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Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Feasibility of electrostatic microparticle propulsion
    (College Park, MD : Institute of Physics Publishing, 2008) Trottenberg, T.; Kersten, H.; Neumann, H.
    This paper discusses the feasibility of electrostatic space propulsion which uses microparticles as propellant. It is shown that particle charging in a plasma is not sufficient for electrostatic acceleration. Moreover, it appears technically difficult to extract charged particles out of a plasma for subsequent acceleration without them being discharged. Two novel thruster concepts are proposed. In the first one, particles with low secondary electron emission are charged using energetic electrons in the order of magnitude of 100eV. The second concept charges the particles by contact with needle electrodes at high electrostatic potential (∼20kV). Both methods allow the maximum possible charges on microparticles. © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.
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    Imaging of carrier-envelope phase effects in above-threshold ionization with intense few-cycle laser fields
    (College Park, MD : Institute of Physics Publishing, 2008) Kling, M.F.; Rauschenberger, J.; Verhoef, A.J.; Hasović, E.; Uphues, T.; Milošević, D.B.; Muller, H.G.; Vrakking, M.J.J.
    Sub-femtosecond control of the electron emission in above-threshold ionization of the rare gases Ar, Xe and Kr in intense few-cycle laser fields is reported with full angular resolution. Experimental data that were obtained with the velocity-map imaging technique are compared to simulations using the strong-field approximation (SFA) and full time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE) calculations. We find a pronounced asymmetry in both the energy and angular distributions of the electron emission that critically depends on the carrier-envelope phase (CEP) of the laser field. The potential use of imaging techniques as a tool for single-shot detection of the CEP is discussed. © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.
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    Towards deterministically controlled InGaAs/GaAs lateral quantum dot molecules
    (College Park, MD : Institute of Physics Publishing, 2008) Wang, L.; Rastelli, A.; Kiravittaya, S.; Atkinson, P.; Ding, F.; Bof Bufon, C.C.; Hermannstädter, C.; Witzany, M.; Beirne, G.J.; Michler, P.; Schmidt, O.G.
    We report on the fabrication, detailed characterization and modeling of lateral InGaAs quantum dot molecules (QDMs) embedded in a GaAs matrix and we discuss strategies to fully control their spatial configuration and electronic properties. The three-dimensional morphology of encapsulated QDMs was revealed by selective wet chemical etching of the GaAs top capping layer and subsequent imaging by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The AFM investigation showed that different overgrowth procedures have a profound consequence on the QDM height and shape. QDMs partially capped and annealed in situ for micro- photoluminescence spectroscopy consist of shallow but well-defined quantum dots (QDs) in contrast to misleading results usually provided by surface morphology measurements when they are buried by a thin GaAs layer. This uncapping approach is crucial for determining the QDM structural parameters, which are required for modeling the system. A single-band effective-mass approximation is employed to calculate the confined electron and heavy-hole energy levels, taking the geometry and structural information extracted from the uncapping experiments as inputs. The calculated transition energy of the single QDM shows good agreement with the experimentally observed values. By decreasing the edge-to-edge distance between the two QDs within a QDM, a splitting of the electron (hole) wavefunction into symmetric and antisymmetric states is observed, indicating the presence of lateral coupling. Site control of such lateral QDMs obtained by growth on a pre-patterned substrate, combined with a technology to fabricate gate structures at well-defined positions with respect to the QDMs, could lead to deterministically controlled devices based on QDMs. © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.
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    Engineering the semiconductor/oxide interaction for stacking twin suppression in single crystalline epitaxial silicon(111)/insulator/Si(111) heterostructures
    (College Park, MD : Institute of Physics Publishing, 2008) Schroetter, T.; Zaumseil, P.; Seifarth, O.; Giussani, A.; Müssig, H.-J.; Storck, P.; Geiger, D.; Lichte, H.; Dabrowski, J.
    The integration of alternative semiconductor layers on the Si material platform via oxide heterostructures is of interest to increase the performance and/or functionality of future Si-based integrated circuits. The single crystalline quality of epitaxial (epi) semiconductor-insulator-Si heterostructures is however limited by too high defect densities, mainly due to a lack of knowledge about the fundamental physics of the heteroepitaxy mechanisms at work. To shed light on the physics of stacking twin formation as one of the major defect mechanisms in (111)-oriented fcc-related heterostructures on Si(111), we report a detailed experimental and theoretical study on the structure and defect properties of epi-Si(111)/Y2O 3/Pr2O3/Si(111) heterostructures. Synchrotron radiation-grazing incidence x-ray diffraction (SR-GIXRD) proves that the engineered Y2O3/Pr2O3 buffer dielectric heterostructure on Si(111) allows control of the stacking sequence of the overgrowing single crystalline epi-Si(111) layers. The epitaxy relationship of the epi-Si(111)/insulator/Si(111) heterostructure is characterized by a type A/B/A stacking configuration. Theoretical ab initio calculations show that this stacking sequence control of the heterostructure is mainly achieved by electrostatic interaction effects across the ionic oxide/covalent Si interface (IF). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies detect only a small population of misaligned type B epi-Si(111) stacking twins whose location is limited to the oxide/epiSi IF region. Engineering the oxide/semiconductor IF physics by using tailored oxide systems opens thus a promising approach to grow heterostructures with well-controlled properties. © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.
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    Towards time resolved core level photoelectron spectroscopy with femtosecond x-ray free-electron lasers
    (College Park, MD : Institute of Physics Publishing, 2008) Pietzsch, A.; Föhlisch, A.; Beye, M.; Deppe, M.; Hennies, F.; Nagasono, M.; Suljotil, E.; Wurth, W.; Gahl, C.; Dörich, K.; Melnikov, A.
    We have performed core level photoelectron spectroscopy on a W(110) single crystal with femtosecond XUV pulses from the free-electron laser at Hamburg (FLASH). We demonstrate experimentally and through theoretical modelling that for a suitable range of photon fluences per pulse, time-resolved photoemission experiments on solid surfaces are possible. Using FLASH pulses in combination with a synchronized optical laser, we have performed femtosecond time-resolved core-level photoelectron spectroscopy and observed sideband formation on the W 4f lines indicating a cross correlation between femtosecond optical and XUV pulses. © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.
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    Interference in strong-field ionization of a two-centre atomic system
    (College Park, MD : Institute of Physics Publishing, 2008) Ansari, Z.; Böttcher, M.; Manschwetus, B.; Rottke, H.; Sandner, W.; Verhoef, A.; Lezius, M.; Paulus, G.G.; Saenz, A.; Milošević, D.B.
    Strong-field photoionization of argon dimers by a few-cycle laser pulse is investigated using electron-ion coincidence momentum spectroscopy. The momentum distribution of the photoelectrons exhibits interference due to the emission from the two atomic argon centres, in analogy with a Young's doubleslit experiment. However, a simulation of the dimer photoelectron momentum spectrum based on the atomic spectrum supplemented with a theoretically derived interference term leads to distinct deviations from the experimental result. The deviations may have their origin in a complex electron dynamics during strong-field ionization of the Ar2 dimer. © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.
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    Attosecond electron thermalization in laser-induced nonsequential multiple ionization: Hard versus glancing collisions
    (College Park, MD : Institute of Physics Publishing, 2008) Liu, X.; De Morisson Faria, C.F.; Becker, W.
    A recollision-based largely classical statistical model of laser-induced nonsequential multiple (N-fold) ionization of atoms is further explored. Upon its return to the ionic core, the first-ionized electron interacts with the other N - 1 bound electrons either through a contact or a Coulomb interaction. The returning electron may leave either immediately after this interaction or join the other electrons to form a thermalized complex which leaves the ion after the delay Δt, which is the sum of a thermalization time and a possible additional dwell time. Good agreement with the available triple and quadruple ionization data in neon and argon is obtained with the contact scenario and delays of Δt = 0.17 T and 0.265 T, respectively, with T the laser period. © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.