ABSTRACT
Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry is used to extract a quantitative 3D composition profile of heterostructured nanowires. The analysis of hypermaps recorded along a limited number of projections, with a preliminary calibration of the signal associated with each element, is compared to the intensity profiles calculated for a model structure with successive shells of circular, elliptic, or faceted cross sections. This discrete tomographic technique is applied to II-VI nanowires grown by molecular beam epitaxy, incorporating ZnTe and CdTe and their alloys with Mn and Mg, with typical size down to a few nanometers and Mn or Mg content as low as 10%.
ABSTRACT
Gold-catalyzed ZnTe nanowires were grown at low temperature by molecular beam epitaxy on a ZnTe(111) B buffer layer, under different II/VI flux ratios, including with CdTe insertions. High-resolution electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) gave information about the crystal structure, polarity, and growth mechanisms. We observe, under stoichiometric conditions, the simultaneous presence of zinc-blende and wurtzite nanowires spread homogeneously on the same sample. Wurtzite nanowires are cylinder-shaped with a pyramidal-structured base. Zinc-blende nanowires are cone-shaped with a crater at their base. Both nanowires and substrate show a Te-ended polarity. Te-rich conditions favor zinc-blende nanowires, while Zn-rich suppress nanowire growth. Using a diffusion-driven growth model, we present a criterion for the existence of a crater or a pyramid at the base of the nanowires. The difference in nanowire morphology indicates lateral growth only for zinc-blende nanowires. The role of the direct impinging flux on the nanowire's sidewall is discussed.
ABSTRACT
Epitaxial semiconductor quantum dots are particularly promising as realistic single-photon sources for their compatibility with manufacturing techniques and possibility to be implemented in compact devices. Here, we demonstrate for the first time single-photon emission up to room temperature from an epitaxial quantum dot inserted in a nanowire, namely a CdSe slice in a ZnSe nanowire. The exciton and biexciton lines can still be resolved at room temperature and the biexciton turns out to be the most appropriate transition for single-photon emission due to a large nonradiative decay of the bright exciton to dark exciton states. With an intrinsically short radiative decay time (≈300 ps) this system is the fastest room temperature single-photon emitter, allowing potentially gigahertz repetition rates.
Subject(s)
Cadmium Compounds/chemistry , Crystallization/methods , Nanotubes/chemistry , Nanotubes/ultrastructure , Quantum Dots , Selenium Compounds/chemistry , Zinc Compounds/chemistry , Materials Testing , Photons , TemperatureABSTRACT
The evolution of the magnetization in (Cd,Mn)Te quantum wells after a short pulse of magnetic field was determined from the giant Zeeman shift of spectroscopic lines. The dynamics in the absence of a static magnetic field was found to be up to 3 orders of magnitude faster than that at 1 T. Hyperfine interaction and strain are mainly responsible for the fast decay. The influence of a hole gas is clearly visible: at zero field anisotropic holes stabilize the system of Mn ions, while in a magnetic field of 1 T they are known to speed up the decay by opening an additional relaxation channel.
ABSTRACT
Short-term and long-term outcomes of basal brain activity were estimated in 20 epileptic patients with a medical history of callosotomy. Patients with malignant courses selected for callosotomy retained the high capacity of cerebral electric activity after surgery. In spite of limitations of bilateral synchronized irradiation of electric discharges in the brain, patients had the high power of cerebral electric genesis. A clinical study revealed the decrease of the number of seizures and their severity in patients who underwent the surgery. Thus, callosotomy plays only a palliative role in epileptic processes. Of primary importance is individual selection of anti-epileptic drugs to support cell mechanisms of epilepsy and improvement of treatment outcomes.
Subject(s)
Brain Mapping/methods , Brain Neoplasms/surgery , Corpus Callosum/surgery , Electroencephalography/methods , Epilepsy/surgery , Neurosurgical Procedures/methods , Epilepsy/epidemiology , Epilepsy/physiopathology , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Prevalence , Prognosis , Time FactorsABSTRACT
CdSe/ZnSe quantum dot formation is investigated by studying different steps of the growth. To precisely control the critical thickness of CdSe grown on a ZnSe buffer layer, the CdSe self-regulated growth rate in atomic layer epitaxy growth mode is determined by reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) measurements for a temperature range between 180 and 280 °C. Then, the two-dimensional-three-dimensional (2D-3D) transition of a strained CdSe layer on (001)-ZnSe induced by the use of amorphous selenium is studied. The formation of CdSe islands is found when 3 monolayers (ML) of CdSe are deposited. When only 2.5 ML of CdSe are deposited, another relaxation mechanism is observed, leading to the appearance of strong undulations on the surface. We also studied the evolution of the surface morphology when 2.7 ML are deposited, to study the boundary between those two phenomena. The influence of capping on quantum dot morphology is investigated. It is found that cadmium is redistributed within the layer during capping. Our results show that the cadmium distribution after capping depends on the capping temperature and on the strain of the CdSe layer. Cadmium incorporation after capping is also studied. It is found that the amount of incorporated cadmium depends on the strain of the CdSe layer before capping.
ABSTRACT
We study the absorption by neutral excitons and positively charged excitons (trions) following a femtosecond, circularly polarized, resonant pump pulse. Three populations are involved: free holes, excitons, and trions, all exhibiting transient spin polarization. In particular, a polarization of the gas of free holes is created by the formation of trions. The evolution of these populations is described, including spin flip and trion formation. We evaluate the contributions of phase space filling and spin-dependent screening. We propose a new explanation of the oscillator strength stealing phenomena observed in doped quantum wells, based on the screening of neutral excitons by charge carriers. We have also found that binding holes into charged excitons excludes them from the interaction with the rest of the system, so that oscillator strength stealing is partially blocked.
ABSTRACT
A strong influence of illumination and electric bias on the Curie temperature and saturation value of the magnetization is demonstrated for semiconductor structures containing a modulation-doped p-type Cd(0.96)Mn(0.04)Te quantum well placed in various built-in electric fields. It is shown that both light beam and bias voltage generate an isothermal and reversible crossover between the paramagnetic and ferromagnetic phases, in the way that is predetermined by the structure design. The observed behavior is in quantitative agreement with the expectations for systems, in which ferromagnetic interactions are mediated by the weakly disordered two-dimensional hole liquid.
ABSTRACT
The dependence of the optical absorption spectrum of a semiconductor quantum well on two-dimensional electron concentration n(e) is studied using CdTe samples. The trion peak (X-) seen at low n(e) evolves smoothly into the Fermi edge singularity at high n(e). The exciton peak (X) moves off to high energy, weakens, and disappears. The X,X- splitting is linear in n(e) and closely equal to the Fermi energy plus the trion binding energy. For Cd0.998Mn0.002Te quantum wells in a magnetic field, the X,X- splitting reflects unequal Fermi energies for M = +/-1/2 electrons. The data are explained by Hawrylak's theory of the many-body optical response including spin effects.
