No Arabic abstract
Structures and electronic properties of rhombohedral [111] and [110] bismuth nanowires are calculated with the use of density functional theory. The formation of an energy band gap from quantum confinement is studied and to improve estimates for the band gap the GW approximation is applied. The [111] oriented nanowires require surface bonds to be chemically saturated to avoid formation of metallic surface states whereas the surface of the [110] nanowires do not support metallic surface states. It is found that the onset of quantum confinement in the surface passivated [111] nanowires occurs at larger critical dimensions than for the [110] nanowires. For the [111] oriented nanowires it is predicted that a band gap of approximately 0.5 eV can be formed at a diameter of approximately 6 nm, whereas for the [110] oriented nanowires a diameter of approximately 3 nm is required to achieve a similar band gap energy. The GW correction is also applied to estimates of the electron affinity, ionisation potentials and work functions for both orientations of the nanowires for various diameters below 5 nm. The magnitude of the energy band gaps that arise in bismuth at critical dimensions of a few nanometers are of the same order as for conventional bulk semiconductors.
In this paper we review the theory of silicon nanowires. We focus on nanowires with diameters below 10 nm, where quantum effects become important and the properties diverge significantly from those of bulk silicon. These wires can be efficiently treated within electronic structure simulation methods and will be among the most important functional blocks of future nanoelectronic devices. Firstly, we review the structural properties of silicon nanowires, emphasizing the close connection between the growth orientation, the cross-section and the bounding facets. Secondly, we discuss the electronic structure of pristine and doped nanowires, which hold the ultimate key for their applicability in novel electronic devices. Finally, we review transport properties where some of the most important limitations in the performances of nanowire-based devices can lay. Many of the unique properties of these systems are at the same time defying challenges and opportunities for great technological advances.
Structural, electronic and magnetic properties were calculated for the optimized $alpha$-U/W(110) thin films (TFs) within the density functional theory. Our optimization for 1U/7W(110) shows that the U-W vertical interlayer spacing (ILS) is expanded by 14.0% compared to our calculated bulk W-W ILS. Spin and orbital magnetic moments (MMs) per U atom were found to be enhanced from zero for the bulk of $alpha$-U to 1.4 $mu_B$ and -0.4 $mu_B$ at the interface of the 1U/7W(110), respectively. Inversely, our result for 3U/7W(110) TFs shows that the surface U-U ILS is contracted by 15.7% compared to our obtained bulk U-U spacing. The enhanced spin and orbital MMs in the 1U/7W(110) were then found to be suppressed in 3U/7W(110) to their ignorable bulk values. The calculated density of states (DOS) corroborates the enhancement and suppression of the MMs and shows that the total DOS, in agreement with experiment, is dominated in the vicinity of Fermi level by the 5f U states. Proximity and mismatch effects of the nonmagnetic W(110) substrate were assessed and found to be important for this system.
We investigate electronic and transport properties of bismuth (111) bilayer in the context of stability of its topological properties against different perturbations. The effects of spin-orbit coupling variations, geometry relaxation and an interaction with a substrate are considered. Transport properties are studied in the presence of Anderson disorder. Band structure calculations are performed within multi-orbital tight-binding model and density functional theory methods. A band inversion process in bismuth (111) infinite bilayer and an evolution of edge states dispersion in ribbons as a function of spin-orbit coupling strength are analyzed. A significant change of orbital composition of the conduction and valence bands during a topological phase transition is observed. A topological phase is shown to be robust when the effect of geometry relaxation is taken into account. An interaction with a substrate has similar effect to an external perpendicular electric field. The robust quantized conductance is observed when the Fermi energy lies within the bulk energy gap, where only two counter-propagating edge states are present. For energies where the Fermi level crosses more in-gap states, a scattering is possible between channels lying close in $k-$space. When the energy of edge states overlaps with bulk states, no topological protection is observed.
A theory of the electronic structure and excitonic absorption spectra of PbS and PbSe nanowires and nanorods in the framework of a four-band effective mass model is presented. Calculations conducted for PbSe show that dielectric contrast dramatically strengthens the exciton binding in narrow nanowires and nanorods. However, the self-interaction energies of the electron and hole nearly cancel the Coulomb binding, and as a result the optical absorption spectra are practically unaffected by the strong dielectric contrast between PbSe and the surrounding medium. Measurements of the size-dependent absorption spectra of colloidal PbSe nanorods are also presented. Using room-temperature energy-band parameters extracted from the optical spectra of spherical PbSe nanocrystals, the theory provides good quantitative agreement with the measured spectra.
The electronic properties and nanostructure of InAs nanowires are correlated by creating multiple field effect transistors (FETs) on nanowires grown to have low and high defect density segments. 4.2 K carrier mobilities are ~4X larger in the nominally defect-free segments of the wire. We also find that dark field optical intensity is correlated with the mobility, suggesting a simple route for selecting wires with a low defect density. At low temperatures, FETs fabricated on high defect density segments of InAs nanowires showed transport properties consistent with single electron charging, even on devices with low resistance ohmic contacts. The charging energies obtained suggest quantum dot formation at defects in the wires. These results reinforce the importance of controlling the defect density in order to produce high quality electrical and optical devices using InAs nanowires.