Recently, Chi Xu et al. predicted the phase-filling singularities (PFS) in the optical dielectric function (ODF) of the highly doped $n$-type Ge and confirmed in experiment the PFS associated $E_{1}+Δ_{1}$ transition by advanced \textit{in situ} doping technology [Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 267402 (2017)], but the strong overlap between $E_{1}$ and $E_{1}+Δ_{1}$ optical transitions made the PFS associated $E_{1}$ transition that occurs at the high doping concentration unobservable in their measurement. In this work, we investigate the PFS of the highly doped n-type Ge in the presence of the uniaxial and biaxial tensile strain along [100], [110] and [111] crystal orientation. Compared with the relaxed bulk Ge, the tensile strain along [100] increases the energy separation between the $E_{1}$ and $E_{1}+Δ_{1}$ transition, making it possible to reveal the PFS associated $E_{1}$ transition in optical measurement. Besides, the application of tensile strain along [110] and [111] offers the possibility of lowering the required doping concentration for the PFS to be observed, resulting in new additional features associated with $E_{1}+Δ_{1}$ transition at inequivalent $L$-valleys. These theoretical predications with more distinguishable optical transition features in the presence of the uniaxial and biaxial tensile strain can be more conveniently observed in experiment, providing new insights into the excited states in heavily doped semiconductors.
Based on first-principles calculation, it has been predicted that the magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) in Co-doped ZnO (Co:ZnO) depends on electron-filling. Results show that the charge neutral Co:ZnO presents a "easy plane" magnetic state. While modifying the total number of electrons, the easy axis rotates from in-plane to out-of-plane. The alternation of the MAE is considered to be the change of the ground state of Co ion, resulting from the relocating of electrons on Co d-orbitals with electron-filling.
Fe doped Ni$_2$Mn$_{1.5}$In$_{0.5}$, particularly, Ni$_2$Mn$_{1.4}$Fe$_{0.1}$In$_{0.5}$, despite having an incommensurate, modulated 7M martensitic structure at room temperature exhibits frequency dependent behavior of storage modulus and loss that obeys Vogel-Fulcher law as well as shows ergodicity breaking between zero field cooled and field cooled strain measurements just above the transition temperature. Both, frequency dependence and ergodicity breaking are characteristics of a strain glassy phase and occur due to presence of strain domains which are large enough to present signatures of …
The structural and magnetic properties of transition metal-doped Mn$_3$SnC are studied with an aim to understand the effect of transition metal atom on magnetostructural properties of the antiperovskite compound. The doped Mn$_{2.8}$T$_{0.2}$SnC (T = Cr, Fe, Co, Ni and Cu) compounds show a distinctly different magnetic behavior which can be related to electronic filling of the $d$ band of the transition metal atom. While Cr and Fe doped Mn$_3$SnC show properties similar to that of Mn$_3$SnC, the Co, Ni and Cu doped compounds exhibit nucleation of secondary phases which are devoid of carbon and…
In this paper we explore the different mechanisms that affect the thermopower of a band insulating perovskite (in this case, SrTiO$_3$) when subject to strain (both compressive or tensile). We analyze the high temperature, entropy dominated limit and the lower temperature, energy-transport regime. We observe that the effect of strain in the high-temperature Seebeck coefficient is small at the concentration levels of interest for thermoelectric applications. However, the effective mass changes substantially with strain, which produces an opposite effect to that of the degeneracy-breakups produc…
(Li,Al)-co-doped magnesium spinel (Li$_x$Mg$_{1-2x}$Al$_{2+x}$O$_4$) is a solid lithium-ion electrolyte with potential use in all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries. Interfaces with spinel electrodes, such as Li$_y$Mn$_2$O$_4$ and Li$_{4+3z}$Ti$_5$O$_{12}$, may be lattice-matched, with potentially low interfacial resistances. Small lattice parameter differences across a lattice-matched interface are unavoidable, causing residual epitaxial strain. This strain potentially modifies lithium diffusion near the interface, contributing to interfacial resistance. Here we report a density functional the…
Fe doping in Ni$_2$Mn$_{1.5}$In$_{0.5}$ results in suppression of the martensitic phase via two contrasting routes. In Ni$_2$Mn$_{1.5-x}$Fe$_{x}$In$_{0.5}$, the martensitic phase is converted to a strain glassy phase, while in Ni$_{2-y}$Fe$_y$Mn$_{1.5}$In$_{0.5}$, a cubic ferromagnetic phase results at the expense of the martensite. Careful studies of magnetic and structural properties reveal the presence of the impurity $γ-$(Fe,Ni) phase as the reason for the emergence of non-ergodic strain glassy phase when Fe is sought to be doped at Y/Z (Mn) sites of X$_2$YZ Heusler alloy. Whereas attempts…
We present a synthesis/processing method for fabricating ferrimagnetic insulator (Bi-doped yttrium iron garnet) thin films with tunable magnetic anisotropy. Since the desired magnetic properties rely on controllable thickness and successful doping, we pay attention to the entire synthesis/processing procedure (nanopowder synthesis, nanocrystalline target preparation and pulsed laser deposition (PLD)). Atomically flat films were deposited by PLD on (111)-orientated yttrium aluminum garnet. We show a significant enhancement of perpendicular anisotropy in the films, caused by strain-induced aniso…
Diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMSs) based on group-IV materials are desirable for spintronic devices compatible with current silicon technology. In this work, amorphous Mn-doped SiGe thin films were first fabricated on Ge substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering and then crystallized by rapid thermal annealing (RTA). After the RTA, the samples became ferromagnetic (FM) semiconductors, in which the Curie temperature increased with increasing Mn doping concentration and reached 280 K with 5% Mn concentration. The data suggest that the ferromagnetism came from the hole-mediated proce…
Defect chemistry, strain, and structural, magnetic and electronic degrees of freedom constitute a rich space for the design of functional properties in transition metal oxides. Here, we show that it is possible to engineer polarity and ferroelectricity in non-polar perovskite oxides via polar defect pairs formed by anion vacancies coupled to substitutional cations. We use a self-consistent site-dependent DFT+$U$ approach that accounts for local structural and chemical changes upon defect creation and which is crucial to reconcile predictions with the available experimental data. Our results fo…
While the mechanical distortions change the electronic properties of graphene significantly, the effects of electronic manipulation on its mechanical properties have not been known. Using first-principles calculation methods, we show that, when graphene expands isotropically under equibiaxial strain, both the electron and hole doping can maintain or improve its ideal strength slightly and enhance the critical breaking strain dramatically. Contrary to the isotropic expansions, the electron doping decreases the ideal strength as well as critical strain of uniaxially strained graphene while the h…
We present a new way to enhance the electron-phonon coupling constant and the critical superconducting temperature of graphene, significantly beyond all reported values. Using density functional theory, we explore the application effects of the tensile biaxial strain on the lithium intercalated graphene. Both effects together, the presence of adatom and the strain, trigger enhancement of critical temperature, up to 300\%, compared to non-strained lithium intercalated graphene.
Layered chalcogenide materials have a wealth of nanoelectronics applications like resistive switching and energy-harvesting such as photocatalyst owing to rich electronic, orbital, and lattice excitations. In this work, we explore monochalcogenide germanium selenide GeSe with respect to substitutional doping with 13 metallic cations by using first-principles calculations. Typical dopants including s-shell (alkali elements Li and Na), p-shell (Al, Pb and Bi), 3d (Fe, Cu, Co and Ni), 4d (Pd and Ag) and 5d (Au and Pt) elements are systematically examined. Amongst all the cationic dopants, Al with…
For carbon-based materials, in contrast to metal surfaces, the relationship between strain and reactivity is not yet established, even though there are literature reports on strained graphene. Knowledge of such relationships would be extremely beneficial for understanding the reactivity of graphene-based surfaces and finding optimisation strategies which would make these materials more suitable for targeted applications. Here we investigate the effects of compressive and tensile strain (up to +/-5%) on the structure, electronic properties and the reactivity of pure, N-doped and P-doped graphen…
CrSb is a layered antiferromagnet (AFM) with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, a high Néel temperature, and large spin-orbit coupling (SOC), which makes it interesting for AFM spintronic applications. To elucidate the various mechanisms of Néel vector control, the effects of strain, band filling, and electric field on the magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) of bulk and thin-film CrSb are determined and analysed using density functional theory. The MAE of the bulk crystal is large (1.2 meV per unit cell). Due to the significant ionic nature of the Cr-Sb bond, finite slabs are strongly affected by…
The effects of biaxial strain on the impurity-induced magnetism in P-doped graphene (P-graphene) and N-doped silicene (N-silicene) are studied by means of spin-polarized density functional calculations, using the supercell approach. The calculations were performed for three different supercell sizes $4\times 4$, $5\times 5$, and $6\times 6$, in order to simulate three different dopant concentrations 3.1, 2.0 and 1.4 %, respectively. For both systems, the calculated magnetic moment is 1.0 $μ_B$ per impurity atom for the three studied concentrations. From the analysis of the electronic structure…
Graphene, due to its exceptional properties, is a promising material for nanotechnology applications. In this context, the ability to tune the properties of graphene-based materials and devices with the incorporation of defects and impurities can be of extraordinary importance. Here we investigate the effect of uniaxial tensile strain on the electronic and magnetic properties of graphene doped with substitutional Ni impurities (Ni_sub). We have found that, although Ni_sub defects are non-magnetic in the relaxed layer, uniaxial strain induces a spin moment in the system. The spin moment increas…
Strain engineering provides an effective way of tailoring the electronic and optoelectronic properties of semiconductor nanomaterials and nanodevices, giving rise to novel functionalities. Here, we present direct experimental evidence of strain-induced modifications of hole mobility in individual GaAs nanowires, using in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The conductivity of the nanowires varied with applied uniaxial tensile stress, showing an initial decrease of ~5-20% up to a stress of 1~ 2 GPa, subsequently increasing up to the elastic limit of the nanowires. This is attributed to…
Si doped ZnO has been reported to be a better conductor than pure ZnO. It is reported that carrier density increases and hence conductivity increases. However, the effect on optical transmission is yet not clear until our recent report [1]. Zn1-xSixO for x= 0, 0.013, 0.020 and 0.027 have been synthesized using sol-gel method (a citric acid-glycerol route) followed by solid state sintering. We found that there is a decrease in defect states due to Si doping. The correlation of strain to the decrement in vacancy sites is discussed in this report. In modern electronics and solar cell fabrication,…
The effects of biaxial tensile strain on the structure, electronic states, and mechanical properties of silicene are studied by ab-initio calculations. Our results show that up to 5% strain the Dirac cone remains essentially at the Fermi level, while higher strain induces hole doping because of weakening of the Si$-$Si bonds. We demonstrate that the silicene lattice is stable up to 17% strain. It is noted that the buckling first decreases with the strain (up to 10%) and then increases again, which is accompanied by a band gap variation. We also calculate the Grüneisen parameter and demonstrate…
Carrier-doped transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) monolayers are of great interest in valleytronics due to the large Zeeman response (g-factors) in these spin-valley-locked materials, arising from many-body interactions. We develop an \textit{ab initio} approach based on many-body perturbation theory to compute the interaction-enhanced g-factors in carrier-doped materials. We show that the g-factors of doped WSe$_2$ monolayers are enhanced by screened exchange interactions resulting from magnetic-field-induced changes in band occupancies. Our interaction-enhanced g-factors $g^*$ agree well w…
Ge with a quasi-direct band gap can be realized by strain engineering, alloying with Sn, or ultrahigh n-type doping. In this work, we use all three approaches together to fabricate direct-band-gap Ge-Sn alloys. The heavily doped n-type Ge-Sn is realized with CMOS-compatible nonequilibrium material processing. P is used to form highly doped n-type Ge-Sn layers and to modify the lattice parameter of P-doped Ge-Sn alloys. The strain engineering in heavily-P-doped Ge-Sn films is confirmed by x-ray diffraction and micro Raman spectroscopy. The change of the band gap in P-doped Ge-Sn alloy as a func…
Insertion of layers displaying field-induced metal-to-insulator (M/I) transition in ferroelectric tunnel junctions (FTJs) has received attention as a potentially useful way to enlarge junction tunnel electroresistance (TER). Half-doped manganites being at the verge of metal-insulator character are thus good candidates to be slave layers in FTJs. However, the phase diagram of these oxides is extremely sensitive to strain and thus can be radically different when integrated in epitaxial FTJs. Here we report a systematic study of large-area (A = 4 to 100 um2) Pt/La0.5Sr0.5MnO3/BaTiO3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO…
The anisotropic thermoelectric transport properties of bulk silicon strained in [111]-direction were studied by detailed first-principles calculations focussing on a possible enhancement of the power factor. Electron as well as hole doping were examined in a broad doping and temperature range. At low temperature and low doping an enhancement of the power factor was obtained for compressive and tensile strain in the electron-doped case and for compressive strain in the hole-doped case. For the thermoelectrically more important high temperature and high doping regime a slight enhancement of the …
In a manganite film without quenched disorder, we show texturing in the form of insulating and metallic stripes above and below Curie temperature (Tc), respectively, by high resolution scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS). The formation of these stripes involves competing orbital and charge orders, and are an outcome of overlapping electron wave-functions mediated by long-range lattice strain. Contrary to popular perception, electronically homogeneous stripe phase underlines the efficacy of the lattice strain in bringing about charge density modulation and in impeding the cross…
Applying external strain is an efficient way to manipulate the site preference of dopants in semiconductors, however, the validity of the previous continuum elastic model for the strain influence on the doping forma- tion energy is still under debate. In this paper, by combining quantum mechanical theoretical analysis and first-principles calculations, we show that if the occupation change of different orbitals caused by the strain is negligible, the continuum elastic model is valid, otherwise it will fail. Our theory is confirmed by first-principles calculation of Mn-doped GaAs system. Moreov…
SrSnO3 (SSO) is an emerging ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) semiconductor with potential for highpower applications. In-plane compressive strain was recently shown to stabilize the high temperature tetragonal phase of SSO at room temperature (RT) which exists at T > 1062 K in bulk. Here, we report on the study of strain relaxation in epitaxial, tetragonal phase of Nd-doped SSO films grown on GdScO3 (110) (GSO) substrates using radical-based hybrid molecular beam epitaxy. The thinnest SSO film (thickness, t = 12 nm) yielded a fully coherent tetragonal phase at RT. At 12 nm < t < 110 nm, the tetragona…
In this paper we report a computational study of the effects of strain on the conductivity of Y-doped ceria (YDC). This material was chosen as it is of technological interest in the field of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs). The simulations were performed under realistic operational temperatures and strain (ε) levels. For bulk and thin film YDC, the results show that tensile strain leads to conductivity enhancements of up to 3.5x and 1.44x, respectively. The magnitude of these enhancements is in agreement with recent experimental and computational evidence. In addition, the methods presented her…
We have investigated heteroepitaxial films of Sm-doped BiFeO3 with a Sm-concentration near a morphotropic phase boundary. Our high-resolution synchrotron X-ray diffraction, carried out in a temperature range of 25C to 700C, reveals substantial phase coexistence as one changes temperature to crossover from a low-temperature PbZrO3-like phase to a high-temperature orthorhombic phase. We also examine changes due to strain for films greater or less than the critical thickness for misfit dislocation formation. Particularly, we note that thicker films exhibit a substantial volume collapse associated…
This work reports the strain effect on the electrical properties of highly doped n-type single crystalline cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC) transferred onto a 6-inch glass substrate employing an anodic bonding technique. The experimental data shows high gauge factors of -8.6 in longitudinal direction and 10.5 in transverse direction along the [100] orientation. The piezoresistive effect in the highly doped 3C-SiC film also exhibits an excellent linearity and consistent reproducibility after several bending cycles. The experimental result was in good agreement with the theoretical analysis based …
We present evidence of strain-induced modulation of electron correlation effects and increased orbital anisotropy in the rutile phase of epitaxial VO$_2$/TiO$_2$ films from hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and soft V L-edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy, respectively. By using the U(1) slave spin formalism, we further argue that the observed anisotropic correlation effects can be understood by a model of orbital selective Mott transition at a filling that is non-integer, but close to the half-filling. Because the overlaps of wave functions between $d$ orbitals are modified by the strain, …
Filling a gap in materials mechanics: Nanoindentation at high constant strain rates upto $10^5 s^{-1}$
Max-Planck-Institute for Sustainable Materials（马克斯·普朗克可持续材料研究所）；Alemnis AG（Alemnis股份公司）；Tampere University（坦佩雷大学）；VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd.（芬兰技术研究中心有限公司）；Empa − Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology（瑞士联邦材料科学与技术研究所）；Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne（洛桑联邦理工学院）
Single-pulse strain-induced precessional dynamics of magnetization in Co-doped iron garnet
HFML-FELIX；Radboud University, Institute for Molecules and Materials（拉德堡德大学分子与材料研究所）；Russian Quantum Center, Skolkovo Innovation Center（俄罗斯量子中心斯科尔科沃创新中心）；Faculty of Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University（莫斯科国立大学物理系）；Faculty of Physics, University of Bialytsok（比亚韦斯托克大学物理系）
On the basis of detailed first-principles calculations the anisotropic thermoelectric transport properties of biaxially strained silicon were studied with focus on a possible enhancement of the powerfactor. Electron as well as hole doping were examined in a broad doping and temperature range. In the low-temperature and low-doping regime an enhancement of the powerfactor was obtained for compressive and tensile strain in the electron-doped case and for compressive strain in the hole-doped case. In the thermoelectrically more important high-temperature and high- doping regime a slight enhancemen…
In this paper we have created a strain driven single crystal like ferromagnetic insulating (FMI) state in a PLD grown thin film of low doped LCMO(X = 0.15)on NGO(100) substrate and make a thorough study of strain effects on the electric and magnetic transport of this film. We have studied and compared the FMI state, ferromagnetic transition temperature (TC), ferromagnetic insulating temperature (TFMI) and the resistivity of the film in details with bulk single crystals of X=0.18 to 0.22 doping region. We have found that TFMI and the localisation length of the carriers are increased and there i…
Thermoelectric properties of the system La$_2$NiO$_{4+δ}$ have been recently discussed [Phys. Rev. B 86, 165114 (2012)] via ab initio calculations. An optimum hole-doping value was obtained with reasonable thermopower and thermoelectric figure of merit being calculated. Here, a large increase in the thermoelectric performance through lattice strain and the corresponding atomic relaxations is predicted. This increase would be experimentally attainable via growth in thin films of the material on top of different substrates. A small tensile strain would produce large thermoelectric figures of mer…
The impact of epitaxial strain on the structural, electronic, and thermoelectric properties of p-type transparent Sr-doped LaCrO3 thin films has been investigated. For this purpose, high-quality fully strained La0.75Sr0.25CrO3 (LSCO) epitaxial thin films were grown by molecular beam epitaxy on three different (pseudo)cubic (001)-oriented perovskite oxide substrates: LaAlO3, (LaAlO3)0.3(Sr2AlTaO6)0.7, and DyScO3. The lattice mismatch between the LSCO films and the substrates induces in-plane strain ranging from -2.06% (compressive) to +1.75% (tensile). The electric conductivity can be controlle…
A comparative study of the electrical and optical properties has been done on 3d-doped TiO$_2$. Ti$_{1-x}$M$_x$O$_2$ (M= Sc, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) powder and its corresponding pellets, with doping concentration $x= 0.05$. The samples were prepared using the solid-state route. Optical and electrical measurements have been performed for all prepared samples and interestingly, it is observed that due to external pressure (i.e. strain) both the properties change significantly. A rigorous theoretical calculation has also been carried out to verify the experimental band gap obtained from op…
ZnO is co-doped with Na+ and Si4+ in the ratio 2:1. The ratio was intentionally chosen so that net valence state of dopant theoretically matches that of host. This is to avoid dependence in the amount of oxygen vacancies/interstitials arising out of cationic valence state of the dopant. With such a combination, modifications in structural and optical properties do not depend on excess or deficit of the dopant charge state. For lower doping, Na+ ions behave as interstitial sites which enhance strain, lattice disorder and thereby creating defects. Formation of interstitial defects leads to reduc…
Diluted magnetic semiconductors possessing intrinsic static magnetism at high temperatures represent a promising class of multifunctional materials with high application potential in spintronics and magneto-optics. In the hexagonal Fe-doped diluted magnetic oxide, 6H-BaTiO$_{3-δ}$, room-temperature ferromagnetism has been previously reported. Ferromagnetism is broadly accepted as an intrinsic property of this material, despite its unusual dependence on doping concentration and processing conditions. However, the here reported combination of bulk magnetization and complementary in-depth local-p…
Si-doped GaN films were grown on $\textit{c}$-sapphire by rf magnetron reactive co-sputtering of GaAs and Si at various partial pressures of N$_2$ in Ar-N2 growth atmosphere and their epitaxial character was ascertained by phi-scans. Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy revealed $\thicksim$2 at.% Si in all the films, but the N/Ga ratio decreased substantially as N$_2$ percentage was reduced from 100% to 10%. High resolution x-ray diffraction revealed the dominant presence of edge dislocations ($\thicksim$10$^{12}$ cm$^{-2}$) in the films grown at 30% - 100% N$_2$, which decreased to $\thicksim…
Thin films of Zn2+ doped cupric oxide (CuO) were synthesized using spin coating technique starting from a solution with Cu and Zn. The speed of spin coating and time duration were varied to fabricate a film with required uniform thickness. Samples were subsequently annealed in air at different annealing temperatures to crystallize the phase of CuO. Doping concentration of Zn2+ was varied up to weight percentage of 10%. Structural properties of samples were determined using X-ray diffraction technique. Particle size, dislocation density and strain at different doping concentrations were determi…
We study the modification of the electronic structure in the strong spin-orbit coupled Sr$_2$IrO$_4$ by epitaxial strain using density functional methods. Structural optimization shows that strain changes the internal structural parameters such as the Ir-O-Ir bond angle, which has an important effect on the band structure. An interesting prediction is the $Γ- $X crossover of the valence band maximum with strain, while the conduction minimum at M remains unchanged. This in turn suggests strong strain dependence of the transport properties for the hole doped system, but not when the system is el…
Spin-orbit-coupled Mott iridates show great similarity with parent compounds of superconducting cuprates, attracting extensive research interests especially for their electron-doped states. However, previous experiments are largely limited within a small doping range due to the absence of effective dopants, and therefore the electron-doped phase diagram remains elusive. Here we utilize an ionic-liquid-gating induced protonation method to achieve electron-doping into a 5d Mott-insulator built with SrIrO3/SrTiO3 superlattice, and achieve a systematic mapping of its electron-doped phase diagram w…
Graphene superlattices formed by periodic strain are considered theoretically. It is shown that electron energy spectrum consists of minibands obtained by folding of the cone at the boundaries of the superlattice Brillouin zone with very narrow anticrossing regions. Light absorption under direct interminiband transitions is shown to be frequency dependent and dichroic. Giant dichroism of absorption is demonstrated for doped graphene superlattices. Asymmetrical graphene superlattices act as quantum ratchets allowing for generation of photocurrent at absorption of normally incident light. The he…
The stability of germanene under biaxial tensile strain and the accompanying modifications of the electronic properties are studied by density functional theory. The phonon spectrum shows that up to $16\%$ strain the germanene lattice is stable, where the Dirac cone shifts towards higher energy and hole-doped Dirac states are achieved. The latter is due to weakening of the Ge-Ge bonds and reduction of the s-p hybridization. Our calculated Grüneisen parameter shows a similar dependence on the strain as reported for silicene (which is different from that of graphene).
In doped semiconductors and metals, the thermopower decreases with increasing carrier concentration, in agreement with the Pisarenko relation. Here, we demonstrate a new strain engineering approach to increase the thermopower of [001] Si/Ge superlattices (SLs) beyond this relation. Using two independent theoretical modeling approaches, we show that new bands form due to the structural symmetry, and, the SL bands are highly tunable with epitaxial substrate strain. The band shifts lead to a modulated thermopower, with a peak $\sim$5-fold enhancement in strained Si/Ge SLs in the high doping regim…
Ge-on-Si structures in-situ doped with phosphorus or arsenic via metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) were investigated. Surface roughness, strain, threading dislocation desnity, Si-Ge interdiffusion, dopant diffusion, and photoluminescence were characterized to study the impacts of defect annealing and Si substrate offcut effects on the Ge film quality and most importantly, the light emission properties. All samples have a smooth surface (roughness < 1.5 nm), and the Ge films have a small tensile strain of 0.2%. As-grown P and As-doped Ge films have threading dislocaiton densities …
An in-depth analysis of Zn/Al doped nickel ferrites grown by reactive magnetron sputtering is relevant due to their promising characteristics for applications in spintronics. The material is insulating and ferromagnetic at room temperature with an additional low magnetic damping. By studying the complex interplay between strain and cation distribution their impact on the magnetic properties, i.e. anisotropy, damping and g-factor is unravelled. In particular, a strong influence of the lattice site occupation of Ni$^{2+}_{\text{Td}}$ and cation coordination of Fe$^{2+}_{\text{Oh}}$ on the intrin…
Stanene is a quantum spin hall insulator and a promising material for electronic and optoelectronic devices. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations are performed to study the band gap opening in stanene by elemental mono- (B, N) and co-doping (B-N). Different patterned B-N co-doping is studied to change the electronic properties in stanene. A patterned B-N co-doping opens the band gap in stanene and the semiconducting nature persists with strain. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are performed to confirm the thermal stability of such doped system. The stress-strain study indicates that…
In this manuscript, we report room temperature structural, microstructural, optical, dielectric, and magnetic properties of CuO and Cu0.995La0.005 ceramics, synthesized by solid-state reaction method. La doping in CuO leads to the evolution of compact and dense microstructure with reduced porosity. Due to noticeable differences in the ionic radii of, La doping creates vacancy defects which induce considerable strain in the CuO lattice resulting in a reduction in the lattice parameters and cell volume. However, both ceramics processes a similar monoclinic structure with the C2/c space group. De…
A 2D electron gas system in an oxide heterostructure serves as an important playground for novel phenomena. Here, we show that, by using fractional delta-doping to control the interface's composition in LaxSr1-xTiO3/SrTiO3 artificial oxide superlattices, the filling-controlled 2D insulator-metal transition can be realized. The atomic-scale control of d-electron band filling, which in turn contributes to the tuning of effective mass and density of the charge carriers, is found to be a fascinating route to substantially enhanced carrier mobilities.
Diamond, a well-known wide-bandgap insulator, becomes a low-temperature superconductor upon substitutional doping of carbon with boron. However, limited boron solubility and significant lattice disorder introduced by boron doping prevent attaining the theoretically-predicted high-temperature superconductivity. Here we present an alternative co-doping approach, based on the combination of ionic gating and boron substitution, in hydrogenated thin films epitaxially grown on (111)- and (110)-oriented single crystals. Gate-dependent electric transport measurements show that the effect of boron dopi…
We report measurements of Hc2(T) up to 85 Tesla on Ba1-xKxAs2Fe2 single crystals and FeSe1-xTex films tuned by doping and strain. We observed an Hc2 enhancement by nearly 25 T at 30 K for the optimally-doped Ba1-xKxAs2Fe2 as compared to the previous results and extraordinarily high slopes dHc2/dT = 250-500 T/K near Tc in FeSe1-xTex indicating an almost complete suppression of the orbital pair-breaking. Theoretical analysis of Hc2(T) in FeSe1-xTex and the optimally doped Ba1-xKxAs2Fe2 predicts an inhomogeneous Fulde-Ferrel-Larkin-Ovchinnikov state for H//ab and T < 3-10 K, and shows that Hc2 in…
