Condensed Matter Physics Commons^™

Sensitivity Of Black Phosphorus To O2 And Atmosphere Measured By Macroscopic Four-Point Probe, Cameron Flynn

Honors Theses and Capstones

Scientific interest in black phosphorus, a two-dimensional semiconducting allotrope of phosphorus, has increased in the last few years, since it was shown in 2014 to have very good properties for fieldeffect transistors. Unfortunately, practical use of the material is delayed because of its tendency to degrade into a phosphoric oxide when left in air. In this thesis I present the effects of atmospheric air and pure oxygen on the transport properties of bulk black phosphorus with and without light exposure. For continuous measurements carried out by millimeter-scale four-point probe, we see no change in the resistance of bulk samples exposed …

Two Stream Instability In Graphene, Mitchell Duffer

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Mitchell Duffer

Major: Physics

Project Sponsor: Ben Yu-Kuang Hu

Number of Project Credits: 2

Two Stream Instability in Graphene

We investigate the unstable modes of the two-stream instability in graphene to determine if they can occur. This instability occurs when a population of electrons streams past another inside graphene. We obtain the unstable modes by numerically determining the zeros of the non-equilibrium graphene dielectric function using MATLAB. The dielectric function used in this study, in contrast to previous studies, includes the effects of the particle-hole excitation continuum (PHEC) that normally quells the evolution of unstable plasmons. MATLAB’s built in zero …

Elevated Temperature Dependence Of The Anisotropic Visible-To-Ultraviolet Dielectric Function Of Monoclinic Β-Ga2o3, Alyssa Mock, Jeremy Vanderslice, Rafal Korlacki, John A. Woollam, Mathias Schubert

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

We report on the temperature dependence of the dielectric tensor elements of n-type conductive β-Ga2O3 from 22 °C to 550 °C in the spectral range of 1.5 eV–6.4 eV. We present the temperature dependence of the excitonic and band-to-band transition energy parameters using a previously described eigendielectric summation approach [A. Mock et al., Phys. Rev. B 96, 245205 (2017)]. We utilize a Bose-Einstein analysis of the temperature dependence of the observed transition energies and reveal electron coupling with average phonon temperature in excellent agreement with the average over all longitudinal phonon plasmon coupled modes reported previously [M. …

Magnetism Of New Metastable Cobalt-Nitride Compounds, Balamuruga Balamurugan, Xin Zhao, Shah R. Valloppilly, Sumit Beniwal, Ralph Skomski, Anandakumar Sarella, Yunlong Jin, Xingzhong Li, Xiaoshan Xu, Huibo Cao, Haohan Wang, Axel Enders, Cai-Zhuang Wang, Kai-Ming Ho, David J. Sellmyer

Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience: Faculty Publications

The search for new magnetic materials with high magnetization and magnetocrystalline anisotropy is important for a wide range of applications including information and energy processing. There is only a limited number of naturally occurring magnetic compounds that are suitable. This situation stimulates an exploration of new phases that occur far from thermal-equilibrium conditions, but their stabilization is generally inhibited due to high positive formation energies. Here a nanocluster-deposition method has enabled the discovery of a set of new non-equilibrium Co-N intermetallic compounds. The experimental search was assisted by computational methods including adaptive-genetic-algorithm and electronic- structure calculations. Conventional wisdom is that …

Discovery And Study Of Single-Phase And Single-Ion Manganese Perovskite Multiferroics, Kamal Chapagain

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Multiferroic materials having unusual properties of simultaneous presence of ferroelectricity (FE) and magnetism, such that FE can be controlled by magnetic field and magnetization by electric field have attracted interest due to their promising applications in electrically controllable microwave elements, magnetic field sensors, and possibly in spintronics. In this dissertation, the single phase and single ion multiferroic properties of the ceramic oxide antiferromagnets (AFM) Sr1-xBax Mn1-yTiyO3 with perovskite structure are discussed. These compounds were designed and developed in our laboratory by understanding critical parameters controlling FE and magnetic properties, advancing the synthesis processes, studying the structural behavior and intricate transitions, …

Diffuse Scattering And Local Order In Lead-Based Relaxor Ferroelectrics, Matthew J. Krogstad

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Relaxor ferroelectrics are characterized by their dielectric permittivity, and some of these materials display outstanding electromechanical coupling, a property that makes them useful in applications from sonar and ultrasound to precision actuators. However, there is a surprising lack of consensus regarding the local structure of these materials and how it relates to their useful bulk properties. A common feature of many proposed mechanisms is the importance of short-range order differing from the long-range symmetry of the material. Such a difference between short-range and long-range order makes these materials ideal candidates for study via diffuse scattering, a technique sensitive to differences …

Band Filling And Temperature Effects On Electrical Conductivity In Strongly Correlated Hybridized Electron Systems, Dylan T. Meyer

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

We investigate the effects of band filling as well as temperature change on the electrical conductivity of materials with strong interelectron interaction as well as band hybridization. This is done by use of the irreducible two-particle Green function method applied to strongly correlated electron systems described by the Periodic Anderson Model. It was found that there is a definite peak in electrical conductivity at low band occupancy when the d-energy sub-band is half filled. Conductivity was found to have a sharp drop with an increase in temperature as a result of thermal dispersion as well as a change in the …

Tuning Vortex Fluctuations And The Resistive Transition In Superconducting Films With A Thin Overlayer, Alex Gurevich

Physics Faculty Publications

It is shown that the temperature of the resistive transition T_r of a superconducting film can be increased by a thin superconducting or normal overlayer. For instance, deposition of a highly conductive thin overlayer onto a dirty superconducting film can give rise to an “antiproximity effect,” which manifests itself in an initial increase of T_r (d₂) with the overlayer thickness d₂ followed by a decrease of T_r (d₂)at larger d₂. Such a nonmonotonic thickness dependence of T_r (d₂) results from the interplay of the …

Electronic And Optical Properties Of Metastable Epitaxial Thin Films Of Layered Iridates, Maryam Souri

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

The layered iridates such as Sr₂IrO₄ and Sr₃Ir₂O₇, have attracted substantial attention due to their novel electronic states originating from strong spin-orbit coupling and electron-correlation. Recent studies have revealed the possibilities of novel phases such as topological insulators, Weyl semimetals, and even a potential high-T_c superconducting state with a d-wave gap. However, there are still controversial issues regarding the fundamental electronic structure of these systems: the origin of the insulating gap is disputed as arising either from an antiferromagnetic ordering, i.e. Slater scheme or electron-correlation, i.e. Mott scheme. …

Structural, Transport, And Topological Properties Induced At Complex-Oxide Hetero-Interfaces, Justin K. Thompson

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

Complex-oxides have seen an enormous amount of attention in the realm of Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science/Engineering over the last several decades. Their ability to host a wide variety of novel physical properties has even caused them to be exploited commercially as dielectric, metallic and magnetic materials. Indeed, since the discovery of high temperature superconductivity in the “Cuprates” in the late 1980’s there has been an explosion of activity involving complex-oxides. Further, as the experimental techniques and equipment for fabricating thin films and heterostructures of these materials has improved over the last several decades, the search for new and …

Nanoscale Devices Consisting Of Heterostructures Of Carbon Nanotubes And Two-Dimensional Layered Materials, Mohsen Nasseri

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

One dimensional carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and two-dimensional layered materials like graphene, MoS₂, hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), etc. with different electrical and mechanical properties are great candidates for many applications in the future. In this study the synthesis and growth of carbon nanotubes on both conducting graphene and graphite substrates as well as insulating hBN substrate with precise crystallographic orientation is achieved. We show that the nanotubes have a clear preference to align to specific crystal directions of the underlying graphene or hBN substrate. On thicker flakes of graphite, the edges of these 2D materials can control the orientation …

Producing Smooth Flow In Atom Circuits By Stirring, Olatunde Oladehin

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

We studied how smooth flow can be produced by stirring an ultracold atom circuit consisting of a gaseous Bose--Einstein condensate (BEC) confined in a ``racetrack'' potential. The racetrack potential was made up of two straight parallel channels of length L connected on both ends by semicircular channels of the same width and (energy) depth as the straightaways. We used the Gross--Pitaevskii equation to simulate the behavior of the BEC in this potential when stirred by a rectangular paddle at various speeds and barrier heights. We found that smooth flow could be produced and conducted a systematic study of the flow …

Semiconductor Color-Center Structure And Excitation Spectra: Equation-Of-Motion Coupled-Cluster Description Of Vacancy And Transition-Metal Defect Photoluminescence, Jesse J. Lutz, Xiaofeng F. Duan, Larry W. Burggraf

Faculty Publications

Valence excitation spectra are computed for deep-center silicon-vacancy defects in 3C, 4H, and 6H silicon carbide (SiC), and comparisons are made with literature photoluminescence measurements. Optimizations of nuclear geometries surrounding the defect centers are performed within a Gaussian basis-set framework using many-body perturbation theory or density functional theory (DFT) methods, with computational expenses minimized by a QM/MM technique called SIMOMM. Vertical excitation energies are subsequently obtained by applying excitation-energy, electron-attached, and ionized equation-of-motion coupled-cluster (EOMCC) methods, where appropriate, as well as time-dependent (TD) DFT, to small models including only a few atoms adjacent to the defect center. We consider the …

Honeycomb Lattice Na2iro3 At High Pressures: A Robust Spin-Orbit Mott Insulator, Xiaoxiang Xi, Xiangyan Bo, X. S. Xu, P. P. Kong, Z. Liu, X. G. Hong, C. Q. Jin, G. Cao, Xiangang Wan, G. L. Carr

Xiaoshan Xu Papers

The honeycomb iridate Na₂IrO₃ has received much attention as a candidate to realize a quantum spin liquid state, but the nature of its insulating state remains controversial. We found that the material exhibits structural transitions at 3 and 10 GPa. The former is accompanied by 166-meV suppression of the activation gap, but the energies for the low-lying interband transitions change by less than 10 meV. This can be reconciled in a picture in which the application of high pressure barely shifts the electronic bands, but rather merely broadens them. First-principles calculations uncover a strong correlation between the …

Tuning The Neel Temperature Of Hexagonal Ferrites By Structural Distortion, Kishan Sinha, Haohan Wang, Xiao Wang, Liying Zhou, Yuewei Yin, Wenbin Wang, Xuemei Cheng, David J. Keavney, Huibo Cao, Yaohua Liu, Xifan Wu, Xiaoshan Xu

Xiaoshan Xu Papers

To tune the magnetic properties of hexagonal ferrites, a family of magnetoelectric multiferroic materials, by atomic-scale structural engineering, we studied the effect of structural distortion on the magnetic ordering temperature (T_N) in these materials. Using the symmetry analysis, we show that unlike most antiferromagnetic rare-earth transition-metal perovskites, a larger structural distortion leads to a higher T_N in hexagonal ferrites and manganites, because the K₃ structural distortion induces the three-dimensional magnetic ordering, which is forbidden in the undistorted structure by symmetry. We also revealed a nearlinear relation between T_N and the tolerance factor and a …

Stabilization And Control Of Majorana Bound States With Elongated Skyrmions, Utkan Güngördü, Shane Sandhoefner, Alexey Kovalev

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We show that elongated magnetic skyrmions can host Majorana bound states in a proximity-coupled two-dimensional electron gas sandwiched between a chiral magnet and an s-wave superconductor. Our proposal requires stable skyrmions with unit topological charge, which can be realized in a wide range of multilayer magnets, and it allows quantum information transfer by using standard methods in spintronics via skyrmion motion. We also show how braiding operations can be realized in our proposal.

Focused Electron-Beam-Induced Deposition For Fabrication Of Highly Durable And Sensitive Metallic Afm-Ir Probes, Wen Qian, Shuo Sun, Jingfeng Song, Charles Nguyen, Stephen Ducharme, Joesph A. Turner

Stephen Ducharme Publications

We report on the fabrication of metallic, ultra-sharp atomic force microscope tips for localized nanoscale infrared (IR) spectrum measurements by using focused electron-beam-induced deposition of platinum or tungsten. The tip length can be controlled by changing the duration time of the electron beam. Probes of 12.0 ± 5.0 nm radius-of-curvature can be routinely produced with high repeatability and near-100% yield. The near-field-enhancement appears stronger at the extremity of the metallic tip, compared with commercial pristine silicon-nitride probe tip. Finally, the performance of the modified metallic tips is demonstrated by imaging PVDF and PMMA thin films, which shows that spatial resolution …

Saw Assisted Domain Wall Motion In Co/Pt Multilayers, Westin Edrington, Uday Singh, Maya Abo Dominguez, James Rehwaldt Alexander, Rabindra Nepal, Shireen Adenwalla

Shireen Adenwalla Papers

The motion of domain walls in thin ferromagnetic films is of both fundamental and technological interest. In particular, the ability to use drivers other than magnetic fields to control the positions of domain walls could be exciting for memory applications. Here, we show that high frequency dynamic strain produced by surface acoustic waves is an efficient driver of magnetic domain walls in ferromagnetic films with perpendicular anisotropy. A standing surface acoustic wave of resonant frequency 96.6MHz increases the domain wall velocities in thin films of [Co/Pt]n by an order of magnitude compared to magnetic fields alone. This effect is highly …

Functionalized Nanoporous Carbon Scaffolds For Hydrogen Storage Applications, Christopher L. Carr

Doctoral Dissertations

"Recent efforts have demonstrated confinement in porous scaffolds at the nanoscale can alter the hydrogen sorption properties of metal hydrides, though not to an extent feasible for use in onboard hydrogen storage applications, proposing the need for a method allowing further modifications. The work presented here explores how the functionalization of nanoporous carbon scaffold surfaces with heteroatoms can modify the hydrogen sorption properties of confined metal hydrides in relation to non-functionalized scaffolds (FS). Investigations of nanoconfined LiBH₄ and NaAlH₄ indicate functionalizing the carbon scaffold surface with nitrogen can shift the activation energy of hydrogen desorption in excess of …

Magnetocrystalline Anisotropy Of "-Fe2o3, Imran Ahamed, Rohilt Pathak, Arti Kashyap

Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience: Faculty Publications

The epsilon Fe₂O₃ phase of iron oxide has been studied to understand the spin structure and the magnetocrystalline anisotropy in the bulk and in thin films of "-Fe₂O₃ and Co-doped "-Fe₂O₃. The preferential magnetization direction in the nanoparticles of "-Fe₂O₃ is along the a-axis [M. Gich et al., Chem. Mater. 18, 3889 (2006)]. Compared to the bulk band gap of 1.9 eV, the thin-film band gap is reduced to 1.3 eV in the Co-free films and to 0.7 eV in the film with partial …