Rectification at Graphene-Semiconductor Interfaces: Zero-Gap Semiconductor Based Diodes

Using current-voltage (I-V) and capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements, we report on the unusual physics and promising technical applications associated with the formation of Schottky barriers at the interface of a one-atom-thick zero-gap semiconductor (graphene) and conventional semiconductors. When chemical vapor deposited graphene is transferred onto n-type Si, GaAs, 4H-SiC and GaN semiconductor substrates, there is a strong van der Waals attraction that is accompanied by charge transfer across the interface and the formation of a rectifying (Schottky) barrier. Thermionic emission theory in conjunction with the Schottky-Mott model within the context of bond-polarization theory provides a surprisingly good description of the electrical properties. Applications, such as to sensors where in forward bias there is exponential sensitivity to changes in the Schottky barrier height due to the presence of absorbates on the graphene or to analogue devices for which Schottky barriers are integral components are promising because of graphenes mechanical stability, its resistance to diffusion, its robustness at high temperatures and its demonstrated capability to embrace multiple functionalities.

B-Physics Observables and Electroweak Precision Data in the CMSSM, mGMSB and mAMSB

We explore electroweak precision observables (EWPO) and $B$-physics observables (BPO) in the CMSSM, the mGMSB and the mAMSB. We perform a chi^2 analysis based on the combination of current EWPO and BPO data. For the first time this allows the comparison of the mGMSB and mAMSB in terms of EWPO and BPO with the CMSSM. We find that relatively low mass scales in all three scenarios are favored. However, the current data from EWPO and BPO can hardly exclude any parameters at the level of Delta chi^2 = 9. Remarkably the mAMSB scenario, despite having one free GUT scale parameter less than the other two scenarios, has a somewhat lower total minimum chi^2. We present predictions for the lightest Higgs boson mass, based on the chi^2 analysis of current data, where relatively good compatibility with the bounds from Higgs searches at LEP is found. We also present the predictions for other Higgs sector parameters and SUSY mass scales, allowing to compare the reach of the LHC and the ILC in the three scenarios. We furthermore explore the future sensitivities of the EWPO and BPO for the current best-fit results and for a hypothetical point with somewhat higher mass scales that results in a similar Higgs and SUSY spectrum in the three scenarios. We find that the future improvement of the accuracy of the EWPO and BPO will lead to a significant gain in the indirect parameter determination. The improvement is similar in the CMSSM, mGMSB and mAMSB and will yield constraints to the parameter space even for heavy Higgs and SUSY mass scales.

Activation of additional energy dissipation processes in the magnetization dynamics of epitaxial chromium dioxide films

The precessional magnetization dynamics of a chromium dioxide$(100)$ film is examined in an all-optical pump-probe setup. The frequency dependence on the external field is used to extract the uniaxial in-plane anisotropy constant. The damping shows a strong dependence on the frequency, but also on the laser pump fluency, which is revealed as an important experiment parameter in this work: above a certain threshold further channels of energy dissipation open and the damping increases discontinuously. This behavior might stem from spin-wave instabilities.