Raman scattering spectroscopy of MBE grown thin film topological insulator Bi2-xSbxTe3-ySey.

BSTS epitaxial thin film topological insulators were grown using the MBE technique on two different types of substrates i.e., Si (111) and SiC/graphene with Bi0.7Sb1.6Te1.8Se0.9 and Bi0.9Sb1.5Te1.8Se1.1, respectively. The crystallographic properties of BSTS films were investigated via X-ray diffraction, which showed the strongest reflections from the (0 0 l) facets corresponding to the rhombohedral phase. Superior epitaxial growth, homogeneous thickness, smooth surfaces, and larger unit cell parameters were observed for the films grown on the Si substrate. Polarization dependent Raman spectroscopy showed a weak appearance of the Ag mode in cross--polarized geometry. In contrast, a strong Eg mode was observed in both parallel and cross-polarized geometries which correspond to the rhombohedral crystal symmetry of BSTS films. A redshift of Ag and Eg modes was observed in the Raman spectra of BSTS films grown on the Si substrate, compared to those on SiC/graphene, which was directly associated with the unit cell parameter and composition of the films. Raman spectra showed four fundamental modes with asymmetric line shape, and deconvolution of the peaks resulted in additional modes in both the BSTS thin films. The sum of relative ratios of linewidths of fundamental modes (Ag and Eg) of BSTS films grown on Si substrate was lower, indicating a more ordered structure with lower contribution of defects as compared to BSTS film grown on SiC/graphene substrate.

Light-emitting diodes with Ge(Si) nanoislands embedded in photonic crystals.

Room temperature lateral p+-i-n+light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with photonic crystals embedded in the i-region were fabricated on structures with Ge(Si) self-assembled islands and their optical properties were investigated. The use of preliminary amorphization and solid phase epitaxy of the implanted p+and n+contact regions made it possible to reduce the impurity activation temperature from 800 °Ð¡-1100 °Ð¡ to 600 °Ð¡, which corresponds to the growth temperature of Ge(Si) islands. This resulted in a significant reduction of the detrimental effect of the high-temperature annealing used for diode formation on the intensity and spectral position of the luminescence signal from the islands. It was shown that significant enhancement (more than an order of magnitude) of room temperature electroluminescence of Ge(Si) islands in the spectral range of 1.3-1.55µm can be achieved due to their interaction with different modes of the photonic crystals. The measured radiation power of the obtained diodes in the spectral range of 1.3-1.55µm exceeds 50 pW at a pump current of 8 mA, which is an order of magnitude higher than the previously achieved values for micro-LEDs with Ge(Si) nanoislands. The obtained results open up new possibilities for the realization of silicon-based light emitting devices operating at telecommunication wavelengths.

(Na, Zr) and (Ca, Zr) Phosphate-Molybdates and Phosphate-Tungstates: II-Radiation Test and Hydrolytic Stability.

This paper introduces the results of hydrolytic stability tests and radiation resistance tests of phosphate molybdates and phosphate tungstates Na1-xZr2(PO4)3-x(XO4)x, X = Mo, W (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5). The ceramics characterized by relatively high density (more than 97.5%) were produced by spark plasma sintering (SPS) of submicron powders obtained by sol-gel synthesis. The study focused on hydrolytic resistance of the ceramics in static mode at room temperature. After 28 days of testing in distilled water, the normalized leaching rate was determined. It was found that the ceramics demonstrated high hydrolytic resistance in static mode: the normalized leaching rates for Mo- and W-containing ceramics were 31·10-6 and 3.36·10-6 g·cm-2·day-1, respectively. The ceramics demonstrated high resistance to irradiation with 167 MeV Xe+26 multiple-charged ions at fluences ranging from 1·1012 to 6·1013 cm-2. The Mo-containing Na0.5Zr2(PO4)2.5(XO4)0.5 ceramics were shown to have higher radiation resistance than phosphate tungstates. Radiation was shown to trigger an increase in leaching rates for W and Mo in the crystal structure of NZP ceramics.

(Na, Zr) and (Ca, Zr) Phosphate-Molybdates and Phosphate-Tungstates: I-Synthesis, Sintering and Characterization.

Submicron-grade powders of Na1-xZr2(PO4)3-x(XO4)x compounds (hereafter referred to as NZP) and Ca1-xZr2(PO4)3-x(XO4)x compounds (hereafter, CZP), X = Mo, W (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) were obtained by sol-gel synthesis. The compounds obtained were studied by X-ray diffraction phase analysis and electron microscopy. An increase in the W or Mo contents was shown to result in an increase in the unit cell volume of the NZP and CZP crystal lattices and in a decrease in the coherent scattering region sizes. Thermal expansion behavior at high temperatures of synthesized NZP and CZP compounds has been investigated. The dependencies of the parameters a and c on the heating temperature, as well as the temperature dependence of the crystal lattice unit cell volume V in the range from the room temperature up to 800 °C, were obtained. The dependencies of the average thermal expansion coefficient (αav) and of the volume coefficient (ß) on the W and Mo contents in the compositions of NZP and CZP compounds were studied. Ceramics Na1-xZr2(PO4)3-x(XO4)x with relatively high density (more than 97.5%) were produced by spark plasma sintering (SPS). The increase in the W or Mo contents in the ceramics leads to an increase in the relative density of NZP and to a decrease of the optimum sintering temperature. The mean grain size in the NZP ceramics decreases with increasing W or Mo contents. The study of strength characteristics has revealed that the hardness of the NZP ceramics is greater than 5 GPa, and that the minimum fracture toughness factor was 1 MPa·m1/2.

Influence of Mo interlayers on the microstructure of layers and reflective characteristics of Ru/Be multilayer mirrors.

The influence of Mo interlayers on the microstructure of films and boundaries, and the reflective characteristics of Ru/Be multilayer mirrors (MLM) were studied by X-ray reflectometry and diffractometry, and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). An increase in the reflection coefficients of MLM at a wavelength of 11.4 nm to record values of R = 72.2% and FWHM to Δλ1/2 = 0.38 nm is shown. The effect of interlayers on the structural and reflective characteristics of MLM is explained by the barrier properties of the Mo layers, which prevent the mutual mixing of the Ru and Be layers, which leads to the formation of beryllides and a decrease in the X-ray optical contrast at the boundaries.

X-ray scattering by the fused silica surface etched by low-energy Ar ions.

Anomalously high x-ray scattering at a wavelength of 0.154 nm by super-polished substrates of fused silica, which were etched by the argon ions with the energy of 300 eV, is detected. The scattering intensity increases monotonically with increasing of the etching depth. The effect is explained by the scattering on the volume inhomogeneities with the lateral size greater than 0.5 µm of the subsurface "damaged" layer. The concentration of volume inhomogeneities increases with the increase of the fluence of argon ions, but the concentration of implanted argon atoms in the layer quickly reaches the maximum value and then begins a trend of going down. The thickness of the "damaged" layer is approximately equal to the penetration depth of the Ar atoms and can be directly determined from the x-ray specular reflection. It is shown that the presence of volume inhomogeneities of the subsurface "damaged" layer does not affect the geometric roughness of the surface. The observed effect imposes limitations on the usage of grazing incidence x-ray optics without reflective coatings and of the diffuse x-ray scattering (DXRS) method for studying the substrate roughness. A new method that potentially enables to evaluate the applicability of the DXRS method in practice is proposed.

Towards the indium nitride laser: obtaining infrared stimulated emission from planar monocrystalline InN structures.

The observation of a stimulated emission at interband transitions in monocrystalline n-InN layers under optical pumping is reported. The spectral position of the stimulated emission changes over a range of 1.64 to 1.9 µm with variations of free electron concentration in InN layers from 2·1019 cm-3 to 3·1017 cm-3. The main necessary conditions for achieving the stimulated emission from epitaxial InN layers are defined. In the best quality samples, a threshold excitation power density is obtained to be as low as 400 W/cm2 at T = 8 K and the stimulated emission is observed up to 215 K. In this way, the feasibility of InN-based lasers as well as the potentials of crystalline indium nitride as a promising photonic material are demonstrated.

Terahertz radiation from bismuth surface induced by femtosecond laser pulses.

We report on the first experimental observation of terahertz (THz) wave generation from bismuth mono- and polycrystalline samples irradiated by femtosecond laser pulses. Dependencies of the THz signal on the crystal orientation, optical pulse energy, incidence angle, and polarization are presented and discussed together with features of the sample surfaces. The optical-to-THz conversion efficiency was up to two orders of magnitude higher than for metal at a moderate fluence of ∼1 mJ/cm2. We also found nonlinear effects not previously observed using other metal and semiconductor materials: (a) asymmetry of THz response with respect to a half-turn of a sample around its normal, (b) THz polarization control by orientation of the sample surface, and

Features of spectral properties of Sm(3+) complexes with dithia- and diselenophosphinate ligands.

The samarium complexes Sm(S2PPh2)3(THF)2 (1) and Sm(Se2PPh2)3(THF)2 (2) with soft-donor dithia- and diselenophosphinate ligands were synthesized and their photophysical properties were studied in detail. Both complexes displayed the metal-centered photoluminescence (PL) in visible and NIR regions corresponding to (4)G5/2→(6)HJ (J=5/2, 7/2, 9/2, 11/2, 13/2, 15/2), (6)FJ (J=1/2, 3/2, 5/2, 7/2, 9/2, 11/2) f-f transitions of Sm(3+). Luminescence decay curves exhibit an initial short build-up region and can be described by double or triple exponential function owing to multiphonon relaxation from the (4)F3/2 energy level to the (4)G5/2 one and reversible energy transfer from the Sm(3+) excited states to the triplet ((3)T1) state of phosphinate ligand. A Judd-Ofelt analysis was performed to estimate PL quantum efficiency (QE), branching ratios (ß) and induced-emission cross section (σem) of the compounds obtained. It was found that the Judd-Ofelt parameter Ω2 of 1 is significantly greater than that of 2. This feature is responsible for large values of ß (50.98%) and σem (4.29×10(-21)cm(2)) which suggest 1 as a good candidate for the development of samarium doped polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) laser medium acting on the (4)G5/2→(6)H9/2 transition at 645nm. The estimated room-temperature PL QE of 1 and 2 equals to 1.9 and 0.17%, respectively.