experimental data related to laboratory plasma with special reference to Al3+ ion. Here, we consider 1 s22 s22 p6(1S0)→1 s22 s22 p5 n s /n d (1P1) (n =3 ,4 ) dipole allowed transitions of Ne and Al3+. Results for the free (isolated) atomic systems agree well with those available in the literature. Spectroscopic properties under confinement show systematic and interesting pattern with respect to plasma screening parameter.

Electronic and optical properties of exciton, trions and biexciton in II-VI parabolic quantum dot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sujanah, P.; John Peter, A.; Woo Lee, Chang

2015-08-01

Binding energies of exciton, trions and biexciton and their interband optical transition energies are studied in a CdTe/ZnTe quantum dot nanostructure taking into consideration the geometrical confinement effect. The radial spread of the wavefunctions, binding energies, optical transition energies, oscillator strength, radiative life time and the absorption coefficients of exciton, positively and negatively charged excitons and biexciton are carried out. It is found that the ratio of the radiative life time of exciton with the trions and biexciton enhances with the reduction of geometrical confinement. The results show that (i) the binding energies of exciton, positive and negative trions and the biexciton have strong influence on the reduction of geometrical confinement effect, (ii) the binding energy is found to decrease from the binding energies of exciton to positive trion through biexciton and negative trion binding energies, (iii) the oscillator strength of trions is found to be lesser than exciton and the biexciton and (iv) the electronic and optical properties of exciton, trions and the biexciton are considerably dependent on the spatial confinement, incident photon energy and the radiative life time. The obtained results are in good agreement with the other existing literature.

Quantum ballistic transport by interacting two-electron states in quasi-one-dimensional channels

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

Huang, Danhong; Center for High Technology Materials, University of New Mexico, 1313 Goddard St SE, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106; Gumbs, Godfrey

2015-11-15

For quantum ballistic transport of electrons through a short conduction channel, the role of Coulomb interaction may significantly modify the energy levels of two-electron states at low temperatures as the channel becomes wide. In this regime, the Coulomb effect on the two-electron states is calculated and found to lead to four split energy levels, including two anticrossing-level and two crossing-level states. Moreover, due to the interplay of anticrossing and crossing effects, our calculations reveal that the ground two-electron state will switch from one anticrossing state (strong confinement) to a crossing state (intermediate confinement) as the channel width gradually increases andmore » then back to the original anticrossing state (weak confinement) as the channel width becomes larger than a threshold value. This switching behavior leaves a footprint in the ballistic conductance as well as in the diffusion thermoelectric power of electrons. Such a switching is related to the triple spin degeneracy as well as to the Coulomb repulsion in the central region of the channel, which separates two electrons away and pushes them to different channel edges. The conductance reoccurrence region expands from the weak to the intermediate confinement regime with increasing electron density.« less

Exciton confinement in strain-engineered metamorphic InAs/I nxG a1 -xAs quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khattak, S. A.; Hayne, M.; Huang, J.; Vanacken, J.; Moshchalkov, V. V.; Seravalli, L.; Trevisi, G.; Frigeri, P.

2017-11-01

We report a comprehensive study of exciton confinement in self-assembled InAs quantum dots (QDs) in strain-engineered metamorphic I nxG a1 -xAs confining layers on GaAs using low-temperature magnetophotoluminescence. As the lattice mismatch (strain) between QDs and confining layers (CLs) increases from 4.8% to 5.7% the reduced mass of the exciton increases, but saturates at higher mismatches. At low QD-CL mismatch there is clear evidence of spillover of the exciton wave function due to small localization energies. This is suppressed as the In content x in the CLs decreases (mismatch and localization energy increasing). The combined effects of low effective mass and wave-function spillover at high x result in a diamagnetic shift coefficient that is an order of magnitude larger than for samples where In content in the barrier is low (mismatch is high and localization energy is large). Finally, an anomalously small measured Bohr radius in samples with the highest x is attributed to a combination of thermalization due to low localization energy, and its enhancement with magnetic field, a mechanism which results in small dots in the ensemble dominating the measured Bohr radius.

Synthesis and characterization of metal-dielectric composites with copper nanoparticles embedded in a glass matrix: A multitechnique approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lipinska-Kalita, Kristina E.; Krol, Denise M.; Hemley, Russell J.; Mariotto, Gino; Kalita, Patricia E.; Ohki, Yoshimichi

2005-09-01

The precipitation and growth of copper nanoparticles in an optically transparent aluminosilicate glass matrix was investigated. The size of particles in this heterophase glass-based composite was modified in a controlled manner by isothermal heat treatments. A multitechnique approach, consisting of Raman scattering spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction technique, and optical absorption spectroscopy, has been used to study the nucleation and crystallization processes. Optical absorption spectroscopy revealed the presence of intense absorption bands attributed to oscillations of free electrons, known as the surface-plasmon resonance band of copper particles, and confirmed a gradual increase of the particles' mean size and density with annealing time. The Raman scattering on acoustical phonons from Cu quantum dots in the glass matrix measured for off-resonance conditions demonstrated the presence of intense, inhomogeneously broadened peaks that have been assigned to the confined acoustic eigenmodes of copper nanoparticles. The particle-size dependence of the acoustic peak energies and the relation between the size distribution and bandwidths of these peaks were derived. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy was used to monitor the nucleation of the nanoparticles and to estimate their mean size.

Quantum Confined Semiconductors

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-02-01

diodes [8-10], metamaterials [11-13], and solar cells [14,15]. As a consequence, the optical and electrical stability of colloidal quantum dots...PbS quantum dot solar cells with high fill factor,” ACS Nano, 4 (7), 3743–3752 (2010). [15] Gur, I., Fromer, N. A., Geier, M. L. and Alivisatos, A...P., “Air-stable all-inorganic nanocrystal solar cells processed from solution,” Sci. 310, 462–465 (2005). [16] Dai, Q., Wang, Y. N., Zhang, Y

Large Exciton Energy Shifts by Reversible Surface Exchange in 2D II-VI Nanocrystals.

PubMed

Zhou, Yang; Wang, Fudong; Buhro, William E

2015-12-09

Reaction of n-octylamine-passivated {CdSe[n-octylamine](0.53±0.06)} quantum belts with anhydrous metal carboxylates M(oleate)2 (M = Cd, Zn) results in a rapid exchange of the L-type amine passivation for Z-type M(oleate)2 passivation. The cadmium-carboxylate derivative is determined to have the composition {CdSe[Cd(oleate)2](0.19±0.02)}. The morphologies and crystal structures of the quantum belts are largely unaffected by the exchange processes. Addition of n-octylamine or oleylamine to the M(oleate)2-passivated quantum belts removes M(oleate)2 and restores the L-type amine passivation. Analogous, reversible surface exchanges are also demonstrated for CdS quantum platelets. The absorption and emission spectra of the quantum belts and platelets are reversibly shifted to lower energy by M(oleate)2 passivation vs amine passivation. The largest shift of 140 meV is observed for the Cd(oleate)2-passivated CdSe quantum belts. These shifts are attributed entirely to changes in the strain states in the Zn(oleate)2-passivated nanocrystals, whereas changes in strain states and confinement dimensions contribute roughly equally to the shifts in the Cd(oleate)2-passivated nanocrystals. Addition of Cd(oleate)2, which electronically couples to the nanocrystal lattices, increases the effective thickness of the belts and platelets by approximately a half of a monolayer, thus increasing the confinement dimension.

Laser-driven two-electron quantum dot in plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bahar, M. K.; Soylu, A.

2018-06-01

We have investigated the energies of two-electron parabolic quantum dots (TEPQdots) embedded in plasmas characterized by more general exponential cosine screened Coulomb (MGECSC) potential under the action of a monochromatic, linearly polarized laser field by solving the corresponding Schrödinger equation numerically via the asymptotic iteration method. The four different cases of the MGECSC potential constituted by various sets of the potential parameters are reckoned in modeling of the interactions in the plasma environments which are Debye and quantum plasmas. The plasma environment is a remarkable experimental argument for the quantum dots and the interactions in plasma environments are different compared to the interactions in an environment without plasma and the screening specifications of the plasmas can be controlled through the plasma parameters. These findings constitute our major motivation in consideration of the plasma environments. An appreciable confinement effect is made up by implementing the laser field on the TEPQdot. The influences of the laser field on the system are included by using the Ehlotzky approximation, and then Kramers-Henneberger transformation is carried out for the corresponding Schrödinger equation. The influences of the ponderomotive force on two-electron quantum dots embedded in plasmas are investigated. The behaviours, the similarities and the functionalities of the laser field, the plasma environment, and the quantum dot confinement are also scrutinized. In addition, the role of the plasma environments in the mentioned analysis is also discussed in detail.

Long-Range Repulsion Between Spatially Confined van der Waals Dimers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadhukhan, Mainak; Tkatchenko, Alexandre

2017-05-01

It is an undisputed textbook fact that nonretarded van der Waals (vdW) interactions between isotropic dimers are attractive, regardless of the polarizability of the interacting systems or spatial dimensionality. The universality of vdW attraction is attributed to the dipolar coupling between fluctuating electron charge densities. Here, we demonstrate that the long-range interaction between spatially confined vdW dimers becomes repulsive when accounting for the full Coulomb interaction between charge fluctuations. Our analytic results are obtained by using the Coulomb potential as a perturbation over dipole-correlated states for two quantum harmonic oscillators embedded in spaces with reduced dimensionality; however, the long-range repulsion is expected to be a general phenomenon for spatially confined quantum systems. We suggest optical experiments to test our predictions, analyze their relevance in the context of intermolecular interactions in nanoscale environments, and rationalize the recent observation of anomalously strong screening of the lateral vdW interactions between aromatic hydrocarbons adsorbed on metal surfaces.

Current-current interactions, dynamical symmetry-breaking, and quantum chromodynamics

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

Neuenschwander, D.E. Jr.

1983-01-01

Quantum Chromodynamics with massive gluons (gluon mass triple bond xm/sub p/) in a contact-interaction limit called CQCD (strong coupling g..-->..infinity; x..-->..infinity), despite its non-renormalizability and lack of hope of confinement, is nevertheless interesting for at least two reasons. Some authors have suggested a relation between 4-Fermi and Yang-Mills theories. If g/x/sup 2/ much less than 1, then CQCD is not merely a 4-Fermi interaction, but includes 4,6,8 etc-Fermi non-Abelian contact interactions. With possibility of infrared slavery, perturbative evaluation of QCD in the infrared is a dubious practice. However, if g/sup 2//x/sup 2/ much less than 1 in CQCD, then themore » simplest 4-Fermi interaction is dominant, and CQCD admits perturbative treatment, but only in the infrared. With the dominant interaction, a dynamical Nambu-Goldstone realization of chiral symmetry-breaking (XSB) is found. Although in QCD the relation between confinement and XSB is controversial, XSB occurs in CQCD provided confinement is sacrificed.« less

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

Eads, Calley N.; Bandak, Dmytro; Neupane, Mahesh R.

Strong quantum confinement effects lead to striking new physics in two-dimensional materials such as graphene or transition metal dichalcogenides. While spectroscopic fingerprints of such quantum confinement have been demonstrated widely, the consequences for carrier dynamics are at present less clear, particularly on ultrafast timescales. This is important for tailoring, probing, and understanding spin and electron dynamics in layered and two-dimensional materials even in cases where the desired bandgap engineering has been achieved. Here in this paper we show by means of core–hole clock spectroscopy that SnS 2 exhibits spindependent attosecond charge delocalization times (τ deloc) for carriers confined within amore » layer, τ deloc < 400 as, whereas interlayer charge delocalization is dynamically quenched in excess of a factor of 10, τ deloc > 2.7 fs. These layer decoupling dynamics are a direct consequence of strongly anisotropic screening established within attoseconds, and demonstrate that important two-dimensional characteristics are also present in bulk crystals of van der Waalslayered materials, at least on ultrafast timescales.« less

Carrier multiplication and charge transport in artificial quantum-dot solids probed by ultrafast photocurrent spectroscopy (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klimov, Victor I.

2017-05-01

Understanding and controlling carrier transport and recombination dynamics in colloidal quantum dot films is key to their application in electronic and optoelectronic devices. Towards this end, we have conducted transient photocurrent measurements to monitor transport through quantum confined band edge states in lead selenide quantum dots films as a function of pump fluence, temperature, electrical bias, and surface treatment. Room temperature dynamics reveal two distinct timescales of intra-dot geminate processes followed by non-geminate inter-dot processes. The non-geminate kinetics is well described by the recombination of holes with photoinjected and pre-existing electrons residing in mid-gap states. We find the mobility of the quantum-confined states shows no temperature dependence down to 6 K, indicating a tunneling mechanism of early time photoconductance. We present evidence of the importance of the exciton fine structure in controlling the low temperature photoconductance, whereby the nanoscale enhanced exchange interaction between electrons and holes in quantum dots introduces a barrier to charge separation. Finally, side-by-side comparison of photocurrent transients using excitation with low- and high-photon energies (1.5 vs. 3.0 eV) reveals clear signatures of carrier multiplication (CM), that is, generation of multiple excitons by single photons. Based on photocurrent measurements of quantum dot solids and optical measurements of solution based samples, we conclude that the CM efficiency is unaffected by strong inter-dot coupling. Therefore, the results of previous numerous spectroscopic CM studies conducted on dilute quantum dot suspensions should, in principle, be reproducible in electronically coupled QD films used in devices.

Effect of the shell material and confinement type on the conversion efficiency of core/shell quantum dot nanocrystal solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahin, Mehmet

2018-05-01

In this study, the effects of the shell material and confinement type on the conversion efficiency of core/shell quantum dot nanocrystal (QDNC) solar cells have been investigated in detail. For this purpose, the conventional, i.e. original, detailed balance model, developed by Shockley and Queisser to calculate an upper limit for the conversion efficiency of silicon p–n junction solar cells, is modified in a simple and effective way to calculate the conversion efficiency of core/shell QDNC solar cells. Since the existing model relies on the gap energy () of the solar cell, it does not make an estimation about the effect of QDNC materials on the efficiency of the solar cells, and gives the same efficiency values for several QDNC solar cells with the same . The proposed modification, however, estimates a conversion efficiency in relation to the material properties and also the confinement type of the QDNCs. The results of the modified model show that, in contrast to the original one, the conversion efficiencies of different QDNC solar cells, even if they have the same , become different depending upon the confinement type and shell material of the core/shell QDNCs, and this is crucial in the design and fabrication of the new generation solar cells to predict the confinement type and also appropriate QDNC materials for better efficiency.

On the AlGaInP-bulk and AlGaInP/GaAs-superlattice confinement effects for heterostructure-emitter bipolar transistors

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

Tsai, Jung-Hui, E-mail: jhtsai@nknucc.nknu.edu.tw

2015-02-09

The confinement effect and electrical characteristics of heterostructure-emitter bipolar transistors with an AlGaInP bulk-confinement layer and an AlGaInP/GaAs superlattice-confinement layer are first demonstrated and compared by experimentally results. In the two devices, the relatively large valence band discontinuity at AlGaInP/GaAs heterojunction provides excellent confinement effect for holes to enhance current gain. As to the AlGaInP/GaAs superlattice-confinement device, part of thermionic-emission electrons will be trapped in the GaAs quantum wells of the superlattice. This will result in lower collector current and current gain as compared with the bulk-confinement device. Nevertheless, the superlattice-confinement device exhibits a larger current-gain cutoff frequency, which canmore » be attributed that the tunneling behavior is included in the carrier transportation and transporting time across the emitter region could be substantially reduced.« less

Electrons in one dimension

PubMed Central

Berggren, K.-F.; Pepper, M.

2010-01-01

In this article, we present a summary of the current status of the study of the transport of electrons confined to one dimension in very low disorder GaAs–AlGaAs heterostructures. By means of suitably located gates and application of a voltage to ‘electrostatically squeeze’ the electronic wave functions, it is possible to produce a controllable size quantization and a transition from two-dimensional transport. If the length of the electron channel is sufficiently short, then transport is ballistic and the quantized subbands each have a conductance equal to the fundamental quantum value 2e2/h, where the factor of 2 arises from the spin degeneracy. This mode of conduction is discussed, and it is shown that a number of many-body effects can be observed. These effects are discussed as in the spin-incoherent regime, which is entered when the separation of the electrons is increased and the exchange energy is less than kT. Finally, results are presented in the regime where the confinement potential is decreased and the electron configuration relaxes to minimize the electron–electron repulsion to move towards a two-dimensional array. It is shown that the ground state is no longer a line determined by the size quantization alone, but becomes two distinct rows arising from minimization of the electrostatic energy and is the precursor of a two-dimensional Wigner lattice. PMID:20123751

Quantum dot SOA input power dynamic range improvement for differential-phase encoded signals.

PubMed

Vallaitis, T; Bonk, R; Guetlein, J; Hillerkuss, D; Li, J; Brenot, R; Lelarge, F; Duan, G H; Freude, W; Leuthold, J

2010-03-15

Experimentally we find a 10 dB input power dynamic range advantage for amplification of phase encoded signals with quantum dot SOA as compared to low-confinement bulk SOA. An analysis of amplitude and phase effects shows that this improvement can be attributed to the lower alpha-factor found in QD SOA.

Relation Between Pore Size and the Compressibility of a Confined Fluid

PubMed Central

Gor, Gennady Y.; Siderius, Daniel W.; Rasmussen, Christopher J.; Krekelberg, William P.; Shen, Vincent K.; Bernstein, Noam

2015-01-01

When a fluid is confined to a nanopore, its thermodynamic properties differ from the properties of a bulk fluid, so measuring such properties of the confined fluid can provide information about the pore sizes. Here we report a simple relation between the pore size and isothermal compressibility of argon confined in these pores. Compressibility is calculated from the fluctuations of the number of particles in the grand canonical ensemble using two different simulation techniques: conventional grand-canonical Monte Carlo and grand-canonical ensemble transition-matrix Monte Carlo. Our results provide a theoretical framework for extracting the information on the pore sizes of fluid-saturated samples by measuring the compressibility from ultrasonic experiments. PMID:26590541

Organic molecules as tools to control the growth, surface structure, and redox activity of colloidal quantum dots.

PubMed

Weiss, Emily A

2013-11-19

In order to achieve efficient and reliable technology that can harness solar energy, the behavior of electrons and energy at interfaces between different types or phases of materials must be understood. Conversion of light to chemical or electrical potential in condensed phase systems requires gradients in free energy that allow the movement of energy or charge carriers and facilitate redox reactions and dissociation of photoexcited states (excitons) into free charge carriers. Such free energy gradients are present at interfaces between solid and liquid phases or between inorganic and organic materials. Nanostructured materials have a higher density of these interfaces than bulk materials. Nanostructured materials, however, have a structural and chemical complexity that does not exist in bulk materials, which presents a difficult challenge: to lower or eliminate energy barriers to electron and energy flux that inevitably result from forcing different materials to meet in a spatial region of atomic dimensions. Chemical functionalization of nanostructured materials is perhaps the most versatile and powerful strategy for controlling the potential energy landscape of their interfaces and for minimizing losses in energy conversion efficiency due to interfacial structural and electronic defects. Colloidal quantum dots are semiconductor nanocrystals synthesized with wet-chemical methods and coated in organic molecules. Chemists can use these model systems to study the effects of chemical functionalization of nanoscale organic/inorganic interfaces on the optical and electronic properties of a nanostructured material, and the behavior of electrons and energy at interfaces. The optical and electronic properties of colloidal quantum dots have an intense sensitivity to their surface chemistry, and their organic adlayers make them dispersible in solvent. This allows researchers to use high signal-to-noise solution-phase spectroscopy to study processes at interfaces. In this Account, I describe the varied roles of organic molecules in controlling the structure and properties of colloidal quantum dots. Molecules serve as surfactant that determines the mechanism and rate of nucleation and growth and the final size and surface structure of a quantum dot. Anionic surfactant in the reaction mixture allows precise control over the size of the quantum dot core but also drives cation enrichment and structural disordering of the quantum dot surface. Molecules serve as chemisorbed ligands that dictate the energetic distribution of surface states. These states can then serve as thermodynamic traps for excitonic charge carriers or couple to delocalized states of the quantum dot core to change the confinement energy of excitonic carriers. Ligands, therefore, in some cases, dramatically shift the ground state absorption and photoluminescence spectra of quantum dots. Molecules also act as protective layers that determine the probability of redox processes between quantum dots and other molecules. How much the ligand shell insulates the quantum dot from electron exchange with a molecular redox partner depends less on the length or degree of conjugation of the native ligand and more on the density and packing structure of the adlayer and the size and adsorption mode of the molecular redox partner. Control of quantum dot properties in these examples demonstrates that nanoscale interfaces, while complex, can be rationally designed to enhance or specify the functionality of a nanostructured system.

Probing the excited subband dispersion of holes confined to GaAs wide quantum wells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jo, Insun; Liu, Yang; Deng, H.; Shayegan, M.; Pfeiffer, L. N.; West, K. W.; Baldwin, K. W.; Winkler, R.

Owing to the strong spin-orbit coupling and their large effective mass, the two-dimensional (2D) holes in modulation-doped GaAs quantum wells provide a fertile test bed to study the rich physics of low-dimensional systems. In a wide quantum well, even at moderate 2D densities, the holes start to occupy the excited subband, a subband whose dispersion is very unusual and has a non-monotonic dependence on the wave vector. Here, we study a 2D hole system confined to a 40-nm-thick (001) GaAs quantum well and demonstrate that, via the application of both front and back gates, the density can be tuned in a wide range, between ~1 and 2 ×1011 cm-2. Using Fourier analysis of the low-field Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations, we investigate the population of holes and the spin-orbit interaction induced spin-splitting in different subbands. We discuss the results in light of self-consistent quantum calculations of magneto-oscillations. Work support by the DOE BES (DE-FG02-00-ER45841), the NSF (Grants DMR-1305691 and MRSEC DMR-1420541), the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (Grant GBMF4420), and Keck Foundation for experiments, and the NSF Grant DMR-1310199 for calculations.

Parametric interactions in presence of different size colloids in semiconductor quantum plasmas

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

Vanshpal, R., E-mail: ravivanshpal@gmail.com; Sharma, Uttam; Dubey, Swati

2015-07-31

Present work is an attempt to investigate the effect of different size colloids on parametric interaction in semiconductor quantum plasma. Inclusion of quantum effect is being done in this analysis through quantum correction term in classical hydrodynamic model of homogeneous semiconductor plasma. The effect is associated with purely quantum origin using quantum Bohm potential and quantum statistics. Colloidal size and quantum correction term modify the parametric dispersion characteristics of ion implanted semiconductor plasma medium. It is found that quantum effect on colloids is inversely proportional to their size. Moreover critical size of implanted colloids for the effective quantum correction ismore » determined which is found to be equal to the lattice spacing of the crystal.« less

Studies of quantum dots in the quantum Hall regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldmann, Eyal

We present two studies of quantum dots in the quantum Hall regime. In the first study, presented in Chapter 3, we investigate the edge reconstruction phenomenon believed to occur when the quantum dot filling fraction is n≲1 . Our approach involves the examination of large dots (≤40 electrons) using a partial diagonalization technique in which the occupancies of the deep interior orbitals are frozen. To interpret the results of this calculation, we evaluate the overlap between the diagonalized ground state and a set of trial wavefunctions which we call projected necklace (PN) states. A PN state is simply the angular momentum projection of a maximum density droplet surrounded by a ring of localized electrons. Our calculations reveal that PN states have up to 99% overlap with the diagonalized ground states, and are lower in energy than the states identified in Chamon and Wen's study of the edge reconstruction. In the second study, presented in Chapter 4, we investigate quantum dots in the fractional quantum Hall regime using a Hartree formulation of composite fermion theory. We find that under appropriate conditions, the chemical potential of the dots oscillates periodically with B due to the transfer of composite fermions between quasi-Landau bands. This effect is analogous the addition spectrum oscillations which occur in quantum dots in the integer quantum Hall regime. Period f0 oscillations are found in sharply confined dots with filling factors nu = 2/5 and nu = 2/3. Period 3 f0 oscillations are found in a parabolically confined nu = 2/5 dot. More generally, we argue that the oscillation period of dots with band pinning should vary continuously with B, whereas the period of dots without band pinning is f0 .

Multi-million atom electronic structure calculations for quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Usman, Muhammad

Quantum dots grown by self-assembly process are typically constructed by 50,000 to 5,000,000 structural atoms which confine a small, countable number of extra electrons or holes in a space that is comparable in size to the electron wavelength. Under such conditions quantum dots can be interpreted as artificial atoms with the potential to be custom tailored to new functionality. In the past decade or so, these nanostructures have attracted significant experimental and theoretical attention in the field of nanoscience. The new and tunable optical and electrical properties of these artificial atoms have been proposed in a variety of different fields, for example in communication and computing systems, medical and quantum computing applications. Predictive and quantitative modeling and simulation of these structures can help to narrow down the vast design space to a range that is experimentally affordable and move this part of nanoscience to nano-Technology. Modeling of such quantum dots pose a formidable challenge to theoretical physicists because: (1) Strain originating from the lattice mismatch of the materials penetrates deep inside the buffer surrounding the quantum dots and require large scale (multi-million atom) simulations to correctly capture its effect on the electronic structure, (2) The interface roughness, the alloy randomness, and the atomistic granularity require the calculation of electronic structure at the atomistic scale. Most of the current or past theoretical calculations are based on continuum approach such as effective mass approximation or k.p modeling capturing either no or one of the above mentioned effects, thus missing some of the essential physics. The Objectives of this thesis are: (1) to model and simulate the experimental quantum dot topologies at the atomistic scale; (2) to theoretically explore the essential physics i.e. long range strain, linear and quadratic piezoelectricity, interband optical transition strengths, quantum confined stark shift, coherent coupling of electronic states in a quantum dot molecule etc.; (3) to assess the potential use of the quantum dots in real device implementation and to provide physical insight to the experimentalists. Full three dimensional strain and electronic structure simulations of quantum dot structures containing multi-million atoms are done using NEMO 3-D. Both single and vertically stacked quantum dot structures are analyzed in detail. The results show that the strain and the piezoelectricity significantly impact the electronic structure of these devices. This work shows that the InAs quantum dots when placed in the InGaAs quantum well red shifts the emission wavelength. Such InAs/GaAs-based optical devices can be used for optical-fiber based communication systems at longer wavelengths (1.3um -- 1.5um). Our atomistic simulations of InAs/InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots quantitatively match with the experiment and give the critical insight of the physics involved in these structures. A single quantum dot molecule is studied for coherent quantum coupling of electronic states under the influence of static electric field applied in the growth direction. Such nanostructures can be used in the implementation of quantum information technologies. A close quantitative match with the experimental optical measurements allowed us to get a physical insight into the complex physics of quantum tunnel couplings of electronic states as the device operation switches between atomic and molecular regimes. Another important aspect is to design the quantum dots for a desired isotropic polarization of the optical emissions. Both single and coupled quantum dots are studied for TE/TM ratio engineering. The atomistic study provides a detailed physical analysis of these computationally expensive large nanostructures and serves as a guide for the experimentalists for the design of the polarization independent devices for the optical communication systems.

Low-dimensional systems: quantum size effects and electronic properties of semiconductor microcrystallites (zero-dimensional systems) and some quasi-two-dimensional systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoffe, A. D.

2002-03-01

This review is concerned with quantum confinement effects in low-dimensional semiconductor systems. The emphasis is on the optical properties, including luminescence, of nanometre-sized microcrystallites, also referred to as zerodimensional systems. There is some discussion on certain of the two-dimensional systems, such as thin films and layer structures. The increase in energy of excitation peaks (blue shift) as the radius R of a microcrystallite is reduced is treated theoretically, and experimental data when they are available are used to assess the reliability of the different models that have been used. These experiments normally make use of microcrystallites dispersed in a large-bandgap matrix such as glass, rocksalt, polymers, zeolites or liquids. Exciton binding energies Eb are larger than for bulk semiconductors, and oscillator strengths are higher for the microcrystallites. The regimes of direct interest are as follows. Firstly there is the so-called weak-confinement regime where R is greater than the bulk exciton Bohr radius aB. Experimentally, semiconductors such as CuCl with aB , 7 Å, are suitable for study in this case. Secondly there is the moderate-confinement regime, where R , aB, and ah < R < ae, ah and ae being the hole and electron Bohr radii, respectively. Finally there is the strong-confinement regime, with R < aB, and R < ah, ae. For this case we are concerned with a ladder of discrete energy levels, as in molecular systems, rather than energy bands. The electrons and holes are treated as independent particles, and for excited states we refer to electron-hole pairs rather than excitons. Suitable materials for investigation in this regime are the II-VI semiconductors, and also GaAs and Ge, for which aB is relatively large. Although a number of different theoretical models have been used, none can be described as completely first-principles calculations, and there is room for improvement on this aspect. However, useful expressions have been developed by Brus and by Lippens and Lannoo, giving the energy of excited states as a function of R, in terms of the bulk energy gap, kinetic energy, Coulomb energy and correlation energy. Other phenomena discussed are firstly biexciton formation by the use of high intensity laser beams and secondly nonlinear optical effects. Strong nonlinearities and short decay times for excited states have been predicted, and the models developed cover both the resonant and the non-resonant cases. The possibility of using microcrystallites embedded at reasonable concentrations in a glass matrix in the field of optical communications and optical switching is also considered.