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It is well known that surface-plasmon enhanced photo-electrochemical effect or photo-thermal effect of metallic particles on a semiconductor substrate or in a suspension may result in color changes. Such character could be potentially applicable to colorimetric sensors, optical filters, and data storage devices. However, usually the response time for color changes is too long to be practically applied. In this letter, we found that the response rate of color changes could be controlled by the annealing condition of the semiconductor substrate, and changes larger than 10% in spectra were observed after only 1-min exposure to light. Furthermore, such fast response was applied to realize wavelength-dependent “write” and “read” applications with high spatial resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The detailed crystal structure and antiferromagnetic properties of a 42 nm thick CaMnO3 film grown on a LaAlO3 substrate with a 9 nm La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 buffer layer have been investigated. Compared with a CaMnO3 film directly grown on a LaAlO3 substrate, only one kind of orthorhombic b axis orientation along the [100] axis of the substrate is observed in the CaMnO3 film with a La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 buffer layer. To determine the antiferromagnetic ordering type of our CaMnO3 film with a buffer layer, the first-principles calculations were carried out with the results, indicating that the CaMnO3 film, even under a tensile strain of 1.9%, is still a compensated G-type antiferromagnetic order, the same as the bulk. Moreover, the exchange bias effect is observed at the interface of the CaMnO3/La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 film, further confirming the antiferromagnetic ordering of the CaMnO3 film with a buffer layer. In addition, it is concluded that the exchange bias effect originates from the spin glass state at the La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 interface, which arises from a competition between the double-exchange ferromagnetic La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 and super-exchange antiferromagnetic CaMnO3 below the spin glass freezing temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crystal structures and magnetic properties of the 40 nm brownmillerite SrMnO2.5 film, perovskite SrMnO3-δ film, and mixed-phase film have been systematically investigated. The features of the oxygen vacancy ordering superstructure in the brownmillerite SrMnO2.5 film are observed from HRSTEM as follows: the dark stripes with a periodicity of four (110) planes of the cubic perovskite appearing at an angle of 45° with the substrate-film interface and extra reflection spots in fast Fourier transformation patterns along the (001) plane. When annealing the brownmillerite SrMnO2.5 film under higher oxygen pressure, the top portion undergoes structure transition into perovskite SrMnO3-δ as seen in the mixed-phase film consisting of the perovskite SrMnO3-δ phase dominating at the top part and the brownmillerite SrMnO2.5 phase dominating at the bottom part. The magnetic properties and Mn valences of the brownmillerite SrMnO2.5 film indicate that this film, similar to the bulk, is antiferromagnetic with TN at 375 K. However, the strained tetragonal perovskite SrMnO3-δ film exhibits ferromagnetic behavior with Curie temperature at 75K and a saturation magnetization of 2.5μB/Mn at 2 K. Moreover, the top perovskite SrMnO3-δ phase of the mixed-phase film also exhibits ferromagnetic behavior evidenced by the existence of the exchange bias. We propose that the ferromagnetic properties in both the perovskite SrMnO3-δ film and the top perovskite SrMnO3-δ phase in the mixed-phase film originate from Mn3+-Mn4+ double exchange coupling. However, the formation of Mn3+ differs for the two samples in that it is caused by oxygen vacancies in the former and the distribution of oxygen content across the film during annealing in the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanocrystalline antiperovskite GaNxMn3 powders were prepared by mechanically milling. The micrograin GaNxMn3 exhibits an abrupt volume contraction at the antiferromagnetic (AFM) to paramagnetic (PM) (AFM-PM) transition. The temperature window of volume contraction (ΔT) is broadened to 50 K as the average grain size (〈D〉) is reduced to ~30 nm. The corresponding coefficient of linear thermal expansion (α) reaches ~ -70 ppm/K, which are comparable to those of giant NTE materials. Further reducing 〈D〉 to ~10 nm, ΔT exceeds 100 K and α remains as large as -30 ppm/K (-21 ppm/K) for x = 1.0 (x = 0.9). Excess atomic displacements together with the reduced structural coherence, revealed by high-energy X-ray pair distribution functions, are suggested to delay the AFM-PM transition. By controlling 〈D〉, giant NTE may also be achievable in other materials with large lattice contraction due to electronic or magnetic phase transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bulk multiferroic ScMnO3 is the stable hexagonal phase, and it is very difficult to prepare its perovskite orthorhombic phase even under high pressure. We fabricated the orthorhombic ScMnO3 thin film by pulsed laser deposition through suitable substrate LaAlO3 and found that nano-scale twin-like domains are naturally formed in the thin film. Magnetic properties of the orthorhombic ScMnO3 thin films show that, besides normal antiferromagnetic ordering at 47 K, an anomalous magnetic transition occurs at 27K for 60 nm film and at 36K for 150 nm film only along the c-axis, which is absent in the ab-plane. Moreover, the second magnetic transition for both films is suppressed when the applied field increases from 1 kOe to 10 kOe. In addition, the ferromagnetism shows up in both films at 10 K, and saturation magnetization increases dramatically in 60 nm film compared with 150 nm film. We propose that the second magnetic transition might be more of lattice strain effect and also related to magnetism-induced ferroelectric polarization in orthorhombic RMnO3 thin films and low-temperature ferromagnetic properties in our films originate from the nano-scale twin-like domain structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate a frequency comb source based on a mid-infrared quantum cascade laser at k ~ 9 μm with high power output. A broad flat-top gain with near-zero group velocity dispersion has been engineered using a dual-core active region structure. This favors the locking of the dispersed Fabry-Perot modes into equally spaced frequency lines via four wave mixing. A current range with a narrow intermode beating linewidth of 3 kHz is identified with a fast detector and spectrum analyzer. This range corresponds to a broad spectral coverage of 65 cm-1 and a high power output of 180 mW for ~176 comb modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A technique based on composite quantum wells for design and growth of strain balanced Al0.63In0.37As/Ga0.35In0.65As/Ga0.47In0.53As quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) by molecular beamepitaxy (MBE), emitting in 5.2-11 μm wavelength range, is reported. The strained Al0.63In0.37Asprovides good electron confinement at all wavelengths, and strain balancing can be achievedthrough composite wells of Gao.35In0.65As/Ga0.47In0.53As for different wavelength. The use ofthese fixed composition materials can avoid the need for frequent calibration of a MBE reactor togrow active regions with different strain levels for different wavelengths. Experimental results for QCLs emitting at 5.2, 6.7, 8.2, 9.1, and 11 μm exhibit good wall plug efficiencies and power acrossthe whole wavelength range. It is shown that the emission wavelength can be predictably changedusing the same design template. These lasers are also compatible with a heterogeneous broadbandactive region, consisting of multiple QCL cores, which can be produced in a single growth run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BiFeO3 films with in-plane compressive strain of -3.5% were deposited on oxygen-deficient La0.3Sr0.7MnO3-δ buffered SrTiO3(001) substrates. This highly strained BiFeO3 does not relax directly into its rhombohedral parent phase upon increasing the film thickness. Instead, a multi-step path involving structural transitions is observed. The misfit stress is first accommodated by the occurrence of true tetragonal BiFeO3 with c/a ratio of 1.23, then reduced by the transformation to the MC-type monoclinic structure, and finally alleviated through the MC-rhombohedral transition. Moreover, this process enables the formation of strain-driven morphotropic phase boundaries at a stress level much lower than the reported threshold of -4.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]