Interfacial chemistry in a ZnTe/CdSe superlattice studied by atom probe tomography and transmission electron microscopy strain measurements.

The atomic scale analysis of a ZnTe/CdSe superlattice grown by molecular beam epitaxy is reported using atom probe tomography and strain measurements from high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy images. CdTe interfaces were grown by atomic layer epitaxy to prevent the spontaneous formation of ZnSe bonds. Both interfaces between ZnTe and CdSe are composed of alloyed layers of ZnSe. Pure CdTe interfaces are not observed and Zn atoms are also visible in the CdSe layers. This information is critical to design superlattices with the expected optoelectronic properties.

Mid-infrared emission from In(Ga)Sb layers on InAs(Sb).

We demonstrate infrared light emission from thin epitaxially-grown In(Ga)Sb layers in InAs(Sb) matrices across a wide range (3-8 µm) of the mid-infrared spectral range. Our structures are characterized by x-ray diffraction, photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Emission is characterized by temperature- and power-dependent infrared step-scan photoluminescence spectroscopy. The epitaxial In(Ga)Sb layers are observed to form either quantum wells, quantum dots, or disordered quantum wells, depending on the insertion layer and substrate material composition. The observed optical properties of the monolayer-scale insertions are correlated to their structural properties, as determined by transmission electron and atomic force microscopy.

Metal-insulator transition and its relation to magnetic structure in (LaMnO3)2n/(SrMnO3)n superlattices.

Superlattices of (LaMnO3){2n}/(SrMnO3){n} (1or=3. Measurements of transport, magnetization, and polarized neutron reflectivity reveal that the ferromagnetism is relatively uniform in the metallic state, and is strongly modulated in the insulating state, being high in LaMnO3 and suppressed in SrMnO3. The modulation is consistent with a Mott transition driven by the proximity between the (LaMnO3)/(SrMnO3) interfaces. The insulating state for n>or=3 obeys variable range hopping at low temperatures. We suggest that this is due to states at the Fermi level that emerge at the (LaMnO3)/(SrMnO3) interfaces and are localized by disorder.

Experimental measurement of electron diffuse scattering in magnetite using energy-filter and imaging plates

We have measured the diffuse scattering in magnetite as a function of temperature using the LEO 912Ohms energy-filtering electron microscope and the imaging plates. This study takes the advantage of the Koehler illumination system, energy filtering and the imaging plates for recording electron diffraction pattern over a large dynamic range. The experiment clearly shows a quantitative change in diffuse scattering distribution, which has the characteristics of one-dimensional ordering. This study clearly demonstrates the possibility for the quantitative study of diffuse scattering using electron diffraction.

Surface structural sensitivity of convergent-beam RHEED: Si (0 0 1) 2 x 1 models compared with dynamical simulations

The aim of this work is to evaluate the sensitivity of convergent-beam RHEED for the refinement of surface atomic structure. We have compared experimental and theoretical convergent-beam RHEED patterns from the silicon (0 0 1) reconstructed surface. The experiment was carried out in a custom designed UHV diffraction camera,using a micron sized probe. Both experimental and theoretical CB-RHEED patterns show complex details, highly sensitive to the surface structure. The multiple scattering simulations were based on two experimental structural models which make different assumptions for dimer tilt, one derived from X-ray diffraction results, and another from LEED data. The simulated CB-RHEED patterns using the X-ray model were found to be in closer agreement with our experiment than the LEED model. However, the agreement is not entirely satisfactory, suggesting that further improvement on this model is necessary.

Dynamic inversion by the method of generalized projections.

A new approach to the inversion problem of dynamical transmission electron diffraction is described, based on the method of generalized projections in set theory. An algorithm is described that projects between two sets of constrained scattering matrices. This iterative process can be shown to converge, giving the required structure factors (for some choice of origin) if the sets are convex. For the dynamical inversion problem, the set topology is that of an N(2) torus, the sets are not convex, and traps are therefore sometimes encountered. These can be distinguished from solutions, allowing the algorithm to be restarted until a solution is found. Examples of successful inversion from simulated multiple-scattering data are given, which therefore solve the phase problem of electron diffraction for centrosymmetric or noncentrosymmetric crystal structures. The method may also be useful for the three-beam X-ray diffraction problem.

Lattice dynamics and Debye-Waller factors of some compounds with the sodium chloride structure.

The lattice dynamics of 19 compounds with the sodium chloride structure have been investigated using shell models. The models are compared with existing experimentally measured phonon-dispersion curves and refined using a multidimensional downhill simplex method. Debye-Waller factors for these compounds are calculated over the temperature range from 1 to 1000 K where appropriate and the results are fitted analytically using polynomial regression. The results are compared with experimentally measured room-temperature Debye-Waller factors and for most of the compounds the agreement is found to be better than 10%. At lower temperatures, it is expected that these results would be more accurate, since the harmonic approximation, which is crucial to the calculation of the Debye-Waller factors, works better. In choosing the models for particular applications, it is recommended that the model with the smallest standard error sigma is used for fitting the experimentally measured phonon-dispersion curves, or the model that shows best agreement with reliable experimental measurements of more relevant physical quantities, such as Debye-Waller factors in crystallography.

Anisotropic dispersion of the band structure and formation of ring patterns in CBED.

An off-axis ring pattern was observed in the <1-11> zone-axis CBED pattern of an NiO single crystal. The pattern was interpreted as resulting from anisotropic dispersion of the band structure of the two most strongly excited free Bloch waves and strong absorption of the most tightly bound 1s Bloch state. Comparison has also been made with the case of MgO which has the same structure as NiO but weaker scattering power. The tightly bound 1s Bloch state in MgO was found to play an important role together with a strongly excited free Bloch state and a more conventional zone-axis ring pattern similar to that observed in the <001> zone-axis CBED pattern of silicon was observed.