Abstract: Evolution of crystalline phases with temperature has been studied in materials produced by high-pressure high-temperature treatment of 9-borabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane dimer (9BBN), triphenylborane and trimesitylborane. The boron-doped diamond nanoparticles with a size below 10 nm were obtained at 8–9 GPa and temperatures 970–1250 °C from 9BBN only. Bridged structure and the presence of boron atom in the carbon cycle of 9BBN were revealed to be a key point for the direct synthesis of doped diamond nanocrystals. The diffusional transformation of the disordered carbon phase is suggested to be the main mechanism of the nanodiamond formation from 9BBN in the temperature range of 970–1400 °C. Aqueous suspensions of primary boron-doped diamond nanocrystals were prepared upon removal of non-diamond phases that opens wide opportunities for application of this new nanomaterial in electronics and biotechnologies.

Abstract: The amorphous oxide semiconductor Indium-Gallium-Zinc-Oxide (a-IGZO) has gained a large technological relevance as a semiconductor for thin-film transistors in active-matrix displays. Yet, major questions remain unanswered regarding the atomic origin of threshold voltage control, doping level, hysteresis, negative bias stress (NBS), and negative bias illumination stress (NBIS). We undertake a systematic study of the effects of oxygen vacancies on the properties of a-IGZO by relating experimental observations to microscopic insights gained from first-principle simulations. It is found that the amorphous nature of the semiconductor allows unusually large atomic relaxations. In some cases, oxygen vacancies are found to behave as perfect shallow donors without the formation of structural defects. Once structural defects are formed, their transition states can vary upon charge and discharge cycles. We associate this phenomenon to a possible presence of hysteresis in the transfer curve of the devices. Under NBS, the creation of oxygen vacancies becomes energetically very stable, hence thermodynamically very likely. This generation process is correlated with the occurrence of the negative bias stress instabilities observed in a-IGZO transistors. While oxygen vacancies can therefore be related to NBS and hysteresis, it appears unlikely from our results that they are direct causes of NBIS, contrary to common belief.

Abstract: In this work, a simple method to measure the indirect band gap of diamond with electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is showed. The authors discuss the momentum space resolution achievable with EELS and the possibility of deliberately selecting specific transitions of interest. Based on a simple 2 parabolic band model of the band structure, the authors extend our predictions from the direct band gap case discussed in previous work, to the case of an indirect band gap. Finally, the authors point out the emerging possibility to partly reconstruct the band structure with EELS exploiting our simplified model of inelastic scattering and support it with experiments on diamond.

Abstract: We investigate the influence of a periodic weak modulation along the x direction on the electrical and thermal properties of a two-dimensional electron gas in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field. The modulation lifts the degeneracy of the Landau levels and leads to one-dimensional magnetic bands whose bandwidth oscillates as a function of the magnetic field. At weak magnetic fields this gives rise to the Weiss oscillations in the magnetoresistance, discovered recently, which have a very weakly temperature-dependent amplitude and a period proportional to square-root n(e), when n(e) is the electron density. Diffusion-current contributions, proportional to the square of the bandwidth, dominate rho(xx), and collisional contributions, varying approximately as the square of the density of states, dominate rho(yy). The result is that rho(xx) and rho(yy) oscillate out of phase as observed. Asymptotic analytical expressions are presented for the conductivity tensor. Similar oscillations, of much smaller amplitude, occur in the thermodynamic quantities, such as the magnetization, the susceptibility, and the specific heat. We also predict oscillations in the Hall resistance, the cyclotron resonance position, the linewidth, as well as in the thermal conductivity and thermopower. The components of the thermal-resistance tensor have a magnetic-field dependence similar to that of the electrical-resistivity tensor.

Abstract: The effects of interface optical-phonon and confined slab LO-phonon modes on the polaron cyclotron-resonance frequency are investigated for a GaAs/AlAs quantum well. Using degenerate second-order perturbation theory, the polaron Landau levels are calculated and the polaron resonant region is investigated. In order to know the relative importance of the different resonant frequencies we present a full calculation of the magneto-optical absorption spectrum. At a fixed magnetic field we found four different peaks in the absorption spectrum. The relative oscillator strength of the different peaks changes with increasing magnetic field. For comparative purposes, the polaron Landau levels and cyclotron mass are also calculated using only the bulk LO-phonon modes. The influence of the finiteness of the confinement potential is investigated. We found that the interface-phonon modes influence the magnetopolaron resonance considerably near the optical-phonon frequencies for narrow wells. In the limit of zero magnetic field we recover our previous results and in the case of an infinite-barrier quantum well we are able to recover the results for a two- and three-dimensional system.