2017-2-8, Madhuri, W., Kiran, S. Roopas, Reddy, M. Penchal, Reddy, N. Ramamanohar, Kumar, K.V. Siva

Nonstoichiometric series of Mg0.5-xCuxZn0.5Fe1.9O4-δ where x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2 and 0.25 has been synthesized by conventional solid state reaction route. The single phase spinel structure of the double sintered ferrites was confirmed by X-ray diffraction patterns (XRD). The ferrite series was studied in terms of DC electrical conductivity and thermoelectric power in the temperature ranging from room temperature to 300 °C and 400 °C, respectively. It was observed that DC electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient α decreased with the increase in x. DC electrical conductivity was found to decrease by about 4 orders. All the compositions showed a negative Seebeck coefficient exhibiting n-type semiconducting nature. From the above experimental results, activation energy and mobility of all the samples were estimated. Small polaron hopping conduction mechanism was suggested for the series of ferrites. Owing to their low conductivity the nonstoichiometric MgCuZn ferrites are the best materials for transformer core and high definition television deflection yokes. © 2017 Wroclaw University of Science and Technology.

2019, Portone, Alberto, Ganzer, Lucia, Branchi, Federico, Ramos, Rodrigo, Caldas, Marília J., Pisignano, Dario, Molinari, Elisa, Cerullo, Giulio, Persano, Luana, Prezzi, Deborah, Virgili, Tersilla

Polythiophenes are the most widely utilized semiconducting polymers in organic electronics, but they are scarcely exploited in photonics due to their high photo-induced absorption caused by interchain polaron pairs, which prevents the establishment of a window of net optical gain. Here we study the photophysics of poly(3-hexylthiophene) configured with different degrees of supramolecular ordering, spin-coated thin films and templated nanowires, and find marked differences in their optical properties. Transient absorption measurements evidence a partially-polarized stimulated emission band in the nanowire samples, in contrast with the photo-induced absorption band observed in spin-coated thin films. In combination with theoretical modeling, our experimental results reveal the origin of the primary photoexcitations dominating the dynamics for different supramolecular ordering, with singlet excitons in the nanostructured samples superseding the presence of polaron pairs, which are present in the disordered films. Our approach demonstrates a viable strategy to direct optical properties through structural control, and the observation of optical gain opens the possibility to the use of polythiophene nanostructures as building blocks of organic optical amplifiers and active photonic devices. © 2019, The Author(s).

2019, Sammak, Amir, Sabbagh, Diego, Hendrickx, Nico W., Lodari, Mario, Wuetz, Brian Paquelet, Tosato, Alberto, Yeoh, LaReine, Bollani, Monica, Virgilio, Michele, Schubert, Markus Andreas, Zaumseil, Peter, Capellini, Giovanni, Veldhorst, Menno, Scappucci, Giordano

Buried-channel semiconductor heterostructures are an archetype material platform for the fabrication of gated semiconductor quantum devices. Sharp confinement potential is obtained by positioning the channel near the surface; however, nearby surface states degrade the electrical properties of the starting material. Here, a 2D hole gas of high mobility (5 × 10 5 cm 2 V −1 s −1 ) is demonstrated in a very shallow strained germanium (Ge) channel, which is located only 22 nm below the surface. The top-gate of a dopant-less field effect transistor controls the channel carrier density confined in an undoped Ge/SiGe heterostructure with reduced background contamination, sharp interfaces, and high uniformity. The high mobility leads to mean free paths ≈ 6 µm, setting new benchmarks for holes in shallow field effect transistors. The high mobility, along with a percolation density of 1.2 × 10 11 cm −2 , light effective mass (0.09m e ), and high effective g-factor (up to 9.2) highlight the potential of undoped Ge/SiGe as a low-disorder material platform for hybrid quantum technologies. © 2019 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

2017, Knight, Sean, Hofmann, Tino, Bouhafs, Chamseddine, Armakavicius, Nerijus, Kühne, Philipp, Stanishev, Vallery, Ivanov, Ivan G., Yakimova, Rositsa, Wimer, Shawn, Schubert, Mathias, Darakchieva, Vanya

Unraveling the doping-related charge carrier scattering mechanisms in two-dimensional materials such as graphene is vital for limiting parasitic electrical conductivity losses in future electronic applications. While electric field doping is well understood, assessment of mobility and density as a function of chemical doping remained a challenge thus far. In this work, we investigate the effects of cyclically exposing epitaxial graphene to controlled inert gases and ambient humidity conditions, while measuring the Lorentz force-induced birefringence in graphene at Terahertz frequencies in magnetic fields. This technique, previously identified as the optical analogue of the electrical Hall effect, permits here measurement of charge carrier type, density, and mobility in epitaxial graphene on silicon-face silicon carbide. We observe a distinct, nearly linear relationship between mobility and electron charge density, similar to field-effect induced changes measured in electrical Hall bar devices previously. The observed doping process is completely reversible and independent of the type of inert gas exposure.