Condensed Matter Physics Commons^™

Effects Of Structure, Crystallographic Orientation, And Dimensionality On Emergent Properties Of Transition Metal Oxide Thin Films, Prahald Siwakoti

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

SrRuO₃ is the only example of ferromagnetic perovskite oxide of a 4d transition metal, wherein the electron -electron correlation is still relevant while the heavier 4d ion (Ru) gives it a larger spin-orbit coupling strength which makes it an interesting material to study. In this thesis, we present our investigation of the structure and properties of SrRuO₃ thin films of varying thickness grown on [001] and [111] crystallographic orientation of the SrTiO3 substrate. For SrRuO₃(001), we present microscopically the presence of 90◦ in-plane rotated structural domains that are identified by the difference in octahedral rotations and …

Photoluminescence Spectra Of Silicon Doped With Cadmium, N A. Sultanov, E T. Rakhimov, Z Mirzajonov, F T. Yusupov

Scientific-technical journal

Cadmium and zinc, as transition metals, are deep-level impurities (DL) and have a significant effect on the electrical, photoelectric, recombination, and other properties of semiconductor crystals.This paper presents the results of experimental studies of the optical and electrical properties of silicon crystals containing impurity atoms of cadmium and zinc using DLTS and low-temperature photoluminescence (PL).

Structural, Vibrational And Transport Properties Of Novel Complex Systems., Bhupendra Man Shing Karki

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Electron correlation effects in quantum materials are very strong. It is critical to investigate the structure of quantum materials to better understand and manipulate their physical properties. Quantum effects are prominent at the atomic microscopic length scale, which can not be examined by average long range structural measurements using traditional diffraction methods. Instead, pair distribution function (PDF) analysis, a local structure probe, can effectively unveil the mystery of local structure, which is more sensitive to local behavior than bulk average features. The first section of my dissertation will concentrate on the local structural study of the Iron oxy-chalcogenides, {\cSSe}, which …

Sawtooth-Based Chromate Multiferroic - Insight Into Structure And Magnetism, Hector Cein Mandujano

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The coexistence of two order parameters is a particular occurrence in bulk single-phase materials. Such materials possessing (anti)ferromagnetism, ferroelectricity, and ferroelasticity are known as multiferroics. In this work we revisit BeCr2O4, which is one of the oldest material to be studied in this context. Cr3+ occupies octahedral 4a site and Be2+ occupies tetrahedral 4c site in this compound, forming a close packing structure with a 90° and 138° Cr-O-Cr bonds allowing magnetic superexchange interactions. In the present work, BeCr2O4 powder was prepared using solid-state reaction method and the crystal structure was studied in detail using laboratory and synchrotron X-ray diffraction. …

Intercalation And High Pressure Studies Of Black Phosphorous - Pathways To Novel Materials And Physics., Manthila Chathurange Rajapakse

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Discovery of graphene in 2004 initiated a new trend of materials known as two-dimensional (2D) materials which have exciting surface properties and anisotropies than their bulk counterparts. Phosphorene, which is the layered version of black phosphorous (BP) is one of the top 2D materials in terms of research interests and applications of the present day. Moving a step further, our interest is to understand the possibilities for structural modifications of phosphorene, by means of stimuli such as intercalation and high-pressure. It has been predicted by theoretical studies that these stimuli may lead to the formation of new structures and phases …

Transport Properties Of Binary And Doped Diborides, Alin Babu Niraula

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

A systematic computational study to evaluate the electronic structures and transport properties including resistivity, thermal conductivity of several binary diborides (ZrB2 , TiB2 , TaB2 , CrB2 , and AlB2 ) and the ZrB2 alloyed with Cr, Al, Ti and Ta has been performed. Due to the p-d hybridization, the characteristic pseudo gap at the Fermi energy level (Ef) from the density of states (DOS) is presence in the DOS of both ZrB2 and TiB2 in contrast to those of TaB2 and CrB2 with only a partial occupation on the anti-bonding states. AlB2 is also similarly shown the presence of …

Vortex-Oriented Ferroelectric Domains In Snte/Pbte Monolayer Lateral Heterostructures, Kai Chang, John W. D. Villanova, Jing-Rong Ji, Souvik Das, Felix Kuster, Salvador Barraza-Lopez, Paolo Sessi, Stuart S. P. Parkin

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Heterostructures formed from interfaces between materials with complementary properties often display unconventional physics. Of especial interest are heterostructures formed with ferroelectric materials. These are mostly formed by combining thin layers in vertical stacks. Here the first in situ molecular beam epitaxial growth and scanning tunneling microscopy characterization of atomically sharp lateral heterostructures between a ferroelectric SnTe monolayer and a paraelectric PbTe monolayer are reported. The bias voltage dependence of the apparent heights of SnTe and PbTe monolayers, which are closely related to the type-II band alignment of the heterostructure, is investigated. Remarkably, it is discovered that the ferroelectric domains in …

Study Of Weakly Bound Cluster Anions Using Self Interaction Corrected Density Functional Scheme, Peter Obinna Ufondu

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Kohn–Sham formulation of density functional theory (DFT) is a widely used quantum mechanical theory to study chemical and materials properties. The practical application of DFT requires an approximation to the exchange–correlation (XC) functional. These approximations suffer from self-interaction errors due to the incomplete cancellation of the self-Coulomb energy with the approximate self-exchange and correlation energy for one-electron densities. Systems with weakly-bound electrons impose great challenges to semi-local density functional approximations. We use recently developed local scaled self-interaction correction (LSIC) by Zope et al and the Perdew-Zunger SIC method using the Fermi-Löwdin orbitals to calculate the vertical detachment energies (VDEs) …

On-Chip Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy, Randy Sterbentz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) allows the direct measurement of optical and charge carrier properties of materials in a region of the electromagnetic spectrum inaccessible to most other spectroscopic techniques. We have adapted the technique to an on-chip arrangement that allows us to measure these properties in nanoscale materials with dimensions below the diffraction limit. In this thesis, we present the operation of instruments and the mechanics behind performing on-chip terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. Three materials were tested to confirm the capabilities of our system to measure THz radiation: indium selenide (InSe), radiation-damaged silicon-on-sapphire (RD-SOS), and an erbium arsenide:gallium arsenide superlattice. Preliminary …

Voltage-Controlled Magnetization In Chromia-Based Magnetic Heterostructures, William Echtenkamp

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Spintronics promises a new generation of low-power, high-speed, non-volatile memory and logic devices. Heterostructures based on magnetoelectric chromia enable the direct manipulation of magnetization by applied electric fields and emerged as a promising building block for spintronic devices. In this dissertation, several interesting emergent magnetic properties arising in these device-enabling building blocks are examined. In some cases, exchange coupling at the interface between the magnetoelectric antiferromagnet and an adjacent ferromagnet stabilizes the interfacial antiferromagnetic domain state against the electrically induced rotation of the bulk spin structure. Upon magnetically cycling the ferromagnet, the magnetoelectric antiferromagnet relaxes towards a commensurate spin structure …

Manipulation Of Spin Crossover Phenomenon In An Fe(Ii) Molecular Complex And Application To Molecular Spintronics, Guanhua Hao

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Molecules with a large local magnetic moment have attracted considerable attention for application in spintronic devices. One candidate of a suitable device goes to the spin crossover molecule, where these 3d transition metal compounds are able to exhibit a robust spin state transition between distinct states. By proper design, the spintronic devices fabricated via spin crossover molecular thin films could achieve novel functionality while retaining flexibility and other traits based on its “organic” nature.

Controlling the spin state transition is a key factor of these possibilities. This thesis work investigates the manipulation of the spin state transition in [Fe{H …

Computational Studies Of Carbon Nanocluster Solidification, Chathuri C. Silva

Dissertations

A subset of micron-size meteoritic carbon particles formed in red giant atmospheres show a core-rim structure, likely condensed from a vapor phase into super-cooled carbon droplets that nucleated graphene sheets (~40Å) on randomly oriented 5-atom loops during solidification, followed by coating with a graphite rim. Similar particles form during slow cooling of carbon vapor in the lab.

Here we investigate the nucleation and growth of carbon rings and graphene sheets using density functional theory (DFT). Our objectives: (1). explore different computational techniques in DFT-VASP for various carbon structures and compare the results with literature, (2). investigate the nucleation and growth …

Photovoltages In Polycrystalline Mosaic Solar Cells, Steluta A. Dinca, Eric A. Schiff

Chemistry - All Scholarship

In some thin-film solar cells the light-absorbing layer is a mosaic of crystalline grains whose boundaries run from the back to the front of the cell. We used the semiconductor modeling software Sesame to do numerical calculations of the optoelectronic properties of such cells assuming that recombination of minority photocarriers occurs primarily at the grain boundaries. The work complements analytical results for diffusion-limited recombination at grain boundaries and dislocations. We chose idealized n-CdS/p-CdTe solar cells for illustration. We find that the open-circuit voltage, V_oc, under illumination declines logarithmically with increasing ratio D/θ², where D is the …

Structural And Electronic Properties Of Few-Layer Monochalcogenides, Brandon Joel Miller

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This work discusses a new class of materials with novel properties that have only recently begun being studied. These materials are two-dimensional group IV-VI monochalcogenides, so named because they are formed from group IV (carbon group) and group VI (chalcogens) elements. These materials display several interesting physical properties such as ferroelasticity and ferroelectricity, and the contents within Chapters Two, Three, and Four concern a collaborative effort between theory and experiment between our group at the University of Arkansas and Dr. Kai Chang at the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics in Halle, Germany in studying these properties. This thesis is …

Optical Phonon Modes, Static And High-Frequency Dielectric Constants, And Effective Electron Mass Parameter In Cubic In2O3, Megan Stokey, Rafal Korlacki, Sean Knight, Alexander Ruder, Matthew J. Hilfiker, Zbigniew Galazka, Klaus Irmscher, Yuxuan Zhang, Hongping Zhao, Vanya Darakchieva, Mathias Schubert

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

A complete set of all optical phonon modes predicted by symmetry for bixbyite structure indium oxide is reported here from a combination of far-infrared and infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry, as well as first principles calculations. Dielectric function spectra measured on high quality, marginally electrically conductive melt grown single bulk crystals are obtained on a wavelength-by-wavelength (also known as point-by-point) basis and by numerical reduction of a subtle free charge carrier Drude model contribution. A four-parameter semi-quantum model is applied to determine all 16 pairs of infrared-active transverse and longitudinal optical phonon modes, including the high-frequency dielectric constant, ε_∞=4.05±0.05. The …

Novel Low Temperature Properties Of Filled And Unfilled Single Crystal Irsb3, Matthew Cook

Dissertations

The skutterudite family of materials has garnered a lot of attention in the condensed matter community and it persists to be an important system for exploring the fundamental physics of solids. The initial interest into compounds with this common structure was due to their promising thermoelectric properties giving the possibility of efficient energy harvesting. Since, there has been a huge effort to systematically synthesize new filled skutterudite compounds, as nearly every type of strongly correlated behavior has been found within this family. As the field of topological materials has gained momentum, these materials have also been given a renewed interest …

Quantum Transport Of The 2d Surface State In A Nonsymmorphic Semimetal, Xue Liu, Jin Hu, Jiang Wei, Chunlei Yue, Sergey V. Erohin, Yanglin Zhu, Abin Joshy, Jinyu Liu, Ana M. Sanchez, David Graf, Pavel B. Sorokin, Zinqiang Mao

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

In a topological semimetal with Dirac or Weyl points, the bulk-boundary correspondence principle predicts a gapless edge mode if the essential symmetry is still preserved at the surface. The detection of such topological surface state has been considered as the fingerprint prove for crystals with nontrivial topological bulk band. On the contrary, it has been proposed that even with symmetry broken at the surface, a new surface band can emerge in nonsymmorphic topological semimetals. The symmetry reduction at the surface lifts the bulk band degeneracies and produces an unusual “floating” surface band with trivial topology. Here, we first report quantum …

Skyrmions And Biskyrmions In Magnetic Films, Daniel Capic

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Skyrmions have garnered significant attention in condensed matter systems in recent years. In principle, they are topologically protected, so there is a large energy barrier preventing their annihilation. Furthermore, they can exist at the nanoscale, be manipulated with very small currents, and be created by a number of different methods. This makes them attractive for use in potential computing applications. This work studies ferromagnetic skyrmions. In particular, it highlights our small contributions to the field of skyrmions in condensed matter systems, specifically in thin-film ferromagnets.

Optimization Of Materials For Magnetic Refrigeration And Thermomagnetic Power Generation, Anthony N. Tantillo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The magnetocaloric effect, by which a magnetic material experiences a change in temperature due to an applied magnetic field, can be used for refrigeration. The corollary to the magnetocaloric effect -- known as the pyromagnetic effect -- is the phenomenon by which a magnetic material experiences a thermally-induced change in magnetization that can be used to harvest thermal energy. This dissertation has two main parts: one focusing on novel materials for energy harvesting; and another focusing on methods of materials discovery for refrigeration purposes. Thermomagnetic power generation (TMG) is the process by which magnetic flux, which comes from a temperature-driven …

Quantum Transport In Topological Magnets, Haiming Deng

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the past several years, a new field of symmetry-protected topological materials has emerged in condensed matter physics, based on the wide range of consequences that result from the realization that certain properties of physical systems can be expressed as topological invariants, which are insensitive to local perturbations. This new class of materials hosts unique surface/edge states, such as the first known topological system – quantum Hall insulator with dissipationless chiral edge states, and massless spin-helical Dirac surface states in 3D topological insulators that are unlike any other known 1D or 2D electronic systems. In this thesis, to understand the …