Holes bound as small polarons to acceptor defects in oxide materials: why are their thermal ionization energies so high?

Holes bound to acceptor defects in oxide materials usually need comparatively high energies, of the order of 0.5-1.0 eV, to be ionized thermally to the valence band maximum. It is discussed that this has to be attributed to the stabilization of such holes by mainly short range interactions with the surrounding lattice, leading to the formation of small O(-) polarons. This is tantamount to the localization of the hole at only one of several equivalent oxygen ions next to the defect. The hole stabilizing energies can be determined experimentally from the related intense optical absorption bands. This paper exploits previous phenomenological studies of bound-hole small polarons in order to account for the large hole stabilization energies on this basis. A compilation demonstrates that bound-hole small polarons occur rather often in oxides and also in some related materials. The identification of such systems is based on EPR and optical studies and also on recent advanced electronic structure calculations.

Electron small polarons and bipolarons in LiNbO(3).

An overview of the properties of electron small polarons and bipolarons is given, which can occur in the congruently melting composition of LiNbO(3) (LN). Such polarons influence the performance of this important optical material decisively. Since coupling to the lattice strongly quenches the tunnelling of free small polarons in general, they are easily localized at one site even by weak irregularities of a crystal. The mechanism of their optical absorptions is thus shared with those of small polarons localized by binding to selected defects. It is shown that the optical properties of free electrons in LN as well as those bound to Nb(Li) antisite defects can be attributed consistently to small polarons. This is extended to electron pairs forming bipolarons bound to Nb(Li)-Nb(Nb) nearest neighbours in the LN ground state. On the basis of an elementary phenomenological approach, relying on familiar concepts of defect physics, the peak energies, lineshapes, widths of the related optical absorption bands as well as the defect binding energies induced by lattice distortion are analysed. A criterion universally identifying small polaron absorption bands in oxide materials is pointed out. For the bipolarons, the dissociation energy, 0.27 eV, derived from a corresponding study of the mass action behaviour, is shown to be consistent with the data on isolated polarons. Based on experience with simple O(-) hole small polaron systems, a mechanism is proposed which explains why the observed small polaron optical absorptions are higher above the peak energies of the bands than those predicted by the conventional theory. The parameters characterizing the optical absorptions are seen to be fully consistent with those determining the electrical conductivity, i.e. the bipolaron dissociation energy and the positions of the defect levels as well as the activation energy of mobility. A reinterpretation of previous thermopower data of reduced LN on the basis of the bipolaron model confirms that the mobility of the free polarons is activated by 0.27 eV. On the basis of the level scheme of the bipolarons as well as the bound and free polarons the temperature dependence of the electronic conductivity is explained. The polaron/bipolaron concept also allows us to account for the concentrations of the various polaron species under the combined influence of illumination and heating. The decay of free and bound polarons dissociated from bipolarons by intense short laser pulses of 532 nm light is put in the present context. A critical review of alternative models, being proposed to explain the mentioned absorption features, is given. These proposals include: single free polarons in the (diamagnetic) LN ground state, oxygen vacancies in their various conceivable charge states, quadpolarons, etc. It is shown why these models cannot explain the experimental findings consistently.

[CO2 angiography: measuring blood flow with injected gas bubbles]. / CO2-Angiographie: Blutflussmessung mit injizierten Gasblasen.

The use of CO2 gas as a contrast medium for visualizing blood vessels has been considerably facilitated by the development of a gas metering device for mechanical injection of CO2. The present paper describes the possibility of using CO2 not only for visualizing blood vessel morphology, but also for the diagnostic evaluation of the haemodynamics within the vessels. For this reason in vitro experiments with an artery simulation model were undertaken to examine the behaviour of injected gas bubbles. The information thus obtained was then translated to animal experiments.