Exciton spin splitting in ultrathin InAs layers

Unique spin splitting behaviors in ultrathin InAs layers, which show very different spin splitting characteristics between the InAs monolayer (ML) and submonolayer (SML) have been observed. While distinct spin splitting is observed in an InAs ML, no visible spin splitting is found in a 1/3 ML InAs SML. In addition, the spin relaxation time in the 1/3 ML InAs is found to be much longer than that in the 1 ML sample. These results are in good agreement with the theoretical prediction that the interexcitonic exchange interaction plays a dominant role in energy splitting, while the intraexciton exchange interaction controls the spin relaxation. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Dipole mode photonic crystal point defect laser on InGaAsP/InP

In this paper, we focus on the dipole mode of the two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystal (PC) single point defect cavity (SPDC) lasers and we report the fabrication and characterization of 2D PC SPDC lasers with the structure of adjusted innermost air holes. The photonic band and cavity Q factors are simulated by means of plane wave expansion (PWE) and finite-difference time-domain (FDTD), respectively. In order to improve the optical confinement of the SPDC, the diameter of the innermost holes was adjusted. Different lasing performances are observed experimentally. The experimental results agree with the theoretical prediction very well. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Experimental investigation of photoluminescence dynamics of cavity polaritons under nonresonant excitation

Low-temperature time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) experiments have been performed on a semiconductor planar microcavity, which contains two sets of three In0.13Ga0.87As/GaAs quantum wells embedded in a 3 lambda /2 GaAs cavity. The spontaneous emission dynamics of both lower- and upper-branch polaritons is investigated as a function of exciton-cavity detuning under nonresonant optical excitation. It is found that the PL decay times of both branches are independent of cavity detuning while the PL rising kinetics of the lower- and upper-branch polaritons exhibits a significant difference. The rise time of the upper polarition branch shows a strong dependence on cavity detuning, while the rise time of the lower polarition branch is less sensitive to cavity detuning. Our results can be well understood in the framework of the theoretical prediction of Tassone et al.

Anomalous strains in the cubic-phase GaN films grown on GaAs (001) by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

Strains in cubic GaN films grown on GaAs (001) were measured by a triple-axis x-ray diffraction method. Residual strains in the as-grown epitaxial films were in compression, contrary to the predicted tensile strains caused by large lattice mismatch between epilayers and GaAs substrates (20%). It was also found that the relief of strains in the GaN films has a complicated dependence on the growth conditions. We interpreted this as the interaction between the lattice mismatch and thermal mismatch stresses. The fully relaxed lattice constants of cubic GaN are determined to be 4.5038 +/- 0.0009 Angstrom, which is in excellent agreement with the theoretical prediction of 4.503 Angstrom. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(00)07918-4].

Observation of quantum-confined Stark shifts in SiGe/Si type-I multiple quantum wells

Quantum-confined Stark shifts in SiGe/Si type-I multiple quantum wells are suggested by the bias dependence of the photocurrent spectra of p-i-n photodiodes. Both Stark redshift and blueshift have been observed for the same sample in the different ranges of electric fields applied to the quantum wells. The turnaround point corresponds to a certain electric field (named "critical" field). This phenomenon was generally predicted by Austin in 1985 [Phys. Rev. B 31, 5569 (1985)] and calculated in detail for SiGe quantum structure by Kim recently [Thin Solid Films 321, 215 (1998)]. The critical electric field obtained from the photocurrent spectra is in reasonable agreement with the theoretical prediction. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(00)03711-7].

Optical properties of Ge self-organized quantum dots in Si

Small-size, high-density, and vertical-ordering Ge quantum dots are observed in strained Si/Ge short-period superlattices grown on Si(001) at low growth temperature by molecular-beam epitaxy. The photoluminescence (PL) peak position, the strong PL at room temperature, and the high exciton binding energy suggest an indirect-to-direct conversion of the Ge quantum dots. This conversion is in good agreement with the theoretical prediction. The characteristic of absorption directly indicates this conversion. The tunneling of carriers between these quantum dots is also observed. [S0163-1829(98)03515-2].

Dipole mode photonic crystal point defect laser on InGaAsP/InP

In this paper, we focus on the dipole mode of the two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystal (PC) single point defect cavity (SPDC) lasers and we report the fabrication and characterization of 2D PC SPDC lasers with the structure of adjusted innermost air holes. The photonic band and cavity Q factors are simulated by means of plane wave expansion (PWE) and finite-difference time-domain (FDTD), respectively. In order to improve the optical confinement of the SPDC, the diameter of the innermost holes was adjusted. Different lasing performances are observed experimentally. The experimental results agree with the theoretical prediction very well. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Surface plasmon waves generated by nanogrooves through spectral interference

A pure surface plasmon polariton (SPP) model predicted that the SPP excitation in a slit-groove structure at metallodielectric interfaces exhibits an intricate dependence on the groove width P. Lalanne et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 263902 (2005); Nat. Phys. 2, 551 (2006)]. In this paper, we present a simple far-field experiment to test and validate this interesting theoretical prediction. The measurement results clearly demonstrate the predicted functional dependence of the SPP coupling efficiency on groove width, in good agreement with the SPP picture.

Sulfur forming an isoelectronic center in zinc telluride thin films

ZnTe1-xSx epitaxial layers grown on GaAs by molecular-beam epitaxy were studied by photoluminescence (PL) as a function of temperatures, excitation powers, and hydrostatic pressures. A sulfur-related emission peak, labeled as P-2, is identified as a deep-level emission by hydrostatic-pressure PL measurement. This indicates that sulfur atoms form isoelectronic centers in a ZnTe matrix. The results qualitatively agree with the theoretical prediction and show experimental evidence of isoelectronic S in ZnTe. A model is proposed to explain the emission mechanisms in the ZnTe1-xSx system with small x values.

BROADENING OF THE EXCITONIC LINEWIDTH DUE TO SCATTERING OF 2-DIMENSIONAL FREE-CARRIERS

By photoluminescence measurements we find that at low temperature the linewidth of the excitonic luminescence broadens with increasing electron density in the wider well from a photoexcited type-I-type-II mixed GaAs/AlAs asymmetric double quantum well structure, which even makes the excitonic linewidth at 77 K larger than at 300 K above a certain excitation intensity. We verify that the broadening is due to the scattering of two-dimensional carriers to excitonic states. Based on the theory of the scattering of carriers to excitonic states, we calculate the broadening of the excitonic linewidth. Our experimental results are convincing for verifying the theoretical prediction. (C) 1995 American Institute of Physics.

Monte Carlo simulation on symmetric ABA/AB copolymer blends in confined thin films

The effects of blend composition on morphology, order-disorder transition (ODT), and chain conformation of symmetric ABA/AB copolymer blends confined between two neutral hard walls have been investigated by lattice Monte Carlo simulation. Only lamellar structure is observed in all the simulation morphologies under thermodynamic equilibrium state, which is supported by theoretical prediction. When the composition of AB diblock copolymer (phi) increases, both lamellar spacing and the corresponding ODT temperature increase, which can be attributed to the variation of conformation distribution of the diblock and the triblock copolymer chains. In addition, both diblock and triblock copolymer, chains with bridge conformation extend dramatically in the direction parallel to the surface when the system is in ordered state. Finally, the copolymer chain conformation depends strongly on both the blend composition and the incompatibility parameter chi N.

Solvent-induced novel morphologies in diblock copolymer blend thin films

We report the morphology and phase behaviors of blend thin films containing two poly styrene-b-poly (methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) diblock copolymers with different blending compositions induced by a selective solvent for the PMMA block, which were studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The neat asymmetric PS-b-PMMA diblock copolymers employed in this study, respectively coded as a(1) and a(2), have similar molecular weights but different volume fractions of PS block (f(PS) = 0.273 and 0.722). Another symmetric PS-b-PMMA diblock copolymer, coded as s, which has a PS block length similar to that of a(1), was also used. For the asymmetric a(1)/a(2) blend thin films, circular multilayered structures were formed. For the asymmetric a(1)/symmetric s blend thin films, inverted phases with PMMA as the dispersed domains were observed, when the weight fraction of s was less than 50%. The origins of the morphology formation in the blend thin films via solvent treatment are discussed. Combined with the theoretical prediction by Birshtein et al. (Polymer 1992, 33, 2750), we interpret the formation of these special microstructures as due to the packing frustration induced by the difference in block lengths and the preferential interactions between the solvent and PMMA block.

Brittle-ductile transition in PP/EPDM blends: effect of notch radius

The toughness of polypropylene (PP)/ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM) blends was studied over wide ranges of EPDM content and temperature. In order to study the effect of notch radius (R), the toughness of the samples with different notch radii was determined from Izod impact test. The results showed that both toughness and brittle-ductile transition (BDT) of the blends were a function of R, respectively. At test temperatures, the toughness tended to decrease with increasing 1/R for various PP/EPDM blends. Moreover, the brittle-ductile transition temperature (T-BT) increased with increasing 1/R, whereas the critical interparticle distance (IDc) reduced with increasing 1/R. Finally, it was found that the different curves of IDc versus test temperature (T) for different notches reduced down to a master curve if plotting IDc versus T-BT(m)-T, where T-BT(m) was the T-BT of PP itself for a given notch, indicating that T-BT(m)-T was a more universal parameter that determined the BDT of polymers. This conclusion was well in agreement with the theoretical prediction.

Highly nonlinear internal solitary waves over the continental shelf of the northwestern South China Sea

Large amplitude internal solitary waves (ISWs) often exhibit highly nonlinear effects and may contribute significantly to mixing and energy transporting in the ocean. We observed highly nonlinear ISWs over the continental shelf of the northwestern South China Sea (19A degrees 35'N, 112A degrees E) in May 2005 during the Wenchang Internal Wave Experiment using in-situ time series data from an array of temperature and salinity sensors, and an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP). We summarized the characteristics of the ISWs and compared them with those of existing internal wave theories. Particular attention has been paid to characterizing solitons in terms of the relationship between shape and amplitude-width. Comparison between theoretical prediction and observation results shows that the high nonlinearity of these waves is better represented by the second-order extended Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) theory than the first-order KdV model. These results indicate that the northwestern South China Sea (SCS) is rich in highly nonlinear ISWs that are an indispensable part of the energy budget of the internal waves in the northern South China Sea.

Addition reaction of nitrones on the reconstructed Si(100)-2 x 1 surface

The reaction of nitrone, N-methyl nitrone, and their hydroxylamine tautomers (vinyl-hydroxylamine and N-methyl vinyl-hydroxylamine) on the reconstructed Si(100)-2 x 1 surface has been investigated by means of hybrid density functional theory (B3LYP) and Moller-Plesset second-order perturbation (MP2) methods. The calculations predicted that both of the nitrones should react with the surface dimer via facile concerted 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition leading to 5-member-ring compounds. The reaction of hydroxylamine tautomers on the Si(100) surface follows pi-complex (intermediate) mechanism. For the reaction of N-methyl vinyl-hydroxylamine, the pi-complex intermediate undergoes [2+2] cycloaddition leading to a 4-member-ring compound. But in the reaction of vinyl-hydroxylamine, the intermediate undergoes H-migration reaction ("ene" reaction) resulting in the oxime-terminated Si surface. All the surface reactions result in the hydroxyl-terminated silicon surfaces, which are very useful for the further modification of the semiconductor.