Anisotropic Electron Research Articles

Unraveling intrinsic mobility limits in two-dimensional (AlxGa1−x)2O3 alloys

β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 presents a diverse material characterization exhibiting exceptional electrical and optical properties. Considering the miniaturization of gallium oxide devices, two-dimensional (AlxGa1−x)2O3 alloys, as a critical component in the formation of two-dimensional electron gases, demand an in-depth examination of their carrier transport properties. Herein, we investigate the temperature-dependent carrier mobility and scattering mechanisms of quasi-two-dimensional (2D) (AlxGa1−x)2O3 (x ≤ 5) by solving the Boltzmann transport equation from first-principles. Anisotropic electron mobility of 2D (AlxGa1−x)2O3 is limited to 30−80 cm2/Vs at room temperature, and it finds that the relatively large ion-clamped dielectric tensors (Δɛ) suggest a major scattering role for polar optical phonons. The mobility of 2D (AlxGa1−x)2 is less than that of bulk β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 and shows no quantum effects attributed to the dangling bonds on the surface. We further demonstrate that the bandgap of 2D (AlxGa1−x)2O3 decreases with the number of layers, and the electron localization function also shows an anisotropy. This work comprehensively interprets the scattering mechanism and unintentional doping intrinsic electron mobility of (AlxGa1−x)2O3 alloys, providing physical elaboration and alternative horizons for experimental synthesis, crystallographic investigations, and power device fabrication of 2D (AlxGa1−x)2O3 atomically thin layered systems.

Hyperbolic response and low-frequency ultra-flat plasmons in inhomogeneous charge-distributed transition-metal monohalides.

Plasmon, the collective oscillations of free electron gas in materials, determines the long-wavelength excitation spectrum and optical response, are pivotal in the realm of nanophotonics and optoelectronics. In this study, using the first-principles calculations, we systematically investigated the dielectric response and plasmon properties of bulk transition-metal monohalides MXs (M = Zr, Mo; X = Cl, F). Due to the strong electronic anisotropy, MXs exhibit a broadband type-II hyperbolic response and direction-dependent plasmon modes. Particularly, local field effect (LFE) driven by the charge distribution inhomogeneity, significantly modifies the optical response and excitation spectra in MX along the out-of-plane direction. Taking into account LFE, the energy dissipation along the out-of-plane direction is almost completely suppressed, and an ultra-flat and long-lived plasmon mode with a slow group velocity is introduced. This finding reveals the role of charge density in modifying the optical response and excitation behavior, shedding light on potential applications in plasmonics.

A computational model for ion and electron energization during macroscale magnetic reconnection

A set of equations is developed that extends the macroscale magnetic reconnection simulation model kglobal to include particle ions. The extension from earlier versions of kglobal, which included only particle electrons, requires the inclusion of the inertia of particle ions in the fluid momentum equation. The new equations will facilitate the exploration of the simultaneous non-thermal energization of ions and electrons during magnetic reconnection in macroscale systems. Numerical tests of the propagation of Alfvén waves and the growth of firehose modes in a plasma with anisotropic electron and ion pressure are presented to benchmark the new model.

Beam‐Driven Electron Cyclotron Harmonic and Electron Acoustic Waves as Seen in Particle‐In‐Cell Simulations

AbstractRecent study has demonstrated that electron cyclotron harmonic (ECH) waves can be excited by a low energy electron beam. Such waves propagate at moderately oblique wave normal angles (∼70°). The potential effects of beam‐driven ECH waves on electron dynamics in Earth's plasma sheet is not known. Using two‐dimensional Darwin particle‐in‐cell simulations with initial electron distributions that represent typical plasma conditions in the plasma sheet, we explore the excitation and saturation of such beam‐driven ECH waves. Both ECH and electron acoustic waves are excited in the simulation and propagate at oblique wave normal angles. Compared with the electron acoustic waves, ECH waves grow much faster and have more intense saturation amplitudes. Cold, stationary electrons are first accelerated by ECH waves through cyclotron resonance and then accelerated in the parallel direction by both the ECH and electron acoustic waves through Landau resonance. Beam electrons, on the other hand, are decelerated in the parallel direction and scattered to larger pitch angles. The relaxation of the electron beam and the continuous heating of the cold electrons contribute to ECH wave saturation and suppress the excitation of electron acoustic waves. When the ratio of plasma to electron cyclotron frequency ωpe/ωce increases, the ECH wave amplitude increases while the electron acoustic wave amplitude decreases. Our work reveals the importance of ECH and electron acoustic waves in reshaping sub‐thermal electron distributions and improves our understanding on the potential effects of wave‐particle interactions in trapping ionospheric electron outflows and forming anisotropic (field‐aligned) electron distributions in the plasma sheet.

Endothermic Charge Separation Occurs Spontaneously in Non-Fullerene Acceptor/Polymer Bulk Heterojunction.

Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) based on non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) have achieved a power conversion efficiency close to 20%. These NFA OPVs can generate free carriers efficiently despite a very small energy level offset at the donor/acceptor interface. Why these NFAs can enable efficient charge separation (CS) with low energy losses remains an open question. Here, the CS process in the PM6:Y6 bulk heterojunction is probed by time-resolved two-photon photoemission spectroscopy. It is found that the CS, the conversion from bound charge transfer (CT) excitons to free carriers, is an endothermic process with an enthalpy barrier of 0.15eV. The CS can occur spontaneously despite being an endothermic process, which implies that it is driven by entropy. It is further argued that the morphology of the PM6:Y6 film and the anisotropic electron delocalization restrict the electron and hole wavefunctions within the CT exciton such that they can primarily contact each other through point-like junctions. This configuration can maximize the entropic driving force.

Study of vortex glass-liquid transition and superconducting properties of single-crystalline boron-doped FeSe0.5Te0.5

We report on the superconducting transport properties of B-doped FeSe0.5Te0.5 single crystals grown by the self-flux method. The structure and superconductivity of these samples were carefully analyzed using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and electrical transport measurements. The crystal structure owns the same tetragonal symmetry as PbO. The B-doped samples show a more significant electronic anisotropy in the superconducting state. Microstructural analysis shows that B-doping of FeSe0.5Te0.5 increases the Fe content in the single crystal samples. B-doping decreases Tc slightly, resulting in lower irreversibility lines. This work revealed the physical effects of B-doping in FeSe0.5Te0.5 superconductors and inspired a way to regulate the superconductivity through elemental manipulation.

Whistler‐Mode Wave Generation During Interplanetary Shock Events in the Earth's Lunar Plasma Environment

AbstractWhistler‐mode waves are commonly observed within the lunar environment, while their variations during Interplanetary (IP) shocks are not fully understood yet. In this paper, we analyze two IP shock events observed by Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of the Moons Interaction with the Sun (ARTEMIS) satellites while the Moon was exposed to the solar wind. In the first event, ARTEMIS detected whistler‐mode wave intensification, accompanied by sharply increased hot electron flux and anisotropy across the shock ramp. The potential reflection or backscattering of electrons by the lunar crustal magnetic field is found to be favorable for whistler‐mode wave intensification. In the second event, a magnetic field line rotation around the shock region was observed and correlated with whistler‐mode wave intensification. The wave growth rates calculated using linear theory agree well with the observed wave spectra. Our study highlights the significance of magnetic field variations and anisotropic hot electron distributions in generating whistler‐mode waves in the lunar plasma environment following IP shock arrivals.

Theoretical dissection of the electronic anisotropy and quantum transport of ultrascaled halogenated borophene MOSFETs

Theoretical dissection of the electronic anisotropy and quantum transport of ultrascaled halogenated borophene MOSFETs

Large Amplitude Whistler Waves in Earth's Plasmasphere and Plasmaspheric Plumes

AbstractWhistler mode waves in the plasmasphere and plumes drive significant losses of energetic electrons from the Earth's radiation belts into the upper atmosphere. In this study, we conducted a survey of amplitude‐dependent whistler wave properties and analyzed their associated background plasma conditions and electron fluxes in the plasmasphere and plumes. Our findings indicate that extremely large amplitude (>400 pT) whistler waves (a) tend to occur at L > 4 over the midnight‐dawn‐noon sectors and have small wave normal angles; (b) are more likely to occur during active geomagnetic conditions associated with higher fluxes of anisotropic electrons at 10 s keV energies; and (c) tend to occur at higher latitudes up to 20° with increasing amplitude. These results suggest that extremely large amplitude whistler waves in the plasmasphere and plumes could be generated locally by injected electrons during substorms and further amplified when propagating to higher latitudes.

Fingerprints of Chalcogen Bonding Revealed Through 77Se-NMR.

77Se-NMR is used to characterise several chalcogen bonded complexes of derivatives of the organoselenium drug ebselen, exploring a range of electron demand. NMR titration experiments support the intuitive understanding that chalcogen bond donors bearing more electron withdrawing substituents give rise stronger chalcogen bonds. The chemical shift of the selenium nucleus is also shown to move upfield as it participates in a chalcogen bond. Solid-state NMR is used to explore chalcogen bonding in co-crystals. Due to the lack of molecular reorientation on the NMR timescale in the solid state, the shape of the chemical shift tensor can be determined using this technique. A range of co-crystals are shown to have extremely large chemical shift anisotropy, which suggests a strongly anisotropic electron density distribution around the selenium atom. A single crystal NMR experiment was conducted using one of the co-crystals, affording the absolute orientation of the chemical shift tensor within the crystal. This showed that the selenium nucleus is strongly shielded in the direction of the chalcogen bond (due to the approach of the lone pair of the Lewis base), and strongly deshielded in the perpendicular direction. The orientation of the deshielded axis is consistent with the presence of a second σ-hole which is not participating in a chalcogen bond, showing the profound effect of electron density anisotropy on the chemical shift.

Secondary Whistler and Ion-cyclotron Instabilities Driven by Mirror Modes in Galaxy Clusters

Electron cyclotron waves (whistlers) are commonly observed in plasmas near Earth and the solar wind. In the presence of nonlinear mirror modes, bursts of whistlers, usually called lion roars, have been observed within low magnetic field regions associated with these modes. In the intracluster medium (ICM) of galaxy clusters, the excitation of the mirror instability is expected, but it is not yet clear whether electron and ion cyclotron (IC) waves can also be present under conditions where gas pressure dominates over magnetic pressure (high β). In this work, we perform fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulations of a plasma subject to a continuous amplification of the mean magnetic field B (t) to study the nonlinear stages of the mirror instability and the ensuing excitation of whistler and IC waves under ICM conditions. Once mirror modes reach nonlinear amplitudes, both whistler and IC waves start to emerge simultaneously, with subdominant amplitudes, propagating in low- B regions, quasi-parallel to B (t). We show that the underlying source of excitation is the pressure anisotropy of electrons and ions trapped in mirror modes with loss-cone-type distributions. We also observe that IC waves play an essential role in regulating the ion pressure anisotropy at nonlinear stages. We argue that whistler and IC waves are a concomitant feature at late stages of the mirror instability even at high β, and therefore, expected to be present in astrophysical environments like the ICM. We discuss the implications of our results for collisionless heating and dissipation of turbulence in the ICM.

Electronic transport and optical properties of five different phases (α, β, ε, δ and γ) of Ga2O3: A first-principles study

In the field of power and ultraviolet devices, Ga2O3 becomes an emerging semiconductor due to its large energy bandgap and suitable optical absorption wavelength at solar blind ultraviolet band. In this work, the electronic and optical properties of five Ga2O3 polymorphs are investigated by the first-principles calculations to study their potential in ultraviolet devices. The geometry structures, electronic structure, optical and electronic transport properties of five polymorphs have been investigated through GGA + U approach and deformation potential theory. Based on the deformation potential theory, the anisotropic electron mobility of five Ga2O3 polycrystals is obtained by analyzing the parameters obtained from the first-principles calculation. TCAD simulations using calculation results before show the spectral response of MSM solar-blind detectors based on five polymorphs, and indicating that ε-Ga2O3 is the best candidate material for solar blind UV detector. This work provides theoretical insights for the preparation of different phase gallium oxide materials and devices.

Prediction of large spin-valley polarization in the Janus 2H–WSSe monolayer on VN magnetic substrate

Two-dimensional heterostructures based on transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) exhibit broad application prospects in valleytronics due to the space-reversal symmetry breaking and strong spin–orbit coupling. In this work, the electronic structure, magnetic anisotropy and valley polarization of 2H–WSSe/VN van der Waals heterostructure under various interlayer spacings, magnetic angle and in-plane strain are investigated in detail by first-principles calculations. The stacked configuration of Se-C2-1 with most stable structure shows the largest valley polarization of 386.5[Formula: see text]meV. By adjusting the interlayer spacing of heterostructure, the largest valley polarization of 702.7[Formula: see text]meV appears in Se-C2-1 stacked configuration with interlayer spacing of 2.24 Å. The magnetic angle [Formula: see text] exhibits significant effects on valley polarization and magnetic anisotropy of 2H–WSSe/VN heterostructures. The stability and valley polarization of 2H–WSSe/VN heterostructure decrease after the in-plane biaxial strain is applied. The large and tunable valley polarization as well as magnetic anisotropy in the 2H–WSSe/VN heterostructures make it potential applications in valleytronic devices.

Determination of the mean energy of fast electron losses and anisotropies through thick-target emission on WEST

A new method to obtain the mean energy of fast electron losses in fusion plasmas using a versatile multi-energy hard x-ray (HXR) detector is presented. The method is based on measuring the thick-target emission of tungsten in the divertor region produced by fast electron losses interacting with the target and modeling the tungsten spectra by a Monte Carlo code which simulates the interaction between a beam of electrons and a solid target. The mean energy of the fast electron losses is determined through the comparison between the experimental and synthetic emission. The results show that fast electron losses during lower hybrid current drive discharges at WEST have a mean energy of 90–140 keV and represent only 2% of the total heat flux at the target. Additionally, anisotropic HXR emission has been detected for the first time at the WEST core and edge plasma, with opposite directions. It is due to the forward-peak emission of two distinctive populations of fast electrons: co-current fast electrons in the core and counter-current fast electron losses at the inner strike point. In view of future experiments like ITER where electron cyclotron current drive will generate a fast electron population, this technique could serve as a real-time monitor of fast electron losses and eventually feed an actuator on the current drive generation.

Revealing the Molecular Origin of Anisotropy around Chloride Ions in Bulk Water.

A clear picture of the local solvation structure around halide anions in liquid water remains elusive. This discussion has been stimulated by pioneering simulation results that proposed a "hydrophobic cavity" around anions in the bulk, which is analogous to air at the air-water interface. However, there is also sound experimental and theoretical evidence that halide ions are rather symmetrically solvated in the bulk, leading to a different viewpoint. Using extensive ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of an aqueous Cl- solution, we indeed find an anisotropic arrangement of H-bonded versus interstitial water molecules. The latter are not H-bonded to the anions and thus do not couple much electronically to Cl-. The resulting purely electronic anisotropy of the local solvation environment correlates with that structural anisotropy, which however should not be understood as an empty cavity─as it would be at the air-water interface─but rather contains interstitial water molecules.

Enhancing Light Outcoupling Efficiency via Anisotropic Low Refractive Index Electron Transporting Materials for Efficient Perovskite Light-Emitting Diodes.

Thanks to the extensive efforts toward optimizing perovskite crystallization properties, high-quality perovskite films with near-unity photoluminescence quantum yield are successfully achieved. However, the light outcoupling efficiency of perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) is impeded by insufficient light extraction, which poses a challenge to the further advancement of PeLEDs. Here, an anisotropic multifunctional electron transporting material, 9,10-bis(4-(2-phenyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazole-1-yl)phenyl) anthracene (BPBiPA), with a low extraordinary refractive index (ne) and high electron mobility is developed for fabricating high-efficiency PeLEDs. The anisotropic molecular orientations of BPBiPA can result in a low ne of 1.59 along the z-axis direction. Optical simulations show that the low ne of BPBiPA can effectively mitigate the surface plasmon polariton loss and enhance the photon extraction efficiency in waveguide mode, thereby improving the light outcoupling efficiency of PeLEDs. In addition, the high electron mobility of BPBiPA can facilitate balanced carrier injection in PeLEDs. As a result, high-efficiency green PeLEDs with a record external quantum efficiency of 32.1% and a current efficiency of 111.7cd A-1 are obtained, which provides new inspirations for the design of electron transporting materials for high-performance PeLEDs.

Anisotropic Electron Mobility and Contact Resistance of β-Ga2O3 Obtained via Radio Frequency Transmission Line Methods on Schottky Devices.

Monoclinic semiconducting β-Ga2O3 has drawn attention, particularly because its thin film could be achieved via mechanical exfoliation from bulk crystals, which is analogous to van der Waals materials' behavior. For the transistor devices with exfoliated β-Ga2O3, the channel direction becomes [010] for in-plane electron transport, which changes to vertical [100] near the source/drain (S/D) contact. Hence, anisotropic transport behavior is certainly worth to study but rarely reported. Here we achieve the vertical [100] direction electron mobility of 4.18 cm2/(V s) from Pt/β-Ga2O3 Schottky diodes with various thickness via radio frequency-transmission line method (RF-TLM), which is recently developed. The specific contact resistivity (ρc) could also be estimated from RF-TLM, to be 4.72 × 10-5 Ω cm2, which is quite similar to the value (5.25 × 10-5 Ω cm2) from conventional TLM proving the validity of RF-TLM. We also fabricate metal-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MESFETs) to study anisotropic transport behavior and contact resistance (RC). RC-free [010] in-plane mobility appears as high as maximum ∼67 cm2/(V s), extracted from total resistance in MESFETs.

Kinetic instability of whistlers in electron beam-plasma systems

The whistlers in space plasmas and in magnetic fusion experiments are destabilized by beams of fast electrons. While the linear regime of instability is analytically tractable, in most practical cases, the instability operates at the saturated level during the stages of observation and measurement. The saturated states, however, involve nonlinear whistlers, which remain best accessible for analysis by kinetic simulations. Results of electromagnetic Vlasov simulations are presented, analyzing an anisotropic electron beam driven whistler instability. The simulations cover the initially unstable regime followed by a saturated or marginally stable regime. Both regimes are separated by an intermediate nonlinear regime during which the electron distribution undergoes a kinetically self-consistent modification. A linearly obtained generalized marginal stability condition is applied to the stabilized state. The condition obtained in its dispersive version shows the β|| at threshold and, in turn, the residual anisotropy, to be a function of the whistler mode number k.

Electron Heating by Magnetic Pumping and Whistler-mode Waves

The investigation of mechanisms responsible for the heating of cold solar wind electrons around the Earth’s bow shock is an important problem in heliospheric plasma physics because such heating is vitally required to run the shock drift acceleration at the bow shock. The prospective mechanism for electron heating is magnetic pumping, which considers electron adiabatic (compressional) heating by ultralow-frequency waves and simultaneous scattering by high-frequency fluctuations. Existing models of magnetic pumping have operated with external sources of such fluctuations. In this study, we generalize these models by introducing the self-consistent electron scattering by whistler-mode waves generated due to the anisotropic electron heating process. We consider an electron population captured within a magnetic trap created by ultralow-frequency waves. Periodical adiabatic heating and cooling of this population drives the generation of whistler-mode waves scattering electrons in the pitch-angle space. The combination of adiabatic heating and whistler-driven scattering provides electron acceleration and the formation of a suprathermal electron population that can further participate in the shock drift acceleration.

Enhancement and anisotropy of electron Landé factor due to spin-orbit interaction in semiconductor nanowires

Enhancement and anisotropy of electron Landé factor due to spin-orbit interaction in semiconductor nanowires